The Weight of a False Crown

The gods and lord gods of the Spirit Realm filed out of the Main God Temple, their faces etched with clear dissatisfaction yet reluctant acceptance. In the now-empty hall, the Dimensional Lord—a preliminary creator god—let out a light, weary sigh. With a casual wave of his will, he began imprinting his own demonic magic across the entire Divine Realm.

This latest recruitment of spirit gods gave me far more inspiration and wariness than any previous divine conscription. The raw power displayed in the battles against those stronger than myself… I will engrave every last trace of the Origin’s authorities and the Creator General’s might that I witnessed in the Defense Divine Realm directly into my own divine realm.

The All-Powerful Splendor of Hwi and the Omniscient Holy Radiance of the Sage of Omniscience—their combined Omniscient and Omnipotent Holy Radiance—had been a genuine shock. Even now, the memory made his chest tighten.

I still can’t believe a preliminary creator god could ascend to the same divine rank as a Creator General and even contend with one. If the opponent hadn’t been the Demon Emperor—a being who shows near-absolute dominance against the god race—things would have ended right there. The absolute beings bearing the title of the 500th Master Universe were clearly superior to me.

Had his body not been on the verge of collapse from long years of imprisonment, his meager power would never have allowed him to stand toe-to-toe with a highest-tier independent lord god.

It can’t be helped. I’ve only trained for a little over a century, while they have lived for eons. No talent can overcome accumulated time. The strength they built from the very beginning cannot be caught up to through any shortcut. Still… there is a way.

His expression grew complicated as he stared at the mark that had escaped his control—the symbol announcing to the world that he now bore the title of Origin.

The fragment of will left behind by a past absolute being of the Origin gave me an overwhelming amount of information. And it is incredibly dangerous.

The previous Origin who had fought that being was strong, of course, but the true power had never belonged to him alone.

It was the colossal clan composed of countless powerful beings from numerous races—beings even absolute beings with true titles could not ignore—that allowed them to survive until the very end. Of course, they were all shattered by him in the final moments.

It had been a battle that proved collective strength only mattered up to a certain level; once the gap in power grew too vast, numbers became meaningless.

As an individual, I can no longer catch up. But if I form a collective… it becomes possible. That is precisely why the Origin’s clan exists. I will create a mighty group whose potential is unleashed to infinity by an absolute being bearing the title of Origin. If I add my Dimensional Authority and demonic magic on top of that, I can surpass the development speed of the current ruling powers.

In the distant past, that clan had been the only force capable of rivaling the Wind Family of the Absolute Realm. Now that power had been placed in his hands and could no longer be hidden, his options were few.

Back then they were strong, but by today’s standards after endless development, they would only be slightly superior. Moreover, in the Divine Realm, I am a lone, self-righteous, emotional individual with a poor background and no social experience. I am utterly unfit to lead a massive organization. Wearing a crown that doesn’t suit me will only lead to catastrophe. Really, my life has been twisted by a single word. There’s no answer. Honestly, I just want to throw it all away.

The preliminary creator god of dimensions pressed a hand to his forehead, idly toying with the spirit realm of the Origin as he sank deep into thought.

To the gods of the dimensional divine realm—most of whom are spirit lord gods—there is no greater terror than this. But in the worst-case scenario, it is nothing more than a makeshift ceasefire born of giving up on a proper solution. Without me, civil war will erupt immediately.

His new life had always been like this. The moment one problem was solved, another arose.

I’ve been carrying a burden I can’t handle and living only for survival, staring straight ahead with desperate focus. That’s why it always ends up like this. Yet there are far too few opportunities given to me to afford the luxury of deep contemplation. In this world, if you hesitate and fail to act, even the unfair contracts that barely come your way will be snatched by someone else.

Had he taken his time selecting opponents in the Spirit Realm, the other lord gods who had heard rumors from the Main Divine Realm would have intervened.

The Divine Realm already has those notoriously vicious goddesses. If additional forces were added, interference was inevitable. I’ve already received word from the lord god of the Spirit Realm Waiting Area—now our ally—that they will provide various information and adjust the selection criteria for spirit gods. The new restriction that only a limited number of spirit gods can be sent to a single divine realm at once is clearly aimed at me. Yet they were shocked to learn I had already finished the selection and returned.

His worst-case prediction—that checks would absolutely come—had proven perfectly accurate.

In a situation like this, what room is there for careful selection?

He had to strike and retreat before the enemy could interfere.

Think carefully and decide on everything? Whose advice is that? Some direct descendant of a leisurely divine realm overflowing with advisors and helpers? I live in a rotten world where a single step forward is met by nothing but con artists trying to drag me into traps! If I just sit still and rise through the ranks, what harm would that do? I wouldn’t take the hollow power of the Main Divine Realm even if it were handed to me for free.

Yet no matter how much he ground his teeth, pondered, and recalculated, the dimensional divine realm could only last about a thousand years in its current state. Beyond that, he would inevitably have to hand it over to the goddesses of this realm or other lord gods.

If the checks from the Main Divine Realm and internal strife intensified, even the preliminary creator god of dimensions would be unable to suppress it all.

Is the only path of self-sustained survival endless development and competition? A road of struggle that turns every being into an enemy? And yet, that is the path of survival for me.

The conclusion was the same as the one he had once walked. But the Dimensional Lord was not that person.

At first, I planned to deal a heavy blow to the Divine Realm that had deceived me into bearing the sin of negative karma—even if destroying it was impossible—and then flee to the Otherworld. Now I am the lord god of a highest-tier divine realm and a preliminary creator god. Something has gone terribly wrong.

Still, he could not deny that the moment the recognition condition for 11th circle magic appeared before his eyes and his karma began to improve, he had lost his mind and fought like a madman to reach this point.

A mere ordinary being who, while warring against the High Elf Empire, contracted with a demon god and barely became a half-rank lesser demon god, dreaming of an impossible revenge… has come impossibly far. I am nothing more than an ordinary dark mage with mediocre talent who should have died miserably on that path of making every being my enemy. Even with talent slightly above average, that was all I was.

It had been more than enough to survive alone. But now, the fate of a planet that had developed into a highest-tier lord god star under the Dimensional Lord’s hand, trillions of sentient beings, and hundreds of thousands of gods rested in his grasp.

That weight pressed down on his shoulders far heavier than the sin of negative karma. A single mistake now would truly be an irreversible end.

Death is too terrifying. His eternal judgment is frightening, and above all…

Now that the Dimensional Lord had risen to preliminary creator god, no one short of a Creator General could freely peer inside this dimensional barrier. Only then did he finally drag out the words he had buried in the deepest part of his heart—accompanied by a sob.

He forcibly shoved the bursting sobs back down into his chest. Tears leaked between the fingers of his tightly clenched fists.

After Master chose death in place of becoming a lich, I was alone. Then I was tricked by the Divine Realm into a fraudulent contract, forced to bear the ‘extreme’ sin of negative karma, and could trust no one. All I did was repeat desperate battles as a mercenary god. Thanks to the demonic magic and title he gave me, I survived to the end, becoming more vicious and colder than anyone.

With his overall karma at its worst, he had been completely isolated, wandering only through absurdly terrible battlefields. All that remained was a body covered in wounds and a tattered heart.

What forced me to pull myself together was the desire for revenge against the Divine Realm and the faint hope that the Dimensional Authority and demonic magic would one day grant me an independent world.

He would become stronger, take revenge on the Divine Realm that had deceived his foolish past self, and use his dimensional authority to create his own world where he could find peace.

That was the dream of me, the mercenary god.

The modest dream of escaping this unbearably cruel master universe if revenge proved impossible had been completely warped by a sudden streak of luck, running wild until it reached this point.

I stood out too much. Now I can’t even run away.

The dimensional demonic magic, which granted him power equal to the Substitute Gods, had already drawn too much attention. And now the true title of Origin had fully awakened.

If I lived alone without the position of preliminary creator god and lord god of a highest-tier divine realm, countless strong beings would chase me to the ends of existence to obtain my power.

Even back when he was a mercenary god and had defeated an 11th-circle mage with only 9th-circle power, the Demon God King had personally tracked him for a long time and eventually intervened directly when he fought a high-ranking lord god of the Substitute Race.

This time, even if I flee to the Otherworld, they probably won’t give up. My current position and rank are what protect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me.

So even after crying secretly like this in exhaustion, he ground his teeth fiercely and made a new vow in a voice thick with killing intent and fighting spirit.

I knew from the start that this path would be brutal. Before I can be beaten, I will climb even higher.

Thinking about the mess the dimensional divine realm would become had overwhelmed him for a moment, but he had no intention of going down easily.

The preliminary creator god of dimensions burned with determination against the high and mighty beings who would one day try to trip up the proud gods of the future.

However, he did not know that someone was listening—albeit faintly and only in fragments—to that very vow.

Though broken and filled with static, the meaning was easy to understand. Listening to that voice dripping with murderous intent, Le Saluvia—the Special Grade Cyber God—pressed a hand to her increasingly aching forehead.

This subject’s demonic magic is a higher authority that integrates space and time. Past adjustments are impossible, and when he erects such a thorough barrier, even monitoring becomes difficult.

The fact that she could hear even this thin, fragmented portion was only possible because part of her administrative authority exceeded that of a Creator General. An ordinary cyber god could never have pierced a barrier and combat power of this level.

The biggest problem is that if he truly decides to run or hide, he cannot be found. His movement ability alone lets him cross a regional universe by himself. If he becomes a destruction god, there would be no greater calamity.

This dangerous target of caution was now openly declaring that if things went wrong, he would flip the entire board.

No matter how much of a special-grade cyber god I am, if my management subject destroys a regional universe, flees to another master universe, and causes massive damage, I will not be forgiven.

Because this dangerous subject distrusted the Cyber Realm from the start and refused to accept any advice, problems were bound to arise, yet she could do nothing to prevent them. A strange new emotion—dread—slowly crept over her.

Is he really a preliminary creator god? In the 499th Master Universe, even the Absolute Realm treats it as only one step below—an extremely high rank. Yet his cognitive and emotional level is this low? This must be the fault of the previous manager who tried to handle him as a mere troublesome subject. Should I have converted him directly into a Substitute God instead of sending him to the field? No, I need to build trust in the field first and guide him down the fastest path to becoming a creator god… but a promotion cost of 80 trillion is absurd. The clear intention is to create easily controlled direct subordinate lord gods for war. What am I supposed to do with this?

A vitality cost of 80 trillion was an amount that, even in the Absolute Realm, could not be earned alone unless one became a lord god of the Substitute Race. Everyone understood what that meant.

To earn that much even in the Absolute Realm, one must wander the battlefields of higher beings and overcome countless life-threatening crises.

The problem was that survival was not guaranteed.

The contractor’s perception that it cannot be completed in a short time is correct. Given the situation and surrounding conditions, there are far too many variables. However, to gather 80 trillion in promotion cost, one must operate at least eight lord god stars for 100 million years. For a preliminary creator god from the Middle World to do so without any incidents is impossible. The only answer is the price of a mercenary god. Yet the reward for battles a preliminary creator god can participate in is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only in the 100 billion range. Against equal or lower beings, one receives 1/4 of the divine power; against higher beings, 1/2. But against the Substitute Race, the reward is more than quadruple. Because those are battles where one must resolve to be annihilated and start over from the beginning. With 100 billion divine power, one would need to receive 50 billion per battle against higher beings and fight 160 desperate battles to reach the goal. Hoping to survive all of that is nothing but a delusion. Moreover, this management subject must never die even once. Because the title was given after promising him three prices, dying would be a breach of contract and result in disposal without any mercy. At the very least, he needs a large-scale battlefield where the risk of death is low.

In the end, the answer was already decided. There was only one place where countless beings below the preliminary creator god level were currently gathered, waging war.

Both arms and wings lost, the Creator General had been sent flying backward in a wretched state. Beside him stood Hwi and the Sage of Omniscience, equally battered yet still wearing triumphant smiles.

They too have lost nearly all their divine power, but compared to their opponent who has completely lost combat ability, they are in far better shape.

The lord gods of the independent divine realms who had read the flow of victory were now pressing the absolute beings bearing titles, and the other lord gods were beginning to move as well.

Yet from beyond the screen came the frenzied roar of the Creator General, who had lost his reason and was coughing blood.

Drip. Drip.

The brilliant divine blood flowing from the Creator General had been tainted pitch-black by the influence of the demon race’s god-slaying power and was dying. There was no way he should have been affected by a lower-ranked demon race, but the Sage of Omniscience’s god-slaying power had been so vicious that he had taken tremendous damage. On top of that, having been driven to the brink of death by Ayuta, all the suppressed damage had rushed in at once.

The mind of the Creator General—the origin of the god race—was growing hazy, on the verge of collapse.

On the other hand, although they wore smiles of victory, the condition of the two preliminary creator gods was hardly good.

They took the full recoil of the Creator General surviving the joint ultimate killing technique Ayuta.

Ninety percent of the amplified divine power was driven into the enemy, but the remaining ten percent of the shock left their insides completely shattered even if their outsides still looked fine.

If they had not experienced such critical injuries before, it was severe enough to make them collapse and lose consciousness immediately.

Divine power is almost exhausted and our bodies are on the verge of being torn apart by the recoil. Immediate further combat is impossible.

Aaah, this is too much. They called it a joint ultimate killing technique, but isn’t this a technique that kills both the enemy and yourself? Why is the recoil so strong?

Is this an appropriate price for annihilating a being of 2nd circle or higher?

If the enemy is annihilated there are no problems besides divine power exhaustion, but if they endure it, this is the result? Even we, who possess immortal bodies after learning his secret arts, ended up like this. A normal creator god would have been annihilated.

For now, keep smiling as if we’ve won. If they realize we’re so injured we can’t even move, there’s no telling how those titled creator gods will react.

That’s right. Right now, one final attack from us would finish them.

Then hurry up and recover first. You’re from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demon race, aren’t you?

Even the recovery power of the demon race can’t completely ignore the attack of a 2nd-circle upper god race being. Still, we only need one more attack… this is really bad. If we move, it’ll be obvious right away.

To others, the two of them appeared to be in a relaxed, victorious state. In truth, their bones were broken in countless places and their internals were shattered, leaving them unable to move. Even so, they smiled naturally and desperately gathered the divine power for one final strike while struggling to restore their bodies.