Shattered Indomitable
The Otherworld War, and the dazzling barrier of light, halted the Main Gods’ charge. Crack-crack-crack-crunch—! The deafening sound of bones grinding out of place reverberated throughout the Hero God’s entire body. Yet alongside the pain came an overwhelming surge of ecstasy. The brilliant wall of light radiating from his own form had brought the assault of two hundred Main Gods to a dead stop, if only for an instant. It was a feat no mere Intermediate God should have been capable of achieving.
The wall of light—proof of that impossible victory—spread outward from the Hero God, flowing across the fallen Fist God and Sword God before extending toward the other Transcendents. Their collective trust and faith were the source of his power. And so, a powerful divine declaration rang out to reinforce his authority.
“My authority is Indomitable! A power that bends to no hardship whatsoever—! The path of trials I chose as a human to become a hero and fight the Demon King is my life and my will. The more comrades I can trust to risk their lives beside me, the stronger I become. For the sake of my comrades and everyone else, I shall become the shield that blocks any enemy attack and the invincible sword that delivers victory. Therefore…”
The Hero God’s confident, triumphant expression froze mid-sentence, replaced by pure bewilderment. This was the first time he had unleashed Indomitable at full power, revealing its true nature. It was a wide-area authority that grew stronger the more trustworthy comrades stood at his side. According to the Beast God, it was an extremely rare wide-area authority even among superior ones, and its effectiveness was guaranteed. The only drawback had been the Beast God’s slightly pitying look, but he had assured the Hero God that with a million Transcendents under his command, he could withstand even the Main Gods.
Even if not every one of the million Transcendents counted as a true comrade, simply earning the trust of the newly ascended Lower Gods should have been enough to stop the Main Gods’ charge. And yet the supposedly superior Indomitable was crumbling apart.
Crunch—!Crack—!Shatter—!
The Hero God stared in disbelief as his authority shattered like glass and scattered into dust. He whipped his head toward the Fist God and Sword God. The answer was immediately obvious. The solid flow of trust that should have begun with those two had turned pitch black and snapped. This wasn’t trust—it was resentment.
He could guess the reason easily enough. The two weeks of forced impotence were the problem. After becoming Lower Gods and regaining their youth, their soaring desires had been blocked because of him. That was why they harbored such grudges. But this was no time for personal complaints. The fate of humanity—no, the survival of every sentient being in existence—was on the line. If things went wrong here, the Dimensional Mage God might choose the extreme option of slaughtering every sentient being to reclaim their vitality, just as the Demon Gods had once done.
No, the very existence of the Magic God of Dimensions, who now served as the Main God of the Divine Realm, was at stake. There would be no forgiveness. Above all, the greatest thing the Hero God had gained after centuries of training as a member of the divine race was basic common sense. Any planet managed by the Divine Realm would either become part of the Demon Realm, be discarded, or be frozen forever if its ruling divine realm fell. The Demon Gods’ independent realms made things complicated, but the result for sentient beings would be catastrophic either way.
So the curses and scolding burst out of him automatically.
“You absolute idiots! You’re holding a grudge over two measly weeks of impotence? At a time like this, you lose your minds to such base desires and instincts? You hesitated even when fighting the Demon Kings, and you’re still like this? How do you expect to become proper gods behaving this way?”
“……”
“……”
The Sword God and Fist God, who had finally realized what the shattered authority had been, couldn’t even lift their heads. Or rather, they couldn’t bring themselves to voice their true thoughts in front of everyone.
Damn it—! We finally became Lower Gods and got young, handsome bodies again. Those shining wings of light were insanely popular with the women! All we had to do was smile and reach out and we could’ve gone straight to the bedroom, but you made us impotent! How the hell would you understand when you’re always relieving those desires—!
The Main Gods, who had been momentarily stunned when their charge was halted, quickly grasped the situation and let out weary sighs.
“Haa… Trust that risks one’s life isn’t something so easily earned. Especially when the basic condition relies on the emotions of incomplete living beings? This is the worst.”
“Tsk tsk. You set far too complicated prerequisites. It would have been much simpler to use a resolution like ‘if I can’t win while risking my life, I die’ as the activation condition. Wouldn’t that make it an independent authority? This is far too convoluted.”
“It’s a shame. The rank is above superior and it’s even a wide-area authority. But why would you attach such an activation condition? This is exactly why early education is so important.”
It was the very issue that prestigious divine clans had drilled into young gods countless times: the ease of activating an authority. No matter how powerful the authority, it was worthless if the activation condition was too difficult. Especially something as unstable as relying on the emotions of living beings—that was something to be avoided at all costs.
“Well, it was his own choice, so there’s nothing to be done. Then we’ll activate our authorities and get serious. Still, since it’s a superior wide-area authority, there’s no need to hold back.”
Thirteen pairs of wings of light rose from the Main Gods’ backs as their individual authorities began to activate. The Hero God cried out desperately.
“Please wait—! Just give me a moment to talk with these foolish friends—! Uwaaaaaah—!”
Baaaaam—!
The Hero God was sent flying into the distance by the shockwave of the Main Gods’ activating authorities. The Main Gods had already begun their charge. Transcendents started screaming as they were hurled in every direction like dust before a storm.
“The Magic God of Dimensions, our Main God of the Divine Realm, said this is a harsh battle meant to select the worthy. Anything beyond that is none of our concern.”
The Main Gods’ merciless assault on the Transcendents continued without end, their attacks flashing like lightning.
Meanwhile, an extremely dangerous situation had suddenly developed inside the Main God Temple. The Magic God of Dimensions, who had been watching the preliminary selection battles, flew into a rage upon seeing the Transcendents being helplessly flung aside because the Hero God couldn’t activate his authority.
That fury transformed into a wave of magical power that crossed dimensions, manifesting as a massive, formless hand that seized the Beast God and hauled him into the air.
Squuuuuueeeeze—!
“Aaaaargh—! I’m going to die! Why—! Why are you suddenly doing this?!”
The Beast God screamed as he was crushed by an overwhelming magical pressure that even a Main God’s divine power couldn’t withstand. The wave of magic had crossed dimensions so absurdly that there was no chance to dodge or resist. He was helplessly caught and on the verge of death; at the very least he needed to know the reason.
The furious voice of the Magic God of Dimensions overpowered the Beast God’s cries.
“Beast God—! You bastard—! I told you to train him, and you turned the Hero God’s authority into this? The activation condition is ‘Trust’? What kind of childish comedy is this? Do you think wide-area authorities above the superior rank are common? And you think you’ll get away with this? How dare a god of my Divine Realm interfere with my battle plan? I won’t forgive you. I’ll tear you limb from limb with my own hands and lock your divine spirit in the Divine Spirit Purgatory for all eternity.”
Crunch. Crack.
Magical power surged as if it would grind every bone in the Beast God’s body to powder. The Beast God’s face turned deathly pale.
This is serious!
The killing intent was so thick that the Main Gods, who had been in a celebratory mood thanks to the gentle Goddesses, hurriedly shifted into defensive stances with panicked expressions. Yet the Magic God of Dimensions paid them no mind. He was obsessed solely with victory, and at this rate the Beast God would truly be killed. No—if it ended with death, that would be fortunate. Death could be overcome with resurrection, but the Magic God looked ready to permanently imprison even his divine spirit.
The Beast God had pushed the matter to the back of his mind since it didn’t concern him directly, but the Magic God of Dimensions possessed an authority called Divine Spirit Purgatory. It was essentially another Spirit Realm specifically designed to imprison and seal divine spirits. For the gods, it was a nightmare comparable to the human concept of Hell.
“Uwaaaaaaaaah—! It wasn’t me! I absolutely did not guide him toward this! The activation condition was already set before training even began! Unless he reached Main God rank, there was nothing even I could do to change it!”
The Magic God of Dimensions paused the punishment at the Beast God’s desperate cry and summoned the Divine Realm’s ego to verify the claim. Sure enough, the activation condition had been registered the moment the Hero God became a Lower God. Unlike divine beings whose conditions could be adjusted to some degree as their divine power increased, this one was completely fixed. It meant that the moment the authority was created, the will formed from his original life had become permanently locked in as the activation condition.
Gods born as spiritual beings with blank slates could have their conditions changed through education, but Transcendents who had matured through extreme training were a different matter.
“Hmm… So the moment a Transcendent becomes a Lower God, their authority and activation condition are randomly determined and then fixed? It’s different from me, who holds the title of ‘Origin.’”
“That’s what I’m saying—! It doesn’t make sense that there are no restrictions when humans become gods. It’s unfair!”
When the Beast God realized a path to survival had opened and pleaded desperately, the Magic God of Dimensions understood and released him back to his original position. The Beast God, who had nearly died, didn’t dare show any other emotion and simply let out a sigh of relief. That was when he heard the muttered words.
“Our forces are insufficient. Then there’s no choice. We’ll have to use these as well.”
A dimensional gate opened above the lunar battlefield that had been turned into chaos by the Main Gods’ activated authorities. At almost the exact same moment, hundreds of massive metal giants and monsters appeared on the field.
They aligned themselves with perfect discipline and simultaneously dropped to both knees, pressing their foreheads to the ground. They had sensed the overwhelming difference in power and dignity from the figure of the Magic God of Dimensions wearing his grey robe, who had manifested in the sky.
“O great Main God of our Divine Realm. We have already been preparing according to the instructions of the Machine Goddesses.”
Without hesitation, the giant illusion of the Magic God of Dimensions pointed toward the Main Gods who were mercilessly sweeping through the Transcendents.
“Fight against them and grow stronger. The conditions are the same. If you produce results that satisfy me, I will grant you residence rights within the Creation Realm. I will also lift the restrictions I placed on you as punishment for challenging me. Furthermore, there will be no death or injury on this battlefield.”
The metal giants and monstrous beasts, who had felt a momentary fear upon sensing the power of the Main Gods they were supposed to face, underwent an immediate change in momentum.
We already learned almost everything about this place from the Machine Goddesses.
They said the representatives of living beings are competing for residence rights on an incomprehensibly vast planet over a hundred million times larger than a normal one.
Moreover, they are preparing for a battle of fate called the Main God Tournament against the Main God of the Divine Realm.
In just a few short months, they had risen to the ruling class using the superior power granted by the gods and seized through their own efforts. They had been chosen as apostles by the Machine Goddesses and sworn loyalty. From the knowledge they received, they learned just how devastated and doomed their own universe had become. Planets were being destroyed due to resource depletion, causing living beings to weaken and die. In crude terms, their universe had been nothing but a cosmic junkyard.
Advancing into other universes had been impossible. Regions outside their own abandoned universe were managed by powerful Main Gods of the Divine Realm. Above them existed the Main Divine Realm and the Creation Realm—a vast system of unimaginable power that completely controlled everything. Territorial invasion was out of the question.
Even if they tried to do something within their own universe, the planets were already on the brink of death, making it impossible. No matter what, they needed at least a minimal amount of vitality from another universe to revive themselves. That was why the Machine Goddesses had urgently traveled to the higher Divine Realm, and all their forces had been on standby.
They hadn’t understood when they were lower-class citizens, but now that they had become the ruling class, this was an incredibly precious opportunity. They were trying to obtain even the smallest reward from the gaps between the selection battles and the Main God Tournament.
Now they had officially received a promise of rewards, and upon checking, they had even been promised the right to challenge for residence on a planet of immeasurable size, vitality, and resources. It was enough to move them to tears.
“This one, Break Through, thanks the God for His grace. I shall fight with all my power.”
“The Machine Empire once again swears its loyalty.”
It was the moment the Machine Mage Gods—created by the Magic God of Dimensions and strengthened by the Machine Goddesses—along with the planet-conquering weapons officially entered the selection battle.