The Isolated Creator General
As befitting the ruling race of a Master Universe, the forces in the Spirit Realm War seemed truly infinite when one considered only the number of gods involved. A fleet adorned with countless gleaming gold and jewels advanced, the very image of what an army of the god race that governed a Master Universe should look like. Interspersed among the ships were entities who appeared to surpass even Creator Gods, radiating murderous intent and divine power as they closed in on the defensive divine realm.
They witnessed the surprise chained destruction of the planets that wiped out their vanguard, so they're approaching with thorough defensive barriers in place.
The sight of the 500th Master Universe's god race in full defensive formation was enough to crush anyone's spirit, and it left the Creator General of the 500th Master Universe seething with rage.
Those fools should be guarding the front lines of the Master Universe! They have no business coming here! I stationed them at the boundary precisely because I feared the conflict might expand.
He had originally planned to include the Origins in the strike, hit only the Creator Gods who shared his title, and withdraw. But those stubbornly proud beings had insisted on following along for revenge, resulting in the catastrophic capture of the Origins' divine spirits. If even they came here, it would tear a hole in the defensive line.
If the powerful Creator Gods stationed here invade, the damage will be catastrophic.
To protect the main base, the boundary of the Master Universe needed to be sealed with an integrated parallel divine power connection. Instead, they had all rushed here.
"What the hell are you doing? Retreat to the front lines immediately! I explicitly forbade all-out war because it's impossible right now, so why are you moving?"
The absolute command authority the Creator General held over the god race was not responding.
"The Creator Lord would never issue direct orders. Yet they're still advancing? My command rights don't work? This... this is?"
Unless it surpassed the Creator General's authority and power, the affiliated god race could not refuse an order. The command was absolute unless they intended to challenge him directly. He moved countless gods like extensions of his own limbs and pooled all their authorities and divine power. This was the true right and power of a Creator General.
When it failed to work, he urgently examined the situation and was horrified by the abnormality in his authority's execution.
An unidentifiable power is severing and scrambling the connection that should link me to the god race army. It's weakening the 'Absolute Command Authority Limited to the God Race.'
The cause was obvious: the hateful being who had annihilated the vanguard.
But why do this? If my main force arrives, the defensive divine realm will be breached without question.
Even with wide-area authorities and vicious divine spirit sealing techniques, he was ultimately alone. Yet the Dimensional Creator Candidate spoke with a broad smile.
"Puhahaha! Oh dear, what a shame? It seems the Creator General has personally leaped into a Creator God-level defensive divine realm—or rather, by your standards, a Creator General-level barrier—and isolated himself, making it rather difficult to command the army beneath you. If they had any intention of obeying orders in the first place, they would have complied even without the absolute command authority. The moment that power scattered, they came running. What remarkably disobedient subordinates you have. Thanks to them, the situation is descending into complete chaos. Managing subordinates and organizations is difficult, isn't it? Honestly, it doesn't feel like someone else's problem at all. Khehehehehehe!"
The Dimensional Creator Candidate's open, sinister laughter sent an eerie chill racing across the Creator General's skin.
The Creator General of the 500th Master Universe could not move, occupied with preparing for a joint assault from two Origins who displayed power surpassing even the highest-tier Creator Gods.
Like the first battle, I cannot retreat while accepting sacrifices. If I do, these creatures will charge in to finish me off, and I will not survive.
He was completely pinned down. Meanwhile, he was expending massive amounts of his dimensional authority and the power of this divine realm to sow confusion and weaken his absolute command authority over his own god race. As a result, the main force—shocked by the capture of the now-useless Origins—had come running. Victory was now impossible for the other side.
If I mobilize the parallel connection of every god race under my command, I can also block the growing number of Creator Gods attacking from the far side of the defensive divine realm. At least until Sangharama, the Creator General of equal rank, steps forward himself.
Of course, battles between Creator Generals could not occur easily due to the Creator Lord's interference. They only happened when the survival of each Master Universe was on the line.
A mere defensive divine realm battle in a regional universe cannot involve direct combat between god races led by Creator Generals. Only individual combat is permitted, meaning the Dimensional Creator Candidate must face that main force alone.
Yet the Dimensional Creator Candidate's triumphant smile made it impossible to guess his intentions, filling the Creator General with a growing sense of dread.
If I am isolated, the Dimensional Mage God is in an equally dire position, effectively surrounded. There is no reason for him to rejoice at the enemy's reinforcements.
The Dimensional Creator Candidate turned his gaze from the bewildered Creator General and muttered as if to himself.
"Then shall we begin? If it goes well, my odds rise above fifty percent and I won't have to witness anything worse. It's fortunate the other side is growing heated as well. They all came rushing here so easily. If this fails, I'll simply deploy other measures. The final option is something even I hesitate to use. There are no other options yet, but it will work out somehow. After all, on a battlefield ruled by uncertainty, a perfect plan is the most flawed thing of all. In the end, the one who endures until the very last wins."
Among the countless enemies, he sensed numerous battle gods nearly equal to himself. No—though they hid it, the number of beings who surpassed him had already exceeded the thousands.
As expected, even if they belong to a weaker Master Universe, sheer numbers mean there are many outstanding individuals.
The true main force of the 500th Master Universe charged toward the Dimensional Creator Candidate, radiating killing intent and hatred. It was all because he had detained the divine spirits of their clan's Origins and Creator God-level beings.
Goooooooooo! Uuuuuuuuuuuung!
The war situation grew increasingly grim, yet an endless flame of fierce longing surged within his heart.
This is not the wretched battlefield where I once gritted my teeth and fought to survive while suppressing Karma's unfairness and paying unreasonable prices. There is no surveillance, no restrictions, no allies holding my ankles. All that exists is the magic I have built up over time and the enemies upon whom I will unleash it.
For the first time, satisfaction and exaltation filled his mind completely. As a War God, his authority reached its maximum. And when it came to patience and war, he had no intention of yielding to anyone.
Whooooooosh—!
With support from Origin's sun and moon and the Creator God-level defensive divine realm, his depleted magic power and divine power recovered without a trace. He then focused everything into his dimensional authority, reversing time on the planets he had detonated earlier and restoring them to their original state.
Roughly a thousand planets reversed from their explosions, returning to their former massive forms before compressing once more into bead-sized orbs that floated around the Dimensional Mage God.
Whooooooosh!
It was as if the regional universe had never been destroyed. Even the planets that had collided during the explosions were restored to their past states and healed alongside everything else. Only the dead gods remained trapped inside the Divine Spirit Purgatory.
Maximum Output
Forced utilization of computational power and authorities from the spirit gods — Initiated
The Annihilation World is wide-area magic that utilizes the destructive force of continuous planetary explosions. Of course, I prepared this wasteful technique reluctantly out of fear of Karma's decline, but its effect was outstanding. The absolute-grade Karma Contract prevented any drop in Karma, but for a moment it nearly plummeted to near-absolute evil.
Had he not reinforced the contract conditions by staking everything he possessed, he would have faced judgment. It was only natural. No matter how many lifeless stars he had chosen, the destruction had occurred on a regional universe scale. Even if no intelligent life existed at the Master Universe's boundary, the potential for development had been immense. Erasing it in an instant was only to be expected.
Yet as the stars regenerated through the reversal of time, stability returned.
Rumble! Grind!
The main force of the 500th Master Universe, which had been advancing slowly with murderous intent, halted in shock at the sudden restoration of the regional universe and the revival of the stars. It was truly a situation that drew a sigh of relief.
Even for me now, capable of destroying a regional universe, close combat against beings of that grade—who can withstand star system destruction—is burdensome.
Especially when the number of enemies was nearly impossible to count. For a mage like him, it was the worst possible scenario.
The Creator General's dumbfounded voice perfectly captured the hearts of every god in the 500th Master Universe.
"A battle god possessing transcendent-grade time manipulation authority that activates on a regional universe scale? Restoring hundreds of completely destroyed stars through time reversal? And nearly simultaneously, at such speed? This should be impossible even for demon races or transcendentals. Only an extremely small number of god race Origins could achieve it."
The Creator General's dumbfounded voice perfectly captured the hearts of every god in the 500th Master Universe.
"Were you truly human? Then why commit such vicious acts? No—more importantly, are you really a Creator Candidate? What exactly are the gods of the 499th Master Universe turning into? There are many gods capable of destroying a regional universe, so that alone isn't surprising. But there are almost none who can shatter an entire regional universe from its roots and then restore it. Common sense dictates that restoration is dozens of times more difficult than destruction. Moreover, complete restoration is only possible for an extremely small number of Creator Gods who possess authority transcending time, yet this range and speed defies all logic.
At this level, he has completely surpassed the standards of a Creator God. Yet he is merely a Creator Candidate? I cannot believe it.
The Dimensional Mage God, the target of such astonishment, currently felt as though he were dying. The body of infinite potential gained from unlocking his title was creaking under the collision of magic power and divine power, to the point he might vomit blood at any moment.
The Origin title is forcibly holding together a body that feels ready to shatter into pieces from overusing 12-circle authority without the proper qualifications.
No matter how high his divine power and vitality were, his original divinity was that of a Creator Candidate capable of handling only about 100 billion in authority. This was the price of using nearly 500 billion.
Even with vitality in the tens of trillions, the miserable reality that he could not utilize it drew a natural sigh.
Even so, this power still falls short of achieving the 12-circle promotion condition he gave me. One mistake and instead of fusion between divine power and magic power, it will end in an explosion. Even the fully activated Origin title is barely holding on. The vitality and divine power are sufficient, but my divinity cannot endure it. This is the limit for a Creator Candidate's divinity.
Even now, the promotion conditions written in the dimensional 8-circle magic tome he had provided were dizzying to recall.
To master 9 circles, one must be able to destroy a planet. To master 10 circles, one must be able to destroy a planet and its affiliated satellites. To master 11 circles, one must be able to destroy a solar system. To master 12 circles, one must be able to destroy a galaxy. To master 13 circles, one must be able to destroy a universe. Beyond that follows general standards. And 'Origin' must also be capable of creation. Only when all of this is achieved will the circles be recognized and promotion granted.
The harsh conditions brought about by his own careless tongue had become a lifelong shackle. Eleven circles corresponded to a Main God, and twelve circles to a Creator God. Originally, a Main God only needed to be able to destroy planets, and a Creator God needed only to erase planets and their satellites. For him, however, the 11-circle standard was a wall above Creator Gods.
To possess the power yet be unable to use it because my divinity is insufficient? What kind of lifelong torment is this as payment for one slip of the tongue? It's driving me insane to satisfy evaluation criteria set two circles above the general standard he established. But that too will end soon. I only need to obtain the authority to create a Main God Star after becoming a Creator God. If not, I must acquire creation authority equal to his.
What was even more serious was that standard of creation. Destruction was no problem. He could simply force the planets together as he had done. They would then chain-explode on their own and finish the job. Creation, however, required complete understanding from the foundation up, built one piece at a time.
Creation is impossible without effort and sincerity, just like building the Survival Magic Tower.
It was the infinite repetitive labor of stacking bricks one by one within the dimensional wall's chaos without the slightest error. The smallest mistake would cause everything to collapse, forcing him to begin again. That was the true essence of creation.
Reversing time with authority like this is merely cleanup after destruction, not creation, so it cannot complete the promotion condition. It doesn't matter whether other beings admire it or hate it. I simply continue desperately trying to satisfy the conditions he set. Thanks to his watchful eye, the preparations are finally complete.
If this failed, there would truly be no alternative except the creation authority of a Main God Star.
Seeing Karma return to normal and stabilize, he exhaled deeply.
Whooo—! Now comes the main event. The chance of success is nearly zero. I can only trust in the protection of Karma, which has reached nearly 'Absolute Good,' and the possibilities of the magic I have desperately accumulated until now.
Only battlefield-specialized black magic offered any answer in the current war.
A black mage is the strongest on the battlefield. Otherwise, every choice I have made in life would be meaningless.
He could have chosen suitable magic and lived gloriously as a 7-circle master—the limit for humans. He could have lived like the pope of the War God, a former hero who still reveled in banquets while the god he served hovered between life and death on the battlefield.
But he had chosen this path because of the emotions of 'strongest' and 'affection.' Therefore, failing to achieve 'strongest' would render all his past suffering meaningless.
Because of affection, half-measures are impossible. Even if it is limited to the battlefield, it is a goal that must be achieved. Only by reaching it can I truly be of help to him.
On his battlefield, possessing merely decent ability would only cause hindrance. He needed at least enough power to overwhelm that Master Universe's army and the creative force to replace it.
Chrrrrk—! Drop—!
Sounds like wine filling a glass and being drunk echoed in his ears like hallucinations.
He is watching from somewhere. Not the usual Eternal Judgment, but simply observing.
Though it had come about because of the absolute-grade Karma Contract, they had reached this point. Of course, given his personality, if the battle proved disappointing, he would dispose of him alongside the special-class brain god who had arranged the contract.
A clean end is better than the Eternal Judgment, so it is rather fortunate.
He had once dismissed the old mercenary gods' saying—that dying after giving one's all on the battlefield was more honorable than dying peacefully—as the ramblings of madmen. Now he found himself in exactly that position.
Then shall we go? If I fail, it ends here. As long as it is not the Eternal Judgment, it is not so bad.
Gooooooooooooo! Whoooooooooosh—!
The Origin title and dimensional authority expanded wildly, enlarging the vessel of his body. There, magic power met divine power and forged it as though through explosion.
I abandoned control long ago.
Only the fully operational Origin title was recovering the shocks and injuries erupting from within. If he lost even the slightest bit of consciousness and gave up, the resulting self-destruction would annihilate at least an entire star system. It was an unavoidable situation given how insufficient his divinity was for the authority he wielded.
"Divine Spirit Purgatory maximum output—! Begin forced utilization of computational power and authority from the spirit gods—!"
Whoosh—!
The Creator God's gem on his forehead burned bright red, exponentially amplifying his authority. He sensed the captured Origins' divine spirits and Creator God-level beings panic and resist desperately as their own authorities activated against their will.
Useless resistance.
The very structure of the spirit god realm forcibly extracted and utilized vitality and authority regardless of the spirit gods' will. The only ways to resist were to extremely strengthen the body to hinder absorption or to deliberately lower one's own divinity. For those who had never experienced pain or loss in their lives, both were impossible. He felt pure ecstasy as authorities that had been like pearls cast before swine merged into his dimensional authority.
As expected, it is possible. My choice was not wrong.
Everything had been for this moment. It was why he had openly committed the insane act of suppressing divine spirits meant to be buried in the divine realm.
If this succeeds perfectly, not only every god race of the 500th Master Universe but even the demon god race could swarm here, and still they would not be able to cross the defensive divine realm I protect. If it succeeds, the vitality of every god who died on the battlefield will become my power, and even their divine spirits will become my authority.
Creak! Rumble!
The Origin title, which guaranteed infinite life force and raised potential as long as fighting spirit remained, served as the foundation.
It is crude, but it can already destroy and restore on a regional universe scale. This can raise it one stage further. This is the true power of the Divine Spirit Purgatory and the Origin Spirit Realm. It means that before me, no great army holds any meaning.
If everything went according to plan, even the Creator Gods of the 499th Master Universe would be unable to breach the Creator God-level defensive divine realm guarded by the Dimensional Creator Candidate.
I am the Dimensional Mage God—a black mage who denies reality while serving as the origin of life force and the dimension that creates laws.
No matter the opponent, if one endures and fights until the end, victory will eventually come.
Just as I reached this point without ever giving up on such a difficult life, this battlefield too will end in my victory. Though my lack of social experience makes daily life a mess, and divine realm management is better handled by my notoriously vicious subordinates—giving me constant headaches—at least on the battlefield, I control everything.
From the moment he obtained divinity and set foot in the divine realm, he was the mercenary god who had led countless desperate battles—including the Substitute Race's authentication fights—to victory. Thanks to that, he had earned the glorious title of Undefeated in Rising Battle God. Yet the struggle to compensate for his insufficient power and survive had also earned him the notoriety of the worst and most vicious mage god who used any means necessary. He had no regrets.
Even if the chance to choose again came, it was the best choice at the time, so I would make the same decision and walk the same path. No matter how painful and difficult reality may be, I will not do something like changing the past as the brain god did.
That was his final pride as a battle god and mage god who denied the world yet fought fiercely to live within it.
No matter how painful the past had been, as long as he remained alive in the present and never stopped struggling, it was his victory.
Whoooooooooosh—!
The wings of light symbolizing dimensional authority began to multiply.