Chapter 156: Spiritual World
Chapter 156 Spiritual World
A pure white world spread before my eyes .
It was a familiar sight . The spiritual world that Luna had created .
As it turned out, after discussing things with Seto, I fell asleep in the middle of Roxy’s cla.s.s session .
Perhaps I unknowingly leaned on the table and fell asleep right then . Honestly, I think Roxy must be feeling irritated right now .
I really shouldn’t wake up anytime soon…
[Luna . ]
I called the owner of this s.p.a.ce, but there’s no response . Only the silent white s.p.a.ce replied back to me .
[Greed . ]
Along with Luna, I also called out to my one partner who had been a.s.sisting me in my training inside the spiritual world .
But the result was the same . There was no prideful voice that I’ve come to be familiar with replying to me .
Have I somehow become lost in this spiritual world?
No, no . That shouldn’t be the case . This world was created by Luna to protect my heart and soul from the Gluttony skill . Luna should be here, somewhere .
I repeatedly called her name, but no reply came back to me still .
[What is going on here…]
Stumped by the unexpected situation, my eyes wandered downward . And there, I saw my own shadow .
Weird… this is the spiritual world here . How come my spiritual body cast a shadow here?
[Why… do I have a shadow?]
I crouched down, trying to touch the shadow,
[Don’t touch!]
The shadow distorted and escaped from my touch .
So intently it tried to escape, it separated itself from where the shadow should’ve begun .
As if it has a will of its own,
[You are…]
The shadow rose and took shape . The silhouette of someone I knew .
It’s like looking at a mirror . But the shadowy form had a few distinctions that tell it apart from me .
It has a pair of repulsive bright red eyes .
Its index finger was pointed at me, as an ugly smile formed in its face . The shadow expanded and formed a greatsword in its hand . A greatsword, but it looked weird .
The body of the blade extended down to where the pommel should be, making it so as if the greatsword was just a piece of iron slab without any hilt at first glance .
A jet-black greatsword seemingly specialized for powerful strikes . The sword’s features reminded me of mortal sin weapons such as Greed, Sloth, and Envy .
The shadow seemed to be hostile . Its gaze seemingly filled with extraordinary hate, as though I was an obstacle to its greatest goal .
This might be dangerous .
The reason is simple . I was unarmed . And facing this kind of enemy while unarmed is like looking for death .
Even so, the shadow already moved in to attack me while letting a guttural beastly roar .
While I was still hesitating, the jet-black greatsword already rained down on me .
[Wha!?]
I managed to evade the downward swing . But then black aura burst out from the sword, painting the white floor where it landed earlier with its color instantly .
At the same time, my body was wrecked by pain .
[I still took damage… what did it just do?]
The shadow didn’t even care to reply to me . Already moving in again for a second strike .
This time I had no time to evade . I needed a weapon to block this attack .
But I don’t have any right now .
Am I going to die…
『Sorry for the wait . 』
[Greed!]
My partner appeared within my grasp in a flash of light .
Encouraged by his appearance, I moved to block the Shadow’s attack .
『You seemed to be struggling there . 』
[This fellow, what in the world is he?]
『You should be able to tell』
[… . . ]
Borne from my shadow, with a form that resembles me .
『Yes, you guessed it right . He is the other you……that has been corroded by the Gluttony skill . It is finally strong enough to force its way to the spiritual world that Luna created . 』
[That is . ]
『Until now, it has been waiting until you got devoured by the Gluttony skill . But now, it is trying to take you out by its own power . Remember that dying in this place equals to the death of your soul . 』
[That means, if it managed to kill me here…]
『The Gluttony skill will take over your body and run rampant in the real world』
Dammit, I inwardly thought as I pushed the greatsword back .
If I get done in right now, the rampage will most likely destroy Hauzen .
I jumped as far as I could away from the shadow .
『That was why Luna lost control of this spiritual world . She asked me for help, so here I am . 』
But Greed was in his sword form this time . He always appeared in his human form while in the spiritual world before .
And yet he’s using his real life form .
『Moreover, its power spiked up for some reason . I do not know why . 』
[Ah, I wonder if it has something to do with me]
『So you have an idea why?』
With the black sword already in my hand, I felt most a.s.sured .
[Let’s go, Greed]
『Go . 』
I deflected the attack from the shadow, and countered from the opening .
But the shadow managed to twist its body to minimize the damage it took .
A shadowy arm fell near my feet .
With that, it should have difficulties in handling the greatsword .
For the first time since it started attacking me, the shadow actually pulled away .
I didn’t miss one little fact .
[What was that?]
『It’s this form’s secret technique . There is no limiter in this world, remember?』
[Yeah, I’ll do my best then . ]
Changing Greed into bow form, I immediately used b.l.o.o.d.y Ptarmigan, this form’s secret technique .
We’re in the spiritual world . There is no need for me to sacrifice my status .
I could basically use the technique as if I’ve sacrificed 100% status . Thinking so, I changed the secret technique into its mutated form, the 《b.l.o.o.d.y Ptarmigan Cross》 .
Normally, sacrificing 100% of my status to Greed would’ve killed me though .
A huge black lightning split into a double helix and struck the shadow .
The shadow shrieked and tried to block the arrow with its greatsword . However, before the overwhelming power, its attempt was in vain .
What was left was tattered pieces of shadow as it was no longer capable of maintaining its shape .
And for once, it actually said something that I could understand .
[You…are…mine . ]
After hearing that, I launched a coup de grace on the shadow . I could no longer stand seeing its hatred-filled face .
When it lost its shape, it melted into a black pool on the white floor . The pool, along with all other black stains that the shadow left behind with its attacks, disappeared after a while .
[Somehow, we defeated it . ]
I could hear Greed’s voice . But it’s coming from behind me, not from the black sword in my hand .
Turning around, I saw him in his human form . Luna was also there standing next to him .
[I’m glad that things worked out . I was worried for a moment there . ]
[Luna, that shadow, can you prevent it from attacking me again?]
Those last words the shadow left behind still lingered in my head .
[Impossible . After all, it’s also part of yourself, except that it has been tainted by the Gluttony skill . As long as you have the Gluttony skill, there is no escaping it . For now, it’s easy for Fate to defeat it since your heart and soul isn’t that eroded yet . However…]
[One day, it might get stronger than me . ]
[Yes . I made this wall to prevent the Gluttony skill from devouring Fate . But at the same time, Gluttony skill is also trying to find a way to overcome this wall . I’m sorry…]
From the looks of it, there’s nothing else Luna could do about it .
[There is still time, you’ll still have the advantage until then . ]
Greed added in as he tapped my shoulder .
I nodded to him, then spoke to Luna .
[Please don’t make such a face . It’s thanks to Luna that I could go this far . ]
[Thanks, Fate . ]
[I should be the one thanking you . So, thanks, Luna . Mmm, by the way, can I ask you one thing?]
[Yes, ask away . ]
[If Gluttony skill manages to devour me, what will happen to you?]
The girl smiled as a response,
[Then I’ll fall into the infinite h.e.l.l below . ]
Her expression simply didn’t match the gravity of what she just said . Even Greed who was also listening next to me had his mouth agape .
These two sisters… They tend to be indifferent about themselves, don’t they?
In any case, all the more reason for me not to lose to that shadow .
[Alright, it’s almost morning . Fate should leave the spiritual world now . In the meantime, I’ll repair the damage left by the battle earlier . ]
Luna said that before sending me back to the real world .