Chapter 21. Gluttony's Banquet (Part 2)
"Did this strike, which has killed eighty-eight people in total, manage to shake Big Brother's internal organs?"
Roy laughed excitedly. Ricardo, who had sensed danger first, bent his body and caught the flying Julius, but—
"Shoot!? Why is he so heavy…!"
Ricardo pushed off with his back foot, shattering the entire ground, to barely stabilize himself. Ricardo immediately began patting the back of Julius, who was vomiting fresh blood, to help him cough up the blood clots stuck in his throat.
"Cough! Cough!"
"Don't worry about me, help Julius first! Hurry!"
Ricardo shouted at the spirit that was treating him, then lifted his greatsword and faced Roy again.
"You son of a bitch…!"
"Welcome back! Want to eat? Want to be treated?"
Roy laughed and raised his hands. A water channel behind him slowly erected a water dragon that looked down at Ricardo.
"Sword skills, martial arts, this time magic… what the heck are you?"
"We are insignificant, nameless magic users, nameless people who couldn't bring honor to their families. That's all!"
Roy grinned, and the water column smashed towards Ricardo. The water, normally harmless, had the power to easily destroy a creature's flesh under the effect of Roy's powerful magic.
"Damn it."
Ricardo cursed as he looked at Julius, who was being treated behind him, then fiercely stabbed his greatsword into the ground behind him to stabilize his body.
"Don't you look down on me, you bastard! Waaa!!!"
Ricardo opened his large mouth and released a sound-wave interference. As the inventor of this move, his individual power surpassed even the combined strength of the Mimi triple-sibling set. The massive water column was directly dispersed by Ricardo's powerful roar, turning into a shower of water droplets.
"Woah~ That's amazing!"
Roy's voice of admiration came through the heavy rain.
"Cough, cough."
The rain stopped, and Ricardo spat out a large mouthful of blood. On the ground, there were bloodstains that the rainwater couldn't wash away. Clearly, using such a powerful attack alone had caused great damage to his body.
"Bastard, it's been too… too long since I've used it."
Ricardo spat out the last blood clot stuck in his throat, then leaned on his greatsword, panting and mocking himself.
"Amazing, amazing! It's been a long time since anyone survived that move! In our memories, it's been so long that it practically hasn't happened! Yes, that's great… precisely because it's so wonderful!"
"Enough with the chatter."
It was Julius who interrupted Roy's endless compliments. His face was pale, his pure white knight's uniform was stained with blood, and his breathing still felt a little ragged. One could say that the minuscule time Ricardo bought only allowed him to barely stabilize his injuries. Even so—
"Thank you for your care, Ricardo."
Julius grasped his knight's sword again and assumed a stance.
"I was the one taken care of. I have to report to the Mistress later how hard I fought, alright? It won't be worth it if I don't get the corresponding reward."
"I will certainly speak well of you on that matter."
Julius looked at Roy. Roy's expression, speech, fighting method… everything seemed disjointed, as if patched together. Julius understood that this was the very darkness of the Archbishop of Sin 'Gluttony'.
—Does he use the skills and memories of the people he devours?
"Even just by using them, the sword art, martial arts, and magic are all top-notch. You've obtained the proud abilities of so many people, yet you still haven't managed to find a path that is truly your own?"
"Oh dear, counseling advice? My own path? Like Big Brother's path?"
Julius frowned. The 'Big Brother' Roy kept uttering made him very uncomfortable. Every time Roy spoke 'Big Brother,' Julius's impression of the word grew worse. This feeling was truly strange.
—Even though there's no one in his family who would call him 'Big Brother'.
Julius suppressed his confused thoughts.
"Not just knights, but mercenaries, heroes, and warriors. Power without conviction is easily tainted by sin, and great ability turns into mere violence because of it. Precisely because of this…"
"We knew it! We knew you would say that, Big Brother! Every person's actions have a cause; committing evil deeds is mainly influenced by the environment. Everyone has a good side inside, and mistakes are made only due to a lack of proper influence."
Julius looked at Roy in surprise, because what Roy said was precisely the reason why he became a knight.
"The Big Brother we believe in will surely counsel us! Because Big Brother believes that people are fundamentally good! But because of that, we are a burden, and we resent Big Brother!"
Roy closed in on Julius. Julius immediately swung his sword to meet the attack. Facing the countless powerful techniques that Roy possessed, which took others a lifetime to train, the already injured Julius quickly fell into a state of one-sided defense.
"Go die for me."
The greatsword attacked Roy from below. Roy blocked it with his brass knuckles in mid-air, preventing the slash from succeeding.
"Ha!!! Julius."
Ricardo exerted great force, sending Roy, who was blocking the attack, flying ten meters up into the air, then yelled his teammate's name.
"My Flower Buds!"
Responding to Ricardo's call, the quasi-spirits with whom the Spirit Knight had forged a bond emitted light. The six quasi-spirits flying in the air enveloped Julius with their beautiful radiance, and then the knight's sword, wrapped in the enemy-destroying aurora, stabbed towards Roy's chest as he fell from the air.
—This is the end!
Facing Julius's strongest blow, Roy's expression changed as he was unable to avoid it in mid-air.
"Absolute Palm."
His hands turned into black palms and clasped together, clamping the knight's sword at his chest, then violently twisted and broke the sharp blade. Metal fragments flew in the air. The aurora, the combined force of the six spirits, left the broken sword and continued its advance, vowing to eliminate the opponent.
"Omagashi." (Meeting the Devil/Demon Magician)
"What!"
Six types of magical light burst from Roy's hands, directly confronting the approaching rainbow radiance. Completely identical beams of light shot down the same-colored magic, completely nullifying and destroying it, leaving Julius stunned.
"Twin-Sword Serpent."
Two shortswords flew out of Alphard's sleeve once again, and Roy's body executed countless slashes. Julius, snapping back to his senses, hurriedly raised the broken knight's sword to block, but the shortswords shattered the knight's sword in an instant. In the nick of time, Ricardo extended his right hand to block the two shortswords. His arm muscles tensed, intending to jam the shortswords slicing into his flesh, but this time, the power of the shortswords exceeded Ricardo's expectation.
Blood erupted from the wounds, instantly turning all three into blood-soaked figures. Julius was momentarily stunned by the sight, and Roy did not press the attack. Instead, he let go of the shortswords and gently stroked Julius's shoulder with his hand.
"Too late."
The next moment, he dodged their counterattack, then shouted with an intoxicated expression.
"I'll partake!"
Roy stuck out his long tongue as if to show off. Because Reinhild had previously recounted her entire encounter with Gluttony, the two of them instantly understood the severity of the situation and rushed forward, but it was already—
"Julius Euclius!"
"Ricardo Palbarton!"
"Oh no!"
Distracted by the unfamiliar purple knight beside him, Ricardo was easily touched on the face. Ricardo understood his mistake, and at the same time, Roy quickly put distance between them and stuck out his tongue as if to show off.
"I'll partake."
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