The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 87

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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 87. Traveling Together in the Same Boat (2)

The Delphinion Duchy could be said to lie adjacent to the Kingdom of Haramag. The Research Institute sat on the northeastern edge of the duchy’s territory, so it wasn’t as far from Haramag as one might have expected.
Escaping alongside Teresa proved a stroke of considerable fortune. Though she was no scout, her intimate knowledge of the surrounding geography meant they needn’t fear taking a wrong turn.
“We don’t have much time left.”
Her proposal was to take the shortest route to the Aden Gorge. As a border region, it lay close at hand, and more importantly, it housed a fortress. A new one was currently under construction, and since the siege, it had been generously provisioned with reinforcements and supplies alike. Teresa maintained steady progress and assured him they would arrive within five days at the earliest, six at the latest.
She led the march forward with quiet determination.

The first day passed without incident.
Though it was the periphery, Seol Jihoo beheld the Parasite Territory for the first time. After a full day’s walk, his assessment was simple: a dead world.
Life was nowhere to be found. The ash-grey soil beneath his feet wasn’t merely crumbly but hard and unyielding; grass withered to sickly yellow twisted in upon itself. The sparse trees that appeared were skeletal and pitiful, gnawed bare like apples picked clean by mice.
Teresa cautioned him against touching anything carelessly. The Delphinion Duchy, she said, was managing better than most. As for the Empire, the heart of the Parasite—she could barely imagine what had become of it, and she sighed at the thought.
Seol Jihoo focused on putting one foot in front of the other. He wanted nothing more than to escape this place as quickly as possible.

As the second day drew near.
His assessment gained another entry: the temperature swing between day and night was severe, brutally so.
When evening fell, the warmth plummeted as though it were a lie. The cold was bitter beyond measure. When he opened his mouth, white vapor curled from his lips.
As night deepened, the chill grew more oppressive. He found himself experiencing something he’d never known before—insomnia born purely from cold.
Even during his military days, even during harsh winter survival training on frozen peaks, he’d never shivered like this. The cold penetrated past his organs and seemed to gnaw at his very bones, cracking them from within. He even imagined his flesh freezing and his toes falling away.
That dawn, neither man nor woman bothered with formality. They clung together with desperate urgency. They had to. Shame and pride meant nothing against survival. Even as his teeth chattered against the bitter cold, he forced his eyes shut.
He was near the edge of madness—yet the soft warmth of her pressed against his neck and back, the faint heat radiating from skin touching skin, was his only solace.

Four days had passed.
Teresa assured him they were nearly there, urging him to endure just a little longer. Knowing that she suffered more than he did, Seol Jihoo refused to show his weariness.
But as noon approached, the threat he’d been dreading materialized. For the first time, yellow appeared on his Nine Eyes. Given that they were in enemy territory, the situation could deteriorate far more gravely.
‘What do I do?’
In that instant of deliberation, the yellow range abruptly expanded. Or rather—something was approaching. In a heartbeat, yellow shifted to orange, then to red. Seizing her hand in panic, Seol Jihoo pulled Teresa behind a large boulder.
“Your Highness!”
“Yes?”
“We need to take cover. Now.”
“Cover?”
Teresa’s face showed confusion. He dragged her behind the rock without explanation. She remained bewildered until suddenly—buzz, buzz—the sound of wings filled the air. Her face went rigid. Seol Jihoo pointed upward with his index finger.
“…Good heavens….”
Teresa’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. A swarm of flying machines descended from the sky like locusts, dark and thick. The formation circled the area in a wide reconnaissance sweep, then veered sharply westward and shot away at speed.
He’d never expected ease. But seeing it with his own eyes was beyond what he’d imagined.
“…My mistake.”
Teresa murmured the words in a daze.
“I thought that without the Research Institute, there would be no patrol units in the border regions….”
It was the opposite. There were more, if anything.
“…Let’s move.”
Seol Jihoo gripped the Ludum hanging from his neck. It was no bigger than a fingernail, but something remained.
“I’ll take point from here.”
He decided to keep his Nine Eyes active at all times.
Teresa cast a sidelong glance at him. How had he sensed the enemy’s approach? He wasn’t even a scout.
Curiosity stirred in her, but rather than ask, she simply nodded in compliance.

On the fourth day.
The water ran out. His already badly injured body, now compounded by the grueling march, demanded frequent hydration.
At first, he’d taken only small sips to wet his mouth when he could bear the thirst no longer. As supplies dwindled, he held water in his mouth briefly before spitting it back into the pouch. Eventually he contented himself with merely dampening his lips.
Despite rationing carefully, the water pouch finally emptied. Now there was truly nothing left to eat or drink.
“This is bad….”
Teresa, who had been smacking her lips absently for some time, suddenly announced she would step away for a moment. When she returned shortly after, she handed him a water pouch—and it sloshed with the unmistakable sound of liquid.
“Here.”
Seol Jihoo was about to ask what magic she’d employed,
“Drink carefully. Don’t waste it.”
“Hm?”
“Rest now. You need rest, don’t you understand?”
Her next words left him speechless.
“Oh, urine?”
“…Don’t look at me like that.”
Teresa’s cheeks flushed slightly, but she pressed on with unwavering resolve.
“If you want to survive right now, you have to drink something, even if it’s that.”
“Still… it can’t be good for your body….”
Seol Jihoo looked thoroughly unenthused.
“Of course it’s not good. But the first one is at least bearable. You can actually drink it without too much trouble.”
“…It sounds like you’ve done this before.”
“Yes.”
Teresa affirmed without hesitation.
“When I escaped the capital? Crossing the desert alone, my throat was so parched. I’d go, drink, go, drink… well, that’s how I managed.”
“…….”
“I couldn’t keep doing it forever. After repeating it enough times, I couldn’t stomach it anymore.”
Seol Jihoo clicked his tongue at her survival instinct while wearing an expression of disgust.
“Anyway, I’m not going to force you to drink it. But don’t pour it on the ground either. I’ll drink it if you don’t.”
With her putting it that way, there was no getting around it.
In the end, as he urinated into a small hollow, he kept shaking his head doubtfully. When he gripped the warm water pouch, his unease deepened.
‘How much farther do we have to go?’
Though the sun hung high overhead, the day remained dim. Dark clouds had rolled in without him noticing. Seol Jihoo groaned, gazing up at the murky sky.

Five days.
Their pace had slowed considerably. Parasites appeared with increasing frequency, forcing them to hide or move hastily at every encounter. Sometimes they were forced to backtrack the way they’d come.
But to reach the gorge, they had to push forward nonetheless. When there was truly no other choice, Seol Jihoo used the Ludum.
As their concerns multiplied, they fell into silence. They were so exhausted they couldn’t afford to waste breath on words.
Yet what despaired Seol Jihoo more than anything was the Nine Eyes.
He’d pressed on with the sole hope that the gorge was near, only to find his heart nearly break when his vision flooded with red as he approached the gorge’s entrance.
‘Do I really have to go through there?’
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over him. He’d had a similar experience in the Neutral Zone. Was it during an impossible mission? The moment he left the forest, red had shifted to black—from a withdrawal recommendation to an immediate escape.
Seol Jihoo wrestled with himself. He had Ludum, and he had the Nine Eyes. Yet no matter how optimistically he framed it, only one conclusion emerged: entering the gorge meant death.
“The Parasites haven’t let their guard down, have they?”
After he stood silent and motionless for tens of minutes, Teresa, sensing his inner turmoil, tried to comfort him.
“We weren’t supposed to come this way….”
At her murmur, Seol Jihoo barely shook his head. Teresa’s plan had been sound. No one was at fault. He’d known from the start that it might come to this.
The problem was that the encirclement hadn’t weakened but had only grown thicker, leaving them unable to advance with the gorge now in sight. Everything they’d suffered to get this far had crumbled to dust in an instant.
Seol Jihoo managed to open his mouth.
“What… do we do…?”
Teresa didn’t answer readily. Part of her wanted to tell him they should enter regardless of consequences. No—if she opened her mouth, she knew she’d actually mean it. Seol Jihoo was wavering to that degree.
But as they’d made their way this far, she’d become inwardly certain of one thing: the young man possessed an ability she couldn’t fathom. There was no other way they could have encountered Parasites so minimally on the journey. The fact that even he was torn like this….
Teresa shared his sense of loss. Yet that didn’t mean charging ahead recklessly. Her body was backed against a wall, leaving no room for rational thought. If she’d been in a normal state, what would she have decided? With that question, the answer became clear.
“Let’s turn back.”
Teresa voiced her conclusion with difficulty.
“There’s no need to force our way through the gorge. There will definitely be another opening somewhere.”
Seol Jihoo turned around numbly.

Six days.
They were being pursued. He couldn’t be certain, but a strong premonition gripped him. Whenever they tried to rest, the Nine Eyes warned without fail. Even during the march. It was as though they were being tracked by the trail they left behind.
In the end, they were spotted by a flying machine pursuing them relentlessly. Seol Jihoo deployed the Ludum in haste to avoid the worst outcome, but
“…….”
it vanished. The Ludum dissipated, leaving only a thin wisp of smoke behind. One powerful defensive tool had been consumed.
The march became agonizing. They couldn’t traverse open plains and instead trudged through rough, concealed terrain. Their sleep was fragmented, taken in turns. A single moment of carelessness meant death.
All they could trust was the Nine Eyes.

Seven days.
They stopped speaking. Not a single word passed between them. Neither asked where they were going, nor did they tell. Seol Jihoo kept watch in all directions through the Nine Eyes while Teresa silently led the way.
Their physical limits had been reached. No—it was more accurate to say they’d been at their limit for days now. The hope that the gorge was near had suppressed that limit until they changed direction; then it burst forth like a dam breaking.
His left shoulder had lost all sensation. The same for his right flank. The wound had festered, weeping yellowed discharge. When sunlight touched it, searing pain bloomed and spread.
Now that he thought about it, the nights were brutally cold while the days burned with unbearable heat. His skin was being roasted golden in the harsh sun. What made it worse was that he couldn’t even sweat.
“Cough, cough.”
Seol Jihoo hacked dryly. His body felt heavy. It wasn’t just his flesh—his organs felt as though molten metal churned within them. Spending days in a place with such extreme temperature swings, how could he not fall gravely ill?
And that wasn’t all. From keeping the Nine Eyes active for so long, his temples throbbed. It felt as though a blade scraped and gouged at his brain.
In truth, it wasn’t the pain that tormented him most. Nor was it the Parasites’ relentless pursuit.
Hunger was the real torment. Thirst—a thirst so severe he would have welcomed death. Even when he tried to lick his own lips, they felt only dry and cracked. His throat was splitting open, burning as if consumed by fire.
He would have gladly torn his esophagus if it meant drinking just one cold can of cola.
Seol Jihoo bit down on an icicle he’d conjured, gasping. The cold mist flooding his mouth brought a brief moment of relief. But that was all. No matter how hard he sucked, the ice wouldn’t melt. He lowered it weakly.
Teresa, watching in silence, offered him the water pouch. Seol Jihoo shook his head. He’d tried several times already, each attempt ending in dry heaves that only sapped his strength. Once he’d managed to get water into his mouth, but his stomach rejected it violently. There was nothing he could do against his body’s fierce refusal.
‘Water… water….’
The young man bit down on the ice again.

Seven days.
Seol Jihoo walked with his eyes fixed on the ground, following only Teresa’s golden-gleaming calves.
After days without proper sleep, exhaustion crashed over him in waves. His mind felt hollow and numb. His body no longer felt like his own. He simply shut out all sensation and stumbled forward, following her step by step.
While he drifted in that state of no-thought, Teresa’s leg suddenly lifted high.
‘What—?’
His body went slack with relief. The rough dirt pressed against his cheek felt softer than any mattress.
‘…What is…?’
He heard someone’s voice, muffled and distant. Then came the sensation of hands shaking him.
“Come to your senses!”
Come to my senses? That’s odd. I wasn’t conscious of losing them in the first place.
“I’ll help you up.”
His gaze drifted upward, dragged against his will. Only then did he understand: he had collapsed.
A vast shadow loomed before his eyes. Seol Jihoo stared at it through a veil of fading consciousness.
‘What… is that…?’
“Seol. It’s a mountain. A mountain.”
‘A mountain…? What…? What is a mountain again…?’
“We’ve reached the edge of the Mountain Range. If we can just cross this…!”
‘Mountain… cross it…?’
He continued to stare blankly ahead, and Teresa’s eyes filled with concern. In his half-closed eyes, she could find no light of recognition.
“Ah….”
About ten seconds passed before Seol Jihoo managed to open his mouth.
“Mountain… mountain… yes… mountain….”
He kept repeating it to himself,
‘Color… did I not activate the Nine Eyes…?’
His eyes flickered weakly open.
‘Why can’t I see any color…?’
Seol Jihoo’s legs moved unsteadily as he began climbing. But not long after entering the foothills, he suddenly collapsed again.
“Seol!”
Teresa rushed toward him. His expression showed utter bewilderment at why he’d fallen.
“Ha… haha….”
“Are you alright? Should we rest?”
“No….”
Using the ice as a makeshift staff, Seol Jihoo pushed himself up with trembling effort. Teresa tried to stop him.
“You can’t. Please, rest for a little while. If you keep going like this—”
“I can still… walk….”
A sharp pop echoed through the air. The Festina Earring activated.
“See….”
He moved forward with a hollow smile, walking steadily for just a moment before crashing down again.
“Ah…?”
Watching him stumble and ramble incoherently, Teresa bit her lower lip. His breathing was ragged, his skin burning hot. His body was finally refusing to endure.
The signs had been growing clearer. In truth, it was a miracle he’d lasted this long. An ordinary person would have broken down within three or four days.
But Seol Jihoo—bearing grievous wounds, chased through day and night, neither eating nor drinking—had endured fourteen grueling days.
There were limits to what a human could bear. No matter how rigorously trained the body, no matter how vast the reserves of power, the human frame could not sustain itself forever.
Teresa dragged the young man into a crevice between several large rocks and laid him down.
“Stay here for now.”
…….
“I’ll search for fruit or water. Anything—even tree sap will help.”
When consciousness returned, the princess was gone. Only the water pouch and a single icicle lay abandoned nearby.
Lying there like the dead, he managed to raise only his upper body. He wanted nothing more than to surrender to oblivion. If he lost consciousness, at least hunger and thirst might release him. But….
‘I can’t burden her any further.’
If he were alone, perhaps. But so long as they moved together, collapsing on a whim would only be a burden to her.
‘I have to keep moving.’
For that, he needed strength. His body needed sustenance to keep moving. A single sip of water seemed like it might revive him. The water pouch caught his eye.
“…….”
Seol Jihoo reached out slowly.
‘It’s not dirty.’
It came from his own body anyway. With trembling hands, he unscrewed the cap and tilted it to his lips. The cool liquid poured out in a trickle. Gulp, gulp. The moment he swallowed two or three mouthfuls, his face contorted.
“Urgh-ugh-ugh!”
Violent retching followed the coughing fit. He pressed both palms against the ground, gagging uselessly. He knew it was pathetic, but no amount of effort could acclimate him to that peculiar, nauseating stench.
“Huh… huh… huh….”
Once the gagging stopped, sobs broke free—dry, tearless weeping.
Truth be told, he’d wanted to cry several times along the way. He might have been crying on the inside all along. He’d held it back to avoid showing weakness, but alone now, the sobs came unbidden.
‘Compromise is… damn it.’
A thought that had surfaced often during the journey. Maybe he shouldn’t have come. Maybe he’d brought this suffering on himself. He should have listened when they warned him. He hated himself for thinking it. He felt like a fool.
“Hic… hic….”
Sobs wracked his body, but neither tears nor snot came. All the moisture in his body seemed to have evaporated.
After his shoulders had heaved for a while, Seol Jihoo clenched his jaw tight. Between the gagging and the weeping, his muddled mind had grown sharp again.
‘I have to endure.’
His stomach roiled, but he bit down on the spear shaft. He’d conserve every ounce of strength and leave the moment Teresa returned.
“…….”
But no matter how long he waited, she didn’t come back.
‘Maybe…’
Had she abandoned him? The thought flickered before he rejected it. Teresa wasn’t like that, and besides—even if she had abandoned him, he had no right to complain.
‘Get your head together.’
He decided to wait a bit longer and activated his Nine Eyes.
‘Hm?’
Only then did he notice something wrong. He saw no color. The mountainside was colorless all around. That’s when it came.
Crunch, crunch.
In the quiet, the sound of footsteps on leaves drifted over. Seol Jihoo, thinking it was Teresa, stopped before rushing out. But it wasn’t one or two sounds.
He turned slowly to scan the surroundings, nearly biting his tongue. The mountain remained colorless, yet a sickly yellow was creeping closer behind him.
‘Parasite?’
Again. Another pursuit. He couldn’t fathom how they kept finding him, but they were unnervingly relentless.
The yellow drew nearer and soon slunk past the boulder beside him. Seol Jihoo gripped his ice spear and crouched down as low as he could.
‘Just pass by. Keep going….’
He was silently pleading when the sound suddenly stopped. His breath caught. A suffocating silence descended.
Sniff, sniff….
Then came the sound of something sniffing.
Bark! Bark!
Suddenly, sharp, aggressive barking erupted.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Multiple creatures rushed toward him at speed. Seol Jihoo, instinctively sensing he’d made a mistake, pushed himself up.
Part of him wished they’d been wolves.
‘Damn.’
But the pack that emerged was Parasites. Six or so of them resembled mummies, oozing mud with each step, alongside three or four wolves writhing with maggots.
‘Of all times, when the princess isn’t here….’
“…….”
Seol Jihoo tilted his head back, looking up at the sky. Despite enemies right before him, such overwhelming despair washed over him.
‘I’m going to die?’
For a moment, temptation seized him. Somehow he’d managed to stand, but he truly didn’t believe he could win. Wouldn’t it be cleaner to end it himself rather than toil needlessly? Wouldn’t that be better?
[I still want to try my best to live.]
Then someone’s words grazed his mind. No—not someone else’s. His own words.
[Let’s live together.]
At the thought of Teresa, the temptation vanished.
‘Live?’
As his vacant gaze lowered,
‘…Yes.’
His cracked, gaping mouth clamped shut.
There were only two choices from the start: flee or fight. Either way, he refused to simply surrender and die.
Even if he fell, if he could take one of them with him, her burden would lighten. That thought kindled a crude, simple courage within him.
A cough racked his body. His eyes stung. Just holding the spear made his arms feel like they’d tear off. His stamina had long since bottomed out, and there was no way he could dance around elegantly and fight.
And yet.
Seol Jihoo’s body moved. Without any conscious decision, his right hand grasped his left palm and rested the shaft lightly against it. He gripped the back end as the spear trembled in his hands. From that stance, he raised the blade and aimed it forward.
‘Just this once.’
Kieeeeeee!
A howl tore from the creature as it hurled itself forward with savage speed. Seol Jihoo moved without thought, driving the spear ahead.
Tens of thousands of times drilled in the Neutral Zone—
‘Shwick!’
Every fragment of strength scraped from his core unfurled in a single cutting edge.
In a state of no-thought, he watched the charging beast as though entranced, and delivered the final blow.
In that instant, claws raked outward in a merciless arc, and the spear’s length met them in a vicious cross.

(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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