The Bestowal of the Silver Sun
The planets seized during the war against the Substitute Gods all lacked moons, rendering them useless to the divine races. Yet the Dimensional and War God could create them. A single Main God Star and three life-bearing planets could be developed into habitable worlds immediately.
If he received the two additional Main God Stars owed to him by the Main God of the Divine Realm, the price for the goddesses’ Devotion Pledges would be nearly fulfilled. It was a reward beyond the dreams of any Main God-level mercenary or frontier lord.
Now all that remains is to elevate Granzoa to Main God status and raise the upper-goddess rank of the others to supreme. Then I can once again increase my Innate Divine Power through their Vow of Devotion. As expected, the bigger the pond and the higher the people, the greater the reward.
The irritation he had felt toward the lofty spectators who had come to watch a war on the brink of annihilation vanished completely. The sly Main God of the Divine Realm was grinning so widely his mouth seemed ready to tear as he basked in the flood of praise directed at the Creator God now in an excellent mood. When the Creator God restored his vanished left hand as both medal and reward, the demon could no longer contain his laughter. The respected Demon God who would reign forever was equally delighted to regain her succession rights as Demon King and the armor of the Great Demon God once more.
It is an enormous relief that the Demon King appears to have lost interest in me. It must be due to that time I defeated an eleven-circle powerhouse from the highest demon star. Whew… that was far too close for comfort.
That memory could never be allowed to surface. He closed his eyes and sealed the recollection deep within once again.
Magic is not omnipotent, yet it is infinite. I am a seeker who pursues that infinity. The Root School of magic has no end.
With the sudden windfall still threatening to unsettle him, he steadied his heart and calmly re-inscribed the truth within.
Clack. Clack. Two orbs collided inside his grip. One was a blazing sun, the other a silver-glowing sphere. When they fused, they became a single silver burning sun. Gazing at it, he spoke in a quiet voice.
“Crude, perhaps, but this is a moon possessing infinite vitality merged with solar divine power compressed under extreme pressure. So this is why the Main God of the Substitute Gods was defeated—against only a single divine Main God, no less. Still, it will prove useful in strengthening the Substitute Gods.”
“Woong! Woong!”
The silver-gold spherical forms of the Substitute God Creator Gods emitted faint tremors. Across the orderly expanse of infinite space, countless colossal Substitute God Creator Gods turned their entire attention to the orb in his hand. The power contained within was irresistibly alluring.
‘There is so much vitality I need not even erode a star to sense it.’
‘The desire for that power overwhelms any fear of him.’
It was only natural. They had been recreated precisely for this purpose, their forms and consciousness reassembled solely for victory in battle.
“The problem was that despite overwhelming superiority in capability, they were tied down protecting an eroded planet and could not attack properly. Changing the combat doctrine will resolve this. In the future, instruct them to abandon the planet and strike first. Once the alliance of divine and demon races is destroyed and re-erosion completed, there will be no issue. The vitality required for re-erosion shall be guaranteed by the direct Creator God. One humiliating defeat is more than enough.”
“Woong!”
Receiving the affirmative resonance, he handed over the silver sun. A particularly massive Substitute God Creator God swallowed it whole. Its surface immediately blazed with identical flames that spread like wildfire to the others. The Substitute Gods’ innate authority—wide-area divine power linkage—imprinted the new power across every one of them in an instant. Feeling their divine power and bodies strengthen, they fell into rapture.
“Remember that the Substitute Gods are the next-generation divine race meant to manage every living being and sentient creature in the universe in place of the divine and demon races. When those races can no longer contend with you, every star in this universe shall become yours. Grow stronger. Prove the meaning of your existence.”
“Uwoong—!”
“When that time comes, I will grant you the right to converse with other races and reclaim your original forms—as a reward for transforming from the defeated into the victors.”
“Uwoong! Uwoong!”
The resolute vibrations of the Substitute God Creator Gods filled the void. Nearby, countless Creator Gods and Demon Emperors watched their rapid growth with visible dread.
‘They grew so strong so easily?’
‘What do we do about the promotion verification battles now?’
‘Do we have to train like mad again?’
These were the supreme beings representing the universe. A single one of them could suppress an entire other universe, yet here they were merely individuals among the countless divine and demon gods. They were warriors locked in a brutal struggle for survival against the Substitute Gods and other races.
“I offer congratulations to the Creator God King of the divine race and the Demon Emperor of the demon race for this achievement. The race-deciding war with the Substitute Gods, who will assume control of this main universe, shall be postponed by one generation. Those among the incompetent worms who can still be recycled will be released.”
Rustle. Flutter.
From empty space, a Creator God and several Demon Kings fell naked into the void. The Creator God’s wings blazed with light, while the Demon Kings’ wings were blacker than the abyss itself. These were supreme Creator-level existences who had once rampaged through this universe, been dragged before him, reduced from mere worm treatment to actual worms, and after excruciating training and combat had earned the chance to reclaim their former glory.
Moved by the restoration of their bodies and connection to the universe, they bowed their heads in haste.
“Th-thank you!”
“We shall devote our loyalty!”
To their heartfelt words came only his mechanical reply.
“Loyalty from incompetent worms is unnecessary. Show results. Prove your capability. Develop and evolve this universe and its life forms. Surpass the Substitute Gods—who were recreated solely to grow stronger—and prove your existential worth. Should you prove hopeless, every Creator God and Demon King will be remade as Substitute Gods of another universe and recycled as test subjects. All beings below you will be imprisoned in the Spirit Realm to serve as the foundation of the cosmos. Remember this well!”
Long after his figure vanished, no one dared move. Even the returned powerhouses could only breathe heavily, rejoice in their fortune, and remain silent.
Watching them, the Creator God King—with twenty-six pairs of wings of light and one pair of dark wings—spoke with difficulty.
The mere thought of fighting the newly reinforced Substitute Gods made his head spin. In the distance he could see Creator Gods rejoicing over their monumental victory.
‘I offered my congratulations, but the road ahead looks utterly bleak.’
Based on the results of this battle, clashes with the improved Substitute God Main Gods promised to be even more brutal melee nightmares.
The Demon Emperor beside him—bearing twenty-six pairs of dark wings and one pair of light wings—let out a long sigh.
“At least he extended the race-deciding war by an entire generation. Let’s try to come up with countermeasures.”
They continued their scowling conversation until they noticed the returned Creator Gods and Demon Kings looking around and raising their fighting spirit. Irritation flared.
“You returnees, stop strutting around and get to the very back of the line! We have neither time nor patience for your antics!”
“Forget any thoughts of rank-climbing just because you’ve grown a little stronger. Everyone here has fought and defeated Substitute God Creator Gods. There is no one beneath you.”
“Cause any more trouble and I’ll keep throwing you into the verification battles against the Substitute Gods as cannon fodder.”
“We need combat data against the newly strengthened ones anyway—let’s throw them in immediately! Damn it all! These weaklings still haven’t learned their place. They can’t even tell who stands above whom!”
“But they won’t last five minutes. What data could we possibly extract from them?”
“Damn it… does this mean we have to step forward again?”
The returnees, sensing the ferocious and overwhelming auras of the two supreme beings of this universe, instantly understood they were at the absolute bottom of those gathered here. Involuntary sighs escaped them.
‘This is impossible! We were the strongest existences in our entire universes, yet here we’re barely the lowest of the highest Creator Gods? After all that suffering, training, and fighting…’
‘No! We just have to fight our way back up. We won against everyone there and returned here.’
As punishment for their past decadence they had been reduced to pathetic worm-like creatures and forced to fight without end. They no longer remembered how many times they had died, yet they had survived. The power they now felt radiating from their restored Creator God and Demon King bodies was utterly different from before. With this much strength, confidence surged that they could surely reclaim the seat of the strongest.
Reading their expressions, the Creator God King and Demon Emperor clicked their tongues.
‘They all return from that place overflowing with such baseless confidence.’
‘They’ll only come to their senses after being annihilated by the Substitute Gods several times. Pathetic, but Creator Gods and Demon Kings of that caliber are truly rare. We cannot afford to discard them. Since we are still slightly outmatched by the Substitute Gods, we must use them gratefully. The situation naturally invites sighs.’
‘When will these fools become useful?’
‘It feels impossibly distant.’
The Substitute Gods had been recreated from Creator Gods and Demon Kings of other universes with the single objective of absolute strength.
‘No arrogance or optimism can possibly work against them.’
‘Only endless self-cultivation and a fighting spirit that does not flinch even before annihilation can bring victory.’
Sharing these identical thoughts, the two focused entirely on analyzing the Substitute Gods’ enhanced capabilities. Another sigh escaped.
‘Whew… this latest strengthening of the Substitute Gods is excessive no matter how you look at it. I cannot even estimate how much training will be required. Yet if we give up, we will end up just like them.’
‘Huuu… having our voices stolen and becoming test subjects in another universe in that wretched state is something I absolutely refuse.’
With gloomy faces, the Creator God King and Demon Emperor stared at the reserve Creator Substitute Gods.
“Woong! Woong!”
The vibrations came like a confident challenge to attack at any moment. Previously they had lacked confidence even alone; now the gap in power felt almost hopeless.
“Their abilities have risen far too much. How are we supposed to win?”
“How can we arrange it so that merely ten of us can prevail? As usual, we’ll have to impart more techniques and drive the lower ranks even harder.”
As always, the two strongest of the universe would have to personally test the Substitute Gods and derive methods of victory. It was the natural duty of this universe’s supreme beings.
How many times they would be annihilated and revived was unknown, yet it had become a repeated daily routine. The Substitute Gods grew stronger, but so long as they grew stronger still and continued winning, they would receive prosperity and stability beyond anything from the past. They could not afford to give up. Such was the law of the universe under his rule.
Gooooooo—!
Every race raised their fighting spirit and began to move. This was the very core of his universe—the main universe where Substitute Gods longed to return as Creator Gods and Demon Kings, while others fought desperately to avoid that fate.
In one corner of the universe, inside a solar system where a fierce verification battle against the Substitute Gods raged, utter pandemonium had broken out. The Main God of the Substitute Gods, who until now had remained anchored to the planet and fired divine power cannons, had finally burst forth and begun rampaging. And it was unleashing a barrage of God Destruction Cannons through random spatial teleportation.
Gooooooo! Tudahahahaha—!
Every formation collapsed. The demon alliance began to disintegrate under the divine power cannons. Even as the Demon God of the Demon Realm and the Main God of the Divine Realm attacked with desperate fury, they continued sending urgent requests for reinforcement from the Demon King level.
“Wo. Woong. Woongwoongwoong—!”
‘I don’t care. If I lose, the Creator God will personally rework me. So all of you can just die—!’