The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 78

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

Chapter 78. “I Don’t Want to Live That Way” (2)

The 3rd Floor became a spectacle for a while—Seol Jihoo pressing his questions with sharp precision, Cho Hong gesturing frantically in obvious flustered denial. For any Earthian who knew Cho Hong’s true self—ranked in the top three among the Six Radiance—it would have been a sight to leave them slack-jawed.
After a moment, he relaxed the sharp edge of his glare that had been drilling into her.
“So it’s nothing serious, then?”
“That’s right~! I told you, climbing to a higher rank isn’t easy.”
“Still, it’s disappointing. I could’ve at least worried over it with you. Two hands make light work, as they say.”
“Hey, I’ve got my pride too. I can’t just ask for help because I’m stuck on a game. I’m Level 4, for heaven’s sake.”
Cho Hong laughed cheerfully and hurried to add more.
“And this time I want to try it with nothing but my own strength. That way, when I reach a higher rank, I can hold my head up. So cut me some slack, yeah?”
She patted his back while laughing. The phrase “just a game” nagged at him, but he kept quiet. He wasn’t convinced, but there wasn’t much to say when she came at him like that.
“…Fine.”
In the end, Seol Jihoo conceded. Cho Hong’s relief was visible.
“Still, if things get rough, tell me. Who knows—maybe I can help.”
“Let me struggle with it a bit more. If I really hit a wall, I’ll say something. Like you said, two hands need to clap—wait, what was it again?”
“Two hands make light work. And two palms need to meet to make a sound.”
Seol Jihoo gave a wry smile.
“That’s it… oh, right.”
Cho Hong, scratching her temple, suddenly dropped a comment.
“When are you going home?”
“Home? Why the sudden question?”
“Just? Shouldn’t it be about time you visited?”
“Not at all. I hate it. I’m not going.”
Seol Jihoo shook his head without hesitation. Cho Hong, staring at him intently, let out a small sigh.
“…All right.”

The next day, Cho Hong showed an unusually relaxed manner in the morning. She joined him for meals and participated in morning training, displaying what seemed like genuine consideration.
But that didn’t last. Around midday, she received a message and suddenly bolted out without a word about where she was going. She seemed in such a hurry that he didn’t even think to stop her.
‘She’s definitely hiding something.’
Seol Jihoo, in the middle of his afternoon schedule, halted his training. With Mana Training, concentration is everything. Even pouring all your effort into it barely yields results. Lost in distraction, training was pointless.
‘Maybe I should visit Maria?’
His mood felt unsettled anyway. There was a hint of guilt nagging at him. He straightened the 1st Floor and headed out.
‘That building’s almost done.’
On his way, he noticed the structure across the street was nearing completion.
After stopping at a restaurant to load up on snacks and drinks, Seol Jihoo made his way to the Lushriah Temple. When he requested a visit, the woman at the reception desk looked very surprised.
“A visit? For a patient?”
“Maria. Yeriel Maria.”
“…That’s odd. So she does get visitors.”
The elegant woman in white priestly robes who’d been muttering to herself raised her hand, and the novice priest who’d been sweeping the entrance set down his broom and approached.
“This person—could you show them to Miss…”
“Sibalia? No. Miss Maria, yes? Understood.”
The man bowed respectfully and guided Seol Jihoo forward.
The route didn’t lead to the Quarters like last time. They ventured deeper, and the foot traffic thinned. The man entered a dimly lit corridor, checked a door carefully, and knocked with caution. Then he vanished.
“…….”
Just like when he’d visited the Quarters before—why did he run the moment he knocked? Was this some kind of local custom? Seol Jihoo turned over all manner of silly thoughts before opening his mouth.
“Maria? It’s me. Seol.”
There was no answer. Only a faint rustling sound. After waiting briefly, he quietly opened the door.
“I’m coming in.”
The door creaked open, revealing a room larger than expected—clean and neat to a degree that made her Quarters seem shabby by comparison. And on a white bed lay a small, slight figure gasping for breath.
“Maria?”
Startled, Seol Jihoo approached and saw blonde hair drenched in sweat. With a white towel draped across her forehead, she opened her eyes with difficulty and glanced sideways at him.
“Seol…?”
“Are you all right? Is it serious?”
“What’s… surely you’re not… asking for another favor…?”
“Of course not. I came to visit you.”
“A visit?”
Maria’s voice, which had sounded like she might expire at any moment, suddenly brightened. The moment she caught sight of the food he’d brought, her eyes lit up entirely.
“Ah, I was worried for nothing.”
Whoosh. Maria hurled the towel aside and jerked upright, scrubbing the water from her face with quick strokes before reaching toward the basket.
Around the time the young man’s gaze fixed on the spray bottle sitting on the nightstand, Maria rummaging through the basket spoke up.
“Where’s the alcohol? Don’t you have any?”
“You’re sick—why would you need alcohol? I bought fruit juice.”
“Ugh, seriously? Am I a child or something? You have zero sense.”
“You weren’t a child?”
“Stop messing with me! I’m a blooming eighteen years old. Who’s calling me a child?”
Eighteen. A high school student. Seol Jihoo felt a genuine shock wash over him. A second-year high school girl drinking like that?
“Wait—is it okay overseas?”
“What are you talking about?”
Maria let out a snort of laughter and bit into a roll of bread, gripping it with both hands and tearing into it with only her head tilted back—the sight of her bulging cheeks made her look endearingly like an otter cracking open a clam.
Munch, munch. With her cheeks puffed out, Maria opened her mouth.
“Still, that’s thoughtful of you. You must be busy, but you came to visit.”
“No? Not really… I came for multiple reasons, you know.”
To pay a sick visit and build a rapport at the same time. That’s what he’d meant by it.
“Multiple reasons.”
Maria giggled.
“Are you treating me like a chore?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. Carpe Diem must be in chaos too… Sigh. Take care of yourself.”
What was she talking about now? Seol Jihoo’s expression darkened. But Maria was too focused on eating to notice his face.
“I’m grateful for what you brought. I’m fine, so go check on Cho Hong—she looked terrible.”
Cho Hong? Cho Hong is here? Seol Jihoo was about to protest, but he caught himself and took a moment to think. Whether it was mere speculation or not, Maria seemed to know something he didn’t. And she was laboring under some misunderstanding.
“Ah, she came separately. We were supposed to meet here somewhere. Do you happen to know where she might be?”
“The innermost room down this hallway.”
It seemed close by. Seol Jihoo bid her farewell and moved to leave. Maria raised her hand in reply. The moment he stepped out of the room, his pace quickened.
‘The innermost room.’
At the end of the corridor, the door to the room on the left was cracked open, light spilling through. Following instinct, Seol Jihoo muffled his footsteps and peered inside. Several people were in the room.
Various voices were drifting out when his gaze suddenly locked on one spot. A woman lying on the bed. The moment his eyes met her left pupil—as if she’d sensed his stare—Seol Jihoo’s breath caught.
“Hm? Agnes?”
As Agnes peered out through the crack, Cheonji turned her eyes away. The next instant, the door swung open with a bang. All eyes turned toward the sound. Cho Hong, standing off to one side, let out a gasp.
“What—what is it?”
“Agnes!”
Seol Jihoo rushed forward and stopped before Agnes’s bed.
It was appalling. The stench of blood hung so thick that words alone could barely capture it. Blood-soaked towels lay scattered around the bed, and Agnes was wrapped in bandages from head to toe. Even her face was swathed in gauze except for her left eye—had it been otherwise, he wouldn’t have recognized her at all.
What on earth had happened? Agnes was a formidable Level 6 archer-class assassin on the cusp of a higher rank. One of the recognized powerhouses of Paradise that even Kim Hanna herself had acknowledged.
“Agnes… Agnes…”
Seol Jihoo repeated the same words like a broken machine. But his eyes alone betrayed his anguish so plainly that Agnes turned her gaze away with a pained sound. Even that slight movement caused fresh blood to seep into the bandages wound around her neck.
“Who is that?”
“Never mind. He’s not an outsider. This fellow belongs to Carpe Diem as well.”
That voice was familiar. Like Agnes, Ian was lying on a bed with only his upper body raised, stroking his beard with a bitter expression.
Ian’s condition didn’t look particularly good either—only marginally better than Agnes’s.
“Ian.”
“So, did you manage to resolve that mystery?”
Ian winked with one eye. Seol Jihoo was bewildered. He had no idea what was happening or how. Cho Hong bit her lower lip with a complex expression. After shooting her a glance, he looked away. He wished someone would say something, anything.
After a moment of heavy silence, Cheonji, arms folded with only her index finger tapping, let out a breath.
“I suppose we should start with an apology.”
An apology? Just hearing the word sent an inexplicable chill down his spine.
“Cho Hong didn’t want you to get involved, it seems…”
“Unnie!”
“Quiet, Cho Hong. He has a right to know.”
Cheonji spoke in a low voice, her beast-like eyes fixed on Seol Jihoo. He opened his mouth.
“Please, tell me.”

Third floor of the building.
Carpe Diem headquarters.
“A Mutant Ogre?”
Dylan, raising his teacup, stilled his hand.
“That’s right. Word from the Federation.”
“I’ve never heard of it. Weren’t Ogres an extinct species?”
“Fresh off the wire, still hot from the press. Even I can hardly believe it, but apparently the appearance of a Mutant Ogre has shifted the balance dramatically in our favor. In the end, they couldn’t hold the line—Tigol Fortress has been abandoned.”
Bang! Dylan set down his teacup with force.
“I can’t believe it.”
Rarely did he show such open surprise.
“Wasn’t Tigol Fortress one of the Federation’s most vital strongholds? They surrendered it just like that?”
“It means the Mutant Ogre is that formidable.”
“This is insane. What on earth is happening?”
Parasites are fundamentally a species that survives through parasitism. Whether using corpses or living hosts, they convert conquered bodies into military strength by seizing control after infestation.
The Federation and humanity aren’t fools either. After the Beastmen Union’s collapse—or more precisely, after the Parasites swarmed the corpses of the fallen—both sides enacted an emergency measure: incinerate all bodies, friend and foe alike. They couldn’t afford to let enemy reinforcements rise from their own dead, so they decided to burn everything to ash.
But the Parasite Queen wasn’t idle either. She seemed to mock both sides by birthing something called a Nest.
Originally, Parasites lacked the Impregnation Ability. By what sorcery, no one knew, but the emergence of Nests—which served as maternal vessels—and the Parasites born from them, inheriting that power, was truly shocking.
That alone was headache enough. Now, it seems, a supposedly extinct species has appeared: Ogres.
“The Parasite Queen can’t turn a blind eye to the situation any longer.”
Cheonji exhaled smoke and continued.
“There’s only one thing she’s ever truly worried about: us joining hands with the Federation.”
That much is true. The Federation has recently brought even the cave fey into its ranks, yet barely holds against the Parasite onslaught. And now, with the Mutant Ogre’s emergence, the tide has turned against them.
But if the Federation and humanity were to ally, the game would change entirely. Weak as we may be, we have a god administering the Seven Sins holding the line, and with the flood of Earthians, there are dimensions they can’t easily dismiss.
But the fact that things have reached this point means….
“After the Aden Fortress incident, they seem to have reached a conclusion. And they’ve put forward a new solution.”
“I’ve never heard of an answer I’d rather not hear before.”
Cheonji let out a wry laugh at Dylan’s quip and pressed on.
“The Federation views the appearance of the Mutant Ogre as an evolution of the Parasite’s Impregnation Ability.”
“So should I understand that to mean more Nests will appear, and new Parasites will emerge?”
“The latter’s true, but not the former.”
Cheonji shook her head.
“Dylan. The evolution I’m talking about isn’t a development of their racial traits.”
“Then what?”
“A change in method.”
Dylan tilted his head, clearly lost.
“Medusa herself—the ultimate evolutionary form—still depends on a Nest as her maternal source. That’s how rare they’re treated, even by the Parasites. They’ve almost never appeared on the battlefield, and their numbers are reportedly few. Why do you think that is?”
“I have no idea.”
“Right. You don’t. But there must be some reason. Perhaps some form of loss is incurred, or in any case, there’s a reason we don’t understand. Otherwise, Nests would already swarm the battlefield as legions and have swept the entire continent clean.”
…….
“So the conclusion is: Nests can’t be mass-produced. But don’t you think the Parasite Queen might have reasoned like this?”
Cheonji’s voice rose slightly.
“Why bear whatever cost it takes just to increase the number of Nests?”
“Hmm?”
“If she has the Impregnation Ability, couldn’t she just borrow the bodies of other species?”
Dylan’s face went rigid.
“Cheonji. Don’t tell me—”
“Exactly. With the Impregnation Ability—”
Cheonji smiled faintly and placed a hand on her own chest.
“I have it.”
She pointed to Agnes standing behind them.
“Agnes has it too. And Paradise is teeming with fertile females who aren’t even human. Why would they need to limit themselves?”
Dylan shook his head.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why do you think so?”
“The Parasites’ main force is their zombie legions. Even if they seize control through infestation, what’s inside is just a corpse that’s stopped functioning. How could internal organs still work?”
“What if they were captured alive?”
Dylan, who had been vehemently denying it, fell silent. Cheonji exhaled smoke and spoke quietly.
“Say, as prisoners.”
“You’re saying there are still living prisoners?”
“Dylan. Don’t comfort yourself with illusions. The Empire, the Beastmen Union… the Parasites haven’t just conquered one or two nations. By species count, they’re innumerable. I don’t think the Parasite Queen is so foolish as to have no concept of taking prisoners, not after she’s devoured even gods.”
“Even so, it doesn’t make sense.”
Dylan’s expression was troubled.
“Even if you’re right, relying on just one gender—”
“Why would you assume all the prisoners are female?”
Cheonji’s tone was almost derisive. Dylan had no answer.
“In other words.”
They capture living males and females, infect them with parasites, and reshape their insides to suit their purposes. And….
“The males are drained of semen until death, while the females are impregnated repeatedly and give birth to monsters… Just imagining it is horrifying. This is worse than what we feared.”
“Exactly. Now let me tell you why I’ve come.”
Cheonji uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.
“This is information the Federation has uncovered. The answer the Parasite Queen has produced this time isn’t mere Mutant Ogres. It’s Mutant Orcs instead.”
“Mutant Orcs?”
“That’s right. Unlike ogres, orcs are a species that can be mass-produced. They’re born in large numbers at once, place less burden on the host, and can be turned into fighting forces incredibly quickly, or so we’re told.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Listen carefully. The Parasites that took Tigol Fortress haven’t advanced further—they’re regrouping. They’ve even redirected considerable forces to the regions bordering our territory. But they’re not attacking. What does that suggest?”
“…Fuck.”
Dylan closed his eyes.
“The Federation believes the mass-production system is already operational. If we just sit and watch, an enormous number of Mutant Orcs will soon appear on this land.”
They’re pursuing increased military strength through different methods. If this plan truly succeeds, there’s no point in the Federation and humanity joining hands. No—it would mean all hope and dreams vanish.
“And one more thing. Most of the mass-production facilities are distributed around our perimeter. Are you starting to get the picture?”
In other words, they mass-produce disposable Mutant Orcs to invade human territory while the Parasites concentrate their main forces on the Federation. Dylan finally understood why Cheonji had come.
“What have the Seven Nations decided?”
“We’re already in motion. Haramag needs to destroy one facility as well.”
“What about the military?”
“Didn’t I just say? They’ve withdrawn forces from the Federation front and stationed them all around our territory. The moment you go in, you’ll be swallowed whole.”
“So what’s the conclusion?”
“Select only the most capable operatives and infiltrate with a small elite force in secret. That’s all.”
Dylan ran a hand over his face.
“Damn it. Sometimes I wish I could take a mission where I don’t have to risk my life.”
“Ha. I feel the same way. Anyway, since time is of the essence, Agnes will lead the operation. The Royal House has agreed to send the old fox and that lustful woman, and also….”
Dylan, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
“Is there any chance Hugo could join?”
“Hugo?”
“I figure we need at least one warrior who moves in sync with us.”
“Well… Hugo should be fine. Do as you like.”
Cheonji shrugged her shoulders.
“By the way.”
Only then did Dylan, holding the now-cold teacup, speak again.
“Where is the facility located?”

“Well, we managed to approach it without being spotted….”
After finishing her long explanation, Cheonji gazed down at Agnes and slowly lit a cigarette.
“Bottom line: the mission failed spectacularly. As a result, only two people came back alive. That’s how it stands.”
I never thought it would actually happen. Dylan, Hugo, Teresa Hasse—the three faces passed through Seol Jihoo’s mind in quick succession. His heart sank as he asked.
“So….”
“Nothing’s certain.”
It was Ian’s voice.
“I saw it with my own eyes. Mutant Orcs were definitely moving around out there. Which means the mass-production facility exists….”
Ian trailed off, but there was no need to hear the rest to understand.
“They could have been captured, is what you’re saying.”
“…I can’t be certain, but yes.”
Ian’s expression turned bitter.
As the expedition approached their objective, they were discovered mid-infiltration and found themselves surrounded by enemies closing in from all sides. That Ian managed to escape alive was entirely thanks to Agnes. Without her desperate struggle, they would never have broken through the encirclement or shaken off pursuit.
But Agnes is only human and has limits. In a situation already hopelessly outnumbered, she didn’t have the ability to extract all the scattered expedition members.
After a brief silence, Seol Jihoo spoke.
“We have to rescue them.”
“That’s why we’ve gathered.”
Ian said this.
“Setting aside the mission itself, we don’t exactly want to leave them there either.”
“Then.”
“But how?”
Ian shook his head, his expression one of utter helplessness.
“Even with Haramag’s finest team assembled, we failed. Now that we’ve been spotted, security will be tighter. Unless we’re prepared for total annihilation and launch a full-scale assault, the chances of a successful extraction are essentially zero.”
And that full-scale assault itself is a problem. The difference between attack and defense is as vast as heaven and earth.
Since the invasion began, humanity has never once launched an offensive—they’ve been scrambling just to defend. Are humans truly going to mount an attack on enemy territory? It’s questionable whether it’s even possible, and if it were, it’d be like thrusting your face into a tiger’s mouth.
“What about coordinating with the Federation?”
“I’ve already thought about it. Since the Federation is the source of this information, they must be running infiltration teams of their own, but….”
Ian paused mid-thought, shaking his head slowly.
“They’ve taken heavy losses just holding on this long. The fact that they’ve surrendered Tigol Fortress suggests the Federation is in dire straits themselves.”
Seol Jihoo found his fists clenching without his meaning to.
So the gap in power was that vast. Was he really meant to sit here and do nothing but watch and wait?
“I’ve never felt the meaning of ‘caught between a rock and a hard place’ so keenly. No matter how I look at it, there’s no way out.”
What should he do? Seol Jihoo’s mind raced desperately, searching. But there was no hope an old dream would resurface now.
‘I should have written it down in my notebook as soon as I woke up.’
“If only we had someone like Sung Si-hyun….”
Ian’s voice was hollow, weighted with regret.
That was when Seol Jihoo spoke.
“Where is it?”
“Hmm?”
“Where is that facility located?”
Ian didn’t answer immediately; he glanced toward Cho Hong first. Her expression showed clear displeasure, but she said nothing—only clicked her tongue and turned away. Reading her silent refusal, Ian spoke with caution.
“Jihoo. I need to say this upfront: this isn’t something you should be involved in. You can’t be, and you shouldn’t be.”
“Ian.”
“Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not doubting you. But defending the Forest of Negation or Aden Fortress—compared to this matter, those are minor branches. This problem, on the other hand, could determine the course of events to come. It’s a matter of supreme importance.”
“You could at least tell me the location.”
Ian smacked his lips, deliberating for a long moment.
“…If it’s just the location….”
He opened his mouth with the look of a man accepting the inevitable.
“The Delphinion Duchy.”
And then—
“The Royal Research Institute.”
Seol Jihoo’s eyes flashed with sudden clarity.

(To be continued)

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