Chapter 53: Would You Kill or Save a Billion?

The city of Gayami in Antrinia suffered a devastating aftermath from Buttor’s poison. Not even those who took shelter in the buildings were spared.

“

Hyiiiie!

My body, my entire body, is burning!

Aaaarggh

!”

“It hurts! it hurts so much, Mommy!”

“

Aaargh!

It hurts so much! Just kill me!”

Screams and wails echoed everywhere as if hell itself had been unleashed upon their world.

“

Huff, huff.

”

The Saintess, Anty, struggled to heal them. However, her power alone wasn’t enough to heal over millions of them.

“

Cough cough!

”

Anty spewed black blood. Yes, she also fell victim to the poison.

“S-Saintess...”

Flop! Thud! Thud!

One by one, the Gayamis who helped Anty collapsed to the ground. Although the evolution had made them stronger, they were still no match for Buttor’s poison.

Tears welled up in Anty’s eyes as she watched her tribesmen bleed to death. Was this how everything was going to end?

“

Muuuuscles!

” A yell rang from the city center. “O’ Almighty God, please return victorious!”

Il-Ho raised his muscular arms like an ancient statue. He prayed for Yu Il-Shin’s victory in the battle against the evil god. Every time he shouted, he’d cough up black blood, yet his voice didn’t falter in the slightest. One wouldn’t believe that he was dying from the poison.

“Yu Il...” Il-Ho suddenly turned silent after all the shouting.

“Mr. ...Il-Ho?”

Il-Ho turned toward Anty.

Trickle!

Tears were streaming down his squarish face like a waterfall. Anty’s heart sank.

“W-what’s wrong? Did something happen to God Yu Il-Shin?”

“

Waaaaah!

He has won the battle against the evil god!” The muscular man wailed like a child.

Ruuumble!

Just then, there was a blinding light in the skies, and Yu Il-Shin descended into Antrinia. The sight of her god left Anty in awe. She could only imagine how terrifying his opponent was, seeing him injured all over.

Then, Yu Il-Shin spoke in a tired voice...

-Wait... a minute... I’ll heal all of you soon.

He proceeded to point his ring finger at the city.

-Healing Ring Finger of God!

Ding!

[Calculating the number of targets to be healed by Healing Ring Finger of God.]

[You paid 5,212,385 Gcoins for the healing.]

Tzzz! Flash!

Dazzling white radiance enveloped the entire city, and a miracle happened!

“H-how?”

“No way! It’s unbelievable!”

“I-I’m all healed...”

The dying citizens were restored in such pristine health. It was as if they'd never been poisoned, to begin with. Not only that, they felt way more energized than ever! The incredible and extraordinary miracle performed by Yu Il-Shin had saved them!

Yu Il-Shin then spoke to them.

-I’m going to... rest then... I’m exhausted because of that pervert, fuck...

Thud!

They heard Yu Il-Shin uttering a strange incantation, “puck” before collapsing. Then, they witnessed how a sharp-looking giant swiftly supported him.

-Mr. Sword God! Are you alright?! Dammit! Let’s get you treated first!

Flick!

And that was the last they saw of Yu Il-Shin.

“

Alas

! God Yu Il-Shin...” Anty fell to her knees, clasping her hands together.

After a hard-fought battle against an evil god, Yu Il-Shin was heavily wounded. And yet, he still prioritized the well-being of his insignificant followers. Truly, he loved them as if they were his own!

“God Yu Il-Shin, puck.”

Anty earnestly prayed for his speedy recovery.

She didn’t know what it meant, but it should have a profound meaning since their god said it. Led by Anty, the others knelt down simultaneously.

“God Yu Il-Shin.”

“O’ God Yu Il-Shin.”

“The great and merciful...”

“God Yu Il-Shin, puck! Puck!”

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Hot tears flowed as they praised Yu Il-Shin.

Ding!

[The faith conversion rate of the city has reached 100%.]

[You have gained 5,212,224 followers.]

[The class of the new followers has been changed.]

[You can now earn 100 Gcoins for every 1 faith.]

[You have been rewarded 521,224,500 White Gcoins.]

[Congratulations. Your current number of followers has met the promotion requirements!]

[Evaluating your new divine achievement: Stopping the Descent of ??? the God of Destroyer...]

***

Two days had passed since I fought against the pervert and the eyeball monster. Finally, I was able to return to my sweet room! Ah, I was so glad to have my peaceful life back!

“Uncle Il-Shin, do I stick it here?”

“

Hmm,

no. A bit higher... Yes, just a bit more. Oh, yes!

Aaah

, how refreshing.”

Slap slap!

“Uncle sounds like a grandpa.”

Seong-Yeon giggled, applying the plaster on my back with her small hands.

Uh-oh, Dear Niece? You aren’t supposed to say that to a young bachelor.

Why was I making a lot of noises while being pummeled by my little niece, you ask? That giant divine sword from the Heavenly Sword Treasury was to blame. Sure, it was powerful enough to fend off that eyeball monster, but it had put so much strain on my untrained body. As a result, my muscles were aching all over.

“...But Uncle?”

“Yeah?”

Seong-Yeon placed a hand on my ear and whispered, “Who is that scary uncle?”

Kneeling in the corner of my room was the epitome of S.S.S. Strict, stern, serious. The man was as motionless as the statues offered by the ants. In fact, anyone who visited would probably mistake him for one.

Sighing, I called out to him, “Mr. Sword Demon.”

“Yes! Mr. Sword God, you called?” he shouted, smashing his head against the floor with a thud.

How burdensome. After that incident, this guy’s extreme behavior only escalated further.

“Why are you still here?”

Hadn’t we dealt with those cultists? Why was he still sticking around?

Sword Demon’s eyes sparkled as if he had been waiting for that exact question.

“I don’t have a home! I’ll follow you wherever you go!” he said.

Sword Demon stared at me with a burning passion, almost like a fanatic. Wait, he was indeed one.

[Sword Demon (Yu Il-Shin’s Fanatic)]

Trying my best to ignore the title blinking above his head, I asked, “What about the thing I asked you to do?”

Before, I had instructed him to clean up the remnants of the Brilliance Guild, since it’d be a hassle if they regrouped and plotted revenge.

“There’s no need for me to do anything.”

Huh? What did he mean by that?

“The Hunter Association’s special task force was already hunting them down. Not to mention, it was led by the S-rank Hunter, Sung Mi-Na. It’s safe to say that the black market of Korea is done for.”

Sung Mi-Na, the S-rank Hunter with both beauty and talent. She’d occasionally appear on TV commercials, overshadowing most celebrities. At the same time, she was also a veteran in conquering S-rank dungeons.

Still, why did that name sound so familiar? I was probably mistaken. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that she was Sung Mi-Ri’s sister. But the two of them didn’t look similar in the slightest. Despite her young age, Sung Mi-Ri was quite glamorous, while Sung Mi-Na... Yeah, their body type was too different.

Ah, come to think of it, I wonder how Sung Mi-Ri is doing?

Since I was feeling better now, maybe I should go visit her at the hospital. If she still hadn’t recovered, I could use my power to heal her.

“Mr. Sword God.” The culprit behind Sung Mi-Ri’s hospitalization spoke. “Actually, I have a gift for your niece.”

“A present?”

“Yes, I did my best to prepare a gift for her. Will you please accept it?”

I honestly didn’t expect that? I mean, he had such a fierce and blunt appearance. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad person after all...

“No, I should be the one thanking you. Seong-Yeon, this uncle says he has something for you.”

“What is it?”

Seong-Yeon peeked out from behind me, a mix of fear and excitement in her eyes as she heard about the present.

Blushing slightly, Sword Demon bashfully took out a neatly wrapped present.

Seong-Yeon beamed, expecting it to be snacks or toys. But the thing Sword Demon revealed was totally unexpected.

A blood-red dagger about 15 cm long.

Seong-Yeon widened her eyes in surprise. “

Waaah,

it’s pretty!”

Wooong!

As if responding to Seong-Yeon, the crimson light intensified. My skill activated on its own, appraising the dagger.

-----

[Demonic Sword Hrunting]

A demonic sword crazy for blood.

Special note: Fucking sharp.

-----

Crazy for blood?

Sword Demon grinned slyly, revealing his teeth.

“

Hoohoo,

As Mr. Sword God’s niece, Ms. Seong-Yeon must have the same potential! I secretly stole this famous Grade A sword when I raided the black market. Please accept—”

Punch!

I reflexively got up and punched him straight in the head.

“Are you nuts?! How could you give an innocent child such a thing?! What will her parents think?!”

“

Kwek

!”

Letting out a scream unbefitting of his appearance, Sword Demon fell to the ground like a frog smashing a rock, and laid motionless after.

“

Uhm,

hello?”

Shocked that he didn’t respond, I flipped him over and saw that he had fainted. Wow, not only was he foaming at the mouth, but his eyes were also rolling back.

“That's weird. I didn't hit him that hard?” I thoughtlessly looked at my fist that hit him.

Huh? Was my fist this big before? It seemed to have grown twice the size.

Plus, my body seemed to have become better. Was I finally seeing results from the training with the Tiger Gym Director? I stood before the cracked mirror and took off my shirt. Then, I examined my body closely.

Instead of looking like a broke, out-of-shape writer with a pot belly, I now had defined six-packs.

Wow, seriously... This is awesome.

Although my body didn’t look as macho as Il-Ho’s, I preferred this. The muscles were built in the right areas. Seems like I’d become more popular with the ladies soon.

“Seong-Yeon, how does uncle look now?” I flexed my muscles to her and even made a pose.

But Seong-Yeon remained nonchalant, before wordlessly turning away. Apparently, she wasn’t impressed.

Niece! Please take some interest in your uncle!

I sighed dejectedly, crouching down in a corner of my room at her indifference.

The man who fainted beside me pricked my conscience, so I covered his face with my blanket. That's better.

Ding!

[Calculations for your achievements are completed.]

[You have stopped the God of Destroyer “??? (1/100)”’s alter ego from descending on Earth.]

[Your good deeds have increased by 1,000,000.]

Clank clank!

Dazzling white Godcoins poured out from my phone.

Were they referring to that eyeball monster that tried to come to Earth? Huh? There were 99 more of those?!

Unbelievable. I recalled the monster that tried to get out of the crack. It seemed to be a few times larger than the Jamsil Stadium...

More messages came from God-Maker.

[Congratulations, Yu Il-Shin. ]

[With the amazing features and millions of followers under you, you are now qualified for the promotion quest.]

[Upon the completion of the quest, you’ll be upgraded from a Lowest-tier God to a Low-tier God.]

[Having both benevolent and malevolent god titles, you may simultaneously proceed with the promotion quests for both paths.]

-----

[Low-tier Benevolent God Promotion Quest]

Have over a billion intelligent beings, or accept ten (10) intelligent beings of S-rank or higher as your followers.

-----

[Low-tier Malevolent God Promotion Quest]

Sacrifice over a billion intelligent beings and accumulate karma, or sacrifice ten (10) intelligent beings of S-rank or higher and assimilate their powers.

-----

[Yu Il-Shin, will you accept the Promotion Quests? (Yes/No)]