A Million Divine Artifacts

The war in the Otherworld was visible, and so was the sight of the gods now gathering inside the main temple. Their expressions made it clear that every last one of them was furious to the point of boiling over. The full-power clash between Shuddering March and the Sage of Omniscience had obliterated the Divine Realm in an instant. Even the powerful main goddesses and spirit main gods had abandoned any thought of approaching because of the battle’s aftermath. It proved that Main Gods held no sway against deities at the preliminary Creator God level or higher—beings who surpassed ordinary Main Gods.

So this is what they meant by “only those above Main God rank may participate.” Anything below that level could never endure the shockwaves thrown off by Main Gods fighting for the position of Main God King.

It was exactly as he had expected. If the other Main Gods could not even draw near the battlefield, the ones who would ultimately settle the outcome were the Main God King and the challenger. The subordinate Main Gods existed merely to prove the challenger’s talent for leading forces; they were not essential. The true core of victory in the Main God King election was the power of the Main God of the Divine Realm himself. One had to prove they were a Main God who possessed strength that surpassed other Main Gods and stood as a genuine powerhouse.

The Main God among Main Gods cannot be ordinary. The Main God King’s personal power must exceed the collective power of any group. Leadership ability is merely an added bonus. Once someone becomes Main God King, forces will naturally flock to them. But even that demands effort from the challenger.

He nodded after once again confirming the battle situation and the surrounding Main Gods’ reactions with his own eyes. Respect for a powerhouse beyond one’s ability to handle was no different among the god race. And that fury simply flowed in another direction. Challenging an absolute powerhouse meant instant death, so they redirected their blame toward weaker targets instead.

At least this part is no different from humans. That alone is fortunate. And it will become the key to victory in this Main God King election.

The fact that they were all rushing toward the main temple suggested he himself had become the target of their anger, but the notion was laughable. The current him had already forged a level of strength entirely different from both the Sage of Omniscience and Shuddering March.

What mattered now was grasping the true nature of the Main God King selection process.

Any powerhouse becomes the weakest being the moment they ascend. The Main God King is the one who proves they can overcome that weakness and rise once more as a true powerhouse. That is the hope and symbol for every Main God. Yet the original Main God King is also a powerhouse who commands the colossal force known as the Main Divine Realm. Challenging alone while burning through vitality against countless Main Gods offers no chance of victory. Only someone like Almighty Hwi, who mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Founders and therefore consumes almost no vitality, could accomplish such a feat. Naturally, the rule emerged that only a transcendent powerhouse capable of commanding numerous strong allies can become Main God King.

But do you really think I will obediently follow that formula? It is a rule that favors only those born with mighty forces and talent. I will uphold the rule itself—but the result will not be what you expect. I will shatter every prediction and crush it beyond recognition.

He gazed once more across the moon’s surface, now transformed into endless silver plains. The faintly glowing circle of the magic formation was executing planetary-scale magic without the slightest flaw. He felt deep satisfaction at its flawless operation despite operating on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠such an immense scale.

I have finally climbed this far.

With magic alone, he had reached the 11th circle even by the standards of Truth.

Vrrr—! Vrrr—!

The gods who had just opened the doors of the main temple and stepped inside doubted their own eyes. Fully half the seats ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opposite the entrance had been completely cleared away. Standing guard over those empty spaces were divine artifacts.

Ornately decorated armor and divine weapons stood in perfect formation, each set a single coordinated unit. The number of variously colored armors and weapons stretching on without end was staggering. It was absurd, yet every single one—even if low-grade—was a genuine divine artifact. The artisan gods, who understood better than anyone the effort and divine power required to create even one, could not believe what they were seeing. A divine artifact normally demanded more than ten thousand years of time and labor from even the highest gods. Yet here stood at least a million of them.

The sight of an uncountable number of completed divine artifacts arrayed inside the main temple was something they had never even dared to imagine.

“D-Don’t tell me… he made all of these alone?”

“Is it the power of time control granted by the Dimensional Authority? But no matter how much time you have, how could something like this be possible?”

“Can the Dimensional Authority do this? Or is it magic?”

Without realizing it, their eyes turned toward Lokina, who had reinforced the Dimensional Authority with the power of the Lord of the Flipside. Yet her expression remained hidden behind the robe covering her face. They only saw her sweep her gaze across the divine artifacts, give a small nod, and then walk to her seat at the round table ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and sit down.

Hephais, who hurriedly took the seat beside her, spoke up. She was so shocked she had no leisure to keep her words secret through sheer force of will.

“Is this possible with the Dimensional Authority? Even I—who was once considered the greatest among artisan gods—find this impossible. I would have collapsed before finishing even a fraction of them.”

“They were mass-produced through magic, so there’s no need for concern. They’re little more than illusions that will vanish after a few uses at maximum output. Stop being so surprised and sit properly.”

“Mere illusions? You said they can be used multiple times. Is this really something we shouldn’t be shocked by? There are roughly a million gods in the current Divine Realm. These are enough artifacts to arm every single one of them and still have plenty left over.”

“It seems a more precise explanation is required.”

Having had her divine rights restricted by the Main God of the Divine Realm without being able to offer the slightest resistance, Lokina had grown considerably more subdued. Without divine rights, even if she possessed the power to suppress them all, a poor attitude could result in persecution from every god in the Divine Realm and eventual expulsion. That would be even more humiliating than the betrayal she had suffered at the final moment of victory in the previous Main God War.

Above all, she was now deeply satisfied with the benefits and racial support granted by the Creation Realm—advantages incomparably superior to anything from the past—and was using them to strengthen herself further. She had come to understand that being driven out from here would mean losing any future chance at such opportunities. Therefore she was making every effort to avoid clashing with the spirit main gods or other deities. There was also a clear need to reconcile and combine their strengths wherever possible.

After witnessing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Shuddering March and the Sage of Omniscience fight, it was obvious that the demon gods of this era were dangerously powerful. They were no longer the starving beasts of the past who clung only to physical ability due to scarce vitality. They were kings forged from black jewels, born of endless training and cultivation within overflowing vitality. The spirit main gods alone would not be enough to face them.

“Listen carefully. Those divine artifacts are virtual constructs created by combining two spells from the Main God of the Divine Realm’s magic: the creation magic I Exist as Myself, So Shall You and Looking Back at Oneself, Past and Present Are the Same. They are not permanent. Once the magic ends and the embedded divine power is exhausted, they will disappear. There is no need to be so alarmed.”

At Lokina’s explanation, Torina—who had somewhat restored their old familiarity—asked, “How many times can they be used? Would they work in the Main God election?”

“The absolute maximum is twice. Any further use consumes the composing divine power and they vanish like the illusions they are. In the end the vitality cost is so severe compared to the effect that they should be useless, yet why do they feel so real? The sense of reality is so perfect it nearly fooled even me—a mage god who has mastered magic. Wait… this isn’t magic?”

While examining a divine artifact in detail, she discovered a section that her mage god analysis authority could not decipher at all. A faintly glowing circular plate was fused to the center of each artifact, and through that plate the divine power filling the main temple was pouring in at a terrifying rate.

Upon closer inspection, extremely fine metallic threads extended from the plate like blood vessels, pulsing as they merged with the artifact itself. The more thoroughly fused the section, the more exponentially real the artifact felt.

Unable to comprehend the phenomenon, Lokina hurriedly reached for the nearest divine artifact, intending to pull it closer. The instant her hand touched it, a powerful repulsive force erupted from the artifact.

Crackle—! Whoosh—! Clang—! Bang—! Swoosh—!

Light of every color repelled Lokina’s authority. The simultaneous rejection from countless attributes left her momentarily speechless. Mere divine artifacts were refusing a Main God who wielded transcendent power. The impossibility of it prompted her to analyze them again, only to become even more dumbfounded.

The amount of divine power these artifacts possess exceeds that of an average Main God. That’s why they can push away even my own divine power, which is backed by a highest-grade divine body. But I’ve roughly identified what’s happening. Something that is not magic is injecting divine power into the artifacts to reinforce them.

What shocked her even more was the realization that the sole entity supplying that charge—granting every artifact the divine power of a Main God—was the Magic God of Dimensions alone.

Don’t tell me he has been personally charging several hundred thousand divine artifacts with over a billion divine power each? With the Dimensional Authority and the support of the Creation Realm, it might be possible if enough time were invested, but not within a single week. Moreover, simultaneous charging on this scale would be impossible with ordinary recovery ability. At minimum it would require Creator General-level divine power and a transcendent authority on the level of Granzoa’s Infinite Restoration. Yet the proof stands right before my eyes. Then is this the mage god’s amplification? Just how deep has his mastery of magic reached that he can perform all of this at once?

Although she possessed the body of a highest-grade god and could amplify herself stably as a mage god, she had believed the matter unrelated to her. This incident and these artifacts shook her to her very foundation. The gods of the 499th Master Universe were simply too strong for her to afford such complacency. Deciding she needed to uncover the truth, she mobilized the authority of the Lord of the Flipside and reached out to the artifact once more. Proving the impossible phenomenon was a duty for any mage god. She had to confirm the nature of that glowing circular plate that fixed illusory artifacts—ones that should vanish when the magic ended—into something that felt perfectly real.

If the repulsive force activated again, she intended to crush it with raw power. But that intention was never realized.

“Stop. That is neither necessary for you nor permitted.”

The Magic God of Dimensions, wearing a robe that hid his face just as hers did, had appeared at the seat of highest honor within the main temple. With his face concealed, she could not read his thoughts or guess what he had been doing. She had no choice but to admit that hiding one’s face behind a robe was incredibly irritating to others.

“There is no time, so I will only announce the decided results.”

It seemed he had no intention of allowing questions about the current situation. Seeing his reappearance, it was clear he had no interest in discussion. A subtle but oppressive aura—similar to the fear they had felt from the Sage of Omniscience and Shuddering March—was spreading from the Magic God of Dimensions. It carried the distinct warning that any attempt to fight would make avoiding death nearly impossible. The other Main Gods and deities appeared to feel the same, for they remained utterly silent.

“The basic form of the new Dimensional Divine Realm’s temple shall be the temple of Infinite Alchemy Hephais, the only structure that endured this incident without suffering any damage. It is the reward for constructing an excellent temple. Speak of whatever you desire for your injuries at a later time.”

Before Hephais could respond, the announcement continued.

“I approved this incident after receiving a request from Shuddering March. The reason given was that the visitors were attempting to act as owners while remaining guests. The Main God of the Divine Realm had recognized them as valuable guests, but there are limits. They interfered in the operation of the Divine Realm, so I judged that a warning and disciplinary action were necessary. The claim was justified, and therefore I approved it. The restoration of the destroyed temples will be carried out personally by me, using Hephais’s temple as the foundation. It will be completed by the time this assembly ends.”

The murmuring among the gods died away completely. Since the restoration of the temples they had desperately wanted was now resolved, there was nothing left to say. Yet the vast Divine Realm would have required dozens of Main Gods and every available deity to work frantically for an entire week to restore through emergency measures. The sheer audacity and capability to finish it all by the end of a single meeting left them stunned.

“And enter. Indomitable Hero God.”

“Yes!”

Every god’s eyes widened in astonishment as the Hero God answered vigorously and stepped into the main temple. They did not know what magic had been used, but his previously low-grade divine power had risen to the intermediate level and his entire aura had transformed. The bewildered look of someone still adjusting to a newly acquired body was gone, replaced by overflowing confidence. His disciplined posture—perfectly controlling every movement while clad in divine sword and armor—was enough to draw genuine admiration. Especially among the primordial war gods, who were sensitive to fighting spirit and killing intent and possessed outstanding realms of cultivation, involuntary whistles escaped.

The Hero God before them now had fundamentals so perfectly grounded that they wanted to show the sight to their own successors.

“Wheeeee—! Not bad at all.”

“Whistle—! The chick turned into a full-grown chicken in one go. From third-rate to second-rate in just a single week? What exactly happened here?”