The Creator's Verdict
In the aftermath of the Goddess Department war, left alone to ponder the situation, another contact arrives. It is an emergency transmission from the council of the Main Divine Realm.
“Those damned bastards! Do they still have more work to dump on me?” he grumbled as he connected the line, only to be greeted by the face of the sly raccoon Main God.
“Ahahahaha—!”
“……”
The man laughed as if he had lost his mind. The Dimensional and War God stared at him in silence. Eventually, the Main God seemed to feel awkward and straightened his expression before offering a greeting.
“It has been a while. I heard you have been through quite a lot.”
“……”
When the Dimensional and War God amplified his divine power and glared without a word, the Main God reacted immediately.
“Haaah—! I am truly sorry. I never expected a rebellion the moment your vacation ended. I thought we would have at least a few years of breathing room.”
“Since we are still under contract, I will speak formally. ‘The noble and great dark mage shall transfer the position of War God once the former War God is acknowledged as a warrior by the Main God of the Divine Realm. In exchange, the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Divine Realm shall not interfere when the dark mage travels between dimensions.’ That is the content of the Karma Contract. I have nearly resolved the problems in the Divine Realm caused by the contracting party’s impulsive actions, but the divine power and authorities that can be transferred have increased due to the rushed handling. The original contract was for the transfer of the War God position, but now it must include the seat of a High Lord. Because the authorities have already merged, only the highest-ranking Lord among the combat-type deities can inherit it, and the superior relationship with the Demon Realm can also be passed on. However, your son’s growth limit is only up to Intermediate Main God. Even if your son returns, inheritance will be impossible. That fact remains unchanged even if you, Main God of the Divine Realm, become a Creator God. Because the contracting party’s impulsive actions have rendered the fulfillment conditions impossible, I hereby declare the contract complete.”
“Hmm—! So you had already noticed. Well, to be honest, the promotion to the highest-ranking Divine Realm and the recognition from the Demon Realm were both outside my expectations. I thought that if you became the Main God of the Divine Realm in my place, you would kill all the goddesses, reclaim their divine power, and annihilate the unnecessary ones as well. The Divine Realm would drop from high-ranking to below intermediate, but the falling karma would be manageable for an Intermediate Main God. Then, if I poured all my strength into raising my lacking son to Intermediate Main God, inheritance would become possible. My intention was for my son to inherit the Divine Realm I built over countless eons, and that would benefit you as well, would it not? For a practitioner like you, a Divine Realm that only brings management headaches would be nothing but a nuisance. Was it not your desire to receive guaranteed safety, abandon the troublesome position of Main God of the Divine Realm, and return to the mage tower in the Great Forest to train in magic? Why did you raise the Divine Realm to the highest rank and bring hardship upon yourself?”
“If the original contract—receiving an inviolable guarantee of safety from the Divine Realm in exchange for taking on the role of the highest god and managing the Middle World—is combined with this, transferring the entire Divine Realm to your son would be the fastest option. It would be the easiest way to complete the contract with the greatest Main God of the Divine Realm without any burden, but I refuse any method that negatively affects karma. Right now, I must increase my divine power even slightly with karma’s positive support. My goal has changed from revenge to becoming a true Main God of the Divine Realm. My primary objective is to become a High Lord through my own Innate Divine Power, not a High Lord built on the mirage of followers.”
“I see. The problem arose because I did not know your goal had shifted from revenge to becoming the Main God of the Divine Realm. That Divine Realm contains my eons of time and effort. I cannot hand it over to an outsider. Only my son is qualified.”
“You speak the same as the Demon God of the Demon Realm. The Divine Realm belongs to the Main God of the Divine Realm, but once promoted, it must be transferred and a new high-ranking Divine Realm created. It is not domination, but management. That is the difference between the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Demon God of the Demon Realm. A true Main God of the Divine Realm is not someone protected by the Divine Realm’s power, but someone who leads it to new prosperity. A cold killing intent began to flow from the eyes of the Dimensional and War God. “If you refuse to declare the contract complete, I will kill you for insincere performance and non-fulfillment of the contract.”
“I never intended to settle this with words anyway. I may not need it, but how dare you steal the divine power of my Divine Realm and nullify the debt relationship with my subordinate gods? Thanks to you, I must create the divine power to give my son from scratch, which will take an eternity. I will not forgive anyone who has harmed me.”
“I agree with you on that point alone.”
Guoooooo! Wuuuung!
The divine power of the greatest Main God and the Dimensional and War God began to surge explosively. Although the Main God’s divine power had fallen to five billion, a Main God of the Divine Realm who possessed the qualifications of a Creator Candidate was still powerful. In emergencies, his authorities would multiply in strength, and he would receive support from the Creator God’s divine power and authorities. That strength meant the Divine Realm’s divine power was unnecessary and held no value to him.
‘One must possess over one hundred billion pure Innate Divine Power to qualify as a Creator God. But can someone like that truly become a Creator God? Who would follow a being who seeks profit without any investment and only demands damage and sacrifice from those around him?’ Such behavior might suit a Demon God, but even the Demon King could not avoid the decline of his forces and eventual destruction in this universe if he acted this way. Moreover, the Dimensional and War God, who had already become an Absolute Being with the title of Intermediate Main God of Dimensions, was someone a mere Creator Candidate could not handle. Yet from his perspective, the time for war had not yet come. A battle without any compensation held no meaning, and he had no desire to face a Main God of the Divine Realm who, having luckily become a Creator Candidate, failed to understand his own limits and acted recklessly.
“The deity who has just become a Creator Candidate is currently a High Lord. If he dies and falls below Intermediate Main God, his qualifications will be revoked. It seems the Creator God provided support because he could not tolerate that, but his judgment was mistaken. With your level of power, which cannot even handle a single Substitute God Lord, you will never defeat me, nor will you pass the Creator God’s certification trial. And with emotions overriding reason, how long do you think it will take to raise five billion divine power to one hundred billion? You claim the Divine Realm you invested everything in must be inherited by your son? Do you think you are the Demon God of the Demon Realm? Do you believe the divine power of the Main God of the Divine Realm of Light will rise through such personal emotional states? I, who suppress all emotions and desperately focus on the development of the Divine Realm and the increase of divine power, will likely advance faster than you. Now then, who do you think the Creator God will choose?”
“Ugh!”
The answer came instantly.
Kuuung—!
The enhancement of divine power and the elevation of authorities that the sly raccoon Main God had been receiving from the Main Divine Realm were blocked. The Main God’s face turned deathly pale from sheer shock. With the Creator God’s divine power support and authorities gone, only the power of an Intermediate Main God remained, and the Dimensional and War God’s High Lord divine power struck him directly.
Gu-gu-gu-gu-gu-gung!
Having suffered an enormous blow, his very existence trembled. Then a divine proclamation carrying over one hundred billion divine power resounded.
“The words of the Dimensional and War God are correct. In his universe, the words of the strong are just. Because the effort to become stronger contains no falsehood, the result also contains no falsehood. In this state, it is clear that the Dimensional and War God, who holds the title of Absolute Being as an Intermediate Main God of Dimensions and possesses the qualifications of a Creator Candidate, will become a Creator God faster than the greatest Main God. Therefore, he is right.”
The moment the Creator God’s words echoed, the Dimensional and War God stepped down from his seat of glory, knelt, and paid his respects.
‘As expected, the Creator God’s divine power and authorities are still beyond my reach.’
The highest-ranking Divine Realm was dangerously shaking from the mere transmission of the divine proclamation.
“Glory shall be upon the Dimensional and War God, who is more faithful than anyone to the laws of karma. By the authority granted to me, I bestow upon you the temporary qualifications of a Creator Candidate. The Main Divine Realm shall provide all possible support. Furthermore, I declare the completion of all Karma Contracts made with the greatest Main God. Without any burden, develop this Divine Realm further, prove the greatness of the God of Light, and lead it to promotion into the Creation Realm. Everything you create shall become yours.”
“I shall obey.”
Two sheets of the Light Karma Contract appeared, emitted light, and vanished. All contracts with the sly raccoon Main God had now been declared complete.
“Sword that once shone brightest in the Divine Realm, your rest has been too long, and your light has faded. To recklessly challenge someone stronger than yourself? Has your sense of battle dulled? At this rate, it will take eons for you to inherit my position. I order you to participate in the Substitute Gods’ mercenary battlefield. Train there until you can fight one-on-one against the Substitute God Lords.”
“Hiiik—! That is too much!”
The sly raccoon Main God’s face turned pure white along with his scream.
‘No matter how much of a Creator Candidate he is, it is impossible for a divine race to achieve victory in one-on-one combat against Substitute God Lords who will only grow stronger through my magic from now on.’
Because the divine race, specialized in defense, could never break through the Substitute Gods’ defenses, they could only endure. Countless deaths and extinctions were inevitable. Moreover, at the Main God of the Divine Realm’s bold objection, anger began to color the Creator God’s words.
“How dare you talk back to me. As a compulsory measure, I seal your Creator Candidate qualifications as well. Go to the battlefield immediately and bring back the stars and vitality that the galaxy always lacks. No, before that, I shall personally train you.”
“I was wrong. Aaaaaaaaah—!”
With the sly raccoon Main God’s scream, the communication ended, and a deep sigh escaped the Dimensional and War God’s lips.
‘Huuu… As expected, the Creator God’s grudge is endlessly long.’
If he were thrown into the Substitute Gods’ mercenary forces with his Creator Candidate qualifications sealed, the divine race would truly have no chance of victory. The Substitute Gods’ mercenary war was a brutal place where even mere participation yielded rewards, and as a high-ranking deity with Creator Candidate status, he could be resurrected cheaply even if he died as an Intermediate Main God. Dying as a Creator Candidate would consume an enormous amount of vitality, however.
‘He intends to use him as a mercenary Lord endlessly. I must be truly careful. If marked as disrespectful, there is no answer.’
Seeing how the Creator God treated even his own successor this way after a single retort sent chills down his spine.
‘I also received temporary Creator Candidate qualifications through the Creator God’s favor, but I must not let my guard down.’
Now all contracts with this Divine Realm and the sly raccoon Main God were complete, leaving only the contracts with the goddesses. This marked the beginning of a true Main God of the Divine Realm, unbound by contractual obligations. Then he turned his gaze toward a corner of space and spoke.
“Now, come out.”