The Original Sin of Gluttony

"Sally, what do you think true fear is?"

As Lu Minghao asked Sally, he released Shadow Prison. The four members of Linus's Squad, who had been hanging suspended in midair, instantly slammed heavily into the ground. The pain from their wounds made them instinctively howl.

But that was all they could do. Nearly all the blood in their bodies had been drained, and their limbs had already become bones. They could only writhe across the ground like maggots.

"True fear?"

Sally widened her eyes and looked at Lu Minghao curiously. His praise just now had filled her with enthusiasm for learning. She quickly pricked up her ears, intending to learn more from Lu Minghao. Sally was determined to become a cultured Witch!

"Of course it's having everything you desire right before your eyes, yet never being able to obtain it. You can only watch it vanish and reappear again and again, forever unable to change anything or break free. You have no one to help you, and you're powerless to change anything yourself. With no hope and no goal, you eventually become an empty shell and lose everything."

Lu Minghao spoke of the most despairing and terrifying things in the gentlest possible tone. Beside him, Sally excitedly nodded her little head, her expression saying, So it can be like that too. I've learned it, I've learned it.

"But Minghao, how are you supposed to do that?"

The next second, Sally, the eager student, raised a hand and looked at Lu Minghao with curiosity. Although she now knew what true fear was, she still didn't know how to create it.

"There are actually many ways. The simplest, for example, is pain. Whether physical or mental, any normal living creature will feel fear when subjected to pain. Death is the same, though there are many different ways to die."

As he spoke, Lu Minghao activated the passive effect of his Gluttony talent. An indescribable force began to spread from his body as its center. In an instant, everything around them seemed to come alive. Large amounts of flesh sprouted from the wooden floor, while the insects living in the corners wriggled out.

"Sally, remember this: true fear is different for every living creature. It can be helplessly watching a loved one die right before your eyes, the despair of losing everything, or..."

"All of it is the most genuine despair and fear. As for what exactly to do, you'll have to observe and learn for yourself, Sally. Strive to become a cultured, knowledgeable, sophisticated big boss."

As he spoke, Lu Minghao looked toward Linus and the others.

After devouring everything edible around them, the four men, now controlled by endless hunger and appetite, turned their gazes toward one another. Their bodies twisted constantly as they slowly squirmed forward like maggots until they could reach each other. Then they opened their mouths again.

In the dim room, horrifying sounds rang out without end. The fleshy mass covered in large mouths and the blood-red tentacles, each lined with countless maws, crawled over from the distance as well. Finally, a grotesque-looking insect in the corner joined the feast of Gluttony.

"And now, this is the ultimate fear I've bestowed upon them. They'll descend into madness amid endless hunger and appetite, but I'll order them never to eat. They can only suffer in that endless hunger and appetite until eternity. This is The Original Sin of Gluttony."

Lu Minghao turned around and looked at Sally. Behind him, a monster with four heads appeared, its body covered in huge mouths and blood-colored tentacles. Its four heads had the appearances of Lester and the others, and they kept repeating:

Kill me! Please, kill me!

I'm so hungry. So hungry. So hungry.

Eat. Eat. Eat.

"Now, Sally, do you understand?"

"Not really."

Faced with Lu Minghao's question, Sally wore a conflicted expression on her little face. In the end, she shook her head to show that she didn't really understand.

"It's good that you don't understand. It proves that you still need to study and think."

Lu Minghao wasn't surprised by Sally's answer. After all, she was merely a child who had grown up scavenging for food in garbage heaps. Although she had experienced all kinds of "evil," she was still a girl not yet ten years old.

"Then, Minghao, who should true fear be given to?"

At that moment, Sally picked up Lu Minghao and hugged him. Tilting her little head, she asked with a troubled expression.

"That? Then tell me, Sally—who are they?"

Lu Minghao didn't answer Sally directly. Instead, he pointed at the monster behind him, which was gnawing on the wooden boards.

"They're the ones who killed my mommy and daddy. They're enemies!"

Sally looked at the monster, which was disgusting both physically and psychologically. But no matter what they had become, to Sally they had only one identity: enemies who had killed her parents and forced her to grow up in a world filled with "evil."

"That's right. They're enemies. Sally, remember this: toward any enemy, we don't need mercy or kindness. We need to do whatever it takes to grant them true fear and death. As for those who aren't enemies, we can get along with them peacefully. After all, I'm a Kind Slime."

Lu Minghao looked at Sally, who was holding him in her arms. Perhaps these words were too cruel for an ordinary ten-year-old child, but for Sally, who was half-human and half-ghost and had lived amid endless malice since childhood, this was the reality she ought to—and had to—understand.

Sally could retain a child's innocence and kindness, but those qualities were for friends and those who treated her well, not for enemies. Mercy toward an enemy was the greatest cruelty toward oneself. That was what Lu Minghao wanted Sally to understand.

"Sally understands. I can get along peacefully with Grandma Oran and Grandpa Kenny, but enemies like Lester should all be killed!"

After saying that, Sally looked at Lu Minghao happily with her big eyes, waiting for his praise.

"Mhm, exactly. Sally really is the smartest."

Hearing Sally's words, Lu Minghao couldn't help smiling. As expected, her experiences since childhood had given her thoughts completely different from those of ordinary children—and thoughts that were best suited for surviving in this world.

"Oh, right. There's one more thing."

The next second, Lu Minghao looked at the monster that had gnawed a huge hole into the floor. He was very interested in the great nobleman who had issued the quest to take Sally away. Besides, it had been some time since he advanced into a Middle Demon, and it was time to harvest a new batch of nourishment.

Aaaaah! This is already the third time! I really am hopeless. On top of that, my editor just told me that my follow-up readership isn't high enough, so the next round of promotions has been canceled. I can only wait until the readership is high enough before arranging it.