Divine Spirit Purgatory

In the Spirit Realm War, divine power surges explosively. RUMBLE—!

As emotions fluctuate, fighting spirit swells and authorities burst outward like explosions. The unprecedented annihilation of two hundred and fifty Origins from the highest god race has left the deities of the 500th Master Universe in such panic that they are pouring every ounce of their divine power and authority into their Creator General.

Even Almighty Hwi and the Sage of Omniscience wear smiles on their faces, yet they cannot shake their tension.

‘Thirty trillion in divine power? That’s almost unheard of even in the 499th Master Universe.’

‘Only a handful of the Highest Creator Gods possess that much.’

The Creator General of the 500th Master Universe has now reached a level of raw divine power that none of the gathered Creator Gods can match. All that remains lacking is authority and combat experience, and even those gaps are being filled at terrifying speed.

‘In a single battle he’s already showing combat instincts nearly equal to ours—beings who have survived countless life-or-death struggles.’

The fledgling who once looked laughable has survived one crisis and become a full-grown rooster aiming for their throats. In the next fight he will become an eagle and hunt them in turn. Though the title of Origin has allowed him to match their growth rate, receiving the full support of the entire god race makes him an opponent they truly cannot face.

Almighty Hwi draws out his divine power and fighting spirit to the limit and sends his will to the Sage of Omniscience.

‘We end this now, no matter what. There is no next time. If we lose—’

‘So this is the Creator General? The existence that aggregates the divine power and authorities of every god in the Master Universe? Now I understand why the god race can never be defeated. Haa—! I’m actually curious what the Demon Emperor would look like.’

No matter how much the Creator General’s abilities are reinforced, they remain weak compared to the terror of the Substitute Gods—beings stripped of will and emotion, forged to focus solely on strength and capability. Those who survived the merciless certification trials, where any hint of weakness met instant death, naturally link one emotion to another. Those who could not were all extinguished.

‘The Substitute Gods executed the weak the moment they showed even the slightest fear and retreated.’

‘To raise their survival odds, the stronger the fear, the more fiercely they had to charge forward.’

The two mutter as if swearing an oath.

Having confirmed each other’s resolve, the pair whistle lightly and step forward.

Wheeeeee—! Wheeeeee—!

Two beings whose bodies had already been trained to the pinnacle of transcendence as a god and a demon god advance without hesitation, slicing straight through the Creator General’s radiating divine power and authorities. The Creator General stares with weary disgust at the Preliminary Creator God and Demon King candidate who, after being momentarily overwhelmed by more than six times their divine power, now approach shining with even fiercer fighting spirit.

‘It looked like I held the advantage for a moment, but they have no chance of victory. The authorities I couldn’t learn because my physical ability had already transcended them are now being analyzed and absorbed thanks to the additional divine power and authorities. In the next battle I may not reach their physical level, but the corresponding authorities will be developed, and I will surely win. This is what it means to be a Creator General.’

Yet he feels himself being pushed back by the reckless challenge against an overwhelmingly strong foe he can never defeat.

‘Only two of them, plus a few High Lord Gods, are blocking me—the Creator General. Even the titled Creator Gods released at enormous cost are being held in check. And a single individual annihilated two hundred and fifty Origins along with their personal forces.’

To be toyed with like this by two Preliminary Creator Gods and one Demon King candidate who could exert no power at all in their own Master Universe is infuriating to the point of absurdity.

‘As the leader of the god race, I feel more admiration than anger toward them. If even one of them had been on my side, I would have already achieved my goal and withdrawn.’

Having waged this war, he now thirsts for strong beings who will accept any sacrifice to reach their objective. Yet among the Highest Creator Gods and Origins, none are willing to shoulder such sacrifice for victory. He had no choice but to step forward himself, only to have his main base plundered.

The Origins, equal in authority, divinity, and divine power, still panicked and were disposed of alongside their direct forces.

‘We need warriors like these. Beings who refuse to submit to any pressure or terror! The mighty authorities of the 499th Master Universe’s god race are important, but ultimately individuals wield them. No matter how strong the authority, if the wielder’s will is weak, this is the result. Yet all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠such beings have vanished, leaving only cowards fighting ugly power struggles.’

Contrary to that self-lamentation, the chanting voice of the Dimensional Mage God rings out once more—filled not with madness but with firm, radiant joy.

Fwoooooooosh—!

The instant the chant ends, flames erupt from the Creator God’s gem on his forehead. No—countless lines of blazing light shoot out, engulfing the grieving divine spirits who had lost their physical bodies. Tens of thousands of Creator God-level beings and all two hundred and fifty Origins are caught in those lines of fire and mercilessly sucked into the gem on his forehead.

Not only them—the gods who had just perished inside the Annihilation World are absorbed as well. Every single one of them is sealed inside miniature shrines within the gem. Even Origins who surpassed the divinity of Highest Creator Gods are imprisoned without exception; there is no need to speak of those below them.

The fundamental law that a god who dies becomes a divine spirit and resurrects upon receiving vitality from their affiliated divine realm has been completely negated. As all of them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠began to be trapped inside the gem embedded in the Dimensional Mage God’s forehead, every being watching the scene could not stop their horror.

‘To completely block the resurrection of spiritual beings is the most unforgivable crime of all.’

‘It is only carried out against the most heinous sinners, yet he is doing it on such a massive scale without shame.’

Moreover, the opponent is from another Master Universe yet stands at the highest ruling class of the god race. Simply imagining themselves suffering the same fate makes the Creator Gods’ skin crawl. The situation has already gone far beyond what the special circumstances of war can excuse.

Huuuuuuuung—!

Before anyone could even think of a countermeasure, the restraint of every divine spirit is completed. The gem on his forehead glows crimson.

Vooooong!

The small vibration announces that the imprisonment of every god is finished. Inside, the Origins—who for the first time in eons of existence have encountered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠imprisonment and fallen into utter despair—and the Creator God-level beings who struggled desperately only to be bound by red chains and collapse on the floors of tiny shrines, along with countless lesser gods, all scream in succession.

They have realized that, just like the cursed Origin Spirit Realm of the 499th Master Universe, their vitality is leaking out and their authorities are being forcibly activated even while they remain still.

‘If we’re absorbed like this, we won’t even remain gods—we’ll fade into faint spirits.’

The Dimensional Mage God ignores the screams echoing from his forehead, raises his right hand, and gently strokes the glowing crimson Creator God’s gem. A sense of emptiness at having stepped onto an irreversible path clashes with the satisfaction of having succeeded.

‘I am only 11th Circle. I am not truly 12th Circle. I am merely forcing the fusion of divine power and magic through the title of Origin. Yet for the sake of victory I used the incomplete Annihilation World and even Divine Spirit Purgatory. The result is perfect, but my reputation is now finished.’

No god, no demon god, would ever treat a human-born deity who destroys regional universes and imprisons immortal divine spirits with goodwill. He is the most dangerous element that must be eliminated first. Moreover, countless eyes have witnessed this war.

‘This is no longer mere infamy within a single regional universe. The entire Master Universe and even the Absolute Realm have clearly seen my atrocities.’

Kill one and you are a murderer; kill hundreds of thousands and you are a hero. But kill those in power and you are unconditionally a villain. And he has not only killed but deliberately massacred and imprisoned hundreds of Origins.

‘Now the highest echelons of every universe will treat me as an enemy. This is the exorbitant price I paid to secure victory in this war and lay the foundation for the real war to come. But this was the only way to lead the battle here to victory.’

This is a battlefield where one must pour every drop of dark magic into the cauldron just to raise the odds of success.

‘Aah… So this is what he meant by the coexistence of punishment and reward? Even I feel the stares stinging.’

The Creator General of the 500th Master Universe glares at the Dimensional Mage God as if ready to devour him. Two hundred and fifty Origins of the highest god race represent nearly ten percent of their total force. What had seemed like mere cannon fodder in their meaningless annihilation turned out, upon analysis inside the Creator God’s gem, to be an uncountable number of beings with potential exceeding even Creator Gods.

‘If they had even a little war experience or a few more battles under their belts, they would never have fallen so easily. His luck was truly good.’

It was as if promising military cadets who could have become excellent commanders had been thrown into the front lines and slaughtered pointlessly.

‘They were probably the future of the next generation of the god race.’

This war had originally been launched to occupy the defensive divine realm and soothe the Creator’s wrath. Yet they had paused to watch a light breakthrough, tried to snatch only the achievements, and ended up annihilated with even their divine spirits imprisoned. It was only natural to react this way after having ten percent of the Master Universe’s god-race forces stolen so absurdly.

‘Well, the battlefield is in a lull for now. Time to reap the benefits properly.’

Looking at the Creator General whose fury had reached its peak, the Dimensional Mage God answered lightly.

“If you want the prisoners back, pay ten times their innate divine power.”

“…What?”

The Dimensional Mage God gave a bright, refreshing smile to the Creator General, who was now radiating fighting spirit strong enough to rival a Destruction God.

“This is why beginners are such a hassle. If you want to get the Origins back safely, pay vitality equal to ten times their innate divine power. Of course, that means faith-based vitality. Regular vitality would require another tenfold multiplier, so a hundred times.”

“…”

Continuing while the Creator General’s fighting spirit subsided from sheer absurdity, he added,

“For those below Creator God rank I’ll give a discount—five times. For the rest, even though it’s a loss, I’ll do three times. Since there are so many, I’m offering a bulk deal.”

“You crazy—!”

The Dimensional Mage God’s smile deepened at the now quite natural curse.

“After the war ends, I’ll double the price again. Origins will cost twenty times their vitality to release. Creator Gods will be ten times.”

“Do you really think you’ll survive this war? Suppressing divine spirits—the very foundation of immortality—is an act absolutely forbidden to all spiritual beings. Yet you commit such a horrific atrocity? Even if we overlook it, every god in the 499th Master Universe will never forgive you.”

Now the threats had begun. And the fact that they were true stung deeply.

‘The human-born god with a bad reputation has gone too far. But what can I do? If I don’t do it, no one else will.’

Gods and demon gods resurrect endlessly based on divine spirits as long as vitality exists. That is why wars can last hundreds of millions of years.

‘The only way to stop that and settle things in a short period is this method. The scale is different, but it’s not like I’ve only done it once or twice.’

When the Dimensional Mage God fell silent, seemingly lost in past memories, the Creator General thought his words had struck home and continued.

“This is sincere advice. I truly regret wasting talent and power like yours. A mere human-born, lowly god has gone far beyond what is permitted. For now you are a temporary Hero God, but you will soon be disposed of. Releasing the imprisoned Origins and gods immediately is the only path left to beg for mercy. During your postwar trial, I will also speak favorably for you. Though you temporarily turned your back due to unavoidable circumstances, to us who live eternally it is no more than a moment. Therefore, no god will dare ignore the words of a Creator General.”

The words were genuine. In the long view of immortal beings, even enemies in this war might become allies in a few hundred million years, so it could indeed be helpful.

But it was time to end the bargaining.

‘Anything more would simply be a waste of time.’

Wearing an even brighter business smile, the Dimensional Mage God spoke. The words were a vow he had repeated countless times whenever he was thrown into brutal battlefields in the past.

The calm, unhesitating will contained in those brazen words spread through space.

“Ah—! The esteemed guests I’m keeping nicely inside this Creator God’s gem will of course be annihilated together. That’s just how the world works, isn’t it? You’re not seriously expecting me to obediently die for the greater good while spouting nonsense like ‘even unjust laws are still laws,’ are you? Those fairy-tale hero stories don’t sell anymore these days. They’re too irritating. I’m the type who gets lonely easily and can’t tolerate the high-and-mighty who live well by sacrificing others, so please understand.”

Having already stepped onto an irreversible path, there was nothing left to fear. He needed to imprint the sincerity behind his words upon them.

“If you think you can easily stop me—‘Dimension’ and ‘Origin’ itself—then go ahead and try. I already know what the problems are and have chosen to bear them. Fulfilling contracts and ensuring survival is the most basic principle of a mercenary god. Therefore…”

Following those mechanically spoken words, a chilling killing intent shook the void.

“Shut up and hand over the vitality—! To someone in a truly desperate situation, one unit of vitality is far more valuable than any advice. Sweet words and guarantees like that are luxuries for well-born, idle, arrogant bastards to enjoy.”