“Myne, are you…jealous?”
“O-of course not.”
“I can read you like a book!”
“I’m not jealous!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Grr…I didn’t like Sloth’s attitude. She was never like this!
“If you asked me, I’d say I’m happy for you,” said Sloth. “I’m glad you’ve regained your feelings.”
“Happy enough to give me attitude, it sounds like.”
“All you ever did was fight. Even now, you still can’t quite reckon with the feelings you’ve recovered.”
“Still?”
“Look, if you’re ever unsure about your feelings, I’m always here to listen. Well, as long as I’m not sleeping.”
Sloth was unusually vivacious for an axe that spent most of her time dozing. She was even known to sometimes fall asleep in the middle of battle if I wasn’t careful.
“I love talking about this kind of stuff. Ooh, I’m so excited!”
“Sloth, enough!”
Fate was still fighting. I wanted to be by his side, but I had no means by which to get there. All I could do was watch.
“Fate…”
I felt his magical energy grow stronger. It seemed he was using one of Greed’s secret techniques.
“He wants to finish it. That holy beast is slow to act; that’s why they called it the Artillery of God. The problem was always its location. But if Fate can get within range, and with that much power in his attack…”
“He might be able to kill it.”
My pulse quickened as I watched with anticipation. Fate always fought in a way that surpassed my expectations.
We had first met in the regions north of the kingdom. I’d happened to be there by coincidence, following leads to the Door to Distant Lands. It was there that I discovered a crowned beast—a kobold—that was making its way into the lands of a holy knight. I knew a monster like that would fetch quite the bounty. There was a good chance I could earn some money arranging a deal with the local lord to fell it. That was when I first became aware of Fate. Bearers of the Skills of Mortal Sin can sense each other’s presence, and it once was said that this is what brings us together.
In the end, I chose Fate over the crowned beast.
From afar, he seemed less an adventurer and more the portrait of a weak, sickly young man. He had a clear and gentle aura, the type not at all suited to battle. He’d looked at me as we drew closer on that road, and I saw that he felt something. I was sure of it then—he did indeed bear a Skill of Mortal Sin.
That was the reason I chose to test him, and to see if he really had the qualities of one chosen by Gluttony. So I sent him after the crowned beast, and I watched him handle it from afar. He fought entirely alone, and he slew the beast in impressive fashion. From my vantage point, Fate’s movements looked like those of an amateur. Nothing worth praising. However, he never gave up. After that battle with the kobolds, although Fate sometimes went into battle with doubt and fear, he never retreated.
It was because of those qualities that I had Fate help me in my fight against Haniel. And though I appeared as if out of nowhere to make my request, Fate went along with me without complaint. But I knew the reason Fate had left the kingdom. I knew that he had priorities of his own. Even then, however, he followed me into the treacherous lands of Galia. In the battle against Haniel, he overcame his lack of experience and successfully unleashed half of his Gluttony skill.
I thought Fate reckless. But at the same time, I wondered if this was simply a trait inherent to all who bore Gluttony. They didn’t use their power for themselves, but for the sake of others. That was why he’d fought the Divine Dragon, and it was why he fought now.
“Fate must be exhausted after facing me.”
“But he will still fight.”
“He will.”
I saw the double helix of black lightning from his attack. In an instant, the holy beast weakened along with Fate’s magical energy.
“He couldn’t do it.”
“Myne, this is bad. We must escape to shelter.”
The holy beast began its descent straight toward Hausen.
“We’ll be okay,” I said.
Fate had not yet given up. If he were the type to give up, he never would have made it as far as he had.
“I believe in him.”
“I hope you’re right…”
The holy beast, as large as a city, burst through the clouds. If it were to collide with Hausen, the area around it would face a shock wave the likes of which the world had never seen. It would wipe out everything: the people who escaped the city, the people who didn’t, anyone left in the underground city, and me. Everyone who looked up at it felt a presentiment of death through the clouds. It plummeted toward the earth, but my heart remained calm. I was surprised that I could watch it all unfold with such tranquility.
“That power…”
“It’s Greed’s Fifth Level. Dimension Destruction.”
Black threads cocooned the holy beast. Then in a flash of light, it turned the gargantuan Zodiac Aquarius into little more than ashes.
“He did it. Never bet against Gluttony, am I right?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t need my power any longer. Fate had become a powerful adventurer in his own right.
“Just like that, he’s stronger than me.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“You already know.”
I hurried to him. I ran toward the magical energy I felt, falling from the sky toward Hausen. More than anything else, I wanted to see Fate as soon as possible.