The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 81

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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 81. The Temperature Gap Between Hope and Reality

It felt like his feet were being yanked backward. Or perhaps like he’d plummeted off a cliff and hit bottom hard.
His breath caught abruptly. Stale air tickled his nostrils. Seol Jihoo squeezed his eyes shut and held back the cough that threatened to break free.
He needed to open his eyes. His ears felt numb, his head spinning, as though his entire body’s vitality was draining away.
He let out a small groan and felt blindly with his hands. The moment he grasped the Ice Spear firmly, a cool surge of energy rose through him, steadying his mind.
“Is everyone all right?”
Someone whispered. It was Ian’s voice. Only then did Seol Jihoo’s breathing ease, and he opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a wall—a dingy gray surface thick with dust. He quickly scanned left and right. Mercifully, no Parasites were visible.
“This place doesn’t seem to have been discovered yet.”
Rahin Meary murmured quietly. A Level 4 Priest, she was a member of the organization led by Erica Lorence, a Level 6 Imperial Knight. Rahin had volunteered for the rescue team the moment she heard the news—a woman who had once owed Lorence a great debt.
“Good. We don’t need to hide or retreat. Start immediately.”
Ian pressed forward. From the moment the teleportation circle activated, the sands of time had begun to flow. Not a single second could be wasted.
The five of them, excluding Ian, moved swiftly away from the altar. The rescue operation had already begun.
The Hidden Chamber was roughly ten pyong in size. There was not a single window to be seen. Save for the enormous bookshelf wedged into the wall facing the teleportation circle and altar, everything was a dull gray.
Seol Jihoo carefully positioned his shield outside the circle, then watched Kazuki, who was kneeling on one knee with his ear pressed against the wall bookshelf.
The Variant Orc they encountered here was a different subspecies from those they’d met during the Ramman Village request. This kind didn’t leave traces the way those did.
After consuming precious twenty seconds to assess the situation outside, Kazuki waved his hand—a signal that he detected no sign of activity beyond the wall. They had established a handful of simple hand signals before coming, so Seol Jihoo quickly moved forward.
Kazuki began pulling books from the shelf one by one, exactly as he’d seen in the diagram. Each time he inserted a removed book into a different row and column, he heard a series of soft clicks as locks disengaged.
Eventually, as he carefully pushed the edge, the interlocking corners shifted, and dust cascaded down.
Slowly. Very slowly. After creating a small gap by pushing the edge, Kazuki paused and checked the situation outside. Confirming no movement, he applied more force to his push.
Crack, crackle-crack. The bookshelf swung halfway open, creating a space wide enough for a person to slip through. And beyond it lay a room that time had weathered into decay.
The success of the operation hinged on speed. There was no time to explain anything. Once everyone had exited, Kazuki pushed the bookshelf closed again. Not completely—he left a hairline gap so that at a glance, nothing would seem amiss.
“Be careful.”
Ian spoke softly, maintaining the teleportation circle while keeping watch.
Compared to the empty Hidden Chamber, this was at least a proper room. The desolation hadn’t vanished, but the space had weathered the ravages of war reasonably well.
Two pieces of information could be inferred from this scene. First, the Parasites were aware of the research conducted here and were using the facility for a new purpose. Otherwise, there would be no reason to leave it intact like this.
If the first assumption was correct, the overall structure of the facility likely hadn’t changed much—which was good news. The elder’s map could be trusted.
Ahead, a door came into view. Kazuki, leading the way, waved his hand, and Seol Jihoo moved silently behind him. He didn’t open the door immediately. He pulled out the folded paper from his pocket and unfolded it.
The 1st Underground Floor was roughly linear in layout, divided into two buildings. The Research Building where the five now stood, and the Detention Building used to confine sub-species.
According to the elder’s explanation, the two buildings were connected by a long bridge, and the staircase descending to the 2nd Underground Floor was located in the Detention Building.
Kazuki folded the paper and opened the door. A dark, unlit corridor appeared. He swept his gaze forward and moved quickly, navigating past doors lined up on both sides of the passage and several branching corridors, pressing straight ahead.
Seol Jihoo suppressed his unease and followed. The path was correct. Kazuki’s level was 5—one of the top-ranked Archers, a Great Pioneer. His Class possessed unparalleled abilities in pathfinding and reconnaissance, so if anything went wrong, he would be the first to detect it.
The five reached the end of the corridor and came face to face with another door.
They hadn’t encountered anyone along the way. Luck, perhaps, but more likely the Research Building saw little use. Kazuki seemed to share this assessment, probing beyond the door with even greater caution than before.
The Archer soon waved his hand and opened the door. According to the map, the bridge connecting to the Detention Building should appear.
‘Wow.’
Seol Jihoo’s mouth fell open at the vast landscape spread before him. He’d expected something like a school basement, but the scale was entirely different.
An enormous Cloud Bridge spanning the air between the two buildings, vast open spaces stretching to either side—it looked like another city built beneath the earth. Two cities connected by the bridge between them.
A chill ran down his spine. An enemy so powerful that it destroyed the Empire in just four years—how formidable could the Parasites truly be? On the other hand, he found himself newly impressed that the Federation could stand against their main forces.
“It’s bigger than I imagined.”
Kazuki spoke with a bitter expression as he crossed the Cloud Bridge.
Originally, they’d estimated a maximum of two minutes and forty seconds to exit the Hidden Chamber and cross the bridge. But despite hurrying, they’d already doubled that time. At this rate, the search plan would have to be revised, and there was no hiding the bitter taste in his mouth.
After crossing the long Cloud Bridge, which resembled a railway, the entrance finally came into view. Beyond it lay the Detention Building, where the first phase of the rescue operation would unfold.
“…….”
Kazuki pressed his ear against the entrance, his eyes narrowing for the first time. He gritted his teeth and spread all ten fingers wide—a signal that he sensed countless presences within. It was Seol Jihoo’s turn.
He stepped up to the entrance, careful to make no sound. Anxious gazes fixed on his back. He’d already mastered the technique. It wasn’t difficult. Seol Jihoo concentrated his mana on the Ludum hanging from his neck.
The Parasites possessed a unique command system. Rather than alter that flow, the Ludum generated a distinctive signal to exercise indirect control. Think of it as injecting a virus.
Seol Jihoo had conceived of two types of control here. First, Friend/Foe Identification—making the five infiltrators register as allies. Second, halting all current activity and standing by in place.
Control could theoretically extend to “kill each other,” but the risk was too great. As the number of targets increased and commands grew more complex, the Ludum’s consumption rate rose exponentially.
Moreover, there might be Higher Rank Species immune to the Ludum’s control, and causing unnecessary commotion was absolutely forbidden.
Sssshhh, ssshhhhh.
A sound like igniting a cigarette. From the Ludum infused with mana, a wisp of black smoke thin as thread rose up. Liquid beaded on its surface, then dripped away drop by drop.
Kazuki, regarding the Ludum with uncertainty, pressed his ear to the door again. His fist clenched.
“…I can’t believe it.”
Kazuki let out a small exclamation.
“Until just moments ago, they were moving busily everywhere. Now they’ve all stopped.”
That meant the Ludum’s control had worked. Seol Jihoo swallowed his joy by force. This was no time to pop the champagne. The moment a Higher Rank Species appeared, the rescue—everything—would collapse.
“Any sign of movement?”
“Nothing.”
Kazuki shook his head and placed a hand on the door.
“What we need to do is very simple.”
He spoke just before stepping inside.
“The crucial thing is controlling our emotions. Whatever we see, don’t let anger take hold—and don’t kill unless absolutely necessary.”
It wasn’t so much a warning against wasted effort as it was a vow he was making to himself.
“We search quietly, extract quietly, and leave quietly. That’s all. Nothing else needs to be done.”
Once Kazuki confirmed everyone’s nods, he turned his gaze away. Then,
“Let’s move.”
He opened the door.
Creak—light flooded through the opening, striking their eyes. The light was murky. Seol Jihoo, who had been breathing in damp moisture, felt his breath catch. Gag. Rahin Meary craned her neck like a turtle before covering her mouth with her hand.
His nose quickly adjusted to the mixture of poorly ventilated stale air, a strange metallic taint, and the reek of charred matter. Once the assault of odors subsided, what appeared before them were Variant Orcs. Seol Jihoo reflexively raised his spear before barely managing to lower it.
An enemy’s chain of command was notoriously complicated. Like a spider’s web connected to a spider, killing carelessly would only raise suspicion among the Higher Rank Species.
In any case, at a glance, this was no ordinary monster. Over two meters tall, with sharp tusks jutting viciously past its lips. Forearms bulged with muscle the size of an adult’s head—every detail screamed menace.
‘These things are mass-produced.’
He had slipped into a mild panic, but the moment he locked eyes with those sickly yellow, gleaming pupils, he snapped back to himself. Dozens of them were visible at once, yet none bore any sign of hostility. They simply stood there, motionless.
With his mind steadied, Seol Jihoo suddenly noticed something odd. The Variant Orcs’ skin tone was familiar—he’d seen it before. Bright and deep, though the shades varied, most were apricot-colored. Human-like. Occasionally he spotted unusual hues, but they were rare.
That wasn’t all. While some had humanoid forms, others resembled beasts with manes or fur.
‘Could they be Half-breeds…?’
As an ominous premonition flickered through his mind, Kazuki moved forward.
“There are three locations within the Detention Building we need to reach.”
His stride matched the steadiness in his voice—no hesitation. They passed through a straight corridor bathed in diffuse light and emerged into a wide chamber. A few Variant Orcs lingered there too, but the archer paid them no mind. Upon spotting a crossroads splitting the path into four directions, he turned to face the group.
“Originally, we’d move together, but we’ve burned too much time getting this far. I’m changing the plan—we save time here.”
Kazuki glanced left and right alternately before continuing.
“I, Cho Hong, and Rahin Meary will search left. Seol and Yaser Radi, you take the right. Whether you find them or not, reconvene here in five minutes, no later.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if one of us scouts ahead?”
Kazuki shook his head at Cho Hong’s suggestion.
“We have to go forward to reach the 2nd Underground Floor anyway. We might as well go together.”
“But—”
“With only one archer, splitting into two teams is risky no matter how you cut it. I’d rather not take unnecessary risks.”
Kazuki’s words tumbled out rapid-fire. Cho Hong didn’t look convinced, but she seemed unwilling to waste time arguing and fell silent.
“Each of you must have someone you want to rescue, but… you need to examine each person carefully. If you spot any human face, no matter how unfamiliar, don’t pass them by.”
With that, Kazuki and the two women disappeared into the left corridor. Seol Jihoo and Yaser Radi moved toward the right.
‘Prison cells?’
After walking a short distance, barred chambers lined both walls in neat rows. The two moved carefully, scanning everything around them for fear of missing anything.
But their efforts yielded nothing. Every cell they saw was empty, with only stains smeared across the floors.
As they continued their steady pace, the already dim light gradually darkened further.
A silent corridor. By the time Seol Jihoo barely recognized that the stains on the floor were bloodstains, Yaser Radi, who had been looking to his right, absently stroked his mustache and spoke.
“Why can’t we find anything?”
“I don’t know.”
Seol Jihoo answered in a low voice. With only the two of them, tension mounted sharply. The unease made his knees prickle with an urge to say something—anything.
“I heard the 1st Floor was used for us.”
“I heard that too. But there’s no sign of prisoners anywhere.”
“Then the mass-production plan must be real.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“If they didn’t die in combat, they would’ve been taken captive. But it’s been more than a day or two since then.”
Yaser Radi’s complexion turned grim. Now he understood.
Mass-production meant making as many as possible. They wouldn’t have waited around for a rescue team to arrive. Who knew what had already happened to those captured on the first day.
“Now, now hold on. Are you saying…?”
The man’s voice trembled. Seol Jihoo said nothing more.
What he’d just spoken was his worst-case assumption. He could only hope they were still alive. Yes, if they were only alive….
The prison corridor ended, opening into a large, circular chamber. It was a dark place where little light penetrated. While Yaser Radi carefully surveyed the surroundings, Seol Jihoo activated the Nine Eyes.
The vicinity turned entirely yellow. Yet one spot flickered beyond red into a deep crimson—a retreat advisory. Seol Jihoo recalled the building’s layout.
‘We came right from the Detention Building’s center….’
Now the crimson made sense. That red zone likely held stairs leading to ground level. There was no reason to go there, and they shouldn’t. Searching all the way to the surface would take too much time, and security would be formidable.
‘Is there really nothing here?’
Tilting his head, Seol Jihoo raised his gaze and suddenly squinted. Something glinted faintly in the darkness. Looking closer, it appeared to be a line with a hook—no. Just a hook.
“Over there.”
The man quietly pointed to one side. In the distance, three or four Variant Orcs stood clustered together. Beyond that, nothing else was visible.
‘How much time has passed?’
The minutes kept slipping away, yet there was no clear progress to show for it. His heart raced, his throat gone dry. He shouldn’t be agitated, and yet anxiety crept in regardless.
‘I wonder what’s happening on the left?’
“I think we should—”
He was about to say they should turn back when he abruptly fell silent.
Something was wrong. All the Variant Orcs were staring upward. Moreover, one of them had frozen in place with both arms stretched toward empty air.
“Should we go back?”
“Give me ten seconds. That’s all I need.”
Seol Jihoo muttered tersely and pushed deeper into the pitch-black darkness, moving swiftly forward until he lifted his chin—
“!”
His feet stopped dead. His expression went blank in an instant.
A moment passed.
His eyes, fixed upward, widened to their very limits.

(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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