The Bargain with the Heroic Spirits
The imperial princess had finally grown bored with the Goddess Faction's endless war of holy maiden duels. 'Well, it's only natural. They're not swordsmen or martial artists—just holy maidens endlessly slamming each other with flashing pillars of light. Anyone would get tired of it.'
Holy Maidens possessed the lowest attack power among all combat professions, specializing instead in recovery and enhancement. That was why, no matter how vast the gap in divine power, battles between them inevitably became prolonged wars of attrition.
"The attack power required to finish an opponent is simply insufficient. There's no way to reach a decisive conclusion."
"No. It's already over."
The moment the words left his lips, the War God's Holy Maiden's mace struck the Main God of the Divine Realm's Holy Maiden's arm for the first time. It was barely a graze, yet it had finally pierced the barrier of holy power.
Dong—!
"!?"
The overwhelming composure that had dominated the Main God of the Divine Realm's Holy Maiden's face until that instant vanished, replaced by raw panic.
"What a slow child. To only use it now, of all times..."
Papapapapapa—! Dududududu—Boom!
The barrage of Holy Cannons could no longer even brush against the War God's Holy Maiden. Her mace spun in relentless circles around her opponent, piercing the holy power barrier again and again with merciless precision.
BAAAAAANG—!
"!!!"
"!!!"
The mace, now concentrated with extreme holy power, finally shredded the defensive barrier and annihilated it. At the same moment, the War God's Holy Maiden slipped behind her foe, wrapped both arms around her neck, and began to squeeze.
"Haaaaah—!"
"Uuuuup—!"
The Main God of the Divine Realm's Holy Maiden thrashed wildly in a chokehold utterly unbecoming of a priestess before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed unconscious.
"What? Was that aura just now? And she used a martial artist's chokehold?"
When the princess beside him exclaimed in surprise, the War God offered an explanation with a deeply satisfied smile.
"It is the War God's Holy Maiden's true authority—'Battlefield Sharing.' The ability allows her to employ every combat technique and capability of her believers for as long as her body permits."
"That's incredible. Then why has she only ever been regarded as a mid-tier holy maiden until now? It seems like an almost invincible power."
At that observation, the War God's expression grew unusually heated.
"There were no powerful 7-Circle masters among the War God's followers, and their divine power was lacking. That is why it appeared that way. Now there are a thousand 7-Circle masters promoted with divine artifacts, along with an 8-Circle pope. With their combat experience and abilities supporting her through the authority, it is difficult for any other holy maiden to defeat her. Still, raising her to this level required her own resolve and extreme effort. It has gone perfectly."
The War God's Holy Maiden carefully removed the unconscious Main God of the Divine Realm's Holy Maiden's clothing and held it up for him to see.
"You were a fine practice opponent. With this, the holy maidens have been dealt with as well."
Seeing the now-naked holy maiden, the War God nodded. The extreme tension that had sustained her finally released, and she fainted on the spot.
He watched the War God's holy women rush toward their fallen comrade, then turned to the princess.
"The cleanup is finished. Then let us proceed with the investment."
Gooooooo—!
Ooooooooooo—!
Tens of thousands of translucent women materialized in the air.
These were female heroic spirits from the Middle World who had reached the realm of superhumans in various fields yet failed to ascend as gods, leaving them waiting for reincarnation. However, there were no newborns strong enough to house spirits of their caliber, so most had remained in long-term stasis within the Four Realms.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung—!
The sudden appearance of tens of thousands of powerful female heroic spirits flooded the area with overwhelming spiritual energy. They appeared furious at the forced summoning, yet the War God—a 10-Circle black mage and God of Dimensions—had no reason to feel threatened by mere 7-Circle spirits.
He effortlessly suppressed their spiritual pressure and declared,
Each heroic spirit shall take one woman present and raise her to 7-Circle Master.
In exchange, limited resurrection within this domain shall be granted.
Furthermore, you shall swear fealty to me as believers.
Penalty for breach: Return to the Four Realms in your current state.
The female heroic spirits buzzed with agitation at the offer of resurrection—even if limited to this area.
'There is nothing a ghost desires more than resurrection. I made them an offer they cannot refuse. Let us see their reaction.'
Yet the response was poor.
Even while sensing his overwhelming magical power, their reactions remained defiant.
'Only those with strong pride can reach the realm of superhumans. And they are misunderstanding something.'
Black magic resurrection typically involved severe side effects—reviving corpses or forcing possession of chimeras. Naturally, the heroic spirits held no goodwill toward it.
Gooooooong! Uuuuuuuuuung!
The fury of over ten thousand female heroic spirits sent the vitality within the Survival Magic Tower into chaotic turmoil. Without permission, some began descending toward the city below. These spirits were powerful enough to seize bodies instantly from anyone lacking resistance to spiritual energy; they clearly intended to forcibly claim the hostages.
But the War God was a 10-Circle black mage and the God of Dimensions—an invincible existence against heroic spirits.
BAAAAANG—!
Ten rings of magical power instantly locked down the entire interior of the Survival Magic Tower. Every heroic spirit was frozen in place.
'Kaaah—! True 10-Circle!?'
'Impossible! Humans cannot surpass 7-Circle!'
'This cannot be. Even I was unable to reach it.'
To the War God's eyes, their reactions were adorably naive. To perform such antics before a black mage who specialized in souls and death was truly laughable.
He drew forward the seven heroic spirits who had attempted to reach the city. They were all female mages, their translucent forms clad in robes.
When a person died, their soul usually manifested in the form they most desired from life—often that of a beautiful young woman.
'It seems you tried to seize bodies for your own resurrection. Yet you dared lay hands on what belongs to me. You possess considerable courage. Did you act knowing I was a black mage?'
'W-we did not know...'
'Who are you?'
'...You truly do not know?'
Upon reflection, the War God realized there was no way information about him—a newly ascended god—would have reached the Four Realms, a mere lower administrative department under the celestial realm.
In the eyes of the mage heroic spirits, his level was clearly visible: the ten brilliant rings of magical power orbiting his body, along with another ring that had become roughly half-formed.
'10-Circle? A black mage at Main God level?'
'Which school does he belong to?'
The War God removed his robe. The mage heroic spirits screamed at the sight of his delicately muscled upper body covered in countless scars.
There was only one school where mages would accumulate such wounds and wear them as badges of honor.
'It's the Root School—!'
'Those insane battle maniacs have finally done it!'
'This is impossible—! The Root School are heretics who abandoned the proper path!'
The countless scars no warrior or fighter could ever match were the exclusive pride of the Root School. They served as proof of victory earned by fighting bravely without fear of injury and surviving.
"I am the noble and great black mage who commands the 10-Circles of the Root School and challenges the 11th Circle."
Under his gaze, the seven mage heroic spirits hurriedly bowed their heads and introduced themselves. Circle represented both rank and status among mages; rudeness from a lower Circle toward a higher one was never forgiven. Of course, despised black mages rarely received such courtesy, but the gap here was simply too vast.
'I serve the 7-Circle of the Red Magic Crimson Flame School...'
'Of the Blue Magic Atmosphere School...'
Watching the heroic spirits kneel in haste, he lightly brushed their translucent robes with a finger.
Hwaaaaaak—!
The robes emitted light and vanished the moment his hand touched them. He repeated the action on all seven.
Sudden light bloomed across their spiritual bodies. The heroic spirits, who had no idea what was happening, saw their expressions change instantly. They had all been stripped naked.
'Kyaaak—! Partial soul control!?'
'The soul is supposed to be eternally fixed—how!?'
No matter that they had reached demigod status, there was nothing they could do as their spiritual forms were manipulated to expose their bare bodies. He could sense the other summoned heroic spirits panicking as well.
"I have taken your clothing as payment for your rudeness. Shall I send you back to the Four Realms like this?"
'Hak—! No!'
'Please, anything but that!'
If returned to the Four Realms in this state, they would become mere eye candy, surrounded and ogled by other heroic spirits for nearly an eternity.
'No—! We are sorry! We will teach the children, so please restore our clothes—!'
'We accept the contract. We cannot return to the Four Realms in this condition.'
Only then did the heroic spirits seem to notice that all one hundred thousand young women below had been stripped naked. They were stunned by the absurd spectacle of an entire city filled with naked women staring up at them, but upon learning the reason, they were left speechless.
'A nude tower! What kind of blasphemy is this?'
A heroic spirit wearing extremely ornate holy maiden attire stepped forward in protest.
'How can one who has reached such a lofty realm toy with these weak women? Can you still call yourself a god after this? Hak—!?'
The War God lightly pulled her before him.
'She must have been an astonishing beauty in life. Even as a heroic spirit, she is dazzling. By my standards, there is no flaw whatsoever.'
The heroic spirit holy maiden possessed beauty that could rival a high elf, along with curves so voluptuous they surpassed even a succubus. Her waist and limbs showed no unnecessary fat or sagging—slender, delicate, and perfectly toned.
'If the high elf queens possess breasts and buttocks forged of muscle, this heroic spirit is incredibly soft and plush. Yet strangely they do not sag, maintaining an ideal round shape.'
As the War God unabashedly kneaded her breasts and buttocks, the heroic spirit holy maiden's translucent pink hair and eyes glowed with a strange heat that stirred desire. The luxurious gold leather belt decorated with jewels around her waist bore familiar divine script.
'What sustains the world is a woman's love and beauty.'
There was only one shameless god who would proudly engrave such an embarrassing phrase upon a holy maiden's robes.
Looking down, he saw another holy maiden with similar pink hair, though her beauty was noticeably inferior to the heroic spirit before him.
"Are you a former holy maiden of the Goddess of Beauty and Love? Why does a holy maiden like you wander as a heroic spirit instead of becoming an angel?"
'My circumstances are none of your concern. Why do you treat these women so—hak—!'
He interfered with the spiritual body in his embrace and partially restored sensation to it. The translucent heroic spirit's expression shifted in shock at the sudden feelings returning to her form. He had removed the clothing from her upper body.
'You insolent wretch—! How dare you lay hands on the body of a holy maiden dedicated to the goddess! Are you not afraid of divine punishment?'
"Divine punishment? I am the new War God and the God of the Round Table. Even the Goddess of Beauty and Love serves beneath me."
Ignoring her protests, the War God pulled up the Holy Maiden of Love and Beauty from the city below, who had been watching the scene in utter confusion.
Suddenly lifted upward, she panicked, but upon seeing his face she hurriedly bowed her head. Upon closer inspection, their body shapes were nearly identical, suggesting some special technique.
"What method do you use to create and maintain such a figure?"
"It is the effect of the waist belt passed down through generations to the holy maidens of our order. Wearing it causes the body to gradually resemble that of the Goddess of Beauty and Love."
'You—! How dare a holy maiden reveal that secret—!'
It seemed to have been a closely guarded secret of the Goddess of Beauty and Love's church. An artifact capable of crafting an artificial body could easily cause an uproar. After all, a woman's desire for beauty knew no bounds. Of course, seeing that the wearer was deceased, it appeared to only adjust one's figure rather than create a complete body.
"I see. Then why is there such a difference between your body and this heroic spirit's?"
"It is due to the difference in holy power. The body gradually transforms to resemble the goddess's in proportion to the amount of holy power one can wield."
"You know who she is, correct?"
"She is Livna, the holy maiden from five generations before me. With the greatest holy power and beauty of her era, she placed our order upon solid rock."
"How great was she?"
"At the time, she surpassed even the Main God's holy maiden. She single-handedly summoned the Goddess of Beauty and Love to the mortal plane."
"Hoo—! Is that so? Truly impressive!"
If that were true, it was an ability comparable to summoning the Demon King alone. Her appearance seemed merely beautiful, yet she clearly possessed the power to stand before this vast assembly of heroic spirits.
He ran his hands over her entire form, reconfirming her spiritual body.
'Aah! Please stop—!'
'Correct. A holy maiden on the verge of transcendence. I thought she was all talk, but she is a treasure.'
Having quickly assessed the heroic spirit holy maiden, he casually handed her spiritual body to the princess beside him, whose face had flushed slightly.
"She will serve as temporary headmistress. Combine your strengths and work well together."
"Eh? You mean as headmistress?"