The Grey Present's Disappointment

The voice—concise yet steeped in a whirlwind of emotion and raw sincerity—moved Seourina to tears. Hearing it, the Creator Gods who had been torn apart by the Demon God King's kill-god authority and left teetering on the edge of death ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ground their teeth and forced themselves upright.

This is something I never imagined. At this rate, we'll be completely helpless.

The Void Realm's God of War, sent alone, had flipped the entire sealing army—the current world's greatest military force—to his side. Worse, he had neutralized every defense on the capital planet by himself and crushed even them without mercy. Every god had witnessed it. It was over. Just thinking about what a being so overwhelmingly powerful, ice-cold, and decisive might do on his own authority was enough to inspire terror.

He's choosing a single decisive clash over long-term coordination. Exactly the kind of power and temperament Jinri would appoint as a deputy.

We cannot let our era end in failure like this. Absolutely not—!

But my body… ugh—!

A Creator God's body that wouldn't flinch even inside the sun is dying. What kind of authority is this?

It was the first time they had encountered the Demon God race's potent kill-god authority, and it rampaged through their bodies as if determined to finish them off. The slightest movement caused their mighty forms to rupture and vomit blood. Still, they could not afford to show further weakness. Spitting crimson from their mouths, they rose.

Crack-crack-crack—!

Even as their bodies trembled on the verge of collapse, all one hundred Creator Gods stood tall. Dimension Genesis God Core Coa watched them with a subtle, unreadable gaze.

That's an authority a Main God shouldn't even be able to move under, yet they're standing. Is there still some pride left in them? Or is this the resentment of those who simply refuse to fall? So they aren't just useless old men who only know how to flap their gums. Once things get moving, they'll probably clamor to be placed on the front lines.

The Supreme Committee was, after all, the highest ruling body of the Otherworld. Coa had defeated them all to seize absolute power, but he had done so in his capacity as Truth Deputy. Should they fall to outside forces, the damage to morale would be catastrophic.

With training at only that level, the risk of defeat against equal opponents is far too high. There's no way to use them as elite troops that guarantee victory.

Such incidents had occurred in the past, driving the Creator of the Otherworld to despair. If the same thing happened under Coa's command and caused him to lose even more control, the shame would be unbearable.

As expected, this won't do. We need far stronger Gods of War. I'll have to use these odd ones. My expectations keep dropping, but since they received titles directly from Jinri, they should at least be better than this.

To launch an attack and achieve perfect regional suppression, he needed many more powerhouses capable of overwhelming victory against the enemy—excluding himself. Fortunately, he possessed the list of powerhouses who had received the Otherworld titles directly entrusted to them by Jinri.

They were all in hiding or on the run, but that no longer mattered. Besides, the current Otherworld was painfully small. Tracking down a few locations within a regional universe was child's play for someone with Dimensional Authority.

If they are powerhouses who surpass the thousand-plus Creator Gods of the Otherworld, they should at least be capable of crushing the traitors. We'll move quickly, before the side effects of absolute power begin to surface.

Having reached a decision, Dimension Genesis God Core Coa addressed the ruins and defeated remnants he had created. The words that left his mouth, however, were slightly at odds with the current situation. They were the greeting he had prepared in case he found himself even slightly pushed back during the decisive battle with the Otherworld—the one he would use if he chose to live quietly, just as the future had advised.

“I am the Truth Deputy, Grey Present, Dimension Genesis God Core Coa. A pleasure to meet you. I look forward to your cooperation from now on.”

He had taken care to prepare something relatively polite, but the words were now useless. He was the strongest being in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Otherworld. There was no need to show courtesy to the weak. Still, basic etiquette had to be observed. So he cut straight to the point.

“Begin preparations for the greatest welcoming ceremony and festival appropriate for the Truth Deputy. Immediately.”

He smiled at the stunned faces of the Supreme Committee's Creator Gods and Main Gods, who had just been ordered to prepare a victory celebration after he had personally smashed everything to pieces. The Otherworld was already in ruins; ordinary methods could never restore it. In fact, normal approaches simply did not suit him.

I have no confidence in persuading or leading everyone.

He had long since resolved to walk the path of a tyrant wielding absolute power—the role he performed best. Therefore, what he needed to do right now was something else entirely.

Only by issuing a barrage of emergency measures can we survive. For that, I need forces that will carry out any order without question.

He retrieved the list of title holders from Jinri that he kept in his subspace and examined their locations. For better or worse, most of them had infiltrated the vicinity of Seourina and were lying low. It was the area with the strongest vitality, so they had little choice, but it was an excellent decision.

Do they understand that the darkest place is beneath the lamp, and sand is best hidden in the desert? At least they aren't cowards or fools.

With both the list from Jinri and Dimensional Authority, he could locate them no matter where they hid in the Otherworld. After confirming the highest-ranked titles, Dimension Genesis God Core Coa nodded. He didn't know what business they had here, but several were practically right under his nose.

If Lord Jinri placed their names at the top, it means they are strong. These fellows will make perfect test subjects to gauge the overall level.

To the gods of the Otherworld—who could not comprehend why he would order a lavish welcoming ceremony after overturning the capital planet and driving the Supreme Committee's ruling class to the brink of death—he delivered his final words in a cold tone.

“Disobedience to orders will result in immediate execution, regardless of rank or status. That is all!”

Flash—!

The Creator Gods watched him open a dimensional gate and vanish. Only after a long silence did they finally speak. They didn't know exactly what he had done, but although the damage was severe, there were no fatalities. Moreover, the joint temples he had utterly demolished were relics from the committee's early days. They looked impressive but possessed no defensive functions whatsoever.

Thanks to that, the committee had wanted to tear them down to reinforce the functions of the joint temple Cape, but opposition from the old leadership—who called them cultural heritage—had been too fierce. As a result, the grand plaza they had longed for had finally been created. The Main Gods who had stubbornly opposed defense reinforcements while insisting the planet was absolutely safe were now deathly pale, their faces drained of all color.

With the planetary defenses destroyed by a single Creator God, the Supreme Committee now holds all the justification they need. They can implement every plan they've been preparing.

In practical terms, aside from their shattered pride, the incident had actually benefited the current world.

“Was a Creator God's body always this fragile? Ugh—! I couldn't withstand a mere graze from those magic nails with my bare flesh.”

“Kuhup—! No, that authority seems special. He called them the Demon God King's magic nails, right? Did the demon race possess such power?”

“It means he's a Creator God who can also wield the Demon God King's strength.”

“This insane Grey Present, Dimension Genesis God Core Coa.”

“As expected of Jinri's deputy…”

“Cough—! His methods are just as nasty.”

“Damn it—! The future looks bleak.”

The Creator Gods, reviving their dying bodies while continuously coughing blood, spat curses and shouted in unison. It was truly horrific to handle things this way simply because explaining with words was too much trouble. Those watching the scene from afar with their authorities—where the area around Cape had been forcibly turned into a plaza by ten magic nails—completely agreed.

Using the perfect camouflage that blends completely with the surroundings, learned during long years of flight, and even suppressing the waves of their authority… yet fearing they might still be detected, they had only observed from the outer edge of a Creator God's authority range—at the full one-thousand-kilometer limit.

Yet the sight of one man single-handedly suppressing Seourina's planetary divine-power cannons, then ripping out the demon race's magic nails as a Creator God and shredding every joint temple around Cape was enough to make their blood run cold. To top it off, after carving through all one hundred Creator Gods of the Supreme Committee without the slightest emotional fluctuation, he had ordered them to prepare a welcoming ceremony. It was simply astounding.

Still, it had been worth slipping out of hiding and contacting their like-minded colleagues to come watch. They had come to investigate whether Jinri's deputy might offer any benefits, but the wisest course with a rampaging God of War like this was to ignore him entirely.

“I came out because they said one of the 10 Mainstays had arrived as Truth Deputy, but this is completely off, isn't it? Isn't he totally insane?”

“You can say that again.”

“Well, in the Void Realm ruled by Jinri—who only values strength—there's no way a God of War with a sound mind could have survived.”

“Honestly, that's true. They're all training themselves to death, so normal methods don't work. You can't ascend unless you go mad in some way.”

“Huh? Why is everyone agreeing with me?”

Among the titled beings, the highest-ranking was Dis of Disobedience himself. By the very nature of his title, he could only be negative about everything. Normally, when he badmouthed others so indiscriminately, his colleagues would immediately refute him. Yet something felt off today. Even the calm tone of their replies was unfamiliar.

“It's true that the Gods of War from the Void Realm have all gone slightly insane or aren't in their right minds. But what does it matter? This is a war where we kill each other anyway, isn't it? There's no way a sane, decent person could excel here.”

“…….”

A chill instantly crawled down their spines. The emotionless reply from behind them belonged to a voice they had never heard before. And it sounded eerily similar to the voice of the Grey Present—Dimension Genesis God Core Coa, the Truth Deputy who had just devastated Seourina.

When the sound of something being crushed reached their ears, cold sweat broke out across their backs.

Crack—! Crunch—!

They whipped their heads around, only for their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠jaws to drop at the scene before them.

Truth Deputy Dimension Genesis God Core Coa—! Wh-when did he get here? And why is he after us?

The titled beings, each powerful enough that ordinary Main Gods were beneath their notice, had been completely suppressed. A Creator God wearing black full-plate armor and a robe that hid his face held two of them by the throat, their necks creaking as though they would snap at any moment. Two more were pinned under his feet, slowly dying.

He appeared behind us without the slightest presence, and we didn't notice until our comrades were reduced to this state. It's unbelievable.

Above all, there was no reason for the Truth Deputy to treat those who had received titles from Jinri this way. Yet a mechanical voice flowed from Dimension Genesis God Core Coa's mouth.

“Kuk—! Is this a test?”

The Creator God who had suppressed every one of his comrades without exception was undoubtedly the Grey Present, Dimension Genesis God Core Coa, who had arrived as Truth Deputy. They had been on edge, terrified of discovery, yet he had performed a spatial transfer so naturally that none of them had sensed it. And he had done it in this manner, leaving no room for choice in how to respond.

We have to rescue them somehow and get out of here.

Gathering every ounce of his authority, he slammed a full-powered strike into Coa's face. He had seen what happened to Seourina; this was not an opponent who would show mercy if you bothered with courtesy.

BOOM—!

A massive explosion accompanied the full-force blow aimed at his face, followed by a pain-filled scream.

“KYAAAAAAAAAH—!”

“Damn it—!”

Even though Dis of Disobedience had landed the hit, he spat out a curse of bewilderment. The scream had not come from Dimension Genesis God Core Coa. He had simply lifted the titled being in his hand and used the man as a living shield.

“You're using a living comrade as a shield? And so naturally, too?”

The issue wasn't that he had blocked the attack with a colleague's body. The sheer naturalness of the motion proved it was something he had done many times before. The gap in fundamental physical ability was overwhelming.

“Basic durability… pass…”

Using an enemy's body to block an attack was naturally slower than moving one's own body. Yet he had moved at tremendous speed to intercept it. From the only visible part of his face—the mouth beneath the black robe—came an endless stream of analysis.

“However, physical durability against authority remains below Creator God. Authority activation speed below Main God… power below Main God…”

“CHAAAAAAAA—!”

If he could not save his comrades, he at least had to escape. He could not handle this alone. He would gather the rest of their allies and rescue them by combining their strength, just as they had always done.

Swoooosh—!

He launched himself at the greatest speed he had perfected during his long years of flight. Few beings in the current world could catch him now that he had long surpassed the speed of light. If he could get away and share the information he had just obtained, the others ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would handle the rest.

Yet the voice that came from directly behind him once again filled him with horror.

“Speed… below Main God… Conclusion: below Main God. First assessment—Main God rank.”

“Haaah—?!”

Before he realized it, Dimension Genesis God Core Coa had bound the necks of four of his comrades with a metal chain, stringing them together like dried fish, and was following right on his heels. At such high velocity the chains dug viciously into their throats, making the four look like condemned prisoners on the gallows as they screamed.

“Keeeeee—!”

“Kuuuuurgh—!”

“Kek—! Kek—!”

“Kkuk—!”

Hearing their screams, he halted his flight. Seeing the way Coa dragged the heavily chained comrades behind him, he understood. The man could have caught them at any time but had deliberately let them run for the sake of evaluation.

If I'm losing this badly even in speed, running is pointless.

When he stopped, Dimension Genesis God Core Coa landed before him, let out a long sigh, and delivered his verdict.

“Huuu… The final evaluation of the titled beings of the Otherworld is the lowest tier of Main God. By Otherworld standards, that places them below Creator God?”

Lamenting, Dimension Genesis God Core Coa exhaled another deep sigh. The wall of the Main God rank was high and solid, yet for titled beings it was merely a matter of effort. The fact that Coa himself had reached this level in a mere thirty thousand years was exceptional. For titled beings, however, the average was one hundred million years.

“An average holding period of over one hundred million years, and this is all you amount to? You must have spent the whole time sucking honey in a flower garden.”

With a title, one hundred million years of training would make you a Main God. One billion years would produce a powerhouse above Creator God. To be only below Main God despite possessing such a title was bitterly disappointing.