The Eternal Judgment
The Spirit Realm trembled under the deafening roar of collision.
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!
CHIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRK—!
The two hundred incarnations of the Magic God of Dimensions chanted in perfect unison, summoning a barrage of Gigantic Meteors. Massive planets hurtled downward, slamming into the planetary atmosphere of Wind Star where they met the endless ‘chirping’ of countless sparrows. Neither side yielded even an inch.
Some of the incarnations fired divine power blasts between chants, but against spiritual beings, nothing was more effective than aura—the purified vitality of living creatures. The moment those divine blasts pierced the aura barriers, their power plummeted exponentially until they fizzled into nothing.
‘No wonder the Hero is the Demon King’s greatest natural enemy when he invades the Middle World to harvest vitality.’
Aura directly corroded the divine power that linked a spiritual body to its physical form. That was precisely why so many gods trained in aura despite possessing physical bodies. When the creatures of Wind Star layered their aura barriers thousands of times thick, every divine attack became useless—except for the prepared planets teleported directly inside the targets via dimensional shift.
VVVVVVVVVMMMM—!
The eyes of the Origins—who had seized control of the provisional Creator God’s body created by the Magic God of Dimensions—grew increasingly murderous.
‘I can understand now why we were completely annihilated by the Magic God of Dimensions. Even if we concede a hundred times, he’s a monster who once overwhelmed the Tyrant God for a moment and even pressured the combat-type Creator General successor.’
‘But to obtain a body this powerful and still be helplessly pushed back by mere bugs and sparrows… that is utterly unacceptable.’
Yet there was nothing they could do. This body was powerful, but it had been specialized for magic and computational ability. As Origins of the divine race, they could utilize less than half its potential and couldn’t even wield magic themselves. Their combat effectiveness had plummeted.
They felt, to their very bones, why they were barely scraping the level of an Upper Main God by the standards of the 499th Master Universe.
‘Without magic, we can never display the true strength of a provisional Creator God.’
‘Right now, we’re merely repeating the spells that the main body—the Magic God of Dimensions—is chanting through the blood contract.’
Even so, the power was truly exceptional. Although they couldn’t bring out the full combat ability of each individual, the wide-area bombardment was enough to push back the entire planet he called home.
DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM—!
GRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE—!
The greatest weakness of living beings was their poor resistance to the unique authorities of spiritual beings that could strengthen or alter reality itself. While they could never match pure physical force, in long-range bombardment like this, they could never catch up to a Creator God-level mage.
‘We are the central force of the 500th Master Universe—the ones who have prepared for over ten billion years just to oppose him.’
The fact that a mere two hundred of them were now threatening his home planet filled them with uncontrollable ecstasy. Suppressing their rebellious urges, they poured everything into supporting the endless chanting.
The knowledge that even a single direct hit from a Gigantic Meteor inside Wind Star would mean instant destruction only fueled their fervor further.
“Just a little more and we can destroy it!”
“Push harder—! Then we’ll earn the glory of being the ones who destroyed his star!”
The Origins were now passionately encouraging one another and unleashing attacks with genuine zeal. The Magic God of Dimensions could no longer hide the throbbing headache that was splitting his skull.
‘Stop it, you idiots! It’s pointless! Destroying Wind Star is impossible even if the entire Master Universe mobilized all its forces!’
Those who possessed titles received infinite information. After witnessing absolute beings who had fully unlocked their titles eventually lose and get dragged away as insects, he had thoroughly investigated the data. The results were horrifying.
‘The ten Wind Stars are experimental grounds created to once again manifest the eight Absolutes, one Sage, and one Transcendent who were his greatest rivals and inflicted countless defeats upon him.’
The eight Absolutes were living beings, yet they had been strong enough to surpass even Eternal Beings. But there was no way another living creature capable of learning their power—the ‘Secret Arts’ that symbolized their strength—could exist.
That was why Wind Star existed: to gather title-bearers who lacked the qualifications to become Substitute Gods yet overflowed with potential, along with the defeated, and subject them to endless training from insects all the way up to humans.
In other words, any creature on that planet that had managed to become human possessed the qualifications to become the successor of one of the eight Absolutes.
And there were hundreds of millions of such beings on each Wind Star.
If their forces were ever united, they would become a truly terrifying power capable of shaking the very foundations of all order.
Of course, as long as he existed, that would never happen.
‘You brainless fools—! Just fight half-heartedly! Only keep them in check! The true military power of Wind Star rivals the entire Absolute Realm! What the hell do you expect me to do with only two hundred of my clones? This is all a deception to fool the enemy’s eyes—! Please, just take it easy—! Stop provoking them and dragging out powerhouses from Wind Star that we can’t handle! The moment those pigeons watching over there decide to join the fight, it’s game over!’
The pigeons of Wind Star were still judging whether the authority of their own dimension and the title of Origin were worth possessing.
‘Despite their shabby appearances, every single one of them once possessed near-Absolute level authorities before being subjected to Eternal Judgment.’
If one of those pigeons died, all its authorities and titles would be immediately shared with the one who killed it. Naturally, all the accumulated magic power, divine power, and vitality would transfer to the opponent, forcing the loser to start over from the very bottom as a complete insect—while retaining all their sanity.
But the biggest problem was the ‘sharing’ itself.
‘All your cards get completely exposed while you know nothing about your opponent’s hand. How the hell are you supposed to win like that? A battle-crazed martial god who only knows close combat might have a high chance of victory regardless, but a Magic God whose life depends on preparation can never win.’
Therefore, they had no choice but to live as insects, developing new authorities and growing stronger while waiting for the perfect opportunity. The only chance they had was to steal the authorities and divinities of newcomers—just like the bugs and sparrows currently attacking the Magic God of Dimensions—and end up in this miserable state.
‘There’s no way a Magic God can reveal all his magic and authorities on the battlefield and still win against the enemy. It’s absolutely impossible. I have to end this here somehow.’
Desperately, he scoured every corner of Wind Star using his dimensional authority, searching for his targets. The control of the clones had already been replaced through the blood contract anyway. Now that the Origins had realized how screwed they were and were rampaging wildly to draw attention, he had to verify everything as quickly as possible.
“Mayfly confirmed. Mosquito confirmed. Fly confirmed. Cockroach confirmed.”
Even while investigating Wind Star’s ecosystem, a wave of self-loathing washed over him.
‘The Origins with clones are rampaging without a clue, digging their own graves. What the hell am I even doing? If I become an insect, I’ll turn into a mayfly—the shortest-lived creature. On Wind Star, the longer the lifespan within the same lineage, the higher the creature ranks. So if a mayfly defeats a mosquito, it evolves into a mosquito. And if that mosquito is just about to become a fly but loses, it dies and reverts to a mayfly.’
That was why the Magic God of Dimensions was currently identifying every single creature he would have to step on and climb over, stage by stage.
‘Please, just let the weakest ones get caught quickly. We’re running out of time.’
An Absolute-grade Karma Contract is nearly finished adjusting its evaluation.
As expected, the assessment will be the worst possible.
The only reason it is taking longer is because the karma he offered is close to ‘Absolute Good.’
He had to finish all preparations before he was dragged away. Thanks to his desperate efforts, the weakest individuals across various regions of Wind Star had been identified.
‘Organization complete. Roughly one hundred and fifty stages? I have to win every single one in a row to complete the Eternal Judgment. One hundred and fifty consecutive victories against those terrifying things? Who the hell could pass that—!’
No matter how he analyzed it, even if he perfectly utilized his current level with dimensional authority and the title of Origin, he was still only at the level of a sparrow at best. Even the damn pigeons were analyzing him, but as their interest gradually waned, their numbers decreased as they returned to the planet.
Possessing an authority below the transcendent level was nothing but a waste of computational power for beings who held Absolute-grade authorities. Moreover, vitality and divine power obtained from others could never become perfectly one’s own, so corresponding training was required. In the end, they judged there was no value in obtaining it and that it would be a waste of time, so the powerhouses were leaving.
‘It’s a relief that the number of enemies is decreasing, but I can’t help feeling sick to my stomach. There are nearly a hundred stages above me that look down on me with contempt. And even if I somehow manage to win through fierce battles, it’s obvious they’ll all desperately try to trip me up.’
Even he wouldn’t be able to stand by and watch someone else happily escape Wind Star. If he won in a battered state, he would become the perfect prey for the next opponent. In other words, he had to prepare himself to be stabbed in the back the moment he suffered serious injuries after victory.
‘I have to win perfectly.’
Only by satisfying the conditions of ‘One-Hit Kill’ and ‘Complete Victory’ against higher beings that he had failed to achieve even after unlocking his title would he be released.
That was why he was desperately trying to select opponents he could defeat. Fortunately, all preparations for that had been completed, and he had even gained an extra benefit.
‘Target confirmation complete—! I’ve found them all.’
SWISH! SWISHSWISHSWISHSWISH!
The Magic God of Dimensions began marking the surface of Wind Star with glowing points of light. They were the beings he had confirmed through his dimensional authority as ones he had a chance of defeating. He verified their appearances one by one through visual projection and applied blood authentication through magic.
The incarnations of the Magic God of Dimensions, who had been pointlessly clashing with the bugs and sparrows, finally seemed to notice the situation and switched to containment tactics.
‘Yes—! Just stay like that.’
Still, they were Origins. Their capabilities and adaptability proved that even a rotten fish was still a fish—they were certainly better than the Main Gods of the Spirit Realm. If they weren’t, the contingency plan wouldn’t have worked in the first place.
‘Now it’s time to make them abandon the Origin authority they possess beyond their divinity.’
Originally, their abilities weren’t weak enough to be annihilated like this. However, the Creator of the 500th Master Universe had imposed enormous additional restrictions on them to focus all power on the Tyrant God and the Divine Realm Guardian God. As a result, the Origins had paradoxically grown weaker—an extremely bizarre situation.
“Transfer the Origin authority to your successors.”
“Kuh—!”
“Ugh—!”
Groans erupted from all around.
‘It’s only natural they would hesitate. After all, this is an order to abandon the absolute power that comes with being an Origin of the divine race.’
However, now that they had experienced operating his body after the restrictions were lifted, they must have realized it by now. They must have understood why they had been so weak. And they must have realized why the Origins had been restricted so heavily that even the Demon God race couldn’t touch them.
Simply by obtaining a new body, they had become nearly ten times stronger. The burden placed on the Origin body itself had been reduced by more than half. At that level, they could now fight fiercely against sparrows who were nearly fifty stages above them—creatures that the bugs of Wind Star originally couldn’t even handle.
‘This isn’t our problem. It’s because of the position and role of being an Origin of the 500th Master Universe.’
‘The Origins have been shouldering the burden of supporting the entire Divine Realm in place of the abnormally concentrated divine power and authorities of the Tyrant Gods and Divine Realm Guardian Gods.’
In the 499th Master Universe, the Origins were free except for the duty to develop and strengthen the Divine Realm. All the burden was carried by the Divine Realm Management Main Gods, who controlled and operated all divine realms and the Middle World.
But in the backward 500th Master Universe, there were no management gods specialized and professionalized in operating the Divine Realm. Therefore, the strongest and most outstanding Origins had no choice but to bear everything.
‘It was operated at the very limit, on such a precarious line that we never noticed it during normal times.’
‘But on the battlefield, where maximum output beyond limits and extreme situational judgment were required, it finally collapsed and led to total annihilation.’
The oldest Origin spoke with great difficulty, sending his will.
The target, of course, was not him but the 500th Creator General.
“O Creator General of ours. Did you already know our condition? Is that why you never invoked your absolute command authority despite our frequent insubordination and tolerated everything? Even when we acted disgracefully, you pitied us because we had already been sacrificed for the sake of the entire Divine Realm? Did you wish for us to be happy, even if only for a moment, in the illusion that we were respected?”
“……”
“So the price of our strength was nothing but political games. And we thought that was all? We believed it was the reward given to us for winning that brutal war. But it turns out it was a forced labor camp even more horrific than your ‘Divine Spirit Purgatory.’”
“……”
To the Origins, the Creator General could never speak falsehoods. His silence was affirmation.
The expressions of the Origins, who had been pushing back the bugs and sparrows of Wind Star while initiating parallel divine power connection, gradually turned blank.
VVVVVVVVVMMMM—!
The will of the divine race’s Origins, filled with bitter sorrow, continued.
“The potential of every Master Universe is the same. Looking at the 499th Master Universe, the divine power that we Origins of the divine race—who rule the Master Universe—should originally possess is over five hundred billion. Yet we remained at one hundred billion, the level we had when we first ascended to Origin, because the Divine Realm had taken all the grown divine power. I have no complaints about that. Everyone is making that much of a sacrifice. However, to resurrect us who originally possessed five hundred billion divine power, at least five hundred billion is required, and full restoration would demand five trillion. In that case, forcing us into eternal pension as spiritual beings would be the correct answer. But since that would cause severe backlash, extracting only the Origin authority is the right choice. If transferred to a successor, we would retreat for a while but recover again. And they would listen well, too. So were you planning to annihilate us together without even saving us? Is this the price for helping you create the current Divine Realm? If that’s the case, why didn’t you just purge only us the moment the war ended?”
“……”
The Creator General’s face twisted in agony, and the face of the Creator General’s successor flushed bright red.
The Origins spoke as if they had all made sacrifices, but they had constantly obstructed things under the pretext of protecting their own dignity and clans during Divine Realm operations. If he hadn’t been burdened with the full operation of the Divine Realm, he would have purged them hundreds of times already. Yet they had already forgotten all that and were now singing the tune of pitiful victims.
Just as furious words were about to burst from the mouth of the still-young successor, a cold sneer erupted from elsewhere.
“Kak—! Shut your mouths already. You incompetent, ugly old bastards only have working tongues, which is why you were used and then discarded. It’s only natural to be thrown in the trash when you’re old or useless. Abandon the thought that you alone are special—! If you didn’t want to end up like this, you should have shown the means to cope or at least the possibility. That is the only way to be chosen and survive. Your fate was decided the moment you arrogantly believed—without any basis—that you were better than others.”
“Are you any different? You swore loyalty, but do you have the confidence that you won’t end up like this when you become useless and burdensome?”
The Origins who had flared up suppressed their anger and shot back.
The body granted by the Magic God of Dimensions and the future he had shown them were already greater than the grudge they held for having their original bodies killed and reduced to this state. No—if they couldn’t suppress their emotions now, it would truly be the end. That sense of crisis dominated them.
They had thought being killed and imprisoned in the Divine Spirit Purgatory was the worst, but an even deeper, bottomless despair had already been established long before that.
“Didn’t you promise? That you would share everything of the Creator God King of Dimensions with those who devoted their loyalty and accumulated achievements.”
“That promise was confirmed several times in the past. Yet in the end, this is what we get.”
The oath and reward they had received when they first became Origins and met the Creator General came to mind.
‘As long as you devote yourselves to the Divine Realm, I shall grant you eternal glory and prosperity.’
They had faced countless crises while fighting desperately against the demon race, but they had lived believing in that promise. Yet the moment the situation changed even slightly, this was the miserable expulsion and end they received.
Then the Magic God of Dimensions shouted with an extremely furious expression.
“Shut up—! You old bastards who only know how to flap your gums. Do not compare my contract to such empty sweet talk that holds neither restrictions nor value. I staked my entire karma, which has nearly reached ‘Absolute Good.’ Do you even know how hard I worked to raise that karma? That is why my Karma Contract is more absolute than the promise of your Creator General.”
All matters shall be postponed until after the 'Eternal Judgment'.
Additional contracts with one who is to become an insect on Wind Star are meaningless.
All rights are revoked until the subject once again qualifies as a human.
At that moment, the rainbow-colored Karma Contract tore apart the golden Karma Contract.
Between the shattered fragments of the Karma Contract, the dumbfounded faces of the Magic God of Dimensions and the Origins crossed paths.
A faint human figure rose upon the Absolute-grade Karma Contract. The contract now declared in a voice so solemn it seemed to convey emotion.
“All matters shall be postponed until after the ‘Eternal Judgment.’ Additional contracts with one who is to become an insect on Wind Star are meaningless. All rights are revoked until the subject once again qualifies as a human.”
However, the Magic God of Dimensions rudely spat toward the Absolute-grade Karma Contract and continued speaking.
“Ptui—! Not yet, you can’t do that—! Since it’s already over at this rate, let’s go all the way. Did you think I would just roll over and take it? Then all the gods, demon gods, and living beings I’ve killed so far died for nothing—!”
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!
Anticipating intervention, he had reactivated all of his dimensional time-reversal and space-expansion authorities at full power, delaying the verdict.
“Eat this again. This is ‘Dimension’—the fusion authority of transcendent-grade time and space that you Absolute Realm bastards look down on so much.”
It was similar in type to the Absolute-grade Karma Contract that appeared when requested from numerous worlds, but the completely opposite time-related authority collided with it, causing an extremely violent spacetime collision phenomenon.
Staring at that spacetime collision, the Magic God of Dimensions—who had mobilized all his computational power to finish his calculations—shouted.
“At most one minute—! All conditions will be met. There’s no time left. I’ve already sent the targets and the operation plan. Only those who have given up the Origin authority charge forward. The rest who gave it up, hold the line here. I will at least release you as spiritual beings.”
“……”
HAHAHAHA—!
The moment those words left his mouth, the Magic God of Dimensions began charging forward so fiercely that the Origins were momentarily rendered speechless.
The Absolute-grade Karma Contract that turned anything it touched into insects and the dimensional authority collided, placing him at the center of the spacetime collision phenomenon. Beyond it, Wind Star could be seen sending ferocious hostility as if its hive had been poked.
And with a cry that mixed screams and battle roars, he threw his body into that collision.
“KUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAH—!”
FWAAAAAAAASH—!
For an instant the spacetime collision phenomenon shook violently, then vanished in the blink of an eye. All that remained was the Absolute-grade Karma Contract.
The Karma Contract floating above the space where the Magic God of Dimensions had been emitted its will.
In the end, the Eternal Judgment was carried out upon the Magic God of Dimensions.