Chapter 39

The world fundamentally values balance. If one entity grows excessively and begins to monopolize…

[What happens?]

A self-regulating mechanism kicks in. It would be a war between the individual and the dimension, of course, it’s just a hypothesis. But in some dimensions, such things might happen.

Lately, I’ve started to dream. For someone who doesn’t sleep, dreams are phenomena caused by the workings of Dimension Power, where something becomes visible. When I close my eyes, they suddenly appear. Of course, they’re too fragmented to be considered information, but I’ve become aware of them.

In the dream, I wield a sword, covered in blood, cutting down endless enemies one by one. They were all formidable foes, comparable to large species.

I open my eyes. Simultaneously, I realize that the time for that dream to come is near.

“Belva. Call Noah and prepare the defenses properly. If they interfere, we’re all dead.”

The ground beneath me shakes as if an earthquake has struck. The entire dimension, including the Ice Field, Volcanic Region, and canyon areas centered around the jungle, is vibrating. Stretching my gaze forward, I see giants. From one engulfed in flames with fiery eyes staring directly at me, to one frozen in frost, another wrapped in wind, and even one sparkling like the Milky Way.

Sensing my gaze, they let out a massive roar upwards. It echoes like a reverberation. Feeling the momentum, Miho, the kids, and Zeus burst outside, each showing their reactions. There’s no leisure to fight while protecting the children. I’ve taught them enough; they should know how to survive.

Belva quietly closes her eyes on the building’s roof. Soon, a pair of red eyes flash in the air and slowly disappear.

[…]

Noah, about to say something, silently disappears. I don’t pay it any mind. Soon, the distance to the giants becomes close enough to see with the naked eye. The flame giant, with one large eye instead of a head, swings its arm towards us.

Whoosh-

Starting with a fireball tens of meters in size flying towards us, I stomp the ground.

*

Rising high, I look down at them from above. It seems like at least a thousand have gathered per area. The dense malice and fighting spirit, enough to make my skin tingle, and the Magic Power contained within. I absorb it all, spinning Dimension Power.

A massive spiral of flames forms in the sky. At its center, a small orb of aura, shining like a star, soon causes a massive explosion. The explosion rains down. Upon contact, the aura flames burn brighter, mediated by Magic Power and Dimension Power.

[Ahhhhh!]

Then, the leading flame giant lets out a tearing scream and claps its hands together. Following suit, the numerous giants behind also join their hands in prayer.

[Ahhhhh!]

A translucent barrier blocks the rain of fire. Surrounding the praying giants, a barrier similar to Belva’s forms. It’s astonishing, but that alone won’t hold. The cost will only grow over time, and the fire won’t extinguish. Eventually, damage is inevitable.

But then, the barrier starts to glow red.

What’s that? Is it going to explode?

The barrier, glowing red like heated iron, is expanding as if it’s about to burst. I knew it immediately. It’s going to explode. Somehow, it’s set to explode forward without harming the giants.

This is strange. That’s my technique. I’ve been feeling an unpleasant sense of dissonance since earlier. The giants’ actions, the energy I feel, it’s as if they’ve learned from me. Frowning, I descend, excluding the impending shock.

Boom!

A vibration shakes my entire body. In the unfathomable heat, I smile and swing my sword towards the giant’s neck. The aura blade, extending tens of meters, cuts through the thick neck like tofu.

[Ooooh!]

A fist flies towards me as if it had been waiting. The Milky Way brightens, as if the universe is approaching. Instead of dodging, I cause an explosion in the opposite direction of the fist to minimize recoil. Bones are crushed, and blood splatters, but as a result, I can dig a bit deeper inside, ignoring the reach difference.

I swing my sword again, severing the neck. The stats, the Magic Power they possess, are absorbed by me. As my injuries heal, I thrust my hand into the giant’s chest. Giants are lifeforms with immense Dimension Power. I compress the scattering fragments of Dimension Power. Indeed, area attacks are the way to go.

“Lux.”

Whoosh.

An intangible wave, crushing all internal organs, stretches far into the distance. I gather Magic Power again, focusing it. Towards the giant, whose posture is shaken by the surprise attack, I raise one hand high.

“Diruto─!”

A shining light, like a shooting star, blows away the giant’s upper body.

*

[You are a scourge!]

How many have I killed? From afar, a giant with three pairs of arms and three heads shouts at me.

Soon, a long spear of light pierced through my body and slammed me down below.

Hmm…

This thing won’t come out.

Upon closer inspection, several runic characters are floating around the spear.

It seems like some kind of sealing concept.

With earth-shaking steps, it approached me.

Its eyes, reaching up to the sky, radiated radiance as they looked down at me, creating quite an intimidating scene.

But it’s too late now.

If you were going to send something like this, you should’ve sent it earlier.

Feeling the divine power strongly pressing against my body, I grabbed the spear with both hands and pulled it out.

The runic characters had already disappeared.

I smirked at the panicking giant.

“Why? Surprised?”

From the giants sent earlier, only immense dimensional power was felt.

But as time went on, that energy became clearer, and they began to emit their own divine power.

The world had succeeded in evolving.

To kill me.

Ultimately, the world was creating giants imbued with divine power, like the one before me.

Thankfully.

My growth process.

Even knowing what I could do.

They were blinded by the might of divinity and overlooked my characteristics.

Based on the information absorbed from the giants, I perfectly grasped and understood the concept of divine power.

Originally, it would have taken a tremendous amount of time, but with this many hints, it wasn’t impossible.

[……!]

Dimensional power enveloped the area.

I seized a point and transformed it into my divinity.

Divine power is the amplification of characteristics.

Something that proves my life manifests in the form of authority.

Then.

My divinity was obvious.

Like ink spreading in water, a black dot appeared in the air, quickly enveloping and swallowing the giant.

[This, this is!]

The sound of flesh and bones being crushed alive echoed from the struggling giant.

Its body gradually shrank.

Fear filled the giant’s eyes.

It’s strange.

“You feel fear too?”

[Ah, ah! Aaaaah!]

How much time had passed? The giant’s screams ceased.

As if nothing had happened, I stood up and prepared for battle again.

Feeling the slight increase in my stats.

*

Thud.

I reversed the blood-red spear and slammed it into the ground.

“Any more left?”

At the time of the crimson sunset.

The bodies of giants were piled up like a mountain.

The blood, even on flat ground, rose enough to soak my ankles.

The phrase “a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood” is accurate.

Sitting on the corpse of the last divine giant, which was like a suicide bomber, I looked up at the sky without the sun.

“Are you listening? Are you just going to stay silent after being beaten?”

After over a week of war, I had seized victory.

The world, which had been so vocal through the giants, was now quiet.

Without even the sound of wind.

It had become eerily silent.

Instead, several footsteps approached from behind.

Having only felt earthquake-like steps, hearing such normal footsteps now felt oddly awkward.

Turning around, I checked on the children.

“Oh.”

I was momentarily surprised.

Amazingly, not a single one had died.

They were all alive.

In fact, they even gathered together and killed a small giant.

No wonder I felt dimensional power within them.

They must have killed and absorbed the giant.

Wow. Impressive.

I was genuinely amazed.

The children had shown results beyond my expectations.

I had thought they might all die here.

“Did we do well?”

Miho, with her mouth stained red from who knows what, approached with open arms.

I picked up Miho and looked down at the land where all the giants had died.

A sea of faint, flowing light.

The divinity filled with blood and corpses sparkled on the ground.

Now, nothing that happens here would be surprising.

Comparing the divinity that birthed Zeus and its total amount… the difference is staggering.

Belva muttered softly.

“Quite a few will be born.”

I nodded.

I don’t know how many will be born, but it won’t be a small number.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

I remembered the days when I wished, even if they were orcs, that they would survive.

The despair I felt when I failed is still vivid.

But now, I’m waiting for gods to be born.

Really. What is this…

“It’s touching. Really.”

After hardship comes happiness.

This is life.

I feel like crying again.

I tore off my tattered uniform and spread my arms wide.

“W-what are you doing all of a sudden-!”

Belva’s voice, ruining the mood, was carried away by the wind and barely audible.