On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons-Chapter 188: #Destroyer Yu Il-Shin (3)

“Follow me, Seong-Yeon.”

I brought the kids to the nearest evacuation center.

Are the Hunters not done yet?

There was no follow-up message confirming that the monsters had been cleared. I glanced at the direction of Gangdong-gu Office Station and saw black clouds of smoke billowing like a volcanic eruption.

“Hey! Are you not going in? It’ll be full soon!” the manager of the evacuation center yelled at us in a hurry.

Um, what should I do?

I looked at the kids. Sam-Shin was as expressionless as always, making it difficult for me to discern his thoughts. However, Seong-Yeon had turned pale, shivering while gripping my hand tightly. Did she recall her past trauma?

I can’t possibly leave her alone...

Seong-Yeon urged me. “Uncle, quick, quick!”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, let’s go into the evacuation center!”

However, she shook her head and replied, “No! Go beat those monsters up!”

“Eh?”

I was taken aback. Seong-Yeon let go of my hand and pointed at the dark cloud of smoke.

“Go help them beat those monsters! Just like Keke Uncle in Dysneiland!”

I remained speechless.

“Uncle Il-Shin can beat up monsters like Keke Uncle, right...?” Seong-Yeon stared at me anxiously.

“Yeah, of course. I can do anything Keke Uncle did.”

“Then quick! Go help them, Uncle!”

...Why? Why do I feel like Seong-Yeon is handling this better than me?

Just like Seong-Yeon and me back then, there must be countless others who need saving now. I had to go. Besides, it wouldn’t take long. Even if they were A-rank monsters capable of threatening an entire city, I could surely defeat them instantly.

Still, I felt uneasy about leaving two kids here alone, so I pointed my thumb at myself.

“Proliferating Thumb of God.”

[You don’t have enough divine power to create another avatar.]

And here I thought I could create more alter egos with my current rank... I wondered if the word “avatar” had something to do with it?

“Seong-Yeon, wait in the evacuation center with Uncle Sam-Shin, okay? I'll be back soon.”

“Okay! I’ll stay here with Little Uncle!” Seong-Yeon nodded vigorously.

I immediately used a skill. “Skill Sharing, Choi Bong-Shik’s Ruler of Space!”

Let’s make this quick!

Swoosh!

I teleported to the area where thick black smoke continued to billow into the sky.

Ugh!

The foul stench of charred flesh pervaded my nostrils. Bodies scattered everywhere, burnt beyond recognition.

Dammit! I should’ve come earlier!

“Kihihi! Aah, praise be the blessing of the almighty Despair Dragon! The more insects I burn, the stronger I become! At this rate, I might even be able to kill the S-rank Baek Yoo-Hyun!” roared the fiery monster, a hybrid of reptile and human.

“Kyaaaa!”

Just a few meters away from him, a woman desperately tried to crawl away, her clothes half burnt.

Our eyes met.

“S-save me!”

Follow curr𝒆nt nov𝒆ls on fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com.

“Kikiki! Now, fuel my flames!”

The lizard monster spread its jaws wide, spewing flames as it prepared to pounce on the helpless woman.

“Crushing Forefinger of God!”

“Bleeegh!”

As if crushed by a huge boulder, the lizard monster was reduced into a bloody mess. I ran toward the woman.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yes. Thank you!”

Tears and snot ran down her face as she looked at me like I was her savior. I tried to get her up to her feet.

Ding!

[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]

-----

[Ayaka Tsuki]

A female human. Around for 27 years.

Special note: Corrupted. Wields a strong binding curse.

-----

She’s Japanese?

But what did “corrupted” mean? Also, “strong”? Coming from my special note? A sense of foreboding made me retract my hand, but she grabbed it fiercely instead.

“I caught you, Yu Il-Shin!”

Riiiip!

The woman sinisterly smiled from ear to ear, reminiscent of a slit-mouthed woman from an urban legend. Black scales protruded from her arms, wrapping me like a cocoon.

“Ugh!”

She gripped my arm like an anaconda crushing the bones of its prey. This strength reminded me of Jörmungandr's Rope. The special note wasn’t joking around.

The woman cackled, yelling at the remains of the lizard monster, “I caught him, Issac!”

Flames burst from the corpse, and the lizard monster stood up once more, now made of fire instead of flesh.

Ding!

My appraisal skill kicked in.

-----

[Issac Okoro]

A male human. Around for 35 years.

Special note: Corrupted. Wields a strong flame curse.

-----

He had a similar message to the Japanese woman. Seriously, what did it mean?

“Kihihi! Shocked, aren’t you? I'm a fire incarnate, blessed by the Despair Dragon! I’m immune to all physical attacks!” the lizard monster sniggered triumphantly.

I wasn’t surprised at all, just concerned about his special note. So, I took a closer look.

Ding!

[Yu Il-Shin’s innate power Blind Eyes of God has been upgraded in accordance with the rank of a Mid-tier Benevolent God.]

Then, I saw the life panorama of the man called Issac Okoro unfold before me. I shifted through it, picking out information about his corruption.

-Kyaoooo!

I finally saw it. A fearsome being with huge black wings that covered the sky, burning the world down. It cackled as it watched humans burn to death in its flames.

-Kekeke!

I knew what it was. People called it the apocalypse of mankind, massacring millions, including my parents...

The Despair Dragon!

The woman who had me bound seemed to have felt something was off.

“Issac! Hurry up and finish this! He’s stealing information from you!” she yelled to her accomplice.

“What? How dare he!”

The furious lizard monster radiated intense heat that melted the ground.

“Burn, you self-proclaimed god! The Despair Dragon and his father, God of Destroyer, are the only true gods!”

The lizard monster let out a fire breath that rivaled the Despair Dragon’s. If I were a normal Hunter, I’d have died.

“Equip malevolent god title: Brutal Killer.”

Tzzzz!

Black divine aura shrouded me as demonic horns sprouted on my head. I couldn’t equip it when I summoned Yi-Shin before. But this time, there didn’t seem to be any effects or restrictions because Sam-Shin was summoned instead.

The slit-mouthed woman strengthened her grip. “Do you think you can break the binding curse blessed by the Despair Dragon?!”

A chuckle escaped from my lips.

True, your special note did say “strong” earlier.

Riiiip!

Her eyes grew wide, and her jaw slowly dropped further as I increased my strength.

“Kyaaa! My arm! My arm!”

Her arm tore apart in all directions, and blood gushed from her shoulder as she writhed in agony on the floor like a worm meeting salt. She was only a slightly stronger worm among Mid-tier Gods.

Before I knew it, the lizard monster was upon me, its heat radiating against my skin. I simply pointed my middle finger at him.

“Convicting Middle Finger of God.”

Black infernal flames shot out from my middle finger, colliding against his.

Baaam!

Like a giant balloon pricked by a needle, his flames exploded and disappeared. However, my black flames weren't satisfied and devoured the lizard monster as well.

“Kihihi! I-I’m immortal! As if I’ll die so easily!” exclaimed the lizard monster arrogantly amid the searing black flames. Soon, his smile twisted into that of horror and pain.

“Huh? Huuuuh! I’m... immortal... but why... why is it so... Gaaaaaah!”

As if molten lava had met a flickering candle, he vanished into thin air.

Ding!

God-Maker responded at the same time.

[Issac Okoro has been sacrificed.]

-----

[High-tier Malevolent God Quest]

Sacrifices of S-rank or higher intelligent beings with the potential for transcendence: 2,691/10,000

-----

As the number of sacrifices increased by one, power surged within me.

“Eeek!”

Terrified, the slit-mouthed woman scrambled to crawl away, but I crushed her beneath my step.

“Kyaaa!”

“Where are you going? You still owe me information.”

She coughed up blood with every ragged breath, her glare burning into me. “D-don’t think that you’ve won, Zealot! You’ll soon learn the pain of losing someone important!”

Losing someone important...?

Suddenly, a huge explosion erupted somewhere else.

W-what...?

It was from the evacuation center where Seong-Yeon was!

“Seong-Yeon!”

***

The basement of the evacuation center was packed with people. In the corner, Seong-Yeon trembled with fear.

“Uncle, I’m scared. Come back quickly....”

Back then, she had mustered the courage to ask her uncle to kill the bad monsters. But as time passed, fear eventually crept up on her. Sam-Shin expressionlessly placed his hand on her head.

“Des...troy?”

Even though he could only repeat the same word, to Seong-Yeon, it sounded like he was telling her not to worry since he was here.

“Okay, Little Uncle.” Seong-Yeon smiled.

Uncle is still the same uncle, even if he’s younger.

Her fear vanished without a trace. Like she’d written in her journal a while back—the more uncles, the better!

Thud thud—

A middle-aged man with a thick build suddenly emerged from the crowd, approaching them. He looked down at Seong-Yeon with a smile, saying, “Why are you crying, Little Girl? Are you scared?”

Seong-Yeon shook her head. “No. I have Little Uncle here, so I’m fine.”

Seemingly flustered by her answer, the middle-aged man shook his head. “No, you’re not okay.”

That fallen man, Nishimura, bearer of the curse of gluttony, looked up at the sky.

“I think my brethren are dead. We’ve underestimated you zealots. I’ll have to report this to the priest. Before that...” Nishimura looked at Seong-Yeon. “I must avenge my fallen comrades!”

Seong-Yeon felt goosebumps all over. Nishimura glared at her like a predator sizing up its prey. At the same time, his bones and flesh began restructuring.

“Hyii! What’s that?!”

“Aaargh! A-a monster has entered the evacuation center!”

“Save me!”

Seong-Yeon saw pandemonium. A hideous giant loomed over her, its gaping maw replacing a human face.

“Look, the Despair Dragon blessed me with this power. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

His mouth gaped like a cave entrance, revealing jagged teeth and a black, forked tongue that slithered toward Seong-Yeon. Like a frog standing before a snake, Seong-Yeon was frozen in place.

“Don’t worry, Little Girl. It’ll be painless. I’ll swallow you in one go.”

Just then, a pair of hands covered her eyes—it was Sam-Shin.

“Des...troy.”

It was as if he was asking her not to see that filthy thing.

“L-Little Uncle?”

Nishimura looked down at Sam-Shin, who stood in his way. “Who are you? You aren’t on the list, but you look a lot like him. Are you part of Yu Il-Shin’s heretical family?”

Instead of responding, the boy simply stared at him with cold, blood-red eyes.

“Well, it doesn’t matter! I’ll just eat both of you!”

-Kiiieee!

Nishimura opened his mouth wide, about to devour the two kids.

Sam-Shin parted his lips, his voice escaping in a chilling whisper. “Des...troy!”

Flash! Baaaam!

A blinding flash of red shone from Sam-Shin’s eyes like a tidal wave, engulfing Nishimura.