The Clash of Grey and Black Flame
The Wind Family Origins were all watching the life-or-death battle between the Grey Absolute and the Black Flame Absolute. The ranking match between the Golden Absolute and Yuil Yongsinje was still underway, and since the decisive showdown between Black Flame and Grey had been postponed, they had no choice but to wait. They had layered multiple protective barriers to prevent collateral damage and were simply biding their time until the ranking matches concluded.
As expected, the Grey Absolute exchanged a few words with his present self—the Magic God of Dimensions—before immediately preparing to engage the Black Flame Absolute in combat. The moment the Grey Absolute’s Dimensional Trinity manifested, everyone was stunned into silence.
‘Summoning one’s past self and allowing it to influence the present is an act that shakes the current timeline. It’s practically taboo.’
‘And yet he didn’t stop there—he even mobilized a racial authority to throw it into battle against the Black Flame Absolute. I never imagined he’d go that far.’
‘No, the mere fact that something like this is even possible is shocking in itself.’
They had hoped the Dimensional Origin would explain what was happening, but even he stood there with his mouth agape in astonishment. Only after a long moment did he finally speak.
“Hee? Why is he using the Dimensional Authority like that?”
“Forcing the Authority of Reality Reinforcement to reverse into Reality Negation, willingly shouldering the risk just to increase its power… Is he completely out of his mind?”
“And wait—can you even mix in magecraft like that? Magic God Grandpa? Ah—! He went off for training. That’s why his pure destructive power is higher than mine. I couldn’t block that.”
These were the words of the Dimensional Origin, the member of the Wind Family most versed in dimensional authority—the very one who had established the framework allowing even the spiritual bodies of the Main Universe to be mastered.
‘Create a barrier, forge a world, and annihilate the enemy.’
That power had even given trouble to the Unique God Emperor—the Origin of the divine race—and the other four Origins. If the Dimensional Origin, wielder of the strongest barrier, was saying this, there was nothing the Wind Family could do.
“The way he’s operating a dimensional authority is completely beyond my understanding. The 10 Mainstays really are incredible. It’s true—their raw power surpasses ours.”
He even went so far as to confirm the fact. The other Wind Family Origins had nothing left to say. From the moment the Dimensional Trinity appeared, no matter how they thought about it, there was no way to win alone.
And the instant the Black Flame Absolute began unleashing a barrage of Silent Pahoton to counter the Trinity, they were left utterly horrified.
‘We’ve rarely seen power of that magnitude even within the Wind Family.’
‘Just blocking the aftershocks of the battle—not even direct hits—is starting to strain us.’
The Dimensional Origin, who had deflected most of the shockwaves with his barrier, shook out his tingling hands as if they had gone numb.
“Haa? How can a single entity generate that much destructive force in an instant? And are the 10 Mainstays really comrades or allies? They look like they’re genuinely trying to erase each other. I’ve never seen enemies like this before. And didn’t Truth Grandpa say the 10 Mainstays were secretly planning a rebellion? So why did they sign the Sword of Ruin and Soul without hesitation? If they had even the slightest rebellious intent, they would never risk wounding Truth Grandpa’s eternity and raising his guard. This is completely different from the basic education of the Wind Family. Since I’ve become an Origin too, could you explain it to me? Unique God Emperor Grandpa and the other grandpas?”
“…….”
At the Dimensional Origin’s question, Yuil Yongsinje and the other Wind Family Origins were left speechless. They themselves barely understood what was happening right now; how could they possibly explain it?
In the end, Yuil Yongsinje, who had observed the 10 Mainstays for the longest time among them, let out a heavy sigh.
“Huu…”
The 10 Mainstays were like disciples that Jinri had carefully selected and educated over five hundred billion years.
‘If that were all, they could never become Truth Grandpa’s enemies.’
But the problem was the duty imposed upon them after completing their education: “Maintain the development of the Absolute Realm for eternal happiness.” Even the Wind Family had been horrified by the sheer scale of that task.
And the 10 Mainstays had gritted their teeth and accomplished it.
‘We were horrified when we learned they had formed the Anti-Truth Alliance as a backlash against that excessive duty.’
The power of the 10 Mainstays, who held ranks one through ten in the Absolute Realm, could not be ignored even by the Wind Family.
‘We hurriedly gathered the children and prepared for war.’
Of course, they had urgently reported to Jinri that the 10 Mainstays were plotting rebellion. But what came after was the real problem.
“Oh? You’ve finally learned to work together? Looks like you’ve grown up. Should I reward you with another Wind Star?”
“!!!”
It was like a parent who had been watching their child play alone suddenly discovering that the child was happily playing with friends. The ones who had rushed to report were left utterly speechless.
In front of every Eternal Being of the Main Universe and the ruling class of the Absolute Realm, Jinri had even praised the 10 Mainstays for creating the Anti-Truth Alliance. It was absurd.
They had prepared so thoroughly, thinking a rebellion was imminent, only to look like fools. And when they saw even the Golden Absolute—who always wore a lofty expression and looked down on even the Wind Family—completely lose his composure, they realized they weren’t the only ones who had been foolish.
After that, Jinri was in such a good mood that he personally poured drinks for the 10 Mainstays and praised them. The greatest rebellion in history—the Anti-Truth Alliance—ended as nothing more than a joke.
‘The very target of the rebellion, Truth Grandpa, was delighted. So even the people on the scene had no choice but to go along with it, completely lost. Moreover, since it was treated as an internal matter of Jinri’s direct forces, the Eternal Beings didn’t care at all. Later, even when the 10 Mainstays acted suspiciously, everyone just brushed it off. It nearly made our stomachs burst with frustration.’
Still, they couldn’t let their guard down. The only option was to steadily continue war preparations in case the 10 Mainstays ever became a real threat.
And because the 10 Mainstays’ unpredictable reactions toward Jinri were truly incomprehensible, they eventually had no choice but to repeat the same words.
‘From the perspective of the divine race, it’s difficult to understand Grandpa in his Truth state. No—thinking about it too long is a loss.’
“The 10 Mainstays are the pillars that support the Absolute Realm—and the spears aimed at its heart.”
“Huh?”
“We of the Wind Family are the walls of the Absolute Realm, as well as its arms and legs.”
“That is correct.”
“Always remember that we must prepare for even the smallest threat.”
“…Hee?”
Deliberately ignoring the Dimensional Origin of the Wind Family, whose eyes were full of doubt and dissatisfaction, they turned their attention back to the scene where the Black Flame Absolute and Grey Absolute were about to settle their score.
Both were destroying each other’s vital points, preparing to exchange one final blow. Then they saw the Grey Absolute create a black orb above his head that looked like an enlarged version of Coa.
“Hm? The Grey Absolute’s ‘Idea’? It looks different from the information planet of the First Grey Absolute.”
“Wait… that… could it be? No matter how powerful the Grey Absolute is, he isn’t a Wind Family Origin. There’s no way he could have figured that out. And to activate that, ordinary power wouldn’t be nearly enough. At minimum, only Truth Grandpa could create it—anything else would be pointless. Although… with the power Black Flame is showing right now, maybe it is possible? We have to stop it! Right now—!”
The Dimensional Origin’s voice rang out, filled with panic and urgency. The relaxed tone he had maintained until now was completely gone, replaced by a tense urgency.
Meanwhile, the other 10 Mainstays watched the Black Flame and Grey who were finally about to reach a conclusion and casually exchanged words.
“Silent Exploding Blood? Is that the highest-tier authority of Black Flame that he didn’t even show during the ranking match a billion years ago? The atmosphere is getting really dangerous.”
“And Grey’s Idea doesn’t look like something to take lightly either.”
As 10 Mainstays standing at the peak of their respective fields, they couldn’t fully understand the Grey Absolute’s authority, which mixed various powers together. But they could tell it carried enough momentum and strength to rival even the Black Flame Absolute, and they began to predict the outcome.
“A draw?”
“No. A slight advantage to Black Flame.”
It was truly remarkable. A Sage-type Grey Absolute who had only recently become one of the 10 Mainstays was fighting on equal footing in close combat against the Black Flame Absolute, who was considered the strongest in melee. They wanted to offer him praise.
However, the unknown nature of the Grey Absolute’s power left them with a faint sense of unease.
“But if those two unknown forces collide, won’t it be dangerous? Black Flame is ultimately a physical type, so he might be fine, but what about the Grey Absolute who uses magecraft? Soma? There won’t be any major damage to the Absolute Realm, right? The Wind Family Origins looked like they were at their limit just redirecting the earlier battle’s energy toward the Main Universe’s boundary.”
Daeshin, sensing something ominous, asked Soma—who wielded magecraft—in a grave tone.
From within Soma’s smiling silver mask, a black glint flashed in his eyes, and the answer came immediately.
“We must avoid it. No—we have to stop it. Interfering in a battle to determine superiority is normally forbidden, but this can’t be helped.”
“?”
The other 10 Mainstays looked startled and waited for Soma to continue. Soma had already gathered his weapons and was moving toward the Black Flame Absolute and Grey Absolute. In the spot where he had turned into a black shadow and vanished, his voice lingered.
“He is trying to forcibly manifest the Otherworld here. The Otherworld created by that Idea can even invade the Absolute Realm. At that point, erasure won’t be the only problem. The entire structure of both the Main Universe and the Absolute Realm could be shattered and collapse entirely. This is no longer about superiority of power. I will block the Grey Absolute’s magecraft first. The rest of you, neutralize it from your positions. Whatever you do, do not let that Idea collide with Black Flame’s authority.”
“!!!”
The expressions of the 10 Mainstays changed completely. They vanished from the spot as if they had been erased. Only then did the Wind Family Origins—who had been maintaining only the damage-prevention barriers—realize the severity of the situation and rush forward in panic.
Meanwhile, the Grey Absolute, who had been forming the Idea, smiled with satisfaction at the endlessly rising power of the Black Flame Absolute.
‘I was able to create an Idea that manifests the Otherworld, but I lacked the power to fully activate it.’
It required a force that far surpassed even the 10 Mainstays, who had reached the limit of the 14th circle as rulers of the Absolute Realm.
Yet he had found the key in an unexpected place and situation.
“Kihihihi—! As expected of Black Flame. A power that transcends common sense. That should be more than enough to shatter the shell of my Idea. Since we can’t achieve eternal happiness anyway, there’s no point wasting time. Let’s just cleanly destroy everything. Once the Absolute Realm and the Main Universe are completely destroyed, Truth will recreate them perfectly according to his own will. Then eternal happiness will finally be completed. This is my loyalty. Perish together with the Absolute Realm and the Main Universe—! Activate ‘Otherworld and Void Realm.’”
Gooooooo—!
The Idea transformed from a black sphere into a brilliant sun-like light, expanding as if to devour not only the Black Flame Absolute but the entire surrounding space. The light of the sun soon became a rectangular frame, and within it, vague shapes began to appear.
The sudden change in the Idea caused the Black Flame Absolute to slow the activation of his Silent authority. An indescribable sense of crisis surged from his Always Coin Heads.
The future was blurry, as if it had exceeded the processing range his authority could handle, but it was extremely dangerous. And then he saw the 10 Mainstays and the Wind Family Origins rushing toward him and the Grey Absolute.
“Stop—! Black Flame—!”
“That is an authority that must not be destroyed! Dodge—!”
Silence of Truth, who had been devoting most of his computational power to controlling the Black Flame authority, suddenly awakened and canceled the activation of Silent. However, the already-activated power could not be stopped and was slowly heading toward the Idea, which had now turned into a silver mirror.
It was like an axe swinging toward a mirror.
But Soma, who had approached in an instant, tried to dispel the silver mirror using his own magical power. Yet it wasn’t that easy—the activation speed merely slowed. Several more 10 Mainstays joined in, but they still could not completely cancel it.
The Grey Absolute, now wearing a triumphant expression that seemed to say try if you can, suddenly heard the Dimensional Origin’s voice.
“Stop it! If you don’t, I’m going to tell Truth Grandpa everything!”
“!!?”
At almost the same moment, the silver mirror-like screen vanished. The Idea, now turned grey, disintegrated into black particles and disappeared into the Grey Absolute’s forehead.
The Silent offensive of Black Flame that had passed through the space where the Idea had been was completely suppressed through the combined efforts of Daeshin and the other Wind Family Origins.
As the situation was finally brought under control, Daeshin let out a sigh. In his eyes, he could still see the Grey Absolute and Black Flame Absolute glaring at each other with murderous intent, as if they wanted to tear one another apart.
‘It would be nice if they could just fight and settle who’s stronger, but if they keep this up the Absolute Realm itself might collapse. This isn’t something the third-ranked should have to deal with, but it looks like I have no choice but to mediate.’
A sudden headache and stomach pain hit him. All he could do was hope the ranking matches would end soon so that the Golden Absolute or Yuil Yongsinje would return.