The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 126

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 126. Seol Jihoo (3)

Silence fell.
The faces of the onlookers held every shade of expression.
Seol Jihoo’s colleague wore a rigid mask,
the thirty-two bore marks of anxiety,
while the seventy-eight watched the two with frank interest.
The silence of the seventy-eight amounted to tacit agreement with Audrey Bastler’s words. Not active endorsement, perhaps, but their ears had perked up all the same.
That’s how people work. The moment something touches them directly or indirectly, reason and logic cease to matter. Only profit and loss remain.
“Don’t take it the wrong way.”
Bastler knew this too well.
“Ask them if you like—well, you’ll have to pay them something, so they won’t be thrilled. But wouldn’t you count yourselves lucky that at least there’s a path forward?”
Speaking freely.
“In any case, talk it over with each other and reach some consensus.”
And setting the terms of agreement on a whim.
When Seol Jihoo stared at her without blinking, Snake-eyed Woman smiled crookedly.
“Why are your eyes so wide?”
……
“What are you trying to pull?”
“…The seventy-eight and the thirty-two exist in a symbiotic relationship.”
Seol Jihoo managed to open his mouth.
“If either side drops out, we can’t proceed with the conquest.”
“Is that so?”
Bastler drew out the words with a laugh in her eyes. A creeping unease began to surface, and Seol Jihoo’s mood sank rapidly.
Whether she did it intentionally or it was simply her nature, if the latter, she seemed born to rake her fingernails across people’s hearts.
“Is that really so?”
Seol Jihoo’s face hardened with fear. He’d grasped what lay behind that creeping dread.
What came next should never be spoken aloud in this place.
But Audrey Bastler’s mouth did not stop.
“By tomorrow morning… you might find out?”
…She’d said it anyway.
Giggling, even gesturing toward the thirty-two with a wink.
……
It was a thing that should never have been said.
If you understood how those thirty-two felt—victims he’d painstakingly brought out—and why this gathering had been assembled in the first place, it was a remark that should never leave your lips, even as a joke.
She’d thrown away the chance they’d barely managed to grasp.
Seol Jihoo tilted his head back slowly and looked up at the sky.
“Hehehehe! What, getting mad?”
Did she genuinely believe that?
Or did she know and was doing this ‘on purpose’?
[Originally this kind of thing—hey? You kill each other, yeah? Hit each other in the back, right? That’s when it gets fun, the hardcore way?]
Perhaps both. Judging by the status window he’d seen at Stage 1, she was capable of worse.
[Let me make you a promise.]
Suddenly.
[People will curse your name even when you do nothing. The more famous you become, the more will hate you. Some will despise you outright. And that’s not all—plenty will try to use you however they can.]
Words spoken long ago flickered across his mind.
[Because you’re standing out.]
No matter.
No matter how poorly things went, wasn’t there still room to try leading them forward at least once?
The first attempt had failed spectacularly.
He’d tried to find a breakthrough by using failure as a mirror.
But Stage 2 was no different.
“Heyyy~ getting so angry~”
In fact, he understood the root cause.
The world is neither simple nor clear, just as Kim Hanna had said.
He’d learned that at the Banquet.
“Oh my. What do we do? Our young prince is quite upset, isn’t he?”
Giving one does not mean you get one back, and taking two does not mean you must give two in return.
“Got it. I was too harsh. Don’t be mad. Come on—let’s shake hands and make up.”
Human relationships work the same way.
Some people show gratitude when treated with kindness, while others take it for granted; some people like Orahee understand what you’re saying, while others like Audrey Bastler don’t listen to a word.
“Our little prince~?”
So this world doesn’t operate by the Golden Rule.
If fair exchange held true in all things, the entire world would be bathed in gold.
“Are you ignoring me?”
Then what should I do?
If words won’t work, what method should I use?
“Why are you so worried?”
The answer is simple. I see it every day.
“It’s easy. Reach a conclusion by tomorrow morning, and you can do whatever you want.”
Rather than waiting for or searching for the Golden Rule,
“You understand, right?”
I myself must become the Golden Rule.
“Do you understand?”
I’m not about to play the righteous champion now.
I’m not trying to become someone strong to the strong and weak to the weak.
“God—this bastard. Treating me like a dog.”
Simply, if the world is like this. If it’s a world like this.
“That’s pathetic.”
Late as it is, I need to adapt to it properly from here on.
“No satisfaction, no fun, guess I’ll be heading out~.”
I hadn’t known—but the sky over the Meadow was shining gold.
‘The Golden Law.’
…Yes.
Everything by the Golden Law.

[‘Chaos’ consciousness level….]

And so.

[‘Golden Rule’ is shifting.]
[Moderation (thought and action accord with reason and are sound) / Awakening / Golden Rule (treat as you are treated)]

The moment his standard became truly clear,
“Sit.”
Seol Jihoo discarded his mask.
“…What?”
Audrey Bastler’s steps froze.
“I wasn’t finished.”
He spun around sharply. There was a quiet thrill in finally getting a reaction. He was definitely enjoying this.
Good. Let him enjoy it. I would too.
“Ooo~? Casual tone?”
“Sit down.”
As Seol Jihoo approached, Audrey Bastler’s head tilted back gradually.
His steps stopped just before her face. When his eyes gleamed with fierce intensity, her snake-like gaze curved like a crescent moon.
“Scary. You going to hit me?”
“I don’t repeat myself three times.”
Seol Jihoo spoke in a low voice.
“Heh!”
Blink. Blink. Bastler opened her eyes after closing them twice, then sneered.
“Don’t want to.”
She twisted her expression maliciously as if finding it hilarious, babbling on.
“Look at that. This punk’s really hardened up.”
That’s when it happened.
“Who do you think you are to order me around!”
Crack!
Bastler’s eyes widened abruptly as she collapsed into a heap. Unable to withstand the sudden impact, she fell hard on her tailbone, and as sharp pain surged through her, she clutched her temple.
As she looked up through her contorted face, she saw the young man’s tightly clenched fist. Only then did she understand what had happened.
The panic faded as quickly as it had come.
“Hey!”
“This bastard…!”
A few who looked like her colleagues moved to step forward, but stopped short when Audrey Bastler raised her hand.
“Huh….”
Still crouched on the ground, she slowly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Look at our prince strutting around so confidently. Must be nice having so many friends, huh?”
The mocking grin never left her face.
“Finally showing your true colors… Fine. I’ll play your game however you want. There’s nothing I can’t do.”
……
“What’s wrong? Want me to wag my tail for you? Like this? Like this?”
She planted her hands and feet firmly on the ground and began swaying her hips side to side.
“People like me—the rare few with the wrong numbers in our heads—we have to get by however we can, don’t we?”
She emphasized the word “rare” with particular venom.
“Not enough for you? This won’t do? Should I bark for you?”
She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly in a mockery of barking.
Seol Jihoo understood exactly what she was doing. He answered with a calm smile.
“Go ahead. Do it.”
“What?”
“Bark.”
Audrey Bastler’s eyes widened.
“While you’re at it, do it properly. How about you piss yourself in that position too? Lift one hind leg.”
“…What?”
There’s a limit to everything, no matter how playful you’re being. Her face twisted into an expression that words could hardly capture.
“Hah!”
She stopped moving. Lowering her head, she slowly rose to her feet.
“Hey… you’ve got some expensive tastes, don’t you?”
“You’re the one acting like a dog. I was just suggesting you complete the role.”
“All this ‘your highness’ and ‘your highness’ must’ve gone to your head… Listen here.”
The playfulness vanished from her expression entirely. One eyebrow shot up.
“You think you can handle this?”
“?”
“You’re under a serious misunderstanding. We’re not holding back because we’re afraid of you. We’re afraid of the Triad behind you, Umitsubame, and Carpe Diem. Do you understand?”
Seol Jihoo let out a soft chuckle.
“Oh, laughing now? Fine. You can laugh all you want here. But once you get back to Paradise, things might change, understand?”
“We’ll see.”
Seol Jihoo crossed his arms unhurriedly.
“I think you alone would be enough even without your friends.”
“Huh?”
Audrey Bastler’s face lit up as if she’d been waiting for exactly this.
“So you do have some pride despite everything, huh. Then want to go one-on-one? Just us. No teams. Interested?”
She subtly created distance, then began dancing on the balls of her feet like a boxer, alternating jabs with both fists. Seol Jihoo, who had been watching calmly, threw an Ice Spear and casually dusted off his hands.
“There we go.”
A hollow laugh escaped Audrey Bastler’s lips.
“So you’ve actually got some moves….”
She suddenly lowered her upper body,
“Hah!”
and abruptly slipped to the side, launching into an ambush charge.
But in the next instant, her confident face went blank as she felt an impact like a shaft of light. With a sound like air tearing, the seemingly defenseless young man had closed the distance in a blink.
‘When did—!’
Crack!
A sharp blow connected, and her head was forcibly wrenched around. Her upper body recoiled sharply, spinning through empty air. Before she could even cry out, her left eye began to burn.
“Ugh!”
Even so, being an Archer meant she didn’t fall, but her balance was already gone.
“Wait—”
Another dull, merciless impact crashed down on her crown.
A single scream tore from her throat.
Finally, she couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed again.
The confidence that had overflowed just moments before drained away like water. Her head hung low, her face slack with disbelief.
She knew she had considerable skill. But an Archer had just lost in speed to a warrior of the same Level?
This is absurd.
“I…!”
Unable to accept it, she rolled backward into a tumble, bringing her hand to her thigh.
Bang!
But the sound of air rupturing came again, and Seol Jihoo—moving twice as fast as before—swept in and kicked away her hand just as she reached for her Katana. While her arm flailed wildly, she saw Seol Jihoo draw back his right arm with full force.
“Aaaagh!”
The moment his fist drove into her eyes, her vision exploded. The Snake-eyed Woman clutched at her eye sockets.
It made no difference.
“Just as you said.”
Seol Jihoo spoke flatly, his fists never ceasing.
“If we sacrifice thirty-two…”
Her nose caved in with a sickening crunch, blood spraying out.
“Then only thirty out of seventy-eight will advance.”
Her cheekbones buckled inward.
“Which means the remaining forty-eight have to fight again… right?”
Her lips split open, fresh blood trickling down.
“You’ll understand when morning comes?”
A straight punch, born of fury, extended cleanly. He struck her mouth again—and several teeth scattered across the ground.
“Talk is cheap.”
Her head hung low, leaving her crown exposed. It took the full brunt of the next blow, and Bastler crumpled once more. She was still conscious enough to stagger upright, but her legs tangled beneath her and she fell hard on her backside again.
“Nngh… nnnngh…”
Her companions, who had taken Bastler’s earlier remarks for jest, finally recognized the gravity of the situation and exchanged hurried glances.
“Hey! That’s enough….”
“Yeah. You lot, that’s enough too.”
A voice suddenly came from close range, and the arms that had been fumbling for weapons froze rigid as ice. An arm then looped around the back of her neck. She twisted her head awkwardly and saw a man with a neat appearance, a cigarette tucked between his lips.
“You don’t think barging into a one-on-one match counts as foul play?”
Behind them, Triad members had gathered without a sound.
“Don’t you think so, friend?”
Ha-O Win, his arm slung across the man’s shoulder, winked and exhaled a plume of smoke. The man’s brow furrowed.
“Still, it’s too much—”
“Huh?”
A dark shape suddenly emerged through the haze of smoke, closing in on his face.
“What was that?”
Hugo leaned in with his ear cupped, squinting. The sound of teeth grinding reached them. “Aha!” He nodded emphatically.
“You looking to get the shit beat out of you?”
A whimper escaped him. Everyone knew the Triad’s reputation for brutality.
“K-Kazuki!”
So he appealed to Kazuki, who appeared the most moderate of them,
“Hmm?”
but watched in silence as Kazuki loaded a bolt into his Crossbow with practiced calm. The man had no choice but to hold his tongue.
Which left Seol Jihoo free to continue his work unimpeded.
“Get up.”
“Uhhh…”
A rattling, airless sound escaped her throat. Her hair lay matted in every direction, her face painted with blood.
“Get up. I don’t want to hear excuses about tripping over your own feet later.”
“Khhh… khhhh…”
“Not getting up?”
Seol Jihoo stepped forward and reached down, seizing her by the ponytail.
“Ahhhhh!”
He hauled her up by the hair and shoved her shoulder lightly. Her body swayed back and forth, stumbling backward—not maintaining distance as before, but retreating in pure terror.
Crack!
“Gack—”
He swung at her neck, and a strangled gasp tore from her throat. She couldn’t even remember how many times she’d been knocked down now.
“Get up.”
Her flattened body convulsed. As his footsteps drew near, she thrashed her limbs frantically, flailing like a drowning swimmer in grass. Bastler finally managed to roll over and threw her arms around his ankle, clinging for her life.
“P… please…”
Her shattered teeth made her words whistle and lisp.
“I’m sorwy… I didn’t mean… please forgive me…”
Her eyes, swollen with bruises that shifted between purple and black, wept blood as she begged, voice broken. Seol Jihoo responded with cold simplicity.
“Get up.”
Her eyes, which had been streaming with tears and blood at the cold voice, now twisted into a grimace.
“Hah… haa-un dae-o ha teh-ni…. Jeh-ba… jeh-ba-ah-ah….”
“…….”
“Jee-un-geh! Jee-un teh-ni-ah! Wuh! Wuh-wul! Wuh-wul-wuh-wul!”
She even actually began to whimper.
A glimmer of something crossed Seol Jihoo’s eyes as he reached down to lift her by the collar.
‘The color…?’
The Snake-eyed Woman’s eyes had been yellow when he’d seen her on Stage 1. A caution. But now, for the first time, the color began to shift.
From yellow to colorless.
Her eyes changing color wasn’t unprecedented—Teresa had shifted from colorless to gold. But he’d never witnessed anyone with a Crisis Detection ability change color before.
Seol Jihoo, who had been staring down at her with a piercing gaze, crouched down slowly. He tilted her chin up with his index finger to meet her eyes. Seeing the irises completely subjugated by terror, he began to understand why her color had changed.
“Why does it take experiencing it for you to come to your senses?”
“…….”
“I wish you’d listened quietly when I explained it in words.”
“…….”
“I didn’t tell you to die alone.”
“…….”
“I said we should all live together.”
Bastler, trembling as she barely managed to meet his eyes, suddenly felt a chill run through her at his consistently calm tone. She even began to doubt whether this was the same gentleman she’d seen on Stage 1.
“You already knew that yourself, didn’t you?”
In truth, it wasn’t a statement meant only for Audrey Bastler. Seeing the Snake-eyed Woman nod frantically, Seol Jihoo rose to his feet.
“I’m adding one more condition.”
He turned to survey the larger faction, wiping his sweaty nose with the back of his hand. Blood and fragments of flesh were caked onto his knuckles, leaving a thin streak of blood under his nose.
“Audrey Bastler and those five people over there will be included as a team within the thirty-two-person faction.”
In other words, he would scatter the Snake-eyed Woman and her allies across seven different teams so they couldn’t harbor any treacherous thoughts.
“And.”
Seol Jihoo continued.
“If anyone has a better suggestion, I’m open to hearing it.”
Translation: speak up now, don’t come complaining later.
Suddenly, a muffled laugh could be heard. Orahee, her head bowed, had her hand pressed to her mouth.
After her shoulders shook for some time, Orahee finally rose to her feet. She walked over gracefully and looked the young man up and down.
When she continued to stare, Seol Jihoo opened his mouth.
“A different opinion?”
“No, no. Not an opinion, exactly.”
Orahee let out a long hum and shrugged her shoulders.
“I want to join the first team going into the Square of Twisted Wishes. Would that be all right?”
She glanced at Bastler, trembling like an insect, and broke into a light laugh.
“Why. There’s a saying, isn’t there? You have to fasten the first button correctly. I’ll go in ahead but make sure to bring her out safely.”
Seol Jihoo drew in a breath. With that single statement, the council’s conclusion had been reached. Now that Orahee, one of the most formidable members of the larger faction, had voiced her support, the scales had decidedly tipped.
“We’ll decide during the team meeting.”
As long as she understood the reasoning and didn’t violate principles, there was no reason to refuse.
“Should we take her with our group?”
Orahee glanced at the Snake-eyed Woman as she spoke. It sounded like an offer to keep watch so she wouldn’t cause trouble—a kindness, if it was anything.
“No.”
But Seol Jihoo shook his head. Even if her color had changed, blindly trusting her would be foolish.
“Audrey Bastler will come with us.”
“You sure about that?”
“Absolutely. Cho Hong!”
Cho Hong raised her hand as if she’d been waiting for this. She approached quickly, dragging the grotesque steel spikes through the grass.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just keep an eye on her till the Banquet ends, right?”
Already having heard the request beforehand, she agreed readily. Then she hefted the Mace onto her shoulder and looked down at Bastler, still lying face-down.
“Your eyes are real ugly. What’re you doing? Eyes down.”
Seeing her bite her lip, Cho Hong let out a hollow laugh before her expression hardened.
“Hey.”
“…….”
“Look up, you bitch. Unless you want your skull crushed.”
A madwoman knows a madwoman. Faced with Cho Hong’s distinctive, desolate and eerie madness, Bastler’s throat made small, involuntary movements. Her eyes soon shifted downward again, and her head trembled.
Cho Hong laughed wickedly.
“You better hope for the best. I’ll be managing you personally till the Banquet ends.”
Before long, Cho Hong dragged the slumped form of Audrey Bastler away.
Orahee, who had been watching with unflagging interest, turned to him with her familiar smile. “What’s your family name?”
“…Haven’t I told you?”
“You gave me your given name, but not your family name. Kim Seol? Lee Seol?”
At the sudden question, Seol Jihoo’s pupils spun in a slow circle. Then he drew a long breath and opened his mouth.
“No.”
“?”
“Seol is my family name.”
Seol Jihoo, having retrieved the Ice Spear, looked around him.
Most of the people still lay unconscious.
There was one other thing that had changed—the atmosphere.
Kazuki wore an impassive expression; the thirty-two wore faces of bewilderment, as though they couldn’t believe he’d gone to such lengths; and the seventy-eight regarded him with a flicker of boredom.
“My name is…”
Meeting the gaze of hundreds of eyes pouring down from all sides,
“Jihoo.”
The young man smiled with an ease that seemed almost unburdened.
“Seol Jihoo.”

(To be continued)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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