The power of the Main God, the creator of a dimension, is absolute.
It was natural, as they could decide the beginning and end of the world as they wished.
Too vast to be considered a personality, they were more like a system, using their near-omnipotent power to manage their own gardens according to their inclinations.
However, even for them, who were near-omnipotent, there were limits.
It was that they were too large and powerful to pay attention to and coordinate every single aspect of the small and delicate world.
If they tried to modify something, everything connected to it could collapse in a chain reaction, destroying the world, so they couldn't carelessly touch the dimension even if there was an error.
That's why the degree of God's intervention varied from dimension to dimension.
There were the hands-off types who, after roughly setting up the framework, simply watched it flow according to its own course, reluctant to lose anything, and the interventionist types who aggressively invested for more profit and deployed sub-deities to coordinate the world in their stead.
Each had different management styles according to their own inclinations.
The Main God of Auterica was a typical interventionist type.
After creating the world, he separated parts of himself to create gods who could manage the creatures more closely.
The sub-gods also had limitations, but they could do much more than the Main God, so they each shaped the world little by little according to their tastes.
The World Tree, which governs the abundance and cycle of nature, created the elves.
The Titan, which governs fire, metal, and technology, created the dwarves.
The god in charge of animals, wildness, and hunting created the Beastmen, the god in charge of the sea created the Merfolk, and the god in charge of power and balance created the Dragons.
There was also a god who managed humans, who, despite their short lives, were vigorously active and produced intense karma—in other words, beings with excellent "profitability."
"Krrrh— Demon God..."
"Huff, huff— What is that..."
The Heavenly God and the Demon God were similar.
The Heavenly Realm isolated the excessive light energy for the balance of the world, and the Demon Realm contained the dark negative energy.
They each settled in their respective realms and created the angel race and the demon race.
Thus, a long time passed.
Conflicts and harmony, wars and development...
The creatures burned their lives in this land with their own values, leaving only karma behind.
Of course, there wasn't only peace in the process, but they still continued to move forward step by step without losing balance too much.
—Until one god became too absorbed in their own creation, crossing the line with excessive greed.
The aftermath of a god, who was managing the world on behalf of the Main God, rampaging was not small.
Much more so when said god, backed by the massive karma productivity of their creation, wielded more influence than several other gods combined.
Most of the other races were driven from their homes by the explosively growing humans and had to migrate to a new continent.
The dragons, who were a small elite, were a little better off, but even they couldn't do much in the face of the direct intervention of the rampaging god.
In the end, the commotion was settled only after the Main God, unable to watch any longer, uprooted the being and exiled it to the Abyss, the dimension's trash can.
He only deprived it of the authority of the infrastructure it had built and erased its records, as destroying it carelessly could collapse the carefully cultivated world, but if it was trapped in the Abyss for a long time, it would naturally melt and become fertilizer for the world, so it wasn't a bad decision.
After all, the Abyss itself was created for that purpose.
...Yes, if it had been quiet for about tens of thousands of years.
From the gods' point of view, tens of thousands of years were nothing, but for that being—the 'God of Humans'—who had already been immersed in human thinking, it was an eternity.
Tenacious will, surging impulses, unquenchable desires, and insatiable greed.
Based on these, the God of Humans never gave up and reached out in various directions.
Naturally, the main target was the continent where his creatures, humans, lived, but he knew well that it was foolish to put all his efforts into one plan.
After all, wasn't the Abyss a place where all kinds of waste from the dimension gathered?
Naturally, the sewers and pipes for them to flow in were also spread throughout the world.
[Ah! Fresh air! It's good, good!]
"Krrk! Retreat for now!"
[Kill them all! Kill them and offer their bodies and souls as sacrifices!]
"Damn! I knew those guys would cause trouble someday!"
"The monsters of the Abyss...!"
And now.
In a section of the Demon Realm's center.
The sewage from the sewer began to overflow.
***
'A war in the Demon Realm...'
The office of the head of the Hubert Company.
The demon who had suddenly appeared, Miyamoto Ken, disappeared as silently as he had come.
Leaving behind only a promise to return and the remnants of food containers that he had devoured completely.
In a way, it was a positive sign.
Even though he had the power to put his bad intentions into action, he retreated without causing any harm.
Considering that, there was room to develop a cooperative relationship that would be beneficial to both, but...
Hubert never let his guard down and remained cautious.
'A demon is a demon for a reason.'
It was a separate issue from force.
The ability to deceive even those who were awake was the characteristic of the demon race.
Of course, Ken was an acquired demon, so it couldn't be considered in the same way, but who knows how much he had been influenced by it after living in the Demon Realm for so long?
'He might show a friendly attitude and then try to devour us in an instant.'
Come to think of it, that wouldn't be so bad either.
He was watching for now because he didn't know what would happen, but if the other side crossed the line first, he could strip them bare without any remorse.
"Um... Master Hubert?"
"Hmm?"
Hubert, who had been lost in thought in the office alone, raised his head and looked at the person who had called him.
"Are you really alright? The person who came just now..."
A mature girl who looked at him with a worried expression.
Diana, his right-hand woman and a capable personal secretary who was involved in most of the company's affairs.
'She noticed, as expected.'
It seemed like just yesterday that he met her, skinny and small, in a small city on the outskirts occupied by vampires, but she had grown so much in the past few years, eating and living well, that she could now be called a lady.
'Her mysterious sense of smell seems to have matured as well.'
Even the True Blood vampire who was in charge of her guard didn't notice.
She had vaguely figured out the opponent's identity with that sense of smell.
That's why she was looking at him so worriedly.
"Ah, it's fine. I have something else in mind."
"That's a relief, but... um, maybe I'm being sensitive, but... after smelling that person, I feel uneasy."
"Uneasy?"
"...Ominous would be more accurate. I have a bad feeling."
"Hmm."
Hubert slowly stroked his chin.
Diana had the characteristic of 'hopeless misfortune' along with 'mysterious sense of smell'.
Now, she was avoiding it by being with Hubert, an otherworlder who defied fixed fate, but her words, as a specialist in misfortune for a long time, were incredibly persuasive.
"Yes, don't worry."
In fact, he was a little conflicted.
It was not a matter to be decided lightly.
But hearing her words, he could definitely make up his mind.
"Because I have a sure method."
Let's use everything we can.
***
I looked at the various items in the 'Karma Shop Ver.2' that appeared in front of me and was filled with a different kind of emotion.
'...Alright, I have enough points.'
When I checked immediately after restoring Ganghwange, I had about 9.5 million karma points.
Now, a few days later in Earth time, it had grown to over 13 million.
'There weren't any major incidents other than the business of the Hubert Company in the meantime.'
It was literally a terrifying growth rate.
It was the result of the accumulation of various achievements.
Seeing the number still rise in real time, I felt full even without eating.
"Let's start right away."
With this much ammunition, there was nothing more to hesitate about.
『Unique Skill Enhancement (2,000,000)』
I selected the item without hesitation.
"Hmm."
Immediately after, a familiar headache pierced my mind.
A sharp pain that even my strong mental defense ability couldn't filter out.
At the same time, my cognitive domain, which had already reached an immense realm, began to expand even further.
"The effects of abilities derived from the unique skill are further increased, and the area where avatars can be summoned is expanded."
Thus, a short time passed.
The phrase that had appeared in the previous enhancement appeared in front of my eyes.
The enhancement of abilities related to the unique skill and the explosive increase in the remote summoning range, which was about 60 kilometers in radius.
'At this rate... it would be about 300 kilometers in radius?'
This was enough to cover most of the Korean Peninsula.
Now, I could freely summon avatars anywhere within that range with just a single will.
'The points required for the next enhancement are 3 million.'
I felt bitter at the fact that the cost had increased by 1 million at once, but I was able to shake it off quickly because I had already expected it to some extent.
Anyway, I had plenty of points, and the real shortage was the time to adapt to the enhanced unique skill.
'And there's something more important right now.'
It was that I could finally create a new avatar.
It felt like it had been a long time since only other abilities had been enhanced in the last few enhancements.
"Is it the 11th avatar?"
All the necessary preparations were already complete.
I took a deep breath and walked down to the basement.
Wooong
There, all kinds of magic circles and spells, which were already densely laid out, were emitting a faint presence.
All of them were mysteries of the type that blocked the energy inside from leaking out.
My residence was already surrounded by several layers of security devices, but this place was a space where facilities that utilized complex spells to the extreme were added.
'Here, even if Hans doesn't hide his power, it won't be observed from the outside.'
Of course, it would be difficult to completely block it if he emitted it with all his might, but it was possible to completely block the force that leaked out naturally.
The labor costs of the top-tier ability users who worked on this place aside, the resources consumed alone were astronomical.
"Well, then."
I had already decided what to make the next avatar.
Don't I have enough materials for it?
"It's finally time to use this."
Wooong
The moment I took out that object.
The barriers in the basement began to glow all at once and suppress the energy inside.
A single arm, wrapped in silver chains consecrated with the divine power of a high priest, and fixed with sharp metal spikes embedded in various places.
The legacy of the gold dragons that hatchling Horus had inherited, the 'right arm of the 14th Demon King Leraje', which had been sealed in the 'Golden Treasury'.
'It's amazing, as expected.'
Even though it had been sealed for over a thousand years, a powerful presence could still be felt from this Demon King's remains.
If it weren't for the barriers installed here, the guardians would have already invaded.
"Now..."
And immediately 'Customization'... before using it.
I searched for an item in 'Purchase Items'.
There were still more procedures to prepare.
『Horn containing the essence of the 14th Demon King Leraje (4,080,000)』
The product that was over 5 million points when I first saw it.
But even now, at over 4 million, it was still a tremendous price.
Back then, I wondered if I would ever have a reason to buy such an item...
'Well, you never know how things will turn out.'
I had been using only one medium when creating avatars.
In fact, that was enough to target a specific race.
'But as the unique skill was enhanced and 'Customization' grew, another possibility opened up.'
It was to use multiple media with similar characteristics when creating an avatar.
But what if that medium was the remains of a Demon King?
What if it was the remains of the 14th Demon King, who was said to be comparable to the Immortal King at his peak?
'Yeah, I already have 10 avatars, so it's not like I can raise a new one from scratch now.'
These days, level-jumping characters were all the rage in the gaming industry.
But what's stopping me from doing the same?
I smiled and carefully placed a pair of black horns in the middle of the magic circle.
A pair of gently curved horns, about 30 centimeters long.
Because it was called 'essence', the power contained within it was incomparable to the sealed right arm.
Wooong
The barriers in the basement, which had been running smoothly, were activated even more vigorously.
With a majestic vibration and a faint glow.
Still, it seemed a little more relaxed, perhaps because of the enormous resources that had been poured into it.
'Yeah, yeah. It's a problem if the limit comes already.'
Because there was still one more left.
I immediately took out another item.
It was a transparent glass bottle wrapped in a thin silver chain engraved with tiny prayers—.
As the bottle tilted slightly, the black sphere inside rolled around.
A ruby-like eye embedded in the center of the black sphere.
It met my eyes head-on.
"The eye of the 14th Demon King Leraje."
This was an item brought from the holy land of the Main God Church, Rocellia Cathedral.
Of course, it wasn't just the fragment of the Immortal King that had been stolen before that was sealed there.
One of them was a part of the remains of the Demon King who had invaded the surface over a thousand years ago, and Heinrich had stolen it under the pretext of destroying it forever.
'...Honestly, it's not a lie. This will soon disappear from the world completely.'
Thanks to that, I was able to collect three of the Demon King's remains as media.
The horn, right arm, and eye of the 14th Demon King Leraje.
Moreover, the horn contained the essence, and since the media were obtained from completely identical individuals, it was the best combination that could be expected to have extreme synergy.
'Is this going to be something amazing?'
The barriers in the basement were gradually becoming burdened, so I couldn't delay any longer.
I immediately used 'Customization' without hiding my anticipation.
And...
"Huh? What, what is this?"
***
Avatar creation through 'Customization' was complete.
An unprecedented force felt within my body.
It was a new power imbued in the newly acquired body, but it didn't take long to adapt and adjust.
I had already handled great power to the point of exhaustion with other avatars.
One step, one step.
I felt a subtle discomfort and moved slowly.
It happened every time I created a new avatar, but this time, the unfamiliar feeling was even more pronounced.
After slowly arriving in front of a mirror placed in one corner.
I carefully raised my head and looked at my reflection in it.
A pair of black horns sprouting from the sides of my head and rising high.
Inverse eyes with red pupils shining in black eyeballs.
Black wings that protruded from the clothes on the shoulder blades.
No matter how you looked at it, it was the very image of a magnificent Demon King.
However, one unexpected variable occurred during the 'Customization' process—.
Perhaps because too much material from a single entity with strong power was used, the authority given to me to modify the entity was not very large.
Of course, I could modify the details, but some major parts were impossible to change no matter what.
"The 14th Demon King Leraje."
For example, a pair of black horns.
Or inverse eyes that shine like rubies.
Or...
"...Was it a female?"
The gender of the entity.
"Sigh— I didn't expect this."
The beauty with an exotic appearance reflected in the mirror let out a deep sigh.
With a charming voice that would bewitch anyone who heard it.