The Throne's True Weight
Crack—! Crunch—! The Dimensional Mage God twisted his bones and muscles with loud, violent snaps until everything settled back into place. He inspected his body. The recovery was so perfect and swift that even he found it absurd.
‘No matter how much he held back, that was an attack from one of the 10 Mainstays—Grey Absolute.’ In the past, he would have needed a long period of recuperation, yet now he possessed regenerative and defensive power comparable to the full activation of the Origin title, if not quite equal to it. Above all, obtaining Eternal Chanting—however clumsily—had been the decisive factor.
‘Now that I can chant even while engaged in close combat, it’s fair to say my strength has risen dramatically.’ He was confident he could fight the successor of the Creator General from the 500th Master Universe—the same being he had faced during the Spirit Realm defense war—without falling behind.
‘If I hadn’t reached at least this level, there would have been no point enduring that hellish training.’ The mere memory made him shudder. In reality, only about five minutes had passed, but inside the time-dilated space he had lived through nearly thirty thousand years. The forced training had been conducted under the promise that he would be taught the absolute authority known as Eternal Chanting to compensate for his deficient close-combat skills.
‘Originally, one was supposed to receive detailed explanations and train step by step, but the Origin of the Mage God knew all too well that the protagonist lacked the talent to learn anything gently. So he simply crammed it into him.’ After engraving only the basic concept of Eternal Chanting, the Origin had forced him to activate it and block attacks. Of course, he failed repeatedly, but once the number of times he was shattered without even managing the activation surpassed hundreds of millions and entered the trillions, his own version of Eternal Chanting finally manifested.
It was far inferior to the original, yet when defending against higher beings it displayed comparable power. Naturally, this would have been impossible without the Origin title, which guaranteed infinite vitality as long as fighting spirit remained, and the Dimensional Authority, which allowed him to construct a world most advantageous to himself. Even the divine power and mana he had used to withstand the Origin of the Mage God’s relentless assaults had risen to astonishing levels.
‘If any ordinary Creator God dared to look down on me now and attack, I could grind them into dust.’ He could finally call himself a powerhouse, yet the moment he confirmed Almighty Hwi beyond the screen, his enthusiasm deflated. Just as the bait—himself—had grown stronger, so had the lure. He still could not confidently say he could defeat Hwi in a fair fight. Nor did he feel he would lose. The situation was simply vexing.
He had expected this, but now that it was happening, irritation surged. ‘Damn it—what the hell are those faint but complete wings of light? Twenty-six pairs? That means he’s a full Creator God. He couldn’t have passed the certification match against the Sage of Omniscience, who shares the same tribe and has mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Founders, so did the other Creator Gods give special treatment to the origin of the Almighty God Tribe? Is that why he needed sixteen trillion vitality? He must have scattered quite a lot around him. How is an unacknowledged Mage God supposed to live without feeling wronged?’
Grumbling, he spread his own twenty-six pairs of wings. Though only thirteen pairs were true wings of light—insufficient for official Creator God recognition—he had filled the translucent ones with mana, creating a complete set of twenty-six pitch-black, shining wings. Their power was naturally inferior to that of a Saint Demon God who could fuse divine power and mana, yet it was still far beyond what ordinary Creator Candidates could hope to challenge. Thanks to being beaten senseless for thirty thousand years, he had fully reached transcendence as a Mage God. It was an unspoken warning that he now stood at the level of a Creator God, even if through an unorthodox method.
Seeing Almighty Hwi’s face harden at the sight of his wings, the pent-up frustration from the forced training melted away. He had become equal to the Main God and number-one ranked Almighty Hwi. With that leisure, he spoke.
“Congratulations on becoming a full Creator God. You’ve finally fulfilled a long-cherished wish.”
“Thank you. I congratulate you as well, Dimensional Mage God. You’ve obtained power worthy of recognition as a Creator God.”
“Power alone. I am also grateful that you granted me the opportunity to remain as the God of Light through the Main God Succession Battle.”
“How modest. I don’t know how you formed connections with the 10 Mainstays, but if even one of them spoke a single word on your behalf, your crime of breaking the taboo would instead become a great achievement. Why not ask them?”
Almighty Hwi’s rigidly stiff face asked the question with veteran smoothness. The situation was no longer one where he could simply launch a punitive expedition or force a succession battle. He needed to gauge the relationship between the Dimensional Mage God and the 10 Mainstays before deciding how to treat him. The crime of restoring a demon god and imprisoning a divine spirit was, in the end, merely a matter of Creator Gods’ pride. Restoring spiritual bodies and imprisoning them was the authority and privilege of Creator Gods. The offense lay in a Main God infringing upon their domain. Naturally, the higher beings also aspired to become Creator Gods and had responded enthusiastically, but the involvement of the 10 Mainstays changed everything.
Even a slight acquaintance between the Dimensional Mage God and the 10 Mainstays would transform him from a criminal into a heroic god who had led the 500th Master Universe to victory in war. The power and influence of the 10 Mainstays were an iron wall no Master Universe could overcome. Moreover, aside from Yuil Yongsinje, they were all tyrants one could not associate with. Although they did not intervene in Master Universes, offending them meant even ordinary Creator Gods could be dragged to Wind Star as sparrows. As direct subordinates of Jinri and ranked first through tenth in the Absolute Realm, their status was equal or superior to that of Creator Gods; even Creator Gods could not ignore their requests for cooperation. That was why even the meddlesome Creator Gods had all fallen silent. Curses rose naturally to his lips.
‘Those damned bastards—! This is exactly when they should step in. Instead of only claiming the rights of superiors, they should take responsibility when it’s time—!’
Negotiations and conversations of this sort were the specialty of administrative Main Gods rather than combat gods like himself, yet he had no choice. Although Grey was the opponent, after witnessing how Personal History had extracted even top-secret information and contracts, it was clear that an administrative Main God could not handle the Dimensional Mage God, who was a higher-ranking administrator. Thus he had stepped forward personally, but the conversation remained difficult. From the perspective of the God of Light, a Mage God was close to heresy, so the dialogue itself was incomprehensible. He could not follow the typical administrative god style of cutting straight to conclusions without preamble.
“I have my own circumstances. I must fight you, whether it is through the Main God Succession Battle, a punitive expedition, or anything else.”
“Why? Do you intend to engage in an unnecessary battle? If Grey simply says he will guarantee the Dimensional Mage God’s safety, everything ends.”
There was an easy path to avoid conflict, yet he insisted on the succession battle. No matter how much authority he held as the origin of the Almighty God Tribe, a battle against the Dimensional Mage God—who was connected to the 10 Mainstays—carried enormous risk. Even victory could send him to Wind Star as a sparrow. Suppressing his rising emotions, Almighty Hwi asked again.
The Dimensional Mage God answered with an endlessly clear smile.
“It is for profit. The mere fact of fighting Almighty Hwi brings me tremendous benefit. The Main God Succession Battle is merely a secondary gain.”
“……”
Crack—! The handle of the Main God of the Divine Realm’s Seat of Glory twisted violently in Almighty Hwi’s grip. He had realized that the succession battle would proceed whether he wished it or not.
‘With one of the 10 Mainstays and the Wind Family involved, an origin of the Almighty God Tribe from a mere Master Universe has no right of refusal.’
As the Main God of the Divine Realm, he now had to determine supremacy with the Dimensional Mage God. The current Dimensional Mage God was no longer the easy opponent he had once been in the Spirit Realm. ‘I don’t know what support he received in a single day, but he now displays strength equal to mine.’
The only fortunate point was that, had it been a punitive expedition, the aftermath might have reached the Almighty God Tribe, but because it was a succession battle it would be limited to himself and the Divine Realm. Furthermore, the Dimensional Mage God had not told him to deliberately lose. It meant he was permitted to fight with full strength. In his heart, fighting spirit began to rise in reaction to encountering a trial and a worthy opponent.
‘If I can confirm and break the strength of the Dimensional Mage God, who received support from Grey and the Wind Family, the return of the Almighty God Tribe as the ruling tribe will be dramatically accelerated.’
The life experience that had turned countless crises into opportunities shone once more. Watching Almighty Hwi’s expression, the Dimensional Mage God wore a look that said he understood everything. He picked up the parchment Grey had been reading—the one containing the administrative Main God’s memories. As expected, he could see that Grey had manipulated events to reach this point.
‘Before the vitality-starved gods of the Divine Realm and the Creator Gods, he had displayed tens of trillions of vitality completely unprotected, so everyone had happily borrowed and used it. Yet it was unexpected that Creator God Propraite would expend over sixteen trillion vitality for Almighty Hwi, his child’s direct subordinate Creator Candidate.’
Even for a Creator God, it was a risky act. Almighty Hwi’s response was also highly unusual. No matter how much responsibility the Main God bore for administration, the incident had ultimately been orchestrated by a higher Creator God. He could not have stopped it, and the Karma Contract would certainly have taken that into account. Above all, he himself had not touched the vitality and had intended to recover all of it. Considering that, the punishment would be extremely light. This was a matter that should have been handled directly by the Creator God rather than Almighty Hwi, yet he was trying to shoulder everything himself.
“This is strange, Almighty Hwi. The unauthorized use of vitality this time was neither your fault nor your responsibility. If you had declared that you had nothing to do with this incident, even an absolute Karma Contract would not have imposed any censure. They would only have questioned those who directly exchanged the vitality. Yet why did you step forward yourself, declare it your responsibility, and wager the position of Main God? Is it not a seat you fought for over ten billion years, earning the support of countless gods of the Divine Realm? Do you not find it regrettable?”
“He is the Creator God I serve. What he did for me is my affair. Moreover, I am the Main God of the Divine Realm. Every matter that occurs in the Divine Realm is my responsibility. As the Main God, I will resolve the problem.”
The Dimensional Mage God was momentarily speechless at Almighty Hwi’s declaration that no thought was necessary. At those words, the momentum of the Creator Candidates and administrative gods around the round table—who had been cowed by Grey—shifted. Even if Grey applied pressure again, they would endure tenaciously.
‘An existence that can elevate the abilities of his subordinate gods with nothing more than such a sincere declaration is truly suited to be the Main God of the Divine Realm. Yet could I ever do the same?’
Until now, he had always used the excuse of being busy surviving to think only of himself. It had been impossible. He had believed that the forced training had made him equal, but the gap was still vast. However, he was a Mage God. No matter how much he envied that path, he could never walk it.
“Is that loyalty? I thought it was the luxury and indulgence of the strong, but this time it left a deep impression. I will see you soon in the Main God Succession Battle.”
“Come whenever you wish. I will test your qualifications as Main God with everything I have.”
“I look forward to it, Almighty Hwi. Let us both produce results that bring considerable benefit to each other.”
“What nonsense? In a Main God Succession Battle, only a winner and a loser remain.”
“Puhuhuhut—! The administrative Main God beside you will explain. From the data, he seems quite competent. I’m busy, so I’ll take my leave—!”
After cutting the connection to the Divine Realm, the Dimensional Mage God sank deeply into the Seat of Glory. All the high-ranking gods inside the Main God Hall had descended to earn merit in the newly formed Creator God Star. Although he had given tacit permission, the mere existence of Grey and the Origin of the Mage God exerted tremendous pressure. Even his direct subordinates had fled as if escaping, leaving only him—the Main God of the Divine Realm—alone. Staring at the now-empty hall, he fell into thought.
Around Almighty Hwi, even under the threat of an absolute Karma Contract and direct pressure from Grey, everyone had remained in their positions. It would be a lie to say he was not envious.
‘Is that loyalty? As a Mage God, I will probably never obtain it in my lifetime. What I can obtain is ultimately profit. I must not waver. I cannot walk the path of erasure that Grey mentioned again. The goal of this Main God Succession Battle is to use it as a fishing ground to hook the Black Flame Absolute.’
As a Mage God and mercenary god, he pursued profit. Yet his current self was in an extremely dangerous state, his heart wavering because of the position of Main God of the Divine Realm. If this continued, he would not only fail to gain profit but would be erased—a fate Grey had not stated outright, yet which he now understood all too clearly from Grey’s actions.
‘To make the Main God Succession Battle even fiercer, my current half-baked authority as Main God of the Divine Realm is insufficient. I have no choice but to do as instructed.’
Throb—! Throb—! His head began to ache.
‘The Origin of the Mage God gave only one instruction: participate in the Main God Succession Battle as a complete Main God of the Divine Realm.’
He was to eliminate all the temporary harem and acting Main God of the Divine Realm nonsense and receive a formal appointment. Apparently, in the past, fighting Almighty Hwi while in such an ambiguous position had resulted in total defeat, so there was no avoiding it.
‘Is that so easily done? It’s easy to say. What about the future repercussions?’
Letting out a sigh that came naturally, the Dimensional Mage God leaned even deeper into the Seat of Glory of the Main God of the Divine Realm.