Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Tower of Gluttony
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Lee Sang-hyun arrived in Nagoya, Japan, after passing through Busan.
The reason he opened a portal to Nagoya instead of heading straight to Tokyo was that the entire Tokyo area fell under the domain of the Dragon God Cult.
It was Kaguya's sanctuary, a place where even approaching was impossible unless you were a follower of the Dragon God Cult. That's why he came to Nagoya.
If he mistakenly ported into Tokyo and got caught, it would arouse Kaguya's suspicions.
'Over there.'
Leaping high from a nearby mountain, Lee Sang-hyun spotted Mount Fuji. It was faint due to the distance, but it was unmistakably Japan's tallest peak.
'Plenty of clouds too.'
There were enough clouds over Tokyo to summon rain and fog. Moreover, the wind was blowing toward Tokyo.
'Instead of just leaping there, maybe I should ride the clouds while controlling them? That'll make things easier later.'
It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, but it seemed solid. So, Lee Sang-hyun opened a portal onto the clouds.
'This must be what clouds in comics feel like.'
The cloud he shaped like a gray nimbus was soft and fluffy, like walking on a cushy sponge.
'Not bad at all.'
Feeling quietly satisfied, Lee Sang-hyun steered the cloud toward Tokyo.
Swishhh...
"No mention of rain in the forecast..."
"The weather service must be wrong again. It's not the first time."
"Tch. So sticky."
"With skies this gloomy, it'll probably pour till tomorrow."
"Nothing in this world works right."
The sudden rain soured the moods of the Japanese people, though they were used to it and didn't make a huge fuss.
Besides, it was just rain—nothing to get worked up over.
"......"
Having conjured a massive raincloud and guided it to Tokyo, Lee Sang-hyun gazed down at the black tower.
The time stamped on Choi Tae-seong's smartphone photo was 6:30 PM. Dusk was approaching.
'Time to begin.'
In an instant, the rain intensified. What had been a shower moments ago now became a downpour engulfing Tokyo.
Swishhhh...!!
A hazy mist crept in alongside the encroaching darkness, slowly overtaking Tokyo's streets.
The sanctuary palace where Kaguya—the Dragon God Cult's leader and shrine maiden—resided was a fortress impenetrable as iron walls.
Guards were posted every fifty meters, security was airtight, and artifacts crafted by alchemists and magitech engineers burned brightly against potential ambushes.
"......"
But it wasn't flawless. Due to its sheer scale, there were hidden gaps invisible to the naked eye.
More precisely, minute flaws only someone with sensory domain mastery like Lee Sang-hyun could detect.
'This way.'
Lee Sang-hyun slipped through that gap.
No fear of detection. His sensory domain let him track guards' positions and artifact ranges in real-time.
Plus, it was a stormy night with torrential rain.
Not even mana senses could identify him, let alone eyesight.
Swishhh...
Lee Sang-hyun infiltrated the palace effortlessly and entered the black tower overseen by Kaguya.
The first floor of the Tower of Gluttony was an ocean.
No joke or exaggeration—a vast sea stretched endlessly inside the tower.
Impossibly immense, impossible to measure precisely, but rivaling the Pacific was certain.
"......"
And that ocean teemed with monsters. Not millions, but billions—perhaps hundreds of billions, even trillions.
If these monsters escaped the tower and flowed into the sea via Tokyo Bay, what then?
No need for deep thought: Earth's oceans would be utterly devastated.
Ecosystems would collapse in moments, turning the planet's seas into something alien.
It was a catastrophe that must be prevented at all costs.
'...Lucky me, I suppose.'
The silver lining—if any—was Lee Sang-hyun's presence. He who wielded the origin of water, transcending all others in its domain.
Splash, splash.
Hard to believe, but...
The tower's sea was unmistakably a "monster farm."
The countless bones littering the seafloor and the monsters thrashing toward him at the sight of a human confirmed it.
This was a sea monster breeding ground.
'...I'll wipe them all out.'
Not hatred, exactly.
But a sense of duty welled up—for humanity and Earth, all these sea monsters had to go.
Lee Sang-hyun extended his hand toward the begging sea monsters.
'Shatter!!'
His will spread through the sea, engulfing the flailing monsters in an instant.
Krunch!!
Thousands turned to mush immediately. But Lee Sang-hyun wasn't satisfied.
He spread the scent of their blood far and wide, then waited for more to swarm.
"......"
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Lee Sang-hyun's heart beat steadily. His mind was cooler than ever, his gaze unwavering.
'...Here they come.'
Soon, over a billion sea monsters surged toward him.
The leader of the Dragon God Cult.
The Dragon Shrine Maiden.
Now hailed as half-human, half-god, revered by all Japanese—Kaguya's vow was purification.
"All according to your will."
Purifying a world defiled by impure humans. That was Kaguya's vow, the absolute will of the Dragon God Yamata no Orochi.
"Purify... the world."
Thus, Kaguya had prepared for ages. To cleanse the filthy world and forge a paradise for the Dragon God Cult alone.
Soon, the overfull Tower of Gluttony would burst.
Then, merfolk infused with sacred dragon blood would spill into the sea, purifying the oceans and world defiled by humanity's malice.
Wriggle, wriggle!!
Her heart swelled at the grand plan. Kaguya's smile twisted into a sinister leer.
"O great and holy Dragon God Yamata no Orochi, grant salvation to this defiled world."
Truly vile.
A serpent's grin.
The sea monsters weren't fools.
The blood frenzy faded at the sight of kin dying—they fled in panic.
Krunch!!
Lee Sang-hyun burst the fleeing monsters swiftly, but their numbers were too vast; some escaped.
'...Slippery ones.'
Unlike the eggs on the first floor of the Tower of Envy, these living beasts were tougher.
He'd shattered billions of eggs effortlessly, but even tens of millions here strained him.
'This method won't cut it. Need something better—thorough, quick.'
Lee Sang-hyun paused, pondering.
A whirlpool came to mind first.
Creating a massive vortex to sweep them away? Not a bad idea.
Fish drown too, after all.
'By human logic, most fish would drown.'
Then Nameless broke its silence with a hint.
"Absorb...?"
An unexpected clue—one that made him tilt his head.
"Absorb the ocean...?"
He hadn't considered it. Absorbing an entire sea? Absurd for a mere human.
Anyone would scoff at the notion.
But Nameless never spouted nonsense.
"Absorb the ocean, huh..."
Thump. Thump. Thump!
His heart raced, smile deepening.
"Sounds fun."
Feasible or not, worth trying.
Without hesitation, Lee Sang-hyun waded into the sea.
Splash, splash.
The tower's waters were frigid. Despite monster blood, it chilled to the bone, spine-tingling cold.
'Not circulation—absorption. Devour the sea whole, without remnant...'
A fitting solution for the Tower of Gluttony? Lee Sang-hyun began absorbing the tower's ocean.
Whoooosh...!!
Absorption differed utterly from circulation. Pure one-sided violence, devoid of mercy—forcing submission, near-evil.
'I'll devour it all.'
No quarter given; he absorbed relentlessly.
Whooooshh!!
If circulation was climbing stairs, absorption was descending—effortless, intoxicatingly so, explaining the fall of many.
Thump. Thump.
Of course, Lee Sang-hyun felt no corruption. Unlike those warped by thrill, his heart remained cool and steady.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
From a trickle into a hole, it escalated to dam-burst, then vortex.
'Come on!!'
No hyperbole—a true vortex, devouring the sea.
At its eye, Lee Sang-hyun absorbed ceaselessly.
Whooshhh...!!
Seawater vanishing like a black hole plunged into the ocean.
"Kreek??"
"Kiiit...!!"
"Kak! Kyaaak!"
"Kiaaaak!"
Flail, flail!!
Sea monsters thrashed fins madly against the inexplicable pull, fleeing.
But no end to it. Worse, the sea level dropped.
"Ki... aa... aak...!!"
Screams echoed with desperate struggles, only to be sucked into the maelstrom.
Whoooosh...!!
Like the glutton from Chinese legend devouring the sea?
The Pacific-sized tower ocean lay barren, utterly drained.
Flap, flap!!
Monsters that flailed fins desperately now writhed like beached fish, pitiable.
Some rivaled whales in size.
"......"
Having absorbed the entire sea, Lee Sang-hyun regarded the monsters.
His expression serene as the ocean, yet dark as ocean depths.
'...No pity needed. They're the enemy.'
Rebuking his fleeting compassion, he extended his hand.
Absorbing the remnants.
"......!!"
Moisture leeched from billions of sea monsters. No resistance, no escape.
Whoooosh...
It steamed into mist.
The pale fog evoked souls fleeing bodies.
'Done.'
Where he withdrew his hand, withered sea monsters sprawled endlessly.
Some still lived, but their faint twitches heralded quick ends.
'Onward.'
Lee Sang-hyun ignored them, heading to the second floor. The stairs lay at the former sea's center.