The Law of the Strong

Beings were observing the unfolding conversation in the Otherworld War through the Main Divine Realm’s own ego. Two members of the god tribes—each possessing divinity and authority that surpassed even a standard Creator General—stood at the forefront. One bore twenty-six pairs of wings of light and a single pair of dark wings. They were accompanied by the ten Highest Creator Gods who followed their lead.

They had sensed the overwhelming reaction of an unfamiliar Substitute God race emanating from the Main Divine Realm and had gathered the full military strength of the Creation God camp before rushing over in emergency response. Other Creator Gods summoned on short notice were arriving one after another. Every single one of them was at least a full circle stronger than their counterparts in other Master Universes. Their collective power was on an entirely different scale.

Yet they could not set foot inside the Main Divine Realm where the anomaly had occurred. A Substitute God’s Creation Great God—far larger than a Main God Star, which itself was a hundred thousand times the size of an ordinary planet—was blocking all spatial movement with its dimensional authority. When they first laid eyes on the enemy, the sheer overwhelming presence radiating from it made them hesitate. It felt fundamentally different from the Main Gods of the Substitute race. The foe displayed neither killing intent nor fighting spirit, so they judged it was not seeking immediate battle.

Still, what lay within its grasp were the Main God Stars meant to defend the Main Divine Realm. This was no simple reconnaissance or invasion. They therefore used the intact emergency lines of the Main Divine Realm and the Cyber Realm to assess the situation. The resulting report brought a sliver of relief.

Learning that the being was a Creation Great God summoned and controlled by the Dimensional Mage God—the Preliminary Creator God of their own 499th Master Universe—allowed them to breathe easier. No matter how vicious and wicked that dark mage was, he was still preferable to the Substitute Gods, who refused all communication. At least conversation remained possible.

Yet the situation was hardly optimistic. At first glance, it looked like a catastrophe far worse than war. The Dimensional Mage God had wagered the seat of Creator General itself, slamming his own Creation God Star through spatial teleportation to collide with the Main Divine Realm. On top of that, he had ordered a Creation Great God—something even other Creator Gods feared—to rip away every Main God Star, completely neutralizing the defensive network. Then he had descended alone, turned the Main Divine Realm into scorched earth, and was now conversing with the Creator General.

Threatening him would be more accurate. He had declared that if the election could not proceed, he would annihilate every god in the entire Main Divine Realm right in front of the Creator General. What terrified them most was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that the Dimensional Mage God was perfectly capable of carrying out that threat. Even if they wanted to stop his rampage with force, none dared charge a Creation Great God of the Substitute race, so they could only stand by and watch.

And so every Creator God listened in heavy silence as the Dimensional Mage God ground his teeth and spat out his resolve.

“Even if a human-born like me sacrifices everything and gives it my all, all that awaits me is an empty title of Creator God and the role of disposable war asset. Therefore, I will prove my worth as a god of light by any means necessary. I will follow the proper process and become a true Creator God.”

Despite possessing enough power to stop every Creator God present, the desperate will behind those words left them unable to respond. And his judgment was correct. In truth, after reviewing his achievements in the previous Spirit Realm battle, the Creation God camp had already decided to create a special position for him.

The hastily established official title was Creator God of the Creator General’s Direct War Restriction Special Task Force. It was an honorary post that would only recognize him as a Creator God during war with the Substitute race; in peacetime, it carried no authority whatsoever. He would receive nothing but a personal divine temple with neither realm nor subordinates. The higher-ups had even praised it as a fitting, fair position for a human-born mercenary god.

Of course, they had already planned to confiscate the Highest-tier Dimensional Divine Realm he had obtained—after offering suitable compensation, naturally. Highest Creator God Stars were treasures so rare that the 499th Master Universe possessed only about ten of them. There was no way they could entrust such a thing to a human-born god they could not trust.

Had he not been immediately dragged into the Eternal Judgment, he would have already been summoned to the Creation God camp and had his divine realm seized. The only reason that handling had been postponed was because they assumed the shortest completion period for the Eternal Judgment was the twenty thousand years previously demonstrated by the Demon Emperor. They had believed they had plenty of time.

They had been in the middle of discussions on how to divide the shares of the Highest-tier Dimensional Divine Realm. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined he would return so quickly, challenge the Creator General himself, and trigger an incident of this magnitude.

Amid the bewildered Creator Gods, a low sigh of admiration escaped.

“As expected of the worst and most vicious dark mage who possesses the authority of reality denial—! He accurately understands his own reality and future. How admirable—! A fine junior. For a human-born god, even a special task force Creator God is already a generous outcome. That is simply the limit of a human-born god who once possessed finite lifespan. Sooner or later, wouldn’t he go mad like the past 10 Mainstays? That is why only his divinity is recognized and he can hold no real authority. Or should we now properly call him the Dimensional Mage God? You’ve grown quite well. So what will you do now? You called me here, and I came, but there is no countermeasure for this. A Creation Great God of the Substitute race? Did such beings truly exist in a Master Universe? How can anyone casually claim something like this is not dangerous? Damn those Cyber Realm bastards—! This is not the Absolute Realm managed by the 10 Mainstays—! Stop judging and deciding everything by your own standards—!”

“……”

Jinmyeol’s genuinely furious roar left even Sangharama unable to contain his anger. The Cyber Realm’s report that the Creation Great God was merely a soulless puppet controlled by the Dimensional Mage God and therefore posed no threat was utter nonsense. The Absolute Realm had the 10 Mainstays and countless clans possessing at least quadrillions of divine power and absolute authorities, so they might view it lightly. But in a Master Universe, an existence of that caliber was absolute terror incarnate.

Jinmyeol, who rarely showed anything but a sleepy expression, completely erased it from his face and began analyzing the situation with cold precision.

“Honestly, there is no way to win. The only ones who can even fight are you, me, and the Demon Emperor. The fact that it has no soul and cannot activate its racial authority offers no comfort whatsoever. Its body itself possesses defensive power and life force that exceeds by more than a hundred times the preliminary Creator Gods of the Substitute race—beings we can barely repel even when you and the Demon Emperor attack together. If the Cyber Realm’s report is accurate, it even possesses attack power capable of extinguishing the highest tier of the Black Flame clan. Even if it is a mere puppet controlled without a soul, we cannot even wound it at our level, while we would be annihilated by a single blow. And on top of that, dimensional authority? If that thing begins to rampage in earnest, the Master Universe will be destroyed without assistance from the Absolute Realm.”

Even when Jinmyeol spoke of the Master Universe’s destruction, Sangharama, Creator General of the 499th Master Universe, could only bite his lip tightly. He had already confirmed the enemy’s power countless times and had no choice but to acknowledge it. The 499th Master Universe’s current forces could never overcome that Creation Great God.

The Substitute Gods fundamentally possessed more than ten times the divine power of the god race, along with even greater life force and defense. A preliminary Creator God of the Substitute race held authority and combat strength equal to or greater than a Creator General. Without the Demon Emperor joining the fight, there was no path to victory at the 499th Master Universe’s present level.

The biggest problem was that Creator Gods possessed more than a hundred times the power of ordinary Main Gods, and combat strength rose steeply with each rank. Not only divine power but the level and operation of their authorities differed so vastly that attacks below the preliminary Creator God tier were completely ineffective. In the end, only the three of them—himself, Sangharama, and the Demon Emperor—could inflict even slight damage, while the rest of their forces could not even serve as distractions.

Furthermore, the enhanced recovery and defense of the Substitute Gods now surpassed that of ten ordinary gods. It was obvious that attacks from just the three of them could not overcome the recovery speed of a Substitute God. If the three of them fell, they would not even be able to maintain the stalemate.

Even though they needed to resolve this absurd situation—where the Main Divine Realm was being shattered over the seat of a Creator General equal to an ordinary Creator God, with the existence of every god held hostage—they had to prioritize the safety of the Master Universe first. No, a Creator General who possessed divinity and authority equal to an ordinary Creator God held no value whatsoever to the true Creator General.

Countless thoughts swirled inside his head, but because they were inferior in raw power, both countermeasures and solutions were extremely limited. In the end, there was no choice but to use the highest authority granted to the Creator General, who managed all territories of the Master Universe in place of the Creator.

“For now, we wait. If the worst begins, I will report directly to Jinri and request assistance.”

“No—! What kind of mess are you trying to drag us into again—! Have you forgotten what kind of existence Jinri is?”

The Demon Emperor, who had just arrived leading the highest-tier Demon God Kings in accordance with the Anti-Substitute God Divine-Demonic Pact, cried out in horror. Although it was an authority granted by Jinri—who co-governed this Master Universe alongside the 499th Creator—so that they could request help, actually asking for it was madness. Jinri gave rewards and punishments in equal measure. Enormous compensation came to the victor, but it was always accompanied by conditions that would make one recoil in terror. The most representative example was the condition that one must achieve perfect victory after completely opening their title. The price for breaking it was to be dragged to the Wind Star in the Absolute Realm and turned into an insect for the Eternal Judgment.

One could clearly see how frighteningly cold Jinri was from the titles, authorities, and restrictions placed upon the Dimensional Mage God. Therefore, if Jinri accepted the Creator General’s request this time, he would certainly demand something in return. Naturally, the stronger the position of the one making the request, the harsher the demand would be. It was impossible to even imagine what kind of price the actual ruler of the Master Universe would have to pay. The repercussions would undoubtedly shake the entire Master Universe. It was not a situation in which either the god race or the demon race could feel at ease.

Even the usually relaxed Jinmyeol opened his mouth wide and stared at Sangharama in shock. In the Master Universe, Jinri at least restrained himself because he played the role of Creator. But they all knew the biggest reason the 10 Mainstays desperately managed the Absolute Realm was to prevent Jinri’s direct intervention.

Yet they could only nod at the words that followed.

“According to the detailed report from the Cyber Realm, when something went wrong during the Eternal Judgment process, the Dimensional Mage God immediately tried to make the Black Flame’s Creation Great God, Seongmyeol, go berserk and flee. What stopped him was the Origin of the Wind Family of the Substitute race—Jinri’s own bloodline. That means even that Creation Great God could only be suppressed when more than four hundred Origin beings of the ruling races from various Master Universes stepped forward together. There is no force in the Master Universe equal to a Substitute God Origin. Therefore, requesting help from the Absolute Realm is absolutely impossible. It is better to ask Jinri than to let everything be completely destroyed by a rampage. I will take full responsibility.”

After that, Sangharama fell silent as if he no longer wished to speak. Ignoring the Demon Emperor who was raising a fuss and demanding he retract his words, Sangharama kept his mouth firmly shut and listened to the conversation between the Dimensional Mage God and Almighty Hwi that the Master Universe was relaying through the emergency line.

“I will test the power and will of the gods who oppose me. If the opposing gods defeat my army of lower gods, I will cleanly acknowledge defeat and withdraw as I am.”

“You’re changing the secret election into a partially open election? You’ll replace the election with battle, saying that if the opposing side wins against your lower gods, you’ll accept defeat? No matter how numerous they are, do you really think an army of lower gods who don’t even possess proper authorities can stand against the high gods of the Main Divine Realm? Or do you think the high gods of the Main Divine Realm would accept such a worthless battle? I cannot tolerate this even before that.”

“Then how about adding the condition that I and Almighty Hwi settle our final score inside the ring of the Otherworld? To summarize: a battle between my army of lower gods and the army of high gods of the Main Divine Realm. And a duel between the Dimensional Mage and the great Almighty Hwi who has mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Stanzas. I propose these two victories as a replacement for the secret election. Given my position that I cannot accept the election as it stands, this is an extremely favorable proposal for the Main Divine Realm. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I hope you will consider it positively.”

“……”

Almighty Hwi carefully reviewed the Dimensional Mage God’s proposal once more. Although the enemy numbered a million, an army of lower gods without any authorities could never defeat the Main Divine Realm, which was composed of more than a hundred thousand high gods. In a final showdown inside that ring, there was no way he could lose. At a distance where he could inflict fatal wounds with a mere stretch of his hand, he would never allow proper incantations. Since even the movement power of dimensional authority was sealed, he could end the fight before any authority could activate. The predicted result of taking the opponent’s head the instant the battle began would not change no matter what variables were added.

“It certainly is advantageous for the Main Divine Realm. Replacing a secret election with such self-sabotage—wouldn’t it be better to just rely on luck with the original election? More importantly, do you really think the Creation God camp will recognize this absurd loophole?”

“They will. That is why I brought even the Black Flame’s Creation Great God, Seongmyeol. Just make the report. If you report the temporary change to the selection system for the Creator General election to the Creation God camp, you will understand the result.”

“Hah—! Speak your true intentions. What are you thinking?”

Watching the scene, Hwi felt his blood boil. The fate of the Master Universe hung in the balance because of a Creation Great God that could go berserk at any moment, yet the parties involved were merely bickering over the single seat of Creator General. He was beginning to wonder whether the position of Creator General—equal to an ordinary Creator God—was truly that precious.

Yet the two proposals the Dimensional Mage God had offered in place of the secret election were so reasonable that one could not help but nod. As he said, lower gods without authorities could never be a match for high gods no matter how many there were. Moreover, a dark mage specialized in long-range and wide-area attacks could never defeat a close-combat specialist Creator God who had mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Stanzas inside such a restricted space. Even a temporary change to the Creator General selection system would not draw any complaints from other Master Universes.

This confrontation was an enormous waste of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠military power. Whatever the Dimensional Mage God was thinking, the question of victory or defeat could be addressed later. Even if Almighty Hwi were to lose, it would only mean losing the single seat of Creator General. From the Creator General’s perspective, it was merely the insignificant position of commander of numerous defensive fortresses. Therefore, with a surge of irritation, he immediately sent his reply.

“By the authority of Creator General Sangharama, I approve that proposal. Settle this swiftly.”

If this matter could be cleanly resolved, a small loophole in the Creator General election process would not matter. They had to end this crisis and take appropriate measures by any means necessary. Requesting help directly from Jinri was something he truly wanted to avoid. Although he had said he would request it, just thinking about the aftermath made his head throb.

“Hmm—!”

Almighty Hwi was startled by the sudden will of Creator General Garam that shook the entire Main Divine Realm. There was no need to confirm whether it was real. The Main Divine Realm immediately informed him of the surrounding situation. He also realized that powerful Creator Gods and Demon God Kings were gathering in the distance due to the crisis in the Main Divine Realm and the appearance of the Creation Great God. The situation was far more serious than he had thought.

‘Is that Creation Great God truly such a terrifying existence? Is the situation so critical that the Creator General and the Demon Emperor would bring all their main forces?’

He had believed that having mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Stanzas meant he could somehow deal with it, but that seemed to not be the case. If those beings were coming in person, the current him was simply not their opponent. However, he still could not understand how such an absurd loophole could be accepted.

When he silently glared at the Dimensional Mage God, a satisfied smile accompanied the answer that came back. It was a low yet powerful voice filled with strong conviction.

“The strong deserve respect.”

It was one of Jinri’s constant sayings. It was the declaration that enforced the karmic law focused solely on progress while sweeping away all interference. He did not deny it. The result of that belief was the current him. Although the Almighty God Tribe had been ruined by Jinri, with just the strength of himself and the Sage of Omniscience, the two of them had managed to revive their clan and had even become Creator Gods. That would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been impossible in other Master Universes where a single failure meant the end.

He recited the incantation that grounded itself in the karmic law of prioritizing the strong, one phrase at a time.

“Great power changes everything according to its own will. I acknowledge that negative and selfish power drives everything around it toward destruction. However, one must train and endure trials to become stronger. One must work harder than anyone, produce results, strengthen oneself, and reinforce organizations to compete with other strong beings. Such existences have no leisure to be negative, and ultimately help the world itself. Therefore, to achieve eternal happiness, I shall choose the strong. Then what shall be done with the weak?”

He paused lightly for a moment, then spoke as if he himself were performing an incantation.

“Weak ones, strive harder to become strong and devote yourselves. Otherwise, you shall become the foundation of the strong.”

Kwoooooong—!

The table shook as if it would shatter under the surge of Almighty Hwi’s divine power.

‘I should have realized it from the fact that the Sage of Omniscience—an Origin of the same Almighty Tribe—became the enemy’s helper. Whether it is the Highest-tier Dimensional Divine Realm or the goddess blood alliance’s main goddesses, under normal circumstances they could never stop me. I should have noticed sooner how abnormal all of these situations are. The law of karma was favoring the Dimensional Mage God.’

Where there are the strong, there are naturally the weak. Jinri’s karmic law of progress prioritizes only the strong. The weak are given only the bare minimum grace to keep breathing while everything is given to the strong. That was how the current him had come to exist. Because an Origin of the Almighty God Tribe who had mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Stanzas was perfect as a strong being.

But now he realized that the law of karma was recognizing the Dimensional Mage God as the strong one and focusing on him instead. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to be pushed back so one-sidedly. Except for the fact that the law of karma—which had been his absolute ally until now—had turned into an enemy.

It meant the law of karma had chosen him as a sacrificial lamb for the Dimensional Mage God’s rise. It was an impossible situation, yet he had to acknowledge it. No Creator God could escape Jinri’s karmic law. There was only one way to break this flow.

“Dimensional Mage God—! Fine—! I accept. I shall clearly prove who the stronger one is.”

Only victory mattered. Just as he had once defeated the previous Creator General and received the blessing of the entire Main Divine Realm. And so the decision of Almighty Hwi, the Creator General, was made.