Contract Gods and False Accusations
The Black Mage’s killing intent from the Goddess Department war had vanished, yet the Intermediate God kept feeling an inexplicable sense of crisis. ‘I answered everything correctly, didn’t I? The more I speak, the more pathetic I seem?’ After a long silence, the Black Mage spoke again.
“So when is the offensive divine weapon arriving?”
“Once upper management approves, I’ll go to the main branch, open the armory with the branch manager, and bring it here. It should take roughly two hours.”
Two hours was more than enough time for the Black Mage to tear apart and annihilate every soldier present thousands of times over.
“Two hours? Should I wait?”
“If you would, I’ll fetch the divine weapon immediately.”
The gap in their understanding was so vast that even sarcasm no longer worked. The Black Mage spoke with a completely emotionless face.
“Let the troops rest. You go alone. I’m heading to the Main God Temple. Once preparations are complete, find the War God.”
“Thank you! I’ll prepare right away and report back!”
The conversation felt deeply off, yet the Intermediate God had no way to subdue the highest-ranking War God without an offensive weapon. ‘If this is an undercover inspection, it’s best to follow orders. Arguing over regulations will only hurt my performance review.’
The combat male gods also sensed the strange atmosphere and lowered their shields, standing by. The Intermediate God shouted,
“Clear the way! I’ll return with offensive weapons and resume. Stand by for two hours. Rest in the meantime!”
“Huuu—! Huuu—!”
The shield-bearing combat male gods quickly opened a path. The Black Mage walked through, sighing repeatedly. ‘I followed every regulation, so why does this feel wrong? Ah—! I need to file a report immediately.’
After that, the commander sprinted toward the branch as if his feet were on fire. The Black Mage watched for a moment, shook his head, and entered, grinding his teeth.
‘Grind—! If it takes two hours to prepare for battle, we’ll die thousands of times over. We’re supposed to fight the Demon Realm with idiots like these? How are we supposed to survive?’
Creaaak! As he opened the massive doors of the Main God Temple and stepped inside, a group of combat goddesses came running from afar. Among them were the same goddesses who had earlier abandoned him to hang in the air after he was humiliated.
‘They’re radiating quite a vicious aura. But it’s not even funny anymore. Comparing the goddesses of the Divine Realm to Granzoa makes me laugh at myself.’
Judging by the high momentum of the approaching goddesses, the Black Mage guessed they were leading upper goddesses to exact revenge. ‘Good fighting spirit. I thought they were trash, but they were warriors after all.’
He took a defensive stance, estimating the upper goddesses’ combat power. Instead of an attack, a goddess’s piercing scream rang out.
“That’s him! That vicious male god raped me—!”
“He beat me mercilessly and acted like a pervert.”
“If you strip off that robe, you’ll see he’s covered in wounds and completely naked underneath.”
“He must have a long criminal record.”
Suddenly, multiple goddesses accused the Black Mage of rape. ‘What nonsense is this now?’
He shook his head at the lower goddesses who, still traumatized from earlier, dared not approach and only wailed from a distance, while more upper goddesses gathered around. ‘Is this insane Divine Realm filled with nothing but loudmouthed goddesses? The male gods are just turtles holding shields like before.’
Beep—! Beep—! Whistles echoed inside the Main God Temple as two grim-faced Upper God security guards came running. ‘Are they the temple’s guardian gods? Why are they unarmed too?’
The security gods charged forward holding suppression weapons instead of offensive divine weapons.
“He’s over here!”
“You’re finished now!”
Seeing the reliable security gods, the goddesses regained their momentum and tried to approach while screaming. Of course, the Black Mage had no intention of letting them.
“I’m in a bad mood, so stay away, ugly lower goddesses. Ground Pitching!”
Once again, his wide-area suppression magic caught them all, leaving them dangling in the air like fish.
“What!? The divine power barrier was completely pierced!”
“Incredible magic!”
The security gods were shocked by the Black Mage’s overwhelming magical power, while the goddesses hung upside down in midair, screaming like pigs with their throats slit.
“Kyaaaaak—! Where are you touching!”
“This is sexual harassment! No, it’s rape—! I’m going to sue!”
“Shut up. Silence.”
Beep—! By controlling the airflow around the goddesses’ mouths, the Black Mage eliminated all sound. Finally, silence fell. He approached the security gods who had just arrived, released only their mouths, and spoke.
“This magic is dispelled by cutting the fixed point in the air. Cut off your feet and come at me.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
The security gods stared at the glowing fixation points on their ankles where they hung upside down, then asked politely with dumbfounded expressions.
“You’re saying we’ll be freed if we cut off our feet?”
“And then attack you?”
“Yes! Cut off your ankles and you’ll be liberated. After that, restore your feet and fight.”
The security gods, who had real combat experience against the Demon Realm, were quick-witted and immediately realized the Black Mage’s true identity. ‘A new War God who was once a Black Mage! And I’ve never seen magic power this strong even in battles against the Demon Realm.’
‘How can his killing intent and fighting spirit be this intense?’
‘More importantly, did he just tell us to cut off our feet and attack?’
‘Even the toughest fighters on the front lines don’t do that. Why should we, as mere security gods, have to?’
To the security gods, the Black Mage’s order to cut off their feet and attack was clearly no joke. Their faces turned deathly pale as they listened to his next words.
“As gatekeepers of the Main God Temple, fulfill your duty. Cutting off your ankles will let you fight again. Be prepared to face annihilation and fight me.”
“…”
“…”
Shiver—! The security gods, who had no intention of going that far, wore expressions as if they were about to scream from the creeping dread, analyzing every word.
‘Even if we cut off our ankles, as Upper Gods our bodies will regenerate. But that doesn’t mean we won’t feel the pain.’
‘Even the most hardcore fighters on the front lines wouldn’t do this. Yet this highest-ranking god is serious.’
At the horrifying suggestion to cut off their ankles and attack, the goddesses who had been screaming about sexual assault moments ago now had stiff, frozen expressions. They finally understood that this male god who ignored Goddess Only rules operated on an entirely different level of thinking.
Rumble—! Vwoooom—! Magical power surged around the Black Mage, encroaching on the surroundings. Yet the color of his magic was a brilliant, jet-black like black pearls.
Flash—! As the Black Mage prepared for battle and removed his robe, his extremely compressed, refined muscles and the countless brutal scars covering them like tattoos were revealed. The security gods lost all will to fight upon seeing such pure magic power and the evidence of countless bloody battles.
‘Magic power comparable to a Demon God, and wounds proving numerous life-and-death struggles. Was that what the goddesses meant when they mentioned tattoos earlier?’
‘To pick a fight with someone this strong without recognizing him? They must be completely blinded by peace.’
No matter how the security gods looked at it, this opponent was far beyond what mere security gods like themselves could handle. If they attacked, they sensed they would suffer far more wounds than the ones already on his body.
“Now then! As a fighting god of the Divine Realm, stake your life to protect the Main God Temple!”
The security gods squeezed their eyes shut and shouted.
“We’re contract workers!”
“We’re still interns!”
Whoooosh—! Silence descended upon the Main God Temple. The goddesses’ faces twisted, and the male gods who had spoken turned bright red. The dumbfounded new War God asked again.
“Contract workers? Interns? What does that mean?”
“Yes—! Because I have few followers, I’m working on a two-year contract.”
“A two-year contract?”
“I have a little over a year left until conversion to full-time. If I fail, I’ll be lucky to get a renewal. Otherwise, I’ll have to transfer.”
“Because it’s a short-term contract, you won’t risk your life fighting for the Divine Realm? Aren’t you a fighting god of the Divine Realm? Won’t you protect the Main God Temple?”
“Th-that’s what the full-time fighting gods will do.”
“Full-time fighting gods?”
“Those who have enough followers to sign formal contracts. If I report this now, they’ll come out soon.”
“…”
Fwoosh—! Roar—! Though silent, the Black Mage’s eyes burned crimson with rage, and a suffocating pressure tightened around them. Yet his killing intent and fighting spirit, blazing with fury, suddenly vanished in an instant.
“When will these full-time fighting gods arrive?”
“Since I blew the warning whistle, it should take about thirty minutes.”
“Normally it would be five minutes, but there’s an event today so they’re all gathered there.”
Thirty minutes was enough time for the Black Mage to destroy the Main God Temple hundreds of times over. With a hollow expression, he asked,
“Thirty minutes until assembly is complete? Should I wait here?”
The security gods, who now understood he was the new War God, forced a laugh and replied.
“Ahahahaha. There’s no need for the new War God to do that.”
“Haha! As long as there’s no rape charge, you can go right in.”
The security gods knew this was wrong, but their nerves were so frayed that nervous laughter kept escaping. They could feel that provoking the Black Mage any further would mean annihilation for everyone present.
The Black Mage glanced at the goddesses, turned his head, and lightly chanted.
“Eternal Memory”
—Magic Type: Spatial Magic, Surveillance
—Effect: Creates invisible and stealth magic orbs around the caster to provide visual and perimeter support. After battle, the footage can be replayed to review combat situations and train efficiently. An evolution of the surveillance camera tool from the Otherworld.
—First manifestation, protagonist’s comment: Damn it—! There’s really no chance to counterattack. These vicious bastards.
Vwoooom! Zing—! Suddenly, translucent spheres appeared in the air, projecting golden light that formed a three-dimensional image. The footage showed the Black Mage from an overhead perspective, then began rewinding.
Zing! Zing—! The scene of clashing with the suppression unit in the plaza in front of the Main God Temple appeared, followed by him ascending the moving walkway and stairs. Then came the image of the combat goddesses in charge of security hanging upside down just like them.
Ziiiiing! The three-dimensional footage fast-forwarded again, showing the goddesses who had just accused him of rape surrounding the War God and saying something. At the perfect live footage, the goddesses’ faces turned pitch black.
“Sound on.”
Voices now played from the three-dimensional image.
“Hey? Why are you peeking from under the stairs like a pervert?”
“You’re short, yet you’re acting like a real male god. Go that way—!”
The security gods were too shocked to even be surprised by the situation. ‘They humiliated this ruthless War God like that? Have they completely lost their minds?’
‘Did they not receive the Goddess Department’s warning that the new War God is extremely dangerous and must never be provoked?’
More than anything, for lower and intermediate goddesses to falsely accuse the highest-ranking War God was an incident that would shake the Goddess Department and the entire Divine Realm.
The Black Mage turned off the three-dimensional footage and asked,
“Is that enough?”
“Yes—! You may go in. The audience chamber is straight ahead.”
“What about them?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely report this to upper management.”
“I’ll take responsibility and handle it.”
“What responsibility does a contract worker have? Just pretend to report it.”
“Aahahahaha……”
The security gods felt a pang in their hearts at the Black Mage’s cold, reality-striking words, but decided to somehow get through this difficult situation.
Thud thud thud—! The fixation in the air was released, and all the goddesses fell to the ground. Seeing the goddesses’ dazed expressions as the situation suddenly reversed, the security gods felt deeply satisfied.
‘This is clearly insubordination. Even if the Goddess Department gets involved, this won’t be resolved cleanly. The lightest punishment would be demotion.’
‘They always traveled in packs, threatening innocent male gods and extorting compensation whenever they pleased. Serves them right. But wait a moment—!’
A thought flashed through the security gods’ minds, and they hurriedly called out to the Black Mage, who was putting his robe back on and walking away.
“W-War God, sir.”
“What? Is the evidence insufficient? Should I take off my pants?”
When the Black Mage’s emotionless eyes turned toward them, goosebumps rose all over the security gods’ bodies. Yet no matter how terrifying the War God was, there was something they absolutely had to ask.
“Where can we purchase the divine tool that records three-dimensional footage?”
“If you’re selling it, I absolutely want to obtain one.”
Their desire to escape the goddesses’ endless false accusations outweighed their fear of the War God. ‘How many male gods have suffered after being accused of sexual harassment just for their sleeves brushing against someone?’
‘With that tool, we could prove our innocence no matter what. It would be a dream device for male gods who suffer under goddesses who make false accusations whenever they feel offended.’
“It’s expensive.”
“I’m willing to spend my entire fortune to get it.”
“Male gods who’ve never been sued don’t understand!”
If a male god was caught by goddesses who used sexual harassment lawsuits and rape accusations as weapons, his divine life could be ruined in an instant. ‘If the Goddess Department makes a fuss, your position will be revoked regardless of guilt or innocence.’
‘You’ll either be dragged straight to the battlefield or, if unlucky, turned into a spirit god.’
Given the state of the Divine Realm, the security gods were willing to do the insane thing of holding back this notoriously violent new War God.
“I’ll consider selling it.”
“Thank you.”
“Please, we’re begging you.”
The Black Mage looked at the security gods bowing their heads repeatedly to beg for the sale, then opened the massive door from which he could feel the divine power of a Main God. Through the open doorway, he saw the highest-ranking gods gathered inside and couldn’t help but sigh.
‘Nearly a thousand personnel in the Main God Temple, and most of them are goddesses and administrative gods. How does this Divine Realm even function?’
The Main God Temple, the core of the Divine Realm, had no War Gods or fighting gods—only administrative gods. It was a Divine Realm the Black Mage simply could not understand.