The Village of Oblivion

AFTER A FEW MORE BATTLES with wandering orcs, we arrived at the

ruins of a village. Little remained of the place, save for piles of rubble and

the bare frames of what had once been houses. So much time had passed

since its construction that, at first glance, the buildings looked like

mountains of dirt. Was this where Myne's so-called fearsome enemy

resided? It didn't look like much.

As Myne walked through the village, she turned back to speak to me.

"This village was where I was born," she said. "But I was taken to the

imperial capital not long after birth, so I don't have any memories of it.

Still, this place is important to me."

"This is your hometown?"

That didn't make any sense. By the looks of things, this village had

been in ruins for thousands of years. Indeed, if I remembered correctly, the

Galians had been wiped out some four millennia ago. If Myne was telling

the truth, she had to have been born when the village was still inhabited,

even thriving. That would make her…more than four thousand years old.

No way. But she looks so young!

Then I remembered her words to Aaron. I'm…a spirit who is not

allowed death.

I'd always thought Myne was older than her appearance let on, but I

never imagined she could be four thousand years old. Like Aaron said, she

truly was on an entirely different level from us humans. He and I were

practically children to her.

Four thousand years… I'd lived in these lands for around sixteen

years myself. When I looked back on my life, that felt like ages. Myne had

experienced a lifespan more than two hundred times that length. I definitely

understood why you'd lose track of smaller details if you lived that long.

If Greed and Myne were acquainted, that might mean Greed was also

in the realm of thousands of years old. The sword had confessed that they'd

known each other a long time, and that Myne couldn't give up on what

she'd never get back. Was this lost thing what drove her to keep going all

these millennia? What could I learn of her if I followed her just a little

further? After all, if this—her past, her secrets—intertwined with the Skills

of Mortal Sin, I was no mere bystander. This was important to me, too.

"Myne, the monster we have to fight, is it here in this village?"

"Yes. But it's a tough enemy for me to take alone. Therefore, I need

your power."

"But…what is it? Is it okay for us to stroll around out in the open like

this?"

"It's fine. As for what it is… When you see it, you'll know."

I gathered from that comment that it was not the kind of monster that

would take the initiative to engage us. I'd gripped Greed this whole time,

waiting for an ambush, but it turned out I didn't need to worry. There still

wasn't a single monster in the village. The entire area was so unnervingly

quiet that it was terrifying.

At the very center of the ruined village was a massive cemetery, a

collection of graves damaged by time and weather. At the center of the

cemetery rested an equally massive, mysterious cocoon of pure white. It

stood at least ten times my height.

Is that the monster?! Is it okay to casually walk up to it like this?!

On instinct, I drew the black sword from its scabbard.

"No…" Greed muttered, disgust at the edge of his voice. "I can't

believe one of these things is still alive."

"Greed, what is it?"

"It's a chimera," he said. "Sometimes called a mechangel. They were

a test project a long time ago, in Galia's distant past, designed as defense

measures for the imperial capital. Funny, though. I could have sworn they

were all deactivated."

"Are you saying this cocoon is an ancient weapon…?"

"I'm glad you're paying attention. As you so astutely observed, yes.

The chimera is one of the Galian military's biological weapons, made from

stitched-together pieces of a whole host of monsters. If you ask me, this is

their most horrendous failure."

Most horrendous failure?! I didn't like the sound of that. From what I

could see, it was just as quiet inside the cocoon as outside. I almost felt like

it was best to leave it as it was. I glanced at Myne, standing by my side.

"That's it. What we came here to defeat," she said. "Are you ready,

Fate?"

Well, so much for leaving it alone. The cocoon was huge, and despite

Greed's description, I had no idea what was inside it. On top of that, I'd

never fought anything quite so big before. I didn't have the slightest clue

how to approach it in battle without being crushed.

Myne noted my pained grin. "It's still in its larval form," she said.

"With your stats, you can take it. The problem is, even when you destroy

this monster's body, it won't die until you kill its soul. And that is why I

need your Gluttony."

"You need Gluttony to eat the chimera's soul?"

"Yes. Among all the Skills of Mortal Sin, Gluttony commits the

deepest sin. You bear the skill most despised by the gods."

Uh…wait. I don't have any bones to pick with the gods. I just

happened to be born with Gluttony.

Because of the misfortune of my birth, I had been deserted by the

world and the gods who watched over it. I was relegated to an existence in

which, no matter how many monsters I defeated, I would never earn

Spheres and never level up. Instead, I had to rely solely on my Gluttony to

grow stronger. Even then, Gluttony refused to listen to my commands. The

single skill I had been born with was a skill that would consume me in my

entirety if I gave it half the chance.

And…what did Myne mean by it being the skill that commited the

deepest sin?

"Do you mean that among the Skills of Mortal Sin, Gluttony is the

strongest?" I asked.

"Yes," Myne replied. "It defies the very law of levels the gods

created. Before that happens, though, the skill completely consumes its

bearer."

"I know that feeling well. It's happening even as we speak. So, where

does Wrath sit in the rankings, then?"

"Wrath is fourth. Above it are Avarice and Lust. Still, Gluttony stands

out so much that all the others are considered about equal."

Another word for Avarice is… I glanced down at the black sword in

my hand.

"Weapons of Mortal Sin depend on their owners," said Greed.

"Rankings mean nothing to us."

"Greed, are you saying…your power relies on who wields you?"

"Of course I am. Whether I live or die depends on you. Enough talk.

Unlock my next level, already!"

If only it were that easy. Even after killing the lich lord, I still didn't

have enough stats to unlock Greed's third form. If where I now stood wasn't

enough for him, it just went to show that the black sword was even greedier

than I thought.

Then again, Greed had said unlocking the levels wasn't just about

stats. The mental strength of the wielder was also important. So perhaps I

just didn't have the requisite battle experience. I had a long way to go

before I caught up to a warrior like Aaron.

I sighed and settled my gaze back on the cocoon that towered,

gleaming, over us. I checked its stats with Identify.

Chimera Haniel, Lv 1

Vitality: 26,000,000

Strength: 29,000,000

Magic: 24,000,000

Spirit: 28,000,000

Agility: 14,000,000

Skills: ERROR

Whoa. This thing was strong. And it was still just a larva? I stumbled

back, caught my boot on a gravestone, and fell on my ass in surprise.

Outside of Agility, it had more than double my stats in each category. And

for some reason, Identify couldn't get a clear reading on the monster's

skills. This whole thing seemed like a recipe for getting caught flat-footed if

we fought the chimera head on.

"You aren't fighting alone, Fate," said Myne. "You have me. When

we fought the orcs, I could tell that you weren't used to fighting with a

partner, so don't worry about trying to match my pace. I'll match yours."

"Thanks. I appreciate it," I said, and I meant it. "But why can't I read

this monster's skills? Identify keeps showing me the word 'error.'"

"Don't worry about it. Your Identify skill can't read its skills because

they're unstable. The chimera is an artificial creation sewn together from

other monsters, all held together by a soul at its core."

Of course I'm going to worry about it!

Myne said all these disturbing facts so casually, but this was a matter

of life and death. From what I gathered, the chimera—Haniel—possessed a

multitude of imperfect skills. Until this moment, I'd been able to go into

battle armed with an idea of what my opponent was bringing to the table.

With Haniel, that was impossible.

On top of that, Haniel was stronger than anything I'd fought before,

and I wouldn't learn anything more about it until we were already locked in

battle. All at once, I felt a rush of anxiety through my entire body.

"You know, this might well be the perfect test for you, Fate," said

Greed. "If you screw up here, you won't be able to defeat the Heavenly

Calamity, even in your dreams. So, lift my blade and prepare!"

"I keep telling you," I said, getting back to my feet. "Don't tell me

what I already know."

I took a fighting stance, the black sword Greed at the ready. Myne

watched me. As soon as she was sure I was ready, she raised her black axe

and launched her attack. The axe landed heavily. Fracture lines exploded

along the white cocoon as though it were a cracked egg.

Out from the cracked cocoon stepped the gleaming chimera.

It was titanic. Metal piping linked the grotesque creature together, a

patchwork creation forged from pieces of countless monsters. The seething

beast was white from head to toe, as though it had been chemically

bleached, and at its very center was a sight that shocked me.

"Is that a person…?!"

"That is the chimera's core."

The young girl bound into the core of the monster opened her eyes.

Her hair hung long and white, and her eyes were stained an intimidating

shade of crimson.