The Head of a Lord God
The severed head of the Lord God from the Otherworld War soared into the air, only to be drawn straight into the Magic God of Dimensions' grasp as if sucked in by an invisible force. Normally, even a powerful Lord God’s neck could not be severed so easily by a mere Demon God King, but with his consciousness severed, his defensive authorities had collapsed, leaving his body completely defenseless. That was why the Lord God’s head had been cut off with such absurd ease.
Moreover, the aftermath of the massive clash between demonic power and divine energy had completely disintegrated the cut surface, so not even a drop of blood emerged. With no blood spurting from the neck, the scene resembled a doll’s head being pulled apart—flowing slowly, as if the footage were playing in slow motion.
Thud—!
The body, now headless, crashed to the ground with a heavy noise. The other Lord Gods felt as though they were being yanked from a dream back into cruel reality.
‘He really killed him—!’
Watching the Magic God of Dimensions cheerfully lift the severed head and toss it toward the seat of honor, they finally realized this was a battlefield where even their own lives were in mortal danger.
A mage who had become a god purely through the recommendation of the Grey Absolute among the 10 Mainstays, despite possessing no faction whatsoever in the Master Universe—this small act of rebellion from someone ranked first in the hierarchy had produced consequences far too enormous.
Furthermore, most of the Lord Gods were either direct heirs or the most promising direct descendants of their clans. If they died and their divine power plummeted, it would create serious problems for their entire clan’s military strength. The Origins responsible for their clans would never sit idly by, but the biggest issue was the reason for the killing.
To die from a disciplinary execution over a mere rebellion rather than in a war to protect the Divine Realm—there was no greater humiliation.
‘A Lord God has truly been executed by a superior through rebellion. An impossible event has occurred.’
Even if they won without further sacrifices, they would find it difficult to avoid the clans’ demands for accountability and the support required to restore the fallen. Since this large-scale war between Divine Realms had broken out because of a rebellion, even in victory, the one ranked second—Feminist, who bore responsibility for the entire affair—would have to shoulder all reparations.
He was already in a position where he received criticism and ostracism from other clans due to his authority specialized toward females, his appearance, and his past deeds. Handling this smoothly would be even more difficult. That was why his rage burned hotter, yet he knew that charging in without first accurately gauging the enemy’s strength would only lead to the same fate.
‘The Magic God of Dimensions’ authorities and magic cannot be analyzed. They differ too greatly from existing records—! I must maintain composure, criticize him, and buy time until I can grasp his power.’
Now that a Lord God had died, the Creator Gods would not stay silent. They were simply taking time to sort out their respective positions. Therefore, the situation had to be shaped as favorably as possible for themselves.
“Magic God of Dimensions—! You truly killed a Lord God over such a trivial reason. You insane mage—!”
“Kuhahahahahahahat—! The hatred and insults of an enemy are the highest praise and proof of strength for a God of War and a God of Combat. I didn’t want to do this either, but I’ve lived without anything for so long that I don’t have the luxury to let it slide. You lot, who have so much, should be the ones making concessions.”
“Do you really think you’ll get away with this? You insolent, cruel bastard—! To invade another Divine Realm over nothing but a rebellion—what the hell is this? Do you think the Creator Gods will stand by and do nothing?”
The moment the topic of the Creator Gods arose, the Magic God of Dimensions wiped the smile from his face and responded with grave seriousness.
“Rebellion originally carries the death penalty as its minimum punishment, doesn’t it? That’s why the Management Creator God of the Creation Realm officially approved this execution. It is perfectly acceptable for inferiors to challenge and forcibly replace incompetent superiors. However, if a superior like myself—someone overwhelmingly stronger—decides to punish the weak who failed in their rebellion, no one can object. In other words, if you defeat me because you are stronger, it is justified. But if you lose because you are weaker, then it is simply wrong. The complaints and grievances of the weak are secondary. The claims and interests of the strong take precedence and represent the truth. This is the reality of a world governed by Jinri. Are you, a member of the ruling divine race, going to deny it? Do you wish to become a demon or a dark mage? You have far too much to lose for that, don’t you? For the sake of your clan’s honor and survival, you’d best watch your words.”
“Kgh—!”
Once he brought up clan regulations and precedents, there was nothing left to refute. The 499th Master Universe, currently in a state of war while opposing Jinri and the Substitute Gods alongside the former 499th Creator God, was under wartime regulations. In wartime, rebellion was naturally a capital offense. If a superior fell due to incompetence, that was one thing—but if the inferiors who dared challenge them suffered this fate, it was over. No one would take their side. On the contrary, they would be mocked as fools who failed to recognize the strong and told they deserved to die.
Feminist, who knew this better than anyone from bitter experience, was momentarily rendered speechless by the Magic God of Dimensions’ calm, cold, and perfectly timed response amid his earlier frenzied assault. And now the bastard was shoving all responsibility for this incident onto him.
“In this matter, you—who stand in second place—bear the greatest responsibility. You should have stopped this baseless disciplining of superiors before it began, especially since you hadn’t even taken office yet and had committed no wrongs. If you give no chance to prove oneself and an unjust disciplining of superiors fails, the punishment that follows is inevitably this harsh. It’s to correct the subordinates’ habits and secure command authority. Why did you overlook the fact that the second-ranked individual is the highest-priority target for such disciplinary action in order to minimize backlash and achieve maximum effect?”
“……”
Of course, the managing Lord God had warned them that they must not engage in rebellion over such issues, but he had been unable to suppress the dissatisfaction of the other Lord Gods who expected to rise in rank. It would have been possible to stop it by force, but his desire to claim the top spot and receive recognition as an official Creator God like Almighty Hwi had been far too great, so he had let it slide. After all, if the Magic God of Dimensions, now ranked first, failed to fulfill his duties because of this rebellion, he would naturally be impeached, allowing Feminist to ascend naturally.
No matter how much others brought up his past, the crucial first-place seat could not be left vacant, so it should have been his without question.
‘But if I had known he would commit such insane acts that would drag every Divine Realm into war, I never would have made that decision.’
Observing Feminist’s heavy silence, the Magic God of Dimensions continued.
“If you knew that, then even if the lower ranks ran wild, you at least should not have. As one climbs higher, avoiding mistakes becomes far more important than accumulating achievements. Unlike in one’s early days when merits can cover mistakes, a single error by those at the top is fatal. No matter how many achievements one has, even one mistake ends everything. Well, as the young master of a prestigious clan, you’ve probably never experienced such things thanks to your clan’s protection and simply ignored the possibility. Did you predict that since I had no supporting clan or faction, I would simply endure a rebellion? But what now? I may be personally strong, but I still have no clan and my position as a Creator God remains unstable. To me, current dignity and honor matter more than future instability that might come from becoming enemies with your clans. If I let this first rebellion that occurred after I became a Lord God slide, the other Lord Gods will do the same. Therefore, to prevent them from looking down on me and causing this to happen again, I must dispose of all of you. If I had sufficient forces, this situation would never have arisen and I wouldn’t need to go this far. Truly an unfortunate affair for both you and me.”
Though his words sounded like mockery toward both Feminist and reality itself, every sentence was logical and sincere.
“Kukuku—! This is why getting entangled with someone crawling up from the bottom never ends well. When a dragon emerges from a ditch, the ditch itself is overturned. An undeniable truth.”
With nothing left to say, Feminist finally stabilized his full divine power deployment. The Magic God of Dimensions caught a brief glimpse of his face and lost his words for a moment. Even to another male god, that perfect, breathtaking beauty was enough to make one understand why Riasna had ended up in that state and still refused to fight even after confirming his betrayal.
‘Hah—! Did he dump all his divine power into his face? No, it must be innate. With looks like that, any decent God of War would lose the will to fight regardless of gender.’
Moreover, as the heir of one of the highest-ranking clans, it would be strange if ordinary goddesses didn’t fall for him. And among the gathered Lord Gods, his personal strength was nearly unmatched. Even though the Magic God of Dimensions was clearly superior in pure combat power, something told him he must not fight Feminist directly.
He had heard the ability was restricted to females only, yet something felt off.
‘He is definitely weaker than me right now, but facing him head-on feels strangely wrong and genuinely ominous. Is his authority truly specialized only toward females? If I don’t display overwhelming force here and end up struggling, it will be worse than not fighting at all. I must not engage him directly until I fully understand his authority.’
This was also why, even when he had launched a perfect surprise attack on the Lord Gods who had only just arrived and weren’t fully prepared for battle, he had avoided targeting Feminist—the most troublesome opponent due to the large number of goddesses present. And the reason he was deliberately prolonging the conversation was precisely to buy this time.
If they were waiting for the intervention of the Creator Gods and clans that would take their side, he was waiting for the chance to annihilate them all in a single strike. Through direct confrontation, the gaps in his understanding of the opponent—gaps that documents alone could not fill—were steadily being filled.
The Lord Gods likely felt the same. The moment they achieved complete understanding of each other, another life-or-death battle would erupt. Therefore, clashing moderately while provoking emotional turbulence to create openings was an excellent strategy. And there was certainly material to work with.
“Tsk—! And I really don’t want to hear that from a marriage con artist.”
“Krrrrrrgh—! Who are you calling a marriage con artist?! I took full and proper responsibility toward every woman—! I will never forgive you!”
At the words “marriage con artist,” Feminist, who had maintained his composure until now, exploded in fury. It seemed the remark had touched an area that must never be touched; he was on the verge of losing all reason and rampaging wildly.
However, the Magic God of Dimensions calmly raised his right hand, slowly turning it over his shoulder to point behind him. With no fighting spirit behind the gesture, their eyes naturally followed the direction of his fingertip. There sat the Origin of Dimensions, and behind the chair, a female god was peeking out with tear-filled eyes, staring directly at Feminist.
Though her appearance had changed greatly, Feminist could never forget that waveform of divine power. A groan-like voice escaped him involuntarily.
“…Riasna. You really returned from the Spirit Realm as a Lord God. Of course… there was no way you would end there.”
The beginning of his glory and the moment of his fall as a Creator God candidate had been right there. It had been an irresistibly sweet method—seducing a female demon god so overwhelmingly powerful that direct confrontation would have been difficult, converting her into the divine race, and winning by default. His clan and father had worried about his safety and suggested it, but they had not forced him. Considering everything, it had been the easiest choice.
So he had succeeded easily and obtained the qualifications of a Creator God, but in the end, it had stopped at Lord God. The competitors around him, who saw him as too strong and perfect and thus looked only for flaws rather than fair competition, had not missed this moral weakness.
‘Instead of fighting for victory, he used the despicable method of seduction. Can this be tolerated from a God of War? Does he even deserve to become an official Creator God? If given the chance, wouldn’t he do the same within the divine race? Will you tolerate this?’
The vicious rumors that other competitors had endlessly expanded in order to cling to the issue and instill wariness in the goddesses had spread throughout the Divine Realm. With so many flawless Lord Gods available, there was no way they would recognize someone with such a flaw and terrible public opinion as an official Creator God.
‘Thanks to that, no matter how strong and capable I was, I could never rise above second place.’
On top of that, the demon race, who had absurdly lost a promising Demon God King candidate, had sharpened their teeth and prepared for his confirmation trials with such harsh and thorough scrutiny that no one dared challenge him recklessly. All of it had been the result of his own choice, leaving Feminist utterly hollow.
And now that the very person in question stood before him, he felt completely drained.
Even while looking at a nearly defenseless Feminist, the Magic God of Dimensions felt a pang of pity instead of launching his usual habit of a surprise attack.
‘This is exactly why I’ve always postponed decisions and punishments that can never be undone. Unless the justification and benefits are perfectly guaranteed like now, I must not move. I must never act on emotion like these people. As long as I live as a god, I cannot afford even the slightest stain.’
Though the marriage scam he had committed in the past was detestable, seeing him in person revealed a powerhouse possessing both the ability and dignity befitting a Creator God. Had the first rank not been Almighty Hwi, he would undoubtedly have taken first place. Yet because of a single moment of weakness and compromise in the distant past, he now found himself in such a predicament. And that irreversible mistake from hundreds of millions of years ago had appeared before him once again, blocking his path.
Steeling his heart against the emotions threatening to shake him, he repeated words meant for both himself and Feminist.
“Living as a god is truly a terrifying thing. Even a single mistake is neither forgiven nor forgotten. And that lasts… forever….”
Though the words sounded elegant, inside he was burning with anxiety. Since he himself was a Lord God, this was by no means someone else’s problem.
‘Ah, damn it—! Who could live comfortably when it’s this scary? Why is living as a god so brutal? That guy’s pitiful too—just when did an old enemy’s business explode like this? Don’t gods have statutes of limitations? Humans, who have both oblivion and death to mark an end, seem far more merciful in times like these.’
The former Main God of the Divine Realm and Feminist had both seen their new lives completely ruined by a single misjudgment or compromise with reality. The surrounding gods would remember it forever, it would remain in the Divine Realm’s records, and the parties themselves would live on eternally like this—there was no way to escape. To the Magic God of Dimensions, who had only just begun his life as a member of the divine race, it was a truly spine-chilling realization.