Chapter 6: No. 404
Ant No. 404 looked slightly different from the ones I had killed so far. Although it still had the crude 8-bit pixelated appearance, It was twice the size of the previous ants and had a dark-red color to it instead of the usual black.
“Is this a boss?”
This unique ant, which appeared after I had killed four hundred regular ones, fueled my competitiveness even more.
I raised my finger once more and put all my strength into it, determined to crush it in one go.
Tap!
I missed.
“I-it dodged?”
A short distance away from my finger, the red ant’s antennae twitched, seemingly taunting me. Honestly, it worked. It pissed me off so much that my blood started to boil.
“Do I really have to use both hands just to kill this ant?”
Swipe.
I aimed my index fingers at the cheeky, little red ant. It had better prepared itself. I was about to show how I beat the rhythm game Beat Mania with a perfect score back in my childhood.
Using both index fingers, I furiously tapped away at the screen.
Tadadadak!
A moment later, while looking at my trembling hands, I began to gasp for air. “Huff! Puff!”
Fuck, I kept missing! How could an ant be so nimble? Maybe it was a cockroach in disguise!
This cockroach, which had so gracefully evaded my deadly attacks, scurried out of the God-Maker’s cave. Other ants quickly replaced it.
However, rather than feeling victorious, the red ant lingered on my mind. I had lost my prey, which had to have been a boss ant or a monster related to an event! I couldn’t believe I let it slip past my fingers! This was unfair!
Tap! Tap!
[No. 440 has been crushed!]
[The kill has increased Nameless God's karma by 1.]
Venting my anger, I crushed every single ant that entered the cave. Each time, a Godcoin would pop out of my phone.
Ding! Ding!
It didn’t take long for me to accumulate a pile of coins at the foot of my bed. I couldn’t care less about them at the moment, though.
Like an eagle, I continued searching for any signs of No. 404, that insolent ant.
That fucking ant. Next time, it won’t be so lucky!
Unfortunately, despite my resolve, it never came back.
Tap! Tap!
By now, I had already piled up 500 cap coins beside me. Switching positions on my bed, I lay down on my stomach with a pillow under me. I then continued tapping on the screen with my index fingers, killing more ants.
[No. 801 has been crushed!]
[The Nameless God has accumulated 800 karma.]
[Earn 200 more karma to gain the title of a great malevolent god pursuing tyranny and power.]
[You will be rewarded upon gaining the title.]
It was already past 3 a.m. The endless notifications now sounded like a lullaby to me. Exhausted from the simple task of killing ants, I began to nod off. Moments later, my head dropped onto my pillow, and I fell into deep sleep.
Snore…
Right after, a faint notification rang in my ears.
[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]
[You are now tracking No. 404, the lost sacrifice.]
***
In my dream, I had turned into No. 404, the red ant. No, it would be more accurate to say that I was looking at the view from its perspective as if watching a movie through its eyes.
No. 404 seemed to have sustained a serious injury. The red liquid that kept spilling out of it as it crawled told me as much. Eventually, it reached a crude building made of mud and straw, at the entrance of which was a sign with bizarre writing. The symbols looked like earthworms crawling.
[----- ----- -----]
I couldn’t make sense of it at first, but when I further focused on it, I finally understood a few words.
[-- Imperial --- Search Party, Third Corp]
Imperial search party? Third corp?
As I processed the words, the red ant coughed up more red liquid and then entered the building. The place was swarmed with what seemed to be hundreds of ants. From No. 404’s perspective, what I would’ve normally seen as insignificant insects looked like pedestrians. However, they wore red-tinted armor and wielded sharp sticks, reminiscent of medieval soldiers.
Crunch, crunch. Swallow!
No. 404 entered a room, finding a group of ants ripping something apart with their grotesque jaws. When some of it dropped on the floor, I quickly realized that they were eating the remains of black ants. I had heard before that, just like humans, ants also waged wars with each other. The victors not only robbed their enemies of their food and larvae but even ate those that they had taken captive.
The red ants laughed merrily as they chewed on the black ants.
“Keke, these black ones sure are delicious.”
Watching the graphic scene made me feel nauseous.
No. 404 collapsed on the ground, prompting the other red ants to turn to it. Upon getting their attention, its mouth moved as if trying to say something.
“I have located the captives, but a great monster is guarding the area! I believe it is the god that the black tribe worships! I barely managed to get away. We have to defeat that monster before it invades us!”
I wasn’t sure if it was because I shared its perspective, but fascinatingly enough, I could understand what it was saying.
The ants stopped moving.
Grrrr!
However, instead of agreeing with it, they all mocked No. 404. It was strange, but I could see their dialogues in the form of text.
“You coward! You’re just making excuses because the black ants defeated you!”
“You’re an utter disgrace to the great imperial army!”
“Keke, what can a monster worshiped by those weaklings even do?”
No. 404 turned even redder, seemingly feeling the jeers of its comrades.
Amid the commotion, they heard a voice echo from behind them.
“Silence!”
Thump, thump.
A red ant walked down the corridor of the crude building, approaching No. 404. It was the smallest among all the red ants present, yet the others couldn’t help but flinch slightly and make way for it. Their group split in half, reminding me of the parting of the Red Sea.
Soon, the red ant reached No. 404, who was still lying on the ground.
No. 404 shuddered. Cautiously, it said, “Oh, Great Sage XX.”
The small red ant stroked the white part of its chin, which resembled a beard. “I believe you. I have felt the vile demon’s aura as well.”
As No. 404 reveled in the bearded ant’s words, the bearded ant shook its head.
“This place is now under the reign of the Great Imperial Majesty. We cannot just surrender this sacred ground to the foul demon of the black tribe.”
Afterward, it placed a hand on No. 404’s head.
“Nature shall be with thee!”
Flash!
A blue light flashed and enveloped No. 404. Its wounds, from which blood had been gushing out, healed instantly. I felt as if I had just witnessed a miracle.
“Lead the way, brave soldier. I will slay that demon myself.”
Moved by the scene, the dozens of other ants around them flocked to No. 404.
“Let me join you!”
“With the sage around, I shall fear no demons!”
The bearded ant chuckled in delight as it nodded. “Thank you! Together, we will vanquish that demon!”
It was quite a touching scene.
Wait, was I the demon they were referring to?
***
“Cough!”
As soon as I woke up, I wiped the saliva off the corner of my mouth and recalled everything that had happened in my dream. I remembered being an ant in it, but was I just watching the ant’s dream, or was the ant watching mine?
While still trying to make sense of that nightmare, my phone rang loudly.
Ding ding!
[No. 404x xx xx Godx xxx invaded xxx!]
[No. 808x xx xx Godx xxx invaded xxx!]
[No. 809x xx xx Godx xxx invaded xxx!]
…
The notifications now had the word “invaded.” This time, instead of the usual black ants, the larger red ones appeared.
“Huh? That bastard!”
Noticing a familiar number, I gnashed my teeth. No. 404, the same cheeky ant that had escaped my grasp, was among them!
“You’re finally back! I won’t let you get away this time!!”
I vengefully raised my fingers. However, just before I could crush it, a much smaller ant stepped in front of it. Like a corn, its chin was covered with white tufts of hair.
Is that the same bearded ant I saw in my dream?
The bearded ant waved its wooden staff at me as it spoke. Surprisingly, I could hear it yelling—no, I could see the words it was saying.
-Nature, reject this demon!
Pzzz!
“Huh?”
A blue light shot out from its wooden staff and out of my phone screen. It hit my forehead before I could even react.
Bam!
Falling like a dead tree, I screamed. “Aack!”
Thud!
***
The ants scoffed when they first heard No. 404’s claims. How could a fearsome demon appear in a hunting ground of the lowest difficulty? If not for the guidance of No. 808, their great sage, No. 404’s words would have fallen on deaf ears. Now, they had come to realize that No. 404 had been telling the truth.
The demon they now faced was much more terrifying than they could have ever imagined. Its size was greater than the largest mountain they had ever seen, and the anger in its eyes burned even fiercer than the sun. Just being in its presence rendered them immobile.
The demon let out a yell that seemed to sunder the heavens. It then pointed a finger at No. 404.
Bam bam bam bam!
Its finger crashed down onto No. 404 like a huge, house-sized boulder. Unlike its first encounter with the demon, this attack was so deafening that No. 404 would have been barely able to dodge it.
Fortunately, before the attack could hit them, No. 808 stepped forward and unleashed every ounce of its power.
-Nature, reject this demon!
Flash!
Dazzling blue light flashed, and a miracle followed—the magic that No. 808 had cast hit the demon in the head!
The demon fell to the ground. At the same time, it let out an agonizing scream that could bring the heavens crashing down.
-Aack!
Rumble—
The ants flocked to the sage and rubbed their feelers against each other in worship.
“You have slain the demon! You truly are worthy of your title, Great Sage!”
“Haha! His Majesty will be extremely pleased with this magnificent feat! He might even reward you with a portion of the saintess’ meat from this expedition!”
“Congratulations, Great Sage!”
However, despite their compliments, No. 808’s expression remained dark. It looked up at the sky in despair. “No! This is impossible! I did not spend my entire life accumulating this power just for it to amount to nothing!”
The sage’s eyes, which had once brimmed with wisdom and faith, were now etched with terror. Turning to its companions, it said, “E-everyone, run—!”
However, it couldn’t finish what it was trying to say.
-Fucking ants!
Crumble!
Along with the deafening roar, a huge fist came crashing down on the ants like a meteorite.
What they were facing was no mere demon. It was a malevolent god capable of destroying an entire nation with just one punch!
No. 808 stared at the demon. In despair and awe, it cried, “Oh, cruel and great god…”
Clang clang clang!
Bam bam bam!
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