The War of the Otherworld Was a Misconception

The dust settled at the main gate, revealing a figure that looked like the Sage of Omniscience, yet was unmistakably another goddess. She wore a pitch-black, skin-tight full-body armor that accentuated the voluptuous curves of her breasts and hips—a sight both unfamiliar and striking. The protagonist had mistaken her for the Sage because of the divine power radiating from her, unmistakably that of an Almighty God Tribe goddess wielding the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors.

“Who… who the hell are you?”

“Cough—! Cough—!”

The goddess coughed as if she had inhaled the dust. Almighty Hwi studied her closely and recoiled in shock.

“This delicate body control is still tricky. Don’t be scared, just stay still. It would be such a waste not to use this rare talent and power, wouldn’t it? And don’t worry. The justification for the new generation to protect the Divine Realm takes absolute priority, so even fighting Origin is permissible.”

Her appearance was different, but the divine power and voice were unmistakably those of the Sage of Omniscience. This phenomenon pointed to only one thing: Origin was borrowing the body of a lower god to manifest her own authority.

The problem was that any damage the lower god sustained could transfer to the higher god connected through the divine spirit. Moreover, the vessel could never exert full power, and the lower god’s body would suffer catastrophic backlash from bearing a superior divinity. It was the same as a human body temporarily gaining transcendent abilities only to die instantly—strictly taboo.

The ten centers of the Absolute Realm could supposedly wield the full power of the ten centers without any burden, but that was simply absurd.

But to endure the descent of the Magic God King Sage of Omniscience, the vessel would need to be at least a Main God, right? I heard there’s a goddess from the Almighty God Tribe named Gaiana acting as the representative for the Main God of the Divine Realm. I excluded her because she wasn’t a male god in charge of combat.

Only now did he remember that the former Creator God of the Almighty God Tribe had been healed by the Dimensional Mage God and appointed as the administrator of the Dimensional Divine Realm.

Even so, a Main God could not withstand the divinity of a Magic God King. And the fact that she was forcibly manifesting the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors meant she was moving nearly all of her divine power.

“Origin is directly sending her will into a lower god to control her? Then this is a Complete Descent—! Have you lost your mind? Are you trying to kill a precious goddess of the tribe? No, how is it even possible to descend the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors? Wait, don’t tell me—!”

Almighty Hwi’s mouth fell open. The answer was simple. It meant the goddess Origin had descended into possessed talent and potential on par with their own.

“Talent and potential on the same level as us?”

“Correct—! Kahahaha—! This child is currently a Main God, but in the past she was a Creator God. As expected, the potential of the old Creator Gods of the Almighty God Tribe matches ours. Above all, you should have thought deeply about the fact that she participated in the war against Truth, lost, and yet did not become one of the Substitute Gods—she returned alive on her own. It means she still had the strength to flee the battlefield of Truth even after her Circle of Divine Power was destroyed. So is this child the only special one? I got irritated watching the regenerated Shuddering March get pushed back by numbers and tried this on a whim to increase our forces… I never expected it to work this well. Aah—! But to think her body is almost equal to a Magic God King candidate? The Magic God King’s body felt like wearing clothes that didn’t quite fit since I had only recently become one, but this feels wonderful.”

Watching her lightly laugh and stroke her own breasts and lower abdomen with both hands, his face turned deathly pale. No matter how he looked at it, her expression screamed pure ecstasy.

If she’s like this, the Magic God Tribe will never back down with words alone. But since she’s a Holy Demon, I still have to try.

The fundamental nature of the Magic God Tribe was hedonism. They would use any means necessary for their own pleasure. She would never retreat easily, but if the Sage of Omniscience showed even a hint of playfulness like this, there was still room for dialogue.

Above all, both his and the Sage’s current authorities were still tuned to their Preliminary Creator God and Magic God King candidate days, and were in the middle of transforming to match their newly ascended divinities. That was why he was full of openings and had been caught off guard like this.

In other words, if she used ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a familiar lower-god body, she could exert even greater combat power. Fighting the Sage of Omniscience while she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠displayed her full strength would lead to the worst possible outcome in his current condition.

“And I am the Sage of Omniscience, Origin of the goddesses of the Almighty God Tribe—! If a goddess of the Almighty God Tribe serving as the representative of the Main God of the Divine Realm requests help to protect the Divine Realm, of course I must assist. Direct intervention is forbidden, but something like this is only natural, isn’t it?”

The fact that she was even trying to secure justification as a Holy Demon made his teeth grind together. He wanted to settle this immediately, but he was in no condition to fight. In the end, he would have to win with words.

“Sage of Omniscience—! Stand down now—! This is the Main God War. Only gods of the divine race may participate. No matter if you are the Origin of the Almighty God Tribe goddesses, the intervention of a Magic God King cannot be tolerated under the rules of the Main God War.”

“Kahahaha—! How urgent. The great Almighty Hwi is trying to suppress an enemy showing fighting spirit with mere words? Well, you’re not wrong. Sustained intervention rather than temporary help would cause problems with the higher-ups. So what will you do? Fight me directly? Or will you retreat?”

The will of the descended lower god existed alongside the higher god’s but was clearly separated so they could not influence each other. That was why, although strange, it took the form of her talking to herself.

“Oh? Really? That would be better. I must absolutely avoid direct combat. I need to show a stronger appearance than Shuddering March. Only then can I maintain my position as the representative of the Main God of the Divine Realm.”

The descent of the Sage of Omniscience was released. The pitch-black armor, which seemed to be a type of magical authority, dissolved, revealing a divine garment woven from light. From the perspective of Almighty Hwi, who had just barely avoided the worst-case scenario, he let out a sigh of relief.

But the next sight nearly stopped his heart.

Above the body of the goddess named Gaiana, the illusion of a massive round table emerged like a phantom. The figures of over several hundred Main Gods seated around it appeared clearly. Not only that, the aftermath of her previous full-power exertion had been completely restored.

It was as if the round table itself was protecting her body and guarding the entire Divine Realm. Her physical power had risen to an entirely different level, unified perfectly, and even her defensive capabilities had skyrocketed. The support abilities of the divine race had also surged dramatically; the goddesses of the Goddess Alliance and the spirit gods of the Otherworld, whom he had defeated with full force earlier, were now enveloped in brilliant light of recovery.

Every function of the Divine Realm showed tremendous improvement centered on the round table that had appeared at the main gate.

The name of the racial authority of the Almighty God Tribe that had remained in his memory slipped from his lips on its own.

Kukukukung—!

Among the divine race, male gods specialized in fighting on the front lines with strengthened bodies, while female gods specialized in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠operating the Divine Realm. The Almighty God Tribe could learn and even gain immunity to all divine authorities. If the male gods dominated the battlefield by nullifying the opponent’s divine power and authorities, then the true power that the goddesses of the Almighty God Tribe could display was exactly this.

It was the ultimate elevation of the Divine Realm’s capabilities. The racial authority unique to the goddesses—who had supported the greatness of the Almighty God Tribe from within—had finally revealed itself.

Because there had never been a proper goddess of the Almighty God Tribe until now, this was the first time he had seen it directly, and he had overlooked it. He was mortified that he had forgotten something so important.

In his current state, it would have been better to fight the Sage of Omniscience directly. The reproduction of a forgotten racial authority was, of course, an excellent thing for Origin, but for someone who needed to break through the defenses to claim the Seat of Glory, it was the worst possible development.

If he, as Origin, asserted his authority against a tribe currently serving as the representative of another Divine Realm’s Main God, he would be buried by every god in existence.

The great authority that accepts the powers of all the Main Gods of the Round Table to reinforce the Divine Realm once more—! A secret technique that only the greatest goddesses among the Almighty God Tribe, who can wield every divine authority, can display—! Damn it—! Of all times—!

If the Divine Realm’s rank were as low as a mere Main God level, there would be no problem. However, the Dimensional Divine Realm was at the Highest Creator God level. If strengthened and fully activated, it could exert power on the level of a Creator General.

His own body and divinity, acting as the core, might not be able to endure it, but according to what the Sage had said, Gaiana’s potential was equal to theirs. In that case, she might truly be able to wield Creator General-level power.

No—she had already reached that realm.

Pillars of light began rising everywhere.

Sarrrrrrrng—! Gu-gung—!

The moment he hesitated to respond, the detestable goddesses of the Goddess Alliance had almost completely healed under that light of recovery and had even regained consciousness. The instant they did, they recovered their divine weapons and charged at him with the clear intent to surround him.

Their authorities had also been enhanced by the support of the strengthened Round Table, so it seemed things would not go as easily as before. At some point he had been surrounded again, and the Round Table’s long-range attacks were now targeting him.

He no longer had the strength to take them all down in a single instant. Even reviving his dead internal organs and recovering from his injuries was already pushing his limits.

Reflexively assuming a defensive stance against the fighting spirit and killing intent pouring in from all sides, he clicked his tongue.

Tsk—! Back to square one—! Is this why no War God can solo-suppress a Divine Realm? Their recovery speed is far faster than the damage I can inflict.

The shattered main gate of the Divine Realm and the goddesses had all been perfectly restored, and the Round Table was operating at full strength. Inside their own Divine Realm where their temples stood, recovery was truly frighteningly fast.

Even though they were the same divine race, this level of regenerative power was enough to make anyone’s stomach churn. There seemed to be no way to break through this predicament.

After fighting frantically, they had reached a point where they understood each other to some degree and were now in a standoff, each looking for an opening. Although they looked ready to charge at any moment, the memory of being wiped out all at once earlier kept them in a temporary deadlock.

Even the girl named Gaiana seemed to be using Round Table Transcendental Operation for the first time; her operation was still immature, and she was hesitating to activate it at full power. In that sense, he had bought himself some time.

Only then did he remember the crucial fact he had forgotten—the whereabouts of the Dimensional Mage God, who had charged into the Main Divine Realm alone before him.

What happened to the defense of the Main Divine Realm—?!

He urgently called the Main Divine Realm, and an image was transmitted to the edge of his consciousness.

The Main God Temple of the Main Divine Realm had completely vanished. All that remained were the Seat of Glory and part of the Round Table seats.

In the Seat of Glory he had hurriedly checked, an artifact called the Magic Brain was placed. It was an artificial ego said to possess functions equal to or greater than a Divine Realm Ego. He knew about it because the Dimensional Mage God had forcibly seized control of a Divine Realm Ego during the Spirit Realm battle.

If that thing was sitting in the Seat of Glory, the battle was already over.

And there, seated in the second-ranked chair, the Dimensional Mage God, and in the third, the Creative Sword of Radiance, were watching footage of his own desperate battle.

The match was already decided, yet they had not made a victory declaration. Instead, they were sitting in their chairs watching him struggle in the Dimensional Divine Realm.

He had been completely toyed with.

“Hahahahaha.”

A hollow laugh escaped him involuntarily. He had never suffered such a miserable defeat even against the Substitute Gods. No, he had never been so one-sidedly humiliated before.

Even if it took time, I should have chased him to the Main Divine Realm and cut off his head. I moved exactly as he wanted. I will risk my life to obtain the Seat of Glory.

It should have been like this from the beginning. The result of always seeking the comfortable path on the battlefield was that he had stupidly jumped into a trap. It was a series of misjudgments so severe that he wondered when he had started living while thinking about safety and comfort. The outcome could not have been more disastrous.

As expected, if you become satisfied looking at the bottom, you fall there. Even if I suffer losses and die, I should have always aimed higher. Becoming a Creator God—the very goal I sought—had made me complacent.

He immediately released his defensive stance and relaxed his body comfortably. The goddesses flinched and reflexively took combat stances, but he continued loosening his muscles.

He spat out the clotted blood inside him and repeatedly relaxed and contracted his neck and arms. It was the worst condition, but it seemed his body would still be able to function somehow.

Come at me if you want to come. No matter what injuries I sustain, I can still take your lives. I am Almighty Hwi.

Gaiana’s face, who had transcendentally strengthened every function of the Divine Realm and all the goddesses through Round Table Transcendental Operation, turned deathly pale. Origin, the Sage of Omniscience, had sent her a stern warning.

From now on, it’s the real thing. Almighty Hwi has abandoned defense and switched entirely to offense. This is a resolve that says he will die if he cannot win. A desperate determination to kill the enemy or die himself is equivalent to a War God’s final secret technique. However, we cannot attack first right now. The Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors is a counterattack ability, so you must never initiate the attack. The only countermeasure is to attack at the exact moment he attacks. Then the match will be decided in a single instant. Either all of you or Almighty Hwi—only one side will perish. Be extremely careful.

She understood the situation, but there was nothing she could do but provide support. It had been a long-awaited festival with the addition of new Creator-class goddesses, but she had been summoned by the suddenly furious Sage of Omniscience, subjected to various tests and even a descent. She had no idea how she had ended up on the front lines of such a brutal battlefield again, and she was at a complete loss.

Besides, since she was the Origin of the Almighty God Tribe, direct attacks from the tribe were largely ineffective, so she could only provide this kind of support.

But she had no time to be flustered. The feeling that one wrong move would end everything was being transmitted from Almighty Hwi, who looked like he was doing warm-up exercises before an intense duel rather than standing on a battlefield.

She had to find another way somehow, but when she looked around, she realized she couldn’t. The eyes of the other close-combat specialist goddesses had also turned into ferocious killing intent. It was a reaction to the shock of helpless defeat and the opponent’s murderous aura.

When it came to combat experience in a hellish battlefield, there were no beings equal to these women who had nearly conquered the Main God War. They had already entered a state of no-self, analyzing the battle situation and focusing on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠every single movement of Almighty Hwi.

They had staked everything on this match on the same level as Almighty Hwi. Under normal circumstances it might be different, but once they reached this state, they would never stop fighting. Moreover, a body strengthened by such desperate resolve would suffer enormous strain if released. The body, reinforced by extreme excitement, would weaken from the resulting emptiness. Therefore, they absolutely had to see a conclusion.

Almighty Hwi, once again assuming the stance of a straight punch, along with the goddesses of the Goddess Alliance, saw their killing intent and fighting spirit rise to the extreme. The moment either side launched their attack, someone would surely die.

She realized the desperate battle situation where she might die without even knowing why, yet they had no choice but to reach a decisive conclusion.

And at that very moment, an anomaly occurred in the Dimensional Divine Realm.

Giant gods so enormous they towered over the Divine Realm’s outer walls began to rise. There were exactly ten of them. The Main Gods of the Giant Tribe, appointed as administrators of the Divine Realm, had broken their silence and revealed themselves.

Their footsteps shook the entire Divine Realm, and divine weapons the size of mountain ranges materialized in the air. As those weapons embedded themselves into the outer walls, the defensive power rose even further.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang—! Kwang—!

An even more colossal wall of Giant Tribe gods formed atop the Divine Realm’s tall outer walls. Their powerful bodies and divine power were visibly merging with the Divine Realm itself.

“Is it finally our turn?”

“The Dimensional Mage God, the Main God of the Divine Realm, instructed us to serve as the final defensive line and receive the final blow.”

“So that’s what he meant. Blocking a Creator God’s desperate strike… how cruel.”

“This is already too much for us alone. Additional forces are coming.”

“You really fixed it well.”

The sound of a giant serpent slithering spread out.

Srrrrrrrrrrrrng—!

From within the magical mist, the head of an enormous metal serpent capable of swallowing the entire Divine Realm descended toward the main gate. As the metal serpent’s head—larger than the ten-kilometer-tall Giant Tribe Main Gods—descended from the sky, even Almighty Hwi and the goddesses, who had been preparing for a life-or-death battle, could not ignore it and widened the distance.

With that size, weight, and the divine power contained within, not even gods who could ignore physical laws could withstand it.

The sharp tip of the metal serpent’s head collided with the ground, and two goddesses stepped down.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gang—!

The words spoken by Lokina, the Lord of the Flipside, who had been riding atop the serpent’s head, echoed across the battlefield with a sigh.

“Aah—! I really can’t do this anymore. What kind of Divine Realm never has a single quiet moment and is just one crisis after another? It wasn’t even like this during the Main God War. It’s ridiculous. I barely finished repairing this fortress, and now I have to throw it straight into a situation where it’ll get smashed to pieces. You lot will obviously die if you keep going, so get out of the way. I’ll somehow hold on using Infinite Alchemy and the defensive power of the Divine Realm Annihilation Fortress Jormungandr.”

“Wait—! Do I really have to do this too? I’m originally a blacksmith and a goddess of art, I can’t fight against War Gods like that—! I’ll just die a dog’s death—!”

To the protesting voice of the large, muscular goddess beside her, Lokina responded with a sharp rebuke.

“Aah—! Just stay still. All I need is for your ridiculously tough divine weapon and body to take one hit in front of that Creator God’s attack. And where would a blacksmith be useful when the Divine Realm has become a battlefield like this? It’s not the primitive era where blacksmiths were absolutely necessary anymore, so you’re useless. Also, remember that art can only exist when the Divine Realm is prosperous. If you try to run away again this time, I’ll personally send you to the Spirit Realm.”

“Aaaaaah—! That threat again? I really can’t do this anymore.”

Hephais, the goddess of Infinite Alchemy, who had been treated like a living shield, let out a similar lament, but she was already prepared for battle, tightly gripping her enlarged hammer. Being threatened to that degree by Lokina was an everyday occurrence for her. The scary part was that Lokina was fully capable of following through, but as long as she did as told, there was no problem. So she prepared to block the attack.

Since Lokina, the Lord of the Flipside, possessed the strengthened authority of Dimensions, she would definitely be able to block it. All they could do was pray that they would somehow luckily avoid a direct hit.

However, Almighty Hwi’s heart, which had just finished steeling his desperate resolve and preparing himself, was mercilessly shaken. He had activated his body beyond its limits with the determination to take down the goddesses even at the cost of his life, yet the opponent had suddenly changed.

What the hell is this now? Giant Tribe Main Gods and a Divine Realm Annihilation Fortress? What kind of Divine Realm has all these things? Wait, why are their expected vitality and defensive power so ridiculously high?

Almighty Hwi’s face twisted horribly. The speed-oriented attacks he had prepared for close-quarters combat against fellow close-combat War Gods could not simultaneously kill these gigantic beings with such absurd vitality and defense.

Even a desperate strike would drastically reduce his power to the point where an ordinary Main God would be difficult to handle, yet now he was in danger of dying a dog’s death. But once the desperate resolve was set against a chosen opponent, he could not invoke it again.

If he had acted this far, predicted this much, and prepared this thoroughly, he had no choice but to acknowledge it.

“It’s over.”

With a hollow expression, Almighty Hwi released his combat stance.