The Goddess-Only Staircase
The most luxurious seat inside the War God’s temple of the Goddess Department held a man as handsome as a prince from a picture book. Golden hair caught the sunlight and sparkled brilliantly. His flawless white skin, elegantly drawn brows, and lake-blue eyes were framed by a straight nose and lips that, though red as a woman’s, were firmly pressed together, radiating masculine charm. Though he looked intellectual, the perfectly balanced muscles beneath his neck pulsed with a warrior’s vigor. A black armor glowing with an otherworldly light encased his entire body, while a cloak redder than the finest wine rippled even without wind. In his right hand, an ornately decorated silver-gray divine sword gleamed. The peerless beauty sat frozen, his face etched with deep contemplation, when the main door cracked open and a respectful voice called out.
“Your Holiness. You have a visitor.”
“I wish to be alone.”
The man’s voice was so clear and pure it seemed one might never hear its like again. For a moment there was silence, then the reply came hesitantly.
“However, the acting cardinals…”
“Tell them I am not here.”
Crash—! The door burst open as though it would shatter, and a group of elderly men stormed in, hissing with fury.
“Oh, your complexion really is excellent! You sent all your friends to their deaths and got younger all by yourself, huh!”
“If you’re young again, why aren’t you out chasing women instead of brooding? If you’re not going to use it, hand over the ring!”
“…Gods above.”
The man sighed heavily as the elders instantly surrounded him, the atmosphere so menacing it felt as though they might grab him by the throat at any moment. He was the former hero who had somehow ended up as the Pope of the War God.
‘Huuu… How did it come to this?’
The former hero had fought the Platinum Divine Dragon Erendra and experienced death twice in an instant. Afterward, burning with rage, he had snatched the divine sword from the current hero—who had already been eliminated early—and fought on, ultimately surviving alongside his comrades. Before he could even catch his breath, the true battle for the papacy had begun: a battle royale among superhumans who had not died more than three times in the fight against the Divine Dragon.
‘Out of twenty thousand superhumans on the front lines, only a thousand remained. They were truly vicious battle maniacs.’
Every attack from those superhumans, who had withstood the Divine Dragon’s assaults, was lethal. After a fight that transcended consciousness itself, the last one standing was the former hero. Just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion, the noble and great black mage recognized him as the new Pope of the War God and proclaimed it across the entire Middle World.
“I bless the former hero’s ascension as Pope of the War God. Until the next papal election in five years, I bestow upon him the Protection of the War God and the Oath of the War God.”
The divine armor of the god of war was draped over the former hero, restoring him to his prime. ‘The divine artifact was real. I truly reached the eighth circle and gained divinity as a Lower God.’
The ring of immortality, which the emperor had promised would come with a kingdom if brought back, was placed in his hand. ‘The price was too great to refuse. Before I could even speak, everything was decided. The black mage appointed me Pope and ascended to the Divine Realm.’
Erendra, the Platinum Divine Dragon, was appointed as the overall administrator of the Middle World—directly above the Pope of the War God.
“Do well from now on. Understood? You’d better.”
The head of the Platinum Divine Dragon, larger than the temple itself, flashed its teeth right in front of the former hero, issuing a clear threat. Overwhelmed by the difference in divine rank, the former hero nodded frantically. Led away by the hands of the War Goddesses, he was inaugurated as Pope amid a grand ceremony.
Afterward, his old comrades came demanding the ring, and the Unified Pope—who had been forced to change his faith—wore an expression as though the world had ended.
“O Lord God, have you abandoned me? You should have told me you were this strong from the beginning. O Lord God—!”
“…”
To the former hero, the Unified Pope was the most despicable of all. He repeatedly committed the insolent act of calling upon another god right in front of the Pope of the War God.
‘I’ve fallen into an inescapable abyss. If I quit being the War God’s Pope, I fear the superhuman cardinals—those starving wolves—will come for the ring. Yet if I merely pretend to be Pope, Erendra’s breath will reduce me to dust.’
The greatest problem for the former hero who had become Pope was that the armor made it impossible for him to die. That was why, whenever he tried to hide from a world that only tightened its grip, his comrades came looking for him and rampaged as if they would kill him.
‘I don’t understand what’s happening anymore. Whatever will be, will be.’
While being shaken by the collar by the Fist Emperor, the Pope of the War God finally learned what it meant to give up.
Having appointed the former hero—who had been blocking his path—as Pope to deliver a blow, and having collared him with Erendra the Platinum Divine Dragon, the black mage moved to the heavenly realm in an exceedingly refreshed mood.
“Kahahahaha—! Middle World management is complete. Now it’s finally my first day at work. This is the feeling!”
Laughing continuously, the black mage arrived at the entrance of the Divine Realm via spatial transfer, his spirits at their peak.
‘The Middle World has been neatly organized. I spent most of my divine power in the High Elf Empire, but I earned several times that amount from the Holy Empire of War.’
Whooooom—! Even after healing Granzoa, an abundance of the highest-grade divine power remained, enveloping him in a divine radiance. To any observer, he was unmistakably a supreme War God.
“This is why gods prefer humans. It’s easy—! So easy—!”
The black mage saw that the entrance to the Divine Realm was structured like a pyramid, with stairs placed along the central passage leading upward step by step. Upon closer inspection, it was a radial layout with long straight stairs flanked by side roads and golden buildings. ‘This is my mother’s Divine Realm! The temples stretching horizontally along the central stairs are endless.’
At the far end of the straight stairs stood the largest and most magnificent Main God Temple. Just as the black mage was about to take his historic first step onto the stairs of the Divine Realm, he was stopped at the entrance. A high-ranking angel appeared from somewhere and hurriedly bowed, addressing him.
“Is this your first time in the Divine Realm? These automatic stairs are for goddesses only. The spiral staircase for male gods is over there.”
The high-ranking angel pointed to a small, plain door in the corner of the entrance. Beyond the open, unadorned door stretched a narrow road that spiraled endlessly around the Divine Realm rather than going straight. The black mage alternated his gaze between the wide, automatically moving corridor and stairs of the main gate and the small door, unable to hold back his question.
“Goddess-only and male-god-only? The passages are separate?”
“Yes. It was changed this way because male gods frequently committed sexual harassment by looking up skirts from beneath the stairs.”
“???”
Staring at the enormously ornate main gate of the Divine Realm, decorated with jewels and gold, and the shabby, undecorated small door for males, the black mage fell into confusion. ‘What is sexual harassment to the divine race? And why have separate goddess-only passages in the Divine Realm when it’s not even a bathroom?’
His good mood evaporated completely. Pondering the unfamiliar terminology, the black mage thought, ‘Could this be a conspiracy by the gods to mess with me? Or is it a hidden camera prank?’
After some deep thought, he noticed several goddesses casting contemptuous glances his way as they passed the stairs, while a few male gods ran diligently along the long spiral path. It didn’t seem like a setup after all. Whirrr—! When the goddesses stepped onto the door, the stairs automatically moved quickly, allowing easy passage, while in the distance the male gods struggled as they ran. The contrast only deepened his confusion.
The black mage realized that the high-ranking angel’s flustered explanation was the truth. ‘What kind of place is this?’
The black mage’s first impression of the Divine Realm was one of utter bewilderment. His face grew increasingly stiff as he watched the male gods running along the narrow spiral alley covering an enormous distance, while the goddesses ascended the luxurious automatic stairs with ease.
“…”
Sensing the unusual atmosphere of this high-ranking god, the high-ranking angel was at a loss. Many war gods returning from long deployments to other divine realms had caused scenes here. Of course, when the goddesses guarding the female-only automatic stairs gathered, one had no choice but to use the spiral path—but this god’s presence felt dangerous.
‘What do I do? What do I do? There’s going to be a huge incident!’
As a high-ranking angel who had served the gods for a long time, his instincts screamed that this high-ranking god must not be provoked under any circumstances. Yet the goddesses managing the female-only automatic stairs approached as usual and immediately picked a fight.
“Hey? Why are you staring up like a pervert from under the stairs?”
“You’re really something else!”
“There are still male gods like this. I’m scared to live here!”
The goddesses guarding the automatic stairs all gathered and each took a turn berating him.
“And what’s with that shabby robe? It’s an eyesore.”
“You’re shorter than me, yet you insist on being a male god. Go over there right now—!”
Just like always, they swarmed like a pack of foxes eyeing prey and attacked with words. They expected that, like the other male gods, he would soon be cowed and head for the spiral stairs. But suddenly, chills ran down everyone’s spines. Shiver—! It felt as though a massive monster was glaring at them; every goddess’s hair stood on end.
Then a ring of light passed by their sides. The black mage had activated the ten circles above his robe and struck the surrounding goddesses with a wave of divine power.
“Kyaaaaah—!”
“Aaaah—!”
“Waaah!”
The goddesses who had surrounded the black mage were all sent flying and tumbled to the ground. The black mage spoke, his eyes burning with quiet fury.
“I accept your challenge. Come at me.”
“!!!”
“!!!”
Only then did the goddesses realize the truth: this high-ranking male god was a naive war god who knew nothing about the current Divine Realm.
Shhhhhhh—! A terrifying killing intent that would slaughter regardless of gender spread from the black mage, dyeing the surroundings. The goddesses, their bodies stiffening with terror, hurriedly moved to report.
‘Is he a war god returning from a long deployment on another divine realm’s battlefield?’
‘He doesn’t seem sane. We need to press the emergency bell and call them.’
‘This could be the first time in Divine Realm history that the gates are stained with blood.’
The goddesses lamented their misfortune at being on duty when such an incident occurred, and took action.
Whiiiiing—! Whiiing—!
Hearing the emergency alarm ringing throughout the Divine Realm, the black mage frowned and sighed.
‘Agh—! This is annoying. I couldn’t hold back in the end.’
From the black mage’s perspective, it was absurd that lower-ranking goddesses, who were no match for him, had collectively provoked him. ‘At first I wondered if they were specially trained like the High Elf Queen, but their combat ability was actually low.’
The black mage had simply stood there, dumbfounded, only to be called a pervert, told his robe was shabby, and mocked for being a short male god. ‘The weak ones insulted and antagonized me, approaching without any defense. Living long enough really lets you see all kinds of crazy things.’
Finally, after confirming with a simple mana emission whether they were strong, they had all ended up like this. Finding it utterly ridiculous, the black mage suspended all the surrounding goddesses upside down in the air with his mana.
Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!
“Kyaaaaah—! A male god is hitting goddesses!”
“Aah—! Someone call for help!”
“The pervert is trying to rape us!”
“You’re not resisting?”
The situation unfolding in the Divine Realm far exceeded his expectations. They claimed the female-only automatic corridor existed because male gods kept peeking up skirts, yet looking around, almost none of the goddesses were even wearing skirts. ‘There are no skirts. Then why enforce this control? It’s not as if all goddesses wear skirts, so controlling all male gods over a mere possibility—does that make any sense? And what about the male gods running around the spiral path over there, accepting this absurdity? This Divine Realm, just like the Sly Raccoon Main God, is full of strange things everywhere.’
No matter how charitably the black mage tried to view it, the fact that those who were no match for him had swarmed him in a group made them seem insane. He pulled the goddesses who had insulted him earlier toward him through the air.
“A pervert? I have no interest in lower-ranking goddesses.”
“!?”
“!?”