The Second Seat's Uprising
The power only worked on women in the Otherworld War, but ranking second among the Main Gods essentially placed him at the level of a mid-tier Creator God. He had simply failed to pass the authentication battle against the Demon God King, which was why he remained stuck in the Main God ranks. And if the explanation was accurate, the goddesses stood no chance against him.
“Could any goddess truly defeat an enemy who outwardly possesses an authority that makes him the eternal ally of all women? Only if she had tasted every bitter and sweet experience of divine life and grown numb to it all. Against Feminist, no ordinary goddess with mere strength and willpower could prevail. She would lose her fighting spirit to his cause and consideration, become assimilated by his authority, and ultimately betray her own side. That is why you will focus exclusively on recovery until the Main God War begins. To prevent any information leaks, you are forbidden from all external contact or meetings.”
“!”
It was essentially house arrest—the worst kind, rooted in the suspicion that they might turn against him. Yet looking at Riasna sobbing in the recovery room’s bathtub, lost in memories of the past, he could not deny it.
He’ll probably rush here the moment he learns my location. In that sense, this method is indeed the safest. But it cannot end like this.
Until they eliminated Feminist—the second-ranked member of the Main God ranks—as their original mission demanded under orders from the Demon God King and his clan, neither their clan nor the Demon Realm could return. The only excuse available was to claim they had even accepted conversion into the Divine Race to bide their time and defeat the enemy, just as the Dimensional Mage God had said. Therefore, they could not meekly accept this confinement.
“Wait—! How could we possibly betray you when we have nowhere else to go? Above all, didn’t you promise us revenge? What do you intend to do about that? If you plan to exclude us and handle it yourself, that violates our contract.”
Moreover, the Main God administrators of this Divine Realm were terrifyingly formidable. If the other Main Gods learned that they had been sealed in their personal temple after the Main God of the Divine Realm judged them at high risk of becoming traitors, they would not survive. Himejina cried out in desperation, and the Dimensional Mage God turned to look at her with a calm expression.
He understood her thoughts, but his will made it clear that he would tolerate no possibility that might lead to defeat.
“Jinri does not forgive the weak. So tell me—do you truly believe I, an Absolute who received a title from Jinri himself, would tolerate a bastard whose authority and divinity turn all women into the weak? If you dislike my measures, answer me. What should I do? Should I send you forward, knowing the high probability that you will lose and break the contract?”
“That is…”
His declaration that he would rather break the contract than let them act freely left them speechless. This was completely different from the man who had always placed the completion of their contract above all else. As they fell silent, the Dimensional Mage God left one final remark before vanishing through dimensional travel.
“Focus solely on recovery. I will decide after assessing the scale of the coming war. I will not allow you to fight in your current state. Never forget that only the strong may choose.”
“…Understood.”
Unconditional worship of Jinri’s strength and pursuit of victory. A latent fanatic of Jinri. Is this the default disposition of all titled Absolutes?
Since the Main God of the Divine Realm had granted him the title of Origin, the Dimensional Mage God had naturally investigated the tendencies of such beings. The result was both absurdly simple and ridiculous.
Become endlessly stronger. Win. Ignore everything else.
Titled Absolutes feared Jinri—the merciless administrator of the Eternal Judgment who turned failures into insects on Wind Star—more than anything. Yet they followed him with absolute loyalty because he was the benefactor who granted them power without conditions. To earn Jinri’s recognition and escape the restrictions of their titles, they would use any means to grow stronger. If something stood in their way, they would not hesitate to clash with the existing order.
That was why countless titled Absolutes across the main universe and the Absolute Realm had vanished after challenging reality in their endless pursuit of strength, shaking the very foundations of order. Their power was absolute precisely because they staked everything on strength.
The abilities of titled Absolutes who fight while prepared for Jinri’s judgment easily surpass even a three-circle difference in divinity. The sheer number of Divine Realms that were annihilated instead of successfully subjugating them is enough to send chills down one’s spine. What now?
He pondered briefly how to lift the house arrest, then realized that recovering their strength was indeed the top priority, just as the Dimensional Mage God had said. Whether they settled the score with their old enemy or were deployed to another Main God Realm, they first needed to become useful. Only then could choices be made.
In the end, Riasna too lay down in the recovery room’s bathtub. She had finally grasped the reality of their situation and joined in focusing entirely on recovery, withdrawing every last bit of power she had kept in reserve for vigilance.
Though the Dimensional Mage God had spoken calmly and moved to another Main God temple, his insides were boiling with rage. He had already identified the reason this insurrection was progressing so rapidly before he had even held the appointment ceremony.
That perennial second-rank Feminist, who had been crushed into silence by Almighty Hwi, was behind this uprising! I thought it strange how thoroughly and swiftly the lower ranks were uniting and provoking me. So the second seat was completely orchestrating everything.
Problems like breaking in a new superior existed in any organization where positions were appointed from above. If the first rank stepped down and the second inherited the position, there would be no major issues. But when someone suddenly appeared from elsewhere and claimed the top seat, discontent and problems were inevitable.
Naturally, the second rank—who had believed the position would be his—held the greatest resentment. Yet most second ranks did not act this blatantly. Their experience and strength in reaching that position were real, and they knew that if the insurrection grew too severe and provoked the first rank’s wrath, they themselves would be in the most danger.
Has he completely lost his mind? Does he not realize that if I get angry, he will be the first one I crush? If excessive superior-breaking causes him to lose reason and run wild, shaking and collapsing the organization, he will not escape responsibility either. Or rather, the accurate assessment is that he is underestimating me.
As a male Hero God who had operated alone, Almighty Hwi was completely immune to Feminist’s wide-area authority that strengthened allied women, weakened enemy women, and converted them to his side. Any army composed of half-baked powerhouses would simply be annihilated before the inscrutable Eight Progenitors.
But the goddesses of his Dimensional Divine Realm had blocked Almighty Hwi. It was only natural that Feminist would covet them. Was this bastard’s plan to incite the lower ranks to destabilize the Main God Realm, keep the protagonist occupied there, and then invest his time and effort into claiming those powerful goddesses who had stopped even Almighty Hwi—before challenging him directly?
If left alone, Feminist’s authority was so fatal to goddesses that there was even a chance his entire Divine Realm would naturally fall into the enemy’s hands. Before that could happen, he had to completely crush the bastard at this opportunity. If necessary, he would use World Bomb Core to destroy not only the core ruling class but the entire Main God Realm.
The Dimensional Divine Realm had been built through hellish suffering—through overcoming countless brushes with death. He had endured bone-chilling terror of Jinri’s judgment, thrown himself into battlefields seeking rewards, and climbed this far. The position of Main God of the Dimensional Divine Realm was like compensation for a lifetime of hardship.
Having that compensation targeted made him feel as if his reason was flying away. Suppressing his fury, he arrived at the personal temple of the Substitute Sun God, Kuezana.
If I elevate her to Creator God status, her solar authority that can burn even a Main God when given proper offerings should be enough to handle all Main Gods except the top rank. Her solar power’s recovery is also remarkably good.
The moment he entered the temple filled with his own solar divine power, he looked around and flinched. A familiar stench permeated the personal temple. But this was the Divine Realm, not a battlefield—such a smell should never emanate here.
The smell of blood? And fresh blood at that—still warm.
An ominous thought crossed his mind. This was the goddess who had once been called a practitioner of human sacrifice, receiving countless live offerings to increase her divine power and authority. She had been denounced as a barbaric deity and exiled to the Spirit Realm. Yet because she possessed solar authority at the Creator God level capable of burning even a Main God when given proper sacrifices, he had drawn her in by granting her a core from the Substitute Race.
Of course, the contract explicitly stated she would never accept live sacrifices again, but the saying “a leopard cannot change its spots” existed for a reason.
Shocked, he immediately shouted.
“Substitute Sun God Kuezana! Where are you? Come out this instant—! If you don’t appear right now, I will throw you into the Divine Spirit Purgatory!”
Judging from the thick smell of blood filling the temple, her old habits had clearly returned, and his temper flared. But when the person in question came running out wearing only a leopard-patterned beast hide that barely covered the important parts, throwing herself forward, he felt utterly drained.
“Fuaaaaah—! I am here!”
Her lips were smeared with fresh blood, and clinging to her were feathers dripping with gore. A more precise inspection of the temple interior revealed animal blood and the half-eaten remains of a pigeon.
At least it isn’t human. Thank all the heavens.
Yet even though the pigeon was half-devoured, it was still alive. It was enough to make one gasp in horror.
Who else but the sun god of barbarians would eat it alive without even draining the blood!
Eating pigeons in the Divine Realm was already absurd, but devouring one alive without cooking it? If other gods knew, they would be horrified. As the Dimensional Mage God wondered what to say about her personal eating habits, a strange sound reached his ears.
Whimper, whimper—!
It was the cry of a dog moaning in pain. The moment he confirmed that Kuezana was clutching a dog behind her back with both hands, desperately struggling, a sigh escaped him.
Seeing her hide it so frantically, it was obvious she had caught one of the dogs roaming the Divine Realm the same way she would hunt in the jungle, just like the pigeon. She had been about to eat it raw when he suddenly appeared and threatened to lock her in the Divine Spirit Purgatory, so she had grabbed it in her panic.
A Main God administrator of the Highest Creator Divine Realm is hunting pigeons and dogs to eat them alive? What am I supposed to do with this?
Watching Kuezana stand there covered in pigeon blood and feathers around her mouth, not knowing what to do, something surged up from within him. The mere image of her biting into a live pigeon made his stomach churn, threatening to bring up everything he had eaten.
I want to scold her, but in the end, it is just a matter of personal taste.
No matter how barbaric it seemed, she had once commanded an enormous number of humans who offered live sacrifices at a god’s command. He could not exactly criticize her for reverting to old ways. Still, he could not simply understand and let it pass.
If word gets out, there will be no greater disgrace.
“Ahem—! Cook your food and order delivery whenever possible.”
He barely suppressed his roiling stomach and forced out the words. Realizing what state she was in, Kuezana frantically wiped the blood and feathers from her lips and answered quickly.
“Yes. I will do that.”
“Release that dog.”
“Yes.”
With a slightly regretful expression, Kuezana casually tossed the dog she had been holding out the door. Yelps and whimpers echoed as the dog that had barely escaped being eaten alive ran for its life. The sound rang in the Dimensional Mage God’s ears for a long time.
He thought he was doing well, but the sight of what was happening beneath him kept making his head spin and his stomach turn.
My insides feel truly awful. My head is ringing too—is this what they call stress-induced illness?
He wanted to simply let go of his mind and rest, but he quickly steadied his wavering heart.
Damn it all—! How can the immortal body of a Creator God die from illness? Stop thinking like a weakling. At this rate, I will self-destruct.
After living for billions of years, some gods who had repeatedly failed and lost all hope of advancing further within the Divine Race chose self-destruction. But he had not fallen that far yet. Still, since he himself had gathered these subordinates knowing full well that something was terribly wrong, simply because there were not enough Main Gods, he could not even bring himself to resent the world.
Fearing he would explode if he said more, he stated only the essential business.
“When we wage the Main God War against the other realms, I will temporarily promote you to Creator God. Burn them all—except the top rank of the Main God seats.”
“Yes.”
Though it required offerings, this was solar authority at the Creator God level capable of burning and annihilating even a Main God. Even in her current Main God state the power was that great; once she gained the divinity of a Creator God, ordinary Main Gods would pose no problem at all. Hearing her simple, concise reply, the Dimensional Mage God moved on to the next Main God’s temple.