Divine Robes and the Wounded Absolutes
Even in the Otherworld War, one had to admit that this sight suited the Magic God of Dimensions best. Schemes and plots that overturned disadvantages beyond common sense were the true might of the Mage God. “What kind of plan could a Mage God who consults others, worries, and shows consideration possibly devise? Given the nature of schemes where success rates rise the fewer people know about them, this is the most fitting form.”
The garments he created were no ordinary clothing. Even at a glance, they were divine robes surpassing the combat divine artifacts used by Main Gods in both defensive power and authority. Crafting a single divine robe worthy of a Main God required even the highest-ranking administrator gods to invest centuries. The process of spinning thread from divine power, weaving fabric imbued with authorities, and precisely tailoring it into clothing demanded an enormous amount of time and effort. Once completed, these divine robes complemented or amplified the wearer’s authority, making them treasures that any being above Main God level would desperately seek. Yet because even the highest administrator gods could only produce such masterpieces once in a lifetime, their numbers remained perpetually insufficient.
“Judging by the speed at which he creates divine robes and the authorities casually added to them, this is no longer something even a Creator God could accomplish easily.” The Creator Gods of the 499th Master Universe possessed greater combat prowess than creative power, so it was theoretically possible, but the time required made it nearly impossible. Other Creator Gods had already realized this when the Main God of the Divine Realm produced Main God Stars far too easily—stars that others could only create once every ten thousand years. In terms of ability, their Main God of the Divine Realm surpassed even Creator Gods. This was proven not only by combat capability but by the divine robes being produced by the thousands even as they watched. If judged solely by creative power, one had to wonder whether any Creator God could match him.
The divine race, well aware of this fact, could not close their mouths.
“Goodness. You truly create divine robes with such ease. The other administrator gods would despair if they saw how simply you make them. By the way, was the Mage God’s authority focused on creative power? I heard most of it was concentrated in combat fields through reality denial. Have you ever fought alongside higher Substitute Gods in the past? How was it?”
At those words, Shuddering March also nodded. It was only natural that they knew nothing. “The Magic God of Dimensions has never led subordinates into battle since becoming the Main God of the Divine Realm.” Even when he slew the God of War and inherited the position to settle matters with the Substitute Race, he had only provided strategy before ultimately facing the Substitute Race’s Main God alone when pushed back—something confirmed by records. “It was nearly the same combat style as in the past.”
Afterward, he had emptied the Divine Realm to participate in mercenary battles and never brought subordinates along, so it was natural that even his direct forces did not know the full extent of his combat power. Reviewing memories of fighting alongside him, he was clearly stronger than gods of equal rank, yet there were too many openings. The feeling that his authorities were heavily skewed to one side was overwhelmingly strong.
“His combat fields are also strange. Most of them were heavily support-oriented. Now that I think about it, something feels off. Authorities shouldn’t be this imbalanced. Originally, the stronger a divine race’s creative ability, the stronger their combat ability becomes. How can his creative power exceed that of a Creator God while his combat power remains this low?”
Their conversation was filled with questions, but that was not the biggest problem right now. From earlier, their bodies had been tense, as if feeling a chill. “Why am I this tense? Is it the Divine Realm’s air? Or am I reacting to the Main God of the Divine Realm’s authority?”
Shuddering March’s senses and authority were sharpened to their utmost, scanning the surroundings. Though the Magic God of Dimensions shared the same boat and was not an enemy, the divine race and demon race were mortal enemies. This was instinctive, so it was natural for demons to be extremely wary before a powerful divine being. Yet ever since returning to the Divine Realm from the Main God Star, she had been in maximum alert posture. The intensity exceeded even that of the Demon King and higher Substitute Gods she had faced as formidable foes.
Moreover, she could faintly sense magical power, and its level was astonishing. Among the higher demons who had transcended Main Demon King level by simultaneously operating two Transcendent Authorities, only the Holy Demon, Sage of Omniscience—ranked first among the ten-thousand-year candidates for Demon Emperor—could pressure her with magical power to this degree.
For a moment, an even more secretive and powerful authority filled the Divine Realm. There was no need to say that this was the authority of the Main God of the Divine Realm, the Magic God of Dimensions.
“Has he grown stronger? Beyond what I can measure?” Beings above the 2nd Circle could not have their authorities fully grasped by those below them. Though she could vaguely sense something, the gap was not that extreme. She herself had reached the pinnacle of the demon race’s 11th Circle and was gazing toward the 12th. Even most Creator Gods could not deceive her senses. That meant the Magic God of Dimensions’ authority had reached the 13th Circle, surpassing Creator Gods. According to her feeling, he possessed the authority of a Demon Emperor or Creator General—levels of which there were only one or two in the entire Master Universe. These beings were noble and great powerhouses by their very existence, transcending race.
The fact that the Magic God of Dimensions, who had revived her from annihilation using his reality-denial authority, had grown this strong was an excellent thing for the future. That was why she looked at him with fresh eyes, thinking that something like the Main God Tournament posed no problem for him. Yet another anomaly occurred.
“Puahahahaha—! Good! Next is underwear. I’ll make them just barely visible to bewitch everyone.”
The Magic God of Dimensions had already filled the ceiling of the Main God Palace with divine robes and was laughing loudly. Countless white fabrics appeared as if scattered through the air, and Shuddering March along with the direct forces watching all staggered. Thousands of women’s undergarments being created at once and fluttering about while he burst into laughter looked like nothing short of a pervert.
“Will this work? I don’t think so. We should at least prepare for the Main God Tournament ourselves.”
“Indeed. I hope the Divine Realm doesn’t end up like the Demon Realm again.”
They, the direct forces of the Magic God of Dimensions, were prisoners born from the war that turned the Main God Star into the Demon Realm. Countless brutal battles that repeatedly overturned the Divine Realm and Demon Realm had produced them in droves. Unable to take any measures, they had been thrown into prison before being handed over as payment for the mercenary battle. For high-ranking Main Gods to become prisoners of hostile forces and be transferred as mercenary compensation was an unimaginable humiliation and disgrace. That was why they had a strong attachment to stability. They had sought that from the powerful Magic God of Dimensions. Yet while his personal power was immense, the Divine Realm he possessed was, upon closer inspection, a mess. The female gods and the forces that had once followed the previous Main God of the Divine Realm were on the verge of civil war. Now, with the addition of the Spirit Gods who held grudges, they were on the brink of explosion, and the Magic God of Dimensions was barely suppressing them through force. The rivalry was so fierce that even the Demon Realm, based on survival of the fittest and constantly seeking weaknesses in others, would not reach this level.
“If the Magic God of Dimensions became even slightly weaker or unstable than now, it would obviously lead to self-destruction.” The divine race felt even greater anxiety. In the past, during the process of their former Main God Star turning into the Demon Realm, they had held the advantage multiple times. However, unable to unify their wills and with their transcendent subordinates also splitting into factions to fight, they had missed every opportunity. Eventually, some gods even tried to bring in the power of demons—their mortal enemies—to gain superiority, making defeat inevitable. Yet looking at how the Divine Realm was operating now, it was in greater chaos than the Divine Realm just before it had been overturned into the Demon Realm.
And yet, in this state, they had to wage the Main God Tournament against Almighty Hwi. Knowing well the forces and abilities of Almighty Hwi, the origin of the Almighty God Tribe, there was no way they could win in their current condition. Rather than the Main God Tournament, they could not even grasp how to stabilize this Divine Realm. It was in a state where its destruction would not be strange, yet the Magic God of Dimensions—the one most urgently concerned—was happily creating women’s underwear. They truly could not understand what was happening.
“Even if we tried to intervene, he himself is far too powerful, and as a Mage God, he wouldn’t listen anyway.” Since they did not understand why he was acting this way at all, dialogue itself was impossible, and he would not explain. He would remain silent about victory, citing the need for secrecy. In the past as well, he had stayed silent until the war itself, completely overturning even his allies’ expectations before fighting and winning. Of course, thanks to that they had won, but there had been more than one or two instances where it had been chillingly dangerous. He was not called the Mage God with a notorious reputation even among demons for nothing.
Eventually, shaking their heads, Shuddering March and her direct forces moved to the Dimensional Temple for training.
A blinding white wave of light spread across everything visible. At the center of this wave, eight Absolutes protected by a golden pyramid were focusing all their power on recovery, their expressions heavy. Though this wave looked incredibly beautiful, anyone who knew its true nature would never utter such nonsense. It was the infinite area-of-effect breath emitted by Yuil Yongsinje, the origin of the Dragon God Race. It was the purification of the Dragon God Race’s destruction authority that erased everything existing within the space-time of its range except for himself. It was fortunate that it manifested as an authority through his avatar. If his true body had emitted this, half of the Absolute Realm would truly have been destroyed.
“Even now, a direct hit would naturally be fatal even to the 10 Centers.” Moreover, because Grey had detonated himself using all of his innate divine power, they had suffered severe damage and might die. The Golden Absolute’s “Golden Age” was protecting them, allowing them to focus on recovery, but without the alliance, the battle would have already been decided. Even with this temporary alliance formed, the situation was not one where they had any leeway.
Golden possessed the highest and greatest authority, but that did not extend to his physical abilities. Of course, his physical abilities were also top-tier, but naturally inferior to the Black Flame Absolute and even more so to Yuil Yongsinje. “The biggest problem is that Yuil Yongsinje’s authority level is only slightly below Golden’s, making him rank 2.”
The Wind Family’s abilities, which stood at the pinnacle in every field, were pressuring the eight Absolutes whose powers had declined due to damage. In perfect condition, there would be no problem defending with Golden Age, but now that they had been struck by Grey, they were full of openings. The only one who could stop Yuil Yongsinje—who had broken through Golden Age by targeting those openings—in close combat was the Black Flame Absolute, as all others were injured. That was why the Black Flame Absolute was desperately blocking with his body.
Boom! Crack! Crunch! In the ultra-high-speed close combat where bones broke and blood sprayed between the Black Flame Absolute and Yuil Yongsinje, the Golden Absolute gritted his teeth. Both Yuil Yongsinje and the Black Flame Absolute were brutally destroying each other’s bodies while enduring damage to their own. Because they had reached the highest level in close combat, techniques or secret arts that required preparation time only exposed openings. All they did was destroy each other’s vital points while offering up less critical parts. However, if the Black Flame Absolute were in his original uninjured state, Yuil Yongsinje would be the one suffering greater damage. But now, the Black Flame Absolute was taking more damage.
“His close combat ability is clearly the greatest, but it’s because of the aftereffects from Grey’s self-destruction.” Of course, it was only a slight decline. But in battles against the near-equal powerhouses of the 10 Centers, it was proving fatal. It was to the point where the other eight Absolutes had to form an alliance just to face Yuil Yongsinje, who had not been damaged by the self-destruction. Even then, their inability to gain the upper hand was due to the curse Grey had cast upon them while self-destructing. It was incomprehensible how any authority could lower the level of their own authorities to this degree through Grey’s self-destruction. Though Golden Age could dispel the curse, recovery was impossible, which was why the eight Absolutes had formed an unprecedented alliance to confront Yuil Yongsinje. For Golden, who prided himself on the greatest authority and rank, it was infuriating enough to grind his teeth, but the situation left no choice.
Just as the Golden Absolute was about to join the Black Flame Absolute, who was showing signs of defeat, Yuil Yongsinje had already slipped out of the area like the wind. “Yuil Yongsinje’s speed is also at a level where none can match him except the Sword Bat Absolute.” If his own body and authority were normal, he could somehow keep up, but now he had no choice but to let him go even while watching. Yuil Yongsinje was steadily damaging the Black Flame Absolute while desperately slowing the recovery of his body and authority. As a result, even though Golden Age existed, the other eight Absolutes were maintaining alert posture instead of focusing on recovery. Consequently, the recovery rate could not surpass the damage rate, resulting in a tedious stalemate.
This kind of battle was unlike Yuil Yongsinje, who originally preferred bold and fair confrontations. Having seized the opportunity to become rank 1 for the first time thanks to Grey’s self-destruction, Yuil Yongsinje was giving it his all.
Fwoosh! Sizzle!
“Damn it! The Black Flame Absolute, getting pushed back in close combat by the Wind Family? Is there no greater humiliation than this?”
The Black Flame Absolute, who had instantly healed the injuries inflicted by Yuil Yongsinje with black flames rippling, spat out curses, unable to contain his anger. The damage he had just received was enough to reopen the self-destruction wounds he had barely recovered from. Yet while Yuil Yongsinje’s injuries appeared similar, they were actually almost nonexistent. This meant that Yuil Yongsinje’s close combat ability now surpassed his own. It was infuriating. The Black Flame Absolute’s close combat ability had long since surpassed the Wind Family. No, it was natural because the Wind Family’s physical abilities had been created universally based on the Black Flame authority. Yet being pushed back by the avatar of Yuil Yongsinje, who was not even the true successor of Truth but merely a candidate, was hard to accept.
“Recovery of authority and body is still slightly insufficient. Even Golden Age couldn’t completely resolve the curse from Grey’s self-destruction?”
“The curse has been dispelled. However, the already damaged authorities and bodies have no choice but to recover on their own.”
If they were below him, he could restore them no matter what. But restoring beings of equal rank whose some authorities exceeded his own was naturally impossible. That was why the Golden Absolute was seriously contemplating the situation where all eight Absolutes had received Grey’s self-destruction curse and suffered adverse effects. “A curse is like a blessing. It cannot affect higher beings stronger than oneself, yet all ten Centers received the curse from Grey and ended up like this.” He could not stop thinking that he had underestimated Grey too much, assuming the Wind Family’s origin could be implemented.