The Sage's Descent

In the heat of the Otherworld War, the Almighty Hwi ground his teeth and swallowed his shame, sending his will through the Origin’s direct line. He had resolved to crush the Magic God of Dimensions with every ounce of his power and had unilaterally severed the will of the Sage of Omniscience, who opposed the decision. He had no desire to do this. He had no right. Yet he had no choice.

‘Even with all this preparation, I still don’t feel like I can overcome that Black Flame clansman’s body.’ Only the image of his own defeat in the coming exchange filled his mind. Of course, losing to a universally acknowledged superior would be acceptable. But for a newly ascended Creator God to collapse against an entity of equal or lesser divine power and authority would be fatal. The strong never lose to their equals. To lose to an equal is to be weak.

‘I have no face to ask, but please help me. The current me cannot afford to become the weak. For the future of the Omnipotent Clan, I cannot lose to the Magic God of Dimensions here.’

The brand of weakness would be an indelible disgrace for one who had only just stepped into the realm of Creator Gods. Yet no answer returned. It was only natural.

‘Even after becoming a Creator God, I failed to produce a Main God Star due to insufficient creation power, and now I’ve driven myself into this crisis through a misjudgment born of clinging to past glory. I lost my reason amid successive humiliations and responded with raw emotion.’

Even in a life-or-death authentication battle, he had severed the Origin’s direct line that had never been cut before. That alone was enough to disqualify him as an Origin. To then speak of the clan’s future and beg for aid was utterly shameless. But it had to be done before it was too late.

‘I have realized it. Why I hesitated when the situation demanded the subjugation of the Magic God of Dimensions, and why you opposed me. The Magic God of Dimensions is already a being who has lost all meaning in life and lives solely for his purpose. That purpose is likely the proof of his existence through victory. He is a more vicious monster than even the elders of the clan in the past. As one who seeks to prove himself through the revival of the clan, I cannot possibly defeat him.’

The power of the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors was so overwhelming that they—the ones who had gained such strength—had attempted to impose restrictions on the old man and purged every remaining battle god of the Omnipotent Clan who stood against them, becoming Origins themselves. But the truth was slightly different.

Having obtained such immense power, they had rejoiced in the bright future spread before them. The position of Origin of a decaying clan held no rights, only obligations; it was nothing but a burden, so they had paid it no mind. Yet when the elders tried to impose unjust restrictions, they flew into a rage, rampaged for a brief moment, and when they regained their senses, the only ones left in the clan were the ancient Creator Gods whose divine power sources had been destroyed and sealed, along with children too young to even move. Only a handful of adults with no combat ability, little more than nannies, remained alive.

‘No matter how strong they were, this should not have happened. Yet with only a small amount of fighting, every adult member of the Omnipotent God Clan was annihilated.’

It was in the terrified eyes of the blood-soaked children staring at them that they finally understood. The ones who had destroyed the clan were not Truth, but themselves.

If things continued like this, they would be branded as rebels and mass murderers who had wiped out the Omnipotent God Clan and hunted by every god race for eternity. No matter how strong or tireless they were, they could not withstand the entire god race with its endless forces and power.

There was only one choice left, so they declared:

At that time, the Omnipotent Clan—having lost every Creator God and teetering on the brink of collapse—gained two Origins who had mastered the highest absolute authorities. What’s more, they were sacrificial Origins willing to become demon gods because the demon god race was necessary to fight the Substitute Gods. Revival was inevitable.

Long years passed. Only after they had come to somewhat understand the ways of the world did they realize the truth.

‘Everything had unfolded exactly as those old men planned.’

The Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors, who had mastered the highest absolute authorities, could never have been bound by restrictions from high gods of mere Main God caliber. The elders had known this perfectly well. Yet they had attempted an impossible restriction, failed as expected, and died smiling at the enraged pair. There had been a reason.

To battle gods like themselves who had mastered absolute authorities, a decaying clan held no value. Any Creator God would have chosen them as successors. No—given that they had learned the power of Truth, which made them no different from the rulers of the Absolute Realm and all the main universes, the highest probability was that the Creator God King himself would have intervened. In fact, many similar offers had been made, but all were refused on the grounds that they were Origins of the Omnipotent Clan.

Anticipating this outcome, the elders had needed to create a situation that would force them to become Origins in order to prevent their departure.

‘Their sole intention was the revival of the Omnipotent God Clan. That is why they offered their lives, which they already considered useless.’

There was also a reason they had thrown every last remaining battle god into the pair to be consumed. If even a small force had remained in the clan besides themselves, they could have been compelled to inherit it and leave. So the elders had eliminated any such possibility from the start.

In this way, they had succeeded by sacrificing their own lives—which they had already discarded for the clan—and the few remaining battle gods who would have been useless in the brutal battles to come.

‘If they had left at the moment when all the elders were gone and even a handful of battle gods no longer remained, the clan would have been destroyed immediately, and they would have borne the original sin of exterminating their own race.’

To exterminate one’s affiliated god clan was an unforgivable sin no matter what authority one possessed. The elders had saddled them with an eternal yoke that could never be removed—the obligation to make the clan prosper.

Even now, remembering what they had endured made him grind his teeth, but as time passed he had come to understand those past elders. The anxiety he had felt since earlier was precisely this.

He sensed in the Magic God of Dimensions a resolve and determination that surpassed even those vicious old men. Because the man had abandoned his life, he had stripped away all emotion and offered even himself as a sacrifice, employing mad measures to achieve his goal. That was why even opponents who should not have been able to hinder him had managed to catch his ankles.

But when an equal charged at him in this manner, there was no way to win. One who fears injury will fall before an opponent who fights with their life on the line. And even one who fights staking their life cannot prevail against an existence that treats life itself as nothing more than a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tool. The weight each placed on victory was simply too different.

Watching the man change his own precious body—honed through countless rigorous trainings—into that of the Black Flame clan simply because it was more advantageous and charge forward without hesitation was enough to make one sick.

‘I should not have fought an equal who lives with such resolve using the half-hearted determination you spoke of. I admit it. However, since the fight has already begun, I cannot lose. Simple Holy Radiance of Omniscience and Omnipotence is no longer enough. I need something more. So please help me, my friend…’

‘Haa… you idiot.’

Kuuuung—!

The Sage of Omniscience had been sitting silently at the round table in the Main God Temple of the Dimensional Divine Realm, watching the battle. With a sigh, she finally rose from her seat. The Shuddering March, who had not left her side for even a moment, stiffened, but there was nothing to be done. She understood why the Almighty Hwi, who was fighting directly, had clung to her so desperately.

He had sensed death. And she, observing objectively from the sidelines, could predict the outcome with even greater clarity. In the next exchange, the Almighty Hwi would surely die. As a Demon King, she understood the true nature of the Authority of Black Flame all too well.

‘A concentrated mass of pure destructive power formed solely from killing intent and fighting spirit. Moreover, it is specialized in destroying spiritual bodies. On top of that, it simultaneously destroys the opponent’s physical form with physical abilities that transcend imagination. The body’s capabilities, amplified to the brink of berserk madness, neutralize any authority or defense. It is quite literally a mad warrior of god-slaying—! How could such an existence become one of the Ten Mainstays that uphold the great Absolute Realm? This is far more dangerous than a mere rampaging destruction god that eventually disappears.’

The Black Flame Clan was a great clan that supported the order of the Absolute Realm. They had received from Truth the mission of endless development and were carrying it out. Yet she had never imagined their authority would be something so utterly destructive. An offensive power that completely broke the rules could not be confronted head-on by god clans that relied only on high defense and strength. Only the demon god clans, with their superior speed and regenerative abilities, would be able to offer any resistance.

Thanks to the Dimensional Divine Realm being of the highest Creator ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠God rank, her body had stabilized to some degree, but even so she would not be able to avoid injury in her current state. However, if she moved to help the Almighty Hwi defeat the Magic God of Dimensions—the very one who had restored her—she knew he would not stand idly by.

Yet now, no matter the sacrifice, she had to overcome the Shuddering March and lend her aid. The Shuddering March was also her own equal, recognized as such by the demon god race after their long, inconclusive authentication battle.

‘And I cannot abandon an old friend.’

As if reacting to her firm resolve, the Shuddering March’s expression hardened. Gaiana beside her and the female Main Gods of the Omnipotent Clan who were still receiving treatment seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation and reluctantly began preparing for battle. To them, the danger of the current situation far exceeded imagination.

If they lost the Origin of the Omnipotent Clan, the Almighty Hwi, here and now, the Omnipotent Clan would become nothing more than a pure demon god clan.

‘The Omnipotent Clan holds value precisely because it possesses the Origins of both the god race and the demon god race. As the Omnipotent Demon God Clan alone, they could never become the ruling power of a main universe.’

There was no room for choice. However, even for her—a holy demon—opposing magic of such power that could freely manipulate the body would be extremely difficult. First, she had to sever the support coming from a highest-tier Creator God realm.

But almost at the same moment, hundreds of new highest-ranking gods appeared in formation, guarding the Seat of Glory within the Main God Temple.

‘The personal guard of the Magic God of Dimensions. Three nearly at the Main God level and over three hundred at the highest rank? I wondered where such a force had vanished to during the Main God Tournament, but they were all waiting here? To protect the Seat of Glory that assists his magic? Or to suppress any sudden disturbances? And even the female Main Gods of the Goddess Blood Alliance and the Elemental Main Gods…’

In reaction to her fighting spirit, the female Main Gods of the Goddess Blood Alliance and the Elemental Main Gods also entered combat readiness. They had no particular duty to risk their lives for the suddenly arrived Main God of the Divine Realm, but a crisis for the Divine Realm itself was another matter. Although he was the Origin of the prestigious Omnipotent Clan and a Holy Demon, he was ultimately of the demon god race and a Demon King. Given his ability and Gaiana’s position, they could treat him as an honored guest, but further rampage could not be tolerated.

Having already experienced their own temples being destroyed by the Sage of Omniscience and restored multiple times, they did not hesitate. They looked ready to ally at once.

‘If the ego of the Divine Realm recognizes me as an enemy here, the tide of battle will reverse in an instant.’

The combination of the Shuddering March and the powerful Main Gods—strong enough to force even the Almighty Hwi to retreat—was too much for a Demon King and four female Main Gods of the Omnipotent Clan to handle. With all the other Main Gods sealed due to injuries to their divine power sources, the Omnipotent Clan led by its two Origins no longer possessed any additional forces.

Until now there had been no problem, but when a divine realm of this caliber came at them with full intent, it was overwhelming.

‘He really is troublesome, clinging so stubbornly to that useless position of tournament chairman.’

First of all, they were vastly outnumbered. With this many high gods, if they activated the god race’s unique parallel divine power connection, not even the authorities of the Omnipotent Clan would be able to endure it. The proof was that the Shuddering March had not even risen from her seat. Instead, she spoke with an alluring smile.

“……”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

She really had summoned a Karma Contract from thin air and casually handed it over. It was a ceasefire agreement prohibiting combat.

The Sage of Omniscience read the contents carefully, then let out a laugh.

At the Sage of Omniscience’s laughter, every god around her fell silent. They did not know exactly what kind of help she could provide, but seeing the Almighty Hwi beg so desperately, it was clearly enough to overturn the current situation. Yet the Magic God of Dimensions had predicted all of this before the battle even began and had left behind a Karma Contract to make her assistance possible. The problem was that it drove them into the worst possible position.

There were many battle gods who staked their lives on victory. But an existence who prepared everything, sacrificed everything, for a goal that no one else could even guess at—and even permitted the enemy’s forces to be strengthened—was extremely rare. And now that existence was their Divine Realm’s Main God. She almost wanted to insist this reality was some kind of joke.

“Hurry up and start. At this rate the Almighty Hwi is going to die. That’s not what the Magic God of Dimensions wants.”

The Shuddering March had also grasped the true essence of the Authority of Black Flame. It was proof that although her rank was low, she was indeed a powerful Demon King capable of mutual destruction with the higher Substitute Gods.

Even with three hundred highest-ranking gods guarding the Seat of Glory, they could not destroy it and cut off the divine power support. The Sage of Omniscience laughed for a long time before tearing the Karma Contract in half and discarding it. She stepped away from the round table and moved to the center of the Main God Temple.

The highest-ranking gods, overwhelmed by the demonic power surging from her body, hurriedly retreated, creating a wide open space. In the center of that empty area, she lightly flicked her finger. Light surged up from the floor.

Paak—!

A ring identical to the one where the two were currently fighting materialized inside the Main God Temple. Above it, an illusion of the Almighty Hwi facing the Magic God of Dimensions’ Black Flame body appeared. It was the exact moment he was attempting to block a straight punch from the Black Flame body using the Three Bonds, Human Connection, Free of Charge. Just as expected, it looked precarious. As the Magic God of Dimensions had warned, he should not have tried to block it. He should not have counterattacked either. Black Flame was absolute power that permitted neither defense nor retaliation. The only way was to alter the trajectory of the attack and induce self-destruction.

That was something only she, the Demon King who had reinterpreted and mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestors, could do.

Crack. Crack.

She lightly interlaced her fingers and stretched. It was not perfect, but after resting thoroughly she had regained enough control over her body’s senses. This much was possible.

With those words, she overlapped her own body with the illusion of the Almighty Hwi. It was an authority everyone knew. The extremely ordinary ‘Descent’ in which a superior god bestows power upon and strengthens a lesser one.

Every god in the Main God Temple, who had been watching carefully, cried out in shock.

“Is that really Descent?”

“No, surely not—”

“Descent on an Origin of the same rank?”

Far away in the Main Divine Realm, twenty-six pairs of wings of light on the Almighty Hwi’s back radiated brilliant radiance. Then, twenty-six pairs of translucent dark wings sprouted from him as well. The number of wings represented the number of authorities one could activate and served as proof of one’s strength. Even the Creator God King’s limit was twenty-six pairs of wings of light and one pair of dark wings. Yet now, having received the Sage of Omniscience’s Descent, the Almighty Hwi possessed fifty-two pairs of wings—twice that of a Creator God.

And since he belonged to the Omnipotent Clan that could activate every authority of both the god race and demon god race, the mere number of wings was no longer the issue. His combat power had risen exponentially. The ultimate secret art of the Origins of the Omnipotent Clan—the race newly rising as the ruling clan—had finally revealed itself to the main universe.