The Reckoning of the Goddess Department
The Goddess Department was currently in utter chaos. “Mother—! Are you truly planning to reclaim all of our divine power?” “What exactly did we do wrong that you approved of this? We only tried to impeach the War God who ignored the Goddess Department!” “This is absurd. You approved when Granzoa schemed with the Beast God, so why are you doing this now?”
Three Lord-class goddesses and three hundred Highest God goddesses belonging to the Goddess Department were fiercely protesting to the Main Goddesses. Yet the eight Main Goddesses merely exchanged thoughts in silence. Meanwhile, the Highest and Upper Goddesses had seized their own direct subordinates—three hundred of them who were not affiliated with the Goddess Department—and placed them under control rather than mere supervision. Ignoring the subordinates’ resistance, they suppressed them with divine power, sealing their ability to speak or act without permission.
The expressions of the Goddess Department goddesses grew increasingly pale at this violent display. They too were Highest God goddesses who had fought fiercely through countless eons to ascend. ‘We have managed countless believers and witnessed both their ruin and glory.’ When their reason returned and they coldly analyzed the current situation by applying it to themselves, they were horrified.
The Divine Realm’s circumstances had changed drastically. The new War God had led the Substitute Gods to victory in their war, ascended to Lord God, and an era of great transformation without war was approaching. ‘Great transformation is just a fancy word for revolution—the replacement of the ruling class and the introduction of a new governing ideology. In the end, it always leads to purges.’ ‘Whether one wishes it or not, those who cannot adapt to the new ideology—directly or indirectly—and fail to contribute to society will disappear.’ ‘In the Demon Realm, demon gods would kill and steal their magic; in the Divine Realm, they would be stripped of divine power through prolonged, natural impeachment and sent to the Spirit Realm.’
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the Lord-class goddesses, weary of the Main Goddesses’ lack of response, remained still while exchanging thoughts. ‘Not only the War God and Fighting God, but the Goddess Department as well—is it marked for elimination?’ ‘Once the war ends, there will be no need to ally with hostile factions. A purge will inevitably follow. This is not the time to act, but to observe.’ ‘This can’t be—! Just because we impeached the War God, we’re all going to lose our divine power?!’ ‘The situation is far too unfavorable. In past war eras this might have been overlooked, but now there is too much leisure.’ ‘Above all, the War God is no mere Lord with two billion divine power! My senses tell me he is at least an Intermediate Lord with over five billion.’ ‘At that level, he is practically the second-in-command of the Divine Realm. Even the Main Goddesses would struggle against him.’ ‘What on earth were they thinking, allowing such false information to be officially recorded in the Divine Realm’s archives?’ ‘An Intermediate Lord, three Lord-class goddesses, and three hundred Highest God goddesses are worthless compared to the Divine Realm’s position. We may truly all be impeached.’ ‘Surely the Mothers wouldn’t impeach all of us? What about the conflict with the male gods?’ ‘That too seems to have changed. Not only has the opposing side’s position weakened after the war, but they must have considered the shift in our own standing.’ ‘We are targets for elimination? Us, who are Lord-class?’ ‘In an era of transformation, the amount of divine power is not what matters. The criterion is how useful one is to the Divine Realm. We have become the greatest obstacle to the Divine Realm’s development.’ ‘This is ridiculous—! We, who led the Divine Realm’s progress with the full support of the new-generation goddesses, are now obstacles?’ ‘If you understand, then stay quiet. The Mothers will now judge our fate. Defying them now means death for all of us.’ ‘The Mothers would kill us?’ ‘They were once the War God and the Main God of the Divine Realm. It is entirely possible. We may be their direct descendants and Lord-class, but if the Divine Realm perishes, everything ends anyway. The Mothers have already experienced that once. To prevent it from happening again, they would not hesitate to kill even their own blood.’ ‘Ughhh!’
The eyes of the Main Goddesses had already lost all emotion as they continued exchanging thoughts. Each spoke a single line as if to herself before falling silent. “If the three hundred Highest God goddesses of the Goddess Department are replaced by male gods, there will be no way to win in the future.” “If the Divine Realm learns of the current situation, a rebellion by the male gods will occur. We have no choice but to approve.” “There is no other way. In this situation, there is no method to save the three hundred goddesses of the Goddess Department.” “If we leave this alone, the War God and Fighting God will definitely rebel. In the end, there is no way to refuse approval.” “Ultimately, there is only one conclusion.”
The three Main Goddesses who had already cast their votes first spread their thirteen pairs of wings, revealing their Lord God divine authority. The remaining five Main Goddesses followed suit, fully displaying the Lord God authority they had hidden unless absolutely necessary. Seeing this, the Highest and Upper Goddesses hurriedly knelt, and so did their direct subordinates. They too now understood how dire the situation had become. ‘In this era of transformation, we who tolerated the rebellion of the demigods, misjudged the Dimensional and War God’s strength, and failed to comprehend the changed circumstances have been driven into this corner.’ ‘One wrong move now and the enraged Main Goddesses will kill us all.’ ‘The freedom and consideration they granted us was only to keep the Main God of the Divine Realm and the male gods in check.’
The Main Goddesses had originally been the rulers of a complete theocracy, but had been forced to restrain themselves because their divine power was limited to the Divine Realm. They were originally War Gods who had slain countless Lord Gods and possessed the Lord Slayer authority. ‘Defy them even slightly now and our divine power will be reclaimed immediately.’ As if infected by fear, all the goddesses began prostrating themselves. They were overwhelmed by the Main Goddesses’ terrifying divine power. Even the Lord-class goddesses were no exception.
Now the Main Goddesses’ fighting spirit and killing intent filled the conference room. The icy voice of Granraha, the Queen of the Sky who had fully manifested her authority, rang out. “The tedious political games and ridiculous farce are finally over.” “So it comes to war after all? What about the Sly Raccoon Main God’s position?” “His exact location is unknown! There is information that he is in the Lord God Realm meeting with the Creator God. But if that bastard appears, I will personally take his head.”
Granraha’s voice, laced with killing intent, echoed. “No matter how much it was the Round Table’s choice, they ultimately approved sending Granraha as a hostage. From that moment, I decided to kill him myself. The difference in divine power is vast, but the power of authority is on my side. I will show you why Sky Lightning stands above all other authorities.” “Do as you please. Who will take the position of Dimensional and War God?” At the black-haired Main Goddess’s question, Granraha replied with a mocking tone. “You have already grasped everything through countless Essence Exchanges with him, haven’t you?” “Hmph! As long as we don’t kill him, it should be fine. We still need to complete the oath contract.” “Hmm—! Honestly, I wanted to maintain a good relationship with the Dimensional and War God if possible.” “And yet that woman obtained immunity to all his attributes through her own authority? She went to such lengths.” “We cannot trust male gods. You prepared just as thoroughly, didn’t you?” “Same here. I knew from the beginning that in this Divine Realm, things would eventually come to this with him. I wanted to stay on good terms until the contract was complete.”
Rumble—! Lightning began to flash in Granraha’s eyes. “Those fools have accelerated the war like this. Granzoa has not yet returned, so we cannot receive support from Infinite Restoration. It will be difficult to secure a decisive advantage.” Crackle—! Crackle—! Sky Lightning began to roar. Lightning raced along her golden hair. Her fully unleashed divine power exceeded two billion. Above all, it was pure Innate Divine Power without any believers. ‘After losing all her believers in the Divine Realm in the past and falling to Highest God, she had trained only her Innate Divine Power.’ Her body, sealed and trained for combat, combined with Sky Lightning, could kill even an Intermediate Lord in a single strike. Furthermore, with the Lord Slayer authority, she could defeat even a High Lord. That was how she had repelled the Divine Realm’s many invasions.
Granraha’s voice thundered like a storm to the Lord-class goddesses. “We approved Granzoa’s solo challenge against the Beast God. And because she insulted him with her own opinion rather than the Goddess Department’s, we could contain the repercussions. But you fools insulted him with the entire Goddess Department’s opinion, expanding the fallout beyond control. This is the result. It has become a battle for survival where factional pride, not personal conflict, is at stake.” “You imbeciles—! If you lack ability, you should have trained harder. Did you really think anyone would side with weaklings ganging up together? We will never tolerate this, more than the God of Knowledge or the Sly Raccoon Main God. Do you think we, former Main Gods of the Divine Realm, would allow incompetent beings to sit in the same position?” “In the end, how do we deal with these fools who caused such a massive incident? They are your direct descendants, so speak up.” “Once the war ends, we will reclaim all their divine power and make them start over from the beginning.” “Mother—!” “One more word and I will reclaim your divine power right now and send you to the Spirit God Realm. Earn merits in the fight against the male gods. That alone may allow for some leniency.”
At the Main Goddesses’ merciless words, the goddesses lowered their heads. What stood before them now was not mothers, but the former Main Gods of the Divine Realm. Excuses would only intensify the punishment. The Main Goddesses glanced at the Lord-class goddesses before opening the conference room doors and stepping out. “We, whose power has been restricted for the sake of the Divine Realm’s development, can neither refuse nor oppose. But if we approve, our faction will completely collapse and there will be no future for goddesses. We will completely annihilate the Round Table’s proposal and settle things with the male gods. This is the decisive battle we have prepared for. We will seize complete control of this Divine Realm. By force—!”
Following the Main Goddesses, who had revealed everything as true Lords, all the Highest God goddesses stepped forward. Only then did they fully understand. If they yielded now, they would never have another chance—until the male gods made the same mistake the Goddess Department had in this era of transformation.