Chapter 178
Chapter 178 – Eris’ Magic Eyes
The entire view of the underground city Grandeur entered my sight .
We’re back in the real world .
In front of me was Myne, with two horns still sticking out from her forehead .
『Fate! We managed to recover Myne’s heart, but she’s still under the influence of Wrath skill』
[Yeah, we need to stop her . ]
I glanced sideways to check on Shin’s progress . Apparently barely any time had pa.s.sed since I entered the spiritual world .
It’s exactly as Greed said .
Myne herself no longer had any reason to continue to fight . She was only being forcefully controlled by her skill to continue fighting . Therefore, her movement had turned duller than before .
I should be able to manage if it’s like this .
Like I did in the spiritual world, use the power of Gluttony skill to suppress the Wrath skill .
I twisted my body to evade the incoming black axe . Then, struck at Myne’s unguarded flank .
[Greed, please adjust . ]
『Leave it to me . Fate, go easy on her』
Sorry, Myne .
The decisive strike landed in a flash of light .
At the same time, I saw that the color of anger in Myne’s eyes had started to dissipate .
『Well done！』
The black axe slid down from her grasp .
The eyes that were staring at me gradually returned to that of original Myne .
[Myne!]
I caught Myne’s collapsing body . A feeling relief washed over me .
Sorry that you have to go through something like this twice .
The horns sticking out from her body cracked .
[Thank goodness . Fortunately it went well . ]
[…Fate…I…]
[No need to say anything now . I’ve always relied on you . From now on, I will do my best so that you could try to rely on me as well . ]
[Un . ]
[That’s why… from now on, let’s get along!]
Myne’s eyes opened wide, then she nodded quietly .
The cracks on her horns grew larger and larger . When they reached their limit, they shattered into pieces .
Myne seemed to be quite exhausted, as she quickly fell asleep in my arms .
She had brought out the power of the deadly sin skill . Perhaps she was. .h.i.t by the similar fatigue like what I felt after I activated Gluttony skill power .
But where should I lay her down? We are still in the midst of battle .
『Fate, into that building over there』
Looking at the direction Greed pointed out, I noticed that one of the ghosts was beckoning me .
[Can we trust them?]
『He’s just acting like a regular, concerned Gallian should have . Besides, these ghosts could no longer interfere with us . Enough of that guy . You should know better . Myne is strong』
I laid Myne down and thanked the ghost .
Even though we are still in the midst of battle, this girl could still actually sleep so soundly .
But as Greed said, if Shin attempted to do anything to Myne, she’ll definitely fight him back without a problem .
Even if she’s sleeping, she’s always in a battle ready state . That’s just how Myne was .
『You won this pretty well』
「About that, I can’t really consider it a win . And it wasn’t about winning or losing in the first place . 」
『True . But there is still another guy who we have to settle about win or loss』
[Shin, huh?]
Sounds of gunshots were still ringing . Proving that Eris was still trying her best .
We had to defeat Shin before he used the people in Hausen above ground as sacrifice .
[I’m going, Myne . ]
Leaving Myne under the ghost’ watch, I left the building .
Shin had reached higher than earlier .
[Greed, are you ready?]
I said as I changed the black sword into bow form .
『I’m getting tired of waiting already . Alright, let’s get to it』
[Let’s go, take 10% of my stats!]
Put my imagination into use . Try to use b.l.o.o.d.y Ptarmigan just like how Kairos used it .
I tried putting myself in the same state of concentration and control as he did inside the spiritual world .
I aimed with the black bow that had grown into its terrifying form .
I wasn’t aiming at Shin specifically . But I was aiming at the spot that anch.o.r.ed him to the ground――the red transparent pillar of slime .
Eris couldn’t have done this with her black bayonet . Her ammunition lacked firepower to instantly destroy the pillar, and any small wound she inflicted was quickly regenerated back .
The only way to get rid of it, is to hit it with more firepower than it could regenerate .
『This feeling！？ Fate… . . you… . . could it be』
Focus . Bring out the true power of b.l.o.o.d.y Ptarmigan to its utmost limit .
Black arrow made of dense magic power was directed at my target, and was released like a black lightning bolt .
[Gooooooo!]
Was it because of Kairos? By being shown how to fight using the gluttony skill, I felt that my body was lighter than ever .
The arrow shot from the black bow easily pulverized the red pillar .
[Yosh . ]
『Let us approach at once』
Shin, on top of the crumbling pillar, looked at me with a bitter gaze .
[Gluttony! Why do you… always rob something from me]
I fired more arrows, aiming at Shin this time .
Seeing this opportunity, Eris also renewed her barrage .
[Dammit, was Myne got done in? What did you do in that split moment?]
[Myne did not want any of this from the beginning . Moreover, she’s not your companion . She’s ours!]
Sensing that the timing has come, I switched to the black scythe .
I cut down the red monsters that Shin summoned to act as a wall .
If it’s created through a skill, then it will be no match against the blade of this scythe . Most of all, for the current me, I think I felt like I could cut down any skill no matter how powerful it is .
[Kuh… I’ve come this far, only to be foiled again? Everything was going so well… I just wanted to make her wish come true, but… you just had to get in my way!]
[I certainly have to get in your way . The life of the people of Hausen isn’t something you can freely sacrifice . ]
[I haven’t lost just yet]
He stared at me with his red eyes, trying to ensnare my movement .
It was the same thing he did to me back at the capital .
[What . ]
If I was still the same as before, I probably would’ve frozen . But that me was now like a distant past .
You can’t stop me with just that eye power .
[Again…? Is there no other choice left…]
Of course, Shin turned his back away from me, and tried to escape .
[Are you running away!?]
[I’m immortal . There will be other chances . I could afford to miss this one . ]
You said that now?
A red monster appeared to block me once more . Their numbers felt like they’re endless, and more kept springing up .
However, Eris already stood in the way of Shin’s escape path .
[l.u.s.t huh… you can’t stop me . Not with the weakest Mortal Sin skill you have . ]
Shin told Eris, probably trying to threaten her .
In the meantime, he changed his hands into sharp blades, and went in for an attack .
[Fine by me . I’ll take you on instead of Gluttony . ]
However, Shin did not continue his retreat .
As I made my way through the horde of red monsters, I noticed that Eris’ eyes were glowing bright red .
Apparently she managed to stop Shin’s movement through the use of one of her magic eyes .
[Fate, quickly . I can’t hold it for too long . ]
Blood kept leaking from Eris’ eyes .
Even after I told her to not overdo it, I inevitably still put a burden on her .
I can’t let her use the magic eye more than this .
[Greed, take 20% of my stats . ]
『You’ve made your decision, Fate！』
The black scythe started growing after sucking down my power . It grew into three bladed scythe .
Using all my strength, I struck at the paralyzed Shin’s back with《Deadly Inferno》 .
[Gaha . ]
Shin’s upper and lower body were cleft apart, falling into the ground . The lower part quickly disintegrated due to the power of Greed’s secret .
Nothing less from a collective lifeform . As for me, I’ll just continue to bisect Shin blow after blow . As long as I haven’t heard the inorganic voice, that means I haven’t completely defeated him .
Sure enough, Shin was still alive even if he’s left with only his upper body .
Still, that seemed to have also cut most of his strength down .
The red monsters that were chasing from behind me instantly collapsed and disappeared without trace .
Meanwhile, Shin awkwardly crawled on the ground .
[I can’t wait until I reawakened again after splitting up . I’ve come this far… Mikuriya, help me . I don’t want to fail again]
He acted like a child asking help from his mother .
I heard him mention Mikuriya . That’s the name of the researcher who was close to Kairos .
Seeing such a figure, my hands that were holding the black scythe wavered .
『Fate, do it』
[You are too kind, Fate . Don’t let him take advantage of it . I would finish him myself if I could, but I don’t have enough power to do so… unfortunately, I have no choice but entrust this task to you . ]
Prompted by both Greed and Eris, I thoroughly investigated Shin’s magic power flow .
His core seemed to have moved to his head . Earlier it was on his stomach .
Closer inspection revealed that the core kept relocating inside his body . Perhaps that’s why he was able to stay alive even after taking a direct hit from Deadly Inferno .
But once I understood this secret, it was a piece of cake .
[Greed, take 20% of my stats . ]
『This time, finish it for real . It will be dangerous to lose anymore stat than this』
I once again activated the secret of Greed’s second form .
Along with the sense of losing power, the scythe transformed into its three bladed form .
[d.a.m.nit…]
The core started to move around frantically inside Shin’s body as if trying to escape .
Still, it didn’t make it anymore difficult . This was much easier than fighting Myne .
[This is the end!]
The《Deadly Inferno》swung down . The moment it hit the core, the power of the secret that will put a curse of death to anything it struck should immediately work .
Kiiiiiing . Sound of metal colliding filled the air .
Deadly Inferno was stopped in its tracks .
It wasn’t Shin who did it . Instead, it was someone I didn’t want to encounter right now .
[Fate, that’s no good . Not after we’ve come this far . ]
[Dad . ]
He easily blocked the secret with his spear .
Then pushed me back with a grin on his face .
[Looks like I managed to arrive in time . I owe it to this guy for this black spear . More than that, the door to His land must be opened . ]
[To that end, you’re willing to side with this thing? Why, Dad…]
While both of us glared at each other, I heard Eris collapsing behind me .
[Eris!?]
[Whoopsie, did you forget? I have to put her to sleep . It’ll be a ha.s.sle if she used her magic eyes . ]
[What in the world are you trying to do, Dad?]
While brandishing his black spear at me, Dad took out a bright red stone from his pocket . It was the philosopher’s stone he stole from the capital’s research facility .
That should be another piece of Shin .
[I was able to make it grow by much . Why don’t you go here?]
[That one is no longer me . If I go to you, I will no longer be myself . Just your tool . ]
[Even so, at least your wish will be granted . In that case, you should know what option you should take . ]
Shin nodded after a while .
[Fate, that’s how it is . I’m sorry, but this fight must end here . ]
[Dad…]
[Don’t give me that look . Let me tell you this; regardless of the result you get, Libra will still go through with his plan . He’ll obliterate this underground city and the above ground Hausen . ]
[But he said that he will not touch Hausen if I could prevent the door to His land from opening . ]
[So? Do you really think he’ll keep to his words? His goal is to eliminate everything that upsets the balance of this world . On the other hand, this whole fiasco caused everyone in his. .h.i.t list to gather in one place . Do you think the likes of him will miss out on this opportunity?]
Dad raised his free hand and pointed at us .
[You can feel it, can’t you? A mysterious power that envelops this entire area?]
I concentrated, raising my magic power detection to the surroundings… and aboveground .
[This… what’s the meaning of this?]
[I told you . That guy has been watching from above the entire time . And now, he’s starting to move . What will you do now? Waste our time fighting here? Or return aboveground and confront him?]
[I…]
Reverting back into sword form, I pointed my weapon at father .
[So that’s how you want it to be? I don’t mind . I’ll keep you company till the very end . ]
[You mustn’t!]
The one who broke our standoff… was Roxy .
She rushed to us with the now awake Snow .
[Now is not the time for this . Snow also said the same thing . We need to return above ground immediately . ]
[But then… the door to His land . ]
[We are talking about your territory above, Fai!]
After hearing about the crisis looming over Hausen from Snow, Roxy decided that she shouldn’t stay still and came to find me .
Even if I were to fight Dad here, the odds will be stacked against me anyway, as I’m already exhausted .
Either way, it’ll take too long . By the time the fight is over, we will be buried by the ceiling as Hausen above us is burnt down .
Thus I put my black sword down .
[Good boy . Also, Raine is here . She’s been wanting to see you . Leave this girl to me . No worries, I won’t do anything bad . Now, go . ]
[Fai! Quickly . ]
Dammitall . I couldn’t finish Shin off .
On the contrary, I will now let him open the door to His land .
As we made our way up, Roxy tried to cheer me up .
[It is alright . Fate has achieved your primary goal, have you not?]
[You mean Myne?]
[Yes, and I am glad for it . I do not know what will happen once the door opens . But what matters the most is trying to protect those who live in the present . Only Fai could do it . So for now, let us focus on protecting Hausen . ]
[Roxy… you’re right . Let’s go!]
[Yes!]
We raced back through the tunnel we came in from .
Occasionally earthquake-like tremors would happen . What the h.e.l.l was going on up there?