On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 167: #Yu Il-Shin, the Galaxy’s Legend

-Crushing Forefinger of God.

Crush!

The tentacles restraining Il-Ho were squashed, and he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Splash!

A deluge of black blood from the pulverized flesh soaked Il-Ho all over.

“Gah! Ugh!” Il-Ho was confused by the sudden turn of events.

“Kyaaaaa!”

However, Princess Esméralda's pitiful scream pulled him back to reality. The lower half of her body was crushed. She was howling in pain, flailing her tentacles around.

-Very stubborn indeed. As expected of the God of Destroyer’s minion.

God Yu Il-Shin looked down at Princess Esméralda in anger and disgust. His index finger loomed over her.

-Die, Minion.

Flinch!

His finger lunged toward her but halted suddenly.

-Il-Ho. What is the meaning of this?

He spoke with a chilling tone to the one who dared to defy him.

Standing in front of Princess Esméralda, Il-Ho blocked God Yu Il-Shin’s finger with both hands.

-Il-Ho, why would you...?

Il-Ho stopped the finger with all his might, without realizing that God Yu Il-Shin’s voice had faltered.

Then, Il-Ho screamed at the top of his lungs, “Lord Yu Il-Shin! Please forgive my rudeness! I understand your hatred for the God of Destroyer, but this princess is just another victim! O’ great and merciful Lord Yu Il-Shin, please show mercy on her!”

The severely injured Princess Esméralda, engulfed in black flames and white light, was shocked to see Il-Ho stepping forward to defend her.

God Yu Il-Shin covered his face in dejection, letting out a faint murmur.

-So, this is what it feels like to have your own son turn against you for his wife? Very well, Il-Ho. If that’s what you’ve decided, suit yourself...

After uttering such cryptic words, God Yu Il-Shin left without a trace. He had canceled his descent.

Il-Ho collapsed on the ground and fell into dismay.

“Alas! Lord Yu Il-Shin left! He’s disappointed in me! Forgive me! Waaaah!” Il-Ho bawled like a child who’d been forsaken by his parents.

He proceeded to bang his head against the metal floor. “Please...! Please forgive this ungrateful bastard who failed to understand your grace, Lord Yu Il-Shin...!”

At that moment, several tentacles stretched toward him, preventing Il-Ho from hurting himself.

“Please...stop... Please don’t hurt yourself over someone like me...” Princess Esméralda had reverted to her original form, yet her injuries remained.

She nudged on Il-Ho’s fist with her tentacle. “Haa... Please, punish me now, if it means appeasing your god’s wrath...”

“No!” Il-Ho cried, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Even if such is God Yu Il-shin’s will, I cannot do it! It’d be injustice, Your Highness! You’re innocent! You didn’t ask to be born this way!”

“Perhaps, he’s trying to grant me... peace... Cough, cough!” Princess Esméralda coughed up black blood. The burst tubes on her mangled body also wouldn’t stop bleeding.

Il-Ho gritted his teeth.

She’s losing blood too fast and too much! If this goes on...!

Her once white skin had become so pale that her veins were visible like glass.

“We must go to the doctor!” Il-Ho tried to help Princess Esméralda up, but she shook her head.

“There are only the two of us in this battleship, Warrior Il-Ho... I’ve already evacuated every one else... Cough cough!”

Il-Ho was rendered speechless by the revelation. What on earth did she mean by that? Before he could figure it out, an ear-piercing siren blared through the battleship.

Whiiir! Whiiir!

-Warning! Warning! Battleship Esméralda II will arrive at the SSS-rank danger zone, Asteroid Zone N521X321, called the Graveyard of Stars, in ten minutes. Crew members still aboard the battleship are advised to evacuate as soon as possible.

“Graveyard of Stars?” Il-Ho was puzzled by the announcement.

“It’s time for us to part.” Princess Esméralda reached her tentacle out, caressing Il-Ho’s cheek. “I wanted to at least die by your hands so that I could remain in your heart forever, but... that was greedy of me. I won’t ask for your forgiveness, Warrior Il-Ho.”

“Y-Your Highness?”

Ruuumble! Bam!

With a loud explosion, the battleship lurched as if caught in a tidal wave.

-Left engine lost due to asteroid cluster impact! Antigravity energy is reduced by 21%! Warning! Warning! Emergency evacuation is required for crew members aboard the ship—Tzzz!

Princess Esméralda let go of Il-Ho’s cheek.

“Goodbye, My Warrior.”

Her sorrowful smile gave him a sense of foreboding, and Il-Ho quickly reached out to her, but an invisible shield stood between them.

“Your Highness!!”

Swoosh!

The invisible shield surrounded Il-Ho, moving him out of the crumbling battleship.

T-this is?

He found himself in a space filled with dark matter. Then, he saw the asteroid field called the Graveyard of Stars.

Swoosh! Bam bam bam!

Ravaged by a torrential downpour of asteroids, the battleship was engulfed in flames—creating a beautiful fireworks display in the majestic space.

“No!”

However, Il-Ho refused to accept this. He drove his fist into the invisible shield that protected him.

Slam!

And yet, the shield remained pristine. Princess Esmeralda had exhausted every bit of her remaining power to shield Il-Ho from the cosmic rays of space.

“Fairy Queen Aran! Please lend me your power! Skill, Enlargement!”

Tzzz!

The ant-sized Il-Ho grew at tremendous speed, but it wasn’t enough.

“Ultimate skill, Super Strong Body!”

Il-Ho’s enormous muscles compressed to the maximum. He knew whatever he was doing now was suicidal. The soul armor had warned him earlier: not even the strongest creatures could survive in space.

“How could one call himself a warrior if...!”

Crack crack!

“...He can’t even save the woman who loves him!”

Il-Ho threw another punch at the shield.

Baaaam! Claaaang!

With a deafening explosion, the shield shattered like an eggshell.

Swoosh!

The recoil from the explosion sent Il-Ho flying like a meteor toward the asteroid-ravaged battleship.

“Muuuuscles!”

An asteroid, 50 meters wide, hurtling toward the battleship's cockpit, was shattered by Il-Ho's fist. He stood before the burning battleship, drawing his dumbbell sword while glaring at the raining asteroids.

“Come at me, Boulders! None of you will touch the princess—not while I’m still breathing!”

Bam bam bam!

***

“Warrior... Il-Ho?”

Princess Esméralda, on her last breath, saw what Il-Ho was going through outside with her psychic powers.

She witnessed the horrifying sight of Il-Ho single-handedly stopping an asteroid that hurtled toward the battleship without any equipment.

“N-no... Warrior Il-Ho...”

No matter how strong Il-Ho was, an organic life form could never survive in space. He looked appalling. His eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, and his steel-hard skin cracked with burns and frostbites.

“M...uuuscles...”

Bam!

Another asteroid shattered with Il-Ho’s dumbbell sword. In a space where movement and breathing were nearly impossible, Il-Ho persevered through sheer, unyielding will. Nevertheless, he was reaching his limits.

“No, Warrior Il-Ho... Please... please, stop...” Princess Esméralda burst into tears. She struggled to move her tentacles amid her injuries, leaving a trail of black blood.

I must save Il-Ho! He can’t die in a place like this!

To her, he was a great warrior who’d one day succeed her in becoming the leader of the universe, saving her people from their impending demise. How could such a man sacrifice himself for the sake of God of Destroyer’s kin?!

“Hic, hic, hic... Please, please move...”

Could it be because she’d lost too much blood?

No matter how hard she struggled, her tentacles refused to budge. At the same time, Il-Ho, who swung his sword toward the hurtling asteroid, stopped

“Mu...scl...”

The dumbbell sword slipped from his grip, and Il-Ho lost consciousness as his body floated helplessly in space.

Another asteroid, much larger than before—hundreds of meters in diameter—came crashing down on him.

Not even a great warrior like Il-Ho would be able to survive that asteroid if he was unconscious.

“Warrior Il-Ho!” Princess Esméralda cried out in despair. “O’ Almighty God Yu Il-Shin! Please spare Il-Ho...! If you save him, I’ll sacrifice myself to you!”

The Descendant of God of Destroyer, Princess of the Cthulunian Kingdom, cried out her fervent prayer.

Ding!

Then, a miracle happened.

[The request of Esméralda, a lesser god race inheriting God of Destroyer’s blood, is conveyed through God-Maker.]

[The contract is now finalized.]

Ruuuumble!

The world split apart, and at the same time, a colossal being that struck cosmic terror appeared. Il-Ho’s god had descended once more.

-Il-Ho, I’ve been thinking for a while. I don’t think you should marry the octopus... I know you love her, but the two of you are from different worlds. There’s also the issue with your next generation—Huh? It wasn’t Il-Ho who called me? Was it you, Octopus?”

He spoke while scratching his black, fiery head, but soon grew wide-eyed.

With her dying breath, Princess Esméralda cried out, “O’ God! Please save Warrior Il-Ho!”

God Yu Il-Shin saw Il-Ho lying unconscious in space with a massive asteroid crashing down on him.

-Crushing Forefinger of God!

Baaaam!

Princess Esméralda was struck with awe at the sight unfolding before her. With a single swipe of the god, the massive boulder shattered instantly.

-I’m not sure what’s happening, but leave these rocks to me, Octopus.

God Yu Il-Shin grunted, warming up his hands.

-Heh. Time for the former top player of Beat Game to show off his skills. Crushing Forefinger of God. Convicting Middle Finger of God. Proliferating Thumb of God.

Bam bam bam!

Imbued with divine power, God Yu Il-Shin’s fingers danced across the vast universe.