Thirteen Pairs of Golden Wings

In the war against the Goddess Department, the Moon of Adamantium had already been engraved with the dimensional magic circle, granting infinite vitality. This time, the process of carving the same circle into the sun’s core was battering him with unimaginable damage.

Puhahaha—! He had lost count of how many times his right arm, driven into the sun, had evaporated and regenerated. Had this not been inside the Survival Magic Tower he himself had built and imbued with true immortality, the attempt would have been too reckless to even consider.

The more pain flooded him, the louder the War God laughed. Hehehe! Life itself is pain. So does that mean I’m truly alive right now?

Chuckling at his own sophistry, he continued engraving the dimensional magic circle upon the Sun of the Origin. The overwhelming agony whispered for him to give up. With infinite vitality alone, the Divine Realm could never touch him. There was no need to fight, the voice endlessly tempted.

Shut up! The last time I listened to your negotiation nonsense, the High Elf Queen shredded me and Master nearly died.

He drove himself without mercy, hastening the completion of his authority. The optimistic decisions of his past remained his most painful memory—the moment he had believed negotiation with the High Elves was possible, only to fall into their trap and be torn apart. That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was when he had realized the world was nothing but endless struggle and would never spare idealists.

The High Elf Queens who are now my women would all have been killed by me back then if I had possessed my current power. Only after becoming the War God, after my realm expanded and my view of the world widened, did I come to see that they weren’t so bad.

The reason things had turned out that way was simply because he had been weak. In a world where the weak had no right to survive, they had only done what was necessary for their race’s continued existence.

They place the race above self. The race places the forest above all and nurtures it. They become beings who are helpful simply by existing. That is why they are good. But the old me was not. Since that is impossible, power is everything.

Crack—! The sound of teeth grinding as if they might shatter rose with the memory. The moment he had been forced to retreat helplessly before the Main God of the Divine Realm’s Reality Manipulation and had his heart crushed by the Sword God’s blade.

It was a future that might still arrive.

The Survival Magic Tower collapses in defeat against the Main God of the Divine Realm, and the world I created with desperate effort turns to dust. If I cannot surpass the Divine Realm, that future will become reality.

Everything the War God had built would be annihilated before the Main God of the Divine Realm’s overwhelming might.

“My sun! Are you saying you will disappear with me as well?”

The War God’s roar of desperation pierced the sun that burned his body and refused his approach. With the Moon of the Origin’s work complete, he withdrew the left hand embedded in the moon and, without hesitation, thrust both hands into the sun and wrenched it open.

Puhahahahaha—!

The ultimate recovery magic cast upon his body restored every injury to its original state. The Survival Magic Tower’s power poured in endlessly, replenishing the mana he had consumed.

His burning mouth opened and the great tenth-circle magic activated. His blazing body paused for a moment, yet because it was the sun’s own authority, even tenth-circle magic was eroded.

Goooooo—!

“I’ve bought time.”

The War God lifted a hand that had begun evaporating under the core’s extreme heat and gazed at the revealed golden central nucleus.

Gu-gu-gung! Drrrrrrrrk!

Spreading all the wings of his divine power to block the endless nuclear fusion explosions that carried tenth-circle force, he shoved his entire body into the nucleus. He had realized that to engrave magic into the solar core—which could evaporate even a Lord Slayer spear—nothing less than his own Main God-level body would suffice.

Puhahahahaha!

Pararararara—!

He carved the magic circle into the golden solar core as terrifying explosions raged around him. The tenth-circle survival magic activated in continuous succession, allowing him to endure the unimaginable heat. He had already raised the dimensional barrier, yet the Sun of the Origin sought to shatter even that.

“Kuhahahahaha—! Strong. Yes, this is how it should be. Only then is the risk worth taking.”

While his entire body burned and regenerated repeatedly, another crisis descended, but he was certain that once this moment ended, no one would be able to kill him. At last, the wings of his divine power had absorbed the sun’s strength and formed thirteen pairs.

Paaaaaaaah—!

Perfect dimensional authority suppressed the sun’s authority. The instant the dimensional magic circle was engraved upon the sun’s central core, the Survival Magic Tower stopped moving. The blazing sun no longer burned him. Watching his body recover at terrifying speed, he was overcome with deep emotion.

“So this is the authority of a Main God? Add to that perfect wide-area time control! I’ve finally reached the same position. Main God of the Divine Realm.”

Even now, a Main God with two billion divine power could not be overwhelmed by a War God who had not even reached one and a half billion. If he used every hidden trick, he might barely win, but afterward he would die from vitality exhaustion at the hands of the other gods. That was only if one considered divine authority alone.

I am a tenth-circle dark mage challenging the Main God of the Divine Realm. I am the Magic God of Dimensions. There is a chance of victory and survival.

Inside the now-frozen Survival Magic Tower, he alone moved, descending upon the Golden Magic Tower. From subspace he drew the Lord Slayer spear that had turned two Demon Kings’ heads into skewers.

“You two shall become my magic tools.”

He would turn Demon Kings equal to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠highest gods into magic tools and command them. There could be no greater humiliation for Demon Kings, yet since only a Demon Emperor could freely wield tenth-circle magic, they could not resist. He grasped the two Demon King heads that showed almost no movement, their consciousness nearly gone, and began the incantation.

Wooooong! Shuuuuuuk!

According to his newly elevated divinity as a Main God, the magic could now affect the Demon Kings as well. The horns on their heads lengthened as they acquired the dignity of Demon Emperors. He compressed and controlled the heads, separating their positions as Demon Emperors and restricting them solely to magic incantation.

What appeared moments later were two beads the size of dark-red eyeballs. Crimson light spread from the red orbs and cast magic upon the War God.

“Now the spells ‘Looking Back at Oneself, Past and Present Are the Same’ and ‘Forget Favors, Engrave Grudges’ will activate without incantation. My current mana is two billion; with the Staff of Origin it becomes four billion. I can now overwhelm a hundred of the primordial war gods. If I operate my triple chant and the Staff of Origin’s triple chant simultaneously, I can wield three billion two hundred million mana. Though only for an instant, it is enough to annihilate a Main God of the Divine Realm with two billion divine power. Now I can fight the entire Divine Realm.”

In his estimation, this was enough to wage a decisive battle against the Divine Realm and survive.

The choice between first warring with the Substitute Gods or settling matters with the Divine Realm has appeared. However, this is not my choice. I will act according to the Divine Realm’s reaction.

The War God had originally wished only for his own survival and happiness, yet somehow he had reached this point and could no longer retreat. With the sun’s divine power now mixed in, a new Main God possessing thirteen pairs of wings burning with golden light gazed toward the Divine Realm.

At last, preparations for war are complete. I must now decide who my true enemy will be.

He instinctively knew it would be decided by the actions of the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Goddess Department.

“Main God of the Divine Realm, Goddess Department. Do not disappoint me.”

Hwarurururu—!

The thirteen pairs of golden wings of light, proof of his Main God divinity, flared powerfully as they sensed the aura of battle.

The sudden appearance of thirteen pairs of wings blazing with golden light left the spirits dazed. The War God who had been repeating regeneration and annihilation inside the sun had vanished, only to reappear atop the Golden Magic Tower as a true Main God.

The holy maidens, sensing the greatly elevated divinity, began to prostrate themselves. The spirits belonging to the holy maiden class were no exception. An unconscious submission began to take effect before a divinity on an entirely different level than before.

Why is my body doing this? It’s kneeling on its own.

A real Main God, not merely Main God level?

The Emperor’s spirit, Erpina, stared at the thirteen pairs of wings with a stupefied gaze.

The difference between Main God level and true Main God is like heaven and earth. It is only a single step in realm, yet the difference in power is overwhelming.

Gods who crossed from Main God level to true Main God were extremely rare, described as breaking through the limits of spiritual beings. Even the humans of the Middle World could not surpass the limits of sentient beings and rise to godhood by their own power. Yet the one who had first ascended to godhood as a dark mage had now reached the rank of Main God.

The six pairs of wings on the Grey Sage beside her flared with golden light; she recoiled in shock, but fortunately there was no heat. The Grey Sage spread all her wings of light and covered the entire group with a barrier of divine power.

Everyone, bow. He is about to leave.

Huh? Why the barrier?

It’s because I lack control over divine power. I can’t retract the wings right now. The sun’s extreme heat will hit us soon.

Ehh? Kyaaaaah—!

Just as she warned, the wave of divine power radiating from the War God’s thirteen pairs of wings struck the Survival Magic Tower like a storm. The barrier protected the spirits, holy maidens, and princesses. Yet the barrier they had believed would be sufficient began to shake as if it would shatter.

This… this is strange. Maximum output is being maintained and radiated continuously—! There is no precedent for this. How can he sustain full-power divine radiation without any modulation?

Hold on, Gaiana! If we lose now, it’s over!

My divine power is also stuck at maximum output and I can’t control it properly!

What? You can’t control your own divine power either?

As the barrier began to tear little by little and divine power washed over them, the spirits fell into terror. Though they were revived spirits, their essence was that of wraiths. Before such overwhelming divine power of light, they would be annihilated instantly.

“What are these so-called Popes even doing!”

An angry shout rang out. From within the breaking barrier, a new golden membrane burst forth, layering a second powerful divine barrier. The legendary holy maiden, her pink hair swaying, stood proudly to block the power, yet she paled at the immense pressure bearing down on the barrier.

“Everyone, manifest Holy Defense Barriers! This is the sun’s authority! Even the slightest impurity will cause annihilation, so give it everything you have—!”

The sun’s divine power? This is urgent.

The sun’s authority was the symbol of judgment that burned all evil and impurity without forgiveness. At ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the words “sun’s authority,” every spirit and holy maiden poured their full power into the barriers. No matter that they were holy maidens of the God of Light, before the sun’s divine power that could annihilate even intermediate gods, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would be reduced to a handful of ash.

Gogogogogo—!

The triple barrier activated at full strength by the Dimensional Popes, holy maidens, and all the spirits barely held back the sun’s divine waves as they waited for it to subside. After a short time, the War God’s golden blazing wings stopped spreading wide, folded, and disappeared at a normal speed. The divine waves vanished, leaving only silence.

He’s recovered about half. We’re saved. Ack—!

Zuuuuuuk—!

The Dimensional Holy Maiden, her face flushed with rage, grabbed both of the Grey Sage’s cheeks and yanked them hard. Even though she had become an upper god, she could not resist the legendary holy maiden’s strength and was shaken by the cheeks.

“With half the divine power you could have defended alone—! Can’t you even manage your own divine power properly?”

“Uup—! Uu—! But there’s no data on dimensional divine power or the sun’s divine power, so my predictions were off. This is the first time I’ve dealt with this much power!”

“Do you even know what kind of ascetic training we went through just to obtain a grain of sand’s worth of divine power?”

“It hurts—! I was wrong.”

“You received it so easily and still can’t use it properly? This is worse than a lower god—!”

“I-I’ll do better…”

This was the problem with the Grey Sage spirit’s Probability Prediction. Its accuracy dropped against phenomena or beings that had never appeared before.

Errors keep occurring and problems arise regarding the first Main God born from humanity.

That was also why she had been discovered earlier. Of course, once time passed and data accumulated, the probability would become nearly absolute, but for now it was no better than gambling. The Grey Sage instinctively shrank under the glares of the spirits who had nearly been annihilated and the holy maidens whose eyes mixed envy and fury.

Stop it, Livna. Saiana did her best.

Wooooooo—!

The Emperor spirit Erpina’s authorities of Mental Confirmation and Noblesse Oblige bared their fangs toward the legendary holy maiden. Noblesse Oblige crushed the opponent’s will to resist. The Dimensional Holy Maiden’s anger crumbled; she unconsciously released Saiana’s cheeks and stepped back.

Even after becoming an upper god, she cannot avoid my authority. The value of the Grey Sage Saiana does not disappear from a single mistake.

The Emperor spirit Erpina’s golden eyes became completely dyed with golden light.

The only one who can judge her now is the Dimensional Lord. I will not forgive even a holy maiden who fails to show proper respect to his Popes.

Saiana’s eyes and the eyes of the surrounding spirits all changed to golden. Noblesse Oblige, which seized the will of everyone who supported her and forced them to display their abilities to the limit, had revealed its true power. And the divine power of Saiana under her control clearly overwhelmed her.

“Understood. I apologize for my rudeness, Popes.”

She had lost her reason for a moment in the face of the sudden absurd crisis, but the Emperor spirit was right. Saiana’s authority became more absolute the more knowledge and experience accumulated; even if errors occurred in the process and the result was painful, its value would never diminish.

No one can replace her.

Even the one once called the legendary holy maiden possessed value that could never be matched. The half of the divine power the Dimensional Lord had granted her to make her a Pope was probably the measure of that value.

The six pairs of golden blazing wings folded on the Dimensional Pope’s back caught the eye.

If Probability Prediction is used in battle with that divine power, it will become a terror. If she can predict every attack, defend, and strike before the defense is even needed, no one of the same realm could ever win. If she learns just a little about divine power operation and combat, even I probably couldn’t defeat her. The only solution is for me to become a highest god.

She felt to her bones that becoming stronger than anyone else was the surest way to be loved by the War God more than the other Popes or anyone else.

To be loved by him, I really must work harder.

She felt the War God flap his thirteen pairs of wings of light, open the gate to the Divine Realm, and disappear. The Popes bowed respectfully toward the newly ascended Dimensional Lord, and the interior of the magic tower grew quiet once more.

The spirits moved while taking along the personnel they had received as disciples. Now that their contractor and master had become a Main God, they felt no anxiety anywhere and overflowed with hope. The legendary holy maiden in particular had regained her liveliness.

“An ideal Divine Realm where everyone develops eternally? That sounds fun.”

Of course, she thought while believing she would be the strongest and most loved.

“Tsk! A Main God’s divine power really is vicious.”

The War God clicked his tongue as he landed at the gate to the Divine Realm. The sun’s divine power radiating from his wings had not subsided. Afraid that the slightest mistake would blow away the Survival Magic Tower, he had hurriedly moved to the Divine Realm, yet his wings still refused to fully retract into his body and continued blazing behind him like flames.

Since this Main God divinity was attained by borrowing the power of the Sun of the Origin rather than my own, it seems I’ll have to suffer quite a bit.

It was a Main God realm achieved using the Sun and Moon of the Origin. Of course, his ability to fire maximum output infinitely and his possession of the sun’s divinity meant he was in no way lacking as a Main God. The only problem was that he could not properly release this divine power open state.

“It looks like I’m advertising that I’ve become a Main God.”