The tips of his pointed ears were bright red. After rolling his eyes, he turned to Georg. His complexion spoke volume.
I was also taken in and looked at Georg.
[UuhâŠ]
I could hear Zackâs unspoken voice.
It canât be helped that such a voice comes out. Even from my point of view, he looked terrifying.
There was no trace of his always calm face. On the contrary, his mouth was severely distorted, as if he were looking at trash.
Under pressure from Georg, Zack wonât be allowed to surrender.
Judging from that situation, if he disobeyed, even an elf would be thrown off the top of the Great Wall for the reincarnation ceremony, and it wouldnât be strange to be exiled.
I wonder if Zack thought the same thing as me. He once again gave command to the Spirit Beast Belial.
[Belial, kill him! I wonât tolerate any further abominations.]
However, Belial did not obey that voice immediately. It looked at the owner, Zack, as if it was judging him.
Zack clicked his tongue loudly and gave the command again.
[Who do you think makes you able to manifest? Have you forgotten that the spirits are just tools of us the elves!]
[Stop it. You shouldnât treat spirits like that.]
Cecilia couldnât help but scold Zack. But, he didnât listen.
Zack muttered something. Then, Belialâs eye color changed.
With bright red eyes, it screamed like an irrational beast. At the same time, the surrounding temperature dropped further.
The vegetables and fruits lined up in the open air were covered in ice.
It appeared that the onlookers had already fled the scene, leaving only Georg and Cecilia around.
[How dare you release the power of a spirit beast in the middle of the city! You couldâve attacked our own people!]
It seems he was reducing Belialâs power in order to control him. Does that mean he has released that chain?
An uncontrollable spirit beast is no different from a monster.
No, because they have lost their reason, they are worse than monsters.
[Well done. Now this is a duel. Fight to the end, Zack Snyder.]
At Georgâs words, Zack bowed and pulled out his sword.
It looks like heâs finally coming at me with real earnestness. Am I going to be dealing with berserk Belial and Zack?
Thereâs one thing Iâm worried about. It was Cecilia who was using spirit magic to protect the city from damage in this duel.
[Do you think you can hold up?]
[Yes, but it wonât last long.]
[Thatâs enough.]
The Gluttony skill has returned to me. But, other skills donât seem to work.
What about my status? I donât know exactly because I canât use appraisal. Still, my body felt frighteningly light and strong.
Even though I was directly hit by Belialâs cold air earlier, I didnât suffer any frostbite.
I thought while looking at the broken black sword Greed. Everything hasnât returned to normal, but at least⊠I have the strength to fight again.
You should come back too, Greed.
Belial was the first to move in the cage that Cecilia had made for him. The target was me.
I thought that since it was out of control, it would fall along with Zack, but my expectations were easily betrayed.
[Good, Belial. It seems like it doesnât like you.]
As I dodged Belialâs attack, a sword attack came in from my blind spot.
I blocked it with my black sword.
[Youâre so cowardly even though youâre a knight.]
[It seems like you donât know anything about elves. Results are everything.]
[Then if I win, will everything be forgiven?]
[No. If I win, Georg-sama will recognize me and I can move up even higher.]
While fighting each other, we gauge the strength of our opponent.
His sword technique was sophisticated and there was no wasted movement. Elves live a long life, so they may have been training for countless years.
Still, compared to Aaron, he is far inferior.
I stopped pushing and parried Zackâs sword with my black sword. Then, when he lost his balance, I lightly swept his foot.
Zackâs excess power went awry and he fell to the ground.
[Your feet are open.]
[YouâŠ]
Unfortunately I wasnât dealing with just Zack. I kicked him and distanced myself.
Immediately dodged the attacking Belialâs claws. Even though it didnât even touch me, the cold air on its nails still froze my clothes.
The cold air with increased power is a bit troublesome.
I couldnât just let it freely attack me. So I cut off Belialâs left arm as I dodged.
[Gaaahhhh⊠giigigi.]
Only Belial was suffering. Isnât there any damage to Zack?
Arenât they supposed to be connected and share the damage?
As if expecting it already, Zack kindly answered my questions.
[Belial is running out of control. His connection with me is as good as nonexistent. Even if you cut Belial down to inflict damage on me as well, it would be pointless.]
[So thatâs why.]
It seemed that the cage that Cecilia made for me was nearing its limit. In some places, cracks were appearing in the barrier.
I looked at Belial.
Now is my chance to eat only the spirit beasts. Even if it was to win the duel, if I killed Zack, I would be in trouble for living in this elven town from then on.
However, now that there is almost no connection, it might be possible to take away only the spirit beast and neutralize it.
That is, if the Gluttony skill can devour the spirit beast.
Itâs a trial. I have no choice but to try.
I evaded Zackâs sword attack and slashed at Belial, who has not lost its fighting spirit even after losing its left arm.
Where is the spirit beastâs vital pointâŠI donât know. Still, it wouldnât be able to survive if it lost its head.
I dodged Belialâs right claw and decapitated it.
Looking at the head floating in the air, I felt a certain response.
Thatâs because its body turned into particles of light and began to disappear. Those particles of light that were Belial were sucked into my chest.
ăGluttony skill activateă
ăa.n.a.lyzingâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠă
ăSpirit Beast Belial has been acquiredă
Okay, I got it. I wonder what it isâŠthis unprecedented feeling of elationâŠ
Iâve learned a new flavor from my Gluttony skill.
It doesnât seem to affect the failure of a G.o.d either. The devoured being doesnât put a huge burden on me.
Isnât it great! Itâs a great success.
Cecilia, Georg, and their subordinates were surprised that I had eaten the Spirit Beast Belial.
Among them, there was only one person who was not satisfied.
It was Zack who was dueling me.
[What the h.e.l.l did you do? I canât summon my spirit beast. I canât use spirit arts. What did you do! Fate Barbatos!!]
The sword he was holding was thrown to the ground. With the loss of the spirit beast, it seems that dueling is no longer possible.
[This is a power I was born with. Itâs a special power that no one can take away. But why⊠I canât use it. It just wonât appear.]
While looking down at Zack, I called for the Spirit Beast Belial that I had acquired.
Particles of light took shape and Belial appeared. It was different from the original Belial, who was attacking me like I was its sworn enemy a while ago.
Almost like it was kneeling, begging me to give it instruction at any time.
[AhahahaaâŠ. There is no way, there is no way something like that could happen. Impossible! Thatâs my Belial!]
Zack fell to his knees, as if everything he knew up until now was falling apart.
And then, he was crying. It seems that as an elf, losing his spirit beast was too hard for him to accept.
The barrier created by Ceciliaâs spirit magic had already been broken.
I won the duel. Zackâs life was spared. Instead, I stole his Spirit Beast Belial.
For some reason, Georg seemed satisfied with this duel. He ordered his subordinate knights to take the sobbing Zack somewhere. Then, he smiled and welcomed me.
[The duel was splendid. As promised, I will allow you to live in the elven town of Louise Island. Welcome, Fate Barbatos.]
After saying that, Georg left. Once the commotion had subsided, only Cecilia and I were left in the plaza.
The elves were still hiding in the house and didnât try to come out. Maybe theyâre afraid of me, who could take anotherâs spirit beast away.
When I was about to put the broken black sword back into its sheath, I noticed something strange.
[Whatâs wrong, Fate?]
Cecilia, worried, called out to me.
I was staring intently at the black sword. Then, tell her whatâs going on.
[The black sword has regained its original state a little.]
[Eh?]
Cecilia, who looked in surprise, also nodded after a while.
The black sword, which was about the size of a dagger, had grown in length. Itâs not like itâs completely back to normal.
However, things were definitely changing.
Then, I heard that familiar voice. He asked me in his usual manner.