The Golden Absolute's Jealousy
The war in the Otherworld was one thing, but above all else, the Magic God of Dimensions was currently living as both the past and the present of the Grey Absolute. He bore joint responsibility for resolving every problem that arose in reality because of the Grey Absolute. Logically it made no sense, but since Jinri had acknowledged it, it was simply fact.
‘His ability is barely at the level of a Creator Candidate in the Main Divine Realm. Even considering his title and every other factor, in the Absolute Realm he’s nothing more than a low-ranking warrior. There’s no way he could handle the affairs of the 10 Mainstays. Yet Jinri accepted it. This time, an exception was permitted. That Jinri….’
A being of unparalleled talent, who had overcome countless reincarnations and every trial given to him, had never once been granted such an exception or special treatment—not even until the moment he was chosen to become the Golden Absolute. He had only been allowed to walk the path of the perfectly prepared Golden Absolute, and though he had reached the end, it was merely the predetermined outcome. Even the talent that should have allowed him to claim the number one seat in the Absolute Realm had ultimately failed to earn Jinri’s trust.
The current 10 Mainstays had been perfected beneath Jinri’s absolute protection and now reigned over the Absolute Realm as if it were only natural. Yet without Jinri, they would have been nothing more than ordinary powerhouses among many. ‘But that Magic God of Dimensions is different. For the first time, Jinri has left someone completely unattended—no education, no protection. Does that mean Jinri believes he can succeed on his own? Or is it because the current Grey Absolute exists, making protection unnecessary? It must be the latter. It has to be—!’
Every time these thoughts crossed his mind, it felt as if blood would burst from his eyes. The pride of being the supreme existence was shattering into pieces. No—the flames of emotion had truly ignited the moment the Grey Absolute’s self-destructive curse had caused his Golden Authority to decline.
Even the Black Flame Absolute, whose power reigned supreme in pure destructive force, could not invade him. That the golden immortality—which shone more brilliantly than any other authority and overwhelmed all—had been diminished by a grey curse was utterly unacceptable.
‘Jealousy—! No, endless hatred toward any being that dares challenge my position. This is the greatest flaw of the Golden Clan, which stands at the pinnacle. It must be overcome. But I cannot endure it. The golden immortality and eternity that sit at the apex of all authorities refuse to tolerate any existence above themselves. There is no stopping it. Yet I will do everything in my power to prevent reaching the final destination of that destructive fate.’
He knew all too well how the Golden Clan had fallen in the past. They had been the race closest to the gods among all living beings, and legend said their combat prowess had surpassed even the gods. The divine races had not even approached the planet where they lived, instead entrusting them with the role of proxies. But they could not tolerate other lifeforms gradually evolving to approach their level. The massacre of sentient beings born from that jealousy had horrified both the divine and demonic races, who joined forces to annihilate the clan.
The sole survivor had been the first Golden Absolute, Ariorina Ramases.
He had been the strongest warrior and chieftain of the Golden Clan, a being who had surpassed even the divine race that bore the glorious name ‘Eternal Love.’ Above all, he was a supreme powerhouse capable of surviving alone against the combined assault of both divine and demonic races. Yet even he could not prevent the clan’s destruction by himself. In the end, every member of his clan except himself was annihilated by the attacks of the divine and demonic races, leaving him utterly alone.
Afterward, rather than harboring hatred toward the divine and demonic races that had wiped out his clan, he lived the rest of his life consumed by guilt for failing to stop his own people’s rampage. He devoted himself solely to fighting for others. Even after meeting the other eight Absolutes, the one Transcendental, and the Sage—who had been the 10 Mainstays of the first generation—surpassing the Eternal Beings and receiving dominion over the Absolute Realm, that sorrow and resolve never changed.
Even when he ascended to the highest seat among the 10 Mainstays by unanimous consent of all others, it remained unchanged. It was said that on the flag of his absolute weapon, Evangeli, only a single character was inscribed.
‘Han (限).’
Its meaning was to resent bitterly, to limit, to restrain, to make uniform. To erase boundaries and make equal. To restrict and bring to an end. To halt excess. The fact that a word overflowing with every negative connotation had been naturally engraved upon the banner symbolizing the strongest golden being of the Absolute Realm was as good as deciding the fate of both the first-generation 10 Mainstays and the Absolute Realm itself.
Yet no matter how hard the first Golden Absolute tried to change that word, it would always return to its original form. Because an absolute weapon was the very essence of its creator. That was why, even in his final moment of madness as he fell before Jinri, he refused to exert his full power and never unfurled the flag. No matter how strong one became, one was still a living being. The noble spirit that refused to unfurl the flag even with a mind worn down and driven mad by eternal time was truly worthy of respect—but it was unfit for one who stood as the ruler of all Absolutes, supported by everyone’s endorsement.
No, even he—who knew every tragic outcome—could not blame him.
‘I am different, Ariorina Ramases the First. I, the second to inherit your name, will overcome even the fated destiny of gold as the strongest being in the Absolute Realm. Still, the Grey Absolute must be dealt with somehow. It has been proven that without countermeasures, even I could fall to the grey curse. I cannot leave him be. He is too dangerous.’
In the end, after circling back to the beginning, he deliberately ignored that truth. He had returned once more to the elimination of any existence that threatened his position.
‘I am not of the Wind Family. I am not one of those insane transcendentals who rejoice when a descendant surpasses them and whip themselves into even harsher training to accelerate that growth. Gold is the predetermined ruler. It is our duty to further elevate our current prosperity. Removing or restricting dangerous elements that threaten the existing order is only natural.’
As he organized his momentarily heightened emotions, the Black Flame Absolute caused yet another commotion.
“Ah, damn it—! With this idiot’s pathetic field of vision, I can’t stand how frustrating this is. How the hell do you lose an enemy inside your own domain? And after that, how does this happen? Cyber Realm—! That Magic God of Dimensions bastard still isn’t a Creator God, so you were monitoring him, right? Show me right now.”
“Yes.”
A Cyber God who had rushed over at some point quickly placed a massive screen before the Black Flame Absolute and vanished. Before anyone could intervene, the screen flickered to life, displaying the Magic God of Dimensions. It was the astonishing processing speed and information authority one would expect from a Cyber God.
‘As expected, they’re fast. There’s no competing with them in their specialized field. They’re desperate to earn recognition too, I see. Since Black Flame is acting like this, it’s already too late to stop it by force.’
The other eight Absolutes and Yuil Yongsinje were resting, but since this battle involved the past and present self of the Grey Absolute, they showed interest. Moreover, the fact that the Grey Absolute’s past had activated the Authority of Black Flame—which even its owner could not stop once it went into rampage—seemed to have piqued their curiosity about the situation.
When all of them felt this way, even the one holding the number one seat could not object. Of course, the thought that the Black Flame Absolute—who completely ignored any suggestion to stop meddling in the affairs of lower clans and focus on the ranking battles—was detestable never left his mind.
Since the destructive power of the Black Flame Authority surpassed even his own, the man no longer listened to perfectly reasonable advice. No, it was questionable whether he even understood what “reasonable” meant anymore. He claimed that in the past he had been praised as the greatest sage in the Absolute Realm, but it was becoming hard to believe such a time had ever existed. Or rather, given how he had been back then, it was understandable that he could still hold normal conversations despite mastering the Black Flame Authority to that degree, but his self-control was clearly deteriorating more and more.
Just as he was about to ponder how to handle this, the startled voices of the other eight Absolutes made him turn his gaze to the screen.
“What the hell? That guy? He’s getting wrecked?”
“Is that really the Authority of Black Flame?”
“How is he that weak?”
“Wait, that can’t be right?”
“He’s just a complete mad dog, isn’t he?”
At the unanimous criticism from the other eight Absolutes, the Black Flame Absolute spat out a curse.
“Ah—! Damn it—! Do you always have to talk like that? It’s not wrong, but….”
No matter how displeased he was, the opponent was still a member of the clan that had inherited the Black Flame Authority. Being openly called a mad dog in front of everyone could not possibly feel good. Yet he could not deny it.
The screen showing the Magic God of Dimensions’ battle was a horrific battlefield stained entirely with fresh blood. If it had been the enemy’s blood, such an assessment would not have arisen, but more than half of it was his own. It was fine that he had shattered the divine weapons thrown and swung by the enemy Creator Candidates using the Authority of Black Flame, but he was clearly taking hits from their strikes that concentrated all their divine power. No—the correct description was that his skill couldn’t keep up, so he was simply enduring with his body.
Crack—!Riiip—!
The sounds of bones shattering and muscles tearing echoed violently. Nowhere was the overwhelming might one would expect from an absolute authority on display. In fact, it was almost miraculous that a body trained in the Black Flame Authority could even sustain such wounds. But he was certainly making the enemies pay the price for those injuries.
The instant an attack landed, the opponent’s body came into direct contact with the Authority of Black Flame. They reached a distance so close their breaths mingled, and that range was precisely the optimal interval where the Black Flame Authority could exert its greatest power. In close-quarters combat like this, no authority or secret technique could withstand the limbs flailing wildly under the Black Flame Authority.
As if pouring out merciless blows upon those who had wounded his body, the counterattacks rained down. Crunch—!Smash—!Crack—!
The moment the enemy’s decisive full-power attacks succeeded, the Black Flame counterstrike erupted. The Creator Candidates couldn’t even scream as their insides were pulverized, spraying blood as they were sent flying. It was a sight that naturally drew sighs of lament.
“Idiots—! The scariest thing about Black Flame is the counterattack that comes from a frontal assault.”
“If they could just neutralize the counter, they could win. Why don’t they get that?”
“They barely have any real combat experience.”
“For Creator Candidates from the Main Universe, their ability is relatively high, but their mindset is all wrong.”
“A typical combat god who only rose through safe training.”
It was obvious at a glance that those Creator Candidates lacked that level of combat experience. They were beings who had advanced through safe sparring and duels in training halls. The fatal flaws and weaknesses of such individuals were laid bare in desperate, life-or-death melees like this. There was no such thing as staking one’s life to annihilate an opponent in a promised duel. That was why they couldn’t display their true ability and were helplessly cut down.
The eight close-combat specialist combat gods who had flown up to stop the Magic God of Dimensions—who was naturally falling toward the Main Divine Temple through the air—could not block the Black Flame counterattacks and collapsed pathetically. In exchange, each had inflicted critical wounds on the Magic God of Dimensions, but the Authority of Black Flame could not be stopped by that much.
He kicked off the empty air. Boom—!
As if proving that an injured beast was even more terrifying, he stomped through the void and charged even more fiercely toward the Main Divine Temple, which was pouring long-range attacks at him with clear hostility.
Bzzzzzzzzzt—!
However, an enormous number of authorities from the Main Divine Temple rose up to block his advance. After witnessing eight close-combat specialist combat gods—who had confidently stepped forward—being crushed in an instant, the Main Divine Temple had panicked and unleashed countless authorities from the other Creator Candidates.
The Magic God of Dimensions, driven into a rampage and reinforced to Creator God level with the help of the Main Divine Realm, smashed and tore through the defensive barriers using his arms, legs, and entire body.
Bang—!Boom—!
“Grrrrrr—! Kaaaaaah—!”
A roar like that of an excited beast erupted from his mouth, and the speed at which he destroyed the barriers accelerated further. It was the final form of the Black Flame Authority’s rampage, which had devoured even his reason. Once he reached this state, he could no longer stop while alive.
Having confirmed that the situation had entered the final stage, the Black Flame Absolute let out a sigh. He didn’t care whether the Grey Absolute’s past lived or died, but the sight was truly hideous. The man was covered in fatal wounds, drenched in blood from head to toe, and howling like a beast. Even though the tide seemed to be in his favor, nowhere in the scene did he look like a victor. He looked like a loser making a final, desperate struggle because he didn’t want to lose. And against the pathetic Creator Candidates of the Main Universe, no less.
A curse slipped out on its own.
“Fucking bastard. If you’re going to rampage, at least look cool while you die. Is this the final image you want to leave? A defeated mad dog? You’re smearing shit all over the face of the Black Flame Clan until the very end. How the hell am I supposed to feel better after seeing this?”
The rampage of Black Flame was never supposed to look like this. A body strengthened by the Authority of Black Flame ignored, reflected, and evaded any enemy attack to neutralize it. Then it tore apart every foe with monstrous strength that far surpassed common sense. It was an absolute authority that permitted neither injury nor defense from the enemy until its divine power was completely exhausted. That was Black Flame.
Yet right now, it was being displayed in the most vulgar and pathetic form through the hands of the Magic God of Dimensions. The other eight Absolutes and Yuil Yongsinje were all watching this disgraceful spectacle of the Black Flame Clan. He was already beginning to bitterly regret having called the Cyber Realm to display it on screen.
‘I never imagined he would fight this disgustingly. Still, he carries the blood of the Grey Absolute and the Black Flame Clan—how can he be injured this badly? No, why is he losing his mind so easily and ending up like that? Ah—! I can’t stand looking at it—!’
He wanted to turn it off immediately, but it seemed the other 10 Mainstays, who had taken interest in this ugly battle, would not allow it. Even if he stopped it, the moment the others wanted to see it again, it would resume. No matter how intact he himself remained, his power was too heavily specialized in destruction. Unlike Yuil Yongsinje, fighting two or more opponents at once was beyond him. So he could neither act nor stay still, and his insides were boiling with frustration.
In the end, he shot to his feet.
“I’m going right now to smash that bastard and all the rest of them—!”