[The Glutton] – The Prophet's Part (14)

Drake fell silent for a moment, his face nearly devoid of emotion. After all, the dungeon was filled with monsters. Even if the being before him wasn't a monster, she certainly wasn't human.

"I will kill those damned counts," Drake said in a low voice.

The woman's eyes widened slightly at his words, then shook her head repeatedly. "No… You won't be able to… You'll die…"

Drake ignored her warning and asked, "My companions are lost in this garden. How can I find them and get out?"

The woman pressed her lips together, staring at Drake. Finally, she plucked a blooming white rose from the garden and handed it to him. "Take this flower. You'll be able to find your companions and leave the garden. Don't throw your life away—leave while you still can."

Drake scoffed, curling his lips into a mocking smile. If only leaving were as easy as she made it sound.

He took the white rose from the gardener's hand and turned away without hesitation. At that moment, the dungeon's system voice suddenly rang out:

[Congratulations! The human Drake has obtained the "Blessing of Companions," which allows him to withstand one of the strongest attacks from a monster.]

Companions?

Drake frowned slightly and instinctively turned back—only to see the gardener's body glowing. It was as if she were made of countless specks of light. Slowly, those lights scattered into the air, floating like a silent farewell.

In no time, the gardener had disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a beautifully blooming garden of white roses.

The thick fog dissipated rapidly, and soon, the sound of familiar footsteps echoed around him.

Drake turned and saw Ron and Fiona emerging from the mist. The moment they spotted him, they broke into joyful smiles.

"Captain!"

They lunged at him without hesitation, wrapping him in a tight embrace.

Fiona sniffled, her voice trembling. "I thought I'd be trapped in this cursed place forever."

Ron patted her shoulder reassuringly. "We made it out. It's all thanks to you, Captain!"

Jessica and Stall, standing nearby, exchanged looks of astonishment. They had been racking their brains for a way to escape the fog when it suddenly cleared on its own.

[No matter how much of a pain you may be, there will always be people who cherish you. Because, at your core, you are a hero. You don't need to seek validation from anyone else.]

The voice of the Prophet suddenly echoed in Drake's mind.

His gaze lowered, concealing whatever thoughts flickered through his eyes. Then, without warning, he shoved Fiona and Ron away, waving his hand dismissively.

"Quit the touching reunion. It's disgustingly sentimental," he grumbled. "As long as I'm alive, none of my teammates are dying on my watch."

Fiona and Ron couldn't help but burst into laughter, their relief and happiness unmistakable.

"Oh, right, Captain! I picked this up after killing some monsters," Fiona said, opening her palm.

In her hand lay a crumpled photo stained with blood. Despite the damage, the figures in the picture were still faintly recognizable.

"These are the members of Team 4… The Captain of Team 4 always carried this with him," Ron murmured.

Drake couldn't help but recall the system's announcement—"Blessing of Companions." Perhaps the bonds between humans never truly broke. Even in death, their strong will lingered, waiting for a chance to carve a new path for those left behind.

[This is too moving. The scriptwriters for this entertainment show are ridiculously dedicated. Humanity is a collective—it's their unity that will lead them to victory!]

[Please, just let humanity win this season. I've seen too many seasons where they lose to invading forces!]

[Ha! They are a bunch of hypocrites. Weren't you the same people who were the most thrilled when the monsters invaded the human world?]

As the others looked at him with admiration, Drake said, "It was the Prophet who guided me. We should be thanking him."

The moment those words left his mouth, Jessica's eyes lit up with excitement. The admiration in her gaze nearly overflowed—if anything, she seemed more like a true believer of the Prophet than Drake himself.

Drake couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you afraid that the angel Lucifer will punish you for believing in a god?"

Among the angels, Lucifer was the most strict regarding believers.

Jessica merely smiled without saying a word. He probably wouldn't have said such things if Drake knew why she was in this dungeon.

"Alright, let's go," Drake spoke before striding towards the exit. The garden, which had seemed vast when they entered, now took little time to leave.

Drake was the last to walk out. Before stepping beyond the garden, he suddenly turned back. Behind him, the white roses swayed in the wind at the garden's center.

He crouched down, placing the white rose in his hand onto the ground. He mumbled something under his breath before finally standing up and leaving.

No one could hear what he said—except for Prophet.

"I will win. Without a doubt."

—

The group quickly returned to the castle. The moment they stepped into the parlor, they saw Prophet sitting on a worn-out chair, slowly wiping the blood off his face. There was so much of it that the bandages over his eyes had turned a deep red. His frail body wavered as if he could collapse at any moment.

Drake hated seeing weakness in any form. But knowing that Prophet was in this state because of them, he couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh.

Besides, no matter how much he wanted to deny it, Prophet's words had truly shaken him—had reached something deep inside him.

"Can't you stop making prophecies? Doesn't it hurt?"

Drake tore a strip from his shirt and roughly wiped the blood from Prophet's face, then grabbed Prophet's hands to clean the blood off them as well. His movements were anything but gentle, twisting Prophet's face out of shape.

Jessica immediately stepped forward. "Let me do it. With your rough hands, you'll only hurt him more."

Drake frowned at her, and Jessica met his gaze head-on without hesitation.

Prophet furrowed his brows slightly. Taking advantage of their standoff, he slipped out of Drake's grip and muttered, "I can clean myself up. Your shirt is nothing but dust and stink."

Jessica nearly burst out laughing. Fiona and Ron hastily covered their mouths—they couldn't just laugh at their Captain!

Drake: "..."

With a scowl, he threw the torn cloth onto the floor and growled, "Damn it! That's what I get for trying to help! Do it yourself!"

Prophet turned away, completely ignoring him.

A vein twitched on Drake's forehead. He could hardly believe that the same man who had spoken such moving words to him earlier was now acting like this.

His expression turned menacing as if he wanted nothing more than to throw Prophet out of his sight.

[Hahaha! I never thought I'd see the day when Drake gets ignored like this!]

[Prophet, you're the first person to have their face wiped by Captain Drake! Do you not realize how special that is?!]

[There's no way Prophet is the weakest god. He's strong enough to make Drake furious—if that's not power, I don't know what is!]

Jessica suddenly said, "Now that we've uncovered the castle's secret, should we expose it immediately?"

On the way back, Drake had shared with them the information he had learned from the gardener. There was no doubt—it was the truth.

Just thinking about what Leo had been eating for the past two days and where that meat had come from made them feel nauseous and disgusted.

Ron and Fiona agreed they should immediately reveal the truth and complete the mission. However, Stall suddenly voiced his concern.

"I have a bad feeling about this… It's like things won't go the way we expect."

The others turned to look at him. Jessica explained, "Most of the time, his instincts are right."

"But we can't just abandon the mission," Fiona frowned. "If we don't complete it, we won't even have the chance to leave!"

The group hesitated, uncertain.

Drake turned his gaze toward Prophet and asked, "What do you think we should do?"

For a moment, everyone's eyes landed on Prophet, sitting quietly on the side.

Only a day had passed, yet this so-called "weakest god" had become the center of them all—the only light guiding them through the darkness.