The Final Stand

The war in the Otherworld had been nothing but a fleeting moment. The words that slipped from lips seemingly ready to unleash a beastly roar were utterly unexpected.

“Guide of the Origin, summon.”

A small spatial gate opened in the air above his head, and the Guide of the Origin—remodeled using the Sword of Ruin and Soul—revealed itself. Since it had appeared directly overhead, it naturally began to fall. At the same moment, the black flames vanished as if washed away. He reached out with his right hand and caught it cleanly.

Whoooong—!

Thud!

He gripped the staff lightly and swung it in a wide arc, slicing through the air. Instantly, pure white smoke rose from the fatal wounds he had suffered while enduring the Main Divine Realm’s defensive authorities ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with his own body. A massive circle of light and rotating triangles appeared around the Dimensional Mage God’s entire form.

The effect of the Origin title had begun to manifest.

“Nice—! The Authority of Black Flame that has taken root in my instincts is exactly as I expected. There’s no way something like the Madness Restriction could hold up against me in this state. The title’s effect amplification is working perfectly too. Alright, let’s go again.”

There was no longer any trace of the earlier chaos that had nearly breached his final defensive line. The Main Gods and Creator Candidates who had barely avoided instant death from his wide-area magic and close-range black flame attacks were recovering and forming an encirclement. On top of that, the Creator Candidates stationed at the Main God Temple were completely unharmed and preparing their strongest offensive abilities.

It was only a brief standoff, but the moment he moved, a tidal wave of authorities—enough to overwhelm even a Creator God alone—would come crashing down. The problem wasn’t just the Creator God-level power bolstered by the Main Divine Realm’s support; the sheer number of offensive and defensive authorities being activated made any response extremely difficult.

As expected, they’re no pushovers. Now I understand why even the Demon God Kings refuse to infiltrate a divine realm alone.

Inside their own temples and divine realms, the gods’ power was amplified to near its absolute limit, and their revival speed was beyond imagination. Their authorities and divinity were drastically strengthened by the realm itself. Unless you drove them to complete annihilation, they would resurrect almost instantly and charge right back in.

Normally, any enemy who invaded a divine realm would either flee from the endless waves of reviving gods or be overwhelmed and subdued. That was why even the mightiest Demon God King who mistakenly entered a divine realm would end up like an elephant trampled to death by an endless swarm of ants.

And the gods of the Main Divine Realm were far beyond mere ants. Even if they lacked real combat experience, they were the carefully selected elite among the direct bloodlines of Main Gods and Creator Gods. They were powerhouses who had reached Main God and Creator Candidate status through sheer talent alone.

That was why more than half had survived his surprise wide-area magic strike and close-range black flame assault, and even those who had fallen were resurrecting one after another and returning to the fight. Despite taking such devastating damage, they had already restored their full combat strength. This was the true potential of the divine race within their own realm.

If the divine realm’s restrictions were also imposed on the enemy, the invader would usually be left completely helpless. It wasn’t as severe as a planetary barrier that reduced a Spiritual Being’s power to a tenth, but an enormous drop in combat effectiveness was unavoidable. External support or blessings were essentially useless here.

Since he had charged straight into the heart of such a divine realm, there was no room for tricks. He could only push through with his body like before or dismantle their defenses one by one.

The Seat of Glory inside the Main God Temple was now right before him. It looked like victory was already in his grasp, yet considering the enhanced power and authorities of the gods within the divine realm, this would undoubtedly become the fiercest battle yet. Since they were all of the same divine race, the key would be who exhausted their divine power first and collapsed from exhaustion.

Of course, he could barely receive support from his own Dimensional Divine Realm, and fighting alone put him at an overwhelming disadvantage. Still, he spoke calmly as he steeled his resolve.

“However. I am the Dimensional Mage God. It doesn’t matter how many inferior beings stand against me. They will all vanish before my wide-area attacks. And I also possess the title of Origin. Having already surpassed the Creator Gods, I will neither die nor grow weary as long as my fighting spirit remains. Shall we see who gives up first—the Main Divine Realm, or me?”

He had already beaten to death all the close-combat specialized Creator Candidates—the most troublesome opponents—using the forcibly activated Authority of Black Flame. Once struck directly by the absolute destructive power and lethality of the black flames, even gods inside their own realm could not resurrect easily.

The Main Gods and Creator Candidates now rushing toward him were mostly long-range or mid-range specialists like himself. Having tasted the Authority of Black Flame, they would never approach directly and would instead pressure him with divine power and authorities. From now on, it would be a battle of computational power and incantation speed.

The opposing Main Gods and Creator Candidates had already begun their incantations. It was time to show them the true power of a Mage God.

Kuuuooo—!

He planted the Guide of the Origin into the ground and began his incantation, concentrating all his mana and divine power. The eleven layers of magic circles above his head spun wildly, while the thirteen pairs of wings of light behind him swallowed the surrounding reality whole and claimed it as his own.

Attacks from the external Main Gods poured down like rain against the dimensional barrier he had created.

Dudududududu—!

But there was no way they could inflict any damage. He completely nullified the weak authorities and attacks of the gods who had skipped proper incantations and fired hastily, still unaware of who they were dealing with.

When even their probing attacks failed completely, the Main Gods cried out in panic.

“It has no effect at all—!”

“That’s impossible—!”

No matter how weakened they were from skipping the incantation, those were attacks powerful enough to kill even high-ranking gods. Yet hundreds of such strikes vanished without a trace the moment they entered his dimensional divine power space, like snowflakes before the sun.

In fact, there were even signs that every single attack was being absorbed by the Dimensional Mage God.

Although he possessed the Origin title, the Dimensional Mage God could not instantly recover from the massive injuries and divine power loss he had suffered while breaking through the Main God Temple’s final defensive line. If he launched a direct attack, he had no countermeasure against the Authority of Black Flame that had just been activated. In that situation, they had launched a concentrated long-range barrage to disrupt his formal incantation.

Yet the more they poured on their attacks, the faster his wounds and divine power recovered—far from hindering his casting. The Main Gods grew visibly shaken as their own attacks were somehow healing the enemy, and their formation began to crumble. At that moment, the self-awareness of the Main Divine Realm sent out a frantic warning.

The realm’s self-awareness normally held no direct command authority over the Main Gods belonging to it, but this was an emergency. At this rate, the entire Main Divine Realm risked being wiped out by the Dimensional Mage God. Moreover, the Almighty Hwi—who should have been able to stop him single-handedly—had been tricked and lured away to the enemy’s Dimensional Divine Realm.

The self-awareness of the Dimensional Divine Realm had prepared thoroughly; even against the newly ascended Creator God known as the Almighty Hwi, it was desperately deploying its maximum defensive authorities and holding its ground. Yet here, it could do nothing and had already lost the Main God Temple.

All that remained was the Round Table that served as the final guardian of the Seat of Glory. If even that was breached, it would truly be over. If a Creator Candidate sat upon the completely undefended Seat of Glory and engraved their unique authority, all rights to the Main Divine Realm would transfer.

Originally, the Main God Temple followed the custom of the Main God King and challenger settling matters between themselves. But now it had become an emergency where the fate of the entire divine realm and its self-awareness hung in the balance. It had activated an urgent command that would normally only be possible in the face of total divine realm annihilation.

“Main Gods, cease all standard attacks—! This is the Dimensional Mage God’s Creator God-level dimensional authority. Within that new dimension, all lower gods’ authorities are disassembled and absorbed by the sovereign. Only attacks at the Creator Candidate level or higher will be effective.”

“All long-range standard attacks below the Creator Candidate level are completely nullified inside the dimensional domain—!? And not only that, the attacks he receives within the domain are assisting his divine power recovery? Is that even an authority a Creator Candidate can possess? None of the Creator Gods have anything like that.”

In response to the agitated cries of the Main Gods and Creator Candidates, the realm’s self-awareness spoke again through its emergency adjustment authority. It might face readjustment measures for this, but it could not accept being so utterly overwhelmed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by what had once been merely an upper Main Divine Realm self-awareness.

“I am transmitting verified data from the Cyber Realm. The Dimensional Mage God has mastered numerous authorities and titles, making his effects in reality unpredictable. The only viable countermeasure currently available to the Main Divine Realm is to deploy a large number of close-combat specialized War Gods who have mastered reality reinforcement authorities to the extreme and subdue him by force.”

This conclusion was nearly identical to the emergency data the Creator Candidates and Main Gods had each requested from the Cyber Realm. That was why the close-combat War Gods had thoroughly readjusted their authorities for melee specialization—only to be completely dismantled by the suddenly unleashed Authority of Black Flame. The remaining Creator Candidates had all been configured for long-range ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and mid-range offense, support, and recovery to assist those close-combat specialists. In this state, they stood no chance.

“All the close-combat War Gods capable of facing him have been taken out by the Authority of Black Flame! Why couldn’t we predict that authority?”

“Is there no other option?”

“Anything beyond a Creator God is impossible. The Dimensional Mage God’s formal incantation is almost complete. An attack is coming. Activating the Round Table’s final defense. Defensive success probability estimated below fifty percent. We are abandoning defense of all areas except the Round Table and the Seat of Glory and concentrating the barrier.”

“What—!? Even the defensive power of twenty-five Creator Candidates gathered at the Round Table can’t stop it?”

The total divine power currently gathered at the Round Table exceeded 2.5 trillion. The thought that twenty-five overlapping barriers—each unleashed simultaneously by Creator Candidates possessing transcendent authorities—could not block a single long-range attack was simply unimaginable.

As the Main Gods and Creator Candidates reeled in shock at the insurmountable gap in power and authority, the Dimensional Mage God’s formal incantation rang clearly in their ears.

“I am a mage of the Root School, its sole successor, and the god of dimensions. Invincible on the battlefield, I reign through terror and desire a world that is mine alone. I command the fate of brilliantly shining stars with the authority of dimensions. Now is the time. All stars, follow me and enact destruction and rebirth. 11th Circle—Dimension Gigantic Meteor—!”

With the end of the incantation, the eleven layers of magic circles and the wings of dimensional light around the Dimensional Mage God blazed with unparalleled brilliance. For a brief moment, his figure vanished.

Then came a thunderous roar as countless massive objects tore through space.

Kukukukukukukukukukung—!

The Main Gods couldn’t even comprehend what kind of attack it was. Only the Creator Candidates and above barely managed to sense the dimensional leaps and knock away the planets trying to burrow into their bodies.

The Main Gods, who couldn’t even detect the dimensional jumps, lost consciousness the instant they felt bombs exploding inside them.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang—!

Continuous explosions and shockwaves shook the entire Main Divine Realm. Normally, Main Gods supported by the realm itself would never die so easily. But the moment the Seat of Glory became exposed to the wide-area authority, the realm’s self-awareness had abandoned protecting the Main Gods.

Without the realm’s support, the Main Gods could neither endure nor evade an 11th Circle wide-area attack. In the same instant that every Main God who had surrounded the Dimensional Mage God was annihilated, the outer walls and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠roof of the Main God Temple were blown away.

The central area where the Main God Temple stood was completely erased, leaving behind a colossal crater as if thousands of planets had detonated on its surface. It was a single strike so perfectly executed that not even debris remained from the internal stellar collapse.

“Clean. Once I become the Main God King, I can just rebuild everything.”

With every door and wall of the Main God Temple that had blocked his view now obliterated, the Seat of Glory was truly right before his eyes. He took a light step forward.

Thud.

Thud.

His heart wanted to run, but this was his limit. The overwhelming pressure the Main Divine Realm had unleashed still crushed down on his entire body. The Creator Candidates at the Round Table before the Seat of Glory were enduring despite suffering horrific wounds.

Even his maximum wide-area attack had failed to kill the Seat of Glory, the Round Table, or the Creator Candidates. He couldn’t help but feel genuine admiration.

As expected, the defensive power created by dozens of Creator Candidates working together is incredible. To think it could withstand an attack that exceeds 13th Circle by Main Universe standards.

Dimension Gigantic Meteor was an 11th Circle spell by Absolute Realm standards. In the Main Universe, it naturally counted as 13th Circle—equivalent to a Creator General’s authority. Even considering the strength of the 499th Master Universe’s Main Gods, the most generous estimate would still place it at 11th Circle. An attack two circles higher carried at least a hundred times greater divine power and destructive force. There was no way they could have blocked a fusion attack of dimensions and magic unleashed at maximum power through a formal incantation.

The only possible method would have been to throw their own bodies into the incantation before it finished, even if it meant their deaths. The defensive authorities deployed by these long-range and mid-range specialists were effective against distant attacks, but they were useless against direct penetration using divine power and physical force. And with those injuries, they could never have stopped it.

All I have to do is walk forward while maximizing my dimensional authority and sit down. Stage one is almost over.

He shook off the complacency that came with near-certain victory and focused his divine power and authorities to their limit. Step by step, he advanced while overcoming the final defensive barrier.

Since he had obliterated all the Main Gods in a single strike, simultaneous resurrection would be impossible even inside the divine realm. The close-combat Creator Candidates had been shattered by the Authority of Black Flame, and the long-range ones were on the verge of death from the wide-area attack he had just unleashed. There was no longer any force capable of stopping him.

All that remained was to overcome this final, desperate resistance, advance, and sit. It would all be over.

“It’s going too smoothly. I wonder how the Almighty Hwi is doing?”