The Kick That Exposed Everything
The art of tormenting others in the Spirit Realm War has always required personal experience. Only those who have suffered can calibrate the torment to perfection. ‘Brats who have never known hardship would cause real problems if they tried this. But me? I can push them right to the edge without crossing it. After all, I have already tested the limits of a god’s body down to the bone.’ Blood vessels bulged in his eyes and a metallic taste filled his mouth, yet he still felt he could endure more. A vicious glint sharpened in his gaze. ‘These worthless whelps who call themselves Main Gods and War Gods still have plenty of slack. How often does one receive direct training from the highest-ranking Main God himself?’ If they survived his grinding, he could simply grant them a modest boost in divine power afterward and call it a day. ‘That irritation I felt back at the Spirit Realm Waiting Area is melting away nicely now that I am putting these people through their paces. If any of them refuse this group training, I will report them straight to the Main Divine Realm and let the regulations handle the rest.’
When weaker subordinates collectively challenged or schemed against a stronger superior, defeat simply transferred the matter to higher authority. ‘Win and it does not matter. Lose and it is over.’ That was why the female Main Gods had hesitated until the very end before confronting the fraudulent Main God. The only one not running beside him, the fat god, noticed his improved mood and approached.
“Dimensional Lord? The welcome ceremony is ready. Shall we head inside?”
Having enjoyed the comfort of standing alone, the fat god could no longer endure the murderous glares from his colleagues. Several of them were foaming at the mouth, their pride as Spirit Realm administrators shattered as they collapsed toward the recovery zone beyond the central gate. Unwilling to display such disgrace before the newly arrived spirit gods who had been moving toward the entrance, he dealt with them immediately. There was no need for anything elaborate. A simple kick sufficed.
“Your attitude as a training god is unacceptable. You are hereby exempted. Exemption to the outer edge of the star system—!”
Thud—!
Whoosh—!
“Kwaaaah—!”
The surrounding gods watched in stunned silence as the War God of the Spirit Realm was sent flying toward the distant boundary of the realm by a casual kick. Even a highest-ranking War God had been launched like a leaf in a storm. The fact that he was still screaming after receiving an impact that would have killed most supreme gods on the spot left their faces twisted in disbelief.
‘It is nothing special. I simply gathered a portion of my divine power, converted the contact into impact and shock the moment it landed.’ If he had poured maximum power from the start, the waste would have been excessive and the desired effect would not have been achieved. Instead, he accumulated force slowly, then converted both the opponent’s divine power and the resulting repulsion into shock at the moment of impact. ‘If this attack also possessed tracking ability, no being of equal or lower rank could even dream of defending against it.’ An attack that exceeded maximum output while accumulating and moving could not be blocked by comparable divine power. ‘Only a Creator God’s level of control could handle it, but I can already imitate it to a degree.’ When a true Creator God used it, the technique became nearly impossible to withstand. With his bodily control loosened, various techniques were coming to him naturally. ‘Using my body again feels wonderful! Is it because the Main God’s physical restraints have been released? Should I try serving as both swordsman and fist master while I am at it?’
His mood had lightened enough to entertain such absurd thoughts. He extended a hand toward the fat god and asked lightly, “You have gathered everyone according to the first list sent from my highest divine realm, correct?”
“Of course. Everyone has been assembled except for those who abandoned life at the Spirit Realm Waiting Area and departed for the Spirit Realm itself.”
“Oh? And the problematic individuals? Bring me a revised list from the recommending gods. Even if they are War Gods or administrators, list them as former War Gods. Also include the special roster of gods under particularly close watch.”
This was the core issue. Even if these Main Gods had not gone mad and tried to hand the Spirit Realm Waiting Area’s Main God over to the Dimensional Lord in hopes of getting him killed, he had intended to create such a list anyway. ‘There are far too many personnel at the Spirit Realm Waiting Area to interview or track individually. I cannot trust the hospitality list they first provided. It is obviously riddled with vested interests and will be worse than useless.’ He had planned to find faults and grind them down while selecting candidates, and they had walked right into it. ‘They came at me like this from the start. Who could possibly complain if I discipline them myself?’ In this universe where the strong reigned supreme, such leniency would earn him praise as an exceptionally generous god.
The fat god wiped the sweat streaming down his face and spoke with a truly grim expression. “Well… that would be a bit difficult here.”
His gaze darted around. The newly arrived spirit gods were already listening with interest, and the other administrator Main Gods were watching while screaming internally. Discussing the sensitive matter of spirit god recruitment so openly clearly struck him as absurd. ‘Normally such negotiations are conducted behind closed doors by working-level staff who push and pull for their own benefit. But I have no intention of doing so with anyone below the rank of highest Main God.’
The Dimensional Lord smirked and reached into empty space, grasping something invisible. “Haha. You activated recording and audio devices while worrying about onlookers? It is a rather well-made covert recording artifact, but if you had done this to anyone above upper Main God rank, you would have been beaten until every bit of fat was gone from your body.”
Crack—! Thud—!
He located and shattered the recording artifact, then brushed the fragments from his hand. Loosening his body in preparation for disciplining the fat god who had tried to secretly record a superior, he continued, “Getting hit a little before we begin is not so bad. I have such devices myself, but thinking about it now puts me in a foul mood. Who gave you permission to go around recording superiors? You are not even using it for training like I do. Is it for blackmail? Do you really think this universe is so ridiculous that such things would work? The sound of muscles and joints colliding and strengthening echoed from the body that sought to surpass the highest Main God and reach the Creator God’s domain. The body, shining as though woven from light, finished preparing to display its immense physical power. His hand slowly extended toward the fat god. ‘Similar to the kick I used for exemption earlier. Last time I only sent him flying. This time it will be pulverization.’ He intended to slim the fat god down with some care. ‘As long as an administrator’s mouth and one hand remain intact, there is no problem.’
Overwhelming killing intent suppressed the surroundings. The fat god acted in desperate haste. “Hup—! Here is the list of particularly problematic gods—!”
As expected of a quick-witted administrator god, he pulled out a thick stack of documents from thin air. The pile was nearly encyclopedia-sized. ‘There really are this many problematic gods requiring special attention?’ Yet the fat god remained amusing. “Haha! Are you joking with me? This is nothing but basic personal information? Is this how lightly you manage your major problem gods? No wonder accidents have already occurred.”
“Eh? Uwaaah!”
Smack—!
The Dimensional Lord grabbed the fat god by the ankles and shook him upside down. Having already unlocked the pocket dimension with his authority of ‘Dimension,’ countless document folders began spilling onto the floor. ‘More than ten times the amount of material they handed over.’ That meant there were far more gods with fatal issues. A quick glance at the titles was enlightening. “This is ridiculous. Did you hide these to prepare for an audit from the Main Divine Realm? ‘Complete Collection of Observation and Analysis Documents on Major Problem Gods by Training Camp’? With this many gods under watch, you still hid them from outsiders and only showed a fraction? This place is a complete mess.”
“Th-that… there were never any major incidents.”
“Even if there were, you would have covered them up to protect your performance evaluation, would you not? Now I understand why you protect those Main Gods. You are all in it together, are you not? A divine realm like family that covers and helps each other’s mistakes regardless of position. Comfortable to live in, but perfect for running into the ground.”
“……”
The fat god clamped his mouth shut, unable to speak further. That reaction alone confirmed the suspicion. Yet this was not everything. The volume was too great for any single person in charge to manage. “Hand over the rest. The core summary.”
“Eh? Wh-what do you mean?”
“Tch—! Do you want to hand it over after getting hit, or quietly?”
The fat god, still hanging upside down in midair, floundered. Administration was always the same. Subordinates worked with mountains of raw data while the person in ultimate charge controlled everything with a slim summary. ‘It is only natural. No one could personally investigate, manage, and maintain that much material.’
Meeting the Dimensional Lord’s confident gaze, the fat god finally fumbled inside his robes and produced a small notebook-like booklet. “These are the detailed records of the gods who have caused the most problems so far.”
“Not only the Spirit Realm Waiting Area, but every spirit god in the Spirit Realm who could become a problem?”
“Correct. You only need to avoid these gods.”
The fat god’s face was filled with resentment as the Dimensional Lord rapidly flipped through the pages. Roughly a thousand highest-ranking spirit gods and above were listed, along with brief records of their incidents. As expected, he quietly closed the notebook and asked brightly, “Is this truly everything? Are there no more spirit gods who would cause problems if accepted into the divine realm?”
“Ah? O-of course. This is extremely valuable, top-secret material of my own making. I would not normally show it so easily without compensation.”
The Dimensional Lord’s blood pressure rose again at the fat god’s brazen expression. Veins bulged on his forehead as his divine power automatically struck the fat god.
Crack—!
Thud—!
“You bastard!”
“Kueeeek—!”
He waited until the pig-like screams subsided before speaking. “Agh—! These people really are trying to deceive me to the very end. Shall I finish you off for the crime of insulting and deceiving a highest-ranking Main God?”
“I-it really is everything—!”
“Shut up—! The names of the female spirit Main Gods I contracted with are not on this list! Is this another fake roster meant for audits?”
“Eh? Them? S-surely not? That completely insane Main God-level mage god who made a group contract with those terrifying special-management female spirit gods?”
The quick-witted fat god’s face turned deathly pale as he stared at the Dimensional Lord in disbelief. ‘He truly looks as though he is seeing something impossible. And I heard something extremely unpleasant just now, but I will let it pass for now. Such an evaluation is understandable.’ It seemed the highest-ranking spirit gods who were simply too much trouble had been classified as special-grade and removed from the list. ‘I nearly caused a real disaster by selecting based solely on ability.’ He would need to beat and squeeze the fat god further to obtain a proper list of excellent spirit gods.
“That is right! That was me in the past. Not anymore—! Hand over the special-management spirit god list that includes those women and all the remaining materials right now. Pull one more trick and I will turn you back into a War God and grind you down again.”
“Hiiiik—! I will give them to you.”
The Dimensional Lord had already decided he could not trust the administrators of the Spirit Realm Waiting Area. If crushing such gods was the only way to make his own life easier, then threats and beatings were perfectly acceptable tools. ‘As expected, this universe is a minefield where one must never let their guard down.’