On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 161: #Dead Dragon Yu Il-Shin!

I eagerly waited for nightfall. The originally quiet neighborhood became even more so after the event that occurred not too long ago—when an entire mountain was wiped off the map.

It probably wasn’t so great for everyone else, but it was for me. I stood in the deserted park near my house.

How refreshing.

When I’d just awakened my abilities, didn’t I test the Convicting Middle Finger of God here? At that time, I ended up being disappointed when a lighter fluid flame flickered on my middle finger. But I wasn’t the same person I was then—Lowest-tier God. I was now Mid-tier God Yu Il-Shin, who had overcome countless trials and tribulations!

“Time to take a look.”

I inhaled deeply, calming my pounding heart. Every boy had a Black Fiery Dragon—in other words, a superpower—hidden within them during their chuni period. It was also a time when I had an inexplicable confidence and belief that I was not like the other boys! Dousing myself in the perfume I used back then, I raised my left hand, in which the dormant power lay, and covered my face.

“Keke. Rise, Dead Dragon slumbering within my left arm.”

At last, that legendary dragon would appear!

“Skill Sharing, Akdol’s Dead Dragon...!”

Flap flap!

Just as I was about to transform, I heard a familiar sound of wing flappings approaching.

I flinched. I moved my left hand aside and saw a cute little angel in front of me. Archangel Lilith, who carried a bundle of cloth larger than herself, looked at me curiously.

“Y-you saw that? All of it?”

Nod nod!

I turned bright red instantly. How embarrassing...

“Ms. Lilith, you're back early... Didn’t you go to a party...?”

Lilith went to Ko Myeong-Ji's congratulatory party to celebrate her S-rank appointment. However, she returned earlier than expected and witnessed me in action as a result. A new dark chapter of my life had been released.

“You should spend more time there... What's that thing on your head?” I successfully changed the topic.

Beaming at me, Lilith unwrapped the cloth with her tiny hands. It was a container filled with the delicious food from the most luxurious hotel buffet.

“Kya!” Lilith opened her arms in a “Ta-da!” pose as if asking “How’s this?!”

“Why do you have this? Did you pack these for me?”

She nodded again vigorously, pulling my hands toward the food, urging me to dig in.

“But I’m still full with Hanwoo...”

Lilith’s face fell. She stared forlornly at me with her sparkling, multicolored eyes. They seemed to be asking, “So you won’t eat them? Even though they’re so delicious?”

Ugh!

Her pitiful yet cute expression made me want to hug her so bad! Of course, I did my best to suppress it.

No! You can’t! She’s Myeong-Ji’s grandmother! I kept reminding myself.

No matter how adorable she looked, she was still Ko Sa-Deuk’s wife and Ko Myeong-Ji’s grandmother! Just as I was overcoming my temptations, my Appraisal skill kicked in.

Ding!

-----

[Available Shareable Skill]

Charming Eyes: A skill unique to succubus. Seduces the opposite gender and enslave them. Those who fell victim to it can have fantasy dreams.

MP: 14,800

-----

As a former apostle of a fallen god, her MP value was quite high. I should consider making Lilith’s character profile too.

“I can’t finish all of this alone, so why don’t we share it?”

Lilith smiled brightly, nodding.

Nyam nyam, munch munch munch—

The food was so delicious, that I felt a pang of regret for not digging in. But oof, my stomach was on the verge of bursting. Standing up from the bench, I caressed my protruding belly.

Lilith looked at me, her mouth still full of cake, but she managed a “Kya?”, asking if I was going to have another go at what I was doing before.

I nodded, hiding my embarrassment. As a man, I should finish what I started. But since Lilith was here, I chose to change my pose slightly.

A small confession here: I used to dream of becoming a dinosaur when I was younger. I didn’t know how it came about, but I thought they were huge and looked so cool.

I’m going to fulfill that dream right now!

A man's transformation was innocent! The same went for Yu Il-Shin’s transformation!

“Skill Sharing, Akdol, Dead Dragon!”

Silence.

“...Huh? Why isn't anything happening?”

Contrary to my high expectations, nothing happened. I had a feeling that it was going to be like the Convicting Middle Finger of God all over again.

Ding!

A message appeared on God-Maker.

[Skill Sharing of Dead Dragon has failed. Insufficient Apparitions to awaken a Mid-tier Malevolent and Benevolent God.]

Gosh, I got my hopes up for nothing.

Ding!

I was wallowing in disappointment when another message appeared.

[Forcibly seizing Apparitions for the awakening.]

“Huh?” What did this mean?

Ruuuuumble!

The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck the area.

***

Hotel Gogooryeo was one of the top three luxury hotels in South Korea, owned by Immortal Guild. A party celebrating the newly appointed S-rank Hunters was being held there, with the main character being Ko Myeong-Ji. However, she didn’t seem to be enjoying herself in the slightest.

Tsk, how is this fun?

Despite wearing the prettiest gown, no one paid attention to her. Some found her cute and smiled in her way, but Ko Myeong-Ji didn’t want that.

“Rumors of your activities overseas have reached me. You’re indeed as beautiful as they said, especially at this party, Ms. Lily. You’re... dazzling. Why don’t we spend time in my room...?”

“Congratulations on your S-rank Hunter appointment, Ms. Lee Ji-Yoo. If you haven’t signed with anyone else, how about our Taeyang Guild? We’ll promise you the best treatment in the industry.”

She wanted to be recognized like her charming, mature older sister, Ko Myeong-Hee, who was being flirted with by the handsome blond Steve Choi; or like the confident, stoic female warrior, Lee Ji-Yoo.

Unfortunately, she shared neither the exotic looks nor abilities of her older sister. Moreover, she became an S-rank Hunter not through her own skills, but because of her summoned creature, Hades. If anything, she owed everything to Yu Il-Shin, who had evolved Hades into an S-rank familiar.

Tsk, even Mi-Ri left with Mr. Yu. I would have followed them if I had known this would happen...

Just when Myeong-Ji was feeling depressed about the whole situation, her grandfather, Ko Sa-Deuk, came to her with a plate of sweet, fresh cream cake. Did he come here to comfort her?

“My dear, have you seen your grandmother?”

“What? Grandmother?”

It turned out that Ko Sa-Deuk was looking for Archangel Lilith. Ko Myeong-Ji still had a hard time accepting that the cute little angel was her grandmother. However, seeing how her usually stern grandfather pleaded with her, she slowly became convinced.

“I saw her flying all over, taking a lot of food with her.”

“R-really? She must be really hungry! Lilith, where are you?! I brought you your favorite fresh cream cake!” Ko Sa-Deuk went off, calling for Lilith.

Ko Myeong-Ji sighed.

-What are you worried about, Master?

A black shadow loomed over her, bowing his head as he spoke with a pleasant, mid-bass tone.

Ko Myeong-Ji was taken aback by the towering, 2-meter-tall handsome man standing before her. He bowed respectfully, maintaining eye contact the whole time. His exotic appearance and enigmatic, ash-colored eyes made her heart sank—but something felt amiss.

Namely, why did she feel like she recognized this man somehow? No, not just his face, but his entire aura felt extremely familiar...

“Are you... Hades?”

-That’s right, Master.

The man affirmed.

“W-what’s with your appearance?”

Because he always wore full-body, black armor, she seldom saw his face.

-If Master dislikes it, I shall revert to my original form.

“N-no, it's not that...” Ko Myeong-Ji murmured, still surprised at Hades’ very handsome new look, when Ko Myeong-Hee approached them with a smile.

“I did it. What do you think? Do you like my present?”

“Why would you do something so unnecessary?” Ko Myeong-Ji glared at her older sister, but didn’t actually mean it.

“Wow, who is that?”

“Was there a Hunter like that? He could very well be a model.”

Hades' decadent and dangerously charming aura made him the talk of the town—especially among the ladies. But unlike what his appearance suggested, Ko Myeong-Ji knew that Hades was her precious guardian who’d only protect her. As she gazed at him, a blush crept to her face.

Ko Myeong-Ji tried to conceal it by changing the subject. “By the way, Unni. Where did he go?”

“Who?”

“The man with you earlier. The foreigner who was also appointed S-rank Hunter today... uh, Steve Choi?”

“Oh, that trash?” Her older sister frowned upon recalling the unpleasant encounter, but soon flashed a deadly yet charming succubus smile. “Probably having a sweet dream somewhere fitting for a trash like him?”

***

“Huh?!”

Steve Choi, or rather Choi Bong-Shik, woke up to the musty smell of a garbage dump. Just how did he end up here?! He was supposed to be having a passionate night in his own suit after successfully seducing Lily, Ko Myeong-Hee, who had a lascivious body and enigmatic charm!

“I heard that you were an asshole, but you turned out to be worse. Now, Steve. Look into my eyes, will you? I’ll give you sweet dreams.”

Choi Bong-Shik gritted his teeth as he recalled how Lily’s multicolored eyes glimmered like rainbows. Although he’d heard rumors of her seduction and illusion, he never imagined falling victim to them himself!

“Fuck! They were in it together!” Choi Bong-Shik cursed.

Thinking it’d be better to be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion, he’d turned down the scout offer from the world’s number one guild and returned to his home country. But somehow, nothing was going right!

He failed to become the hot topic of the day due to this weird fellow in a training suit. At first, he was surprised by the man’s overwhelming MP, but he soon regained his senses.

“Something’s brewing here! Otherwise, there’s no way he’s hiding his identity!” Choi Bong-Shik ground his teeth, racking his brains to think of a revenge plan.

Beep beep beep!

Then, his bracelet beeped, and a hologram showing coordinates appeared.

Appearance of high-risk mana monsters! Estimated to be at least S-rank! Urgent dispatch required!

“Ha!” Choi Bong-Shik smiled.

This was a good opportunity for him. He wasn’t scared of S-rank monsters in the slightest. It wasn’t made public, but he’d single-handedly defeated S-rank monsters on three separate occasions. The location was some distance away, but it wasn’t an issue for a Spatial-type Hunter like him.

“Let me show you why Hunters like me are the best in the industry!”

He’d prove to them that he was the best Hunter in South Korea by defeating an S-rank monster faster than anyone else.

Swoosh!

After traveling several kilometers at once, he arrived at the location in no time. Until that moment, he still didn’t know what kind of monster awaited him.

“Holy shit...” Choi Bong-Shik trembled. None of the other monsters he had slain before had terrified him like this one.

The monster’s wide-open, colossal mouth gaped at him...

-Grrr. Is that Bong-Shik?

How the fuck did it know his name?!