On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 30: Demon of Chaos, Fear, Horror, and Shock

I was in shock. How was it possible for an ant to send me messages on Katalk? I still asked, just in case I was mistaken.

Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: Who are you?

Saintess: It is I, Lord Yu Il-Shin’s loyal servant.

“No way. Is this real?” I asked, looking at the termite, to which she began nodding profusely.

Haha, life sure is unpredictable.

I had heard of hunters communicating and interacting with animals, but I was probably the only one in this world who could send messages to ants through Katalk. Just how did this happen?

Woong!

At that moment, the statues in the corner of my room began vibrating, emitting a faint light. My eyes began appraising the phenomenon.

-----

[Idol Statues of Yu Il-Shin, God of the Black Tribe]

Statues made by the black tribe in the image of their god. They crafted it to express their gratitude and fanaticism for the miracle bestowed upon them.

Special note: Ugly. Casts charming illusion on followers.

-----

The information up until here was the same as before, but there was something else after that.

-----

Assimilation rate with the God-Maker world, Antrinia, has risen by 10% due to the statues’ effects.

Assimilation rate increases in proportion to the amount of faith and tributes received from followers.

-----

“Assimilation rate increases because of the statues?”

Those shitty statues caused this to happen? So, they acted like “Statue Wi-Fi” connecting God-Maker’s world to my reality?

Katalk! Katalk!

Saintess:

>Aah, no words can express how overjoyed I am to be able to speak privately with our Lord in this manner...

>This lowly servant would like to know everything about Lord Yu Il-Shin!

>Please bestow your foolish followers with your sacred and lofty words!

...

A string of messages came in.

I-I’m scared. Did I just start a cult?

“Hey, stop this.” I inadvertently muttered.

Saintess: Hyii! I-I’ve overstepped my boundaries! It is entirely my fault, so spare my pitiful tribesmen! Just punish me instead T.T!

The termite implored, shaking like a leaf because of those unintentional words. I honestly felt like such a terrible guy. Not to mention, I killed some of her tribesmen back then. In my defense, I didn’t know better then... Nevertheless, the fact remained that I killed quite a few of them.

A wave of remorse and guilt overtook me.

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“Uhm, don’t cry. It’s not like you did anything wrong? Stop crying. Do you want some sugar instead?”

I talked softly as if I was consoling a child, but...

Growl!

This time, another black ant collapsed, foaming at their mouth. Apparently, my words of consolation were just that unsettling. If I were in their shoes, I could understand why they'd be scared to see a giant talk, let alone get angry at them.

Shiver.

I sent a reply to the Saintess, trying to sound as merciful as possible.

Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: Don’t be afraid, Saintess. I do not harm those who believe in me. I consider all of you my children. How can a parent hurt their own child?

I was a writer, so playing a character was a piece of cake for me.

Saintess: Aah, Lord Yu Il-Shin! Children? We dare not! Beings like us are undeserving of such kind words?! Compared to gods, we’re akin to a speck of dust... T.T

You guys were just ants, not dust. Anyway...

Katalk! Katalk!

Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: Hmm. Anyway, lead me to the demon. How dare they hurt my precious followers! I’ll give them hell!

Mhm. Personally, I thought that these lines suited my new concept well. As expected of a writer who had been in the industry for many years! I was feeling accomplished with what I was doing right now.

Saintess: O’ Lord Yu Il-Shin. Thank you for your grace T.T

The Saintess and ants bowed deeply once more, shedding huge droplets of tears.

Now you guys are just making me sad...

Recalling the times I killed their kin without much thought just to get coins made me feel so bad.

In that case, I should treat them better from now on!

I decided as I sprinkled more sugar on them. I felt happy watching the ants dance in joy as they received the treat.

Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: Go ahead and lead me to the demons.

Saintess: Yes, My Lord.

The Saintess began leading the way along with a few healthy-looking ants.

“Ooh, it’s changing.”

The background on the screen changed as the ants went on their way. The nauseating cave changed into what seemed like a dense jungle. Almost immediately, I could smell the phytoncide. The forest experience felt so real, as if I were watching a 4D movie.

Was this the effect of the so-called Wi-Fi that increased the communion rate? My heart began racing. But soon, I was reminded of something else. They were just ants, so they walked terribly slowly.

“Yawn~”

Tick tock, tick tock.

It was only after I had ramyun, washed the dishes, laid down in a corner reading a comic book, and nodded off...

Katalk katalk!

Saintess: We’ve arrived, Lord Yu Il-Shin!

Oh, did we finally? How long has it been? An hour? Two hours? I looked at the app to see the Saintess pointing at an opening in the forest.

Why is there an opening in the middle of nowhere?

Saintess: It’s there, Lord Yu Il-Shin. Please punish those wretched and foul demons!

A dark group had gathered in that area. I remained unfazed. The demons that the ants were so terrified of were probably just insignificant insects. It shouldn’t take much to defeat them.

“Let’s see...”

I zoomed in on that specific area, taking a closer look at them.

Kazak kazak!

No wonder that area was vacant. Those demons had devoured the trees! Even though they seemed to be five times the size of the ants, I was confident I could crush them with my finger.

“But they sure look similar... Where have I seen them before?”

Glossy black hide. Long feelers stretched like fishing rods. Not to mention, the revolting sight of them vomiting out what they had eaten and sharing it with each other...

“Gasp!”

Sharp chills shot down my spine, as if a blade had slashed my back.

“Holy shit! Those, those are roaches!”

I desperately tried to keep my cool. My hand, which was holding my phone, shook terribly. I was only human! Fearing them was just a basic instinct at this point! And I was supposed to kill them with my bare hands? I couldn’t stop shaking just thinking about that!

The skill activated as I looked at the demons.

Ding!

[Appraisal complete!]

-----

[Cockroaches (Summons)]

Demons of darkness. Summoned by Sorcerer Cockroach from the demon realm.

Special note: Their number doubles every hour.

Remaining time: 1 second.

-----

Crack! Crack!

What seemed like fifty cockroaches split apart simultaneously, doubling their number to a hundred.

Katalk katalk!

Saintess: O’ Almighty God Yu Il-Shin! Please punish those evil demons!

How I wished I could turn a blind eye right now. Demons of darkness? What a load of crap.

They were everyone’s worst nightmare, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, they doubled every hour!

Saintess: ...Lord? Did we commit some sort of mistake...? T.T

The Saintess sent a message nervously as I fell silent. I quickly sent a reply.

Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: I made a mistake!

Saintess: Pardon?

Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: As they say, give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime! Even if I help you defeat those demons, there will still be a second, and even a third trial coming at you. I cannot protect you every time. So you have to defeat those cock—no, demons, with your own power!

Saintess: B-but My Lord, we’re too weak to fight against such fearsome demons T.T

I sympathized with the Saintess, who had turned pale and was shivering on the spot. Of course I would, I reacted pretty much the same way whenever I saw those roaches.

However, I tried to keep my cool and smiled, maintaining my dignity as a benevolent god.

“Say no more. Just believe in me, Saintess.”

You guys will be able to defeat those cockroaches. Mark my words.

***

-Nothing will go wrong this time, right?

The emperor, ruler of Antrinia, sat arrogantly behind the veil.

“Yes, of course,” answered the Demon Sword, Cockroach, one of the strongest individuals amongst the Ten Swords of the empire, who also excelled in the arts of magic. He bowed respectfully toward the veil.

His robes covered his body, but a small slit revealed his black feelers and skin. He resembled the very demon he had summoned. Such was the price of dabbling in dark arts.

“I summoned that demon from the demon realm using the forbidden arts of my clan. I believe Your Majesty has witnessed its effectiveness in the last war?”

-Yes, that was quite entertaining.

The emperor chuckled sinisterly as he recalled the last war. At the beginning, Cockroach only summoned one demon. But soon, it multiplied endlessly, eventually devouring an entire nation. The war itself only lasted for less than two days.

“Give me at most three days. I will present Your Majesty with the malevolent god. I can’t guarantee he will be intact, though, as he’s likely to be devoured by my summons!” Cockroach said smugly.

-I’ll look forward to that. But remember, if you fail me, you’ll have to pay with your life.

Roooar!

Cockroach shuddered at the murderous aura emanating from behind the veil.

“O-of course, Your Majesty. I will definitely live up to your expectations.”

Cockroach was confident in not just the combat power of his summons, but also their ability to survive in all kinds of environments. Above all, their ability to reproduce endlessly was the key to victory.

Even if the malevolent god had slain hundreds, or even thousands of them, as long as there was one remaining, they could still make a comeback. After all, it only took a few hours for that lone survivor to respawn a massive army.

“There’s something I need to report urgently!”

Just then, a messenger rushed into the great hall.

“Really? Now tell me, what is the fate of the devil of the black tribe? Was he torn into pieces by my summons?” Cockroach asked nonchalantly, expecting to hear good news.

“U-uhm...”

However, the messenger’s expression suggested otherwise, making Cockroach feel a shred of uneasiness.

The emperor’s voice echoed from behind the veil.

-Commence with the report, lest I rip your filthy mouth open!

“Y-yes! Tell us quickly! What happened to my summons!” Cockroach shouted anxiously, grabbing the messenger by his collar.

“In less than two days, the demons summoned by the great Wizard Cockroach multiplied to the millions, but...”

“But?! What exactly happened to them?!”

At that point, the messenger’s face had turned a ghastly blue, as if terrified to utter a single word about the situation.

“Hyiii! That brutal, ruthless malevolent god, he...!”