Overgeared

The seven malignant saints episodes weren't arranged for a single player. It was a structure in which many players discovered secrets by connecting with the seven malignant saints and proceeding with quests. There were currently five players doing the seven malignant saints episodes.

The 1st evil, Jake, and Zibal's Providence.

The 2nd evil, Diana, and Haster's Heroic Story.

The 3rd evil, Rayleigh, and Agnus' Supreme Ruler.

The 4th evil, Taren, and Grid's God's Command.

The 5th evil, Leeha, and Kraugel's Quick Command.

Who first came to know about the concept of the seven malignant saints? It was naturally Kraugel. Kraugel's episode progress was also the highest. However, the first person to gain the power of one of the seven evils was Grid. On the other hand, Zibal gained the power the latest.

However, Zibal contributed the most to the growth and survival of the 6th evil, Zik, and discovered the truth of the seal of the seven malignant saints. This meant that the process wasn't very important. Players related to the seven malignant saints learned the secrets of the seven malignant saints together, regardless of the order.

It happened naturally even if there was no contact point. It was because the seven malignant saints were so famous.

Didn't Hanul, one of the gods of the beginning, try to recruit Zik? It was from the surface, hell, Asgard, and even the Peach Blossom Spring and the Hwan Kingdom. The whole world knew about the seven malignant saints, so the spread of news related to them took place tremendously quickly.

In the present time—

In fact, the episode of the seven malignant saints was heading toward the end. All of the seven evils were killed except for the 6th evil, Zik. Only their souls remained after their deaths and were wandering somewhere in the Abyss. Zik, whose body was preserved, was the only one revived. The powers of the remaining six of the seven malignant saints were shared by the players. The remaining task was to tell the stories of each of the seven malignant saints, except for Zik, and reveal the powers of the seven malignant saints that hadn't appeared yet.

In fact, it was ambiguous to say that it was a challenge that needed to be solved. The 'ending' of the seven malignant saints episodes was the punishment of the gods of Asgard. it was to reveal the ugly reality of the gods and make them lose their divinity, or physically conquer Asgard. This was the wish of the seven malignant saints.

It was good to be able to omit the intermediate process as much as possible as long as their wish was fulfilled. However, Kraugel came to the Peach Blossom Spring. He persistently dug through the quests related to the 5th evil and barely reached it. It was out of the belief that the more he understood them, the stronger that Quick Command would become. It didn't matter if his expectations were wrong.

He got confirmation that there was a swordsman immortal at the Peach Blossom Spring. It was good enough if he could meet the swordsman immortal.

"Like this place that is far from the world, there are many dimensions in the world. There is also a world where elementals play."

At a small village surrounded by peach trees…

At the entrance, someone was sitting on the bench in front of the cabin. He had his back to Kraugel, who just entered the village.

Tak, tak, tak…

A clear sound rang out irregularly. It was the sound of putting a go stone on a board.

"The elemental world is a world where four elements are established in order."

"Earth is the lowest, water is the next lowest and is above earth, air is above the two of them, and fire is at the top. Do you mean this type of order?"

Kraugel's understanding was unrivaled. He immediately identified and adapted to the identity of the village that he arrived at without knowing it. It was because he felt auspicious energy. He was convinced that the man who sat alone and played go was a daoist immortal and gave a preemptive answer. He knew it was the precursor to a quest.

"That's right. I wanted to ask you the question because you know it well."

Tak.

White stones surrounded black stones. It was just before completing the territory. There didn't seem to be any remaining black stones.

"It is right that it is light that appeared in defiance of the order and laws of the already completed world."

The five attributes that made up the elemental world were originally fire, water, wind, earth, and light. If it had been Kraugel a few days ago, he would've replied something like 'light exists everywhere so it isn't wrong.' However, it was different now. He knew that the Elemental King of Light was defeated by Grid and that the new Elemental King of Nothingness filled the void.

"I don't think light is necessary in a world where light already exists."

"You must be interpreting based on the premise that the law and order are established and completed worlds are perfect."

"Yes."

"Even so, it is rare for anything in this world to be complete."

A divine move—the white stones surrounding the black stone were swallowed by a single move. They broke down helplessly. It was only then that the man put down the stone and turned around. Kraugel witnessed the reversal on the checkerboard followed by the evaluation that it was the wrong answer and was quite flustered. He had to control his facial expression.

"The elemental world is wrong from the premise. We also noticed it belatedly after the birth of the last elemental king."

Bentao—this was the name of the daoist immortal who sat facing Kraugel. He looked like an innocent young child or a kind old man.

"The sky brings down water, the water causes trees to grow, the trees create fire, fire builds up earth, and earth is turned to metal. These are the five elements."

"……!"

"The elemental world isn't four elements, but a world seeking five elements. Therefore, it has been obsessed with the number five."

The elemental world was ruled by 'five' elemental kings. This was the most basic law that governed the elemental world.

"It is a world that can only be completed if the last born 'nothingness' was 'metal,' but it wasn't completed properly."

The reason was obvious. Kraugel grasped the meaning of the words.

"Is it the Elemental King of Wind?"

"That's right."

Wind or air didn't belong to the order. It was right to have metal there. The Elemental King of Wind was a hidden villain. Of course, the words that led to the truth followed.

"You might've noticed, but the daoist immortals can be defined as half-gods who compromise with the world. We can deceive a god's eyes for a while, but we can't disobey the essential meaning."

Bentao flapped his wide sleeves and yellow amulets fluttered. The circular shape as it moved resembled butterflies playing. It soon became a door. It was a door to the elemental world.

"In short, correct the order of the elemental world on our behalf."

[★Hidden Quest★ Sword that Cuts the Wind has occurred.]

Kraugel's eyes widened as he quickly scanned the contents of the quest. It was because the Sword Saint's 'sword that cuts anything' was about to enter the deepening phase.

'Even slashing oxygen… can I make an area where breathing isn't possible?'

The opening of a passive skill that sharply decreased the health of nearby targets every time he wielded the sword. Of course, this was a story of when he succeeded in cutting the Elemental King of Wind. Unsurprisingly, Kraugel accepted the quest.

"There are many things I want to ask but I'll push it back for now."

What did the four elements and five elements imply? Why did the daoist immortals want to help the elemental world? Did this person happen to know he would come and so on.

Kraugel had all types of questions in his head as he moved toward the portal. It was because he noticed that once he completed his quest and returned, they would be able to have a deeper conversation. He wasn't worried that it might be a trap. He trusted Bentao. Bentao was the first person to preach to the world that the seven malignant saints were good beings.

"I will tell you two things in advance." Bentao smiled at the gradually disappearing Kraugel. It was a smile that wiped away even the smallest bit of anxiety. "We have been waiting for you. Additionally, the completion of the elemental world will benefit the Overgeared God and all humans in the world."

***

Reidan—it was once the border of the Overgeared Kingdom and it had been transformed into an industrial city responsible for the empire's supplies. It had a large territory, but it was a land devastated by the desert. Thanks to the dedication of Piaro and the farmers, nearly half of the desert had turned into agricultural fields and forests, but deserts were still common and sandstorms often struck. All types of industries had developed around the alchemy facility, so it was much better to use it as an industrial city than a residential city.

In the first place, the Overgeared Empire was a super large nation that accounted for more than 80% of the continent. There was a lot of land much better for people to live in than Reidan.

"Eh! Hey! Brat! I told you to load all the things that are going to the capital first!"

The air in Reidan was very pleasant. There were hundreds of chimneys emitting smoke that was as black as the workers' hot beards, but the air purifiers installed in each chimney quickly cleaned up the pollutants. It was the invention of the century created by the Reidan alchemy facility. It was said that when they first invented this device, the great emperor commended the alchemists by saying, "You finally paid the price for your rice."

…The price for the rice was finally paid despite the alchemy facility being very old, but the air purifiers had become one of the empire's largest sources of income. It was produced in various sizes and designs, and was sold to facilities and nobles across the country. It was distributed free of charge to the populace. Of course, there was a condition that they needed merit in their field, but no one complained. They were just grateful that they could study or work hard without being lazy.

"Huh? What? It isn't time for the sandstorm to blow?"

There was a commotion as the busy workers sensed the unexpected event. It was because the hundreds of super large air purifiers installed in each chimney shook and generated noise. There was also a backflow seen from the mana acting as a filter in the air purifiers.

"There is a huge wind coming," a worker from Reidan muttered.

Until now, no one took the situation seriously. It was a peaceful world. Humanity joined forces after being invaded by demons and didn't antagonize each other. The marriage between Grid, who respected minorities from the beginning, and Basara led to racial unity. The expression that all humans were on the same side wasn't an exaggeration.

There were fewer troops stationed in Reidan and most of the talented people representing the city were away on the hell expedition, but the workers didn't feel any anxiety. In the first place, they didn't think about an enemy invasion. This was until bells rang all over the city.

"Evacuate! Evacuate all members!"

"The castle! Flee to the castle! Dammit! Come on, run!"

It was a call that was close to a scream. The soldiers who were shouting from the walls looked very unusual. The workers finally noticed the seriousness of the situation and moved quickly. They started to run toward the castle without even checking the identity of the danger they had thought was just the wind. However, the invader made their hundreds of steps useless with just a single flap of their wings.

[There are many weird things.]

"Ah… Ahhhhh…!!!"

The identity of the being that cast the black shadow.

A dragon—people witnessed the legendary monster that was different from a hatchling and collapsed due to weak legs. They sensed death, annihilation, and destruction.

The gray dragon Xenon didn't even look at the people who were shaking in silence. He paid attention to the bizarre devices installed throughout the city and various facilities that produced all types of goods.

[Human civilization has developed so rapidly?]

He was convinced about his father's death. He needed to be vigilant of the human beings of this time.

Xenon judged and flew heavily. He caused a frenzy and destroyed all types of facilities.

"U-Uwaaack!"

"Hiiiik!"

Thousands of people were swept away by the wind. There were only a handful of people who held onto the pillars. Most of them soared into the air. They struggled to survive as they fell among the remnants of the collapsed building. There was a being who saved all of them.

"All those who can fight should grab weapons. For the rest, run underground!"

It was Noll who just arrived at the scene with his vampire troops.

Noll—he inherited his warm heart from his mother, Beriache, and was almost the only direct descendant to show benevolence. His blood magic specialized in protection and survival.

[Vampire… Hmm.]

Xenon responded like it was somewhat strange. He felt strange about vampires protecting humans.

[Is this a farm?]

Xenon interpreted it in this way and gathered his magic power. From his point of view, there was no difference between vampires and humans. They were equally insignificant except for 'only one.' He was going to annihilate them all at once.

It was the day of the greatest crisis in Reidan's history.