Chapter 167

Chapter 167: Overlapping Strength

Chapter 167 – Overlapping Strength

The ghosts were flocking around the courtyard .

It was as if they’re here to bear witness to the battle that was about to begin . They may not have proper awareness, but they might feel it through their instinct .

Even I almost felt overwhelmed by the immense pressure that Myne emitted . Although my head kept telling me “Let’s go”, my body was screaming “Don’t go” instead .

It’s the first time I felt this way .

Up until now, I’ve fought enemies stronger than me such as Tenryu and the archdemon . But in my mind right now, none of them could compare to Myne .

Whilst travelling together with her, I always knew that she’s strong .

However… I felt the need to correct that thought now .

『Whatta gal . Even this Me was fooled by her . That Myne… . . she’s actually much stronger than I remember . 』

Just as Greed said, the air around Myne was so much different than what I knew .

I intuitively knew .

Around Myne, small crackles of lightning occasionally could be seen .

『Myne is in serious mode now . Once you step into the courtyard, that will be when the fight begin . 』

In the end, thinking that we could talk things out was too naive .

If that’s all it takes, then we wouldn’t be here now .

I don’t know if Myne would listen or not . But I wanted to say it anyway .

[In the end…it’s coming to this . Is this really the only way…for us to understand each other?]

Aaron once told me .

That when people cannot understand each other, conflict will be inevitable even if they don’t want it . Especially so when one has a reason to uphold .

Before the world goes awry, I need to stop the door to His land from opening .

As for Myne…if what Luna told me was true, then there’s no way that she’ll stop . After all… she’s been waiting for this moment for thousands of years .

By coming here…there is no other way but to fight in order to settle whose belief would prevail .

Regardless of who won, the loser would suffer .

[I don’t think that it’s wrong for Myne to do this . However… I have no choice either . ]

To get her to listen to me, I need to defeat her first .

I sent a glance at Eris who was standing by behind me .

Right then, a gunshot rang .

Eris shot me with a phalanx bullet .

A pale white filmy light enveloped my body . With this, I should be able to survive one fatal damage .

[Myne’s attack is powerful, be careful not to get hit . ]

[Even so, I have resolved myself . ]

Myne jumped and landed right in front of me .

Her posture seemed laid back . But her eyes glowed crimson .

She’s going straight for me .

『Here she comes . Myne’s blow is extremely heavy . Maintain a firm grip on my handle . 』

A dull metal clank resounded .

It was the noise produced from the clash between the black sword and the black axe . As Greed warned, it was a very heavy blow .

So powerful and heavy that my feet sunk into the ground from receiving it .

And it’s just the first blow, I laughed wryly inside .

『Push her back! If she keeps attacking continuously, you’ll eventually be overwhelmed . 』

[I know . ]

Even though I knew, I was in the position of being suppressed . It wasn’t easy to push Myne back when I’m stuck between her axe and the ground .

Therefore, I made a decision to redirect Myne’s axe instead .

The black axe scraped through the length of my black sword, producing sparks in the process .

Raising dirts and debrises when it struck the ground .

Using that as a distraction, I jumped to the right to make distance .

『Fate！』

But Myne immediately charged through the flying dirts and debrises towards me .

Moreover, this move was executed with precise timing and basically no hesitation at all .

Once again, I was forced to defend .

And this time, her blow was twice as powerful as her first .

The dull metal clashing noise resounded, and at the same time a pressure greater than I expected was transmitted to both of my arms .

I could feel the rush of battle in my vein… Even so, there’s also a different kind of feeling unlike how I felt to those I had fought before this .

I just have to do my best to not be overwhelmed . It’s only been two blows since the fight began .

From hereon, her attack would only grow heavier and heavier .

I stayed silent until she raised her axe for another attack .

[Myne . ]

[… . . ]

From the beginning, I knew that she’s someone who rarely talks, especially about herself .

But I also knew .

[I don’t care how . ]

[… . . ]

[But I’ve come this far to stop Myne . ]

My eyes didn’t miss the slight movement of her eyebrows .

[I’ve heard from Luna . ]

[!?]

Right then her expressionless face changed .

Myne who had been calm and collected in battle, somehow looked upset .

[Luna, she…]

And my ears didn’t miss the quiet utterance leaking from her lips .

[Yes, she did . Luna told me . ]

But just when I found a way to talk with Myne…someone else chose to disturb .

Blood red tentacle stretched out, keeping me away from Myne .

I sensed immense danger when the tentacle was about to touch me, so I had no choice but to jump backward to evade it .

[Tsk, you dodged it good . What a shame . ]

Shinn emerged from under the ground . His body looked as if it was made of liquid .

His form looked like one, but he’s certainly no human . Greed once told me that he’s actually collective lifeforms that could take any forms and hide anywhere .

Shinn turned away from me and talked to Myne .

[I have given you enough time . I can’t wait any longer . ]

[… . . ]

[Alright then, let’s get this over with . Let’s kill them . ]

[… . . ]

[If you don’t, the door will never open . If the door never opens, your wish will never be fulfilled . ]

[… . . ]

[You’ve been waiting for this moment like forever, haven’t you? It’s just around the corner now, Myne . ]

Shinn walked closer to Myne, whispering something to her who had remained silent .

[Everyone is waiting for you . Are you going to betray them again?]

[I’m not . ]

[Then fight seriously . They are trying to get in our way… Show them the full extent of your true power . ]

Myne must’ve waited for an unimaginably long time to fulfill this wish .

If what Luna told me was true, even I myself am not sure that I won’t give up if I had to do the same .

Shinn’s whisper touched upon what had driven Myne to stay alive . Using that as a leverage, even the usually immovable Myne could be swayed .

While travelling with me, I always felt as if her heart and thoughts were somewhere else . And that somewhere, is here .

Perhaps, if I was still the me of the past, I would’ve ended up the same way as Myne .

Shinn turned to me with a smile on his face . That look…he’s confident that he has won now .

『Fate, it’s getting dangerous!』

[Get away from there, Fate!]

Eris did a suppressive fire on both Shinn and Myne from behind me to allow me to retreat .

It’s strange to hear both Greed and Eris actually warned me of the same thing .

Myne was the holder of the Wrath skill .

I knew because she told me during the time we travelled together .

And I knew that I’ve never seen the extent of her Wrath skill, as she’s been wielding her axe expressionlessly .

Occasionally she would lash back at me if I teased her too much . But that’s more out of annoyance rather than actual anger .

When the holder of Wrath skill immerse themselves in anger… I wonder what would happen?

It’s exactly what I’m about to witness here .

『This is Myne’s real form . 』

[Ahaha…I actually don’t want to see this again . ]

Greed smirked .

Behind me, it was obvious to me that Eris was upset . She knew that this situation would greatly burden me as she’s the rear guard in our two-man cell .

And for the first time since I met her, I saw Myne’s real appearance .

Repelling aura with similar color to her eyes overflowed from her body .

It might be her surplus of magic power made visible .

The most distinctive feature was that there were a pair of horns sticking out from Myne’s forehead . In addition to that was the markings on her entire body were now glowing in white light .

『Fate, listen carefully . That’s how someone who had immersed themselves in Wrath skill looks like . Once this happens, she won’t be able to hear us anymore . Simply put, it’s like when Gluttony skill took over you . Surely you understand what that entail to . 』

[So she’s unleashing the power of Wrath skill?]

『Yes . And unlike you who could only use semi-starvation state, Myne unleashed it in a full scale . 』

Releasing the Mortal Sin skill at full force, huh…

『Myne will take action soon . And she’s serious now . 』

As Shinn had said earlier, the time is running out .

『Her attacks would be a whole league stronger than earlier . 』

I immediately released half of the Gluttony skill power――entering the semi-starvation state .

Myne also disappeared from my sight . She still had that much speed despite Sloth being twice heavier than usual already .

『We should go all out as well . Otherwise you will not be able to receive her attacks . 』

[Yeah, let’s go, Greed!]

I’ll show them the results of my training in the spiritual world up until now .

[Greed!]

『Fate！』

At the same time when our voices overlapped, the black sword emitted a black glow .

The black light wrapped around me .

[『Crossing！！』]