In the beginning of the universe, there was no sun or moon in the heavens, no constant form to the earth.
This was an eternally silent dimension of darkness.
Cold, blazing, writhing, still.
Amid this unspeakable pitch-black void, Othinus struggled to shatter the power that bound her—but found herself utterly incapable.
In the span of a single second, measured by human perception, the one-eyed girl tried countless methods to break free.
Ignoring the explicit bans from the true Gremlin's other Magic Gods, she attempted to manipulate the phases, aiming to destroy the world and rebuild it anew—yet there was no response at all.
Time and again, Othinus unleashed her incomplete Magic God power—shattering stars, obliterating galaxies, even shaking entire cosmic filaments. Countless clusters turned to nothing at the girl's fingertips.
But it was all futile. Her crippled strength was just one step too short.
Whether it was the previous moment of cataclysm or a doomsday spectacle, the very next instant, all returned to tranquility. As if nothing had occurred, the newborn universe continued to grow without the slightest pause.
Othinus knew—ever since she confronted Selene and declared she would forge her into the Lance of the All-Father—she had walked straight into a trap. The other party understood her far too well.
Even leveraging the magical phase symbolized by the Christian Cross and using the Star of Bethlehem—the herald of Christ's birth—as a true spatial anchor, Selene had banished her from Earth's layered phase without hesitation.
She didn't want to admit it, but the truth was clear. She—Othinus, the Magic God crowned with the Norse name of Odin, who had exhausted the limits of magic and wisdom to reach the realm of divinity—was now in a very awkward situation.
Despite possessing power capable of destroying the world a hundred, a thousand times over, she was in a broken state. The gap between a 99.999999—% crippled Magic God and a 100% complete Magic God was immense.
To put it crudely, the difference between an ordinary human and a proto-Magic God like Ollerus might not even compare to that between a crippled and complete Magic God.
Calling it the difference between mud and clouds, between fireflies and the full moon—those were still understatements.
Within this void of silence, following a Genesis-like expansion akin to the Big Bang, Othinus had no way of knowing how far she had drifted.
If only I could reclaim my full power...
But there was no "if." Though she theoretically had the power to forge the Lance of the All-Father alone, time was no longer on her side.
Vmmm vmmm vmmm—!
Once again, a vast area of the void flickered like mosaic static. Then, before her eyes, the entire space seemed to come alive, twisting and squirming. Planets, moons, comets, meteoroids, star clusters, nebulae, intergalactic matter—all writhed as if trying to break free from some invisible shackle.
"Why would I assume you can't forge the Lance of the All-Father on your own? A good question."
From the void.
A voice, tinged with amusement, crossed infinite space-time and arrived at Othinus's ear. "If a dignified Magic God must rely on mere mortal dwarves to forge a weapon, isn't that utterly absurd?"
"There's only one answer. You're hiding your strength. Misdirecting. Or... something of equal standing is restricting your power output in the real world."
The voice was cool and crystalline, like spring water from the heavens—yet unbearably arrogant.
"And a true commander who hinges their plan on the enemy's mistakes, rather than building contingency into their actions, is a novice at best."
Vmmm vmmm vmmm—!
Othinus turned her head. Before her—
Bathed in burning radiance, surrounded by profound starlight, the figure of a cosmic deity hovered proudly in the outer realm.
The boundless stars appeared to melt, dripping downward like candle wax. Once again, the space twisted, flickering in a silent mosaic—shifting and entangling in ways words could not describe.
Rainbow-hued, jellyfish-like translucent tendrils drifted through the imaginary space. The colossal stellar deity's body moved in silence, its form grand as celestial bodies.
Then, a twisted, semi-transparent humanoid creature suddenly appeared, assembling itself. Its surface surged with the brilliance of blazing suns. Amid the vibrant activity of swirling nebulae, bright golden lines and a rotating rhomboid radiance contracted inward.
Dun-dun!
It flickered—then vanished without a trace.
From afar to near, the invisible void sparkled with starlight with each step, adding an undeniable sense of majesty. A white-haired beauty emerged, wrapped in an ornate Gothic white-platinum gown that accentuated her graceful figure.
Selene.
Othinus recognized the face of the approaching figure.
No—something was different.
Though it was Selene, she was completely unlike the one in the real world.
Standing there, she exuded no fluctuation, no AIM field, no magical energy, no phase, no divine or angelic power.
To Othinus, she felt like an eternal burning sun—endless light and heat, brimming with dignity. Boundless. Silent. Cold. A final existence that marked the end of all things in the universe.
"Tell my main body I said hi!"
Othinus recalled what Selene had said when she banished her from the real world.
Her main body, huh...
No matter the distance between them, in this moment, Othinus's jewel-like emerald eye captured all the information she could perceive from Selene's true form.
Faintly, she saw visions utterly different from the real world—
War. War! More war!!
The mournful wails of fallen stars.
The anguished cries of life overwhelmed by despair echoed everywhere. Countless worlds, in a fleeting instant, were consumed by the wave of conquest and expansion known as the Grand Crusade.
The sky darkened, clouds black and heavy. The earth was blanketed beneath a steel sky.
Artillery roared. Scorched craters scattered with mangled bones of the dead. Within the burning cities, thousands upon thousands of war machines advanced like walls, overwhelming everything in their path in a swarming assault…
In the boundless blackness of space, intersecting electromagnetic railguns sliced through the void. Sparks of plasma lit up the darkness. Rows of stubby, massive cannons fired in unison. Beneath colossal dreadnoughts, meteor-like orbital drop pods rained down…
Then the scene shifted—
A steel behemoth, larger than a planet, fired radiant lances of light. In the ensuing explosions and brilliance, entire planets were torn apart and disintegrated. Fragments larger than continental plates scattered like space debris…
Othinus widened her flawless, gleaming eye.
As a Magic God, she had witnessed countless sights.
But this—this was truly unprecedented.
Even though the power of a Magic God could erase a world with a snap of her fingers, their domain was ultimately confined to Earth—its 7 billion inhabitants, its 510,072,000 km² of surface.
And what was she seeing now?
Interstellar war.
Pouring Earth's entire population into this scene might not even make a ripple.
"Looks like you saw something interesting, Magic God Othinus."
Selene composed herself, offering a smile that appeared gentle yet carried a chilling cruelty. With a slight lift of her embroidered brow, she said, "You wanted to forge me into a weapon? Fine. Let's see who forges who."
"Selene, does your main body still go by Selene? Or is that name fake too? You damn outer god."
Now every muscle in Othinus's body tensed. Her skin felt as if it were being scoured by the biting wind of the coldest hell. Her arrogance and indifference evaporated, replaced by full alertness.
For the first time—she felt something she hadn't felt in countless years.
Fear.
This was the first time since becoming a Magic God that Othinus had experienced such an intense sense of danger.
Not even during her gamble for the Magic God's throne against Ollerus, hanging herself upside down on a tree to achieve enlightenment or die trying, had she trembled like this.
Whatever reason Selene had for coming to their universe—whatever long game she had been playing—was it to turn this peaceful cosmos into a battlefield of purgatory? To conquer? To destroy…?
Othinus only knew one thing—this would be a battle of life and death.
If she won, this newborn universe would become her personal playground. Even the countless worlds glimpsed through Selene's essence would be within reach.
But if she lost, her soul would be annihilated—erased without a trace.
Damn it!
Her flawless little face contorted with frustration. At this moment, Othinus cursed the very trait of her being—the "infinite potential" that defined her. If only she were a complete Magic God, fully in control of her power—she wouldn't be this passive.
Through Selene's true form, Othinus had opened the door to a new world. A new path appeared in her mind—one that might give those who lazed about in the Hidden World a reason to rise and act.
With it, she could reclaim her power freely, without limitation—and even retrieve the world she once lived in.
But as long as Selene remained, and she couldn't escape, that was nothing but delusion.
And that was what tore at Othinus the most.
Because she knew—realistically, her fate was far more likely to be that of the loser.
Why let her see a new world—let her glimpse the realization of her deepest wish—only to place a final, insurmountable obstacle in her path?
"Crossbow!"
Vmmm vmmm vmmm—!
The pitch-black world.
Everything was being corroded by the spreading cracks unfurling from behind Othinus. Not quite wings, not quite petals—unknown patterns extended infinitely.
Crack! Behind her appeared ten dark wings wide enough to cover the world.
Crossbow—the unique ability of Magic God Othinus, a weapon that belonged to her alone. Legend said that once unleashed, it could annihilate entire armies.
Its destructive power could erase planets with ease, even bypass the constraints of three dimensions to slice through space and assault entire worlds. It ignored the concept of quantity, raining down like a torrential storm, every strike lethal.
"'Outer god'? An amusing description." Without hesitation, Selene calmly responded.
The newborn universe groaned with creaking noises.
Then and there—Selene, without the slightest reservation, struck with full power!
"Trying to shatter the universe and escape during the chaos? Impossible. A cripple is still a cripple. If you were complete, perhaps you could have stalled me a bit. But now? Heh... you have no chance."
Subspace Lance—Expand Expand Expand!
Pointing her subspace lance at the incoming Crossbow, Selene met it head-on without flinching.
The next instant—
Her subspace lance, thick as a sky pillar and as destructive as an extinction level divine weapon, clashed against the fired Crossbow.
CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK—!!!
A thunderous roar echoed across the starsea.
Layer upon layer of black fractures spread from the point of impact, endlessly propagating like shattered glass—each shard a miniature cataclysm. It was like the shockwave of a second Big Bang. Even just looking at it gave one a sense of unstoppable collapse.
CRACK CRACK CRACK—!
CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK—!!
The rumbling grew stronger with each passing second. The nascent universe—still expanding on an astronomical scale—began boiling like an overheated cauldron.
Every object touched by the shockwave—
Whether a planet or a shining, radiant sun—was wiped away without resistance.
Transformed into bursts of cosmic fireworks, briefly embellishing the clash between the two powers.
Only the fabric of space itself remained unbroken—cracked, but not shattered.
"Rather than an 'outer god,' perhaps 'royal army' suits me better," Selene said. "This is an act of justice. The common folk have suffered under the tyranny of Magic Gods long enough."
Turning her gaze back, Selene was speaking nothing but the truth.
Never mind what she'd done in other worlds—how many nations she'd destroyed, how many atrocities she'd committed—but as far as the Magic Index world was concerned, she really didn't have much ambition.
Ever since she took her seat as a board member of Academy City, she had reduced internal bloodshed and chaos. Countless iterations of high-tech products had been released—real, tangible benefits to the global population.
And she didn't hoard it all for Academy City. No, in the Magic Index world, Selene was definitely not Chaotic Evil. No exaggeration, she was at least Lawful Good. Call her a great benefactor—it wouldn't be far off.
At most, she skimmed a little money. Recruited a few people. And even then, people were crying and begging to hand her the cash. It honestly left Selene quite troubled.
Unlike her—a benevolent saint—the Magic Gods were monsters that deserved to be purged.
Their mere presence inflicted irreversible harm on the universe itself.
That just wouldn't do. Magic Gods had to be destroyed. No exceptions!
Imagine this—you're at home with your wife and kids, eating hotpot and singing songs, when suddenly a Magic God destroys the entire world. Is that okay? Absolutely not!
Which is why—
A world without Magic Gods is a better world!
At the request of the honorary chairman of the science side, supreme leader of the Pan-Pacific Allied Nations, first executive of the Academy City defense pact, shared mentor of all the world's magicians, founder of modern magic, the human pioneer who refused to ascend into godhood, and director of the Academy City Board of Directors—Aleister Crowley—Selene was determined to annihilate the Magic Gods.
She was honest. She repaid her debts. Aleister's guidance was one. And when the mother of this Magic Index world welcomed her in its moment of weakness, giving her a place to grow—well, Selene had to repay that kindness.
Absolutely no ulterior motives. Sure, Magic Gods were quite the nutritious snack, but still…
Some might say she took all the benefits. Lacked vision. But this? This was mutual satisfaction. Everybody wins.
"Seems like in the end, I'll be the one to 'forge' you, Othinus. You should know—I've never underestimated the Magic Gods. To kill you all, I've made plenty of preparations."
Selene spread her right hand, her expression dancing between smile and smirk. In her palm was a ping-pong ball-sized orb—jade-green and jewel-hard.
Pfft.
The sound of bitten lips, broken in rage.
Squeak—grind—!
Radiant patterns burst from Othinus's back like wings of light. Alongside the screeching sound came the rumble of gathering power.
"Why… is that… in your hand?!"
Blood dripped from Othinus's pale lips. That orb—was her own eye. The very eye she had gouged out and sacrificed.
"Because the mother of your world wants you dead."
Selene offered the explanation as if it were the most natural thing in the universe. Step by step, she walked toward Othinus's seated figure.
Like a wolf disguised as a kindly grandmother approaching a helpless little red riding hood.
VMMM VMMM VMMM—!
"No! Don't come closer! Die! Die!! DIIIIE AHHHHHH—!!"
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