The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 183

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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 183. The Full Story (2)

Everyone spoke as one, without exception.
They said to run.
They said there was no way to win.
They said the Aden Gorge Fortress would be razed to nothing, not a blade of grass left standing.
And so the war that had been written in stone as lost finally reached its end.
After a life-and-death struggle that made survival irrelevant, the brief report transmitted from the Aden Gorge Fortress contained only four phrases.
‘Parasites routed. Seven Great Armies confirmed in retreat. Deathless Diligence annihilated.’
And.
‘Support requested for wounded transport.’
Haramag erupted.
The roar that rang out across Haramag rippled far and wide to every human city—Sheherazade, Nur, Eva, and beyond.
In this moment, humanity celebrated purely, Paradise Beings and Earthians alike making no distinction.
For the first time since the empire’s fall, a victory worthy of the name. Above all, a crushing triumph—the notorious First Legion Commander, Deathless Diligence, had been erased.
Of course, no one could claim that a single victory had dealt the Parasite Queen such a staggering blow that her fate now hung by a thread.
Yet these were people who had lived in constant terror, their fear so relentless it had calcified into obsession—people who endured rather than lived.
So it was hardly surprising that humanity celebrated so keenly the fact that they had, by their own strength, made the Parasite Queen taste bitter defeat.
The joy ran especially high in Haramag, the war’s primary stage.
The faces of people moving through the city grew noticeably brighter.
War stories filled every conversation, and the streets erupted in spontaneous festival.
Lee Seol-ah was among those celebrating.
Having worried so deeply, she was gladdened by news of victory more than anyone, fairly bursting with joy.
Giddy with excitement, she wandered the city aimlessly, and when she heard whispered from place to place that Seol Jihoo was the war’s greatest hero, she felt quietly proud in her heart.
It struck her as odd that Jang Maldong had fallen uncharacteristically silent, and when Lee Seongjin said, “Sister, don’t you think the instructor’s mood seems off?”—she tilted her head in confusion.
Still, Lee Seol-ah didn’t think much of it.
She simply went out to enjoy the festival and waited for Seol Jihoo’s return with mounting anticipation.
She dreamed of how she’d pester him to tell her everything the moment he arrived.
Until a single carriage entered the city.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Eight horses pulled the carriage across the street with earth-shattering force.
Lee Seol-ah frowned at the soldiers appearing throughout the streets.
They were temporarily blocking traffic to clear a path to Rusheria Temple, something that had never happened before.
By then, Lee Seol-ah was already quietly sensing that something was amiss.
There were too many suspicious details.
Soldiers appearing, and Priehi, the king of Haramag, had even visited the office in person.
Jang Maldong had asked her to leave the room, so she hadn’t heard the full conversation, but the atmosphere she’d glimpsed looked grave indeed.
After it ended, Jang Maldong had left only a hurried remark—that he might not return for several days—before rushing out.
‘Something’s wrong.’
Lee Seol-ah murmured to herself, staring after the carriage as it became a distant speck.
Moments later, as the soldiers lifted the street lockdown and dispersed, Lee Seol-ah bolted after them with all her strength.
As she’d guessed, the carriage had stopped in front of Rusheria Temple.
She watched as several figures rushed through the entrance and vanished from sight almost at once.
By the time she entered the temple, they were already gone, but tracking them proved simple.
Even at Level 2, an Archer was still an Archer.
Pursuing traces only tens of seconds old within a space she knew contained her quarry was trivial.
Only two soldiers stood blocking the corridor where the footprints led.
“I’m sorry, you cannot pass.”
She’d half-expected it, but still.
As Lee Seol-ah tried to slip by casually, the soldiers immediately crossed their spears to block the way.
“Why not?”
“This is an Intensive Care Room. His Majesty has issued a decree: no visits are permitted for the time being. Only authorized personnel may enter.”
The soldier’s tone was so sharp that Lee Seol-ah quickly lied.
“I’m authorized personnel.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m with Carpe Diem. My name is Lee Seol-ah. The instructor said he was going in first, so I’m here to….”
She had a talent for such improvisation, and Lee Seol-ah spun her tale with practiced ease.
The two soldiers glanced at each other uncertainly.
“Forgive me, but would you open your status window?”
After confirming her affiliation, they tilted their heads and stepped aside.
They’d seen her registered with Carpe Diem anyway, so they had no grounds to stop her further.
It was just as she successfully passed through and entered the corridor.
— Aaahhhhhhh!
A scream so chilling it raised goosebumps echoed through the corridor.
It sounded like a tormented soul burning in hellfire’s sulfurous flames, wailing in anguish—and Lee Seol-ah found herself stopping involuntarily.
Her hesitant gaze fixed on the far end of the shadowed passage, where light leaked from the doors on either side.
— Ahhhhh! Heeeeee!
The screams rang out again.
Shouts mixed in—commands to press down, to hold him still.
Lee Seol-ah swallowed hard.
Creeping cautiously forward, she peered through the left door—and froze.
“Pin his arms and legs! Don’t let him move!”
A tearing shout struck her ears.
Lee Seol-ah flinched, her face going blank.
Because she saw a young man gasping as if drowning, his entire body thrashing like a fish, convulsing violently.
The moment the sharp stench of blood hit her nose, her eyes went wide.
“Ugh!”
Her body recoiled instinctively, and unable to catch herself, she stumbled backward onto her rear. Her hand flew to her mouth, and without thinking, she lowered her head.
“Blech! Ughhhh!”
Her mind couldn’t process the horrific sight before her, and dry heaves wracked her body.
Tears spilled quickly down her cheeks.
[If you’re going to treat this Paradise as nothing but a game to enjoy for a moment, I don’t want to be part of it.]
Only now did she understand what those words meant.
And at the same time, how carelessly she had been thinking all along.
She had simply rejoiced at the outcomes she heard, never once considering what process they had endured to claim victory.
“Oh my. Are you all right?”
A priest who had just arrived saw Lee Seol-ah crouched in the corridor and spoke to her.
With one hand covering her mouth, Lee Seol-ah waved frantically, nodding desperately.
“Why aren’t you coming in!?”
An sharp cry suddenly burst from the direction of the door.
The priest, flustered, quickly disappeared inside.
“Hah… hah…”
Barely composing herself, Lee Seol-ah forced down the bitter bile rising in her throat and looked toward the right door.
“You’ve all seen the condition he’s in.”
Teresa stood inside, eyes blazing as she fixed the gathered crowd with her gaze.
“Listen carefully. From this moment on, find a recovery method by any means necessary. By any method whatsoever. The Royal House will procure whatever is needed.”
She had regained her composure quickly, assessed the situation, and immediately thrown herself into the operation to save Seol Jihoo.
It was Teresa who had contacted the Royal House to station the fastest carriage at the midpoint, and who had hastily summoned priests from other cities.
“You will find a method. That’s your job, and that’s why I’ve gathered you all here.”
Her threatening tone cut like an ultimatum.
Yet those assembled said nothing, only exchanging silent glances.
They were renowned priests from Sheherazade and cities close to Haramag, but that only made them more unable to speak.
Because they had the skill to recognize the condition when they saw it, they had become speechless.
Even Seo Yuhee had only stopped the immediate crisis; she hadn’t found any real solution.
What could they possibly do differently?
Still, having been paid, opinions were offered—but all were either useless or unrealistic.
It was as Teresa paced anxiously, lifting and placing her heels in agitation, that—
“Where is the daughter of Rusheria?”
Jang Maldong burst through the door.
Teresa opened her mouth quickly.
“She’s likely gone into the Intensive Care Room.”
“When will she be able to return?”
“I don’t know. She performed a ritual in an overextended state…”
Teresa’s voice trailed off.
“Is there… no way?”
She asked in an anxious voice.
The priests she’d hastily assembled were useless. Now only Jang Maldong’s experience could be trusted.
Jang Maldong let out a sigh.
He grasped the situation well enough from fragments of it.
The Ancient Spell that Seo Yuhee had offered as payment was Extreama.
A kind of self-sacrifice incantation that poured half the caster’s life force into a wounded person while drawing half their pain in return.
An ancient holy spell powerful enough to forcibly pull back someone on death’s threshold—but that was where its limits lay.
Even after unleashing a sacred incantation of such magnitude, the condition remained this dire?
Jang Maldong could not even fathom what the original state must have been.
A scream tore through the air again. The image of Seol Jihoo’s face contorted in agony, eyes rolled back, was seared into Jang Maldong’s mind, and he grimaced.
“Master…!”
Teresa’s voice carried a tremor of urgency.
There was no time for further deliberation.
Though Seo Yuhee had infused powerful vitality into him, even now Seol Jihoo’s raging mana was gnawing away at what life remained with each passing moment.
Jang Maldong clenched his teeth.
“There are two possible approaches.”
At the mention of two options, Teresa’s eyes brightened.
“What are they?”
“The wound itself is not the issue. That body has reached a state beyond salvage. Therefore, a new substitute is required.”
“A substitute?”
“A sub-species body is necessary. One powerful enough to permit parasitic inhabitation, capable of rapid recovery, with excellent durability.”
Teresa’s mouth fell open.
“But then… he couldn’t be considered human anymore.”
What Jang Maldong was suggesting amounted to turning Seol Jihoo into a Parasite.
“It is the only method I can presently conceive. The alternative would be death and resurrection.”
That, too, was far from certain.
There remained the question of who would wish for resurrection in prayer, and even if they managed to gather the necessary Official Deeds, whether Seol Jihoo could endure in the present world during that time was doubtful.
Though his active period had not spanned years, he had crammed an extraordinary number of significant trials into a brief span—nothing could be promised with certainty.
“In other words….”
Teresa’s voice trembled.
“There is no way, is there.”
Despair was descending upon her expression when—
“Um….”
A voice no louder than a mosquito’s hum emerged.
“If a holy spell won’t work, wouldn’t a good medicine help instead?”
Lee Seol-ah remained crouched, her anxious gaze sweeping across the room.
“A good medicine?”
Setting aside the question of what she was doing here in the first place, Teresa seized upon the words with the desperation of one grasping at straws.
“Yes. I’ve heard there’s a panacea in Paradise that can cure any ailment….”
“You mean the Elixir?”
Jang Maldong grasped it at once.
Lee Seol-ah nodded.
“Yes, yes. That’s what I heard.”
“…It’s worth attempting. If it’s the Elixir, it would restore not just the wounds but even the circuits melted beyond repair. It would certainly help temper that wild magic tearing through him.”
“Then—!”
“If such a thing exists.”
Jang Maldong, having conceded the point, added a caveat.
“The Elixir is the wellspring of power left behind by the lord who served Opinio Odor most closely, before ascending to the side of the divine as death claimed him—a distilled essence brimming with mighty life. The Sky Fairy clan treasures it beyond measure and manages it with utmost vigilance. Will you request it? Or attempt to steal it?”
In short, an impractical method.
Lee Seol-ah shook her head.
Then it happened.
The moment she heard the word ‘Federation’, Teresa’s eyes widened in recognition.
Bang!
She kicked the door open with all her might and bolted from the room.
At her sudden departure, both Jang Maldong and Lee Seol-ah stared blankly after her swinging door.
And hours later, Teresa returned bearing extraordinary news.
She had brought a positive response from the Federation.
The Federation answered in five terse words.
‘Tigol Fortress recaptured. Returning to homeland.’
And.
‘Request from Haramag Royal Family received. If the one who cooperated in research facility destruction and escape is confirmed, and if the dissolution of the Parasite First Legion Commander is verified, the Federation pledges unreserved support limited to the salvation of one individual named Seol. Expected arrival in Haramag by air within seven days.’
It was news beyond belief.
Meanwhile, the woman who had been gazing down at Seol Jihoo—whose entire body cycled endlessly from crimson to azure to shimmering gold—closed her eyes tightly upon hearing the news.
“…Will he survive?”
A whisper, brief and fragile.
Only then did Jang Maldong’s eyes widen, finally registering her presence.
His mind had been so consumed that he hadn’t even noticed she was there.
They shared no prior connection, yet he knew exactly who she was.
The first in Paradise to reach Level 8, and one who had received the mark of the divine.
Baek Hyejoo.
Though he wondered what had brought her here, that question could wait.
“Will he live?”
When she pressed the question again, Jang Maldong shook his head.
“I cannot say. I’ve forced him back from the brink, but the problem lies in how close death drew. Everything hinges on the state of his mind.”
“If you cannot be certain, perhaps it would be kinder to let him go now.”
“It’s a last resort. I cannot place blind faith in the Elixir alone, but what matters is that we’ve found a method worth attempting.”
At that, a sharp grinding sound escaped—teeth clenched hard.
Baek Hyejoo’s brow rose sharply.
“If he becomes something neither alive nor dead…”
She glanced toward the Intensive Care Room where Seo Yuhee had entered, but only for a moment.
Then, her expression set with resolve, she lifted Seol Jihoo’s upper body and took her seat behind him in lotus position.
“What are you—?”
“I ask for your protection.”
And she placed her hand gently against Seol Jihoo’s trembling back.
Something flickered in Jang Maldong’s eyes.
He understood what Baek Hyejoo was about to do.
Treating the critically wounded proceeds in stages. To administer potent, harsh medicine to a body in such ruined condition would be worse than useless.
First, the wild, raging energies must be calmed as much as possible; only then could the body be prepared to accept treatment.
And until the Federation’s personnel arrived, Seol Jihoo had to hold on.
Their thoughts aligned.
After dispatching everyone save the bare minimum needed to restrain Seol Jihoo’s movements, Jang Maldong reached into his robes without hesitation.
He had sworn once, with iron resolve, that he would never do this again—but now was not the time for such scruples.
Every method at his disposal would be employed.
‘He must live.’
By any means.
The eyes of Jang Maldong, as he drew a long, narrow vial from his grasp, burned and blazed with fierce determination.

(To be continued in the next installment)

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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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