The Descent of the Dimensional Demon King

The divine power contained within the Dimensional Mage God's body was completely converted into magical power. At the same time, his previously slender frame began to swell with a series of violent sounds. Crack! Rumble—!

Then, all thirteen pairs of wings of light and thirteen pairs of wings of magic transformed into twenty-six pairs of dark wings that radiated a lustrous black glow like black pearls. If he still had a head, one would have seen twenty-six pairs of jewel-like horns encircling it like a crown. Even now, a faint, translucent shape hovered above his neck. This was no mere transformation of a dead body. The Dimensional Mage God, whose head floated alone in the air, began to speak with clear delight.

With a light chuckle, the translucent neck of the Dimensional Mage God nodded gently from behind. It was an order to attack. Immediately, enormous magical power condensed into claws that sprouted from the body. Shukagagagagak—!

These were the signature magical claws of the Demon God race. Even with his head severed, the Demon King’s hands moved freely, spreading wide as gray claws extended from the fingertips until they seemed long enough to cover the entire ring. The power emanating from those claws was similar to the spacetime bombs that glowed like spotlights from the ceiling of the ring. Ten magical claws, refined with terrifying elegance, spread out to both sides—claws that could destroy time and space and even threaten the existence of gods. The sight made Hwi of Omnipotence’s face harden like stone.

‘Those are magical claws that concentrate the authority of dimensional destruction along with the God-Slaying Curse. They’ll destroy the very essence regardless of physical defense. Even at my current body’s level, I can’t defend against that destructive authority—! I need to create distance and look for an opening…’

Tap—! Only then did he feel the lines surrounding the ring that he had somehow already retreated behind.

‘Damn it—! Did he calculate even this and trap me here?’

To defeat a Demon God wielding such dangerous magical claws, hit-and-run tactics were essential. The problem was that leaving the ring, which was only about five meters wide, meant defeat. Moreover, these magical claws were normally used one at a time, yet there were ten of them, each over ten meters long. Even the slightest movement would unleash attacks so fast they would be nearly impossible to perceive with the physical abilities of a Demon King that surpassed even a Creator God in pure offensive power. The thought of dodging their concentrated assault in such a cramped space made his head spin. This was extremely disadvantageous. No—it was the first crisis he had ever faced.

Having finished all his observations, the Dimensional Mage God turned his gaze back toward Hwi of Omnipotence. The body transformed into a Demon King stepped forward, signaling the true beginning of battle.

The Dimensional Mage God turned toward the Preliminary Creator Gods and Lord Gods who had frozen in shock at the unimaginable transformation of his body into a Demon King and the killing intent and magical power radiating from it.

The moment those words left his lips, the body of the Dimensional Demon King began to move at terrifying speed. Everyone, without exception, shot backward as if fleeing. Pride might have urged them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to stand their ground, but their divine instincts were screaming. The destructive authority of that Demon King was something a Lord God could not withstand. As they frantically distanced themselves from the attack range of the chaos claws, the fingers moved freely. Krrrrrk—!

The ten magical claws attached to the fingertips produced a sound like blades scraping against each other. They crossed rapidly in front of his chest. In that instant, the magical claws accelerated to an incredible speed and charged straight at Hwi of Omnipotence. The authority followed the body’s movements naturally.

Gagagagagagang—! The ten claws of chaos tore through time and space in their path, shredding everything within the ring. They seemed ready to slice apart everything inside, and their target was Hwi of Omnipotence.

‘Seeing it up close like this is truly horrific. Even the Holy Demon Sage of Omniscience could only handle two at a time, one in each hand. Ten of them simultaneously changing angles at will—there’s no way to respond with just two hands.’

In the end, the only answer was evasion, but he could not retreat. He had no choice but to charge straight into the storm of blades. The chill of death crawled from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, threatening to freeze his entire body.

‘A Preliminary Creator God summoning the body of a Demon King? How can such an absurd thing happen? This isn’t simple physical reinforcement. Could it be that he has grown this much? Evolving his authority to this level in just five hundred years? Is that even possible?’

The intensity and speed of change between gods who lived for eternity and mortals who lived for a mere moment were vastly different. Hwi of Omnipotence was struck by a wave of bewilderment as he realized he had never truly understood how rapidly the black magic of the Root School—which had survived and evolved across generations on the battlefield—could develop and advance.

And then pain slammed into the body that had been dodging with all its might. Slash—! Shuk—!

Perhaps his body’s reaction had slowed for an instant due to the feeling of death and bewilderment, because one of the chaos claws grazed his left arm. At the same time, his body split open and blood gushed out. But the shock of those claws slicing through a body that no god of equal rank had ever been able to wound brought him back to his senses. Seeing the wound that reached all the way to the muscle and the blood pouring from it, he knew there was no time to hesitate. He had to somehow dodge the ten magical claw blades that filled his entire field of vision and take down the body of that Demon King.

Since he could not retreat, there was only one way—accelerate even further. Crack—! Bang—!

Hwi of Omnipotence kicked off the floor of the ring with full power and accelerated. His figure vanished from sight, and in response, the Dimensional Mage God’s hand movements accelerated even more until they became invisible. The ten chaos claws tore through space with a chilling sound. What could be seen above the ring now were only the Dimensional Mage God, the occasional flash of two swinging hands, and the ten chaos claws. Yet the endless, horrifying sounds of something being sliced, torn, and repelled continued without pause.

Kakakakakak—! Shusususuk—! Blood sprayed from empty space. An ultra-high-speed close-quarters battle had broken out beyond the limits of perception. As the body of the Dimensional Mage God, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now a Demon King, and Hwi of Omnipotence entered such a ferocious melee, the severed head of the Dimensional Mage God retreated backward. When the God of Combat, the greatest close-combat specialist among the gods, poured everything into increasing his speed, he became completely invisible at this range. Staying close would be dangerous even from behind the Demon King’s body.

‘Ugh—! As expected, once it reaches this level of high-speed combat, I can’t control it while watching. This is one of the weaknesses of this magic.’

This spell was theoretically invincible in one-on-one combat according to its design and planning, but because of this flaw and its extremely narrow activation area, it had been strictly forbidden except in very limited situations. At first he had been able to observe Hwi of Omnipotence and issue commands to the body, but now he could no longer give directions. His own reaction speed was insufficient to control it while observing the enemy’s responses. If the body itself had not been imprinted with the conditional reflexes of the Incomprehensible Eight Postures, he would never have attempted this.

‘Damn it—! As expected, a being with that level of speed is hard for a mage god to perceive. There’s no choice but to leave it to the Incomprehensible Eight Postures defense imprinted on the body’s conditional reflexes. Moving on to the next measure.’

A mage could not even activate a spell if they could not accurately perceive their opponent. No matter how strong Hwi of Omnipotence was, he could not break through the defense of the Incomprehensible Eight Postures that the Dimensional Demon King had mastered and defeat him. He had to inflict as much damage as possible during this opportunity and prepare a decisive blow.

Even Hwi of Omnipotence, who was fighting the Dimensional Mage God with all his strength, heard the chant, but he could not interfere. Fortunately, because it was not an officially recognized true Demon King of the Demon God realm, its power was lacking. Even when struck by the magical claws, only the contacted area was severed; it did not act like the fatal extreme poison that had afflicted the Sage of Omniscience. Still, that alone was enough to turn skin and muscle into shredded meat in an instant, drenching him in blood. And every time he endured such wounds to counterattack, an even stronger counter came back at him. Those counters carried enough force to sever limbs or take his head if he was careless, forcing him to retreat in panic.

‘What the hell? He’s returning my counter with another counter? What is this familiar yet terrifying reaction?’

Just as the saying went—give flesh to take bone. The moment he blocked the chaos claws’ attack and counterattacked, a fatal strike with amplified power returned. In a situation where they exchanged such blows countless times, a single mistake meant the end, so he could not analyze it precisely.

‘Does a counter technique at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠level of the Incomprehensible Eight Postures exist? Ugh—! It’s coming again.’

Because it was the pinnacle of martial arts, the Incomprehensible Eight Postures, which should have been impossible for a mage god’s body to master, Hwi of Omnipotence—who had never even imagined such a thing—could not respond accurately. Even if he had known, the continuous assault of ten chaos claws would have left him with few options. Still, drawing on his countless battles against one of the greatest Demon Gods, the Sage of Omniscience, he was exchanging counters in a near-trance state.

The chant was gradually reaching completion. And then the Dimensional Mage God’s warning rang out.

The warning was directed at the Preliminary Creator Gods and Lord Gods surrounding the ring. It also reached Hwi of Omnipotence. Although the continuous attacks of the Dimensional Demon King’s chaos claws were extremely lethal and threatening, they were monotonous. Thanks to that, he had just begun to adapt and had a moment to glance aside. And what he saw was a black orb forming at the mouth of the Dimensional Mage God’s severed head, emitting a terrifying roar.

Kwaaaaaaaaang—!

At the same time, the body of the Dimensional Demon King was thrown backward as if repelled. He could tell what was about to happen. The Dimensional Mage God, who had already displayed physical abilities beyond his own, was about to unleash magic of unbearable power. The Preliminary Creator Gods and Lord Gods who had been watching the duel from behind desperately tried to move behind the Dimensional Mage God, and as if waiting for that, the attack slowed slightly. Advancing was impossible because he could not subdue the Dimensional Mage God in a single instant. On the contrary, he might be torn apart by the chaos claws the moment that magic struck. The ten chaos claws had been reduced to two, showing an explosive increase in power. Even when the power had been dispersed among ten, the extremely trained muscles had been sliced and bones ground apart. If it had charged like this from the beginning, he would have lost an arm or a leg.

With a roar mixed with rage in his eyes, explosive light poured from Hwi of Omnipotence’s gaze. At the same time, the black orb held in the Dimensional Mage God’s mouth vanished. It was more accurate to say it had been fired forward like a dragon’s breath. Yet Hwi of Omnipotence could not sense any sign or trajectory, so he desperately drew out all his power to defend his body. He instinctively knew that if he stayed like this, he would be annihilated.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaang—!

A shockwave that shook the entire Main Divine Realm erupted, and most of the ring vanished. No—every space and domain visible in front of the Dimensional Mage God was completely erased from existence. Everything within the Dimensional Mage God’s field of vision—every temple and territory of the Main Divine Realm, which was close to the realm of a Highest Creator God—was obliterated without distinction. Even Hwi of Omnipotence had disappeared, leaving only a perfect void of nothingness. All that remained was a black orb that looked like the culprit that had devoured and destroyed everything. It scattered like dust, then regrouped and flew back into the Dimensional Mage God’s mouth.

Gulp—!

He swallowed it whole and completed the chant.

Clapclapclapclap—! Clackclack—!

The sound of someone clapping rang out loudly. Was it applause for the magic that had pulverized even the Main Divine Realm and a Creator God of the highest rank into dust? No, it was not. It was the sound of the world destroyed by Core—the black orb that had devoured every dimension and spacetime in front of the Dimensional Mage God—being restored. The restoration sounded like someone rapidly flipping through the pages of a book because it had destroyed an unknown number of dimensions and spacetimes simultaneously. At the same time, the head and body of the Dimensional Mage God began to fuse back together. Vrrr—! Vrrr—! Tap—!

With a faint resonance of magical power, they became one again. The Dimensional Mage God shook his neck to confirm it was fully attached, then gave a light bow. The space where the magic had just been cast was now a completely empty void where spacetime and dimensions had collapsed entirely. The overlapping sounds of world restoration, like applause, still echoed.

Then, from the empty air, a massive wave of divine power and a voice filled with murderous intent burst forth.

The one who tore through space and revealed himself was Hwi of Omnipotence in his true form as a Creator God. Not a single wound remained on his body, and he possessed twenty-six perfectly shining pairs of wings of light. Unusually, twenty-six pairs of radiant horns of light sat upon his head like a crown. They resembled the jewel horns of a Demon King, but what emanated from them was not the power of destruction but the power of creation. Through cooperation with the Origin of the same clan, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sage of Omniscience, he could now display the power of a Holy Demon as well. When two Origins of different clans connected their divine power in parallel, they could exert more than double the strength. When they were Origins of the same clan, the amplification needed no explanation. On top of that, by combining the power of a Holy Demon King and a Hero God Creator, they could maximize each other’s strengths and display them simultaneously. This was the true ability of the originally all-knowing and all-powerful Sacred Radiance of Omniscience and Omnipotence.

Its power was so overwhelming that it required at least four Creator Gods of similar rank working together to match it. When two joined forces, they could suppress eight or more Creator Gods of equal combat strength. Only because they were Origins of the same clan who had fought each other for a long time in preparation for the authentication battle could they display such power; this was precisely why they could never abandon one another.

A Holy Demon was, in a sense, the natural enemy of a mage god. The power of a Holy Demon’s magic surpassed that of a mage god’s. Moreover, if it was the Sage of Omniscience who had become a Demon King, most attacks that used magical power would be nullified. That was why she could withstand the 12th-circle spacetime pulverization attack called Core that his future self had secretly passed on—whether it was meant as a finishing move or a suicide technique. Yet as the Dimensional Mage God looked at Hwi of Omnipotence, who had even obtained such power, his face twisted into a strange expression that could have been either a smile or a grimace.

‘Damn it! He’s become too strong and the plan is going perfectly, but now I have to aim for Gold as well? In the end, I’ll have to die once.’

He had resolved himself to accept the loss.