Overgeared

'Dammit.'

It was ever since being disqualified as Baal's Contractor. Agnus adapted to a peaceful life and believed that his world would change. He thought he would no longer face cruel sights. Therefore, he let down his guard.

[You have changed the presentation level to 'weak.']

Agnus hurriedly changed the game options and let out the breath he had been holding back. His face was still white. The memphis in the iron cages were now depicted as having band-aids on their cute faces or bandages on their bodies, but this didn't mean he had forgotten what he just saw. It was so horrible that it was intensely imprinted on his mind.

"……"

In his opinion, Agnus was crueler than anyone else during his time as Baal's Contractor. He harmed numerous civilians. There were many cases where it was unavoidable due to Baal's forced quests, but in the end, he was the one who chose to execute them. He wouldn't have become Baal's Contractor if he didn't have the intention of harming others in the first place.

It was during the time when his activities were possible only when the presentation level was set as weak. He saw so much blood and tears.

Agnus realized it once again. He was no different from Baal. Those who had lost their lives or family members to him were like the memphis trapped in the iron cages. He was a demon to them.

"That's right. We must not forget our sins."

"……"

"I haven't forgotten either."

Betty's appearance was definitely that of a girl. However, she read his inner thoughts like an old man who lived for a long time and Agnus couldn't adapt to it.

"Baal just gave us the strength and authority to sin. The sin is what we committed ourselves."

She took away even the excuses that remained like small embers. The name Baal, which he wrapped around his heart like a shield, slowly faded away and Agnus felt dizzy. However, he endured it, acknowledged it, and accepted it. Then he felt more at ease. He felt his already cracked heart being completely smashed and then put back together.

"We have to atone for the rest of our lives. That is our responsibility."

So be my successor.

Betty took the opportunity to persuade him. Agnus stared at her and abandoned his stubbornness. "I understand."

Don't just stop at hating my past self.

Just like the woman caressing the memphis she is taking out of the iron cage, I also have many responsibilities to bear.

So I have to move forward.

"Is it really okay…?"

Noe's face was still full of anxiety as he hovered by Betty's side. He saw the skinny bodies of his wounded kin and hid his bulging belly with his front paws out of shame. Of course, there was no way he could cover it up. The belly that protruded from between the round paws that seemed to be wearing white gloves was eye-catching…

"Grrrung…"

"Kyaaaack!"

The memphis had long lost their words. They were unable to bear the pain of their wounds and just groaned or cried like an animal. It sounded heartbreaking.

Deep sadness and anger were felt. They hated the bodies that Baal had damaged. They hated the world they were born into. They were like Agnus in the distant past. Or perhaps they harbored only despair, just like the people Agnus had harmed.

"Yes, it is okay."

Agnus' face stiffened while Betty smiled. It was the first change in facial expression of a person who seemed to have lost her emotions. It was purely an effort to reassure the memphis. She might not want to smile, but she was smiling for others.

Agnus watched silently from the side. He was touched when thinking about what Betty's actions meant. It was to learn the attitude toward life that needed to be changed in the future.

His senior—she was right.

"Let's do surgery."

She was an undead, so she was used to the structure of bones. She researched, experimented, and gained experience with numerous creatures. It was time to put her research into practice. She held the fiercely resistant memphis in her arms and started to pull out all sorts of tools and medicines. The sounds of bones being crushed came from her chest and waist, but she didn't shake in the slightest.

She turned a blind eye to the pain she felt because the suffering of the memphis who experienced this type of thing would be much greater. She wasn't in a position to express her pain in front of them.

"You, the arm…"

Agnus couldn't just watch and intervened. It was because Betty's arm shook like it was about to fall after she was bitten in the arm by the memphis.

Betty confessed, "I brought the parents of these children here."

It was hundreds of years ago. She followed Baal's orders. She captured the memphis of hell and locked them up here. The sight of the memphis being tortured after that… it was the second of the 17 nightmares she had every night. It was infinitely repeated even though she became an undead who couldn't fall asleep. She was tormented for hundreds of years by the nightmares that emerged from her subconscious even though her eyes were open every night.

"This is what I am responsible for."

It wasn't to end her nightmares.

"It is my duty."

"……"

***

The people who watched the landscape of hell in the sky was a small number compared to the total population. Most people still couldn't raise their heads as they walked around. It was highly likely that anyone watching the events in hell was a player and even then, they only watched the scenes with Grid, an apostle, or a tower member.

The rest of the scenes… they understandably turned away from them. It was because there was no benefit to looking. Was there anything to be gained by seeing people being horribly hunted by demons and demonic creatures other than feeling anxiety.

"Ken…? Is he the strongest one among the tower members?"

The fighter, Ken—he was one of the tower members and he produced particularly bizarre situations. The demons and demonic creatures blocking his way all had their heads exploded before they died. They exploded like a bomb had originally been installed. It was a sight they couldn't understand with their eyes.

In the end, analysis videos were uploaded throughout the communities. It had to be played hundreds of times slower before there were blurry traces.

The fighter, Ken, appeared to have 'struck' the demons with his feet or fists. It seemed he had a passive skill that added tremendous acceleration the more he linked his movements and it was assumed that the movements included even the most meaningless actions, such as small chin gestures. This explained how a constant speed was maintained.

"I think those giants are a lot stronger."

At first, people thought Abellio was the strongest. A person who fought by manifesting Grid and Hayate through his paintings—the number of people who changed class to a painter grew exponentially and public awareness of Picasso increased dramatically in just a few hours. The world's leading companies that were excited about the future of Picasso competed to offer sponsorships. Abellio was so great that he created a social phenomenon in a matter of seconds.

However, he had a clear weakness. There was a limit to the power that resided in a painting and the bigger problem was that it wouldn't exert much power if the act of painting itself was blocked. The evidence was that he suffered a setback once he started being sniped by the 8th Great Demon, Barbatos.

On the other hand, the giant brothers always boasted overwhelming strength. Radwolf boarded a super-large magic machine that was nearly 15 meters tall and remotely controlled 10 separate magic machines. It was literally a legion of robots. The demons couldn't exert any power over him. They even turned their backs and ran away. It was natural. It was because before the expedition to hell, Radwolf optimized the magic machine to be an anti-evil weapon rather than an anti-dragon weapon.

There was nothing to say about Fronzaltz. The seats of the Tower of Wisdom weren't in order of skill, but the 2nd Seat was the exception. The reason Fronzaltz was the 2nd Seat was because he had the right to represent Hayate. Recently, he regained almost all his strength thanks to Grid.

God's Circle—the strongest artifact of all time that symbolized perfection and led the ancient giants in their prime. It was Fronzaltz who inherited the will of the fallen giants. It would be a sin if he wasn't strong.

"I'm glad things are going well overall. There is a real chance of winning."

The power that Baal showed was overwhelming. They were convinced that Grid and the apostles wouldn't be able to deal with him even if they fought together. However, the secret society they never knew about was giving strength to Grid. The members of the Tower of Wisdom led by Dragon Slayer Hayate—they were strong as one.

Hope that never existed started to sprout. If there was just one unexpected problem…

"I'm a bit worried that Grid is struggling."

It was the existence of the 20th Great Demon, Eligos. Now people weren't stupid. They immediately recognized that Eligos possessed a strength unrelated to his rank. He fought fiercely against Grid. He was a powerful being who easily transcended a single digit great demon.

The cause seemed to lie in a special power. It was the ability to control the trajectory. For example, let's assume that Eligos was standing in a huge room. The size of the room was irrelevant. Eligos would launch any ball flying at him to the trajectory he wanted and hit it toward the desired point. Eligos also directed the direction the ball would bounce in.

Infinite trajectories—Eligos endlessly received Grid's attacks and shifted them, allowing him to maintain a favorable situation at all times. He counterattacked against Grid without receiving much damage. The still intact Grid seemed like a much scarier monster than Eligos, but in any case, Grid's feet were tied up.

Grid's first goal was to rescue the people trapped in hell, so he would be under psychological pressure. People were worried, but…

'It will be okay. Time is on my side.'

However, Grid wasn't anxious. He regarded the situation positively.

First of all, most of the people currently trapped in hell were players.

Secondly, a small handful of NPCs, including the different species kings, were conducting rescue operations as the top priority with Zik. The moment they fell into the magic trap, Zik had told him not to worry, so he had faith.

Third, it was Mercedes' role to find the location of the hell moon anyway. It was a position where they had to wait until she accurately captured the location of the moon.

Fourth, the God Hands were growing rapidly. The number of God Hands had risen to 100 and they partially offset Eligos' strength by spreading the artificial senses and using Tai Chi. At first, it was difficult to respond properly, but there was gradually a clear sense of adaptation. It was like watching and learning from Eligos.

'This is an experience that will be hard to meet again.'

Taang, taang, taang.

Grid, who had the artificial senses broken and allowed the incoming spear to hit, laughed as he repaired his armor with a hammer.

Eligos… he was getting tired. An armor that couldn't be pierced no matter how hard the stab—he tried hard to crack it, but it was immediately repaired. Therefore, he had no answer about what to do…

At the same time, the surface…

"……?"

A chill went down the spines of those walking on the surface while looking at the ground. It was because a large, dark shadow covered the earth and gave the illusion that night had come. It was evidence that something ridiculously large had appeared above them. There was only one existence they could think of unless the floating castle in the legends was real.

Kurarararara!

A dragon.

[The Evil Dragon, Bunhelier, has appeared!]

It was a world message with only one line, but the ripple effect was enormous. It was even more than Grid's epics. The minds of all the people on the surface became blank.