Chapter 164 - Underground City Grandeur

Greed spoke to me as I looked up.

『The artificial sun. The fact that it’s still running…』

[Does that mean there are people living here?]

『Most likely…Fate, look at that building!』

The first possibility that crossed my mind was Myne and Shinn, but…

Looking towards the direction Greed pointed at, I was at a loss for words. So were Eris and Roxy.

Both of them were stunned with their mouth agape.

[That was…human, right?]

[But somehow, the body looked transparent. Ghost… maybe?]

We opted to approach these ‘people’. We tried calling out to them, but they didn’t respond.

What’s surprising was that each one of them resembled Myne.

Brown skin, white hair… The characteristics of the Gallians, believed to have gone extinct a long time ago.

[It’s as if they don’t even notice us.]

[Or they have deliberately ignored us.]

[Looking closer, these people doesn’t seem to be conscious in the first place.]

Just like Eris said, the people were moving in a fixed manner autonomously and absentmindedly.

『This… they move by relying on the small amount of memory from their old life that was left in their mind.』

Greed explained quietly, then sighed.

『This is the result of them only being partially resurrected.』

[What do you mean?]

『Their soul should’ve been settled in the afterlife. But then they were forcibly recalled back to the world of living. That’s why they became these ghost-like entities.』

[What if they’re left alone?]

『No idea. If the door to His land continues to open, they might get completely resurrected. Or maybe they’ll remain this way forever.』

[Come on now. Don’t give me ‘maybe’.]

Greed took a deep breath,

『In the end, it depends on each one of them.』

[Whether they wish to return to life or not?]

『Right. These ghosts are currently in great hesitation. Whether to stay dead, or to return to the living.』

[Hesitation?]

『Can be because of a lot of things. For instance, you saw it yourself with your parents’ grave. One stayed in the eternal rest, while the other…..』

[Resurrected.]

Dad still had unfinished business, thus he had a reason to continue living. But on the other hand, I guess, my Mom didn’t have any regrets.

I have never even seen her face once. All I’d ever known was her gravemark. Apparently, if I could trust Dad’s words back then, she’s a cheerful woman who often laughed.

To tell the truth, I at least want to see her, even if just a glance.

『What’s wrong？』

[Nothing…]

『You are easy to read…you know?』

[What was that?]

『You are hoping that your mother at least bears some sort of worry towards you, correct? But turns out she had no unfinished business left in this world, so you feel a little dejected, am I right? You are still a little boy at heart after all.』

[What!?]

Since Greed hit the bull’s eye, I really couldn’t refute him.

But Roxy and Eris were left unknown to our conversation. To them it looked like I was talking to myself.

[What happened?]

Roxy asked anxiously, but I quickly responded by shaking my head.

[Greed just said something outrageous again.]

[Is that so…?]

I had to lie a bit to hide my embarrassment.

Greed did say something outrageous, but let’s omit the details.

But when I looked at Eris, she was smiling meaningfully.

I guess, somehow, she had also seen through me.

[Fate is still as childish as ever after all.]

[Not you too, Eris.]

[But it’s only natural. From my perspective, both Fate and Roxy are very young.]

[Then, could you please act more in line with your actual age?]

[Yep, sure I can.]

That said, she raised her black bayonet high as if telling us to entrust things to her.

[It’s worrying…]

[Indeed it is…]

[You two are bullies. You just don’t know how hard I’ve trained to be able to stand here right now.]

Now that I think about it, Eris often headed out somewhere on her own ever since our battle against the scorpion Divine Beast.

No way…she actually trained during those times?

For a super laid back person like her, it’s simply unthinkable.

[I’m still not as good as my heyday though.]

[Don’t push yourself too hard.]n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

[Eee~, you’re actually worried about me.]

[Why of course. I have lots of things to worry about.]

I then pointed my finger at her eyes.

[The magic eyes… don’t use it too much.]

[How kind of you…it’s hard to believe that you inherited parts of their blood.]

There’s a very high chance that Dad was originally a member of the Zodiac Knights. In other words, the possibility that he’s a Divine Beastkin just like Libra and Snow was also very high.

Which means that I was born from human and divine beastkin parents.

As for what I exactly am… I really have no idea.

『Fate, look over there.』

Following Greed’s advice, I looked up toward the artificial sun, and saw a crimson haired girl floating in the sky.

[Snow!]

She seemed to be heading northward.

[Let’s go!]

With my shout as a signal, we rushed all at once.

Wherever we went, there were ghost-like people moving around. Their body was mostly ethereal that we could actually pass through them without any hindrance.

Each time I passed through their ghostly body, my 《Mind Reading》 would activate, sending me fragments of their memories.

Having fun with family members, confessing to a special someone, producing results after a long research… happy memories. But not everyone gave off enjoyable memories.

The Gallians were just like us normal humans, living their life day by day. All the memory fragments gave me that vibe.

[Hey, Greed.]

『What？』

[The Gallians, why did they become extinct?]

『Why do you want to know all of a sudden?』

[Their technology is so advanced. And looking at the memories of these ghosts, most of them lived a happy life. It’s hard to believe that such a civilization actually met extinction.]

While I pondered over that as I kept running, I heard Greed’s laugh.

『When people change, those around them also get involved in it. You know it too. Before and after the Gluttony skill is awakened, there was a stark difference in the way of your life.』

It’s just as Greed said. After awakening, my entire life went through a major change.

『The people in this place, they were annihilated by others with greater power.』

[Was this related to the mortal sin skill?]

『It’s one of the reasons. I’ll tell you when all this is over.』

[Really!?]

『Yeah, it’s about time. That’s why, don’t die.』

[That’s also my promise to Aaron. I’ll do my best.]

Wooooow! The usually shrouded in secrecy Greed, was finally willing to spill something.

What’s going on with him… The upcoming battle is already high tension, and this kinda added more into it.

Putting the surprise from the suddenly straightforward Greed aside for now, I continued running.

[Fai! Snow has finally stopped.]

We stopped chasing, and looked up to the sky to see Snow.

She looked back to us with unwilling eyes.

[I have a bad feeling about this.]

Eris was proven right immediately. Snow suddenly dove toward us at a tremendous breakneck speed.

[Do we have to fight her?]

[Fai…]

Roxy looked troubled by this. But there’s nothing else we could possibly do.

I drew my black sword out and confronted Snow.

[Roxy, Eris, please move away from this area.]

[But why?]

[Snow probably only acted this way because of the memory Libra instilled into her.]

[How could you be so sure about that?]

Eris stood her ground because it’s still unclear just what kind of memory it was.

Meanwhile, as I blocked Snow’s attacks with my black sword, I became very sure.

Her attacks this time were too wild and mindless, reminding me of when she was rampaging as the giant scorpion back in the desert of ruin.

[This Snow fights just like back then.]

[Like a wild beast, isn’t she?]

[In that case, just like back then, we just need to knock her unconscious again.]

Unbelievable… never thought that we’d have a rematch with Snow, in here of all places.

At the same time, blood-like liquid started to form under our feet.

[Snow!]

As Roxy shouted, she also casted the holy sword technique 《Grand Cross》.

The holy light cleansed the ground below us, exposing the real culprit behind the blood red liquid.

It was Shinn, somehow in the form of liquid this time. He’s actually split into various objects and living beings that share one collective mind. He seemed to be using his main body when he took Myne away back then.

[It appears that you’re doing something fun. Let me join in, Gluttony]

Countless tentacles shot out from the red liquid, weaving together to form various kinds of monster.

Goblin, kobold, orc, gargoyle…the number kept increasing. And among them, there were actually crown-tiers as well!

[The door will be completely open soon. I’ll have you guys to wait here quietly.]

Shaking off Snow away, I asked Shinn.

[Where is Myne! Where have you taken her!]

[Do you truly think that I’ll answer to the likes of you, Gluttony?]

Without giving any good reply, he attacked me. At the same time, there’s still the rampaging Snow behind me.

With the blood red monsters surrounding us, there’s no way we could escape this situation.