The Clash of Absolutes
The moment the Otherworld War began, both arms and both legs launched their assault almost simultaneously. The attacks poured down with ferocious focus on the Black Flame Absolute’s hands. The crushing pressure that had been tightening around him instantly faltered.
No matter what method one employed, the gap in raw power was simply too vast. To compensate, he had raised his physical capabilities to nearly four times their normal speed. Yet the Black Flame Absolute’s body was no pushover. If the enemy accelerated, he would match it. The three-meter-tall giant accelerated at almost the exact same instant, keeping pace with every strike.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang—!
The deafening roar of steel clashing against steel and the spray of sparks filled the entire ring. Their bodies, tempered to the extreme, had long since become weapons harder than any blade. The Black Flame Absolute’s physique and the body that had mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestral Rites possessed a hardness no ordinary being could hope to overcome. When two supreme bodies of equal caliber accelerated with full power, this was the inevitable result.
“KUAAAAAAAAAH—!”
“KUUUUUUUUU—!”
A roar that could have been either a battle cry or a scream of agony shook the ring, sending black flames bursting outward. Ten thousand consecutive exchanges, each carrying a fifty-fifty chance of life or death, had officially begun.
Watching the spectacle, the Second Generation Wind Absolute spoke with clear admiration.
“Oh-ho! It’s still quite immature, but that is undoubtedly the defensive application of the Whole Body Wave Strike. And the third stage of the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestral Rites as well. Impressive.”
As the progenitor of the Wind Family and the one who had originally cultivated the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestral Rites, his word on the matter was absolute. Since all the secret arts of the 10 Mainstays were publicly available, there was no room for doubt. The only surprise was that someone from the 499th Master Universe had managed to learn them at all—though his level was still sorely lacking.
“It is the foundational form of the ultimate consecutive technique designed to destroy higher immortal beings. Truly a rare sight.”
“Remarkable. I never imagined I would witness that technique from a Creator God of the Master Universe.”
“Wasn’t he called the Hero God of the 499th Universe? They say even Jinri spent a billion years nurturing that Fighting Spirit. It really is astonishing.”
As the other members of the 10 Mainstays nodded in amusement, the Golden Absolute fixed his signature golden gaze on Hwi, who was somehow maintaining an almost impossible chain of defenses. His expression darkened.
“That Creator God from the Master Universe has narrowed the gap with the Absolute Realm’s Creator Gods all the way down to a single circle. Do you understand what that implies?”
The other 10 Mainstays fell silent. For a brief moment they had been impressed by the potential and strength displayed by a supposedly weak Master Universe Creator God. But from their perspective, this was a serious problem.
The Absolute Realm was required to demonstrate an unassailable superiority—an evolution and development that no Eternal Being or Spiritual Being from the Master Universe could ever hope to challenge. The standard was a gap of at least two circles. If the difference between the Master Universe and the Absolute Realm narrowed to less than two circles, the blame would fall squarely on the 10 Mainstays.
A difference of one circle equals ten times the power. A difference of two circles equals one hundred times the power. Never forget that our sole duty as the 10 Mainstays is to ensure that every being of equal rank in the Master Universe is at least one hundred times stronger than their counterparts. The vast territories, the Wind Star, and the immunity granted by Jinri and the higher Mainstays—all of it exists for this purpose.
Above all… we must never forget the meaning of the absolution we have been given—the right to challenge Jinri and still survive.
The Golden Absolute spoke as if issuing a formal declaration. The words carried infinite reverence, the kind that should never be voiced by one of the eight Absolutes belonging to the Anti-Jinri Alliance. And yet this was simply how the Golden Absolute had always been.
As the first among the 10 Mainstays, he had opposed Jinri’s reckless plans more fiercely than anyone. Yet in the end, he had carried out most of them himself. On the surface he appeared to be part of the opposition, but in truth he was a more loyal servant to Jinri than even the Origin of the Wind Family, his own blood relative.
Only the Black Flame Absolute and Sword Bat, who shared some familiarity with him, exchanged wills in private.
‘Looks like he’s finally given up on the whole Anti-Jinri Alliance thing. Though that was mostly just a way to vent dissatisfaction with Jinri’s radical methods anyway.’
‘I lost my drive too. When we were first discovered, I thought we’d all be purged. Instead he just laughed for a long time. At that point the Golden Absolute and I were ready to fight to the death, but once Jinri revealed his true intent, that overwhelming Fighting Spirit left us completely frozen. The stronger we become, the more hopeless the gap feels. During the last official Absolute Realm report, he even asked if we wanted another Wind Star to train a unified resistance force. Damn it—his expression was practically saying, “Aren’t I cute?” Right in front of the other rulers. We completely lost face.’
‘It’s a miracle we were only placed under house arrest on the Wind Star at the time.’
Even now, at a rank where further promotion was impossible, the gap between themselves and Jinri—who continued extreme training without pause—only continued to widen. They felt it in their bones. Unofficially, everything had already been exposed. Rather than punishment, they were even being encouraged to do better.
‘This situation is ridiculous, but what can we do?’
The only real nuisance were the Origins of the Wind Family, who burned with zeal to eliminate all rebel forces.
Sword Bat, having briefly reminisced, turned his attention back to the screen and sent another will.
‘That is definitely a pure Black Flame clansman, right? The density of his Authority feels completely different from before.’
‘…It is.’
Though he had tried to ignore it, the body responded instinctively to its Origin. The distance between here and the 499th Master Universe was more than 498 universes away, yet the exchanges of attack and defense felt vividly real. That alone proved the body had been perfected far beyond the level of an ordinary Black Flame clansman. It made one curious just how strong it could become with proper training.
The grey bastard from the past—who, despite belonging to the Black Flame Race, used unorthodox magic—was extremely irritating. Still, the fact that an emergency-created body could already surpass one naturally generated on the Wind Star spoke volumes about his creative talent.
‘He’s in the middle of the Black Flame Race’s specialty—pure offense—and he’s still being pushed back.’
‘I know! In close combat, the first-generation Black Flame and first-generation Wind Family were nearly equal anyway. With the second generation, the difference comes down to talent and whether or not they received proper training.’
‘That doesn’t seem to be the case here. The Dimensional Mage God has completely surrendered his body to the Authority of Black Flame. The Black Flame Race grows stronger through pure instinctual struggle devoid of reason. He should be even stronger right now, yet he’s being suppressed in offensive power. That means he cannot win. If the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestral Rites switches to offense, he will definitely lose. His attack power is currently lower than the defensive power of the second-ranked Incomprehensible Eight Ancestral Rites. This is a serious problem. Is there something wrong with the Authority of Black Flame itself? Or has the Wind Family grown stronger?’
‘……’
Watching in silence had already been frustrating. After exchanging wills with Sword Bat, his close acquaintance, he now found even the fundamental power of the Authority being questioned. He had nothing left to say.
“The problem isn’t the Authority, it’s the bastard who learned it—!”
Finally losing his temper completely, the Black Flame Absolute shouted aloud instead of using will. No one around him reacted. They had expected him to explode eventually. Everyone simply focused on the screen, where the Black Flame body’s combat situation was steadily deteriorating.
Clang-clang-clang-clang—!
Swish-swish-swish-swish—!
Now sparks and blood flew together inside the ring. After thousands of collisions between arms and bodies of nearly equal hardness, the skin finally tore, and blood began to spray. The areas used most in close combat had their muscles exposed, sustaining heavy damage. In some places, even bone was beginning to show.
Hwi’s fists and the Black Flame Absolute’s wrists were in particularly bad shape.
And the conclusion was approaching.
Hwi had finally failed to maintain his ten thousand consecutive defenses.
Boom—!
CRUUUUUUUUUSH—!
A fist the size of his own face struck him in the abdomen. Even though he had weakened the counterattack, he couldn’t even let out a groan. He was forced to focus everything on defense. He barely avoided being punched clean through, but nearly all his internal organs were shattered. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
“Cough—! Cough—!”
Desperately clinging to the ring ropes to avoid being knocked out of bounds, Hwi heard the voice of the Dimensional Mage God echo in his ear.
“6,009 successful defenses. Truly impressive… and truly a shame.”
He didn’t understand why the opponent hadn’t finished him immediately, but one glance at the body told him everything. Thud. Thud. The Black Flame body had also retreated, leaning against the opposite side of the ring. Blood gushed from the countless impact marks covering its massive frame. Both wrists—especially strained from changing attack trajectories—had exposed bone.
The strikes Hwi had poured into changing the trajectory of those attacks using the Whole Body Wave Strike defense had been four times what the enemy had endured. That meant more than twenty thousand lethal blows had landed on an ordinary Creator God. Considering most had been concentrated on the weakest wrist joints, the conclusion was obvious.
Spitting out the blood still in his mouth, he recovered his body and straightened his posture. He only needed to confirm one thing now. Given the Dimensional Mage God’s attitude so far, he would surely answer.
“Ptui—! So the solution is either exhausting stamina and divine power through more than ten thousand consecutive defenses, or landing ten thousand consecutive strikes on the exact same spot?”
The Creator God’s jewel embedded in his forehead glowed red as it transmitted the answer.
“Heh. Correct. Landing more than ten thousand consecutive strikes on a single point is also a solution, though it is even more difficult than consecutive defense. I didn’t expect you to choose the best defense is a good offense approach. But are you sure this is wise? Giving this body time to recover? Since you’ve grown familiar with the Whole Body Wave Strike defense, it won’t work anymore.”
Whoooooooosh—!
Fuhahaha—!
Red Fighting Spirit and black killing intent surged from the Black Flame body as it recovered at terrifying speed. The completely blackened eyes were no longer focused solely on fists; they now scanned the entire body for places the Whole Body Wave Strike could be applied. It seemed he had learned after all. No—if it were purely instinctual Authority, the same trick would never have worked twice.
But with this, the path to victory had opened.
Ten thousand consecutive strikes on the exact same location? That was something he could do. No—it was an achievement only possible for one who had mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestral Rites, which emphasized endless repetition in training.
“It doesn’t matter. Instinctual power can never defeat power built through training. A beast that only rampages with instinct and given power can never overcome an existence that has accumulated endless training.”
With those words, he changed his stance into a pure offensive posture. He spread both fists wide, brought them together in front of his chest, then thrust them forward. His legs spread to shoulder width as he gathered every ounce of strength. After a long, deep breath, he released all tension from his body.
“Huuuuuuuuuu—!”
Preparation was complete.
The Whole Body Wave Strike attack, like its defensive counterpart, was performed by alternating right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot. He had repeated this simple motion countless times every single day. He couldn’t even remember how many times he had thrust his fists or kicked at imaginary enemies.
‘I am the one who has performed more than one hundred million repetitions per day, every day.’
Striking the exact same spot on a moving target ten thousand times simultaneously would be impossible for any being with a different Authority. But for him, who had mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestral Rites—which required repeating the exact same motion more than one hundred million times per performance—it was simple.
Consecutive attacks through repetition were easy because he had done them countless times. Defense, which was difficult to train alone, had been his weakness. That was why the consecutive defense had ultimately failed.
“Take this. Whole Body Wave Strike—Consecutive Attack! This is the true secret art and strongest strike of the Incomprehensible Eight Ancestral Rites!”
Having regained his confidence, Hwi’s killing intent—cold enough to freeze flesh—made the Creator God’s jewel tremble as it responded. But that trembling was a laugh of triumphant certainty.
“Heh heh… Claiming to use the strongest attack in front of the Black Flame Absolute, who ranks first in close combat throughout the entire Absolute Realm? That is quite a dangerous statement. However, with those words, my victory and the completion of the request have been confirmed. I offer my deepest gratitude.”
Unable to understand the meaning behind the answer, the enraged Hwi shouted and moved at the same time.
“Shut up with your incomprehensible nonsense—! And die—!”
Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swish—!
A sudden sound like crashing waves echoed throughout the ring. It was the sound of air being torn apart by movements too fast for the eye to follow. As he advanced with alternating punches and kicks, countless afterimages overlapped behind him like clones. The wave of afterimages crashed toward the Black Flame body.
The arms trying to respond were knocked aside by a few of the afterimages, and the real attack slipped through to the chest. Countless clone-like figures overlapped in front of the left side of the chest where the heart lay, and the sound of a breaking wave rang out.
Splash—!
Crack—!
With a small sound, the Black Flame body froze mid-motion. It had been the decisive moment where he could have grabbed Hwi with both hands. Instead, he vomited a massive quantity of blood and collapsed backward. The internal organs had been completely crushed by the impact of more than ten thousand simultaneous consecutive strikes.
Covered in blood mixed with powdered organs, Hwi exhaled a thin breath.
“Huuuuuuu—! Ten thousand consecutive focused strikes. Every single one hit its mark.”
He was certain of victory from the sensation transmitted through his fists and the tips of his feet. This meant the Black Flame body was finished.
THUUUUUUUUUUD—!
The body crashed loudly onto the ring floor. No more Fighting Spirit or killing intent could be felt from it.