Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 52

52. Cauldron Bottom (6)

[Quest Success!]

[You have succeeded in the ‘Cauldron Bottom’ quest.]

[One ‘Silver Box’ is provided as a reward.]

[The reward is increased due to difficulty compensation relative to your level.]

[One ‘Silver Box’ changes into one ‘Gold Box’.]

[You have passed the trial.]

[One ‘Gold Box’ changes into ‘Yog-Gulem’s Gift Box’.]

[The Return Stone is activated until the next quest.]

[Time remaining until the next quest: 28 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds.]

[The curse: Deliciousness has been lifted.]

***

The street, now free of the scent of ‘deliciousness,’ was silent.

Even the swarms of mosquitoes had vanished, leaving only a few zombies with no intelligence, mindlessly wandering around.

Numerous corpses were piled on the ground, none in good condition.

Their bodies were fragmented and mixed together in a frenzy of eating and being eaten. It was more like a gruesome slurry than a collection of corpses.

“Creak……”

The ravenous one with green eyes, whom Hyun-woo had dubbed Battalion Commander, was crawling with difficulty. His lower body had been torn off, leaving only his upper torso and a single, barely attached arm. Had he not been a ravenous one, he would have perished long ago.

He dragged himself, desperate to escape this hell. This was a place he should never have ventured. He had accepted an invitation to a feast after a long drought and came without thinking, only to see his battalion become part of the countless corpses.

Then, he noticed something wriggling in front of him.

It was tearing at the rotten flesh of another ghoul. The Battalion Commander initially mistook it for one of the surviving zombies, but the moment his eyes met that burning, furnace-like gaze, he knew he was wrong. This was the fiend who had orchestrated this terrible scene.

It was Kang Hyun-woo.

The Battalion Commander instinctively recoiled. In response, Kang Hyun-woo began to crawl towards him.

He, too, was a mess. It was clear he was in no condition to walk properly, much like the Battalion Commander. Yet, he was faster.

The Battalion Commander fumbled at his waist and frantically pulled out his pistol.

Bang!

The sound of gunfire echoed through the silent street. Bullets grazed Hyun-woo’s cheek and the top of his head, failing to hit him squarely even once.

Crunch. Hyun-woo bit into the Battalion Commander’s lower abdomen. The Battalion Commander screamed, but the sound was short-lived.

[Nutrient absorption efficiency has increased.]

Amidst the crunching sounds, the street fell silent once more.

[Fragment has been absorbed.]

***

‘I’m going to die.’

Hyun-woo lay still, staring at the sky, wishing for death.

Even though he had stemmed the ravenous one’s blood, he was still incredibly hungry. But without activating the blood, he couldn’t bring himself to consume the rotten flesh with a sane mind.

He longed for clear, cold water, something like lemon iced tea, or at least some palatable side dishes.

Hyun-woo called out to Kirson, but there was no response. He was cunning and quick, but Hyun-woo wondered if he had survived this chaos. Given his lack of loyalty, he probably had.

There was no response from Renian either. She was likely hiding, but her silence indicated lingering danger.

‘I need to be careful.’

But his body wouldn’t obey. It felt as though no part of him was intact. Hyun-woo tried to rise but gave up. It would be better to die and be resurrected than to assess the full extent of his injuries.

Just then,

The faint sound of a flute drifted from somewhere. Hyun-woo realized he could hear a group of people playing music in the distance. Not just flutes, but drums and gongs—all sorts of instruments creating strange sounds and approaching in a procession.

And in the middle of that procession was a palanquin [a covered litter carried on poles].

‘Am I still dreaming?’

Hyun-woo barely managed to turn his head and look at them. If he wasn’t mistaken, they were heading his way.

As the procession drew closer, the music became clearer—a sound that stirred unease in his heart.

It wasn’t just the music that was strange. The musicians were bizarre monsters he had never encountered before.

They possessed only mouths, lacking eyes or noses, and they played their instruments while flailing their long limbs. Leading the palanquin were anglerfish, creatures usually found only in the deep sea. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from the flickering green light emanating from their backs.

Then, a low sound that made his heart tremble rang out. Someone began to emerge from the palanquin. Hyun-woo realized that the monsters comprising this procession were far higher-ranking beings than gasts or ghouls.

If even one of these monsters had intervened, all of Hyun-woo’s preparations would have been for naught.

Who, then, was the one they were carrying as if serving a master?

“You indulged in a meal unbefitting your station in a place equally unbefitting, young man.”

The words were spoken in fluent Korean. Hyun-woo blinked and looked at the being who had stepped out of the palanquin. He casually crushed the scattered corpses underfoot as he approached Hyun-woo.

“I believe there’s a place more suitable for you.”

A face so pale it was almost white, with slicked-back hair. He was unusually tall, yet slender.

Despite his inhuman appearance, Hyun-woo was certain: this was a human, or at least, had been.

He was the same type of being as the Battalion Commander and the ravenous ones Hyun-woo had encountered.

[Kawaro of Gluttony and Sloth (LV 118)]

But he was on a different level than any enemy he had faced thus far.

***

Kawaro squatted down in front of Hyun-woo and looked down at him with a smile.

“Judging by your expression, I don’t believe introductions are necessary.”

Besides, he seemed to know a great deal about the system. Kawaro narrowed his eyes, and Hyun-woo felt a chilling murderous intent wash over him.

The other party was assessing his level, just as he was. Soon, surprise flickered across Kawaro’s face.

“What? How did you survive with such a low level? No wonder the Starving Star [Yog-Gulem] took an interest.”

Moreover, the surroundings were littered with the corpses of his own kind. They were all Yog-Gulem’s kin, but Kawaro displayed no particular emotion, only curiosity about Hyun-woo.

“I thought all humans were extinct. How are you still alive? Are there any other survivors?”

Hyun-woo didn’t answer, but Kawaro acted as if he expected as much and held out a finger, brushing it past the blood on Hyun-woo’s cheek. Kawaro put the blood in his mouth and smacked his lips, muttering,

“None. It’s as if you fell from the sky.”

Kawaro raised his long, torn lips and leaned closer to Hyun-woo.

“Anyway, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I never thought I’d see a human alive again. The humans who were active since Johann and Maria Keller have completely disappeared. I thought they had vanished like a light being snuffed out, but where were you hiding such a fresh friend?”

His gaze swept past Hyun-woo and took in the surrounding plaza.

“And for such a precious friend to be wallowing in such a vulgar place… There’s a reason why the Starving Star gave a special order. Good, young man. Come with me. This isn’t a dining establishment that suits your status. You should savor the finest food in a more elegant and formal setting.”

Kawaro looked at Hyun-woo’s lower body. His legs were already a mess, practically gone.

Without hesitation, Kawaro severed his legs. Hyun-woo stared blankly at his limbs, which had been cut off as easily as tofu. Strangely, there was no pain.

Kawaro gathered fragments of zombie and ghoul corpses scattered nearby, mixed them with his saliva, and formed a crude lump.

Then, he kneaded it and attached it to Hyun-woo’s leg, and new flesh grew instantly, creating a new leg. Hyun-woo felt sensation return, but it didn’t feel like his own.

“Come with me, young man,”

Kawaro said with a smile, but Hyun-woo could see the cruelty lurking beneath. Even if he were clueless, he could discern that much. Hyun-woo opened his mouth. His voice sounded metallic, but he managed to form the words:

“Are you saying I should become Yog-Gulem’s kin?”

“Precisely. That’s it.”

Kawaro spoke honestly, without pretense. Hyun-woo’s answer was already decided.

“I have no intention of becoming kin just to go on a gourmet tour.”

Kawaro’s expression went blank, then he burst into laughter—a laugh that seemed to mock the absurdity of Hyun-woo’s words. He laughed for a long time, even wiping tears from his eyes.

“Ah, that’s a truly funny joke. A gourmet tour. Perhaps it’s not entirely wrong, but you misunderstand the Starving Star. Well, I can see why you’d misunderstand. The Starving Star isn’t merely a place that consumes everything.”

Kawaro whispered to Hyun-woo in a secretive tone.

“Appetite is simply the lowest and most basic desire among greed. Of course, that’s not to say it’s bad. But what Yog-Gulem hungers for is greed itself. We simply want to monopolize everything, devour everything, and enjoy everything lavishly.”

So-called power, discipline, lust, capital, strength.

He wanted to monopolize all of that and revel in it alone.

“When I was still human, I lived bound by excessive morality and cumbersome rules, unable to obtain what I desired. Even things I could have seized with my ability and strength, I couldn’t have them, even though it was purely my effort!”

Kawaro muttered, his burning desire evident on his pale face. He turned to Hyun-woo.

“Young man, you must harbor that anger too—the desire to claim what you deserve. But the minority is selfish, and the majority is shameless. Young man, aren’t you curious about how much you can seize in the future? Aren’t you curious about how high you can rise?”

Kawaro’s words resonated with Hyun-woo’s own desires.

“We will become a snake that devours the world. We will swallow everything and coil ourselves in the highest place, young man. Join one of those scales!”

Kawaro naturally recommended it, as if he knew Hyun-woo’s innermost desires. In the first place, if Hyun-woo didn’t possess such desires, the Starving Star wouldn’t have shown any interest.

Hyun-woo had to admit it sounded tempting. The Whispering Star, Monstrill, had said that Yog-Gulem was merely considering him a toy, but listening to Kawaro, it didn’t necessarily feel that way.

‘There haven’t been any new players at this point. The situation is stagnant, so everyone is trying to find a solution somehow.’

He remembered Monstrill’s words: the situation was stagnant.

Perhaps that’s why the stars are so obsessed with him—to use him as a joker. If so, Hyun-woo would be able to establish himself wherever he went.

If only he could choose who to pick.

Hyun-woo reached out his hand to Kawaro, who grasped it as if he knew he would. Hyun-woo seemed to grab Kawaro’s hand to stand, but then he bit his finger.

“……”

Kawaro frowned and shook Hyun-woo off. Hyun-woo’s body tumbled pathetically onto the pile of corpses.

Hyun-woo trembled to his shoulders and laughed, a mocking voice emanating from his mouth.

“You don’t taste very good, man. These zombies are tastier.”

The corners of his lips curled up.

“Is it because it’s the taste of a traitor?”