Chapter 33 — The Embodiment of Gluttony

Inside the apartment, silence filled the air. The bathroom lights remained on as Saki sat on the cold floor, hugging her knees tightly against her chest. Her blonde ponytail was disheveled and covered in dirt, while dark circles rested beneath her eyes. Ever since the tragedy at Starlight Stadium, she had developed an eating disorder. Whether she was hungry or not, she constantly tried to fill the emptiness caused by the loss of her companions and the pain she carried inside. Afterward, she always ended up here, curled into the corner of the bathroom and blaming herself.

"If I had been stronger... Roland... Sakura..."

"...I'm useless..."

She whispered those words so often that they had become part of her daily routine.

Then—

Creak...

The bathroom door slowly opened.

Saki weakly raised her head as a timid figure peeked through the doorway. A green emerald eye and a yellow, star-shaped eye glowed in the darkness. Sloth nervously held onto the doorframe, almost too frightened to enter.

"...H-..."

"...Hello..."

For a brief moment, Saki's tired eyes widened in shock as she immediately recognized her—the Witch who had prevented her from saving Sakura. Then her expression softened into a small, defeated smile.

"...Have you come to kill me?"

Her voice was calm. Almost relieved.

Sloth blinked.

"...Why..."

"...would you..."

"...think that?"

Sloth asked nervously.

Saki smiled bitterly and looked down at the floor.

".....Taichi... Roland... Sakura... You Witches killed the three of them, didn't you? Now you've come for me..."

"...."

At those words, Sloth nervously remained silent, listening as Saki continued.

"...Even though I called myself their friend... when Taichi and Roland needed me the most, I wasn't there for them..."

She continued to smile bitterly, but tears began to fall from her eyes.

"...And Sakura... I told her I would protect her no matter what... only to miserably fail to keep that promise..."

Sloth remained silent as Saki wiped away her tears. Her expression was that of a defeated person who eagerly awaited death.

"...So... It's all right. You can kill me too. I won't fight. I deserve it."

She muttered the words as she lowered her head again. Perhaps this was the punishment she deserved. If she died, maybe she could see Taichi, Roland, and Sakura again and apologize to her friends. Maybe she could finally tell them how sorry she was for failing them.

However, Sloth immediately shook her head weakly.

"...I..."

"...didn't..."

"...come..."

"...to kill you."

Saki looked confused as Sloth slowly stepped inside.

"...I just came..."

"...to see..."

"...my friend..."

Saki frowned.

"...Friend?"

Sloth lowered her head.

"...You always..."

"...smile..."

"...more than..."

"...anyone else..."

"...but you do that..."

"...because..."

"...you are always..."

"...in pain..."

Silence.

Saki froze, her eyes slowly widening. However, her bitter, depressed expression gradually changed into one of slight anger.

"...You... Why the hell do you speak as if you know me? You don't know anything about me."

The nervous figure of Sloth looked intimidated by Saki's cold and angry expression, but she nevertheless continued speaking.

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"...The reason..."

"...you always..."

"...force..."

"...a smile..."

"...is because..."

"...you always..."

"...think..."

"...about someone..."

"...you lost..."

For a moment, Saki looked puzzled, but Sloth's next words completely shook her.

"...Your..."

"...little sister..."

"...Sasha..."

Saki's face froze, and her body trembled at the name of her missing little sister.

"...You... How... How do you know about Sasha?"

At Saki's question, Sloth nervously moved her fingers.

"Because..."

"...you told..."

"...me..."

"...one night..."

"...on your sister's..."

"...birthday..."

Saki was utterly confused. Then she remembered that night—and the only person she had ever told about her sister.

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Nine months ago, during a fierce battle against one of King Cosmos's generals, the Bravers were resting and recovering in preparation for their next battle. Everyone was sleeping inside the military camp prepared for them.

However, Saki was several meters away from the camp, sitting near the edge of a high cliff and watching the stars in the night sky.

"...What are you doing here...?"

Saki looked surprised. When she turned around, she saw a large figure with short green hair. Roland casually walked toward her until he stood beside her.

"Hey... weren't you supposed to be resting?"

Saki said with an awkward smile.

"...I could ask you the same thing."

Roland answered as he sat beside her.

Saki gave a weak smile as she looked at the ground.

"You seem unusually down. Is everything all right?"

Roland asked, his voice filled with concern.

Saki slightly hugged her knees. Normally, she would have simply answered that she was fine, but that night, she felt as though she couldn't keep hiding the pain inside her chest.

"...Today... is my little sister's birthday..."

Roland's eyes widened in surprise.

"You have a sister...?"

"...Had..."

At Saki's answer, Roland's expression became serious and apologetic as he understood what she meant.

"...I'm sorry for asking..."

"...Don't be sorry... I haven't ever told anyone else..."

Saki's smile became tender as she seemed to remember the past.

"Her name was Sasha... She was four years younger than me. When we were little, we used to do everything together..."

She looked up at the sky, almost as if she could see those memories vividly among the stars.

"...She always looked up to me... and always said she wanted to be strong and brave like her older sister..."

Then, suddenly, Saki's smile vanished as the bitter memory she had always tried to forget resurfaced.

"...But when she was ten, the two of us were playing in the park with the other kids..."

"...That day... she... vanished..."

Roland looked at her seriously.

"...Was she kidnapped?"

Roland dared to ask.

Saki simply smiled bitterly.

"...We never knew... but she probably was. My parents desperately tried to find her for years, but they never found any leads..."

Roland closed his eyes. He wanted to say that he understood her pain, but he knew he couldn't honestly say that.

"...When I see the stars... sometimes I wonder... if she's alive... maybe she's also looking at the stars..."

An awkward silence followed. But Roland felt he couldn't simply remain silent while his friend was in pain.

"...I always think about my wife and my daughter..."

Roland muttered.

Saki looked at him, slightly confused.

"...But they're not my only family..."

Roland looked into her eyes.

"...You... Taichi, Sakura, Endou, Yuki... even Ryuen, who always gets on my nerves... the six of you are also my precious family."

Saki looked at him in disbelief, and Roland continued.

"...So... even though I know you'll always miss your little sister... I want you to remember that you're not alone."

Saki lowered her head. Roland couldn't see her eyes, but he could tell she was smiling.

Then, without warning, a punch struck his elbow.

"Ow!"

Roland groaned in pain.

Saki then stood up, her usual bright smile returning.

"Hahaha! Well, enough with the sad talk. Want to go for a midnight snack?"

Saki laughed, her usual energetic voice returning.

"...It's three in the morning. Don't you think it's a bit late for a snack?"

"Come on! Don't be a downer. Since everyone is sleeping, we could also grab a beer or two..."

"...Sigh..."

Roland sighed as he followed Saki with a defeated smile. The two of them walked side by side back toward the camp.

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The memory vanished.

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Saki stared at the frail girl with a short green bob.

"...Y-You... You are...?"

Almost as if Sloth could guess her question, she immediately nodded and answered.

"...I..."

"...am..."

"...Roland..."

Nearly a full minute passed without a word.

Then Saki laughed—a quiet, broken laugh.

"...Hehehe..."

"...So that's it."

Everything suddenly fit together. Taichi's disappearance. Greed's appearance. Roland's disappearance, followed by Sloth's appearance.

A terrifying thought crossed her mind.

"...Sakura... She too...?"

Sloth immediately nodded, confirming that Sakura had suffered the same fate.

Saki closed her eyes as tears began to form.

"...Why...?"

"We gave everything... We saved the world... So why... did this happen to all of you?"

Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

"...There really isn't a God... is there...?"

She looked back at Sloth.

"...Are you going to do the same to me?"

Sloth gave a timid nod.

"...Yes..."

Saki didn't react. She simply lowered her head again.

"...Whether you kill me... or turn me into another monster... I don't care anymore."

Sloth hesitated before quietly kneeling beside her. The gesture carried a strange sense of familiarity, almost mirroring the night months ago when Roland had sat beside Saki on the cliff and tried to give her hope. Back then, he had reminded her that she wasn't alone. Now, as Sloth knelt beside her in the darkness, that same friend was once again at her side—only this time, he had come to take her hope away.

"...Despair..."

"...isn't punishment."

Her soft voice barely rose above a whisper.

"...It's a gift."

She carefully reached inside her oversized sweater. When her hand emerged, she held something alive: a black sailor-style uniform similar to Greed's. It consisted of a cropped top with a yellow sailor collar and ribbon, a black pleated skirt, yellow gloves, and white boots trimmed with yellow. The fabric slowly breathed as thin black tendrils gently waved across its surface, filling the room with a heavy darkness.

Sloth carefully held it out.

"...This..."

"...is the..."

"...embodiment..."

"...of Gluttony."

She looked at Saki.

"...When it accepts..."

"...someone..."

"...they never have..."

"...to carry their pain..."

"...alone again..."

"...The despair becomes..."

"...part of them."

Saki remained motionless. She didn't answer or resist. She simply continued staring blankly at the floor, the hopelessness inside her having become deeper than fear itself.

The living uniform slowly lifted itself from Sloth's hands. Its black tendrils reached toward Saki and gently wrapped around her shoulders, arms, and waist. Instead of striking violently, they moved with unsettling tenderness as the fabric flowed across her body like living ink.

Her torn clothing gradually disappeared beneath the black material. The yellow ribbon tied itself neatly at her chest, while the skirt settled into place. The gloves slowly covered her hands, and the white boots climbed over her legs. As the transformation continued, the dark aura surrounding the room steadily grew stronger.

Sloth quietly watched.

"...I'm sorry..."

"...that this was..."

"...the only way..."

Outside the apartment, the silent hallway remained filled with motionless wooden soldiers. Deep inside the bathroom, the embodiment of Gluttony continued choosing its new host.