The Universe's Ruthless Law

The Creator God of the Substitute Gods War completely ignored the simmering anger in both their hearts and simply watched with an amused laugh. All while making the weak feel the full sting of their helplessness. And this was the daily reality of this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠universe. ‘Endless war awaits the unqualified weak, while prosperity and stability are granted only to those proven strong. As long as the universe continues to develop and evolve, nothing else matters.’ This was the merciless law he had established. Yet the universes he created were vibrant, powerful, and beautiful. So much so that Creator Gods and Demon God Kings who had once fled to other universes, exhausted by the brutal competition, willingly returned—even at the cost of becoming mercenaries.

Tap—! Tap—! Thud!

The Dimensional and War God frowned at the books and stacks of documents before him. The books were brilliantly golden magic tomes, while the documents were requests sent up from the Middle World. What he now held was part of the complete 11-circle magic tome collection that he had given.

‘My realm is insufficient, so I can’t understand the contents, and the ostentatious golden decoration is driving me mad. This is nothing but a painting of rice cakes.’

Of course, as a mage himself, he should have been ecstatic over an 11-circle magic tome, but the text inscribed upon it was the real problem.

He had finally caught the eye of Jinri, the Creator of the Absolute Realm. While it was an honor, a fierce wave of anxiety crashed over him.

“Terrifying.”

In this universe, no other being received both love and hatred in equal measure the way Jinri did. ‘According to him, a true “Absolute” must receive both “love” and “hatred” simultaneously.’ Jinri claimed that only by accepting both could one achieve complete dominion; receiving only one side made one incomplete, and he had taught this principle to his descendants. ‘He gives rewards, but he always delivers punishment alongside them. Because he administers both reward and punishment to everyone, he is Truth.’

Of course, there were occasional exceptions, and since he was fundamentally rational and reasonable, there were no major issues. ‘He says that as long as the universe develops and evolves, he will support anyone without interference. The problem is that if he so much as says he finds me slightly likable, there are countless beings in this universe who would rush to kill me.’

Those who disliked him hated him with absolute intensity, while those who followed him obeyed with blind devotion. If he showed someone favor, those who hated that person would seek revenge and kill them. If he disliked someone, his followers would execute that person. Even if neither applied, others would try to kill them out of jealousy over the favor shown. ‘Of course, he does not care whether someone is killed for revenge, loyalty, or jealousy. It is all the fault of the weak who died.’

For this reason, he had avoided the Demon Realm—where Jinri was most active—yet he had never expected Jinri to pay attention even to a Main God certification war. It had been a miscalculation on the Dimensional and War God’s part.

“Agh—! Still, considering the grace I received, he is a lifelong benefactor, so I must serve him well. But I really don’t want to get close because it’s terrifying.”

The 11-circle magic tome shimmered with golden light before his eyes. ‘Just how far has his magic reached?’

He had once opened it with excitement, only to nearly have his body torn apart from overload. Since then, he had not dared to open it again and could only stare at it while recovering in his personal temple. ‘Several troublesome matters have arisen in the Middle World, yet I cannot escape this.’

The moment he looked at it, the sheer height of the level filled him with despair, and a premonition that he would never again attempt to challenge or reach Jinri strongly stirred his spirit. Moreover, mercenary god requests had been flooding in like mad since earlier. ‘In the current certification war against the Substitute Gods, we are on the verge of defeat, so this is an emergency.’

Congratulations for victory were momentary, and by the Creator God King’s special order, everyone was on standby in the Divine Realm. While other divine realms were sending surplus divine power elsewhere, his own realm had been granted leave in recognition of its merits. Yet suddenly, the mercenary god requests directed at him as a Main God had exploded, and upon checking, he found chaos.

“This is truly a dreadful situation.”

A quick glance through dimensions at another planet’s certification war showed Substitute God Creator Gods deploying in full force, with Creator Gods and Demon God Kings providing support. Even expensive mercenary gods were being thrown in indiscriminately. ‘This is practically a total war— no, a full-scale racial war.’

Of course, since this universe had not yet reached its developmental limit, a racial decisive battle had not occurred. Still, seeing the Transcendents of the Demon God Star being forcibly dragged into the war made him click his tongue.

“Tsk—! Tsk—! You should have killed fewer of them. You slaughtered without thinking of karma and indulged your desires, and now look at you. You mocked my weak divine realm for doing foolish things, yet in the end you turned your planet into a Demon Realm.”

This was his commentary while watching the certification war between the highest-ranking Demon God Star and the Substitute Gods. It was a top-tier Main God Star ten times the size of the one he resided on. As befitting its scale, it had hosted countless lives and races, and its Main God had been immensely powerful. Though the Demon Realm had also been strong, the overwhelming population and number of believers on the planet had posed no problem in winning the certification war against the Demon Realm. ‘But the problem lay with the Transcendents from the Middle World. Claiming to be 10-circle powerhouses, they defied the Divine Realm’s orders, became gods of the Middle World on their own, fought over hegemony in the Middle World, and ultimately destroyed themselves.’

Hundreds of Transcendents—not just one or two—had done this, eventually depleting the divine power and vitality of the Divine Realm. This allowed a desperate, all-out assault from the Demon Realm, resulting in the Demon Realm’s victory. ‘The Divine Realm cleanly acknowledged that the planet suited the Demon Realm and withdrew its hand. Afterward, the Demon Gods, freed from the Middle World’s one-tenth power restriction, descended and subdued all the Transcendents. By the Demon Realm’s law of the strong, the weak became slaves. And hell unfolded for the weak of the Middle World.’

Though the Transcendents were 10-circle, they were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ultimately at the level of Demon Kings in the Demon Realm. They were no match for the highest-ranking Demon Gods. ‘The Transcendents had never imagined the Divine Realm would abandon them completely. They cried out for divine mercy while occupied by the Demon Realm, but it was already over.’

On planets conquered by the Demon race, the Divine race’s role changed to managing the planet ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on behalf of the Demon race. Having lost the gods’ protection, they became the property of the Demon race and were no longer recognized as believers, abandoned by all. It was a truly cruel world.

“Because the absolutes of the Middle World fell like that, certification wars between the Divine race and Demon race began. You fools—! What will you do now? Who will save you and the lives of your planet from becoming livestock?”

This was different from the Demon Realm of the eternally ruling Demon God, who gave everyone a chance to grow stronger and respected those who reigned. Other Demon Realms treated humans as livestock supplying vitality. ‘They treat even weak Demon race members as expendables, so frail humans are better off dead.’

The request he had participated in as a mercenary had been a war in which the Demon God King, harboring vicious intent, deployed even the heir, the Great Demon God, along with mercenaries, waging blitz and total war. He had earned his share by briefly participating as a Divine Realm mercenary, but the aftermath of the planet turning into a Demon Realm had been truly horrific. To replenish the vitality consumed in war, the Demon Realm had extracted vitality with extreme cruelty. ‘Nine-tenths of the planet’s once-vast population died and became vitality.’

Nine out of ten sentient beings had been converted into vitality and vanished. He had shaken his head at the sight, but this was the law of this universe. The victims had ignored reality in pursuit of their ideals and desires, ultimately inviting the Demon Realm’s rule. ‘The very ones who contributed most to the Demon Realm destroying the Divine Realm were those Transcendents who cried out only for their ideals while fighting each other. The fanatics who attacked believers of other gods while invoking the name of their own god were no less guilty. Though less visible, they were far filthier than the black mages despised by all.’

Fanatics coveting the property of the powerless and burning innocent humans as Demon race minions was the least of it. There were countless cases of nations forming alliances to exterminate believers of other gods and commit genocide. Yet when he examined the stacks of request documents from the Middle World, the situation was truly absurd.

“This isn’t someone else’s problem, is it?”

Now that the Dimensional and War God had become the administrator of the Middle World, troublesome matters were being subtly pushed onto him. The requests from the popes of religious nations and the 10-circle Transcendents called absolutes were the issue. ‘We must subjugate those who worship ancient gods and evil gods, so I will lead my believers and step forward.’ ‘If you entrust me with part of the Middle World, I will manage it well in your stead.’ ‘My race worships me as a god and produces divine power excellently, so grant us autonomy.’

Upon closer inspection, now that the threat of the Demon Realm had diminished and their bellies were full, signs of rebellion were beginning to show. Even in the Middle World under his management, such troublesome elements had started to appear. “Heh—! Are these things trying to challenge me now?”

Prosperity and development also brought corruption and complacency. Suddenly, nonexistent religious inquisitions emerged, and those without divine power played at being high priests. Those who believed in religion attached themselves to power and judged right and wrong in the world in place of the gods. ‘I could overlook it if they were merely pure power-seekers, but they invoke the name of god and act as divine agents.’

It was an act of blasphemy against the gods far worse than apostasy. Yet the gods merely watched as the forces of their own deities grew. ‘If left alone, religious wars will break out.’ The casualties of religious wars were immense, and the number of believers could plummet, potentially turning the realm into the Demon God Star that had become a Demon Realm. That was something he absolutely refused to allow. ‘I cannot lose the position of Main God in the Divine Realm that I have only just secured.’

What displeased him most was that the Transcendents and Demigods of the Middle World were arrogantly demanding autonomy and dominion bit by bit, claiming they deserved proper treatment. Moreover, underestimating him as the Middle World’s administrator, the Transcendents were on the verge of banding together those below 7-circle and causing chaos. His response was simple.

“I must thoroughly purge the fanatics in the Middle World as well. Merely dealing with some black mages is not enough to ease my mind. As a bonus, I should kill all the Transcendents too.”

There were naturally many absolutes on the Main God Star where he lived. They were Demigods of various races and those who had transcended biological limits to become gods as the first popes. Unable to enter the Divine Realm as Demigods, they lingered at its boundary or had seized guardian god positions for their own races. ‘While that swindler Main God of the Divine Realm was a monster keeping them in check, now that they know the Main God managing the Middle World has changed, they are slowly crawling out and expanding their influence.’

They were not as formidable as he had once been, but they were powerful enough that even high-ranking gods would struggle to subjugate them in the Middle World. ‘These beings are different from me, who possesses dimensional authority.’

Through his dimensional authority, he had seen and experienced many worlds, and he knew how terrifying karma was and how cruel this universe was to those who did not contribute to development and evolution. ‘But these beings only know this one planet and believe themselves supreme. They will not listen to words, so I will kill them cleanly. If I keep killing them until they fall below 7-circle, they will not commit such madness again. No, I should permanently seal them with the Lord Slayer spear.’

It was the simplest and surest method, but there was one minor problem. ‘But I am a Main God, not a Demon God, right? Mass slaughter is absolutely forbidden. What do I do?’

He suddenly felt a headache coming on. ‘They are not even my apostates, so if I dispose of them en masse at will, my karma will instantly become “extremely evil.” They are relying on that and crawling up while claiming ridiculous rights in the Middle World, so I must take extraordinary measures. To do that, I need to become even stronger than now.’

In the end, he opened the complete 11-circle magic tome collection and, pushing himself to the limit, memorized all the magic within. Gogogogogo!

“I will memorize it first. Understanding comes later.”

The magic power he had temporarily received from the Demon God King and stabilized formed eleven circles. It was the circle of magic power that had succeeded in stabilizing after the Substitute Gods War through desperate effort. ‘I am still too weak to fully accept the demonic energy and vitality of the eternally ruling Demon God who became a Great Demon God.’

He was strengthening his body by creating the eleventh circle of magic power with part of the vitality received as an advance payment. ‘Now my magic power and divine power have fully recovered. It is not time to rest any longer. My combat intuition is activating again. It is telling me to move now.’

His combat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠intuition was warning that if he let his guard down now, he would face considerable trouble. “I will proceed with Granzoa’s return as a Main God while handling the cleanup. As they say, one must tidy the house before starting work.”

Fwoooosh!

He opened a dimensional gate to the battlefield of the highest-ranking Main God Star where the certification war against the Substitute Gods was raging. ‘I will respond to the mercenary god request. I must train in the 11-circle magic and obtain compensation for participating.’

A reason to grow stronger quickly had emerged. It was to deal with those who had dared to jointly demand recognition of their rights as gods in the Middle World. ‘Damn them! Do they think I will tolerate their whining just because I was once a Transcendent of the Middle World? Who dares underestimate me and try to create a private divine realm in the Middle World? They want to enjoy the rights of a god without doing the work in the Divine Realm, don’t they? I will trample them so thoroughly.’

The Dimensional and War God ground his teeth at the Demigods and Transcendents who, underestimating him, had banded together to prepare a rebellion and were trying to seize the rewards he had obtained by fighting with even annihilation in mind through blackmail and threats. ‘I will make them feel in their bones that this universe is not romantic enough for free victories to work. I will also show them just how viciously I survived.’

The Dimensional and War God bared his teeth at the Demigods and Transcendents who had underestimated him and joined forces to prepare a rebellion. ‘The true natural enemy of a venomous snake is an even more venomous snake. I will uproot them completely.’