The Unbeatable Flame
Beams of light, as if dozens of suns from the Substitute God Clan had lined up in formation, collided with the God Destruction Cannon fired by the Substitute God Clan's Main God. For a moment, the forces balanced, and both God Destruction Cannons halted in midair. Uuuuuuung—! The entire Substitute God Clan stirred in shock, even their Creator God visibly flustered. Within the wide-area divine power parallel connection that even their Creator God had joined, a single god had matched their God Destruction Cannon with an identical technique. Despite being capable of firing billions of God Destruction Cannons in endless barrages, they could not comprehend how they were being gradually pushed back by a mere Lower Main God of the god race.
'If I told them the reason, it would be because this fellow has also been tainted by peace, causing his Innate Divine Power to decline and his combat senses to plummet. Just like that swindler Main God of the Divine Realm, he cannot fully control his Innate Divine Power.'
Prolonged peace had proven poisonous to both enemy and ally alike. 'Unlike you lot, I have never known a single moment of comfort. It has been nothing but a relentless chain of battles so grueling I wished for death!'
Whoosh—! Vrrrrrm—! The fully unleashed Sun of the Origin threatened to turn half his body to ash in an instant, outpacing his regeneration. Normally he would have already retreated, but the guillotine would not allow it. 'It's all or nothing anyway. I'll finish this before I vanish.'
He poured the divine power of every opened sun into the Lord Slayer Root God Destruction Cannon, ignoring the destruction of his own body. Crackle—! "Keeeeeeek—!" In an instant, he ignored the enemy's God Destruction Cannon and swallowed the opponent whole. The Substitute God Clan's Main God, engulfed in solar flames, let out a dying scream. Ooooooo—! Everything caught in the Lord Slayer Root God Destruction Cannon turned to ash. The bio-armor specialized against the god race and the Substitute God Clan's Main God vanished in a single moment, and everything along the attack's trajectory burned in the sun's flames.
'Kuhk—!' His own shoulder and upper body, pierced by the sun's divine power, had turned to ash. 'Nearly half my body has become ash and is regenerating. But the regeneration is slowing. I'm on the verge of vitality depletion.'
Rumble—! Uuuuuuung—! The magic circles in his head trembled precariously, and the dimensional divine power was nearly devoured by the sun's divine power. Vrrrrrm—! Vrrrrrm—! The Substitute God Clan's Main God had turned to ash and vanished. Yet a gem-like light, impossibly bright, appeared in the void of space. What emanated from it was unmistakably the Substitute God Clan's Main God. 'That must be the Substitute God Clan's core. It still hasn't been destroyed? That was nearly ten billion units of solar divine power!'
Fwoooosh—! The gem, barely the size of a thumb, radiated light as it grew larger, its divine power increasing. Destruction had clearly occurred, yet it was regenerating. 'Tch—! Can the highest-ranking Main Gods of the Substitute God Clan even regenerate themselves? What an infuriating ability. What a tiresome battle.'
Whoosh—! The Substitute God Clan's Main God, which normally interfered with spatial movement, was currently in the midst of revival and thus inactive. That meant the Dimensional and War God could perform spatial movement as much as he pleased—even while his body turned to ash. 'But this is the end.'
Crack—! Crunch—! Arriving directly before the gem via spatial movement, he bit down with his teeth since both arms were gone. He sank his fangs into the Substitute God Clan's Main God's core as it tried to grow, pouring the Sun of the Origin's divine power into it once more. 'Either you give up regenerating, or I burn to ash. One of us will end here.'
Fwoosh—! Rumble—! The Substitute God Clan's Main God's core trembled as if glowing, emitting divine power in resistance. Yet he endured even as his mouth burned, continuing to pour solar divine power into it. Rumble! Crackle! Whoosh! The Dimensional and War God ignored the thunderous roars and pain of clashing divine powers in his mouth and raised his head to the sky. The blade of light had already descended to the point of nearly touching his head. 'In the end, we couldn't decide the victor and will vanish together? Heh… I suppose this is the price for all my foolish actions.'
Shhhk—! Shhhk—! Staring at the blade of light slowly descending to annihilate them both, he found himself laughing. 'No matter how certain the victory, one must never start a war carelessly. I feel that truth in my bones. I wasn't even aiming for groundbreaking achievements. If I had simply done the job of a highest-ranking god well, it would have taken time, but I would have been acknowledged. Though perhaps being marked by the Goddess Department would have come first.'
Endless regret welled up. 'My investigation of the Substitute God Clan was far too lacking. I should have thoroughly researched their clan and Main Gods here before beginning. That was the mistake. There won't be a next time for such an error. If I lose, there won't be another chance anyway.'
Crunch—! Crunch—! He bit down with all his remaining strength on the Substitute God Clan's Main God's core as it struggled to escape his mouth. 'Vanishing is regrettable, but defeat is unacceptable. At the very least, we must die together.'
Screeech! Craaaack—! Fwoosh—! Enduring the burning pain in his mouth, he continued clenching his teeth and unleashing solar divine power. 'If you and I vanish simultaneously, it is victory for our side. If annihilated by his authority, revival will be impossible. Those lofty beings will erase us as they did before, declaring our very existence a disgrace to the god race. That way, that swindler Main God and the respected Demon God will live, and our allies will win. My death will not have been in vain.'
Reading the resolve for annihilation in his eyes, the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Demon God of the Demon Realm's faces wavered. Reduced to Lower Gods by the joint authority, there was nothing they could do. 'I wanted to see Granzoa become a Main God and act all high and mighty. And the High Elf Queens charging in with swords drawn, too.'
Faces flashed by like a revolving lantern. 'Heh—! Suddenly the Saintess of Love and Beauty and Hera come to mind as well. To think the last thing on my mind would be women… I suppose I really was a man after all. More than anything, once the war ended, I wanted to return to my magic tower and rest properly. Still, if annihilated by his authority, they probably won't even count it as death.'
The prediction that revival would be impossible if defeated surfaced in his mind, and he began to resign himself. 'Haa… What a noisy and exhausting life it has been. My lifelong dream has become nothing more than a peaceful and happy existence.'
Crackkk—! Fwoosh—! The Substitute God Clan's Main God's core glowed brilliantly in his mouth, reaching its peak as a crushing sound rang out. Staring at the blade of light now touching his forehead, he muttered, "In Root School battles, there is only victory. Even if the price of that victory is self-sacrifice. No matter how disadvantageous the war, my participation guarantees our side's triumph."
This was the sole pride of the dark mage who had become the Dimensional God after serving as a mercenary—the last successor of the Root School. The final flame set the universe ablaze. "I am the unbeaten ascender…"
Fwoosh—! The Demon God of the Demon Realm watched with displeasure as the dark mage multiplied himself into dozens and attacked the planet. At that level, he wouldn't lose to an opponent above the 1st Circle, but he wouldn't win outright either. "I had such high expectations, and all he did was increase his numbers with self-replication? If it's that degraded a copy, there's no way it would work perfectly against someone above the 1st Circle. In the end, his previous victory was just luck."
"Of course! What did you expect from a mere temporary 11th Circle Lower Main God? Still, that was quite the impressive showing. We should secure as much budget as possible and revive him quickly. A god race Main God achieving mutual destruction with an equal-ranked Substitute God Clan's Main God? I wonder how delighted he will be when we report this! Puhuhuhu—!"
The Creator God spoke with a truly satisfied expression. However, the Substitute God Clan's Creator God's dissatisfied rumble followed. "Uuuung—!" Even if annihilated by solar authority, the highest-ranking Substitute God Clan Main Gods could regenerate themselves, and with the aid of the Creator God and top-tier Main Gods, swift revival was possible. But when someone recklessly poured firepower to interfere like this, revival took over five minutes, and annihilating the opponent became impossible. By the time limit, it would have been mutual annihilation under his authority, but purely in terms of ability, this was the Substitute God Clan's victory. After all, the Main God of the Divine Realm and Demon God of the Demon Realm, reduced to Lower Gods, posed no problem whatsoever.
"Uung! Uung!" "If you have something to say, say it properly! You're really getting on my nerves—!" "Uuuuuuung—!" "Ah, whatever! It's mutual destruction anyway, and our two sides survived, so it's our victory." "Auuuung?" "Anyway, since fewer than ten equal-ranked Main Gods defeated the Substitute God Clan's Main God, there will be no additional reinforcements from their side. This Main God Star and star system now belong entirely to the god race." "Take all the Upper Main Gods who infiltrated the stars in this solar system and hand over new stars as well—!" "Puhahaha! How long has it been since such a satisfying victory! I must go boast in the Creation Realm." "Krrrrr—! Kaung—!"
As the cost of defeat threatened to grow enormous, the Substitute God Clan's Creator God raged, opening its massive maw to fire a God Destruction Cannon. It possessed enough power to easily destroy the solar system. The Demon God of the Demon Realm immediately pulled out the Karma Contract of Truth and waved it right in front of its eyes. "Go on. Fire away! Be just like your predecessor and let loose a nice big shot, then become his fishing bait. Holding in your anger isn't good for your health." "This Substitute God Clan's Creator God has remarkable patience. The previous one would have fired immediately at this level of provocation." "Go on, fire! Let's see what happens." "Kaaauung—!"