NOVEL WEB Chapter 39
Crunch crunch crunch
Thud thud
Gulp!
Snap, crackle, pop
Slurp slurp
SMASH!
The teeth of the voracious flesh and tentacles were truly filled with joy, savoring every bite.
“How long has it been since this body appeared?”
“How long has it been since I had a feast?”
Though the quality of the malice wasn’t particularly high, the quantity was vast, and the chewiness was exquisite.
There’s a thrill in just snapping off a leg, and when it comes to tearing at the torso, I aim for the joints and crunch crunch away.
Like chewing on ribs from a pig or cow, once I’ve ripped through the juicy meat, I smash the hard bones into crumbs.
The hardness is indeed appetizing, but the body of this filthy Centipede Dragon is so tough that it hinders my ability to chew the flesh.
I bite down and munch on every joint, and where my teeth can’t reach, I suck and draw out the vile, foul juices contained within.
Delicious. So delicious.
It’s a feast. It’s a feast!
“Hey! Hey! Stop eating! You’ve got to leave some for me!!”
‘Ah, annoying little master…’
The short tentacle obediently shrinks its size in response to its master’s command.
Finishing off what was in my mouth, it eagerly slurped up the disgusting, foul juices of the malice.
[Did I see that right?!]
[LMAO, today’s arena is ON!]
[Is this really the Saint…?]
[This is a Korean-style Saint! This is dope!]
[What the heck, why are you really killing it…!]
The viewers had anticipated a massive impact and a titanic clash with monsters, but that didn’t happen.
A monster battle, you ask?
It did happen, but it didn’t.
How can everything be perfect and fulfilling during the first broadcast?
No matter how gigantic and physically formidable an S-grade monster is, if it lacks the intelligence and reflexes to use its strengths effectively, it would easily lose its life in a trivial manner.
Just like how an adult would feel the same pain if struck by a child with a knife.
On the outside, it was a powerful and calamity-level Centipede Dragon, but the one that woke from its slumber couldn’t even muster proper resistance against a mass of flesh much larger and stronger than itself, ultimately losing its head.
‘I see in the chat that it’s an S-grade monster, but are S-grade monsters this weak here?’
What Sia hadn’t anticipated was that the long-awaited manifestation of the tentacle was hungrier than it had expected, and the Centipede Dragon had gone down far too easily.
Still, the outcome of Sia winning wouldn’t change.
The disappointment was significant, however, as the Centipede Dragon had died far too easily, almost disappointingly so, contrary to its notorious threat level.
If Sia’s stream had been a specialized Hunter broadcast focusing on combat and hunting strategy, she might have considered running additional dungeons due to inadequate footage.
But to Sia, hunting the Centipede Dragon wasn’t that significant.
To this starved Saint, whether to eat the Centipede Dragon or not was the most important matter.
As the miracle was released, the grotesque and twisted flesh and tentacles gradually faded away, leaving only the five tentacles that blossomed around Sia’s waist.
Its teeth clashed, and it seemed like it was thoroughly satisfied with the taste of the Centipede Dragon.
“Hehehe.”
A moment later, Sia began to head back to the dungeon entrance, lifting something much larger than her upper body with one hand.
[Just came back from the restroom, what’s the streamer holding?]
[Centipede Dragon’s joint]
[Yep. It’s a joint, lol.]
[?]
[Stop joking around.]
[No, it’s really a joint, lol.]
[Where do you see a joint? It looks like some gigantic mold.]
[It’s a joint, for real, lol.]
What Sia was holding was indeed a joint of the Centipede Dragon.
Even though it had evolved from something superior to the Bladed Centipede, it retained the basic shape of a centipede as a biological entity. The huge blades attached to the segments still twitched slightly due to the living nervous system.
Skreee…
Crackle…
Crackle…
Swarms of Bladed Centipedes bowed as Sia passed.
Even though these creatures were about as intelligent as bugs, it was only natural for them to feel fear in the face of Sia’s overwhelming strength.
The Centipede Dragon was the top predator of this Rotten Mountain dungeon.
Though it had allowed the population of Bladed Centipedes to grow by resting, for the past 20 years, it had been a creature that casually devoured the Bladed Centipedes for fun and then fell back into slumber.
Those who were unlucky would be devoured by it, and once the satisfied Centipede Dragon fell asleep after eating its fill of Bladed Centipedes, the Rotten Mountain became a paradise for them.
This cycle continued for 20 years, instilling a deep-rooted fear of the Centipede Dragon within every Bladed Centipede born in the Rotten Mountain.
It became a given that they accepted this as the natural order of things.
However, today, the natural order that had been established for the Bladed Centipedes was utterly shattered.
They were in chaos.
Whether the monster that killed the Centipede Dragon would become their new predator or be a savior-like figure to Bladed Centipedes was uncertain.
Thus, most Bladed Centipedes fled.
Even those sleeping in rock crevices, those wedging themselves into gnarled trees, or those burrowing into the earth and caves ran away, making every effort to avoid the gaze of their new ‘predator.’
The Rotten Mountain dungeon, which used to stink from the poison of the Bladed Centipedes, the odor of rotting leaves, and the musty mold, now carried the clean and fresh smell of a gentle breeze, due to the emergence of a new ‘predator.’
“Ah hehehe, it looks delicious.”
Of course, whether the Bladed Centipedes fled or not, Sia wore a bright smile, happily thinking about eating the fried Centipede Dragon.
It was not a smile for the sake of the broadcast.
That smile was pure happiness straight from her heart.
[She looks pretty just smiling…]
[Is there really a Saint who enjoys eating centipedes?!]
[Is she really going to eat that???]
[The visual is already disqualified. At least the taste should be good…]
[There’s no way that would taste good, lol.]
[It’s not the taste, isn’t that the poison liquid of the Centipede Dragon that falls down??]
[Every time the blood drips, it sizzles?]
Sizzle sizzle, centipede…
[Is that a saint…?]
Unbeknownst to the viewers, Sia’s body was that of a wraith.
Not just any wraith expelled from death, but the most glorious and powerful saint of miracles in the history of the ‘previous world.’
For Sia, poison was merely a bitter, dark liquid, nothing more and nothing less.
“Now, let’s see…”
Seeing the large-capacity fryer left at the dungeon entrance and the cooking oil safely in place, Sia plunged into cooking preparations.
Frying doesn’t just happen by throwing things in oil.
“Today, I was supposed to make Bladed Centipede fries, but since a delicious-looking ingredient has appeared, it shouldn’t be an issue to change the menu.”
She smiled at the drone camera as if asking for understanding, and the viewers had just one thought.
Why not take the remnants of the Centipede Dragon and eat something incredibly expensive and tasty?
[S-grade monster remnants fetch at least several hundred million.]
[Just buy meat, you crazy woman!]
[Why eat that for real…?]
[Sis… there’s excellent food called beef out there.]
[At least eat some chicken, please.]
[No, I really can’t watch this, ugh.]
[I can chew it.]
[That guy’s been saying he can chew it since before.]
Naturally, the viewers were igniting the chat window with their exclamations over Sia’s bizarre ordeal.
“Before cooking, cleanliness is important…”
[Miracle – Purification]
As Sia invoked her miracle of purification around her, impurities and harmful components in everything, including the Centipede Dragon’s joint, cooking oil, and ingredients in her backpack, disappeared and became clean.
[Holy hell, wait what?!]
[Gore cooking ON.]
[Lol, the visuals are super horror-like.]
Of course, regardless of that, the viewers’ reactions remained cold.
I can’t bear to watch.
This is horrific.
It’s disgusting.
The wyvern egg stew had been aesthetically flawless.
The 100 million won wyvern egg was talked about even now in the galleries, being something that even first-time viewers would find appetizing.
But fried centipedes… no, fried Centipede Dragon? That was just impossible.
Cooking something the size of a house’s joint made one feel like they had given up something profoundly human.
However, Sia was acting as if nothing was wrong; rather, she wore a mischievous smile, as if teasing the viewers.
“Ah, trust me. Oh, starlight, please forgive me… they know nothing.”
[God, I don’t want to know about this.]
[Nun, please stop messing around.]
[LMAO!]
[I’m gonna go crazy, LMAO!]
When Sia took out her supplies from her backpack, it included flour, wyvern egg, and breadcrumbs.
[What’s with the wyvern egg???]
[Another wyvern?]
[Didn’t she get her ass kicked by the wyverns of the Kurtala Mountains and become their slave? LOL.]
[That’s right, LOL.]
[Poor wyverns…]
[If you don’t like it, just perish, LOL.]
Sia took out a foldable iron plate from her backpack.
“I’ll start by crushing the wyvern egg.”
CRACK!
[Whoa, she’s got some strength!]
[She crushed it in one go.]
The cleanly split wyvern egg spilled its whites and yolks onto the iron plate. Sia then took out her tentacle, stirring the contents to combine the whites and yolks.
The thickness of the tentacle was just right, and with the enormous amount of yolk and whites coming from the wyvern egg, a bright yellow frying liquid soon formed.
“And now, I’ll add breadcrumbs to one iron plate and flour to another.”
[Isn’t that what you do when making tonkatsu?]
[Yeah, tonkatsu is also fried, LOL.]
[Shouldn’t we change the menu name? Maybe centipede cutlet?]
[Centipede Dragon cutlet.]
[Just from the name, it sounds good.]
[No, shut up.]
“Okay then, now what’s left is for the oil to heat up….”
Sia looked at the large-capacity fryer.
It had to reach at least 180 degrees for ideal frying, but the fryer was still hovering around 160.
Just a little more waiting, but for Sia, every second felt precious.
That would be because…
“I’m hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.”
Despite being a malefic predator who could endure hunger, Sia was now incredibly ravenous.
Thanks to consuming a significant amount of malice while eating the wyvern egg stew a week ago, she could survive a month without eating anything.
Her rationality was intact, and there was no likelihood of an episode breaking out like before.
But even so, how desperate was her hunger when food was right in front of her?
Outwardly, Sia appeared fine, but she wanted to tear into that Centipede Dragon raw at that moment.
Yet she was enduring, yearning for an even more splendid delicacy.
Slurp… Hah… Hah…
[Whoa, the streamer’s drooling.]
[The funny thing is, even drooling looks pretty.]
[Noona’s lube… LMAO!]
[That’s insane, LOL.]
[If you get hit by that tentacle, it’ll be well deserved, LOL.]
“No, no, pull yourself together. Hah, I’m sorry. I keep forgetting I’m eating with you all.”
[Huh?]
[What? Eating with us?]
[Stop joking and just eat alone!]
[LMAO!]
After lightly joking with the viewers, Sia focused on the Centipede Dragon’s joint, which was the size of her torso.
Though it was a large-capacity fryer, the size of the joint seemed too big for it to fit inside.
“First, let’s cut it into four pieces… Slurp, let’s divide it into four.”
Sia began to break the hard joint apart as if she were breaking snacks.
As the blood had drained on the way over, the interior resembled white flesh recalling crab or shrimp.
[What’s this? Why does it look like crab meat?]
[It looks tasty?!]
[No, no, focus! That’s a centipede!]
[Right? That’s a centipede, LOL.]
Even after Sia had used her “purify” miracle to cleanse all toxins and impurities, the flesh of the Centipede Dragon appeared really white, resembling a mix of shrimp and crabmeat.
While the acrid and bitter smell of poison and malice tickled her nostrils, exposing the flesh through cracking the shell made the viewers feel confused due to the surprisingly appealing visuals.
[What is this? Why do I feel like it’s starting to seem okay?]
[No, no. This is the wicked streamer’s trap.]
[Did they say the saint is wicked? LOL.]
[Let’s just say it’s the streamer’s torment.]
[Okay.]
“Hehe, doesn’t it look delicious to you all? But even if you ask, I won’t share.”
[As expected, torment ON.]
[LMAO!]
Oh no, this is bad.
My hands are starting to tremble.
Feeling the limits of hunger and appetite, Sia’s fingertips began to twitch slightly.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem to get caught by the drone camera, so the viewers were oblivious, but her desire to simply tear into the Centipede Dragon and eat it was growing stronger.
Hoo, hoo… sad thoughts. Sad thoughts… No, let’s think of Teresa or Menelapie… Hic, that just made me sadder… Whimper…
[What’s up with the streamer suddenly feeling down?]
[Why is she crying while cooking? LOL.]
[LMAO!]
Desperately wiping her tears, Sia seemed determined to regain her focus by turning her head a few times.
Great, the oil temperature has reached 180 degrees.
“Then… first, I’ll coat the Centipede Dragon’s flesh with flour… then I’ll wet the flour coat with the wyvern egg. It has to be thorough, or the batter won’t stick.”
[Where’d she learn this from??]
[That’s right.]
“Huh? I saw it online as a method for frying!”
[LMAO!]
[Wait, are you really considering frying the Centipede Dragon with that method?]
[This noona is out of her mind… blender, indeed.]
Originally, the Centipede Dragon’s flesh was contaminated with lethal toxin and poison, making it impossible to coat with batter; the flour and egg would rot away.
However, Sia had used her earlier “miracle – purification,” so the insides of the Centipede Dragon were rendered clean and suitable for frying.
Yet, Sia was completely unaware of this.
She merely thought purification was essential for cleanliness before cooking.
“So, are we frying now?”
[GGGGGGG]
[GGGGGGG]
[Now I’m curious about how this will turn out.]
[But where did the poisonous liquid go?]
[That poison was supposed to be insane.]
[The streamer used some miracle or technique earlier, right? It should be fine.]
[That’s true, LOL.]
SHHHHHHHHH
Oh, the sound is delicious.
As the flesh of the Centipede Dragon, now wearing a beautiful batter, entered the hot oil, it slowly began to float up.
“They say that if it floats immediately when placed in oil, the temperature is right, so this should be successful, right?”
[It’s rising right away.]
[So far, it looks fine?]
[Wow, that looks like a fried cutlet, LOL.]
[It looks delicious!]
“No, the smell is incredible! It seems super delicious!”
Now completely drooling as it dripped down her chin, Sia knelt in a reverent pose, gazing at the fryer, struggling to wait.
1 minute and 30 seconds… one side is done.
Time to flip it slowly…
Okay, it flipped perfectly.
I almost lost it and wanted to eat it raw just now, but I held back! Well done, Sia!
If Menelapie were here, she would have said I was admirable!
“Now… slurp… Hah, hah… I need to cook it for another 2 minutes and 30 seconds… longer… slurp, hah…”
[Is the streamer okay?]
[For real, she seems to want to eat it.]
[That expression is on!]
[That look is hilarious, LOL.]
[Watching her ruin that pretty face is amusing, lol.]
1 minute… 2 minutes… ah, this is tough… just hold on for 30 more seconds.
27… 28… 29… 30…!
“Done!!!”
In her haste to retrieve it, oil splattered everywhere, but Sia seemed unfazed as she lifted the beautifully prepared Centipede Dragon fry high with her tentacle.
“Oh, it’s finished… truly finished… look at this beautiful presentation. Doesn’t it look delicious?”
[Why does it look so fine after being fried?]
[It just looks like a giant fry.]
“Hah, hah… I can’t hold back..”
Originally, Sia’s plan was to zoom in on the drone camera once the fry was finished to show off its exquisite and euphoric appearance.
However, at that moment, thoughts of any viewers vanished from Sia’s mind.
What remained was only the Centipede Dragon fry that would lure her into ecstasy.
It’s delicious…
Gulp, gulp…!
[Wow, she’s devouring that!]
[Why does it look so tasty…?]
[Have we all been infected by the devilish Saint…?]
At that moment, the genre hunter gallery and various online portals were flooded with searches for the Centipede Dragon fry that Sia had eaten.
But she didn’t care at all.
What she was focused on was solely opening her mouth and indulging in that delectable fry without stopping.
Hoo!
Crunch!
Gulp!
Crunch crunch!
[Why is only the streamer eating it?]
[What about me?]
[Isn’t there a need for the streamer to describe the taste?]
[But isn’t she surprisingly cute while eating?]
[Her base face is truly beautiful.]
[The way she’s eating looks so adorable, lol.]
It is delicious.
So very delicious.
Though the tentacles were bitter, they didn’t taste bitter at all.
It truly tasted like a mix of shrimp and crab, and the crispy batter enhanced by the yolks of the wyvern eggs led her into pure ecstasy.
Ah, bliss…
Oblivious to the world as she devoured the Centipede Dragon fry voraciously, Sia felt bliss.
Even still, eating alone felt very lonely.
She hated dining alone.
In her previous world, with Menelapie and Teresa, if those two weren’t there, she ordered anyone working at the royal palace to eat with her.
But here… there were still viewers.
[Hey, give me some too!]
“Hehe, no. I won’t give any to anyone; I’ll eat it all myself.”
[What a bully!]
[LMAO!]
Sia gazed at the multitude of holographic chats around her feeling as if she were dining with others.
Yeah, they may be a bit troublesome, but to Sia, they were all ridiculously cute.
People who ate with her.
That alone was more than enough reason for Sia to broadcast.
She didn’t feel lonely.
That made Sia content.
○○○○○○○
That day, it was only natural that the genre hunter gallery erupted with massive discussions surrounding the Hunter Isia.
There were mentions of other streamers and broadcasts, yet over half of the entire threads were filled with posts about Isia.
[Did that monster battle really happen?]
[It ended in 5 seconds…]
[Isn’t Sia really an S-grade?]
[Hold on, don’t start jumping to conclusions. The association hasn’t announced anything yet, so it’s unproven.]
[By the way, consider that it might’ve been faked, too.]
[Remember that someone uploaded a video claiming to have caught an S-grade monster but got caught as CG?]
[Isn’t that just foolishness; if they had that kind of CG technology, why would they even be Hunters, lol?]
[Is that right?]
[Who knows?]
[The confidentiality clause has been lifted, so I came to write this.]
[Wait, is that real?]
[LMAO, the one person who smelled fishy?]
[Saint Protection Law](1129)
[Recommendation Count: 3439]
[Dechaaah!]
[Huh?]
[Centipede Law! The dung saint is already dead,]
[Come, come, and challenge me, if I lose to the Centipede Dragon, I become its prey,]
[Keep fighting! For the sake of peace!]
[Quick, there are tons of Bladed Centipedes!]
[It’s hard for the innocent Bladed Centipedes to live with that monster taking over the Rotten Mountain!]
[Bringing peace back to Rotten Mountain! Trying hard even if it’s cursed, I will rise, I will rise, the Saint!]
[Decisive blow!]
[My hunger will not be forgiven!]
[Degyaaah!]
[Debut of the Rotten Mountain’s guardian!]
[Remembering this humiliation, I will let everyone share in the feast!]
[Degyaaaah!]
[What the hell is this from?]
[Lol, so should it be ready for lunch?]
[This insane person, LOL.]
[For some reason, that’s oddly fitting, LOL.]
[God, it’s not just the devilish saint, but the entire gallery is going insane!]
[This is crazy, LOL.]
[Let’s get to the point… points…]
[What is this supposed to be?]
[Is it already time for bed or what?]
[HIT GALLERY HIGH TIME, LOL.]
[Whenever you get in trouble, just think of the summons are on their way, lol.]
[The devilish saint gathers her retirement funds +1.]
While Sia was looking through the chaos of the genre hunter gallery on her smartwatch in the Rotten Mountain dungeon, she couldn’t help but smile.
The broadcast and meal had been settled ages ago, but she had to clean up afterward, right?
“That ugly character is still alive all over the internet.”
Saying that, Sia cast her gaze at the centipede meekly sitting beside her.
Rather than it being merely meek, it seemed to have succumbed to fear and pressure.
“Right?”
Keer ek…
The terrified 10-meter-long centipede seemed to understand her words as it lowered its head.
“You shall now be the lucky centipede.”
Keer eek…
“I’ll drop by from time to time. You should let me know if there’s something delicious!”
Grk…
How it understood her words, she had no clue.
It obviously couldn’t communicate verbally, nor could the Bladed Centipede understand Sia’s speech, but somehow it felt as if communication was possible between the two.
“If only you were a bit smaller, I could take you home.”
Grk!?
“Sigh, I’m so full… Stay well. You can have the leftover pieces of the Centipede Dragon.”
Keer eek…
The 10-meter-long Bladed Centipede, which had narrowly escaped with its life, had learned many things today.
Fear, submission, survival instincts, and even ways to survive even after being caught.