The Unfair Karma Contract

The war in the Spirit Realm meant I first had to mend the broken relationship that had gone awry from the forced contract. 'Because it was a contract made after battling the Otherworld spirit gods who resisted to the bitter end, it's overwhelmingly disadvantageous to me.'

A forced contract formed without mutual consent receives positive adjustment from the karma that Karma bestows upon the weak. It shifts karma in a favorable direction and unknowingly grants the weaker party numerous benefits. On top of that, because my overall karma was 'Evil' at the time, additional massive contractual penalties were automatically applied.

The original terms of the Karma Contract I signed with them read: 'In exchange for the contractor supplying vitality, the spirit gods shall offer absolute obedience.'

Yet with the Dimensional Lord's overall karma registered as 'Evil,' the side effects of a forced contract, and the spirit gods' correction as the weaker party, fatal malicious clauses attached themselves automatically.

'Because the contractor's karma is Evil, the spirit gods have no obligation to offer absolute obedience. Instead, the contractor bears the duty to make efforts to maintain the contract. Furthermore, the contractor is obligated to assist spirit gods whose karma ranks higher than his own.'

This absurd contract that had completely reversed master and servant made me raise my voice in protest. 'What the hell? Then this isn't a spirit god contract at all—! You're telling me to help them return as gods? I refuse—! Cancel it—!'

But I never imagined the Creator God himself was directly overseeing the intermediate management of Karma Contracts. The moment an anomaly occurred, a direct reply flew back.

'I will do it! Just having the contract is a blessing. I'll work hard.'

When the Karma Contract abandoned its businesslike tone and carried the middle manager—the Creator God's—fierce killing intent, I had no choice but to accept.

First, the forced command authority that activates alongside the spirit god contract cannot be used without consent. That was why, when I built the Survival Magic Tower, they naturally opposed it, so I received no help and had to handle everything myself.

'The mere existence of the contract allows me to use the 10th Circle "I implement my world here, so obey," but it is far too unreasonable. Even legitimate commands require me to supply additional vitality on top of it.'

Subjugating apostates is naturally a god's duty, so I stepped forward, but I had to pay an enormous amount of extra vitality. It seems they used the vitality they received at that time to restore their physical bodies as well.

Finally, I was forced to take responsibility not only for their maintenance but for their growth and development too.

'They are so powerful that the vitality required to maintain them is staggering. In exchange for their authorities, even my dimensional authority and knowledge were opened to them.'

Forming the spirit god contract and ending up like this snapped me awake. My original plan after contracting with them had been to surround the magic tower in the Great Cavity and sweep away the High Elf Empire that sought my life, but I immediately abandoned that and had no choice but to work as a mercenary god earning karma.

I realized that if even a spirit god contract—which should have been unilaterally advantageous to the contractor—had turned out this way, nothing I did would succeed.

'I changed my goal from revenge against the God Realm to constructing the Survival Magic Tower. Yet even after I became "Extreme Good" and a highest-ranking Main God, it seems the original forced contract remained in effect, allowing the sharing of authorities and knowledge to flow entirely in their favor. That is how they obtained power even greater than before and overturned the entire Spirit Realm.'

Upon checking now, even after my karma became 'Extreme Good,' the clauses from that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠past forced contract were still active. I had only regained normal forced command authority, but it still required me to pay an enormous price.

"I desire the cancellation of the spirit god contract. Though I have cast aside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my own name, the title remains. In the name ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the 'Noble and Great Black Magician,' I request the dissolution of the contract with the Otherworld spirit gods."

Whooooooosh!

I placed my hand on the head of the Otherworld spirit god and began unraveling the contract to free myself from these headaches.

'Now that I have become "Extreme Good," there is no longer any need to maintain such an unfair contract.'

The golden parchment that proclaimed the Karma Contract spat out its reply.

“……”

The golden parchment vanished, and a cold wind swirled violently. Whiiiiiiir—!

Thinking back, the Dimensional Lord realized this was the biggest reason they had fled the Spirit Realm.

'No matter how much they hated the Spirit Realm, these spirit gods do not possess hearts weak enough to choose desertion. They would have fought to the bitter end rather than run away.'

However, now that I—the very foundation of their power—had become the Main God of the Divine Realm, there was no way I would tolerate maintaining such a one-sided, unfair contract. In truth, the position of Main God of the Divine Realm does not allow consideration of personal circumstances, so I had intended to renew the contracts with the Otherworld spirit gods first. But so many incidents kept occurring, and since I would eventually have to visit the Spirit Realm to recruit them anyway, I had postponed it to handle everything together.

'Since I had grown stronger, the vitality I supplied them was no longer a significant burden. Of course, I never communicated any of this intention to them. Yet they are far too capable and intelligent. They immediately sensed what I would prioritize, and the moment they felt my divine power in the Spirit Realm, they fled.'

On top of that, when the foolish administrator of the Cyber Realm released their physical bodies to pressure me into being sent to the battlefield of the All-Powerful Splendor, they would have had no reason left to hesitate.

'Truly remarkable decisiveness and action. They correctly judged that a Preliminary Creator God maintaining this kind of contract was impossible and immediately chose to desert.'

Had it not been my own problem, I would have applauded such competence. If only it hadn't been me who suffered because of it.

My teeth ground together of their own accord and divine power surged wildly.

“Ughhhhrgh! Automatic rejection of contract cancellation? No need for words, then. Let's really do this. The disgusting past truly refuses to be shaken off easily. This time, I will settle everything and return it to normal.”

The aftermath of the forced contract and the restrictions from when my karma was Evil continued to cling to me. It seemed that while fleeing, they had also activated their rights as the weaker party. The fact that even the Dimensional Lord—the target—could not only fail to locate them but even had his perception blurred proved it went far beyond simple concealment magic tools targeting specific individuals.

'It is the weak's protection policy that I frequently relied on during my mercenary god days. A stronger party who formed an unfair contract cannot find or even perceive the location of the weaker party.'

Thanks to this protection from the Karma Contract, even the Demon King who aimed for the Dimensional Lord's authority—the power to defeat opponents above 2nd Circle—could not perceive him and could only wait for an opportunity on the battlefield. Therefore, no matter what means the Dimensional Lord employed, he would be unable to locate them directly.

'The policy that was so useful when I was weak has now become a restriction now that I have grown strong.'

Had it not been for the spirit god kings' assistance, I would not have discovered them at all. As my emotions surged, my divine power began to explode outward.

Goooooooong!

The wave of divine power exceeding one hundred billion from a Preliminary Creator God made the spirit god kings hurriedly kneel and display their submission. The fundamental nature of the god race is obedience to the Creator, loyalty to superiors, and the maintenance of order. Thus, they unconsciously submitted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before the full power emitted by a Preliminary Creator God whose divine power surpassed their own by dozens of times—even though they had lost their physical bodies and fallen to the level of spirit gods.

I cut off a portion of their divine hair—which was part of their very spirit—and absorbed it into my staff of origin. In exchange, I restored most of their limbs and physical bodies while claiming only a small part. This would help accelerate the pursuit.

“I accept all of you. However, there are conditions.”

The spirit gods looked up at him with eyes that refused to lose their tension. The Dimensional Lord understood their feelings well.

'This is exactly how I once looked—spouting every flowery phrase possible to secure even slightly favorable terms while waiting for the other party to choose. And now I, who was once in their position, stand as the contractor demanding absolute obedience from beings I would not have dared look at directly in the past.'

Indeed, if one endures without giving up, light eventually comes. But there was no time to indulge in sentiment now. I needed more troops.

“Can you defeat the Otherworld spirit gods? Can you capture and bring them to me? If so, I will temporarily grant you physical bodies equal to theirs.”

“Of course. Once our bodies are restored, we will definitely capture them and offer them to you.”

“Their subjugation is something we have longed for as well.”

The high-ranking spirit gods bowed their heads even lower, yet they could not hide the fighting spirit and killing intent that surged from them.

'Just how much chaos did they cause that even while overwhelmed by me, they cannot conceal such hostile emotions?'

It was not that I doubted the ten spirit god kings I had just sent. Objectively speaking, capturing the fugitives would still be difficult.

'Even without the Karma Law's protection of the weak, the hidden authority activated through the magic tool that creates a circle of divine power in the lower abdomen is not something a Main God could detect.'

Moreover, now that they knew I had mobilized spirit god kings to capture Enlil and Artemis, Medeia would not activate her power by targeting only me. Fortunately, capturing Enlil had slowed them down, but if they used the authority of enchanting magic, avoiding pursuit would be child's play. Even the spirit god kings of the Almighty God Tribe could not replicate magic that was not an authority, making detection difficult.

Since the Dimensional Lord was bound by the non-recognition restriction of the weak's protection under Karma, the only remaining option was to overwhelm them with sheer numbers.

Since the magic was already active, granting additional physical bodies was simple. I looked at the spirit god kings rejoicing in their restored Main God bodies and issued the command.

“The conditions are the same as those given to the previous group. I will teach you the method to create bodies comparable to those and allow you to use it in emergencies. Therefore, go and capture them—! The Otherworld spirit gods who have even refused a legitimate contract cancellation must be stopped before they leave the Spirit Realm Waiting Area and return to their original world. That wolf god should still remember their scent, so put it in front and chase them down immediately.”

Bzzzz! Bzzzz!

The Dimensional Lord could no longer tolerate the dust this wolf god had been kicking up with its wagging tail since earlier. No, he simply could not trust this sly wolf god that kept fawning and calling him Master.

'Above all, I keep getting the feeling that this is like a lizard cutting off its tail to escape while leaving poison on the tail it offered as bait.'

He truly could not be certain whether the beings before him were really Enlil and Artemis. Whether due to the weak's protection under Karma or Medeia's authority of enchantment, his recognition kept glitching.

On top of that, his 'Combat Foresight' and 'Sacrifice Perception' continued to issue ominous warnings.

'The sense that I've fallen into a trap refuses to leave me.'

The source of this crisis instinct was the wolf god currently making innocent eyes, sticking out its tongue like a pet dog, and wagging its tail.

'It is definitely hiding something, but there is no time to interrogate it calmly.'

Medeia, who knew most of the Dimensional Lord's magic, would not have thrown them at him without countermeasures. The claim that they remained here due to capacity issues made no sense. The Dimensional Lord's maximum output was one hundred billion. No matter how strong the Otherworld spirit gods were, each was only around five billion, and even five of them combined would not reach twenty-five billion. Yet the gate to the Spirit Realm opened to allow the Dimensional Lord passage was enlarged to over two hundred billion for safety. They could have easily escaped together, yet these two remained behind. They were not the type to sacrifice themselves for their comrades, so it was clearly a trick.

'Should I interrogate them with True and Death regardless of whether they die? No, they would have prepared countermeasures, so it would be a waste of time.'

True and Death, which kills the speaker if they lie, is useless if the person unconsciously believes the falsehood to be true, and such enchantment is Medeia's specialty. However, leaving the wolf god beside him would definitely continue to create confusion. Just like now—wagging its tail, brushing the ground, acting cute to win favor while sowing chaos.

“Stop wagging that tail—! Stop kicking up dust and take the lead right now!”

Baaaaam—!

“Yelp—!”

Unable to contain his rising anger, the kick sent the massive body—twelve kilometers tall and weighing tens of thousands of tons—tumbling through the air. Subduing a mere Main God-level wolf god physically was nothing to a Preliminary Creator God. As a bonus, he summoned solar divine power to tightly surround the wolf god and scorch its fur.

“You remember the scent of all the Otherworld spirit gods and have a rough idea of their location, yes? Take the lead and catch them immediately. If you let them escape, I will judge that you are scheming and personally roast you into a whole roast, then share you with the Giant Tribe's Main God and devour you. I am the Dimensional Lord and a Preliminary Creator God. There is no space or time that can hide from me. If the day comes when you separate even slightly from Artemis, with whom I share a Karma Contract as a spirit god, no matter which world or where you hide, you will never escape. Keep in mind that you have not formed a Karma Contract with me as a spirit god. Therefore, think of nothing else and simply follow the scent.”

“Woof—! Woof—!”

'Understood—! This way—!'

Pat-pat-pat-pat—!

Watching the dozens of high-ranking spirit gods, now restored to Main God bodies and burning with killing intent, chase after the wolf god that sprinted so fast its four legs became invisible, the Dimensional Lord frowned.

'The uneasy feeling still has not disappeared.'

It meant even they might not be able to catch the fugitives.

'I will show the Otherworld spirit gods who dared underestimate me and think they could shake me off the true meaning of overwhelming numbers. If ten is not enough, send a hundred. If a hundred is not enough, send a thousand. If a thousand is still not enough, pour in ten thousand—I will capture them without fail. And if they flee to the Otherworld, I will pursue them to the end and force them to cancel this unfair contract.'

Through this incident, the Dimensional Lord keenly realized that contracts made during his days of Evil karma needed to be revised as quickly as possible. That was the way to protect the karma he had barely raised.

He opened the space of the Main God temple in the Spirit Realm Waiting Area and called out.

“Lokina, Lord of the Flipside—!”