186 GLUTTONY IS ALSO A SIN
With that, his jaw unhinged and stretched, grotesquely wide, revealing rows of jagged teeth. The dockworker's scream was brief, swallowed along with his body.
When it was over, Lillrune stood unchanged—no bloated belly, no trace of his victim. He was a vessel for something beyond human comprehension, a monster hidden behind a human guise.
A sharp, disembodied voice cut through the air. "This is a glitch," it declared, cool and clinical.
Piggy materialized, "Such aberrations cannot stand. The System does not allow for glitches."
"What Glitch?" Lillrune echoed, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Everything about how you consume is wrong. How did you attach the spirits of those you eat? You are taking in more characteristics of those you eat than you should," Piggy asked.
"Call it retribution. Compensation for what I've endured. I gained an army of what I eat. So what?"
"You consumed an innocent man. There are consequences," Piggy warned. "You are treading the path of villainy."
"Keep talking, and you'll be next," Lillrune growled, his gaze blazing with menace.
Piggy faltered, its form flickering momentarily, but it held its ground.
Lillrune turned away, leaping from the ship and landing on the harbor's edge with inhuman grace. The feeding had invigorated him, power coursing through his veins.
He strode into the bustling port city, blending effortlessly into the crowd.
No one noticed the predator in their midst.
Port Sodom had just gained a new monster, and Lillrune's hunger was far from sated.
-----
"Husband, Lillrune Gullee is in Sodom City," Petunia said as she strode into the Palace of Willows, her tone sharp and deliberate.
Leo leaned back in his jade throne, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Lillrune? Didn't he die ages ago?"
"He did," Kasshyek interjected, stepping in behind her with a grim expression. "But he's back. I saw him myself."
Petunia nodded. "Revived… as a player. His username is Smartass."
Leo groaned, rubbing his temples. "The fucking System. Why does it keep reviving every enemy I've ever had?"
----
Guided by Petunia, Leo navigated the bustling streets of Sodom City until they reached a narrow alley housing a decrepit blacksmith shop. The air grew oppressively silent over the area.
"What am I supposed to see here?" Leo asked, eyeing the unassuming shop with a frown.
"Precisely because there's nothing to see," Petunia replied ominously.
Stepping inside, Leo was greeted by a scene of devastation. The walls were splintered, the forge cold, and tools scattered—but there were no bodies, no blood, no sign of a conventional attack. Strangely, the shop's anvil and most of its equipment were gone.
"This looks like a robbery," Leo said, scanning the wreckage.
"More like… consumption," Petunia corrected, unease thick in her voice.
Leo shot her a puzzled look. "What the hell does that mean?"
Without a word, she led him to a corner of the shop where the missing anvil—or what was left of it—lay in jagged fragments. Deep grooves marred the surface of the metal.
"What are these?" Leo asked, crouching to inspect the markings.
"Teeth marks," Kasshyek said gravely, stepping closer.
Leo stared at him. "Teeth? You're telling me some monster in my city is eating metal? Lillrune?"
"Not just metal," Kasshyek said, his voice heavy. "Wood, stone… anything it can sink its teeth into. Even people."
Leo straightened, his jaw tightening. "What the fuck are we dealing with here?"
"I wish I knew," Petunia admitted. "But he's been moving slowly toward Court La Mood. We've been tracking him for days."
As if summoned by their conversation, Vanessa materialized in the workshop, her usual smugness intact. "That's the mission of bosses, Black Cock. You don't hunt them—they come to you."
A System message appeared: A player has targeted you as a fatal enemy.
"Fuck you," Leo muttered, glaring at Vanessa.
She smirked but continued, her tone darkening. "There's a difference with this one. Lillrune's revival has glitched. The System failed to fully reset him after he died."
Leo folded his arms, scowling. "What's the difference this time?"
Vanessa's expression hardened. "Lillrune was trapped in your family's tomb for months after his revival. His grudge against you festered and mutated. He's not just a player anymore—he's an anomaly."
Leo's eyes narrowed. "You trapped him in my family tomb? No wonder he's pissed! And now he's your problem. What's that got to do with me?"
Vanessa arched a brow. "You cut off his cock."
"Oh. Right," Leo said, blinking. "Forgot about that. Minor detail."
Vanessa leaned in, her voice icy. "His hatred for you has become a force of its own. He's developed a trait the System can't control. An aberration. He consumes anything—metal, stone, people—and absorbs its characteristics. Even spirits. And makes use of them."
"So, it's some fucked-up form of Gluttony," Leo muttered.
Vanessa nodded. "And the longer he exists, the stronger he becomes. The System has tasked you with stopping him—preferably before he becomes unstoppable."
Leo's glare sharpened. "Let me guess—you want me to hack the code to stop his mutation?"
"Or destroy him," Vanessa replied smoothly.
Leo sighed. "Fine. What's in it for me?"
Vanessa smirked. "A reward, of course. I'll upgrade your Touch of Immobility with a combo—give it an aura effect for crowd control. Sound useful?"
Leo considered for a moment, then nodded. "Deal. But when this is over, I'm done cleaning up your fucking messes."
Vanessa's smirk widened. "We'll see about that."
As she vanished, Leo turned back to Petunia and Kasshyek, his expression grim. "What more do we know about Lillrune?"
"He's a bit crazy after eating all those stuffs though and possibly stricken with a short memory", Kasshyek added.
"What I want to know is," his question directed to Vanessa, "Does he have a mini-map that can track me?"
"Yes, of course he does. You are his fatal enemy", she replied frankly.
"Damnit, so I can't escape from him?" Leo asked.
"Nope, you must fight him. That's your mission, isn't it?" Vanessa replied.