The Grey Trinity's Endless Loop

The Black Flame Absolute of the Otherworld War finally understood why he was being pushed back like this. 'The authority that manifested the otherworld called Idea just now, along with the reason my physical abilities have been reinforced to this degree, is because the Magic God of Dimensions' power of reality denial is amplifying each other's abilities.'

The bigger problem was that, true to their trinity nature, even if two of them collapsed, the power would reset to its original state as long as one remained. 'The Dimension Creator God handles recovery, the Grey Absolute handles magic and defense, and the past handles close-quarters combat? Each of them is assisting the others in their uniquely specialized fields of authority, pooling their strength together. Moreover, since they share the same racial authority and are essentially one body, there's almost no power consumption. This really means I have to crush all of them at once or it will never end. Erasing three powerhouses of equal rank simultaneously is nearly impossible even for one of the 10 Centers. On top of that, the Authority of Black Flame is specialized for close-range single-target combat rather than area attacks, making it even worse.'

Other members of the 10 Centers who fought multiple opponents might have a chance, but the Authority of Black Flame was geared toward melee and solo battles, which made this situation particularly difficult. And when the light vanished from the Magic God of Dimensions' body, the fully restored Grey Absolute and the past Grey looked ready to charge in again.

'The damage I inflicted earlier has been completely healed by the Magic God of Dimensions' divine power, and their abilities have even improved.' It was proof that the basic recovery and defense powers inherent to a creator god of the divine race, combined with their collective reinforcement ability, had been pushed to an extreme. 'Creator gods recover from most injuries almost instantly. If I can't defeat them all at the same time, it's pointless. If that's impossible, the only remaining option is to inflict damage that exceeds their recovery speed.'

Dealing damage that outpaced recovery was the fundamental strategy when facing spiritual beings. Of course, to do that against these three, he would first have to completely shatter the Magic God of Dimensions, who was in charge of recovery. He could back down from a fight like this, but if he showed weakness in front of an existence who had only recently become one of the 10 Centers, he might as well kill himself.

“You damn cockroach bastards—! If that's what you want, I'll kill you as many times as it takes. I'll start with you, the one in charge of recovery. Didn't I say I'd kill you if I saw you again? Prepare yourself—! Magic God of Dimensions—! Huh?”

The Black Flame Absolute had decided on a battle plan that would first eliminate the Magic God of Dimensions, the one responsible for recovery. Yet what his eyes caught was the sight of the Magic God of Dimensions' back as he fled the combat zone without even looking behind him.

Shuhahahahahaha—!

The Magic God of Dimensions was using every possible spatial movement technique, vanishing from sight in an instant. The Black Flame Absolute stood stunned for a moment, only for the Grey Absolute's explosive laughter to ring in his ears.

“Kuhahahahahahat—! As expected, your senses have sharpened the most. You've really grown a lot. My present self.”

“I don't know what the hell is going on, but I will definitely kill you, the bastard who toyed with my life however he pleased.”

The Black Flame Absolute's head began to throb as he watched their crucial ally in charge of recovery flee the battlefield while the other two spouted incomprehensible nonsense.

“.......You're all insane. Your present self who handles recovery has run away. Do you really think you two can defeat me?”

“Kakakakakakaka—! The range of my authority can encompass the entire Absolute Realm. Here's the question. Then how far can the recovery authority of my present self, the Magic God of Dimensions, actually reach?”

“!!!”

He finally understood the situation. The Magic God of Dimensions hadn't run away—he had hidden. And he had done so at a distance that even Always Coin Heads couldn't help track.

There was almost no way to chase a creator god who wielded dimensional authority with such freedom. “It's a Major Sector Universe, a hundred times larger than a Local Universe! And with dimensional authority on top of that, there's no way a close-combat specialist like me, who lacks any area-of-effect authority, could catch him even if I knew where he was. Since you can't catch the Magic God of Dimensions, there's no longer any reason for him not to recover. No matter how much time it takes, once your stamina drops, it'll be over. Honestly, I don't know how long it'll take, but we will win in the end. Your arrogance ends here, you damned Black Flame bastard.”

“…….”

Destroying a stellar system to chase someone was easy, but searching a Major Sector Universe would take an absurd amount of time. Moreover, trying to pursue an enemy who was dimension-hopping with dimensional authority was something even the other 10 Centers would call insane. 'Just as the Grey Absolute said with that smug grin while preparing for battle, if they keep recovering endlessly like this and only drain my stamina, I will be the one who falls in the end.'

However, he couldn't simply retreat after being looked down on like this. The Black Flame Absolute grit his teeth and stoked his fighting spirit, when an unexpected sound reached his ears.

It was the past Grey, who seemed to have gone to retrieve the Wind Family's Sword of Ruin and Soul that had been knocked away earlier. He gripped it tightly in his right hand with an extremely angry expression.

“Why did you throw this? What if you lost it? And what do you mean, what? Get the next Black Flame Absolute to sign it? When the hell is that supposed to happen? Weren't you the one who said a Black Flame Absolute hasn't appeared for fifty billion years? You have no intention of helping me at all, do you? If that's the case, I'd rather get on the Black Flame Absolute's good side.”

“…No matter what, don't side with the Black Flame Absolute in this situation, my present self. Everything will work out. Cheer up. As your future self, I've always wished from the bottom of my heart for my present self to do well. It's only natural since I am you.”

“What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden? You crazy future bastard—! Give me back my life that you reality-denied—! What the hell was it that I threw it in the trash can for?”

“I'm you too, but even I think the trash can was a bit much.”

“Are you three not going to fight?”

The present self of the Grey Absolute was furiously arguing with his future self, while the past self simply wore a bewildered expression, having no idea what was happening. Watching this absurd scene, the Black Flame Absolute felt no urge to attack their openings. His head simply grew dizzier and dizzier.

In truth, the fact that past, present, and future could freely join forces in the same timeframe like this was something that didn't make sense to him as a sage. If something went wrong with the past, the present would naturally face a massive crisis of annihilation. It was a natural corrective process that fixed deviations from the world's flow, so even the 10 Centers could not escape its influence and had to restrain themselves. Even if the Magic God of Dimensions' reality denial reduced that risk, the influence was still enormous. The fact that they were using it so openly was an incomprehensible way of thinking.

'Aaaargh—! My head is suddenly killing me.'

When he glanced at the Great God and the other 10 Centers, they were watching with amusement, treating it as pure entertainment. Seeing the Wind Family's Origins watching with tense yet fascinated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expressions while maintaining their barrier, he felt utterly drained. This was nothing like the duels of the 10 Centers, where they exercised veto power to enforce their will and determine superiority while being objects of reverence and fear.

'This is no longer anything but clowning around. Still… I need to settle things with that grey bastard…'

His fighting spirit and killing intent faded amid the ridiculous situation. He scanned the area where the three were gathered, arguing. Fortunately, all three were clustered together. 'If I use the maximum output of Brain Sound Pahoton, I might be able to erase them all at once…'

However, the future that Always Coin Heads showed him indicated that at best, he could only injure the past self. The moment he tried to attack the present and future, they would immediately flee, making it impossible to catch them. 'Both the present ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and future really are ridiculously good at running away.'

After that, just as the Grey one said, the past would be regenerated by the Magic God of Dimensions shortly after, leading to an endless cycle of battle. He hesitated. Then another farcical situation unfolded. The Magic God of Dimensions openly offered to join his side.

“Black Flame Absolute, sir. If you simply sign here, I will assist with all my power in eliminating the one you dislike.”

“Hey—! I'm your future self—! Are you really going to betray your eternal ally? That guy is too arrogant and will eventually become our enemy, so we need to deal with him now—! We can never understand each other anyway.”

“Shut up—! Why would I, a creator god of the divine race who has become the Creator General, need to make enemies among the 10 Centers of the Absolute Realm? What kind of mess do you want me to face from the Creator General? And where do you get off trying to scam me? You're the present who came from the future, so even if the current me dies, it wouldn't affect you at all. What eternal ally? And rather than handling requests this half-assedly, give me back my complete life, you suicidal maniac—!”

“To accurately understand the reality you face and objectively assess your opponent—you've really grown, my present self.”

“???”

The Black Flame Absolute watched the present Grey betray his future self and offer to join his side, while the Grey Absolute responded without anger, even praising him. He truly had no idea what was going on anymore. 'Ughhh—! These guys seem serious? Are they really the past, present, and future of the Grey Absolute? No matter how I look at it, they don't seem like it. Just watching them makes my head hurt.'

The Black Flame Absolute felt that if he took these lunatics seriously any longer, he would lose his own mind. Moreover, they were no pushovers, and if the battle really dragged on endlessly as the Grey one described, the outcome was uncertain. He began to think that no matter what they did in his territory from now on, he would interfere as little as possible.

Then his gaze fell on the Sword of Ruin and Soul held in the Magic God of Dimensions' right hand. It appeared to belong to one of the Wind Family's Origins rather than an Absolute with a title, yet it contained immense absolute authorities that had been bothering him for a while. 'It seems the signatures of the other 10 Centers excluding myself, Gold, and the Yuil Yongsinje are maintained by the Grey's Yggdrasil.'

It looked like everything had started from that sword. As his fighting spirit and killing intent subsided, his ability as the Silence of Truth immediately began analyzing the process and outcome. 'Is this the handiwork of the Wind Family's Origin? Are they trying to damage Jinri's immortality and use it as a sign of rebellion against the 10 Centers? If so, Jinri would actually be pleased that we've grown stronger. They don't understand the Truth as a ruler. Well, since Jinri exists to them only as their grandfather from the bloodline, it's only natural.'

Challenging the Truth or proving one's ability was not a loss for the 10 Centers but rather something worthy of praise. 'This is an excellent opportunity to prove my ability.'

No, he had made so many mistakes lately that if he didn't demonstrate his capability soon, he risked being dragged before Jinri and punished. 'To Jinri, who loves and cherishes the strong above all for the sake of eternal progress regardless of friend or foe, the incompetent weak are a greater sin than rebels. Yet lately I've only shown weakness. This is very dangerous.'

If he didn't want to be branded as weak and have his soul extinguished, he needed to show something now. The chance to be recognized by Jinri as strong was incomparably more precious than settling things with the Grey.

He maximized the physical reinforcement of Exploding Blood for a moment.

With a short popping sound—Fwoosh!—the Sword of Ruin and Soul vanished from the Magic God of Dimensions' grasp and appeared in the Black Flame Absolute's hand. He clicked his tongue while looking at the Magic God of Dimensions, who couldn't react at all. 'Tsk! No matter how strong they are, these guys who could threaten me are full of openings. Since there's no killing intent, neither the Magic God nor the creator god can react. But these bastards have truly incredible danger senses. Or do they get stronger in crisis situations?'

They looked weak, but the moment one tried to catch them, their reaction speed became astonishingly fast and their abilities skyrocketed. This time too, they had seemed like easy prey that could be killed instantly, yet he had been caught up in an unimaginable counter and turned into a spectacle. 'They're like cunning foxes who show weakness to lure in hunters and prey. It's best not to get involved at all.'

He ignored the reaction of the Grey trinity, who were startled by the sword being taken without them feeling anything. Then he raised the ring finger of his right hand and scraped his nail across the empty space on the blade of the Sword of Ruin and Soul.

At the same time, an enormous roar erupted along with the sound of something being gouged out.

Scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrch—!

His arm muscles swelled as if they would burst from the excessive force, and his face turned deep red, but his fingernail clearly carved a name into the surface of the Sword of Ruin and Soul. Shocked gasps erupted from all around at the absurd sight of Jinri's immortality being damaged by a mere fingernail.

“Oh—! Was that even possible?”

“To sign the Sword of Ruin and Soul with pure physical strength alone is truly astonishing.”

“As expected of the Black Flame Absolute, who possesses the strongest body in the Absolute Realm.”

“Haaaaaaa—!”

Amid the exclamations of everyone watching, the Black Flame Absolute struggled but finally finished signing and raised the Sword of Ruin and Soul high above his head. Though crudely carved with a fingernail, the name Luca Eiles II was clearly visible on the blade.

Applause erupted from both the 10 Centers and the Wind Family's Origins alike.

Clap clap clap—! Clap clap clap—!

The fingertip he had used to sign was injured, the nail cracked and bleeding, but the 10 Centers and the Wind Family's Origins generously praised the Black Flame Absolute's feat of accomplishing with pure physical strength what the others had needed to use their absolute abilities to achieve.

The Black Flame Absolute shrugged his shoulders and threw the Sword of Ruin and Soul back to the Grey Absolute. The Grey Absolute caught it with a displeased expression and checked the signature again. Then he grit his teeth. 'I can't feel the Authority of Black Flame. He really carved it with nothing but brute strength.'

He had roughly yet surely gouged out the name with his fingernail on the Sword of Ruin and Soul that contained Jinri's immortality. Moreover, it was deeply incised inward like wood carved by a chisel, making it distinct. It was clearly different from the Grey's signature, which had only managed to scorch the surface even after activating the trinity's magic with Coa, the bomb that could destroy worlds.

'At this point, there was no need to say who held the advantage.'

Knowing that this was all thanks to a body blessed with overwhelming physical power rather than effort, along with a perfectly controlled mind, made his blood boil. Moreover, the recognition from his comrades that he had never received—despite desperately struggling first to survive and now to defeat the Black Flame—came so easily to this bastard. In this cold reality, his hands trembled uncontrollably and half-sincere harsh curses spilled out.

“Is being born with strong power something to brag about? You power-only Black Flame bastard—!”

“The luck of being born excellent is the greatest ability of all. Don't you know that, you sage? And are you jealous of me? Why don't you try being reborn? I'll watch and see how long it takes you to succeed. You insane grey bastard with no fear—!”

Since the Black Flame, who possessed the strongest power in the Absolute Realm, and the Grey, who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠possessed computational power, both knew they were evenly matched in direct combat, they began hurling curses at each other. The colorful abuse and personal attacks between the future Grey and the Black Flame Absolute were so vicious they would make anyone listening frown, but the Magic God of Dimensions simply watched with a bright smile as he examined the Sword of Ruin and Soul he had retrieved from the Grey Absolute's hand. Eight of the 10 Centers' names were now clearly carved into the blade.

The request he had thought nearly impossible had been resolved this easily. 'Two more to go. No, if I just get Gold's signature, the Yuil Yongsinje's will come automatically, so really just one more? I thought it would be impossible because they were such high-ranking beings, but it's progressing surprisingly smoothly. As expected, you have to try things directly.'

No matter what happened around him, he was simply overjoyed to have obtained the signature of the Black Flame Absolute, whom he had considered the greatest obstacle. Then the past self's voice joined the war of insults between the Black Flame and the Grey.

“No matter if you're a high god, you shouldn't arbitrarily adjust a human's life. This is inhumane and immoral. Just give ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me back my life, you bastard.”

“What nonsense have you been spouting since earlier? And in this world where the strong reign supreme, what the hell are humanity and morality? Is humanity a path that people walk? If the road is blocked, then fly. And in this day and age, trying to explain morality just gives people something to nitpick. Moreover, I've never seen anyone who emphasizes morality actually follow it. In conclusion, what would I even do with a weakling's cheap life if I gave it back? With those abilities, even if you lived again it would be just as shabby, so fix it up properly and use it now.”

“Kuuuuurgh—!”

The Black Flame Absolute's eloquence as the Silence of Truth was shining through. Even in a one-against-two verbal battle, he wasn't yielding an inch.