The Goddess Department's Dilemma
The Goddess Department immediately devises countermeasures against the Demon Kings approaching the Divine Realm. ‘Summoning the Spirit God from the Otherworld is inefficient against high-ranking Demon Kings in a complete spiritual state. The only efficient method is to directly slaughter them. How dare things that aren't even Demon Emperors spread their fighting spirit in front of me? I'll kill them all.’
The War God summons the Lord Slayer spear. Then he shifts its attribute from Lord Slayer to Demon God Slayer. Paaaah—! The Demon God Slayer spear transforms into a spear of light, radiating brilliant radiance. ‘I bestow the authority of god-slaying upon it with my solar divine power.’ Gooooo—! The Demon God Slayer spear glows white-hot. ‘Now that I have become a Main God, I can destroy a Demon King's body even without Clash Planet.’ He duplicates the Demon God Slayer spears as many times as his magic power allows. “I exist as myself, so shall you.” Countless spears of light appear across the Divine Realm, blanketing its sky. Then he takes flight on his magic power. ‘A battle against Demon Kings might ease this filthy feeling a little.’ Whooooosh—!
There was a goddess watching with a complicated gaze as the War God flew toward the Demon Kings approaching from the Boundary, exuding killing intent. It was Hera, the goddess with beautiful golden hair and eyes. “Must it come to this? Are we to ignore everything he has contributed to the Divine Realm?”
“This is what he wanted, Hera.”
“Don't call me by that name! Here, I am Granraha.” Lightning begins to wrap around her body and flash. It is the power of lightning, possessing the greatest attack power and speed among all authorities. Zzzzzzt—! Rumble—! As the power of the golden-haired goddess spreads with the might of the sky, seven other goddesses activate their own authorities in response. Though their strengths vary, their powers are nearly equal. The divine power emitted by eight Main Gods gathered together—each the sole ruler of a planet—is truly overwhelming.
“Don't carelessly release the seal. Because of you, we might miss our last chance and be sent back to the Spirit Realm.”
Now even killing intent colors their tones, and a fierce verbal battle unfolds amid raging fighting spirit. “I clearly conveyed all the facts accurately. Then why does the conclusion come down to isolation and blockade? His correct disposition and abilities are more than useful to the Divine Realm.”
“An unstable god of human origin cannot be trusted. Isn't that what Granraha herself has done in the past?”
In the distant past, a demigod who had rarely received the Main God's favor had once demonstrated overwhelming physical power. As expected, upon growing stronger, he became drunk on his own strength and committed rape and mass slaughter. Thinking he might become a powerful god, they had given him twelve trials to wash away all his sins, then married him to one of their precious daughters and made him a core of the Divine Realm.
“I have never discriminated against a strong one who passed the trials. You are being irrational right now. How does it make sense to blockade the War God in the Divine Realm while we are at war with the Substitute Gods?”
The goddesses now distrust even the trials Granraha conducted on the War God. That fact means only one thing.
“So you had already reached your conclusion before I even conducted the trials! You insolent wenches dared to toy with me. No matter how far I have fallen, I was once the noblest of goddesses and the Goddess Queen. How dare you mock me—!”
“Calm yourself, Granraha. Even you cannot handle all of us.”
“Shut up—!”
Rumble—! Zzzzzzt—! Yet her divine power runs wild, lashing the entire Main God Hall with lightning. Even the combined defensive barrier of the goddesses trembles as though it might tear under the might of the strongest lightning divine power. They too begin raising their divine power, unable to endure any longer. But the next words force them to halt their attacks.
“Seal me away, turn the Main God and the Primordial War God into enemies, and even the new War God—then see what becomes of you! I'll watch with pleasure.”
“Granraha. What is it you want?”
At present, the combined power of the Main God, the Primordial War God, and the goddesses stands on a razor's edge. Were it not for the common enemies—the Substitute Gods and the demon race—and this delicate balance of power, they would already be in civil war. ‘We have desperately built our strength, yet the gap has not widened.’ ‘The Dimensional and War God can already be handled by two goddesses.’ ‘If even one goddess falls silent or sides with the male gods, it could truly be the end.’
The goddesses withdraw their hostile divine power and return to the round table. No matter what, they have been comrades sharing the same hardships through eons. ‘This incident arose because we pushed forward after already deciding the outcome.’ ‘Something of this scale won't make us enemies.’ ‘Still, we must yield from now on.’
Having regained the initiative, the goddess Hera raised her voice. “The War God must receive proper compensation for the divine power he has given.”
“That is something each must handle on their own.”
“How are mere upper goddesses supposed to pay the price for receiving a Main God's divine power? Look at the God of Knowledge—he cannot even offer compensation and defends him out of sheer guilt. Have we lost even that much conscience? Have we become so obsessed with political games alongside the Main God that we have lost our pride?”
“Enough! We will pay.”
The price for receiving divine power is simple. ‘Become a subordinate god and obey unconditionally.’ ‘Just like the Primordial War God who received power from the Main God.’ ‘Otherwise, repay twice the divine power received.’ ‘Repaying twice the divine power would take eons unless one is extremely fortunate.’ ‘Recovering the divine power returned to a higher god also consumes an enormous amount of time.’ ‘Moreover, divine power transferred through spatial movement loses more than half, so the price to be paid is even greater.’
Bestowing one's innate divine power is an immense grace. That is why the daughters of the God of Knowledge, after receiving the power transfer, rose from lower upper gods to upper gods—yet when the price turned out to be nothing more than the God of Knowledge's advocacy, the goddesses erupted in outrage. ‘They planned to offer only their bodies under the rumor of being sex gods. Yet even Granraha's temptation had no effect, so it seems the rumor was false.’ ‘Or perhaps his standards are simply too high for anyone to catch his eye.’ ‘His current appearance is that of a virgin, but originally he was a married man who fathered countless gods. Being young, he might not prefer married women.’
Offering one's body in exchange for divine power is a hundred times more profitable. Thus, another goddess speaks without thinking. “This burden is too great.”
To maintain their power, the goddesses would have to supply the shortfall with their own divine power whenever their subordinates offered themselves as payment. ‘So many applicants rushed in that they had to forcibly block access and tell them to wait their turn.’ ‘If the power transfer is refused, a true riot could break out.’ Of course they could suppress it with divine power, but the number of goddesses desiring essence exchange is simply too high. Yet paying the proper price as Hera suggested is beyond their means. In the end, they devise another plan.
“He doesn't seem to prefer married women. How about testing him once more with a virgin goddess?”
Hera's fist slams into the round table. Crash—! “You wenches really—! Are you insulting me right now?”
Once the noblest of goddesses and the Goddess Queen, her long fall from grace has made her tongue coarse, and curses spill out again. Unable to use the power they possess as Main Gods and reduced to mere verbal sparring here, their language grows harsher by the day. Moreover, the clothes they wear are no longer the splendid garments of the past but simple ones, so there is nothing to restrain their behavior. Rumble—! The round table Granraha struck with her hand shakes as though it might break. Seeing this, the goddesses are inwardly shocked. ‘The Sly Raccoon Main God personally imbued the round table with immortality, yet she tries to break it with her bare fist—her power is truly formidable.’ ‘No wonder she beat her philandering husband and his mistresses like dogs.’ ‘No goddess here doesn't know who Granzoa takes after to be so vicious.’
They are grateful she helped her daughter, but they cannot forgive male gods who unnecessarily touched human women. She herself had rushed out first, declaring she would test and kill them, only to now play the victim. “Don't get angry. We truly cannot pay the price. And we are sick of irresponsible male gods.”
“We don't know what Granraha is thinking, but there are no male gods here either, so speak your true mind.”
At last, the goddesses' debate seems to be reaching a conclusion. No matter how convenient their position of merely supporting divine power in the war against the Substitute Gods, they know this is no time for verbal sparring when Demon Kings are directly invading the Divine Realm. ‘The demon race's forces are clearly superior to the Divine Realm's.’ ‘Even our Main God, a monster none of us can handle alone, is being overwhelmed by that vicious demon god.’ The Main God and the demon god had once been equals. Yet after his defeat in the first battle, the demon god had trained so relentlessly in the Demon Realm that he is now being pushed back helplessly. ‘We definitely need to concentrate our forces.’ ‘The War God's disposition isn't the issue.’
Hera smiles in satisfaction. “I will pay the price first, so all of you transfer the corresponding amount of divine power to me.”
“What—! Have you gone mad?”
“He is Granzoa's subordinate upper god. They have already had a physical relationship.”
“We tried to kill him, so we've already shown everything there is to show. This is just adding a little more. Or do it yourselves? Surely you don't still believe blockade or coercion will work on the Dimensional and War God?”
The goddesses stare at Granraha in disbelief, conflicted, but there is only one choice. “Let's do it that way.”
This is a deal that cannot be completed unless the Dimensional and War God himself continuously consents to the power transfer. ‘They plan to pressure him through blockade, but seeing how he even covers his face with a robe, the chances are slim.’ ‘If we try to pressure him with numbers, the Main God and the Primordial War God won't stay silent anymore.’ ‘One-on-one, there is no chance of victory.’ ‘The Dimensional and War God is already a monster on par with the current Main God.’
Though they feel as though they are being taken advantage of by Hera, the Dimensional and War God's extremely negative reaction even to minor blockades makes them think a normal relationship is necessary. ‘But why does this feel so strange?’ ‘Granraha acting like this is truly unexpected.’ ‘She is not the kind of goddess who would do this.’
Hera had once been a goddess who hated male gods so much, because of her philandering husband, that she would grind her teeth at the mere mention of them. “I will also manage the targets and duration of the power transfers. Send me the list of applicants and obtain prior permission. I will also move my temple next to the Dimensional Lord's temple, so contact me there.”
At this point, suspicion grows stronger. ‘This is her acting like the head wife.’ ‘What is she thinking?’ ‘We must verify this.’ The other goddesses' eyes are now completely filled with doubt.
Meanwhile, at the Boundary, two thousand upper gods and one hundred Primordial War Gods are fighting desperately against the Demon Kings. Their opponents are one thousand Demon Kings and tens of thousands of highest-ranking demon race members. While an army more than a hundred times stronger than the usual demon realm forces ravages the Boundary and wages a bloody battle with the god race, a rain of white light falls. Crack—! Crunch—! Kraaaaaah—! Spears of Demon God Slaying pour down like rain from the sky, piercing every Demon King in sight. They fall without a single gap across the visible space, even blocking spatial movement, so not even Demon Kings can evade them. When some Demon Kings forcibly attempt spatial movement, they are transported not to their desired location but directly in front of the Dimensional and War God. “How dare you—! How dare you perform spatial movement in front of me!” “Guh—!”