No Eternal Empire
The city princesses’ faces paled at the words of the War Princess of the Goddess Department, yet none of them grew angry. To them, executing a traitor was simply the natural order of things.
“Even though every last one of them is my hostage and my property? The entirety of the Middle World falls under my administration. Even if they oppose me, so long as they are not mindless beasts that fail to recognize their master, I will protect them.”
“……”
The princess found herself unable to respond to the claim that the War God governed the entire Middle World. She had never considered matters on that scale.
“No empire lasts forever. Even the nations once ruled directly by the great gods of old eventually collapsed. I have no intention of turning the empire that worships me as its Main God into another castle of sand.”
“Please instruct us.”
The princess bowed deeply, lowering her entire body.
“Why do nations fall?”
“Forty percent from external invasion, eighty percent from internal collapse.”
“And why do they collapse from within?”
“The absolute gap between rich and poor, the restriction of social mobility, the loss of hope for the future leading to the people’s alienation, and the corruption of the ruling class.”
Her mechanical tone dropped as she spoke, and in that moment she grasped the War God’s intent.
“Can your nation truly avoid those pitfalls? A country that controls hearts through authority and suppresses wills through threats? And can such things ever be eradicated from the nations of men?”
“They cannot.”
“In a single month, you waged war inside my Survival Magic Tower without permission, despite lacking for nothing and facing no danger. Any nation founded by people like you will never last a thousand years, no matter what support it receives. A nation built by humans is fated to crumble within a few centuries at most.”
Cold sweat trickled down the princess’s face, her composure beginning to crack.
“I considered killing all the hostages and taking new ones, but it would have been troublesome. Since you provided me with an unexpectedly entertaining spectacle, I will forgive you this once. Remember that, at present, you are nothing more than worthless baggage to me.”
“What must we do to be permitted to establish an empire? Or rather, how can we prove our usefulness?”
The princess’s voice trembled faintly. If the conversation ended here, they would remain hostages forever, turned to stone at the slightest disturbance—in other words, imprisoned for eternity.
“It is simple. Do as they are doing.”
A smile rose on the War God’s face as he pointed to the ground. The princess’s expression hardened like lead. There, the War God’s saintess—her treatment complete—was preparing for battle.
The War God’s saintess wiped the bloodstains from the Chief God’s saintess’s robes with a blank expression, straightened the garments, and dressed her. Then she retrieved the saintess’s armaments—shield, mace, and armor—from her extradimensional space, equipped them over the Chief God’s saintess’s bare body, and helped her stand. The Chief God’s saintess, still wearing a dazed look, rose while clutching her sacred staff.
“I will win and strip you bare without fail.”
“I will simply remove them myself.”
“I will fight and triumph according to my god’s will.”
“There is no yielding in a battle waged in the name of a god. You understand that, do you not?”
“I will go all out. I will strip those clothes off you no matter what.”
The War God’s saintess radiated divine power with fierce resolve, while the Chief God’s saintess displayed dozens of times that amount. At the sight, the princess turned to the War God in bewilderment. Then she witnessed the War God smiling in genuine delight.
“Puhahaha! Is it not beautiful? A saintess with two billion divine power challenges one with twenty billion. And not for her own sake, but for the sake of the one who turned away from her. Trusting in the immortality of this place, she is prepared to challenge endlessly despite knowing she stands no chance. Believing with all her heart that, after endless challenges, victory will one day be hers. If your nation were filled with people like her, I would hand over every human in the Middle World to you right now.”
“It is impossible.”
The War God lifted his head and looked at the princess. The emotion in her eyes was the confusion of one who had witnessed something terrifying.
“Those people move according to emotion, without reason, rationality, or self-interest. They cannot be predicted or controlled. I could never fill a nation with such individuals. I could never rule them.”
The path to becoming empress through domination and desire had been blocked, and the princess looked ready to collapse. This was not what the War God desired. He favored the strong regardless of their path and praised any effort made in pursuit of strength.
Tap—!
The War God lightly struck the princess’s back to focus her attention. Startled by the sudden contact, she looked up at him.
“You are the first woman among humans to exceed my expectations. Do not disappoint me by falling into despair so hastily. There is no death or aging here. That means learning and opportunity are infinite. Study to become wiser, train to become stronger. Everyone here can obtain the power to reach their dreams. When that time comes, as the administrator of the Middle World, I will assist in realizing those dreams.”
The War God’s words echoed throughout the magic tower. Even the princesses and knights who had been released from the “Noblesse Oblige” effect knelt and looked toward him. The two saintesses, who had been radiating fighting spirit and divine power, also turned their gazes upon him. His declaration continued.
“In this place I created, any wish can be granted with ease. Challenge yourselves, grow, and bring me joy. That is the true will of karma, and the only part of that cruel law that I find agreeable. Chief God’s saintess, do not scorn the War God’s saintess who challenges you according to my will. If you subdue her, bring all the saintesses under your control, and offer me divine power, I will grant your wish.”
The Chief God’s saintess’s eyes wavered in turmoil. She knew the promise to grant her wish was genuine, yet she could not bring herself to believe it. ‘Even the Chief God could not fulfill her desire to revive her mother sealed within the sacred relic. The backlash would have been immense.’
Reviving an intelligent being violated the laws of the world. However, the Survival Magic Tower was a separate world created through Dimensional Authority. Here, he was the Creator.
“This is my world. Though limited to the domain of my magic tower, which exists outside the laws, I can do it. Complete resurrection of the soul, without any side effects. I am a tenth-circle dark mage who challenges the impossible, and I have already reached that level.”
Vwoooooom—!
The Chief God’s saintess’s divine power surged explosively. The souls of countless saintesses who had voluntarily offered themselves to empower the sacred relic resonated with her. ‘As expected, there is a reaction. No matter how voluntary, sealing one’s soul inside a relic is nothing more than a prison.’
Since the War God’s words—that defeating the War God’s saintess would grant her wish—were true, the Chief God’s saintess steeled herself for a desperate fight. Because immortality was guaranteed within the Survival Magic Tower, the match would continue until the War God’s saintess surrendered.
Having grasped what was happening, the princess spoke.
“You have thrown her into an eternal battle she cannot win against your own saintess. You are more ruthless than I am.”
The princess had fully recovered, her face once again bearing its characteristic expressionless dignity.
“Children grow through fighting. If my saintess defeats the Chief God’s saintess and strips her, the right-hand seat will be revoked.”
“I will completely subdue the princesses and reclaim my seat.”
“Do so. That much I will permit.”
The War God watched as his saintess charged forward, swinging her weapon at the Chief God’s saintess whose divine power was twenty times greater than her own. ‘Gods do not perform miracles. It is enough to support the will of those who strive.’
Vwoooooom—!
Vwoom—!
Giant figures formed of divine power manifested in the air above the saintesses’ heads. ‘They are the manifestations of the great gods, appearing in proportion to the amount of divine power possessed.’
A roughly ten-meter-tall, darkly glowing figure of the War God rushed toward a colossal giant of light hundreds of meters tall that bore the Chief God’s appearance. ‘Damn it. Is the gap truly this vast?’
Seeing the difference in power with his own eyes, the War God’s expression turned bitter. It was an overwhelmingly one-sided disparity. ‘If I were not the Magic God of Dimensions, this would be a gap one could not even dream of challenging.’
Defying the enormous difference in divine power, the War God’s saintess pressed her attack. The Chief God’s saintess and the War God’s saintess unleashed barrages of light formed from divine power at each other. The volleys of divine cannons, each concentrating divine power, targeted one another.
Boom! Whoosh—!
The balance was instantly shattered by the overwhelming difference in power stemming from their sheer size. The War God’s saintess was sent flying by the shockwave.
“Kaaaaah—!”
Crash! Clang—!
The War God’s saintess let out a piercing scream as the shield that had blocked the divine cannon cracked, and she was slammed into the wall. ‘The difference in divine power is too great. A head-on confrontation is impossible after all.’
The War God’s saintess instantly healed the impact of crashing into the wall with divine power and charged again. Because the Survival Magic Tower was protected by immortality magic, a prolonged battle had begun. ‘This is similar to the proxy war between the Chief God and myself. I wonder how it will turn out.’
Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
When the Chief God’s saintess targeted the War God’s saintess with a massive pillar of light, the latter activated her body through the effect of “Battlefield Dominion” and evaded. Occasionally struck, parts of her body outside the armor were destroyed and sent flying, but because immortality was active inside the tower, she recovered immediately and continued targeting the Chief God’s saintess. ‘It is a battle between artillery inside a fortress and highly mobile cavalry.’
Both were saintesses of light, and with immortality in effect, there would be no decisive blow. Thus, the only hope was that the opponent’s will would eventually break under the pain and fatigue of battle. ‘Without a single concession, they target each other’s bodies. Of course, the War God’s saintess is the one taking nearly all the damage.’
Even after an exceedingly long duel, the War God’s saintess had never once landed a clean hit that pierced the Chief God’s saintess’s divine power barrier. The princess shook her head as if puzzled.
“This is truly unexpected. The War God’s saintess, classified as mid-tier, is enduring remarkably well.”
“She is now one of the highest-tier. The former hero who became the new War God Pope is performing admirably.”
The War God’s saintess’s armor and shield were already nearly destroyed, leaving her practically naked; only her mace remained intact.
“Haaaaaah—!”
She swung her mace at superhuman speed, dodging the endless barrage of divine cannons while relentlessly targeting the Chief God’s saintess’s vulnerable rear.
“The former hero, you say?”
“He was the most handsome among all the heroes in history. And after becoming my Pope and ascending to Lower God, he became even more dashing. Any woman who sees him converts along with her entire family.”
“The former hero was indeed famous for his looks.”
“Since the War Pope is not bound by marriage restrictions, he is like a fish in water, seducing women left and right. He already has over a hundred lovers, including a queen who converted her entire nation. Hoho! He is truly capable.”
A pleased smile naturally appeared on the War God’s face. ‘At first he slacked off and refused to leave the temple, so I had Erendra, the Platinum Divine Dragon, turn him to dust a few times. After that, he began diligently promoting himself in the empire’s conference halls and banquets. After tasting women a few more times, he started enjoying it and actively increasing the number of followers.’
In truth, the former hero—now receiving the utmost respect he could never have dreamed of during his hero days and basking in the admiration of every woman—was giving his all. Having accomplished enough as Pope to leave even the Vice-Pope, who had been monitoring him, speechless, the War God felt thoroughly satisfied.
“He once challenged the War God, so why did you spare him?”
“Because he poses no threat to me whatsoever. If I killed every mosquito that flew at me, there would be no end to it.”
“Then what about the Chief God’s saintess?”
“The Chief God’s saintess does pose a threat. Divine power suppresses magic. Moreover, the potential of a saintess with two billion followers is nearly on par with the ninth circle. Handling her carelessly could be troublesome if that potential is triggered.”
“She does not look that way at all.”