Chapter 272: #Yu Il-Shin in a Happy World (2)

“

Um,

wait a minute, Mr. Yu.”

“Yes? What’s wrong?”

“Didn’t the Tower of Gods come to an end already? Why is Sam-Shin showing up here again?” My editor-in-charge asked, frowning as she proofread my manuscript.

I scratched my head. “Why? Is it jarring to have him appear there?”

“Of course! It isn’t time for jokes either.”

“But... It's a scene where Sam-Shin eats a delicious meal... If that’s what you think, then we’ll skip that.”

Tadak! Tadadak!

My fingers resumed their dance session, and this was how the new beginning went.

...The deaths of her fellow demons filled young Eliyah’s sight.

***

The bodies—pierced, slashed, burned—were all piled into a huge mountain. Except for the little horns on their foreheads, they didn’t appear much different from humans. Besides, they’d lost their demonic powers and were living ordinary lives.

In spite of that, there were still others who couldn’t tolerate them: the celestials, beings with wings as white as snow and shrouded in a holy light. Warm, demon blood dripped off their spears and swords.

The Demon King, who seemed more like a village chieftain than a king, wept tears of blood. “What did we ever do to deserve this cruelty? We barely survived the bloodshed from long ago... must you really wipe out every last one of us?!”

“Your very existence is a sin.”

Swish!

The celestial swung their sword coldly, decapitating the Demon King’s head.

There was no longer a single demon left alive.

“Great Father, we have eradicated all evil at your command.”

The celestials went on their knees, gazing up into the sky. A godly being watched over them from beyond the clouds—the king of celestials, worthy of the title god, Celestial God. In the hands of the giant, covered by his pure white beard, a golden book shone brightly.

His white eyes turned to the demons’ corpses piled on the ground.

-There’s still one left.

He went on dryly.

-Come forward.

His voice, filled with divine power, echoed through the land.

Ruuuumble!

Suddenly, from the heap of corpses, an unseen force pulled out a survivor. It was an infant, too young to have even been weaned, but the horns and wings made it clear it was a demon. Confusion flashed across the celestials’ faces. They were certain they’d ruthlessly slaughtered all the demons.

Struck with fear, the infant, Eliyah, shivered like a newborn kitten as the celestials surrounded her.

-What are you doing? Carry out your order!

In response, one of them looked up to their god in bewilderment.

“But Father, even if they’re a demon, they’re still an infant. Do we really have to kill them? We are the celestials who seek light and good—”

Baaam!

Before that celestial could finish their sentence, they were squashed like an insect by the celestials’ lawbook.

With blood still dripping off the book, Celestial God opened it, reciting an excerpt.

-Sever the hands of those who steal another’s property. Tear out the tongues of those who speak profanity. Behead all demons—regardless of age or gender. Carry out this decree at once.

“We shall obey our Father’s command and the sacred law.”

The celestials brandished their weapons at Eliyah all at once.

“

Waaaaaah!

” Eliyah burst into a loud wail, overwhelmed by the terror.

Her cries didn’t deter them.

Swoosh!

The celestials’ weapons, infused with divine power, unleashed overwhelming violence on the poor infant.

Baaaam!

The violence caused the ground to shake. Under normal circumstances, Eliyah would’ve been reduced to a pile of flesh. Yet, contrary to everyone’s expectations, her cries didn’t cease.

They turned to the mysterious man who was holding Eliyah by her neck.

[The Forty-Ninth Floor of the Tower of Gods: Trial of the Celestial God.]

[God descends in response to Eliyah’s desperate prayer.]

“Who are you?! How dare you interfere with the celestials’ sacred ceremony!”

Flustered, the celestials pointed their weapons at the mysterious man in a flurry.

Meanwhile, the man stared unpleasantly at Eliyah, then at the Seed of the World Tree hanging around his neck.

“

Ha!

Now, even a kid can summon me?”

-...Are you a god? I can sense malevolent power from you.

Fierce murderous intent filled Celestial God’s eyes.

-Evil must be thoroughly eradicated! Die!

Celestial God slammed his bloodstained lawbook with enough force to instantly crush both the man and baby. Seeing that strike, akin to a lightning bolt, Eliyah was so shocked that she forgot to cry. She stared at the man holding her, wide-eyed with fear.

Without moving an inch, the man carelessly held out his right hand.

-You filthy demon! How dare you block my lawbook!

While blocking the book, which was larger than most buildings, Yi-Shin checked the clear conditions for the current trial.

[Clear Condition: Defeat the fallen god, Guardian of Laws, and enlighten the celestial race.]

Finally understanding the situation, Yi-Shin’s lips twisted mysteriously.

“

Keke.

At least the trial’s more to my liking. Convicting Middle Finger of God!”

A flicker of hellfire erupted, burning the lawbook.

-

Huh?!

My precious lawbook!

“Great timing. I needed sacrifices.” Yi-Shin looked at the flustered Celestial God and the other celestials surrounding him, laughing menacingly. “Consider yourselves honored—for I, who shall soon ascend as the pinnacle of gods, will lead you to enlightenment.”

Moments later, the corpses of the celestials were added to the pile of demons’ corpses. Among them, the most striking was a celestial embedded with a half-burned lawbook. The only people left standing were Yi-Shin and Eliyah.

Wiping off the blood staining his face, Yi-Shin tilted his head. “Strange. Why didn’t the trial end?”

Though it was through death, he had guided the celestials to enlightenment, thereby clearly meeting the conditions.

Ding!

As if responding to his thoughts, a message echoed in the air.

[Clear Condition has been changed due to the indiscriminate killing!]

[Clear Condition: Protect demon Eliyah until she becomes the true Demon King.]

“Protect her until she becomes the true Demon King?

Her?

”

Yi-Shin went pale as he looked at the young infant in his hands.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

When their eyes met, Eliyah smiled brightly. “

Kya~!

”

Though the demons had fallen, they were still a race that revered power and enjoyed battle. And to Eliyah, who considered the celestials and Celestial God as her sworn enemies, Yi-Shin looked incredibly cool and awesome.

“Fuck.” Yi-Shin covered his face in despair.

***

“W-wait! Wait, Mr. Yu!”

“What’s wrong now?”

“Yi-Shin shows up this time?”

“Huh? Do you not like this either? If so, why don’t I write about the fourth installment of the special blockbuster Space God? I personally think the fourth installment turned out pretty well.”

“That’s not the issue here!” My editor-in-charge clutched her temples in frustration. “What will the readers think if you do this? They’ll just think that you’re rushing to finish the story! Mr. Yu? Are you even listening to me? Why are you playing with the carrot?!”

She snatched the carrot from my hand.

“What exactly is this?”

“A distress signal... No, it’s my lunch.”

“Mr. Yu, are you on a diet? You’re already so skinny!”

“No. I just ran out of food at home, so I brought this instead of a lunchbox...”

My editor looked at me with such a pitiful expression, as if I were a beggar.

“

Haa...

Fine, if you meet the deadline on time, I’ll treat you to beet.” Her face crumpled at my gaze. “I thought that would make you happy. Why do I feel like you want to hit me instead?”

“My older sister told me to be careful of those who offer to buy beef, saying they have ulterior motives. No wonder I thought your makeup was so heavy today! Are you targeting me?!”

Crack!

The sound of teeth grinding, unbecoming of my beautiful editor, echoed eerily. “Mr. Yu, are you crazy? Do you want to die?”

“

Geez.

Put your fists down. I’ll work hard for our date—no, for the beef!”

Tadak. Tadadak.

This was how it began...

In a space as white as blank paper, a man sat like a stone statue, covered in rose vines.

***

His hair and beard, scattered all over the floor, hinted at the long period of time the man had sat there. The meditating man reminded one of Siddhartha suffering under the Buddha's tree in search of enlightenment. In the silence-filled space, the only movement came from a dazzling pen.

Scritch scritch—

The pen moved independently, as if alive, writing endless text in the vast white space.

Ding! Ding!

[You have been rewarded with Demon King Eliyah's Faith, and 1 Fate Alteration point.]

[You have been rewarded with Infinity Counter’s Faith, and 1 Fate Alteration point.]

...

As if answering to the pen's movement, the man's alter egos cleared the trials within the Tower of Gods. They sent Faith, Fate Alteration points with Seeds of the World Tree[1] from across various worlds.

Sss—

The man’s eyes suddenly flung open.

“Alright, this should be enough.” After a pause, he declared, “I, Yu Il-Shin, shall challenge the Ninety-Ninth Floor of the Tower of Gods: Trial of War God.”

Ruuumble!

The white space full of text tore apart, revealing a massive door adorned with macabre decor, reminiscent of the gates of hell. There stood another man, like a gatekeeper.

“Are you finally taking up the challenge, my lord?” He held a massive spear.

Yu Il-Shin smiled at the familiar figure. “It’s been a while. I did think that you’d be the one who made this tower.”

The man shook his head.

“I didn’t build it alone. All the Top-tier gods sacrificed their causality to help me. But my lord, let me ask you this, are you confident in winning? The War God is even stronger in this life now that he has Nightmare.”

“I’m not so sure.” Yu Il-Shin smiled. “But if I can’t even defeat War God, then I wouldn’t be able to save the world from God of Destroyer and Despair.”

The rose vines around Yu Il-Shin lost their strength and broke one by one.

***

“W-wait!” my editor yelled once more, color draining from her face.

“What’s wrong this time?”

“Y-you! You aren’t Il-Shin!”

“Yes, please call me Yu Sa-Shin.” I scratched my head, then stood up from the table. “If you understand the situation, could you please release me from this Trial of Nightmare? I think I’ll need to help Il-Shin in his fight with War God.”

Then to my editor—no, to

her

—I whispered, “Silently Crawling Nightmare.”

1. Yes, this is slightly confusing, but there’s not much explanation with these yet, so I’m translating according to what the author has written. ☜