The Absolute Authority Descends
In the Otherworld War, even as the head of the Divine Realm, victory mattered—but one could not ignore the surrounding gazes and reputation. They had raised their assessment, acknowledging that the opponent’s level had risen to a respectable degree. Since the enemy had gone so far as to issue a formal declaration, much of the anxious uncertainty from before had been resolved. Thus, he asked in a relaxed tone, “Where is the location? What place did they want as the battlefield?”
“It is here. They wish to mobilize every force at their command and settle the matter directly above the Main God Temple in the Main Divine Realm.”
“What? Here?”
The idea of using the space directly above the Main God Temple of the Main Divine Realm as the battlefield left him momentarily unable to process it. This was the most densely fortified location in the entire Main Divine Realm. He could not fathom what method could possibly breach the barrier that no Creator God could penetrate and allow entry here. Surely they did not expect the side accepting the challenge to open the doors to their own headquarters and vital core with an invitation of ‘come right in.’
“How?” Almighty Hwi paused briefly before asking the question.
“The dimensional spatial constraints have been lifted. I will now reflect the opponent’s Divine Realm directly.”
With those words, the Divine Realm Ego rapidly altered the screen that had been displaying the Main Divine Realm. Under normal circumstances it would have moved only at Almighty Hwi’s passive command, but this situation already threatened its own existence. It did not seem this would end with merely replacing the Main God as in the past. Even the nearly emotionless entity had begun to feel terror toward the being that had suddenly appeared.
On the transformed screen stood a colossal Creator God gripping the dimensional creation divinity with both hands. The divine race’s infinitely enlarged form left Almighty Hwi briefly puzzled about the opponent’s identity—until he unconsciously slammed both palms down on the round table.
The appearance had changed from its planetary form, yet the wave of divine power was unmistakable.
Boom—!
“Substitute Gods—!”
“It’s the Substitute Gods—!”
At the same time, the preliminary Creator Gods who had shot up from the round table cried out in voices that sounded like screams.
Even across the screen, how could they fail to recognize this familiar divine power? These were the divine beings created from the beginning to replace the gods. For more than a billion years, through certification battles and mercenary wars, they had survived countless lethal crises thanks to that overwhelming divine power. Here was a being with a body and divine strength surpassing planets, yet consuming vitality at a rate similar to ordinary divine races—an incomprehensible existence. Moreover, they were intolerable rivals who had rejected all negotiation and dialogue, waging fierce war for fifty billion years against every divine race and ruling faction across the main universes for the seat of dominance. Now they were supremely powerful entities that had utterly devastated not only the main universe but the ruling race of the Gray Realm in the Absolute Realm as well.
The Divine Realm Ego of the Main Divine Realm began urgently channeling divine power to its limit, reinforcing its defenses. The managing Main God watched with a stunned expression and muttered in a low voice, “That is Seongmyeol, first in the Substitute Gods’ combat rankings? A being that killed the highest clans of the 10 Mainstays in the Absolute Realm would sit directly beneath those same 10 Mainstays even there. You’re mobilizing such a transcendent powerhouse for a battle at the Main God Temple? No—how can you even consider mobilizing the Substitute Gods, the very symbol of terror for every divine race in the main universe and the obstacle they must overcome? Just what is the Dimensional Mage God thinking?”
Even a high-ranking Main God of the Substitute Gods was an existence that required the current Creator General Sangharama and the Demon Emperor to join forces in order to defeat. A being above that level was something the main universe could never hope to handle. It was precisely why every faction in the main universe now ruled by the Substitute Gods dared not even consider challenging them. They survived only by the Creator’s mercy, clinging to a thread of lineage.
The screen changed once more. The Creator Great God radiated dazzling dimensional divine power from its wings and began to blur. This sight, too, was all too familiar—the precursor to ultra-long-distance mass spatial movement that the planet-sized Main Gods of the Substitute Gods performed as easily as breathing. Yet the surrounding planets were also shifting wildly, an ominous sign. Moreover, seeing the dimensional divinity clutched in both hands, the intention became instantly clear.
“What—! Spatial movement while holding both the creation divinity and the Divine Realm—! What kind of absurd act is this? No, is such a thing even possible?”
The creation divinity was a hundred thousand times larger than an ordinary planet. Size, however, was not the issue; a living planet teeming with sentient and living beings naturally rejected all unnatural authorities and divine power. That was why divine races could exert only one-tenth of their strength inside a planet’s domain. Even long-distance spatial movement of a normal planet required one to have reached Creator God rank. With the creation divinity itself, it was doubtful whether even the beings of the Absolute Realm—let alone the Creator General—could manage it. Yet the screen now showed the absurd spectacle of the creation divinity and its surrounding satellites being moved through space all at once.
For an instant the figure vanished.
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!
At the same moment the entire Main Divine Realm shook with a colossal impact.
Almighty Hwi and the preliminary Creator Gods, staring at the now pitch-black screen, ground their teeth. They did not need to see it; the Divine Realm Ego’s report told them everything. The enemy they had been waiting for had arrived. Of course, it was not the preliminary Creator known as the Dimensional Mage God, who had amplified slightly more than ten billion divine power through magic. A savage fighting spirit and killing intent that threatened not only their divine souls but their very existence washed over them.
This is absurd. Is this the Creator Great God of the Substitute Gods, possessing divine power in the trillions? There is simply no way we can oppose something like this.
The ferocious, overwhelming divine power that made every inch of a Creator God’s body tingle poured down from empty space. Honestly, it was difficult even to breathe. If he was in this state, the preliminary Creator Gods and the rest of the deities were undoubtedly the same. The fact that they still held onto their fighting spirit through sheer hostility toward the Substitute Gods and the stubborn pride of direct lineage was, at least, admirable.
He drew a deep breath and steadied himself. No matter who the enemy was, he was the Main God of the Divine Realm who led them. He could not show weakness.
“Clear the ceiling. I want to see it with my own eyes.”
At the quiet command, the Divine Realm Ego did not even bother replying. It simply removed the ceiling of the Main God Temple. Blocking the aftershock from a dimensional leap of that giant and its dimensional divinity at close range was already taxing its limits.
Shhhhhhhhh—!
Above the vanished ceiling appeared the figure of an impossibly colossal Creator God, its twenty-six pairs of wings of light spread wide. Though it was clearly an enormous distance away, the sheer presence it radiated made it feel as if it stood right before their eyes. Then it hurled forward the dimensional creation divinity it had been cradling and charged toward the Main Divine Realm with both arms spread wide. Its speed was so great that it overtook both Almighty Hwi and the dimensional creation divinity, rushing straight at the Main Divine Realm. Of course, it was smashing through the countless barriers and defensive measures—capable of withstanding even the Creator General at full power—using nothing but its body and the waves of its divine power.
The sight of the giant shoving through the defensive screens as easily as tearing paper filled them with a terror beyond words. Even as the Divine Realm Ego continued to pour out crisis reports, there was nothing they could do.
The sight of it gathering divine power in its right arm and magic power in its left, preparing to strike the Main Divine Realm with both hands, prompted another scream-like report from the Divine Realm Ego. According to the data provided by the Cyber Realm, that single strike had annihilated even the highest-ranking clan of the Black Flame. It was the preparatory stance for the secret art newly registered in the Absolute Realm as an absolute authority.
The managing Main God’s explanation, thick with horror, followed immediately. “This madman—! A maximum strike of the absolute authority at the same time as spatial movement—! It intends to wipe out the entire Main Divine Realm along with everything else. The main universe’s defensive power cannot stop it.”
There were many crisis reports, yet nothing could be done. Now that they had become Creator Gods, they might have been able to handle a Main God of the Substitute Gods, but an existence so far beyond the norm was simply untouchable. Almighty Hwi, who had never imagined they would be defeated so pathetically, ground his teeth fiercely. He had anticipated a surprise attack, but the opponent had formally announced the opening of hostilities. To be attacked the instant they arrived and lose without any chance to respond—it was all his own failure. It was the result of his arrogance in underestimating the Dimensional Mage God who had passed through the Eternal Judgment.
I should have paid the Cyber Realm even more to gather additional information on the Dimensional Mage God.
Regret came too late. After ascending to Creator God, the Cyber Realm’s support had shifted from free to paid, and the price he had tried to save was now being exacted in the harshest possible way. Rage boiled up naturally, sharpening his words.
“Ugh—! Are you planning to annihilate everyone—! Have you lost your mind? What Main God Temple can you possibly claim without the Main Divine Realm? Dimensional Mage God—!”
It was already too late to deploy any countermeasures. The explosion of Ego Ayuta, activated simultaneously with the spatial movement, was right before them. In truth, it was doubtful whether any method to block such an attack even existed. When that much divine power and magic power fused and detonated, even a graze—let alone a direct hit—would force a Creator General to prepare for death. Before any defensive plan could be devised, Ego Ayuta had already reached its completion phase.
Kwaaaaaaaaak—!
The instant Creator Great God Seongmyeol’s enormous hands enveloped the entire Main Divine Realm, a tremendous shock and darkness swallowed everything. The Main Divine Realm’s defensive power resisted with everything it had, but the resistance would last only a moment.
Rumble rumble rumble—!
Almighty Hwi and the preliminary Creator Gods had already steeled themselves for their bodies to be torn into pieces and disintegrated like sand amid the explosion of divine and magic power.
Yet the storm of divine power and magic never came. Only the sound of something being forcibly ripped away echoed through the void.
Krrrrrrrrrrrrk—!
The Main God Stars orbiting and guarding the creation divinity at the center of the Main Divine Realm were being torn away without exception. As if lifting marbles by sliding them between ten fingers, the planets were fixed in place by divine and magic power, their connection to the Main Divine Realm forcibly severed and stolen.
“What—!”
There was no time to feel either doubt or joy at having survived the strike of the absolute authority Ego Ayuta. Without the support of the surrounding Main God Stars, the output that could be drawn from the creation divinity alone was now less than half. When one factored in the loss of authority diversity and stability, the damage was even more severe. At this point, it could no longer be considered the Main Divine Realm but merely a lesser Creation Realm. More than half their total combat strength had been stripped away in an instant.
Creator Great God Seongmyeol could be seen sealing the Main God Stars with divine and magic power, slotting them between its fingers so they could be crushed at any moment, then lifting them forward. Those Main God Stars contained the high gods and facilities of the Main Divine Realm that had been dispersed in preparation for an assault by the Dimensional Mage God. It had been a desperate contingency to ensure continued support even if the creation divinity itself became a battlefield—yet the entire set had been stolen outright.
All that remained were the Main God Temple, himself as the Creator God, the preliminary Creator Gods, and the remaining Main Gods. Before the battle had even truly begun, more than sixty percent of the Main Divine Realm’s strength had been shattered. In any ordinary clash between Main God Temples, this would have been a situation that demanded immediate admission of defeat.
Don’t tell me—! Was this the plan from the very beginning? Did they deliberately throw a festival to make us lower our guard?
And before Seongmyeol had charged into the Main Divine Realm, the dimensional creation divinity it had hurled forward was now rushing toward them with the force of an imminent collision. Positioned directly in front of the silver moon was another giant—far smaller than the Creator Great God, yet possessing identical divine power and appearance—holding a massive spear in a throwing stance.
At last, the enemy they had been waiting for had arrived. Though its size had grown immense, it was still a member of the divine race; appearance and scale were irrelevant. This was unmistakably the being whose presence he had felt on the battlefield and confirmed through data countless times.
“You bastard—! Dimensional Mage God—! An ambush and hostages right from the opening move, just as expected? In the end you resort to such cowardice? No matter how strong you become, you never change!”
Although the Main Divine Realm had not been completely destroyed in a single blow, Almighty Hwi’s furious roar shook the heavens after six of the Main God Stars that had been assisting in defense—along with the majority of the high gods—had been mercilessly stolen away while he could do nothing to stop it.