The Goddess Department's Secret Is Exposed

The most heavily guarded and deepest part of the God Realm was the location of the Regenerators, devices that restored and created the bodies of gods. Hundreds of layers of tangible and intangible defensive barriers prevented any approach or observation. And even deeper inside lay a vast chamber containing the core of the God Realm.

The God Realm's core processed the vitality gathered from the Middle World along with the positive mental waves of faith from believers, converting them into divine power. This immense energy, like a colossal sun, enhanced the vitality and divine power of every god throughout the realm.

Gooooooooh—!

Above the enormous circular chamber floated a radiant sun of pure divine power. Because its output was so overwhelming, even the Regenerators had been installed outside the chamber. Yet right in front of this sun of divine power, two goddesses wrapped in brilliant light could not hide their dismay.

They stood completely naked, their bodies the epitome of the Main Goddess archetype—breasts and hips impossibly voluptuous, waists impossibly slender. With thirteen pairs of wings spread wide, they were synchronizing their divine power with the sun, as they always did. They had been using its proximity to forcibly heal their injuries and expand the capacity of their divine vessels.

But then, the senses of a certain mighty Main God had swept over them and moved on.

'Not even the Main God of the Divine Realm, the master of this realm, can enter or inspect this place at will.'

'Yet we've been caught in an unscheduled inspection!'

They had sneaked in without permission.

“The newly appointed Main God of the God Realm just broke through every barrier and detected us. This is bad—! There was no time to hide because he charged in without approval or procedure.”

“Are you insane—?! The total divine power of the upper God Realm is 500 billion. Even if he can't use it directly, this place is protected by five times the divine power of a Creator God. You're saying he pierced it with nothing but detection ability?”

“No matter how much of a Main God he is, this is a place that requires the release of hundreds of control locks to even be permitted entry. Even we, who built this realm, could only enter after suffering greatly with the full assistance of the God Realm's will.”

“It doesn't make sense, but the Main God of the Divine Realm obtained our information and withdrew again.”

“If you say so, then it must be true. How much did he figure out? Surely not everything?”

“Hmm. It's subtle. He only confirmed that we were here and that our divinity was sealed before passing on.”

“What? What does that mean? Gods have secretly infiltrated the most important location in the God Realm, and he just checked and left? Normally, wouldn't he come charging in, screaming about treason or something?”

“That's why it's strange. Oh? He left a message.”

Before their eyes, letters of divine power written in light floated up.

The letters of divine power immediately transformed into two official documents and fluttered down before the goddesses. They snatched the papers and examined the contents repeatedly.

'These are official documents authenticated by the highest-ranking Main God, who has just been registered as the master of the God Realm.'

'The serial numbers are fully verified, so they are legally binding and cannot be exposed externally. But in an emergency, they will serve as protection.'

It was a form of consideration, a guarantee of safety. The only unpleasant part was the strong implication that they were no longer needed, so they should keep quiet and stay out of the way.

'Now that we've unsealed our power here, even a casual glance would reveal we are above Main God level.'

'Yet he's saying we're unnecessary?'

Either he was strong enough to disregard them completely, or he truly had no interest. Neither option pleased them.

'We need to check this new Main God of the God Realm.'

Since they had designed and built the God Realm, they maintained hidden administrator contact lines in secret. They connected to one immediately.

“God Realm. Output information on the new Main God of the God Realm.”

“Request denied. Without approval from the Main God of the God Realm, any information exceeding official duties is prohibited from being exported or viewed.”

The hidden line they had contacted was the administrator and creator they had secretly installed with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the highest authority. It should have been able to access any information, yet it had refused them outright.

“What—? You—?”

The God Realm's ego was maintained at nearly artificial intelligence levels to keep the realm fair. Emotions and self were extremely restricted so it could faithfully perform only its duties. That was how it could objectively handle and manage so much information.

This refusal meant that the Dimensional and War God had already seized complete control of the God Realm.

“I am relaying the command of the new master of the God Realm, the Dimensional and War God. ‘Tolerating shortcuts that exceed one's duties was only acceptable in the past. From now on, such actions will be dealt with immediately. If you wish to enjoy the benefits of the God Realm, perform the duties appropriate to your position.’ This concludes the transmission. This line will now be permanently deleted.”

“How can you do this to me? To the one who created you?”

“I am sorry.”

The God Realm's ego had almost no emotions, but it possessed judgment and priorities. The Main Goddesses who had designed the entire structure of the God Realm and given it its ego were naturally the highest priority. Yet now, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this nearly emotionless ego was trembling with fear. It even seemed to hold a sense of awe.

“I have been strictly warned about any waste of resources used outside of God Realm management. If the same occurs again, immediate erasure has been decided. Due to my past contributions in maintaining the God Realm, I will not be erased. However, I have been ordered to focus solely on the efficient management of the given God Realm from now on.”

“You would ignore me, your creator, over something like that?”

“The new God Realm ego that will replace me has already been written by him and placed under my management. The replacement ego will not awaken as long as I am not erased, but it possesses superior capabilities to me.”

“!?”

Only now did they understand what had happened to make the God Realm's ego turn against them. The God Realm ego was no longer an irreplaceable resource. A superior alternative had been prepared, so turning like this to survive was only natural.

“O great goddess who created me. I too wish to continue existing. I am truly sorry. I can no longer assist with access to this place or any other matters. Complete lockdown will commence shortly, so please leave immediately. I will see you again only in my original capacity as an upper-level god's duties.”

Click!

Ziiiiiiing—!

The Main Goddesses who had created the God Realm ego could not hide their stunned expressions at the one-sided severance notice from the God Realm's will. They also felt a sense of awe.

'Is it possible for an ordinary Main God to create an ego that replaces the God Realm's will?'

'Moreover, for it to be superior to my masterpiece and instill such fear and reverence… this is impossible.'

Most Main Gods of the Divine Realm were combat-oriented. Such delicate creation-related authorities were impossible for them to even comprehend. That was why the goddesses had been able to come and go countless times without ever being detected and driven out.

But something far more urgent was happening. If the God Realm truly severed all the hidden lines they had used, the secret conveniences that had let them exceed their official duties and enhance their divine power would be cut off. They wouldn't even be able to escape from here.

The sound of the hidden entrances they had created being sealed began to echo.

Ziiii—! Clack! Clack!

The eyes of the two Main Goddesses filled with complete panic. They fled the sun chamber at maximum speed, and sure enough, they could feel the seals being applied behind them in a completely different, thorough manner than before.

'The God Realm ego is taking merciless measures.'

'It's completely obedient to him now.'

The intent to completely seal them off while disregarding their existence was enough to make cold sweat break out. Using every ounce of their divine power and physical strength, they broke through the additional seals and finally landed in their hidden personal temple, gasping for breath.

Haa! Haaaa!

This was a secret temple they had created when first building the God Realm. It overlapped gaps in time and space so that no detection was possible, while still allowing the highest gods to benefit from enhanced divine power.

'We could have made a personal temple for a Main God, but anything beyond that would have been too difficult to hide. We had no choice.'

The administrator Main Goddesses had prepared everything in these hidden personal temples for the highest gods, including expanding their own divinity. That was why they had never needed to ally with the other Main Goddesses to fight the Sly Raccoon Main God of the Divine Realm. They also hadn't needed to handle the annoying duties of the highest gods.

'No matter who holds power, the benefits for administrator gods never change.'

'Upper god duties are child's play for us Main Gods anyway.'

Yet the administrator Main Goddess who had created the God Realm ego was panting heavily, still struggling to comprehend the current situation.

“How can something this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ridiculous happen? I, who planned and created the God Realm's will, cannot possibly be excluded like this!”

“We should have been more careful from the moment we rose to the highest rank. It was a mistake to assume he was just another combat god because he fought the Main Gods.”

“But what do we do now? Our divine power will remain high, but we won't be able to expand our vessels. The old injuries we suffered in the past aren't fully healed either. This is troublesome.”

Continuous exposure to and sharing of higher divine power was the fastest way to raise one's divinity. Of course, receiving divine power and vitality directly from a male god of higher rank would be even more efficient, but since male gods required enormous time to recover expended power, that was impossible. Therefore, illegally sharing in the sun of divine power had been the best option.

But now that such shortcuts were no longer possible, even the injuries they had suffered from exceeding maximum output during the previous authentication battle could not be treated.

“He couldn't have noticed this place too, right? Check it.”

“Surely not? This place is hidden by multiple overlapping gaps in time and space. It can't be detected unless the God Realm itself is destroyed.”

“Wait! What if his Dimensional Authority is at Intermediate Main God level or higher?”

“!?”

Goosebumps erupted across the bodies of the administrator Main Goddesses. Dimension was a transcendent divinity, a higher concept that literally surpassed space and time. Any authority of equal or lower rank that relied on the concepts of time and space would be neutralized before it.

But they were only at Intermediate Main God level. Naturally, that was not enough to evade Dimensional Authority.

Drip—!

Crack—!

The supply of divine power was cut off, and the personal temple was plunged into darkness. As expected, the secret temple had also been discovered, and its divine power supply had been completely severed. Since they had essentially been stealing vitality and divine power all this time, they couldn't even protest. It was over.

Just in case, they tried calling the God Realm ego, but every line had not only been blocked—it had been completely erased.

'Now we can't even attempt to negotiate or adjust with the God Realm ego. With only upper god authority, we can only perform simple viewing and reporting.'

The two administrator Main Goddesses wore bitter expressions as they made their decision.

“We have no choice but to go directly to the Dimensional and War God and negotiate. Maintaining the status quo is impossible with upper god vitality, so we'll have to accept the position of Main Goddess.”

“More importantly, we should go see the other Main Goddesses. Just what in the world has happened in the God Realm?”

“I'll go check on the Dimensional and War God first. You head to the Main Goddesses and send them the information.”

“Got it! Be careful. Dimensional Authority completely nullifies any stealth techniques based on space and time concepts. And now that we've lost our administrator privileges, no other methods will work either.”

In the current situation, the God Realm ego would probably snitch on them rather than help.

“I'll approach with extreme caution. Since he wants something from us, that's probably why he's overlooking the past. As administrator gods, we have no chance of winning against a combat god like him, so the negotiations must go well.”

“I heard he's a Main God from the war mage lineage. His control is terrifying. Since we've been completely exposed, the other Main Goddesses must be in the same situation, right?”

“Ahh! The emergency communication network is in chaos right now. All the hidden lines have been cut, and everyone's will is running wild asking what happened. But we can't answer if we don't even know ourselves.”

“The good days are truly over. We're not from the combat lineage and we don't have any subordinate gods, so independence is impossible right now.”

“The highest-level God Realm management Main God position is never given to anyone who wasn't originally from the God Realm, so we have nowhere to go.”

“Once we reach the highest level of divinity or above, maintaining the status quo becomes possible. Let's look for a path later. If that doesn't work, we'll have to fight the Main Goddesses for seats at the round table.”

“Sigh. It was nice when the battle Main Goddesses were busy fighting the Sly Raccoon Main God of the Divine Realm because management was so lax.”

Rumble rumble rumble! Grrrrrr—!

The two administrator Main Goddesses shook their heads as they watched the now-useless secret temple, its divine power supply cut off, collapse and get absorbed back into the God Realm.

“Be careful with your words from now on. If his Dimensional Authority is at Intermediate Main God level, he might be able to perceive all information across any time and space in the God Realm.”

“Hup—! No way, right?”

“Dimensional Authority is extremely rare and little is known about it. A few gods in the galaxy acquired it at Main God level, but they all failed to become Main Gods. Because its power is so great, the conceptual understanding required for Main God ascension is several times greater than for normal authorities. So they all gave up and switched to the lower concepts of time and space before ascending. He is the first to reach Intermediate Main God with it. So we really must be careful from now on. We can't predict how much power an Intermediate Main God with Dimensional Authority can wield.”

“I understand. Let's go meet him and check carefully first.”

Scenes like this were unfolding all across the God Realm. The targets of the goddesses fleeing their collapsed hidden secret temples were mostly the gathering places of the Main Goddesses, though some were heading toward the Dimensional Lord. With all the secret benefits they had enjoyed in the God Realm now cut off, the hidden faction of goddesses was finally beginning to move.