The Five Divine Beasts Strike
The spirit gods of the Spirit Realm war considered the returning divine beasts easy targets for elimination anyway, so they thought this was for the best. They turned their gaze upward, only for their eyes to widen in shock.
What appeared to be graceful human beauties in flowing white garments of vivid primary colors were, in truth, massive divine beasts drawn by waves of divine power. And not just any beasts—these were the highest-ranking species among the divine beast races.
Gooooooong—!Uuuuuuuuuuuuung—!
A blue dragon’s divine power rippled in the east, while on the right a white tiger prepared to roar. Above them loomed a colossal divine beast that fused turtle and snake, and below, a bird of flame beat its wings as if ready to soar. At the center blazed a radiant golden dragon.
These were the ruling species of the divine beast realm, tasked by the Creator Gods of the Otherworld with defending against external threats and maintaining internal order. Their strength easily surpassed that of ordinary gods. They possessed resistance to divine power and held absolute dominion over their respective elemental attributes.
When all five moved together like this, even the Divine Realm and Demon Realm would tense up in alarm.
‘Of course, with our current power boosted by Intermediate Main God-level divine energy, Dimensional Authority support, and enhancement from all five major attributes, we have nothing to fear—even from a Highest Lord God.’
‘But the scale of their divine power waves… it’s no joke. At least equal to ours, maybe higher.’
There was only one conclusion.
These were formidable enemies who had also formed contracts with beings possessing Dimensional Authority. They were receiving unlimited vitality and dimensional support just like the spirit gods.
“The highest ruling tier of the Five Divine Beasts? And all Intermediate Main God level or above? What kind of nonsense is this—!”
“Azure Dragon—! White Tiger—! Vermilion Bird—! Black Tortoise—! And even the Yellow Dragon?!”
“The five supreme guardian races of the Otherworld are offering themselves as contracted divine beasts? No matter how tempting the contractor’s infinite vitality and divine power may be, this is ridiculous!”
“Support and conditions identical to ours. Assessed as equal or greater. Danger.”
They could clearly sense the same dimensional divine power and vitality support, along with linked enhancement for the exact same five attributes.
Even Nuwa’s Rain of Pregnancy failed to intimidate them. The downpour was cleanly pushed away, and they seemed capable of neutralizing all of Enlil’s concealment authorities. She abandoned stealth and revealed herself at once.
Grinding her teeth, Enlil spat out her words.
“My wind and water attributes are being canceled out. Their elemental dominance is clearly superior. All that’s left is direct combat using raw divine power.”
“Their Dimensional Authority is at the same level, so spatial teleportation is too risky—we have no idea where we’d be flung. The five-attribute linkage enhancement has also been nullified. We cannot let our guard down for even a second.”
The faces of the Otherworld spirit gods, recalling past memories, filled with tension.
‘When we were captured and dragged away by the Creator Gods’ divine beasts, we naturally resisted.’
‘No matter what, there were circumstances. To suddenly sentence us to execution and exile was absurd.’
‘But when all five of them charged at once, every elemental authority was sealed. Their physical abilities far exceeded those of ordinary gods, so we were subdued instantly.’
In the Otherworld, divine beasts held a position almost equivalent to the Substitute Gods—an object of awe. But the spirit gods had underestimated just how powerful they truly were. In the moment of realization, their bodies were destroyed and they were sent straight here.
‘The contractor looks shabby and irritable, but the purity and sheer volume of vitality he provides from the Otherworld is beyond anything we could dream of. Thanks to that, we’ve grown far stronger. But it seems they’ve done the same—contracted and strengthened to their limits with unlimited support.’
‘This puts us at a disadvantage.’
The divine beasts created by the Creator Gods of their own world to maintain the order of gods and demons were superior when matched against equals. That was why their previously triumphant expressions instantly froze into tension.
Amaterasu’s will reached everyone at once.
‘A collision would bring nothing good. We withdraw immediately. We’ve already secured the contractor, so we have no further business in this universe. Once we enter the Otherworld, we’ll move in secret and that will be the end of it.’
‘Agreed. Bad feeling.’
‘The spirit god emperors on their side are moving too. They’re analyzing the authority of the Rain of Pregnancy. Once they finish, they’ll break through and charge in.’
‘There’s another Main God besides me who uses dark magic. They’re trying to analyze my Darkness Capture. With monstrous computational power and magic similar to mine, there’s a risk it could be unraveled. We need to get out of here.’
‘A head-on fight is reckless. There are far too many powerhouses. This contractor has gathered every spirit god above Main God level in the entire Spirit Realm. I have no idea how he planned to handle all of them. For now, we retreat—even if only temporarily.’
Sealing a Creator Candidate’s divine power perfectly in such a rushed preparation was impossible, so they had layered additional barriers to prevent any leakage that might reveal their position. Thick fog began to spread.
“Truly shameless concubines, the lot of you. To repay the mercy granted out of respect for your talent with such malice? How utterly brazen.”
“It is the duty of the legal wife to educate her husband’s concubines. I shall carry out that duty at once.”
“Do you really think a concealment barrier made from such trivial attributes will work on us?”
“Hand over our husband—!”
“Give him to us right now—!”
Puhahahahahak—!
From the five divine beasts’ divine power waves came attacks resembling dragon breath. Worried about damaging the contractor trapped inside the sphere of darkness, their destructive force was low, but their authority suppression was overwhelming.
Crackle—!
The instant the breath touched the fog, thunder roared. The Otherworld spirit gods’ concealment was completely shattered, revealing their forms.
The spirit gods of the Otherworld could not hide their dismay as they began concentrating their divine power. Among them, Storm Annihilation Enlil looked especially grim. She had taken the full backlash of having her wind-and-water concealment authority forcibly canceled by a superior elemental force.
Struggling to steady her shaken internal organs, she spoke gravely.
“These aren’t ordinary divine beasts. They’re Divine Beast Lords. Even our unique authorities based on elemental power can’t match them. Until we break through, mixing wind and water for concealment is impossible.”
“Ohohohohohohot—! Then why not break through directly? I shall open the path for you lowly ones, so follow me.”
Hwarrrrrrrrk—!
Solar flames erupted across Amaterasu’s entire body, condensing into a blade with seven edges that became a sword of light. Though she spoke with confident laughter, she could not stop her tension.
‘The ones who injured me so badly in the Otherworld that I lost my physical body were Divine Beast Lords of the same level. Of course, it wasn’t one-on-one—it was five against one—but I never imagined I would be subdued so helplessly.’
All her authorities had been canceled by overwhelming elemental power, and in close combat she had been no match for beings who could transform into giant monstrous forms.
‘In the end, I lost the body I had possessed since birth, stood trial in spirit form, and was forcibly exiled here.’
Though she had created this technique for revenge, the Divine Beast Lords looked so powerful that she wondered if it would even work. However, when combined with her unique authority, she believed she could break through any opponent.
As the eldest daughter and direct descendant of a Creator God, the authority granted to her at birth and her status as a Main God knew no equal—until she had fought her younger brother of the same bloodline. This was the unique authority she had used then.
She had been caught off guard against the divine beasts and hadn’t been able to use it properly, but now was different.
“All gods’ destruction and authorities shall be blocked by the heavenly rock.”
"All gods' destruction and authorities shall be blocked by the heavenly rock."
⟨ Heavenly Rock Barrier ⟩
Uuuuuuuuuuuung—!
A colossal illusory mountain of rock enveloped her entire body, instantly deflecting the divine beasts’ elemental powers and breath attacks. Non-material attacks like divine or magical power could not overcome this authority. Only extreme physical force could pierce it and harm her.
Fortunately, she was a sword goddess of the highest caliber. Since ancient times she had wielded divine blades, a war god who had slain countless monsters and enemies. The only opponents who had ever pushed her back in close combat were the divine beasts with their colossal monstrous bodies and her younger brother, the God of Destruction.
“With the divine sword in my right hand, the curved jewel in my left, and the mirror upon my head, I shall rule the world.”
Hwaaaaaaaaaaak—!Puhahahahahaha—!
The illusory mountain grew even stronger as the divine beasts’ breath attacks intensified and poured down. If they had transformed into their true bodies the moment their non-material attacks were nullified, it would have been disastrous—but instead they simply strengthened attacks that weren’t working.
At that, the Otherworld spirit gods realized something.
The Divine Beast Lords had almost no actual combat experience.
In that case, breaking through would be easy.
Goooooo—!
The curved jewel summoned in her left hand raised her divinity to the limit, strengthening her authority. The mirror that appeared behind her head eliminated all blind spots, making her defense perfect. The seven-edged divine sword drank in solar power to its absolute limit.
She struck with maximum output that surpassed all limits—seven times simultaneously.
Papapapapapapa—!
No war god had ever endured the divine sword’s strikes that simultaneously attacked front, back, left, right, above, below, and even internally.
‘It originally had many restrictions, but thanks to the contractor—who, though only a Creator Candidate, possesses vitality and divine power surpassing even the Highest Creator Gods of our world—the limitations on this body and Dimensional Authority have been lifted.’
She could now unleash her maximum authority without restraint.
The seven solar blades grown from the divine sword emitted blinding light as they seized control of the space and charged straight toward the Five Divine Beast Lords.
Having realized their lack of combat experience, she intended to finish them before they could transform into their giant monstrous forms.
Paaaaaaa—!
The seven solar lights drawn in the air shone in a dizzying display. Though slower than lightning, solar divine power was among the fastest of all authorities. Moreover, when it came to area suppression, it was undoubtedly the strongest.
Once activated, she could proudly claim there was no equal among gods of the same rank.
However, the opponent also included a Divine Beast Lord with solar power—the Yellow Dragon—who immediately moved to defend. Furthermore, the mixed-attribute barrier reinforced by the other divine beasts completely blocked every strike.
Kagagagagagang—!
Countless sword strikes slammed into the barrier, producing deafening roars. The divine beasts were pushed back by the impact. Wounds opened across their bodies and blood seeped out.
They had failed to block the spatial-leaping strikes among the seven slashes, but the barrier soon incorporated spatial interference properties from Dimensional Authority and halted the assault.
For a moment they looked bewildered, but then faint rage began to burn in their eyes.
“Ugh…!”
Amaterasu bit her lip and continued pouring out the divinity of her Seven Continuous Strikes, pushing forward. She had wanted to end it here if possible, but they were proving difficult. It seemed she would have to change plans—shove them into another dimension and escape through the main gate of the Spirit Realm Waiting Area.
‘As expected, divine beasts basically possess immunity to the authorities of the gods in their own world. Normally those sword strikes should have torn them to pieces, yet they only suffered minor injuries. How unfair. And what kind of nerve does the contractor have to accept all of them into the Divine Realm? Even we were captured by them—does he not fear rebellion?’
The faces of the spirit god emperors and giant god lords whom Nuwa had driven from the battlefield with her Rain of Pregnancy were flushed red with excitement as they analyzed the authorities and attempted to forcibly dispel them.
‘There are already ten spirit Main Gods, and ten spirit god emperors who have somehow restored their physical bodies.’
Including the countless other Main God-level gods and spirit god emperors who had gathered, their numbers easily reached the hundreds. Considering the high combat standards of the 499th Master Universe, this force was more than enough to handle the Otherworld.
No matter how strong they were, five people could not possibly face such numbers head-on—especially with the giant god lords present. Close combat was out of the question.
‘We’ve created distance. Let’s get out of here now.’
‘Moving out. Run—!’
Awoooooooooo—!
The giant wolf god, its body fully restored by Artemis’s infinite lunar energy, howled long and charged forward. By now everyone had boarded, even bringing the sphere of darkness with them.
Fenrir was originally a modified giant fortress-type wolf god created by a dark-magic-using Main God for the final battle against the Divine Realm. It possessed tremendous defensive power and vitality, could freely change size within the limits of its divine power, and protected its passengers inside an internal subspace.
It could also assimilate with the earth, possessed excellent stealth that could evade most detection, and had outstanding mobility. Once it began moving, the chase was already over.
Goooooo—!Paaaaaaa—!
As expected, Amaterasu slipped through a gap in the space she had pushed the Divine Beast Lords into and escaped. They immediately passed through the main gate of the Spirit Realm Waiting Area.
The startled Divine Beast Lords tried to follow, but the unique nature of the Spirit Realm Waiting Area—where spatial movement was difficult—and the narrow linear passage of the vitality-absorption authority zone made it impossible for them to match the wolf god’s mobility as it ran across earth and sky.
‘Since the contractor blocked the passage with compressed planets, the fact that Fenrir can freely adjust its size means we don’t have to worry about being tracked.’
‘Without an authority that can change size, they would have to destroy all of it to pursue us.’
No matter how strong the Divine Beast Lords were, they could not cover the entire vast territory of the Otherworld. Once they returned, the spirit gods could take their revenge step by step. They had even secured the contractor who could supply infinite vitality and divine power, so there would be no supply issues. Time was on their side.
“Ohohohohot—! Wait for us. At last, we return. We shall repay all past grudges and fury. We will purge everyone who denounced us and abandoned our divine nation. This time, we shall establish not a divine nation, but a divine empire.”
While Amaterasu laughed triumphantly, covering her mouth with a golden fan, the others smiled brightly, thinking everything had gone well. But Medeia was frowning as she examined the sphere of darkness.
In a situation that was nearly over, the one who had contributed the most by capturing the contractor was pressing one ear tightly against the sphere and investigating something. Everyone fell silent. Her expression as she listened was far from ordinary.
“What is it? Is there a problem? The fully activated Darkness Capture absorbs all divine power on its own. Even a Creator God caught by it cannot escape, can he?”
“It’s a famous authority that completely seals the target by stopping their consciousness so they cannot use any powers. Why do you look like that?”
“Be quiet and listen. I don’t understand it either, but… he’s conscious.”
When Medeia put a finger to her lips, all conversation inside Fenrir’s subspace stopped and silence fell.
And within that silence, a very faint voice could be heard.
It was a spine-chilling vow filled with the shabby contractor’s first display of genuine fury.