False Lords' Desperate Gambit
The Sun of the Origin and Moon of the Origin wrapped around the Dimensional Lord's body and began to heat up. Whoosh—! With his divine power now exceeding 50 billion, he could control the Sun's 1 billion divine power with ease. "No flame authority can withstand the Sun's power in the end."
The unleashed solar divine power devoured the red flames completely, coiling around the red-haired goddess. Though she too wielded fire, the overwhelming superiority of his power suppressed her entirely.
"Kyaaah—!"
"Sun God—! Black Thunder—!"
Rumble—! At her comrade's crisis, the neighboring goddess unleashed a pillar of black lightning toward him. Yet its power was negligible. Compared to the Sky Lightning from Hera's memories that could engulf an entire continent in a storm of lightning, this was child's play.
He felt almost embarrassed for having prepared by converting part of his bio-armor Machine God into an energy absorber. "Tsk. Are these really Main Goddesses? Or just frauds?"
With a casual wave of his right hand, he absorbed the black lightning completely and analyzed it. Crackle—!
"Th-that's impossible—!" The black-lightning goddess stared in shock as her attack was dismissed so effortlessly. The analysis from his mage authority drew a sigh from him. He had been completely deceived.
"The demon gods' mana and the gods' divine power clashed, resulting in this mess. All show, no substance. Damn it. I thought it was strange that a Main God possessed seduction-type authorities. Were they forcibly converted from demon gods to gods? What insane Main God would commit such a loss-making act? Their divine power qualifies them as Main Gods, but their authorities are below Upper God level! Overall, they're at best Highest Gods. How dare they impersonate Main Gods with nothing but raw power? These things—!"
Anyone exceeding 2 billion divine power was treated as a Main God, yet this universe had no need for such special treatment. True Main Gods required 11th Circle authorities or higher alongside their power. These goddesses clearly surpassed 2 billion in divine power, but their authorities barely reached 10th Circle. The reason lay in the flawed conversion of their mana-based authorities. They were clumsily mimicking demon god authorities with divine power.
Converting from god to demon god was like turning white paper black—it could boost offensive authorities. But defensive authorities would drop by one Circle. The reverse, converting from demon god to god, carried even harsher drawbacks. Mixing white into black only produced gray; proper defensive authorities failed to manifest, and even offensive power declined.
Pure light divine power fueled god authorities, while the dark mana of demon gods was a deadly poison to them. In summary, god-to-demon-god conversion added one Circle to offense but subtracted one from defense. The opposite conversion reduced everything by one Circle.
That was why he had suffered so greatly to obtain a dimensional godhood that transcended the effect rather than a mage godhood. Until he reached 11th Circle magehood, he had been forced to use them separately.
That was why no Creator God permitted demon gods to revert to gods. What was the point of attempting it when all authorities would drop by a Circle or more?
Discovering that the Main Gods he had barely obtained were not even Main God level but merely Highest Gods at best filled him with irritation. No—it was killing intent. Enduring the vitality absorption and forced physical tempering from the Yugyeok Volcano's Creator God-level authority with his body alone felt like his flesh was being ground away. Even the slightest stimulus amid that pain sent rage surging to his head. The realization that he had been tricked pushed him toward madness.
"Those below Main God level receive no special treatment. You are summarily executed on suspicion of collective fraud involving divine power theft. Objections or appeals are invalid as you lack Main God qualification. You will be annihilated, stripped of all vitality and divine power, turned into spirits, and exiled to the Spirit Realm."
Crack—! Crack—!
"Kahk—!"
"Kek—!"
In an instant, he seized both goddesses by the neck, one in each hand, and lifted them. Their bodies, forcibly converted from demon gods to gods, were out of sync with divine power, leaving them with strength and reaction speed below that of Upper Gods.
I'd like to see the face of whatever insane Main God forcibly converted these mid-tier demon gods into gods. Even after forced conversion, they must have been formidable demon gods originally.
Whoosh—! Crackle—! As he applied pressure to snap their necks, they reacted immediately. Flames unlike before raced up their necks toward him, while black lightning compressed to razor sharpness lashed out. Their demon god nature showed—threats to their lives boosted their power. But they faced the wrong opponent.
I possess solar divine power of far greater purity than theirs, and as the Sun God, I have fully analyzed even the pinnacle of lightning authority, Sky Lightning, through essence exchange with Hera. Just as she gained some immunity to my dimensional authority, I gained the same from her.
Even as goddesses, defeating the current Dimensional Lord required staking their lives at minimum. Whoosh—! Crackle—! The flames vanished like matchsticks, and the lightning dissipated like static. Proof that my computational power and authorities far surpassed theirs.
They would not have been this weak as true demon gods, but as Main Gods they were subpar. Still, their godhood remained Main God level, so they would not vanish easily.
"Sun of the Origin and Moon of the Origin!"
A silver sphere embodying the unity of the sun and moon he had granted, brimming with infinite vitality and divine power, manifested behind him. Dimensional divine power could not be used due to Absolute Realm detection avoidance, but now that he had reached Intermediate Main God level, he could incinerate them with the Sun's maximum-output rapid fire.
Normally impossible without being a Creator God, but the Dimensional Lord possessed this. "Black Sunfire of the Degraded Lord Slayer!"
Normally the Lord Slayer's triple damage would be reduced to double due to incomplete mastery, but even this was the finest offensive authority against Main Gods. Combined with the Black Sunfire, one of the highest solar authorities, it activated. It was the supreme solar authority, concentrating the sun's firepower to the extreme. Even pure solar divine power could not sustain it long, and the consumed power was immense, but the Sun and Moon of Origin adjusted it to spare him harm. Moreover, as the Sun of the Origin's power grew, the paired Moon of the Origin proportionally emitted more vitality. In theory, infinite rapid fire was possible.
Of course, the Dimensional Lord could not convert vitality directly into divine power to achieve that. But maintaining enough to reduce these power-only Main Gods to ash was feasible. As a black circular flame bloomed behind his back, the red-haired goddess's eyes widened in terror as she tried to speak. She clearly recognized it, confirming she had been a high-ranking demon god—likely a direct descendant of a Demon God King, given her knowledge of solar-related supreme authorities. But what did that matter now?
She was merely a Highest God-level divine power fraud criminal, not even a true Main God. A perpetrator of an unforgivable mass crime with over 200 victims. No. Since I already executed the Upper Gods as criminals, these make two.
The Dimensional Lord radiated killing intent, releasing his divine power for the first time and pushing back the Yugyeok Volcano's authority. His mood lightened slightly, drawing a faint smile. He decided to end it without further pain.
"Perish as ash befitting your sins and offer the vitality and divine power you could not handle to the Divine Realm."
Hum—! Fwoosh—! The Black Sunfire of the Lord Slayer, capable of burning even Main Gods, slowly engulfed them. Minimizing external divine power emission slowed its movement, and as it was not his primary authority, control was weaker. But with both held in his hands, it posed no issue. It would simply take a little longer for them to turn to ash.
Whoosh—! Their clothes ignited and turned to ash. A Main God's body rivaled adamantium, so their garments burned away before their flesh could. Their screams were silenced by his grip on their throats.
The two struggled, clutching his hands, but a pair of half-baked goddesses stood no chance against the strength of a Highest Main God reinforced by bio-armor Machine God. As their clothes completely turned to ash, their naked bodies were revealed—slender frames with modestly raised breasts, and below, their modestly covered womanhoods.
Fwoosh—! Whoosh—! Then an anomaly occurred with the flame goddess in his right hand. As if resisting the Black Sunfire, she drew up all her divine power and authority. Every hair on her body, matching her head, began to glow. The red flames protecting her body turned white, clashing against his solar divine power.
This desperate resistance drew a sneer. "Hah. A mere Main God-level flame? How amusing. Go ahead and resist! If you're strong enough to withstand this—which can reduce even ordinary Main Gods to ash—I'll grant you a chance to explain!"
He slowed the Black Sunfire's advance and raised its temperature further. She had originally been a Demon King above ordinary Main God level; perhaps she still hid something. He eased the pressure on both hands slightly, granting her leeway in divine power manipulation.
Crackle—! Suddenly, the thunder intensified sharply—from the black-lightning goddess, whose attention he had briefly diverted while focused on the flame goddess's change. He looked over hastily. The black lightning writhed like a living dragon, its momentum growing. A Main God-level authority.
Rumble—! Crackle—! The flame goddess's right hand, wreathed in red fire, and the black-lightning goddess's left hand, coiled by a lightning dragon, met in the middle. Their joined hands pointed toward his face. Flame and lightning intertwined in an unprecedented fusion process. Could it be the demon gods' Mana Burst—and a joint technique in serial mana connection state?
Mana Burst was a Demon God King's fundamental technique, a Creator God-level authority for the god race. It artificially amplified one's mana to temporarily gain several times the attack power. Of course, even a Demon God King would die if they failed to control the rampaging mana. Though less stable than divine power, it maximized mana's advantage of over double the offensive power, realizing attacks impossible under normal circumstances. This alone could penetrate the planetary bio-armor of the Substitute Gods and inflict fatal wounds. That was why demon gods were essential in certification battles against the Substitute Gods.
Witnessing it slowly manifest before his eyes, his gaze was stolen by the rare sight. An unstable mana fusion that exploded when mixed was something one would never see elsewhere. This is bad!
His response came too late. He should have thrown them or dodged, but a mage's curiosity about the rare mana fusion delayed him. Yet the rapidly increasing power restored his caution. Both possessed nearly Intermediate Main God divine power, and in serial mana connection, that approached 10 billion. Amplified by Mana Burst and activated as a joint technique, it would easily surpass a Highest Main God's defenses.
His calculations complete, an overwhelming sense of crisis washed over him. A direct hit would be dangerous even for me now!Sacrifice Tolerance and Combat Foresight issued severe warnings. He had to throw them away and dodge immediately.
With no time to apply pressure and snap their necks, he released his grip and tried to evade. At that moment, the freed goddesses shouted in unison.
"God-Slaying Burst Thunderflame—!"
BOOM—! An earth-shattering roar erupted as flame took the shape of lightning and shot forward to pierce him in an instant. The speed and power of thunder combined with solar firepower capable of burning even a Sun God's body descended upon him. No time to dodge or block with authority!
The Dimensional Lord's vision flashed white for an instant as he took a powerful impact, screaming internally while being flung backward. Damn it—! I let my guard down—! Graaah—!
Rumble—! Fwoosh—! The extremely amplified lightning and flame, transformed into a massive dragon, coiled around the Dimensional Lord's body, attempting to reduce him completely to ash. Unparalleled heat and lightning struck every corner of his body, trying to rupture it, and even after the tremendous destructive force sent him flying into a wall, it continued without pause.