One, two, three...ten...twenty...thirty... sixty, Gluttony skill had devoured 60 monsters today.
And yet it didn't show any sign of being full. On the flip side, my status continued to increase with every monster I slayed.
Splitting up from Roxy and Myne's group, our group was currently heading to the Imperial Capital Melgadia.
From the far east, sounds of explosion intermittently rang out.
That sound was proof that Roxy and Myne were still fighting the one half of the Gemini. As long as I could hear those sounds, I'm sure that they're okay.
[Fate-sama, are you sure about this?]
Eris was running in parallel to me, black bayonet still in hands.
She's been repeating the same question for a while now.
[Still no. I don't want to hear any gunshot noise!]
[Nnn...]
She grew all fidgety everytime I declined.
Perhaps she really wanted to shoot something? Don't tell me the readjustment also made her trigger happy?
The Eris I knew would try to conserve her energy as much as possible. But this readjusted Eris seemed to be different. She's itching for battle.
[I simply do not wish to see you fall apart before reaching the imperial capital.]
[You know, I could actually use some support bullets, but that'll cause gunshot noise too, so that's a no.]
[Too much free time for me.]
[Isn't that good then? Actually having free time while travelling on Gallia.]
I pinned the lion headed monster with a snake head for a tail with one hand, then slashed its head apart with my other hand.
I think this monster was called a Chimera or something.
It was still alive even after I cut off its head. A very robust monster it seems.
Freeing itself from my pin, it in turn pounced at me.
Then, having me pinned down, it strikes with its poisonous tail.
Although I have poison resistance, it doesn't mean I would obediently let myself get hit by that.
I activated the "Sharp Edge"technique from the One-handed Sword Mastery skill.
I sliced and diced at the body, not forgetting the tail too.
The snake head flew in the air in the aftermath.
"Gluttony skill activated"
"Strength+2.5E(+8), Vitality+3.4E(+8), Magic+3.0E(+8), Spirit+2.4E(+8), Agility+3.4E(+8) will be added to the stats"
My status increased once more. The chimera might normally be a nasty monster, but with my current stats, it's no different than a goblin to me.
Due to an excessive increase in my status in such a short time, I became incapable of controlling it properly anymore. Moreover, the sizable amount of power concerned me.
The Chimera itself gave me some useful skills. It would definitely be useful for future battles.
By the way, the further we're going south, the stronger the monster becomes.
In the same vein, I will grow stronger much faster since I'll get to eat increasingly stronger monsters.
A louder roaring sound was heard from beyond the east.
When I looked in that direction, smoke was rising high into the sky.
[Can't they be a bit less flashy?]
That must be Myne's doing.
If this goes on, the terrain might even change considerably.
[Just a little more until the imperial capital.]
[Yeah, a little more.]
Eris might've kept a calm face, but the monsters were gathering on our path from all over.
Were they reacting to the blood of the slain monster? Or is there something else that attracted them here?
I don't have the leisure to eat them one by one.
Myne told me to try to avoid fighting as much as I could, but I can't no longer act leniently.
This one might be a little too flashy, but I should try it out to make sure.
While running, I changed the sword into the staff form.
Eris looked at me with suspicion.
[What are you doing?]
[Making it easier for us to pass.]
If I fight them off one by one, we'll inevitably be slowed down.
Therefore, I just have to sweep them off from our path.
I infused a large amount of magic power to the black staff.
This amount would not be possible without devouring a lot of monsters.
But with this, I would be able to produce an extra huge fireball.
[Make way!]
Black flame started swirling around the top of the staff.
Feeding on my magic power, the fire grew larger.
Small blue sparks started appearing around the high density black flame.
Perhaps the residue of burning dust.
[Fate-sama, look out!]
[I see it.]
Naturally, the monsters wouldn't stay put. They started charging with open maws.
Unflinched, I shot the black fireball at the nearest monster.
The moment they came in contact with the black fireball, without exception, they evaporated soundlessly
The inorganic voice repeatedly informed me of my increased stats and newly gained skills.
The momentum of the black flame did not stop even after incinerating so many monsters.
It went straight toward the capital.
Burning everything in its path, the black fireball also left behind a blackened trail on the ground.
At the same time, the inorganic voice suddenly said almost silently.
『Not enough.....more』
It was so low that I barely noticed it among the repeated announcements. The voice stopped before I knew it, replaced by Eris' voice.
[Fate-sama? Are you alright?]
[No, it's nothing.]
We immediately made our way through the blackened trail.
Nobody else but us dared to enter the path.
Galia's monsters were mostly large in size.
If any of their body parts touched the remnant of black fire still burning on the ground, they'll evaporate instantly.
It's the same case if they want to attack from the air. Remnants of black fire also floated in the air. They'll linger there as long as I still have magic power to spare.
In other words, they couldn't get in without my permission.
[These guys... are they not afraid to die?]
And yet the monsters still came charging.
Even as many of them evaporated, the others would just replace them... The cycle continued right in front of my face.
Even on the stampede back when Tenryu was alive, the monsters could still feel fear.
The ancient monsters seemed to lack that part entirely.
[Are you guys seeking death!?]
I couldn't help but to think so after what I witnessed.
The inorganic voice constantly made announcements.
I felt a sense of discomfort in the hand holding the black cane and turned my eyes. I was shaking slightly.
Am I the one who got scared now?
Can you endure it? What would you do if your eating skills started to wriggle in this situation? I felt that the anxiety that had burned into my mind was growing.
I held my trembling right hand with my left.
[I realize how important your presence is now.]
I whispered as I looked at the black staff in my hand.
[During times like this, you'd be there to encourage me.]
He might be foulmouthed, but he's like the guiding light whenever I get lost.
But in the end, all Greed wanted to convey to me was [Come on, you can do it.]
Back when we were fighting the Sacred Beast Aquarius, Greed told me that it's time for me to walk my own path... and that his role as a guide ends there.
That was all, but even then it's still more than helpful for me.
[The imperial capital is in sight. We'll proceed to search for the other half of Gemini.]
[Understood.]
I tried detecting it with Gluttony skill
It's just that... I couldn't tell its exact position without going closer.
[More. Give me more power!]
Never have I indulged myself this deep into Gluttony skill for power.
[Fate-sama, your eyes!?]
Eris probably warned me about the glowing red in my eyes. The longer I stayed in the starvation state, the closer I became to the gluttony skill.
[Kuh...]
For some reason... the broken wings on my back felt itchy.
Regardless, I continued to search for the other half of Gemini.
The imperial capital Melgadia was reeking with a delicious smell.
I could sense not only the machine angels that were currently inactive, and several other delicious smells that I only get to know now.
Among them, the overeating skill was attracted to an outstanding soul. My heart danced in excitement.
I focused my senses. This one... Is Dad.
In the basement!? Is he trying to open the Door to His Land from there?
I tried sensing further, but Dad actually turned to my direction.
He noticed me!
[Can you take care of them?]
His words though, were directed for someone else...
[This guy... he made me wait for too long]
I thought it was too quiet here, there's probably an underlying reason I don't know of.
Were they waiting for us to get into their range?
Anyway, I could sense a great amount of power being gathered.
Can the black shield defend against it?
Recalling the Sacred beast Aquarius' laser cannon, I could at least defend myself if it's on that level. But Eris would not be able to protect herself.
I would be hard pressed to also protect her.
Then again, offense is the best defense. Not the type that Myne tended to use, since her style was incompatible against long range attacks.
So I changed the staff into bow form. Then I let it take half of the stats I have accumulated so far.
The black bow grew into a terrifying form.
There's no Greed here to help me with the accuracy. I will have to do it myself.
However, thanks to the help from my companions, my mastery over the first tier had grown by leaps and bounds. I had also gotten used to using it in concert with Gluttony skill.
Simply put, my current accuracy had exceeded that of Greed's.
Gemini pushed through the black flame I shot rather easily.
Its current position was the exact opposite to my Dad.
A black building that is as tall as a mountain lined up in the imperial capital. It was looking at us at the top of the tallest tower.
[Fate-sama.]
Eris fired a bullet at me. It was one of her support type bullets.
I could feel an increase in concentration and stats, although only temporary.
Bloody Ptarmigan Cross.
The shockwave when I shot the arrow alone was enough to decimate nearby monsters. Without Eris' support bullet, I may have hurt myself as well.
Gemini also spouted out pure white flash almost at the same time.
Our attack proceeded in a straight line.
The double helixed black lightning collided with the white flash. I thought it would be a battle of power.
However, perhaps because the power of each projectile were evenly matched, or because their sources of power were the opposite of each other... They instead repelled each other like magnets and ended up deviating from their original trajectory.
After the attack had passed, smoke rose from each side.
None of us were hurt... But the ground on my left side was heavily destroyed. Same went for the tower Gemini was in.
Gemini kept floating in the air without falling down.
It had begun to change from the slime-like form so far, and the wings of a big angel had also to appear.