Omphale of Elbruz
Hwi, the Preliminary Creator God of the Spirit Realm War, was seriously considering transferring to another main universe. Absurdly enough, a Creator General from an external main universe with over 500 billion divine power had personally entered the battlefield.
"Even within the same Almighty God Tribe, a fivefold difference in divine power is massive. But more than that, I am currently a Main God in terms of divinity. No Main God can ever hope to oppose a Creator General, no matter what."
Hwi was at the 11th Circle, while the opposing Creator General was at the 13th. "With a gap of more than two Circles, killing or annihilating him is far too difficult."
Of course, the situation would differ if they were within the domain of a Creator-level Defense Divine Realm, but it seemed unlikely the enemy would enter so easily. "Even with an opponent of this caliber appearing, the Creator God offers no response. If He's expecting me to handle even this, then perhaps He's telling me to die rather than fail to ascend."
After witnessing the Highest Creator God—who had once died meaninglessly only to resurrect—attempt to convey some intent, Hwi activated the voice transmission in the Main God Temple.
"You cowardly Preliminary Creator God who ambushed the Highest Creator God, kneel and apologize at once! Then I shall consider granting forgiveness."
"!!!"
Crack—! Vwoooom!
The moment he heard "Permanent Candidate" instead of "Almighty," Hwi's reason nearly snapped. He forcibly initiated spatial transfer by mobilizing all his divine power along with that of the Defense Divine Realm. "A Highest Creator God whose authority training and application are a complete mess despite his high divine power cannot possibly block my authority, which is supported by the Defense Divine Realm."
In an instant, he dragged the Creator God who had just spoken into the Main God Temple via forced spatial transfer and seized his throat with his left hand.
"W-what—! Krrgh—!"
"It's me."
Crunch—! Crack—!
The Creator God's twenty-six pairs of light wings desperately absorbed and emitted divine power to block the impact on his neck. Those twenty-six pairs were proof that he had once been a Creator God who had discarded everything to restart as a Main God in this universe. Yet such a precious thing was held by this feeble clansman. And for such a weak clansman to commit such blasphemy was unforgivable.
"I did not endure that desperate struggle and training just to be mocked as a Permanent Candidate."
It had all been to restore the past glory of the Almighty God Tribe.
"Omphale—! Maximum output—!"
Crunch—! Crunch—!
He rotated eleven circles of divine power as if forcing them into overload, chewing through space itself. With his right hand clenched into a fist and drawn back, numerous authorities were granted to it.
"My 100 billion innate divine power is amplified by authority and stabilized with the Defense Divine Realm's aid."
A power capable of crushing a mere 200 billion divine power manifested. The surroundings erupted into chaos once more.
"W-wait—!"
"You mustn't kill him—!"
"The entire main universe is watching this place right now!"
The surrounding Highest Main Gods seemed to be saying something, but Hwi heard none of it.
"My only desire is to mercilessly punish the weakling who mocked me."
Whoosh—! Killing intent and fighting spirit boiled through his entire body as if to burn it, explosively increasing his divine power.
"Through the overlapping application of various authorities and the activation of Creator-level Defense Divine Realm power, I surpass the 400 billion divine power threshold in an instant."
A sense of exaltation washed over him, as if the wings of his past Creator God self were about to manifest again. "Seeing fear cloud the face of the Highest Creator God I had subdued brought a small measure of satisfaction."
He quietly moved his right hand and brought it to the Creator God's nose.
Tap—! Thwack—!
"Krrgh—!"
Though he had only lightly touched him, the Creator God screamed as his head snapped back as if it would break. He could not muster any defensive barrier or counterattack with divine power. Even if he mobilized all twenty-six pairs of wings, he should have been able to defend against 400 billion divine power with ease—yet he did nothing of the sort.
"Are external main universe Creator Gods truly only this weak? And he still calls himself a Creator God?"
"I cannot even withstand a single blow from a superior Creator God, so just how weak must he be?"
With the Creator God's face returning after being grabbed by the throat, Hwi brought his fist to it once more.
Tap—! Thwack—! Tap—! Thwack—! Splash—!
Unable to endure even three contacts, the Creator God's body was damaged and divine blood flowed. Enemies startled by the sudden situation could be seen approaching.
"My hesitation is over. If I go to a main universe where these feeble Highest Creator Gods run rampant, I will obviously grow weaker."
No matter what wealth or comfort one enjoyed, weakness made it all as fragile as a castle built on sand. Clicking his tongue at the pathetic Highest Creator God whose face was now a bloody mess, Hwi spoke.
"Tsk tsk. Being of the Almighty God Tribe, you should know it, right? The highest stage of Omphale?"
"……"
There was no answer. "Has he really lost consciousness from just this? What a disgrace, unable to even charge forward until his limbs are broken and his body is on the verge of annihilation. And he still calls himself part of the Almighty God Tribe? Moreover, a Highest Creator God, the strongest of all god tribes?"
He felt like nothing more than a scarecrow—high in divine power but useless for anything else. "Did our past selves feel this way toward him as well?"
A sigh escaped him despite himself.
"It is the use and application of all recognized authorities. However, our main universe's Almighty God Tribe fell miserably in battle against him. The reason is simple. Though we could not possibly replicate his authority, our instincts that automatically manifested corresponding authorities upon seeing his went berserk, leading to self-destruction. Countless clansmen were shattered by divine power and annihilated or fell below Main God rank while trying to manifest his authority. We, who possessed Omphale's authority and were born as Creator Gods, were absolutely strong against the weak, but against the truly strong, we could do nothing and perished."
Hwi extended his hand behind him once more. Silence now dominated the surroundings. "They must know I will not go mad and rampage."
His discipline was not so lacking that he would lose reason over facing a single god of this level. Going berserk against the weak would be truly laughable.
"So I yearned for it. A way to manifest and counter his power with our own authority—! That method lay within the knowledge he provided. The simultaneous manifestation of all martial god authorities was the answer. It meant following his training, which involved mastering all authorities and techniques over 400 billion years of training. Not the comfortable imitation of authority, but the imitation of training for the sake of becoming stronger—that was the answer we found."
Vwoooom—! The circles of divine power howled. Even after amplifying to 1 trillion divine power, his body endured and continued raising it further. Thirteen pairs of light wings shone brilliantly, pushing his authority to its absolute limit. No martial god could maintain a state exceeding maximum output for long. Yet Hwi spoke in a relaxed tone, as if reciting to himself, showing no burden whatsoever.
"It was unbearably difficult. I would rather have been annihilated. To repeatedly align Omphale, which manifests all authorities, with his complete physical training process was truly insane. Among the martial gods of the Almighty God Tribe, only two endured that process. The rest were driven to the brink of annihilation and had no choice but to weaken and rebuild themselves. Those who completed the full physical training process began as Main God-level mercenary gods. And then…"
Creator God-level authorities began manifesting at the tips of his fully spread fingers. Those authorities then compressed and began manifesting in overlapping layers.
"In merely 100 years, I passed all certification battles of every rank, rose to the level of a Highest Main God, revived a Highest Divine Realm with 1 trillion followers, and obtained the qualifications of a Preliminary Creator God. This position was seized through strength incomparable to the past as the price of that horrific physical training process, and it is proof of glory. However, this is by no means the end."
Flash—! His right hand became completely enveloped in divine power and transformed into light. It was the concentration of all martial god authorities the Almighty God Tribe could currently manifest, pushed to their absolute limit. The maximum number of authorities a Main God could manifest was generally thirteen, matching the number of light wings. Main Gods fought by either overlapping their thirteen authorities or activating them individually. Creator Gods manifested twenty-six authorities with their twenty-six pairs of wings, so naturally no one could oppose them. Yet Hwi ignored this fact and manifested authorities in infinite overlapping layers upon a part of his body.
Rumble—! The amplification had already exceeded eightfold. A Preliminary Creator God with 100 billion innate divine power was displaying a complete maximum output of 800 billion. Even with the Defense Divine Realm's assistance, such a thing was impossible under the common sense of gods, where twofold amplification was the absolute limit. Of course, the amplification of Absolutes bearing his title was tremendous, but it was never this stable. It displayed the stability of a mountain range rather than the operation of a bomb about to explode. "At this rate, I can freely wield the amplified divine power without burdening my body."
This was an authority close to a miracle even for Main Gods, one that only the Almighty God Tribe, who had endured extreme physical training, could display. As long as the trained body could endure, that authority manifested overlapping layers of authorities to raise divine power and operate it stably.
"The pinnacle of authority—! Omphale of Elbruz—! Be annihilated before the true almighty power that gazes down upon all authorities—!"
Flash—! The Creator God's authorities were overlapped and compressed as the brilliantly shining open palm struck his face directly.
Whoosh—! It dismantled every defensive authority without exception and decomposed his body with offensive authorities. In an instant, the body of the Highest Creator God, which possessed strength surpassing adamantium, turned to dust. The influence of the authority split space with a sharp, soundless rupture, the resulting shockwave cleaving through the Main God Temple and the enemy camp. All enemy gods within the attack's path were annihilated regardless of rank. The effect only subsided when other Highest Creator Gods rushed in. However, the Highest Creator God who had taken the direct hit did not merely die—he was annihilated after losing all vitality. A Highest Creator God with twenty-six pairs of wings had been completely annihilated by a Main God with thirteen pairs.
"The divine spirit, having lost all vitality and divine power, screamed as it vanished back to its original divine realm."
Unlike death, which allowed resurrection upon replenishing vitality, an enormous amount of time and vitality would be required to return to his original divine power. Over 300 billion vitality from the gods annihilated within the attack range was recovered directly into the divine realm. Hwi's extended right hand trembled as he shouted.
"Who dares call the Creator Gods' 'Permanent Candidate'? Do you think I endured that horrific physical training just to become a Preliminary Creator God? Anyone who calls me that without the qualification to discipline me must prepare to be annihilated. I am Hwi of the Almighty—! The hope of the next-generation Almighty God Tribe, one who aims to become a true strongman."
In the battlefield where no one responded to the tremendous situation of a Highest Creator God being annihilated—a feat said to be impossible without being a Creator God—the war began.
Meanwhile, the Dimensional Lord and the Main Gods of the Spirit Realm Waiting Area who had secretly witnessed the scene could not close their mouths. A Highest Creator God had truly been annihilated, his vitality and divine power perfectly stolen. The Dimensional Lord who had watched the scene was also shocked.
"The analysis of what kind of authority it is has concluded. A minimum of twenty-six simultaneously manifested authorities completely shattered the opponent's defensive authorities, attacked and decomposed his body, and ultimately annihilated him. But was such a thing even possible?"
The Dimensional Lord could also manifest up to sixteen authorities at the Main God's 10th Circle when using magic, producing the output of a Highest Main God. "Even that alone is truly astonishing, yet the opponent had twenty-six. Is that possible even with the past Creator God's twenty-six pairs of wings and the Defense Divine Realm's assistance? Moreover, a trained body that effortlessly handles the amplified divine power and authorities—what does that even mean? It means defensive power capable of ignoring attacks from ordinary Highest Main Gods. Even going all out, I doubt I could respond for more than three minutes, let alone five."
The Dimensional Lord shook his head and spoke to his direct subordinate with pity.
"So you still want to participate in that battle? You want to become a Main God of the Divine Realm? You'd have to join a battlefield where even Creator Gods are meaninglessly annihilated? Forget it. Even I would have an extremely high chance of dying if I went. There's a reason the compensation is so high. There's no such thing as a free lunch or a true discount in this world. Everything that happens in the Main God Realm has its reasons, and they never take a loss."
The mid-level Main God of the Divine Realm, who had been burning with frustration at his direct subordinate's naive insistence on participating to earn merits in the Preliminary Creator God's battlefield and become a Main God of the Divine Realm, silently tore up the participation application form.
Rip! Riiip—!
"Let's just do our work."
The direct subordinate Main God could only stare at the application form that had gone into the trash can, unable to even stop him, overwhelmed by the absurd scene of a Creator God annihilating a Main God. The mid-level Main God let out a sigh of relief, grateful he had stopped his naive direct subordinate from applying without even checking the circumstances and had asked the Dimensional Lord to verify.
"I thought the compensation was strangely high, and now I understand why. It's called a Preliminary Creator God's battlefield in name only—it's a complete Creator God's battlefield. And in terms of difficulty, it's nearly the highest rank."
No matter how low their divine power and skill, an external top-tier Creator God had been annihilated as if it were a joke. Then the enraged enemy would respond with appropriate opponents and measures, resulting in an incredibly fierce battle. "If a Main God gets involved in a battlefield like that, they could be indiscriminately cut down like a Lower God. Moreover, if the beginning is this intense, it absolutely will not end easily."
Any Main God with a choice would hesitate when offered any compensation. "If I get annihilated, I'll become a debtor again and have to become a mercenary god, so I absolutely refuse right now."
It would be a hundred times better to train and wait for a successor.
"Let's just manage the Spirit Realm Waiting Area. The higher-ups will handle it themselves. The lower ranks just need to do what they're told well."
"Yes…"
"Since recruitment numbers have increased significantly through publicity, let's select again."
The Main Gods who had involuntarily uttered "lower ranks" after witnessing Hwi the Preliminary Creator God's shocking display of power.