The Final Reckoning
The Spirit Realm war had left even the Magic God of Dimensions with a clear excuse. ‘It hasn’t even been a full year since I was absurdly scammed into ascending to the God Realm as the War God. In that short time, I earned merit on the Substitute Race’s battlefield, clawed my way into position, and desperately flailed about just to survive. It was a whirlwind of chaos that somehow ended with me becoming the Main God of the Divine Realm. All the while, I walked a razor’s edge with the goddess lords, eventually solidifying my seat as Chief God of the God Realm. But the moment I drag them into this mercenary battle, everything will collapse back to square one.’
If the Chief God of the God Realm, who had demanded a price for fighting alone, were to call in the Divine Realm’s administrative gods because he lacked the strength, there would be no greater humiliation. ‘Every Main God of the Divine Realm and Demon God of the Demon Realm I clashed with in those mercenary battles fought solely with their own power. If they lost, they died alone. No one sought or wanted their subordinates’ help. Instead, they threw themselves into the most dangerous spots, fought until their strength ran dry, and perished.’
Back then, he had thought them foolish—Main Gods and Demon Gods who held absolute command over their subordinates yet refused to use them, choosing reckless combat and death instead. Now that he stood in their shoes, he understood completely. ‘A superior must be someone who can offer help. The moment they lean on their inferiors, the relationship crumbles. A superior weaker than their subordinates has no value and becomes nothing but a burden.’
A Main God of the Divine Realm who received help from inferiors would eventually face collective impeachment, while a Demon God would only have rebellion waiting. ‘In that case, it’s better to die cleanly on the battlefield. Besides, this war is one I personally foresaw. I absolutely cannot show weakness. No matter what, I must overcome this crisis using Dimensional Genesis and my dark magic.’
Yet the effect of Dimensional Genesis had changed far too much from what he originally knew, leaving him without a plan. At this rate, he was no different from a lone fool charging into a grave. ‘In the end, this is a world where you must survive alone. My dark magic and authority—things I know better than anyone—could never be powers that only benefit others. There’s no way such a wide-area support authority would emerge. It was originally a personal enhancement authority. But even if he set the authority, it changes according to my growth. This is the result of my combat tendencies, my dark magic, and above all, my deepest desires. There’s nothing I can do about it.’
The first Reality Denial was never meant to drop any deity’s circle by one. Originally, it was a single-target effect that forcibly dropped the opponent by two circles. It had changed into an unconditional wide-area drop of one circle. The second Reality Denial was an even bigger problem. It was originally perfect evasion and critical strikes as long as divine power was maintained, but turning into a wide-area authority had weakened it. At this rate, fighting countless enemies alone would make injury and death unavoidable. And the third—why had it suddenly changed into raising allies’ divinity by one circle within the area? It was supposed to temporarily raise his own divinity by two circles. Was raising allies by one circle in exchange for turning himself into a fixed target some kind of death sentence?
What was a mere mercenary god—not even a true Main God of the Divine Realm—supposed to do with an authority like this? Why had it changed this way? “Kk-! No way… It can’t be!”
The Magic God of Dimensions’s eyes sharpened with a dangerous glint as he ground his teeth. He spat the words like a monologue, unable to hide the raw self-loathing in his voice.
Having realized the desire hidden deep within his heart, the Magic God of Dimensions stood stunned. The true content of the Dimensional Genesis authority he should have possessed appeared before him. It was the genuinely supreme dimensional authority that had surfaced in the grimoire he received upon barely reaching the 11th circle.
"Dimensional Genesis. The authority of the Creator God of Dimensions. Upon complete unlocking of the title, divine power fuses with dark magic and is transcendentally strengthened, displaying power on the level of a Creator General depending on the situation. It creates and establishes one’s own world, simultaneously handling three transcendental-grade Reality Denials.
First condition: Conditional drop of two circles for enemies. Even higher circles are forcibly lowered by one.
Second condition: Complete evasion of attacks and execution of critical strikes as long as divine power is maintained.
Third condition: Temporarily raises one’s own divinity by up to two circles as divine power permits.
All effects occur within the area. Unless it is a compound spatial-temporal authority beyond the dimensional level, neither defense nor cancellation is possible."
⟨ Dimensional Genesis ⟩
It was an effect worthy of being called the strongest authority granted to an individual. ‘How overjoyed was I when I confirmed this? Once I achieved it, almost no one would be able to defeat or kill me.’
The absurd computational power and divine power required had been worth it. Even against a single opponent, it unconditionally dropped them by at least one circle, evaded all attacks, and turned every strike into a critical hit. On top of that, it restored the two circles that had been holding him back all this time, allowing him to freely activate every dark magic spell he had only been able to theorize due to his insufficient circles.
‘Who could possibly stop or kill me, now equipped with transcendental spatial movement on a regional universe scale, surpassing even the Substitute Race?’
The original Dimensional Genesis held enough power to overwhelm even a Creator God who possessed the Creator General title. That was why he had charged into this war with such confidence. ‘I would lock down the narrow defensive passages of the Divine Realm with Creator Generals and Creator Gods capable of threatening me, annihilate their main force with wide-area dark magic, then deal with the strong ones who challenged me one by one. That was how the war was supposed to end.’
No matter how much the special-class cybernetic god guaranteed victory or how enormous the reward, there was no way the Magic God of Dimensions would jump into a battle without odds of winning. Of course, the fact that he had personally foreseen it was the decisive reason for his participation, but once Dimensional Genesis was complete, he had been confident he could defend the defensive Divine Realm—even if the full force of the 500th Master Universe poured in—by guarding the main gate, his only weakness.
‘I believed there was no force in the weak 500th Master Universe capable of defeating me with the original Dimensional Genesis. But then countless powerhouses equal to the 499th Master Universe’s mighty Creation God, the Guardian God of the Divine Realm, suddenly appeared, and all my predictions went to hell. Moreover, the wide-area support authority I gained by committing unforgivable acts against the Spirit Beings is completely useless in my current situation.’
To others, the changed Dimensional Genesis would seem shocking, but to the Magic God of Dimensions who knew the original, it was truly something to weep over. ‘The chance to ascend to a powerhouse above the Creator General in one leap has vanished, leaving me as a half-baked Creator God and Divine Realm Creator God who has no choice but to rely on his inferiors.’
And since this was the result of his own subconscious, he had nothing to say. He now understood the cause. After living alone in the Great Forest and wandering battlefields as a mercenary god, drowning in solitude, he had become enchanted by the warmth of the first relationships he had ever obtained, no matter how messy they were.
‘It was the first Divine Realm I obtained, and the position of Chief God of the God Realm. As a human-born god, I kept telling myself that I would eventually have to let go of everything and leave. But the hidden desire to settle down like this has caused an irreversible catastrophe.’
The content of the 12th-circle Reality Denial fixed in this way could not be changed until he reached the 13th circle. The 11th-circle Dimensional Genesis and 10th-circle Dimensional Net could still be modified, but the higher authority could not be altered due to insufficient computational power. ‘No matter what, I should have abandoned the position of Chief God of the God Realm, decided to act as a mercenary god, and entered the war. Instead, I ascended in a half-confused state and ended up like this. But there’s no time for self-reproach.’
The Guardian God of the Divine Realm candidate, whose neck and heart had been crushed—a fatal wound even for the divine race—after sacrificing both arms, was already recovering with astonishing regenerative power and preparing to charge at him again. ‘Seeing that even his armor has recovered, it must be some kind of authority. There’s no time to analyze it now. It’s obviously a restoration-type that consumes massive amounts of vitality, but the problem right now isn’t the opponent before my eyes. At least tens of thousands of Guardian Gods of the Divine Realm, each more than twice as strong as me—a Creator Candidate—are waiting in reserve.’
The only way he could think of to deal with them was a method that the God of Light must never use. And the voice of the Guardian God candidate, who had recovered from the fatal wound and was now shouting in rage, rang out.
‘This is truly a disgrace in the Master Universe.’
The Dimensional Lord could only think that he had somehow become a weakling who suffered such humiliation from an opponent of equal rank.
The opponent’s words were naturally correct, but with his body currently fixed in space, a surprise attack using his own body as a sacrifice was the only way to land a fatal blow. It was true that he had provoked the opponent—who adhered to old-fashioned pre-duel etiquette—into close combat, then suddenly launched both arms into the enemy’s body, connected, and detonated them.
Yet he could not stay silent. Unable to hide his twisted feelings, he clicked his tongue and sneered.
“What—! You lowly human-born—!”
He naturally flew into a rage, but after being caught defenseless, he did not recklessly charge in again. ‘I don’t even have the luxury to wallow in self-loathing or make excuses. I never imagined a situation where I would have to cut off my own arms and throw them. Since I can’t move from this spot, I have to use every means available.’
The altered Dimensional Genesis fixed him in his current position in exchange for granting only the defensive power of a Main God-level dark mage and Creator God when there was no large army present. If he fought one-on-one against an equal, he would not be able to avoid ending up in such a miserable state. It would be better to release Dimensional Genesis and fight using two non-transcendental but top-tier Reality Denials.
However, if he released the authority now, the Creator Gods and Guardian Gods of the Divine Realm—more than twice as strong—would kill him in the aftermath of their exchanged provocations and counterattacks. There was no need to mention that he could not use his ascension ability on himself. ‘Right now, I have no subordinates stronger than me who would not betray me. I must overcome this crisis with my own power alone.’
So he hurriedly regenerated his shattered arms and ground his teeth. ‘Ugh—! If there were any other means, I wouldn’t be doing these insane, cowardly things. And if I had the original Dimensional Genesis, a mere Creator Candidate like you wouldn’t even be worth a single strike. I could have ended you with sheer will. With a normal Dimensional Genesis, even if tens of thousands of you swarmed me, I could have crushed you all one by one—! Yet here I am, doing this damnable thing against just one opponent. I’m going to lose my mind.’
Feeling the gazes of the Creator Gods behind him wondering why he was not summoning the Main Gods to ascend them and fight, and the Guardian Gods of the Divine Realm ahead watching him like an interesting toy, his blood pressure skyrocketed. ‘Because of a momentary delusion, I ruined the personal authority that should have overwhelmed them all, and now I’m in this state.’
If it were all of them, it might be understandable, but the opponent was merely an equal-level Creator Candidate, yet he was cornered like this. ‘It’s all because my heart wavered and Dimensional Genesis became a mess. No matter how I try to revise it, since I forcibly ascended to the 12th circle, I cannot modify it and must use it as is. Only after reaching the 13th circle will I be able to make some adjustments.’
Papapapa—! No matter how much he calculated, summoning the current Divine Realm administrative gods would likely cause them to fight among themselves and self-destruct before the battle even began. In the end, he had to bring out another hidden card and give up yet another thing. ‘At this rate, I might really become the enemy of all gods in the Master Universe, but there is no other way.’
Fortunately, the Guardian God candidate was not in normal condition after the fatal blow he had just received, so there would be time for an incantation.
“Haa—! Can’t be helped. This is just how my divine life is. Let’s think about the future after winning first. The reality is too harsh to worry about the future and show consideration. I’ll just do it. Open. O great dimensional gate that pierces all time and space. The time of the final battle has finally come. The last moment has arrived.”
Despite the grim content of the incantation, the Magic God of Dimensions muttered weakly. ‘This will truly be impossible to deal with afterward, but it’s still better than mobilizing the Divine Realm administrative gods. It’s the second-worst choice to avoid the worst, but defeat is unacceptable.’
Uuuuuuuung—! Paaaaaah—!
Behind the Magic God of Dimensions, ten circles of dark magic spun fiercely and fused with the dimensional authority. A brilliant light spread from top to bottom, slowly expanding its area.
Whoosh—!
Like sunlight pouring through a giant door, a light so powerful it momentarily blinded even the Guardian Gods of the Divine Realm pierced through the universe. It was a pure and overwhelmingly powerful light of authority.
The immense authorities felt within that light were enough to make even the Guardian Gods of the Divine Realm urgently prepare for battle. The power felt within the light was certainly smaller than their own, yet the fighting spirit and killing intent emanating from it were incomparably vicious and, above all, overwhelmingly strong.
Having finished the incantation, the Magic God of Dimensions raised his head toward the giant gate of light that had opened above him and completed the chant with an uncharacteristically hesitant tone.
"The… promise of past struggle… is now… fulfilled."
It was a dark magic he did not want to use now that he had become Chief God of the God Realm and even the Creator God of Light, but against those powerful Guardian Gods of the Divine Realm, there was no other choice. ‘The final means cannot be shown here, so this is the last resort.’
If it had been the original Dimensional Genesis, he could have simply blocked the passage and killed them one by one as they rushed in to save their Creator General. ‘What kind of insane act is this? With all the gods of the entire Master Universe watching, the Creator God of Light is doing something like this. If I were a Creator God, I would never tolerate it and would try to subjugate him by any means.’
That was why he had completely sealed it after becoming a god of the Divine Realm, yet in the end, not wanting to die, he had to use it. A sigh escaped him naturally as he continued the incantation.
"Deny the reality that rejects you with dark magic and force upon this universe the greatness of the dimensional authority that creates your own world. The time of revenge has finally come."
Goooooo—!
Watching the fusion of dark magic and dimensional authority manifest without issue, he thought of the enormous aftermath that would soon follow and finally made up his mind. ‘This really is the end for me as the God of Light. But seeing that the Main God Star can become a Creator God through loopholes and that both the Divine Realm and the planet can become Creator God Stars, I understand now. It really was a joint divine-demonic authority. The 26 pairs of light wings and one pair of dark wings of the Creator General were the key. Then my dimensional authority should be able to manifest it. If I somehow survive, I’ll take only the Survival Magic Tower and flee to the Otherworld. I’ll take a suitable position among the divine beasts and live quietly. If they interfere with me like this again, I’ll sweep them all away. Since karma doesn’t apply anyway, there’s no need to endure. I no longer have any business with the gods of this Master Universe. In exchange for obtaining the authority of the Main God Star, I will forget past grudges. But…’
Drop.
A single tear suddenly rolled down from his eye. ‘Only now have I realized the deepest desire hidden in my heart.’
The affection he had felt for the High Elf Queens, his first love in childhood, had led him to forgive them even after they betrayed him. His admiration for Granzoa, who had overwhelmed him with pure effort using the dimensional authority and dark magic he had given her, had made him accept her as a subordinate god even though she had become an unforgivable enemy. He had come to respect the tenacity and strength of the powerful Main God of the Divine Realm who, despite being defeated and reduced to a Spirit God in the glorious position of Chief God, had never given up and eventually recovered strength surpassing even a Main God by receiving the Main God Star as compensation.
Only now did he understand why she had stubbornly insisted on giving planets to create a Divine Realm according to the contract instead of seeking other means to increase her innate divine power—even though the Devotion Pledge was ultimately a Creator God’s authority. He now clearly understood why she had casually offered those enormous amounts of vitality and treasures to the Divine Realm for the goddesses to use.
‘Beautiful, strong, unyielding, and living fiercely to the end—they were my ideal type, and without realizing it, I had fallen in love with them. I had pursued eternal happiness as Chief God of the God Realm and a Creator God together with those women.’
However, because he was a human-born god and a dark mage, he had known rationally that he could never form an eternal relationship with them, so he had ignored it. That had ultimately affected even Dimensional Genesis—which should have been the strongest personal authority—and turned it into an absurd wide-area support authority.
‘They are authorities that make the Divine Realm administrative gods and the mightiest battle goddesses shine. Probably, once they become Creator Gods while under the effect of Dimensional Genesis, no ordinary Creator God would be able to handle them. Then any infamy would be nullified, they would make a splendid return to the Main Divine Realm, and I—who made that possible—could become not a nominal partner but their true partner. That vain hope had been at work.’
The result was Dimensional Genesis, which had become a wide-area authority completely useless to him, a specialist mercenary god who moved alone. ‘But in the end, it is only a dream. I am a dark mage and a human-born god. No matter what authority I possess to help them, I can never be together forever with pure-blooded gods. Those around us will not forgive it, and it will eventually end in catastrophe.’
Because the memories of gods were eternal, no matter what achievements he made, his origin and the facts could never be erased. ‘Since they cannot do anything about me, they will drive them even further into a corner and criticize them, and in the end, they will not be able to endure it. As long as I do not disappear, the hateful label of “partner of a human-born Main God” will not vanish, and even the successor that is born will suffer the same fate.’
For humans who could forget the past and for whom death was the end, there would be no problem, but for Spirit Beings who lived forever and knew no oblivion, it was unbearable pain. ‘I thought becoming a Creator God capable of creating a Main God Star would improve things, but even after becoming a Creator God and reaching equal rank, the cold reactions of those Guardian Gods and Creator Gods made it clear. No matter what divinity a heterogeneous human-born god possesses, he will forever be looked down upon and checked.’
In exchange for briefly forgetting the bitter reality and imagining a sweet future, the strongest dimensional authority had been ruined and he had become weak again. The wide-area support-type Dimensional Genesis was such a pathetic power that, as an individual, he had to use bodily sacrifice against an equal-level Creator Candidate. ‘In the end, the time has come to return to the mercenary god with the worst and most heinous infamy—who stops at nothing to compensate for his lack of power—complete the contract, and cleanly depart alone.’
Burying deep once more the eternal happiness with the women he had desired most in his heart, he returned to being the black mage of the battlefield and continued the incantation. The tears had already dried and disappeared; only his eyes, filled with chilling killing intent, gleamed cruelly.
‘Fleeting sentiment is but a momentary wavering, and the battlefield is long, harsh reality. I could have pursued eternal happiness just a little longer, but it ends here. It’s all because those bastards suddenly appeared.’
Those who could only move as the final force protecting the Creation Realm without the Creator General’s orders had arbitrarily rushed all the way to the boundary of the Master Universe, forcing him to use this method. ‘Grit—! I will absolutely not let any of them return alive. For driving me into this corner, making me use such means, and causing me to be permanently exiled as the God of Light, I will not be satisfied unless I steal the spirits and vitality of every single Guardian God of the Divine Realm. Taste thoroughly why a dark mage is so terrifying. I will make thorough use of this pathetic wide-area support-type Dimensional Genesis.’
Grinding his teeth, he raised both hands into the air, grasped the slightly opened line of light, and began pushing it apart to the left and right.
Gugugugugugung—!
As the space and laws of the universe split apart, the Magic God of Dimensions shouted intensely through the widening gap of light as if spitting blood.
"Here stands the contract of promise—! Strong ones who will erase past defeats and stake everything on the current struggle, respond to the contract. I have prepared a battlefield just for you."
At the same time, hands burst out from within the light as if reaching out. Those hands grabbed portions of the line of light.
Kwaaaaaang—!
A tremendous roar erupted from inside the gate of light as if pushing it open, and the gap widened faster and faster until a rectangular gate of light was formed. The Magic God of Dimensions, who had spread both arms fully to the sides to open the gate of light, declared the manifested dark magic in a hollow voice.
‘With this, both my position as Chief God of the God Realm and my status as a god are finished.’
He had prepared this to settle things with Granzoa and the Divine Realm who had trapped him, never imagining it would be used this way, but it was still better than the final means.
“Now is the moment to end every god.”