The Chief God's Democratic Deception
The Black Mage of the Great Forest War felt his hands trembling with rage inside his robe. From the way things were unfolding, Granzoa had sacrificed herself to save the Divine Realm and played a noble role, while he had become an unforgivable lecher who had blackmailed the Divine Realm into stealing her away. Cornered, he blurted out conditions that even he found ridiculous.
“If you wish for the child born to Granzoa to become a Main God, I will abdicate. This condition remains valid until Granzoa perishes.”
Since he had already presented the same terms to the kings of the human realms, there was no issue. Let’s see what answer comes this time. The lofty Chief God of the God Realm would never accept this, but because it is a matter of contract compliance, adding this clause should be possible. Presenting conditions the opponent could never imagine or accept was what he called “flipping the board.” Also known as pulling rank. Back when I wandered as a mercenary god, I wanted to do this every time I made an unfair contract to earn karma.
The Black Mage felt a surge of satisfaction at venting his frustration on the Chief God of the God Realm, the very source of this twisted situation. Yet unease crept in. Why hasn’t the contract with the Demon King appeared again? And why is everything so quiet? He had wagered the Chief God’s abdication, yet there was no reaction of anger. The Divine Realm’s complete lack of surprise was also strange.
“The position of Chief God of the God Realm is not one that can be abdicated. Once a god possesses one billion followers, every deity gains the chance to become Chief God. If you defeat me in the Chief God election and secure majority support, you become the Chief God. However, by my authority, I will grant you candidate eligibility for now.”
“?”
The Black Mage could not comprehend what the Chief God was saying.
“You become Chief God by winning majority support? Chief God election? Candidate eligibility? What nonsense is this?”
“The Chief God election is exactly as it sounds. Candidates who wish to become Chief God step forward, present their pledges for leading the Divine Realm, and the one who gains over half the votes wins. Embarrassingly, I have remained in the position until now. But any god who meets the qualifications and receives more support than I do becomes the Chief God immediately. It is not merely strength, but one who possesses virtue and the ability to lead who is truly strong.”
“Pledges? Majority support? Handing over the Chief God’s seat through an election? Does that even make sense?”
The Black Mage and the Chief God lived in completely different worlds; conversation was impossible. The Black Mage’s head throbbed from the Chief God’s patient explanation. He gave up on dialogue and felt the urge to fight, ignoring even the anti-karma application. I want to activate the ‘Clash Planet’ I paused earlier and blow away both the divine nation and the Divine Realm.
No matter how he thought about it, the Chief God seemed to have established something similar to the “liberal democracy” ideology from the Otherworld within the Divine Realm. I can almost understand why the Demon Gods always gnashed their teeth and called the Chief God a cunning madman. From the Demon Gods’ perspective, where the strong take everything, nothing was more distasteful than democracy. Even the Black Mage, who had witnessed countless warrior gods die while crying out ideals during his days as a mercenary god, could not suppress his rising emotions.
The Chief God is literally the master of the Divine Realm and its most powerful deity. To elect through voting the position of the great Chief God who protects the Middle World from the Demon Realm and external threats and holds all authority to develop it is absurd. Does that mean even that parasitic pretty-boy War God, who recklessly descended as a spiritual being into the Middle World where only one-tenth of his power works and got himself defeated, could become Chief God if he were popular? No wonder he prances around in makeup and perfume, currying favor with goddesses and getting excluded from wars.
He found it preposterous that someone so easily defeated could be called Chief God. Yet the truth was the truth. Since they elect the Chief God by vote, the Demon King’s Karma Contract did not even twitch at the demand to abdicate in favor of Granzoa’s descendant. It is not succession; the candidate must win the vote themselves later.
The Black Mage felt a wave of self-loathing at having used such a precious Karma Contract merely to demand a Chief God position anyone could win through voting. Should I really give up this time? I couldn’t investigate because every god in this realm tries to kill me on sight. I lack far too much information about this ridiculous Divine Realm. Still, I have to break this board somehow. An opportunity like this won’t come twice.
Having made up his mind, the Black Mage made a proposal the Divine Realm could never accept. “Third, elevate me to Highest God and grant me veto power over divine intervention in the Middle World.”
He smiled inwardly at the sheer absurdity of his own suggestion. Hah! How about that, sly Chief God? Try passing this one by majority vote too. This clause was meant to exclude divine interference to protect the contract with the Demon King, so there was no problem. I tried to destroy the Divine Realm until just moments ago, and I am still struggling to do so. He was a Black Mage who had driven two Highest Gods to their deaths, and though the black mages he slaughtered were deserving of death, he had cruelly massacred millions. He believed even the Chief God could never appoint such a being as the highest god of light.
Yet the Chief God answered calmly. “How fortunate. I thought you would refuse, so I couldn’t bring myself to suggest it.”
“What do you mean?”
The Black Mage felt a sudden, overwhelming sense of dread. Every conversation with this Chief God brings nothing but loss, and I can never get a handle on him. No wonder the Demon Gods grind their teeth and say one must never talk to him, only kill him at the first opportunity. Recalling all the times he had been played in past conversations with the Chief God, a bomb detonated before the already anxious Black Mage.
“Your current karma has reached ‘Extreme Good,’ the pinnacle of the Highest God rank. It is the dramatic result of slaying two Highest Demon Kings threatening the Middle World and over a million black mages. With karma at ‘Extreme Good’ and the Main God-level authority of ‘Dimension,’ you now qualify to formally ascend to the Divine Realm. From now on, you will take Granzoa’s place as the highest-ranking member of the Ten Seats Round Table. I look forward to your management of the Middle World.”
“You beautiful lunatics—!”
In the end, curses flew from the Black Mage toward the Chief God in full view of the Middle World’s sentient beings. It was an utterly unacceptable outcome. No matter how much the exception clause reduced the penalty for the massacre, I never imagined it would reach ‘Extreme Good.’ Positive karma from killing the Demon Kings and millions of black mages with anti-karma nearly maxed it out, but I never expected the Divine Realm to flip one hundred eighty degrees like this.
A question also arose. Can merely having high positive karma be the criterion for becoming the highest of the Highest Gods? I may be a thoroughly wicked black mage, but was I not a slaughterer who killed millions? Does that mean it is right? Then was it only natural that Granzoa tried so desperately to kill and corner me because my negative karma was high? If the standard is merely karma, then what about the hundred years of hardship I endured? What am I, who desperately piled up magic to destroy the Divine Realm that made me suffer? Am I the only fool left with resentment?
Intense psychological turmoil struck the Black Mage. Maybe I should have just beaten up bad guys instead of wandering as a mercenary god. No, as the founder of wicked black mages, catching guys less evil than me would have been pointless anyway. Unless the negative application of karma is suspended like this time, it would have been useless. Ugh—! I’m truly exhausted now. He longed for the warm Survival Magic Tower.
The final clause he had desperately inserted—that the evil deeds of the black mages would not be attributed to him—flowed smoothly in the Chief God’s tranquil tone. “The black mages have already been recognized as separate entities from you. Who would consider the one who easily slew the Demon Kings and annihilated the black mages as the founder of black magic in the Middle World? Whatever the black mages do from now on has nothing to do with you.”
“Huh?”
Before the hollow-eyed Black Mage, the Karma Contract began to flicker and shake. It was a sign that every clause fulfilling the originally intended purpose had been included. It means the Chief God has paid the full price for deceiving me through loopholes and guaranteed even greater safety.
The Chief God’s final proclamation rang out. “All of this is guaranteed by the Chief God and the Divine Realm and remains valid until Granzoa perishes.”
He accepts it! Contrary to the Black Mage’s will, the Karma Contract automatically added the missing clauses and prepared to vanish. Don’t end this as you please! I can’t miss this opportunity. It was a merciless, cold measure that made him want to see the face of the Karma’s arbiter. Because the Chief God had put himself and the Divine Realm on the line as contract conditions, if the Black Mage tried to break it, an equivalent price would be imposed. I alone must bear the burden. Then the anti-karma punishment would be laughably light. I have to give up now.
But the Black Mage still had one card left. Seeing the Lord Slayer spear that had pierced the Demon Kings’ necks and the War God’s face embedded in its head ornament, he thought of a way to turn the tables. This parasitic pretty-boy War God might still be useful. No matter how pathetic he is, he is the Chief God’s direct descendant and a Highest God. If I use this as leverage to make excessive demands, the contract will surely break.
Just as the Black Mage smiled in triumph and gripped the spear, the Chief God’s voice rang out again. “Congratulations on your appointment to the Divine Realm, noble and great Black Mage, god of the elves and war.”
“Gah—!”
The Black Mage felt as if the circles in his head were about to burst from the nonsense he had just heard. What did that Chief God just call me? God of the elves? He wants me to take Granzoa’s place and manage the elves? How am I supposed to keep those venomous creatures who want to kill me on sight as fanatics? Especially when Granzoa, the elves’ racial god, lost her position because of me? And what do you mean, god of war?
It had been only a month since the High Elf Queens’ spirit swords had tried to tear his body to pieces. Even now, thinking of that moment made his entire body ache and the wound near his heart throb. Becoming the god of the elves was unthinkable.
“In the history of the Divine Realm, no one has ever held both the highest racial god and the conceptual god of war simultaneously. But since there are two vacancies, it cannot be helped. And please educate my disappointing son well.”
“???”
The Black Mage’s mind went blank at the escalating absurdity. The War God was the Chief God’s direct heir, yet he was saying the son would be left sealed in the Lord Slayer spear for educational purposes. If he negotiated well with me, he could get him back, yet he leaves his son in this state? The Demon Gods were right. The Divine Realm’s inhabitants are truly beautiful lunatics.
The Black Mage wanted to argue that something was wrong, but he could not pinpoint what. The Chief God’s words were clearly twisted or mad, yet he could not grasp exactly where, so he was being dragged along like this.
“You will do well. Your start date is one week from now, considering the handover period. Finish organizing the Middle World and prepare for work. Do your best from now on. With effort, you will become Chief God in no time. Noble and great Black Mage.”
Hum—! Flash—! The Karma Contract emitted light and completely vanished, signaling the end of the situation. The Black Mage sent the falling planet back to its original space while it was still stopped and stared blankly at the sky.
“…”
The situation had been so absurd that The Tower of Babylonia Does Not Fall and Stands in the Sky had been released, and the barrier on the Lord Slayer spear had returned to normal. Why are tears suddenly welling up? His eyes stung and tears surged forth. He realized that after revealing every card he had prepared for seventy years to destroy the Divine Realm, all he had obtained was the empty title of a Highest God. A hollow laugh escaped him.
“Hahahaha! After all this hardship, all I got was the position of god of elves and war and the ridiculous title of noble and great Black Mage? Puhahaha—!”
The Black Mage had gained the laughable epithet “noble and great.” The expression “noble” was automatically attached upon formal integration into the Divine Realm. He might have been truly happy when he first became a Dimensional God, but not now. In exchange for entering the Divine Realm, I must care for a billion High Elves and countless other elves who were my mortal enemies for a hundred years. They will obey my every word, won’t they? I killed the previous War God, so I must inherit his duties too. I threatened to kill every god and nearly did it. Divine Realm life will be so much fun.
No matter how he thought about it, it was a thorny, thankless path. The Demon Gods would laugh for days if they saw this.
Of course, appointment to the Divine Realm was not entirely bad. As the founder of black mages, the continuous decline in karma that had been a negative influence would disappear, and with karma reaching “Extreme Good,” his future rebirth would go smoothly. The problem was that no matter how he looked at it, this Divine Realm was not normal. Granzoa was a Highest God, yet a single mistake handed her over as a hostage to the enemy. And now they tell me to start work in one week as a highest-ranking god in this incomprehensible Divine Realm. Can I really not back out?
The Chief God had handed him the task of organizing the Middle World and even encouraged him that hard work would make him Chief God. There was no turning back; the Karma Contract had already been completed. It’s over. If I break the contract and destroy Granzoa, who is now a hostage, a terrible consequence will descend.
The Black Mage regretted not listening more carefully when the Demon Gods spoke of the Chief God. The Demon God’s voice echoed in his mind. If you’re going to fight the Chief God, never let him speak. Finish it as quickly as possible no matter what! That guy became Chief God through cunning and a silver tongue.
The Black Mage had thought it was just the Demon Gods’ resentful slander against their rival, but the evaluation was an understatement. “The Chief God was the greatest con artist who must never be given time to think. I never imagined a Chief God could be like that. Damn it—!”
He could not even guess the extent of the damage from the absurd situation he had just endured. Thinking of the hardships ahead filled him with injustice and rage.
“Just you wait—! Do you think I’ll only be on the receiving end? Next time, I win.”
The Black Mage felt, to his sorrow, as if he had become a third-rate villain from somewhere. Reviewing the contract terms in his head drained all strength from him.
Contract Results with the Chief God
1. Hand over Granzoa as a hostage — Passed nearly unanimously. Granzoa sacrificed herself for the Divine Realm, and I became the villain.
2. If a child born to Granzoa wishes to become Chief God, abdicate — The Chief God is elected through divine position battles by popularity, so this is not abdication and is invalid.
3. Elevate me to Highest God and grant veto power over divine intervention in the Middle World — I become the god of my mortal enemies, the elves, and must also take on the role of War God. Managing the Middle World is a bonus.
4. Exclude the black mages’ evil deeds from being attributed to the Black Mage — Since I nearly annihilated the Demon Kings and black mages, they are already recognized as separate, so invalid.
5. Analysis result: The Divine Realm ultimately cannot be destroyed, and I have contracted to take on the role of highest-ranking god. I gained a goddess who is my enemy but cannot destroy her as proof of the contract. My karma is “Extreme Good,” yet the karma of a highest-ranking god means a single mistake could cost everything, so I must do my best.
To him, it looked like he had willingly signed a slave contract.