On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons-Chapter 292: #A Deep Night, Abyss of Despair (1)

“Hey, look at them.”

“Are they twins? They have different vibes, but they look awfully identical.”

People were murmuring among themselves while looking at us. I guess we did deserve the attention since I was quite handsome, if I do say so myself. Hence, when the three of us gathered together, it became quite a topic of discussion.

Yes, the three of us had finally gathered together. This event, also known as the reunion of Yu Il-Shin and his alter egos, occurred at a famous ice cream franchise and cafe.

I, the head organizer of this reunion, began. “But why mint choco? Why would you pay for something that tastes like toothpaste?”

Sa-Shin donned a suit like a salaryman, complete with cufflinks like a salaryman. He waved at the female high schoolers gazing at him in the distance, then elegantly took a bite of his mint choco ice cream.

“The sweetness of the chocolate blends perfectly with the refreshing mint, enhancing the depth of the flavor. Pity that you couldn’t understand the appeal.”

“Haa...”

Even though they were my alter egos, their personalities were far too strong. The thousands of years they’d spent in the Tower of Gods only highlighted it even further. That full suit was too extreme for my taste. Also, it seemed darn expensive!

“How much did you pay for that?”

Sa-Shin savored his dessert with his eyes closed, then said languidly, “A mere five million Korean won. It’s a bargain, really, considering this is hand-stitched by an Italian artisan tailor.”

“F-f-five million Korean won? Are you nuts?” I coughed, shocked.

So the message I received about an overseas card payment wasn’t a spam message?!

“What’s the big deal? You’ve been spending millions every day on chicken, anyway.

“How are this and that the same?”

“C’mon, you’re rich, don’t be a miser. I know you received an advance in royalties from the publisher the day before.”

He was right. My bank account had been seeing unprecedented prosperity recently—all thanks to Sung Mi-Na, who bought a million copies of my novel. I’d hoped she’d purchase enough for a fan signing event to be held, but she was generous as expected.

“Hey, splurging is splurging!”

Sa-Shin gave me a meaningful look. “If you won’t stop nagging, I won’t help with your manuscript. You know that I’m the only alter ego who can help you with that, right? There’s not much time until your deadline this month.”

I was rendered speechless.

Grr, how dare he make such a cowardly threat against me!

Still, no matter how angry I was at him, Sa-Shin was indeed the only one who could help me with it. Others weren’t of any help whatsoever.

Sam-Shin glared at me while digging into his extra-large ice cream. “Destroy?”

Even though his taste buds had grown more sophisticated recently, he still preferred quantity over quality.

In my previous life, I had tasked him with the manuscript, but the only word he could write was “Destroy.” Sure, there was some improvement in this life, but I still didn’t have much hope for him.

“Nothing. Just eat your ice cream.”

“Destroy!” Sam-Shin nodded and continued digging into his dessert.

Anyway, the reason why we were all here was because of the event Sam-Shin had encountered a while back. Despair’s plan to take down Sam-Shin had thankfully backfired, but the fact that God of Destroyer’s fragments were gathering on Earth was worrisome.

We needed a plan of sorts.

With a mouth full of mint choco ice cream, Sa-Shin said, “Is Yi-Shin still fighting?”

There was an empty seat at our table. Even today, Yi-Shin was still fighting War God.

“I thought their fight would be over soon. It’s taking much longer than expected. Should we give him a hand?”

“Calm down. Yi-Shin wouldn’t allow it, given his ego. War God also wouldn’t submit to us if we interfere. Let’s just trust Yi-Shin since he’s the strongest of us. We each have our own roles.”

That’s right. We aren’t as idle as we look.

“So, how's the search for Despair going?”

I scratched my head. “She’s been hiding so well that not even my eyes could detect her. I’m still diligently increasing the number of people I can dispatch to help in the search, so it should be a matter of time, I guess? Ms. Lilith and the kids at Antrinia are helping out too.”

“Alright, let us know if you discover anything. I will work on strengthening the World Tree's network in the meantime.”

If Despair were to dispatch God of Destroyer’s alter egos on Earth, we’d need to come up with a plan. We needed an army—an extremely strong army.

There was me, the benevolent god; Yi-Shin, the malevolent god; and Sam-Shin, the God of Destroyer. Meanwhile, Sa-Shin could be seen as the successor and incarnation of the God of Creator.

“Alright, I'll leave it to you.”

“Oh, and this is the manuscript file I was assigned to work on.”

“Hey, thanks. You're the best.”

I took the USB stick that Sa-Shin handed over politely. Even if I had written the novel once in my past life, I could only make this much progress thanks to Sa-Shin. At this rate, I should be able to publish a new volume by the end of the month.

“I think we're done now, so let's disperse.”

“Wait. Shall we have chicken together? The academy students liked it at first, but they're sick of it now.”

Sa-Shin clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Of course they would be when you're feeding them two or three chickens every day. Just bring Sam-Shin along and count me out. He should be able to clear a hundred of them without an issue.”

Bam!

Sam-Shin slammed hard on the table as if yelling, “Since when did I do that!”

“Destroy! (I can easily clear two hundred of those chickens!)”

What a reliable kid.

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the Hunter Academy...

“Hey, leave the bones, just eat the meat. Got it?”

“Destroy.” Sam-Shin nodded.

He devoured the chicken one by one, the bones piling up like a mountain beside him.

Awesome. This should be enough.

“Skill Sharing. Ko Sa-Deuk’s Corpse Communion.”

I activated Ko Sa-Deuk’s innate skill Corpse Communion—a blend of both Eastern and Western necromancy. Then, a melody similar to a funeral march echoed in my head.

Clatter clatter clatter!

Making their characteristic bone-clattering sounds, the chickens(?) began rising one by one. Firstly, they looked slightly different from those in my past life. Like their ancestors, the primordial birds that once soared across the skies, they had wings made of bones.

“Alright, go. Let me know immediately if you find any clues about Despair.”

The chickens nodded, flapping their wings like pigeons, and scattered into the sky.

“Sam-Shin, can you eat more?”

My younger alter ego nodded excitedly, with sauce stains all over his mouth. “Destroy!”

“Alright, then I’ll order more from Yes Yes Chick...”

Suddenly, a ringing sound pierced my ears, and a huge wave of drowsiness swept over me. Ever since returning to Earth, these symptoms had worsened. Was All Phenomena Author’s divine power draining my life force? ƒree𝑤ebnσvel-com

“Ugh... Here we go again... Sorry, I have to take a rest... Sam-Shin, please bring me home...”

My eyes closed, and my world soon turned into darkness.

***

On the outskirts of Nagata-ken, Japan.

In a quaint house seemingly belonging to a pair of newlyweds, wedding photos were hung on the neat blue wall, the bride and groom smiling happily.

A pot of miso soup was boiling in the kitchen, filling the air with its delicious aroma. The bride was preparing a Korean dish from her hometown for her husband, who was about to return home from work.

Ding dong! Ding dong!

Upon hearing the door bell, the lady went to the door. She struggled to open it due to her pregnant belly.

Clunk!

Snow clinging lightly to his coat, the man stepped inside.

“Darling, welcome back. It’s snowing outside?” she asked.

“Yeah, it started snowing all of a sudden. How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay!”

“How is our little Bangbang doing?” Smiling broadly, her husband put his ear on his pregnant wife’s belly, hearing a gentle thumping sound. “Darling! Bangbang responded to me! He must be a genius!”

“Hoho! Why are you making such a big fuss? Hurry, wash up, and let’s have dinner. I made your favorite soybean stew.”

“Hurray!”

Shortly after, the couple sat down at the dining table and chatted about their day. The young, beautiful newlyweds seemed so happy, welcoming their baby. Such a beautiful sight it was.

“Darling. Have you heard of a certain weird story?”

“What weird story?” His wife’s eyes lit up.

He knew she’d react that way since his wife had always loved occults.

Chewing on chicken nuggets, he continued, “Yeah, they said skeletons were spotted all over the world recently. Moreover, there were also sightings of baby angels. The common denominator was that all of them seemed to be searching for something.”

“Oh my. Didn’t they mention that all the gates and dungeons were closed?”

“Yes, but this happened after, so the Hunter Association is currently on high alert. They aren’t sure if this is a sign of some strange phenomenon. This might be related, but apparently, new mutant insects are being discovered one after another too.”

“Wow, that’s fascinating.”

He thought he made the right call sharing these stories with her. Even though he had to abruptly move to Japan due to his job, his wife had followed him all the way here, trusting him fully. His wife, along with the child they were expecting, was the most precious thing in the world to him.

“Eep, I got caught!”

His wife’s cheerful expression changed all of a sudden.

“Caught? Darling, what are you talking about?”

She, who was always smiling, cheerful, and warm like the sunshine, was now expressionless. Her hollow gaze stopped on the ceiling in the corner of their house.

Following her gaze, her husband turned around and was startled by what he saw. “What’s that?!”

There was a mosquito in the middle of winter, staring back at them. It looked like a recently discovered mutant species, as it was almost entirely black in color.

I got caught!

The mosquito trembled. It was none other than Bloodsucker Mosto, one of the Ten Swords, who was tasked with locating Despair.

Urgently, he screamed to his master.

-G-God Yu Il-Shin! I have finally fou—

Before he could finish his sentence, the wife casually extended her finger and crushed him to death.

“D-Darling? What did you do just now?”

“Fufu. So, is my playing house over? Well, things have to be different this time, after all.”

Something felt extremely off. Her smile was so cold that it sent chills down his spine. Was this the same lady he had loved so deeply? She seemed like an entirely different person!

“Snap out of it, you trash.” Despair snapped her fingers.

As if a mirage had vanished, the spell on the husband was broken. The bride in the wedding photo and the woman standing before him were two different people, with nothing in common. The realization caught him completely off guard, and he fell to the floor in horror.

“W-who are you! Where is my wife?!”

Instead of answering him, Despair stroked her full-term belly.

“I thought I would feel what he felt if I made something, but I guess I still couldn’t. Though I don’t think he would like what I made anyway.”

She chuckled.

“Aaaargh!”

Her laughter alone was enough to shatter his eardrums. He clutched his bleeding ears, writhing on the floor like a worm.

“Alright, shall we begin a new chapter then?”

Unlike the countless times she had repeated this scenario in her past lives...

Tzzz! Craaaack!

A dark aura began flowing from her, and she began to transform.

Baaaam!

At the same time, a nuclear-bomb-like explosion engulfed everything within a ten-kilometer radius, reducing it to ashes.

***

Disaster alerts sounded all across the globe.

「A dungeon estimated to be SSS-rank or higher has appeared in Nagata-ken, Japan! The monster is estimated to be a disaster-level monster, SSS-rank Despair Dragon!」

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