The Second Coming of Gluttony Chapter 347:
Chapter 347 . The End of the War (1)
An uproar erupted behind them .
The Army Commanders looked back one after another and lamented in unison .
Their worst fear had become a reality .
The enemies were pursuing them with great tenacity, clearly unperturbed by the Queen’s power .
Seeing the Fallen Angels and Sky Fairies rushing at her like a swarm of bees, Exploding Patience hurriedly ordered the remaining parasites and corpse army to charge .
Unsightly Humility also sent out the Death Knights and what was remaining of his undead army .
They hoped to buy even a little bit of time, but the result was unsatisfactory .
There were just too few of their forces left to last long enough against the Federation .
A dazzling golden light flashed, and immediately, a large opening formed in the battle line .
Exploding Patience frowned when she saw Seol Jihu racing across the battlefield, smashing his way through the center .
“Y-Your Majesty!”
The Parasite Queen did not answer .
Exploding Patience looked extremely guilty . She couldn’t believe that the Queen had to suffer such humiliation because of herself and the other Army Commanders .
After a moment of silence, the Parasite Queen spoke .
—…Leave the mother species behind . All of them .
“Pardon? All of them?
—Yes . Including Medusas, Temerators, and Reginas .
“B-But… . I can understand Medusas, but abandoning all three is… . ”
Exploding Patience hesitated . She knew that mother species were difficult to produce unlike ordinary parasites .
The upper-ranked and pinnacle-ranked ones were even more so .
—We don’t have any choice .
But the Queen was persistent .
—Carrying the Nests is difficult enough . We can always produce new mother species at a later time . Right now, their presence is getting in the way of our retreat .
Under the present circumstances, the Queen was right .
Though still concerned about the aftermath, Exploding Patience chose to remain silent .
At the same time, she felt frustrated .
‘Even though Her Majesty went to such great lengths to descend…!’
This proved that the situation they were in was far too dangerous .
In the end, they had to give up all of their mother species .
Medusa, Temerators, Reginas, and the others roared furiously as they began to spew out parasites .
There were quite a lot of them . They had led a huge army into this war from the get-go, and on top of that, the Nests had been giving birth nonstop . Protected in the rear, which had been relatively safe throughout the war, the mother species had naturally increased in number .
“Tsk . They sure are desperate . ”
The white tiger Beastman clicked his tongue .
The sacrificial parasites and corpses were easy to kill, but the mother species were a different story .
They were the strongest, the most evolved forms of their ranks . Ganged together, they posed a major threat .
The parasites they produced also couldn’t be ignored .
“What are you gonna do?”
White Tiger asked, raising his head slightly .
“We can’t break through that . We’ll have to fight… . ”
White Tiger spoke evasively, but Seol Jihu understood that under the present circumstances he wouldn’t be able to capture the Parasite Queen .
Seol Jihu bit his lip nervously .
He hadn’t expected the Queen to abandon all mother species .
Of course, exterminating the mother species would be a big achievement on its own .
However .
‘No . ’
It simply wasn’t as appetizing as the Parasite Queen .
Seol Jihu had already forgotten the Army Commanders .
All he could think about was the Parasite Queen, and nothing else .
The one who ruined Paradise was only a few steps away from him .
He knew he couldn’t let her get away intact .
If only he could get past that assembly of mother species, he would get a better view of the Parasite Queen .
But how would he do that?
Even as Seol Jihu wondered, the distance between him and the enemy was rapidly diminishing .
The mother species seemed determined to take all risks to stop him, and the parasites they spouted were beginning to fill his view .
‘There’s no way I’ll be able to shatter that . ’
Then, there was only one thing he could do .
Seol Jihu clenched his teeth .
‘It’s either do or die . ’
He yelled resolutely .
“Stop!”
“Okay!”
Thinking they had no other choice, White Tiger immediately slowed down .
At this point it seemed impossible for them to catch up with the Parasite Queen . He thought it better to join forces with the rest of the team and destroy the mother species for good .
That in itself would be a considerable achievement .
And so, White Tiger stopped with flexibility unbefitting of his large stature . It was then that he felt the weight of the foot pressing down on his back .
Toong!
“Huh?”
White Tiger unwittingly looked up and was shocked .
He saw Seol Jihu soaring into the air as if he had been pushed forward by a great force .
“You…!”
For a moment, White Tiger thought Seol Jihu had lost his mind .
Medusas alone were over four meters tall, and Temerators and Reginas were twice as tall as Medusas .
Above all, the sky was full of flying creatures . There was no way Seol Jihu could leap over all of them .
But then, White Tiger doubted his eyes .
Seol Jihu was moving in a straight line, not a curve, up towards the sky from where White Tiger stood .
This meant he wasn’t trying to leap over, but rather—
Spark!
At that moment, electricity engulfed Seol Jihu’s entire body as he soared into the sky once again .
For a brief period of time, Seol Jihu was above all the mother species .
And as a result… .
“!”
He could finally see .
Nothing else was a concern to him right now .
He focused all his senses on the Parasite Queen, who was deeply wounded and bleeding .
The moment he laid eyes on her, just as he reached the apex and was about to fall, in that brief moment, Seol Jihu’s mind went blank .
He reached the peak of his concentration and fell into a trance .
[Turn your arm . ]
The only thing he could hear was Jang Maldong’s voice in his head, and his body moved of its own accord .
[I meant your right arm . Turn it clockwise halfway . ]
He turned his right forearm exactly halfway, bending it back greatly .
[Start at your feet, then move on to your left arm . ]
He began twisting his left arm, starting from the tip of his finger, and let the movement flow all the way to his right arm .
His right arm absorbed the rotational force and began moving forward .
[Now!]
Seol Jihu opened his eyes wide .
His right arm quickly shot forward .
The exploding sensation that began in the palm of his hand spread all over his right arm in an instant .
His spear felt so flexible that it was like a fish out of water, wriggling away from his hand .
He’d never thrown a spear in the air before .
His physical condition wasn’t perfect either .
Above all, his target was far away .
But somehow Seol Jihu looked extremely satisfied as he watched the Spear of Purity fly through the air past all the flying creatures .
“…Huh?”
Even White Tiger, the Beastman King, couldn’t help but admire his comrade’s flawless posture .
‘It’s perfect . ’ The king thought unwittingly .
Whoosh!
The beam of light, surrounded by electricity, crossed the sky diagonally .
The distance between the spear and its target quickly approached zero until there was none .
So the moment the spear pierced exactly where the target was about to pass, the Parasite Queen raised her head, realizing that something was wrong .
Seol Jihu had poured everything he had into this single shot .
But the Parasite Queen’s face remained expressionless .
She appeared calm and composed .
The reason was that the spear was already there the moment she raised her head .
Swish!
It began at the top of her head and went down to her forehead, nose, mouth, and finally to her chin .
The sharpened spearhead drew a straight line .
At the same time, intense pain overtook the queen .
The expressionless face twisted in agony .
—……!
Crimson blood flowed out of the vertical line drawn from the top of her head to the bottom of her chin .
The Parasite Queen’s face began twitching .
She finally realized what had happened .
She was extremely lucky to have raised her head at just the right time .
If she hadn’t, the spear would’ve penetrated her head and split her in half .
Thinking of such a possibility—
—Ah… .
The Queen felt a chill run down her spine .
Her head throbbed with pain .
The Parasite Queen’s eyes dilated with fear as she unwittingly turned her gaze to Seol Jihu .
Coincidentally, the pain reminded her of the past .
She recalled the painful and humiliating experience in which her whole body was split in half by a single movement of the Martial God’s sword .
It was then .
“Your Majesty!”
Vulgar Chastity’s voice brought the Queen to her senses .
But even before she could pull herself together, a new fear struck her .
The spear, which she thought she had avoided, was coming up again towards her throat .
The sudden memory of her past had forced her to let her guard down for a moment . That was clearly her mistake .
Her jaw slowly dropped .
Swish!
The Parasite Queen flinched .
Blood spattered the queen’s face .
And then, she heard an ear-splitting shriek .
“Aaaaack!”
She saw the Spear of Purity pierce Sung Shihyun .
What happened was that Vulgar Chastity had panicked when she saw the spear move again and unwittingly threw Sung Shihyun, whom she had been carrying, towards the spear .
“You craaazy biiiiitch!”
Sung Shihyun, who had involuntarily become the Queen’s shield, screamed as he fell .
“I’ll get him! Your Majesty, you must hurry!”
Breathing heavily, Vulgar Chastity flew towards Sung Shihyun in a hurry .
The Queen looked forward again .
Her wings began to flap slowly .
With clenched teeth, she focused all her senses on running away .
She feared that if she didn’t get out of here quickly, she’d get split in half again .
And so, shivering with humiliation, she fled without looking back as she did then .
*
“Damn it!”
Kooong!
Seol Jihu pounded the ground with his fist as soon as he landed .
He was confident of his success until the Parasite Queen raised her head at the very last moment .
It wasn’t even ‘close’ .
His spear definitely reached her .
It just wasn’t strong enough to penetrate her .
The rest of the army passed by him .
He heard the footsteps of soldiers rushing towards the mother species, the metallic clangs of their weapons, and the cries of the parasites and mother species .
But Seol Jihu remained still on his knees .
He had poured everything he had into that last attack .
He was tired, but what bothered him more than fatigue was the fact that he failed to capture the queen .
‘I missed my chance…!’
It was a miraculous chance created by a combination of coincidence and luck .
He could have annihilated the Army Commanders .
And it wasn’t everyday the Parasite Queen paid a visit to the battlefield .
This could have been the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to end the long war .
“Damn it!”
As the cries of the mother species dwindled, Seol Jihu punched the ground again .
All the while time continued to pass, and the battle was slowly coming to an end .
The mother species were powerful, but not powerful enough to defeat the endless rush of soldiers .
The best they could do was stall for time .
And shortly afterward, with the last Regina falling with a thud, the mother species were completely annihilated .
The battlefield erupted in cheers .
The deafening roar reverberated through the air .
Everyone witnessed the dreadful Parasites and their Queen flee for their lives .
When they came, they dyed the whole mountain range gray . But when they left, they had lost everything except the Army Commanders and Nests .
Today would go down in history as a great victory .
Gabriel, after confirming that the battle was over, hurried to the star of this great victory .
Even then Seol Jihu still had his head down .
‘He must really be disappointed… . ’
Gabriel smiled at the human’s seemingly bottomless thirst for victory .
At the same time his tenacity scared her a little . Despite his great achievements, he didn’t seem satisfied at all .
‘Hm . ’
Gabriel gave a little cough to attract Seol Jihu’s attention .
“Thank you . You did really well . ”
“…”
“I saw that last attack . You were so close . ”
“…”
“It’s too bad… but we still won . How long are you gonna stay that way?”
Seol Jihu slowly raised his head .
Gabriel gave him a gentle smile .
Seol Jihu stared at Gabriel, who was ruffling her silver hair in a manner unbefitting of a holy angel .
“It’s not like the war is completely over . ”
Seol Jihu’s eyes lit up .
‘Ah . ’
He stumbled to his feet .
She was right . The enemy retreated but that did not mean the war was over .
There remained a much more important issue than that .
Suddenly, Seol Jihu remembered his comrades and looked around .
Most were busy rejoicing, but there was one spot that was oddly noisy .
There, some soldiers were pulling at what looked like a tower .
‘Haramark’s infantry?’
He spotted Jan Sanctus in the crowd .
It seemed that he and his men had joined the chase and helped defeat the last wave of the Parasites .
‘But why are they all gathered in one place?’
Neither the general nor the soldiers looked happy .
‘It can’t be . ’
Seol Jihu pushed his way through the crowd only to be greeted by the cruel reality .
He gasped in disbelief .
What he thought to be a tower was actually a Medusa’s body .
And there was a familiar figure underneath it .
“…Princess?”
Teresa Hussey .
As crimson blood slowly drenched the ground where she lay, Seol Jihu fell to his knees .
“P-Prin… . ”
Her glossy pink-colored hair was soaked with parasite fluids, and her face and her armor were spattered with blood . This made it a bit difficult to recognize her at first, but the girl lying in the pool of blood was definitely Teresa .
Holding on to faint hope, Seol Jihu placed his finger under Teresa’s nose .
But she wasn’t breathing .
“What happened…?”
Seol Jihu glanced around, demanding an explanation .
“W-Well… . ”
One of the soldiers stammered nervously .
“W-We’re not sure, sir . We defeated all the parasites and moved on to the mother species… and then we heard the princess scream… . ”
Seol Jihu’s heart sank again .
That meant she was alive until the Parasite Queen fled .
And that she died during the final chase .
“Princess… . ”
Teresa looked so peaceful with her eyes closed .
Seol Jihu’s hand was shaking noticeably .
They were in a war and a massive one at that .
He knew it was ridiculous to hope no one would die .
However, he had hoped Teresa would be an exception .
He wanted her to live .
Seol Jihu reached out his trembling hand and caressed Teresas cheek .
It was then that a deep voice rang out behind him .
“Why don’t you hurry up and move the **** thing . The princess is gonna suffocate . ”
“?”
Seol Jihu looked back .
Jan Sanctus was clicking his tongue with an annoyed expression on his face .
When he turned his head again, he saw the princess glancing at him with only one eye open .
Their eyes met .
“…”
“…Huu—”
He heard a breathing sound .
“I’m alive!”
Teresa chirped playfully .
“…Princess?”
“Ah, you see, I was fighting the Medusa when a Cockroach suddenly jumped at me from behind . ”
“Princess?”
“I must have missed it the first time . Anyway, it took me by surprise, and I was rolling on the ground to get it off when the Medusa fell on top of me . ”
“Princess?”
“So I’ve been stuck here ever since, and these soldiers have been trying to pull me out . Then I saw you coming towards me… . ”
Teresa’s voice slowly faded to a whisper .
She noticed that Seol Jihu’s expression was rapidly getting cold .
“Well… you know, I’ve suffered a lot because of that contract, too… Observatio Vitae, I mean . So, I… . ”
The princess mumbled in a small voice, averting her eyes .
She blinked quickly and glanced again at Seol Jihu . Slowly, her lips pursed .
“H-how about a kiss?”
Seol Jihu stared at Teresa with a blank face before bending over and headbutting her across the face .
A squeal escaped Teresa’s lips .
“Ow! That was mean!”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she rubbed her forehead .
“Good! You did good . ”
Jan Sanctus gave Seol Jihu a pat on the shoulder .
“You scared me… for real . ”
Seol Jihu lay on the ground with his limbs stretched out . It felt like the latest incident had taken years off of his life .
As his body cooled down, weariness set in .
Seol Jihu looked up at the night sky with eyes full of fatigue .
The orange tinge of sunset was already fading from the quiet sky .
All that happened a few hours ago, when the sky was dyed in various colors, seemed like a lie for a moment .
‘…Is it over?’
For real?
Overtaken by a sense of unfamiliarity, he asked himself .
It was a strange feeling .
What should he call it? Confused? Nervous?
Somehow none of this felt real .
He hadnt had a day off since he went over to the Spirit Realm .
Just lying here doing nothing made him feel strange .
‘It took long enough… . ’
The cheers were still going on .
The cries of joy mixed with cheers helped him realize that their victory was, in fact, real .
Seol Jihu relaxed slightly and drew a long breath .
‘We really won… . ’
It was finally starting to set in .
Yes, the Federation and humanity were victorious .
Together, they defeated the Parasites in an all-out war .
They stopped the fall of Paradise .
Though, more precisely, what they did was press the pause button .
The Parasite Queen would surely come up with another scheme, but at least they successfully avoided the inevitable destruction that would follow after the fall of Tigol Fortress .
‘It’s over… . ’
Seol Jihu’s eyes slowly closed from extreme fatigue .
The sky, which was colored crimson only a few minutes ago, had moved on to a calmer indigo as night fell .
‘…A star?’
He thought he saw a twinkling star, but his view soon became blurred .
Amidst the cheers and the voices of his comrades calling his name, Seol Jihu closed his eyes .
A faint smile crossed his lips as he fell into a deep sleep .
Instead of the moon, a strikingly bright star shone down on Seol Jihu lying in the field .
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