The Performance of Tragic Goddesses

Lokina emerged from beyond the dimensional gate with an expression of utter exhaustion, fixing her gaze on the Dimensional Lord. She had already shed the translucent robe that normally concealed her, and the floor had become an absolute disaster zone from the mountain of documents she had hurled down. Around her, the Spirit Lord Gods stood with faces that suggested they could not bear to raise their heads. As if wrapping up the session, she shot a quick glance at the Dimensional Lord and continued pressuring Hephais, the master of Infinite Alchemy.

“Th-that’s not true? I felt some regret, sure, but I never cried. Isn’t that an outrageous lie? Me, a tragic heroine goddess? I’ve never cried once in my life.”

Bang—!

Flutter—!

The Lord of the Flipside, Lokina, slammed her hand down in rage. The stacks of documents piled on the desk flew into the air and scattered across the floor.

“Shut your mouth—! A highest-ranking god of the Round Table who let the Divine Realm fall because you were lost in personal feelings, dragged here for that very crime, and you dare speak so carelessly? Just because we fixed your broken body, you think your thick skull got fixed too? Don’t you know a resume like this wouldn’t even be accepted in the Demon Realm?”

“I-I got it. Just stop talking about my past body and head already.”

She kept her head bowed, repeatedly picking up the revised resume, reading it, averting her eyes, reading it again, then setting it down. Seeing the document in person, the embellishments were so extreme they burned with embarrassment, yet the result seemed successful. At first Lokina had been so disgusted with the world and every other god that she kept her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vision-blocking robe on, but the fact that she had thrown it far away and was now driving them relentlessly showed just how much progress had been made. She had grown so heated that she was now shouting at the top of her lungs.

“All of you, remember this! If you don’t live exactly according to these resumes from now on, you will be exposed immediately, so be careful—extremely careful. And you there—the lucky one with a decent body but a stupid head! Why are those rebellious eyes still raised? Lower them by more than half right now! Even if the tears won’t come naturally, force them out and at least wet the area around your eyes—! Didn’t I say your past is that of a tragic goddess who lost the Divine Realm she held so dear because of her disability? Or would you rather continue living as sinners who betrayed and abandoned it?”

“Damn it—! Pretending to cry is enough, isn’t it—!”

In the end, unable to withstand the merciless barrage, the goddess rubbed her eyes hard enough to produce tears. The sight was so absurd it left everyone speechless. They had no choice but to perform according to the histories that had been rewritten for their benefit. Lokina watched the awkwardly forced acting and clicked her tongue, clearly displeased by how unnatural it all looked.

“Before you head to the Divine Realm, memorize every changed detail and act accordingly. And you—the one who only thinks about drinking—I've changed your title to the God of Alcohol, so drink as much as you want. But if you don’t produce the ordered goods in proportion to what you consume, I won’t let it slide.”

“Hiiiiik—! That’s too hard. I’d rather just stop drinking altogether.”

At Kurkana’s whining complaint, a venomous threat exploded out. Lokina was so furious she had dropped all honorifics and was now pouring out pure venom.

“You, stop drinking? A drunkard who drowned an entire divine kingdom in alcohol dares to say that? Shall I throw you into a vitality liquor barrel and turn you into snake wine? Work as much vitality as you consume. I’m in a hurry too, so make it quick—!”

There was no reason for the Dimensional Lord to intervene when the middle manager was handling the subordinates so effectively. He had no desire to step forward himself.

Just looking at the modified resumes each of them holds, they’re excellently crafted.

Their sins against the Divine Realm had been transformed into personal sacrifices for the collective, while mistakes born of personal desire had been neatly rewritten as fates dictated by their own authorities. Since distinguishing the original truth had always been ambiguous, it didn’t matter. The fact that they were managing themselves with such terrifying intensity created an excellent atmosphere.

If the ones below handle it like this on their own, I don’t have to do anything myself. I can just offer encouraging words. For once, I can escape the role of the inevitable villain and hear that I’m a good superior.

It was a truly satisfying situation. He felt endless gratitude that his capable subordinate was thoroughly disciplining the lower ranks. A touching feeling rose in him, as though a ray of hope was finally illuminating this newborn endeavor.

Ah! That’s not the point right now.

Lokina, who had been lashing the hesitating Spirit Lord Gods with her signature venomous tongue, seemed to have finished. She organized all the documents and sent them back to the Divine Realm. Then she placed the completed resumes before him and slipped the vision-blocking robe back on. She looked quite drained, but her tone had roughly returned to its usual curtness.

“It’s all done. Now these idiots just need to act well once they’re in the Divine Realm. But they’re such a mess that immediate integration seems impossible, so the correct approach is to deploy them directly into the field ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠upon arrival and keep them isolated from the existing gods.”

“I’ll entrust you with managing the lower divine realms and the spirit gods assigned to them.”

“Lower divine realms? You created another divine realm in the Middle World? Such a reckless investment? The vitality consumed by a divine realm would overwhelm any ordinary planet, wouldn’t it?”

“Ordinary planets can only sustain one divine realm, of course. But a Main God Star is different. The Main God Star is vast and overflows with vitality, so even a hundred divine realms would be fine. The only issue is efficiency—whether there are enough gods to fill the realms and enough believers to generate the required vitality. Once it reaches a certain scale, it evolves into Creator Divinity and grows even larger. Intelligent beings will multiply infinitely as long as the gods prepare the proper environment, so there’s no problem. That’s why all the demigods who failed to ascend and every god hoping to increase their followers have received individual missions and are fully committed. In the lower divine realms, those below the highest rank improving their Karma won’t have the chance to have their secrets exposed by encountering other gods. Those at Lord God level and above can simply fill the Lord God Temple. Once everything normalizes, the highest divine realm can operate beyond capacity and we can ascend to the Preliminary Creator God stage.”

“Then these beings will immediately clash with the existing Lord Gods of the Divine Realm. You’re fine with that? You’re not seriously under the illusion that they’ll get along with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the current Lord Gods, are you? It’s absolutely impossible. The moment they arrive they’ll probably start hierarchy battles, each claiming they’re superior. Dogs don’t stop eating feces; there’s no way these won’t cause trouble.”

To the Spirit Lord Gods who flared up at her words, she pressed even harder with a stronger tone.

“Then write the Karma Contract—! Swear you absolutely won’t be swayed by emotion and won’t cause any trouble—! That you’ll accept any punishment—! You can’t do it, can you—! That’s exactly why you don’t know yourselves and can’t control yourselves, ending up in this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠state—! For the likes of you, getting beaten, forced to come to your senses, and worked like dogs is perfect—!”

Unable to contain her emotions any longer, her hands trembled and her voice rose to a shout.

“What kind of Lord Gods are you? Compared to you, the me who rebelled against the Chief God of the God Realm and lost seems like she barely needs any correction. Are you all out of your minds? No threats to your lives, positions fully guaranteed, yet you ruined a perfectly good divine realm? I’m supposed to be the middle manager in charge of these things? If the situation weren’t like this, I’d rather die than do it—!”

Seeing her even start pointing fingers, she was clearly beyond heated. Turning sins into achievements was an extremely difficult process, so it was only natural.

Now I just need to say one graceful line. This is exactly what the Chief God of the God Realm should do.

The Dimensional Lord knew full well that beating his subordinate Lord Gods on the planet out of anger was not normal behavior.

“Treatment of the strong must differ. We cannot waste the authority of precious Lord God-level powerhouses by sending them to the lower divine realms.”

Watching the Spirit Lord Gods’ eyes fill with moved emotion at those words, he laughed inwardly. Lokina looked like she wanted to say something to the Dimensional Lord’s statement but ultimately closed her mouth.

He understands my temperament better than anyone. If I talked back here and undermined my authority, it would mean immediate discipline.

Between Lord Gods of equal standing like the Chief God of the God Realm, there were no empty words or jokes. Their relationship was that of adults and group leaders, not immature children. And the situation was amusing enough to smile at.

Hierarchy battles in the Divine Realm? With whom? With Gaiana, a member of the Almighty Race aiming for highest Lord God? Or with the battle goddess heroines? In their current state, could they even be opponents? They’d be suppressed instantly.

The Almighty Race manifesting all their authority were never opponents ordinary gods could defeat. The reason Hwi of All-Powerful Splendor or the origin of the outer universe’s Almighty Race sometimes fell short was simply because their opponents were exceptionally outstanding, not because they themselves were weak. Ordinary god races could never handle them. They had not been the highest clan of the previous universe for nothing. The authority they could manifest was said to be infinite, directly linked to Creator God abilities. It only became an issue against equally skilled opponents; lower beings were dealt with in the blink of an eye. The copied authority combined with added higher divine power ended things instantly.

It’s to the point where even the battle goddess heroines would quietly live as they’re told. Fight the battle goddess heroines? In their current vitality-starved state, they couldn’t possibly be opponents.

Moreover, they would bring all their follower forces into the Divine Realm, but leading the spirit gods—who were essentially a mess of beans—made any chance of victory impossible.

You’ll understand once you reach the Divine Realm. The battle goddess heroines will welcome you warmly while venting their accumulated anger. They’ve built up quite a lot from Gaiana’s re-education from the start, so good luck.

The only real concern had been if they joined forces with the existing faction, but the final demon path had mostly eliminated even that worry.

The number of Spirit God Kings harvested this time is fifteen, with fifty high-ranking spirit gods. When my final demon path activates, they can manifest power beyond their prime, so betrayal is impossible.

They might betray if offered better conditions, but it was doubtful whether battle gods would choose to abandon their barely recovered strength and start over. Besides, for spirit gods without physical bodies, the new bodies to be created were more important than anything.

Even I cannot fully grant a Lord God body without restrictions unless the limits are lifted by his title. However, providing the information for a body that comes close is possible, and that alone creates a vessel with Creator God potential. In the end, they have no choice but to obey my words absolutely and become the watchdogs of the Chief God of the God Realm’s power.

Of course, once they regained their past strength that might change, but that was a distant future after their bodies were fully restored. If all of them were made to manifest full power through the final demon path and mobilized, suppressing the entire Divine Realm would be easy. They had seemed slightly pushed by the Otherworld’s spirit gods, but the past authority of a god-race origin was not to be underestimated.

Now I can finally focus solely on training as the proper Chief God of the God Realm.

As expected, high Karma and ability made everything flow smoothly. The hardships were finally over and a bright future lay ahead. He had wanted to give up countless times, but enduring and persevering had been the right choice.

Oh! This is no time to be getting emotional. The anxiety still hasn’t disappeared.

From the dimensional space he retrieved the suppressed spirit gods from the Otherworld. Enlil and Artemis remained unconscious, hanging limply.

Yet after carefully examining the two, Lokina answered with an expression of pure disbelief.

“Dragon Tooth Soldiers? No. Since they’re based on divine bodies, perhaps they should be called God Tooth Soldiers? Why are you carrying around these dolls? Was your preference for the obedient type? No direct descendants could ever be born from those anyway. As the Chief God of the God Realm, this is unhealthy vitality waste.”

“……”

This damn it—!

With the support of Karma’s protection of the weak mixed with a Lord God’s fascination, there was truly no countermeasure. Even the Magic God had fallen for such a prank-like trick. Still, as the Chief God of the God Realm, he could not admit he had been deceived. The Dimensional Lord spoke while inwardly feeling as though he were vomiting blood.

As expected, you tricked me. Medeia—!