The Beginning of the Otherworld War
The Beginning of the Otherworld War starts from the right leg stretched backward, accelerating with the left leg thrust forward. The entire body launches in a straight line to close the distance, then strikes with the prepared right fist at point-blank range. The target was the heart, and this supreme attack—forged through extreme physical training and endless repetitive mastery—drove into the opponent without allowing even a flicker of reaction. The description was simple, but its execution speed was so blindingly fast that it delivered a horrific outcome. All that remained was the utter destruction of the body.
CRAAAAAAAASH—!
A rupture that seemed to leap across space itself thundered outward. The Dimensional Mage God’s figure vanished, leaving only the Almighty Hwi, who had thrown the punch. The only thing visible on the ring was a thick crimson mist of blood. The shockwave from the excessively fast and powerful strike had disassembled the body before it could even be torn apart.
‘Full-body throwing straight punch.’
It was one of the ultimate one-hit-kill techniques, something only a being who could control their body with absolute freedom and had piled up extreme training could display.
Yet even the Almighty Hwi had not emerged unscathed.
“Ugh…!”
He let out a groan of pain he could barely remember uttering in the past, clutching his chest. A thin trickle of blood seeped between the fingers pressed against his right pectoral. On his back, a tiny circular bloodstain marked where something needle-like had pierced through. The surrounding muscles desperately tried to seal it, but the wound kept widening until blood began gushing out like a fountain.
Having failed to hold the injury shut with raw muscle strength, a voice filled with despair leaked from the Almighty Hwi’s lips.
“A miniature hidden weapon fired from the forehead… No, a condensed mass of magic power.”
The projectile launched from the forehead had pierced his body at ultra-high speed and vanished beyond the ring. The magic power that flowed into the wound continued to widen the injury. He tried to suppress the spread with brute strength and regenerate, but his recovery could not keep up. The magic power of the Dimensional Mage God he had just defeated was acting as a curse.
The result of taking that tiny needle to the forehead at the exact moment he unleashed a full-power strike capable of blowing away an entire body and head was catastrophic. His vaunted physique had been penetrated like tofu. The injected magic power and rotational force were grinding his internals into pulp. No matter how hard he resisted, it refused to stop, systematically destroying his vital organs.
At this rate, even a Creator God would be finished.
“Was your final resort… something like this? But what kind of divine artifact could possibly pierce a body stronger than a Creator God’s… Gaaah—!”
At the same moment, a massive hole erupted in his upper torso like a bursting dam, and blood poured out in a waterfall.
CRUNCH—! BOOOOM—!
A rotational force that seemed intent on devouring his entire body activated from within, roaring violently. Half of his upper torso vanished as though swallowed by space itself. The devastation exposed even his heart—the root of his divine power—to the open air, and the destructive force immediately zeroed in on it.
With his major organs shredded in an instant, a sound that could have been either a battle cry or a scream tore from the Almighty Hwi’s throat.
“GRAAAAAAGH—!”
GRAB—! CRAAAAASH—!
He wrapped both hands around his exposed heart. Almost simultaneously, an explosive force detonated with a deafening roar, slamming into his palms. Flesh and bone separated instantly and scattered. He could only watch helplessly as everything below both wrists was obliterated.
Yet he had protected the heart. With the divine race’s regenerative and restorative abilities, he would eventually recover everything. Since the Dimensional Mage God had died without leaving behind even a single scrap of flesh, this was his victory. He had lost both fists and half his upper body, but as a member of the divine race, full recovery was possible. Therefore, he had won.
The Almighty Hwi, who had barely reconnected the gaping hole in his torso, was trying to steady his fading consciousness—blurred from massive blood loss and divine power expenditure—when the sound of applause rang out.
Clap. Clap.
“As expected—! Almighty Hwi—! To see through and evade the highest secret art of the Root School at that exact moment… truly impressive. I offer my highest praise for that strength which requires no consideration whatsoever.”
It was the voice of the Dimensional Mage God, whom he had reduced to a bloody mist. This was not the transmission of will from a divine spirit after bodily death. No matter how spiritual a god might be, the death of the physical form dealt a massive blow. Recovering from that and returning to a spirit state required time. The fact that a physical voice could still be heard after the entire body had been annihilated beyond restoration meant only one thing.
He had survived yet again. His life force was downright detestable.
‘This is impossible—! I destroyed every part of his body and even the surrounding space. How is he still alive?’
Moreover, it didn’t feel as though he had expended much divine power. Yet Hwi himself had consumed more than half his reserves simply to recover from the injuries he had just sustained. In his current state—both arms lost and his upper body only roughly restored—he was in no condition to fight.
“Tch—!”
Grinding his teeth, he endured the divine power consumption and restored himself completely. His divine power, which had exceeded one hundred billion, plummeted below fifty billion. No—the situation was even worse than that.
‘My divine power is now below forty billion. On top of that, the curse from the magic power has left the restored body incomplete. The innate divine power I can actually suppress the curse with and use for combat is barely twenty billion? I’ve fallen to the same level as the Dimensional Mage God, who has only been a god for roughly a century? This is absurd—!’
When he had tried to conquer the Dimensional Divine Realm single-handedly, he had been battered by the Lord Slayer of the Goddess Blood Alliance and various Creator God-level authorities activated from the Round Table. His divine power had fallen to the level of a mere Creator Candidate. Still, since the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors had displayed their full might, it hadn’t been a problem.
But the hidden secret technique he had just received had sent his divine power crashing down to less than twenty percent.
Even though the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors was an ultimate physical technique classified as an absolute authority, the opponent was also a powerhouse armed with titles and authorities granted by Truth. The greater problem was that he still could not locate the still-living enemy.
“Where are you?”
To the hollow, impatient shout born from the recoil of expending massive divine power and failing to achieve the desired result, an unwelcome answer returned.
“Right in front of you.”
“!!!”
Vrrrr—! Vrrrr—!
At the ringing sound, a jewel emitting a red glow became visible within the still-dense blood mist. The voice until now had been produced by the jewel’s vibrations.
“A Creator God’s jewel? No—Divine Spirit Purgatory?”
“Correct. Most of my physical body was annihilated by that last attack. I transferred my divine spirit here to avoid complete death.”
It was the Creator God’s jewel, now pulsing like a heart within the blood mist. The Dimensional Mage God had suffered even greater damage than the blow he himself had taken. Yet it was incomprehensible. The Creator God’s jewel was a condensed mass of authorities that could even serve as the core of a Main God Star, but it was ultimately a physical object.
‘For the Creator God’s jewel—a material object—to withstand my full-power strike capable of killing even a High-ranking Creator God is impossible.’
Furthermore, containing the divine spirit of a being with such computational ability instantaneously and with such purity should have been impossible under normal circumstances. This meant a god of at least Creator General rank or higher was supporting him—someone beyond what he could handle.
‘It is a core created by a Creator God possessing divinity of Creator General level or above.’
Among all the Creator Generals, the only one capable of producing a Creator God’s jewel of that caliber was Sangharama, the Creator General of the 499th Master Universe, who possessed over ten trillion in divine power.
Come to think of it, even the initial command had been strange.
‘Despite committing such enormous authority abuse, he ordered me to send the divine spirit to the Spirit Realm with minimal injury and later appoint him as a special-duty Creator God.’
No matter how outstanding one’s creative power and abilities, that was not a normal verdict. This battle had felt ominous from the beginning, and it was only becoming more twisted.
‘If the Creator General intervened beforehand, there would be no benefit even if I win. In fact, it might be more normal for me to be the one defeated.’
As the Almighty Hwi’s fighting spirit gradually waned from confusion, the jewel containing the Dimensional Mage God’s divine spirit rang out once more.
“Heh heh—! Please don’t worry. This is merely the mercenary fee I received for participating in the Substitute Gods’ battle and achieving victory. The one who provided it will not interfere. We only met through a single request, after all. More importantly, you should pay close attention from now on. If you make even the slightest mistake…”
A wind of magic power stirred. It was the activation of a magical force on a scale he had never witnessed before. No—it was the manifestation of an authority. He instinctively realized the opponent was pouring every ounce of his strength into settling the match.
Whooooooosh—!
The blood mist swirled violently, sketching the outline of a massive figure. It then coalesced into a bloody mass before instantly reverting to flesh. A giant roughly three meters tall—twice his own 180 centimeters—began to reveal itself before his eyes.
He needed to stop the magic from completing, but his body refused to obey. No, his body was tensing with something close to fear from the killing intent and fighting spirit radiating from that giant with the dark-red hair.
A body possessing power and speed beyond his understanding was materializing.
‘A miraculous degree of bodily perfection. A clumsy response will mean instant death. For me—who has mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors—to have to steel myself for death? How can such a monstrous existence be created? And in the middle of combat, no less…’
Booooong—!
It seemed his divine power had not fully recovered, stopping at five billion in innate divine power. Yet even that amount posed an overwhelming threat. The pure physical capability of those perfectly sculpted muscles far exceeded his predictions.
In a narrow space of roughly five meters, if a nearly three-meter giant attacked, there was almost nowhere to dodge.
“Allow me to introduce him. Though ranked fourth overall among the 10 Mainstays of the Absolute Realm, he is the undisputed first in close-quarters combat—Origin. This body is not partially suppressed by instinct for the sake of magic, as before. It is a pure Black Flame clansman.”
Fwoooooosh—!
Fighting spirit and killing intent, like faintly burning dark-red flames, enveloped the giant’s entire form.
The Dimensional Mage God had undergone the Eternal Judgment on the Wind Star of Black Flame and become a member of the Black Flame race. He had known that much. However, he had also understood that because he was a magic god, his ability to manifest those powers was extremely restricted. He had never imagined the mage would transform into a Black Flame clansman and charge at him like this.
“To a god, the body is merely a tool that can be regenerated at any time so long as the divine spirit remains intact. If the body is a tool, the standard procedure is to adapt it to the enemy. However, that process requires vast amounts of vitality and time, so it cannot be used this way in actual combat. But I am the Dimensional Mage God who possesses the title of Origin and the authority of dimensions—! I have completed this combat method by fusing the ‘Samsara of Retirement’ of the guardian gods of the 500th Master Universe’s divine realm with the divine garment of the Overlord God. Furthermore, I have improved it so that magic can be used perfectly.”
The Creator God’s jewel burrowed into the giant’s forehead as though clinging to it. At the same moment, his divine power began to surge explosively.
GOOOOOOOONG—!
It was twenty billion in innate divine power—the same amount as the current Almighty Hwi, who had suffered catastrophic injuries, expended enormous power, and only just recovered.
“The compatibility of the Authority of Black Flame—a fusion of pure dark magic power, killing intent, and fighting spirit—needs no explanation. It is the complete opposite of the situation where I had to suppress the Authority of Black Flame to manifest magic. From now on, I will devote myself entirely as a faithful divine power amplifier. The divine power the Almighty Hwi can currently operate is twenty billion, and my Black Flame clansman body is also twenty billion. The Almighty Hwi, who has only mastered up to three trillion in Human Connection Gratuity, and this Black Flame body of mine—which has undergone no formal training and possesses only instinct—are perfectly equal and fair. Now, let us completely determine whose close-combat capability is superior: the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors or the Authority of Black Flame.”
The Dimensional Mage God’s voice rang out with cruel finality, as though everything until now had existed for this very moment.
‘That giant body with its perfect three-meter frame is by no means mere decoration or intimidation. Its very existence carries power beyond my own.’
If they were equal in speed, he could not compete in strength. Combat effectiveness went without saying. Their weight classes were simply too different.
‘Considering only physical ability, the difference in combat power is at least double—!’
This was absolutely unmanageable. No—within this ring where there was no space to evade, it meant he could not win.
“Before we begin, I must warn you.”
Vrrrrrrrr—!
The stance changed. The Almighty Hwi’s face twisted so severely it no longer resembled his own. It was identical to the full-power strike he had used moments ago to turn the Dimensional Mage God’s body into dust. It was the stance of the full-body throwing straight punch.
‘It is definitely not mere imitation. It is the action that instinctively draws out the highest offensive power possible for a Black Flame clansman body.’
It was difficult to judge superiority between a stance repeated and mastered countless times and one taken naturally through instinct. No, since the goal of mastery itself was to engrave the movement into the body like instinct so it could produce maximum power, it might even hold the advantage.
Separate from the Black Flame divine power increasing ferociously like an unstoppable storm, a rigid explanation continued as if the speaker were reading from a textbook.
“The Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors is ultimately a counter technique until one masters the latter half. With that alone, it can respond to all close-range and long-range attacks, adding the opponent’s own power to its own, making it virtually invincible against most foes. However, the Authority of Black Flame is a penetration technique. It destroys any attack or defense with raw force and does not permit counters, making it something close to a natural predator. You must deflect the attack trajectory by any means necessary.”
The three-meter giant was perfectly replicating the full-power strike he had displayed moments ago and preparing to unleash it. There was no way to interrupt it midway. The instant he charged, the inevitably exposed opening would be attacked, and he would fall. If he cowardly interfered with the preparation process of exerting full power, he would only receive an even greater counterattack.
It granted both himself and his opponent the time to unleash their maximum strength and clearly determine superiority.
“If you block it head-on, you will definitely die.”
That was the kind of technique it had always been. Experiencing for the first time an existence with superior physical ability that surpassed his own, he could finally understand the despair those who had fallen before him must have felt. Since the gap in physical ability was more than double, the same technique could not possibly stop it. There was only one choice.
Flash—! Crack—!
He crossed both hands in a wide circle. Every time the palms concentrated with all his divine power grazed each other, light burst forth and his body underwent extreme reinforcement. The three trillion Human Connection Gratuity was a battlefield authority that endlessly raised physical ability by stimulating the body using the opponent’s fighting spirit and divine power with every collision. The more one trained and fought, the stronger it became without limit. As a Transcendent, there was no authority as straightforward as this, which was why it was considered invincible.
However, against that destructive Authority of Black Flame, close combat at his current level was impossible. By stimulating himself, he could at least finish his preparations.
‘Although it is still incomplete, I will stake everything on the three trillion Human Connection Gratuity. Depending on the degree of training, it can grant complete immunity to close-combat authorities. It is the only method that can stand against that Authority of Black Flame. And the Sage of Omniscience…’