I took another look at Roxy.

  To think that successfully contracting with a sacred beastkin actually made someone become prettier…… This is certainly a far cry compared to those darknesses we fought in the desert.

  Roxy herself was initially amazed by the changes.

  But she soon tried to flap her wings.

  [Fai, look, I can fly]

  [Ooooh! Amazing!]

  This was way too cool to be true.

  While watching her flit around in the air, I wondered.

  [How come she turned into that kind of form?]

  『That is called a valkyrie. That is the result of when a holy knight forges a contract and successfully assimilates with a sacred beastkin. She’ll probably have to adjust as this form opens up new ways of fighting. But really…… Valkyries were enemies in the past, but who would’ve thought that we gained one as an ally now.』


  Greed did tell me that the Sacred Beastkin and Mortal Sin skill holders were enemies.

  However, time has changed since then. Kairos and the others had to fight the valkyries in the past, but now one became our ally thanks to Snow’s help.

  I quickly informed Roxy about what Greed had taught me just now.

  After practising for a bit, she seemed to understand something.

  [Fai, come here.]

  She beckoned me to approach.

  [Could it be, this?]

  [Yes, there is no other method.]

  She circled her arms around me as I approached, then flapped her wings with all her might.

  Even while carrying me, she took to the sky with seemingly no problem.

  『It’s not exactly flying with wings as normal. She’s using magic power to propel herself into the air. Let’s just say that the wings are what allows her to do so.』


  [Is it the same reason as to how Tenryu could fly in the sky despite its huge body?]

  『Exactly.』

  I see. Still so much more to learn. As I listened to Greed, we flew higher and higher.

  [Roxy!]

  [I think I am getting used to this. You know, when I was little, there was a time……when I wished that I could fly. I have always wondered how good it will feel like to be able to fly freely in the sky like a bird. Now that dream has come true.]

  [Roxy, you are truly strong.]

  In the past, there was a time when I was filled with fear that one day Gluttony skill would devour me and turn me into a monster.

  [Knowing the risks, it’s certainly not an easy decision. But you couldn’t just stand still when the fate of the people in Hausen is in line, so you strode forward without hesitation. If it was me, I don’t think I can make such a heavy decision instantly……]

  [Not really. All I did was emulate Fai.]

  Roxy increased in altitude even faster. It seemed that she’s having fun.

  [Now who was the person that tended to act recklessly and crazily, making me worried sick whenever he was not around me? Moreover, I do not want to be left behind anymore!]

  [Roxy……]

  [And I also want to be able to help Fai more…… I have had enough always becoming a burden!!]

  Her momentum never diminished. She was getting faster instead.

  But can we break through, what did Greed call it again, the atmosphere as is?

  Keeping that doubt to myself, we soared to heaven.

  =====

  [Almost there.]

  [Huge. what a size.]

  There was still some distance left, but what we saw was at least as huge as the entire Hausen.

  It’s not an exaggeration to say that it’s a flying fortress.

  Greed roared in my mind as it became clear what we are up against.

  『I was wondering about this earlier, but isn’t that the sacred beast zodiac Aquarius!? How come that it’s still here?』


  [That is a living thing?]

  『Of course. That thing was originally a sacred beastkin just like Snow. it’s in its transformed state now……but staying in that state for too long will cause it to not be able to transform back to its original form. I doubt that it can still retain a clear mind by now. He put out something interesting……that Libra bastard』


  As long as it stayed beyond the atmosphere, the sacred beast zodiac Aquarius was able to absorb the sunlight and weaponize it. People of old called it Arrow of Indra.

  Out of curiosity, I thought about using appraisal on it, but Greed was quick to warn me off.

  『Stupid idiot! Who the hell stupid enough to use appraisal from the front? You’ll just lose your eyesight from the appraisal countermeasure. Rather than that, it’s finished charging its attack.』


  We are still way too far from it.

  With the black shield…… Is there really no other choice than using the 3rd form’s secret《Reflection Fortress》!?

  Roxy, sensing my movement, shook her head.

  [Please do not do that. Using the secret will cost Fai a lot of stat. If you use it now, you will run out of methods to stop that sacred beast.]

  [Then, what should we do to defend ourselves?]

  [Leave it to me!]

  She said so without a shred of hesitation. Apparently Snow who was dwelling inside Roxy acknowledged that it’s possible to do so.

  [Snow is also very excited inside! Fai, you should just focus on what lies beyond this.]

  [Alright.]

  A searing flash!

  A lump of light was projected from beyond the atmosphere. Anything that was caught in it would evaporate without leaving a trace.

  But Roxy went toward the sacred beast’s attack without even trying to evade……

  Because if she does, Hausen and the underground city below will turn to nothingness.

  [Please hold on to me tightly.]

  As we were about to be hit by the lump of light, a circular invisible wall unfolded around Roxy, diffusing and refracting the light.

  After a while, the refracted light dissolved into motes of light before disappearing one by one.

  [That was, could that be the holy blessing!?]

  [Yes, Snow-chan said so.]

  It was the same holy blessing that the sacred beast Scorpion used. Actually, this one is way more powerful.

  『This, nothing less from the so called Divine Guardian Shield.』


  Roxy managed to defend against the attack. It should take quite a while before the beast can launch another one.

  [We are getting closer. But the air is growing thinner as we go. I can hold on a little thanks to the holy blessing, but I do not think I can reach where the sacred beast is.]

  [That should be enough. Greed, surely we can reach it from this distance?]

  『Why of course, who do you think I am? Let’s go, it’s time for Bloody Ptarmigan.』


  But that alone won’t be enough. Our opponent is a sacred beast after all.

  On top of crossing, I need to aim for a greater height.

  [Greed, Crossing.]

  『Sure things!』


  [And then, take 80% of my stats!]

  I’m not done yet!

  I added the Gluttony skill mutating effect on top of the already horrible looking black bow.

  And then, the Bloody Ptarmigan Cross was released!

  Back in the capital, I did it by myself. But right now, I’m in the state of Crossing with Greed. The degree of perfection in using the secret is a lot higher than ever before.

  [Let’s gooooooooo!]

  The spiraling two bolts of black lightning raced toward the sacred beast.

  It was a bull’s eye, cleanly piercing the sacred beast at the center, right where its core was supposed to be.

  [We did it, did we not?]

  Roxy opened her wings widely in joy.

  The sacred beast was emitting smokes, its body started leaning to one side as it’s slowly losing altitude.

  I was happy at first. But then, I realized…… What will happen if a sacred beast that large fell to the ground?

  [Greed. If it keeps falling like this…… don’t tell me……]

  『Nothing good will come from it. You should know that as well, Fate』


  The sacred beast was falling along the direction from where we came from.

  Are you kidding me? Tell me it’s a lie.

  I had put a considerable amount of power into that last shot. My current stat is only at the bare minimum of Area E.

  In other words, if I were to give more stats to Greed, I would lose my Area E, which means I won’t be able to deal any damage to the sacred beast.

  I gave Roxy a look, but she could only look back at me regrettably.

  She’s in a similar state. Using holy blessing to completely disperse the giant blazing light took most of her power.

  『Could that Libra guy has predicted even this far ahead?』


  [Dammit! Everyone……at this rate everyone will……]

  The sacred beast started to fall faster. The friction with the atmosphere wreathed it with flames. It looked like a giant meteor now.

  If it hit the ground, a huge area of the land would cave in, creating a huge crater in its wake.

  『How preposterous. We’ve gone this far, there is no way I could accept this kind of ending!』


  [Greed!?]

  『Luna also believes us till the end. And yet this me……this me could only watch. How pathetic……you think so too, don’t you……Kairos.』


  The black bow shone as it began to change its shape.

  『Fate, forgive me……forgive me for doing this. I cannot simply stay here and just watch. I just can’t!』


  [What are you trying to do!]

  I suddenly had a very bad feeling. Before I could ask him to stop, Greed had already assumed a new form.

  『This is the fifth form. A pair of gauntlets. With it you will be able to manipulate up to 10 black threads. From now on, nothing shall escape us anymore.』


  The explanation was quite clear. But what happened? Tell me what you just did!

  Isn’t it strange!? Normally, to unlock a new form, I will have to sacrifice a huge amount of status.

  And yet…… I didn’t pay that price. Then if I didn’t, who did?

  [Greed…… you, don’t tell me……]

  『Alright. March on, Fate. Those are the people you care about down there. In that case, there is no need to hesitate anymore. You should already know what must be done. Wield this Me!』


  [Even though you keep telling me how reckless I can be…… aren’t you the same, you big stupid idiot!]

  Entering Crossing state repeatedly would normally render me starving and low on spiritual energy.

  However, now that it’s gone to this, how could I not respond in kind!

  [Roxy, go to the sacred beat. Take us there.]

  [……Yes.]

  She complied without saying anything. Perhaps she couldn’t bear to say it.

  As we finally caught up near the fire wreathed sacred beast, Roxy let her hold on my body go.

  [Godspeed.]

  After confirming that Roxy had moved away, I looked at the pair of gauntlets that is Greed’s new form.

  [Let’s go.]

  The fire burning around the sacred beast couldn’t hurt me due to my fire resistance skill.

  When ten black threads were released from the black gauntlets, my body was hijacked by Greed.

  [Sorry, Fate. Think of it as a gift from this me at least.]

  The black threads wrapped around the sacred beast like a cocoon.

  Moreover, the threads were filled with magic power that far outsripped mine.

  Soon after a squeaking noise could be heard, as the threads tightened.

  [Is it still not enough? Very well, prepare for worse then]

  The black gauntlet changed shape. Was it the secret of the fifth form!?

  It should cost status to activate it. In addition to that, since it’s the later form, the status cost must be higher than the previous four.

  And yet I didn’t pay all that cost. I checked myself. It was all coming from Greed.

  [Fate, look closely. And remember the feeling well.]

  I couldn’t reply back because my body was hijacked by Greed. But apparently, my thoughts could still reach him.

  [Do not be worried. This me is nothing but a weapon. Unlike Fate and everyone else. Nothing to be sad about. However, even this me…… has something I do not want to lose at all cost]

  I could sense that Greed was happy from the bottom of his heart as he said so.

  And then, he activated the secret of the fifth form――Dimension Destruction.

  v7-10

  The glittering black threads became able to cut through even space itself. With that absolute cutting power, the sacred beast was shredded into dust.

  And those dust quickly burned down under the air friction.

  The inorganic voice resounded in my head, announcing the end of that battle.

  As for me, I simply fell.

  The state of Crossing had suddenly been cut off.

  [Fai! Your hand!]

  Roxy approached in a hurry, trying to grab my hand.

  We managed to protect Hausen from the Sacred Beast. But…… I……

  I took a look at Greed, who had reverted back to black sword form.

  [What!? What in the world is happening here?]

  I heard a loud noise of the earth.

  At first I thought that the horizon had risen up somehow. But overtime, I realized how wrong I was.

  The continent was really rising to the sky.

  [That direction, is that not Gallia?]

  I nodded in response to Roxy’s question. Perhaps Dad had managed to unlock the door to His land.

  As a result, Gallia had actually risen to the sky. The balance of the world had finally begun to collapse.

  Only the two of us could see clearly that the continent had floated up under the sunset.

  [Hey, Greed. What should we do now?]

  I was expecting him to explain like usual, but this time there was no answer.

  [You said that once we unlocked the fifth form, you’ll be able to talk to us all normally. Say something…… please…… Greed.]

  [Fai……]

  Roxy hugged me. But that only served to make my emotion overflow.

  Below, we could see the people important to us waving.

  [Greed…… please come back.]

  But today, I lost something…… I lost…… an important companion.

  =====

  Episode 181 – Quiet Morning

  I was alone, watching as dawn came over Hauzen.

  The sun usually rose from the beyond the horizon. But now, it’s different.

  The sun was covered by the rising Gallian continent this time, illuminating it like a halo. The scene looked majestic, nevertheless.

  For those who didn’t know, they would probably get captivated by such a sight.

  [Hey, Fate.]

  [Raine!?]

  [What’s with that surprised look?]

  [I mean, it’s rare to see you up this early in the morning.]

  [I do get up early sometimes. I just want to see the rumoured scenery this time.]

  I was sitting on a bench in the mansion’s courtyard.

  Raine took a seat besides me.

  [I already heard. You lost Greed. And yet here you are, looking fine and all. I thought you’d take it really hard.]

  [I guess it’s all thanks to Myne. She told me to not give up just yet.]

  [I see. Then, this is for you.]

  Raine handed me an envelope.

  [From who?]

  [Your father……it’s from Dean.]

  [From Dad!?]

  I unconsciously put more strength than needed to my grip, causing the enveloped to be crumpled.

  [He also told me that he’ll be waiting for you at the depths of Gallia. What’ll you do next?]

  [Isn’t it obvious?]

  I gave Raine a look.

  She let out a bitter smile as if she had done something wrong.

  [Already itching for a fight? You two are really similar.]

  [Similar?]

  I used to feel some happiness when recalling the past.

  Now that feeling was replaced by repulsion.

  Dad had opened the Door to His Land.

  Now, monsters started resurrecting everywhere, causing pain to the people.

  Only last night I heard that a small village was annihilated by monsters’ attack.

  Monsters had also gathered around the capital, probably attracted by the smell of living humans. There’s a possibility that a death march will occur some time soon.

  Aaron and the White Knights desperately defended the capital. It’s fairly safe right there at the moment.

  Being told that I’m similar to the person that caused all that, I was left speechless.

  [Your father, he was born with Divine stigmata.]

  [Just like Snow……]

  [The Divine mark. It’s like the will of God, it can’t be resisted.]

  [Are you telling me that the order Dad was given is to open the Door to His Land?]

  [Judging from the situation, that should be the case. Whenever he was committing himself to the effort of opening the Door to His Land, the mark on his cheek would glow.]

  Even so, there’s something strange about it.

  Libra, for better or worse, was trying to prevent the Door from opening.

  But on the contrary, Dad was trying to open it.

  [What Libra and Dad were doing was a total opposite.]

  [Perhaps, despite being similarly sacred beastkin, they received different orders.]

  [You mean!?]

  [There may be more than one God’s will. I’m pretty sure of this. Each of them might just be trying to fulfill their given mission, but your father hates Libra on a personal level. Perhaps they had a connection in the past.]

  Multiple God’s will……?

  Now that I think about it, if all the sacred beastkin were given the same mission, they should’ve been able to achieve it more effectively.

  Why does it have to be like that? If the commands they were given are conflicting with each other, won’t there be a chance that none of them would be fulfilled?

  [I simply don’t get God’s intention in all these.]

  [Indeed. Our life would probably be a lot easier if we could understand the God’s intention. On the other hand, there are more than one way to achieve something, and we are left with the ability to choose how.]

  [More than one way……]

  [That’s what makes being a researcher fun.]

  [In the end it’s just for your amusement after all.]

  [Fufufu…… lots of research materials awaits.]

  [Good grief…… Raine, you really]

  Before I could react, she placed her hand over my chest.

  [Wa……]

  I was taken aback by the suddenness, but I realized that Raine had a serious look on her face this time.

  [How are you feeling recently?]

  [I’m fine.]

  [Lies.]

  [But I’m not……]

  [Fate is not good at lying.]

  [What?]

  I was stunned since she hit a sore spot.

  Apparently she could tell since she’s directly touching my body.

  [Arghh, alright, alright, you’re right!]

  [I thought so. When did this begin? What caused it?]

  I didn’t mean to hide it from her.

  She’s been observing how the Gluttony skill affected my body for a while after all.

  I mean, it’d be bad if there was a visible change to my body.

  Although I was forced into this, I actually felt grateful.

  [Perhaps from a week ago?]

  [Aaaah. Then why didn’t you tell me earlier.]

  [I was busy.]

  [Geez, this will give me a lot to do now.]

  Raine pulled my at shirt, trying to strip it off from the front.

  [Come on, take it off.]

  [Right here!?]

  [There’s no other person here. Rest assured.]

  [As if!]

  And yet she still tried to take my clothes off.

  It’s her bad habit.

  If she needs to know something, then she has to look it up right away.

  At this rate, I’ll end up naked in the morning at my own courtyard.

  But she stopped as soon as she saw my back.

  [I see. Like parent, like child after all. It’s the same as what your father has.]

  [Dad has one as well?]

  [His was bigger, and more powerful than yours.]

  [Which means?]

  [This isn’t the effect of Gluttony skill. Your sacred beastkin lineage is also taking form.]

  [Why now of all times though.]

  In response to my question, Raine turned to the floating Gallia continent and replied.

  [Back then your father told me. You’d awaken your sacred beastkin lineage soon. And that it was the Gluttony skill which made it possible.]

  [The skill does?]

  [Right. Normally a human’s body is too weak to support the sacred beastkin’s power. However, you achieved Area E thanks to Gluttony skill. This finally awakened the dormant power within you.]

  My mom was a human. But my dad was a sacred beastkin.

  I’m a half breed who inherited the blood of both.

  I was mostly human since I was born. But now the sacred beastkin blood in me started to awaken.

  [It probably acts as a counterbalance to Gluttony skill. You’ve been feeling really well lately, haven’t you?]

  [Yeah, you’re right. I thought that it’ll be more difficult now that Luna, who had been keeping it at bay, is gone.]

  I don’t know if it’s a good thing.

  After Luna disappeared that day, I no longer saw the spiritual world.

  And the shadow me that the Gluttony skill made hadn’t appeared again since last time.

  I managed to beat it back then, but I don’t know what will happen next time.

  Gluttony skill has been laying low recently.

  At least I thought so. Perhaps it was wary of the awakened power of the sacred beastkin.

  [In any case, Fate’s body is a good source of information. Please give me a moment.]

  [Source?]

  [Your father entrusted me with an Ether blood crystal. He said that it was a stone capable of miracles since it was a crystallized blood of God. Using that power, I was able to purify the Philosopher’s stone he stole from the Capital.]

  [Philosopher’s stone!? The fragment of the collective lifeform Shinn?]

  [Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. The blood crystal purified the will inhabiting that stone. Perhaps we can use it to purify the Gluttony skill in your body. That way it should be even more manageable for you.]

  [That’s like something coming out of a dream.]

  [But it’s not. He entrusted the Ether blood crystal to me because he knew that I will use it for you. He’s a man who won’t lie when it comes to you.]

  Dad actually did something like that……?

  [But it’s too early to feel happy. It’ll take some time to truly understand how the blood crystal works. And the required equipment is located in Grandeur, just under Hauzen. So I’ll be staying underground doing research for a while.]

  [You look happy though.]

  [It’s what I do. When you feel like it, come visit to clean the place up.]

  [Can’t you just do that yourself?]

  [But, I don’t want to take over Fate’s job.]

  [Oi, I’m still the lord of Hauzen, you know?]

  As soon as I replied to her, Raine got up from the bench.

  [Alright then, I have research waiting for me.]

  Before she went far I called her out.

  [Oi, have you told Mugan that you’re alright?]

  Her father, Mugan had been worried sick ever since she was kidnapped by my Dad.

  It’s Raine we’re talking about after all. She only cares about research, so I’m afraid that she hasn’t contacted her father yet.

  Thinking so, I asked just in case.

  And then, Raine turned around. Her face was blank.

  [Ahh! I forgot!!]

  [What the hell are you thinking! Mugan is crying back in the capital. Get in touch with him soon!]

  He’s just a worried father.

  But, it’s Raine we’re talking about after all.

  Even so, knowing that she’s doing all this to help me out, I’m honestly happy.