Chapter 162: Ancient Gate

Chapter 162 – Ancient Gate

Groundwater leaked down from the ceiling, accumulating for who knows how long, creating a wide stream on the floor .

At first, I was anxious that we’d encounter monsters within . But there was no sign of anyone else inside . Just the sounds of dripping and flowing water .

I recalled what Eris had told me earlier .

That people with Mortal Sin skills were born due to the accumulated hatred of the people .

Comparing that to my old behaviour and mindset . Suffice to say that I was surprised .

From time to time, there was always this feeling of darkness slowly creeping into my heart . It was the worst when I fought Rafal at the capital . Whenever I hid myself behind that skull mask, I felt like there’s another me moving to the surface .

Having the intention to kill that Lanchester dude in the throne room . Moreover, during that incident in the military district, letting that guard die in the same way he killed others . I strangely didn’t feel any guilt back then .

I knew that it’s a bad thing . But the restraint would still come off when I felt pressured . Sometimes my emotions would explode uncontrollably .

But thanks to Roxy, I was able to get past all that . Evidently, I never wore that skull mask anymore .

While I was deep in my own thought, Greed spoke to me through 《Mind Reading》 .

『At that time, you were under the Gluttony skill’s influence . You couldn’t even hear my voice back then . 』

[My bad…I was horrible…]

『It’s the path that every Mortal Sin skill holder will inevitably trudge on . All you can do, is to experience it yourself and overcome it . It will be all over if you fail, but I believe that Fate will be just fine . 』

[He~, you’re actually encouraging me today]

『You are the wielder of this me . I have the obligation to do that much . 』

I was in a good mood after Greed praised me . But of course he followed up with his usual barbs .

[Still, thank you . Then, is there anything else you need to tell me?]

『How could you tell?』

[How long do you think I’ve put up with you?]

『Hahaha, certainly . Thinking about it, we spent more time together than you with Roxy . 』

After that light hearted exchanges, Greed switched back to a serious tone .

『There is one thing I found strange . 』

[… . . what is it?]

『Your impulse . It’s not solely coming from the Gluttony skill influence . 』

[What do you mean by that?]

『It’s just the intuition of this me . Why? Because you are different from my previous wielder . In your case… . . 』

The sound of Eris and Roxy’s gasps cut off Greed before he could finish .

Apparently I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings during our conversation .

When I looked in the direction of their gaze, there was a gate that was even larger than the outer gate of the Royal Capital .

[This gate…looks sturdy . ]

I thought to cut it open, but Greed warned me to not do so .

And I think, I’ve seen this kind of metal before .

[This is adamantite . The sturdiest metal known in the world, which is also used to reinforce the outer wall of the fortress city Babylon . ]

[It’s exactly as Roxy said . Even Mortal Sin weapons couldn’t destroy this easily . Unless Fate is a master swordsman, I don’t think you need to even bother trying . ]

Eris threw a grin at me as she glanced sideways .

[Okay, okay, I admit that I’m not on that level yet . What about you, Eris?]

[I’m a support type combatant . There is no way I can do that . ]

[What’s the point of that blade on the black bayonet then? It must be crying over its wielder incompetence by now . ]

[You do know that I can say the same words right back at you, right?]

[… . . right . ]

I couldn’t refute her .

I had been taught swordsmanship by Aaron, and also received Greed’s guidance in the spiritual world .

But my level of proficiency still couldn’t compare to either of them .

Not going to let me sulk over that, Roxy made a follow up .

[Fai is the type to brute force through everything though]

[… . . thank you . ]

[Well, that is certainly true . I thought that it would be impossible for him to defeat the Tenryu . But Fai is the type to evolve during the heat of battle . I actually look forward to it . ]

[Stop! I don’t wanna fight that kind of battle again . ]

[But the result is the current you, who is standing here with us . ]

We’re about to head to a mysterious place here…telling something ominous like that . Oh dear…I have a bad feeling already .

Still, how do we open this gate?

Eris tried to push it open, but it didn’t budge .

[Fuu~, this is not good as well . ]

[It is too early to give up!]

[Because it’s me who tried it, of course it failed . Right, Roxy?]

[I guess so… If Eris-sama could not do anything about it, then it is obviously impossible for me…]

Roxy seemed troubled by this .

After telling her not to worry too much about it, I took another look at the gate .

[Did Snow really go through here?]

[Perhaps . She’s a Divine Beastkin, so she probably has some sort of special ability . ]

[Special, huh…]

My hand inadvertently pushed open the gate .

[Eh!?]

[No way… But how?]

[Fai!?]

Both Eris and Roxy were surprised .

I was also stunned . But inwardly I knew… . that this had something to do with Dad .

[So I also have the qualification]

[Now that I recall, your dad was a Zodiac Knight, wasn’t he?]

[Yeah, Libra said so . And from my Dad’s action back in the desert, I guess he really was . ]

[I see… So you are a half blood]

Eris flattened at first, but quickly smiled back .

Libra had left behind a major trauma in her . As a result, I guess she carried similar hatred toward the other Zodiac knights .

But she seemed okay with me judging from her current expression .

[Thanks to Snow, I’ve come to terms with it somewhat . And see, I could stick to Fate like I always do . ]

[Oi . ]

[Now now . ]

Eris latched herself to me in a hug .

Now I had a feeling that she does this all the time to help overcome her trauma of the Zodiac knights .

[You’re hugging too tight]

[Nah nah, perhaps I do, but I feel good by doing this . ]

I tried to peel away Eris from me to no avail .

[Don’t use Area E power for something like this]

[It’s part of the preparation]

[There is no such thing as this!]

Eris kept hugging me tightly .

While I was at loss for what to do, I sensed a cold gaze coming from behind .

When I turned around, I was reminded . Wasn’t Roxy in here watching us all the time!?

[You two really get along, are you not?]

[No, no, no matter how you look at it, that’s not the case!]

[Then why is Eris-sama grinning so widely there?]

[Eris please say something!]

[This is trauma treatment, so don’t worry about it . I have no other intention . Rest assured . ]

But Roxy wouldn’t buy any of that .

She then started to recount what Eris had done so far .

Sleeping naked in the same bed, went into the men’s bath… Could that be considered as ‘trauma treatment’?

Un, it’s not convincing at all .

[Can I ask you one thing?]

[What is it?]

[How are you feeling right now?]

[The best!!]

The kindhearted and gentle Roxy .

Even now she still had a smile on her face…

Did my eyes deceive me?

I swore that I could see a creature resembling Tenryu dancing behind her .

A tremendous pressure that I had never felt before .

This is like…when I need to run away from Aaron!

When in a situation like this, there is only one thing I can do .

[Yosh, anyway, the gate is open now . Let’s move on . ]

[Ah, Fai, hold it right there!]

[Can’t hear you . ]

[You definitely can hear me! And why is Eris-sama still hugging Fai like that? Please let go!]

In any case, we proceeded onward .