The Weight of Past Sins
Returning to work after the Spirit Realm war, the Dimensional Lord’s gaze fell upon the mountain of applications piled atop his desk. These were the re-submitted petitions from gods who had applied following the previous recruitment drive. After processing eight thousand applicants, word had spread that two positions as Main God of Divine Realm Management offered a thirty-sixfold boost to divine power, triggering a fresh surge of applicants. Most surprising of all were the Main Gods and Highest Gods whose existences even the administrators of the Spirit Realm Waiting Area had failed to detect. Gods who had buried their divine ranks deep now revealed their true colors by submitting applications.
“It really is astonishing. I never imagined so many high-ranking gods were hidden among the spirit gods.”
“Indeed. Over a thousand gods reapplied immediately after the Divine Realm announcement, including four Main Gods. More than a hundred Upper Gods as well. A resounding success.”
“……”
The Main Gods, who had been congratulating themselves on the excellent results, fell silent. They had noticed the Dimensional Lord’s divine power flaring ominously as he glared at the applications with murderous intensity. They roughly understood the reason.
‘Why else would they have hidden their divine ranks? Because their pasts are problematic, and their divine power and authorities themselves are flawed.’
There had even been a primordial god who, when his followers starved, cut off pieces of his own perpetually regenerating skin to feed them, later encouraging his followers to voluntarily flay themselves completely and offer the skins to increase his power. The efficiency had been extraordinary. Feeding followers pieces of one’s own eternally regenerating body could be seen as self-sacrifice, and the declaration “The noble god has sacrificed himself for us lowly ones, so we offer everything” generated incredibly powerful faith. Yet the practice had been condemned as a horrifically repulsive act of coercion, banned, and its authority sealed.
If such a deranged divine rank had been sealed, the god naturally could not speak of past accomplishments. ‘What Main God would accept such a barbaric and problematic deity? It is a matter of the Divine Realm’s dignity.’
Another case involved gods who had suffered annihilation, dropping two ranks before rebuilding their divine status. Even after annihilation stripped away all vitality and physical form, the divine spirit of a high-ranking god remained, allowing them to reconstruct a body and begin anew. ‘Unless they reveal it themselves, confirmation is impossible.’
The problem was that if even a Highest God had been subjected to annihilation—a punishment so severe that even Main Gods struggled to carry it out—what exactly had they done? It was an extreme sentence that would never be executed unless the god had played a pivotal role in threatening the Divine Realm’s destruction. Verifying their identities was necessary, yet their pasts had been sealed as known only to the Dimensional Lord, making inquiry impossible. From the muttered words escaping his lips, however, the Main Gods could tell their suspicions were correct.
“Grhh—! Are they still better than those women? Am I really the ‘Extreme Good’? How did things get this twisted?”
Within the light-shrouded face, the Dimensional Lord ground his teeth while staring at the applications detailing the gods’ personal histories. A sigh escaped at the sight of the beautiful woman whose black waves descended to her feet on the parchment. ‘If면주신 Lokina. Former rank: Intermediate Main God. Current rank: Upper God. Reason for rank drop: Repeated death sentences by Main Gods and the Divine Realm. Execution reason: Originally a member of the Giant Tribe, she was invited to the Divine Realm as a High God for her exceptional authority, but was shunned due to her origins. In rage, she murdered Main Gods’ direct descendants, induced annihilation, and caused various disturbances in the Divine Realm. She ultimately failed in rebellion and was repeatedly executed. Primary authorities: Shadow of the Main God, capable of executing most of a Main God’s powers; various transformation arts and scheming. Special notes: Possesses the divine rank of origin for serpent gods, wolf gods, and death gods, granting partial control and specialization against groups. Final ability evaluation: Intermediate Main God. Postscript: Until divine power is restored, she swears to obey any command and demonstrate loyalty.’
The application was painfully honest. Knowing that a precise analysis of her past would be conducted during the interview, she had written everything without omission. Yet the idea that she had rebelled against the Divine Realm and been annihilated was absurd. She had done so after her rank had already dropped due to killing direct descendants and inducing annihilation, resulting in repeated executions. And this goddess felt strangely familiar.
During the exchange of divine power with the black-haired goddess in his own divine realm, he had received fragments of memory. The image of this goddess and the emotions tied to her were far too vivid. Intense hatred.
“Damn it—!”
The curse slipped out unbidden. ‘They are mortal enemies who would fight to the death if they met. She is the enemy who fought over a consort and ultimately brought ruin to the Divine Realm through constant disturbances. Time does not make such things forgivable. Yet he could not discard such a valuable Main God.’
‘Under normal circumstances, she is an intermediate female Main God so significant that only granting her a subordinate divine realm would suffice for short-term employment. Moreover, the authority “Shadow of the Main God” would be immensely useful to one who has mastered magic. Furthermore, possessing origins tied to wolf gods, serpent gods, and the dead grants her near-magical divine power that would be an unparalleled asset to one who practices black magic.’
Accepting her outright, however, would undoubtedly lead to immediate conflict with the black-haired goddess. For now, he placed her among the candidates and moved to the next application. ‘I will conduct interviews. I can simply keep them separated so they cannot fight. But wait? Who is this female goddess? How does a spiritual being possess such an ugly appearance? Gah—! This goddess—!’
A goddess with golden hair and a grotesquely distorted, ugly visage appeared on the glowing screen. ‘Ugly-faced Divine Hand Hephais. Former rank: Ordinary Main God. Current rank: Upper God. Reason for rank drop: Death sentences by Main Gods and an additional drop due to gender change to female. Execution reason: As a direct descendant of a Main God, she was exiled from the Divine Realm due to her hideous appearance. Harboring resentment, she attempted to take revenge on the female Main Gods but failed and was executed. She later fell to Upper God rank and was sentenced to permanent labor as a blacksmith. Through the merit of creating divine artifacts, she rose to become a god of the Round Table. Her gender change occurred in the Spirit Realm after being judged a combat god; to avoid the doubled vitality absorption, she altered her body’s sex, resulting in another rank drop to Upper God. Primary authorities: “Transcendent Divine Artifact Creation,” metallurgy, and dominion over fire and ice. Special notes: Also possesses lightning affinity. Final ability evaluation: Ordinary Main God. Postscript: I will craft the divine artifacts you desire with utmost effort. Please grant me this opportunity.’
This Main God was also familiar—another fragment of memory transferred during the divine power exchange with the female goddess. His teeth ground together of their own accord. ‘She is the flawed direct descendant born of Hera, Queen of the Sky, through a virtual body using only Zeus’s divine power as an act of revenge for his attempt to forcibly rape and claim her as a consort. The result was her hideous appearance, which enraged Zeus and led him to cast her down to the lower realm.’
As a direct descendant, she had also suffered permanent damage to her legs amid her parents’ emotional conflict, becoming lame. Hera, caught off guard by such a disastrous outcome, had been unable to respond in time. The unfortunate Main God, raised in the material realm, had striven to take revenge on the Divine Realm and parents who had abandoned her. ‘With a disabled body, combat god status was naturally impossible, so she devoted herself to blacksmithing, for which she had talent, eventually attaining skill sufficient to supply even Main Gods. She then crafted the Throne of Glory, a trap capable of threatening even Main Gods, in an assassination attempt, but it was shattered by the combined power of the Main Gods, resulting in immediate execution.’
After execution, the Main Gods, recognizing her divine spirit upon resurrection in the Divine Realm as their direct descendant, commuted her sentence to forced labor, allowing her to remain in the Divine Realm’s forge. ‘Through countless divine artifacts and works, she earned recognition as a god of the Round Table and even received the Goddess of Beauty as a consort, though whether she was ever happy remains doubtful. Her divine power and authority were unmatched except by Main Gods, yet no one acknowledged her properly due to her crippled body and hideous appearance. Even her consort betrayed her countless times, driving her to despair.’
Thereafter, she isolated herself in the Divine Realm’s forge, creating only works and accumulating divine power. Even after becoming a Main God, she never intervened during the Divine Realm’s destruction. Despite Hera’s apologies and pleas at the time, she supplied only the requested armaments. After the fierce battle with the demon race that destroyed even stars ended in a draw, all gods of the Divine Realm were sent to the Spirit Realm Waiting Area, and she was sent along with them, leading to the present.
Even more absurd was that the harsh authority of Yugyeok Volcano, merciless toward combat gods, had judged her a combat god and treated her so severely that she had no choice but to change her body’s sex. ‘Proof that she would have become a powerful combat god had she been a normal direct descendant, yet she is a newborn god who embodies the pinnacle of twisted fate. Even after working herself to death in the forge for her family’s sake and earning merit, her consort brazenly betrayed her countless times. It seems worse than my own situation.’
Moreover, changing her sex back would require accepting a rank drop of two stages or more, equivalent to annihilation, so it was impossible. What troubled him most was her cold refusal of the request to participate as a Main God just before the Divine Realm’s destruction. Hera had been so desperate that she knelt and begged, yet Hephais had not even snorted, accepting destruction due to her deep grudge against the Divine Realm. ‘If I take her, Hera will never stay silent. She is not even Hera’s direct descendant, but the independent descendant of that incorrigible womanizer consort. Still, remaining silent even as the Divine Realm fell is excessive. However, I cannot give up on a blacksmith Main God. She might solve the metal material problems plaguing the biological armor Machine God. So, interview first.’
Even Demon Adamantium, forged from the bodies of 10-Circle Demon Kings, could only be handled by Intermediate Main Gods. ‘If this material limitation is resolved, my combat strength will skyrocket.’ Furthermore, if even Upper Main Gods could equip it, profits would multiply exponentially. Currently, the compensation an Intermediate Main God could offer did not even cover production costs, leading to abandonment. ‘If distributing such innovative armaments in bulk threatens the existing order? After witnessing the Candidate Creator God annihilate the enemy’s Highest Creator God, such concerns are unnecessary.’
No matter how many Upper Main Gods advanced two stages, they would only reach Creator Candidate, insufficient to overcome or even endure against a true Creator. ‘The final judgment is that reinforcement beyond Creator God is impossible with any material.’
Thus, he had intended to sell freely, yet even ordinary Main Gods struggled to equip Adamantium, and Demon Adamantium—forged from 10-Circle Demon Kings—could not be replicated through magic. Ultimately, it was a limited resource unless Demon Kings descended to the Middle World in madness as in the past. ‘The value of a biological armor Machine God made from Demon Adamantium forged from two Demon Kings rivals that of an ordinary Main God Star. No one below Intermediate Main God could ever pay the price, and even Upper Main Gods would find it burdensome. My magic cannot be replicated except by those who know the creation process, and replication of anything worth more than 10-Circle is impossible.’
The Demon Adamantium he had fortunately obtained in the past had been entirely consumed creating the biological armor Machine God worn by a Highest Main God whose true divine power was only Intermediate Main God, leaving none. ‘If materials must be purchased, one would become a public enemy of the Demon Realm or pay an enormous price. Therefore, a blacksmith Main God who might solve this cost issue cannot be excluded.’
Unable to forgo such tangible benefits, and suppressing the headache induced by the anticipated problems with existing female goddesses upon accepting her into the Divine Realm, he turned to the next page. After reading a bit of that application as well, he silently crumpled it and hurled it far away. Pressing his forehead with his fingers for a long while, his pent-up frustration finally erupted.
“I’m not doing it—! These damnable—! Why are there only these kinds of gods in the Spirit Realm? Are there no exemplary gods who, despite hardships, persevere and contribute to the Divine Realm? Why must everything end with ‘I suffered, so you and the Divine Realm should perish together’? Is the Spirit Realm a gathering place for persecution-complex psychopath gods and a theater specializing in tragic rebirths? They all dragged everything down with their grudges, yet expect sympathy? Rare cases are what make things tragic; this is getting ridiculous. Damn it—! How did they manage gods in the past Divine Realm to end up like this—! If someone of Main God rank or higher turns or falls, the damage to the Divine Realm would be immense, so shouldn’t they receive special management like now—! Origins and appearance? Picking fights over such trivial matters is why grudges formed and led to this mess. They should have died on the battlefield from lack of forces instead of spouting such nonsense—! Ah—! They were all sent here after failing the authentication war anyway? Serves them right. You bastards deserved to fall—! How am I supposed to run the Divine Realm with these rotten Main Gods—! Am I a Creator God? I’m still just a Main God. The lowest-level administrator of this universe—!”
At the Dimensional Lord’s overflowing monologue of rage, the Spirit Realm Main Gods instinctively shrank their necks despite not being spirit gods themselves. Sensing the emotions boiling within him, they worried an arrow might turn their way. Quietly finishing the classification of the remaining Upper spirit god applications, they stealthily placed the bundle of documents on the desk and slipped out. Standing beside an enraged superior only invited lightning; even direct descendant Main Gods withdrew cautiously. ‘He is extremely angry, but if no one accepts the gods, he will sort out his emotions and work. He is a Highest Main God, after all.’
Indeed, through the slight gap in the closing door, the sight of him endlessly grumbling while picking up the crumpled applications of the spirit Main Gods was visible. His true divine power was that of a powerful combat god, yet as a mercenary god from the Middle World with no foundation, he struggled so much with god recruitment that it overlapped with his own past self, stirring complicated feelings. ‘Looking back on the mercenary god days that have become memories, perhaps those times when reality’s problems overwhelmed the mind were happier.’
The problem for the Spirit Realm’s Main God of the Divine Realm began after stability was achieved, followed by a moment of carelessness that led to this downfall. ‘Still, thanks to the Dimensional Lord, even if through misconduct, the Upper Gods were all sorted out, securing the vitality and divine power needed for advancement. A blessing in disguise.’
Having regained the strength to fight reality once more, and since subsequent individual interviews were the Dimensional Lord’s sole responsibility, the direct descendants departed to train again. Upon reaching Intermediate Main God rank and relaxing, their bodies, which had grown endlessly slack, now displayed boundless tension and vitality thanks to the massive vitality granted and the power shown by the Dimensional Lord. ‘At this rate, they could break through their long stagnation and become Upper Main Gods.’
Thus, they offered a prayer filled with gratitude. ‘Do not give up. Please endure, Highest Main God of Dimensions. Far greater trials than god recruitment await.’
As one who had experienced establishing and failing to operate a divine realm, they spoke knowing that the current situation was comparatively better. Although the Dimensional Lord had suddenly wished to make them an ally, they understood, being a mercenary god themselves. ‘Even if the Divine Realm operates normally, it is extremely difficult without allies to assist. In a developed Main God realm, nothing is more dangerous than acting alone, and an alliance with a Highest Main God is naturally welcome. I can only hope the Dimensional Lord succeeds.’
‘Though it will be immensely difficult.’