The Spirit Realm War
In the Spirit Realm, several beings chuckled as they watched the Dimensional Lord step through the opened gate. The Cyber Gods of the Cyber Realm, who had been monitoring and managing him, had observed every step of his journey thus far.
“He still hasn’t given up. It would be so much easier if he just went quietly.”
“He managed to find it somehow.”
“Didn’t he even isolate himself in his own Master Universe? I was surprised when the search came up empty.”
“His authority is Dimensions, so he’s really a pain to manage.”
The one who answered while smugly shifting the screen was the Cyber God who had once tried to sell the Creator God-class Machine GodAntares.
“We already knew where he was headed, so we switched from searching to direct observation. Still, the situation is a bit unusual. His Karma count is abnormally high—too high to forcibly send him like the other Main Gods. It’s almost on par with All-Powerful Splendor, and the Cyber Realm has judged that he’s essential for the development of his Divine Realm. It’s refusing to enforce deployment to the war, saying the current situation is better. On top of that, he’s been improving all the negative values of the Main Gods he’s gathered, so the system is actually recommending we leave him alone.”
“Isn’t that because All-Powerful Splendor isn’t an ‘Absolute Good’? It doesn’t make sense for a mere Highest Main God to have higher Karma than a Creator Candidate.”
“No, it really is that high. Once his Divine Realm is complete, he’ll reach the level of an ‘Absolute Good.’”
The Cyber Gods fell silent at those words. Becoming an Absolute Good was no easy feat. They knew exactly how much one had to contribute to the universe’s development to earn that title.
At the very least, one must increase the number of sentient beings by ten trillion. And it only holds as long as one does not cause the extinction of more than ten trillion lives one has created.
The rewards for becoming an Absolute Good were immense. Forced enforcement was prohibited, one’s own will had to be respected, and no sanctions could be applied without the individual’s understanding—along with opportunities for correction. It meant being recognized as a member of the Absolute Realm rather than a mere tool or subject of management.
However, increasing the sentient population by ten trillion was easier said than done. Only the 499th Master Universe, which had created Jusinseong—independent super-giant habitable planets far beyond common sense—could even dream of such numbers as a Main God.
A Jusinseong that sustains over a hundred times the lifeforms of a normal planet is a miraculous achievement created by Creator General Sangharama to counter the Substitute Gods.
The enormous vitality produced by Jusinseong allows just ten Main Gods and Demon Gods to stand equal against Substitute Gods, whom even same-rank divine races could never defeat.
The Absolute Realm has taken notice of this situation and is actively pushing for its adoption.
Through this achievement, Sangharama had already been promised a position among the highest administrators of the Absolute Realm. After all, being the Creator General of a Master Universe was nothing compared to the Absolute Realm. If he stepped down, he would immediately become one of the Absolute Beings managing all 499 sentient and immortal races.
To the low-ranking Cyber Gods, it was an enviable fate indeed.
Ziiing! Zzzzt-zt-zt!
They began analyzing the image and data of the Dimensional Lord displayed on the screen. Countless numbers appeared, and the final result was displayed in golden letters: Creator Candidate-class.
“Right now he’s at the very top among Highest Creator Gods, but when fighting at full power, he reaches Creator Candidate level. On top of that, he’s rapidly growing stronger through the black magic he independently developed based on the 8th Circle magic he received, and the 11th Circle he was granted as a reward for aiding the Substitute Gods’ reinforcements. His abilities are already nearing those of a Creator God, but the problem is he won’t listen to us. He’s a real headache of a subject to manage.”
“Have we ever had to manage someone with Karma this high before? It feels like he’s abandoned all personal emotions and desires and is obsessed with improving his Karma. How did he manage things so well to end up like this? Most people give up at some point and compromise with the world to live comfortably. They build up Karma only to throw it all away because they can’t control their desires—that’s the headache. So let’s share some good methods with each other.”
The assigned Cyber God couldn’t respond. A trace of conscience remained, and it stung.
I did manage him. I sent him to the most dangerous places, telling him that once a life goes wrong, it can’t be fixed, so giving up is easier—places so perilous that even performing the tasks was nearly impossible, hoping he’d just disappear. Yet somehow he survived and even improved to the point of becoming an Absolute Good. This really is a human triumph. But the side effects are no joke. I pushed him too hard, so now he distrusts the world, his emotions have intensified, and mixed with a mage’s cold logic, he’s become completely unpredictable. I thought if I released the contracted Spirit Gods, he’d catch on and leave, but instead he changed the situation and even jumped straight into the Spirit Realm? Most people in his position eventually cause a massive incident and disappear. This is bad. If someone this close to becoming an Absolute Good causes trouble, there’ll be a thorough investigation—and I won’t be safe either.
Memories of the past suddenly surfaced. The places the Dimensional Lord had been deployed to were infamous Divine Realms ruled by Main Gods and Demon Gods notorious for treating mercenary gods harshly. They rarely paid properly and often withheld compensation, so only the most desperate mercenary gods accepted contracts.
When Karma marks someone as evil, there are no good contracts. It was a place I sent him to give up and die.
Yet once he learned that Karma granted bonus points to the weak forced into unfair contracts, he abandoned nearly all compensation and clung only to that, gradually improving his situation. Even so, his evil Karma evaluation didn’t change, but as the leader of an extremely wicked dark mage order, he managed to maintain his steadily declining Karma at a level that avoided forced disposal.
Then, absurdly, using the Karma contract that obligated him to protect Demon Gods as a pretext, he prevented the negative effects of mass slaughter and collectively dealt with two Demon Gods and millions of dark mages—the root cause of his Karma decline—turning him into the extreme good he was originally meant to be.
Moreover, upon ascending to the Divine Realm, he was promoted straight to a high-ranking Divine Realm Main God and then to the highest rank—an unprecedented speed of advancement. That was why the surrounding Cyber Gods were showing such interest. From now on, he would have to be treated well.
If it ever comes out that I tried to make him disappear and get a new subject, I won’t be safe either.
When Karma marked someone as evil, exposure didn’t matter. But if even a minor problem arose with a subject attempting to reach Absolute Good, and a Cyber God was the cause, immediate disciplinary action followed. If becoming an Absolute Good caused a fatal drop in Karma due to a Cyber God’s actions, one could even be converted into a Substitute God and deployed—a thought that sent chills down his spine.
Even if I’m a member of the Absolute Realm, a low-ranking Cyber God like me has no veto or choice.
It was because he hadn’t met the standards in that person’s eyes. Deciding to be cautious for now, he looked at the screen where the other Cyber Gods had gathered. Since the subdued Master Universe was now fully managed by the Substitute Gods, there were no large-scale wars like this, making it a subject of great interest. Furthermore, because he had mastered the profound techniques of a Creator Candidate and a Creator General, even higher-ups were focusing their attention, turning a blind eye.
“Ah—! It’s starting. Is All-Powerful Splendor finally going to fight the Creator General of the 500th Master Universe? Who do you think will win?”
“Obviously the Creator General. No matter how strong a divine race gets, they can’t surpass their Origin. Unless they’ve properly mastered even one of the Incomprehensible Eight Founders, they’re stuck at the introduction stage. At this rate, further mastery is impossible, isn’t it?”
Rumble-rumble-rumble! Crash-crash-crash!
On the screen covering the entire ceiling, the Creator General was indeed relentlessly driving All-Powerful Splendor back. Even his trained body was being mercilessly torn apart by the wings of light infused with the authority of the 13th Circle beyond the 2nd Circle.
All-Powerful Splendor was on the verge of going mad from frustration.
I can see everything clearly and react, yet I’m allowing continuous attacks.
He was permitting attacks that could have been avoided with a moment’s thought, and his counterattacks kept being blocked.
What the—! Why am I allowing such pathetic attacks? No, why are my counterattacks so linear? Urgh—! My head?
Throb!
His judgment couldn’t keep up with his body. That was why he was receiving support from a Creator God-class Divine Realm Main God, but only now did he realize that it was consuming an equivalent amount of computational power.
My body reacts to attacks and defends, but my thoughts can’t keep up, so I can’t land proper counterattacks.
All-Powerful Splendor’s counterattacks, hampered by insufficient computational power, were so pathetic that even the Creator General could dodge them all. At this rate, he was nothing more than a sturdy target. As a result, he was covered in wounds, and before the group battle even began, his side’s morale was in shambles.
A bigger problem was that his divinity, being chipped away as the price for challenging the Origin of the divine race, was affecting his body, forcing him to use divine power. No matter how trained he was, as a god who was a spiritual being, if his divine power ran out, his body would collapse and it would be over.
“Damn it—! Does becoming a higher Divine Realm Main God make your head dumber from lack of computational power? To think a pure combat god has this kind of problem—!”
“You’re a divine race no matter what—! You can never defeat me, the Creator General.”
“Shut up—! How dare you speak of the Creator General’s divinity when you’re not even Sangharama of Garama. The only divine race I can never defeat right now is that person. And if anything gets in the way of victory, I’ll discard it. No matter what it is—!”
Fwoooosh—!
The hazy 13 pairs of wings that marked him as a Creator God-class Divine Realm Main God vanished. Now only the 13 pairs of his innate divine power remained. Then All-Powerful Splendor’s presence changed. Having cast off the heavy armor of a Divine Realm Main God, his killing intent and fighting spirit surged to their peak.
Crack—! Crack—!
With a single fist, he shattered all the wings of light that had been targeting his body.
Now I can see it. The Creator General’s authority, the trajectories of his attacks, and countermeasures against them.
The 26 pairs of wings of light, instantly restored, dodged the dizzying curves rushing toward him all at once and drove straight into the chest.
The Creator General was completely defenseless against the sudden change in situation.
In speed and close combat, I’m superior. My trained body will never betray me.
Pouring all his strength into the attack, he thrust straight toward the heart. The power was such that even a Creator General couldn’t emerge unscathed.
BOOOOOM—!
A deafening explosion tore through space, but the expected fountain of blood did not appear. No—it had been perfectly blocked. The 26 pairs of wings of light had wrapped around the entire space and stopped the fist. No—the 13 pairs of light circles had surrounded his entire vicinity, excluding all attacks below the 11th Circle.
To land a blow, he would need overlapping attacks or maximum output.
The Origin’s Sanctuary—! An absolute sanctuary limited to the divine race? Using this on me, a mere Creator Candidate?
This was truly cheating. He had abandoned close combat to create an absolute sanctuary to protect himself.
Within this domain, a divine race cannot harm the Creator General, the Origin of the divine race.
It was a guaranteed victory method the Origin of the divine race could use against divine races, but it wasn’t something an 11th Circle Main God should be using. At the very least, it was meant to be used against Demon Emperor-class enemies to reduce their divinity. Seeing all attacks rendered ineffective, an urgent protest burst out involuntarily.
“Since close combat isn’t working, you’re forcing it with the Origin’s divinity? How cowardly—! Is this an authority to use against a mere Creator Candidate? And you still call yourself a Creator General?”
But now the Creator General of the 500th Master Universe was no pushover either. The absurd carelessness and bluster from the beginning had vanished, and with the sanctuary proving effective, he charged forward without hesitation and shouted.
“After all, you’re just an 11th Circle Main God’s body and authority. You’re powerless before the Origin authority of a 13th Circle divine race. So die already—!”
The divine weapon gripped in his hand swung mercilessly toward him. Having completely shed any pretense of formality in battle, he aimed straight for the vital point—the neck.
If my heart and head are separated, even I will die. Then I’ll lose this body I obtained through countless hardships and training.
There was no certainty that he could regenerate and undergo training again. Therefore, no matter what humiliation he suffered, he could not die.
Whoosh—!
Ducking his head and dropping to one knee, he displayed an unsightly posture of submission as he threw his body backward.
Swish-swish-swish—!
Some of his hair was sliced off by the attack he couldn’t fully dodge, but he avoided taking any direct hit. Though he had been pushed right up to the front of the main gate, that Origin’s Sanctuary had no answer. Like the Substitute Gods’ god-slaying, it ignored the existence of lower divinities.
Is this the unique authority of the Origin? Since it doesn’t allow attacks on any being that originated from it, does that mean it’s nearly invincible? To break through that defense, I have no choice but to surpass the Origin, but in my current state, that’s impossible. At this rate, I lose.
The faces of the Main Gods who realized the situation drained of color. Only the Main Gods of independent Divine Realms were emitting fighting spirit toward the beings watching them, who appeared to be Absolute Beings with titles from other universes. They were evenly matched in keeping those beings in check. If anyone showed an opening, the fight would be decided in an instant.
In the space where fighting spirit and killing intent clashed in the middle, a devastating collapse was occurring—so severe that even All-Powerful Splendor and the Creator General couldn’t approach. Therefore, the Main Gods of independent Divine Realms locked in confrontation couldn’t receive help. No—even just blocking the participation of Absolute Beings with uncomfortable titles and protecting against the adverse effects of other authorities with Cheongong’s wide-area authority was more than enough of a role.
If I can just somehow stop that Creator General, their victory remains unchanged. But because of that Origin’s Sanctuary authority, I’m being pushed back as is.
He was on the verge of defeat because he couldn’t fulfill his role in the war.
I don’t even remember the last time I suffered such humiliation.
Rumble—!
The Creator General could be seen charging toward the opened main gate. The Main Gods of independent Divine Realms moved to intercept, but as long as that sanctuary protected the Creator General, the divine race had no chance of victory. They were sent flying back in an instant.
“It’s over now.”
“Yeah! Let’s go crazy for once. I want to hire mercenary gods—! At the highest level I can afford—!”