On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons-Chapter 226: #Warrior Il-Ho and Eternal Seeker (3)

“I, Warrior Il-Ho, have received God Yu Il-Shin’s summon and descended!”

Il-Ho stood before me. He, who was once an ant and struggled to climb the Tower of Warriors, had come to save me. Indescribable emotions washed over me as I witnessed my child come of age. Tears poured out of my eyes as I sobbed, looking like a mess. Unfortunately, I couldn’t wipe them away.

While trying to hold back my tears, I screamed, “Il-Ho, no...! Run...! Going up against the emperor with your injuries... Do you want to die?!”

Seeing how he was drenched in blood, Il-Ho seemed to have been engaged in a fierce battle. No, even if Il-Ho were in tip-top condition, he stood no chance against the emperor, whose power surpassed a High-tier god. As much as I’d like to heal him, I couldn’t.

Il-Ho turned around and smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth. “Don’t you worry, Lord Yu Il-Shin. This isn’t my blood—”

He stiffened in the next moment, his eyes widened in horror as he saw me cowering and sobbing, missing both arms.

Claaang!

A metallic sound rang out, like metal being compressed under a hydraulic presser. Ant Emperor chewed the dumbbell like it was gum. The weapon, which was supposedly harder than steel, was crushed beyond recognition.

Ant Emperor spat out the dumbbell, now reduced to a jagged metal shard, driving it into the ground like a nail.

“What are you?” he asked, but Il-Ho was still fixated on me.

Shaaa!

Ant Emperor’s eyes became reptilian, seemingly peering into Il-Ho’s essence.

“Ho, a survivor of the black tribe I’d commanded to massacre? Still, how strange. How did you come to possess the essence of a High-tier god? Answer me, Insect.”

Il-Ho parted his lips.

Ant Emperor perked his ears, listening attentively. “Raise your voice. What did you just say?”

And a volcano erupted.

“How dare you harm my great and merciful Lord Yu Il-Shin!”

Furious, Il-Ho clenched his demon-like fists, throwing a punch at Ant Emperor’s pit.

“Uuooorgh!”

A loud rumble and explosion rang in the air, as if a mountain had crumbled. Ant Emperor clutched at his abdomen, staggering three steps back.

Both me and Ant Emperor were speechless at the impact. Il-Ho could inflict damage on the monstrous emperor?

“Soul Mecha Armor! Protect God Yu Il-Shin!”

-Executing Pilot Il-Ho’s command!

Swoosh! Clack clack!

The space around Il-Ho warped, and Soul Mecha Lazenca burst forth, fixing itself unto me.

-Transcendent Being Yu Il-Shin is heavily wounded. Executing emergency treatment!

A faint white light emitted from Lazenca, enveloping my wounds, alleviating my pain—but that wasn’t important right now!

“Lazenca, protect Il-Ho instead of me!”

-...Pilot Il-Ho doesn’t need me right now.

Huh? There seemed to be a tinge of regret in her AI voice. But did I hear her correctly?

“How dare you lay a hand on me, you lowly insect!” fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Being caught off guard by an insect enraged the emperor, and he swung a fist at Il-Ho in response.

Kwaaaa!

A sound that had no place coming from a mere swing of an arm echoed through the air. That single attack, powerful enough to decimate a mountain, flew toward Il-Ho.

Baaam!

Another loud explosion rang in the air, and the impact ruined the half-wrecked protective barrier further, shattering it into nothing.

“Y-you?”

Ant Emperor’s face contorted, evidently flustered. Il-Ho had stopped his catastrophic attack with one hand.

“Argh! You worm!” Flustered, he swung his other first at Il-Ho’s head.

Baaaaam!

And yet, Il-Ho stopped that strike as well. Holding the emperor’s hands tightly, Il-Ho gritted his teeth as they engaged in a tug-of-war.

Bang!

The force they exuded created a massive crater in the arena, as if a meteorite had fallen.

“Aaaargh! Do you think I’d yield to a mere worm!?”

“Hyaaaa! Muuuscles!”

Such an unbelievable sight it was. Blessed by War God, Ant Emperor had supposedly surpassed even High-tier gods—yet Il-Ho didn’t struggle the slightest against him. Il-Ho’s muscles, seemed about to burst, emanated a dazzling golden brilliance.

Just then, a dazzling golden brilliance emanated from il-Ho’s bulging muscles.

Ant Emperor’s eyes widened in surprise.

Ruuuumble!

His arms slowly bent backward, pushed back by Il-Ho.

“I-I’m being overwhelmed by a worm?”

Ant Emperor’s eyes went red with shock and rage. His vicious manticore jaws spread open, revealing great, white, shark-like teeth. He lunged forward, ferociously sinking his teeth into Il-Ho’s neck.

“N-no!” I yelled as I felt my heart sink.

Crack!

Soon, I understood what Lazenca had meant earlier.

Claaaang!

Ant Emperor’s teeth and Il-Ho’s golden muscles clashed, and sparks flew wildly. Unlike the dumbbell, Il-Ho’s neck couldn’t be pierced by the Ant Emperor’s fangs.

“How...?”

“Hmph! Weak teeth!” Il-Ho snickered at the emperor.

“Argh!” Ant Emperor’s head jerked back.

Seizing the opportunity, Il-Ho threw his head back as much as possible, then took a strong leap.

“Haaa! Muuuscles headbutt!”

His head struck the emperor from above like a hammer hitting a nail.

“Aaaargh!”

Green blood splattered all over as Ant Emperor sank deeper into the ground. I couldn’t believe this! The emperor was being driven back by Il-Ho’s sheer strength!

How was that even possible? Sure, Il-Ho was another protagonist of Space God that I’d distributed across the universe. He was probably gathering Faith as well, but that didn’t justify his strength?!

-Il-Ho has inherited a Top-tier god’s will.

“Top-tier god’s will...?”

-Correct, Transcendent Being Yu Il-Shin.

Tzzzz!

A blinding light shone from Lazenca, and a wave of memories flooded my mind.

***

It was the past, the present, and the future.

A muscly man shed tears of blood, crying, “I couldn’t save my god!”

The god he once served had been devoured by the emperor.

“My beloved...! My fellow countrymen...! I couldn’t protect them...!”

Saintess Anty and the Holy Nation of Gayami had been reduced to ashes by the emperor’s flames of fury.

“...I couldn’t even avenge them.”

Time seemed to have stood still within the Trial of Void, but upon leaving it, the muscly man discovered that a century had passed.

In his quest for revenge, the emperor abused his power—War God’s Blessing—fighting Despair, and eventually perished along with Earth. It all happened a century ago.

The muscly man had lost his goal and everyone he sought to protect. Yet he forced his rusted self to move, relentlessly climbing the tower through sheer inertia—because that was all he could do.

Years later, he arrived at The Fiftieth Floor of the Tower of Warriors: Trial of Choice.

-I’m your guide, otherwise known as the god named Infinite Abundance.

She had golden hair reminiscent of a field of wheat, holding a scythe of the same color. She cast a pitiful look on the man.

-Make your choice, Warrior. Will you spend eternity climbing the tower until you become the pinnacle of gods, a Top-tier god, God of Eternity? Or will you leave the enlightenment you’ve attained from the Trial of Void and return to the world of misogyny?

The muscular man spoke, “Goddess, please answer me this.”

-What is it?

“If...If I keep climbing the tower and become a Top-tier god, will I be able to save my loved ones?

-Even a god finds it no easy feat to alter fate.

Infinite Abundance stared at the tearful and despairing warrior.

-However, as one’s divinity rises, they can consume causality to warp space and time. Guardian of Fire and Smithing had honed the Sword of Causality for over 100,000 years to revive Kang Woo. If you, who’re destined to become a Top-tier god, are willing to risk all of your causality and sacrifice your very existence, you could perform a miracle of sorts. Still, spending eons relying on such tenuous odds is just too harsh...

For the first time in years after clearing the Trial of Void, the man laughed. “That’s more than enough for me.”

He had made his choice.

“Goddess, I’ll continue to climb the tower.”

So began the story of Eternal Seeker. Hundreds of millions of years later, he finally became a Top-tier god. He sacrificed everything to warp through space and time, returning to when I was still alive—before I became a god.

Even after sacrificing part of his memories to travel through time, some part of him still remembered me, and he helped me time and again. One day, when he saw me battling the malevolent gods and bestowing grace upon the Gayami Nation, he finally realized it.

-Aah, this is... this is my...

The reason why he was here.

-Alas, Lord Yu Il-Shin, Saintess...

As Il-Ho climbed the tower and grew stronger, Eternal Seeker gradually lost the causality that should’ve existed in this era. At last, the moment arrived for the Eternal Seeker to make his choice. If Il-Ho kept climbing the tower and became Eternal Seeker, I and the Gayami Nation would cease to exist. However, if Il-Ho left the tower and descended to Earth to save me, Eternal Seeker would vanish instead.

-Kekeke! The answer’s obvious!

He made his choice once again.

Originally, Il-Ho wouldn’t have cleared the Trial of Void for another century. However, the Eternal Seeker intervened, helping Il-Ho clear the trial before entrusting him with fragments of his own memories.

-Lord Yu Il-Shin... please, live...

Having completed all of his missions, Eternal Seeker—Il-Ho of the future—was swept away by the distorted causality.

***

Lazenca asked me a question.

-Are you sad, Transcendent Being Yu Il-Shin?

The tears running down my cheeks turned blood-red.

-Although Eternal Seeker has ceased to exist, Il-Ho is still there to continue his will.

Lazenca then spoke softly, as if comforting me.

-Look at your warrior, Il-Ho.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

“Take this, Emperor! Muscle Fist Barrage!”

Climbing atop the battered emperor, Il-Ho relentlessly threw a series of punches imbued with divine power.

Half-crushed, Ant Emperor couldn’t even muster a scream.

-Even if he leaves the tower, he will definitely reach the level of Eternal Seeker someday...

Suddenly, Lazenca stopped mid-sentence.

Whiiiing!

My vision turned red all of a sudden, and an ear-splitting rang out. Even Il-Ho stopped his punches.

Ant Emperor struggled to speak through his torn mouth.

“Keke, look at you, Emperor. Even after receiving a Top-tier god’s blessing, you still got defeated by a worm. Have you still not let everything go...?”

Craaaack!

Il-Ho’s fist began to shatter.

“Aaargh! Emperor!” Il-Ho’s face contorted in pain as he tried to use his other fist to attack the emperor.

“Fine, I’ll sacrifice myself. I’ll kill all of you... as long as I can devour that Despair bastard...”

Tzzz!

Ant Emperor burned with immense heat, sending up dreary gray ash.

"Just surviving the next fifteen minutes is enough."

Kwaaaa!

His War God’s Blessing exploded, burning every single living thing alive.