The Sacrifice of the Golden Wings
In the war against the Goddess Department, the Empress Spirit’s forgotten hometown dialect came bursting out the moment Saiana suddenly dragged even her into becoming pope for this terrifying god. She glared with fierce, axe-like eyes, but Saiana’s gaze never left the War God for a single second.
Her black pupils sparkle with transparent clarity and remain utterly still. That meant she was pouring out every ounce of her sincerity and power. At times like these, she must never be disturbed.
“I will turn all of them into your believers and manifest a world here that, while not eternal, develops without end. Eventually it will become an ideal divine realm. It should have been impossible, yet with Erpina and myself it becomes possible.”
“......”
The War God, face once more expressionless, poured himself another cup of tea and drank. Regardless of that mask, Saiana’s words continued.
“Erpina’s ‘Imaginary Confirmation’ and ‘Noblesse Oblige’ will command all personnel. Combined with my wisdom, it can be done. Provided you do not discard me halfway.”
“......”
A wretched emotion now seeped into Saiana’s voice. At some point her black eyes had filled with tears of regret different from before.
“Every time I warned people to prevent the horrific ending I saw approaching, what treatment did I receive? They all blamed me, and in the worst cases they tried to kill me.”
No one likes the bearer of a future of destruction. Yet they endlessly demanded predictions from her, then blamed her again the moment she gave them.
“I became a voluntary mute, lived hidden my entire life, died, became a spirit, and now I have ended up like this once more.”
Knowing Saiana’s past all too well, Erpina felt a suffocating tightness in her chest.
“Yes… It was I who turned away from her. I averted my eyes because I didn’t want to see the tragic truth, and as a result I lost the empire and died myself.”
The War God’s voice rang through the air again.
“What is your prediction of my answer?”
“Rejection. Because it is a goal you can eventually achieve alone.”
“You truly believe that.”
Full Opening of Divine Authority
Clang—! Gulp, gulp, gulp—!
The War God’s throat burned so fiercely that he hurled the teacup aside and began drinking straight from the pot. The Sage awaiting judgment now lowered her head and waited. Her heart had already surrendered. She knew that the War God, humiliated and enraged, would annihilate her without hesitation.
In the War God’s eyes, the authority possessed by the Grey Sage was far too dangerous.
If she challenges me again with this ‘Probability Prediction,’ could I evade it? If she clings to the divine realm and aims for me, there would be no escape at all.
What had happened earlier had been nothing short of heavenly luck. Had the ability ‘Willingness to Sacrifice’ for his victory not seized partial control of his body and moved it on its own, he would have been defeated without even understanding why.
I cannot possibly let her live, yet it is such a waste.
The ideal, infinitely developing world he pursued could be built by him alone, but it would take far too long.
This Sage could shorten that time dramatically. Could another human ever appear who possesses a unique authority that mocks even divine power, gained through such heavenly fortune and effort that surpasses it?
No matter how many times he investigated, there had never been another with the authority of a planetary god.
If mass production were possible, a mere human’s name and authority would never have been recorded in the divine realm’s secret archives. Nor would they have left such a fearsome power neglected across the four realms out of dread. If it can be obtained, it must be obtained by any means necessary. The divine realm this woman helps build will achieve far greater development and evolution than anything I could create alone.
The War God simply needed to trust her. Even in the face of that fearful, gray truth that was neither good nor evil.
Do I, too, have to take the gamble? Heh—! I am a dark mage. Nothing can be gained without a price.
The twelve pairs of golden wings and single pair of translucent wings unfurled once more. Before that fantastical beauty and overwhelming divine power, the holy maidens’ eyes grew hazy. Even the revived former holy maiden who had been furious moments ago now tried to draw closer.
To a holy maiden dedicated to a god, nothing is more captivating than powerful divine force.
Even the spirits and sage who served other gods were enchanted by the light of an upper god’s full deployment. Then that mighty god seized his own golden wings with both hands and tore them away.
Crack—!
“Kyaaaaah!”
Golden divine blood sprayed as the brilliant wings of light were ripped apart. At the sudden horror, the holy maidens screamed without realizing it—cries of pity at the sight of a beautiful and powerful god harming himself.
Crack! Rip! Crunch!
“Kyaa!”
All six wings on the right were torn free, leaving only the six on the left and the single translucent pair. The severed wings of light flew on their own, attaching themselves to someone’s back and radiating brilliant light once more. In the torn places on his back, new translucent wings of light filled the gaps.
“Welcome, Dimensional Pope.”
The words of the Magic God of Dimensions echoed, and the twelve pairs of wings regained their dazzling brilliance. They folded back into his body and vanished. As a dark mage once more, his black-gold hair returned.
The meaning was simple: he had granted her the right to control and wield half of his divine power. If the Dimensional Pope so desired, she could now utilize half of the dimensional divine force.
The Grey Sage, newly appointed pope and now bearing the same black-gold hair as her god, asked with difficulty.
“Were you… not a god, but a human?”
“I am still human.”
“I was wrong. I have lost. I will serve you with all my strength for all eternity.”
“Do not overdo it. First, stabilize this place.”
“Yes. Let us go, Erpina. Now that we have power, let us see the end of truth.”
As all the mage spirits and the Empress Spirit spread their wings and flew toward the bridge over the lake, the princess watched the Grey Sage who had become the Dimensional Pope and spoke.
“Honestly, this disposition is difficult to understand. You are surprisingly emotional.”
“Hah—! I think so too. You would never do something like this.”
“Of course not. Keeping someone capable of harming you as a subordinate is nothing but naïve idealism. You will only be betrayed in the end. However…”
The Princess Spirit approached, bowed her head, and kissed the back of the dark mage’s hand. Then she quietly rose, bowed at the waist, and offered a reverent salute.
“I very much look forward to the day I may sit at your right side once more, O great god who was once human.”
“I look forward to it as well.”
Once the princess had vanished, only the revived former Holy Maiden of Beauty and Love and the current Holy Maiden remained atop the magic tower. The War God confirmed that every spirit and person had gathered on the bridge, then turned his gaze to the two women.
Perhaps because of the earlier divine release, they knelt in extreme reverence, hands stretched forward. Even though the former and current holy maidens of the Goddess of Beauty and Love—women whose beauty surpassed even that of goddesses—were in a seductive pose that bordered on nudity, he continued in a calm tone.
“Will you become the Dimensional Holy Maiden, Livna? Your power is worthy of serving as my holy maiden.”
“It is the highest honor. I will devote everything I am to serving my god.”
“What do you desire?”
“Nothing at present. I only wish to become stronger and more beautiful so that I may serve you better.”
The former holy maiden’s eyes as she gazed at the War God were filled with overwhelming emotion at his radical and generous judgment, and with burning longing for divine power. Looking into those eyes, the dark mage continued quietly.
“Does divine power tempt you? You are already strong enough.”
“I desire the same grace you bestowed upon Saiana. I wish to become a holy maiden worthy of receiving it.”
“You know you are still lacking, yes?”
“Of course. Her authority is the finest I have ever seen. Yet because it can do nothing by itself, it was rejected and despised. Now that she has received divine power equivalent to an upper god, no one can stop her dominance. I will be the one to stop it.”
“In any case, an untrained spirit body cannot use it properly. But if it is you—who have trained yourself to the point of nearly creating a physical body—it will be different.”
The War God took out tea once more and began to drink.
Today has been nothing but one unexpected event after another.
The Dimensional Pope he had taken in was a human possessing the irregular authority of a planetary god. And the one who would now become the Dimensional Holy Maiden was the former holy maiden of beauty and love, a being who would become an irregular transcendent.
Asking something of one’s own god is disqualification for a holy maiden. Yet strangely, it tugs at my heart.
The result of unconditional service and sacrifice to a god is to become an angel in the heavenly realm. Of course, the reward of escaping endless reincarnation to become a spiritual angel is equally rare.
“I could not even reach the heavenly realm.”
“Hah—! Seeing you now, I can roughly guess the circumstances. The Goddess of Beauty and Love feared her position would be stolen by her own holy maiden.”
Granzoa was a goddess overflowing with vitality like the Great Forest, beautiful in her own right, yet the holy maiden before his eyes radiated a lovely warmth that even the War God could not deny.
No man would have been able to refuse her—warm like a mother, gentle like a lover. Had she not possessed overwhelming strength and been a holy maiden, her life would never have been ordinary.
As the War God pondered, the former Holy Maiden of Beauty and Love continued.
“When I summoned that person and defeated the Demon King, the humans praised me. When more people began chanting my name instead of the Goddess of Love and Beauty, I was abandoned. So I could not receive healing for the shock of the summoning and had to die an ugly death. Another name for love was jealousy.”
The current Holy Maiden of Beauty and Love beside her remained silent.
She cannot deny it, so it must have been quite a famous incident.
It would make no sense for the Goddess of Love and Beauty to be without jealousy.
“So? Do you plan to gain divine power from me and take revenge on the god who abandoned you?”
“No. Even though I was abandoned, I remain that person’s holy maiden. To serve god and lead humans into the light—there is not the slightest doubt in that. Otherwise I would have become a demon.”
“......”
The inside of the War God’s mouth burned once more.
Why is this world so cruel? No matter how hard one strives to realize a god’s will, one is subjected to endless trials and ultimately abandoned. How many times have I myself had to prove my right to survive before higher beings? The slightest mistake and I would have been annihilated. And like the holy maiden before me, I would have wandered the four realms forever, simply for having threatened them.
Recalling a past that had been too painful, the War God summoned bottles of liquor from his subspace, poured a glass, and drank.
Gulp—!
A highest-tier god would never become drunk on something like this. Yet the burning sensation seemed to ease his thirst.
“Please compare the Goddess of Beauty and Love with me coldly. I wish to know whether I was truly abandoned because I threatened her, or because my service was insufficient.”
“Can you not already tell just by looking at the current holy maiden beside you?”
The former Holy Maiden of Beauty and Love could tell at once because he had fed her his divine milk, increasing her holy power and transforming her appearance closer to that of the Goddess of Beauty and Love herself.
Predicting her final form, her appearance would certainly surpass the goddess. But could she ever possess this kind of aura? It seems difficult.
Beauty is decided by the charm that radiates from within once the outer form is perfected.
I would need to see the Goddess of Love and Beauty directly, but it would be hard to surpass the former holy maiden.
Looking at the current holy maiden’s far inferior charm, the truth was painfully obvious. In response to his reaction, the former holy maiden silently stood and lifted the current Holy Maiden of Beauty and Love to her feet.
Pink hair cascaded like a waterfall, partially veiling her seductive, voluptuous body. A pair of extremely bewitching and bountiful naked forms were revealed.
The current Holy Maiden of Beauty and Love seemed flustered at suddenly being exposed, yet she possessed neither the strength nor the will to stop the almost-legendary former holy maiden. Above all, the being before them was a highest god far more powerful than the Goddess of Beauty and Love she served.
Already captivated by his powerful divine force, and having witnessed the spirit who had just become the Dimensional Pope receive divine power equivalent to an upper god, her body was already burning with emotion.
It is law for holy maidens to remain virgins in order to strengthen their holy power. But if greater holy power can be manifested, it does not matter.
In truth, the Holy Maiden of Marriage and Birth is required to marry in order to increase divine power. If she grew stronger by receiving the War God’s vitality, her goddess would cherish her even more.
The world of gods is fiercely competitive; they desire powerful holy maidens who can exert even the slightest influence in the Middle World. That is why holy maidens are replaced so frequently.
Of course, the restriction that they must never surpass or disobey the god they serve remains absolute. Thus the two holy maidens of the Goddess of Beauty and Love revealed their seductive naked bodies in plain sight, yet the War God before them remained utterly indifferent.
“Are we truly so lacking?”
“Right now I only want to drink.”
“If it is drink you desire, we have it here as well.”
The former holy maiden lifted the bottle, gathered the current holy maiden’s breasts together, and poured the liquor into the valley between them.
“Hak—! Lady Livna!”
At the sensation of cold liquor pooling between her breasts, the current holy maiden was horrified by what was being forced upon her. As far as she knew, this was a lowly act performed only by women in taverns. The liquor rippled between the gathered breasts as the former holy maiden held them together with both hands to keep it from spilling. Her pink eyes slightly flushed as she spoke.
The former holy maiden was somewhat angry.
“Is the current holy maiden of that goddess someone who cannot even seduce the man she desires because she loses to mere alcohol?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
The current holy maiden’s body began to tremble after receiving a scolding from the legendary former holy maiden.
“In my days as holy maiden, there was no man or woman who was not captivated by me. Everyone looked only at me and praised the beauty of my goddess. That was my greatest joy, and I devoted myself completely to becoming more beautiful and more loved. I endured every ascetic practice and training, yet the current holy maiden is ashamed of this much? Just what is the current divine rank of that goddess? Even against a main god-level deity, she cannot draw even a glance?”
“I-I am truly sorry…”
Watching the former holy maiden rebuke the current one, the War God tilted his glass.
Today has been exhausting with far too many unexpected events. Above all, it has not been long since I shared a bed with Granzoa and the Red High Elf Queen, so desire does not stir at all. Especially with the Red High Elf Queen—it was a desperate battle with full power.