The Weight of Absolute Power

The lower gods who had barely seized victory after a grueling struggle in the Otherworld war returned, only to freeze in utter bewilderment at the sight of countless insects swarming the area. Yet the moment they sensed the divine power radiating from those bugs, they instantly understood the situation. Their faces went slack with despair, souls utterly crushed.

They had finally become gods, only to realize they were now the lowest of the low—far worse off than in their previous lives. The Hero God and his companions could only offer bitter smiles at the sight. Especially the comrade gods who had once been transformed into insects for interfering with the Hero God’s authority activation; they had been trampled to death countless times underfoot and now shuddered in visceral disgust.

Above all, half of the one million lower gods who had overwhelmed ten thousand high gods were now completely neutralized, unable to do anything. They had heard the Main God of the Divine Realm surpassed even Creator Gods, but this was beyond rebellion. This was a situation where resistance itself was impossible.

‘Is the only way to block black magic of this caliber—one that ignores even a god’s immutability—to be a fully established Lord God or higher?’

‘He’s manifesting magecraft using a Creator God’s divine power. There’s simply no countermeasure. And if it was activated with divine power, dispelling it is impossible.’

They had come to this grim realization after seeing Red Crowd, who had been turned into a parrot—a being of higher status than a mere insect—making his condition somewhat more bearable. The Magic God, having experienced it firsthand and observed it once, wore an especially hollow expression.

‘Magic that distorts reality is usually like an explosive bomb, so a stable transformation like this should be impossible.’

Even the highest circles normally lasted only a day at most, yet there was no sign of it reverting. The answer lay in the divine power enveloping the unstable spell. It acted as a safety mechanism.

‘If anyone tries to undo this, the magic will explode and turn even the caster into a bug. No—more likely, they’ll be blown apart by the detonating black magic first.’

Without knowing the exact ratio of divine power to mana, it was no exaggeration to call it a time bomb. Still, as expected of a legendary Transcendent, Red Cloud—now a parrot—did not cry. He simply sat there, spirit broken.

But this was no one else’s problem. For a mage, the greatest enemy was another mage.

‘Whether he’s a black mage or whatever, he should have watched his mouth in front of a superior mage. You only learn after getting hit. Still… I’m in danger too. To a being who has learned magecraft, another who has learned the same is always a threat. They’re all in the same profession, yet instead of camaraderie, they’re nothing but thieves eyeing the magecraft others built through blood and sweat…’

A mage’s position was completely different from that of a warrior who grew stronger through solitary physical training. For a mage, simply obtaining another’s knowledge, experience, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and materials could bring explosive growth. There was no need to serve a master with difficulty; stealing their grimoire alone could let one ascend to high ranks with ease.

That was why, unlike the parent-like master-disciple bonds of swordsmen or martial artists, a mage could have their grimoire, data, and even their very mana stolen by their disciple at the slightest slip.

‘An old body cannot defeat a young one through brute force, and when sleeping or concentrating, one becomes completely defenseless. There’s no way to win.’

This was precisely why a mage would never take a disciple unless they were on the verge of death. If one were to pick the greatest mage among the Transcendents present, it would undoubtedly be Red Cloud—excluding himself. Turning such a being into a parrot over a single disrespectful remark was a warning to all mages.

‘It’s proof that if you do anything even slightly suspicious, I won’t let it slide. Well, I can’t trust other mages who constantly eye my own grimoires and data either.’

‘So I’m the top surveillance target? Then I’d better behave myself for now. But the problem is those damn Sages who have to convince everyone else of this fact. They’ve only half-assedly learned both divine power and mana, so they’re no help at all—they only get in the way.’

In the end, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was those motor-mouthed Sages who were the issue. If they hadn’t gone on about rationality and tried to stop the activation, he wouldn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have received this kind of punishment. Of course, the Magic God completely ignored the fact that he himself had convinced the Hero God and his comrades. True to his nature as a calculating mage, he placed the blame externally while already preparing excuses and follow-up measures.

But the moment his thoughts reached that point, a fist slammed into the back of the Magic God’s head.

“Ugh—!”

The sudden burst of immense divine power and force slammed his head straight into the ground.

“When I speak nicely, listen. You’re the only one left. Are you not going?”

At some point, a woman had appeared. She wore a golden crown and magnificent imperial robes that suited her perfectly. She looked down at him. As a mid-tier god, he should have been furious at such treatment, yet he couldn’t even muster the courage to move. The aura that naturally dominated the surroundings carried a dignity he had never witnessed in any emperor. She was an existence that instinctively imprinted the notion of an untouchable ruler.

“I am the Empress, one of the Popes of Dimensions. You seem to be a mage, so stop thinking useless thoughts and move quickly. Our great god is infinitely generous and merciful, but He has absolutely no patience. Do not forget that He is watching you even now.”

While he had been lost in thought, the Hero God, his comrades, and even the High Elf Queens had already begun combat, having the Lord Gods trapped in Eternal Samsara. However, because the Lord Gods possessed such high divinity, the magecraft alone was not enough to fully contain them. They were resisting from within translucent rifts in space-time.

And beyond the floating screen in the air, the Magic God of Dimensions glared at him with clear displeasure. A wave of crisis surged over him.

‘This is bad. If I pretend not to know like the Sages, I might get away with it, but a mage who knowingly interferes will truly become a bug god forever.’

From what he had analyzed, the Hero God’s Indomitable authority was linked to their own. Without support from the Divine Realm, neither a half-baked Hero God nor authority gods or sword gods who couldn’t understand magecraft could bring out the full power of magic like Eternal Samsara.

‘In the end, I have to join in for it to exert its original strength and affect the Lord Gods’ divinity.’

Seeing the Magic God of Dimensions’s ominous gaze piercing him, the situation was precarious. It wouldn’t be strange if punishment descended at any moment. Strangely, after hearing the woman’s voice, he even felt a sense of duty that he absolutely had to give his all. He wondered if this too was some kind of authority, but he had neither the justification nor the leisure to refuse.

“I’m going right away. You help too.”

“Bweeeeeeeeeeeeh—! No—!”

The black mage grabbed the parrot by the neck and lifted it. The bird had been sprawled on the floor after being set down when combat began. It let out a scream whose species was now ambiguous—perhaps it was starting to forget whether it was a bird or a human.

Ignoring the protest, he activated Eternal Samsara through the divine artifact.

“If you don’t desperately contribute, you’ll stay like that forever, so be grateful.”

“Bweeeeeeeeeeeeh—! Just kill me instead!”

At least it still had mana and, being a parrot, could still chant spells, so the bird body wasn’t a problem. Fighting Lord Gods was far too difficult for an 8th-circle mid-tier god, so any means necessary had to be used. A Transcendent who had once reached divinity in a human body would be of some help.

The way he arbitrarily decided everything, completely disregarding the victim’s own will since it wasn’t important right now, was perfectly fitting for a mage who distorted reality. With full power, he dragged the Lord Gods—who had been holding out in translucent form—completely into the spatial rift.

Watching this, the Empress let out a small sigh of relief. At first, when the mage had shown no reaction to her command to join the battle, she had been startled, thinking her Noblesse Oblige had no effect. Then she realized he had simply been too lost in his own thoughts to even hear her, and she was left speechless.

This was the first time she realized that if the target was too absorbed in their own mind to hear her words, her authority had no effect. Having now brought him back to his senses and sent everyone into battle, she had fulfilled her duty.

‘Since they’re overwhelmed by the Lord Gods’ divinity, even my Noblesse Oblige has a hard time persuading them. No—it’s because I can’t step forward and fight myself that the effect is halved. I need more training.’

Deciding to fight Lord Gods who possessed two circles higher divinity than themselves was by no means easy. Even with massive rewards, threats, and reality checks, they had hesitated, forcing her to step in personally. It was the authority of Noblesse Oblige that had once persuaded gods back in her human days.

‘Now that I’ve become a highest-tier god, persuading lower gods should be incredibly easy. Yet when I actually tried, it was anything but.’

Unbeknownst to her, her perception and the surrounding circumstances had changed, greatly reducing the effect. Despite these shortcomings, the Empress—one of the Popes of Dimensions—had used Noblesse Oblige, the authority that could make even gods follow, to send every hesitant fighter into battle against the Lord Gods. She looked up at the empty air and gave a light bow.

In her human days, when she had always stood at the forefront of every war, no one had feared death. But after becoming empress, such opportunities had vanished, and those around her would not allow it. Still, the supplemental authority of an empress had been more than enough. Now, however, she was no longer the Main God of the Divine Realm, so that authority was gone.

The Empress felt the need to return to the beginning—to once again stand at the very front—if she wished to display her true power. To do that, she would need to regain her outstanding strength among the spirits through training once more. She believed the Magic God of Dimensions would give her the opportunity to recover the power to lead all armies from the forefront again.

“It is done.”

“Well done. Apply for whatever reward you desire.”

Satisfied with the result of the female pope’s intervention, the Magic God of Dimensions cleared the situation board from the round table and projected the distorted space-time. Inside, the Successor of the Heavens, the Hero God and his comrade gods, and the Popes of Dimensions were combining their strength in battle. One Lord God was being opposed by a hero, his comrades, and a Saintess of Dimensions, while the High Elf Queens were locked in a fierce back-and-forth struggle against the other.

Yet the battle was shockingly even. The Lord Gods were struggling to respond to the continuous coordinated attacks from the lower gods, who moved like perfectly meshed gears.

“The Lord Gods are being pushed back by lower gods?”

Everyone had naturally assumed the Lord Gods held overwhelming superiority and would repeatedly launch lethal strikes through physical sacrifice. The faces of Almighty Hwi and the surrounding Creator Candidates hardened.

“Are they not perfect Lord Gods after all?”

But there was no way beings with divinity above Lord Gods could misjudge the divinity of inferiors. At the very least, the Successor of the Heavens possessed divinity equal to or above an intermediate Lord God. That such a being would be wounded and forced to retreat by the attacks of mere mid-tier gods was simply unbelievable.

“The Hero God and his comrade gods have over ten experiences subjugating Demon Kings who possessed divinity equal to Lord Gods. Those lower gods also have two subjugation records each. They are, quite literally, veterans of Demon King subjugation.”

“Oh—! Even though they can only use one-tenth of their power inside the planetary barrier, to have slain so many Demon Kings equal to Lord Gods is impressive. So that’s why the Lord Gods are being handled so easily? Hm? Something feels off…”

The reactions of Almighty Hwi and the Creator Candidates, who had been marveling at the unexpected prowess of the lower gods, suddenly turned sour. Lord Gods and Demon Gods were fundamentally different. Heroes supported by the Divine Realm’s power could subjugate Demon Kings inside a planetary barrier, but subjugating Lord Gods was impossible. The vast difference in divine power meant the Divine Realm’s support had little effect.

The answer to that question lay right before them. When the Creator Candidates and Lord Gods saw the dimensional authority being activated by the Popes and Saintesses of Dimensions, chills ran down their spines.

‘This feeling is exactly the same as when we faced the authority the Magic God of Dimensions activated while breaking through the Main Divine Realm.’

Even Almighty Hwi examined the dimensional authority again, but it was far too complex and esoteric to decipher. In the end, he had no choice but to ask directly.

“Did you incorporate Lord Slayer into the wide-area dimensional authority?”

“Additionally, the divine artifacts have been granted the function of converting divine power into mana.”

Looking again, he saw that every time they attacked, the concentrated mana—black as obsidian pearls—would erupt from the divine artifacts that should have radiated brilliant divine light, inflicting wounds on the Lord Gods’ bodies. This had clearly been deliberately created with battles against multiple Lord Gods and lower gods in mind.

Though they were now experienced in fighting higher beings, only five lower gods were facing each Lord God. Of course, that was possible because they were all fully equipped with divine artifacts—even if low-grade—and supported by wide-area authorities. Still, creating wide-area authorities and divine artifacts was by no means easy.

When one considered that nearly a million lower gods were all carrying divine artifacts, along with the effort and vitality invested, the scale was staggering even for a god. It was almost absurd that the Main God of the Divine Realm would prepare this extensively for battle against Lord Gods rather than the Demon God race. This far exceeded the level of preparation one would make out of fear of rebellion from the Goddess Blood Alliance’s chief goddesses or the Elemental Lord Gods.

“You gave wide-area Lord Slayer authority and even imbued the divine artifacts with mana? Are you planning to wage war against the Lord Gods or something?”

“You know my position. If I must, then I must.”

The Magic God of Dimensions spoke in a somewhat bitter tone, yet treated war with the Lord Gods as a matter of course. Almighty Hwi felt increasingly overwhelmed.

And at that moment, a message from the Sage of Omniscience arrived directly through Origin’s private line.

‘…….’

He had no answer to give. Because if the Magic God of Dimensions could create a Main God Star in just one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠year with perfect success, he could already predict what would come next. If the Sage of Omniscience—who was also an Origin and a Holy Demon—helped, the time would be drastically shortened and the success rate would skyrocket. But within the Almighty Tribe, only they could gather vitality. If all the Origins froze in place to create Main God Stars, the tribe would be reduced to mere maintenance.

Moreover, if the Demon God King—the Sage of Omniscience—stepped forward to help a Creator God make a Main God Star, the Demon God King Realm would never accept it. He himself would become a laughingstock in the Creation Realm.

‘That tone of hers…’

He couldn’t say he didn’t know. The surrounding Creator Candidates had already heard everything, so it would get out. Of course, they knew almost nothing about Creator Gods and wouldn’t go around spreading information about superiors, but since Creator Gods were watching this very place, they would eventually find out.

But answering immediately terrified him of what she would say next.

‘She’s already like this. She might even suggest replacing Origin with the Magic God of Dimensions or adding him as another Origin of the Almighty Race.’

Since she was a Holy Demon with the power of omniscience, she would find a way somehow. The tribe was already precariously balanced between male and female gods. If there were three or more Origins, a power struggle within the tribe would be inevitable. He could never allow that, yet since the root cause was his own insufficient ability as a Creator God, he had no grounds to oppose her to the end.

‘What a damn cursed world… Sigh.’

He had thought that ascending to Creator God—capable of creating a Main God Star that could secure ten thousand times the vitality of a normal planet—would solve everything. Yet because he was the lowest rank, Almighty Hwi found himself burdened with even more unbearable worries. He let out a deep sigh inwardly.