Why Groups Perish
When Jinri grew irritated at having his enjoyment of life's finer pleasures interrupted, not even the head of the Wind Family could contain the fallout. Enduring a scolding and a few blows for insolence was a serious matter, yet because it was only momentary, it remained bearable. What one truly feared was the higher ancestors who normally secluded themselves in personal training. The moment they learned of the incident, they would swarm like a tide, using the excuse of spiritual education and further discipline to beat the offender senseless.
'Resisting was pointless. Every last ancestor was stronger than me, and their numbers exceeded millions. There was no telling when it would end. Even an Eternal Being had no nightmare quite like that.'
He could not subject himself to such danger for the sake of a mere lower Origin who was not even a descendant. Brimming with irritation and fury, he slammed the offender into the ground once more.
"The moment you grow a little stronger, you think you can run wild as you please? Grow up already, you fool—!"
Thwaaaaaack—!
"Kyaaaaeeeek—!"
The Dimensional Creator God Coa, sprawled like a frog smashed against the earth, let out a bizarre shriek and lost consciousness. The Origin of the Mage God dragged him over and laid him neatly beneath the platform where Jinri sat.
Upon checking the body, he was mildly surprised. He had hurled him with lethal intent, aiming to eradicate the dimensional authorities clinging to him like time bombs, yet the body remained intact.
'I struck him with the clear purpose of killing him, yet he's still alive? Could it be that, like the first Origin, ordinary physical force no longer works on him? Hm. Not quite at that level yet. His durability and regenerative power are simply abnormally high.'
The thirty thousand years of time and effort invested in forging this body felt somewhat wasted, but for the sake of safety, the vessel had to be discarded.
'The powers and magic he originally possessed were already extraordinarily complex and perilous. Even a Magic God would have been in danger. Now he has been granted Dimensional Authority on the level of the 10 Mainstays. On top of that, he himself cannot properly grasp their performance or risks. He is a living time bomb. Furthermore, the Dimensional Authority Cha-ho bestowed is so intricate that another being would find it nearly impossible to解除.'
The Origin of the Mage God had planned to kill the Magic God of Dimensions outright and resurrect him in a fresh body. Yet in the brief time it took to drag him over, the body had already fully recovered and was attempting to regain consciousness. It was enough to draw a sigh of admiration. During this period, the man had clearly evolved in ways quite different from when he had received training.
"Hah—! At this point, this level of force won't kill him. His recovery and life force are nearly equal to the first Origin's? In the Absolute Realm, that degree of regeneration would rank as upper-tier. Then I shall have to obliterate his head directly with authority."
Since the intent was to kill him anyway, the decision to do it cleanly was made. He immediately summoned his divine instrument as an Eternal Being.
Whoooooooooong—!
The classic mage-staff-shaped instrument the Origin of the Mage God withdrew from subspace materialized. This was no Absolute Instrument used in the Main Universe or Absolute Realm, but an Eternal Instrument employed solely by Eternal Beings.
The Eternal Instrument, embodying all the Magic God's authorities that denied every reality and distorted outcomes save for those of the 10 Mainstays who surpassed Eternal Beings, revealed its full majesty as it took aim at the head of the Magic God of Dimensions.
"!!!"
Kuuuuuuuung—!
The horrifying wave of magical power and murderous intent radiating from the Eternal Instrument stimulated the polished survival instincts of the unconscious Dimensional Creator God Coa to their absolute limit. He thrashed wildly in a bid to live, yet the ankle gripped in that hand refused to come free. Strength would not enter his body. Neither authorities nor magic would activate. Even movement itself had become nearly impossible.
The gap in their original bodies and authorities was simply too vast, even though both were Magic God beings.
Watching the Magic God of Dimensions' body struggle desperately to escape and survive, the Origin clicked his tongue.
"Tsk tsk—! This fellow only displays his true power after losing his mind. This is all for your sake. The Dimensional Authorities Cha-ho attached are so numerous and complex that even I cannot release them one by one. Therefore, killing the body for a complete reset is the fastest solution. Afterward, reconstruct the body here and train once more. Above all, as the Origin of the Mage God, I cannot possibly tolerate the disgrace of my subordinate Magic God being swayed by foreign authorities and self-destructing. Only after you understand your place and become stronger on your own shall you depart for the Otherworld dispatch."
"!!!"
The speech had been long, but its core meaning was simple: he would kill him without fail. He had no desire to witness mistakes born from intoxication with the Dimensional Authority granted by the Origin of Dimension. Though revival would be permitted, it was ultimately a death sentence.
Though conscious judgment was absent, instinct sensed the crisis even more acutely. The body of the Magic God of Dimensions struggled with frantic desperation. So urgent was the situation that the Authority of Black Flame itself erupted outward, yet the opponent was an Eternal Being and the Origin of the Mage God—a powerhouse capable of threatening even the 10 Mainstays.
Even the Authority of Black Flame that blazed across his entire body to reinforce the divine vessel and break free was completely nullified by reality denial. The Origin of the Mage God drove the flames attempting to surge outward back into the depths of instinct. A faint smile rose to his lips.
"Oh-ho—! Not a chance. Still, you certainly burn hot."
Having trained him as the Magic God's master across thirty thousand years, he knew every authority, every spell, and every countermeasure. None of it could touch him. Moreover, as an Eternal Being and the Origin of the Mage God with his Eternal Instrument fully manifested, every Magic God was rendered utterly powerless before him.
'Any power one cannot control becomes nothing but a nuisance, no matter how strong. This is for the best. It would be far better to remake him into a pure Magic God who can be completely controlled before dispatching him to the Otherworld.'
Like a hunter butchering prey, the Origin of the Mage God held him in perfect subjugation. Not a trace of hesitation showed on his face as he slowly prepared to crush the head with the Eternal Instrument.
Yet intervention came from an unexpected source. Jinri spoke in a low, quiet voice.
"Grandfather Jinri. Sending him in this state would tarnish your reputation."
The Eternal Instrument that had been aimed at the head was immediately withdrawn, yet the resolve to reset the body through death and retrain it did not waver. Though the words came from Grandfather Jinri, this matter concerned the honor of all involved.
'I already knew of his frequent rampages and chaotic authorities. I simply never expected the situation to deteriorate to a point even I could not resolve. I cannot dispatch him to the Otherworld in such an unstable condition.'
Should he self-destruct there because he could not endure the Dimensional Authority, the shame would be beyond measure.
Yet Jinri's perspective was entirely different.
"Don't you think it would be interesting to send him as he is? Even you, an Eternal Being, should always place enjoyment first. The life of an Eternal Being has no end, so it grows dull so easily. Therefore, you must never cease the effort to imbue life with new meaning and value, and to seek them out. Cha-ho's pranks may go a bit far, but isn't he doing an excellent job?"
At Jinri's gentle tone—one used to admonish a beloved grandson—the Origin of the Mage God finally yielded his stubbornness.
From the standpoint of an Eternal Being, the fate of spiritual bodies or worlds was irrelevant. So long as vitality existed, anything could be revived, regenerated, and restored. Though it differed from ordinary common sense, the words were clearly correct. In that respect, the Wind Family had no right to obstruct anything that brought Grandfather Jinri joy.
'The moment Grandfather Jinri, Creator of the Absolute Realm, loses interest in the world and the joy of living, everything ends. Moreover, seeing that he has already cleared the drinking table, the fireworks viewing appears to have concluded as well.'
Looking upward, the exploding planetary fireworks had vanished. It was time to return to work.
"...Understood."
Even so, he could not release him in such a pathetic, dirt-covered, disheveled state. With a light flick of the hand gripping the ankle, he altered the posture of the Dimensional Creator God, who was still futilely struggling.
Crack. Crack.
Thud—!
For a brief moment, the sound of joints and muscles colliding in midair echoed. The body assumed a picturesque posture—kneeling on one knee in formal report.
The instant the Origin of the Mage God's killing intent vanished, the relieved survival instinct mobilized even the Origin itself to pour every ounce of power into bodily recovery. Consciousness returned at once.
"Ugh…!"
Upon regaining awareness, the Dimensional Creator God nearly groaned at the horrific pain flooding his body and the complete immobility forced upon him.
'Khk—! Jinri is still right in front of me. Ah… has the report not ended yet?'
The shock had been too great; his memories remained hazy. Yet the crisis had not changed. With Jinri directly before his eyes, displaying weakness was suicidal. He clenched his teeth and endured.
'Just how much damage did I sustain? Physical recovery is nearly complete, yet my memories are still fragmented.'
He had been about to move to skewer the gods of the Otherworld upon the Main God-Slaying Spear when his ankle was seized. Everything after that moment was blank. His clothes were utterly caked in dirt, and it was certain that every bone and muscle in his body had been shattered once again.
'I don't… I don't understand what happened.'
He had no idea what had just occurred to leave him in this state, but he now keenly understood that any further careless speech or action would be extremely dangerous. He lowered his head.
To the dirt-covered Dimensional Creator God bowing his head, Jinri—wearing a pleasant expression—spoke a single sentence.
At some point the aura surrounding Jinri, who had been happily sipping from his cup while watching stellar explosions crafted into fireworks, had grown completely calm. The Dimensional Creator God instinctively realized that a wrong or delayed answer here meant he would not leave this place alive. He opened his mouth at once.
'Fortunately, this is one question I can answer immediately.'
It was a conclusion he had reached after long contemplation while observing Jinri's doctrine of favoring and preserving only the strong while disregarding the weak.
"It perishes when the weak rise above the strong."
The answer was extremely brief, yet he could say nothing more. Any further speech would have caused him to vomit blood and collapse. He did not know what force had pinned his body in this posture, but within him the Authority of Black Flame rampaged wildly, undoing the restraints. Thanks to that, his body was gradually loosening, yet he continued sustaining additional internal damage. Even in Jinri's presence, his consciousness kept blurring. It felt like death.
Yet his answer was met with a moment of silence. Not only Jinri seated upon the platform but every Origin of the Wind Family around them remained wordless. He could feel only their gazes fixed upon him. It felt as though every corner of his heart was being laid bare and examined beneath those eyes.
No—as an Eternal Being, the evolved form of a spiritual body, and a blood relative of the Wind Family, such scrutiny was only natural.
'They are verifying whether my answer is false or true. However, those words contained not a single embellishment. It is the unvarnished truth. I did not speak them to flatter Jinri, who favors only the strong, in order to survive.'
During his days as a mercenary god, his inexperience, weakness, and incompetence had led to several near-death experiences at the hands of direct descendants obsessed with command authority. His allies had been placed in danger as well. Compared to a mercenary god who had survived every conceivable battle, those direct descendants—who had known only training within the Divine Realm—were weak on the battlefield. Their foolish insistence on standing above others through rank or brute force had produced exactly the expected result.
Therefore he had secretly disposed of every weak superior and ally, leading the rest to victory and earning the infamy of the worst and most vicious Magic God. In exchange, he never received the honor of being called an undefeated god of battle.
'Looking back now, the process by which I was incorporated into the Divine Realm was laughable, yet it only solidified that conviction further.'
Had the 'Main God greater than anyone' who once ruled the Divine Realm possessed strength enough to easily defeat the female gods, the independent Divine Realm gained after endless hardship would never have fallen into such disarray. Had he been stronger still, he would not have needed to maintain an alliance by offering half the Divine Realm's vitality to the demon god who reigned eternally after fighting the Main God of the Substitute Gods to a draw in the certification war.
'When I sat in the seat of the Main God of the Divine Realm and applied that same process to myself, I shuddered. I, who had chosen compromise because I was weak, had been destined to become exactly like him.'
Even the Magic God of Dimensions at that time could not defeat all the female gods. It might have been possible at the cost of his own life, but without them the Divine Realm itself could not be sustained.
'For the sake of the Divine Realm, it would have been acceptable to lose even himself, but they were necessary. In order to maintain the hard-won position of Main God of the Divine Realm, I chose compromise and concession. Before I realized it, I had become far too similar to the "Main God greater than anyone."'
When the process was the same, the outcome was identical. Sooner or later, he too would end up driven out in the same manner.
'Because I had become Main God of the Divine Realm through strength alone, I was not an indispensable existence like the female gods. Therefore, to avoid falling back into the role of mercenary god, I needed power. I needed powerful Main Gods who could check the female gods' factions and replace them in emergencies—even if those gods were not on my side. At the time, there had been no other choice.'
Thus he had overturned the Spirit Realm to gather the Spirit Main Gods. Now that he had become the Main God of the Divine Realm, he threw himself into mercenary battles he no longer needed to fight. The stronger he grew in that process and the greater his authority as Main God became, the firmer his conviction grew. He drove himself even harder.
'All misfortune stems from my own weakness. I need more power. I need more forces—! Just a little more and it will be enough—! Just a little more!'