The 99-Second Hero God

In stark contrast to the Main Gods under Almighty Hwi instantly acquiring the full divinity of Creator Gods, a small, choked cry slipped from the Magic God of Dimensions' lips.

“Kugh—! As expected—!”

Crackle—! Snap—!

The twenty-six pairs of wings of light flickered precariously, signaling an emergency. The divine power and authority demanded by the activated Troop of Creation God had reached the razor’s edge of his limits.

At the same moment, a thunderous roar erupted from his entire body, as if bones and muscles were smashing into one another.

Crack-crack-crack—! Crunch—!

The Magic God of Dimensions froze completely in place like a rigid doll, grinding his teeth so hard they squealed.

Grind—!

‘The Troop of Creation God, which turns Main Gods into complete Creator Gods, is my greatest asset and power. As the Origin possessing Dimensional Authority, it is an authority no other clan can replicate. It is the core power that solidifies my position.’

Yet, just as predicted, fully activating it had caused his computational capacity to bottom out so severely that his body refused to move at all.

‘Is the divinity and body of a Creator God still not enough? Even with the qualifications of a Dimensional Origin, is this limit unavoidable? At this rate, I’ve become a sitting duck again. No—if a rebellion breaks out now, it’s all over.’

This was the first time he had ever unleashed the Troop of Creation God at full power. With several hundred newly promoted Main Gods, the burden was on an entirely different level compared to when he had used it on Shuddering March during the Spirit Realm battle.

The bigger problem was that his Creator God body had already surpassed the control of his divine spirit.

‘If I push any further, my body will literally explode. And neither my Origin title nor dark magic can stop it. Their effectiveness has dropped too far.’

Thanks to the assistance of every Creator God in the 499th Creation Realm, his body had become incomparably stronger. The price, however, was that his divine spirit could no longer perfectly dominate it. A perfect Creator God body also meant it possessed zero flexibility or exceptions.

‘It’s no longer as easy as before, when I could overcome fatal injury and death with an Origin title that surpassed the Main God realm or with Reality Denial magic.’

The fact that his Creator God body had turned as hard as stone and was rejecting all control in order to prevent rupture was proof enough.

‘My body is actively blocking any further authority activation to avoid additional strain. Physical reinforcement, anything—it’s all useless. In conclusion… I’m screwed.’

During the Spirit Realm battle, he had at least been able to remain fixed in place and still fight. But now, he couldn’t even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠move a single finger, let alone wield any protective authority. His subordinates had become overwhelmingly powerful, yet he himself had turned completely defenseless.

This was exactly why the Magic God of Dimensions had been so desperate to secure more computational power.

Then, from behind him, came the voice of the Dimensional Origin, speaking in the innocent tone of a child.

“Huh? The computational power required for a mere Main Universe Creator God’s wide-area authority is actually top-tier even among Absolute Realm authorities? How are you still alive? Normally you should have gone ‘boom’ instantly. Though I suppose it was already strange that a Creator Candidate from the Main Universe survived receiving the authority of a Dimensional Clan Origin.”

It was a razor-sharp question that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠essentially asked why he hadn’t died despite using power beyond his limits, yet there was absolutely no malice in the Dimensional Origin’s words. Knowing the being was simply asking out of genuine curiosity, the Magic God of Dimensions answered as sincerely as possible.

“No matter how difficult it is… if I half-ass it, I can somehow endure.”

Because he was a dark mage, at least his mouth remained free. The meaning was simple: if he gave everything and collapsed, he wouldn’t be able to stand again, but if he half-assed it and lost, he could still rise once more.

It was an extremely irreverent statement that had slipped out because he had no mental leeway to think of anything else, yet it was also the closest thing to the truth.

‘Because my talent is lacking, I can’t master anything perfectly, so the power I display is weak. In exchange, the burden is lighter by the same margin.’

Thanks to his incomplete mastery, he could activate dark magic without turning into a berserker even while under the influence of the Authority of Black Flame. He couldn’t use the Incomprehensible Eight Founders with complete freedom either, but by engraving it into his body like a reflex, it activated during crises without adding extra burden.

‘The Troop of Creation God is clearly an authority no Main Universe Creator God should possess, yet I’m managing it at the cost of my body’s freedom.’

The phrase “half-assed, but never giving up on everything, so it’s the best I can do” perfectly described his current state.

“Aha—! Half-assed—! Ahhh—! So that was the secret behind the Magic God of Dimensions’ power. That’s the one thing I really can’t imitate. I don’t understand at all how another being can maintain an incomplete, halfway state with a fully completed authority. But no matter how many things you learn halfway, you can’t beat someone who has perfectly mastered even one. It seems like such a waste of effort and talent. Do you have some other idea in mind?”

At the Dimensional Origin’s question, which sounded as if the being had realized something profound, something surged up from deep within the Magic God of Dimensions.

‘Who the hell wants to live like this? No matter how hard I try, I can’t master anything perfectly because I lack talent. What am I supposed to do?’

During his path as a dark mage, the only time he had shown vulnerability in close combat due to casting time limits was when he was still at a low realm. Such cases were extremely rare above the Main God level. Reality Denial magic, pushed to its extreme, simply refused to allow any approach.

‘I simply don’t have the talent to reach such an extreme.’

He had no choice but to patchwork things like the Authority of Black Flame together just to survive, but it was never what he truly wanted. He too had once wished to perfectly master a single path and be recognized as a true powerhouse, but that had been impossible.

Swallowing the boiling rage, he barely managed to answer.

“I just lived doing my best day by day, and this is what happened.”

The Dimensional Origin of the Dimensional Clan, who had not even formed his own clan yet and was exposing such a fatal weakness, was far too lacking in combat power by Creator God standards. With no supporting faction either, he was so vulnerable that the Creator General might personally step in to reclaim the authority if things went wrong.

That was why he had to maintain the Dimensional Origin’s support at all costs. It was the reason he suppressed his emotions and answered as politely as possible.

“Kahahahahahaha—! Well, looking at the records, you certainly didn’t live thinking very far ahead. But why are you standing like that? The war has already begun, hasn’t it?”

The Main Gods who had been in the Main God Temple and the Creator Candidates of the Main Divine Realm had already finished their promotion to Creator Gods. They were currently adapting to their new bodies. Once they grew accustomed to the sudden surge in power, they would become a force the Main Divine Realm could never handle.

However, since the most important person—himself—was stuck like this, he had no choice but to use emergency measures to push the war forward.

‘Thankfully, with the Dimensional Origin watching, there is no risk of rebellion. I just need to open the path to the Main Divine Realm.’

Since the being was the Origin of the Dimensional Clan, maintaining the Troop of Creation God did not consume any additional divine power. But the report of the war’s beginning had surely already reached the Creator General. They had to finish this before the Creator Gods could intervene.

‘We only have about an hour.’

He needed to explain the situation quickly and focus on the war.

“My computational power is insufficient, so I cannot move…”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“Did you forget about the personal Dimensional Authority I said I would give you as payment for completing the request?”

“Ah—!”

Only then did the Magic God of Dimensions remember. What he had received as payment for signing the request with the Ten Mainstays was the qualification of Origin of the Dimensional Clan of the 499th Main Universe. On top of that, the Dimensional Origin had added a personal dimensional authority perfectly tailored for him, claiming the original reward was far too lacking.

Although the being had granted him the qualification of Dimensional Clan Origin, there had been no signs or mention of this additional authority, so he had completely forgotten about it.

‘But even if you gave it to me, I don’t understand. No matter how much I think about it, I have no memory of receiving it, and there isn’t even a trace. Did you really give it to me?’

Creeeeak—!

Forcing his completely frozen neck to turn, he looked at the Dimensional Origin, who nodded as if finally understanding the situation.

“Aaaah—! You really are half-assing everything. You don’t even know how to activate the authority your body possesses, and you didn’t even realize it existed? Does that make any sense?”

It wasn’t quite a curse or a rebuke, but the overwhelming feeling that he had done something terribly wrong made his face turn bright red on its own.

‘If the being truly granted me an additional personal authority, then I should be incredibly grateful.’

Yet here he was, in the shameful situation of not only failing to activate the authority granted to his body, but not even knowing where it was.

‘If it were me, I would have beaten the pig that didn’t even know it had pearls around its neck and taken it back. But I really don’t know.’

“It’s fascinating that it’s still functioning properly. The children who received training from the Origin of the Mage God really are full of incomprehensible things, aren’t they? The effect is so good that I tried to imitate it, but reproduction is impossible. Isn’t that hilarious? No matter how many times I repeat the exact same past process, I never get the same result. Everyone else gave up, but it really is an amazing educational ability.”

“That… I don’t really understand it either.”

He answered evasively because it was difficult to reply, but as someone who had personally experienced the Origin of the Mage God’s training for thirty thousand years, he had one thing he wanted to say.

‘What kind of education is it to show a demonstration and then beat the student from every direction until they succeed? As long as you have the patience and tenacity to never give up, anyone could do it.’

He acknowledged that it was possible because of the Sword of Ruin and Soul, which never allowed death under any circumstances, and the teacher’s exquisite ability to identify the exact limit one could reach at any given moment and push them exactly to that point. But the result of that training was the person he had become.

Of course he knew most of the problem lay with himself, but after going through all that hardship and still being riddled with so many issues, he could only sigh.

“Hmm—! Well, as long as the result is good, the process doesn’t matter. Since the activation of the Incomprehensible Eight Founders is random and strange, I made sure to prepare a proper activation chant just in case. Repeat after me. ‘Maximize magic power and divine power—!’”

“Maximize magic power and divine power—! Urgh—!”

Along with the chant, magic power and divine power exploded from within his frozen body like a volcanic eruption.

BOOOOOOM—!

FWAAAAAAA—!

Black magical light burst wildly from his forehead, and the wings of light on his back radiated Dimensional Authority. The control over his body, which had refused to move no matter how hard he tried, returned perfectly.

‘Not only have I regained my freedom, but power and authority are overflowing. What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is this heightened sensation and expanded cognition? It feels like the entire world has changed!’

Higher-level dark magic that he had never been able to understand no matter how much he thought about it was beginning to make sense. Even the Incomprehensible Eight Founders, whose activation conditions and operation methods had been so difficult that he couldn’t grasp even a hint of them, was now faintly revealing its outline.

The Authority of Black Flame, which had ignored him and rampaged only within his instincts, now seemed like it would obediently follow if he simply reached out his hand. Even the Troop of Creation God, which had pushed his body to the brink of collapse from the burden, was manifesting as easily as breathing.

An involuntary exclamation burst from him at the euphoric sensation of everything he was experiencing for the first time falling completely under his control, along with the vastly expanded awareness.

“Ooooh—! So this is the true power of the Dimensional Origin—!”

Not only that, but every god trapped within the Divine Spirit Purgatory embedded in his forehead seemed to be experiencing the same thing. The soft, jewel-like glow of the authority exploded outward like sunlight.

In that instant, all of his authorities and talents had risen almost to the level of the Origin of the Wind Family. It was a realm of talent that surpassed even the Hero GodAll-Powerful Splendor, whom he had once envied so bitterly.

Overflowing confidence filled him—the certainty that he would not lose to any Creator God. No, he truly wouldn’t. Losing in this state would be the act of a complete fool.

But then came the excited voice of the Dimensional Origin.

“Keep chanting. ‘99-Second Hero God’—! The invoker is ‘Unresting RampageDimension Genesis God Core.’ The restriction time until the light of the Divine Spirit Purgatory is exhausted and you die is merely 99 seconds! However, within that time, you shall decide the fate of all worlds. Everything shall be according to the will of Truth—!”

“‘99-Second Hero God’—! The invoker is Unresting Rampage…”

Drunk on the endlessly increasing power and sensation, the Magic God of Dimensions had unconsciously begun to repeat the chant before his mouth suddenly clamped shut.

Something was very wrong.

Moreover, on the surface of the Divine Spirit Purgatory now embedded in his forehead, a glowing number starting from ‘99’ was rapidly counting down. The lower the number dropped, the more his power skyrocketed exponentially, yet a grave sense of crisis flooded over him.

‘The effect is unbelievably good and keeps increasing, but I really die after 99 seconds? What the hell is this? Don’t tell me I’m still a disposable consumable? Absolutely not—! I have to be dispatched to the Otherworld as the Truth Deputy. There’s no way that’s possible, right?’

Of course, there were many self-destructive authorities like “if I’m going to die anyway, I’ll take the enemy with me,” and he knew quite a few of them. It was the same principle as feeding drugs or alcohol to fearful new recruits who would only get in the way during war and sending them charging forward. As a Mercenary God, he knew such things well.

But there was no way they would do something like that to him—a being who had risen to Commander of Main Gods, not some low-ranking mercenary god.

‘However, the chant is extremely suspicious, and the result is absurdly good. This is not a normal authority.’

Above all, there was no way an authority granted by the Origin of the Wind Family to a lower Origin would have so many holes.

Suppressing the emotions raging inside him with all his might, he asked carefully.

“Is the activation time 99 seconds? And after that, the Divine Spirit Purgatory and my body will be shattered and I will die?”

He asked in a deadly serious tone, but the reply that came back was an excited voice, as if the being had finally begun the real fun.

“The name of this authority is ‘99-Second Hero God’—! The red jewel shining on the chest is the symbol of brilliant courage and the light of life and death—! When the red jewel burns with brilliant light, you grow stronger, but it is the final power born from burning your life and will—! Because you have converted your life into power for the sake of everyone, the restriction time decreases to announce the end of life. The closer the end draws, the more endlessly your power grows. You achieve a difficult victory against powerful enemies threatening humanity, but in the end, while fighting the final enemy, you exceed the time limit and the jewel’s light goes out. An overwhelmingly powerful foe that cannot possibly be defeated, yet you ultimately win by sacrificing your own life and perish gloriously—the moving finale of a heroic god—!”

“……”

He disliked the introduction about sacrifice from the very beginning, but at the conclusion of a glorious death alongside the enemy, he was left utterly speechless. And there was one thing he desperately wanted to say.

‘What the hell do you mean by humanity’s enemies? I’m a Creator God. Why should I have to die for mere humanity? Shouldn’t humanity be the one sacrificing itself for the Creator God who maintains the universe? This is really strange…’