On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 163: #Nightmare, Sickle, and Challenger

Wait, she’s Silently Crawling Nightmare?

I looked up at her until my neck almost snapped. Although it was merely a dream, this was my first time seeing her in the flesh.

Her raptor eyes, covered by her vine-like hair, locked onto me.

-How happy I am! You’ve finally earned the right to see me.

Her lips, reminiscent of a black rose, curved into a sly smile.

Earned the right? No...

My entire body shivered against my will—I felt like a fish out of water, gasping for air. Her soft, tender gaze was enough to crush me. And here I thought I’d become stronger after having fought and defeated High-tier Gods.

As they said, you’re what you see.

Be it her overwhelming size, power, and divinity—I could feel them all. Compared to her, I was akin to a straw against a tidal wave. Did the ants in God-Maker feel this way when they first saw me? Was this the power of the highest-ranking god?

As if reading my mind, she smiled wryly.

-C’mon, Darling. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You should be proud of being able to witness my true visage and live. Any other lesser gods and creatures would’ve become food the moment they made eye contact with me.

Then, she continued.

-Are you in a lot of pain? Darling, can you hold on for a moment?

She snapped her fingers, and darkness gently draped over my eyes, like the soft embrace of slumber. Moments later, the darkness was lifted, and the giantess that exuded overwhelming divinity was nowhere to be seen.

A small pair of milky-white feet, glistening like jade, lightly tread the ground. With each step, she left a trail of sanguine red roses, forming a long carpet. My gaze slowly traveled upward, following her marble-white, smooth calves and thighs, past her curvy hips and intimate area, modestly covered by rose petals. It lingered briefly on her beautiful, teardrop-shaped breasts, veiled by more petals, before finally resting on her devilish smile.

By now, the distance between me and Nightmare had vanished completely.

“How about now? Darling~ does it still hurt?”

Instead of a giant, I found myself facing a woman who stood about a head shorter than me. Calling her beautiful would be an understatement; her beauty transcended all the flowery words humanity could muster.

“Uhm, Darling?”

“...Y-yes?!”

“Gosh, is someone nervous?” Nightmare giggled, covering her mouth.

My cheeks flushed as my heart throbbed. Was this woman really one of my stalkers?

“It was worth spending causality to see you in person. Unfortunately, I don’t have much time, so let me cut to the chase.”

“What?”

Instead of answering, she tapped my forehead with her black fingers.

Tzzz!

Then, darkness enveloped my eyes once more, and strange images flashed before me.

-Blessings to the benevolent Earth God for bestowing us with precious grains!

-Glory to the Goddess of Abundance!

All worlds that nurtured the ground, along with countless others, worshipped the Great Goddess of Mother Earth.

-Hyaaa! I will obtain the ultimate power to save the world without fail!

An indomitable Martial God who trained for eons to surpass his limits.

-I dedicate my blood and soul to the great Martial God, War of Slaughter and Madness!

-Charge! Kill all the enemies!

The War God that brought about great wars, reaping the blood and souls of mighty warriors.

Then, there was the Demon God, who devoured fellow gods, plundering their divinity and followers for the sake of power.

-Ohohoho! Is that all? And you call yourself a Top-tier God?

I saw Silently Crawling Nightmare laughing sinisterly, trampling on the head of another god. Even though its head was the size of a planet, it was still much smaller than God of Destroyer.

-Krrr!

Nevertheless, this insectoid monster could still swallow Earth with ease. That monster, God of Destroyer’s alter ego, parted its jaw to devour Earth. Just then, a man appeared before the two parties.

“Get lost from Earth, fucking God of Destroyer!”

Huh? Isn’t that?!

I recognized that man instantly—it was me! I extended both hands toward the insectoid monster.

-High-tier God Yu Il-Shin commands this destruction to stop!

Boooom!

With a flash, a barrier unfolded with me in the center, blocking out the God of Destroyer’s alter ego.

***

“Darling, did you see everything clearly?”

“Huh?!”

As Nightmare spoke, an intoxicating rose fragrance tickled me. The images before my eyes vanished, leaving only Nightmare in front of me. She beamed at me once again.

“Now, it’s time for you to learn how to attain the divinity of High-tier God and above, as well as what you can do when you achieve them.”

I suddenly recalled the words of Lazenca, the Soul Mecha.

-God Yu Il-Shin, my pilot Il-Ho’s master, and also a Mid-tier transcendent being, I have some advice for you. If you wish to save the Earth from the Great Chaos Transcendent Being—Destroyer and his apostles, who’ll soon overrun the planet, I suggest you evolve into a High-tier Transcendent Being or higher as soon as possible.

So, if I became a High-tier God, I could stop God of Destroyer just like in the illusion I saw earlier?

Nightmare went on, “Personally, I’ll recommend Predation through the Sacrificial Wars since it’s the quickest and surefire way. I might be younger than other high-ranking gods, but I’d grown so powerful that none of them dared to challenge me. Hohoho!”

Did she just emphasize the word “younger”?

“The road of gathering followers over the course of tens of thousands of years like that Abundance skank is tough and solitary. The same goes for Heavenly Sword, who scavenges through god’s remains like hyenas.” She shrugged condescendingly.

“A-are you here to tell me all of this, Miss... Silently Crawling Nightmare?”

Even though she was smaller than me, I spoke in honorifics without realizing. After all, she was the first being I had ever met who resembled a god.

“Gosh, Darling! Why are you so stiff with me? You can just speak to me casually like you always do.”

“N-no, how can I...”

Being in her presence was unsettling somehow, like sharing a dining table with a general. I just hoped she’d send me home soon.

“Are you going to keep acting this way? Darling, you’re making me upset!”

Whether or not she was acting oblivious, Nightmare pressed her lascivious body against me, licking my face out of nowhere.

“Eep! W-why did you do that?” I flinched and quickly backed away.

“Hehe.” With a faint smile, Nightmare swept her rose vine hair behind her, revealing her flushed cheeks.

“Hoho. Now that I see you in person, I can’t control myself. You’re so cute, I want to eat you whole, Darling~”

Eat me? The heck?

Whatever she was offering, I wasn’t interested, so I backed off even further.

Crackle crackle!

Suddenly, vines flew at me in all directions, wrapping me into a restrictive cocoon. Nightmare approached me, gently caressing my cheeks with her fingers. She licked her black lips.

“Darling~ this may be a dream, but now that we’re together, why don’t we enjoy ourselves?”

“N-no! No! You mustn’t do this!”

I had decided to dedicate myself to my future fiancée. Of course, I didn’t have one right now.

Her hand slowly traveled down my body.

“Hoho. You said no, but your body said otherwise,” she said as she began removing my pants.

There was no escape from the sudden crisis! I had no choice but to shut my eyes!

In the next moment, a golden flash of light erupted between me and Nightmare.

Baaaam!

“Kyaaaaa!”

Nightmare let out an ear-piercing scream as the vines that restricted me disappeared without a trace.

“How dare that Cow Udder interrupt our love!” Nightmare scowled.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Woah, what’s that?

Between us, something glowed with a sacred golden light.

“...A giant sickle?”

Then, a few messages appeared in the air.

[Infinite Abundance screams at Silently Crawling Nightmare, saying love? That is clearly sexual assault!]

[Infinite Abundance wields her divine artifact, Harvest Sickle, warning Silently Crawling Nightmare to stop fooling around with the innocent Yu Il-Shin and get lost.]

Swish swish!

The sickle slashed a few times at Nightmare, protecting me.

“Gah! This bitch is asking for it!” Nightmare gritted her teeth in anger, plucking a few vines off her head and tossing them into the air. "Come at me, you filthy sow! Today, we'll settle this once and for all! Arise, all my nightmares!"

Swoosh! Swooosh!

The black roses and vines flocked back to Nightmare as she transformed. Now, she was neither a giantess nor the beguiling young woman, but a horrifying monster from my worst nightmare! She made the God of Destroyer’s alter ego I saw in the illusion look cute!

-Kieeeek! Kyaaaak!

Thousands of roses on Nightmare’s body roared, baring their hideous fangs. But that was only a fraction of her power. I was so scared of this side of Nightmare, my knees buckled as I sank to the floor.

Mommy, I’m scared...

I did my best not to be scared shitless.

-Ah, right. I forgot about the most important thing.

Just before the battle could begin, one of the man-eating flowers came and whispered to me.

-The one who borrowed power from both Beast of Deceit and Rapacity, as well as Ruler of the Abyssal Swamp will request a duel with you soon. This time, you wouldn’t be able to reject it, so you should brace yourself.

“What? W-what do you mean by that...?” I asked in surprise.

Then, the face of the beautiful girl I saw earlier popped out from the rose.

Aaargh! Mommy, help!

“I think he mentioned something about emperor, but I’m not sure of the details. I’ll see you later then, Darling. Let’s continue our fun then~”

She kissed me, sucking my lips into hers like a vacuum cleaner.

“Eeeeek!” I shrieked, waking up from my nightmare.