The Uncontrollable Grasp
The Main Temple in the Divine Realm after the Otherworld War was in a wretched state, nothing but its frame and pillars left standing while the walls had been blown away entirely. It had only endured because he himself had rebuilt it as the central temple of the Creation Realm; had it been the old version, it would likely have collapsed in a heap. The Sage of Omniscience wore an apologetic expression and stepped aside, clearing the path to the Seat of Glory. Her intervention had surely begun as a kind gesture, unable to bear watching the disastrous state of the divine realm where her own clan held second place. She could not have foreseen it would spiral directly into civil war, so her panic was only natural. On top of that, the spirit gods of the Otherworld had aimed to destroy the Seat of Glory or seize its control, forcing her to block them.
‘The Seat of Glory is the core that handles control and maintenance of the divine realm even without a Main God of the Divine Realm. If it were ever destroyed or its authority stolen, the entire divine realm would collapse.’
The odds were slim, yet with Betrayal SelectionMedeia among the Otherworld spirit gods, it remained possible. Without the Sage of Omniscience’s presence, the divine realm might already have crumbled completely. Above all, she was in no position to hold the reserve Creator God—the Demon God King—accountable. It was far more comforting to consider it a debt to be repaid later.
Thud!
He dropped heavily onto the Seat of Glory, its surface webbed with cracks that could no longer withstand the battle’s aftermath. Though still feeble, the support flowing from the Highest Creator Divine Realm soothed and restored his exhausted body. Moreover, the condition of his own form—which had felt incomprehensible and disconnected until now—finally resurfaced in his memory, the understanding hazy but returning. His comprehension had risen as well, rendering the situation starkly clear. The divine-race support effect was astonishing.
‘I truly cannot relinquish this position of Main God of the Divine Realm. It means Lord Sangharama’s title ability for divine-race development works even on absolute authorities. However, the scheme to win the Main God Election by any means necessary has been sealed off. I need an honorable and astonishing method that can win the support of every god in the Main Divine Realm. Yet I am a human-born dark mage whose primary field is black magic. Gaining the support of all gods is, in principle, impossible. So he made me learn an absolute authority different from magic? What is this? At least I can control the Authority of Black Flame to some degree with my will, but this one truly has no openings.’
He gave both hands a light shake.
Clatter! Clatter!
His hands were still locked around the necks of the Otherworld spirit gods and refused to release them. Of course the suppression was necessary to prevent counterattacks, but to any onlooker unaware of the context, it would appear to be the scene of a criminal forcibly molesting goddesses. He had desperately tried to release the control several times, yet it proved impossible. The more he struggled, the greater the risk of a counterstrike; even his wrists were beginning to slip from his command. In the end he gave up, clasped both hands together while seated on the Seat of Glory, and laid the goddesses’ bodies across his thighs. The posture—two goddesses face-down and stacked atop his lap—was bizarre, but it looked far better than gripping their necks and shaking them on either side of the chair.
All gods of the divine realm, assemble at the Main Temple. The demolition for redevelopment of the divine realm and the preliminary selection of main gods to participate in the Main God Election have concluded. I shall now call forth those who will depart.
As the divine speech left by the Magic God of Dimensions in his capacity as Main God of the Divine Realm spread outward, every god who had fled to the outskirts wore expressions of utter confusion yet observed the situation. More accurately, they were waiting for orders from their faction leaders. Once those commands arrived, they began moving hesitantly toward the Main Temple.
‘Damn it—! What pathetic authority. I’m part of the problem, but these bastards are worse. One day I’ll overhaul the whole lot. Yet not a single god is coming under my command. Hell! In times like these, demon gods who submit to raw power are far easier to manage.’
Watching the expressions and behavior of the lower gods who listened only to their own leaders, he ground his teeth at his lack of real authority. Still, he had no choice but to admit that with his current weakness there was nothing he could do.
‘Even though I’ve grown stronger, I can’t even fully control my own body. I need to figure out how to activate and deactivate it as quickly as possible.’
Yet there had been words he never heard, spoken while he lost consciousness at the end of the forced training.
“Do you still not understand? The Authority of Black Flame and the Incomprehensible Eight Founders are absolute authorities. You have learned two of them, even if only partially. Even if you cannot wield them at will, that alone is a miracle. Originally it was not meant to be this way. The goal had been merely to anchor the Authority of Black Flame to your instincts, and even that would normally require staking your life. But since you are also of the Black Flame clan, the attempt was possible. How you acquired it, neither you who learned it nor I who guided you fully understand, yet you mastered the defensive aspect of the Incomprehensible Eight Founders from me. On top of that—thanks to the Origin title—you possess absolute-level magic and dimensional authority as well. This is an achievement and a miracle difficult even for the bloodline of the Wind Family. You are a being who cannot learn the ultimate through any conventional means, yet among such existences you have crossed countless deadly crises and stubbornly survived. To live, there was no time to be selective. You had to accept and master anything that could be used. Just as a dark mage god whose main study was black magic chose the path of the god of light. In the process your body suffered endless damage and repeated regeneration. Your regenerative ability reached the extreme where self-destruction required no hesitation whatsoever. Then your body fused with the Origin title, infinitely broadening the boundaries and limits of authorities you could learn. Though the level remains low and restricted to the body, you have gained the talent to accept multiple authorities simultaneously. Even I, the Origin, cannot predict how many you might master. When Lord Jinri declared you would become one of the 10 Mainstays—the Gray—I found it strange he was not erased, but with this it may truly become possible one day. Thus you have grown strong through possibilities obtained by your own acquired effort. Therefore believe in yourself and stand tall. Even if you are betrayed by yourself, at least believe in yourself once more. That is the second method to delay fate. The results of long training are sufficient at this level. You have worked hard.”
It was the generous final evaluation the Origin of the Mage God had given during the forced training while the Magic God of Dimensions lay unconscious. Had the man himself heard it, however, he would have thrashed wildly and shouted:
“In the end, no matter how hard I train, it means I can never activate them according to my own will, doesn’t it? My body can do it but my head doesn’t understand, so normally I shouldn’t even be able to learn them? What kind of talent is this? If I can’t operate them at will, what am I supposed to use them for? And above all, are you really the Origin of the Mage God? Why do you only teach the secrets of combat gods? Please, even now, teach me higher magic!”
“Tsk—! Your level is nowhere near sufficient, so I cannot teach you. And are you normal? You relied on crude black magic and every underhanded trick to raise only power and circles, yet you dare set your sights on higher magic? The secrets of ignorant combat gods allow brute force, but don’t you know that wise magic has no such loopholes? Were you planning to make your head explode or drive yourself insane by forcing it? And you ask if I am truly the Origin of the Mage God? Or should I waste tens of thousands of years on an idiot like you? This damn brat keeps digging his own grave with that mouth of his—! Fine—! Then I’ll forcibly cram the rest in as well. Even if the commission ends, whether it takes three hundred million years instead of thirty thousand—!”
Under the endless barrage of blows, the Magic God of Dimensions had lost consciousness and collapsed. Or rather, it was more accurate to say he had lost his mind at the bleak future hurtling toward him. Had he retained even a sliver of sanity, he might have glimpsed one possible path the future could take. In a situation where that path might have been preferable, the eyes of the Magic God of Dimensions watching the gods gather with obvious reluctance grew even darker.
It was thanks to the Sage of Omniscience, who had been sending her will without concealing her discomfort from earlier.
‘Magic God of Dimensions. I do not mean to interfere in a situation that has reached this point, but shouldn’t you release them now? Even from a demon’s perspective, this is rather difficult to watch.’
‘…….’
He could not offer any reply. With every god watching, having the goddesses’ necks gripped and their bodies stacked upon his thighs made the image unmistakable. The evaluation would surely shift from lecher god to rapist god. Yet not even a fingernail’s worth of his own will entered the hands locked around their necks. It was the overwhelming bodily control inherent to the authority itself. Moreover, the Heavenly Illumination Great God Amaterasu and Storm Annihilation Enlil, who had lost consciousness, seemed to have awakened and were restoring their bodies at ferocious speed. It was a natural reaction; the first thing they saw upon waking was each other’s lower abdomen, and most of their bodies had been shattered. Had their bodies been capable of movement they would have gone berserk. Perhaps for that reason, control was already being stolen not only from his hands but up to his elbows.
‘What truly turns my stomach is that despite control being taken to this extent, outwardly it appears completely normal.’
Rather, it looked calm and composed—and in fact it was.
‘This is even more vicious in a way. With Black Flame, anyone can tell at a glance the user isn’t in their right mind so there’s no misunderstanding, but this makes me look perfectly sane. Won’t they think I’m doing it on purpose?’
In the end he could only answer in a solemn voice.
‘How could I possibly say something so embarrassing—that I cannot control the authority and my body is suppressing them on its own?’
It was the truth, after all.
“The preliminary selection has ended, yet these two have not fully submitted. If I release them they will charge immediately, forcing us into another pointless battle. Sage of Omniscience.”
“Ah—! They certainly look ready to do exactly that. To command such main gods is impressive. What remarkable authority and fighting spirit.”
Having fought them directly, the Sage of Omniscience understood at once just how dangerous these main gods truly were. Had the objective of seizing the Seat of Glory not existed separately, the earlier battle would have taken on an entirely different character.
The Sage of Omniscience subtly approached the side of the Seat of Glory and stroked the head of the goddess resting on the thigh of the Magic God of Dimensions, who sat leaning back wearily.
“They are such a force, and such powerful main gods, that it is hard to believe they serve a being who only recently ascended to the divine realm and became Main God. If you lead them and ascend to reserve Creator God through your dimensional wide-area authority, even the Main Divine Realm led by Almighty Hwi would stand a chance. And if they refuse to behave, shall I truly smash their heads this time? Or shall I show their naked, shameful forms to the other lower gods?”
Flinch! Flinch!
The moment the Otherworld spirit gods—who had recovered somewhat—tried to move in seizure-like spasms, white magic-power nails that had grown unnoticed threatened them, slowly grazing from shoulder to back and slicing through their clothing. The robes of the Heavenly Illumination Great God Amaterasu, draped over Enlil’s body, split down the center of the back, exposing bare skin. As the goddesses froze at the crisis of being completely stripped, a final warning and persuasion reached their ears.
“There will be plenty of opportunities later, so give up on rampaging now. I am a goddess too, and I no longer wish to see anything ugly.”
“……”
“……”
They answered with silence, yet the Sage of Omniscience confirmed they had stopped struggling and looked at him with an expression that asked whether it was all right now. Her hardened face clearly meant he should release them.
“Huuuuuuuu—!”
What returned, however, was the deep sigh of the Magic God of Dimensions, as if the ground itself might cave in.
In an instant both hands released their necks and flicked Amaterasu’s body upward. The body of Enlil beneath her was likewise launched by the recoil of both legs, reversing their positions. The Otherworld spirit gods, suddenly deprived of bodily control, swallowed dry gasps. Since they had been secretly preparing a decisive strike, the shock was even greater.
“Urk—!”
“Ack—!”
Whiiiir—! Thud!
What drove into the center of the goddesses’ abdomens—now pressed back-to-back after being flung into the air—was his right elbow and right knee. Without sparing a glance at the Otherworld spirit gods who had gone limp once more, unconscious from the beast-fang-like strike, he spat in a cold voice.
“You still don’t know them. If they were beings who could be persuaded by kind words and threats, they would not have been exiled from the Otherworld to this place despite possessing such outstanding authority and power. You lot cannot stay still either? Do you truly believe you can handle the current me? Now that the preliminary selection is over, if you damage the divine realm any further there will be no forgiveness.”
The Magic God of Dimensions watched Artemis, the God-Wolf Moon Goddess, hurriedly hide the palm-sized short bow she had secretly drawn behind the back of the Second-Generation God Emperor Nuwa. His gaze then shifted to Medeia of Betrayal Selection. Receiving his attention, she hurriedly gathered the strands of hair she had secretly spread across the Main Temple floor. The Sage of Omniscience clicked her tongue. From her actions it was immediately obvious she had intended to blow up the entire temple. He did not understand why these main gods would first try to shatter the very divine realm they were supposed to protect, yet he had learned a few certainties.
“You truly have suffered greatly. To think you have kept the divine realm intact despite all this.”
It was the anguish of the Magic God of Dimensions, who led these powerful yet deeply problematic main gods. Yet if such problems had not existed, he now understood why these beings—who would not have seemed out of place as Main Gods of the Divine Realm anywhere—chose to remain under a human-born Main God. They were obsessed with victory to a degree incomprehensible even to a demon god, willing to sacrifice the safety of the divine realm itself as a sacrificial lamb. No matter how capable they were, such tendencies made it impossible for them to remain members of any divine realm.
‘Every one of them possesses strength that stands out even among main gods, yet all of them have utterly rotten personalities. Any other Main God of the Divine Realm would probably give up and reorganize them immediately, but seeing what he is doing, it seems he intends to make them his subordinates even if by sheer stubbornness. Individually they are strong, but without origin or clan like the Magic God of Dimensions, they have nowhere else to go and no one else who would accept them. However, the divine realm where these beings have gathered would not be easy for even the Main Divine Realm to suppress. If their faction is invaded they would swarm like hornets, charging desperately. Even Almighty Hwi would find it difficult to handle. Moreover, if you add the Shuddering March—who refused to participate earlier because the civil war was too pathetic—along with her direct forces and the other main gods, the total combat strength is enormous. Should they truly become one faction, other divine realms and the Main Divine Realm would be in genuine danger. This is no longer a matter of the Main God Election. What should be done? Since it concerns the divine races, should I simply watch? A new Main God War would also be quite entertaining.’
Having learned both the dangers and possibilities of the Dimensional Divine Realm at once, the Sage of Omniscience found herself intrigued. And when every god had gathered inside the crumbling Main Temple, she realized it clearly. The more one touched this divine realm, the more dangerous it became.