The Grey Sage's Calculated Victory
The Goddess Department war. The Grey Sage had been a servant of the Yellow Emperor’s spirit, and after receiving a single rebuke and being cast aside, she ultimately lost both her empire and her life. Even after death, that same sage followed her through the four seasons, driving her into mortal peril exactly as she had in life.
‘That terrifying black mage before my eyes is staring at me with interest.’
The War God ignored the weeping mage spirits and turned his gaze upon her before addressing the princess.
“Your distant ancestor. She possesses the same authority. Moreover, she carries one more intriguing trait—why has she not activated it? Had she arrogantly done so, I would have extracted every memory and experience before annihilating her.”
Princess spirit Erpina clenched her teeth. Damn Probability Prediction—! I’m so sick of it—! Whenever she worked with that Grey Sage, it always ended like this. It felt as though she had become a queen upon a chessboard. Yet with no other path available, she could only struggle desperately within the range of those predictions.
“How curious. She even maintains proper decorum? Then I shall treat her accordingly.”
Snap—! When the War God lightly flicked his fingers, a luxurious carpet and tea table materialized. As he took his seat, the princess beside him naturally approached, gracefully poured tea, and offered a cup to the Emperor spirit as well.
‘At a glance she is a flawless, noble princess, yet she serves without hesitation.’ There was no coercion, no trace of discontent. Such a highborn princess followed him unconditionally.
‘She truly is a formidable opponent. What the Grey Sage predicted next was half annihilation.’
The War God lightly lifted the half-conscious revived saintess and laid her in his place. Then he brought along the current saintess of beauty and love, who had been anxiously trailing behind.
‘He used the revived former saintess’s head as a pillow upon the current saintess’s thigh and reclined comfortably. He even used her breasts as a sofa, lying at an angle.’
The back of the War God’s head sank halfway into the soft chest of the revived saintess. A genuinely pleased smile spread across his face.
“Haha! I have no need for uncontrollable spirits. I want spirits capable of giving personal instruction to a hundred thousand hostages. Select a hundred thousand who can be controlled. As for the rest—excluding the saintess spirits—I shall extract only their knowledge and experience before annihilating them.”
He spoke of annihilating spirits with casual indifference, yet everyone felt his sincerity. Everything unfolded exactly as the sage spirit had predicted.
‘That is why I cannot disobey the sage spirit’s words.’
The Emperor spirit sighed inwardly and spoke with care.
‘I can control them all. If it is my command, they will obey without exception.’
“Oh?”
‘I shall prove it. Everyone, bow your heads and kneel in greeting. He is our new contractor.’
When two hundred thousand spirits simultaneously lowered their heads and knelt, the War God’s expression hardened slightly.
‘The Grey Sage’s words have already reached every spirit. Whether they refuse or not, they face annihilation or being turned into egos for magical tools—so they have all agreed to the contract and chosen to follow me.’
The combination of the Emperor spirit and the Grey Sage commanded that level of trust.
‘It is truly frightening. How fortunate that they are on our side.’
The War God spoke at once, preventing her from sinking deeper into thought.
‘Two instructors per student will shorten the training period. I ask for your consideration to ensure smooth execution.’
The sage spirit continued persuading him in the noble, prideful yet never arrogant manner the War God favored, exactly as she had predicted.
‘This is the only solution available now.’
The War God’s expression had grown visibly stiff.
“Today has been nothing but surprises. The most profitable course for me would have been to seal the experiences and memories of all of you—except the saintess spirits—into magical tools and distribute them. Of course, you would have been annihilated in the process, but since you dead souls have merely been waiting through endless ages in the four seasons anyway, I saw no reason to care. Yet the result is this? Adding another two hundred thousand when a hundred thousand already feels noisy? I had only intended to accept a portion as supervisory staff.”
‘Stored memories and experiences alone will not create superhumans. The more personnel we have, the better for managing still-young children. Furthermore, everyone will devote themselves fully to maintaining peace here.’
Observing the spirits who now bowed obediently toward both her and the black mage, he continued as though something felt off.
“Fascinating. It aligns perfectly, as though I were watching a play. It seems you already know what I am about to say. Yet this is no trivial precognition. Nor is it a time-related authority. In that case, there is no way I would fail to notice.”
The War God’s sharp gaze and authority senses swept over every spirit, yet he could not detect her power.
‘Even gods could not perceive my authority.’
The Emperor spirit’s authority was not something that could be confirmed or blocked.
After a long investigation, the War God sighed.
“Was my battle foresight triggered because I am tense before the coming war? The Substitute Gods are indeed formidable opponents. This unease appears unrelated to any of you. Very well—! I shall trust your actions and theirs and hire every last one of you.”
‘Thank you. We will not disappoint you.’
“Hmm—! See that you do not. What on earth is threatening me to this degree? Why does the sense of crisis keep intensifying?”
Hearing the War God’s muttered words, the Emperor spirit exhaled in relief.
‘In the end, I have won again. As always.’
Yet the War God’s right hand, still deep in thought, moved with subtle intent, groping the sleeping revived saintess as it traveled.
‘What?’
Startled by the lewd motion utterly mismatched to the situation, she glanced at the black mage, but he remained unaware, lost in contemplation.
‘What is that hand doing? It feels lewd—no, ominous.’
In that bizarre moment, the Grey Sage’s urgent will reached her ear.
‘Stop that hand at once—! How can such an authority even exist? If you fail to stop it, we are finished—!’
‘What?’
The hand that had reached the revived saintess’s buttocks slipped straight beneath her panties. The sensation of a finger pinching her clitoris jolted the revived saintess awake with a scream.
“Aah—! Heresy—! Remove it at once—!”
As the revived saintess thrashed to escape the finger invading her most intimate place, the War God looked even more surprised.
“Huh—! What? Why is my body moving without any reason?”
Struggling to evade the War God’s caressing hand, the revived saintess turned to the Emperor spirit and pleaded. At that moment, the sage spirit’s consciousness flew to her.
‘Cover that saintess’s mouth immediately—! She must not be allowed to speak even a single word!’
‘Why—? He is blocking it, how can I—!’
‘Do something—! If this goes wrong, annihilation will be the least of our problems.’
But it was too late. The revived saintess’s trembling lips parted and the words burst forth.
“Help me—! Erpina—! Why couldn’t she foresee this with ‘Probability Prediction’?”
Thud—! Thud—! The Emperor spirit clearly heard the sound of her nonexistent heart plummeting. Every spirit witnessing the scene heard it as well.
‘Ah… ah… ah! It is over!’
The sage spirit’s will trembled with terror and dread.
All emotion vanished from the War God’s face. He withdrew his hand from the revived saintess’s body and rose silently.
Saaaaa—! An overwhelming killing intent from the War God began to engulf the spirits.
A cold yet furiously wrathful voice shook the air.
“‘Probability Prediction’? I have seen records of it in the God Realm. During transactions with the god race, they named the authority of the greatest sage—who alone profited—as ‘Probability Prediction’.”
The sage spirit, whose secret had been exposed, prostrated herself and trembled violently.
“Considering every variable, it predicts the worst possible future and prepares countermeasures. Unlike fate, the predicted future possesses a flow that even the god race cannot easily alter. On the surface it merely shifts the current to its advantage, yet in certain aspects it surpasses divine authority. Because it is a unique authority born from the combination of accumulated knowledge and experience rather than an innate ability, it cannot be perceived. It is said to be comparable to a planetary god’s authority, not that of a transcendent.”
It was information he had read in a collection of failure cases housed in the god race’s library.
“I once mocked foolish gods who suffered losses to the authority of a mere transcendent sage. Yet to think I would fall victim to it myself? A trivial 7th-circle dead soul dares to mock me? I shall offer every last one of you as sacrifices to Anti-Karma!”
Paaang—! Nine glowing circles radiated from the War God’s head and blanketed the sky above the Survival Magic Tower. An absurdly immense magical power struck the spirits. When they wondered why they felt no pain, a chilling sound rang out, accompanied by the screams of vengeful spirits unlike their own.
“Even spirits, once they have killed, accumulate grudges. The resentment of the dead is engraved upon the soul and can never escape Anti-Karma’s reach. I shall allow you all to live, yet I will punish you. Those who bear grudges against these spirits—torture and annihilate them to your hearts’ content.”
The spirits’ bodies began to freeze. Though they had clearly been revived, the vengeful spirits of their past enemies were screaming and rushing toward them.
Goooo! Krrrrrr—!
These vengeful spirits were the unforgivable villains they had slain in the name of justice. Now they screamed with joy, ecstatic that the moment of vengeance had finally arrived.
The revived spirits could not move. They screamed at the sight of the villains they had once despised—half-corpse forms charging at them.
Kyaaaa! Aaaaaah!
Even Emperor spirit Erpina, surrounded by the greatest number of vengeful spirits, did not know what to do. Just as the spirits reached for them, a voice of salvation rang out.
‘God. Have you forgotten your promise? You hired every one of them.’
Woong—! Snap—! With the sound of the War God flicking his fingers, the vengeful spirits vanished and the spirits returned to their soul forms. He looked down at the princess seated beside the tea table, then sat back down.
Glug glug! Watching tea being poured into an empty cup, he drank it in one gulp. When he held the cup out to the princess again, she refilled it.
“Haa—! I should never have kept you by my side.”
“You are destined to become the Main God of my empire. I merely wish that such a god’s greatness remain undiminished. A god who breaks promises will be trusted by no one.”
“True. Being a god bound to keep promises is indeed troublesome.”
“I shall assist so that it does not become troublesome. I will establish an eternal empire so that this never occurs again and protect your dignity.”
“Hmph—! I shall look forward to it.”
“I will subdue all the princesses and submit to evaluation once more.”
The War God stared silently for a long time at Erpina, who had hurriedly prostrated herself. From the earlier magic and the princess’s words, she had finally grasped what kind of being he was.
‘A highest-ranking god close to the Chief God of the God Realm. Certainly not an opponent a dead spirit can face.’
The War God, who had demonstrated his might by simultaneously reviving hundreds of thousands of spirits, drank his tea in one gulp once more and spoke.
“If not a single 7th circle appears within one year, I shall subject everyone—including this incident—to Anti-Karma punishment. However, should even one appear, I will forget everything.”
“Thank you.”
“Should you produce outstanding results, I shall grant additional rewards. This place prevents death and heals all injuries, so you may educate them as harshly as you wish. And finally, bring that sage.”
Sssk—! The teacup in the War God’s hand turned to powder and vanished. For him, defeat meant death. Yet without his hidden authority, he would have truly lost—without even realizing it.
“Grey Sage Saiana! The greatest sage of the Main God Star, the only one capable of deceiving gods.”
Anger does not fade; it accumulates within the heart.
Fwoosh—! Flames burned bright red within the War God’s pupils.
That was why the Grey Sage Saiana was dragged before him in an instant. Her value lay in her wisdom and authority; her physical capabilities were the lowest. She struggled and wept, but was immediately thrown at the War God’s feet.
Seeing the black-haired sage spirit, the War God spoke with utter disbelief.
“You? Impossible. Your authority is ‘Perfect Memory’ and ‘Information Combination,’ is it not?”
The War God’s killing intent had vanished. He read through every one of her memories in detail. After a long while, he exhaled.
“Heh—! Using the vast knowledge acquired through ‘Perfect Memory’—not an authority—you combine information to read the flow. Then you create countermeasures accordingly. It is not a special authority, merely simple prediction achieved through the accumulation of transcendent wisdom? That is why it could never be grasped.”
He looked at the sage spirit with a truly dumbfounded expression.
“A human sage’s simple prediction completely read me? That drove me to the brink of defeat? How shall I annihilate you?”
The hollow words of the War God echoed. Now the sage spirit answered as though resigned.
‘I shall become your Dimensional Pope and serve within the Survival Magic Tower.’
“……”
At the sage spirit’s unimaginable declaration, everyone present was struck speechless. Even Erpina and the princess beside her stood with mouths agape, unable to hide their shock.
“What did you just say?”
‘I said I shall become a Dimensional Pope alongside Erpina and serve you.’
‘Cough—! What nonsense is that gasbag spouting now—!’