The Weight of Future Consequences
Looking back at his own actions through the eyes of the ruling class in the Otherworld war, he realized he was nothing more than an irredeemable headache. If the Creator Gods hadn't been dispatched to repair the damage from the duel between the Black Flame Absolute and the Grey Absolute, there was even a chance that special measures would have been taken against him.
The Creation Realm will probably just observe or permit it while the Creator God King is absent, but once all the high-ranking Creator Gods return, this will definitely turn against me. I need to reassess the situation considering the surrounding circumstances.
The arrival of the Otherworld spirit gods, who had come clamoring about being dispatched as Jinri's proxies, had led his extremely narrow-minded rationality—lacking any real social experience beyond war—to begin searching for other solutions. He temporarily ignored Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess who was still standing before him and emphasizing the usefulness of her kind in the Otherworld, and began reviewing the situation once more by utilizing his Dimensional Authority.
After all, continuing to charge forward blindly like this would only create endless headaches down the line. Fortunately, he had just the right Dimensional Authority for the task.
First, let's assume we proceed as is. Commencing. Dimensional Authority: A Future That Might Come.
A golden divine power suddenly surged from the Magic God of Dimensions, enveloping the surroundings. The spirit gods of the Otherworld, who had already been extremely tense because this was the Magic God of Dimensions' personal temple, were startled. They had no idea how he had grown so strong so quickly, but they were already at a clear disadvantage in a direct fight. If a battle broke out here, it would be overwhelmingly unfavorable for them.
Yet when he suddenly activated his Dimensional Authority, they panicked and hurriedly raised their divine power to erect defensive barriers. However, nothing unusual happened.
Wooooooong—!
The surrounding scenery simply transformed into something completely different from the present. The appearance of the Magic God of Dimensions' personal temple instantly changed into the main temple of the Main Divine Realm. He had altered time and space, pulling forth a fragment of the future.
The Magic God of Dimensions became semi-transparent, and the spirit gods of the Otherworld, now within the scope of his authority, began watching the scene before them with astonishment. This was the future that would unfold if he took no action.
In the Main Divine Realm shown before them, even the 3rd-ranked All-Powerful Splendor's Cross Sword had returned. Thirty-five Creator Candidates stood fully armed in divine battle armor, completing their final preparations for war. The Magic God of Dimensions, wearing the same dazzling full-body armor after shedding his usual robe, sat arrogantly on the Main God King's throne and was submitting a deployment report to the Creation Realm.
A managerial Creator God was compiling the details when a sudden anomaly occurred. The Creator God King himself appeared at the reporting site.
“I have received the report that the 1st-ranked Main God King, the Magic God of Dimensions, intends to suppress the rebellion in the lower Main Divine Realm by waging the Main God War. Well done.”
“Hah—! This one, the 1st-ranked Main God King and Origin of the Dimensional Clan, the Magic God of Dimensions, greets the Creator God King!”
The Creator God King's expression as he looked at the Magic God of Dimensions and the Creator Candidates, who hurriedly knelt in greeting, was extremely displeased. Upon closer inspection, their armor was damaged in various places, and their divine power fluctuated irregularly, as if they had sustained injuries. For the Creator God King, who could ignore even the impact of ordinary annihilation, this disheveled state was unbelievable.
The current Magic God of Dimensions, watching this, immediately understood the reason.
It must be the injuries he suffered while forcibly preventing the boundary between the Absolute Realm and the Master Universe from shattering due to the aftermath of the Grey Absolute's World Bomb Core detonation. Since it can even destroy basic authorities, healing won't be easy. But the restoration isn't finished yet—did he force his return because of this incident? He overexerted himself and returned from a place where all the Creator God Kings and high-ranking Creator Gods of the Master Universe had been summoned, just because of a squabble between Main God Kings? Why would he do that?
A ominous premonition flashed through his mind. And, as expected, the bad feeling proved correct. Showing no interest whatsoever in the Main God War triggered by the rebellion, the Creator God King immediately cut to the heart of the matter. A barrage of scathing questions followed.
“You, a Main God King, claim to be the Origin of the Dimensional Clan? With innate divine power that hasn't even reached 100 billion, isn't that ambition far too excessive? With that level of power, isn't it impossible to even create the Dimensional Clan? Do you plan to hold onto only the qualification of Origin without creating a clan until you exceed 100 billion? Answer me!”
“……”
His future self could say nothing. Of course he had planned exactly that. Until now, he had achieved astonishingly rapid growth through various commissions as compensation, but now that he had become a Creator God, that path was closed. The body of a Creator God, the highest tier among divine races, was nearly perfect. Using shortcuts on a body of such completion was pure poison.
Just as the name suggests, I must raise it gradually with time and effort. If I recklessly increase only power, the body will be full of gaps and won't even display half its original strength.
One only had to look at how Almighty Hwi had suddenly ascended to Creator God status and then displayed such disgraceful behavior in the Dimensional Divine Realm due to his unfamiliar body. If Almighty Hwi had possessed the fully trained body of a Creator Candidate, the hundreds of Main Gods receiving support from their divine realm wouldn't have mattered at all—he would have crushed them completely. The fact that he had barely stopped them this time was truly just good luck.
It will take at least ten million years for my innate divine power to reach 100 billion. In that amount of time, other high-ranking Creator Gods could easily challenge for and claim the qualification of Origin for this Master Universe. That's why I overextended myself to secure it first, but it seems I've been caught immediately.
The reason why the Creator God King had returned in such a rage became clear as well.
According to the Wind Family's announcement, the Dimensional Clan will become the most important military force in the Master Universe. Other Master Universes have already gathered Creator Gods of the highest rank and above to select representatives to challenge for the position of Origin, and they are even preparing to create their clans immediately. Yet in the 499th Master Universe, although there is already a Dimensional Origin, there are no plans to create a clan due to insufficient innate divine power. If things continue this way, only the 499th Master Universe will see its military power growth halted because of your lack of power. It will take at least fifty million years for you to raise your innate divine power to 100 billion and obtain the basic qualifications as an Origin. Above all, an Origin without a clan suffers a drastic reduction in ability. You will be pushed back by the Dimensional Clans and Origins of other Master Universes, causing our military strength to fall. Therefore, we cannot wait. How do you intend to resolve this issue, Magic God of Dimensions? As the Origin of a Master Universe, present a solution. A mere personal rebellion holds no meaning compared to the development of the Master Universe. Moreover, no matter how much you are the Grey Present, such special treatment cannot be tolerated.
At those words, his hand clenched tightly on its own.
Kuuuuk—!
It wasn't exactly telling him to stop causing trouble and hand over the qualification as Origin of the Dimensional Clan. But the message was clear: if he couldn't create a clan due to insufficient innate divine power, it would harm the Master Universe, so as a ruling Origin, he should voluntarily relinquish it.
If you don't have the ability, step down? Is that it?
It was such an irrefutable argument that he had nothing to say. Watching his future self break out in a cold sweat, even the present him felt a chill run down his spine. He had only wanted to deal with the subordinates who had rebelled against him, yet now he felt wronged. However, because he had secured the Dimensional Clan first, the Creator God King had flown into such a rage and was openly telling him to do his job properly. There was nothing he could say in response. No, looking at the situation from above, it was actually a natural course of action.
Aaah—! I forgot. No matter how right what I'm trying to do is, if those above have already marked me, it will only blow back in my face. From the looks of it, he must be seriously angry about the Grey Absolute incident.
Hearing the words special treatment for the Grey Present laced with heavy emotion at the end, it seemed that the fact he was the present self of the Grey Absolute was also a major issue. The power of the World Bomb Core displayed in the battle against the Black Flame Absolute completely rewrote existing order and laws. Its might, which could reorganize the current world into an entirely different one, was enough to destroy the Black Flame Absolute's body upon direct hit. There was no way the Creator God King could have emerged unscathed. He had suffered injuries so severe that even external wounds could not be immediately restored to normal, all while dealing with the aftermath that even the Origins of the Wind Family had failed to handle in time. It would be strange if he didn't harbor any resentment.
When he glanced at the boundary membrane between the 1st Master Universe and the Absolute Realm, it all made sense.
Huk—! It's completely like a swarm of flies sprayed with insecticide?
The boundary membrane had been torn to complete shreds by the continuous detonations of the World Bomb Cores, making maintenance nearly impossible. The Creator God Kings and high-ranking Creator Gods were desperately rushing in to repair it. However, the World Bomb Core was like extreme poison to the spiritual beings who protected the current order. Moreover, the Cores were not present in the current dimension but were mixed within multiple dimensions, appearing suddenly. Once deployed, they were extremely difficult to detect. The boundary membrane was blocking the spread of such uniquely natured Cores from expanding into the Master Universe, and whenever it reached its absorption limit, it would be destroyed.
Every time a Core that had swallowed part of the boundary membrane exploded, the nearby Creator Gods could not avoid suffering fatal injuries. That was why Creator Gods were collapsing everywhere, vomiting blood after being hit by the remaining Cores.
Because of the black explosions of the Cores, Creator Gods possessing twenty-six pairs of wings of light were being sent flying indiscriminately. It was an utterly tragic sight for fellow Creator Gods. The Grey Absolute had faced the Black Flame Absolute with full force, deploying a swarm of Cores so numerous that even their exact count was hard to grasp.
There were too many, so he did retrieve them, but given his personality of ignoring anything that doesn't directly concern him, there's no way he did a perfect job.
Even he himself probably didn't know exactly how many unexploded Cores the boundary membrane still contained, having left them alone out of annoyance. It was like wandering through a minefield where explosions could occur at any moment. In a situation worse than war, there was no way the Creator God King would look favorably upon the current Magic God of Dimensions, who was the Grey Absolute responsible for creating such devastation.
Aaah—! Damn it—! This damn future self is helpful but causes even more trouble. If the Creator God King, already furious because of the Grey Absolute, receives a report related to me right at the critical moment when I'm about to deploy, everything will fall apart. What the hell am I supposed to do?
Watching his future self panic without knowing what to do only irritated him further, so he withdrew the Dimensional AuthorityA Future That Might Come. Continuing to watch any longer would be a waste of time.
It's obvious that a logical battle of wills will break out between myself, desperately trying not to lose the qualification as Origin of the Dimensional Clan, and the Creator God King.
Since the qualification had been granted by an Origin of the Wind Family, it could not be forcibly stripped away. However, the defeat of the Magic God of Dimensions was inevitable. This was because strengthening the military power of the Master Universe was the top priority for all Creator Gods. Countless special privileges were granted for that very reason, so unless he was willing to give up those benefits, he had no choice but to comply.
Whoosh—!
In an instant, the Magic God of Dimensions returned to his original dimensional temple. He began tapping the armrest of the Throne of Glory with his fingers as he fell into thought. The spirit gods of the Otherworld, who had roughly grasped the situation from the natural aura of disregard that emerged when he sank into thought, along with the fighting spirit and killing intent he unconsciously released when faced with an unbearable situation, kept their mouths shut. They had already promised each other to refrain from provoking the Magic God of Dimensions, who was now too difficult to handle.
“……”
After pondering in silence for a long time, the Magic God of Dimensions connected to his future self. He thought that if the Grey Absolute, who had caused the accident, stepped forward to clean up the mess at the boundary membrane, it might at least ease the Creator God King's anger somewhat.
If I don't somehow deal with the Main God Kings who rebelled, my life as Main God King will become very difficult from now on.
It was too late to cancel the Main God War, so he had to somehow bring the higher-ups to his side. The response that came from beyond the connection was immediately laced with curses.
“What is it this time? You damn present self—! If you get involved in anything related to the 10 Mainstays, just kill yourself immediately. And I'm busy because of the thing you asked me to make in exchange for lending you Seongmyeol, the Black Flame Creator Great God. If it's nothing important, hang up. Thanks to you I'm dying from overwork, and if you keep bothering me like this, it would be better to call another past self and make him the Main God King. So do you understand? Huh—!”
“……”
He was already struggling under a mountain of work, yet he openly told him to commit suicide if he caused any more annoyance. If he asked his current self to help the Creator Gods of the Master Universe recover the Cores and repair the boundary membrane on top of that, he seemed ready to kill him and replace the present with another past self.
Something's off. Originally, I, the current self, should have priority, but the power gap is so large that there's nothing I can do.
Even his tone was slightly twisted. It seemed that even with the Grey Absolute's abilities, fulfilling the request in a short period had been too much, and he was furious. In the end, without saying anything, he immediately cut the connection.
Click—!
His future self had not only refused to help but had outright threatened to kill him if bothered again. This snapped him back to full alertness. Whether Main God King or Creator God, in the end, this was a battlefield filled with the same dangers for someone who was ultimately alone. This was no time to hold onto pride or emotions.
They say the most dangerous moment is when things are going well and you're showing off to those around you. Looks like that's exactly my situation now. Still, at least I understand the problem. If I try to deal with the rebellion, the Creator God King will intervene, so I need to handle it as quickly as possible. If I go to the Otherworld before he has time to intervene and before he can question my qualification as Origin of the Dimensional Clan, there shouldn't be any problem. To face nine Main Divine Realms at the same time in a short period, I'll need a lot of military power.
He had no intention of stopping the war. Once he discarded useless pride, the solution he was best at perfectly fit this situation.
Honestly, I have no confidence in any method other than combat.
Fortunately, although he had many problems, he also had plenty of usable military strength.
“Fine—! I'll take you to the Otherworld. However, you must obey my orders completely. If you disobey, I will not let it slide. I will treat it the same as disobeying orders in war.”
Seeing the spirit gods of the Otherworld whose faces lit up with joy now that their intention to somehow get to the Otherworld had succeeded, he added further conditions.
“Before that, prove that you are strong. Participate in this Main God War and achieve merit. Bring me at least one head of a Creator Candidate.”
“!!!”
At the command to participate in the Main God War, kill opposing Creator Candidates, and earn merit, the spirit gods of the Otherworld were so shocked that their mouths fell open. No matter how strong they were, they were ultimately only Intermediate Main Gods. Asking them to bring back the head of a Creator Candidate who was nearly a hundred times stronger was essentially telling them to die.
However, the Magic God of Dimensions' expression remained calm, as if this were only natural.
“I will raise your divinity to Creator God using my Dimensional Authority, Troop of Creation God. If you obtain the divinity of a Creator God and still cannot take even a single head of a Creator Candidate, instead getting defeated, then it would be better for you to work as a managerial Main God of the divine realm and build up more strength. If you can't even do this much, you'll only get in the way even if you go to the Otherworld.”
“……”
Even if their divinity rose to Creator God and their divine power was amplified, the gap in the level of their authorities and training could not be bridged. One could tell just how strong the Creator Candidates here were by looking at the Main Divine Realm right next door, even without being Almighty Hwi or the Magic God of Dimensions. They were true gods of war, each one so powerful that even with the same divinity and divine power, one could not be confident of victory. Facing them in their current state, when their bodies had not even been properly normalized, would be suicidal.
They wanted to protest, but the next words left them no choice but to close their mouths and accept it.
“The reason I am going to the Otherworld is to carry out the proxy mission for Jinri. Therefore, I have no need for the weak. If you do not want to be disposed of as incompetents, do not even think about standing before Jinri without considerable resolve and preparation. I will absolutely not forgive it. This applies to myself as well, without exception.”
There was no falsehood or hesitation in the Magic God of Dimensions' calm yet resolute declaration. Faced with such a weighty determination, the spirit gods of the Otherworld felt an overwhelming pressure from the Magic God of Dimensions for the first time.