A Lesson in Strategic Retreat
The war in the Otherworld was one thing, but having that horrific Sword of Ruin and Soul whipping past my eyes like a mere toy was enough to drive anyone insane. Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Whiiiirrr!
At first the wooden sword had only spun within his grip, but now it circled endlessly around the Dimensional Origin. Then, without warning, a vicious fighting spirit erupted. The instant the danger registered, his body was already moving on pure reflex. Swish—! Boom—!
He had kicked off from the seat of honor in the Main Divine Hall and plastered himself against the ceiling. Clinging there with both feet, the Dimensional Mage God stared downward, eyes bulging so wide they looked ready to tear.
“Huk—!”
The entire Main Divine Hall was covered by the trajectories of the Sword of Ruin and Soul. They formed some kind of pattern—its meaning unclear—but the only safe spot was the ceiling where he now clung. Descending would mean being hammered by countless strikes; that much was obvious.
Nod, nod—
Watching the Dimensional Mage God stuck to the ceiling, the Dimensional Origin gave an admiring tilt of his head and spoke.
“That reaction was excellent. To instinctively flee to the ceiling where I deliberately created a safe zone—truly impressive. I thought you were joking when you said you’d imprinted the Incomprehensible Eight Founders onto your instincts, but it seems it’s real.”
“Why… why are you doing this?”
“Light education and a little fun. Kahahahahaha—!”
“!”
The Sword of Ruin and Soul would never grant death to its target no matter how powerful the blow, yet the pain and damage remained fully intact. From experience with the Origin of the Mage God, a single strike at the level of the 10 Mainstays from the Wind Family would shatter every bone in my body and pulp every muscle.
He bristled at it being dismissed as mere “fun,” but he didn’t dare show his anger. The memory of thirty thousand years of training under the Origin of the Mage God was still vivid—every time he had flared up and charged in, the master would declare he still had energy to spare and intensify the training even further.
The Dimensional Origin may call it light fun, but to me it feels like death itself.
While he struggled for a reply, that chilling sensation washed over him again.
Sh-sh-sh-shaa—! Swish—!
A casual twist of the finger altered the wooden sword’s rotation, and suddenly tens of thousands of blades filled his vision, swirling toward the ceiling. Faced with a storm of attacks that could shatter his limbs with even one hit, a scream tore from his throat.
“Waaah—!”
The sword’s direction had changed, yet the wave of wooden blades still flooded the Main Divine Hall. Panicking at the additional strikes that threatened to cleave the ceiling itself, he layered dimensional barriers—his most reliable defense—over and over.
The dozens of dimensional barriers, summoned instantly through the authority of the Dimensional Clan’s Origin, collided with the swarm of wooden swords. At that exact moment, the Dimensional Origin’s voice rang out in a pitying tone.
“Aah—! As expected, when escape is impossible you resort to desperate resistance. No matter what happens, you must never block a superior’s attack. You have to dodge unconditionally.”
“Urk…!”
Who doesn’t know that…
Before he could answer, unimaginable agony swallowed his body. The dimensional barriers he had created with everything he possessed were pierced like illusions, and the attacks from tens of thousands of swords poured onto him.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-booom—!
A roar loud enough to shake the entire Divine Realm erupted from the blows hammering the Dimensional Mage God. Every bone in his body shattered; his muscles ruptured from the shock. Because the Sword of Ruin and Soul could never deliver death, the damage and impact were exchanged in full. And there was no way the mind of a Dimensional Mage God—who could not endure even a single strike from a 10 Mainstay—could remain intact.
Puhahahaha—!
Naturally, as the Dimensional Mage God lost consciousness completely, black flames exploded from his body like a volcanic eruption. The activated Authority of Black Flame restored his shattered bones and torn muscles in an instant, and a rage-filled roar burst from his mouth.
Crack-crack-crack—!
“Graaaaaah—!”
“Haha—! There it is at last. The Authority of Black Flame.”
The moment the Dimensional Mage God lost consciousness, the Authority of Black Flame that dwelled in his instincts revealed the Absolute Realm’s strongest physical authority and howled. The sight was so savage and powerful it was hard to believe it belonged to a Creator God of the Main Universe. The target of the endlessly thickening fighting spirit and killing intent was, of course, the Dimensional Origin who had attacked him.
Yet the Dimensional Origin stood there with a delighted smile, his hand holding the wooden sword drawing lazy circles while the fingers of his empty left hand wiggled in open provocation.
“Oh! Black Fire—! Welcome—! Come on—! Kahahahahaha—!”
At that laughter, the body of the Dimensional Mage God wrapped in the Authority of Black Flame—which had been about to charge—twitched and froze. The Authority of Black Flame had instantly remembered from past experience that rushing in would only get him beaten half to death.
After a brief hesitation, he hurled himself desperately toward the exit of the Main Divine Hall.
Swishswishswishswishswish—! Cracklecracklecrack!
He fled with such force that the floor of the Main Divine Hall shattered beneath him. Watching the Dimensional Mage God run even after activating the Authority of Black Flame—the ultimate concentration of fighting spirit and killing intent in the Absolute Realm—the Dimensional Origin was momentarily stunned.
When members of the Black Flame Race were fully consumed by their authority, they fought any foe to the death. Yet the Dimensional Mage God had turned tail immediately.
“Huh? This is real too? Even though he isn’t the Black Flame Absolute, after being completely overtaken by the Authority of Black Flame—the purified essence of fighting spirit and killing intent—and turning into a berserker, he’s still running away.”
With a light snap of his right fingers, the Sword of Ruin and Soul transformed into a streak of light and slammed into the back of the fleeing Dimensional Mage God’s head.
“Haha—! Truly unique.”
Thud—! Shoot—!
The Dimensional Mage God’s figure blurred and evaded the strike that should have knocked him down. It was the highest level of reality-denying magic available to the Main Universe’s Dimensional Mage God.
“Huh? Reality-denying magic authority? How can you use magic in your Black Flame state?”
The missed Sword of Ruin and Soul embedded itself in the door of the Main Divine Hall. The now-solid Dimensional Mage God smashed straight through it, shattering the door as he passed.
The Dimensional Origin had thrown with minimal power out of concern that the aftershock might damage the Main Divine Realm, yet he was impressed that the Dimensional Mage God had dodged an attack from a Wind Family Origin.
“Ho—! You can truly activate perception-denying magic even in your Black Flame state? Haha—! Even after turning into a rampaging beast to strengthen your physical abilities, you can still retain the powers of a sage? No wonder the Black Flame Absolute refuses to leave you alone. However….”
Boom—!
“Quaack—!”
A roar on an entirely different scale and a bizarre scream rang out. The instant he smashed through the door and passed, he collided with an invisible wall. The Dimensional Mage God’s body—every bone completely shattered—flattened like a pancake.
He had tried to flee using the full power of the Authority of Black Flame, only to be stopped by an unbreakable barrier.
“That is the true Dimensional Barrier. It blocks and reflects all physical force and authorities. Naturally, since it belongs to another world, ordinary perception is impossible as well. The 10 Mainstays might be able to break it by force, but they are beings beyond all standards.”
Looking at the Dimensional Mage God who had become like a rice cake smashed against a rock after fleeing with reckless abandon, the Dimensional Origin’s pitying voice echoed.
“Tsk tsk—! Even the highest-level Dimensional Mage God in the Main Universe falls for such a simple trick immediately. Not everything you see is the whole truth.”
Whoosh—!
The flattened body flew backward and was deposited onto the seat of honor. A recovery authority activated from the Dimensional Origin. For an Origin of the Wind Family at the 14th circle of the Absolute Realm, restoring a mere Creator God of the Main Universe was trivial.
Whirr—!
He recovered instantly, yet the vivid memory of being beaten nearly to a pulp and then slamming full-force into the dimensional barrier left the Dimensional Mage God trembling as he regained his senses.
“Cough—! Huk—!”
The moment he saw the Dimensional Origin—who had just beaten him as if trying to kill him and then slammed him into the dimensional wall—sitting at the round table with a bright smile, he nearly jumped out of his skin. But the next words left him dazed.
“You learned well. This is how it’s done.”
“……”
The expression on his face said this was absolutely not a joke but a profound teaching. As expected of the Wind Family, it was identical to the educational style of the Origin of the Mage God.
It’s here again. The direct-lineage Wind Family education method. What exactly was I supposed to learn? All I remember is getting beaten senseless and the memories of running away…
If he complained that this was simply assault and not education, he would only receive more of the same. The Wind Family’s educational philosophy held that learning through the body was far more reliable than words or demonstrations. A superior ancestor would teach the descendant the basics, then engage in endless sparring.
With this educational method, the Wind Family has obtained in a mere ten thousand years the strength that others require hundreds of millions of years to achieve.
Astonishingly, the reason a Wind Family Origin at the 10 Mainstay level appears once every ten thousand years is precisely the result of this method, so it could not be denied. Of course, it was a method unusable without the talent to grow stronger through real combat against superior beings and ultimately reach the peak through enlightenment.
It was impossible unless one belonged to the Wind Family bloodline, whose superior talent was guaranteed by the bloodline inheritance authority of the Incomprehensible Eight Founders.
Talent is not the difference—existence itself is.
For the Wind Family, fighting with all their might while learning and realizing in the process was natural. For ordinary beings, however, it was far beyond a mere life-or-death crisis.
And if one claimed to have learned nothing, it would only lead to an endless cycle of sparring. So, forcing his reluctant mouth open, he offered his thanks.
“Th-thank you for the teaching.”
“What are you saying—! It is only natural assistance from a superior Dimensional Origin. If anything feels lacking, tell me anytime. Review is important too.”
“Hahaha. There’s no need for you to go to such trouble. I’ll handle it myself.”
The direct-lineage Wind Family method may work for them, but for me it only improves evasion and endurance. What kind of education is this again? It might be better to just focus on magic research.
The Dimensional Mage God inwardly lamented while thinking of the Dimensional Origin’s confident tone—believing that since he had taught well, the lesson must have been learned—and of the unbearable, full-power strikes from the Sword of Ruin and Soul that never killed yet showed no mercy.
Yet at the Dimensional Origin’s next question, cold sweat broke out automatically.
“Now then! Tell me what you learned. The Origin of the Mage God grandfather mentioned that the Dimensional Mage God’s comprehension is slightly lacking. He said one must always verify after teaching. I’ll fill in any gaps. So, what exactly did you learn from the sparring just now? Explain.”
“……”
Did the Origin of the Mage God hand over information about me? This is bad. I don’t understand anything.
He had planned to gloss over the useless-seeming education, but hearing that it must be verified left him speechless. On top of that, the Sword of Ruin and Soul was once again spinning in circles right before his eyes. It was maddening.
In the end, reflexively recalling the fight from moments ago with desperate intensity, he simply blurted out whatever came to mind.
“When fighting the strong, first avoid the battle. If you must fight, then run. If the escape route is blocked, charge in—but still create an escape path. And when running, always check for traps and…”
Even he was stunned at himself for saying that one must unconditionally run from the strong and escape skillfully.
Run away? What am I even saying to the Wind Family’s Dimensional Origin? I must be losing my mind.
Fearing a fresh baptism of wooden swords as punishment for spouting nonsense, he looked at the Dimensional Origin with fearful eyes. Instead, an entirely unexpected reaction came.
Clap, clap—!
The Wind Family’s Dimensional Origin lightly clapped his hands in praise.
“Wow—! Excellent comprehension. That’s right—! For the weak, not fighting the strong is the most important thing. Never engage an opponent you cannot defeat no matter what. And if you do fight, you must escape by any means. What’s even more crucial is never allowing yourself to be placed in such a situation to begin with. To explain further…”
The Dimensional Mage God was dumbfounded by the unexpected praise.
Is this correct? Really? I only said what I felt.
Before the doubt could fully form, the prankster-like demeanor from earlier vanished completely. The Dimensional Origin began to speak in the tone of a true sage.
“The types of things that move people can be broadly divided into three categories. The first is logic, the second is emotion, and the third is reward. Depending on their type, people think and act, creating friction with the other types. Your case, Dimensional Mage God, is rather unique. You possess a mixture of all three. That was the problem.”
“……”
The sudden talk of human types left him dazed, but the moment he was singled out, his mind sharpened instantly.