I knew these men. They were the soldiers I’d traveled with at the great canyon of Galia. I was grateful for their support, but their actions were far too reckless. The Divine Dragon was in the Domain of E. It existed on an entirely different plane. It would destroy them without a thought.
“Don’t worry about me! Run! Get to safety!” I screamed.
But the soldiers didn’t listen. They remained, though nobody had ordered them to. They moved of their own volition. Their support gladdened a small part of me, but the larger, smarter part knew what would happen next, and that knowledge was excruciating.
Northern was not kind or generous. He doubtless relished the situation he’d cornered me into. Another hail of bullets came, passing through the soldiers shielding me. Though these bullets only punctured my flesh, the stat differential overwhelmed the soldiers supporting me, and they burst apart. Their flesh exploded against my skull mask. Even then, the troops refused to turn and run. One by one, they fell. Their blood leaked from their ruptured bodies, pooling at my feet.
With each passing second, I prayed the dragon’s shrieks would end, and then, finally, they did. The Divine Dragon dropped into silence. However, I knew it was preparing a second attack. The next would be stronger than the last.
This is bad…
Then I heard a girl’s voice that was all too familiar to me. “What is happening here?!”
She had run over when she noticed the attack on her fallen troops. When she had seen the Divine Dragon push me back across the battlefield. I knew she’d come to help, because that was just who she was. Lady Roxy, a gallant knight in shining armor.
Her timing was awful. Just as she arrived, the Divine Dragon launched its second blast, locking me in place as I defended the battlefield from its roar. The force of it was overwhelming. It ripped the sleeves off my armor and sent cracks through my skull mask, which crumbled to little more than dust.
No! Northern will have his sights set on Lady Roxy. He’ll be taking aim! I gritted my teeth. “That’s the one thing that I will…not…allow!”
“Fate, you—”
Greed’s shock lasted only an instant. The black shield began to transform, sapping my energy. It was an apocalyptic transformation, like that of the black bow and scythe. At the same time, the new great shield I held in my hands was something I knew how to handle without Greed having to explain it.
As the black shield devoured my stats, a blue flash of light burst out in waves around me. The Divine Dragon’s mouth exploded. Its once-overwhelming roar suddenly transformed into a howl of agony. Northern’s attacks ceased too.
“Never in a million years would I have expected you to reach the Third Level’s special technique without my help,” Greed laughed. “I’m shocked that you’ve come this far, Fate!”
“Shut up for a minute, will you?” I muttered. “It’s not over yet.”
While the Divine Dragon reeled from the damage it took, the troops had to evacuate, and quickly.
My skull mask was gone, though. I couldn’t turn to face anyone. My identity was no longer hidden, and Lady Roxy would know immediately who I really was. I knew I had to hurry, yet I faltered.
Lady Roxy called out to me quietly. “Fate… Is that you, Fay?”
Her voice, calling that name, tore at my heart. I nodded, but I kept my back to her.
“I knew it…” she continued, her voice a mixture of wonder and relief. “I knew it was you. Ever since the great canyon, I kept looking at Corpse and seeing…you. Seeing Fay. But I thought it was impossible. I thought…Fay…”
The time to reveal my secret had come. I had tried to put it off, but it was always going to be like this. Lady Roxy had seen my face when we fell into that cavern. She hadn’t been fully conscious, so I told myself it was okay, but the moment had left an impact.
We’d come so far, but it was all over. I could no longer keep my secrets from her.
I heaved a great sigh, and I turned to face Lady Roxy, her eyes shining with the sincerity that defined her.
Chapter 29:
Decision Time
AFTER SHE CALLED MY NAME, Lady Roxy didn’t speak. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that she couldn’t.
With my Gluttony unleashed in its fully starved state, and my stats so far above her own, Lady Roxy was frozen, unable to move under the terrifying gaze of my crimson eyes. This unnatural power proved that I was an aberration. A freak.
I could see that Lady Roxy was trying to say something, but time wouldn’t wait for her to regain control. There was no way to know when the Divine Dragon writhing behind me would recover.
I had deceived her all this time, and later, she could curse me to her heart’s content. But first, I wanted to convey what had to be said.
“Please, take your troops and leave this battle. That beast won’t stay quiet long, so I came to buy you time,” I said. Then I added, “I’m sorry…for lying to you all this time, Lady Roxy. Thank you for everything.”
It pained me, and it felt cowardly, to make this revelation into a one-sided conversation. As I turned once more to face the Divine Dragon, I realized that Lady Roxy’s eyes had been wide open, her face stained with tears. What those tears meant, I didn’t know. There was no need for me to know.
Released from the power of my scarlet eyes, Lady Roxy said nothing. Yet as she left, ordering her troops to fall back, I had the distinct sensation that she whispered my name once more.
As I dashed forward, the recovering Divine Dragon sprawled out across the wasteland. On its head, arms crossed, stood Northern Alistair. He perched on the beast’s metal crest with a grin on his face as though he were above it all, a vain god looking down upon a world of mere mortals.
The Divine Dragon was indeed fearsome. Even after taking such extreme damage, it was healing, which meant I had to hit it before it fully recovered. I transformed Greed into the black bow. Northern was dangerous. Almost more so than the beast, I needed to keep him constrained.
I launched countless arrows from every angle, all aimed at Northern. At first, he shot the arrows before they reached him, then he gave up and began cutting them down with the edge of his gunblade.
Why would he do that? If he could shoot all the arrows down, why would he bother using his blade?
Greed sensed my suspicions. “Looks to me like there’s a limit to how many bullets he can fire in succession. If I think back, he left short gaps between his attacks earlier.”
“Looks like it. But, Greed, why don’t you know that already? You’re both Weapons of Mortal Sin, right?”
“Envy is next generation. There’s a lot a first-generation weapon like me just doesn’t know. I only really understand the originals.”
“Seriously? Talk about unreliable.”
“You shut your mouth! Regardless of generation, Envy is a secretive, pompous ass. That puffed-up gunblade could learn a thing or two from watching the mighty Greed in action.”
Greed’s personality wasn’t all that different from Envy’s in my estimation, but now wasn’t the time to point it out. Not while we were in the midst of battle. I didn’t want the black sword getting bent out of shape either, so it was time to lift his morale.
“Then I’m glad I have you instead!”
“Really?” Greed said, and he laughed. “Yeah! Of course you are!”
He was simple at heart. And with this simple, delighted weapon gripped tight, I looked behind me to check the position of Lady Roxy’s army. They were beginning to retreat, so at least they had trusted my words.
That’s a relief… Now it’s time to take things up a notch.
“Fate, use it!” shouted Greed. “In your current state, it’s more than possible. Leave the finer details to me.”
“Let’s do it, then!”
I dove directly underneath the Divine Dragon, a position I knew would be within the area of effect.
I transformed the black bow back into the black sword, and through a combination of Greed and the orichalcum
scabbard, I used Holy Sword Technique as a base to unleash a modified tech-art I called the Eternal Grand Cross.
I charged the black sword with all my magical energy. It began glowing with a holy light, signaling that the tech-art was ready. I twisted my wrist as if unlocking a door, triggering the tech-art.
Four giant crosses appeared above the head of the Divine Dragon, pulsing with light. In an instant, they fell and surrounded the monster, light circulating between them. The Divine Dragon roared, but the crosses wouldn’t allow it to move. This was the heart of Eternal Grand Cross: an endless prison of searing light.
Although it was a ranged skill, the Eternal Grand Cross had a low success rate, because you had to use it at close range. However, once it hit, no monster could escape. I hadn’t had great success with it among the orcs, but the combination of my starved state and the Domain of E increased its efficacy a hundredfold.
Trapped in the prison of the Eternal Grand Cross, the Divine Dragon would be weakened by constant damage.
Of course, victory was never going to come so easily for me.
Bullets rained down from above. I saw them coming and blocked them. As a follow-up attack, Northern brought his sword down on my head. I parried his strike with my own as we glared at each other.
“So many surprises,” spat Northern. “First, you unlock Greed’s Third Level attack, then you practically drive my cute little slimes to extinction, and now this nonsense tech-art I’ve never seen before. Don’t you feel sorry for the poor Divine Dragon? Won’t you be so kind as to release it to frolic back into the wild?”
“You slaughtered the kingdom’s army without mercy, and you have the gall to ask me to feel sorry for the Divine Dragon?”
“Those men are replaceable. Expendable. Even your precious holy knight. Well, actually, her existence has some value. We just won’t know exactly how much value until we kill her. But if it doesn’t go according to plan? Well, then we just set up the next one. The dragon, now, it’s one of a kind.”
Northern pushed forward with his sword.
He’s still got such power…
Using the Third Level secret technique took a toll on my stats. Before I’d unleashed it, I was stronger than Northern, but now the tables had turned. Stats weren’t the only reason, either.
Northern saw it too, and a thin smile stretched over his face. “The three reasons for your downfall: One, you forced your way into the Domain of E, and now you’re hitting its limit. Two, maintaining this tech-art constantly saps your powers, doesn’t it? And three—I’m just getting started.”
I couldn’t resist Northern’s attack any longer. His power was overwhelming. Unable to bear his strength, I guided Northern’s gunblade toward the earth. As his sword struck the ground, the shock sent rocks exploding through the air. I saw an opening through the cascade of rocks and earth, and I seized the opportunity to slice toward Northern’s neck.
“Oh, so close!” Northern smirked as he nimbly backstepped and avoided the strike by little more than a hair.
“Don’t give him any space!” cried Greed. “Close that distance and stay on him!”
“Got it!”
I didn’t need to be told twice. I ducked in and stayed tight, swinging the black sword. Northern deftly evaded and parried my attacks. Then he tilted his head slightly in confusion.
“What’s this?” he said. “Your fighting style changed. I wonder why?”
As I threw my next attack, Northern blocked it and brought his face close to my own.
“Ah, now I get it. It’s because of that, isn’t it?” he said, glancing at the Divine Dragon, then back at me with another infuriating grin. “I’m right, aren’t I? Once you step outside a certain range, your fancy little tech-art stops working.”
He’d figured it out. That was why I had to stay close—couldn’t let him get far from me. To keep this modified tech-art working, I had to use Greed in his black-sword form. Swapping to the bow would cancel the Eternal Grand Cross. If Northern got away, I would have to choose between containing him and the dragon.
Northern read it on my face. In his mind, he had already won. “Your expression’s the only answer I need. I’m right on the money.”
“We’re not—done—yet.”
I desperately sliced toward Northern, trying to keep him in range as he attempted to retreat. However, Northern was waiting for exactly that desperation. He raised his gunblade. With a quick twitch of his wrist, the unnaturally sharp black edge severed my left arm, sending it flying behind me in an elegant, bloody arc.
For an instant, I felt nothing. My momentum carried me. In the following seconds, searing pain hit me. It sent a numbness through my brain. My legs could barely carry me. I fell to my knees, agonized. As I looked up at Northern, he looked at the sky, his smile splitting his face, poised like a warrior embracing his victory.
“Such a pity,” he said. “Eris had such high hopes for you. But you had to go and get in my way, didn’t you? Well, this is what you get for your troubles.”
With that said, Northern plunged his gunblade through my heart as I tried to stand.
That looked painful, I thought. Lucky I only lost my left arm.
The following cry of pain came, not from me, but from Northern himself as I plunged Greed through his back.
“What…but—how…?”
He stared at the blade of the black sword pushing through his chest in disbelief. He couldn’t understand how I now stood behind him. Blood poured from his mouth as he turned his head to me. I shoved the sword in deeper.
“You should have saved your celebration until you actually won,” I said.
I moved my eyes to the illusion of myself that Northern had skewered with his gunblade. I had no use for it anymore, and as I released the spell, my illusion dissipated into the air.
This sort of basic magic wouldn’t usually have fooled Northern. However, I’d seen a small window of opportunity if I convinced him that his victory was assured. It was my last and only chance, and it was an all-or-nothing gamble. Making it work had meant sacrificing a part of myself.
As I had promised, I’d given everything I had.
“You…you willingly let me…cut off your arm…?”
“I did. There was no way to win otherwise. But you know what?” This time, I wore the crooked grin. “I’ll give it to you. Take it with you to hell.”
With those words, I twisted the black sword and sliced Northern completely in half.
Chapter 30:
The Truth Approaches
I STARED AT NORTHERN’S severed corpse as a familiar metallic voice announced my victory.
Gluttony Skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +2.00e8, Strength +1.80e8, Magic +2.10e8, Spirit +2.40e8, Agility +1.40e8.
Huh, I thought. This is what stats in the Domain of E look like. But…Northern doesn’t have any skills?
The world went hazy as Gluttony erupted into ecstasy. As I fell into the familiar black, I couldn’t help but feel there was something strange about Northern Alistair, even in his death.
When I came to, I stood in a space of pure white. I recollected only that I had been here once before. I tried to remember when, but I couldn’t seem to grasp it. The world was just white as far as I could see.
As I tried to sort through my memories, a girl suddenly appeared before me. The girl was also white, dressed in white, with white hair—identically white to the world around her. It was as though she were part of it.
She looked at me, and she sighed. “I told you not to be so reckless… I’m about to hit my limit.”
The girl pointed to the ground at her feet, and underneath, I faintly made out a darkness. In that darkness lay a countless number of creatures—deformed, wounded, groaning in malice and hatred. I knew instinctively that this darkness was a place of overwhelming fear, and in that moment, I remembered. I had seen this place in my dream. I remembered the girl too.
“You’re…the girl in the core of Haniel…”
; “That’s right,” she said, breaking into a smile. “I’m glad we finally have a chance to properly talk. I’m Luna, and I have to thank you.”
I tilted my head, confused. “Thank me?”
“I want to thank you,” Luna said, looking at me with sincerity, “for killing me.”
I had no words. I didn’t have any idea how to reply. Our battle had haunted me ever since I left it. I had been uncertain whether I had really done the right thing by ending her life, monstrous as it had become. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore—only that I wanted to protect Lady Roxy. Was it okay to be glad that I’d killed someone?
“Don’t look like that,” Luna said. “I’m happy, honestly. I’m happy things ended as they did.”
“But I…I just…I can’t say I’m happy that it happened.”
“A bit stubborn, aren’t you? Even having heard what I think. Although, given what I’ve witnessed of you and your actions from in here, I can’t say I didn’t see that coming.”
Luna said this with a slight smile, as though she knew all about me already. As though we were friends of some sort. I felt a bit like she’d invaded my privacy. Her speaking so openly about my innermost emotions, and her straightforward manner…more than anything, she reminded me of Myne. Her face, too, looked somehow similar to Myne’s.
“But really,” Luna continued, “I’m happy. Satisfied, too. Thanks to you, I also got to see my big sister again.”
“Big sister?! Wait—you and Myne are sisters?” Well, that explains the similarities.
Luna giggled at the startled look on my face. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” I tilted my head.
I couldn’t work it out. If she hadn’t meant they were sisters, then what in the world did she mean? But it didn’t look like Luna was about to tell me any more than she had. Mysteriousness seemed to be a Galian trait all around.
“Anyway, aren’t there more important things you want to ask me about?” Luna said, gesturing to the world of white that surrounded us.
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