The Goddess Realm's Third Civil War

The war in the Otherworld continued, but even though the Sage of Omniscience had stopped her fighting spirit, the situation refused to improve. If anything, it was growing far worse.

In the territory of the Goddess Blood Alliance, a colossal giant of light had formed, radiating divine power equal to or exceeding that of a Highest Creator God. Eight Goddess Lords resided within its head, while four administrative Goddess Lords, five Main God-level deities, and hundreds of High Goddesses made up its torso and limbs. It was so perfectly realized that one could even discern the texture of its skin—proof that this was its completed form.

At the same time, in the Spirit Lord God’s domain, enormous artificial monster deities shaped like serpents rose into the sky. On the heads of these serpents, the Spirit Goddess Lords drew their divine weapons, radiating murderous intent as they prepared for battle. On the ground below, colossal wolf-shaped artificial gods—working in tandem with the Spirit Goddess Lords—let out earth-shaking roars, ready to charge.

In the blink of an eye, this place had become a battlefield, with the giant of light, the serpents, and the wolves all locked onto one another.

‘These beings have stopped caring about anyone’s opinion. They’ve restored their past prestige and authority at full strength and are preparing for a decisive clash. They’re incomparably stronger than they were during the time of the Almighty Hwi.’

Though they were once bitter enemies, they belonged to the same Divine Realm. They had been forced to simply watch due to the Main God of the Divine Realm’s prohibition on internal conflict, but they had used that time to recover their divine power and forces in order to defeat their opponents. With both sides acting this way, the tension had long since surpassed its peak.

In the midst of all this, the murderous aura and fighting spirit of a Demon God King who surpassed even Creator Gods was more than enough to ignite an explosive sense of crisis and battle lust.

The Sage of Omniscience, who had only meant to check on the atmosphere of the Divine Realm, had accidentally pulled the trigger on yet another civil war. A string of curses nearly escaped her lips.

This place was a powder keg that would explode at the slightest touch.

“Tsk—! What the hell is this again? A civil war over that little provocation? What kind of Divine Realm is this? Should I even intervene?”

No matter how she looked at it, both factions were far too powerful and belligerent. There were more than ten Main Gods at the absolute peak, supported by hundreds of High Gods. If they also received backing from the Highest Creation Realm, even a Creator God would find them no easy opponent.

The Goddess Lords of the Almighty Tribe, who had yet to restore their circles of divine power, were barely at the High God level. They were an insurmountable wall.

‘Should I let them clash and reduce their forces?’

‘No—! Gaiana is currently acting as the representative of the Main God of the Divine Realm. If their forces, which make up more than eighty percent of the Divine Realm’s total power, are drastically reduced by civil war, operating the realm itself will become impossible. Since the Main God is absent, the acting representative cannot escape responsibility.’

In the end, she had to stop them. Yet no matter how she thought about it, this Divine Realm was utterly absurd. How had it survived this long while employing only such rebellious elements? She was genuinely impressed by how they managed to make them work.

In particular, the Goddess Lords of the Goddess Blood Alliance, despite lacking sufficient divinity to be part of the ruling class of the Highest Creation Realm, operated the Divine Realm with superior authority and terrifying tenacity. Moreover, the integrated divine power of that giant of light had evolved even further since the battle against the Almighty Hwi.

To think they had not only restored the Divine Realm twice under such grueling conditions but had even supplemented and advanced their authority to this degree—she almost wanted to applaud their competence.

‘Now I understand why the Magic God of Dimensions can’t bring himself to abandon them. Combat power like that combined with administrative ability? They’re easily three times stronger than an average Main God. And there are about ten Spirit Goddess ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lords who are nearly on the same level? Where on earth did they gather so many Goddess Lords of this caliber?’

Her admiration lasted only a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment. When both sides began advancing and looked on the verge of collision, she hurriedly flew toward them in urgency.

Even Gaiana, an Upper Main God, and the primordial war gods would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers if they entered a battlefield where such integrated divine power was being wielded. She had no choice but to intervene personally.

Besides, when two artificial monster deities had gone on a rampage before, the Divine Realm had been half-destroyed in a single day. With over two hundred of them activated now, the entire realm could be obliterated in an instant if things went wrong.

‘Even though they know the Divine Realm faces destruction, they don’t seem inclined to avoid conflict. After all, they’ve already blown up their own realm at least once before.’

It wasn’t even her Divine Realm, but since the civil war had been triggered by her provocation, she had no choice but to stop it.

The moment she reached the point where the two forces were about to collide, she extended her demonic power into infinitely long claws and hurled them forward.

Shaaaaaaaak—!

The claws of demonic power, carrying over a hundred billion in strength, sliced between the two factions and halted their collision. Seizing that gap, the Sage of Omniscience arrived at the clash point and managed to intervene.

Even as she did so, she couldn’t help but lament. She wasn’t the Main God of the Divine Realm, nor even its administrative lord—she was merely the Origin of the Main God of Divine Realm Management and a guest. What was she even doing?

Since it wasn’t her Demon Realm, she couldn’t kill them; she could only suppress them. But their levels were so high that it wouldn’t be easy. If she treated it as a commission, it wasn’t particularly dangerous, but it was an extremely troublesome, time-consuming, top-tier task.

‘Don’t tell me the Magic God of Dimensions planned this from the start? Is that why he let me stay in the Divine Realm without any compensation and even healed the Goddess Lords?’

When the Demon God King accepted a request, the base rate was one hundred billion. If it also involved stabilizing and managing the Divine Realm like this, it would easily exceed two hundred billion. Once one reached Creator God level or above, even the smallest task required compensation equivalent to the price of a Main God Star, or they wouldn’t move.

Yet here she was—a Demon God King who should be receiving such payment—having her vacation in the Divine Realm and the treatment of a few Goddess Lords offset in this manner.

‘Doesn’t this basically count as free labor?’

If the acting Main God of the Divine Realm hadn’t been Gaiana of the Almighty Tribe, things wouldn’t have come to this. It had become incredibly annoying. Moreover, the treatment and restoration of the circles of divine power for the Goddess Lords of the Almighty Tribe required this Divine Realm, so she kept getting dragged in.

However, right now she had to stop yet another civil war. This was already the third one in such a short time. If it became an official incident, it would be more than enough to cast doubt on the capabilities of the Almighty Tribe’s Goddess Lords. As the Origin of the Almighty Tribe, she had to prevent such disgrace at all costs.

Leaving it to Gaiana was impossible—these beings were simply too strong. That was why she had to step forward herself and shout.

“Stop this at once! Are you all planning to ignore the Main God of the Divine Realm’s order prohibiting war within the realm? Do you all wish to be exiled to the Spirit Realm?”

At those words, the rising murderous intent and fighting spirit from both sides froze.

Fundamentally, refusing the command of the Main God of the Divine Realm made one a traitor. Unless one possessed overwhelming power or necessity, there would be no forgiveness—they would be exiled back to the Spirit Realm.

The Goddess Lords of the Goddess Blood Alliance were no longer in the same essential and overwhelmingly dominant position as in the past because of the Spirit Lords, so they had no choice but to stop. The Spirit Goddess Lords, who had only recently revived and lacked the capacity to manage the Divine Realm, were even more desperate for the Main God’s support. They ground their teeth but began to withdraw.

But then, hundreds of demons resembling black shadows surged forward, covering the entire field of vision.

It was a full-scale assault by the clone bodies of the Shuddering March’s racial authority. Right behind them, the Shuddering March herself flew in with a bloodthirsty smile, emitting black demonic mist that threatened to annihilate anything it touched.

“Sage of Omniscience—! You wanted to fight again, didn’t you? So did I. I’ll be your opponent after all—!”

“Shuddering March—! You—!”

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOOOOOM—!

The Sage of Omniscience barely managed to raise a barrier of demonic power in time to withstand the simultaneous barrage of claw strikes from the clones. She shouted back.

She wanted to counterattack immediately, but doing so would once again leave the Divine Realm nearly half-destroyed. A battle between herself, who had reached Demon God King level, and the Shuddering March, who was simultaneously activating two transcendent authorities, would be more than enough to turn the surroundings into scorched earth.

She had jumped in to prevent the destruction of the Divine Realm. If she fought seriously, everything would be ruined.

Suppressing the murderous intent that instinctively surged in response to the high-density demonic power and fighting spirit radiating from a demon nearly equal to herself, she yelled using the power of the Holy Demon.

“Why are you doing this again? This isn’t the Demon Realm where the winner takes all! This is the Divine Realm where dialogue comes first. This is the Divine Realm of the Magic God of Dimensions who resurrected you—! While the Main God of the Divine Realm is absent, your duty is to protect the Main God Temple and suppress civil wars within the Divine Realm’s territory. If you don’t want to destroy the entire Divine Realm again, stop fighting right now—!”

At those words, the Shuddering March stopped her attack and retreated. She raised her right hand to restrain the elders of the Shuddering Demon Tribe and March Demon Tribe who had followed her, preventing them from joining the fight. Then, with a hint of apology in her voice, she spoke.

“Ah—! I forgot. Sorry. I saw my old subordinates and felt so much killing intent and fighting spirit around me that I thought I was back in my homeland, the Demon Realm. Even though my body isn’t fully recovered yet, you’re treating me as a guest and helping out. I’m sorry.”

The Shuddering March, who spoke casually while failing to hide her disappointed expression at missing a chance to fight, was a demon through and through. The demon race were predators who never missed an enemy’s weakness. It was clear she didn’t want to miss this opportunity while her opponent was weakened, as she continued to provoke her.

They had clashed several times in the past without a clear victor. Now that her rival was showing an opening, the desire to pour on the attacks was plainly visible in her eyes.

‘But does she even remember her position as the summoned entity of the Main God of the Divine Realm and the guardian of the Main God Temple?’

She was about to snap at her to do her damn job properly when a thunderous alarm rang out across the entire Divine Realm.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing—!

“What?”

“Haa? Again?”

An expression of utter disbelief appeared on the Sage of Omniscience’s face. She had never heard of installing an autonomous defense system in the Main God Temple that reacted only to combat and made no distinction between friend and foe.

However, from the Cosmic Trees that had wrapped around the Main God Temple earlier, black brick-shaped demonic constructs had emerged. Golden light now shone from the magic circles they had created in the air, and white flames began to blaze.

Countless small magic circles started engraving themselves throughout the sky of the entire Divine Realm. At a glance, it was a meticulously arranged formation that avoided only the locations of personal divine temples while simultaneously attacking the interior of the realm.

The Sage of Omniscience instantly analyzed the type and strength of the authority with her own power. She was left speechless.

“An omnidirectional Dimensional Divine Annihilation Cannon that attacks all time and space in the target area simultaneously? And at maximum output equivalent to a Highest Creator God? Even the slightest mistake would shatter the Divine Realm. Does it make any sense for the Main God of the Divine Realm to fire something like this inside his own realm? Shuddering March? Does this make any sense to you?”

“……”

But when she saw the Shuddering March racing toward her own demonic temple at top speed, she lost the will to speak. Even the stubborn, prideful elders were fleeing without a word. It seemed they had experience with this from the past.

The Main God of the Divine Realm’s personal forces desperately returned to their own temples. Naturally, the Goddess Blood Alliance and the Goddess Lords, sensing the danger, vanished in an instant. It was clear they had conducted evacuation drills more than once or twice—the withdrawal was astonishingly swift. Not even a single dog could be seen on the streets.

Shaaaaaaaash—!

Even the colossal artificial gods were sucked into their own subspaces as they fled desperately. The sight resembled startled chicks scattering at the sound of thunder.

There wasn’t a single god who doubted that the Magic God of Dimensions, the Main God of the Divine Realm, would actually fire such a vicious attack on his own realm. Everyone moved with perfect coordination.

With that much power, even they wouldn’t be safe. As the warning stated, the only safe zone was their personal divine temple. They poured all their strength into reaching it.

The moment the Sage of Omniscience, sensing the terrifying crisis, urgently returned to Gaiana’s personal divine temple, the magic circle of the Main God Temple finally began its bombardment.

A colossal annihilation cannon, compressed using the vitality of the Cosmic Tree and the divine power of the Highest Creation Realm, was fired into the sky.

KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!

A beam of annihilation so thick it dwarfed even the planetary-sized divine power cannons of the Substitute Gods vanished into the sky. The Sage of Omniscience, who had been watching the situation, felt her eyes and ears assaulted by blinding light and deafening noise.

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA—!

The small magic circles that filled the sky simultaneously unleashed annihilation cannons that blanketed the entire Divine Realm. They did not interfere with one another; instead, they wove together like a net. If one were caught inside, even a Main God, a Demon God King, or a Creator God would have to prepare for fatal injuries.

More shocking than the incredible power was the fact that it had actually been fired.

‘He really fired a Divine Annihilation Cannon with a maximum power of one trillion into his own Divine Realm. There’s a risk the entire realm could be destroyed with the slightest mistake, yet he set it up to fire automatically?’

Personal divine temples were extremely difficult to invade unless one belonged to them. The power displayed was enough to annihilate any invading army in a single strike.

Although a brief evacuation window had been given along with the warning, the fact that it was automatic for battles involving Main God level or higher was a clear declaration that any god who continued to defy the no-war order should simply die.

Even she, a Holy Demon who was also a demon, found the resolute measure difficult to comprehend.

‘No matter how I think about it, neither the gods belonging to this realm nor its Main God are normal. Why is Gaiana even here in a place like this? I can’t let my guard down at all.’

The Sage of Omniscience concluded that she would have to watch over Gaiana until she had completely settled into her position.

Meanwhile, the Magic God of Dimensions, who had been busy trading insults with the Grey Absolute and calling each other crazy, also learned of the situation at the Main God Temple.

Because he caused so many incidents, he had installed an automatic suppression system and even mobilized the Survival Magic Tower to create a communication network that could reach him anywhere. Although only a simple report had come through because the Absolute Realm was too far away, it was clear that gods of Main God level or higher had fought, triggering the automatic suppression.

There was no way an authentication battle would occur without his approval now that he had become the Main God Lord. It was obvious what had happened. They had tried to have another fight among themselves, only to be covered by the Main God Temple’s automatic defense and sanctions in the form of an omnidirectional Dimensional Divine Annihilation Cannon.

He stared blankly for a moment, then let out a very long sigh.

“Huuuuuuuuuuu—”

“……”

The Grey Absolute, who knew that the only things capable of exhausting the Magic God of Dimensions this much after he had become the Main God Lord were matters involving the Absolute Realm and his own Divine Realm, could no longer bring himself to curse.

It was simply something from the past. If its importance was low, it would naturally be pushed down his list of priorities.

‘Because I am a god, there is no forgetting. That time was truly difficult. It’s been a long while since I recalled it.’

To him, it was an incredibly distant past spanning hundreds of millions of years, but to the current Magic God of Dimensions, it was happening right now. The moment he remembered the situation in his Divine Realm, his own chest suddenly felt tight and his head began to throb.

‘Becoming the Main God Lord improved my position, but it didn’t completely change everything.’

It was hard to say who was more unfortunate—the Grey Absolute, who had become such after being defeated by the Almighty Hwi in the future, or the Magic God of Dimensions, who had to lead this troublesome Divine Realm while maintaining his position as Main God Lord.

So he no longer picked a fight. He simply opened a dimensional gate to the Magic God of Dimensions’ Divine Realm, patted him on the shoulder, and sent him off with words of comfort.

“I’ll send you whatever you want, so go and do your best. They are still absolutely necessary for the Divine Realm, so you mustn’t lose your temper. My present self.”

“I’ll temporarily hand over control of Seongmyeol, so you handle the cleanup well too. My future self.”

It was the first time the present and the future exchanged words of encouragement before parting ways.