The Final Duel for the Main God Throne

The Hero God and his companions had finally succeeded in the Otherworld War after countless attempts. They had been beaten half to death as the price, yet they could not hide the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠surge of joy at simply being alive. They were already Intermediate Gods with fully established authorities; their deaths would inflict catastrophic damage. Of course, that was nothing compared to the death of a Main God.

The divine artifacts embedded in the Main Gods' bodies vomited black magic power and roared with deafening noise. Kakakakakak—!Uddddduk—! Then the simultaneous strike of the World Tree unleashed by the High Elf Queens pierced the opposing Main God's arms and legs with divine artifacts, sending him crashing down. His eyes widened in disbelief at the impossible outcome, staring at the artifact that glowed with black light as it aimed for his heart.

Unbelievably, these opponents had fought with full power from start to finish. For those who had only waited for the fatal instant when divine power would be exhausted, there was nothing they could do. Damage simply accumulated until they collapsed.

Only now did the true nature of the being directly tied to these High Elf Queens' divine power and authority become visible. That form belonged to a powerhouse at least at the Main God level or higher, possessing transcendent authority.

Are these incarnations of High Gods equal to Main Gods? Their main bodies must be supplying infinite divine power. If I had known, I never would have fallen for this.

Had they known, they would never have let their guard down. They would have fought with everything, as if facing the highest gods, and the result would have been entirely different. Yet the sensation of the divine artifact burrowing into their chests taught them the cruel reality.

The situation was nearly identical for the other Main Gods. The Dimensional Pope, a supreme goddess, had seen through every authority and suppressed them before they could activate. Meanwhile, the Dimensional Saintess, endowed with overwhelming physical prowess, stood at the forefront and thoroughly shattered every direct assault. Layered with the other Lower Gods' precise strikes at vital points, the Main Gods crumbled helplessly.

The successor who reigned over the heavens held out desperately until the end, but once his own wide-area authority was completely neutralized by the Dimensional wide-area authority, raw physical ability alone proved insufficient. He resisted as best he could, yet in the end several divine artifacts radiating magic power lethal to the divine race pierced his body, and his movements ceased.

To the Main Gods who had lost all strength to resist, the Dimensional Saintess's voice reached them.

Leaving those puzzled words behind, the Dimensional Saintess severed the necks of the remaining two Main Gods, sparing only the one the High Elf Queens prepared to finish.

"Ugh—!"

"Mmm—!"

They could see every motion clearly, but the accumulated damage was too severe to dodge. Simply suppressing the magic power digging into their bodies already took everything they had. Thus the two Main Gods were lifted helplessly by their necks in the supreme goddess's hands.

She seemed ready to snap their necks at any moment, and it would have happened exactly that way. But in that instant, a change rippled through space and time.

Shhhhhht—!

At the same time, the Main Gods whose necks were seized blurred and vanished. Even the one on the verge of having his heart pierced by the divine artifact faded away.

"Hmm?"

"As expected—!"

"Stay alert—! We don't know where they'll appear!"

The urgent voices of the Hero God and his companions echoed everywhere. The Main Gods had fallen far too easily. Though they had been utterly defeated by a meticulously prepared joint assault, they were still Main Gods. Like the Demon King's curse, there might have been one final trump card. As they stood tensed, not knowing what authority might activate, a familiar voice reached them.

It was the Dimensional Mage God's voice, declaring the battle's end. Saving the very Main Gods he had ordered killed was itself one form of space-time manipulation.

Why suddenly?

Since the battle is over, we'll return to the Magic Tower first. I've consumed far too much divine power.

The next fight is the real one, so we must hurry and recover.

The saintess and pope showed no visible wounds, yet their bodies screamed in protest after nullifying and enduring the attacks of higher-ranked Main Gods. Perfect preparation was required for the process their lord had personally outlined. And since something unknown to them was unfolding from above, there was no need to wonder. The ruling class of the Main Divine Realm remained a realm they could not yet reach. For now, they were content to have safely concluded a brutal fight and simply returned to the present.

Thus, after the battle ended, the Main Gods who had stood on death's threshold were utterly bewildered. They had been suddenly summoned to the round table of the Main Divine Realm. All fatal wounds had vanished, leaving them perfectly intact. Only their severely depleted divine power proved they had fought at all.

Are we truly alive?

Aside from the exhausted divine power, there isn't even a trace of injury.

No trace of healing either, so this too must be the Dimensional authority? It seems he extracted us at the moment of death and manipulated our bodies' time. Yet there exists an authority even I cannot fully grasp?

I don't understand how a god possessing such authority has only left behind infamy all this time.

As they roughly understood the situation and reeled in shock, the Dimensional Mage God's voice rang in their ears.

At some point, three empty seats had appeared at the very end of the row where the Main Gods sat. Yet these were the very gods who had opposed the Dimensional Mage God becoming Main God King and fought him in battle. Now he had saved them from certain death and even granted them the formal Main God seats they had longed for.

Seeing that even Almighty Hwi and the surrounding Creator Candidates remained silent, it was clear they tacitly approved the situation. While they stood flustered, not knowing what to do, they looked upon the round table and understood everything.

The four divine artifacts placed upon the round table belong to their fathers.

Placing the divine artifact of an Independent Divine Realm's Main God upon the round table signified permission for one summons. Naturally it had been a forced summons without massive compensation, yet he had borne that burden for their sake.

The Dimensional Mage God's gaze shifted forward as he watched the successors of the Mercenary Main God sit silently with tightly shut mouths in the lowest seats reserved for Main Gods. The moment he saw the divine artifacts on the round table, relief washed over him. The Mercenary Main God's artifacts, capable of summoning without any price, rested not before Almighty Hwi in the first seat, but before his own second seat. The meaning was profound.

Furthermore, three of the four highest-ranking Mercenary Main Gods—the Main Divine Realm's greatest military power—had officially chosen to support him for the sake of their successors' futures. The one without a successor had hesitated, but with the others in agreement, he had no choice. Above all, the Mercenary Main God's Independent Divine Realm lay directly beside the Dimensional Divine Realm. Openly opposing him and earning enmity would mean they could never rest easy; that was common sense. Moreover, since the Dimensional Mage God possessed a devastating wide-area authority capable of destroying even the Main Divine Realm, the Mercenary Main Gods had little room to maneuver.

No matter the reason, all four highest-ranking Mercenary Main Gods possessing the greatest combat strength outside the Main God King have approved. It is done.

With the support of every highest god at the round table and over ninety percent of the High Gods, his ascension to Main God King had become an unstoppable tide. From the current perspective, only about a hundred years had passed. Yet the hours of training and struggle required to reach this point were beyond counting. In truth, recognizing the exact number would drive him mad, so he had deliberately avoided it. The result of enduring such ordeals now stood right before him.

Once a Mercenary God burdened with the worst karma, he had lived with desperate difficulty. The position of Main God of the Divine Realm that had once seemed so radiant now carried far too many problems due to past mistakes. Even if he defended himself objectively, there were few escape routes, and he had committed those acts fully aware of the consequences in order to survive. However, before the stern laws of the 499th Master Universe's Divine Realm, such feeble excuses held no weight. The law was infinitely generous to the strong and merciless to the weak. And the position that would allow him to prove himself as the strong and resolve all his sins waited there.

Unconsciously, a trembling voice escaped him.

The divine realm ego of the Main Divine Realm began to vibrate, signaling that the time had arrived.

Kuuuuuuuu—!

The nameplate of the Dimensional Mage God, ranked second at the Main Divine Realm round table, crumbled into powder. The same happened to the nameplate of Almighty Hwi, ranked first. The old hierarchy had vanished. Only the challenger and the Main God King remained.

Almighty Hwi stared at his own nameplate that had turned to dust with emotionless eyes, then rose from his seat and declared:

Victory would grant him recognition as Main God King. Defeat would mean death, the recovery of his vitality, dispatch to the Spirit Realm for analysis of his creation authority alone, and subsequent use as a weapon against the Substitute Race. It was a ruthless measure worthy of the Creator General of the 499th Universe, who had waged a desperate war against the Substitute Race for a billion years—ten times longer than other master universes.

Even after hearing such a cruel verdict, the Dimensional Mage God rose from his seat. He bowed lightly at the waist, raised both arms, and offered an elegant salute.

He felt no fear of defeat or punishment. All he had to do was win. The reward and the price he must pay were extraordinarily generous compared to the life he had lived until now.

As expected, whether Mage God or anything else, he is a battle god of the 499th Universe.

"Good. It is authenticated."

Satisfied by the Dimensional Mage God's dignified bearing, Almighty Hwi nodded and sent his will toward the Creator General confronting the Creator God far across the void.

The Creator General has sent his will directly.

The fact that not only the Creator Gods but even the Creator General has mobilized means that Creator God is truly no ordinary existence.

That was why he could not intervene directly and had only sent a decision.

The authority to choose a successor is granted entirely to the Main God King. Do as you wish. However, if the Dimensional Mage God lacks the qualifications to become Main God King, you must kill him without fail and send him to the Spirit Realm. After he pays for the sin of using power beyond his authority, he shall become a special-duty Creator God without rights.

Because the Dimensional Mage God sought the position of Main God King, the responsibility placed upon Almighty Hwi, who had received full authority, grew even heavier. And if the Dimensional Mage God—who could create one Main God Star per year—began working in the Spirit Realm, acquiring Main God Stars would become comparatively easy.

Concerns about his own shortcomings have vanished into the distance. A reason he must win at all costs has been created, so he now entrusts everything to the match.

Goooooooo—!

His fighting spirit surged for the first time in a long while. Few Main Gods possessed such power. And beings dangerous enough to instill this level of crisis in him, who had mastered the incomprehensible Eight Origins, were even rarer. This fight was worth winning. Above all, with the Creator General and Creator Gods watching, he had to give his absolute best no matter the circumstances.

As if responding to his resolute fighting spirit, the Creator Candidates and Main Gods at the round table who had risen from their seats began shouting in unison.

Though direct descendants of the Creator Gods, they too were beings who had fought and won in fierce competition despite their shortcomings and overcome countless setbacks. Otherwise ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they could never have become the Main Divine Realm's primary force. They had reached this height by winning in the same manner. Their passionate shouts at the coming battle burned with genuine fervor.

I agree completely.

A pleased smile rose unbidden on Almighty Hwi's face. The same smile appeared on the Dimensional Mage God's face beneath his robe. Yet their meanings were entirely different. He too enjoyed that pure passion for battle and victory. However, he was a Mage God and a Mercenary God who had accepted a request first. He had indulged his personal desires for a moment, but fulfilling the commission came before all else. He had never forgotten that.

At last, the request begins.

Then a simple will arrived from his future self. It seemed the Black Flame Absolute's Always Coin Heads had finally reached the limit of its patience after he had avoided contact so extremely that it could not detect anything. The exchange of will between his future self and his past self was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nearly impossible for other authorities to detect, so this was how they communicated. For the sake of future coordination, he could not ignore it. Besides, his future self was someone who would retaliate tenfold if slighted.

It is a message from the Origin of the Mage God. It seems his thoughts have changed considerably. He says to commit suicide immediately before you are killed if you lose.

I shouldn't have answered. As expected, he is furious. No, the fact that he has endured this long is truly remarkable.

Had the situation not required extreme caution to avoid the Black Flame Absolute's Always Coin Heads noticing, he would have descended immediately. But he could not do so now. The Origin of the Wind Family and the Eight Absolutes were not enemies, yet they maintained extreme vigilance toward one another; even the slightest intervention carried massive consequences.

If the God of Light commits suicide rather than self-destructing in battle against the enemy, the connection to the divine realm will be severed as punishment. In that case, we will change the plan and I will retrain you thoroughly once more in the Absolute Realm, he says. Starting with basic common sense and etiquette, of course. The Wind Family's etiquette education? You will have a truly difficult time. Will you even be able to be released?

Of course I won't be released!

Except for rare special cases like the Origin of the Mage God who were acknowledged for unique abilities, all members of the Wind Family underwent thorough injected brainwashing and personality education to cultivate them beyond sainthood. A single mistake by the Wind Family could shake the entire Absolute Realm, so there was no other choice. That was why the Wind Family was notorious for the severity and persistence of its character and etiquette training for successors.

Thus millions of powerful 10-center beings lived quietly on the Wind Star, simultaneously cultivating their personalities and training. Yet even this was the better scenario. His future self continued to sneer.

I agree as well. And special-duty Creator God? That's merely a title. In truth it's little better than a forced laborer with far more duties than a Main God of the Divine Realm. The intention is clearly to mass-produce Main God Stars and use them in war later. Rather than watch my past self reduced to such a state, I would rather kill you. Do not worry about revenge. The next plan is to completely transform the Creator God Seongmyeol into the Black Flame race and induce a rampage.

What—!

The words nearly made him doubt his ears. He could not comprehend how they could devise such an absurd plan. Seongmyeol, who had absorbed even the Wind Star with its infinite vitality, was no ordinary Creator God. It was a special existence among the Substitute Race, possessing more than ten times the power of ordinary divine races. If it were completely transformed into the Black Flame race, there was no telling what catastrophe might occur. In the best case, it would be the birth of a destruction god capable of threatening even the Absolute Realm with infinite vitality.

To stop the rampage of his own race, the Black Flame Absolute will have no choice but to intervene. Several master universes will be destroyed in the process, but he too will suffer enormous damage. Then it is an easy victory. I will personally step forward and cleanly annihilate the entire 499th Universe. So you may rest easy, commit suicide, and go receive your etiquette education. I will handle everything afterward, of course.

Don't pass this off so casually—! You insane bastard—! Are you really my future self? If you want to meet such an end so badly, go die alone! Why drag me into it? Stop doing things that might make Truth intervene!

Kekekeke—! Am I crazy? Correct. Transcendents go mad training for greater power, and sages go mad pursuing knowledge to realize a better present. The Grey Absolute stands at the pinnacle of such insane sages. Of course he is not normal. Above all, aren't you curious just how effective the artificially created Black Flame Creator God Seongmyeol—produced with the utmost effort including the investment of the Wind Star—will be against the Black Flame Absolute? Accurately evaluating the capabilities of an artificially created Black Flame Creator God is worth sacrificing several master universes. Therefore even Truth will remain silent until the results emerge.

I don't want to know. The Absolute Realm can deal with it themselves.

Click—!

He severed the will connection entirely and stared hollowly into empty space. The fact that his future self openly called himself crazy suggested he was sane, yet he clearly intended to commit an act even more insane than a destruction god. And since he always said to leave the aftermath to him, he truly planned to do exactly that. The terrifying part was that he possessed both the ability and the will, and had zero intention of taking responsibility for the consequences. There was no telling what he might unleash.

Is it that a sane person committing insane acts appears mad? Or not? Or has the madman grown even madder and now looks normal? I cannot make an accurate judgment here, so prediction is impossible. Why must I contemplate such things at the moment of a once-in-a-lifetime battle? Hurry up and die already, my future self.

Considering what his future self was doing and the chaos that would follow, the will to live that had begun to stir was on the verge of being completely extinguished. Nevertheless, to do what must be done, he turned his steps toward the arena. And a cheer that shook the entire Main Divine Realm began to erupt.