The Dimensional Tribunal
I opened my eyes to find myself, as expected, in an unfamiliar place. A space entirely shrouded in black.
I slowly walked toward the faint light ahead.
What the hell is that?
A massive desk and chair. The tools atop it gave off the vibe of a courtroom.
The criminal has arrived.
Not yet a criminal.
Cold, rigid voices echoed. No—they were etched directly into my brain.
Their mouths moved differently, their words varied. I tried mimicking their lip movements, but it came out grotesquely twisted.
What the fuck are these things doing...?
An inexplicable terror gripped me.
This isn't Grating.
Their forms were purely white, nothing terrifying about their appearance. Their voices were icy but not frightening.
Instinctual dread? Different from the fear that old-man-disguised demon king had instilled in me.
The demon king's terror came with a thrill of conquest.
These guys... I don't think I could beat them.
Why did these powerhouses keep showing up one after another? I'd become the strongest in the human realm, but there was no joy in it.
This fool thinks he can fight us? Hilarious.
One of the three massive giants sneered at me.
Those hulks must be gods.
Gods apparently had mind-reading as a basic passive skill. I was scared shitless, but I stood tall before them and demanded,
"Why the fuck did you kidnap me?"
One of the giants' lips curled up at my boldness—not a sneer, but a genuine smile.
Wait just a moment.
I did as the androgynous voice instructed.
"Haa... what a pain in the ass."
Then a familiar voice grumbled from behind.
"Shimbu Rumkun!"
There he was. But the vibe wasn't Whoa, he came to save me!
It was more like Shit, I got caught too.
Eh, I hadn't been expecting much anyway...
Wait, he's a god...
He caught my thought and scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he approached.
"Look, there's nothing I can do against those existences."
As I'd suspected, those things outranked even gods.
All are assembled.
Enough wasting time. Let's get to the trial.
My initial hunch was right. Those hulks were judges.
This was a courtroom.
Judging what, exactly?
One thing came to mind.
Killing the protagonist.
Nailed it.
We shall judge the outsider—not the Demon King—who slew the protagonist.
Platina had called it the world's rule. Guess I'd tripped that wire.
Only the protagonist can kill the Demon King. Only the Demon King can kill the protagonist.
A causal chain that should never occur. We judge the distortion of causality twisted by the gods of the 169th dimension.
Shimbu Rumkun flinched at the icy proclamation.
The outsider: death penalty. The god 'Jupiter' who granted him power: sealed for 10 years.
So he knew about this shit!
The Murim dimension's Demon King had said:
—This will be our last meeting.
I'd taken it as him returning to his original dimension, but no—he'd meant this exact situation.
Wait, if you're just gonna declare it, why drag us here? What's the point of a trial?
This was life-or-death. Shit got real fast.
"Great existences, please wait a moment."
Shimbu Rumkun finally spoke up against the one-sided verdict.
Go get 'em!
My life was on the line, so I cheered him on fiercely in my mind.
"He is no ordinary outsider. He walks the path of the gods."
Path of the gods? First I'd heard of it, but I stayed quiet.
The giants started paying attention to Shimbu Rumkun's words. They listened silently.
"He is the successor to my father, Jupiter."
Shimbu Rumkun pointed at my lower body as he continued.
"His lower half bears the legend of Father's philandering exploits."
We sense it clearly.
"He went to another dimension not to kill the protagonist, but to pass the gods' trials."
Rehearsed excuse? Shimbu Rumkun spun the tale smoothly.
"He merely stole the protagonist's women. He had no intent to kill him."
We shall verify.
The voices fell silent for a moment.
Facts confirmed.
Even without intent, the protagonist was slain by an outsider posing as the Demon King. Verdict stands.
"Goddamn it! The protagonist attacked first!"
Their attitude was so frustrating I yelled it out. All eyes turned to me.
"His words are true."
Shimbu Rumkun jumped in hastily.
"Look at his actions—he never struck first. He was just doing his best to survive, to pass the trials."
Shimbu Rumkun machine-gunned his defense to keep me from fucking it up.
"Executing him is too harsh. And please, show some mercy toward my father..."
After hearing him out, they glanced at each other. No words, but clearly conferring.
Revised judgment: The outsider is not guilty. Jupiter: sealed for 2 years.
Another flat declaration. They began vanishing, as if done changing their minds.
"I like bold kids. Keep being bold."
Just before they fully disappeared, a benevolent voice rang in my head.
One of them, huh.
A being even the gods called "great existences." Gaining one's favor? Score.
Anyway, I wasn't dead. Great! Trial over—I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was back in my original spot.
Not alone, though. With Shimbu Rumkun.
"Whew... that was close."
He wiped cold sweat and looked around before turning to me.
"Don't kill protagonists."
Firm warning.
"I'm not planning to anymore. But what about Demon Kings?"
Why only protagonists? Weren't they a set?
I voiced the question.
"Oh, Demon Kings are fine. The rules are looser there."
He didn't explain the rules. I sensed he was hiding something but didn't press.
No point—he won't answer anyway.
I didn't know his goals, but I was using him, and he was using me.
Our relationship had always been that way.
"Alright, I'm off. Try not to kill protagonists~"
He left, and I headed back to the house the Awakening Center had prepped.
"Man, I'm beat."
A major crisis had blown over in no time. My head started throbbing.
"Did the Awakening Director stock this?"
My one-room and daily essentials had vanished with the old dimension. Now everything was fully stocked.
Crammed rooms everywhere. I dove into the nearest bed.
Sleep time...
Eyes shut, and I was out in under a second.
**
"Hey, sis. Quit that guild and come back."
I woke up well past lunchtime. Ordered delivery for a late lunch, grabbed my phone, and called my sister while I was at it.
"For real? You're really quitting?"
How bad did she hate her job to sound that thrilled? Wrapped up the call quick, killed time with TV till the food arrived, then ate.
"Still talking about me?"
TV was running an S-rank hunter special. Who was I? What was my ability? How strong?
All speculation, but they debated hotly. Tons of guesses, none right.
Food's done.
Ate while watching, polished it off before I knew it.
Time to go.
Yesterday's ordeal taught me: no complacency.
Take requests diligently, claim rewards. No more letting others toy with my life.
I hated that shit. Gotta get stronger.
I was plenty strong already. Beyond human limits...
At least reach the divine realm.
Shimbu Rumkun said I was walking the path of the gods.
Not just an excuse to escape. Even the great existences acknowledged it.
Means if I grind, I can become a god.
Become a god. One the great existences can't touch.
So hustle hard seducing heroines. That's my origin.
Resolve firmed. I took a request right away.
Vision blurred, familiar sensation hit. When it cleared, same as always: unfamiliar place.
This moment always got my heart racing with anticipation. What heroine? What dimension?
But my expectations shattered.
"Kill them!!"
"Don't run! Desertion will be punished by military law!!"
"P-please... spare...!" "Gahk!"
"Ugh... Mommy..."
Chaotic scene before me. Blood spraying, bodies dropping.
Murim flashbacks. A full-blown war raging right here.
Red blood splattering on pristine white snow. Battlefield chaos outside, info dump chaos inside my head.
Northern Grand Duke, huh...
This dimension's heroine: the icy Northern Grand Duke.
Isn't this usually romance-fantasy heroine bait?
One customer back home devoured romance novels, so I knew the clichés.
Clang—! Claaang—!
War raged on while I sorted my scrambled brain.
Where's the Northern Grand Duke?
Looked around—no face matching the injected info.
Fuck it, end this quick.
Too noisy; couldn't process more details.
"Die!"
A guy charged me as I stood there. I pulled Holy Sword Gram and swung.
One swing swept the enemies away. Silence fell over the battlefield for the first time.
"This is annoying. Let's wrap it up fast."
I spat the words and charged the enemy lines.