The Original Round Table's Choice
The light rings—proof of the Goddess Department’s war-power release state—overlap with the magic rings and completely envelop the body of the Dimensional and War God, spinning at blinding speed. Weeeeeeeng—! Weeeeeeng—!
He strides across the former round-table site in the conference hall, passing the Goddesses and the God of Knowledge. Even the Goddesses cannot bring themselves to stop him. ‘That was never something one said to warriors who had fought on the battlefield and returned victorious.’ They, too, were former War Gods and Fighting Gods who had known countless battlefields. ‘The War Gods of the Divine Realm are undeniably strong and valiant.’‘Even amid countless injustices, they fought and vanished in the wars against the Substitute Race and the Demon Gods, prepared for death and extinction.’‘They are beings who remained within the Boundary, choosing the prosperity of the Divine Realm as their honor, even when they could have simply changed their gender to female.’
The male gods who fought silently at the Boundary trained only for strength, pledged loyalty to the Main God of the Divine Realm, and endured sacrifices for the Divine Realm—treating even a brief vacation as a blessing. Even the Goddesses who once despised male gods could not bring themselves to insult them. Yet these new-generation Goddesses had gone so far as to demand their title be changed to “bodyguards.”
‘They have been raised too delicately.’‘They have no manners at all.’ A surge of indignation rose within the Goddesses; they wanted to step forward and discipline the offenders themselves. The Highest and Upper Goddesses had already lowered their heads, drowning in despair. Having once been driven to the brink of losing their divine power and being exiled to the Spirit Realm after defeat in the Authentication War, they understood all too well the value of War Gods and Fighting Gods—and the pride those gods took in their titles.
‘Countless male gods chose self-extinction after defeat, declaring they had no face left to live after failing to protect the Divine Realm.’‘No wonder the Spirit Realm is overflowing with Goddesses while male gods are almost nonexistent.’ Above all, the power gap between the leaders of the Goddess Department and the Dimensional Lord was despairing. No matter how many Highest Gods stood together, they could never overcome an Intermediate Lord who was not even a full Main God—let alone when hundreds of Main-God-level Goddesses linked their power in parallel.
Uuuuung—! Uuuuung—! The God of Knowledge ground his teeth, desperately trying to understand why this had happened. But there was no time to think. He himself had registered the Dimensional and War God as a mere candidate Main God with only two billion divine power—absurdly weak. ‘If Main-God-level Goddesses receive overwhelming divine-power support, even a candidate Main God can be defeated.’ Their authorities were also of the highest rank. Yet a gap of two ranks or more was nearly impossible to bridge. Moreover, the Dimensional and War God, possessing fifty billion pure innate divine power with no followers, recovered at an astonishing rate.
‘Of course they cannot win, yet they act solely on the false information I recorded.’ Groundless contempt for male gods was, of course, mixed in. ‘All three Main-God-level Goddesses except Granzoa—the strongest among the new-generation Goddesses—have stepped forward. Believing only my fabricated data that the Dimensional and War God is merely a candidate, they are attempting a collective impeachment.’ Their resentment had exploded after the Dimensional and War God seized Granzoa’s highest divine seat and completely ignored the Goddess Department’s will, leading to this collective action.
‘Politically, it is the correct judgment. The problem is that the Dimensional and War God ignores high-level political communication such as collective action. He is a warrior who would rather charge at his opponent and die than endure a humiliating negotiation forced upon him.’ The Dimensional and War God had repeatedly expressed to the God of Knowledge his willingness to forgo even the succession of the Divine Realm’s highest-ranking Main God Star—simply to perform his duties. ‘From the very beginning, his relationship with the Divine Realm began as enmity after fighting Granzoa; he has no lingering attachment. After they tried to cleverly alter the contract to erase him, the Divine Realm nearly collapsed, and only through the Main God’s ingenuity was he barely bound as the highest-ranking god via a Karma Contract.’
His position was that of the highest-ranking War God, yet it carried almost no benefits and an overwhelming number of obligations. Thanks to the vastness of the Middle World, there were no large-scale wars, so both vitality and divine power increased only marginally. ‘In terms of pure compensation, it is on the level of an Upper God in other Divine Realms. Of course, all Highest Gods live this way.’ Still, the Dimensional and War God’s diligent nature led him to endure the unfair contract and work tirelessly, leading the Substitute Race’s Authentication War to victory. He received a few life-bearing planets, but without enormous investment, followers would be slow to appear. ‘On top of that, he was forced to take over the Middle World, which had been neglected due to the long-standing conflict between Goddesses and male gods, and now serious problems are about to erupt.’
Though dissatisfied, he was still trying to handle matters properly and gather compensation as a mercenary. As a Main God, his conduct was exemplary, yet it was obvious his patience was about to boil over. ‘The Main God of the Divine Realm’s loose tongue was the core problem.’ The rumor that he was a “lustful god” had spread throughout the former Divine Realm, reaching the Dimensional Lord’s ears and pushing him to the brink of explosion. ‘And then the Goddess Department poured oil on the fire.’
Before he was a War God, he had been a Mercenary God and a battlefield mage; he would never tolerate insults toward warriors. Especially baseless accusations from those who had never experienced war—he would never forgive them. ‘Insult a warrior, and there will be no negotiation. All will die. Anyone who sides with the enemy will also die.’ The former God of Knowledge would have done no less. He hurriedly compared the forces on both sides. As if already anticipating the Dimensional and War God’s reaction, the leader of the Goddess Department had connected with her followers and was raising their divine power. Goooooo—! Uuuuooooong—! The blazing solar divine power of the Dimensional and War God and the radiant divine power of the Goddesses were already burning white-hot.
‘The leader of the Goddess Department, the Goddess of Evolution, is taking the lead as a Main God, with the Goddess of Equality and the Goddess of Distribution assisting as fellow Main Gods.’ In the end, all three Main-God-level Goddesses had joined. Furthermore, roughly three hundred new-generation Goddesses—more than half—had aligned with them and were already in parallel divine-power linkage. ‘Estimated combined divine power over thirty billion? When did they achieve this level of unity? Ah, it was during the Goddess Festival in the vacation period! They must have prepared extensively.’
The complacency during the longest vacation in eons was not merely chilling—it was life-threatening. ‘This is the price of focusing only on the dramatic effect of information manipulation while ignoring its side effects. I should have noticed when hundreds of Goddesses began gathering in the streets of the Divine Realm.’ He should have sensed the gravity from their serious expressions rather than festive ones, yet he had grown complacent after the victory in the Authentication War and was now paying the price for his clumsy scheme. ‘Above all, I cannot decide whether to intervene in this situation.’
The expressions of the male gods—the War Gods and Fighting Gods—were truly ominous. The remaining fifty new-generation Highest Upper male gods, who had refrained from showing fighting spirit and divine energy out of respect for the primordial Fighting Gods, had already entered full combat stance. ‘If the Dimensional and War God had not smashed the round table and stepped forward, they would have charged first.’ The earlier harmonious atmosphere had vanished completely. Many of them had lovers or partners among the Goddesses, and their eyes were already turning bloodshot. ‘It seems all the accumulated grievances and rage have finally erupted.’
These were the true Highest War Gods and Fighting Gods who had fought for eons at the Boundary, only to return to the Divine Realm after the Substitute Race’s Authentication War ended and the Demon Realm gained an eternal Demon God—finally enjoying a festival-like peace. ‘Even during the vacation period, despite countless instances of Goddess-only facilities and unfair treatment, they repeatedly offered only polite suggestions—model Fighting Gods.’ At the round-table meetings, they had attended in silence, declaring themselves War Gods and Fighting Gods who would follow the Divine Realm’s measures, enduring much discrimination without complaint. Yet the leader of the Goddess Department’s words had extinguished their last hope. If the reward for fighting eons of battles was to have even the glorious titles of “War God” and “Fighting God”—their only consolation—stripped away, then there was no reason left to endure. Killing intent surged from them.
‘Their gazes toward the Goddesses were no longer those of family or comrades. They were the eyes of mortal enemies.’ The demand to unify their title as “bodyguards” had been a bombshell even the primordial Fighting Gods—long accustomed to the Goddess Department’s absurd statements—could not withstand. Still, the primordial Fighting Gods, regaining their senses, suppressed the new-generation War Gods and Fighting Gods who were about to charge, using all their divine power. ‘If battle breaks out now, there will be no turning back. Moreover, if the young Fighting Gods who have endured until now begin to rampage, reason will no longer be able to stop them.’
The Goddesses were the wives, daughters, and family of the male gods. Yet on the battlefield, such normal distinctions became impossible—only the struggle to survive remained. ‘They do not yet possess Main-God-level authorities. But they are precisely the precious military assets the Divine Realm cultivated to produce the next generation of Main Gods. They are not beings to be wasted fighting fellow Goddesses and female gods of the same Divine Realm.’ The Substitute Race’s Authentication War had only just ended; such meaningless deaths could not be tolerated. As the young Fighting Gods, already excited by killing intent and fighting spirit, entered combat stance and could no longer be controlled by divine power alone, the primordial Fighting Gods physically restrained them with their entire bodies.
The new-generation Fighting Gods and War Gods, now immobilized, began to shout.
“Why do you stop us, primordial Fighting Gods?! Are you not the ones who taught us to live with the honor of War Gods who protect the Divine Realm and to die with the courage of Fighting Gods?!”
“We have lived through eons of battle with that pride—only for it to be completely denied. Is this the reward for enduring countless deaths and extinctions? Is this the future you promised us?!”
“Father! Did you not once tell me we should go to another Divine Realm and start anew? The divine power I received from the Main God of the Divine Realm in the past—I will repay it together with you.”
“Even if we fall to Upper God, we can return to Highest God again. There is no longer any future for male gods here.”
“Did you not say that for male gods, War God and Fighting God are the highest? That the Divine Realm needs strong War Gods most—that is why we chose this path. Yet what is this?!”
“Now that the war has ended, does the Divine Realm no longer need War Gods and Fighting Gods? Are we being discarded because we have no value left—so you can reclaim our divine power?!”
“Then why did you resurrect us?! Why not leave us dead and ignorant?! Answer us—highest-ranking Goddesses of the Round Table!”
Blood-curdling screams erupted from the mouths of all the War Gods and Fighting Gods. Tears of divine blood—tears they had never shed even through countless deaths and extinctions—now soaked the floor of the Divine Realm Round Table Conference Hall. Drip—! Drip—! The Goddesses and female gods froze at the sight of these tears from male gods who had never wept even in the midst of war and struggle. None had known such intense emotion and resentment had been festering within them. Above all, these male gods were their partners, sons, and brothers. The notion of disposing of them because they were useless was intolerable. Yet the eyes now looking at them held no trace of family—only the gaze of enemies. Even the eyes directed at their direct partners burned with unquelled hatred.
The leaders of the Goddess Department were stunned by the male gods’ violent reaction and the sudden turn of events. Meanwhile, the Dimensional and War God, radiating killing intent as he walked toward the Goddesses, came to a halt.
“Hah. So you planned to clean up the hunting dogs once the hunt was over? If this is merely a structural reorganization of the Divine Realm itself, then as the War God, I have no need to intervene. Do as you please. I will not get involved. Bestowing the title of ‘bodyguard’ upon War Gods and Fighting Gods who have lost both necessity and pride would indeed be excessive.”
“What nonsense—! We sought to impeach your disrespect toward Goddesses—! Hrk—!”
The moment the leader of the Goddess Department spoke, the concentrated killing intent from the gathered War Gods and Fighting Gods froze her body. ‘This is not the usual training or sparring fighting spirit. This is the brutal killing intent of the battlefield—the intent to kill and erase the enemy.’ Even more shocking was the fact that among the male gods glaring at them with grinding teeth were their own fathers and intended partners. The gentle, caring expressions they had always shown—urging them not to overexert themselves—were gone. A sense of having lost something precious left the Goddesses dazed.
Seeing their expressions, the Dimensional Lord continued with a mocking tone.
“Let the leader of the Goddess Department and the Goddesses who sided with her resolve this situation themselves. If the Divine Realm’s military strength decreases even slightly because of this incident, you will all face Karma’s judgment. If you become ‘good,’ then I—the ‘extremely good’ one—will personally handle everything. There is no need to worry about the Divine Realm’s safety due to the absence of War Gods and Fighting Gods. As the sole Intermediate Lord of Dimensions, I am more than sufficient.”
Thud—! Thud—! The Dimensional and War God returned to his seat at the round table, crossed his arms, and sat down. A portion of the light enveloping him flowed outward, surrounding the space around the former round table. Hooooooong—! The God of Knowledge and the Goddesses surrounding the newly formed round table had light streaming from their eyes. A single word from the Goddess Department had nearly destroyed the Divine Realm—and the crisis was still unfolding. ‘If left as is, the War Gods and Fighting Gods will truly repay every bit of divine power they received from the Main God of the Divine Realm and depart for another Divine Realm.’ Even becoming an Intermediate Fighting God in another Divine Realm would offer better treatment. The fact that they had endured in silence until now was already something to be grateful for. Yet they had been insulted with the title “guards.” ‘That was absolutely not something to say.’
The God of Knowledge, in particular, felt he was going mad. His simple scheme of manipulating the Dimensional Lord’s divine-power information had led to this catastrophe. ‘I only intended to draw in demigods plotting rebellion in the Middle World and have the Dimensional and War God deal with them—while incidentally reducing the Goddesses’ influence. But now even the Goddess Department has been dragged into it.’ The worst possible outcome had occurred: the discontent of the young new-generation War Gods and Fighting Gods had finally exploded. Even now, urgent communications from the primordial Fighting Gods demanding countermeasures were pouring in. Yet he had no answer. His mind was going blank. There was no solution. ‘What could possibly turn the hearts of War Gods and Fighting Gods who have turned away because of that insane remark?’
Unaffected by the chaos, the Dimensional and War God continued.
“You who have always demanded sacrifices from male gods—and the Goddess Department that has shifted that burden and damage onto them! This time, clean up the consequences of all your actions and statements yourselves. Judging this incident as a crisis for the Divine Realm, I propose the ‘Original Round Table’s Choice.’ This is my proposal as the Intermediate Lord of Dimensions, the God of War and Elves, and the highest-ranking god of the Round Table. If the will of the other highest-ranking gods of the Round Table is decided by majority vote, it becomes the decision of this Divine Realm. Your fate will no longer be your own—it will belong to the Divine Realm. Should you refuse or fail to resolve this situation, you will be judged as traitors and fatal hindrances to the Divine Realm and dealt with accordingly. I submit this as an official agenda item for the Divine Realm Round Table Conference. The Original Round Table’s Choice—!”
The round table glowed, and a document of light rose in its center. The agenda just proposed by the Dimensional and War God had officially appeared. The faces of the Goddess Department’s leader and the three hundred new-generation Goddesses were drained of color by terror. They, too, had witnessed this sight only rarely over eons. It was the ultimate measure invoked by the highest-ranking gods when the Divine Realm faced crisis or when no conclusion could be reached. Its power was the complete control of every god belonging to the Divine Realm. ‘Even the Main God of the Divine Realm’s authority can be suppressed to prevent tyranny.’ In the distant past, it had been used to decide the pact with the Demon Gods after defeat in the Substitute Race’s Authentication War. Not long ago, Granzoa had been handed over as a hostage to the Dimensional Lord through this very “Original Round Table’s Choice.” It was the only authority capable of completely restricting every god’s rights and, with unanimous consent, even deciding the impeachment of the Main God of the Divine Realm and the highest-ranking gods of the Round Table. ‘To refuse, one would have to return every bit of divine power and vitality received from this Divine Realm. That would mean complete erasure—except for the Main God of the Divine Realm.’
Before anyone could stop it, the names of all three Main-God-level Goddesses and the three hundred Goddess Department members were recorded, and the agenda was completed. Yet they could not move. Even now, the enraged male gods were on the verge of charging at them—only halted by the Dimensional and War God’s sudden action. Depending on their next move, real war could break out here, and the eyes of the Upper Goddesses and above were equally ominous. ‘I planned to provoke them, have the uneducated male warriors charge recklessly like the beast gods of old, then suppress them and force the highest-ranking gods to step down voluntarily.’‘Battlefield rumors are always exaggerated, and with only two billion divine power as a candidate Main God, if we received support for our lacking power through parallel linkage, we could win with our Main-God authorities.’ It had been the perfect opportunity to overturn the situation where only Granzoa—already demoted to Lower God—was mentioned as the Divine Realm’s successor. Yet they had never imagined that the uneducated Dimensional and War God would use this changed situation to impeach them in turn. ‘We were completely defeated without even being able to fight.’
One by one, the fates of the Goddess Department’s members and their three hundred affiliated Goddesses were being decided.