<h4>Chapter 25: Night Rose and Knife of Madness</h4>


    <i>Ding!</i>


    [You have received the following from All-Cutting Heavenly Sword: Innate power Sword Devotion, 2.2 million Godcoins, and three tickets to ess the Heavenly Sword Treasury.]


    [The Heavenly Sword Treasury is one of the best treasuries in the God Realm. Even nonbat gods would die for it.]


    <i>Ding!</i>


    [You have received a gift from Silently Crawling Nightmare.]


    [Silently Crawling Nightmare has given you innate power Night Rose.]


    The messages from God-Maker excited me.


    <i>Hoho, what great deals. </i>


    In exchange for returning the fruit knife I had looted from the mantis, All-Cutting Heavenly Sword gave me his innate power, along with the Godcoins he robbed from me. I even received three tickets to use his so-called Heavenly Sword Treasury.


    To be honest, I didn’t know how good of a deal that was, but it should be quite a useful item. After all, it discouraged Silently Crawling Nightmare so much that she withdrew from the bid. Despite that, I still received her innate power. When I asked why she still gave it...


    [Silently Crawling Nightmare shyly says that she still favors you immensely, and thus wants you to ept her power.]


    Such nice stalkers—I mean, nice pushovers. I couldn’t possibly reject a free offer?


    “But I don’t feel any different at the moment...”


    <i>Guess I’ll have to try it out.</i>


    “Maybe tomorrow.”


    It waste. Besides, sting my ceiling through Skill Sharing with Sung Mi-Ri taught me an important lesson. Humans learn from failures. This time, I would test out my newfound power in a remote and vast area.


    Iid down in bed and fell asleep unusually quickly. I must’ve been exhausted. I didn’t know someone would pay me a visit that night.


    ***


    Faint ripples emerged on the phone screen, which had God-Maker on disy. Then, insects stealthily crept out of it, about a dozen or so.


    Were they an army sent by the emperor? Doubtful. Their numbers were too few to bebeled an army. Not only that, their pumpkin-colored patterns were reminiscent of honey bees.


    The intruders were none other than the emperor’s Ten Swords and an assassin, Killerbee, along with his direct line of descendants. After the emperor had ordered the subjugation of the malevolent god on the entire continent, Killerbee and his party were the first to arrive.


    Killerbee stared at the malevolent god.


    <i>So, this is the malevolent god that killed Kamikiri...</i>


    Truly a fearsome being it was! Its size was more akin to a broad mountain range than to any living creature.


    <i>Rumble! Rumble!</i>


    The malevolent god snored thunderously, with what Killerbee assumed to be his chest rising and falling.


    <i>Shiver!</i>


    Everyone else in his party trembled, petrified in fear.


    “Fear not, for our n is invincible!”


    “M-Master Assassin.”


    “Only a fool like Kamikiri would fail to defeat the malevolent god despite leading five million troops. Our n is different! Unlike the ground crawlers, we’re no lowly insects. Remember the long line of gods our n has in until now. Even the most arrogant and cruel gods fall prey to our poison.” Killerbee went on smugly.


    Indeed. Their wings allowed them to fly freely, while their venom allowed them to kill gods. Outnumbered and outgunned by the red ants they might be, but Killerbee’s n prided themselves on being the strongest in the empire. After all, there was nothing in the world that they couldn’t kill.


    “Step forth, my brave children. Show those lowly ants the might of our n!”


    For one hundred years, their n had been notorious as poisonous assassins. They rose from humiliation, and secured a seat in the Ten Swords. Atst, the chance had arrived for them to revive their n!


    “The valor of god-ying shall be ours once more!”


    “<i>Woooo</i>!”


    Along with the Killerbee’s roar, the n flew toward the malevolent god like arrows.


    <i>Booong!</i>


    In groups of two or three, the n advanced, aiming their poisonous needles at the malevolent god’s neck and heart. Meanwhile, Killerbee aimed for his weakness—the eyes. The poison that he was about to use was a hundred times more lethal than the one that killed the grasshopper at the great hall. It was a deadly god-ying poison from their n.


    A content smile tugged at Killerbee’s mouth. From this day forward, the best of the Ten Swords would no longer be that arrogant and moody tarant bitch, but him!


    “Die! You malevolent god!”


    Burning with zeal, he charged forth at the god before him, armed with a poisonous needle.


    <i>Ding!</i>


    [You have met the conditions for Silently Crawling Nightmare’s innate power Night Rose.]


    [Ohohoho! Lowly creatures! Tremble in fear! Your nightmare begins now!]


    “What?”


    <i>Pzzz!</i>


    Strange aura emanated from the malevolent god. At the same time, tentacle-like vines sprouted from his body.


    <i>Flick! Flick!</i>


    The vines coiled around Killerbee and his nsmen like whips. The sudden attack caught them off guard. But that was only the beginning.


    <i>Drrr!</i>


    A towering figure had overshadowed them. When the party turned to look at it, they saw a gigantic flower budding from the god’s head. The crimson bud exuded a fragrance as sweet as honey and as deadly as ecstasy. Mesmerized by its beauty and sweet scent, the bees forgot about the vines that entangled them. Even Killerbee was no exception.


    <i>Swish—</i>


    At least, until it blossomed and bore its head.


    -<i>Kyaaaaa!</i>


    Along with the ghastly roar, a giant, fanged mouth emerged from the flower.


    “<i>Aaaaaargh</i>!”


    Killerbee and his party screamed all at once, struggling to break free of the vines, but...


    <i>Flick, gulp!</i>


    <i>Flick, gulp!</i>


    The monstrous flower moved its vines and swallowed the bees one by one.


    “<i>Aaargh</i>! S-save me, Master!”


    “No! Enough, you monster!”


    In no time, his nsmen met their gruesome demise. Unable to bear the sight, Killerbee hurled the poisonous needle that was meant for the malevolent god at the monstrous flower.


    <i>Swoosh!</i>


    Flying like an arrow, the needle lodged itself in the flower’s mouth. The poison of the Killerbee’s n was unrivaled, capable of taking down even the mightiest of gods. Poisoned, the petals of the flower rustled, and eventually remained still like a statue.


    <i>Yes!</i>


    Killerbee’s gaze flickered slyly as he anticipated the monstrous flower''s imminent end


    -<i>Kihihihihi</i>!


    However, instead of a scream, an eerieughter of a female echoed. Blossoming even more, the monstrous flower looked back at Killerbee. Instead of withering, it only flourished from the poison...


    “N-no way...!”


    Then, it finally urred to Killerbee. He had read it from a book that was passed down through generations in his n. Night Rose, or the Flower of Nightmare. It was the apostle of the Silently Crawling Nightmare, the worst of gods that had devoured 90% of the continent’s poption. The only existence that their poison wouldn’t work on.


    That very flower was staring right back at them, salivating.


    <i>Streeeetch!</i>


    “Aaaaargh!”


    <i>Gulp! Srrrr—</i>


    Soon, that mouth became the final destination for Killerbee and his n.


    Having fulfilled its duty, the flower disappeared back into Yu Il-Shin’s head.


    <i>Snore!</i>


    Afterwards, only the loud snoring of Yu Il-Shin remained in the room.


    ***


    <i>Beep beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!</i>


    The incessant rming from the phone woke me up, and I bolted from the bed. Was it morning already?


    “<i>Ergh</i>~!” A burp escaped my mouth. “<i>Ugh</i>, why do I feel so bloated?”


    I didn’t remember eating anything elsest night.


    “Well, whatever.”


    It worked for me, since I couldn’t be bothered to have breakfast. With that so-called positive outlook, I washed up and changed into my training suit. After that, I headed for the park.


    It was still rtively early, so the park was empty.


    <i>Great. Time to test out my new powers.</i>


    I woke up much earlier than usual just to test out the two new powers I had acquired yesterday. One of them was Night Rose from Silently Crawling Nightmare, and the other was Sword Devotion from All-Cutting Heavenly Sword.


    Since I could only use the Heavenly Sword Treasury thrice, I had to be sparing. I decided to focus on the other two for now. Let’s start with the Night Rose. I gathered my focus and chanted the activation phrase.


    “Power, Night Rose!”


    Silence. Nothing else happened.


    <i>Ding!</i>


    Amidst my confusion, messages appeared from God-Maker.


    [Failed to activate innate power. Conditions were not met.]


    [In order to activate the innate power, the owner has to be asleep.]


    “I have to be asleep?”


    I inadvertently winced. What kind of ridiculous power was this? No wonder she gave it away for free!


    The name was so cringe, so I wasn’t expecting much from the start. But this was just annoying. If I had to be asleep for it to work, how was I supposed to know what kind of power it was?


    “<i>Hoo boy</i>, it’s fine. It probably has some uses.” I calmed myself down by taking deep breaths.


    Not like that was the only power I could try out. I fished out a sword from my pocket that resembled a 5,000-won kitchen knife from Daiseo. I didn’t really cook at home, so it ended up staying in my kitchen drawing. Nevertheless, it didn’t have a speck of rust, and was about a centimeter longer than a normal knife. It made me feel as if I was holding a real sword.


    [All-Cutting Heavenly Sword reminds you that if you use the innate power Sword Devotion while wielding the sword, no sword master would dare to be your match.]


    Recalling the previous message from All-Cutting Heavenly Sword, I tightened my grip on the hilt.


    “I sure am nervous.”


    I remembered my favorite childhood martial arts story. After acquiring a divine sword, the protagonist became the greatest swordsman in the world.


    To wield a sword was every man’s dream.


    “Sword Devotion!” I yelled with anticipation, looking forward to what would happen.


    Would a Sword Aura engulf me whole? Would I be able to pull off some cool sword moves?


    But... more silence. As expected, nothing happened. There wasn’t even a message informing the failure this time.


    “Seriously?”


    Feeling scammed, I made my decision right then and there.


    “Fine. I’m going to sell that divine sword or whatever it is.”


    After making that deal, I nned to use that Heavenly Sword Treasury thrice before returning it, so I had stowed it in my drawer. Even if I sold it, it would probably fetch a price simr to scrap metal. I should also cut off all ties with these stalkers.


    -...want.


    I heard a voice in my ear.


    “Huh?”


    -I want to kill...


    The voice was faint, like a mosquito’s, but it was slowly growing clearer. I quickly nced around my surroundings, only to find no one.


    “What...?” Still in disbelief, I looked down at the sword in my hand. “<i>Nah</i>, probably not.”


    Haha, what were these crazy thoughts that crawled to my head? Must be because of all the ridiculous happenings in my life recently.


    -I want to kill! I want to kill!


    <i>Woooong!</i>


    The sword began pulsating with a terrifying force, and a high-pitched shriek pierced through my eardrums.


    “<i>Ugh</i>!”


    An intense and uncontroble thirst surged in me. An overwhelming desire to purge the entire world, bathing it in blood, surged over like a tidal wave.


    Momentster, a voice overflowing with frenzy escaped through my lips.


    “<i>Keke</i>, I want to kill...”