The Otherworld War Was Not the End

The war in the Otherworld was not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the end. Though they could not compare to the main god of the Giant Tribe, higher-ranking giants whose heights spanned several kilometers now appeared below them. The gods’ expressions tightened with sudden tension.

Although the precondition of being on a planet exists, the Giant Tribe’s trait of receiving near-infinite vitality support registers them as above First Circle. Their military strength must therefore be evaluated as equivalent to twelve Creator Gods and the forces of the main gods.

I don’t know what method they’re using, but even though ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this is the Divine Realm and not the planet’s surface, their oppressive presence already surpasses that of ordinary main gods.

Above them, a golden parchment radiating brilliant light materialized. It was a perfect Creator God-level Karma Contract, emitting such intense radiance that even main gods could not look at it directly. This was only natural; the contract stood between the Magic God of Dimensions, who had ascended beyond Creator God rank, and the main gods of the Giant Tribe who had obtained new bodies and returned from death.

The Karma Contract, having announced its rank through pure light, began transmitting the text written upon its surface in rapid succession.

Both the gods and the giants were stunned by the Karma Contract that had defined the twelve main gods of the Giant Tribe and every last one of the thousand higher giants as the weaker party relative to the Magic God of Dimensions. They had never seen the protection clause for the weak written with such merciless thoroughness.

Yet the Magic God of Dimensions signed the revised contract without hesitation, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. He had seen similar terms many times before; there was nothing remarkable about them. The only difference now was that he stood in the position of the strong who would be checked by others, rather than the weak who received protection.

Still, one entirely new clause caught his eye.

Suggestions for emergency adjustments to the Cyber Realm and Absolute Realm? You want to meddle that badly? Help that offers nothing but interference is never welcome. Kkklk—! Well, I no longer need to watch my back. Since the 10 Mainstays of the Absolute Realm are involved, anything below them isn’t even worth noticing.

His thoughts grew complicated once more, but there was far too much to do and time was strictly limited. Any hesitation and the hierarchy war would end, after which Gold—who would have claimed first place among the 10 Mainstays—would come personally to deliver Truth’s command and test his qualifications. It went without saying that Gold, master ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of law, and Grey, master of rules outside law, were bitter enemies. Even during the era of the eight Absolutes, one Transcendental, and one Sage, the clashes between Grey and Gold had been legendary. Later their hostility had surpassed even that of the Black Flame, the very incarnation of combat instinct, ultimately becoming the catalyst that gave birth to Truth.

The current Gold, fully aware of that history, would never treat Grey kindly. In the worst case, he would be dragged off to Gold’s Wind Star and turned into an insect, and this time there would be no escape. Gold’s Wind Star had already been completed long ago; the loopholes that had worked on the Black Flame’s Wind Star would be useless. Worse, the Gold Clan primarily wielded law—an element completely incompatible with magic. Unless one stood at equal or higher rank, confrontation was impossible. Ascension without using the Black Flame’s vitality, which surpassed even magic power, could not occur, yet the Authority of Black Flame was the polar opposite of computational power. The restrictions were simply too great for a Magic God to wield it completely.

“I accept.”

“I agree.”

“I acknowledge.”

The main gods of the Giant Tribe, who had once stood superior but were now defined as complete weaklings, hesitated briefly in confusion. Yet there was no loss to be found, so they signed the contract.

Because members of the Giant Tribe could not sit in seats designed for normal human-sized administrative main gods of the Divine Realm, they watched from the air above—and were stunned.

At the seat of honor, the Magic God of Dimensions had taken his place and activated magic that was transforming the entire Main God Hall. The gods possessed ranks, but they did not maintain the perfect hierarchical system of the demon race. Those of equal rank were comrades. Thus the seats of the Round Table’s Divine Realm administrative main gods and the highest administrative main gods had formed overlapping circles surrounding the seat of glory.

The Magic God of Dimensions had twisted that principle.

“The road ahead is long, and the situation is far too urgent. I will clearly establish who stands above and who stands below. If you cannot accept it, fight and prove yourselves.”

Uuuuuuuung—!

The entire Main God Hall vibrated as the circular seating rearranged itself. The eyes of the giants watching from above widened. Instead of overlapping circles surrounding the glorious seat of the Main God of the Divine Realm, the arrangement had become a spiral. Moreover, floating rank markers now clearly displayed each position.

He had twisted the demon race’s perfect hierarchy system to create ranking even among those of the same grade. The rank table and seats would now tell everyone exactly who stood above and who stood below.

The gods naturally found it difficult to accept, but what shocked them most was their own placement. Since they now possessed physical bodies, ordinary main gods were no match for them. It was understandable that Shuddering March—an upper demon possessing two transcendent authorities and a creator-god-level combatant—occupied the lowest seat among the ten Round Table administrative main gods.

It was also understandable that Gaiana of the Almighty Race, formerly one of the ruling powers, had taken the seat of highest administrative main god.

But after her came a spirit goddess possessing a single magic and another large spirit goddess. Then fourteen goddesses in total, followed by the phantom beast gods and spirit gods from the Otherworld. Even after all of them, the giants’ own seats had not yet appeared.

A male main god clutching a thick book—as if advertising his title as the God of Knowledge—sat with his mouth hanging open in utter disbelief. Surprisingly, there was also one goddess at the main god level. Only then did the names of the main gods of the Giant Tribe finally begin to appear.

First, the Magic God of Dimensions. Second, Shuddering March. Third, Gaiana of the Almighty Race. Fourth, Lokina the Lord of the Flipside. Fifth, Hephais. Sixth, Granraha. The original goddesses of the Divine Realm occupied positions up to seventeenth.

The Otherworld phantom beast gods and spirit gods filled the ranks up to twenty-seventh. The male main god sat at twenty-eighth, and—unusually—a goddess at main god level held twenty-ninth.

Which meant the main gods of the Giant Tribe were ranked thirtieth and below.

At last the short-tempered main gods of the Giant Tribe stomped their feet violently, shaking the entire Divine Realm.

Kwa-kwa-kwang—!

“This is nonsense—! We, the main gods of the Giant Tribe, whose pure combat power cannot be compared to main gods of equal rank! Even off a planet’s surface we would never lose! Yet in a hierarchy of mere main gods—not even Creator Gods—we rank only thirtieth and below? You think we will tolerate this? Hoooooo—!”

Urrrrrrrrr—!

Kwaaaaaaaaang—!

Materialized fighting spirit and killing intent roared like thunder. The auras belonged to the goddesses ranked within the top thirty, who were furious at a hierarchy they could not comprehend despite its clarity.

“Wh-what is this? Killing intent and fighting spirit that materializes and surpasses even the demon race? How can such beings be gods? Did they fall and simply fail to become demons?”

“Why do all these main gods possess transcendent-level authorities? Twenty of them?”

“Then if their divine power increases any further, they’ll surpass Creator God rank—!”

“Is this why the contractor couldn’t handle them and forcibly revived us?”

“Even we cannot handle more than two at once.”

“Their combat ability is equal to or greater than our own.”

Given the gods’ characteristic of possessing power sources incomparably faster than the Giant Tribe, they would be impossible to match. Above all, the killing intent and fighting spirit they emanated were on a level the giants—who had waged war against the gods for eons—had never witnessed.

The atmosphere as the goddesses revealed their true colors was the pinnacle of savagery. Those small-bodied goddesses were overwhelmingly suppressing even the absurdly colossal main gods of the Giant Tribe.

Watching the scene, Shuddering March could not stop laughing with genuine delight.

Even in the Demon Realm, beings whose materialized killing intent and fighting spirit can summon lightning that tears space itself are almost nonexistent. It is an abnormal phenomenon only a transcendent warrior who has survived countless battlefields can achieve.

If developed further, materialized killing intent and fighting spirit would become an authority capable of ripping space ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠apart, shattering powers, and annihilating the opponent. Combat ability would explode without consuming any divine power or vitality whatsoever.

Even I, who once ruled the upper echelons of the Demon Realm, only reached that level of fighting spirit right before my destruction. What’s interesting is that this trait is nearly unique to the demon race.

Materializing killing intent and fighting spirit to explosively amplify one’s power was magic in nature. For gods who pursued stability and prosperity, it was naturally extremely difficult to master. Yet here, more than ten goddesses were displaying clear signs of it.

To think that the rare incarnations of struggle—even within the Demon Realm—are gathered together in a single divine realm. How truly thrilling.

Of course she knew their identities.

How could I not recognize a name so notorious even in the Demon Realm?

In the chaotic early days when ruling powers shifted, they had driven out incompetent male gods, seized control of the Divine Realm, and nearly reduced the Main Divine Realm to ashes—the infamous Goddess Alliance. During an era already thrown into turmoil by the change of rulers, they had ignited even greater war by declaring male and female superiority, ultimately causing the destruction of both the Divine Realm and its planet. As punishment they had been exiled to the Spirit Realm.

They somehow survived without self-destructing. Impressive.

It was truly delightful that such powerhouses lurked within the very divine realm now under the Magic God of Dimensions.

The offer of the highest creator-god-level administrative main god seat in the Divine Realm, complete regeneration, and the condition that I would not participate in battles against the demon race had been more than worth accepting for someone like me—who had been quietly awaiting extinction with the scant vitality left from limited resurrection.

She had hesitated because the position of administrative main god sounded boring and quiet, but the next words had been decisive.

You need not worry about boredom. The goddesses who formed the core of the former Goddess Alliance are currently serving as administrative main gods of the Divine Realm. Preventing their internal conflicts will keep you extremely busy.

During the Main God War that reorganized the ruling powers of the Divine Realm, the prospect of facing the battle goddesses of the Goddess Alliance—who had been more notorious and powerful than the demon race—had been so exciting that she had answered the Karma Contract.

And seeing them in person, they exceeded even her expectations.

“Ohhohohohohohohot—! So it really is true. The main pillars of the Goddess Alliance, who once dyed the Main Divine Realm red with the blood of male gods during the Main God War, are all gathered here. What an incredible realm of killing intent and fighting spirit—! Even without becoming demons, simply changing their affiliation to the Demon Realm would earn them instant recognition. How very like the battle and blood goddesses said to be more cruel and powerful than ordinary demons. Still, with this level of combat ability and temperament? No wonder the contractor suffers headaches because of the lower main gods. They are too valuable to throw away, yet too ill-natured to use properly—a true bundle of troubles. In the Demon Realm one could simply crush them with absolute strength, but the Divine Realm requires some measure of enlightenment. That won’t work, will it? Yet what can a magic god with neither clan nor background do? To even maintain control, he has no choice but to treat them well. What a pitiful Main God of the Divine Realm. Ohhohoho—!”

“…That is not me. I am always prepared to endure and sacrifice for the sake of the Divine Realm and its Main God.”

Yet Gaiana now lowered her head with an expression of complete resignation.

Shuddering March was slightly surprised to see Gaiana sitting right beside her. For an ordinary main god to be evaluated as comparable to her was impossible, yet the assessment seemed accurate. She examined the goddess more closely, and the result was astonishing.

“Ara ara? A goddess of the Almighty Race? I heard your people were wiped out in the war against them. To think a high-ranking goddess survived? I thought all high gods had their circles of divine power destroyed in the clash with Truth and were sealed away. Even if you somehow remained intact, there is no way they would send such a precious goddess—not even at main god level—to an external divine realm. You’re not ignoring a recall order, are you? Even external affiliation cannot completely override a clan’s command. Or did you receive a secret order to turn this place into the Almighty Race’s new stronghold? Well, with no background or forces, and for a human-born god, a highest creator god level is simply too valuable a treasure. The Creator Gods would never leave it alone.”

“That’s not true—!”

Gaiana frantically denied the sudden accusation of espionage, but Shuddering March only pressed harder. Originally, unless one was an administrative god, no deity could possibly match a demon in verbal combat.

“Hohoh—! It will definitely turn out that way. I know the ‘Sage of Omniscience,’ the reserve Demon King of the Almighty Clan, quite well. She was a ruthless woman who even accepted becoming a demon for her race’s sake. She took in surviving members of the Almighty Race, modified their demonic nature, and became a holy demon—after eliminating every demon who opposed her, of course. Yet you claim you would ignore a brand-new highest creator god level that would overflow even the central divine realm of the ruling gods of the main universe? With a high-ranking goddess present not as a partner but merely as a representative? Wouldn’t they pour in additional forces to seize the entire realm or at least secure a stake? To the demon race it is only natural survival competition. To the gods it is an unavoidable sacrifice for the greater whole. It is the unstoppable flow of an organization that no individual can halt. If you try to stop it, you must be prepared for isolation even at the cost of your life. But you don’t seem to possess that kind of ruthless resolve, do you? I wonder if you’re prepared?”

“…….”