Moanings echoed from down there. Its sound lingered unbearably in my ears, sending chills down my spine.
『Are you scared?』
[No way, maybe it's you.]
『I'm having fun here. So this is the world of Gluttony…..how terrifying. Eris would've cried in fright if she were to see this.』
There was a slight bloody color in the darkness. It became more vivid as we fell down.
A death premonition. My instincts flared up, telling me that I shouldn't go down there.
If I had wings, I could've flown up and gotten out of here … Unfortunately, I only had wings that I couldn't use.
Anyhow, did Envy say that Eris would've cried if she were to see this? I couldn't really imagine her crying in fright, though I suppose Envy had been together with Eris for much longer than I have.
『You don't believe me?』
Envy spoke in a gentler voice than its usual haughty tone. As if something weighed heavily upon it.
『it seems to me that it'll take a while to get down there. Let me tell you something about the past』
[Anything but your bragging.]
『You're worrying over nothing』
Was it about Eris' past…? I know that something happened between her and Libra, but I knew nothing in detail.
The white knights who remained in the royal capital didn't tell me either. Even from Eris herself, she would not say much, so I couldn't pursue the topic more when we talked about Libra.
『Eris is a timid girl. She ran away from conflicts, ran away from me, escaping on her own to a new places…..but in the end, it made her realize that she doesn't belong anywhere in this world』
I guess it's only right. Before the Gluttony skill awakened, I also kept running away from this world where skills reigned supreme. I felt that I had no place in this world. Roxy may have taken me in if my skill didn't awaken at all, but I wouldn't be here if that's the case.
In any case, if one kept running away without direction, they'd only keep ending up in the worst place. The end of that path would not be so good.
『That habit died down a little ever since she became interested in you….. Unfortunately, something she feared the most just has to make a come back.』
[Libra…]
『For Eris, he's her creator, absolute lord, as well as the parent who raised her』
The battle between Eris and Libra… no, Envy said that it was Kairos, the previous holder of Gluttony skill and also the previous wielder of Greed, who actually fought Libra.
I only met him once. It was when I dove inside Myne's spiritual world to pull her out from her self-made prison of the past. For some reason… Kairos intervened and acted as my guide while I was there.
His soul was still within me… most likely inside the Gluttony skill. Watching over me. At least that's what Kairos said before we separated.
『Kairos fought to gather companions and free themselves from the sacred beasts. He wasn't the type who would act alone. Unlike a certain someone』
[Shaddap. Sorry if I'm not like him at all.]
『No, that's usually the case. The power of the deadly sins skill holder is powerful. But when it comes to fighting the Holy Beasts, that's not the case. You too have friends now. Well, Kairos was cheerful and caring, so he naturally tried to be with everyone.』
The number of sacred beastkins was not large. It seemed that their numbers continued to dwindle as they continuously clashed with Kairos, whose friends were increasing one after another.
Even if he was killed, his forces wouldn't lose their momentum. This was because the opposition to the oppression and long-standing resentment did not subside so long as the Sacred Beasts were still there.
But the Sacred Beastkin hadn't run out of cards to play either. They actually came up with a solution that did not require them to dirty their own hands.
They planted their factor into humans, in order to prepare strong soldiers that they can control at will.
That was the origin of the holy knights. Once produced to critical mass, that would be enough to overwhelm Kairos and his forces.
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Relieved from the war effort, these sacred beastkin continued with their research. Among them, Libra was the most involved.
Their accuracy was improved by mating select holy knights who were stronger and looked better. As the factor rate of the Sacred Beastkin increased, the power of the Holy Knights also increased, but it did not seem to be a big problem because they were made into a puppet with a collar.
『In that continuous production, one person without the Holy Knight skill was born』
[And that person was…]
『Eris』
Envy recounted in a nostalgic tone as we continued to fall into the darkness.
『A baby with a skill that he had never seen before. This piqued Libra's interest. And when he soon realized that the skill was similar in nature to Kairos', he used the baby as his own experimental body.』
I was told by Eris herself that her evil eye was transplanted from a monster. In addition to that, she was remodeled in various ways to strengthen her body.
『Eris is quite literally more of a monster than a human. Maybe that's why she feels that she doesn't belong anywhere. Especially so after Kairos, who saved her, is gone.』
[Do you know how she was freed from the collar?]
『If I know how, I would've told you. All that I remember was Kairos touching the collar and it just popped off on its own.』
[Just by touching it?]
『I do not know what he did back then. Kairos simply left Eris there as he headed out to confront Libra. We don't even know what happened afterward. All we know was that the liberated world was left to Eris and the holy knights who had awakened their own will.』
It seems that Eris and Envy cooperated to try to revive the world.
However, it was not easy to unite the Holy Knights with a strong temper and high spirit. It seemed that it took a long time.
But eventually, they encountered reliable Holy Knights, who were the white knights in the royal capital. Despite the fact that out of all the Holy Knights, they were the only two Eris was able to make a connection with… It seemed that it was so difficult to treat them well.
I had been in and out of the castle as a Holy Knight in the Royal Capital, so I understand how difficult it was. At the time of the report that I succeeded the family from Aaron, it was drawn out due to a difficult habit among the king's audience.
『In order to put together a new Kingdom, it was necessary to make an easy-to-understand reasons. Even if the Holy Knights were given preferential treatment, they tried to prepare for the upcoming battle.』
[To fight Libra?]
『That's right. I tried to create a new crown human――a mortal sin skill holder by creating a harsh environment of skill supremacy principle and using the grudges born from it …』
However, Eris discarded Envy and left. Perhaps thinking that she would not be able to face Libra when the time came.
『Eris was created by Libra…..she can't really go against him without some extreme exception. Apparently Eris met you when I was trying to kill Roxy.』
[Yeah, back then…]
She said that she wouldn't do anything to prevent the murder. I recalled that I was angry because of it.
『That's just like her alright. The poor little clumsy Eris』
[What do you mean?]
『She can't stop me herself. Therefore she asked you』
[Ahh…]
That's why. She was provoking me so that I put in more effort to save Roxy.
[She's hard to understand.]
『Indeed she is. What she said may oftentimes contradicts her true intention. In that regard, you are a true opposite』
[Is that a compliment?]
『What compliment?』
[You… I know that it's strange coming from you.]
The voices of the dead were getting louder. It felt like the unpleasant air that clung to my skin was increasing.
I looked downward, tightening my grip on the black bayonet.
『It's time. All or nothing』
[Yeah, that looks like the end alright.]
We were trying to reach the root of the Gluttony skill.