All the trees were white—an odd forest.
A white-haired man clad in pure white robes spoke to a small lizard on his lap. “Boakin, I hear an opportunity has come your way?”
The lizard replied, “Yes. The Black Dragon God’s High Apostle failed, so the chance has passed to me.”
“Delicious. I needed a sacrifice to ascend anyway. Can you catch him?”
“I’ve made every preparation to ensure we don’t let our guard down. I ordered all High Apostles to conserve their strength, while the Mid-low rank Apostles gather those with Talent. I will capture him no matter what.”
“I’m curious to see the Black Dragon’s face. Weren’t all the underlings he had killed?”
“Yes. The Supreme Apostle fell, and the one who was the next Supreme Apostle candidate was taken down this time, so he lost his support base.”
The white-haired man laughed heartily at the lizard’s answer. “Serves him right. That guy’s always been too impatient. He doesn’t have the temperament to be a God.”
“He probably won’t stay still. Considering the Black Dragon God’s personality…”
“Right. It’s possible he’ll strike at us. That bastard would rather drag others down than die alone.”
Just then, a small light flickered on the lizard’s body, accompanied by a vibration. The lizard received a message sent by someone through that vibration.
After hearing everything, it looked up at the white-haired man. “White Dragon God, it seems there’s trouble in the Garden of the Sun.”
“Trouble?”
“The Black Dragon God’s side has invaded.”
“They moved faster than I expected.”
“I should return and handle the situation.”
The lizard slithered off the White Dragon God’s body and threw itself toward a pit nearby.
It wasn’t just any pit—at the bottom was a Dimensional Gate that led back to the Garden of the Sun.
Boakin, who had been a tiny lizard, transformed back into his demi-human form the moment he entered the garden.
A Dragonian.
Their overall appearance resembled humans, but their features were closer to dragons. It wasn’t Polymorph—this was simply their natural form.
He stood nearly three meters tall, with broad shoulders to match. Boakin, with white hair and white eyes, stretched lightly and muttered, “No matter how many times I come to the Divine Realm, I can’t get used to it.”
In the Earthly Realm, he felt like an omniscient being.
But in the Divine Realm, he felt like nothing more than a tiny creature. That wasn’t far from the truth. In the Divine Realm, one’s manifested form varied according to one’s power.
In the Earthly Realm, he had ascended to a Low-rank Divine Throne, but here his strength was barely that of a lizard.
Shaking off the overwhelming vastness of the Divine Realm, Boakin left the secret space.
It was a room only he could enter, containing the sole gate to the Divine Realm—no one else could invade it.
Step. Step.
With each step, information from outside flowed into his body. Foul Demonic Power roiled from all directions. The unpleasant stench of Demonic Power made his nose twitch involuntarily.
Boakin stepped out of the garden and surveyed the wrecked Garden of the Sun. Apostles of the Black Dragon God and White Dragon God lay scattered everywhere—some dead, others alive but unable to move.
Slowly raising his hand, Boakin released the Divine Power gathered at his fingertips.
Buzz!
A strong light spread, extending in all directions. The fallen High Apostles replenished their Divine Power, regenerated their shattered bodies, and returned from the brink of death.
“Hahk!”
“…Lord Boakin.”
The High Apostles struggled to their feet, approached Boakin, and knelt. Boakin looked at them while scanning the surroundings. The energy was murky from the Demonic Power that had swept through earlier, but he couldn’t sense any living trace of the Black Dragon God.
“Where did the Black Dragon God’s Apostles go?”
“They struck and then withdrew to their own territory.”
Boakin nodded slightly. Creatures made of Demonic Power couldn’t stay long in a place saturated with Divine Power in the first place. That was likely why they’d launched a surprise attack. It was obvious they would adopt a hit-and-run strategy, as their forces were too weak for an All-Out War.
“Prepare. We must repay what we’ve suffered.”
“Yes.”
“Bring out the Equipment as well.”
“Wasn’t that meant for capturing the Successor of the Lord?”
“We’ll deal with the Black Dragon God first. If we clean this up now, we can hunt the Successor with peace of mind.”
Accepting the Divine Power Boakin radiated, the High Apostles prepared for battle. Some went inside the garden and retrieved the Equipment. Divine Stones—minerals produced only in extremely small quantities in a single dimension, special minerals that maximized Divine Power. They each donned Equipment made from Divine Stones collected across multiple dimensions.
“Only the Black Dragon Extermination Squad will follow me. The rest of you, repair this place and prepare for the original plan.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s go.”
The Black Dragon Extermination Squad consisted of thirty members specializing in combat among the High Apostles. They followed behind Boakin.
Boakin spread his wings, flew swiftly toward the gate crossing dimensions, and passed through without slowing down.
The moment he crossed the boundary, the atmosphere changed instantly. A world appeared where thick, filthy things churned—far beyond the Demonic Power he’d felt in the Garden of the Sun.
“Attack!”
The Black Dragon God’s Apostles, who had been lying in wait, unleashed Black Magic. Boakin invoked his Authority against the spells raining down from all directions—a special power that greatly enhanced Divine Power.
The Holy Magic that spread out with it manifested, emitting a pure white light.
A gigantic shield of light blocked the Black Magic the Black Dragon God had fired.
CRASH!
RUMBLE!
Massive shockwaves shook the shield. But the Black Dragon Extermination Squad crossed the dimension without taking any damage.
“We have two hours. Wipe out as many as we can and return.”
“Yes!”
“Move out.”
Boakin granted the Apostles a Blessing Authority and charged forward. The Holy Magic that unfolded from his hands targeted the Black Dragon God’s Apostles.
Slice!
BOOM!
BANG!
He cut down and blasted every Black Dragon God’s Apostle he saw. Lines of white light extended across the dark ground. But at some point, the light stopped spreading and was blocked.
“Boakin, I didn’t expect you to come in person. You must have been pretty desperate.”
From within the enemy camp emerged an Apostle of the Black Dragon God—Patrick. He had been ranked third among the Black Dragon God’s High Apostles. Boakin narrowed his eyes at the Authority he sensed from the man.
“You’ve risen to Supreme Apostle.”
“Should I thank you personally? Thanks to you picking a fight so kindly, the Black Dragon God got furious and gave me power.”
“An incompetent like you gaining power won’t change anything.”
“Maybe. But I think I can at least trip you up.”
At Patrick’s words, Boakin curled his lips and laughed. “The Black Dragon God must have lost his mind, giving that position to a fool like you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Keep running your mouth. Your future’s already decided anyway. Just wait—I’ll tear you apart so viciously.”
Boakin concentrated Divine Power in his hand to form a spear. He infused the white spear with amplification, Enhancement, and Authority, then threw it at Patrick.
Flash!
In the blink of an eye, the white spear arrived in front of Patrick. Patrick reached out and blocked it.
Sizzle!
White sparks flew up as a repulsion reaction occurred against the Demonic Power. Patrick redirected the Demonic Power to cancel out the Divine Power, then smirked and gave orders to his subordinates.
“Have fun with them for two hours.”
“Yes! Move out!”
“RAAAAH!”
Tens of thousands of Black Dragon God’s Apostles appeared in an instant, raining attacks on the White Dragon God’s Apostles. Boakin exploded his Divine Power, sweeping away the lower-ranked Apostles.
Yet the Black Dragon God’s Apostles didn’t stop.
They clung on and bit tenaciously—when their arms were severed, they entangled with their legs; when their legs were cut, they grabbed with their hands. One by one, the Black Dragon Extermination Squad, overwhelmed, fell.
“Lord Boakin, we’re outnumbered. We should bring all our forces.”
“Everyone withdraw.”
Boakin ordered the Black Dragon Extermination Squad to retreat. Then, using all the power he had, he unleashed a massive spell. The dark sky split open, white light poured down, and dozens of giant swords plunged toward the ground.
CRASH!
BOOM!
The surroundings were devastated, the earth split apart, and the Divine Power explosion swallowed the Black Dragon God’s Apostles. Nearly half of them lost their lives.
It was a raid meant to set an example anyway. He had achieved his original goal. Boakin shot a bitter smile toward Patrick, who was simply watching from afar.
“See you again.”
He turned, crossed the dimension back to the Garden of the Sun, and then gathered all the White Dragon God’s Apostles who had been dispatched across dimensions.
Thus began the All-Out War between the Black Dragon God and the White Dragon God.
The war between the Black Dragon God and the White Dragon God lasted about two weeks.
The main battlefields were the Garden of the Sun and the Garden of Corruption. The number of Dimensional Gates increased from one to five, and they raided each other’s dimensions back and forth.
Watching the war unfold, I gained quite a bit.
First, the White Dragon God’s side had High Apostles of uniformly high skill, but the mid-tier was weak, making them strong in small-scale engagements.
On the other hand, the Black Dragon God was the opposite—the High Apostles were comparatively weak, but the mid-tier was solid, making them strong in quantity-based fighting.
Still, the end was in sight. I ate snacks while using Invisibility Magic to watch the final war between the Black Dragon God and the White Dragon God. The momentum had shifted to the White Dragon God’s side.
The Black Dragon God’s side lost nearly all its Apostles, but the White Dragon God’s side didn’t escape unscathed either.
Two-thirds of the High Apostles were gone. Most of the Equipment made from the special mineral called Divine Stones had also been consumed.
Their overall power had dropped significantly from the beginning.
“This victory doesn’t feel like a win.”
Boakin, wearing an expression of dissatisfaction, finished off the Black Dragon God’s Apostles. A fierce, savage, unexpected blow erased the Black Dragon God’s Supreme Apostle from the world. Victory went to the White Dragon God.
With that, the Demonic Power on the darkened land dissipated, and everything that had turned black vanished. Divine Power—the energy of the victor—spread and purified everything.
Watching Boakin, who had won the war, I stood up. “Heh. Time to wrap things up.”
I dusted off my hands and stepped through the Dimensional Gate to the Garden of the Sun.
As I saw the victorious White Dragon God’s Apostles returning with weary steps, I deactivated my Invisibility.
“…Who are you?”
The High Apostle at the lead raised Divine Power, but they were already exhausted. Their Divine Power was far too weak.
Snicker.
I lightly chuckled, raised my hand toward Boakin, who had crossed the dimension belatedly, and said, “Since you weren’t coming, I came to you first.”
With that, I opened a Dimensional Gate connecting Earth and the Garden of the Sun.
[I declare a Dimensional War.]