The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 136

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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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Episode 136. Hello, Ghostly Saint! (2)

How long had it been?
After thrashing about for roughly ten minutes, Seol Jihoo finally managed to break free, though it left him thoroughly exhausted.
Truth be told, it would be more accurate to say the ghostly saint had let him go.
“Ow, ow, ow…”
Seol Jihoo lay sprawled on the ground, massaging his temples, and shot a sidelong glance toward the corner. The Black Smoke clung tightly to the wall.
She’d taken offense again.
‘Hehehe.’
Seol Jihoo let out a feeble laugh.
‘This is happiness.’
He wasn’t sure what to call it—refreshing, perhaps? Or simply novel?
Back when they’d first discovered the Tomb with Samuel’s team, he’d never imagined their relationship would evolve into this.
Now that he thought about it, how long had it been since he’d last let loose like this without worry?
Over the past few months—expeditions, rescues, training, banquets, and everything in between—he’d been extraordinarily busy.
As the days blurred together, he’d felt his emotions gradually wear thin from all the cumulative strain.
But now, having shed every concern and tumbled about playfully with the ghostly saint, his spirits had lifted considerably. That surge of vitality returned—the same sense of boundless capability he’d felt when first discharged from military service.
‘So that’s why people talk about healing getaways.’
Seol Jihoo rolled over onto his stomach, propped his chin on his hands, and gazed intently at the Black Smoke as she floated about in a sulk, her form drifting in lazy circles.
“Saint.”
[What.]
Though he hadn’t meant any harm, she still deigned to respond—if only in an indignant tone.
“Would you show me your face?”
[My face? Why?]
“I’d like to see it.”
He harbored no morbid fascination with corpses. It was simple, genuine curiosity.
‘When was that?’
He recalled catching a glimpse of the ghostly saint’s form once before, and what struck him was how immaculately preserved it had been for something deceased.
Even the chill emanating from the coffin spoke to that.
He could hazard a guess at the reason. There had to be one—otherwise, there was no conceivable way a body from centuries past could be kept intact without the slightest decay.
[…No.]
But the ghostly saint’s answer was absolute refusal.
“Why not?”
[I despise seeing it myself, and I despise showing it to others unless absolutely necessary.]
The bluntness of her rejection made Seol Jihoo flinch. Suddenly he felt a malevolent presence sweep over him like a tidal wave, as if she’d grown genuinely fearsome.
He regretted bringing it up.
“I’m sorry.”
[No. It’s not your fault.]
Seeing the young man’s dejection, the spirit hurriedly drifted closer.
[I’m not angry at you… It’s just that one of the reasons I’m bound to this forest is because of the body I had in life.]
This was an unexpected revelation.
“But the barrier isn’t anchored to the Forest of Negation?”
[The barrier is. But its conduit is the Cursed Sorcery inscribed upon my body.]
Seol Jihoo tilted his head in confusion.
[Think of it as a link. I’m dead, but my soul is forcibly bound to my flesh, and my body is tethered to this forest.]
“Is that even possible?”
[It must be, since that’s what happened to me. In truth, my living body should have long since rotted away. What remains is merely the forest’s essence reconstructing and sustaining it over and over.]
In other words, what lay in the coffin wasn’t a corpse at all, but something closer to an unknowable mass of energy—as formless and enigmatic as the black smoke born from accumulated resentment.
“Why… why would they go to such lengths?”
[I don’t know. I suspect they prepared for every conceivable scenario.]
“?”
[Those damnable bastards feared me that much. They probably wanted to completely prevent anyone from attempting to remove my corpse from the forest.]
“Something like that actually happened?”
[Once. My mother tried. She wanted to save me by any means necessary. But…]
Her voice, which had been flowing smoothly, suddenly trembled.
Though he didn’t catch every word, it sounded as though the Sage who’d established the barrier had layered the security multiple times over.
The ghostly saint said nothing more. She simply drifted about in aimless circles, her luminous form growing dimmer.
Following the spirit’s listless wandering with his eyes, Seol Jihoo’s gaze suddenly fixed upon a resplendent coffin beneath his foot.
‘A medium….’
Think of it this way: the corpse in the coffin serves as an intermediary link.
Break the seal carved into the flesh, and not only would the Barrier dissolve—the poor woman’s spirit could finally be set free.
Conflict flickered across Seol Jihoo’s face.
His gaze on the coffin grew complex, shadowed with doubt.
‘I think I could do it, but….’
Not that greed was absent from his heart.
The phantom saint Seol Jihoo had come to know was like a tree that gave without reserve.
He could stop by whenever she crossed his mind, find rest here, and occasionally receive gifts of value.
‘No.’
It couldn’t be. He couldn’t allow it.
Seol Jihoo recognized how profoundly selfish his hope was—that this peace might endure forever.
A woman forced into a living tomb during the bloom of her youth. For centuries untold, that phantom saint had borne alone an anguish too bitter to speak of. Seol Jihoo could not begin to fathom what her heart had endured.
If there were no choice, perhaps he could accept it. But now that a way existed, he couldn’t turn a blind eye, no matter how much he wished to.
Seol Jihoo drew a shallow breath and opened his mouth quietly.
“What’s your name, Saint?”
[Me? Floné Luziang La Rochschiouard.]
“Floné… I’m sorry?”
Caught off guard by the length of it, the phantom saint let out a soft laugh.
[Floné. Just call me Floné.]
“Floné… what a lovely name.”
[Hee.]
Just moments ago she’d been radiating such killing intent—now a single compliment made her laugh freely.
“Floné….”
Seol Jihoo’s lips moved slightly, as though he wanted to linger in this moment longer.
But where there is meeting, there must also be parting.
The shorter the farewell, the better.
Seol Jihoo finally broached the true matter.
“Floné—don’t you wish to escape this place?”
[I do wish it.]
No hesitation whatsoever in her answer.
Seol Jihoo smiled freely.
“Then I’ll help you.”
[What?]
“I’ll help you.”
[…It’s impossible.]
Floné spoke in a hollow voice, as if she’d guessed his meaning.
[I’ve tried thousands upon thousands of times. But no matter how I rage, this Barrier won’t disappear.]
Hearing the resignation in her voice, Seol Jihoo plunged his hand into his pocket.
“We won’t know till we try.”
[?]
“I can make it vanish.”
Seol Jihoo drew out a Purple Artifact Sphere and extended it toward her.
[What is that? It’s beautiful.]
“An artifact that directly counters Barriers and Cursed Sorcery.”
Seol Jihoo answered plainly.
This sphere was the object he’d exchanged with Competence.
According to the man, he’d once stumbled upon Ancient Ruins where ancient secrets lay dormant, but the scope of the Barriers and traps had made him too afraid to venture inside.
He hadn’t risked his life entering, but he’d always wondered what lay within.
The trouble was that information about those Ruins had been sold off not long before this sphere came into his possession.
When Seol Jihoo had hesitantly proposed an exchange, the man had agreed without reservation.
Though it was limited to a single use, the Purple Artifact Sphere could dispel Barriers, Cursed Sorcery, traps—across a broad scope.
Of course, he hadn’t expected circumstances to align so favorably….
“Believe me.”
Seol Jihoo grinned.
“It holds the power of the Seven Gods. No matter how skilled this Sage might be, in the end he’s only human.”
No matter how capable one might be, ultimately human remains human.
To stand against the power of gods is a contradiction.
Though Floné understood the gist, she fell silent.
With so many attempts already made beyond counting, the despair she carried was equally beyond measure.
That’s why she can’t open her mouth easily.
If you don’t expect anything, you won’t be disappointed. And being hurt is just too exhausting.
Seol Jihoo, noticing Floné’s hesitation, tried to lighten the mood.
“Well… let me say this first. I’m truly grateful for all the help you’ve given me up to now. Just rest easy now, Floné.”
Floné said nothing.
Seol Jihoo worked his jaw.
A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say.
Showing rather than telling would be better.
Even if they’d have to part the moment the truth was revealed.
His steady footsteps halted before the coffin. He brought the sphere he held up to it gently.
[You don’t have to go this far….]
A listless voice drifted out.
[It’s wasteful. It’d be worth more if you used it for something else.]
Floné tried to stop him, but Seol Jihoo shook his head.
“There’s nothing worth doing more than this.”
He continued steadily.
“Even if it fails… I’ll find another way.”
[W-what?]
“I promise. If this sphere doesn’t work, I’ll find other means. Stronger, more effective methods.”
[…….]
Floné didn’t answer.
But seeing the black smoke coil and twist, Seol Jihoo found himself wondering what it meant.
Yet there was no time to wonder.
Any more hesitation and his resolve would crumble. Not that it wasn’t wavering already.
Taking a deep breath, Seol Jihoo didn’t delay. The moment he forced his energy forcefully into the Purple Artifact Sphere—
Pop!
Light flickered across the sphere’s surface before vanishing. His vision was suddenly washed in white, then returned to normal.
Keeping the energy flowing without pause,
Hum.
A resonant sound trembled through the chamber.
Hum.
Again.
Hum.
Once more.
Hum!
Suddenly the sound grew louder, and a weighty force touched his body before passing through him like a current.
Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!
The sphere vibrated as if crying out, beginning to flash with brilliant light like a beacon.
As his vision flickered dizzily, Seol Jihoo managed to witness something extraordinary. With each pulse, an enormous ripple spread through empty space around the sphere.
Like a drop of water falling onto a mirror’s surface, the waves spreading outward in ever-widening circles.
The sight of formless energy endlessly expanding in rings was nearly breathtaking.
Then the coffin, which had been trembling, began to crack with sharp splits,
[…What?]
and suddenly shattered with a violent explosion.
[Aaaaaah!]
Floné’s sharp cry showed she was quite startled as well.
Seol Jihoo didn’t know what was happening, but she sensed the change.
[No… it can’t be.]
“Floné?”
[Really… really!]
With those words, her voice cut off abruptly.
The black smoke then rushed toward the shattered coffin and disappeared as if being pulled in.
A moment later, a delicate girl rose gently into view, brushing away debris.
Seeing the Spectral Saint’s form for the first time, Seol Jihoo’s gaze was instinctively captured.
She was truly a beautiful girl.
The simple expression on her small, finely-formed features carried an indescribable, subtle charm.
Her small hands resting demurely on her lap, her spotless white robes indistinguishable from her snow-white skin, her hair cascading like a waterfall, pale as moonlight itself—
Soon Floné slowly turned upright in midair, and her eyes opened softly.
‘She has eyes?’
Seol Jihoo’s mouth fell slightly open.
Floné’s eyes had lost so much of their dark pupils that they resembled white eyes, and in harmony with the sphere’s radiance, they conjured an otherworldly atmosphere.
Seol Jihoo stammered, forcing his lips to move.
“Is it… done?”
[…Yes.]
Though her mouth remained closed, Floné nodded.
[Every time the sphere’s aura spreads, the seals and curses melt away. No—they’ve vanished entirely.]
“I didn’t feel anything at all.”
[How can this be? How can it be so easy?]
Her rambling tone suggested she still found it difficult to believe what she witnessed and felt with her own senses.
[…Is it really true?]
Floné turned slowly to survey the chamber on all sides, her shoulders trembling as her voice wavered.
In the end, the tears came.
A spirit’s tears were not the transparent color of a human’s—they flowed as deep crimson, rich as blood. The scarlet tears streamed clearly down her white eyes.
Yet rather than appearing grotesque, it held an ethereal beauty, and Seol Jihoo found himself murmuring as though enchanted.
“Don’t cry.”
Floné, who had been sobbing, lifted her head.
“It’s all over now.”
It was nearly impossible to believe. What she could not accomplish in centuries of anguish, this young man before her had achieved with ease.
When that uncertain, aching gaze met his, Seol Jihoo smiled gently.
“I told you it would work.”
[…….]
“Congratulations.”
[W-what do I do? What should I do?]
“What do you mean? You’ve endured so much.”
[I… I….]
Floné, overwhelmed with emotion, could say no more. She soon began hastily scanning the grave goods scattered around the coffin, as though desperate to repay his kindness in some way.
Yet for Seol Jihoo, the mere fact that the spectral saint had been liberated and freed was enough.
With this, he had repaid the debt of a life saved.
He had upheld the Golden Rule.
[This… this!]
Floné seized something that glimmered and hastily extended both arms.
Seol Jihoo looked down as something was placed around his neck—a beautiful necklace adorned with a sapphire stone.
It was a treasured keepsake from Floné’s mother.
“Are you sure I can accept this?”
[Won’t you take it?]
Seol Jihoo shook his head. Considering his bond with the spectral saint, it seemed fitting to keep at least this one memento with him.
“I’ll treasure it always.”
[Thank you.]
By now the tomb’s interior had filled with light and vibration, transforming into a strange space where sound barely carried.
Floné’s form was obscured by the radiance, barely visible anymore.
“…….”
He had resolved to send her on without lingering attachment.
Yet confronted with this moment he’d wished to avoid, his chest hollowed out as if drained.
[Hehehehe!]
When they first met.
[You’ve suffered so much, haven’t you?]
When she saved his life and offered him comfort.
[Here, take this. There.]
When she soothed him as he wept.
[Come back again.]
When she bade him farewell.
The days he spent with Floné passed before him in sequence.
Reflecting on each one, it seemed he had received nothing but kindness from her.
His eyes burned from the brilliance, yet he forced them to stay open. Watching Floné gradually transform into light, Seol Jihoo somehow knew she would soon disappear entirely.
There was so much he wanted to say.
“Saint!”
Seol Jihoo thrust his arm upward,
“Goodbye!”
condensing all the turbulent emotions surging in his chest into a shout.
“Goodbye, Spectral Saint!”
Flash!
Light erupted.
The brilliant cascade swept outward in all directions with such violent intensity that Seol Jihoo squeezed his eyes shut against the glare.
When he opened them again.
“…Oh.”
Floné was nowhere to be seen.
The light had vanished, and the tremor had faded.
The Purple Artifact Sphere lay shattered into fragments.
Only the remnants of the coffin and a handful of grave goods remained scattered about.
Seol Jihoo gazed in silence at the lingering particles of light, billowing and drifting like spray.
The tomb, emptied of so much, returned once more to quiet.
“So she’s gone….”
His softly murmured words carried an odd mixture of loss and relief.
After standing motionless for some time, Seol Jihoo gripped the Necklace that Floné had placed around his neck.
[Ow.]
Then he exhaled slowly.
[Don’t squeeze so hard. It hurts when you grip it like that.]
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
Seol Jihoo hastily released his grip.
[Let’s get out of here. Oh, and you’re taking all of this with you, right?]
“Is that okay? Thank you.”
[Don’t mention it.]
“Then… huh?”
Seol Jihoo stopped mid-step.
He’d spoken without thinking. But who had he been talking to?
A strange prickling sensation crept up his neck.
He jerked his head down, and his eyes went wide.
‘The Necklace’s color…?’
It had changed.
The jewel that had gleamed with a clear, pale blue light now swirled with a murky black hue, casting a dull luster.
[Hehe.]
A cheerful, tinkling laugh.
Seol Jihoo stared in a daze at the jewel, which swayed and shimmered of its own accord.

(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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