On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 92: The God’s Love and Retribution go Hand in Hand

“Whatever! It was self-defense!”

Right, this only happened because they kidnapped me! I’m innocent!

-Hic, hic...

I stared at the Yaksha soldier, whose lower body was blown away. Behind its cracked mask was the beautiful face of a woman with multi-colored eyes. Heartrending tears trickled down her face.

Ding!

-----

[Ko Sa-Deuk’s Broken Yaksha General]

An exceptional corpse amongst Necromancer Ko Sa-Deuk’s lifelong collection of familiars.

Special note: Terrified of your divinity. Begging for mercy.

-----

When I saw those eyes, I was reminded of Ko Myeong-Hee, Ko Myeong-Ji’s older sister. Just as guilt began settling in, I reminded myself: I’m a malevolent god! I wouldn’t show women mercy, and female corpses were no exception!

“S-serves you right! You attacked me first!”

-Hic, hic, hic...

Then, forlorn laments of injustice echoed all across the ground. Where did they come from, you ask? Well, from the heads of the Yaksa soldiers I’d ripped off and planted into the ground.

Even the three-headed Yaksha General suffered the same fate. The heads of a goat, lion, and a man, over a meter tall each, wept softly.

-Grrrr...

-Hic, hic, hic...

-Baa, baa...

-Waaah!

The very first head I ripped off was there. It was also the first to pounce. After I ripped the general’s head off, they were overwhelmed by my strength and stopped attacking altogether. But with the malevolent god title equipped, how was I supposed to stop?

Thus, bathed in the black blood of the Yaksha General, I leaped at the retreating soldiers.

“Kekeke! You worthless beings, lower than insects! Is that all you’ve got?! Come at me!”

-Hyiiiieeee!

I ripped their heads off one by one, and planted them into the ground like a farmer. When I got bored, I changed my attack pattern.

“Kehaha! Corpses burn well indeed!”

-Kyaaaak!

I even roasted them with my black flames.

“Now, I dare you to try and eat me again! Kehaha!”

-Hieeeek!

Those who fled were being torn from limb to limb by me.

“Keke, now this is better.”

Lastly, I gathered all the remains of the Yaksha soldiers, piling them into a huge mountain. After all was said and done, I was left confused. Why did I do that?

[Silently Crawling Nightmare sighs lustfully, finding you sexy.]

Shut up! Just be quiet!

[Infinite Abundance says after being promoted to a Low-tier God, your malevolent god powers are much stronger now. Out of concern, she advises that you use them sparingly, as they tend to take over your sanity.]

Yes, I’m reflecting on my own actions, Abundance noonim.

I covered my face. I felt like a drunk freshman at the orientation camp who’d started a new dark chapter.

I agreed with her. I should probably refrain from using the malevolent god title as much as possible. If my opponents were humans instead of Yaksha soldiers... Haa, that would’ve been a mess.

Ding!

Just then, a notification from God-Maker appeared.

[The terrified Yaksha soldiers desperately plead for your mercy.]

Wait, even if you don’t beg, I won’t kill you... Oh right, they’re already dead.

“Haa, I don’t know if this will work, but I’ll just do it anyway.”

They might be corpses, but they’re still kind of alive(?). Besides, there’s no harm in trying.

If it worked out, great. Otherwise, I’d just claim it as self-defense and wriggle myself out of the situation. But before that...

“Equip Benevolent God title, Benevolent Savior.”

Just like the malevolent god title, this title had also been upgraded.

[The victory in the Holy War and the successful defense of the Gayami nation has raised the rank of your benevolent god title, Benevolent Savior, from C to B.]

Unfortunately, the rank upgrade didn’t seem to come with any other benefits.

Baaaam!

“Oh?”

As soon as I equipped that title, a holy aura overflowed from my body, its radiance incomparable to before. Even something resembling a halo appeared over my head.

“I have a good feeling about this!”

I pointed my glowing ring finger at the mangled Yaksha soldiers.

-Kyaaaaa!

-Hyiiiieee!

-Arghhhh!

The Yaksha soldiers screamed in terror.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m going to heal all of you!” I comforted them and casted my power. “Healing Ring Finger of God!”

Flash! Baaaam!

Pure white brilliance came forth from my ring finger, sweeping over the Yaksa soldiers like a tsunami.

-Kyaaaaak!

Their bodies melted like ice cream in the middle of summer.

Ding!

[The Yaksha soldiers are being purified by God’s divine power.]

“Huh?”

***

Unlike other guilds, the Immortal Guild headquarter was located in a tranquil hanok[1].

In the guild leader’s office, Ko Sa-Deuk sat in a relatively good mood. He’d won the raid rights to the Dead Dragon Dungeon in Gimje, beating that brat Baek Geon. The tens of billions he forked over was money well spent. All he cared about was the boss, the Dead Dragon.

“Keke, I can’t wait.”

Ko Sa-Deuk had always wanted one for himself. The Dead Dragon was the strongest monster among the Command-type. By getting his hands on it, the Immortal Guild wouldn’t JUST become the best in South Korea, but the entire world.

Even with his Corpse Communion skill, it was still risky, but definitely viable.

“Are you watching this, Lilith?”

Ko Sa-Deuk gently touched the photograph on his desk. The woman in the photo, a splitting image of his granddaughter, Myeong-Hee, smiled brightly at him.

“Soon, the day will come when I avenge you.”

Crack!

Ko Sa-Deuk gnashed his teeth until they bled. He needed the Dead Dragon to slay that wretched Despair Dragon! He also needed to find a way to further strengthen his Yaksha soldiers...

“Ah, right. All this mess made me forget something important.”

He’d obtained the exact means he was looking for.

Remembering Yu Il-Shin, the man who’d evolved Hades, Ko Sa-Deuk rubbed his hands together.

“Keke, he should’ve come to his senses by now.”

Yu Il-Shin had the gall to reject his granddaughter! He even used some lame excuses, claiming that he was gay and whatnot! It was as outrageous as the attire his granddaughter wore that day! Hence, Ko Sa-Deuk decided to punish him.

With a snap of his finger, the air before him ripped open, revealing his innate space.

“Have you learned your lesson yet? You may come out, Grandson-in-law.”

Ko Sa-Deuk stood with a stern face, ready to greet Yu Il-Shin, but there was only silence.

Ko Sa-Deuk grinned nastily. “Keke, too afraid to walk out on his own?”

Not even the strongest of men could last more than half a day in his infamous subspace, also dubbed as the Sovereign Jail.

Ko Sa-Deuk commanded his Yaksha soldiers, “Yaksha soldiers, fetch me my grandson-in-law.”

Once again, silence ensued.

“...What are you doing? Do you not hear me?!” Ko Sa-Deuk screamed, yet there was no response.

Ruuumble!

No way...

With an ominous premonition, Ko Sa-Deuk swiftly peeked into his subspace.

“T-there’s no one at all?”

Even though he’d stored over ten thousand Yaksha soldiers in there, it was now empty, as if someone had taken him to the cleaners!

“Yaksha soldiers! Yaksha General! Is there anyone there?!”

Anxiously, Ko Sa-Deuk called out to them. Still no answer. Suddenly, a face came to mind. That stupid menace he had imprisoned in there! Yu Il-Shin!

Due to Yu Il-Shin’s potential and capability, Ko Sa-Deuk wanted to beat him into submission. Who’d have thought that he’d be robbed in broad daylight instead!

“T-that thief! You won’t get away with this!”

Gritting his teeth, Ko Sa-Deuk slammed his fist against the emergency bell engraved with a skull.

Kieeeek!

A shrill, ghostly wail resounded as members of the Immortal Guild in black suits gathered before him.

“Guild Leader, what happened?!”

“It’s an emergency! Open the Infernal Vault right now!”

Their faces instantly went pale. “T-the Infernal Vault? D-did an SSS-rank gate appear?”

“No, worse!”

Anger and madness swirled in Ko Sa-Deuk’s eyes. Anyone who dared to steal his Yaksha soldiers—especially his Yaksha General, whom he loved more than his own life—deserved to be torn to pieces!

“Grandfather, what’s wrong? It’s so late already...”

“Hoahm~ I won’t grow taller if I lack sleep...”

Moments later, Myeong-Hee and Myeong-Ji, who drowsily rubbed her eyes, appeared outside the vault.

“Get ready! Your grandmother has been kidnapped!”

“What? What do you mean?”

“That thief! Where is he hiding?!” Ko Sa-Deuk closed his eyes, gathering his focus.

Unbeknownst to Yu Il-Shin, he was of one mind with his Yaksha soldiers! No matter where they hid, he could detect them easily...

“W-what? Why can’t I sense them? N-no, please no...” Ko Sa-Deuk became as white as a ghost. Even his black lips blanched from the shock.

“L-Lilith! Where are you?!”

He couldn’t sense his wife’s aura! Unable to part with her after her passing, he turned her into his Yaksha General.

Yet, it was as if she’d vanished into thin air...

Trickle—!

Tears overflowed endlessly from Ko Sa-Deuk’s eyes, as if his whole world had disappeared.

“G-grandfather?” Myeong-Hee was astonished. As far as she remembered, her grandfather was an extremely cold-hearted man who never showed any weaknesses.

Beep!

Just then, the phone in the office rang, and the vice guild leader answered it in Ko Sa-Deuk’s stead. In the next moment, his expression stiffened.

“Guild Leader, there’s a huge problem!”

“A huge problem? As if it can get any worse than this...” Ko Sa-Deuk asked weakly, looking like he had aged several years in an instant.

“I-it’s the dungeon that our guild won the rights for! It has closed naturally!”

An S-rank dungeon never closed naturally—at least until today. And it was the same dungeon that the Immortal Guild had spent tens of billions to acquire.

Stagger— Thud!

Ko Sa-Deuk collapsed, foaming at his mouth.

“Eek! Grandfather!”

“Grandfather! Stay strong!”

***

With my crushing forefinger and its on/off function, I opened Ko Sa-Deuk’s subspace and escaped safely through the crack. Then, I found myself in agony, but in an entirely different sense. And no, not because I was deep in the mountains, with the eerie hoots of owls echoing all around me.

“Why don’t you guys return to your master?” I spoke carefully to the beings surrounding me.

Shake shake!

They shook their heads in unison as they hovered above my head. Flapping their wings, they scattered fragrant flowers. They might be no bigger than sparrows, but there were over 10,000 of them!

Before I knew it, I was buried by the flowers. Where did they even come from? My eyes scanned the tiny angels who were trying to suffocate me.

-----

[Yu Il-Shin’s Angel Soldiers]

Originally Ko Sa-Deuk’s Yaksha soldiers. Reborn as angels after being purified by benevolent power.

Special note: Love you.

-----

Aah, love. That sublime and beautiful word.

[Infinite Abundance beams, congratulating you for accepting the angels as your familiars.]

“....Abundance noonim, aren’t they just useless?”

[Infinite Abundance waves both fists in the air, exclaiming that they are adorable.]

I let out a heavy sigh, burying my face into the flowers.

Ssss—

The angels flying around me stroke my hair, as if comforting me.

***

Crack crack! Gulp!

A crocodile enshrouded in jet-black darkness was eating an arm. At its feet laid the owner of the arm. A man in his thirties, bleeding to death. Learning the man’s identity only made the sight even more gruesome.

He was a Brazilian S-rank Hunter, Carlos, famous for his ability to control extreme cold.

Crunch!

“Aaargghhh!”

The man, who had yet to breathe his last, had to experience the pain of having his leg torn off.

As the crocodile gnawed on Carlos’ right leg, its eyes were focused on the tiny insect at its feet.

“So, Spider, you said you could help me avenge my mother’s death?”

The spider, Arachne, Goddess of the Empire, nodded. She gave the crocodile a bewitching smile.

“That’s right, Alpha. Child of Gustav, the apostle of the great and evil God of Destroyer.”

1. This is what traditional Korean houses are called. ☜