The Incomprehensible Eight Founders

The battlefield was a scene of eight absolute beings surrounding and assaulting the Sage of Omniscience. Yet the killing intent wasn’t nearly as fierce as it appeared. The Sage was trying to subdue them, while the spirit gods of the Otherworld and the beast gods’ main forces were only attempting to block her. If this had been a true life-or-death slaughter, they couldn’t have held out this long.

The spirit gods of the Otherworld were clinging desperately to the Sage, who was doing everything in her power to suppress them without killing anyone. The beast gods stood behind them, warily watching the goddess’s every move. Or more accurately, they were glaring at the goddesses with eyes full of raw, dripping hostility.

That was why the goddesses, including Gaiana, had tried to break through the front gate. Still, the protagonist couldn’t understand why the beast gods were opposing the Sage of Omniscience.

Before he could even finish that thought, someone spotted him and came running with a bright expression.

“Husband!”

“Thank the heavens you’re safe. We thought these wicked wenches had imprisoned you and were plotting a rebellion!”

Crack—!

The sheer conviction in her words—plausible and trustworthy enough to be convincing—made his waist go weak on instinct.

Well, if I were even a little weaker, that’s exactly what would have happened.

There was no need to ask who had fed them that story. He glanced at Lokina, the Magic God, but she had already yanked her robe over her head to hide her face. It was a clear refusal to engage in any conversation. He usually found the robe comfortable, but now it just looked incredibly annoying.

That’s enough out of you. You clearly destroyed the Divine Realm on purpose. Are you trying to completely erase the founding faction’s justification while you have the chance?

The existing goddesses had built and developed this Divine Realm. That gave them considerable legitimacy—an advantage the newly introduced spirit gods could never match. Deciding to completely shatter the old Divine Realm instead of accepting that reality was exactly like a Magic God.

I probably would have done the same.

That was why he had strictly forbidden any actual combat—so they couldn’t gain any justification. But the moment he closed his eyes for a nap, everything had exploded. Thanks to that, the entire old Divine Realm district had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blown to pieces.

Even if the temples were shabby and didn’t fit the Creation Realm, they had still been the gods’ homes. They would have to be torn down and rebuilt eventually, but not like this. The restoration would require an enormous amount of vitality and effort. His teeth ground together as he decided they would pay the price.

But that wasn’t the immediate problem. Even without the beast gods’ help, the attack itself wasn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an issue. The spirit gods of the Otherworld were unleashing a mad barrage of offensives. They knew it too.

The moment the Sage of Omniscience switches to the offensive, they have no chance of victory. But even this is a precarious advantage.

If the Sage hadn’t been deliberately avoiding lethal blows and fatal injuries while trying to subdue them, the Otherworld spirit gods would have been torn to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shreds the instant the battle began.

Yet under the continuous barrage of vicious attacks, the black jewel-like horns on his head began to glow—perhaps reaching the limit of his human body. The moment the Sage of Omniscience revealed her true power would be the end for the Otherworld spirit gods.

I need to stop this, but I doubt those bastards will listen to me.

It meant he had to throw himself into a battlefield where transcendent-level authorities capable of injuring even Creator Gods were flying everywhere. This was on a completely different level from the hammer he had just sent flying from Hephais and Torina.

Can I really trust this until the end? Honestly, one slip-up and I’ll die.

The words spoken by the Origin of the Mage God echoed in his mind.

“That’s… because the basic course was the Incomprehensible Eight Founders… it wasn’t exactly easy for me…”

Overwhelmed with self-loathing, his head drooped as he tried to protest.

Teaching me an absolute authority like the Incomprehensible Eight Founders as a ‘basic course’—what the hell am I supposed to do with that?

Every other authority had been opened through the process and content granted by truth, but absolute authorities were an insurmountable wall. Across the entire universe, only one or two beings possessed the talent to master them. That immortal iron wall had proven true. Even after being forced through three times the training period in hellish conditions, he had ultimately failed to overcome it.

“Shut up—! You fool who can’t even make a proper excuse—! At least reach half the average before you open your mouth.”

“Yes. This pathetic one deserves death.”

In the end, since he was the one who had failed to learn it, he could only bow his head and apologize. The Origin of the Mage God’s voice rang out again as he looked at him.

“The Incomprehensible Eight Founders’ normal acquisition process is impossible for the body to accept, so I trained you to accept it through conditioned reflex. That’s why it only activates in defense. That is currently your limit. No matter how much you train your body or increase your computational power now, you cannot surpass it. At this rate you’d be devoured by mere bait, but remember this. In the end, trust yourself. Even though you are the one who couldn’t even learn half of a basic course that should have taken ten thousand years—after thirty thousand years of forced training—and ultimately received it through a shortcut, you still managed to settle the Authority of Black Flame into your instincts. Your talent may not be capable of building high, but it can build wider than anyone else’s. You are truly a prodigy among the ordinary.”

It was praise, in his own way, for completing the forced training. But his face was stiff as stone and the Sword of Ruin and Soul trembled violently, making it clear he wanted to discipline him right then and there. And the content was ambiguous.

Unable to contain his curiosity, he finally asked.

“Was that a compliment? Or an insult?”

“Tsk—! Should I have just said it straight—that you’re such a pathetic idiot who can’t do anything right that you had to learn everything the hard way just to barely survive? I’m forcing myself to give you some positive words since this is the end, aren’t I?”

“It’s all my fault. But, Origin of the Mage God. Did I really learn the defensive aspect of the Incomprehensible Eight Founders? And how did I even learn the Authority of Black Flame? In the Wind Castle of Black Flame, it consumed so much computational power that I could only absorb a tiny fraction. The rest I poured into the creation of Seongmyeol. It was completely incompatible with my own Magic God authorities.”

No matter how he thought about the forced training period, all he remembered was desperately trying to avoid even a single strike from the endlessly raining Sword of Ruin and Soul. And he couldn’t recall dodging even once. He had been beaten without mercy. So learning even half—however clumsily—of two absolute authorities, ‘Black Flame’ and ‘Incomprehensible Eight Founders,’ made no sense.

Above all, activating such authorities would normally require enormous computational power or divine power. Yet there was no additional burden on his computational power. In fact, the computational power that used to go into bodily control had almost completely vanished.

“More importantly… have I really become stronger?”

As a Magic God, he was certainly stronger, but in terms of physical ability, he had no idea what was happening. The Origin of the Mage God’s answer, delivered with a mocking, triumphant smile, still rang in his ears.

“Since you’re too stupid to understand anyway, let’s just move on.”

“H-how do I activate it? Please, even the slightest advice would help.”

If he hadn’t felt the despairing gap after being relentlessly beaten for thirty thousand years without once gaining the chance to attack, he would have already thrown a tantrum. But now he finally understood. If you grit your teeth and act like a stubborn lunatic, you’ll only run into an even worse lunatic and end up in an even more horrific situation.

If he hadn’t been so greedy for compensation and so insistent on never taking a loss, he wouldn’t have ended up caught by the Origin of the Mage God and forced through this training. He would have had a much higher chance of receiving proper training in the distant future with better strength and qualifications. He might have even obtained the absolute authorities in their complete state rather than half-baked.

But as he had already realized, throwing tantrums according to his temper had earned him the qualifications through suffering, resulting in him only learning about half. Even now, he couldn’t be sure whether he had truly learned even that half.

So he bowed his head with maximum politeness. The Origin of the Mage God spoke as if he had no choice.

“Hmm. Have you finally gained some sense? You even know to bow your head when asking others for a favor now? I can still see right through your acting, but I’ll let it slide just this once. This must be your best effort, right? For an incompetent fool with nothing but a violent temper, you’re at least trying.”

“Ahahaha. Th-thank you.”

After thirty thousand years of being helplessly beaten, his baseless pride and violent temper, which had died out, flared back to life like a phoenix rising from the flames. Still, he needed to learn how to activate it. He couldn’t end thirty thousand years of suffering with nothing to show for it. It was simply too unfair.

“As a Magic God, you probably won’t understand the authority of a Fighting God no matter how much you think about it, so just charge straight at the enemy. Your body will take care of the rest.”

“Without thinking at all?”

“That’s right. Run at the enemy without thinking. Don’t feel fear or think about anything. Entrust your life entirely to your body with the sole thought of annihilating the enemy. Then the body, tempered through extreme training and endless battles, will never betray you and will grant you victory. That is the pinnacle of the Fighting God.”

For a moment it sounded plausible and he almost accepted it, but as a Magic God who had to analyze everything to produce results, this was absolutely unacceptable.

“Isn’t that like a moth flying into a flame without knowing if it will burn to death? In conclusion, does that mean even you, Origin of the Mage God, don’t actually know how to activate the authority? Gah—!”

Thwack—!

It was a direct hit. The Sword of Ruin and Soul gripped in the Origin of the Mage God’s hand—his face now bright red—slammed down on his forehead with the greatest force it had ever delivered. Without even being able to scream, he clutched his forehead with both hands while trembling on the ground. A storm of rebuke poured down on him.

“That’s right—! Honestly, I don’t know about you. How could I possibly know everything when I’ve never once taught an idiot like you? This is the first time I’ve ever had to teach using only shortcuts because the proper method was hopeless. If you didn’t like it, did you have the talent to learn it normally? Then would I have used such ridiculous training? There’s a limit to being incompetent and stupid! However, seeing how you’re defending against my attacks right now, you clearly learned it. Even my attacks, which carry the perfect Incomprehensible Eight Founders, are being unconsciously countered. You’re avoiding effective hits, reducing critical damage. So why don’t you yourself know how to activate the Incomprehensible Eight Founders that your body has clearly learned? This is just your body evolving conditioned reflexive defense to something similar to the Incomprehensible Eight Founders, isn’t it? Since you couldn’t learn the foundation of the great Wind Family, your body accepted it through conditioned reflex? Since you absolutely couldn’t learn it, your body had no choice but to do this. What kind of ridiculous situation is this? If you were my actual descendant, I wouldn’t let this slide. No, since you’re a Magic God, you are part of my clan. Then let’s finish this.”

Thwack—!

The afterimage of the wooden sword rising from below slammed into him, launching his body into the air. The Origin of the Mage God’s voice, filled with emotion, boomed out.

“But thirty thousand years—! I invested an additional thirty thousand years in you on top of the compensation. If you get eaten by mere bait that was meant to lure out the Black Flame, I won’t let it go. Forget running, forget death—give it everything you have. Magic God of Dimensions—!”

Thudududududududung—!

The countless afterimages of wooden swords filling the air were attacks he couldn’t handle. Yet they mercilessly struck every inch of his body. He tried to endure the wildly shaking body and dodge, but as always, he was helplessly beaten. And then he completely lost consciousness.

Thinking back on that moment, even the attacks of the Demon God King who had become the Holy Demon—the Sage of Omniscience—and the killing-intent-filled transcendent authorities of the Otherworld spirit gods didn’t seem all that frightening.

My body will move on its own.

This was the decisive battle between the five strongest spirit gods of the Otherworld and the Sage of Omniscience, who had become a Demon God King. The moment he thought his body should advance, he was already standing in the middle of the battlefield.

The Otherworld spirit gods were startled by his sudden appearance, and even the Sage of Omniscience looked confused. It was the same phenomenon as before. Since even he didn’t know how he had moved like that, there was no way the opponents could understand.

Appearing in the center of the melee, he caught all seven divine swords of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu—who had frozen in shock—with his right hand and flicked them away, then twisted her arm and drove it down. His left hand flowed past the leg of Storm Annihilation Enlil, who had swung at his waist, and seized her ankle.

His bared teeth bit the incoming arrow of light and hurled it straight back at Artemis, the Divine Wolf Moon Goddess. His right foot stomped the ground, shattering Nuwa’s connection to the earth and launching her entire body into the air. His left foot drew a large circle in the air, whipping up Medeia’s hair— which had been trying to wrap around him—with a storm-like force and flinging it away.

He hadn’t thought ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of anything, yet his body was finding the most efficient responses as if performing in a play, repelling the enemies.

The reaction speed and handling are so absurd that even I, the one doing it, am stunned.

The instant he recognized an enemy, his body automatically attacked and subdued them. Without any complicated tactical battles, overwhelmingly enhanced reflexes and physical ability were performing conditioned reflexive defense and counterattacks. Since he was defending and counterattacking without any conscious decision-making process, it must have been an utterly incomprehensible situation for those on the receiving end.

The only mercy for them was that, thanks to the Authority of Black Flame—which had not moved because they were not beings above him—he had not inflicted any fatal injuries.

And the moment the Sage of Omniscience, who had noticed his intrusion and reaction, was sent flying backward while still in her defensive stance, he saw the result of his movements.

Crack-cr-cr-cr-cr-crack—!

With an enormous roar, Medeia and Nuwa were simultaneously blasted backward. They must have taken heavy damage from the backlash and severance of the power that had suddenly returned. Artemis stared in utter despair at her broken bow and the arrow that had been reflected back at her. In his right hand, Amaterasu was pinned to the ground with both arms twisted behind her back, her face completely blank. In his left hand, Enlil—her proud, powerful ankles likewise seized and twisted behind her back—lay pinned to the ground with her mouth agape in disbelief.

All of them wore expressions that said they had no idea how this had happened to them. None dared to resist.

Honestly, even he had no idea how he had done it. There had been moments during the automatic defense where his awareness had failed to register anything. He realized that defensive actions surpassing his own physical ability could not be perceived by his conscious mind. This could not be called entirely his own power.

Still, he couldn’t let them realize that.

“All of you who couldn’t even notice what was happening around you are disqualified from the Main God Selection.”