Glutton Berserker ~The One That Exceeds The Concept Of Levels~ Chapter 165

Chapter 165: Berserking Snow

Chapter 165 – Berserking Snow

I took a glance at Roxy as a signal .

Telling her that we would tackle this challenge together . And lastly, to check if she’s anxious .

But there’s no trace of fear on her face as she looked back at me .

Thus I promptly tried to use 《a.n.a.lyze》 on those blood-red monsters .

[Roxy, I leave the monsters to you . ]

[Yes . ]

The arrangement was similar to when we fought the giant scorpion . Unfortunately, both Snow and s.h.i.+nn belonged to Area E .

It’d be too heavy of a load for Roxy .

Next, I called out to Eris, who was standing back to back to me .

[Can you keep s.h.i.+nn busy?]

[Of course I can! That means Fate will take on Snow, right?]

[Yeah, I need to snap Snow out of it . ]

[I’m looking forward to it . Until then, I’ll try buying as much time as possible . ]

Giving me a wink as she said so, Eris laughed .

[Then, what if you get beaten instead?]

[Eeee! I’m not that weak though~]

Replying to me with a sweet voice as she spun the black bayonet around, Eris proceeded to shoot at s.h.i.+nn’s offshoots . The blood red liquid that stretched out like tentacles bursted one after another .

Looking at this, her training seemed to have shown some results .

[Don’t get careless . ]

[No using the magic eyes as well?]

[Considering the risk, I’d rather you don’t use it . ]

[Ahaha, maybe I shouldn’t have told you the risk . ]

[Perhaps . ]

With that, all three of us started moving at the same time .

Me vs Snow . Eris vs s.h.i.+nn . While Roxy would act as our support .

There’s no other options .

[Snoooooow!]

I swung my black sword, which Snow blocked with her bare arms .

There seemed to be some sort of barrier encasing her body, one that the black sword couldn’t break through .

It reminded me of that barrier the giant scorpion employed .

Snow didn’t respond to my call as well .

『Fate! It’s like back when we fought her in the desert . 』

[That… . I thought so . ]

『Right . No other choice . That time too, we managed to pull her out of her rampage by knocking her out . 』

[This time I’m not so sure she’ll remain the same when she wakes up again, what’s with Libra’s influence and all . ]

『That’s beside the point . First of all you need to do what you have to do . 』

When fighting the giant scorpion back then, we were able to calm Snow down with Dad’s help… .

But this time I had to do it alone .

『That barrier is in the way . Let’s go with the scythe form . 』

Changing the black sword into the scythe form, I waited for the right time when Snow was charging at me again .

Now!

I attempted to cut through the barrier…

[Wha!?]

Snow suddenly stopped her advance, opting to avoid me instead .

She should be in the midst of rampage and unable to think properly . So why?

『Perhaps she instinctively sensed danger . 』

[What the… . . that’s troublesome . ]

She avoided my attack out of her instinct and reflexes . Moreover, she was able to read my movement accurately, making me miss all the time .

『She’s not an enemy to be trifled with . Are you still intending to fight her half-heartedly?』

[Even so, I don’t want to hurt Snow . ]

I could hear Greed sighed in defeat . But then he laughed heartily .

『Well said . Then, give it a try . Show me how you’ll do it！』

[Yeah, I’ll do it . ]

I held the black scythe firmly .

And then closed my eyes .

If I keep relying on my eyes, good chance that I won’t be able to hit her at all .

Therefore, I need to predict Snow’s movement by sensing the flow of her magic power . Aaron taught me how, and I’ve been practicing this for quite a while now .

Just like Eris who secretly trained on her own, I’d also been doing my best .

Actually it’s only recently I managed to hit anything during the training… but for the sake of Roxy who willingly became my practice partner, I will demonstrate it to my best here .

Also… . I still remember what I said to Dad back when we met in the desert . And Greed who witnessed the whole thing certainly knew me well .

『You… . . you are still bothered by what you said to your dad back then, aren’t you?』

[I said it to Dad, that I will take responsibility for Snow . ]

『I thought you’ve grown up a little . But you’re still a boy after all . 』

I really couldn’t refute that .

No matter what happened between us, he’s after all… . still my Dad .

Even if he stole the philosopher’s stone, and even kidnapped Raine…

Even if he was a Zodiac Knight just like Libra…

But what actually happened between him and Snow, to the point that he was willing to kill her…?

I leaped from one building to another, trying to chase after Snow who had glided away .

[Snow!]

She’s way too fast… but I was able to keep up by predicting her movement path via sensing her magic power .

I would not miss my attack this time .

Steel your heart, keep your calm . Aaron also taught me that .

When I swung the black scythe, it was aimed at where I predicted Snow would move to .

Opening my eyes again, there was Snow . Her barrier was undone by the scythe .

[Yosh . ]

『Not half bad！』

However, the real fight had only just begun .

At last I reached a spot where I could reach Snow .

Reverting back to the black sword form, Gread spoke to me as I returned him to the sheath .

『Are you sure you can make do without this me?』

[Yeah, ‘cause bare fist is the best way to convey feelings . ]

『That’s Aaron’s favorite line . 』

[That’s right!]

Now that the barrier was gone, I could use my bare hands against Snow .

While being wary of her chops and kicks, I tried to find an opening…

Once, her heavy kick struck my head . My vision blurred, feeling like I almost fainted as the attack sent ripples throughout my body .

『Fate! You really sure you don’t need this Me?』

[I said it already, didn’t I?]

Greed’s call kept me awake, so I resumed my pursuit .

Yosh, here goes .

After some struggling I managed to hold both of Snow’s hands down as well as taking her back to the ground . The problem was we landed in the midst of those blood red monsters .

[What a good place to land…]

The monsters instantly went to attack me… . and at the same time, Snow too .

They shouldn’t be able to hurt us due to their inferior stats . But then, after seeing their fangs and claws, I was quickly reminded of something .

The monsters called the nightwalker . Turned crazy and controlled by s.h.i.+nn’s blood, unable to die, and only driven by the desire to increase their number by infecting other living beings through bites .

What didn’t make sense was that these creature’s bite could go through Area E protection . According to Greed, it’s because of s.h.i.+nn’s power .

They’re now opening their maw wide, trying to get a bite on me and Snow .

[Kuh . ]

I had to release my restraining hold on Snow to draw my black sword .

While I was thinking so, the red monsters were already upon us .

There’s no time to hesitate .

Hopefully I made it in time…

[Fai!]

While I still hesitated, that voice calling out to me brought me back to reality .

The sacred light of the 《Grand Cross》 shone forth from the ground beneath me, preventing the monsters from reaching me .

[Roxy! This is…]

I couldn’t hide my surprise . That’s because the holy light burned away the blood red monsters very easily .

These monsters were at least very strong under Area E . And yet, Roxy decimated them in but a moment .

[I also do not know why . Maybe the attack is their counter?]

[In that case, please help Eris . ]

[Yes . ]

Roxy herself didn’t know why she could… . But it may prove to be useful in the fight against s.h.i.+nn . In this regard, she might even surpa.s.s the limitation of the status .

While I felt happy that Roxy could contribute more now, I once again confronted Snow .

[I won’t let you off . ]

[… . . Guhhhhh . ]

It’s a bit of a struggle, but I managed to keep her pinned on the ground .

[Stop rampaging . Snap out of it, Snow!]

She didn’t seem to listen to me, but even if I knew that, I kept calling her name .

As we struggled against each other, Snow lashed out and managed to bite into my neck .

[Ooww…ugh…]

At that moment, 《Mind Reading》 suddenly activated .

I’ve often been in direct contact with Snow since she joined our little group, but the skill never activated before . I began to suspect that, just like Myne, she had something that prevents mind reading from working on her .

So the fact that the skill successfully activated surprised me .

Snow’s hazy memories flew into my mind .

Among those, only one scene was reflected very clearly .

In that memory, Snow looked more mature than she is now . Her body was ragged and tattered with wounds .

She’s obviously heavily wounded; copious amounts of blood seeped to the ground with each step she took .

She was walking alone in the middle of a dense forest .

She finally reached her limit, collapsing near a cliffside .

The scene blurred for a while… Before being replaced by her opening her eyes to the sight of a boy .

（That’s… . . no way… . . ）

That’s impossible . I actually met Snow when I was still a child!?

This gotta be wrong! Otherwise, how come I had no recollection of meeting her?

If I met someone with such a grievous wound, I should’ve remembered very clearly .

And yet…as I recalled, I remember nothing about meeting Snow . Is this perhaps the memory that Libra mentioned before?

However, is there any benefit for Libra to fabricate such a memory?

Then was it truly Snow’s memory?

Whilst thinking so, the scene continued to play in my head .

[Are you alright?]

The boy asked Snow, but she didn’t reply . Well, I guess it’s only natural .

She was too injured to utter a word .

The boy finally realized what’s going on, and started to look as if he was panicking . That gestures… Was it truly me after all?

Snow tried to move away by wringing out the last of her strength, but the boy didn’t let her .

[You’re injured, so you shouldn’t move too much . I have these herbs I gathered for my dad, but I think you need it more urgently than him . ]

[… . . ]

Snow remained silent . But the boy wasn’t fazed by that .

He only knew that Snow wasn’t doing well from her expressions .

[Sorry . I’m not really good at this just yet . Dad always gets hurt, so I at least want to get better at treating wounds . ]

The boy covered his mouth with his hand upon looking at the wounds under Snow’s clothes . But with a determined face, he proceeded with the treatment silently .

Rinsing the wound with water from the bottle he brought, apply the herbs, then cover it with the cloth he tore from his own s.h.i.+rt .

[Un, this should do . I’m sorry, elder sister . I can only do this much . ]

The mind reading stopped working at that point .

The reason being Snow now powerlessly slumped in my arms . Even when I tapped on her cheek, she made no response .

『She seemed to have fainted . What a troublesome girl . What’s wrong, Fate?』

[……no, it’s nothing]

I wasn’t sure yet whether that memory was true or not .

But it’s not the time and place to feel upset . I decided to put aside the matter regarding my meeting with Snow in the past .

[In any case, this isn’t Snow’s fault . The real cause is…]

『That guy, Libra . That man has always been like that . Never to dirty his own hands whenever he could . 』

[When this is over, promise me that you’ll tell me everything about the past, okay?]

『Fine . But for now, focus on the fight . Look, Eris is having trouble there . 』

Following Greed’s warning, I turned to look at how Eris and s.h.i.+nn’s fighting was going .

Certainly, Eris was under pressure .

After all, she’s fighting against numerous s.h.i.+nns on her own .

[Roxy, please look after Snow . ]

[Alright . ]

She must’ve been worried about Snow . Just as I called for her, I saw her decimating numerous blood-red monsters with the holy light from her attack to open the path towards us .

[Is it working?]

[I guess? Somehow, it felt like she wasn’t actually trying to kill me . ]

[Of course . Snow-chan would not go that far . ]

Her optimism mysteriously convinced me the same . Unlike me, Roxy believed from the start that we would be able to reach out to Snow .

Patting the head of the still unconscious Snow, I got up and drew out my sword .

[From here on out, things will get more serious . Roxy should take Snow outside .

[… . . understood]

She looked somewhat disappointed .

When people belonging to Area E fight, it’ll be too dangerous for Roxy to stay around .

She believed that she’d eventually break through to that realm by forging a bond with me . But it’s not that simple .

After all, I was the one who deliberately put our relations.h.i.+p on hold .

I thought so as I looked at Roxy’s back as she left .

『Again with the selfish thought . 』

[You got it wrong, I was thinking about Aaron . ]

『You just don’t want her to get involved with the mortal sin skill, do you?』

Aaron was a gentle and caring person . I’m always grateful at the fact that he’s willing to help and trust me . But that aside, I also felt bothered by how significant the mortal sin skill had affected his life .

If only he didn’t bond with me, his life would’ve been more peaceful perhaps .

Imagining such a possibility…

Made me unwilling to let Roxy cross that line . That’s what I thought .

『Let me tell you this again . 』

[What is it?]

『She would never give up . You should already know that better than anyone else . 』

I know . I’m scared exactly because I know that .

『Now then, let’s go, Fate！』

With Greed’s strong urging as the signal, I joined Eris in battling s.h.i.+nn .

Firstly, I cut down s.h.i.+nn’s body that was about to strike at Eris .

Even when I split his body in two, I knew he’s far from being defeated . Because I didn’t hear any announcement about stat increase .

[You’re slow~ . If you come a little bit later, I would’ve been in grave danger . ]

[My bad… It took longer than I thought it would be . But where does the confidence you showed me earlier go to?]

[I think it’s obvious to see . ]

No matter where I looked, there would be a s.h.i.+nn there . Not to mention the blood-red monsters .

It’s like fighting against an army alone .

Putting our backs close to each other, we struck down the incoming s.h.i.+nns one by one .

[Here I thought Eris would be able to make do after all that trainings you mentioned . ]

[There is no way I could do that without relying on my magic eyes . ]

[Then I guess it’s my fault . Joke aside, I think it’s meaningless we can’t find s.h.i.+nn’s main body . ]

[Exactly!]

Eris nodded after shooting one of the s.h.i.+nns in between the eyebrows .

[These fellows are connected to s.h.i.+nn who is somewhere in the underground . They’re just puppets . There’s really no point in killing them . ]

I was kinda amazed at her lack of tension as she said all that . I guess it’s true that our emotions gradually turn dull after living for a very long time .

Now that I think about it… Myne also had something similar . In her case, it’s her sense of taste .

[Somewhere in the underground you said…? Can you trace his magic power to find his location?]

[I can’t . Especially not in this situation . Do you think those creatures will stand still and let me be?]

Originally, s.h.i.+nn was slumbering thanks to his fragmented body being scattered all over the continent . Philosopher’s stone was what humans at large called some of these fragments .

Because it took the form of a mineral instead of a living being .

Perhaps right now, he has changed shape and is controlling the offshoots and monsters from a safe place .

[He’s hogging all the huge advantages as much as possible, isn’t he?]

[Ahahaha, I guess he’s scared of us . ]

[Nn? What do you mean by that?]

[I mean he’s scared of you . To be exact, the holder of Gluttony skill . s.h.i.+nn had challenged the previous holder over and over again . This is probably what he came up with to not be defeated again . ]

Eris explained all that with a combination of giddiness and pride .

[So I wonder what will Fate do now?]

[Isn’t that obvious? I’ll just have to do it like the previous holder did then . ]

[How reliable . In that case, I need to do my best too . ]

[Oii]

Eris’ eyes visible glow faintly . The tell tale sign of her activating the magic eyes .

[No worries, this one only burdens me ever so slightly . But…]

[I get it . This fight shouldn’t drag on longer than necessary . ]

[That’s right! I’ll be counting on you to keep me safe . ]

Eris began to run north .

Apparently she’s unable to fight while focusing on using the magic eyes .

So I just have to swing my sword to pave a safe path for her .