Chapter 168

Chapter 168: Crossing
Chapter 168 – Crossing

Myne who had immersed herself in Wrath launched a heavy blow .
On the other hand, Shinn’s red tentacles prevented me from dodging .
「『You’re in the way』 . 」
Cutting the tentacles off, I rushed toward Shinn, who had taken a giant red slime form this time .
[Whoopsie, your opponent is not me . ]
Saying so, he once again submerged into the ground .
[Eris, tell me where Shinn is . ]
[Right there . ]
She shot at a spot darkened by the shadow of the building with her black bayonet .
There was indeed a reaction . Red liquid overflowed from under the ground .
[Good, that will do . Be careful of Myne, as she has lost herself in the Wrath skill at the moment . When the timing is right, I’ll support you with Phalanx and Phantom bullets . ]
[『Counting on you』 . ]
[Meanwhile I’ll also make sure Shinn won’t interfere too much, so it’s better to take the fight to a more open area to make my work easier . That’s why…]
[『Don’t get in your line of sight, right?』]
[You guess it . Ahahaha, I can easily tell that the Crossing is in effect . Your voice is overlapping with Greed’s]
Even in such a situation, Eris could still joke around .
But I suspect that Eris herself was also in Crossing state . Because the way she moved is obviously different than how she usually does .
‘Crossing’ is a term to refer to the state when the wielder of a mortal sin weapon synchronizes with their weapon .
In other words, in my current state, I was both myself and Greed .
Two minds in one body . And the black sword itself felt like it was part of my body .
And the biggest advantage is…
I could actually block Myne’s attack with relative ease now .
Each of our clashes emitted a shockwave that caused the surrounding buildings to start crumbling .
For the first time since the fight started, I was on the dominating side . Being able to push Myne back because she grew slower with each axe strike .
[Myne, I’ve grown stronger as well . ]
She might not hear me at the moment, but I said it anyway .
Her current state was similar to when the Gluttony skill went out of control .
I knew, because by merging with Greed, I could also access parts of his knowledge .
Although I said out of control, it’s actually not fully released yet . I concluded that I should defeat her before the Wrath is fully released .
At least, this time I was her only target .
Even with Eris still standing behind me and Shinn around, Myne’s gaze was only locked on me .
Crossing pretty much gave me access to not only Greed’s knowledge, but also his combat skill .
In addition to that, it’s like having two brains that work together .
Well, my only gripe was the fact that Greed’s voice sometimes overlaps on top of my own when I speak .
The mind synchronization finally completed . In short, I could demonstrate the full effect of Crossing now .
[Here I come, Myne!]
Again I used the black sword to fight the rampaging Myne .
I could certainly match power with her now, but even then it’s only within a certain threshold .
Just as I twisted my body, a gunshot rang from afar .
The bullet hit the black axe in the handle . I didn’t miss that the shot caused Myne’s grip to loosen a bit from the handle .
I came here with the intention to fight with all I got . I’ll apologize as many times as I need to when everything is over .
[Guh!]
My kick found its way to Myne’s stomach .
I don’t care anymore about the method I used .
Her small body crashed into a building back first .
I gave pursuit almost immediately . I was hoping that my kick and the shot earlier would cause her to let go of Sloth .
But her hands were still firmly holding the black axe .
That level of attack would no longer cause an opening on Myne .
Because she is…
Myne emerged from the rubbles with ease, as if nothing had happened . She made those heavy debrises look as light as feathers .
The next moment, Myne already swung her axe at me topdown .
When I twisted my body to evade, her kick was already waiting for me .
This time it was me who ended up buried under the building debris .
[I knew it… unlike me, she’s a natural . ]
(Indeed, this Me is very confident when it comes to battle . However, Myne was genetically made for that sole purpose . And her compatibility with the mortal sin skill is even greater than me . That’s why she didn’t end up like Luna . )
[Luna and Myne have different skin tones… . The reason why they considered themselves siblings…]
(You already know . They’re born at the same laboratory… in the test tubes . They were created from the same base gene . However, each of them were subjected to different kinds of operation . Therefore, despite being genetically identical siblings, they looked different physically . By the way, this Me was in a different laboratory back then)
Since our thoughts were synchronized, I could see parts of Greed’s memories in my mind .
That memory I saw when I killed Haniel (Luna) . About a group of children being tested by humans in white lab coats inside a lab .
Greed had a similar memory . In one of his memories, he met Luna during one of the experiments . They clicked immediately and got along well .
(Oii, don’t peek at something needless like that . )
Greed was annoyed, but there’s nothing he could do about it .
After all, it’s not like our Crossing was perfect . That’s why sometimes our memories leaked unto the other’s mind .
[If Greed’s memory leaked in the middle of battle, it’ll be hard for me to concentrate]
(That’s why I told you that you lack mental training)
As for me, it’s great to learn something about the usually secretive Greed . But in this situation, the enemy won’t be lenient .
After this battle, Greed promised that he’s answer my question about the past . The fact that we had to use Crossing might partially be the reason behind this decision .
Finally I’ll be able to talk about various things with Greed .
[We’ll have to stop Myne first . ]
I once again brandished my black sword against the Wrath-immersed Myne .
Her power is running rampant, but did she somehow still partially retain her reasoning?
There was barely any unnecessary move so far .
Her timing was also still precise now that I looked back .
[Myne!]
The fight resumed along with my shout .
Myne’s Sloth became heavier with each of her strikes .
If I blocked them with black sword, I would’ve been overwhelmed .
So I could only dodge, waiting for the moment where either Sloth or Myne reaches the limit .
I recalled the time when we fought Haniel in the past .
Myne said .
With each attack, Sloth would become heavier, and therefore gradually reduce Myne’s agility .
If that’s true, then there’s gotta be a limit somewhere .
When it becomes too heavy to be wielded, Sloth would be out of the equation .
It’s simple but difficult at the same time .
As far as I knew, Sloth only has one secret art, which is《Noir Destructo》 .
Where it converts all of its accumulated weight into destructive power .
If Sloth manages to accumulate weight to the very limit, just how destructive it would be… . I just couldn’t imagine it . Not to mention that Greed pointed out to me that during the Haniel fight, Myne only used the bare minimum required to execute the secret .
So in other words, I need to push her into slowing herself down, while making sure that she had no window to use the secret .
As Myne kept attacking, her reaction time would also gradually diminish .
I just had to keep evading her attacks, with occasional blocking to check Sloth’s weight .
Will Myne ever forgive me for using this trick on her?
[Tsk, she’s already used to the timing . ]
She shifted the timing of her attack, causing me to evade too soon .
I’ve been able to avoid her attacks because her attacks had been straightforward and done at a set speed . But now she suddenly changed trajectory and swung at my side!?
A gunshot rang from afar, changing the trajectory of the axe .
[Eris!]
The second shot was aimed at me . It was the phantom bullet .
This bullet produces the illusion of its target to confuse the opponent .
5 illusions were created . Not half bad!
Eris had shown me the bullet effect during our previous training session, but back then she could only produce 3 illusions at most .
The additional two illusions must’ve been the result of Crossing between Eris and Envy .
I too, am in a state of Crossing with Greed .
Therefore I had complete control over my stats now .
Dodging the black axe once more, I swung my sword at Myne’s flank .
[Greed! Adjust!]
Greed could freely adjust the black sword’s sharpness .
That’s why the sword could easily cut through steel . And conversely, it could also be turned into a blunt weapon .
I heard a dull sound . My attack connected .
I wondered to myself, it shouldn’t be that easy, right?
[Are you forgetting that I’m also here?]
The moment my sword was about to hit Myne, Shinn’s tentacle got in the way .
Eris immediately shot it, but she wasn’t able to get rid of it in time .
I lost the opportunity and Myne managed to get away .
She already swung the black axe again without a shred of hesitation . This time I had to block this strike with my sword .
Sloth was already at its twelfth stacks . Obviously it had become super heavy .
I swore I could hear my bones creaking due to the intense shock from blocking such an attack .
The black axe on Myne’s hand had reached an extreme weight . Ground would sink under her with each step she took .
Watching the current situation, Shinn, still in his slime form, laughed .
[Alright, the preparation is finished . ]
Shinn proceeded to look around .
[Why do you think I was under the ground all this time? Do you think I was hiding? You’re wrong . ]
When I blocked Myne’s strike once more, the ground started to tremble .
The red liquid bursted upward, creating a dome that covered the entire Grandeur city .
Even the artificial sun on the ceiling was engulfed .
[Now, this underground city is mine . It’s as good as my own body now . ]
The ground started collapsing, replaced by reddish walls .