The Heir's Resolve
In a place far removed from the self-destructive chaos that had left the Creator Gods—now suddenly bound as a Common Destiny after watching the war in the Spirit Realm—utterly horrified, only silence reigned.
The once-magnificent Defense Divine Realm had vanished without a trace. Its foundational planets had been reduced to honeycomb-like ruins, riddled with holes. Even the central great hall bore a satellite-sized crater, a silent testament to the desperate battle that had unfolded there moments ago.
And at the center, where the glorious throne of the Defense Divine Realm had been brutally torn away, stood a lone figure. Though he looked even more wretched than the ruined realm itself, he still remained upright. He muttered to himself in a hoarse voice.
“So this is what it means to be the heir of the Creator God King? How disappointing. If I had known sooner, I wouldn’t have…”
He coughed violently. “Cough—! Haa. Is it time to end this?”
Suddenly—thud!
With the cough came a spray of bright red blood from his lips. He knew the sensation all too well—the power ripping his body apart from the inside. It was, after all, his own authority.
A crimson cross, as if formed from congealed blood, materialized across his body and began to split him apart with surgical precision.
If left like this, my arms and legs will sever from my torso. My heart will explode from within, leaving a hole in my chest. All that will remain is my head—proof of my information gathering and military exploits. This is the inescapable fate of anyone struck by my unique authority, ‘Double Helix.’
He had desperately twisted the outcome to avoid instant death, but only because his opponent had evaded a significant portion of the attack. Even so, the wound was fatal. Still, he had exacted his price.
“The heir of the Creator God King possesses unconditional reflection of divine race authorities? Anything that isn’t transcendent or a unique authority gets reflected? If I had known, I could have dragged this out with ordinary attacks instead of using my authority. Pathetic. Still, at least he isn’t a legitimate son. That’s a relief.”
In exchange for delivering a strike that surpassed his limits, every muscle and bone in his body had shattered. Yet he forced his still-functional right hand to rise, lifting the severed hand of the heir he had claimed.
If not for this, I wouldn’t have been pushed this far. But I am currently the Lord God of the Defense Divine Realm. Even though I have lost and been stripped of the seat of glory, I must fulfill my duty.
That duty was the restoration of the shattered Defense Divine Realm.
He used his personal authority to reconnect the broken communication lines between the vanished Defense Divine Realm and the Main Divine Realm. It consumed a considerable amount of divine power, but for a Creator Candidate and heir like himself, it was a simple task.
“Main Divine Realm. This is one arm of the heir to the Creator God King, who possesses one trillion units of innate divine power. I severed it before the vitality could be recovered. It should yield at least two hundred billion units of vitality. Therefore, begin the restoration of the Defense Divine Realm.”
“We strongly recommend recovery first. Two hundred billion units of divine power would be enough to restore your current body to normal condition and even strengthen it.”
“But that would be insufficient for restoring the Defense Divine Realm. The return of the Defense Divine Realm takes priority over the survival of a defeated Lord God. This is the will of a Creator Candidate. The managing Lord Gods of the Main Divine Realm shall not confuse priorities.”
“…”
The managing Lord Gods of the Main Divine Realm fell silent for a moment before responding. The shared thought among them was that it was unacceptable for the direct heir of a Creator God—not some lowly mercenary god—to perish after a single defeat. Since they themselves stood in similar positions, such an outcome could never be tolerated.
“However, you are not a lowly mercenary god. You are the honored direct heir and bloodline of the glorious Creation Realm. We cannot allow a being destined to one day become a great Creator God to disappear over a single momentary defeat.”
“By the command of the Creation Realm, we will forcibly maintain your current body through emergency measures.”
The heir felt the severed arm disappear, followed by the preparation of a massive influx of vitality. A bitter smile formed on his lips of its own accord.
As expected, being direct bloodline of a prestigious house makes even punishment and death difficult. A lowly human-born mercenary god managed to block it so well, yet I was pierced so helplessly. There is no greater dishonor. Above all, without the Defense Divine Realm, the Creation Realm will be next. It must be restored at all costs. If I incur any more debt to the Main Divine Realm, even the Creation Realm will face regression.
Throughout his life as direct bloodline of a Creator God, he had never once escaped this absolute protection.
Though he had lived amid terrifying competition, it had been a stable life that never truly approached death. With the authority of a Creator God’s direct descendant and the massive support of the divine realm, he had quickly surpassed the rank of Lord God. But that had been his limit. He needed another catalyst, which was why he had secretly begun working as a mercenary god.
The lives of the combat gods he had experienced while hiding his identity and carrying out missions had been so vastly different from his own.
The fate of a mercenary god who lives alone ends in death the moment they suffer defeat.
They are disposed of after a single loss, with no support whatsoever. Any mission failure is unacceptable, and they must always fight on the front lines. Within that ferocity, he had barely survived and become a Creator Candidate faster than anyone.
Of course, the divine realm had kept the fact that a lowly mercenary god was working in secret, so they hadn’t known his true level. But after the Magic God of Dimensions caused an incident that forced a re-ranking, everything was exposed. That was why he had even been given the position of heir. Yet here he was, in this state. It seemed he had grown too accustomed to the harsh but free life of a mercenary god.
Thinking back, if he had used the affiliated Lord Gods and their deities as sacrificial pawns to stall for time, he might have lasted longer. If he had properly analyzed the authority of the Creator God King’s heir, he could have held out—though it would have been difficult—until the Creator God arrived.
But what he had chosen was to fight with only his own power, like a true mercenary god. The result was the loss of the Defense Divine Realm, defeat, and death staring him in the face.
Of course, his subordinates survived. But from a strategic standpoint in war, this is still defeat.
A defeated party must always receive a punishment befitting their failure. There are no exceptions. That is order, and he was a god of light who protected that order.
Spurt—! Spurt—!
Blood gushed from his legs. His body was that of a Creator Candidate, not a full Creator God. Even the portion of authority that had returned was not enough to escape death.
It is my own unique authority, yet it truly is vicious.
He collapsed like a broken doll onto the shattered seat of glory.
Thud!
Watching the blood spurt from the severed joints of his limbs, he continued speaking.
“My unique authority, ‘Double Helix,’ tears apart and pulverizes every being wounded by my sword. Since I only received a partial reflection, my heart remains intact, but my arms and legs will soon be severed. And with my current divinity, I cannot stop that fate. Repairing the severed limbs will require at least twice my innate divine power, which would consume most of the spoils. That amount could create ten heirs and restore even the Defense Divine Realm in an instant. It is not an amount to be invested in a defeated party. Above all, given the Creation Realm’s current shortage of vitality, they would be unable to restore the Defense Divine Realm. This place would then become a concentrated target of attack. No matter how powerful the Creation Realm is, accumulated damage would lead to regression. As the honored direct bloodline of a Creator God, I cannot allow that.”
Sssssss—!
He quietly gathered divine power into his hand. Though his body had been weakened to its limit, forming the Sword of Immortality was as natural to him as using his own unique authority. Even without the divine sword, it formed as naturally as breathing, revealing its brilliant shape.
This is the most trusted authority and friend that has executed countless dark gods and Substitute Gods until now.
With this Sword of Immortality, he had bisected even the Lord Gods of the Substitute God Clan and claimed victory. But this time, the tip of the blade was not aimed at an enemy—it was aimed at his own throat.
“Just as defeat means death for a mercenary god, the direct bloodline of a Creator God must compensate for any damage caused to the divine realm. Therefore, I will pay for the defeat that led to the loss of the Defense Divine Realm with my death and these spoils. Notify the Creation Realm to send the next heir as the Lord God of the Defense Divine Realm.”
“Please wait—! Please wait just a moment! If you wish, we can arrange a loan. Your future is far too bright!”
“There are many direct descendants. Losing one is of no consequence. However, the Creator God who made those many descendants is precious, and the Creation Realm is even more so. Not even for a single moment can it be allowed to stop. Anything that interferes has always been cut down by the sword. Even if the target is myself, there will be no forgiveness. This is the resolve of a direct descendant standing before war. Restore and strengthen the Defense Divine Realm. And convey this to the next direct descendant who will become the Lord God of the Defense Divine Realm: Abandon the thought that you alone are special and can be forgiven for mistakes. Everything is thanks to the grace of our father, the Creator God, and the divine realm. Remember that in the world outside that grace, the defeated die just like this.”
Without any mercy, the Sword of Immortality swung. Its power was enough to pierce even the body of a Creator God King’s heir, so it severed its master’s neck with effortless ease.
Slice—!
Srrrrrr—!
The moment his head separated from his body, the blood-soaked form disintegrated in an instant and transformed into pure vitality. Only the head remained, watching the scene.
“Send the rest of my vitality… to the Creation Realm. This is the compensation a direct descendant must pay. And I absolutely refuse to owe any debt to the Main Divine Realm. Heh heh—! How much have I endured while living as a mercenary god? The current me is the honored direct descendant of the Creator God… that’s all.”
Shhhhhh—!
All his vitality vanished, leaving only his divine spirit, which was immediately summoned back to the original Creation Realm. Now only two paths remained: starting over from the beginning, or investing more than twice the vitality to resurrect him. A combat god of that caliber was truly rare even in the 499th Master Universe, so they would restore him somehow. However, gathering over two hundred billion units of vitality would not be easy even for the Creation Realm. They would have to wait an immeasurable amount of time.
“Confirmation of death for the Creator Candidate scheduled to receive vitality infusion. Commencing secondary objective: restoration and strengthening of the Defense Divine Realm.”
Confirmation of death for the Creator Candidate scheduled to receive vitality infusion. Commencing secondary objective: restoration and strengthening of the Defense Divine Realm.
The mechanical voice of the divine realm’s ego boomed out, and the halted flow of vitality immediately began reconstructing the Defense Divine Realm. The faces of the managing gods of the Main Divine Realm watching this scene hardened endlessly.
A Creator Candidate who was both an incredibly powerful combat god and direct bloodline of a Creator God died so easily.
And he had refused even treatment, choosing to take his own life to bear the responsibility of allowing the Defense Divine Realm to be breached.
They had felt nothing when countless mercenary gods died. But the death of a Creator Candidate who was a direct descendant and heir—someone in a position equal to or above their own—sent chills down their spines.
If the enemy had been the heir of the Creator God King, no one could have held him responsible. Yet he voluntarily yielded the spoils to repair the damage and took his own life.
The feeling that if things went wrong, they could all end up the same way washed over them. Only now were the managing Lord Gods of the Main Divine Realm truly realizing what the responsibility of a Lord God and the nature of war truly meant.
And the heir of the Creator God King, who had driven that mighty Creator Candidate to suicide, was currently losing his mind.
He had charged forward to immediately execute the transformed Substitute God Creator that the self-destructing Magic God of Dimensions had become, but nothing worked.
No matter how precarious his own 13th circle had become after being struck by the Sword of Immortality, this was absolutely unacceptable. Of course, if he took his time and methodically dismantled them using the Tyrant Gods, it wouldn’t be impossible. But the enemy was currently trying to self-destruct and take everyone with him—there was no time for that.
So he had tried long-range attacks first. The result? Not even the Magic God of Dimensions was affected. The only damage was a few tiny scratches on the surface of the mechanical Substitute Gods protecting him.
Shuhahaha—! Goooooong!
Even those scratches were restored instantly, as if they had never existed. The regenerative power was enough to make one despair. Moreover, the opponent’s main force was magic-based, while the attacks raining down were planet-scale physical strikes. Reflection was useless.
This is the first time I’ve faced an opponent where victory feels this hopeless. I don’t think I’ll lose, but I also see no way to win.
Krrrrrrr! Uwaaaaaah!
The Tyrant Gods were falling one by one, forced out of the front lines, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It felt like fighting a spiritual entity—a destruction god specialized in targeting the divine race, in particular.
“My attacks aren’t working at all? And why is a god using magic like the demon race instead of authorities? Moreover, why are they all physical attacks? Why aren’t you using the authorities of the divine race—?!”
Kwaaaaaaaaang—! Uuuuuuuung—!
The mechanical Substitute Gods moved at speeds even a god’s eyes struggled to follow. If one got caught in the path of those massive bodies brushing past, they would be crushed to death by a weight beyond measurement.
Even the Tyrant Gods, upon colliding with those giant bodies, were immediately met by other mechanical Creator Gods who teleported in, smashing into each other and pulverizing the victim’s body with the impact. Several Tyrant Gods had already been forced into emergency retreat after suffering such attacks.
Seventeen mechanical Substitute Gods are orbiting the Magic God of Dimensions without a single gap, protecting him. There’s no way to get close.
Long-range attacks launched because of the difficulty in approaching were all erased by the God Destruction Cannon, and the backlash from that power was instead inflicted upon the attackers. Close combat had to be avoided due to those massive bodies and incomprehensible speed.
Swish—! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!
“Kuaaaaaaaaagh—!”
“Aaaaaaaaagh—!”
The moment he tried to decide what to do, a spine-chilling sensation made him move desperately. A massive object left an afterimage as it passed beneath his feet. The Tyrant Gods nearby were struck with blows that nearly shattered them and were sent flying into the distance.
Those caught in the trajectory screamed as they were hurled far away. Moreover, perhaps due to some unrecognized magic, every time the surroundings flashed, a silver surface stained with what looked like blood would appear and disappear. It was the same mechanical Substitute God that had been troubling him for a while because he couldn’t break through its defense.
Yet suddenly, its attack speed had increased to the point where even a god’s senses couldn’t track it.
“What? Why did the speed suddenly increase?”
“The Magic God of Dimensions is grabbing the mechanical Substitute Gods with his hands and throwing them.”
“The target is the heir! Dodge! It’s coming again!”
“What—!”
At the scattered answers, the heir hurriedly turned his gaze toward the Magic God of Dimensions and gaped in utter disbelief.
Even as cracks spread across his body from the imminent self-destruction, with light bursting out from the fissures, he was grabbing the mechanical Substitute Gods around him, pulling his arm back, and preparing to throw them with full force.
The mechanical Substitute Gods were huge, but they looked like nothing compared to a Creator God of the Substitute Clan who had been freed from a planet the size of a Main God Star.
Shuhahahahaha—! Shuhahahahaha—!
The planet-sized mechanical Substitute Gods looked like nothing more than tiny balls in his grasp. With clear hostility and killing intent embedded in the hand holding the mechanical Substitute God, he glared at the heir and let out a resonant roar.
“U… U… Uuuuung!”
Die—! You lucky, enviable young master! I’m definitely taking bastards like you with me!
It was the first thing the Magic God of Dimensions had done after the automatic ego of the Substitute Gods forcibly awakened him due to the sense of crisis from a powerful enemy appearing—the moment his self-destruction attack had been reflected by the heir of the Creator God King.