The Prison of the Gods

The Dimensional Lord could hardly believe what he was seeing. This place, called the Spirit God Realm because only divine spirits lived here, was somewhere he had assumed would have fairly decent facilities since they were still gods. Yet this was little better than a military barracks. No, it was a prison.

‘Gods whose physical bodies had completely perished reside in honeycomb-like structures suspended in the void, while those who maintained even the slightest fragment of their bodies are stuffed into coffin-like boxes, stacked like mountains for storage. To conserve vitality, their bodies are sealed away, and only the spirits live together inside those hives.’

Since they were incorporeal spirits, size was irrelevant, but the sight of collective housing units the exact size of beehives floating endlessly across the sky still made his chest feel tight. He knew the defeated were treated harshly, but the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sight of countless gods filling the heavens, swarming like a hive of bees, with not a shred of divine dignity visible anywhere, was utterly wretched. It inspired a bizarre, hornet-like revulsion.

The real problem was that it didn’t feel like someone else’s business at all.

‘If the divine realm I manage collapses or I die, the odds of me being dragged here are extremely high.’

More terrifying still was the thought of being hauled before him the instant he died to pay the price for daring to run his mouth about offering a satisfactory price. His heart hammered wildly. The stronger he grew and the more he learned, the deeper the terror became. He had to repeat his mantra several times before it finally subsided.

He had no idea why a powerful high lord god was reduced to such a pathetic state, but for now he had reached the storage area for the physical bodies of the Otherworld spirit gods.

“……”

Five coffins that had exploded from within lay scattered on the ground, guarded by administrators. From the state of the coffins and the surrounding scene, it appeared a spirit had merged with its body, resurrected, and immediately fled. Yet such a thing should have been impossible. The bodies stored inside the coffins were treated to prevent spirits from entering them.

‘This is a major incident. I thought it was only a spirit that escaped in pure spirit form, but if it resurrected with its body and ran, catching it won’t be easy.’

The bodies had been completely sealed precisely to prevent this, so he couldn’t understand how resurrection had occurred. He turned to the nearby administrator.

“The structure prohibits spirit access. How did it enter the body and resurrect?”

“Cause unknown.”

The mechanical voice only deepened his suspicion rather than resolving it. There was a simple way to verify the truth.

He rewound time, restricting the effect to the immediate area around the coffins. Since this was a prohibited action, he isolated the zone and simply observed the image. In the reversed footage, the coffin burst open first, followed by a figure making contact with it. After analyzing the wave of divine power and the authority involved, the answer became obvious.

“The Cyber Gods of the Cyber Realm intervened? That explains why even the divine realm administrators couldn’t detect it. Still, the Otherworld goddesses may be strong, but without bodies and not even at lord god rank, they wouldn’t intervene directly. So the problem is me.”

Whoooong—!

He redirected every ounce of dimensional authority he had been using into magic amplification without leaving a single drop behind. What surged through his body was 56 billion units of divine power.

“To put it simply, I’ve been caught. So they’re sending me to the battlefield like this? I was just trying to live quietly, yet they want me to rampage around?”

Though his power was still less than half that of the All-Powerful Splendor fighting in the Defense Divine Realm, and he was no match for a Creator General exceeding two trillion, it was strength he had clawed together by any means necessary to survive. When he thought of all the things he had endured to raise his Karma, his teeth ground together.

He had expected something like this, but experiencing it directly made his vision go red. It would have been better to live roughly, venting his frustrations as he went.

“Cyber Realm administrator, I summon you—! What the hell is this? My Karma is on the verge of exceeding ‘Extreme Good.’ No matter how desperately the All-Powerful Splendor seeks ‘Absolute Good,’ he has no right to interfere with my affairs. Besides, my power has negligible influence on that battlefield, while the improvement and development of the divine realm I manage requires my constant presence, giving it higher priority. So why are you causing negative effects? I am filing a formal complaint with the Cyber Realm and withdrawing from the contract. Pay the penalty fee—! Or I will spread this information everywhere. That the Cyber Realm intervened in the material realm and caused negative effects.”

What the Cyber Realm provided was contract requests, universe-level spatial movement, and communication. The Dimensional Lord’s authority over ‘Dimension’ would make things inconvenient, but it was hardly irreplaceable.

‘At this level of strength, I can simply accept personal requests. Once Karma reaches “Extreme Good” or above, there are no disadvantages or restrictions.’

In other words, he no longer needed to be dragged around.

A hurried reply came from the summoned Cyber Realm administrator.

“It seems there has been a misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding? Wasn’t it you who placed the spirits of the spirit goddesses into their bodies? There is no other Cyber God who would go this far—! After a history of only causing interference instead of helping, you call it a misunderstanding?”

“Would a manager do such a thing? We devote ourselves to the success and growth of our contractors.”

“By annihilating all the hopeless cases early and finding comfortable managers, right?”

It was not once or twice that this manager had tried to drive the troublesome Dimensional Lord into a fatal trap. The situation had been so difficult and bizarre that he had asked mercenary gods about the contract conditions and made his own inferences. Even he would consider it, watching Karma points drip away steadily, but from the perspective of the victim himself, it made his teeth grind.

“…Ahahaha. That can’t be, right?”

The delayed response confirmed it. After reaching ‘Extreme Good’ the being had gone quiet for a while, but old habits had clearly returned. Since they were Cyber Gods with different jurisdictions, he couldn’t dispose of them. Simply looking at them was irritating, so he decided to take what he wanted and sever ties.

“There is only one thing I want—! Since you caused this, handle it yourself. Otherwise I will declare contract termination over this incident and file a formal complaint. In other words, you will satisfactorily complete the recruitment of every spirit god. If I had known it would turn out like this, I never would have come. What a waste of time.”

“Th-that is… we are not permitted to intervene in the material realm.”

What a laughable excuse.

‘If you don’t intervene, why did you release the bodies of the spirit goddesses? If this world truly operated according to the rules, why would I have lived through all that suffering?’

In this world, committing the sin wasn’t the crime—getting caught was. Those who deserved punishment all evaded it with power and authority, while only the powerless were punished even for potential crimes.

‘Just as I became the enemy of the Middle World simply for being a dark mage.’

He had no intention of destroying order because it was annoying and dangerous, but he refused to be used any longer.

“As long as you don’t get caught, it’s fine, right? Besides, they’re still in spirit form, so it isn’t the material realm.”

“Th-that is true. However, we cannot directly suppress spirit gods who have recovered their bodies. The only ones we can intervene with directly are spirit gods who have lost their physical forms.”

“You people create the problem and then tell me to clean it up? And you think suppressing the Otherworld goddesses is easy? They’ve regained their bodies and fully restored their divinity and authorities. If they begin rampaging in earnest, approaching them will be nearly impossible—! I don’t want to get hurt either, so you illustrious ones who caused this mess should handle it.”

Divine power and divinity were not the issue. The authorities they possessed were the problem.

‘Each is the strongest in their attribute, and the effects are horrific. One wrong move and even I, a high lord god, would be in danger. I already experienced the power of the spirit goddesses that transcends even Circle ranks when I first summoned them. Moreover, after endless hardship they have recovered their bodies. They will surely try to escape the Spirit Realm and return to their original Master Universe by any means.’

‘They were never gods of this Master Universe to begin with. When the 499th Master Universe expanded, it swallowed part of the 500th Master Universe’s Spirit God Realm. Once they leave the Spirit Realm, there is no way to regulate them.’

It was a body and freedom they had regained after so long. They would charge at full power to eliminate anything that stood in their way, contractor or not.

‘The enhanced authorities of those who regained their bodies are extremely vicious and dangerous. That is why they are trying to shove the responsibility onto me.’

The Cyber Realm was still useful, so there was no need to completely sever ties. The Dimensional Lord simply refused to clean up their mess without compensation.

‘The light spirit god with a physical body, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, if she endures a month of divine power sealing, can temporarily overwhelm and incinerate all attributes and divinities. No lord god’s body would be safe. The water spirit god, Second Generation God Emperor Nuwa, ignores gender and divinity to force pregnancy or cause natural recovery to run rampant until self-destruction. You cannot even approach her. The earth spirit god, God Wolf Moon Goddess Artemis, if she runs the lunar energy wild with her god-slaying attribute, can cause complete annihilation across a wide area. Using that cunning wolf as a shield for sniping would be an absolute headache. Storm Annihilation Enlil will become the wind and water itself, becoming impossible to detect while using hidden attributes. A head-on fight is impossible until she is fully understood. Seeing that the other four are also concealing themselves, their authorities must be wide-area as well. As for the darkness spirit god, Betrayal Selection Medeia, there is no solution. She absorbs all light divine power, making suppression by divine force impossible, and she is a magic lord god like me. I cannot predict what methods she will use, and her unique mental domination makes coordinated attacks dangerous. If they are sane, they will definitely band together to escape, so I must withstand their combined assault.’

Memories of the suffering he had endured while forcing contracts with the spirit gods resurfaced.

‘A joint attack from all five who have regained their bodies? The difficulty of suppressing them all is no joke. Am I crazy? To do that without any compensation?’

Back then they had possessed no divinity and extremely weak authorities, yet as mere spirit gods at the lord god level they had still tried to burn a body that had already reached lord god rank, attempted to impregnate him, and launched hidden assassination attempts.

‘The hardship of trying to force those contracts still sends chills down my spine just thinking about it.’

Now that the Cyber Realm had returned their bodies and enabled their escape, the danger level had skyrocketed. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He could not afford to take such risks.

Yet the Cyber Realm management god spoke as though it had reached a decision.

“Let us negotiate. In compensation for this mistake of imposing restrictions, we will provide additional cooperation. What you desire are powerful spirit gods capable of developing your divine realm, correct? We will provide excellent information. Hidden within this realm are spirit gods whose very wills have been permanently sealed—spirit gods so powerful that even general contracts are forbidden. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contract extremely mighty sealed spirit gods capable of suppressing the Otherworld spirit gods—!”

“……”

It was an offer that caught the Dimensional Lord’s ear. He already possessed most gods of any decent level and had no need for more. That was why he had tried to obtain the Otherworld spirit gods as his final acquisitions, but the situation had become twisted. Still, if the Cyber Realm was praising their abilities this highly, they could not be ordinary spirit gods.

Yet an ominous thought flashed through his mind.

“Their disposition? If they were sealed even within the Spirit God Realm, they must be absolute bastards no one could handle, right?”

“Ahahahahaha. The world is like that. There are no spirit gods without problems. If not, why would they have fallen this far? And it is time to discard that childish sensibility of hoping for complete satisfaction and happiness in a world given by others, don’t you think?”

The coercive attitude immediately triggered a backlash against the negotiation.

‘Whenever they get like this, they only offer more dangerous requests.’

But right now his interest was drawn more strongly to the hidden, mighty spirit gods.

‘In the end, my fate is to keep growing stronger until I am useful to him. The future is obvious.’

To avoid climbing into the grave he himself had dug, he had no choice but to struggle with all his might.

“That’s true. If they are evaluated as stronger than the Otherworld spirit gods, exactly how strong are we talking?”

“Even if they are Otherworld spirit gods, they are merely particularly outstanding beings outside his domain. Therefore they cannot defeat those who were the most exceptional in the 499th Master Universe. The rank is entirely different. You may suppress them with force as you have done until now. With your current power, there will be no problem at all.”

A bitter smile rose unbidden. After being coaxed in that tone, the worst possible requesters and battlefields had always awaited him.

‘As expected, it’s a trap. Just how bad must it be for them to make such a grand presentation? They’re upset I didn’t fall for it, so they want me to suffer a little, huh?’

It cleverly improved the listener’s mood and offered a sweet reward.

‘I cannot count how many times I have been dragged to my death by falling for such words.’

Yet knowing that countless beings could not even obtain such fraudulent contracts made such sentiments a luxury.

‘It was only recently that I struggled desperately to obtain even trap-laden opportunities for the improvement of my Karma. To grow stronger and develop my divine realm, I will take any risk.’

In the end, as long ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as he didn’t die, it was fine.

“Hand over the information. I accept the negotiation. We will pretend this incident never happened.”

“A wise decision.”

He scanned the information floating within the translucent onion-skin document. The authorities inspired admiration; the sins worse than those of demon gods drew sighs. Fortunately, while their raw power was high, the vicious effects were relatively few, making them easier to suppress than the Otherworld goddesses.

‘As expected, their base abilities surpass those of the goddesses. But the foundation of their sins is rebellion and the mass slaughter of the god race. So they want to try me now? Still, it cannot be helped. Their authorities are of such high caliber that if I accept them into my divine realm and utilize them properly, I may be able to advance the realm another stage.’

He silently passed the data to the manager. A confirmation process appeared.

“These entities cannot be returned once their seals are released under any circumstances. You must also confirm that the main Spirit God Realm bears no responsibility for any damage caused by them. In other words, you must bear all repercussions yourself. Is this acceptable?”

“It… it is acceptable.”

“Then please provide confirmation and signature.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, a black wasp-hive-like object descended from the void. It was clearly meant to imprison spirits, yet it emanated an atmosphere even more vicious than that of demon gods. The moment the seals upon the spirits were released, killing intent and fighting spirit erupted, accompanied by divine speech.

Seeing them awaken while reciting such extremely clichéd lines, a heavy sigh finally escaped him.

‘Sigh! What are you, resurrected demon kings? What kind of tone is that for gods? There really is nothing proper in this entire Spirit God Realm—!’

Their manner of speech as they emerged from the seal was far too demonic. At a glance, they looked ready to unleash attacks on him—the contractor and high lord god—immediately. Their hatred toward the god race that had sealed them erupted like a volcano, yet they had somehow avoided corruption and maintained their status as gods rather than falling into demonhood.

“Huuuuuuuu—! Words are unnecessary. Suppress them first and throw them straight into the front lines.”

He had shown basic courtesy for their first meeting, yet the response that came back made his blood pressure spike.

“Oooooooh—! Kill the dog of the unjust lord god system—!”

“I offer this life for the freedom and equality of the divine realm—!”

It was utterly ridiculous. For members of the god race to even utter the phrase “dog of power.”

‘Protect the freedom and equality of the divine realm? Where the hell did that come from? Is that something gods who receive absolute obedience through faith should say? Is that something managers entrusted with authority over sentient beings by the Creator for the development of the Master Universe should utter?’

If they had tasted even a little of the sweetness of power they might ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠understand, but he could not tolerate it.

“You insane bastards—! You who were once at the highest levels calling me a dog of power? What are you saying to me, a man struggling to escape the fate of being a consumable low-level manager? You gods who manage the Master Universe talking about freedom and equality? That doesn’t match at all with the faith you received in exchange!―! You still haven’t come to your senses?”

The clash began between the Dimensional Lord—enraged at both the spirits who could not grasp their situation despite having just been released from forced sealing, and at his own pathetic circumstances that required him to employ even them—and the newly awakened spirits.

“Fine then—! I will only contract those who can endure—! The weak ones who only have big mouths are not needed.”