A Different Kind of Trouble
The Otherworld War and the Magic God of Dimensions found themselves in a slightly different kind of trouble. He had been traveling across the realms recruiting Main Gods who could serve as meaningful combat assets against other divine realms, but somehow the news had spread. The gods had abandoned their personal temples and gathered in a single location.
After scanning the entire Divine Realm, it appears the Main Gods have assembled for a meeting.
Once he realized that the female Main Gods of the Goddess Blood Alliance, the Spirit Female Main Gods, and other gods in equivalent leadership positions had all gathered inside the personal temples of Granraha, Granzoa, and Lokina, a headache began to throb behind his eyes.
The gathering point for the Goddess Blood Alliance is Granraha and Granzoa, while the Spirit Female Main Gods are with the Lord of the Flipside, Lokina? It makes sense for Granraha since she originally created this Divine Realm, but for Lokina to build a communication network and chain of command this quickly… truly impressive. Still, what now? I can’t offer any compensation for joining the war. When they’re clumped together like this, both persuasion and command authority lose their effectiveness. This is exactly why I wanted to crush them individually, but they noticed. It’s impossible now.
The Main God of the Divine Realm’s absolute command authority grew stronger the greater the gap in divine rank, especially against Lower Gods. However, if the Lower Gods formed a collective powerful enough to surpass the Main God of the Divine Realm, that authority barely functioned at all.
Of course my power already exceeds that of every Main God in the Divine Realm, but issuing coercive commands against this many united Main Gods is difficult.
In a one-on-one situation like before, they wouldn’t even dare raise their heads. But once enough of them gathered, they gained the courage to look him in the eye and argue. Moreover, this wasn’t even an official matter concerning the Divine Realm; it was a personal issue of insubordination toward their new Lord of Dimensions and War, which made forced compliance even harder to justify. He didn’t share the kind of close relationship that would let him demand they risk their lives for him without any reward.
The Main God of the Divine Realm and the managerial Main Gods under him operated on contracts. He couldn’t simply order unconditional sacrifice.
“What am I supposed to do about this? Riasna and Himejina, who wield the God-Destroying Red Flame and God-Slaying Black Lightning, have personal grudges against the second-ranked Feminist, and Kuezana received a core from one of the Substitute Race’s Main Gods, so they’re fine. The problem is the rest of the Main Gods. With them all gathered together like this, persuasion won’t work.”
Convincing them one-on-one was easy. As their superior, he could simply offer what they wanted or promise authority. But persuading an entire group with varied demands was an entirely different challenge.
No matter what you give, someone will always feel it’s not enough. And the bigger problem is my own personality.
If they started making demands in exchange for their participation, his temper would inevitably explode and flip the entire table. He knew such behavior was unacceptable during official Main God discussions, yet it was a habit that refused to change. Since his fundamental nature wouldn’t shift, the wisest course was to avoid situations that might trigger an outburst.
It seemed further individual meetings would be impossible. He needed to return to his own temple and find another approach.
No choice then. This is the kind of moment where I need advice and help. The gods of the Divine Realm and the Main God Realm are all entangled in interests, so that won’t work. Is there anyone completely unrelated on the outside who could offer useful counsel?
He had demanded the heads of the managerial gods in exchange for overlooking their insubordination, and now the very same gods who feared for their lives had allowed the situation to spiral into war, exactly as he had predicted. I intended for that to happen, but it really was a foolish move on their part.
If they had investigated the battles in the Spirit Realm or the temple conflicts themselves instead of leaving everything to the managerial gods, they would never have dared challenge him. They simply found it too bothersome. He could not afford to make the same mistake.
Yet no matter how much he thought about it, no suitable candidate came to mind. He projected every contact he knew into the air and examined them thoroughly, but there was no one he could consult who might produce a good solution.
The Origin of the Mage God is in closed-door training at the main house, and Grey Absolute’s personality is even worse than mine, so there’s no one I can discuss this with openly. Ha… why have I lived like this?
In real time he had lived more than one hundred twenty years. Adding the time spent training in accelerated spaces, he had existed as a god for over fifty thousand years. Yet now that he needed someone to confide in honestly, there was no one.
Most of his connections were with subordinate gods. Every being of equal or higher rank had become either an enemy he had defeated or a subordinate he had subdued on his way up. Thanks to that he had risen to Lord of Dimensions and War, but it left him with relationships that were either enemies or underlings. Self-loathing began to creep in.
Then, suddenly, a new name appeared at the very top of his priority contact network.
“Huh? What is this? I never entered this. It connected on its own… is this someone above me?”
With lower beings he could check both name and status, but against a superior, nothing was visible. The first time a link formed, he had to confirm it personally. He reached out to tap the glowing contact.
His hand stopped midair.
From within the light flowed a divine power similar to his own dimensional authority, yet on an incomparably higher level.
“It’s the Dimensional Origin of the Wind Family! Of course. Since I am the Dimensional Origin of the Main Universe’s Dimension Clan, a support relationship naturally forms.”
Upper and lower Origins were essentially the same clan. While there was no direct superior-subordinate command authority, no lower Origin would dare challenge someone with the power and influence of the Wind Family’s Origin.
Since I am the Dimensional Origin of the Main Universe’s Dimension Clan, I can naturally seek advice from the Dimensional Origin. And the fact that this contact was provided must mean I should at least greet them. I’ve been meaning to give my thanks anyway. Maybe they’ll even help.
He poured his divine power into the Wind Family Dimensional Origin’s contact, rose from the Throne of Glory, and bowed his head. The Dimension Clan did not yet exist, but to the Main Universe’s Origin, the Wind Family’s Dimensional Origin held an incomparably high position.
Normally the Absolute Realm’s Origin would handle intermediate management and I would never even see their face. However, the qualifications I earned as compensation for the 10 Mainstays’ request, combined with the current absence of the Absolute Realm’s Origin, mean I haven’t fully grasped that difference yet.
Still, he clearly understood that before beings above the Creator God rank, he was nothing more than an isolated, powerless figure. I must earn the Dimensional Origin’s favor and secure their support by any means.
Even though he was the current incarnation of Grey Absolute, bowing his head to the Wind Family’s Origin was perfectly acceptable. No, since they were of Jinri’s bloodline, he could ask for almost anything. Simply requesting a slight delay in his dispatch time would be an enormous gain.
Beep—!
A boy with neatly tied black hair appeared on the floating screen. He wore black training clothes and held a wooden sword in his right hand. The image closely resembled Jinri’s usual appearance.
“Oh? That was fast. Has the connection network between Dimensional Origins already activated? That shouldn’t be possible. Shall I investigate for a moment?”
The tone was light and playful, yet because they shared the same dimensional authority, the Magic God of Dimensions was not dull enough to miss the terrifying power hidden beneath it. He could not have blocked it even if he tried, but there was no hostility or killing intent. He relaxed his guard and accepted the dimensional authority that flowed toward him from beyond the screen.
A low murmur of admiration came from the Dimensional Origin after examining his physical condition.
“Hoooo? This is truly surprising. Should I say this is exactly what one would expect from the current incarnation of Grey Absolute, the strongest among the Sage-class of the 10 Mainstays? You originally possessed dimensional authority, and it seems the aftermath of activating the Three-in-One authority played a part, but your adaptation speed is astonishing. With this level of proficiency, if you simply raise your Innate Divine Power, you would qualify to be appointed as the representative Origin of the Main Universe’s Dimension Clan. Congratulations.”
Pure praise from a higher Origin. He bowed his head even deeper.
“Thank you.”
“I also heard you were appointed as proxy in Jinri Grandfather’s Otherworld. Are your preparations complete? For you to contact me so suddenly, it seems the Main Universe’s affairs haven’t been properly organized yet.”
The abrupt jump to the main topic startled him inwardly, but since he had intended to explain his difficult situation and ask for help anyway, he decided it was for the best. He poured out everything: the problem of insubordination that had arisen the moment he became Lord of Dimensions and War, the headache of managing troublesome subordinates, the issues that would occur while handling this matter, and the direction he wanted to take.
There might be no clear answer, but at the very least it helped calm the frustration boiling inside him that threatened to explode. The words kept flowing.
The Dimensional Origin listened silently to the entire complaint. When the story finally ended, a neatly summarized response came back.
“I see. In short, the Main Universe has too much work and no suitable god to leave it to, so you cannot afford to be dispatched to the Otherworld right now.”
“Yes.”
“Right after taking a high position, your newly acquired subordinates refused to listen and even challenged you, so when you tried to discipline them, your superiors told you to stay quiet and scolded you instead. Therefore you need to finish this as quickly as possible before the news spreads, but you can’t do it alone and require help from your existing subordinates. Unfortunately those subordinates are even less cooperative. You managed to persuade a few, but the rest have banded tightly together and look ready to go on strike. The root cause of everything is the insubordination of these senseless subordinates, and you don’t know how to handle it. So you need time to organize things. Is that correct?”
“Yes!”
It felt strangely oversimplified, yet it was accurate. The subordinates were causing incidents and ignoring orders, making it difficult for him to leave for the Otherworld. In other words, if he didn’t have to go to the Otherworld, the problem could be solved with time and effort.
The Wind Family’s Origin carries some influence with Jinri. If the dispatch can be delayed, I might be able to resolve everything myself. That’s why I explained it in such detail.
Yet the Dimensional Origin on the other side of the screen gave a slightly mischievous smile and asked,
“By the way, I have a question.”
“Please speak.”
“What exactly is insubordination? And why don’t the lower beings listen to their superiors? If someone higher in the organization gives an order because it is necessary, the lower one should naturally obey. Why would they challenge you instead? Is the family education in the Main Universe really that bad?”
“!!!”
Family education all of a sudden? Is this a joke?
The absurd question, impossible to tell if it was serious or teasing, caused the Magic God of Dimensions’ face to stiffen. But looking at that innocent expression, it seemed the other party genuinely did not understand the concept.
Then a thought flashed through his mind.
Ah, of course. The Wind Family are Jinri’s bloodline and practice exclusive succession. From childhood they receive rigorous training and education in filial piety from their fathers and grandfathers. Once they become Origins with strength at the 10 Mainstays level and begin intervening in the present, no one would dare challenge them. So the very concept of insubordination is unknown to them.
He had been thinking about it the wrong way from the beginning. Born with the highest talent in the Absolute Realm as one of Jinri’s bloodline, raised more nobly than anyone, risen to the 10 Mainstays level and even become an Origin, the descendants of the Wind Family would never experience a situation where they could be challenged by inferiors.
Every member of the Wind Family, judging purely by strength, stood so far above all beings except Jinri and the 10 Mainstays that only their own ancestors counted as superiors. And among the Wind Family ancestors, not a single one was weaker than their descendants.
Born into the Wind Family where five million ancestors train with fierce determination to grow stronger, no weak descendant would dare attempt insubordination.
No matter how rebellious or stubborn the temperament, if more than five million Wind Family ancestors picked up the Sword of Ruin and Soul to correct bad habits, it would be utterly terrifying. Moreover, the Sword of Ruin and Soul could never deliver death no matter the attack. From his own experience of enduring countless strikes from beings of incomparably higher rank, it was far better to die cleanly than to suffer that.
Looking at Jinri and the Origin of the Mage God, the Wind Family immediately resorted to the rod the moment anyone disobeyed even slightly. No amount of stubbornness could withstand that.
Our worlds are simply too different. Of course words wouldn’t reach them. Aaaah, I’m so busy I could die, yet I wasted time on this.
The Magic God of Dimensions had just learned that the concept of insubordination was the one thing uniquely absent from the Wind Family, who placed absolute strength above all else.