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Novel
The Second Coming of Gluttony
Chapter 75. - King's Wrath (2)
THE SECOND COMING OF GLUTTONY
C75. - King's Wrath (2)
Chapter 75. King's Wrath (2)
Chohong lightly kicked the ground. With that simple motion, she flew up and softly landed near the Nest's position.
The creature visibly panicked and withdrew its tentacles currently creeping towards the unconscious Mikhail and Veronika. It then flung three, four of them towards Chohong who flew towards it, but…
Tuh-tuh-tuh-tung!!
All of its attacks were blocked off by her inverted triangular shield shining brightly in silvery light. The Battle Maiden didn't even budge from her spot. She only had to raise her arm slightly to throw the attacks off. As she did so, silver flames seemed to burn brightly within Chohong's eyes.
The moment she swung her mace, all those tentacles exploded into pieces. The bodily fluids being scattered didn't even have time to wet the ground; they evaporated in the air from the divine conflagration burning all around her.
The Nest issued an ear-piercing scream as its lengthy appendages were gradually burned alive from the silvery flames. Realizing that its opponent had gone through some sort of a transformation, the creature withdrew all of its tentacles in a hurry, bar one still extended out beyond the exit.
However, all those hurriedly-gathered tentacles began hesitating as if they had all fallen into confusion.
Chohong had disappeared.
Seol Jihu was busy dragging the unconscious Mikhail and Veronika to where Maria was, but now, even his own jaw fell to the floor. He only blinked once, but Chohong was already floating in the air. Her dignified, unwavering eyes were glaring down at the Nest. She elegantly descended in an arc and thunderously slammed the Nest's main body with her mace.
POW!!
The tumor-like surface crumpled until it couldn't endure the force and burst open. Reddish fluids shooting out like a fountain were also swallowed up by Chohong's divine conflagration that suddenly expanded its size.
Wuuuueeehh-!!
For the first time in this battle, the Nest's main body was attacked. The Nest let out another loud scream and hurriedly backed away.
However, Chohong's speed had exceeded it. She stuck close to the creature and swung her mace one more time. Another horrifying hole exploded open on the Nest's body and was set alight in silvery flames. It wildly thrashed about in pain.
Chohong disappeared from its sight again. That was as good an evidence as any that her movement speed had greatly exceeded that of the Nest's ability to perceive movements.
The creature must have been greatly incensed. Thirty-odd tentacles shot up as if to puncture the ceiling, and began to slap, thrust, and viciously pound away in every direction.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
The ground shook around violently and spat up dust into the air. The tentacles were now accompanied by the sounds of air being torn apart as they proceeded to indiscriminately attack all of its surrounding vicinity. The frenzied attacks from the Nest after it sensed danger to its life was so shockingly powerful that Seol Jihu, sneaking closer to lend assistance, had no choice but to reflexively retreat.
'I can't interfere with this.'
What was even more unbelievable was the fact that Chohong was in the middle of that violent thrashing.
Shwing! Shwing! Just from hearing the sound coming from the battle made him nearly wet his pants, yet all those flexible whip-like tentacles storming around and sweeping everything within their vicinity still missed her by paper-thin margins.
Chohong slithered around like a flowing river. Her eyes were half-closed; the sight of her brushing aside the tentacles with her extended arms was reminiscent of a graceful figure skater. It was so much so that the description of the tentacles being sucked into her before slipping past perfectly described the current situation.
Chohong elegantly spun her body around, and her silver hair spun alongside like multiple hula-hoops. Silvery streaks of light were left behind her wake as she seemingly floated in close to her target, and eventually, she broke past the wall of tentacles and accurately landed one more mace hit on the Nest's main body. With that, a third scream broke out.
Seol Jihu gasped in excitement. The dying embers of hope were being rekindled again.
'We can win!'
He tried to look for a gap he could exploit. It was then that he realized Chohong's condition had become strange once more.
Her once-serene expression crumpled ever so slightly. Her pale cheeks were flushed red, and her breathing had become rougher as well. He thought he saw a flash of anxiety in her face too.
He wasn't sure what was going on, but regardless, he knew that the situation was beginning to change again. The powerful Nest that seemed to be undefeatable was now shaking around rather greatly. Over half of its tentacles were no longer useable, and quite a lot of its body had been scorched black. Most importantly, the biggest gain this time was its giant body shrinking to a noticeable degree.
However, the Nest didn't just sit by and do nothing. The remaining tentacles suddenly expanded greatly. Then, along with the sounds of air leaking out of balloons, green-colored thick liquids vomited out of them in all directions.
It wasn't just one or two tentacles spitting out the liquid, so he mistakenly thought that water was flooding out from a giant broken fountain. Even then, Chohong was nowhere to be found. To be exact, she had already pulled herself far back by the time liquid landed on the ground.
When its final trump card only managed to melt the ground around it, the Nest exploded in pure rage.
Chohong was also gritting her teeth. She raised her shield in front of her and dashed forward desperately. This must have been that opening she spoke about earlier – Seol Jihu matched his timing with her movement and, while gripping his spear tightly, he too sprinted forward.
There was only one opportunity. He was preparing to split his internal energy surging like a rising dragon into two and pour them into his spear and his earring, but then….
Chohong slapped away the tentacle angrily thrust forward by the Nest but began to unsteadily falter on her feet.
"Chohong?!"
Seol Jihu was greatly taken aback and belatedly realized that the silver light surrounding her had grown a lot fainter than before.
….No, he was wrong. The light dispersed altogether. Her armor, her shield, everything.
"Ah!"
At the same time, Chohong's expression resembled someone just waking up from a deep sleep. She could only take a couple more steps before falling down on one knee. She panted and her slack jaw dropped open, leading to the pooled sweat to dribble down her chin. As if she was overcome with bitterness, her face crumpled unsightly.
The reason for that was simple. The Valkyrie Skirt raised the combat prowess of the caster by summoning the spirit of the Battle Maiden. It allowed the caster's battle power to rise to that of a High Ranker, but it could only be maintained for 30 to 40 seconds at most. Afterwards, an extreme case of enervation would follow.
Chohong felt all of her strength seep out with every passing second as she desperately tried to control her breathing. The Nest also looked like it was in a groggy state. Just one more hit, one single hit, and it might be the end.
"I haven't….."
'…Even made a proper opening yet.'
Her calculation was off all thanks to the Nest's resistance that exceeded her imaginations.
Now that Chohong had to retire from this battle, Seol Jihu had no choice but to hesitate. The Nest and its urgently quivering, expanding body also realized her strange state as well.
Wuuuooooh?
The Nest finally decided to raise one of its tentacles, but it flinched greatly again. Chohong still showed no sign of moving, but yet another, different but still powerful energy was rising up from someplace way behind her.
"Heeuup-!"
Maria took a deep breath and slowly stood back up. Seol Jihu saw the crucifix on top of the altar scattering away into dust before her, and his eyes shone brightly in understanding.
She looked as if she'd collapse at any given moment, yet Maria somehow managed to regain her balance and raised both of her hands high up.
"Mall Te Oculorum Meorum!"
Immediately afterwards, white beams of light crackled into the sky like a current of electricity, forming a huge hammer. The cluster of light continued to expand in size, displaying power that could not be taken lightly. The Nest was visibly startled.
No one in here could wait around watching anymore. Seol Jihu immediately activated the Festina Earring. Meanwhile, the Nest freaked out and shot a tentacle out towards Maria with everything it had. Her brows rose up high as she cried out.
"Mjolnir!"
The blinding light exploded. Seol Jihu's eyes, as he was about to dash forward, opened wide. At the same time, Chohong quickly looked behind her in sheer shock. Below the hammer of light falling like a divine retribution, a lone tentacle flew out like an arrow toward the Priest. Maria was dazedly looking at the tentacle with a sweat-soaked, stupefied expression on her face.
In that split second moment….
What were the thoughts entering Seol Jihu's head when facing the single opportunity created through everyone working so incredibly hard?
He knew for sure that Maria would get killed. Even Warriors found it difficult to endure against the tentacles and tried to dodge them, so there was no chance that a Priest could survive a direct hit.
His steps previously directed towards the Nest made a 90-degree turn.
Boom!
He activated the stacking ability of the earring and summoned up every ounce of energy he could to run. He thought he heard someone call out his name but ignored it and simply dashed forward. Maria squeezed her eyes shut as the tentacle approached her position in an instant.
"Shit…!"
In the next moment, the underground cavern was filled up with a massive, blinding flash of light as well as the accompanying thunderous sound. It was so loud that the sensation of someone embracing her and even the screams of the Nest itself were all buried.
A short while later, Maria's eyes cracked open just a little, and she hurriedly sucked in her breath. Seol Jihu was tightly hugging her. She thought that he sacrificed himself for her, but against her expectations, he was completely fine.
He was also flustered by this development. He didn't even have enough time to raise his guards up. He simply pulled her in thinking that he'd be able to guard against that one hit somehow. But then, both he and Maria were completely unscathed. He blinked his eyes several times but discovered the reason soon after. Chohong was standing in front of them, with her left arm raised up.
"C-Chohong!!"
Seol Jihu was momentarily taken over by relief, but the reality dawned on him and he cried out loudly. Chohong's back was shuddering heavily. Creak, creak. She turned her head around like a puppet with its strings cut, and with an energyless face, her lips trembled slightly.
"….Hey, you… dumb… idiot…"
She roughly breathed in and out and lowered her left arm agonizingly slowly.
"I told you…. to take the chance…."
"….Cho, Chohong?"
"But… you chose to…. save her…?"
"Y-You…"
Seol Jihu sensed something was very wrong. Chohong's left arm couldn't be seen. To be exact, there was nothing below her elbow. And when he took a closer look, her back was gradually being dyed crimson. Seol Jihu's face became dazed.
"….But, then again…."
Seeing the reaction on his face, Chohong's lips arched up. It was a lonely smile of sadness.
"….That's just like you…."
With that, her long black hair wavered in the air. Slowly. Chohong slowly fell. Only after she fell did he notice a large hole in her left chest. Her broken armor, her lost arm, even her sharp nose that rose and fell with so much difficulty – they all stopped moving.
At first, there was no change in Seol Jihu's expression. However, his eyes began quaking powerfully and his face seemed to have aged by over ten years in an instant.
He couldn't do anything. He shouldn't have been waiting for a chance, no, he should have been the one making it for others. Even if that cost him his life. But he couldn't even do that.
Regret rushed in belatedly. And also, a sense of powerlessness and a realization of his feebleness.
Thump!
His heart pounded. His pulses sped up.
Maria, who had been staring at Chohong and her condition, raised her head just a tad. To her shock, the Nest was still alive.
It got pummelled by Chohong's mace, and it even got hit straight up by Mjolnir, yet it was still alive. Sure, its condition was rather wretched at the moment, but regardless, it was still drawing breath. Its tenacious vitality made her grit her teeth.
That wasn't all either. Suddenly, it issued gulping noises and began to regenerate some part of itself.
'Mjolnir' definitely inflicted a fatal wound on it. However, bubbles boiled over and the ash-colored flesh continued to rise up. Soon, it spat out a spear and a shield. Seeing this, Maria let out a bitter laugh.
"Hah."
If her eyes weren't wrong, then those armaments belonged to Gierszal. In other words, he was trying to escape all by himself and got killed in the process. The Nest with serious injuries was absorbing the dead body to recover itself. She inwardly wondered why it so desperately tried to reel in the fallen humans, but now she understood why.
'Fucking idiot. Even in death, you're utterly useless.'
On one hand, she felt remorseful. Perhaps she should have prayed for a stronger spell. Rather than wanting to reduce the backlash, she was trying to get her timing right and chose a spell that would let her end the Ceremony on time. And that decision would be her final regret.
"….I shouldn't have come."
Maria mumbled in dejection. The Nest have now recovered a few parts of itself and raised several of its tentacles to wiggle them around.
Wookikiki. It even issued a strange sound, which kind of sounded like a laugh of ridicule.
"Why didn't you just let me die?"
Maria pouted and weakly leaned her head against Seol Jihu's chest.
"If you aimed for that opening, at least you and Chohong would have…?!"
But then, her eyes grew wide.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The rate of his heart beating was far too fast to be normal. Brrrr. She even felt his entire body shudder uncontrollably.
It happened then.
Crack… crack-….
She heard the sounds of gritting teeth so soft yet bone chillingly-eerie that she couldn't believe it was made by another human being. Maria flinched and cautiously raised her head up.
"You…?"
In that moment….
[Innate Ability, 'Future Vision', has been activated.]
Maria definitely saw it.
She saw the youth and a thin line of blood trickling down his lips. No, she saw the youth and his face crumpled to resemble a demon king of slaughter and madness.
As if in a trance, he separated from Maria. He grasped the spear so tight that its shaft might shatter.
Suddenly.
Death – a clear and distinctly murderous intent enveloped Maria's body. The intent was so ominous that simply by being near it sent shivers down her spine.
"Don't…."
Like a beast howling, a tightly-suppressed growl leaked out of his mouth.
"Don't fuck…."
His bloodshot eyes began to emit a crimson glow. An unbelievable amount of energy rippled out, and the ground below fractured and rumbled.
The final battle.
This was the second coming of the demon of the battlefield, who used to rampage unchecked and unrivaled on countless battlefields.
"Don't fuck with me, you piece of shit!!"
The moment his enraged roar shook the entire underground cavern…
BOOM!!
The Nest's bodily fluids sprayed out. Maria formed a disbelieving expression and quickly looked to her side. There it was, one spear that blew up a part of the Nest. Even the creature itself reacted one step later. Its tentacles wiggling around in a dance of ridicule all recoiled in fright.
"B-Be caref…!"
Maria was about to cry out "Be careful!" but she couldn't as her jaws dropped to the floor. A tentacle flew towards Seol Jihu's direction, but he simply extended his hand out to it. He then roused an enormous amount of mana, grabbed the tentacle, then utterly crushed it with his bare hand!
Rip!
The tentacle flapped around as if the Nest was going on a frenzy from the intolerable pain of its flesh being ripped apart in pieces.
Seol Jihu discarded the tentacle as his spear began resonating loudly. It sounded as if it was crying. Almost right afterwards, an ice-colored blade aura about a meter-long shot out from the tip of the spear.
'No way!'
Just how many more times would she get hit on the head by surprises today? Maria saw that clear-as-day aura blazing out icily from the spear, and she screamed inside her mind in pure astonishment.
'That, isn't that the skill accessible only to Unique Rank Warriors…!?'
To be more specific, it was a skill only a small handful of Unique Rankers could use. And if her memory was correct, then she had seen it only once during her entire career as a Priest inside Paradise.
The Level 7 Highlander's Secret Art – Sword Qi Wave.
Seol Jihu swung his arm roughly. The icy-blue blade of energy flashed to left and right as if it was putting on a light show. In the blink of an eye, all the tentacles attached to the Nest's main body were chopped off, and they fell down with loud thuds. The damn things that remained so tenacious and stubborn until then were rendered completely useless.
That wasn't the end. As if to announce that he was only getting started, Seol Jihu grasped the spear tight with both of his hands and crazily slashed and pounded with his weapon. Every time Seol Jihu's sword qi touched the Nest, chunks of its flesh flew out along with its bodily fluids.
"Uwaaaahhh!!"
From a certain point in time, the Nest stopped moving altogether. However, Seol Jihu's spear didn't stop. His enraged state was so scary that Maria was busy backing off while looking frightened as well.
Just like that, he pounded and sliced away until the Nest turned into a meat paste.
Just how long went by like that?
Puck! His spear struck the ground. He had been pounding into the thing for so long that its main body had pretty much disappeared. The only thing barely remaining on the ground was finely beaten piece of darkened red flesh.
"Haaa… haaa…."
Seol Jihu collected his breath within this sea of mangled body parts and bodily fluids before finally regaining his senses. He only looked around him in a daze for a second or two. He snapped his head behind him and shouted out.
"Maria!"
He quickly ran over to where she was. Maria flinched and instinctively retreated away but stopped moving when she saw the look on his face and the way he was behaving.
His complexion had reverted back to normal. The change was so extreme that she couldn't help but think that the expression on his face only a little while ago had to be a hallucination on her part.
Maria cautiously opened her mouth, her eyes still disbelieving and distrusting.
"You…. Just what are you?"
"Huh?"
"Are you bloody kidding me?! If you possessed a power like that, then why didn't you, from the get-go…..?!"
Maria yelled out loudly, further adding, "We wouldn't have gone through this much hardship then! Do you have any idea how much I've lost today?!"
"I, I also don't know what happened. I saw Chohong falling, and my head just blanked out…."
Seol Jihu shook his head hard. Maria formed an expression of even greater disbelief. She kept spitting out bitter groans non-stop.
"Stop fucking around, will you? Isn't this the same bullshit as the dying main character suddenly jumping up full of renewed energy when a heroine sheds a couple of tears?"
"B-Besides that, please help Chohong!"
Seol Jihu quickly realized his mistake. Didn't Maria already perform a Ceremony? Was she able to perform another one?
Maria hurriedly felt for Chohong's pulse for a second, and her her brows shot up high.
"Go bring her arm. Now!"
"Huh? B-But, what about the backlash…?"
"You think Mjolnir is a high-class spell like Cure Colossal Wounds? I can take care of it somehow, so just go and fetch the damn thing already!"
That was a relief. Seol Jihu quickly located Chohong's separated arm and brought it back.
"She's not dead yet. It's faint, but I can still feel her heartbeat. Besides, it hasn't been that long, so I can still treat her."
She emphasized the word 'treat' and rolled her sleeves up like an expert. She quickly chanted the spell into life.
"Cure Massive Wounds."
A warm ray of light gently wrapped around Chohong's entire body. Maria must have thought one spell wasn't enough because she recited additional spells. The hole in Chohong's chest closed up gradually, and the separated arm was reattaching itself.
"Will she be okay? She will survive this, right?"
"I've already done what I can. The rest is up to the patient herself. Well, she's been toiling in Paradise for a long time now, so surely she wouldn't die from some simple shock like this."
Maria curtly replied and got up to leave, perhaps to examine the status of Mikhail and Veronika as well.
Did she mean to say that the odds of survival were very good? Indeed, Chohong wasn't some weakling. She was a strong woman. As long as she still drew breath, she would be treatable – that's what Maria must have meant.
Feeling relieved now, Seol Jihu let a sigh escape from his mouth.
"Ah…."
Only then did a terrible sense of enervation and fatigue come knocking on his consciousness. This was the price of rousing his mana beyond his limits just so he could utilize a high-class skill several realms higher than his current level.
He plopped down on his butt but couldn't stay upright anymore and simply laid down on his back. He glanced at Chohong's sleeping face, now looking rather serene and calm.
He couldn't quite recall what had happened. His memory cut off the moment he saw the message about 'Future Vision'.
But, regardless of what happened, they had made out of it alive. He thought he was going to die, but he was alive now.
More importantly, Chohong wasn't dead. More than anything, he wanted to be happy about that and celebrate it to his heart's content.
"Would you look at this guy?"
Maria returned to his side and bitterly chuckled after seeing him and Chohong lying side by side.
"Hey, you're not expecting me to carry four people outta here, right?"
"C-Can't we take a short break? I'm really exhausted at the moment."
Maria leered at him for a while. It was clear that she was not fully convinced. Out of the blue, though, she began rubbing her eyes rather vigorously.
Drop, drop.
Her tears fell on Seol Jihu's face, and he formed a bit of a frown.
"Okay, you can move now, right?"
Seol Jihu momentarily became speechless.
"I don't want to stay here any longer. I wanna get out of here right now."
Seol Jihu agreed with her 100 percent, but unfortunately, he was this close to falling into a deep slumber from the sense of fatigue flooding into him.
"What's the matter? Aren't you getting the second wind or something again? Aren't my tears enough for you?"
Maria sarcastically muttered out, her eyes still wet from tears.
"No, well, that's not it…."
Seol Jihu fell into a bit of contemplation before frankly speaking up what his tired mind could come up with.
"I think it's because you aren't the heroine of this story, Miss Maria."
"…."
Maria glared silently at him before powerfully kicking him in the side.
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Novel
The Second Coming of Gluttony
Chapter 77 - "I don't want to live like that."
THE SECOND COMING OF GLUTTONY
C77 - "I don't want to live like that."
Chapter 77. "I don't want to live like that."
It might have taken half a day to get to the village in carriages, but they needed four days of solid walking for the return trip home.
Maria didn't even bother to say anything and headed straight to her temple. Even if the adverse reaction was small, a Ceremony was still a Ceremony at the end of the day. She mentioned that she needed to pray and recuperate in a temple the god resides in order to prevent her from taking on potential losses.
On the other hand, Mikhail and Veronika looked as if they didn't want to part ways just like that. It was pretty obvious why they would feel that way; the abilities, judgment, and overall actions and behavior of Seol Jihu during the request itself had left a deep impression on them.
It was difficult to estimate just how much he'd grow in the future when considering how amazing he was as a Level 2. They would lose nothing by getting close to him now. After all, who knew what would happen in the future?
Mikhail had finished with his mental calculations and made a friendly suggestion of sharing a few cold ones together. He said that he'd pay for the drinks as a gesture of thanks for saving his and Veronika's lives.
Seol Jihu also busily tinkered with his internal abacus. He did feel this before, and even now it hadn't really changed; these guys weren't really up to his liking. However, their abilities should get a decent boost after reaching Level 4. If he thought about the future, then it would not be such a bad idea to get friendly with them. Most importantly, though, the free-alcohol-loving Chohong gave numerous hints of wanting to go, so he had no choice but to say yes.
On that day, Seol Jihu did as the pub advertised and ate, drank, and thoroughly enjoyed himself until he was nearly drunk out of his mind. He sang loudly and cheerfully with Chohong as they returned back to the office. He took a much deserved refreshing shower and laid down on his back on the bed. Having slept on the hard, unforgiving ground for a few nights in a row, this modest bed suddenly came across as the softest and most comfortable resting place in the whole world.
'This is so good.'
He really liked the scent of people living around him. He was no longer alone. He was now an Earthling who had made his nest in Haramark.
A content grin crept up on his face as one thought after another slipped in and out of his head. His expression remained one of happiness as he drifted into his slumber.
*
He only realized that Dylan and Hugo were not in the office on the following morning of his return to Haramark.
Since their usual luggage was nowhere to be seen, it didn't seem like they had gone out for a spot of casual stroll or some such, but Seol Jihu let it be. After all, he already knew those two had a mission to get to.
He had no clue how long they'd be away for, but seeing that Cinzia personally came here to speak to the duo, the mission could not have been the kind that might end in a day or two.
Since Ian was roped into it as well, Seol Jihu couldn't help but wonder if the royal family was also involved in this matter somehow.
'Hold on.'
Didn't that mean that it was only him and Chohong living in this building then? Wasn't it somewhat like a couple living together?
"Ohh, yeah. Now that's refreshing. That really wakes you up for good, doesn't it?"
It was at this point that he heard her familiar voice. Chohong had finished up her hangover-cure morning workout routine and took a shower before emerging from the bathroom while shaking her wet hair loose.
'Wow….'
No matter how many times he saw it, he couldn't help himself.
Those pair of firm thighs emerging from the curves of the 'Dolfin' shorts. Her healthily-fleshed, tear-drop shaped buttocks connected to those thighs. And the arching lines flowing up from there to form beautiful curves resembling a fine white ceramic vase, with her rather appealingly shaped belly button in the center catching one's attention. And then, as she wore the sleeveless white T, her upright bosom proudly announcing themselves a step more than before.
Maybe he stared at her for too long, because Chohong stopped drinking water and gave him a weird look.
"What's up with that face?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"Your eyes are wiggling like a pair of worms, and the philtrum below your nose is stretching down to the ground too….."
Chohong walked over to the couch and settled down on it. Seol Jihu quickly took the spot next to her and began stroking her hair as if it was his new favorite hobby. Her wet-hair still shimmered softly in that arresting silver hue. It all looked so pretty and soft to touch too, so naturally, he couldn't stop himself from touching it.
Chohong was biting into a fruit but then felt a chill run down her spine and quickly spun her head to the side. He spotted Seol Jihu tightly clenching onto some strands of her hair so he could wantonly brush his face against them.
"…What are you doing?"
"Mm? Ahh, it just feels nice, you see. And also, it's so cool to look at, too."
"Stop it. You're creeping me out."
"I wish your hair would stay this way forever."
"Stop dreaming, will ya? At the latest, it should revert back to the origi….. Argh, I told you to stop already!"
Seol Jihu tried to tie her hair and make a pretty little shape, so she got rather temperamental and shook her head around wildly. All his hard work trying to create a perfect ribbon was now lost for good and he could only lament the loss in his heart.
"Did you suddenly lose your screws or something? You know, you kinda look like a perv when you're being like this!"
"Please, can I touch your hair some more? Well, you treat me like a pillow, so it's all fair, right?"
"Urgh, you…."
Chohong threatened to throw the fruit at him but took a big bite out of it instead. Orya! She then laid down on the couch and placed her legs on his lap. Not wanting to lose out, Seol Jihu also grasped her hair.
"Let go, right now. Or else."
"Then put your legs down."
Hng! Chohong snorted in defiance. Her cheeks ballooned up and down as she continued to chew before she spoke to him.
"Hey."
"?"
"I'm going to the temple today. Wanna go together?"
"But I'm Gula. Aren't you Ira or Invidia?"
"Urgh, come on now. You're a Level 2, you know? It doesn't matter where you go, as long as you aren't a Level 4."
She had a point.
"Besides, I'm planning to stop by at Gula's place too."
"Really? But why would you go to Gula's temple?"
Seol Jihu had been using her thighs as an impromptu drum kit and was lightly tapping on them, but after hearing her declaration, his hands came to an abrupt stop. Could it be?
"Hang on a minute. Seriously?"
"No, well, it's not a definite thing. I'll know once I get there."
Chohong carried a disinterested expression. She avoided meeting his gaze and focused on chewing her fruit. However, she couldn't entirely hide the corners of her lips from curling upwards every now and then. Seol Jihu formed a bright smile for her instead.
"For real? You're going to be a Level 5?"
He poked her on the side, and she contorted on the couch while erupting out in a fit of laughter.
"Argh, I told you, I gotta go and see first!"
Chohong continued to laugh out as he tickled her.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't expect a Nest to suddenly pop up out of nowhere, you know."
"Which path are you thinking of taking?"
"I haven't decided yet. I'm not interested in going with Invidia at all. If I go with Ira, then I'd become a Templar. If I go with Gula, there's a good chance that I'd end up as a Crusader."
"A Templar, a Crusader... I'm jealous. Even their names sound cool."
Seol Jihu jumped up from the couch.
"There's no time to waste, then. What are you doing? Come on now. Get up. Let's go!"
"Take it easy. I'll go after breakfast, okay. Besides, you think becoming a High Ranker is that easy?"
"It isn't?"
"From Level 5 onwards, experiences alone won't be enough. Your contribution points are counted too."
"Contribution points?"
Chohong polished off the fruit by then. She lightly dusted her hand and nodded her head.
"Contribution points, achievement points, they're the same thing. They look at how much service you've rendered to Paradise until now, that sort of thing."
"If it's not enough, you can't get to Level 5?"
"Well, it's a bit hard to be sure, because…."
Chohong tilted her head this way and that before carrying on.
"You see, even the royal family gets involved when it's time to advance to Level 5."
"Royal family? Really?"
"Yeah. You go to a temple and get acknowledged there, then you pull off the mission the royal family give you. Only then can you level up. It's kinda like an advancement test."
"Do you have to go through all that? No exceptions?"
"Well, obviously there have been cases of people leveling up without taking a test, but that's only for those folks who had contributed a lot even as they got to Level 4. You know, those people who don't spend a single point of their achievement points tally and only chase after one battlefield after another. There are practically no Earthlings who do that though."
Seol Jihu muttered to himself, "It's more complicated than I thought."
Chohong shrugged her shoulders.
"It can't be helped. Once you arrive at the upper ranks, the way people treat you changes. Oh, well. Warriors still have it easier than Priests, that's for sure."
"How bad is it for Priests, then?"
"I heard that you gotta get a ton of offerings ready and also prove your worth through some method. It's all really annoying."
Seol Jihu nodded his head.
"I guess being a Priest isn't as easy as it looks."
"You could say that. If you get really technical about it, every class out there has its pros and cons. It's the same story for Magicians."
"In any case, should we hold a celebration tonight?"
Chohong was taken by surprise from that.
"A celebration? Eiii, there's no need. It's nothing worth celebrating about."
"It is definitely worth celebrating about. Carpe Diem is about to welcome its second High Ranker, after all."
"I'm telling you, there's no need. It's too embarrassing."
Seol Jihu easily caught Chohong's waving hand and pulled her closer.
"Don't be like that and let's do it. Allow me to splurge tonight so I can get something out of you in the near future, okay?"
"R-Really? W-well, if you're thinking that way…. Yeah, why not?"
She probably didn't feel bad at all that someone was congratulating her like this because she stopped leering at him from the corners of her eyes and pushed herself off from the couch while pretending to be defeated by him. However, there was this bright smile blooming on her pale face. It certainly looked good on her. She opened her mouth to speak in between her smiles.
"I wonder, will it be fine for only us two to hold a celebration?"
"No helping it, then. When Dylan and Hugo come back, we'll just have to hold another one."
"Kek! I can already imagine Hugo's face. When he finds out that I've advanced to the upper level before he did, he's gonna get a serious case of stomach cramp of jealousy."
The two of them laughed out boisterously and left the office together.
***
They separated the mid-way. Chohong said she'd head off to Ira's temple first, and Seol Jihu told her that he'd be waiting at Gula's. He wasn't expecting much today, but it'd be a total lie if he wasn't hoping for something to happen as well.
However, it was as expected. There was no such thing as him shooting up to Level 3 today.
'I see, it wasn't enough….'
[Fufufu. Your greed is too excessive.]
'Still….'
[Combat experience indeed takes up the largest portion in getting to higher levels, true.]
Gula's languid voice continued on.
[However, that is not the only thing to consider. Even if your current fitness level meets the criteria, you haven't mastered any of your Level 2 abilities yet, have you?]
Indeed, she had a point there. And because she was right, Seol Jihu had no choice but to swallow his rueful heart and accept her findings.
'I understand.'
[Remember, it's not always a good thing for you to level up quickly. You should try again after sufficiently preparing yourself.]
'I will.'
He then felt the sensation of a hand stroking his head as if Gula found him adorable. He lowered his head a little. It felt nice, though.
[By the way, you have done admirably on your mission.]
'Pardon?'
[It was a truly surprising turn of events.]
Seol Jihu tilted his head, but a thought entered his mind quickly enough. If it was a mission, then…
'Are you referring to the request? Does that mean exterminating the Nest will have some kind of ramifications in the future?'
[Such a simple, negligible thing won't affect the flow of events in any shape or form.]
Gula sounded so gentle, but her words certainly were not.
[However, to think that you'd forcibly create debt and tangle the strings of fate together in that manner. I had expected you to simply walk right by, but you surprised me. Fufufu.]
'If you mean by debt, can it be….?'
Was she talking about the village head? Or Mikhail? Was it Veronika? Or, maybe even the villagers?
[In any case, I'm relieved. Although the path ahead is a field of thorns, you now at least possess shoes to help you tread it.]
'I just don't understand what you're saying?'
[I'm praising you. 'That' will at least pry open a breathing space for you.]
'….'
[Of course, it all depends on the choices you make in the end.]
'Here she goes again.'
He felt like falling into a pit of confusion every time he heard the words that sounded like him chasing after the floating clouds.
Seriously, would letting him know in clear, concise words bring the sky down or something?
[The causality will be brought down, yes. Do not ever take the divulging of heaven's secrets lightly.]
'!?'
Seol Jihu was grumbling inwardly but got shocked out of his mind from that warning. Scared that he might get smacked in the head again, he quickly bade his goodbye and turned around to leave.
He waited by the entrance of the temple for Chohong, but she didn't show up even after a long while. It seemed that she needed more time than they had expected.
'Well, I guess I'll just head there myself.'
He figured that he'd finish his cigarette first before leaving but then, he spotted a man hurriedly running towards him. Seol Jihu had never met this man before.
"Are you Seol by any chance?"
"Excuse me? I am, but who…?"
"I came from Ira's temple. I carry a message from Chung Chohong. She says that she'll be late today, so don't wait for her and go back first."
"….Chohong said that?"
"I've delivered the message. Well, then."
As if he had nothing more to say, the man simply turned around and left without even a goodbye. In all honesty, it was hard to make heads or tails from that message alone.
Seol Jihu watched the man hurriedly climb down the steps of the temple while sucking in the last bits of his cigarette.
'Did something happen?'
*
Chohong might have said she'd be late, but that didn't mean Seol Jihu would stand around doing nothing. He trained moderately until around dinner time, and he went out to buy an armful of booze and snacks before returning to the office. He placed them down on the coffee table and settled down on the couch to wait.
'She'd be happy when she sees this, right?'
….However, no matter how long he waited, Chohong showed no signs of coming back.
The clock continued to tick over and the food was gradually getting colder. Seol Jihu began pouting as he fidgeted around.
She only came back several hours after dinner time. The night had already deepened considerably by then. Seol Jihu was napping a little on the couch, but he heard the front door open and his eyes shot up wide right away. Chohong had been walking with an energy-less face but then, formed a surprised face after running into him.
"You weren't asleep?"
"Ah, that is, well…."
Seol Jihu's gaze was lowered, and Chohong followed it to the table filled with the grub. She gasped out in belated realization. Seol Jihu was the same. Seeing that she looked exhausted and listless, that could only mean….
'….I uncorked the champagne a little too early.'
He admonished himself a little and cautiously spoke to her.
"I guess you got delayed a bit?"
"Yeah, just a little. I went to the temple and went to the royal palace too…. Were you waiting for long?"
"The royal palace?"
Seol Jihu's eyes opened wider.
"Is it done?"
"Uh? Well, something like that."
"Okay, what about that test, that mission thing, then?"
"Well, that….. Looks like I'll have to, you know, hash it out some more."
For some reason, Chohong averted her gaze. Seol Jihu patted the spot on the couch next to him.
"What exactly had happened? Take a seat here and talk to me, please."
"There isn't much to say, really. It's not a confirmed thing, anyway."
"Oh… I see."
She looked puzzlingly listless and that naturally sucked out all enthusiasm from Seol Jihu, as well.
"…You hungry? If not, how about something to drink?"
Chohong shook her head. Seol Jihu stopped lightly shaking the bottle of booze as his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. This woman refused a free drink? Something like that was utterly unimaginable.
"Did something happen to you?"
"No, not at all."
Chohong shook her head again.
"I'm not really in the mood, you know? I'm kinda feeling pooped out, too."
"I see. If you're too tired, you should get some rest first."
This whole thing must've played on her mind because she hesitated where she stood for a while before a helpless sigh escaped from her mouth.
"…Sorry….."
She whispered softly under her breath and slowly walked away. Seol Jihu dazedly stared at her back as she entered the bedroom.
'…Did she just say she's sorry?'
That would be his first time hearing her apologize. Seol Jihu stood there in silence for a while, before opening his mouth.
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
No reply came back his way, however.
*
Chohong seemed to be really busy all of a sudden. When he woke up in the mornings, she would be gone already, and it became a pretty common occurrence to see her return late into the night as well. Not only that, she didn't even show up in the training facility once and, when it got really bad, he ended up not seeing her for an entire day.
But when she did come back to the office, he found it hard to approach her from the way she chose to sit all alone. She would be either resting her chin on her hands as she stewed in her worries or every now and then displayed hints of how anxious and pressed her mental state was.
He kept asking her what was the matter with her, but all he got in return was "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
'Something did happen.'
Although he felt a bit saddened by her not confiding in him, it was true that people had issues they needed to sort out by themselves. Seol decided to patiently wait for her to come around and immersed himself in daily routines, instead. In the mornings, physical training; in the afternoons, abilities and mana training. And then, sleep. Like a squirrel spinning inside a wheel, he continued the exact same routine over and over again.
However, the time continued to move on; one day, then two days passed, and then, three, four days went by. A week later, Chohong didn't even bother to show up back in the office at all. He had never seen her gone for more than two days in a row, so he naturally got pretty concerned.
That wasn't all, either. He had no idea what kind of a mission Dylan and Hugo went off to, but those two also showed no signs of returning, as well. Just what on earth was going on here?
Now that the situation had arrived this far, it was only natural that Seol Jihu would start suspecting that something was indeed very off. There definitely had to be something going on here that he wasn't aware of. Convinced of this, he didn't sleep that night and waited by the couch.
Chohong returned to the office during the dawn of the fourth day of his vigil. She cautiously opened the door and trudged in only for her eyes to open wide in a pair of round holes.
"What aren't you in bed?"
"…."
"Were you waiting for me? Sorry, sorry. I had some things to take care of."
"…."
Chohong wasn't a fool, either. She continued to sneak a glance at Seol Jihu as he sat quietly on the couch and stared back at her. It was easy to see that she did feel guilty about something.
"Huaam~, I'm so tired."
She tried her best to not notice anything and walk past him, but….
"…Chohong."
His low, hushed voice stopped her feet from moving again.
"Come and sit down next to me, please."
Tap! Seol Jihu placed his hand on the coffee table.
"We need to talk."
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Novel
The Second Coming of Gluttony
Chapter 78 - "I don't want to live like that." (2)
THE SECOND COMING OF GLUTTONY
C78 - "I don't want to live like that." (2)
Chapter 78. "I don't want to live like that." (2)
A bit of a rich scene played out on the third floor of Carpe Diem's office. Seol Jihu and his knife-sharp questions continuously probing for the truth; Chohong seriously going through a panicked fluster and waving her hands about in denial. If any Earthling who knew her true personality, the one that got her elected as one of the top three in the Six Crazies, saw this spectacle, then that person would have probably collapsed from the sheer weight of the mental shock he would be subjected to.
A short while later, Seol Jihu finally stopped interrogating her and his arched-up brows softened just a tad.
"So, you're definitely saying it's not a serious problem, right?"
"That's~~ right!! I'm telling you, it's not an easy matter to climb up to high ranks."
"Even then, I feel a bit left out here, you know? I mean, at the very least, we could have butt our heads and try to solve it together. It's easier to solve a problem with two heads than one."
"Come on, I have my pride to think about. It's a bit embarrassing to ask around for help just because I can't work out a puzzle in a game, right? I'm supposed to be a Level 4, after all."
Chohong giggled and hurriedly added something extra.
"And besides, I just wanted to do this thing with my own power. That way, I can straighten my back and act with some pride when I become a High Ranker. So don't be like that and be more understanding, okay?"
She laughed and pounded him on his back. The words 'game' got on his nerves for some reason, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't believe her, but now that she was coming out like this, he didn't have much to say.
"…I got it."
In the end, Seol Jihu chose to take a step back. Chohong looked noticeably relieved.
"Still, if it's too hard, tell me about it, okay? Who knows? There might be something that I can help you with."
"Let me try my luck for a little longer. If I just can't solve it, then I'll ask you. Well, just like you said, it's easier to solve a problem with two…. uh, what was it again?"
"It's easier to solve a problem with two heads than one."
Seol Jihu formed a bitter smile.
"Right…. Oh."
Chohong scratched the side of her head before throwing this completely out-of-the-blue question at him.
"Hey, aren't you gonna go home anytime soon?"
"Home? Why are you talking about my home all of a sudden?"
"You know, just? Isn't it time you go check out what happened so far back home?"
"Not at all. I don't want to. Not going."
Seol Jihu shook his head as if there was no reason to even think about this matter. Chohong stared at him for a little while and sighed softly under her breath.
"….Got it."
*
Next day.
For the first time in a while, Chohong displayed a rather relaxed attitude in the following morning. They had breakfast together, and she even participated in his morning training routine. It was as if she was thinking at least a little bit about him.
However, that only lasted for a short while. Sometime in the afternoon, she received a call through her personal communication crystal and hurriedly ran out of the office. She didn't even mention where she was going, too. As a matter of fact, she was in such a hurry that Seol Jihu couldn't even think about stopping her and ask.
'She's definitely hiding something.'
He was in the middle of going through his usual afternoon schedule but decided to stop with his training then. He needed his undivided attention on training his abilities as well as his mana, after all. It was already hard to get any sort of improvement even after focusing every little fiber of his being, yet he was now mired in all sorts of distracting thoughts and so, it was rather impossible to get any training done at this rate.
'Should I go and pay a visit to Maria to wish her well?'
He was feeling rather unfocused anyway. Although little, he did feel a bit guilty regarding her situation. He quickly tidied up the first floor and left the office himself.
'Looks like they're almost done building that place.'
As he was about to leave, he noticed that the construction work across the office was almost finished.
Seol Jihu stopped by at a local diner to buy an armful of food and drinks and went to Luxuria's temple. When he requested permission to visit one of the patients they had, the lady working in the counter displayed a deeply shocked expression.
"You came to visit who here?"
"Maria Yeriel."
"…That is so wild. Someone like her can have a visitor, too. Wow."
The elegant woman wearing the white Priest garb muttered to herself and raised her hand high. A probationary Priest busy sweeping the entrance put the broom down and approached the counter.
"Will you escort this gentleman to where Miss Shit is currently residing?"
"Shit-aria?? No, uh, I mean, Miss Maria? I understand."
The male probationary Priest replied courteously and guided Seol Jihu.
The route they took was different from the last time; they didn't head to the residential area. Instead, they entered deeper into the temple grounds where foot traffic became progressively lesser and lesser. After reaching a dark and dinky corridor, the male probationary Priest confirmed which room it was and cautiously knocked on it before bolting straight outta there.
"…."
The same thing happened back when Seol Jihu was escorted to the residential area too. Why were they all running away after knocking on the door? Was there a ding-dong-ditch culture here? Seol Jihu thought about all sorts of dumb things as he raised his voice.
"Miss Maria? It's me, Seol."
He didn't hear any reply. He only heard a soft, subtle sound of chik, chik from beyond the door. He waited for a little bit before cautiously opening the door.
"I'm coming in."
Kiik… Opening the door led him to an unexpectedly spacious room. It was so clean and tidy that he almost felt guilty trying to compare this place to Maria's former room. And then, his eyes drifted to the white bed and a small-statured girl breathing heavily lying on it.
"Miss Maria?"
Seol Jihu was taken by surprise and quickly approached her to find her golden hair completely soaked in sweat. There was a white towel placed on her forehead, and she barely managed to creak open her eyelids to stare at him from the corners of her eyes.
"Seol….?"
"Are you alright? Are you in a lot of pain?"
"What brings you… here? No, it can't be… Another favor…?"
"Of course not. I just wanted to pay you a visit and wish you well. That's all."
"…Wish me well?"
Maria's voice, which sounded as if she was precariously balancing on the edge of life and death only a second ago, suddenly improved by a great deal. And then, when she saw the food Seol Jihu brought along, the light in her eyes transformed immediately.
"Ah, I was worried for nothing!"
Swish! Maria grabbed and threw the towel off her forehead and hurriedly sat back up straight. She wiped away the water on her face with her sleeves and then, snatched the food basket in his hands.
Just as the youth's expression became utterly dazed after discovering the water spray bottle on a table near the bed, Maria stopped fishing through the food basket and asked him.
"Where is my booze? Didn't you bring me one?"
"You're going through a recovery, you know. So no booze for you. I brought along a bottle of fruit juice, though."
"Eiii, do I look like a kid to you? Where is your common sense?!"
"But, uh, I thought you were a kid?"
"Stop fucking around! I'm at the ripe ol' age of eighteen, I'll have you know! Who the hell are you calling a damn kid."
Seol Jihu momentarily thought to himself, 'Huh, so she was eighteen years old, eh. She's still a high schooler, then,' before being punched in the face by a huge mental shock. She was equivalent to a second-year high schooler in the South Korean education system, yet she drank like a dang sailor??
"M-maybe, it's because you're a foreigner??"
"What on earth are you on about now?"
Hng, She snorted unhappily and bit into a loaf of bread with a vengeance. Seeing her grab that bread with both hands and only move her head left and right to tear it off somehow reminded Seol Jihu of an otter eating a clam, and he thought she looked rather adorable right now.
Nom, nom… Maria's cheeks puffed up when she opened her mouth to speak.
"Well, I still gotta commend you. I mean, you bothered to come to see me like this when you must be busy out of your mind."
"Eh? Uhm, I…. Well, I just came by, you know, because of other stuff…."
He meant to say that he came here to wish her well during her recovery and also to build a more friendly relationship with her.
"Heh, because of other stuff, is it?"
Maria smirked as she continued to chew.
"I hope you aren't treating me like an afterthought."
"No, not at all. I didn't mean it that way."
"Well, I guess it can't be helped. I mean, Carpe Diem must be going through hell right now, anyway…. Nom. Cheer up, okay?"
What was she talking all of a sudden? Seol Jihu's complexion waned in an instant. However, Maria was too focused on eating the delicious bread to notice the change in his face.
"Since you bothered to bring these, I shall gratefully accept them. I'm fine now, so you should get going. I saw Chohong's face earlier, and boy, it was no joke, I tell ya."
'Chohong? She was here?' Seol Jihu was about to ask what Maria was talking about, but his thoughts clicked into place in an instant. He could venture a guess and say that she knew what he didn't know. She seemed to be mistaken about something else as well.
"….Ahh, well, we came separately. We were supposed to meet up somewhere around here. By any chance, do you know where I might find her?"
"She's probably in the last room in this passageway."
It sounded as if Chohong was quite close by. Seol Jihu bade goodbye while saying that he should get going now. Maria simply raised her hand and waved it. The moment he left her room, though, his steps gained urgency.
'The last room in this passageway.'
The last room located on the left side of the passageway had its door slightly ajar, and a sliver of light leaked out from the open gap. Following his intuition, he killed his footsteps and sneaked a look inside the room. First of all, he spotted a few number of people inside.
Soft murmurs of people drifted in and out of his hearing. But his wandering eyes were fixed to a single spot. It was a certain woman lying on the sickbed. Perhaps she sensed the gaze on her because her left eye shifted and locked onto Seol Jihu's. At that moment, he forgot to breathe.
"Mm? Agnes?"
Cinzia saw that Agnes was silently looking at the door and shifted her own eyes in that direction. It was right then, the door issued sounds of being flung open. The crowd's attention was immediately shifted over there. Chohong, standing to one side, jumped in surprise.
"W-What?!"
"Miss Agnes!"
Seol Jihu dashed forward without hesitation and stopped before the bed-ridden Agnes.
Her state was truly wretched. However, the metallic, bitter scent of blood strongly wafted in the air and rendered that simple description wholly inadequate for the situation. Towels soaked in blood were found liberally around the bed itself, and Agnes's entire body was wrapped in thick bandages. Not only that, even her face, with the sole exception of her left eye, was wrapped up tightly. If it weren't for that, he would not have recognized her.
What on earth had happened to her? Agnes was a powerful Level 6 Archer class assassin only a step away from entering the Unique Rank. She was one of the biggest big-shots in Paradise, and even Kim Hannah personally praised.
"Miss Agnes…. Miss Agnes…."
Like a broken robot, Seol Jihu repeated the same words over and over again. Just from looking, one could tell what he was feeling at the moment, so Agnes shifted her gaze away and let a groan leak out of her mouth. She had moved only slightly, yet the bandages wrapped around her neck was dyed in crimson red in no time.
"Who the hell is this bastard?"
"Stop. He's not an outsider. This friend is also a member of Carpe Diem."
The latter voice also belonged to another familiar person. It was Ian, currently lying on another sickbed similar to Agnes's. He raised his upper body up and slowly stroked his beard with a bitter face.
Ian didn't look so good either. He only looked better compared to Agnes.
"Master Ian."
"How have you been. So, did you get to solve the mystery?"
Ian winked with his eye. Seol Jihu was feeling too confused right now. He just couldn't figure out what the hell happened. Meanwhile, Chohong was chewing on her lower lip with a complicated look on her face. He shot a silent glare at her for a second or two before shifting his eyes to somewhere else. He hoped for someone, anyone, to provide a clue.
After a moment of heavy silence, Cinzia, standing tall with her arms crossed and her index fingers lightly drumming on her arms, let a long groan escape from her mouth.
"Looks like an apology is in order."
An apology? It was just one single word, yet Seol Jihu was immediately overcome with a sense of ominous foreboding.
"Chohong didn't wish for you to get involved in this matter, but I…."
"Noonim!"
"Be silent, Chohong. This kid has the right to know, too."
Cinzia rebuked with a low growl and studied Seol Jihu with a pair of animalistic eyes. He addressed her immediately.
"Please, tell me what happened."
*
Several days ago, on the third floor of Carpe Diem's office.
"A mutated Ogre??"
Dylan froze up in the middle of lifting his teacup.
"Correct. The news came from the Federation."
"First time I hear it. Didn't the Ogre race get annihilated?"
"This is a freshly hot piece of news. I can't believe it myself, but well, they say their situation has been greatly worsened because of the mutated Ogre's appearance. I hear that they couldn't defend their position and had to abandon the Tigol Fortress in the end."
Tang!
Dylan roughly put the teacup down.
"I can't believe it."
His opened his mouth wide in surprise, which was quite a rare sight for him.
"Isn't the Tigol Fortress one of the most important strategic points for the Federation? They gave it up that easily?"
"That just goes to show how powerful that mutated Ogre is."
"What the hell. How did things get to that situation?"
The Parasites were a race that fundamentally survived by parasitizing off other lifeforms. It didn't matter whether it was a corpse or not – they relied on taking over and wrestling away the control of bodies to shore up their fighting forces.
Both the Federation and humans weren't idiots. Once the Beastmen Alliance got destroyed – or, more correctly, after the Parasites used their corpses to parasitize and proliferate in massive numbers – the two remaining forces came up with a new strategy. And that would be to incinerate any remains, whether they be of allies or enemies. They chose to burn them all away because they would become the enemy's combat force if left alone.
However, the Parasite Queen wasn't sitting around doing nothing. As if to ridicule the efforts of the two forces, she created existences called Nests.
Originally, the Parasite as a species lacked the ability to conceive and give birth. No one knew just what kind of witchery was involved in this whole thing, but Nests acting like pregnant mothers and new types of Parasites being born from that ability gave incredible shock to other forces.
That alone was already a massive source of headache, yet now, the supposedly-annihilated race of Ogres made an appearance, too?
"That Parasite whore is probably telling us that she isn't gonna sit back and watch the current situation develop."
Huuu…. Cinzia exhaled the cigarette smoke and continued on.
"That bitch is probably worried about one thing. Us and the Federation joining hands."
That sounded plausible. The Federation might have welcomed the Cave Fairies into their coalition, but even then, they were only able to barely hang on against the concerted assault of the Parasites. And that delicate balance was tilting against their favor all because of the mutated Ogre's entrance.
However, the story might change if the Federation and humans decided to join forces. Although humanity was the weakest of the lot, they were backed by the seven gods representing the Seven Sins. Along with the mass introduction of Earthlings, they could no longer be looked down that easily.
But, seeing that the situation had become like this….
"Looks like that bitch is sure of it after the Arden Fortress incident. She has shown us a brand new solution to her problem."
"This would be my first time not wanting to hear about a solution."
Dylan's feigned weakness brought about a quick chuckle from Cinzia, but she continued on regardless.
"The Federation thinks that the appearance of the mutated Ogre heralds some sort of an evolution in the Parasite's ability to give birth to new life."
"Can I take those words as you saying that the number of Nests will increase in the future and brand new types of Parasites will appear?"
"The latter is correct but not the former."
Cinzia shook her head.
"Dylan. The kind of 'evolution' I'm talking about here isn't enhancing a certain species' already-existing innate traits."
"Okay, then what is it?"
"It's the change in the method itself."
Dylan tilted his head as if he just couldn't get it.
"Nests are seen as an invaluable resource by the Parasites since even Medusas, the so-called final evolution of their kind, are born from those things. A Nest has never really appeared in a battlefield before, and the rumor mill goes, there aren't that many to begin with. Do you know why that's the case?"
"No, I don't."
"That's right. No one knows. However, there is a reason for everything. Maybe they experience some kind of unknown losses. Whatever the case may be, there is something we don't know yet. If not, Nests would have appeared as a damn army and have swept us away a long time ago."
"…."
"The conclusion? Nests can't be mass-produced. However, what if the Parasite Queen began thinking about that problem this way?"
Cinzia's voice became a little higher as she spoke up to here.
"Is there really a need to increase the number of Nests while suffering from unknown losses?"
"Mm?"
"If you're talking about the ability to give birth, you can borrow the bodies of other species, no?"
Dylan's expression froze up almost instantly.
"Cinzia, there's no way."
"Why not? The ability to give birth…."
Cinzia formed a subtle smile and placed a hand on her chest.
"I possess it."
She then pointed at Agnes standing behind her.
"Agnes here also possesses it. And, even if it's not human females, I'm pretty sure that Paradise is practically overflowing with fertile females. Wouldn't you agree?"
Dylan shook his head.
"That makes no sense."
"Why do you think that?"
"The main combat force of the Parasites is the corpse army. We know this. Those things take over a body and start controlling it, sure, but it's still a damn zombie and nothing inside of it works anymore. But you're saying one of its internal organs is still functioning?"
"What if you get caught while still alive?"
Dylan's words of vigorous denial came to an abrupt halt. Cinzia spat the cigarette out and quietly carried on.
"For example, being taken as prisoners."
"Are you saying there are living prisoners?"
"Dylan, you should stop with your lackadaisical thought process. The Empire, the Beastmen Alliance…. the number of nations destroyed by the Parasites aren't just one or two. Just the number of species that lived there, you won't be able to count them at all. And well, I don't think the Parasite Queen is a dumbass who doesn't know the concept of taking prisoners when she's capable enough to devour the Cheif Deity of this world."
"Still, that's hard to believe."
Dylan looked to be at a loss now.
"Even if we say that your supposition is right, you still need….."
"You should also discard the idea of prisoners being only females while you're at it."
Cinzia spoke, her tone almost entering the territory of ridicule. Dylan now looked as if he had nothing more to say.
"And so…."
Capture living males and females, infect them with Parasites, and transform their innards to whatever the hell they wanted. And then…
"Extract all the semen from the male until it's dead, and as for the females, repeatedly impregnate them and make them give birth…. Wow, just imagining it gives me the chills. This crisis is a lot worse than anyone can expect, you know."
"That's right. I guess it's time to get to the point of my visit."
Cinzia uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.
"The Federation has provided us with this information. The solution the Parasite Queen came up with this time isn't a single mutated Ogre. No, it's the mutated Orcs."
"Mutated Orcs?"
"Right. Unlike with Ogres, you can mass-produce the race of Orcs. There are quite a few heads when a litter is born, and the burden on the 'mother body' is on the low side. To top it off, they can become a viable combat force very quickly."
"What on earth is this about now?"
"Listen to me. The Parasite army that has taken over the Tigol Fortress chose not to press their advantage. No, they chose to stay put and bide their time instead. Not only that, they even diverted quite a few of their numbers towards the regions that border human territory. However, they haven't invaded yet. What does this signify?"
"…Fuck."
Dylan closed his eyes shut.
"The Federation thinks that the enemy already possesses the ability to mass-produce. If we sit back and simply do nothing, soon we will see the torrential flood of mutated Orcs in truly nonsensical numbers invading this very land."
Strengthen their military forces by changing their previous method – if such a scheme becomes reality, there would be no meaning in the Federation and humanity joining hands. No, you could even say that all dreams and hopes would be lost completely.
"And one more thing. The facilities to mass-produce their soldiers are all evenly spread around our borders. So, now. Can you finally guess where I'm going with this?"
Simply put, they would mass-produce the expendable mutated Orcs and invade humans with them, while the main Parasite force would focus on the Federation. It was at this point Dylan realized the purpose of Cinzia's visit.
"So, what have the seven kingdoms decided to do?"
"They are already making their move. Haramark is no exception. We need to destroy one of the facilities."
"And the army?"
"Didn't I say it earlier? Parasites have relocated some of their main fighting forces and placed them in several locations near ours. The moment the Haramark army tries something, they will get devoured in no time."
"So what's the conclusion?"
"Pick skilled Earthlings to form a small elite squad and infiltrate their camp. That is all."
Dylan rubbed his face.
"Damn it. I'm telling you, I'd like to get involved in a mission that's not life-threatening once in a while."
"Hehe. I feel exactly the same. In any case. As this matter requires our haste, Agnes has been chosen to act as the header. And from the royal family, the old geezer and Lewd Pink will participate. Also…."
Dylan, who was silently listening until then, opened his mouth.
"By any chance, can Hugo participate as well?"
"Hugo?"
"I was thinking that I might need a Warrior I'm in sync with."
"Well…. I guess at Hugo's level, it should be fine. Do what you want."
Cinzia shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh, and also…."
Dylan finally lifted the cold teacup again and threw another question.
"Where is that facility located?"
*
"And well, they somehow avoided the patrols and got near their target, but…."
Cinzia finally ended her lengthy explanation and took a long puff of her cigarette smoke while looking down at Agnes on the bed.
"Long story short, the mission was a splendid failure. Only two people managed to come back. That's what went down."
Seol Jihu was hoping for the best. Faces of Dylan, Hugo, and Teresa Hussey flashed in his mind. He felt his heart tumble to the floor and hesitantly asked.
"Which means…."
"We can't make that conclusion yet."
Ian interjected right then.
"I've seen it with my own eyes. Mutated Orcs were roaming around. That means the enemy indeed possesses a facility to mass-produce…."
Ian blurred the end of his sentence, but Seol Jihu didn't need to hear the rest to figure it out.
"They could be held as prisoners."
"…I can't be fully certain of it, but that seems to be the case."
Ian formed a wry expression.
The expedition team was near their destination but got discovered during their infiltration and had to fight their way out of a siege of enemy forces seemingly rushing in from all sides. The only reason Ian managed to come back alive was thanks to Agnes. If it weren't for her desperate struggle, these two wouldn't have been able to break past the siege nor shake off the enemy's pursuit.
However, Agnes was still a human at the end of the day and there was only so much she could do. They were already fighting against overwhelming odds, and she simply lacked the ability to rescue everyone else when the expedition team members had been separated from each other.
A short moment of silence later, Seol Jihu raised his opinion.
"We need to rescue them, don't we?"
"We're here to discuss that problem."
Ian replied first.
"Even putting the mission itself aside, we obviously want to rescue them somehow."
"But, then why….."
"But how?"
Ian's head faltered as an indescribable expression clouded his face.
"We formed the best team possible in Haramark and yet, we still failed. Since we were discovered once, their security should have tightened up even further. Unless we risk total annihilation and go for a frontal assault, we estimate that the odds of rescuing them is near zero."
Even the frontal assault presented a problem. The difference between attacking and defending was as great as heaven and earth itself.
Humans had never taken the initiative to attack first ever since the invasion began. Not only that, they were already in a bit of tight spot trying to defend themselves. But now, they were going to attack the enemy camp? It was already unknown whether the assault would even materialize, and even if it did, it would not be much different than delivering themselves to the open jaw of the tiger anyway.
"What about cooperating with the Federation?"
"We already thought about it. They were the ones that gave us the information to begin with, so they must be operating their own infiltration squads, but…."
Ian pondered deeply for a while, before shaking his head.
"They most likely have suffered tremendous losses trying to defend themselves until now. More importantly, judging from the fact that they had to give up on Tigol Fortress, we should consider that the Federation is also having a very hard time as well."
Seol Jihu unconsciously gripped his fists tighter.
To this extent…. Were the differences in strengths this great? Did this mean he had no choice but to watch from the sidelines while sucking on his thumbs?
"The notion of a rock and a hard place never felt truer in my life before. We're still trying to find a way, yet we can't seem to find an answer."
'What should I do?' Seol Jihu desperately combed through his memories. Unfortunately, there was no way he'd remember the contents of a dream he had so long ago.
'I should have jotted down everything as soon as I woke up.'
"If only someone like Sung Shihyun was still around…."
The dejected Ian lamented with an energyless voice.
It was then Seol Jihu opened his mouth again.
"Where?"
"Mm?"
"That facility. Where is it located?"
Ian didn't immediately answer but chose to seek out Chohong's response. However, although she looked mighty unhappy right now, she still didn't say anything. No, she simply tutted and avoided making eye contact. Ian guessed what was in her mind and cautiously spoke up.
"Seol, I must emphasize that this is not a matter that you can interfere with. It's not possible, and it should not be."
"Master Ian."
"Please, do not misunderstand me. I'm not looking down on your capabilities. However, both the events of the Forest of Denial and the defense of Arden Fortress were child's play compared to this one. No, more importantly, this matter could be the epoch-changing event that decides the flow of history from henceforth."
"You can still tell me the location, can't you?"
Ian licked his lips a little. He took a bit of time to decide, before…
"….Well, if it's only the location."
He spoke with a helpless expression.
"It's in Delpinion Duchy."
And, at that moment….
"It's the royal laboratory."
….Seol Jihu's eyes gleamed brightly.
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