novelraw Chapter 72 : The Deadly Sin of Gluttony (2)
Chapter 72 : The Deadly Sin of Gluttony (2)
Chapter 72: The Deadly Sin of Gluttony (2)
The last chunk of the Double-Headed Serpent’s flesh disappeared.
That was the beginning.
“Graaahhh!”
“Uaaagh!”
Screams erupted all around.
They were the dying cries of those caught by Gluttony’s “arms.”
True to its nature of endless hunger, even devouring that enormous serpent wasn’t enough to satisfy it.
‘If it weren’t for the situation, he’d be one of the last opponents I’d want to face right now.’
No helping it.
Complaining wouldn’t change anything.
When reality struck, one only needed to respond and survive.
Hadn’t he already pushed through countless impossible situations across many cycles?
Fwoosh!
Yohan left small flames along his path.
An alarm spell of sorts.
A precious device that would at least buy them three seconds.
“Turn left here!”
Rounding the corner, a cylindrical tunnel about 2.5 meters wide came into view.
“Where does this passage lead to?”
“I’ll explain later. Secure visibility first.”
“Okay! Got it, brother.”
If she kept using Fireball without pause, her mana would soon be depleted.
She’d need to learn a Lightning-type spell when she got the chance.
[Lagertha summons a ‘Primitive Lizard’!]
Small, fluorescent lizards appeared.
Skitter, skitter.
The lizards crawled ahead, illuminating the path.
“What a damn ominous place. Ha! I can feel my blood boiling. Berserker mode!”
What now—“Berserker”?
Was that what Vikings called each other?
Ragnar Lodbrok, burning with excitement, took the lead, and the rest followed close behind.
The foul stench of slime and rot stabbed at their senses, but the stench of imminent death was far stronger.
Boom! Boom-boom!
Explosions echoed nearby once again.
Everyone was struggling desperately to survive.
Even so, aside from the Saintess and Samuel, none would last more than three minutes.
‘Still, having more people around helps.’
Thanks to that, the odds of being Gluttony’s target decreased slightly.
Since it sought more prey, it would likely attack the Vatican or Twinsword first—where the numbers were greater.
And then, suddenly—
…Clank-clatter.
A metallic scraping sound echoed from ahead.
Something was approaching.
At a very high speed.
Crunch, crunch.
The lizards sent ahead were disappearing one by one, their light winking out.
“Prey!”
Ragnar Lodbrok swung his twin axes.
Kaaaang!
The blades struck the wall, scattering sparks.
In that brief flash—
The creatures filling the passage came into view.
“Kieeek!”
“Kreeeek!”
Four-legged, long-limbed—
Insectoid monsters about a meter tall, resembling giant mosquitoes.
They were called Bone-Stripping Gnats.
Gluttony’s pet insects, which devoured everything with razor-sharp fangs.
“They’re coming!”
The battle began instantly.
Kkrrrrkkk!
“Khuhk!”
Ragnar Lodbrok took the front line, blocking the Bone-Stripping Gnats’ attacks with his bare body.
Even under layers of defensive skills and Primitive Blessing, red marks were slashed across his skin.
Thud!
Crash!
Each swing of his axe shattered the creatures’ tough exoskeletons.
[Double Strike] ignored a portion of physical defense, making it especially effective against monsters like these.
However—
“There’s too many! My blessing won’t hold much longer!”
Dozens—no, close to a hundred of them.
Lagertha’s breathing grew rapid and shallow.
With the added penalty of hunger, the longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it became.
Yohan swiftly restructured his mana.
‘One won’t be enough.’
To wipe them out in a single blow, he’d have to maximize firepower.
Crackle.
Brilliant runes lit up as a red fireball appeared.
Then he layered the chants.
Two, four, eight… sixteen.
The Fireball’s color deepened to an intense bluish hue.
If he added the element of wind here…
Fwoooosh!
A storm of fire and wind was born.
Using two skills together to temporarily forge a new one—
It required exceptional magical understanding, but as a true veteran, Yohan compressed that entire process into mere seconds.
[Resonance] [Compression] [Transformation]…
As spell formulas merged into one, a third set of runes manifested.
Good. All preparations complete. The only thing left—
“Ragnar Lodbrok.”
“Oho! Say the word!”
“How’s your fire resistance?”
“Of course it’s… Wait, what do you mean, fire resistance?”
“No. I’d prefer to keep you out of this too, but if you fall back now, we won’t be able to maintain a safe distance from those Bone-Stripping Gnats.”
If the less-defensive Lagertha or even Lee Jaehwan, the Heavenly Scribe, got caught in it, the consequences would be disastrous.
So—
There was no choice but to burn everything down along with whoever could withstand it.
A tanker’s role was always to sacrifice a little for the team.
Descendant of the great Viking race that once ruled the Baltic Sea—he should be able to endure a bit of fireworks.
Yes, he’d surely hold firm.
If not, well… too bad.
“You son of a—”
[Special Skill ‘Fire Storm’ is activated!]
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Scarlet flames roared down the sewer tunnel.
＊＊＊
Crackle, crackle….
The Bone-Stripping Gnats were roasted to a perfect golden crisp—crunchy on the outside, tender inside.
A savory aroma tickled their noses.
Of course, it wasn’t just the insects contributing to that smell.
“Ughhh…”
White smoke curled up from Ragnar Lodbrok’s mouth.
As expected.
His prediction that a tanker would have raised his elemental resistances had paid off.
Especially fire resistance—one of the most basic and essential attributes.
“Whoa. He’s gone full well-done. Think our big brother’s still alive?”
“Truly… remarkable.”
Lagertha and Lee Jaehwan each muttered in disbelief.
The sheer firepower was absurd.
He’d wiped out that massive swarm of Bone-Stripping Gnats in one single strike.
“Brother, what are you really? You stacked spell chants and even fused elements back there.”
Lagertha, with her deep understanding of sorcery and rituals, looked genuinely astonished.
And for good reason.
Casting a low-tier spell wasn’t difficult.
But chanting multiple at once and layering them together was on a completely different level.
The domain of the chosen few known as mages.
And even among them, only a handful of true geniuses could reach such mastery.
She had just witnessed one with her own eyes.
“I had a good teacher.”
Yohan smacked his lips bitterly as he recalled the past.
Memories of grinding like a dog in the Red Dragon’s lair.
That hellish training—anyone who survived it was bound to improve.
“Munch, munch. I see. Anyway, I’ll heal our big brother first.”
Lagertha, her mouth full of saliva, approached Ragnar Lodbrok.
Then began coating the massive Viking’s entire body with Amilaza.
Every nook and cranny—meticulously.
Hmm.
‘I am not getting injured no matter what.’
He’d pass on any treatment method that violated the dignity of intelligent life.
“As soon as the urgent healing’s done, we’re moving right away.”
They’d forced their way through, but it had cost them time.
Thankfully, the alarm spell hadn’t triggered yet.
Still, they couldn’t afford to relax.
They had to get out of here and reach the first destination as soon as possible.
Even as his breath caught in his throat, Yohan increased his pace.
Ssshhhh….
A sinister aura crept up his nape.
Damn it.
Gluttony’s oppressive aura was closing in fast.
Ten minutes—no, maybe five.
Who knew how much time was left?
“Hurry!”
They dashed past a puddle of rusty water crawling with massive sewer rats.
Just a little further.
A little more—
After running for roughly four more minutes, a cliff with no visible bottom appeared.
“Huff, huff! A—a dead end!”
No. It wasn’t a dead end.
Yohan knelt before the cliff and grabbed a handful of dirt.
Then he threw it toward the edge.
Rattle, rattle.
Most of it fell freely—but some scattered atop something invisible.
“There’s… something there?”
Lagertha’s pupils quaked.
Sand piled up in midair, forming a path where there had been nothing.
A transparent bridge.
Once they crossed it, they’d reach one of only two “safe zones” in the sewers.
They were just barely in the clear.
Then—
A new voice called out.
“Please, wait a moment.”
From a passage beside the one Yohan had come through, familiar faces appeared.
The Saintess, Reina, and about seven Paladins and Priests.
Well, that was unexpected.
How had they managed to track and follow their path so precisely?
In that instant, Yohan sensed faint residual mana radiating from the Saintess’s embrace.
His eyes narrowed.
So that was it.
They’d used a Tracking Scroll and a short-range teleportation spell.
“You… blond zealot!”
“Tch. You actually followed us this far?”
Ragnar Lodbrok and Lagertha instantly took up fighting stances.
Of all times, they had to run into them now.
The slick, unstable bridge meant any attack from behind could send them plummeting.
Yohan, too, began drawing in mana slowly.
But something was off.
“Cough… kuhk.”
“Haa… haa….”
Every one of them was covered in blood, their faces gaunt and exhausted.
Their numbers had dwindled to about two-thirds of what they’d been at first.
They looked far too demoralized for a group that claimed to have come to fight.
“What brings you here? I doubt we’re in a position to exchange pleasantries after meeting in a deathtrap.”
Yohan asked, his face sharp with suspicion.
Then—
“I propose a temporary alliance.”
The Saintess came straight to the point.
“Let’s cooperate until we get out of here. Given the current situation, wouldn’t both of us benefit from having as many allies as possible?”
Yohan paused at her unexpected words.
An alliance, huh…
If one set aside the fact that she executed people without hesitation, the Saintess was a valuable card to play.
Especially considering that the Sacred Sword she had displayed at Chungnam National University Hospital might very well be effective against Gluttony.
She must have also calculated that she needed both time and manpower to endure until she could summon the Sacred Sword again.
The problem was—
‘Can she really be trusted?’
The Saintess, and even Reina Blaze beside her—
Neither could be underestimated. They were cunning snakes through and through.
If they allied, there was no telling when they might stab him in the back.
This required a cautious approach.
When Yohan didn’t answer immediately, the Saintess played a new card.
“If you join forces with us, we’ll share this as the price of the alliance.”
Bread and wine of the poor—
Food sanctified by divine blessing, reserved for the Saintess or Bishop-rank Cardinals.
It was one of the few miraculous items that allowed one to eat and drink to fullness without suffering the hunger penalty.
Tch. So she doesn’t only use whips—she knows how to dangle a carrot too.
Yohan’s stomach growled loudly in response.
Most of the provisions they’d brought had become inedible due to contamination. It had been so long since their last proper meal it felt like an eternity.
“Gulp…”
Ragnar Lodbrok’s drool was already pouring out like a waterfall.
“You’re being surprisingly generous.”
Which only meant the situation was dire.
If even the Saintess, usually sharp as a blade, was willing to compromise this much—
“Not only Gluttony. There are also users of black magic down here. Some of them, like that blond man from earlier, have contracted with boss monsters and are now descending into the sewers.”
Black magic? That would mean the Requiem Cult.
Kain Belmaier.
No doubt about it—he had begun to move.
This was getting troublesome.
The man’s analytical and intelligence-gathering skills, as seen on the train, were highly dangerous.
“For now, let’s decide after we cross the bridge.”
Reaching the safe zone took priority.
A priest activated the [Non-Slip] and [Light] skills, leading the way.
The passage was so dark and slick that no more than three people could cross at a time.
Two. Four. Six…
Step by step, they made their way across.
“Are we the last ones?”
“It’s safer that way—just in case of an ambush.”
At the Saintess’s words, Yohan gave a short reply.
“Khahaha! A fine attitude! A true warrior always protects his comrades from the most—”
Before he could finish, Ragnar Lodbrok’s body lurched violently.
Thud!
“Huh!?”
Something had grabbed his ankle.
A shriveled, withered arm.
“Sa–Saintess!”
“Kyaaah! Wait—what is that!?”
Both a Paladin and Reina were caught too—their wrists and waists seized by unseen hands.
“Uwaaaahhhh!”
With a roar, the three of them were yanked backward, dragged toward the way they’d come.