The Battlefield Is Complete
In the skies above the Dimensional Divine Realm amid the Otherworld War, the Sage of Omniscience and the Shuddering March paused after exchanging a round of blows. Having fought each other directly, they now had a rough grasp of one another’s power levels. Besides, they shared some history back in the Demon Realm. Of course, as demon gods they were formidable opponents who couldn’t be defeated easily, so their relationship had always been one of mutual frustration—an itch to kill the other that neither could quite scratch. Still, this was another divine realm, so they needed to show some restraint. That meant figuring out why things had suddenly escalated like this. The moment they laid eyes on each other, both had unleashed full-powered attacks without any discussion of who should go first. They should have circled the subject with some shared topic, but the instant battle was joined, their demonic natures took over. Sharp, venomous words that stabbed straight into the opponent’s sorest spot flew out naturally.
“I heard you regenerated from annihilation. Looks like your skills took quite a hit, huh?”
“Oh my? I wonder who you’re talking about. Yourself, perhaps? Is monologuing your hobby now? I thought your only hobby was pretending to be cute with that little speech tic of yours. Didn’t know that. So you became the Demon God King and this is what you’ve been reduced to? You actually got weaker?”
“Oh my? Says the summoned spirit god who can’t do anything but run her mouth?”
“Oh dear! Oh dear! Did you not even know I’ve already gained independence? You somehow lucked your way from eternal candidate Demon God King to a free promotion and all you have left is that mouth of yours? No wonder your power is in this sorry state. At this rate, won’t some other candidate Demon God King just kill you?”
They stared at each other’s faces and fell silent for a moment. Conversation was clearly not the answer. Demon gods understood each other through combat. Or rather, they had already known. The reason they had attacked with full force the instant they saw one another.
“Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho—!”
“Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho—!”
The loud laughter of the two demon goddesses shook the entire divine realm. One was the Holy Demon who had mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Founders and risen to Demon God King. The other was the Super Demon God once called the demon among demons, capable of manifesting two racial authorities at once. They had clashed many times before, yet neither had ever claimed clear victory. The weight of that shared past caused fresh anger to bubble up inside them. Attacking the moment they saw each other had been a reflexive reaction upon realizing both were currently at their weakest.
“Die—!”
“Die—!”
Voices thick with killing intent rang out, declaring that this chance could not be missed. Extreme magic power and authority capable of pulverizing even the divine energy of the realm itself slammed into the entire Dimensional Divine Realm.
BOOOOOOM—!
Mushroom clouds bloomed as shockwaves tore outward. Goddesses watched in disbelief as the divine realm below them was obliterated in a perfect circle, starting with the temples directly beneath the clash. The female main gods and the highest-ranking goddesses wore stunned expressions. The temples they had only barely patched together a week earlier—after the Spirit Lord God had half-destroyed them—had just been reduced to rubble once again.
The female main gods who had rushed over in a panic were blown backward by the sudden burst of magical power. They had barely managed to prevent the aftermath from spreading across the entire realm, but they could not get any closer. The level of magic power was simply on another scale.
“What is this again? First Lokina goes on a rampage, now it’s the Shuddering March—!”
“We have to get in there and stop them somehow! The only half-decent part of the divine realm left is going to be completely destroyed.”
“If we could break through, we would have done it already.”
“Is this the power of a Demon God King and a candidate Demon God King? This is insane. Our authorities can’t even get close—!”
Because the realm had already been shattered once by the rampage of the spirit main gods, the lower gods moved like lightning. The moment the magic power spiked, they fled to the outer edges of the realm, so there were no casualties. Yet remembering the warning from the Main God of the Divine Realm, they hurriedly gathered around the main gods of their own factions to lend their strength. The feeling that they might genuinely be banished was growing stronger by the second.
“What are the spirit main gods doing?”
“They’re already waiting on the opposite side. The temples they were building over there have almost all collapsed too.”
“Oh my god—! Even that giant wolf god and the snake gods got blown away by the aftermath in a single hit? Everyone’s fleeing in absolute panic?”
KWAAAAANG—!
CRAAAAASH—!
The wolf gods and snake gods had bravely charged in, intending to block the demon goddesses with their own bodies. Their pride as the Divine Realm Annihilation Fortress had been shattered by the Main God of the Divine Realm, so they had set out to restore their honor. But even the indirect shockwave—not a direct hit—had sent them flying in a mangled mess. The spirit main gods who witnessed it were rendered speechless.
They had been proudly building personal temples faster than the original gods and feeling quite smug about it. Seeing all of it collapse left them utterly dejected. They had poured everything into creating those personal temples for the subordinates who would one day serve them. Now that every last one had been destroyed, they felt completely drained.
Deskana of Scheme Black Lightning continued in a hollow voice.
“The world really is futile. An aftermath of that magnitude is a catastrophe for anyone below main god rank. It’s too dangerous for us to approach either.”
“Ugh, seriously—! We finally built them first and now they’re destroying everything again. The Cosmic Tree’s sap is already full, so we can’t even make more.”
Kuezana, who had once been a human sacrifice before receiving a Substitute Clan core and becoming the Substitute Sun God, let out a long sigh. Thanks to receiving auxiliary authority cores from the Magic God of Dimensions, she now possessed even stronger creative power than before. She had been building new temples at a pace that overwhelmed the other female main gods while feeding on the Cosmic Tree’s sap, but now they had all been reduced to dust.
“To think I’d live to see the divine realm get destroyed once a week. Is this actually the Demon Realm? No, even the Demon Realm would never be this bad. Why do they keep destroying everything we’ve barely managed to build? Can’t we just live quietly now?”
“Please calm down.”
Riasna and Himejina—now nearly recovered thanks to the overflowing vitality of the Cosmic Tree, bearing the titles God-Destroying Red Flame and God-Slaying Black Thunder—were trying to soothe the hysterical goddesses. Everyone’s eyes turned toward Lokina, the Lord of the Flipside, who had pulled her grey robe low over her face. Although her divinity had been suspended, her divine power remained intact. Moreover, her dimensional authority had been strengthened as the Lord of the Flipside, so no one could ignore her. If anything, she seemed even stronger. She had completed construction in the spirit gods’ district at a speed no one else could match. No matter what anyone said, it was an undeniable fact that she was the strongest among the spirit main gods. And her planning ability had been proven true—when the old gods’ vested interests had caused half the temples to be blown away, everyone had been too busy with repairs to cause trouble.
The problem was the strong premonition that something like this would always happen. That was why voices kept rising.
“Do something about this! Don’t tell me this was part of the plan too? We were happy about building the temples first, but they’re destroying them again! At this rate we’ll all end up living in tents.”
“Does this mean the Main God of the Divine Realm intends to be uncooperative with the spirit main gods? It could also mean he absolutely will not tolerate any single faction gaining dominance.”
Hephais offered a counterargument, assuming the worst possible political scenario as expected of someone connected to the Magic God. Looking at the destroyed temples, something had occurred to her.
“I don’t think that’s it.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“It feels more like they’re demolishing every building that doesn’t suit the standards of the Creation Realm. The hastily thrown-together new structures are all being smashed as well. But the temples that were built with care are perfectly fine, protected by both the Main God of the Divine Realm and the realm itself. In other words, it seems anything that doesn’t meet the Creation Realm’s specifications will be completely demolished.”
“No matter how many we build, if they don’t fit the Creation Realm they’ll all be destroyed. So we’re supposed to build them properly? Forced demolition with no notice and no explanation?”
Lokina spoke in disbelief. Hephais brightened and answered immediately. She had been struggling to find the right words, but this explanation fit perfectly.
“Exactly—! Forced demolition! As a craftsman goddess, I understand completely. If a work doesn’t satisfy me completely, it hurts my heart, but it must be destroyed. That’s the pride of a true artisan. The fact that all the temples I built are perfectly safe is proof.”
At those words, the spirit main gods looked again at the spirit gods’ district and their faces twisted in misery. Amid the ruins, a few perfectly intact temples stood together. They all belonged to the craftsman gods and battle gods who admired Hephais. The personal temples she had built for them and her own temple radiated brilliant light, not a speck of dust upon them. Truly, her skill deserved to be called the Divine Hand even within the divine realm—the beauty was breathtaking. They even repelled every trace of residual shockwave as if protected by the realm itself. The spirit main gods felt something hot rising in their chests.
Some temples were smashed at the slightest excuse while others were protected from even a single particle of dust. How could they not be furious?
“Understanding can go to hell. If we don’t do something, everyone except you is going to end up homeless, so stop them right now! Breaking through head-on is your specialty, isn’t it?”
“You learned that absolute authority, the Incomprehensible Eight Founders or whatever it’s called, so do something about it! If you can’t win, at least go stop them—!”
“Ah—! No—! My body still can’t handle that place yet—! The Sage of Omniscience is a Holy Demon who has mastered a higher realm of the Incomprehensible Eight Founders than me, and the Shuddering March is a Super Demon God who operates transcendent authorities simultaneously. I absolutely cannot handle them! If I get grazed right now I’ll be shattered to pieces. So stop pushing me! I said stop pushing—!”
The absurd scene of the spirit main gods forcibly shoving Hephais forward while she flailed desperately to resist made Lokina’s head throb. She turned her gaze toward Kurkana of Soaring Serpent Blue Heaven, whom she had entrusted with assessing the surrounding situation because her mind was reliable.
With her divinity sealed and her temper flaring, she had focused solely on divine realm construction. In that time, the situation had changed considerably. The beings who would have gone absolutely wild with joy at the sight of a battle were nowhere to be found.
Kurkana nodded as if to say she was ready to answer any question.
“Where have the beast main gods and the Otherworld spirit gods gone? If they worked together, we should be able to exert some control.”
“The beast main gods went to decorate their honeymoon homes inside the Dimensional Temple. They also said they would no longer intervene in the operation of the divine realm. It seems they’ve all noticed that the relationship between the once-threatening female main gods and the divine realm is no longer normal. They declared they would follow what their mother taught them and focus all their energy on being wise mothers and good wives who support their husband.”
The string of words that made no sense caused a fire to ignite inside her. These people truly seemed to live in a different world. If she didn’t manage them directly, they were never around when actually needed.
“What did you just say? Wise mothers and good wives? What outdated era is that talk from? And honeymoon homes? Supporting their husband? The divine realm is being completely destroyed and this is what they choose to do?”
You’re the one who started all this—! That’s why the Main God of the Divine Realm is acting so openly. The first time was difficult, but now that it’s already happened, I’m terrified he’ll rampage again later saying he doesn’t like something and destroy everything. This place is just full of bombs…
Although she had a mountain of things she wanted to say in response to Lokina, she knew better than to pick a fight with someone of both high ability and a vicious personality. Simply surviving would already be fortunate. That was why she had accepted the role of adjutant.
“Then what about the Otherworld spirit gods? If they were here, I could break through using my dimensional authority. Are they still out of their minds and escaping from reality?”
“They were losing their minds in the middle of the street, talking to themselves like pathetic concubines. It would damage our husband’s reputation, so he took them with him. They followed quite obediently.”
“What the hell is wrong with everyone—! If I leave them alone, nothing ever gets done properly—!”
While Lokina was erupting in anger, the beast main gods gathered in the grand bath of the Cosmic Tree inside the Dimensional Temple were smiling warmly and enjoying a harmonious conversation. They already knew the female demon goddesses were fighting because the ego of the divine realm had informed them. Their unified authorities and power rank had nearly reached candidate creator god level even within this realm, so they were being granted every possible convenience. They had also been briefly told the reason, allowing them to relax with peace of mind. In fact, it felt rather refreshing.
In the beast realm of the Otherworld ruled by five beast god emperors, such continuous insolence toward the owner of this divine realm would have been unthinkable. They were angry on his behalf.
“Mmm—! As expected, husband would never let something like this slide.”
“Truly our husband. He’s using this opportunity to clean up all those shabby old buildings as well.”
“Disciplining the subordinates and handling the forced demolition of the old divine realm temples at the same time—two birds with one stone.”
“By the way, are those concubines still acting like that?”
“It seems the shock was quite severe. Until now they believed the world belonged to them. They rampaged freely, trusting only in their power. To be suppressed without being able to do anything must have been devastating.”
“Originally, with authorities at that level, they would have reflected after causing some trouble and stayed quiet. They wouldn’t have been banished here. That’s the problem. Now what should we even report?”
“It’s their own fault. Just report the facts honestly.”
“Anyway, this place is truly wonderful. Such pure vitality and incredible density—I feel myself growing stronger just by sitting here.”
“A sap bath from the Cosmic Tree. Such luxury is a first for us.”
“We’ve finished preparing so husband can rest comfortably when he arrives. Shall we get ready as well?”
In complete contrast to the cheerful mood of the beast main gods, the Otherworld spirit gods were in the worst possible state. Their injuries from the Dimensional Lord had already been completely healed, but their once-boundless pride had been shattered. The shock was especially severe for Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, and Enlil, the Storm Annihilation, who had been brutally defeated in close combat—the very field they had been most confident in. Artemis, the Divine Wolf Moon Goddess, whose prized divine bow had also been destroyed, seemed to have lost her mind as she endlessly repeated the same worries.
“This cannot be. This cannot be happening to me…”
“His close combat ability was clearly terrible, yet I couldn’t do anything? There wasn’t a single opening.”
“W-what do I do? How am I supposed to win?”
“My bow broke. It snapped right in two. It’s broken.”
No matter how much they agonized, they could not figure out how to win—could not even understand how they had lost. They were becoming increasingly haggard, to the point it was painful to watch.
Right beside them, completely unconcerned, Nuwa the Second Generation God Emperor and Medeia of Betrayal Selection were calmly chatting.
“Leaving aside the sudden explosive increase in ability, I truly don’t understand how his physical capabilities rose to that level. Did you see it? The way he repelled my earth authority with a simple stomp? Is that even possible?”
“For a Magic God who has mastered the magic path, the main authority is amplification of power through reality denial using computational ability. Because it is so powerful, learning other authorities is nearly impossible. Yet somehow he has added such close-combat capability to his transcendent dimensional authority. It is completely incomprehensible. Truly fascinating, though.”
“More importantly, shouldn’t we do something about them? They’ve been worrying like this for an entire week already. It seems they cannot find any way to win.”
“Each person must handle their own affairs. That is the minimum requirement for being comrades. Or perhaps the basic duty of subordinates and superiors? If they cannot manage their own responsibilities, they are unqualified. Besides, we must come up with our own countermeasures. At this rate, let alone returning to the Otherworld, we may truly end up becoming spirit gods completely subordinated to the Magic God of Dimensions.”
“I agree. But how are we supposed to stop a Magic God of Dimensions who can repel transcendent authorities with pure physical ability? Is such a thing even possible? How does one bounce back a god’s authority with the body?”
“Physical ability surpassing divine authority. It is not impossible. There were rare cases in my world, but they were merely a type of demigod authority. This, however… I have no idea what it is.”
The sight of their own authorities being helplessly blown away by the trajectory of a simple kick had been a tremendous shock. The frustrating realization that they had no countermeasures even if they fought again was almost unbearable. So the Otherworld spirit gods could do nothing but sigh.
Meanwhile, on a moon where no one else was present, the Magic God of Dimensions gazed at the endlessly stretching silver plaza and made his declaration.
“The battlefield is complete. Now then—the preliminary round of the selection begins. Have you prepared well?”
The Magic God of Dimensions smiled as he looked out over the grand plaza of the War God’s temple, where transcendents had gathered like clouds.