Overgeared

The sanctuary was a measure that distinguished between a high or low god. The stronger the god, the more powerful their divinity and the more independent the realm that was built. Being independent made it hard to approach.

'This is the sanctuary of the Overgeared God.'

The angels were accustomed to the sanctuary of the goddess. Even with fighting against the expelled gods or suppressing the rebellion of the seven malignant saints, the angels fought with protection in the goddess' sanctuary. It meant she had a high discerning eye. Gabriel easily grasped and evaluated the Overgeared God's sanctuary.

'Excellent.'

It was a canyon of steel. The steel that melted in the heat spreading from the Overgeared God's heart made hundreds of armor and overlaid them on the Overgeared God. Attacks could be absorbed without damage. It was a space optimized for the concept of protection. It was a sanctuary that reflected the tendencies of the Overgeared God who protected humanity.

If it was Raphael, they would've ridiculed and belittled it for being the domain of a coward, but… Gabriel couldn't smile at all.

'It is a noble mental world.'

The canyon of steel was high and serene. The steel that formed the canyon was cold and the heat that melted the steel was hot. The scene was like the tip of hell. However, Gabriel got a glimpse into the essence behind the landscape.

Humanity had faced all types of monsters, demons, angels, and even gods and dragons. So far, countless beings had plunged the surface into crisis and every time, the Overgeared God had saved it. The high canyon was the Overgeared God's desire to be the fence that guarded the land and the numerous armors that sprang up in the canyon was the embodiment of the Overgeared God's achievements.

'A true god.'

Gabriel's gaze shifted to Grid, Garion, and Debirion, who was wandering behind them. They might be weak, but their character alone resembled the goddess. It was unfortunate that she had to kill them.

This sentiment didn't lead to the desire to help them. Gabriel's heart had long cooled down. It was too cold to have any aspirations.

"It is very good for a sanctuary that you have just earned. However, there is a limit to the power of simply defending."

The Overgeared God had been fighting enemies stronger than him. Above all else, surviving must've been the top priority. It was easy to understand the nature of the sanctuary that was specialized in defense. There was just no end if he kept simply defending. The way to achieve true victory and end the fight was to destroy the enemy. It meant that attacking was a higher concept than defense. It would've been perfect if it was as omnipotent as the goddess' sanctuary, but it was unlikely that the Overgeared God, who had just been born, could create such a sanctuary.

"Let's see how long you can hold out."

Gabriel retrieved the spear that she had thrown. She held it in her hand, not with her fingers. This spear was her symbol. It formed a single body and moved freely even without her touching it. The intention of her fingers alone shook the sky and the earth. If she held it in her hand and wielded it, the world might perish.

However, now she had no hesitation. It was okay to destroy this place because it was the Overgeared God's sanctuary, not reality.

A surge of shockwaves from Gabriel shook the entire canyon. The golden armor and spear she was armed with exploded a bright light in accordance with her will. They were the armor and spear bestowed by the goddess in the beginning. They were Gabriel's symbols that had been with her since birth.

In the shaky world, Garion became contemplative. She was amazed by Gabriel's power to shake up the entire sanctuary. She recognized that Grid's divinity would fall significantly if the sanctuary collapsed and tried to persuade him, "There is no need to have a power struggle with Gabriel, who is going her best. First of all, I think it is better to take back the sanctuary and step down."

One blow. Just block one attack and there would be a chance. No matter how strong Gabriel was, the aftermath would be great if she used that much power on the surface. Perhaps the duration of the trinity would end soon.

Garion thought this, but her opinion wasn't adopted by Grid. The flow of the battle was fast. Gabriel had already arrived in front of him. The spear blade that rotated like a wheel was fierce. A gold glow was dispersed dizzyingly and the spaces that were touched by the particles of light dissolved in vain.

There was a hole in the sanctuary. Gabriel's spear, armor, will, actions, and very existence destroyed the Overgeared God's sanctuary in real time.

'Too late…'

The spear blade that was right in front of her was projected into Garion's large eyes. Garion sensed annihilation and grasped Grid's cloak. She pulled Grid toward him and pushed herself forward. It was a desperate effort to save at least Grid. It was just that she hadn't recovered the strength she had lost. She was too weak. She did her best, but Grid's body didn't budge.

"Ah…" Garion's mind went blank. It wasn't her own death that made her despair. It was Grid's pain that she would have to witness before she died. She had experienced how much pain the energy of a god killer could cause. It broke her heart to think that Grid would suffer the same pain as herself.

"……?"

Garion's eyes widened. It was because Gabriel's face, which was enlarged as she got closer, crumpled up like a piece of paper. The astonishment that filled the indifferent eyes was unfamiliar.

Garion understood the situation one step late. Gabriel was covered in a thin white cloth. Her armor, which she had proudly armed herself with just now, was taken off and she revealed her half naked body.

Why?

Before Garion could properly question it, she saw Gabriel's spear soaring high. It was as if the spear was rejecting Gabriel. Contrary to Gabriel's will as she gave strength to her hands to the point where they turned white, the spear slipped out of her hand uncontrollably.

It was just before she reached Grid. Gabriel faced a situation where she met Grid with all her equipment removed. She looked like she was swinging her fist in the air. There was no way to explain the scene other than 'full of gaps.'

Flap.

Grid's cloak, which hadn't moved despite Garion holding it with all his might, soared up backwards. The orange light, which suddenly spread like a veil, was restoring the damaged sanctuary in real time. During the time when he performed the sword dances with two swords, Grid mostly wielded Gujel's Dao first. It was to use the characteristics of the dao, which used drawing the sword as an advantage. Most of the enemies weren't able to respond to the tremendous acceleration.

Grid was currently level 700. His stats had reached the seventh awakening, so he was several times stronger than when he fought Zeratul. However, Gabriel dodged Grid's first attack. The light that spread around her seemed to replace her senses. It was obviously a superior version of the artificial senses favored by Grid.

'It is great.'

Grid naturally admired it. Gabriel's ability to react to a surprise attack while disarmed was that great. It was an opportunity to once again realize the skills of the absolutes that he would have to deal with in the future.

'It is okay.'

Grid wasn't daunted. He felt the presence of Garion and Debirion standing behind him.

Apostles and human gods—he also had many colleagues who would soon become absolutes. It was also reassuring that the Overgeared members in hell were becoming stronger. They would be of great help in the future if they became legends or transcendents.

A roar spread. It was the aftermath of Cranbel's Horn being fired.

Gabriel was tangled up with the Formless Sword and also reacted to Gujel's Dao combined with the Fire Dragon Sword. Therefore, she failed to avoid the attack properly. It was before she recovered the mental energy she poured out when avoiding Gujel's Dao.

Grid recognized Gabriel's situation as she was stabbed by a sword bent at a strange angle and stretched out the thumb of his left hand. He gripped the handle of Gujel's Dao in a shorter manner.

"Drop Dragon Pinnacle Linked Kill Wave."

Grid used Shunpo to move above Gabriel, whose balance had collapsed, and descended vertically. He pulled Gujel's Dao, which he was holding with a short grip, toward his chest. At the same time, he pushed Cranbel's Horn forward. The dragon's movement that he used to penetrate through Gabriel's light showed a certain vision to Gabriel, who was already confused.

A dragon's descent—it was a sight created by combining the sword dance and Cranbel's Horn.

'I will lose if I get hit.'

Gabriel immediately judged. Her lost spear and empty hands helped her make a quick judgment. She was robbed of her weapon, a weapon that she had been with all her life? It was ridiculous.

Gabriel used Shunpo. Even so, her body remained motionless like it was nailed in place. It was due to the wavelength of power generated by Grid's six fusion sword dance. A vast energy was pulling at the surroundings like a black hole.

Gabriel was startled and looked into Grid's eyes. There was no ecstasy or anger in the eyes that looked at her who was in a crisis. His eyes looked like he was encountering something insignificant and Gabriel laughed in vain.

Unable to be resisted. It was an emotion she felt only when facing the gods of the beginning, the old dragons, and the only one god, Chiyou. This was the surface, not heaven, it was because of the loss of her weapon or armor, and other excuses, but even without these causes, Gabriel would've admired Grid. The appearance of Grid as he reproduced a dragon's momentum and personality was a threat in itself.

At the same time, there was the sound of bells as if responding to this sentiment.

'…Chiyou?'

A chill went down Gabriel's spine. There was a great ripple in her heart, which had been still even in the face of a crisis. It was because she felt that Chiyou's obsession with Grid was greater than the rumors. Had Chiyou ever shown such a great obsession with someone? Could it be that he believed the Overgeared would become a complete god killer? It was a law of the world that a god couldn't be a complete god killer. So what was the basis for this?

'…I have to win.'

It was after noticing that the odds were low. Gabriel, who was about to retreat to find a suitable opportunity, changed her mind. She recalled Chiyou's personality. From the beginning of time, he didn't know how to tell a lie. He wasn't insignificant enough to become senile.

The fact that he marked the Overgeared God as 'a being who can kill me,' or a god killer in other words, meant that the Overgeared God was fully qualified. Therefore, Gabriel felt a sense of duty that she shouldn't be defeated. She didn't dodge the Overgeared God's sword attack, which raged like a storm, and instead faced it.

She surrounded herself with divinity as armor and blocked the sword of the Overgeared God. At the same time, she fired her divinity as a spear. The wounds on her body rapidly increased while the armor around the Overgeared God started to be smashed mercilessly. It was the determination to make it mutual destruction.

Gabriel's resistance was fierce as she was determined to lose their status together rather than suffer a one-sided attack and increase the status of the Overgeared God. Even so, Grid didn't stop dancing. On the contrary, he increased his momentum and continued the development of the six fusion sword dance. It didn't matter how great Gabriel's willpower and strength were. It had nothing to do with Grid. It would just build up the basis for Grid's victory unless the opponent had the means to neutralize or offset the Sanctuary of Metal.

"……?!"

Gabriel's fierce resistance stopped like it had been a lie. The spear that had been lost earlier—it was the aftermath of being stabbed in the back by something that was like a part of herself and suffering devastating damage.

'Why is this…?'

Gabriel's face turned white as she hurriedly dodged the spear wielded by the black-gold hand floating alone. Eventually, the sanctuary made a difference. Armor that was crushed at most. The fragments of armor that the Overgeared God was wearing changed into hundreds of weapons in response to the divinity of the sanctuary. The number was too high and it was too strong to endure at the same time as she fully took on the Overgeared God's sword dance.

"How absurd…"

Gabriel laughed in vain. The sanctuary of the Overgeared God that she thought was simply specialized in defense—the more she experienced it, the more almighty it became. It was so much so that it resembled the goddess' sanctuary at first glance. She realized that the Overgeared God's achievements were far more than she expected.

'An absolute on the surface.'

Gabriel evaluated the Overgeared God as so and revealed her power. She fired a beam of light from her expanded halo and caused a storm with 14 wings. It smashed the hundreds of swords in real time and shook up Grid's sanctuary. Her hand, which had the energy of a god killer, pierced Grid's heart.

[You have suffered fatal damage!]

[You have entered the immortality state.]

[The energy of a god killer has reduced the function of immortality. The duration of the immortality is 4 seconds.]

It was one step too late. The reason why Gabriel's hand was able to pierce Grid's heart was because Grid had narrowed the distance to cut her neck.

Gabriel's soul abandoned her body and escaped. Grid alone had suppressed the situation before the apostles even arrived. Grid completely overwhelmed Gabriel, who had a better talent than Martial God Zeratul who descended to the surface a few months ago. It was a difference made by his increased level and the possession of a sanctuary.

Numerous notification windows filled Grid's vision. However, the thing that pleased him wasn't the rewards, but Garion's presence by his side. He protected her.