The Sun Goddess's Heart

The Dimensional Lord let out a long, weary sigh as he watched the Spirit Lords standing around him with their hands politely clasped. Their auras had softened considerably, and all traces of fighting spirit had vanished. They finally looked like proper new recruits. Of course, hundreds of compressed planets still hovered in the air, ready to drop at any moment. The way they kept stealing nervous glances at them made his head throb.

‘Even after all that, the embers of their grudges are still burning.’

Beneath the sofa where the Dimensional Lord sat, a blood-soaked goddess lay with her limbs twisted at unnatural angles, her face turned toward the sky as she gasped for breath. Naturally, this was his handiwork. This goddess had refused to accept the order of the Divine Realm until the very end.

‘Damn it! Do I really have to beat some sense into them like this? It’s like babysitting a bunch of unruly kids. And what the hell am I supposed to do with one that doesn’t even break after getting beaten?’

He could have tried solving it through peaceful conversation. He knew very well that dialogue existed for that very purpose. But it would take far too much time, and that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠method could never prevent conflict with the existing Lord Gods of the Divine Realm. Moreover, beings with extreme beliefs or ideals could never be swayed by words alone. If something could be changed through conversation, it was never a true conviction to begin with.

Even if that conviction suited an individual perfectly, if it caused problems for the whole, it needed to be corrected. But that was never easy. Especially when it was directly tied to one’s own authority—such beings would never accept it.

‘The alliance between the God Race and the Demon Race only became possible because of the threat posed by the Substitute Gods. It wasn’t the result of negotiation. Struggle is the instinct of all living things, so it can’t be helped. The only thing that can suppress instinct is the threat of survival. That, and the guarantee of undeniable benefits, I suppose. It’s fortunate that I can provide all of that.’

Having subdued everyone else, only this one goddess remained. The one who had held out until the very end, requiring both persuasion and violence, was Kuezana, the one who had once demanded human sacrifices.

Even with the divine power of an Upper God, she had stubbornly endured. ‘The authority she raised by receiving human sacrifices had reached the point where it could rival my own Authority of the Sun.’

Her authority was an extremely rare transcendental power from the primordial era, one once used by savage war gods: the Sun of Sacrifice. It was powerful enough to reduce even beings above 1st Circle to ash, but it had a critical flaw. Its sheer might required more vitality than she could generate herself, forcing her to obtain it from external sources. And those sources were the lives of humans who offered their faith—something that could never be tolerated within the Divine Realm of Light.

‘Since she refused to give it up even in death, I had to handle her lightly.’

He had burdened her entire body with the weight of five planets, completely shattering her arms and legs. Watching her still struggle beneath his feet, barely managing to ignite a candle-flame version of her solar authority with the power of an Upper God, he let out a small, amused chuckle.

‘Heh. I promised to keep their pasts secret, so this is a disciplinary action carried out through mutual understanding of intent.’

Although he had accepted her as a Lower Lord God, her obsession with human sacrifice had far exceeded any acceptable level. And when she refused to abandon it, the punishment he delivered was something she endured as well. The surrounding Lord Gods had turned pale as he mercilessly crushed her body and shook her will. Yet her conviction remained unchanged.

‘So you can’t give up the authority? A sun that burns even Lord Gods if a sacrifice is offered—certainly impressive. But those sacrifices are the stored lives of your believers, aren’t they? You know that if this fact is revealed, you’re finished as a god, right?’

‘Ugh…!’

If only she had materials to replace the faith and lives of her fanatics, she could have become something greater than a Creator God. However, even when she had been forcibly appointed as a Creator God of the savage gods in the past, and even now as a Lower Lord God, she could never obtain anything more. She had no way to reach it as she was. ‘That’s why she can’t give it up…’

The crimson, jewel-like bio-mechanical armor of the Machine God delivered overwhelming force, pulverizing her body without mercy. ‘If its defense is enough to ignore the attacks of a High Lord, then matching its speed would allow its offensive power to surpass even that. That’s why it can so easily shatter the body of an Upper God like this.’

Feeling her ribs shatter into pieces beneath his foot, the Dimensional Lord smiled faintly. He had made his decision. If she would not yield to violence, he would simply use another method.

“Then endure. If you don’t die, I’ll give you something to replace your believers’ lives. Be grateful for the generosity of this Lord God of the Divine Realm.”

The goddess’s scream of unimaginable agony rang out as divine blood sprayed like a bursting balloon. The Dimensional Lord’s hand had pierced through the shattered ribs and seized her heart. Kuezana—unable to use her authority, her limbs broken, capable only of twitching—let out a piercing wail.

“A… aaaaaagh—! Aaaagh—!”

“This is the pain your believers endured. Do not speak of conviction if you do not understand suffering. Never forget it.”

Crack.

He tore the heart out with a single pull. Blood vessels snapped as they were yanked taut, and blood began spraying like a fountain. The pain and bodily destruction were too much even for a Lord God; her eyes rolled back white as she tried to faint, but the magical authority spread around her forcibly held her consciousness in place, making her remember everything.

Crack.

The heart was completely ripped free and floated in the air. Looking at the still-beating, blood-spurting heart and the goddess who somehow still clung to life, he let out a sigh.

‘Ruling over the Lower Lord Gods as the Lord God of the Divine Realm is truly exhausting. If violence doesn’t work and I can’t kill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them, I have no choice but to solve the problem for them.’

If he had been from the God Race with his own faction, he wouldn’t have to go through this much trouble. But since he originated from the Middle World, the Main Divine Realm would immediately raise an issue if he disposed of a Lord God, so he had to be careful.

“To think I have to use something this precious like this…”

He retrieved an object from his subspace that he had stored with multiple layers of protection. Honestly, just thinking about using it on another Lord God made his blood pressure spike.

‘I had only just finished analyzing it after releasing the control on the Creator God’s body, and I was planning to apply it to my own Machine God. But it’s all gone to waste. There’s one more, but even I can’t approach it yet. This is all because of those damn subordinates who never stop causing problems.’

But if he didn’t give it to her, she would eventually try to receive human sacrifices again. There was no faith more powerful than that of fanatics who accepted their own self-sacrifice, and below the level of the Main Divine Realm, there was no replacement. That would truly brand this place as a Divine Realm even worse than the Demon Realm.

‘Just with the current composition of Lord Gods, we already have a reputation that most Demon Realms couldn’t match.’

However, this was precisely why most black mages could never reach high circles. Growth achieved through the sacrifice of others rather than personal effort or training might be easy, but without the proper tempering of mind and body, they would eventually waver and shatter as they climbed higher. It was the price of building a tower instead of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mountain—it would inevitably collapse.

Even while hesitating greatly, he grasped the heart and the jewel together and began to chant.

“I am the one and only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠special existence in this world.”

The heart and jewel began to merge. Watching it made him so regretful he thought he might go insane, so he squeezed his eyes shut.

‘This stubborn goddess doesn’t even die when her heart is ripped out while she’s fully conscious.’

It seemed that receiving countless human sacrifices had trained her in its own way. Of course, the other Spirit Lords who had never seen such a sight were now extremely tense, looking like they might try to flee at any moment.

The heart, now fully fused with the jewel, rippled like soft liquid metal while emitting light. Thump. Thump. An overwhelming pulse of life force and authority spread from it.

Since he possessed the Origin’s Sun and Moon, he didn’t really need it, but having it would still be incredibly beneficial. He had originally intended to do this himself, but its output was so high that he had put it on standby. It would more than compensate for the vitality required by her authority, which was based on human sacrifice.

But now that he was actually about to give it away, he hesitated tremendously.

‘Please just die like this. I’ll restore your body using a different authority, so there’s no problem. If I have to get another one of these, I’ll have to risk annihilation.’

He deliberately slowed the process and observed the situation. But this stubborn goddess still endured. No—her eyes were actually regaining their light from the life force radiating from the jewel fused with her heart.

‘Damn it—! Fine, take it. But if you mess up, I really won’t let you off. I’ll retrieve it immediately.’

He pushed the heart back into her chest.

“Haaah… What a waste.”

A sigh escaped him involuntarily. The surrounding Lord Gods looked at him with dumbfounded expressions, but upon seeing her recover straight from Upper God to Lord God, they gaped in utter disbelief. Her previously mangled body now possessed a form even more powerful than before. At the very least, with only the Authority of the Sun, even the Dimensional Lord would no longer be her match.

Staring at the space between her now uninjured breasts, he kept sighing. Without realizing it, his hand was even stroking that very spot. The tremendous waves of life force he felt beneath her skin only deepened his regret. Of course, he paid no attention whatsoever to the soft, elastic sensation of the breasts enveloping his hand.

‘Should I take it back right now? That thing might one day save my life. I don’t need it because I have the Origin’s Sun and Moon, but there’s no better treasure for negotiation. I made it myself, but it really is incredible. Supplying such high-density vitality indefinitely? And it even fuses completely with the heart, becoming one with the authority and strengthening it. Its value is already immeasurable. And since there are no more materials, I can’t make another one.’

But while he was hesitating, the fusion had already completed and settled in. Now, to extract it, he would have no choice but to completely annihilate her body. And there was a high chance it would be destroyed along with her.

He clutched his forehead with both hands and slumped back onto the sofa.

‘No matter how I think about it, this feels like I’ve done something insane.’

What he had spent to obtain this was one incredibly savage Sun Lord God who had demanded human sacrifices—all for the sake of an authority. A sigh escaped him again.

‘Ugh! What a loss. If I keep acting as Lord God of the Divine Realm like this, I’m going to end up completely broke. Still, with the 36-fold divine power increase support, I’ll just have to endure it.’

Wooooong—!

Uuuung—!

With vitality overflowing, the Sun of Sacrifice—which had been operating at minimum due to massive consumption—now seemed to be activating at full power. It was an authority that could reduce beings above 1st Circle to ash and annihilate them. Though its power was great, it required enormous amounts of vitality, so the nearly extinct authority had been activated to this degree.

As the authority continued to strengthen endlessly, it began emitting tremendous heat. If left alone, it looked ready to reduce this entire Lord God temple and the Spirit Realm Waiting Area to ashes.

He lightly isolated it with his dimensional authority and stared fixedly at her chest. It was functioning normally and had fused, but at this point, he could still retrieve it to some extent. However, since he had already given it to a Lower Lord God as the Lord God of the Divine Realm, there was nothing he could do.

Looking at the goddess who had come to her senses and was frantically checking her chest and new authority, he spoke.

“I hereby name you Kuezana, the Substitute Sun God. If you ever return to the past where you received human sacrifices, I will retrieve it immediately. Keep that in mind.”

“Thank you. I will devote my utmost loyalty.”

Watching the goddess immediately bow her head in submission, his mouth tasted incredibly bitter. After investing this much, if it turned out to be useless, he swore he wouldn’t let her off easily. He ground his teeth.

‘To use the core of an Upper Lord God from the Substitute Race so wastefully…’

Though sighs kept escaping him, he had finally finished adjusting the Spirit Lords. He needed to handle things quickly, recover the spirits from the Spirit Realm, and return.

‘That war which began as an emotional clash between Creators is growing increasingly dangerous. The water that was nearly full in the cup is now on the verge of overflowing.’

And that overflowing water was no longer something the Dimensional Lord could handle.