On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 180: #500-Year-Old Daydream

Millions of ants swarmed over to the child in unison—it was a sight to behold!

To think a child has become our new emperor...

However, something struck the ants as odd. The humanoid ant looked familiar, but they couldn't quite place where they'd seen his face before.

-87,600 hours have passed since the tutorial began.

-There is currently 1 survivor.

It had been ten years, yet the emperor’s tutorial was still ongoing.

The emperor, now a young adult, sat arrogantly in a straw-woven kiln, chewing on a huge arm that resembled a sharp sickle. It belonged to the chief of the praying mantises he’d slain recently.

Gulp!

As he devoured the arm greedily, the emperor asked the army of ants bowing at his feet, “Is this where the infamous Divine Beasts reside?”

However, no one answered him.

“Imbeciles.”

Not that he expected an answer. He moved his antennae, releasing pheromones, and the ants finally nodded in response.

The emperor looked at the huge cave before him, sensing faint divine energy amid its eerie darkness. He greedily licked his lips.

“Excellent. All of you, stay here.”

He leaped off his seat and began approaching the cave. Despite being ordered to hold their ground, his loyal soldier ants trailed behind him.

Saaaa—

The emperor stopped and yelled, “I said wait here!”

With a fierce, godlike expression, he waved his hand and unleashed a brutal power.

-Kieeeek!

Flames tore through part of the army, incinerating everyone in their path. The remaining ants shuddered in fear and collapsed to the ground.

“Hmph! Filthy insects!”

The emperor shot the ants one last look of disgust before going on his way. No matter how loyal they were, they were still responsible for his mother’s death.

He strolled through the cave for what seemed like an hour. Similar to dungeons, it had a dreary, morbid atmosphere.

Eventually, he reached a chamber that was around ten meters wide.

“Oh?”

To his surprise, it was filled with colorful gems that the insects had gathered.

“I never thought I’d find such things in an insect’s nest.”

Swish swish!

Invisible threads sprung on him from all directions, wrapping around him like a cocoon. Despite being thinner than a strand of human hair, they were stronger than steel.

“Hmm...”

The emperor was restrained in the blink of an eye, yet he remained unfazed.

With a deafening sound, his captor descended from the ceiling.

The emperor looked up. “So, the infamous Divine Beast is a spider?”

-Kishishi!

The spider grinned hideously from ear to ear, seemingly pleased. She was a dozen times his size.

Tzzz!

Her dozens of eyes reflected her thoughts: he was the finest prey she’d ever caught, and devouring him would bring her to evolutionary heights, allowing her transcendence.

The emperor scoffed. “A mere insect dares mock me?”

The spider’s eyes widened. Its web was harder than steel, yet a sharp scythe managed to slice through the cocoon from within.

“Keke. This is more useful than I thought.” The emperor’s arms had transformed into that of a praying mantis.

Realizing that her prey was stronger than expected, the spider opened her mouth to subdue him using her venom, which could instantly kill a Divine Beast.

“Too slow.”

Ding!

[Activating Tiger Beetle Legs, which you have obtained through Feeding.]

Craaack!

His legs transformed into that of a Tiger Beetle, which held the Guinness World Record for being the fastest insect—able to travel a staggering 772 kilometers per hour.

Swoosh!

Despite having many eyes, the spider couldn’t keep up with the emperor’s speed.

-Kiiieeek!

With each slash of his scythe, one of the spider’s legs was sent flying through the air.

The emperor laughed merrily. He looked as innocent as a child who had just enjoyed a day of play.

***

The emperor clicked his tongue. “Is that all you’ve got?”

Having lost all her legs, the spider pathetically sprawled on the ground.

She shuddered as she watched the emperor lick the blood off his scythes. She’d heard how he’d eaten hundreds of thousands of insects, reigning as the incarnation of fear. Despite having gone all out, she failed to land so much as a scratch on him. He was no prey—he stood at the top of the food chain!

“I was looking forward to fighting you since they called you a Divine Beast, but you’re just a bug in the end. I didn’t even have to use my divine power.”

The emperor pointed his bloody scythe at the spider’s neck. “Die. I shall take my time eating you.”

“S-spare me!”

The emperor flinched just before he could slit her throat. He stared at the spider in astonishment.

“Did you just speak?”

“I-I knew it! You’re the one who’ll become the god of Antrinia, as foretold by the malevolent gods I worshiped a hundred years ago! It was foolish of me not to recognize you!” the spider pleaded. The dozens of eyes on her bloodstained face overflowed with tears.

The emperor froze. This was the first time he’d heard a human language since he had been pulled into this world of bugs—more precisely, the Korean language.

His face contorted. “How can you speak Korean?”

“Kyaaa! I’ve been chosen as the messenger of the great malevolent gods, and was bestowed the power of Communication! Please have mercy and spare me this once! I’m willing to be your slave and serve you for life!”

The spider could speak Korean because of her power? She also had a backstory that he couldn’t overlook.

The malevolent gods predicted that I’d become the god of Antrinia a hundred years back?

His eyes glinted ferociously. They must have been the ones who had dragged him and his mother into this hellhole! Even if they weren’t, they should have information about him. After ten years, he’d finally caught a glimmer of hope at exacting his revenge!

“P-please.”

The emperor stared coldly at the pleading spider. The self-proclaimed messenger of the malevolent gods seemed useful; it’d be a waste to just eat her.

“Alright, I’ll spare you. If you ever betray me, I’ll eat you alive.”

Gratitude filled her gaze. “T-thank you, O’ Great One! I’ll serve you with my whole being!”

“What’s your name, Spider?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Hmm.”

This spider was the first creature he had been able to communicate with properly in ten years. She was a valuable slave—a far cry from those damned ants, who could only be commanded by releasing pheromones.

Spider, spider...

After a moment, he remembered a Greek myth his mother had read to him when he was a child. It was about an unfortunate woman whom the gods cursed and turned into a spider.

“From now on, you’ll be called Arachne.”

Though he acted on impulse, it worked wonders.

Paaa! Crack!

Darkness wrapped around the spider as her bones and flesh audibly restructured themselves.

Riiip!

The cocoon of darkness parted, revealing the now transformed spider.

The emperor was astonished. “Y-you’re...?”

An entirely different being stood before him—one that could no longer be called a spider monster. A creature with the upper body of a dazzlingly beautiful woman and the lower body of a spider kissed the emperor’s feet.

“Oh, my! You’ve bestowed this lovely servant a lovely name and a gorgeous body. I, Arachne, will serve you as your goddess, my one, true god.”

The emperor’s heart, once frozen like ice by this hellhole, pounded hard. Arachne and his mother had a striking resemblance.

Ding!

Just then, notifications from the tutorial appeared.

[Congratulations on gaining a Goddess.]

[Goddesses are the pinnacle of a god’s followers.]

[You can now expand your congregation and gain divine power.]

[You have been rewarded with a Demigod’s Body.]

Baaam!

“T-this is—!”

The emperor could feel an immense power surging deep within him—one only demigods could wield.

Convinced that he had become a demigod, he realized that he’d only grow even more powerful once he became a true god. Then, he’d definitely be able to get revenge against those who threw him and his mother into this hell!

Ding!

-4,372,640 hours have passed since the tutorial began.

-There is currently 1 survivor.

“Your Majesty, this is your imperial robe.”

The resplendent Goddess Arachne respectfully dressed him in a gleaming golden robe, handwoven from her own threads. Having eaten countless insects and native gods of Antrinia over hundreds of years, he had turned into a grotesque monster.

Sss—

Shrouded in the golden robe, the emperor sat on his veiled throne.

“Long live Your Majesty, O’ Mighty Demigod and Ruler of the Iron-Blooded Empire!”

His thousands of half-human, half-insect subjects knelt before him. He now had billions of worshippers across the continent—except for a black tribe at the borders. He was only a step away from becoming a true god.

At last, the time had come to reap the rewards of his five hundred years of effort. Yes, it should have been that way.

“What’s the matter, Your Majesty?” Goddess Arachne asked, gazing tenderly at him, while his subjects hailed him with reverence and fear.

Gazing impassively at the audience, the emperor suddenly turned to stare into space.

“How long are all of you going to spy on me?”

Psss!

The empire and all his subjects vanished.

Left alone in the ruins, the emperor glared with blazing eyes, yelling, “Yu Il-Shin!”