The Wind Family's Brutal Education
The Magic God of Dimensions remained suspended in the air, the Sword of Ruin and Soul still buried in his forehead, as he began to spin. Grrrrrrrrrr—!Whiiiiiiiiiing—! It was the Wind Family’s signature method of forced training. The technique heightened one’s computational power while inflicting precisely equivalent agony. Because he was a Magic God, they were focusing the ordeal on raising his calculation abilities to the limit.
The sight was familiar, yet one he never wished to experience again. Grey recoiled a step without realizing it.
Unlike when it was done to me, he’s lifting him fully into the air and spinning him like a top. He must be truly determined this time. It makes sense—the current Magic God of Dimensions is far too weak. No matter how much assistance we provide, the probability of failure remains overwhelmingly high. We must strengthen him by any means necessary to improve our chances of victory.
Yet even though he knew the order he had just given was essential for victory, watching the man resist with such desperate ferocity drew a deeper sigh from Grey’s lips.
“Kuuuuurgh—! Aaaaagh—! I won’t do it—! I can’t—! This is my divine life! Keeeaaack—! Please, stop—! Uuurgh—! Bleeegh—!”
Even as the forced acceleration tore through his brain like a storm, the Magic God of Dimensions continued to resist. The Origin of the Mage God watched him with the weary eyes of someone who had seen it all before and spoke as if to himself.
“Yes, they all start that way. They claim they want to live true to their emotions and desires, only to be beaten half to death without end until reality’s trials finally restore their reason. We have no time, so I will administer the trial personally. And what of this so-called ‘new divine life’? In the end, even if it’s somewhat lacking, you simply live contentedly and happily. So where does this nonsense about seeking perfection come from, when you don’t even know your place? Are you so perfect? A mere low-level warrior in the Absolute Realm—!”
“Ueeeaaagh—! Ueeeaaagh—!”
“Damn it! We haven’t even properly begun and he’s already passed out? What a pathetic wretch—!”
Thud!
Unable to endure the forcibly accelerated computational power, the Magic God of Dimensions finally vomited everything within him and collapsed. The Origin of the Mage God tossed him to the floor with a look of utter disdain, then rolled both sleeves up past his elbows. Seeing him prepare in earnest, Grey stepped forward. After all, this was his past self; he felt he ought to intervene. The pain being inflicted was not something a Creator Candidate from the Main Universe could withstand.
“The Magic God of Dimensions is still young. It may be more effective to coax him gently.”
“Heh heh—! You must discipline them thoroughly while they’re young so things are easier later. If I had laid a hand on my grandson when he was small, matters would have gone far more smoothly. But he stubbornly resisted, so when he finally became an adult the first time was brutal. Even my direct descendant—who once shouted about opposing violence—ended up taking up the rod after several days of persuasion when his own descendant refused to train, broke the rules, and only wanted to play. With me, my father, and our grandfathers all watching that scene, there was simply no other choice. My grandson lasted over a thousand years claiming adulthood before he finally surrendered. I wonder how many years this one will endure? It wastes a great deal of power and vitality, but the power of dimensions is useful at times like this. Time Manipulation—!”
Vwoooong—!
Watching him use the power of dimensions to forcibly slow time within the space containing both himself and the Magic God of Dimensions, Grey offered the latter a solemn moment of condolence. He truly meant to see this through to the end. The Wind Family’s education was infamous, after all. It went without saying that every being who survived it reached the absolute level or beyond. Though the personalities that resulted were another matter entirely.
“I wish you luck. I will go finish my own preparations.”
“You had best hurry and ready the rest as well. The enemy is formidable. In a direct confrontation, even I cannot guarantee a draw. Can you manage it?”
“I am ‘Grey’ of the 10 Mainstays. The self-destruction during the ranking war was necessary for this endeavor. I would never allow myself to be defeated so meaninglessly. Everything was merely groundwork for this contract. The result was the complete annihilation of the other clans that posed the greatest obstacle to Lord Yuil Yongsinje. Now all that remains is to put a few scratches on the Black Flame Absolute’s physical abilities and the supreme power of the Golden Absolute’s Golden Immutability. Since the ranking war has concluded, I cannot intervene directly, but my past self will handle the preparations and execution. Even if the enemy refuses, they will have no choice but to suffer it. Grey does not devise schemes that can be avoided or that fail.”
His tone brimmed with boundless pride. These were the words of Grey, who managed every hidden facet among the 10 Mainstays that remained unseen by the world. The Origin of the Mage God smiled, seemingly satisfied.
“Heh heh heh—! As the Origin of the Mage God, I am reassured. Since results are everything, we shall see it then.”
This reckless tendency to charge forward endlessly despite being unable to match the opponent in fair one-on-one combat was something both he and his grandfather found endearing.
Honestly, the probability of this matter succeeding perfectly is nearly zero. The decisive battle against the Black Flame Absolute is a trial burdensome even for me.
The ability known as Always Coin Heads, which grasped and crushed the essence of things without the slightest effort, was hated by all as the ultimate form of a management god. The notion of challenging it with schemes and traps was fascinating in itself. Still, since the man was handling it personally and had even accepted self-destruction to bring things this far, the investment required was negligible. They had decided to entrust it to him. Yet it seemed an unexpected jackpot was about to burst forth. If that jackpot had been led by the Magic Gods for whom he served as Origin, it would be a truly joyous thing. This was the reward of being an Origin, and it helped him understand why the grandfathers who held the same role for other lineages worked so tirelessly.
“Heh—! And you were Lord Grey. The leader of all management gods and the strongest Magic God. The Wind Family and I hold high expectations for your success. That is why we do not mind such troubles. Seize the hegemony of the Absolute Realm from those arrogant Eight Absolutes and their Golden. Raise my grandfather, Lord Yuil Yongsinje, to the first rank. Without fail—!”
“Leave it to me. I will show you why Grey is the natural enemy of Golden. I will deliver a result to the ranking war entirely different from anything seen before.”
“Heh heh—! Yes. That is how it should be. Otherwise there would be no reason for me to intervene in the present world. Then I suppose I shall properly begin the education after so long. I hope you endure for a good while, as befits a Magic God.”
Drag—!
Still caught by one foot, the Magic God of Dimensions was dragged into the dimensional space. Grey clicked his tongue at the sight, then moved toward the Creator Divine Realm. All of this had taken place before the Almighty Hwi notified the Dimensional Divine Realm of the Main God King’s decisive battle.
And the ranking war among the 10 Mainstays was unfolding in a completely different manner. Yuil Yongsinje, who had avoided Grey’s self-destruction and remained unscathed, was driving back and eliminating the clans of the other eight Absolutes who had suffered fatal wounds. The injured Eight Absolutes had united to hold their ground and recover.
Since these were not their true bodies but incarnations, the fighting spirit they displayed at its utmost limit manifested as a rainbow-colored giant dragon. When Yuil Yongsinje unleashed consecutive wide-area breaths, the other Eight Absolutes and their clans combined their strength to block them. When he attempted to close the distance for melee combat while clad in the Dragon Scale Armor that had once boasted the strongest defense in the Absolute Realm, the Black Flame Absolute charged in with even more powerful black-flame fighting spirit. Every other use of authority was being nullified by Golden and the remaining Absolutes.
In truth, it should have been a narrow defeat.
It is only this even because the Eight Absolutes were wounded by Grey’s self-destruction.
While all the clans were routed from the battlefield and a one-against-eight fierce battle unfolded in a tense deadlock, the two Origins of the Wind Family who had been observing from behind exchanged sighs and conversation.
They were the Origin of the Wind Family’s Divine Race and the Origin of the Demon God Race. These two served as the family heads representing the Wind Family and effectively oversaw all its affairs. As always, they spoke while letting out heavy sighs.
“Huu—! They truly are monsters, aren’t they? In terms of pure combat power alone, they have already surpassed the past Eight Absolutes. Still, if they were using their main bodies currently sealed in the Eight Ring Seal, there is no way he would be struggling this much to suppress them. It is simply astounding.”
“What can we do? They are the seeds he himself planted, so he ordered us to suppress them personally. Moreover, we are more at fault for failing to stop them when they were tempted by talk of independence.”
“Exactly. Why did Grandfather Truth do something he had been warned against because he could not win? There is no way he could defeat the past Eight Absolutes alone with only half his power.”
“It was merely the impulsiveness of youth, was it not? Even though everyone said it was impossible, he believed he could do it. He claimed that if Grandfather Truth could accomplish it, there was no reason his own son could not, and that he would achieve independence through this. We are also greatly at fault for being swayed by those words. We never imagined that the combined assault of all Eight Absolutes was a formation meant to confront an Eternal Being. Still, because it was a body without a soul, they were able to charge in together and barely manage to seal it.”
“Thanks to that, we all received the restriction that we must not intervene in reality—with the sole exception that if we become Origins and accumulate sufficient achievements, we may participate.”
“What I still cannot understand about Grandfather Truth is why he only suppressed the past Eight Absolutes without completely erasing them, choosing instead to preserve their bodies in a state of soul annihilation.”
At those words, the Origin of the Divine Race gave a bitter smile and spoke softly. He remembered vividly the time of the Absolute Great War, when the past 10 Mainstays—including the Eight Absolutes who had grown weary of eternal life and gone mad, and Truth—had clashed. He had run about desperately to contain the fallout. The image of Grandfather Truth fighting not with hatred for the enemy but only with sorrow was the same as now.
“Did you not know? Well, you had not yet been born at the time, and only the records were preserved, so it may not feel real to you. The past Eight Absolutes were the shared teachers of Grandfather Truth. Until the human souls grew exhausted by the passage of eternity and stood on the brink of madness, they shared an exceedingly good relationship of trust. Even while fighting desperately against them after they fell into madness and sought to destroy the Absolute Realm, whenever their minds occasionally returned, that relationship remained intact. The current appearance of Grandfather Truth as a human adolescent is a memory from that era.”
“Human memories? Are they worth reducing his own abilities? Grandfather Truth is originally an Eternal Being, yet he lowers himself to maintain that form as a living creature.”
“I do not fully understand it either. But are we not doing the same?”
The forms they presented to the outside world were all nearly identical. It was the appearance they had possessed when the training begun in childhood ended and they were recognized as adults. The uncontrollable joy and emotion of that moment—after passing through the most difficult period—preserved their bodies in that state.
The reason every member of the Wind Family maintains the body from that time is to permanently preserve those memories.
What remained were memories of joy. What had been lost was the pain required to obtain that joy. Turning a difficult past into a cherished memory was the greatest blessing granted to them as blood kin of Grandfather Truth. It was a privilege that spiritual beings, who were forced to carry perfectly complete memories for all eternity, could never possess.
As they lingered for a moment in those beautified memories, the Origin of the Demon God Race—his own direct descendant—made an apologetic face and delivered an additional report.
“However, there is yet another child who refuses a formal marriage and declares they will seek personal freedom and independence… I am ashamed. The report has come up that even his father could not persuade him.”
“Again—! If the father cannot, the grandfather steps forward. If that still fails, the great-grandfather intervenes. If even he cannot, send the child into Grandfather Truth’s personal training. How dare a mere child whose only strength is power try to act as he pleases? We are the Wind Family. As the bloodline of Truth, we are the clan that divides the Otherworld and the Boundary while protecting the present under the precepts of non-killing, non-entanglement, and non-love. Unless one becomes an Origin, personal actions are absolutely not tolerated.”
“The child who became the Origin of the Mage God handled this sort of education particularly well. But these days he is suddenly so busy that it is difficult to speak with him.”
“The one who was beaten the most becomes the one who strikes the best. That fellow was truly vicious. He endured until he learned the truth, after all. He is currently educating the Magic God of Dimensions, so we must make him finish quickly and return. Sigh… must I step forward personally?”
It was the Origin of the Divine Race who could not hide his bitter expression as old memories resurfaced.