Chapter 42: Sword Demon, How Dare You Challenge Me!

“

Aargh

, what did you—!” I grabbed onto both his arms as I yelled.

His expression contorted fiercely. “This fucking punk! You’re just asking for it!”

As soon as I strengthened my grip on him, his face began turning pale.

“W-wait a min—!”

“No.”

Craaack!

Along with the muffled scream, his arm was crushed! I was so shocked by it that I inadvertently let go at the same time.

Like a wrung rag, blood streamed out of his crushed arm and onto the floor, creating a giant puddle. He wasn't lying when he said he was a B-rank Hunter. Despite that level of injury, this bastard was still standing.

“You fucking bastard!”

With bloodshot eyes, he glared at me, swinging his uninjured fist. He moved with the speed of a bullet, tearing the air. Briefly, I wondered if he was even hurt at all.

“

Gasp!

”

I reflexively raised my arms and curled my body up like a tortoise, but it was no use.

Like a trained sparring athlete, the bastard changed the trajectory of his punch, aiming for the gap between my arms. His fist struck me like an awl.

I didn’t fail to see it. He flashed me a smug grin.

Craaack!

A sharp crack of bone breaking to pieces—except it wasn’t from me, but his fist.

“

Aaargh!

My hand!”

Just how the attacker ended up suffering from a bone fracture instead of the victim remained a mystery. Anyhow, now was my chance!

“

Muuuuscles

!”

Don't ask me why I yelled that word in this situation, because I had no idea myself.

My palm—now the size of a cauldron lid—shot through the air and sent a punch flying into his face.

Smaaack!

The sound of armor shattering rang through the air, and the bastard's body vanished without a trace.

Huh? Where did he go?

I looked for him and eventually found him sprawled on the street, 10 meters away from my front door. Scattered around him were what seemed like roughly twenty popcorn. They turned out to be his teeth.

“Wow, how did I become so strong...?” I took a look at myself in the mirror, wondering what was going on.

Huh? Who the heck?!

Instead of looking like the usual scrawny writer, I was now a muscular hunk with a towering height of almost 2 meters. Not to mention, my skin was red hot like heated iron.

Under those broad thoracic muscles were shredded washboard abs. My tattered trousers struggled to cover my rippling, national-treasure-level thighs.

Is this really my body?

Just then, my appraisal skill activated.

-----

[Yu Il-Shin]

Planet Antrinia’s Low-tier God. Originally known as Nameless God. Eventually attained status through the faith of the black tribe that presides over the World Tree.

Special note: Skill Sharing his follower Il-Ho’s Strong Body.

Duration left: 4 minutes 32 seconds.

-----

The timer under the special note was decreasing rapidly.

“

Ah

! Now isn’t the time to be spacing out! Ms. Sung Mi-Ri!”

I could always revisit this later. Right now, my utmost priority was to make sure if that Salvation Quest was real.

— The number you are calling cannot be reached. You will be connected to the voicemail...

When I called her, it didn’t go through.

Shit!

What now?

Ah, God-Maker!

I quickly opened the APP.

Ding!

[Launching Yu Il-Shin’s Follower Management system.]

[Yu Il-Shin currently has a total of 102 followers.]

-----

[Earth branch (1 pax)]

Sung Mi-Ri

[Antrinia branch (101 pax)]

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Gayami tribe’s Saintess and 100 others/pax

-----

I tapped on Sung Mi-Ri’s name.

[A follower who desperately requires God’s salvation.]

[Would you like to inquire about the follower? (Yes/No)]

[You paid 1,000 Gcoins to inquire about a follower from the Earth branch.]

My coins were overflowing anyway, so I inquired about Sung Mi-Ri without hesitation.

Tzzz!

Suddenly, my view shifted entirely.

“

Hmm

~”

Sung Mi-Ri, clad in a school uniform, hummed a melody with bouncy steps.

“

Hehe.

I’m sure he’ll like this!”

She was bringing a letter of commendation and a

Hanwoo

set. They were the rewards for her admirable deed of stopping a bomb threat at the hospital.

“My mentor is incredible indeed!”

—

What? Me? Why?

Sung Mi-Ri shivered slightly as she recalled the incident. The bomb had been confiscated by the police, and was successfully identified as a specially-crafted item made of monster remains. Judging from the area of impact and intensity, they determined that it could affect the surrounding area of the hospital as well, potentially claiming thousands of lives.

Meanwhile, Sung Mi-Ri had another speculation. She had seen it. Just before the terrorist could detonate the bomb, Yu Il-Shin pointed his index finger at him and used a skill.

“Ms. Sung Mi-Ri... now!”

She didn’t know how, but she instinctively knew he had deactivated the bomb. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he had single-handedly prevented the terrorism! And yet, he disappeared, letting her take all the credit. Her admiration toward him only grew. Her mentor cared not for wealth or honor! Truly respectable! The pinnacle of all ability users!

Ding!

[Faith has increased by 1.]

“

Hmm

? That sound again?”

She was unsure when exactly this had begun. But as her respect and faith toward Yu Il-Shin grew stronger, she started to hear these faint, indecipherable sounds.

“Oh, well. It only happens whenever I think of my mentor, anyway.”

Already entrenched in that rose-tinted view, Sung Mi-Ri didn’t dwell on it.

“I have to protect him so that he can lead a comfortable life.”

Yu Il-Shin must’ve had his own reasons for wanting to hide his abilities. At least, Sung Mi-Ri believed so. She also felt a deep sense of mission to protect him.

-No, that’s a misunderstanding...

At that moment, Sung Mi-Ri’s each and every move, including her thoughts, were so vivid as if depicted by an omniscient writer. Still, contrary to God-Maker’s warning, I didn’t see her being in any kind of danger?

But I judged too quickly. Just when I thought the Salvation Quest was a mistake...

Creep!

Suddenly, Sung Mi-Ri flinched and shuddered. Then, her body flew backward.

Slash!

At the same time, something sharp slashed her back, and blood gushed out.

“

Aaarghh

—!”

“And here I thought I was completely undetected. If not for your good reflex, you’d have died a painless death.” A long-haired man in a lengthy black coat stood there, wielding a bloody sword.

Gasp. Who the heck is that?

I was so sure no one else was around! Where did this mysterious assailant come from? The skill in my eyes activated.

-----

[Sword Demon]

A male human. Around for 32 years.

Special note: Crazy about swords.

-----

Unusually, this man’s name appeared in the appraisal results.

Sword Demon?

“Is it true that you’ve been promoted to Rank A recently? Hunting you is going to be so much fun!” the man cackled, licking the blood from his blade.

“W-who are you?” Sung Mi-Ri asked, her face etched with horror and pain.

“I’m Sword Demon. I’m here to kill you.”

“B-but why...?”

“Nothing. Just doing my job.” Once again, Sword Demon pointed the tip of his sword at her. “If you wish to live,

fight.

”

“

Hyiii

—!” Gritting her teeth, Sung Mi-Ri reached toward Sword Demon with both hands. “Lightning Blast!”

Rumble! Flash!

She unleashed an unprecedented tidal wave of lightning, engulfing Sword Demon!

“Incredible. Most A-rank Hunters can’t compare to you. Still, it’s useless against me.”

“H-how...?”

Despite taking the full force of her attack, Sword Demon was perfectly unscathed. His trench coat had since disappeared, revealing a black armor.

“Do you know what this armor is made of? It’s the hide of an S-rank monster, Lightning Dragon, which possesses a natural lightning resistance. A mere A-rank Hunter’s skill won’t leave a scratch on it.”

Sung Mi-Ri staggered, the blood from her injury pooling around her. She seemed to have used up all her power earlier.

“Is that all?”

Trudge trudge.

Sword Demon began to approach Sung Mi-Ri. As she stared at the encroaching figure, pure despair flashed across her eyes.

“P-please spare me. I still have an unfinished job... I can’t die before avenging my parents’ death. Please...”

“Like I said, I have nothing against you.” Sword Demon raised his sword. “Rest assured. You won’t feel any pain. I’ll finish you off with a single blow,” he said solemnly, as if that was the greatest mercy he could offer.

“Teacher...”

Tears welled in Sung Mi-Ri’s eyes. Then, as I watched her, our gazes interlocked.

Tzz!

Static appeared on God-Maker, and just like that, I lost sight of Sung Mi-Ri.

“

Ugh

!”

Drip!

Stinging tears overflowed from my eyes, rolling down my cheeks, as messages from God-Maker appeared.

Ding!

[The power “???” gifted by the Silently Crawling Nightmare has allowed you to see the fate of your follower.]

[This has yet to happen in real life, so it is simply a nightmare.]

[But, it is also fate, so it is bound to happen.]

I had experienced something like this before! It happened during the onslaught of the red ants back then! Right when Sung Mi-Ri almost died by the mantis equipped with a divine sword!

I recognized the place where she was at! It should be around here!

Despite my inner turmoil, my mind was extremely calm. Her soon-to-be attacker was a man known as Sword Demon. He crept up on her and easily defeated her—the A-rank Hunter, Thunder Emperor, who should have been a notch above due to her Lightning abilities.

In that case, he should at least be an S-rank Hunter. Would I be able to save Sung Mi-Ri from him? I honestly wasn’t certain. Sure, I had an easy victory over that B-rank bastard, Department Head Kim, but that was only because I was Skill Sharing with Il-Ho.

As a writer, imagination was my greatest strength. I racked my brain for a short while. Hadn’t I obtained a small yet mysterious power after playing God-Maker for so long?

Think, think! There has to be a way to save Sung Mi-Ri from that psychopathic Sword Demon...!

Wait, what? Sword?

My gaze fell on the drawer that was sealed with box tape.

[God Yu Il-Shin, you have the potential to defy mortal fate.]

[Would you like to use your divine power to alter her destiny? (Yes/No)]

I reached for the shelf and yelled my decision, “Yes!”

Ding!

[You paid 100,000 Gcoins for the alteration of her fate.]

[The effects of the title Benevolent Savior (C) and the Second Moon created by Yu Il-Shin trigger an “incredible miracle.”]

Flash!

A blinding light enveloped me, and I vanished on the spot.

***

“Mister, please save me...”

“It’s no us—”

Thud.

Just before his sword could slit Sung Mi-Ri’s throat, Sword Demon froze.

“...Who? How long have you been standing behind me?” Sword Demon turned his head around in surprise. “How did I fail to notice you? Is your stealth that good?”

“...”

“Did the Brilliance Guild send you as well?”

“...”

“Speak, or I’ll consider you my enemy and kill you as well.”

“...

Heh, hehehehe..

.” A twisted laugh escaped from my lips.

“Are you laughing at me? Do you even know who I am?” Sword Demon’s face contorted like a beast.

“

Hahahaha

!” I couldn’t stop laughing at all.

“

Tsk,

just a crazy guy.”

Thinking that I wasn’t even worth the effort, Sword Demon ferociously swung his sword at my neck, about to cut my throat.

Clank clank clank!

Yet, his sword never reached its intended target.

“D-did you just block my demon sword?” His voice faltered slightly. “...Using that dull sword?”

That’s right

.

In my hand was a knife I had obtained before, which led to the incident at the Chinese restaurant.

“

Keke,

I want to kill...” I grinned at him with glee.