The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 408

Chapter 408

Chapter 408 . Secret Weapon (1)

“Heuuuu!”

Sung Shihyun woke up with a start .

He looked around with frightened eyes and saw his room, his bed, and the succubus lying next to him, in the said order, all shrouded in darkness .

Sung Shihyun stared down at the succubus with mixed feelings .

A year ago, he tried to retaliate against Vulgar Chastity for using him as a shield, but forgave her when she proposed to offer him an infinite supply of succubi every night .

So last night, he picked a girl who suited his taste exactly… .

‘Her name… . ’

He had heard it but forgotten it already .

All he knew about her was that she used to be an Earthling, and a quite famous one at that, just like himself, before Vulgar Chastity captured her and depraved her .

When his thoughts reached that point, Sung Shihyun finally realized that the nightmare was over and dropped his head .

“Fuck… . It’s that shitty dream again… . ”

With a heavy sigh, he scratched his sweaty, damp hair .

Sung Shihyun had been having nightmares lately, or more precisely, since the day the Parasite Queen showed him outer space .

He didn’t know who the man in his dream was . He couldn’t even make out his face .

What he remembered of the man was his pitch-black armor, crimson cape, and the bladeless sword .

Sung Shihyun chewed his lips . Fear swept over him again as he recalled the sight of the man slowly rising to his feet, pressing his palms against the armrest of his throne surrounded by women .

The man approached Sung Shihyun slowly, step by step .

The pressure he felt then that made him shiver still lingered inside him .

“Damn… . Fucking hell… . ”

Sung Shihyun tried to calm his breathing before suddenly grabbing the succubus’ arm and pulling her towards him .

The succubus opened her eyes halfway and looked up, still drowsy from sleep .

Then she extended her arms towards Sung Shihyun like she was used to this sort of treatment .

He felt better when the warm flesh touched him .

“Fuck, stop showing up in my dreams . Adults shouldn’t meddle in kids’ affairs . Let kids play with other kids . ”

Sung Shihyun mumbled to himself and then lay back on the bed .

“Brightest Star… . ”

He wrapped his arms around the succubus with an alluring scent and looked up at the ceiling .

His eyes began to burn with jealousy and envy .

“No freaking way . ”

Sung Shihyun’s lips distorted .

“I’m the main character of Paradise… . I’m the protagonist… . ”

He said as if to reassure himself, and then closed his eyes and attempted to go back to sleep .

Suddenly, the door burst open . Sung Shihyun’s face crumpled in an instant .

“Argh, who is it?”

He sat up, and the succubus who had just opened his door quickly knelt before him .

“I-I’m sorry!”

“…Didn’t I say I’m too tired lately for a threesome?”

“No, that’s not why I… . There’s an important message from my lord to the First Army Commander… . ”

“From Vulgar Chastity?”

Sung Shihyun crossed his arms with a snort .

“Alright, speak . And if it’s trivial, you’d better get ready for punishment . In bed, of course . ”

The succubus trembled in fear .

“Yes, well, humanity is… . ”

She did her best to convey the message succinctly because she knew how sadistic and perverted Sung Shihyun was in bed .

As her voice continued, the expression on Sung Shihyun’s face changed from annoyance to confusion .

“Sinyoung… collapsed?”

“Yes . Not entirely, of course, but now they’re now tied to Valhalla through a contract, and their director is due to resign soon… . ”

“…Leave . ”

Sung Shihyun commanded and the succubus bowed her head and left in a hurry .

“Hmm… . ”

Sung Shihyun brooded over the news that the succubus had just delivered .

He looked unusually serious .

“That Yun bitch is withdrawing…? The Yun bitch …? Unbelievable . ”

Sung Shihyun tilted his head to the side .

“That’s amazing if it’s true . I didn’t think that crazy bitch knew how to give up… . ”

He mumbled in a bitter voice, and… .

“Seol Jihu . I won’t deny you’re special, but… you’re too soft . ”

…He smiled .

“You should’ve killed her when the chance came . Why did you let her live?”

The Yun Seohui that Sung Shihyun knew couldn’t be trusted .

He never knew when she would turn against him .

“He’ll learn when he gets stabbed in the back like me . There’s no way that Yun bitch will go down like this… . What should I do… . ”

Sung Shihyun licked his lips .

Part of him wanted to watch Yun Seohui’s plan unfold, but nevertheless he didn’t think it would succeed .

After witnessing the Brightest Star, he couldn’t think otherwise . That star wouldn’t fall easily .

‘Perhaps . . . ’

This could be their chance .

The last chance to strike before humanity finishes regrouping and fully unites with the Federation .

The thought suddenly struck him .

Sung Shihyun quickly organized his thoughts and stormed out of the room .

He exited the building and stomped towards the Imperial Palace where the Parasite Queen resided .

[I’ve been waiting for you . ]

Their meeting took place quickly .

The Parasite Queen sat on the Corrupted Throne as usual and looked down at Sung Shihyun kneeling down on one knee .

[Are you feeling better?]

“Yes, I feel a whole lot better . Thank you for your concern . ”

[Does that mean you’re ready to talk now?]

“That’s right . I realized I have no time to be wasting . ”

[You must have heard the news . You may rise . ]

With the queen’s permission, Sung Shihyun slowly rose from the floor .

He looked at the Parasite Queen, resting her chin on her hands, and smiled bitterly .

“First of all, I’d like to thank Your Majesty for showing me that scene from the other day . ”

[?]

“The truth is, the last time you summoned me, I was going to tell you not to worry about the Brightest Star, that I would kill Seol Jihu for you… . I might as well have raised the death flag . ”

[Death flag?]

“Yes, it’s something that appears frequently in animes or movies . A character, usually a villain, says or does something with extreme confidence only to end up as a stepping stone for the main character’s growth . ”

The Parasite Queen didn’t recognize the concept at all, but she roughly understood its meaning through the expressions, “stepping stone” and “main character’s growth . ”

[I’m glad your arrogance has subsided . ]

She sounded content . How could she not be? The only star that could rival the Brightest Star finally began to confront his opponent seriously .

“‘Why is she so afraid of one human?’ That was what I thought before I saw what I saw… . Now my thoughts have taken a 180 degrees turn and changed completely . Now I think, ‘Why did she leave him alone for so long?’”

Sung Shihyun continued .

“So I looked into it, and… . Well, I guess you did do something . ”

‘For example, there was the Arden Valley War,’ he added .

He could easily guess that even for the queen, it came as a surprise that a Level 4 Warrior survived the battle against three Army Commanders and even eliminated Undying Diligence .

“I see you’ve given him some attention . However… After some review of the sequence of events, I think I know why you’ve been losing to him for the last few years . ”

[Hoh . ]

“So before I start, I have two questions I’d like to ask you… . May I?”

Some might consider his attitude rude .

Instead of getting angry, however, the Parasite Queen raised her head and observed the sky .

When she saw Sung Shihyun’s star, a corner of her mouth curled up .

[You may . ]

The Parasite Queen extended her arm towards Sung Shihyun .

[I give you permission to speak your mind freely . From now on, you may speak whatever you wish to speak without worrying about the consequences . ]

“Thank you for your generosity . ”

Sung Shihyun bowed lightly and began to speak .

“Then I’ll ask right away . First, am I right to assume that your divinity has been greatly damaged?”

[Yes . ]

“Why haven’t you recovered?”

[Those who injured my divinity were quite thorough in their work . ]

The Parasite Queen smiled at Sung Shihyun .

[There was nothing I could do then, and our victory seemed certain even without my divinity . So I thought I’d recover it later . ]

There was nothing wrong with what the Parasite Queen had said .

Of course, they both knew the phrase, ‘that was before Seol Jihu appeared,’ had been omitted .

“Alright, I’ll take that answer . ”

Sung Shihyun nodded .

“Secondly, I think you knew from the moment the Brightest Star appeared that what you just said might not work out as planned . ”

[I did, but didn’t know it would get this bad . ]

“If you knew, then why didn’t you give up on other things?”

[What?]

The Parasite Queen’s eyes widened . She had not expected this question .

“Now that I have your permission to speak frankly, I’ll do just that . Your Majesty, you’ve been trying to grab more than you can handle . ”

Sung Shihyun cleared his throat .

“The Parasites are indeed powerful, but you’ve been dispersing our troops in every important war . On the other hand, humanity—no, the Brightest Star, has confronted us with all his might every time . ”

[…]

“Of course, as I said before, I don’t think you did it on purpose . Perhaps you were gathering forces to avenge those who defeated you in the past, or perhaps your intention was to bring this planet under your control as quickly as possible… . ”

[…]

“Certainly, if you had succeeded, the Federation and humanity would be long gone by now .  If you had succeeded, that is . ”

Sung Shihyun slowly raised his head and looked up at the Parasite Queen .

“But in the end, you failed, and that’s why we’re in this mess . ”

The Parasite Queen listened to him, feeling somewhat refreshed . Sung Shihyun shook his head with a serious look, an expression that he didn’t usually wear .

“You can’t do that from now on . Even lions go all out when hunting rabbits, and our opponent is no longer an ordinary rabbit . He’s a super-rabbit . ”

[Do you mean to say that we should change our main target to humanity?]

“Not at all . I see you still haven’t rid yourself of greed . ”

[Then what do you mean?]

“Forget about the Federation and humanity . You have to focus on getting rid of the Brightest Star first, no matter what happens . ”

The Parasite Queen let out a long sigh .

It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about it before .

She had but just didn’t know how to make it happen .

“I suppose you’re aware of what’s been happening to humanity these days . ”

[Yes . ]

“And that things will get more complicated in the future if we just let them be?”

[I would assume so . ]

“That means we have to attack the Brightest Star before the change he’s leading is complete . No matter how strong the wind of change may be, it will scatter when the force holding it together disappears . ”

[But how?]

Their exchange continued, and… .

“Now, let’s get back on track . ”

Sung Shihyun finally got to the point .

“We have to drag him out . ”

[…Drag him out?]

“Yes . To be honest, all the Brightest Star has to do now is wait . Because if he can just let this moment pass, a bright future awaits him . The Federation is currently in the process of integrating into humanity, so he won’t budge until that migration is complete . ”

“But we shouldn’t attack him recklessly . A hasty decision is likely to lead to a repeat of the Arden Valley War or the Tigol Fortress War . And then, the Brightest Star will surely grow beyond our control . ”

[Hoh… . ]

The Parasite Queen gave a short exclamation of surprise .

Sung Shihyun had accurately identified her concerns .

Suddenly, she felt glad to have shown “that scene” to the First Army Commander .

His prudence seemed to hint at the existence of a sure solution to their problems .

The Parasite Queen sank into contemplation .

So far Sung Shihyun had centered all of his talk around one person .

Upon reflection, she could see where he was going with this .

Abandon greed, drag the enemy out, and then… .

[Do you mean to say that we should lure him with bait?]

“I wouldn’t call it that . ”

Sung Shihyun shrugged .

“From now on, every move we make must come after careful planning and consideration . One small mistake can be fatal . ”

This meant they only had one chance .

It was then that the Parasite Queen finally realized Sung Shihyun’s true intention .

[I see . Whether we succeed or fail to drag him out, our plan needs to benefit us . ]

“Correct . That’s why bait isn’t enough . We need something that will definitely capture his attention, something that will make him want to run to us . ”

[Something that will capture his attention… . ]

“Something, for example, that could destroy or at least greatly harm the changes he has brought about . ”

[Ha! Do you really think such a thing exists?]

“Of course . ”

Sung Shihyun grinned .

“Come to think of it… . You descended on the battlefield during the Tigol Fortress War a year ago, right?”

He continued in a secretive whisper .

“I thought it was a bad move back then, but now that I think about it, it could be used to our advantage . ”

The Parasite Queen’s eyes narrowed .

“Just think about it . You ruled this entire planet in the past . If the news spreads that you’ve regained your power… . Nevermind the Federation, but what would humanity, who’s just beginning to grow, think of the situation?”

[…I told you, there’s nothing I can do at this point . ]

“But now I am with you . So why are you so worried?”

Sung Shihyun put his hand over his chest with a grin .

“One of the three heroes who forced you to sit on that throne is here . ”

[Does that mean…?]

The Parasite Queen leaned forward from her throne