The Spirit Realm War
The moment the words Spirit Realm War were spoken, the Heir’s figure, which had frozen for the briefest instant, instantly materialized. Flinch—! Twenty-six pairs of wings of light and one pair of translucent wings flared into existence, and he began advancing at a speed that made his previous pace seem like a crawl. The successor of the Creator God King, whose innate divine power reached at least ten trillion, clenched his teeth and hurled his body forward. Kwaaaaaaaaaang—!
He pushed acceleration to its absolute limit and concentrated every ounce of his divine power, clearly intending to pierce straight through the defensive divine realm in a single charge. It was the correct judgment. ‘Even a defensive divine realm created by the Creator Gods of the 499th Master Universe needs time to switch into full preparedness mode.’
Before the defensive posture that took over an hour to complete could activate, neither the Guerrilla Volcano’s vitality absorption nor its defensive authority could possibly stop a full-power strike from a god of war like him. Especially not if the attack landed on the main gate—its sole weakness—which would shatter in a single blow.
Yet he had calculated the arrival time for exactly this scenario: ten minutes. Now it was the Cyber Realm’s turn to do its job.
Help and trials are granted together. That is what complete management looks like.
As the price for interfering with your duties, I will inform you. The region where the Magic God of Dimensions—who has now transformed into a Creator God of the Substitute Gods—resides is currently experiencing a dimensional distortion phenomenon on a local-universe scale. Ultra-long-distance spatial movement has been completely sealed. The Creator Gods responsible for the 499th Master Universe have learned of your invasion; their earliest estimated arrival is thirty minutes from now. At that point you will be killed by him. The gap in innate divine power holds almost no meaning before the infinite authorities or transcendent authorities possessed by the Creator Gods of the 499th Master Universe. No matter how high your divine power or how strong your body, they are gods of war who have been forged through certification battles against Substitute Gods possessing even greater might. This is precisely why the Creator God King of the 500th Master Universe can barely avoid a desperate struggle against mere candidate Creator Gods. If you face two or more alone, you must accept the risk of total annihilation. If you cannot break through the defensive divine realm and escape within thirty minutes, you will definitely be killed.
…….
Kooooooo—! The Heir offered no reply. He simply poured every ounce of his strength into accelerating. The defensive divine realm rushed closer at terrifying speed. Yet the next sight made him grind his teeth even harder. ‘Their response is too fast… and far too drastic.’
Kiiiiiiiiing—! The massive main gate of the defensive divine realm swung open. The being who stepped out was a candidate Creator God possessing thirteen pairs of radiant wings and thirteen pairs of faint, hazy wings. He walked forward as calmly as if taking a leisurely stroll. Yet the giant sword larger than his own body, the killing intent, and the fighting spirit radiating from him were anything but ordinary—even to the successor of the Creator God King who led the dominion gods.
What was even more bizarre was that he had come alone. The Heir could sense a vast number of gods fleeing behind the defensive divine realm, and the realm itself had begun to tremble dangerously.
‘Is he prepared to perish by himself? Why would a god of war of his caliber do something like this? All we need to do is pass through the defensive divine realm. Why are they blocking us so viciously? Can’t they at least make this much of a concession?’
The fate of the entire divine race hung in the balance. Conceding a single defensive divine realm would have ended the matter, yet they had come this far. ‘Their forces are almost fully concentrated, battles are breaking out everywhere, and in the end even he must bear the dishonor of a surprise attack—yet the gods of war of the 499th Master Universe never retreat or compromise.’
They threw everything into the fight even when they knew they were outmatched. It was so extreme that even he—the leader of the dominion gods for whom war was daily life—felt sickened by it.
Sleeeeear—! The giant sword that had been cradled against his chest radiated brilliant light and slid free of its sheath on its own, revealing a form condensed from pure divine energy. The hazy wings blazed with dazzling radiance and, in an instant, ascended to the divinity of a true Creator God.
Even so, the power only reached about two hundred billion—less than a fifth of the Heir’s own—yet an instinctive sense of crisis flooded him. The sword god’s posture as he raised the blade overhead was so flawless it looked like nothing he had ever seen before.
I am the third-ranked candidate Creator God of the 499th Master Universe, the Creative Sword of Radiance. My authority is the highest level of swordsmanship among all candidates, paired with an immortal divine sword whose strength increases infinitely according to divine power. A seat as a full Creator God has already been prepared for me. However, I have now driven the defensive divine realm into overdrive, temporarily obtaining the divine power and divinity of a true Creator God. Contact with the general Creator Gods is complete. I stand prepared to perish in order to stop you. The Lord Gods and other deities of the defensive divine realm are currently evacuating. For reference, my rank is higher than that of the Magic God of Dimensions, who is presently fighting every dominion god and divine-realm guardian of the 500th Master Universe combined. I repeat: in a one-on-one battle, the Creative Sword of Radiance is stronger than the Magic God of Dimensions.
!!!
Hrrrrrrrrrk—!Kwadudududuk—! The Heir wrapped all twenty-six pairs of light wings in his full authority, seizing every inch of space and piercing straight through the defensive divine realm’s territory. There was not the slightest carelessness. ‘Even I, leader of the dominion gods, can see he is a sword god of monstrous caliber. That sword of light would surely cut his own body if needed, and if we crossed blades at equal strength I would undoubtedly lose.’
Yet he could not afford to fight with his full power. ‘Until I actually engage him, I must never activate the combined authority with the dominion gods under any circumstances. It was created solely so I could endure his test better than the 499th Master Universe. The moment it is revealed, everything becomes meaningless. I have no time to spare on such things.’
In his current state, he had to crush this sword god using every authority available and his overwhelming divine power, then break through. ‘It may be rude to a sword god of his level, but I am the leader of the dominion gods—for whom power is justice and victory is everything. I will bear any stigma if it means winning.’
Entering close combat now would waste too much time. If the Creator Gods arrived during that delay, even the final outcome would become uncertain. That was why he concentrated Creator God King-level authority and divine power at the forefront and attempted to blast straight through at ultra-high speed.
‘His divinity and divine power are lower than mine, but his transcendent swordsmanship and authorities surpass me. The only effective way to defeat such an opponent is to crush him with superior raw power. But if he dodges, it ends there.’
A full-power strike carrying ten trillion innate divine power would leave no Creator God unscathed on direct collision. Any Creator God with even a shred of reason would dodge first. That was exactly what the successor of the Creator God King was aiming for. His objective was to break through the defensive divine realm; defeating the enemy was only secondary.
However, the Heir did not yet understand that once the gods of war of the 499th Master Universe entered battle, they were no longer sane enough to choose retreat over annihilation.
Tap. The candidate Creator God discarded the sheath and raised the sword of light high above his head. It was the single-cut stance that maximized destructive force. He did not know whether it could withstand an attack concentrated with ten trillion units of divine power, but he had no intention of dodging anywhere.
‘Have I not already cut apart even the Substitute Gods’ God Destruction Cannon—which erases all divine power and authorities—with this very sword? In the end, I can only believe in the sword and in my own cultivation.’
In his ears, a voice endlessly urged him to retreat. When he had been undervalued and ranked low in the Main Divine Realm, the voice had been indifferent. Now that he had received proper evaluation and risen to third place, the voice belonged to his father—the Creator God—who had swiftly appointed him as successor. He held no resentment. He would have done the same in his father’s place.
“Cease combat at once—! You may abandon the defensive divine realm entirely. There will be no disciplinary measures or accountability for facing that opponent.”
…….
Hoooooooong—! He stabilized the divine power that had suddenly exploded and begun rampaging wildly, using the body he had forged through long years of training. ‘What I need right now is the greatest strike of my entire life.’
Hooooooooooooong! He became one with the giant sword he had swung for countless ages. As if speaking to himself, he continued.
“The one stronger than anyone, who always stands at the forefront of the battlefield…”
“Stop this at once. We have already decided to negotiate with the 500th Master Universe. There is no need for you to make meaningless sacrifices.”
The voice sounded more desperate than he had ever heard it. And the fact that it was gradually growing clearer suggested his father was rushing here even now. Yet with the Magic God of Dimensions displaying such monstrous spatial control through dimensional distortion, spatial movement was almost completely blocked. It would take considerable time.
‘According to the Cyber God, even at best it will take thirty minutes. In that time, a god of war of that caliber could reduce the defensive divine realm to ashes and still have strength to spare.’
As expected, he had to buy time here no matter what.
“O pride of the divine realm, our glory, our Creator God—”
“You bastard—! Listen to me! Retreat immediately—! The enemy will leave the moment you break through the defensive divine realm! We can bear that much dishonor—!”
He completed the unity of sword and body and poured his divine power and authority into the immortal divine sword. ‘That is why I am doing this. To prevent the criticism that would fall on you. Only for that reason.’
Among the hundreds of direct-line descendants the Creator God had obtained by consuming enormous vitality and divine power across dozens of partners, only two or three ever became candidate Creator Gods. The rest of the direct descendants sweated blood in the divine realm, striving to reach that same height.
‘Among that small number of candidates, the one with the highest evaluation became the successor, and because that position was constantly changing, everyone fought desperately.’
The Creator God, Lord God of the Divine Realm, was infinitely strict with all, yet perfectly fair. The opportunity to become successor was open to anyone, and those who showed potential received tremendous support. However, there were almost no gods capable of surpassing direct descendants born from partners of equal vitality to the Creator God himself.
‘No matter how high one’s current rank, the difference in potential means that in actual combat the direct descendants ultimately win. That is why a direct descendant is the successor.’
Thanks to being born a direct descendant, he had inherited an opening of vitality and authority, along with an outstanding body that ordinary members of the divine race could never obtain. ‘It was time to repay the excessive grace I had received.’
While a lowly human-born candidate Creator God was fighting so brilliantly against the entire 500th Master Universe, he—the successor of a Creator God—could not helplessly surrender the defensive divine realm. It would be an event that earned him eternal humiliation from every Creator God.
Therefore he had evacuated every deity who could become future military strength and stepped forward himself—the only one capable of putting up a fight. If he could simply hold until his father arrived, it would be victory.
“Our pride, our ideal, our dream—Father—”
“You… you bastard—! Who are you calling Father—! What nonsense are you spouting on the battlefield?! I am the Lord God of your Creation Realm—! Obey my command—! Retreat at once!”
The Main God of the Divine Realm’s command made his body stiffen for an instant, but the feeling quickly vanished. The absolute command authority granted to the Main God of the Divine Realm never worked perfectly on a successor. Moreover, any order that would harm the divine realm naturally held no power.
‘Because the ego of the divine realm knows my actions are for its sake, it does not interfere.’
The divine realm’s ego also understood. If one side was blocking so desperately and perfectly while they surrendered without even fighting, the aftermath would be impossible to handle. That was why it was assisting this suicidal, all-or-nothing resistance.
‘Additional support has been provided so that the Creator God’s divinity and divine power obtained by overdriving the defensive divine realm are completely nullified. Therefore I must offer my greeting before releasing the preparations I have now completed.’
The Creator God had many direct descendants. Even if he fell, one of them would simply take his place as the next successor. However, the honor of the one and only Creator God of the divine realm, once lost, could almost never be restored.
‘The honor of the Lord God—the representative of the Creation Realm—must be protected at all costs. Yet the opponent is the leader of the dominion gods, equal to a general Creator God. The odds of victory are overwhelmingly low. I will probably be unable to hold until Father arrives, but if I can at least sever an arm or a leg, I can avoid the dishonor of having surrendered helplessly.’
So at the very end, he could allow himself this small act of childishness.
“Please wish your unworthy son good fortune in battle.”
“…I wish you good fortune in battle.”
“Thank you, beloved Father.”
“Hold on. No matter what! I’m… on my way.”
The Creator God’s dejected voice faded away. Further intervention was now impossible, and any more would only hinder the battle.
Having cast aside all distracting thoughts, the sword god’s strike descended from above his head. Kwaaaaaaaaaaang—!
The target was, of course, the successor of the Creator God King, who had transformed into a colossal awl-shaped spear of light with enough momentum to pierce the entire universe. ‘As a final opponent, he is a powerful enemy without the slightest flaw.’
A clear shout rang through the void from a state of selfless trance.
“Cross Sword of the Double Helix—!”
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!
The full-power breakthrough charge of the successor of the Creator God King of the 500th Master Universe—leader of the dominion gods—and the all-out strike of the third-ranked candidate Creator God of the 499th Master Universe, wielding transcendent swordsmanship and an immortal blade, began their cataclysmic collision.