On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons-Chapter 236: #Owner of the War God Temple (2)

Baaaam!

The temple gates were flattened as if run through a press and buried deep into the ground. At the same time, from the darkness beyond the gates, like the gaping maw of a monstrous beast...

“An intruder!”

“Rip him apart!”

“How dare he provoke War God! Not even a hundred lives is enough for this fool!”

Like poking a hornet’s nest, the gods under War God poured out like a swarm of bees.

Ruuumble!

Winged ones filled the skies, and the earth shook beneath the rest. Even an army of mythical beasts seemed like mere insects compared to their bloodlust and madness as they came for me. There were over a thousand of them, each at least a Mid-tier god. However, I was unfazed.

“Gaaaah!”

A one-eyed, Cyclop-like giant let out a deafening roar, slapping me with a building-sized club.

Baaam!

A sandworm emerged from the ground and bit me, while a dragon flying in the sky spewed flames at me.

“Convict. Proliferate. Crush.”

Plop!

“Kieeeek!”

The sandworm was crushed like a trampled earthworm and green liquid splattered all over.

“W-what? Red Dragon King’s Breath—huh?! W-what’s this?! Gaaah!”

The moment the dragon spewed bright red flames, they engulfed its entire body, and the sky turned black. The one-eyed giant collapsed like a shattered Lego figurine. Screams and outcries, blood splatters and scattered chunks of flesh, and fluttering, charred ashes.

Sss—

I wiped off the blood of the unknown god that splattered on my face. No more enemies emerged from the War God’s Temple.

Ding!

[The massacre of gods has raised the rank of your malevolent god title, Brutal Killer, from A to S.]

[The Blessing of Slaughter bestowed by the great malevolent god, War of Carnage and Madness, is further strengthened.]

[Destroy, kill, and kill again! Let your evil deeds become your strength!]

Tzz!

The slain gods became my sacrifices and were absorbed into me. I tightly clenched my fist.

Kihihihi!

Wails resounded, and black, skull-shaped fog appeared from my fist. I could feel my malevolent god’s power growing, though still not matching that of my stalkers. Much as I loathed to admit it, I owed my survival to the War God.

I stepped into the War God’s Temple, which was now uncharacteristically empty. I spotted a huge flight of stairs leading upward, but instead of heading that way, I looked up the obsidian-covered ceiling.

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

As expected, the temple spanned hundreds of floors, each crawling with increasingly vicious gods. The monsters from earlier were basically appetizers. Of course, I had no intention of dealing with each and everyone of them.

“Found it.”

I detected a faint aura akin to a dying candle, most likely Nightmare’s.

Hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

Pzzz!

Red sparks flew from my gaze. Was this sadness, anger, or a mix of both? All I knew was that I let it out.

“Destroy.”

Sam-Shin was still a part of me. Whatever he could do, I could do just as well.

Ruuumble—Bam!

A red beam of destruction pierced through the temple’s ceiling and tore through the sky of the gods’ realm. I looked up at the massive hole. Many gods failed to dodge in time and were reduced to nothing, but who cared? Bending my knees, I launched myself toward the hole. At the same time, black and white wings sprouted from my back.

Swaaaa!

Sweeping through the air like a rocket, I soon arrived at my destination—the top floor of War God’s Temple. The first thing I saw was a single flower—an enchanting black rose, about 30 centimeters long, seemingly withholding the darkness of night. It was encased within a crystal bottle, preserved like a treasure.

“Aah, aah...” I’d seen it through Blind Eyes of God, but my heart still lurched when I saw it with my own eyes. “M-Ms. Nightmare...?”

“Indeed. Isn’t she beautiful for a dying god?”

The reply didn’t come from Nightmare, but from a dark corner on this floor, where a shabby old throne, studded with rusted greatswords stained with dried blood, sat.

The one on the throne opened his dry, swampy lips, saying, “Silently Crawling Nightmare was truly worthy of being called the pinnacle of malevolent gods.”

He used the past tense. My heart lurched once more.

“She took out my right eye and left arm. If it weren’t for luck, she might’ve taken this seat instead,” consoled the one-eyed old man, whose long grey beard brushed the floor as he smoothed out his empty sleeve.

The War God I saw through Blind Eyes of God was a valiant warrior, Hercules in form, clad in golden armor and wielding a sword larger than himself. In contrast, the old man seemed like firewood that had burned to its end.

“I thought you sought strength by climbing the War God's Temple. How foolish I was. You've absorbed the divine powers of three High-tier gods, including my apostle and the emperor's. You should be among the strongest High-tier gods, capable of ruling multiple worlds.”

The old man’s gaze was so kind, I wondered if it was right to call him the great malevolent god, War God.

“Still, it isn’t enough to defeat me.” He stroked his beard with his remaining good hand. “Now that I have her in my hands, I do not wish to kill you. In fact, I no longer have any use for you. If you still wish to challenge me, return after you’ve become a Top-tier god. It might take you a hundred thousand years—but for a god, it’d pass in a flash.”

He spoke as if he was reprimanding his grandson. Realistically speaking, he’d probably be right. If my stalkers were adults, then I was just a kid. Unlike his decrepit appearance, he was still a Top-tier god who’d devoured Nightmare’s divine power. I had zero chance against him.

My hand trembled as I pointed at the rose. She was once the magnificent pinnacle of all gods—now, even a child could break her. All because of me.

Swallowing the sadness and anger that washed over me, I struggled to speak. “I’ll step back if you return Ms. Nightmare to me...”

As if understanding my words, the black rose’s petals fluttered slightly.

“Why should I?” His mouth twisted, and the atmosphere changed instantly. “There are always spoils in war, and this is what I earned by risking my life. It’s mine, and no one can take it from me. If you want it that badly, then kill me!”

I could feel the wrath of a god who’d lost his followers and his world to God of Destroyer.

Then, he sighed. “Haa... My apologies. I got too worked up in front of a junior. I’d overlooked the fact that a hundred thousand years might feel awfully long to a young god like you. Do you wish to shorten that period?”

The old man raised two fingers and folded one.

“There are two methods for you to become a Top-tier god. One is to accumulate causality endlessly, like Eternal Seeker and the feeble Infinite Abundance. But even that would take ten billion years—and only the worthy can reach that level of godhood.”

He folded the second finger and continued, “The other and more effective method would be to engage in Gods’ Sacrificial War and steal the other party’s divine power.”

I fell silent. Thinking that I was clueless, the old man pointed to my golden scythe.

“Do I need to put it in simpler terms for you? Devour the owner of that scythe, Infinite Abundance.” He grinned sinisterly from ear to ear. “Keke. It seems like she’d used up a considerable amount of divine power and causality to make it. I swear on my name, you could devour her easily with your current strength.”

The old man—no, War God—threw his remaining arm wide open. “Isn’t it such a golden opportunity?! Devour Infinite Abundance and return to War God’s Temple. I’ll gladly accept your challenge then!”

I still didn’t respond. After all, he was a bloodthirsty, malevolent god, befitting of his name, War of Carnage and Madness.

“Convict. Proliferate.” I quietly and stealthily made preparations while he blabbered along. “Demon Lord’s Heavenly Sword, Second Stance: Demon Lord’s Pratāpana.”

I swung the scythe, now engulfed in black flames, at War God.

Swoosh!

In the next moment, it multiplied into thousands, trying to burn War God and shred him into pieces.

“How foolish.”

Clicking his tongue, he pulled out a rusty, old greatsword from his throne.

Shrnnnng!

“In the face of overwhelming power, numbers mean nothing.”

His rusty greatsword clashed against my thousands of scythes—the result was disastrous.

Baaaam!

Two divine powers clashed at the top of War God’s Temple, disappearing without a trace. I crashed to the ground, a bloodied mess.

“Koff! Koff, koff!”

A huge crater opened on the ground, as if a meteorite had just crashed.

War God clicked his tongue at how pathetic I was. “Tsk, tsk. Like I said earlier, you are no match—”

However, his face crumpled as he sensed that something was amiss.

“Des...troy! Des...troy!”

In the horizon, where the red twilight was, stood Sam-Shin. Within his arms was the crystal bottle containing Nightmare. Seeing him run away, the old man’s face distorted even further, like the devil.

“You vermin! That’s my spoil of war!”

Furious, War God brandished his rusty greatsword at Sam-Shin.

“Haa...! Haa...! Skill Sharing, Choi Bong-Shik’s Ruler of Space.” I struggled while still stuck in the ground.

Swoosh!

A honeycomb shape appeared in the space around War god, and the thing I’d stored in my inventory appeared. He wore the same expression a man from medieval times would have if whisked into the modern era.

“What are these iron balls?”

Yi-Shin went all the way back to Africa just to retrieve them. Mad respect for his recycling spirits.

I told War God, “The Emperor sends his regards.”

“Hmph! That insect? How dare he!”

Finding it ridiculous, War God struck the raining iron balls with his greatsword.

Huh, he shouldn’t be so careless with them. I wasn’t going to stop him, though.

“Grandpa, a funeral march would suit you perfectly right now.” Without any respect, I sarcastically taunted the old man, before mimicking my loyal follower, Choi Bong-Shik. “Weep, Ragnarok Requiem.”

Crushing Forefinger of God.

Click!

A flick of my finger flipped every missile switch.

“What?!”

Flames burst forth from the rails of the huge iron balls, startling War God.

Booom!

The huge iron balls exploded and a mushroom cloud billowed, engulfing War God and his temple.