The Weight of Mercy and the Calculus of Power
The Goddess Department’s war goddesses found the act of having their bodies toyed with utterly infuriating, yet with their captor now demanding an apology and them thoroughly subdued, they lacked any power to impose punishment. When the imprisoned goddesses gave the lightest of nods, an extremely cautious and courteous touch began assisting them with their bath.
With their divine power restrained and their authorities sealed, they could not wield any abilities, but their still-mobile bodies were gradually bathed in the Cosmic Tree’s nectar. Every drop was absorbed without waste. They confirmed that both their physical forms and divine energy were recovering, and the imbalances accumulated from long years of imprisonment vanished completely. As they soaked in the warm nectar springs and savored the intoxicating fragrance, an overwhelming sense of peace settled over their minds.
After the bath, the fully subjugated goddesses bustled about, donning luxurious equipment and garments. These were divine artifacts of a caliber that even the once-proud war goddesses of the Main God level had never been permitted to wear. Their eyes kept drifting to the silver fabric armor that wrapped around their breasts and private areas. The sight of these permanent body-enhancing artifacts stirred an almost unbearable desire for ownership.
Just by wearing them, they absorb surrounding vitality and permanently strengthen a god’s body?
In this universe that places absolute priority on power, there can be few treasures greater than these.
There could be no other Main God who would issue such treasures merely to strengthen his subjugated goddesses. Moreover, as their minds grew calmer, the image of the Dimensional and War God they had glimpsed earlier resurfaced.
In all my long existence, I’ve never seen such pure, untainted, and overwhelming divine power contained in such a beautiful, adorable boyish form.
Yet within him flowed Creator God-level authority and infinite vitality.
His divine speech overflowed with mighty divine power and a warrior’s fighting spirit, adding even greater dignity. As the Main God of a High Lord God Star, his appearance and strength are excessive.I have seen countless high-ranking gods and demon gods, but never a Main God possessing both such charm and power.If he can even captivate a hostile demon goddess, then it’s truly over.
The more the imprisoned goddesses thought about it, the more they found themselves drawn to the incomparably beautiful and adorable Dimensional and War God and to this opulent place. If I can serve such a Main God and receive this kind of treatment, being a fully subjugated goddess is far better than remaining a mere high-ranking god.He was called the God of Lust, wasn’t he? Then perhaps I might even receive his favor.Once I leave here, I’ll just be drifting as a mercenary god anyway.If I had never known this luxury, I might have endured somehow, but now that I’ve experienced it, there’s no going back.Haaa… What am I supposed to do?
When they coldly considered the harsh future awaiting them, sighs escaped their lips unbidden. The fate of goddesses banished as criminals from the Divine Realm or Demon Realm was all too easy to predict. Though they had cried out for revenge, their development had stalled after long years as prisoners. The powerful beings who held grudges against them would have grown far stronger in this universe—or already perished. Thus, rather than seeking vengeance, they would have to wander this vast cosmos in search of any realm willing to accept them.
A capable mercenary Main God might establish his own divine realm.But we, who are nothing more than low-ranking mercenary gods, would be fortunate just to secure enough vitality to maintain our divine power.We would be thrown into extremely dangerous battles, with a high probability of annihilation.
Comparing the miserable future awaiting them as low-ranking mercenary gods with the unimaginable luxury they were currently enjoying caused their hearts to waver uncontrollably. The most decisive factor was the appearance of the Dimensional Lord who would become their superior god. The image of a peerless beautiful youth who was an Intermediate Main God yet possessed authority rivaling a Creator God made their bodies burn with heat at the mere thought.
Unconsciously, the goddesses began to carefully stroke and groom their proud, beautiful bodies that possessed Main God-level strength. They meticulously inspected and cleaned not only their arms and legs but also their breasts and even the interiors of their most private places—areas they had once been too ashamed to look at closely. All the while, they struggled to suppress the moans that rose unbidden, as intense as self-pleasure, from the pleasure of absorbing vitality.
When they glanced around, they saw that the other imprisoned goddesses shared the same thoughts. With determined expressions, they bit their lips tightly and washed their bodies with utmost care. Within the steam and fragrance of the nectar springs, slender moans and the sound of water echoed for a long time.
“These women are such a headache.”
The Dimensional and War God severed the lower connection with his subjugated goddesses, shook his head, and let out a sigh. A sudden surge of intense, almost irrational emotional reactions from his subordinates had prompted him to check on them, only to discover they were intoxicated by vitality and on the verge of an orgy among themselves. No matter how potent the vitality here was, it seemed their fundamental mental discipline was the problem.
It looks like the subjugated goddesses require training. But I’m not well-versed in the training methods for pure-blooded divine races.
He was, after all, a Main God who had originated from the Middle World as a dark mage, later obtaining dimensional authority to ascend. While he understood the theory of training divine beings, he had little practical experience. Still, connecting them directly to the Origin’s Sun and Moon like I did would, judging from what just happened, lead to immediate annihilation.
As a magic god, his tendency to simply try things first often led to major problems. Teaching others was completely different from learning oneself. They say that as one’s position rises, managing lower gods becomes the primary duty. It really is true. I can’t simply leave them unsupervised either.
There were many ways to educate the imprisoned goddesses. He was merely carefully weighing the costs and benefits. The best method would be to completely subjugate these Main God-level criminals as both gods and demon gods. But after the disgraceful behavior my subjugated goddesses just displayed, I have nothing to say as their superior.
That said, he refused to resort to fraud or coercive contracts like certain others; his rational mind as a former dark mage would not tolerate it. Completely subjugating the imprisoned goddesses is now out of the question. I’ll only contract those who volunteer and seal the rest. For the insufficient military strength, I’ll have to hire mercenary gods.
Several gods and demon gods flickered through his mind as useful mercenary candidates. They had briefly been enemies or allies on the battlefield, but their competence made them suitable for temporary instructor roles. Lower-ranking mercenary gods who aren’t Main Gods only require vitality. That would actually be cheaper.
In his universe, any divine realm or demon realm ruled by a weak Main God or demon god was doomed to destruction. In this cosmos where certification wars that risked the fate of entire realms and bloodlines were commonplace, countless mercenary gods wandered after losing their own realms. The weak perished in certification wars, but the middling powerhouses who survived became mercenary gods, drifting in search of employment, signing contracts for war and requests in exchange for vitality and compensation.
The certification wars that select the strong and the mercenary god system that gives the weak a chance—these are important structural elements of the universe he created, strictly managed by the Karma Contract.
The Dimensional and War God had benefited greatly from that structure while building his own power. Even now, he clicked his tongue while accessing the Cyber Realm to reexamine the profiles of potentially useful mercenary gods.
It was exactly as he said. In the brutal life of mercenary gods where annihilation and death were everyday occurrences, no deity could avoid having their disposition warped by accumulated killing intent and fighting spirit. If one lives as a mercenary god for too long, the distinction between god and demon god eventually becomes meaningless. The only difference people recognize is the color of their wings. That’s why the strong ones who have made this lifestyle their own all call themselves war gods or battle gods.
If he simply wanted to teach lower gods how to fight, the Dimensional and War God could handle it himself. But what he desired was far beyond that level. Since his goal was for all of them to reach at least Main God rank and establish lower divine realms in the Middle World, rough and ignorant instructors would not suffice. Low-ranking mercenary gods won’t do. And there are almost no mercenary Main Gods above the Main God level who would respond to requests that don’t offer proper compensation.
Above all, the standard payment for a mercenary Main God’s participation was a star possessing life force. He could not afford to give away stars that he himself needed.
Click, click, click—!
He closed the neatly organized personal data of the mercenary gods awaiting contracts, rested his chin on his hand, and fell into thought. He spent a long time pondering, proposing countless options to himself only to reject them all. This self-questioning and self-answering process, mobilizing innumerable hypothetical scenarios, was the arduous path a dark mage had to walk to reach his desired goal. The only unpleasant part was that this was not magical research but mere administrative work.
The Goddess Department or any goddess Main Gods are absolutely out of the question. Sending them on dispatch to another divine realm is also impossible since I am not yet the Main God of the Divine Realm. And if I throw them straight into the Middle World as they are, there will definitely be casualties. That would be worse than doing nothing at all.
As he continued this line of contemplation, a female will mixed with a sigh reached him.
Huuuuu… Could you please speak with us as well?
The Dimensional and War God broke from his thoughts and looked toward the source of the will. It was the female Transcendents from the Demon Star whom his subjugated goddesses had knocked out earlier and tossed into a corner. They got pushed down the priority list and I forgot about them for a moment.
Even though he had completely suppressed and thrown them aside, they had still managed to send their intent. When he saw their flushed faces staring at him, he let out a deep sigh. That reaction again? I still can’t get used to this changed appearance of mine. I’ll set aside the unsolvable dilemma for now and finish this matter first.
Snap! Tap! Tap!
The moment the suppression holding them suspended in midair was released, they all lightly landed on the floor. Since they must have already realized the gap in power, there was no need to keep them restrained. If they attack again, I won’t show this much leniency.
True to his mercenary god nature, he had no intention of forgiving the shameless weak who dared challenge someone stronger while still hoping for the opponent’s mercy.
“The conditions of the contract for you are the same as before. Your conclusion?”
“You mentioned achievements as the condition for our release. Could you please clarify exactly what those achievements are?”
The female Transcendents spoke while keeping their eyes fixed on the ground, avoiding his face. It seems this appearance of mine is quite effective on women. Even though they were nearly in a state of fascination, their origins as Transcendents of the Demon Star prevented them from falling easily. Even though a Light Main God with ‘Extreme Good’ Karma would never insert unfair terms into a Karma Contract.
Only fraudster Main Gods of the Divine Realm or foolish Main Gods make unfair contracts. I have no idea how they plan to handle the consequences later.
If negative Karma accumulated, even someone with ‘Extreme Good’ alignment would eventually shift to ‘Neutral.’ At that point, both their position as a Main God and their divine power would be in jeopardy. The Dimensional and War God, who had suffered bitterly and nearly died from Karma’s ‘negativity,’ would never forget that lesson.
“I will release you once your Karma reaches ‘Extreme Good.’ Aside from that, are there any other achievements you can claim in my universe? Follow my commands, fight and defeat ‘negativity,’ become stronger yourselves, and help your surroundings prosper. That is the entirety of the duty for those subjugated to me, the Light Main God.”
“……”
At such an extremely fair standard, the female Transcendents closed their mouths. Fairness was the very first principle that Transcendents of their mother realm had abandoned upon becoming part of the Demon Star. After keeping their lips tightly sealed for a moment, they spoke with difficulty.
“Why do you need us? If you originated as a Transcendent from the Middle World, shouldn’t you be free from the power restrictions imposed by stellar activation?”
“Simply stating that you will organize the corrupted demigods and Transcendents of the Middle World and establish a lower divine realm directly under the Divine Realm lacks sufficient justification. With that level of authority, couldn’t you handle the cleanup by yourself?”
The female Transcendents kept their gazes lowered as they once again scrutinized his intentions. Although he had already explained his hiring purpose in full, they remained steeped in distrust.
“If I stepped forward, I could simply kill all the demigods and Transcendents. However, as one of the highest-ranking gods on the Round Table of this Divine Realm—the God of War and Elves—it would be problematic if I personally killed the children of the highest gods or their subordinate Transcendents.”
“Wasn’t the original purpose to kill the demigods and Transcendents to recover their vitality and divine power?”
“If I kill all the middle managers, the development of the Middle World will slow down. Not all of them have fallen, so I intend to save at least some.”
“I don’t understand. Isn’t that terribly inefficient?”
“Ignoring the backlash from some and simply removing the root cause would be correct. If the Demon Star had done so in the early stages, the outcome might have been different.”
“Even if it’s called a lower divine realm, it will eventually stand in opposition to the Divine Realm.”
Now that the conversation had become easier, personal opinions began popping up from various directions. The Dimensional and War God simply received them with a smile. Then came the sound of awkward coughs from all around, and everyone lowered their heads toward the floor again. Although their bowed faces were hidden, even their ears had turned bright red.
This face proves surprisingly useful for shutting down objections.
In the now-quiet audience chamber, his divine speech carrying his true intentions resonated.
“The reason I am creating a lower divine realm is to absorb the demigods and Transcendents and produce results high enough for the Divine Realm to accept. In the end, I intend to formally appoint the demigods and Transcendents as official gods of the Divine Realm, thereby expanding my own faction.”
The female Transcendents stood frozen in shock before simultaneously raising objections.
“Huk—! Are you saying this is all to turn the demigods of the Middle World into gods?”
“The gods would never accept that, would they?”
Most of the female Transcendents, who had begun as demigods or divine bloodlines, understood the arrogance and mindset of pure-blooded gods all too well. If a demigod becomes a pope, they can easily perform miracles and increase believers; there is no better tool than that.They create Transcendents unaffected by stellar restrictions for combat in the Middle World, then discard them once their usefulness ends.
Though they spoke of demigods as noble bloodlines, they were nothing more than useful tools. Even the rare Transcendents among them who reached complete divinity were rejected and not accepted by the Divine Realm, precisely because they had transcended as living beings of the Middle World rather than as pure spiritual bodies like the gods. However, that was merely a comfortable story for peaceful times.
The current situation was a total war with the fate of both the god race and demon race on the line.
“The Substitute Gods are strong now and will only grow stronger. Through these recent wars, everyone has realized that the current Divine Realm and Demon Realm cannot handle them. That is why the upper Divine Realm and Demon Realm are pursuing development by any means necessary. Accepting Transcendents from the Middle World as gods or demon gods is merely one part of that strategy. The appointment of demigods and Transcendents—which was conventionally taboo in the past—will also be implemented for the sake of survival.”
The female Absolute Beings still showed disbelief at his words. Regardless of whether they understood or rejected it, he continued.
“As the administrator of the Middle World and one of the highest-ranking gods on the Divine Realm’s Round Table, I will enforce the interests of all parties. As the Light Main God, I will establish a lower divine realm that encompasses both the Middle World and the Divine Realm. My fully subjugated goddesses will take the lead in educating and managing the demigods and Transcendents, guiding them into the Divine Realm. It may appear inefficient and foolish, but I believe you can foresee the results.”
“All the Transcendents from other stars who wish to be appointed to the Divine Realm will gather. No matter how comfortable the Middle World is, it cannot compare to the Divine Realm when it comes to increasing divine power.”
“In time, countless gods originating from the Middle World will appear. Unlike the spiritual gods, we sentient beings find it easier to increase and strengthen ourselves.”
“The gods themselves will be stimulated by them and grow stronger. Eventually, pure-blooded divine races and non-pure-blooded ones will compete and develop together. When that happens, even this Divine Realm dominated by the Goddess Department will come to its senses. If it cannot, they will either perish or be demoted to lower gods.”
“What if the Divine Realm here opposes it? What if they declare they will not accept demigods as gods? What will you do then?”
“In any case, I was planning to become independent. I will accept them as members of the independent divine realm I create. That is precisely why I need so many fully subjugated goddesses. Since this is the first time I will be a Main God of the Divine Realm, I need people I can trust completely.”
“……”