The Insurmountable Chimera

THE GIRL WAS THE CHIMERA HANIEL, and her eyes were the same as

Myne's. They were the same as mine, too, when my Gluttony pulled me

into its starvation state. As much as I didn't want to think about it, I

couldn't bury the thought: was this monster connected to us in some way?

"Myne, that girl…the girl you called the core…"

As I stumbled to finish my sentence, Haniel turned her head to stare

directly at me.

Instantly, I was struck by an overwhelming pressure so intense that I

couldn't breathe. This…this effect was one I shared, too. These were the

same red eyes that immobilized my prey with fear. Did Haniel's eyes have

that effect on me because of the difference in our stats?

"Avert your gaze, Fate," said Greed. "You'll lose your will to fight if

you keep looking."

Damn it. I'd never imagined I'd have to fight with my eyes

practically closed. How am I supposed to take this thing on if I can't look at

it straight?

Myne watched me, unimpressed. "You can't even take the pressure.

Show some guts, Fate."

"Easy for you to say…"

I glanced once more at Haniel, but the effect of its gaze kicked in

immediately. My body froze when our eyes met. What can I do against

that?

The monster wasn't about to patiently wait for me to work things out.

It began to move on its six legs.

"We don't have any other choice," said Myne. "I need you to attack

Haniel's legs while I fight the core. Don't forget, only you can land the

killing blow, Fate."

"And that killing blow…"

"Yes. You have to attack the core."

As expected, destroying Haniel meant destroying its core. But the

core was a young girl. I stood still, at a loss.

"It's not human anymore, Fate," said Myne, sensing my reluctance.

"It's a monster in human skin. Do not be fooled by its appearance."

"But…"

"That sentimentality will be your death. Now, move! Haniel's

launching an attack!"

"What?!"

The girl at the core of Haniel moved her hands and summoned

hundreds of blue fireballs. They surrounded the monster's body in a large

circle, then swirled together into a blistering star. The heat caused the air to

waver. I knew immediately that my Fire Resistance would be useless

against this spell.

The monster slapped the fused fireballs at the ground. Their

overwhelming heat melted the earth before it into molten lava that swept

toward us. I turned the black sword into the black scythe, though I was sure

it would do no good. This was not a direct magical attack, meaning I could

not cut it down. Myne's warning flashed in my mind as a giant wall of redhot death flooded toward us.

This was not the time to take pity on the chimera because of the

human trapped at its center. It meant to kill us. I was not strong enough to

contain or control the beast while we worked out some other way of

pacifying it. I had one choice: fight. I transformed Greed into the black bow

and prepared to sacrifice my stats to the Bloody Ptarmigan attack.

Then Myne raised her axe high and stepped forward. "Fate, get

behind me. Back me up with your bow. When you're ready, we'll take

Haniel up close, together. Understood?"

"Uh…yeah. Got it. But what are we going to do about that wave of

fire?!"

"This." Myne let loose a sweet-voiced battle cry, followed by a truly

fierce swing of her axe. Its sheer force caused a shockwave that forced the

lava back toward Haniel's knees.

"It's our turn now," Myne said. "Fate, make sure Haniel can't move."

"I'll try not to get in your way."

"That's the spirit."

With her black axe in one hand, Myne leapt toward Haniel, and in

that same dance-like motion lopped off the beast's right arm. Haniel

bellowed in pain, and the girl at the chimera's core wept scarlet tears of

blood.

"Grr… Damn it!" I cried, realizing that her gaze had caught me yet

again. I tore my eyes away and focused on my job. I had to keep the

monster occupied to give Myne a fighting chance at landing solid,

damaging blows. My best bet was the black bow and its magic arrows.

I drew the bow and materialized an arrow, which I loaded with the

Sandstorm spell. It would now turn its target to stone. These same arrows

had turned the crowned beast lich lord into a statue, and I'd gotten stronger

since then. They'd have to be strong enough to work on Haniel's legs, too.

I aimed at one leg and let loose the shimmering sand arrow. The girl's

face filled with pain as the monster's leg turned with a crackle to white

marble and stuck to the ground.

"Yes!" I shouted. "Take that!"

"Not so cocky, Fate," said Greed.

Wait, wait, you must be joking… My stone arrows faced a new

problem. Haniel's leg was returning to normal. Even the monster's

regeneration ability vastly exceeded my own Health Regen. It wasn't just

Haniel's stone leg; the arm Myne had just severed was starting to regrow

from the wound.

"What the hell kind of regen ability is that?!"

"It's a biological weapon, Fate," said Greed, with a note of patience,

"created specifically to fight, independently, for an eternity. It will

regenerate almost all damage, so your job is to support Myne until she

lands something near fatal. Then, it's on you to finish the job."

Okay. I understood. The pressure was on. If we made one misstep,

Haniel would regenerate, and we'd have to start over from scratch. Myne

was incredibly strong, but I couldn't just rely on her strength. Likewise, I

couldn't allow myself to get in her way. I had to do my part. Until then, we

had to create opportunities. I fired multiple sand arrows to stop Haniel from

moving.

"Myne!" I called. "Are you ready?"

"Not a problem."

As long as Haniel was still, the monster was an easy target for Myne.

She lopped off Haniel's freshly grown right arm, and sliced off the left, too.

From what I could see, it was as if Myne's black axe grew in power with

each strike.

I fired arrows continuously to support Myne and asked Greed about

it. "Does Myne's black axe grow stronger the more she uses it?"

"Pretty much. The more she swings it, the stronger it gets. But it also

gets heavier. Hm…in short, there's no limit to how powerful that weapon

can get, but it becomes more and more difficult to wield."

"Ah. So, that's why it sank into the ground when Myne set it down

earlier."

If the black axe had grown in power since our last battle with those

orcs, that meant the weapon Myne swung now was unbelievably heavy. You

could see that weight in the gigantic rifts that opened in the earth each time

Myne landed.

"The black axe Sloth is capable of overwhelming destructive power.

However, it takes its toll on the Agility of the person wielding it."

"Doesn't look like Myne's moving any slower, though," I said.

"She's definitely slowing down. Think about it, Fate. Why was she

insistent that you keep Haniel still?"

If Myne was slower, then it was only the slightest drop. And even

then, she still leapt into the air and sent Haniel's monstrous head flying with

a swing of the black axe.

The core let out a cry unlike any before. Blood poured down the girl's

face. I had my eyes averted so I couldn't see the source directly, but I was

certain it leaked from her eyes.

Then the air around us shifted.

What?! What is this…pressure?

Greed made a tongue-clicking noise in annoyance. "Tch. This is bad,

Fate. You've got the monster's back against the wall, so it's forcing its

evolution. On your guard!"

"Evolution?! What?!"

Having finished her one-sided attack, Myne dropped to the ground

next to me, away from Haniel. The weight in her axe cratered the earth

where she landed; the shockwaves blew me completely off-balance.

"Fate, get behind me," Myne said. "Haniel's charging a full-scale

attack. It'll unleash it soon."

I gathered that Haniel was using its evolution to prepare a sudden,

powerful attack to wipe us out. Myne had sensed this and stopped attacking

so she could protect me.

In my heart, I felt pathetic. Myne was protecting me. We weren't

fighting side by side. I was no different from the weakling I'd been back in

Seifort, the fragile boy who had to hide behind Lady Roxy. I envisioned her

majestic figure overlapping with Myne's as she stood to defend me.

Had I really followed Lady Roxy just to end up in this position

again? Why had I come to Galia in the first place? Was I still so badly in

need of defending? Protection? I thought of the people I'd met on my way

here. The battle near Lanchester and the adventurers who fought to save

each other. My fight alongside Aaron, the Blade of Light. Studying Myne's

violent dance. I'd been through all that, yet in the end I was still here,

cowering and powerless?!

If I couldn't overcome the shadow of who I once was, and couldn't

overcome what I faced now, could I ever truly say that I, Fate Graphite,

wanted to be the strength Lady Roxy relied on?

No. No, I could not.

Here and now, I had to bring forth the very limits of what power I

carried within. I needed the kind of power that would allow me to fight

alongside Myne—I needed Gluttony. Now that I stood in Galia itself, I

wanted to change from who I once had been—no. I had to change!

I put a hand on Myne's shoulder. When she looked back at me, I

shook my head. You have protected me enough.

I gripped the black sword tight. "Greed, I'm going to unleash it."

"I had a feeling you'd say that. Don't overdo it, and don't forget: it

coming to you, and you going to it, are entirely different. One step too far,

and you may as well consider yourself already gone. Do not forget."

"Yeah, I know. I'll show you that everything you've done hasn't all

been for nothing. I'll show you the control I have over Gluttony!"

Now, bring it on!

I called Gluttony.

I usually spent all my focus keeping my Gluttony under control, but

now, I concentrated on the opposite. To fight Haniel, I needed the power

that accompanied Gluttony's hunger. I had to awaken the monster that

lurked inside me to gain the ability boost that came with starvation.

I felt Gluttony slithering inside me, hungering for my soul—and I felt

my senses gradually sharpen. I had succeeded in keeping Gluttony down,

simmering right at the edge of stability. I went no further.

Myne looked at me, surprise on her face. "Your right eye, it's stained

red. I'm surprised… It didn't take you long to learn to stay in control with

half of yourself given to Gluttony. Impressive."

"What can I say? When the chips are down, I find a way. That, and I

can't have you treating me like a kid all the time."

"I like that. Dependable. If we win this fight, I'll start treating you

like an adult."

"Well, I'm out to win at all costs, so let's do it!"

I wasn't lying. Unleashing Gluttony came with a time limit. When I

let myself go like this, I knew I had to be prepared to defeat my enemy, no

matter what it took. If I couldn't feed Haniel's soul to Gluttony while I still

had the will to hold it back, it would consume me entirely.

It was a high-risk decision, but I had no other choice if I wanted to

face Haniel head-on. In the end, I bore the most despised Skill of Mortal

Sin—Gluttony—but it was the only power I had with which to fight.

The power of Gluttony was unbelievable. I was still searching for the

best way to exist alongside it. One answer, I realized now, was to call forth

the starvation state myself.

I looked up into the eyes of Haniel, now in its fully evolved form. I

felt no fear, no intimidation. Its gaze had no effect. My half-starved state

gave me the power to stand and face the chimera's overwhelming pressure.

Now I could truly fight alongside Myne.

The silhouette of the twisted mechangel began to float as it sprouted

two sets of shining, feathered wings. I gripped the black sword tight and

pointed the blade in the beast's direction.

And all the while, Haniel's crimson eyes ran with bloody tears.