The Substitute God's Desperate Rampage
The God Destruction Cannon of the Substitute God War erupted once more, slamming into the triple-layered, multi-barrier formed by the gods, demon gods, and Transcendents. Kwa-woooooong!
Countless high-ranking gods and Transcendents were sent flying, vomiting blood. Yet the regenerative speed of their reinforced planetary bio-armor was terrifyingly fast. Even when the highest-ranking Main Gods and Archdemons hired as mercenaries landed fatal blows, the attacks failed to reach the core. The silver surface would simply blaze for an instant before restoring itself completely.
The Demon God King stood with his mouth agape, stunned by the exponentially increasing consumption of vitality. Even the usually optimistic Creator God furrowed his brow and finally spoke.
“Forced rampage? This is going too far. It is only natural that a Substitute God (代神族) losing one-on-one to a Main God of the divine race deserves death, but to strengthen them in such a manner?”
Before their eyes, a Substitute God Main God thrashed wildly, driven mad by the agony of his torn bio-armor rapidly restoring itself. Though he regenerated using infinite vitality, the body executing those commands still had limits. Because his flesh had been enhanced solely in pursuit of strength, both his limits and senses were excruciatingly sharp. To be forcibly restored on a planetary scale on top of that— even a Creator God’s mind could not endure such torment unscathed.
‘It’s like a pack of lambs gathering before a wounded beast.’
“Ugh… ugh!”
The Substitute God Creator God beside him was also in a panic. He had only known that the regeneration ability had been amplified; he never imagined it would inflict this level of pain.
‘The pain of regeneration, which should have accumulated gradually over a long period, is instead striking the divine soul all at once. That cannot be endured.’
Just how severe was the agony? The mighty being could only scream endlessly, repeatedly teleporting across space in a desperate attempt to minimize the damage.
‘He can’t even keep up with the Transcendents’ spatial interference.’
Every entity that approached was annihilated by a barrage of God Destruction Cannons, even at the cost of his own body collapsing. Thanks to this, the Demon God Alliance—which had already accepted a deficit by deploying their highest-ranking mercenaries—began crumbling once again. They simply could not keep up with the Substitute God Main God’s frantic spatial leaps.
‘Sigh. It seems he truly desires the gods’ miserable defeat. Since he is ‘Jinri,’ there is nothing to be done. Well, that is the natural order of things.’
The Creator God eventually gave up on victory.
‘His will has always been correct. Now that an overwhelmingly superior Substitute God Main God has lost one-on-one, the gods’ debauchery will begin anew. That is not what he desires—he who wishes only for the universe’s development and evolution.’
He had expected defeat, but he had not anticipated such a wretched and forced one.
‘There are no draws in his wars. Wherever he passes, only prosperity or utter ruin remains. To impose that upon the universe I manage… how very like him.’
This was no longer the dull, ox-like Substitute God Main God of the past, who mindlessly absorbed attacks and fired divine power cannons. He had become a rampaging colossal destruction god, a cosmic monster. Before him, the Demon God Alliance looked like nothing more than a flock of sheep.
‘Continuing any further would only waste precious vitality on resurrecting the annihilated gods.’
Having decided to end the qualification war, the Creator God spoke.
“Ugh—! Urk—!”
The Demon God King was so furious that tears welled in his eyes, completely unbecoming of his station.
‘If the war ends like this, the highest-grade Demon God Star will be reset. That means we’ll have to spend hundreds of thousands of years just recovering the vitality we owe the mercenaries.’
Advancement was now nothing but a dream.
“I’ll make you another one later. Let’s have another qualification war then.”
“When the hell do I wait—! How many tens of thousands of years has it been since you said that? You just made your first star and you’re telling me to wait again? Because of you, I’m going bankrupt!”
“……”
“Ugh. Ugh!”
Faced with the Demon God King’s shout that even mentioned bankruptcy, the Creator God had nothing to say. Perhaps he had played too much during his post-war vacation; even he felt the need to reflect on how badly his credibility had fallen.
‘Even for me, creating a Main God Star of that scale would take more than ten thousand years. Losing that star now would almost certainly bankrupt this galaxy.’
The only way to secure even a small surplus was to lead this war to victory as quickly as possible.
But then he sensed a lower-ranking Main God from the divine race teleporting toward them. And he sensed magic power as well.
‘Is that the so-called Magic God that’s become quite popular lately?’
The Magic God who appeared directly before the Creator God and the Demon God King bowed politely and introduced himself.
“Would you consider hiring me? I am a black magician who has reached the eleventh circle, and the Dimensional and War God greets the Demon God King, the Creator God, and the Substitute God Creator God of this place.”
As the Dimensional and War God bowed his head respectfully, thirteen pairs of wings rose behind him. Above his head, eleven circles of magical power appeared, radiating immense magical energy.
‘His power is weaker than a rat’s tail, yet it carries a chilling aura.’
It could never reach someone like the Creator God himself, but the being seemed like one who would prove quite troublesome if made an enemy.
The Demon God King, of course, immediately flew into a rage.
“A mere lower Main God with 2.5 billion divine power and 2 billion magic power—what can you possibly do in this situation? I’ll spare your life, so get lost right now—!”
The Creator God ignored the Demon God King’s sharp tone and spoke.
“What price would you ask? As you can see, we are on the verge of bankruptcy. Paying with stars or vitality will be difficult.”
“What? Even the highest-ranking Main Gods are useless here—what could a mere lower Main God do that you’d hire him?”
“Ah, stay quiet. I’m sure you already know that, so is there something else you desire?”
“Simply hand over the Transcendents here to me. There are about a thousand of them.”
“That is too many. We must reduce the number. After all, we still need them to manage the Demon God Star.”
“Hah—! Then how many are you thinking? Your opponent is a highest-ranking Substitute God Main God. Honestly, even a thousand Transcendents feels insufficient. If they are annihilated, you won’t receive them, correct?”
A white smile, as if painted on, spread across the Dimensional and War God’s face. The same smile appeared on the Creator God’s lips as well.
‘Ah! What a nostalgic smile, filled with murderous intent.’
A chilling killing aura began to swirl through the space. There was no need to speak of the difference in power. However, battles were not always decided by strength alone. Even an adult could die at the hands of a child who charged in with their life on the line—especially if that child gripped a sharp dagger.
‘The outcome is decided by the resolve to kill the enemy and the willingness to sacrifice oneself for victory. In that regard, this fearless Magic God passes the test.’
From the Creator God’s perspective, the other party had never intended to negotiate based on numbers from the start.
‘I don’t know what he plans to do with the Transcendents, but it seems he needs that exact amount.’
As the Creator God pondered quietly, he recalled one thing that made this Magic God—who was also the Dimensional and War God—rather famous.
“We will hand over the female Transcendents for permanent subordination. Only about a hundred, but since it is a permanent lease, I believe this should suffice. Don’t you prefer women?”
“……”
The Dimensional and War God’s face crumpled horribly. The rumor that he was a lecherous god who, upon being commissioned into the divine race, immediately created a harem of two hundred thousand human women and toyed with the Succubus Queen had been loudly spread by the Main God of the Divine Realm himself. There was not a single god who did not know it.
‘The fact that this guy is a sex god is incredibly well-known. So much so that even I, the outcast among Creator Gods, have heard it.’
If they handed over more than a thousand Transcendents under the Demon God Star, the demon gods would have to manage the Middle World themselves from now on. That would undoubtedly turn into a complete mess.
‘The demon gods are creatures who only think about killing all life and converting it into vitality to increase their magic power. The planets would be discarded. Or they would require constant supervision, but that’s not my territory and it’s bothersome.’
It would be far better to permanently subordinate and hand over only a portion—the female Absolute Beings.
“If that is not enough, we can add female Transcendents from planets that will become Demon God Stars in the future.”
“Where exactly did you hear my rumors?”
The way he spoke while trembling with rage was far from ordinary.
“Your Main God of the Divine Realm came to the Main Divine Realm and bragged about it. He said that with such strong vitality and virility, high-ranking gods would soon overflow. The harem of two hundred thousand human women was also quite famous for being peculiar.”
“That swindler! Haah… fine, I accept. In return, from now on, instead of erasing defeated gods and demon gods through the Spirit Realm or due to vitality shortage, please hand them over to me. Also, immediately transfer the gods currently waiting in the Spirit Realm.”
“Those are limited to goddesses as well, I assume. In exchange, I will make their subordination permanent.”
“……”
Gooooooo—!
From the Creator God’s perspective, the sudden explosive surge in the Dimensional and War God’s magical power suggested that the latter’s temper had been thoroughly twisted.
‘He’s furious. Still, we cannot hand over everyone, so this is the only way. It’s easier than creating stars, but producing high-ranking gods and high-ranking demon gods is no small task either.’
The Demon God King beside them finally seemed to realize the danger posed by the Dimensional and War God and remained silent.
‘If this guy goes on a rampage, we will suffer considerable damage. Looking at that magical power, I finally understand exactly.’
Only now did he see the mark of an Absolute Being’s authentication engraved within the magic power and fighting spirit.
‘It has been a long time. Seeing a true Absolute Being who has received a title from him.’
Though he was still merely a sprout, he was undoubtedly an Absolute Being who had received a title from that person. The Creator God greeted him warmly.
“!?”