The Dimensional Net
The black mage felt flames of rage rise within him as he watched the Sly Raccoon Main God’s smug, self-satisfied grin while the deity boasted about his divine power. How could I have overlooked the population gap between a Main God Star and an ordinary planet? This damned Main God Star, bloated with size and teeming with sentient beings!
Two hundred billion in divine power was roughly ten times twenty-one billion. Considering the sheer scale of a Main God Star with trillions of inhabitants, even that figure was minuscule. The more people living on the planet, the greater the Main God’s divine power—by dozens of times. No matter how specialized the God-Slaying Spear was against Main Gods, it wouldn’t inflict meaningful damage.
In simple terms, if the God-Slaying Spear carried twenty-one billion in attack power, the Sly Raccoon Main God possessed ten times that in defense. “Still, that hurt quite a bit. That’s enough now. It seems you have no other means of attack left.”
The Sly Raccoon Main God relaxed his defensive stance, as though the fight were already over. Yet the black mage, concentrating intently, noticed two translucent divine artifacts being summoned stealthily around the Main God. Protective artifacts cloaked in concealment and presence-masking? If those had joined the earlier attack alongside the Main God’s spear, the battle would have ended without him ever realizing what hit him.
Outmatched in raw power and outmaneuvered in reading the flow of battle, the black mage felt his blood surge to his head at the sight of the Sly Raccoon Main God’s face, which looked ready to burst into laughter at any moment. His heart pounded as though it might explode, and a hollow laugh escaped his lips. “Haha—! I swore I’d never do this again.”
The black mage abandoned any notion of simply displaying his strength and living comfortably in the Divine Realm. If I can’t even scratch the Main God after revealing the full extent of my magic, I might as well have done nothing. More than anything, I can’t stand that condescending, pitying look he’s giving me—like I’m some pathetic animal.
Though the odds of death were extremely high, the black mage resolved to wipe that arrogant smirk off the Main God’s face. “Hey, Main God. Be careful. Even I can’t control this.”
“Hm?” The sudden warning wiped the smile from the Sly Raccoon Main God’s face. He placed his right hand on his forehead and muttered inwardly, Well, if I win, everything will work out somehow. With that rather irresponsible thought, he steadied his breathing and shouted the activation phrase. “Dimensional Divinity—Forced Release!”
A brilliant golden light began to fill the black mage’s eyes, resolve shining within them. This is the first time I’ve used my Dimensional Authority since the duel with Granzoa. Even Granzoa, with her infinite regenerative power, had no answer against my dimensional divinity except endless restoration. If this doesn’t work either, I’ll accept defeat cleanly. Let’s see if you can still smile through this.
Creak—! Whirrr—! Something needle-like slowly emerged from the black mage’s forehead. It appeared in midair without leaving a wound, as though it had teleported—a black needle. “Ghh—!”
A groan escaped him as he fully extracted the finger-sized black needle, slick with blood. “Damn it! I’ve pulled out the control needle again. Why do I have to do this crazy thing once more?”
Gritting his teeth, the black mage gripped the needle and resumed his chant. “Guide of the Origin—!” A flash of light erupted as the black needle expanded dramatically. “Allow me to introduce it to you, Main God of the Divine Realm. This is my magic staff, the Guide of the Origin. It commands ten-circle magic.”
Orders received—! O founder of the Root School. The black metal needle-shaped staff, taller than the black mage himself, spoke with a voice of its own. “It possesses a rudimentary ego and activates the ten-circle magic I have inscribed upon it. The mana storage, as I just demonstrated, is performed here.” The black mage pointed to his own forehead. “Mana is stored in the purest place—the brain. Therefore, the amount of mana stored is equal to my own. The maximum number of activations is three ten-circle spells. Prepared to go berserk, I will use the Guide of the Origin to unleash a sixfold ten-circle chant.”
“Even a sixfold ten-circle chant won’t mean much, will it? My Reality Manipulation renders any divine power below Main God level meaningless.” Despite his words, the Sly Raccoon Main God’s expression tightened slightly, and the translucent artifacts around him faded back into invisibility. “Then why raise your defenses? What’s an invincible Main God with two hundred billion divine power so worried about?”
The black mage’s mana doubled. A being at Main God level with ten billion divine power had become an existence wielding twenty billion. Whoosh—! Without stopping there, he layered a sixfold chant upon his own body. The Sly Raccoon Main God could only watch the process unfold, unable to interfere—thanks to the black mage’s Dimensional Authority. The dimensional barriers he had erected could not be casually breached, even by the Main God’s Reality Manipulation.
Those dimensional barriers are troublesome. If I’m unlucky, I might get blasted straight into the Demon Realm where the demon gods are waiting. Outwardly calm, the Sly Raccoon Main God was inwardly tense. He’s truly difficult to deal with. His Dimensional Authority blocks time reversal, and direct attacks are stopped by the barriers. That makes approaching him nearly impossible. The barriers only drop the moment he launches an attack—and he notices instantly and retreats.
The Sly Raccoon Main God had planned to end the fight with his trump-card artifact the moment the black mage came charging after hurling planets. Yet he had been genuinely surprised when the black mage, showing no visible sign of detecting anything, suddenly planted his spear and withdrew. Is it pure instinct? He must have considerable combat experience.
While analyzing the dimensional barriers, the Main God concluded that observing the black mage’s condition was the best course of action. Meanwhile, the black mage completed his battle stance, teetering on the edge of going berserk. “As I look upon myself, so I am now! As I look upon myself, so I am now! As I look upon myself, so I am now!”
“I forget all favors and carve only grudges into my heart! I forget all favors and carve only grudges into my heart!”
Through the enhancement magic chanted alongside the Guide of the Origin, the black mage’s mana surged past eighty billion. “What—?” The Sly Raccoon Main God’s mouth fell open in disbelief. Boosting mana from twenty billion to eighty billion with enhancement magic? Of course I won’t lose to that level, but this black mage’s abilities are truly astonishing.
Even among the countless powerhouses hidden in the Divine Realm, it was questionable whether anyone besides himself could stop the black mage. “An impressive mana amplification. Still, it’s not enough to defeat me. Are you planning to self-destruct? You can’t possibly contain that much power with a body still based on physical matter.”
Without a perfect divine body, any divine power or mana exceeding several billion would cause collapse. Yet ten mana cores flickered beneath the black mage’s robe, and his entire body visibly broke down and reformed repeatedly. “What? You’re enduring by regenerating your collapsing body? How reckless.”
In reality, the magic staff in the black mage’s hand also radiated mana light, desperately trying to restore his body, but it was clearly struggling. The rate of collapse was outpacing the rate of recovery. “No—! The real show starts now. Divinity Authentication—!”
BOOM—! It sounded as though something had struck the black mage’s head; a thunderous noise rang out as his body was thrown backward. Rumble—! With his head tilted toward the sky, a brilliant golden light erupted from his forehead—the divine power of an extremely refined God of Light. Flash—! Flash flash flash—!
Something began to grow and push outward from beneath his robe. They were wings of light, shining with golden radiance. Whoosh—! Flash—! His black hair turned golden, and light burst from his forehead with the same intensity as his mana cores, blinding everyone’s vision. Whoosh—!
The golden wings beneath the robe multiplied from one pair to two, then steadily increased until they stabilized at a total of twelve pairs. Each pair of golden wings radiated at least ten billion in divine power. “Main God-level wings of light? And pure dimensional wings at that? Come to think of it, you possessed the Dimensional divinity. I forgot because you only showed magic until now.”
A Dimensional God with ten billion divine power posed no threat to a Main God with two hundred billion. “……” Flash flash—! Flash flash flash—! Ignoring the Main God’s nonchalant remark, the black mage reinforced his dimensional barriers, beat his wings, and rose into the air. The Sly Raccoon Main God’s divine power began to concentrate in response. Whoosh—!
He gathered the Reality Manipulation authority he had spread widely to find gaps in the barriers and formed a protective barrier of his own. This is no longer the stage for holding back. With that level of divine power and mana, he must be regarded as equal to an Upper Main God. Even so, the Sly Raccoon Main God spoke in a gentle tone. “Eighty billion mana and ten billion divine power, is it? One mistake and you’ll self-destruct—yet you’re managing to maintain it. You’ve earned the right to claim you’ll destroy the Divine Realm alone. In that case, I suppose I must fight seriously as well.”
At last, the Sly Raccoon Main God grasped the divine artifact he had kept hidden. It’s been a long time since I’ve held this. Not since I fought a demon god one-on-one in the distant past. The black mage, now authenticated as a Main God-level Dimensional God, scattered his wings of light, enveloping the entire space. “Dimensional Net—!”
Flash—! Fwoosh—! In a single instant, a golden radiance bright enough to blind every god erupted, and both the Main God and the black mage vanished simultaneously. “They’re gone!” “I can’t see them!” “Up there!”
The primordial war gods, frantically scanning their surroundings, looked upward following the tremendous presence—and their eyes widened. Whoosh—! Flash flash flash—! A colossal golden net layered itself across the entire sky of the Divine Realm, and within it, two faint figures stood.
The black mage, wings of dimension fully spread, stretched both arms wide and declared, “This is my dimension. All space, time, and matter are under my control. Everything except my own Dimensional Authority is restricted, and only that which benefits me remains.”
The Sly Raccoon Main God was genuinely shocked by the unimaginable scale of the Dimensional Authority. In truth, his own authority—Reality Manipulation—had ceased to function. The domain covered by the Dimensional Net was no longer part of the Divine Realm he ruled. “This is the Dimensional Net! The true power of my Dimensional Authority!”
Now with his dimensional wings gone and only the golden light on his forehead remaining, the black mage quietly closed his eyes. “Within this Dimensional Net, only physical bodies and raw power shall be permitted. Prepare yourself.”
The black mage’s body began to tremble as though caught in a storm. Rumble rumble rumble—! His mana had reached the absolute limit that a Main God-level divine body could contain. Gripping the magic staff overflowing with power beyond its limits, he aimed it at the Main God and prepared his final strike.
The Sly Raccoon Main God sincerely admired the black mage’s strength. “This Dimensional Authority is truly remarkable—! With power like this, why did you end up in a draw with Granzoa?”
“The Dimensional Net is originally an authority of the eleventh circle and beyond. For me, at the tenth circle, there is a time limit. Granzoa endured with her Infinite Restoration. I simply withdrew because I couldn’t afford to die with her.”
“So there really is a time limit. Then why reveal such a weakness?” The Main God couldn’t understand why the black mage would disclose the limitation of his Dimensional Authority. The answer, however, was simple. “Isn’t this a friendly spar?”
“Ah? A spar, right. I got a little excited and almost forgot. But won’t it be a problem if your trump card gets exposed?” Any powerful technique, once known, would have a counter developed against it. That was why the public use of ultimate authorities, magic, and secret arts was strictly avoided. Revealing something as immense as the Dimensional Net—an authority that enforced its own laws—during a public spar should have been unthinkable.
“The Dimensional Net is merely the beginning of my Dimensional Authority. The next stage is already prepared. I simply cannot use it because I haven’t reached the eleventh circle yet.”
“Hah—! In that case, I suppose I must show you as well. The true power of an eleventh-circle Great Main God of the Divine Realm.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” Flash—! Whoosh—! Before anyone realized it, the two translucent artifacts had merged into one, radiating brilliant light in the Sly Raccoon Main God’s hand. The black mage’s Guide of the Origin, unable to contain the mana any longer, released it into space while howling wildly. A smile formed on his lips.
The gods of the Divine Realm I once hated and resented are truly strong. Even with their major authorities sealed, the Main God’s full power seems to have increased instead. The negative feelings he had harbored while watching the Divine Realm ruled by weak goddesses were being washed away. As though a burden had been lifted, an even greater surge of mana erupted from the Guide of the Origin than before. Yes. This is the level it needs to be, or my time of trials would have been meaningless.
Crackle crackle crackle—! The black mage’s target was now the mighty being who wielded such overwhelming divine power—capable of repelling all his divine power and mana—the Main God who governed the Middle World. Whoosh—!
The black mage gripped the Guide of the Origin, now infused with every ounce of his divine power and mana, with both hands and charged forward, aiming to pierce the Main God’s heart. The Main God, in turn, swung his divine artifact down from above toward the black mage’s head. What a fine morning commute this is.