Turning Scandal into Achievement
The goddesses in the Spirit Realm War had completely forgotten that the mercenary main gods operated with ruthless pragmatism. They were extremely generous toward their own divine realms and subordinates, but when dealing with outsiders, they wouldn't tolerate even the slightest loss. As a result, the vitality they needed to repay instantly doubled. They had received around one billion in divine power, yet compensating at four times that amount—four billion—would require an unimaginable stretch of time. For context, even an Intermediate Lord with two billion divine power would need at least two hundred thousand years. She had already been sealed here for a hundred thousand years. Spending another stretch like that would mean parting from him forever. She still believed he would wait for her, but beyond this point, her confidence faltered.
"And since there are no more victims, I admit a heavy punishment would be excessive. For valuable main gods, such a penalty for past mistakes does seem rather harsh."
"Then are we innocent?"
The sudden softening of his tone sparked a flicker of hope, but of course this main god wasn't about to show ordinary mercy. His voice turned harsh again.
"However, beyond those useless incompetents, capable upper main gods also suffered losses. The crime of defrauding the Chief God of the God Realm and the direct main gods at the Spirit Realm Waiting Area, then extorting their divine power, carries an immeasurably grave responsibility. Moreover, with direct accusations from the main gods themselves, this has been reported to the Main Divine Realm as an official case. It will be established as precedent and propagated across the entire universe. Therefore, we will apply aggravated punishment as a deterrent—sealing your will and assigning you to forced labor until compensation is complete."
"Kyaaaaaaaah—!"
"Aaaaaaaaagh—!"
Pressure slammed down as if to shatter their skulls. The highest main god's divine power surged in like a tidal wave, threatening to destroy their divine power cores.
Our divine power cores are being invaded and restrained. This main god truly intends to seize control of them himself.
He literally planned to seal their divine power cores and bodies completely, turning them into components of the divine realm.
Is something like this even possible for a main god?
Only a Demon God King or a Creator God should possess the ability to forcibly control divine power cores like this. It was almost impossible to believe. Yet in mere moments, more than half of their divine power cores had already been claimed by this main god's power, which now sought to force their bodies into slumber.
As their consciousness began to blur, a highly urgent voice from the Spirit Realm's Main God of the Divine Realm cut through.
"Please wait, Highest Main God of Dimensions."
"What is it? Do you desire an even harsher punishment? I can arrange that immediately."
"No, that's not it. The divine power we gave them was not obtained through fraud. It was a gift we offered to the main god."
"Correct. As fellow main gods suffering in the Spirit Realm Waiting Area, it was a gift to encourage them to persevere."
What were these beings saying? The cruel main god's divine power that had been invading their cores suddenly stopped. Though their minds remained chaotic, they could sense the desperate urgency in the conversing main gods.
The responding main god asked in a slightly gentler tone, "You mean it's better to leave it recorded that way?"
"Yes. We would prefer no record of us falling victim to a companion scam. For the sake of this child's future and my own, this detail must be erased. Furthermore, as you mentioned, if this spreads across the entire universe as an incident—even anonymously—rumors will inevitably circulate. That would be truly problematic."
"Hmm. As a future ally, I can accommodate that much. However, to make it completely clean, we must eliminate the charge of mass divine power fraud via companion scam entirely. Given the scale of the matter, a detailed investigation by the Main Divine Realm later could create endless complications."
"We'll revise it to state that the highest gods, unable to overcome their own desires, forcibly transferred the power and demanded divine power exchange. After all, that aspect existed to some degree, and there are already unforgivable offenses on record, so adding this charge changes nothing. We'll alter the narrative so they are not criminals but victims, and that they sealed themselves for their own protection."
What in the world was happening? The female main gods' hazy consciousness could barely process it.
A voice thick with understanding continued. "Indeed. Even though they are sealed within my divine realm and only their main god divinity is being utilized, I suppose I could not tolerate a reputation that two flower snake goddesses in my service had committed mass divine power extortion through companion scams. It would be far better to say that these female main gods are so irresistibly attractive they faced the crisis of being seduced by hundreds of highest gods and nearly suffering forced divine power exchange."
"Precisely. Even if the Main Divine Realm discovers the truth, they will accept it more readily as a collective crime by the highest gods rather than the main gods being the criminals. Should any issues arise, we will emphasize that point in handling it."
"That may be true, but their crimes still require discipline. Letting them go without any consequences leaves me rather uneasy."
"The gods who reported them as victims are themselves criminals and have now all vanished. We implore you to do this for us, your allies. Please make them pay the price of their sins by reducing them to lower main gods."
"If you adjust it accordingly, we will definitely repay this debt."
After a long silence, the sound of reluctant consent finally came.
"Phew—! If you're going that far, I suppose it can't be helped. I cannot allow allied main gods to carry such a humiliating past on record, so I will make the revision. Then shall we change it from 'The mass divine power extortion incident through the female main gods' companion scam' to 'Achievement in preventing forced divine power exchange through the highest gods' collective divine power provision'?"
"Excellent. From incident to achievement—very nice indeed."
"Truly wonderful. The corruption was so severe it made reporting difficult, but having even this kind of achievement will make the documentation far easier."
The female main gods had no idea how events were unfolding, but it seemed they had escaped the worst outcome. The divine power core that had been half-invaded was slowly returning to them, sharpening their consciousness once more.
The situation appears to have shifted, but I can't understand it at all. This is incredibly frustrating.
Contrary to their inner turmoil, the conversation continued on its own course.
"Then we must revise the record so that the main gods of the divine realm did not subdue these female main gods but protected them until the exact nature of the incident could be confirmed."
"That would be appropriate. We are truly grateful that you would go this far."
"What is this for—! What is the point of allies if not this? If it can be resolved favorably, then that is what we should do. Everything is mutually beneficial. Handling it poorly would only increase the number of suffering main gods, so this solution is better."
"Indeed. From now on, simply give the word and we will assist with all our strength. We have already prepared the spirit main gods and other spirit deities for interviews and extracted firm pledges. We informed them that failing the interview would result in the worst possible evaluation and immediate priority dispatch to the Spirit Realm. We also warned that any problems caused in the Dimensional Lord's divine realm would lead to instant return to the Spirit Realm. They will exert every effort."
"To think you would go this far—I'm so grateful I don't know what to say."
"Are we not allies? Any gods still lacking in your realm will be specially selected from the most outstanding among those arriving next and sent immediately, so set your mind at ease. Hahahahahat—!"
"Really, thank you. Thank you—! Kwhahahahahat—!"
The main gods' laughter rang out loudly.
I don't know why they're suddenly so harmonious, but my divine power has recovered enough that I can barely control my body.
I need to recover everything quickly to understand the situation properly.
Since she needed to intervene immediately, she gathered her divine power and authority.
Mobilizing all the magic power from my days as a Demon God King candidate to break free from here.
I cannot guarantee subduing them, but escape should be possible.
Yet through the hand gripping her head, a resolute will transmitted clearly.
Stay still—you naive little child! It's nearly finished, so don't clumsily interfere and ruin everything! Do you truly intend to live with the eternal disgrace of being known as a flower snake goddess for all eternity? Even if you become a demon god again, you could never escape that stigma.
That's right! Please remain as you are. We are definitely not doing this to harm you.
I cannot possibly tolerate swindler goddesses who committed companion scams within my divine realm. The current reputation is already horrific; allowing that would lead to true isolation. If things go wrong now, I will have no choice but to permanently dispose of you. Ability matters most, but now that you have become main gods of the divine realm, reputation cannot be ignored. This is unavoidable because I hold a high office.
Divine power extortion from lower gods is a crime that he would never tolerate. No, even the demon realm would not forgive it. We must erase this criminal fact by any means necessary.
I never committed any crime! You know they gave it even though I refused. I had no intention of scamming anyone, so I am innocent.
The two wills that had been attempting to persuade her froze in disbelief at the childish female main god's reply.
......
......
The harmonious exchange of pleasantries between the main gods continued, but the transmission of will was briefly severed. Then an overwhelming killing intent flooded in, squeezing her head with pressure that felt ready to burst it open. Divine power sealed her mouth so she could not even scream.
It wasn't a scam? Then why didn't you return all the divine power immediately? For what reason did you erect a defensive barrier so impenetrable that only highest main gods or above could break through, all to absorb the received divine power? If you had returned it when the problem first arose, matters would never have reached this point. Did you truly harbor no greed for divine power? Answer me!
Th-that was—!
She had to grow stronger somehow and escape this horrible Spirit Realm Waiting Area.
Only then could she go meet him.
To achieve that, she had believed it didn't matter whether it was begging or fraud, and had tried to protect the divine power she obtained.
At first they refused, but as they voluntarily handed over more and more, the accumulated divine power became enormous.
It was an amount unimaginable in the Spirit Realm Waiting Area, which drained every last drop of surplus vitality. But had she not become a spirit main god, she would never have grown greedy for divine power.
Yet a will burning with even greater indignation surged toward her.
If you were not main gods, I would have disposed of you without listening to any excuses. If I were not a Chief God of the God Realm who desperately needs main gods, I would never have permitted this. And for the honor of the divine realm under my management, I am even enduring these ridiculous political maneuvers. Yet you claim that because you had no such intention, you are innocent? That you couldn't help it because of the circumstances? Those are the excuses of cowardly losers and incompetent bystanders. As long as victims exist, your crime is an immutable fact, and that is the truth. To erase the criminal record, the only method available was to erase the victims—using this kind of expedient is what I am doing. And yet you shout that you are innocent to me? Then solve it yourself! For the honor and existence of yourself and your lower subordinates, deal with this situation. The highest gods have already been killed and handled, so go persuade the main gods who are furious at having their devoted affections betrayed to treat it as if it never happened! I look forward to seeing whether your so-called truth and words will actually get through to them.
The divine power blocking her mouth was released. But even if she was suddenly told to persuade them, what words could possibly work? The thoughts that had flowed so smoothly with excuses just moments ago had completely frozen.
Were there any logic or words that could reach an opponent burning with emotion?
Nowhere in her past lessons had there been such instruction.
The only method was to wait for the emotions to subside, but wasn't she the very person who had received the divine power and fled immediately?
It would never work.
As she remained unable to speak, the will mercilessly rebuked her, thundering inside her mind.
You really are a naive little child. You cannot even handle something of this level yet you assert your own claims? Is the main god-level divinity you obtained simply by being born well the only thing of any use? It is done now, so stay quiet. I will not forgive any further reckless behavior.