Chapter 177 – The Entrusted Black Sword
Chapter 177 – The Entrusted Black Sword
[This... this can’t be. Everyone can’t be here]
[Myne!?]
Myne clutched her head, dropping the black axe in the process.
[Why... I’ve adapted well to the Wrath skill. Why do this when you’ve promised that you’ll let everyone go?]
[Myne, get ahold of yourself.]
Meanwhile a woman, parts of her, emerged from the strange monster.
Pure white, long beautiful hair and equally translucent pale skin.
Eyes bright crimson, just like Myne’s.
In my surprise, I nearly called out her name. But Myne’s screaming beat me to it.
[Lunaaaaa!]
Luna was staring back at Myne, silently.
But that was enough to stun Myne, her body occasionally trembled as she’s standing over there.
I tried grabbing her shoulders and calling her, but that didn’t reach her.
[Fate, what do you think? What do we do in this situation?]
[Kairos-san?]
Facing away from the strange monster, Kairos asked me.
Are you for real? I thought to myself. But when I looked around, I finally realized.
The flow of time had stopped except for me and Kairos.
The odd-shaped monster didn’t move, and neither did the crystalline water vapor in the air.
[Fate, I’ve been watching you through the Gluttony skill.]
[You’ve been watching?]
[Yes. You are now able to try and work together with the souls you have devoured. That’s why I’m finally able to appear before you now. I wanted you to know.]
Kairos gently stroked Luna’s head, which stuck out among the messy mass of flesh that was the strange monster.
[Soon after this, these fellows will attack us. And Myne, out of guilt, lost her mental balance and succumbed to her skill. She ended up escaping from here. Without her, I could only fight them alone. The result was disappointing. You’ve seen the future of what would happen through Mikuria, haven’t you?]
[That’s...]
[I ended up devouring the person I cared for due to the Gluttony skill’s influence. This kept repeating itself endlessly.]
He said that with a face full of regret. But then he pointed at my chest and grinned.
[However. Someone else had taken the Gluttony skill in my stead. You can do what I couldn’t. That’s why... I entrust this to you.]
[Kairos-san...]
He drew the black sword from the scabbard and offered it to me.
[I knew it, you are more suited to wield him. More than even me. Well, Greed can be awkward and hard to handle at times, but he meant well. You can always rely on him.]
[Yes.]
v7-3
I received the black sword from Kairos.
It felt like the perfect fit. No other weapon could give me the same sense of security.
As I squeezed my fingers on the black sword’s handle, Greed finally spoke to me.
[You finally got here. Took you quite long, Fate.]
[Greed... you. The you in this timeline shouldn’t know me yet]
[I only remember about halfway along the path here. It’s because Kairos restricted my memory. Oy, Kairos! Why did you do that to me?]
[Cause you’d just get in the way. I also want to show him that you haven’t really changed at all since a long time ago.]
[He’s really a handful... I get that as well.]
[Oy, not you too!]
Being ganged by both me and Kairos, Greed could only complain in defeat.
[But this time things will end differently. Isn’t Luna an essential piece for your plan? So what will you do now, Fate?]
[Isn’t it obvious? Of course we’ll release Luna from there.]
First of all is to release Luna from that monster, which was currently frozen in time.
If we don’t, there won’t be any reaching out to Myne.
Kairos nodded in approval, placing his hand on my shoulder.
[See you again shortly.]
[Kairos-san! Your hand!?]
[Well, that’s how it is.]
The hand on my shoulder was growing transparent.
[Looks like my time has ran out. Once I disappear, I won’t be able to interfere anymore. In other words, no one will restrain Myne’s soul so she might end up attacking you. After all, this is her world.]
[Myne’s world?]
[It’s not as bad as you thought.]
Kairos looked at the strange monster before us.
[The darkness in Myne’s heart has grown mature after such a long period, and it has taken that form.]
[So that’s the darkness in Myne’s heart?]
[It is. Furthermore it has combined with the Wrath skill to grow exponentially stronger overtime. At first, it might still be manageable. But eventually, there will be nothing she could do on her own. She needs someone else to help her after all.]
Myne was crouching next to me, seemingly in agony.
[I’m counting on you, Fate.]
My fist balled in conviction.
[Yes!]
A sound of glass breaking could be heard at the same time. The flow of time had resumed.
Kairos was no longer there.
Instead, the shape of the basement we were in quickly shifted into something else.
The cold still remained. In fact, it’s getting colder.
[Fate, this coldness comes from Myne’s heart. Do not succumb to it.]
[Yeah, I know.]
Myne was still crouching. Scared.
On the other hand, the strange monster started to toss around in rage, as though it’s under the Wrath skill’s influence.
The host of people lumped inside the mass of creatures started to wail and curse at Myne.
Only Luna stayed silent while staring at Myne. But she was quickly withdrawn into the inside of the monster’s body.
[Luna... are you really fine with staying that way?]
[Let’s go, Fate.]
The basement degraded as time went on. Rust and decay spreaded out, and water leaked from the gaps.
The fused monster roared with all the mouths it had, and charged toward Myne.
But I was there, standing between the two.
[This thing... it’s trying to get Myne.]
[Suppress it! Never let it touch Myne.]
[UOoooooh]
I pushed it back slowly but surely.
Let’s go!
[Don’t let your guard down!]
[Wha!?]
The fusion monster spreaded out its tentacles, this time attempting to grab me instead of Myne.
[In that case, let’s see who is stronger here.]
Myne told me once. That the Gluttony skill was the most terrible of all Mortal Sin skills.
If it clashes with the Wrath skill...anyways, I need to separate them up first.
[You have been told already, right? The power comparison between two different mortal sin skills?]
[Yeah.]
Before it could get me, I must get it first!
The fusion monster tossed its tentacles, trying to draw me into it.
Inside were many negative emotions of a lot of people mixed together.
Each one was hard to perceive due to how low their voices were.
[What’s wrong? Can’t do anything to me?]
The monster seemed to be trying to melt and absorb me, but it wasn’t doing any damage to me.
Who would’ve thought that the Gluttony skill would be beneficial for me in this kind of way? It only brought suffering thus far.
Gluttony skill’s effectiveness against Wrath skill played a huge part since Myne’s darkness had assimilated the latter into itself.
Finally realizing that it cannot absorb me, the monster now tried to spit me, a foreign matter, out from its body.
I didn’t waste this opening. I called out to her name from the bottom of my heart.
[Luna!!]
I stretched out my hand, and waited.
Without Luna, we’re not going anywhere. Let’s all go home together!
It’s about to spit me out! The moment I thought so,
[Fate!]
As she called back to me, Luna grabbed ahold of my outstretched hand.
Not letting go.
When the monster finally spat me out, I saw Luna with me, still holding my hand.
[Thank goodness.]
[Wait, it’s hurt... I’m alright though.]
Even in my embrace, Luna’s eyes were already stuck on Myne.
[Don’t be sloppy, big sis.]
Luna didn’t even give the fusion monster any attention, as she walked straight toward Myne.
Is it really okay to ignore the monster like that? It’s Myne’s darkness, isn’t it?
[It’s inconsequential now. It’s already weakened by Fate’s gluttony skill. Evidently, I was able to release myself. We have a more pressing problem here.]
Myne was still in a frightened state.
Luna also crouched down and gently hugged her.
[It’s alright now. You don’t have to wear a mask and pretend to be strong anymore.]
Luna’s voice should be the only way to reach out to Myne’s heart more than anyone else could.
[Big sis doesn’t have to feel guilty anymore. All of us never bore any grudges against you, sis. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to tell you this back then.]
Luna told me this before. Myne was suffering from an extensive amount of guilt and regret.
Because she thought that everyone else in the lab, including Luna, were abandoned because Myne was the only one capable of adapting to Wrath skill.
[If only one managed to do so, then everyone would be allowed to leave the lab. That was what the uncles at the facility said.]
[...However]
[Those evil adults lied to us.]
Myne painfully cried.
[It’s alright. And you know this already. Everyone will not return no matter what. And big sis surviving is more than enough for us all. The fact is that I, and everyone, still love big sis all the same.]
The door to His land was about to open. But even then, there are some that would never return to life.
First, because these people had no more attachment to this world.
My Dad returned. But my Mom did not.
It’s exactly what Luna was trying to tell.
[Still, if it’s completely open, there is a possibility that everyone may return. I have collected a lot of money for that moment. We promised that we would build our own village, didn’t we?]
[Big sis... I’ll say this one last time. Please give it up. That’s all I want to convey to you. Since this will be the last time we can meet and talk like this]
[No, Luna!!]
Luna slowly lifted Myne, who was crying in her chest, up.
[How unsightly. Where did the older sister that we all admired go?]
Luna gave me a glance before continuing to talk.
[We can no longer accompany you, sis. Live in the present, big sis.]
[Luna.]
Although her body is living in the present, her mind was still stuck in the past. Two things that were originally one became separated. I wonder how painful it was to live with a mind and body split apart.
Even if one was a genius warrior like Myne, living in such a state for a long time would eventually lead to something gone wrong.
Myne, still crying, muttered,
[...I’m scared]
Hearing that, Luna smiled and turned to me.
[It’ll be alright. After all, big sis now has a friend who is willing to go this far for you. That’s why... please get along with Fate. Or else... I will not forgive you.]
Luna’s hand that was stroking Myne’s head gently... was gradually becoming transparent.
Noticing this, I opened my mouth to warn her, but Luna already shook her head before I could say anything.
[Fate, I will leave my sister in your care.]
[Yeah...]
Approaching Myne, I tried to take her hand, but she wouldn’t budge.
[Need to kill that thing first.]
Before us was the strange fusion monster.
It was still uttering grudgeful curses. However, the current Myne was no longer affected by that.
She retrieved her black axe, and promptly swung at the strange monster.
[Big sis, thank you... for protecting me all this time]
Along with Luna’s words, the black axe was swung down.
The monster was shattered by that blow, dispersing into light particles. Along with its demise, warm air started to replace the previously freezing temperature.
As the surrounding world disappeared, I saw Myne stared at me while saying something. A smile as bright as the sun decorated her face, something I wish I could see again in near future.
[Fate...I....]
I couldn’t hear the rest of what she said.