The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 18

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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 18. Divine Retribution

Even after sunrise, Class 3-1 remained silent.
The first thing Seol did upon waking was check her Nine Eyes. Her vision flooded with green, then returned to normal.
Relieved that it activated properly, Seol noticed three people were nowhere to be seen. The middle-aged man had been absent since yesterday, but Yoon Seo-ra and Lee Seong-jin were gone too.
‘Where did they go?’
The current time was 09:47. Spirit’s Hour wouldn’t end until noon, so there was still over two hours left.
‘It should be fine.’
Seol grabbed her bag and Iron Club. Her stomach churned from eating so much convenience store food with Hyeon Sang-min at dawn. The bathroom was across from the stairs on each floor, so it wasn’t far.
When she emerged from the restroom, a boy was descending the staircase with a dejected expression. Lee Seong-jin’s eyes widened when he noticed her, and he quickly bowed his head.
“Hello, sir.”
“Yes. Hello to you as well.”
Seol’s formal speech seemed to make Lee Seong-jin laugh weakly.
“You don’t have to be so formal….”
“Right?”
Seol dropped the formality immediately and noticed the boy’s anxious demeanor. He seemed eager to leave.
“Hunting for treasure?”
“…Yes.”
“How much have you collected?”
“Well… if I include what I found after waking up this morning, exactly enough for the toll.”
Considering their monopoly on the coins, it was a substantial amount. She could imagine how desperately he’d searched.
Seol studied the sixteen-year-old boy before her—round-faced, gentle-eyed, a bit short and stocky enough to pass for a first-year middle schooler. Now that she saw him like this, it struck her as strange that he’d managed to pin Kang Seok to a chair.
“Thanks for this morning. I wouldn’t have made it without you.”
“Oh no, that was all thanks to him.”
Even so, it had been a joint effort between Lee Seong-jin and Shin Sang-a that neutralized Kang Seok. While he hadn’t orchestrated the plan, the boy’s contribution was far from negligible.
“Still. I never expected you to help.”
“Of course we had to help. That guy got me on the 2nd Floor too.”
“Was that it? Were you out for revenge?”
“Not revenge exactly… but he only does the most wicked things. His heart is rotten through and through.”
The boy’s words made Seol smile. Yes, Kang Seok was a vicious one.
Lee Seong-jin hesitated, as if something more needed saying.
“And even if we hadn’t helped, I think you would’ve handled it alone anyway….”
“Hm? Why’s that?”
“You caught that Wandering Ghost so easily. And….”
He paused slightly before continuing.
“I had a feeling the person my sister was looking for… was you.”
“Lee Seol-a?”
“Yes… ah, never mind. It’s probably just my imagination. I’ll ask her about it once we bring her back.”
Just thinking of his sister made him break into a bright smile. It was good to see someone who hadn’t lost hope, and Seol found herself smiling softly in return.
“I’m curious too.”
Seol headed for the stairs. The boy’s eyes followed the young man passing overhead, transfixed. At her gesture to come along, Lee Seong-jin spun around hastily.
“There don’t seem to be any more coins on the 5th Floor. And you really don’t have to help….”
“No. There’s nothing on the 4th Floor, but there’ll be four on the 5th.”
It was something she’d confirmed by reading a certain student’s diary.
“Really?”
“Anyway, how did you two get invited in the first place?”
Seol changed the subject. Lee Seong-jin tilted his head but answered earnestly.
His mother had been diagnosed with an incurable disease and was undergoing treatment. Someone who knew them mentioned that the Paradise here had medicine available, and that’s how he’d received the invitation. When asked how he’d managed school, he gave a vague evasion.
As Seol listened, she found the remaining coins and headed for the Library.
She now had 885 coins in hand. From the original 1,065, she’d given 30 to Shin Sang-a and spent 150 more on medicine. Since the 6th Floor key had no more use to obtain, that left 785 coins available after paying the toll.
“I’ll give it a try, but I can’t promise anything.”
Lee Seong-jin still looked thoroughly bewildered.
“I’ve got just under 800 coins. Since Resurrection should be on the SPECIAL list, I should be able to spin the Gacha twice.”
Seol pushed open the Library door and stepped inside as she spoke. The boy’s eyes widened like saucers.
“T-twice, sir?”
He hurried after her, but both came to an abrupt stop.
Someone was already there.
Around the Gacha machine, roughly twenty coins lay scattered on the ground. Nearby, a woman in a hood crouched, her right arm hanging limp at her side.
“Ah….”
Lee Seong-jin, watching with sympathy, bent down to gather the scattered coins. Lee Seol-a approached quietly and asked.
“Are you all right?”
The hood pulled down around the knees trembled slightly. The head started to rise, then shook back and forth in denial.
“Your right arm… it won’t move at all? Not even a little?”
A nod.
“I….”
Lee Seong-jin slipped in carefully. His outstretched palms held a handful of coins.
Only then did Yoon Seo-ra show her face, her eyes rimmed in red. Tear stains marked her cheeks plainly. The left hand she slowly raised visibly trembled.
She took the coins with difficulty, then lowered her head again.
Lee Seol-a placed a hand on Lee Seong-jin’s shoulder. When she shook her head, he fell silent, his jaw working.
Without a word, she fed coins into the machine. Once exactly three hundred had been inserted, Lee Seong-jin’s Adam’s apple bobbed. As she turned the handle, something familiar clattered down with a sharp metallic sound.

[Stream of Consciousness Quill Pen (X1)]

‘A quill pen?’
Whatever it was, it wasn’t the Resurrection Elixir. Only one chance remained now. Lee Seol-a fed in new coins, her pulse quickening slightly.
The second SPECIAL that emerged was a box. Heart racing, she opened it to find ten Incantation Orbs arranged in neat rows. She examined each one carefully just in case, but none of them were related to resurrection at all.
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. You went to a lot of trouble doing this for us.”
Her words were gentle, but Lee Seong-jin’s disappointment was plainly visible. It was only natural that great hope bred great despair. He tried not to show it, but his eyes glistened.
There was nothing to be done. The world didn’t always bend to what one wished.
They’d found all the coins. As Lee Seol-a was wondering how to comfort him, a sharp jab to her ribs startled her.
“Yoon Seo-ra…?”
She suddenly extended her hand.
“This….”
It was a brief utterance, but perfectly clear. In her slender left hand was a small bottle wrapped in paper. Lee Seol-a stared blankly.
“Resurrection Elixir.”
It was the first properly formed speech she’d heard from her. Cool-toned, yet the words flowed pleasantly into her ears—a joy to listen to, that high, clear voice.
“You’re… giving it to us?”
“Yes.”
It was unexpected. Why would the very embodiment of indifference suddenly do such a thing?
Perhaps Yoon Seo-ra read the confusion on Lee Seol-a’s face, for she continued.
“That student told me. Yesterday….”
When Yoon Seo-ra glanced away, Lee Seong-jin grew flustered.
“Oh, I met him today during Treasure Hunt! I was asking what happened, so he told me!”
Even as he spoke, he stared intently at Yoon Seo-ra’s hand.
“Really? I can really take it? Your arm…?”
“It’s useless to the living. You’ll understand when you read the paper.”
…….
Lee Seol-a accepted the bottle slowly. The hand that brushed hers was cold and soft.
With a long exhale, Yoon Seo-ra passed by them both as though her business was finished.
“Thank you!”
Lee Seong-jin cried out loudly.
“Thank you! Truly! I truly thank you!”
The boy bowed deeply from the waist, tears already streaming down his face.
“Thank you.”
When Lee Seol-a spoke as well, Yoon Seo-ra stopped.
“…You’re welcome.”
She gave a quick bow and hurried away.
‘Was she… a good person after all….’
Lee Seol-a, tilted her head in puzzlement, and hastily unfolded the paper. Had she hesitated even a moment longer, Lee Seong-jin would have looked ready to expire.

[Usage Conditions]
1. For Spirits only
2. A Spirit’s body part
3. Release from Spirit’s servitude (Wandering Ghost death)

“Number one is settled, number three is solved… a body part?”
“I know where I am!”
Lee Seong-jin pulled Seol along.
The boy was headed for the Science Lab. Lee Seong-jin burst through the door at full sprint and let out a shriek. Seol, gripping the Iron Club, peered inside and her breath caught.
A middle-aged man lay there—the one who hadn’t been visible yesterday or today. Split clean in half from crown to groin.
“Wait, he wasn’t here yesterday…?”
Lee Seong-jin was bewildered, but Seol thought she knew who the culprit was. The grim state of the corpse made it all too clear.
‘She hated him that much… enough to kill her husband, her father.’
It stood in stark contrast to Lee Seol-a, who had been driven to flee.
“Seo… raaaaa… Seong… jiiiin…?”
A grating voice seeped out from the corner. A figure huddled like Yoon Seo-ra came into view. The moment Seol registered it, her brows drew together unbidden. The first Spirit she’d ever seen was grotesque beyond measure.
“Sister!”
Lee Seong-jin, snapping back to himself, sprang upright.
“You can live! You can!”
“Caaaan…?”
“My brother got me the Resurrection Elixir!”
Seol suddenly felt her grip grow hot. The bottle in her hand was glowing with brilliant light.
Not knowing what to do, she unstopped it first—and transparent liquid spilled out on its own, wavering through the empty air.
The way it undulated before her eyes seemed to ask, “Who shall I revive?” So Seol pointed to Lee Seol-a. The liquid then drifted gracefully and vanished, absorbed into the Spirit’s form.
Burst of light!
Her entire body blazed. The radiance was so intense that Lee Seong-jin, standing close by, had to shut his eyes.
Within that brilliant, dazzling cascade of light, Seol could dimly perceive it—the wounds vanishing, new flesh blooming, the spectacle of Resurrection unfolding.
Flash. The light vanished. Where it faded, a girl sat with eyes wide open. All trace of her grotesque form was gone; she bore the clean, refined appearance she’d had at first sight.
At last, Lee Seol-a had been resurrected.
“Sister!”
Lee Seong-jin bolted forward and threw himself into his sister’s arms.
Did she still have tears left to shed? Lee Seol-a, who had been confused for some time, saw her brother sobbing and her own eyes welled up.
Seol slipped out quietly and closed the door. It was a touching reunion, but lingering felt awkward.
She was about to leave when she stopped, leaning her back against the frame and crossing her arms. She listened to the siblings’ cries echoing through the hallway, absently toying with the Iron Club.
In case the sound drew any Spirits her way.

When Seol returned with the siblings, the hideout descended into chaos. Hyeon Sang-min, mid-chew on bread, opened his mouth so wide that crumbs tumbled out. Shin Sang-a’s reaction was no better.
“Well, so people really do come back to life.”
After hearing a brief explanation, Hyeon Sang-min laughed easily.
Seol handed convenience store food to Yoon Seo-ra, then gave the same to the siblings, who hadn’t stopped offering thanks. They ignored her completely and began tearing into rice balls as if they’d grown tired of gratitude.
When Hyeon Sang-min stared pointedly at them, they grudgingly opened their mouths.
“I heard it over a thousand times on the way here. Now I understand why people get neurotic.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“I’m not. After hearing it three hundred times, I started getting annoyed. No matter how much I told them to stop, they wouldn’t listen.”
Throughout it all, the siblings continued unleashing their thanks in increasingly varied phrasings. Seol covered her face with her hands, then suddenly gestured toward Yoon Seo-ra, who sat a little apart.
“Lee Seol-a?”
“Yes, yes! Thank you so much, truly. How can I ever repay this debt? For saving me, for letting me see my brother again—I’m so grateful.”
“No, I understand, I do. But the Resurrection Elixir wasn’t from me—it was from her.”
Yoon Seo-ra, quietly nibbling her sandwich, shot a protesting look. Seol pretended not to notice.
“Really?”
“Yes. If Yoon Seo-ra hadn’t succeeded in her draw, Lee Seol-a’s resurrection would have been impossible.”
“That’s right, sister! She’s the one who gave my brother the Resurrection Elixir!”
“Yoon Seo-ra!”
Lee Seol-a bolted. Once peace was restored, Seol shifted her target to the boy. She pulled a hundred Coins from her pocket and handed them to Lee Seong-jin.
“Your sister’s Toll.”
“Oh!”
As if he’d forgotten that entirely, Lee Seong-jin’s eyes widened. He was about to say something when—
“Stop. Please.”
Seol pleaded.
“Don’t thank me. Don’t say anything. I don’t want to hear the word gratitude—not even once. I’m not giving you these if you do.”
……
“If you really must thank someone, go find Yoon Seo-ra and thank her. You and your sister, together.”
Lee Seong-jin took the Coins in both hands. Then, following his brother’s orders, he rejoined Lee Seol-a and unleashed their gratitude assault on Yoon Seo-ra.
Only after dumping it all on her could Seol finally eat in peace. Shin Sang-a and Hyeon Sang-min snickered and wheezed with laughter.
“I’m dying, look at Yoon Seo-ra’s face.”
“Damn funny… hey, how many Coins you got left? After the Toll?”
When she answered eighty-five, Hyeon Sang-min gestured with his eyes. Look to the side, he signaled.
Three students who hadn’t joined the meal were standing off to one side of the classroom, watching. Seol-a asked.
“Those people aren’t eating?”
“Oh, please. Why would I give my precious food to them? I suppose I could treat Hyeon Sang-min to a meal, though.”
Shin Sang-a nodded in agreement.
“And… earlier they asked me if I had any spare Coins.”
“Ah, for the Toll. How many short are they?”
“About twenty or thirty between the three of them.”
After muttering back and forth, she snorted dismissively.
“Shameless bastards. You’re not going to give them any, right?”
“I won’t. Absolutely not.”
Surprisingly, even Shin Sang-a chimed in softly.
Since the incident on the 2nd Floor, her relationship with the three had grown distant. If she’d pressed a button like Lee Seong-jin had, it might’ve been different. But Shin Sang-a still hadn’t forgotten the wordless glance that said “all you need to do is leave”—Kang Seok’s suggestion. Beyond their incompetence, it was their naked determination to survive only for themselves that had soured her on the whole group.
Seol-a didn’t answer. Instead, she pulled out a Coin she’d kept in reserve and held it out to Hyeon Sang-min.
“Huh?”
“Use it. We’ve still got time until noon.”
“Use it? You mean Gacha?”
“If you’re scared of Spirits, don’t. But I haven’t been seeing them much lately.”
At that moment, a peculiar expression crossed Hyeon Sang-min’s face.
“I can really use this?”
“Use it, I said.”
There wasn’t much else to pull for anyway. More than that, thinking about Hyeon Sang-min’s nature as she’d seen it in the status window, it seemed worthwhile to take care of him occasionally—even in small ways. If he hadn’t been there, they might’ve missed the Wandering Ghost entirely. In other words, it was a kind of reward.
“Really? I can spend it however I want and you won’t say anything?”
“Use it or throw it away, do whatever you like.”
With that much said, there was no refusing. Hyeon Sang-min, having accepted the Coin, wore a mischievous grin. He glanced sideways, then sauntered off.
“Let’s go!”
When Shin Sang-a stopped eating and followed him, the three lingerers—who’d been glaring at Seol-a reproachfully—hurried after them too.
Since they’d seen him receive a Coin, they’d definitely ask for one. Seol-a smirked and took her time enjoying the meal in peace. Watching Yoon Seo-ra’s mounting distress.
But then she was startled to see the brother and sister pair return to her. It was because Yoon Seo-ra, who’d been consistently dismissive at first, had now nearly lost her temper chasing them away.
But as the saying goes, even when the heavens collapse, there’s always a hole for something to rise through.

[A Guide’s Message has arrived.]

Noon had come and gone.
The message said to go up to the 6th Floor.

When Seol-a climbed to the 6th Floor, she felt a sudden letdown. She’d wondered what kind of structure it would be, but it was just the Rooftop.
In the center, an elliptical Portal was generating a crimson glow. Beside it, the Guide and a blonde maid were waiting for people to arrive.
“Well, welcome. Congratulations on your successful mission.”
Han offered a perfunctory greeting. He seemed to be in good spirits today. He felt like a different person from when she’d seen him in the assembly hall.
“Wonderful, truly wonderful. It seems all who needed to come have gathered, so I officially declare the completion of the Area 1 Tutorial!”
Clap, clap, clap, clap. The maid applauded. Of course, no one else joined in.
As an awkward silence settled over them, Seol-a noticed the contradiction.
‘Everyone’s gathered?’
Only six people had come up to the Rooftop. The three stragglers were nowhere to be seen.
“Starting with thirty-eight, making it all the way here…”
While Han went on talking nonsense, Seol-a approached Hyeon Sang-min, who was whistling tunelessly.
“How’d you do it?”
“Huh? Oh, the Coin?”
“Those people. Did you kill them?”
“Well… I gave Shin Sang-a fifty-five. Told her to pull whatever. We split what came out.”
“What about the rest?”
“I’m sure you’d like to enter the Portal right away, but I’ll need to ask for a bit more time. We still need to complete your inclination settings… and most importantly, there are rewards to distribute as we wrap things up.”
Han’s voice continued on. Hyeon Sang-min glanced at the Guide moving into the main point, then spoke in a low voice.
“What do you think happened?”
“?”
“If you promise not to get mad, I’ll tell you.”
“I won’t.”
“I threw them away. All thirty that were left. Every single one.”
Seol-a doubted her ears.
“Threw them away?”
“That’s right. I flushed it down the toilet.”
He slid his sunglasses down slightly. His eyes were laughing too.
“Right in front of those bastards, too. Man! You should’ve seen how those jerks freaked out.”
Hyeon Sang-min giggled.

(To be continued in the next episode)

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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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