Overgeared

""Space Sword.""

It had to be tolerated even if this space was destroyed and 'that' was touched. It was urgent to get rid of the monster wearing a human mask and who grasped the reality of that…

The demon who received the soul of the Sword Saint made a decision. There was just something he had overlooked. It was that Mercedes had witnessed the complete Space Sword several times. It was Sword Saint Kraugel's Space Sword. The Space Sword he was using could be more powerful than Kraugel's one, but it couldn't be perfect. The demonic energy that had accumulated in the demon who lived since close to the beginning was strong, but the soul transplanted into him was nothing more than a fake.

'It isn't Muller.'

Then why did he believe that Muller's soul was transplanted in him?

Mercedes threw the shield and plugged it into the wall. Then she used the handle as a rod. She held it in one hand and turned her body to dodge the Space Sword. It was a feat that happened in an instant. The entire backdrop behind her was split in half, making it even more gorgeous.

People cheered and the demon's face crumpled.

""You avoided it?""

The Sword Saint had to cut the target. The representative technique for proving this law was Space Sword. It was an ultra-wide range technique that cut down the center of the world by taking the target as the vanishing point rather than the ultimate target. The moment the world was cut apart, it was natural for the target to be cut with it.

However, it was avoided. The demon belatedly noticed it—the world wasn't exactly split in half, it was split diagonally.

'I got the vanishing point wrong.'

How could he make this mistake?

Mercedes spoke to the demon who was criticizing himself, "It is natural that you can't do it right."

""……?""

"You're not a Sword Saint."

""That… this is something I know myself. It doesn't make sense as a provocation."

He had been transplanted with only a very small part of the soul of Sword Saint Muller. He could only understand and use the techniques of the Sword Saint. He wasn't actually a Sword Saint.

'This is why it is impossible to be perfect and it is natural to make mistakes.'

How he dealt with the mistakes was important…

The demon sublimated the enemy's provocation into enlightenment and smiled with satisfaction. He calmed his mind and heart. Then his composure was broken right away.

"The soul you have been transplanted with isn't the Sword Saint."

""…What?""

The demon's eyes shook. The colors of his pupils, which were half blue and half red, gradually turned red all over. Blue seemed to symbolize intelligence and red seemed to symbolize anger.

""Once again, it is pointless. It is useless no matter how much you provoke me…""

"The Sword Saint cutting the world isn't an abstract expression. It is real."

Mercedes stomped her feet lightly. It was a gesture that indicated to the land that had been split by the demon's sword.

"It isn't scribbles like this."

""Scribbles? How insolent.""

The demon knew—the trajectory of the sword he just used went around all of hell. It really cut the world. It wasn't at a level that could be disparaged as scribbles. Eventually, the blue color completely disappeared from the demon's eyes. The way he roared and rushed like a beast made him seem like an ordinary demon.

The rumors buried in his memories were messing with his mind. They were the rumors that Muller was still alive. It was a rumor that shouldn't be true. If Muller was still alive, then the fragment of the soul transplanted into the demon wouldn't really belong to Muller.

There was a series of nervous noises. It was a scream that emerged every time the demon's sword collided with Mercedes' White Tiger Sword. The quality of the weapons themselves was different. Moreover, the current White Tiger Sword was filled with the dramatic victory sword energy, thus the demon couldn't bear it completely. The more he couldn't overwhelm her in swordsmanship and the more the wounds on his body grew, the stronger the doubts that arose in the demon's mind.

""If it isn't the Sword Saint… what is it?""

What was this in his soul…? The demon was unable to bear the fear and finally asked this question, only to become stunned.

Mercedes' transparent eyes were turned to the huge piece of flesh behind him. That was her answer.

""This… it can't be…! Absolutely not!"

The demon acknowledged that Mercedes' eyes could see through the soul. In fact, she wasn't deceived by the soul bombardment of this chunk of flesh. Therefore, he couldn't deny Mercedes' answer. He just refused to believe it.

""My life shouldn't be insignificant…!""

The demon lived in the Age of Mythology. It was the era when Yatan stayed in hell. At that time, hell was a shelter for the dead who hadn't ascended to heaven. The demon sympathized and cared for the dead according to the will of God. This was until God disappeared all of a sudden one day.

Eventually, around the time when Beriache was expelled and hell was deformed, the demon entered seclusion. He denied the new hell. Even so, the reason he accepted Baal's request to protect this place was for the sake of the future. In order to fight on the side of his God who would one day return, he coveted the power that Baal had given him in return for fulfilling the request.

In silence, he cut off communication with Baal and worked hard to train his strength. Yet that power was fake? Then the years he endured were meaningless…

""Kuek…""

A dark shade appeared on the wrinkled demon's face. It was a total defeat. The fact that he was unable to subdue a swordsman with swordsmanship further increased the suspicion that filled his mind. He had long lost his composure. He wasn't able to fully demonstrate his incomplete skills.

Mercedes added a cruel truth to him, "That chunk of flesh can fuse souls."

The souls fired earlier when the flesh attacked were independent individuals. However, Mercedes saw traces left in those souls. They were like traces left on torn paper. No, to be more precise, they were traces that had stuck to something and then came off.

"The soul implanted into you is also a work that was made."

Perhaps the souls of the swordsmen who were killed by a Sword Saint were fused with the souls of unnamed great swordsmen? This was why it could create a soul that remembered the techniques of the Sword Saint and vaguely imitate it. It was scary and horrible.

"That is why I have to get rid of it," Mercedes persuaded the demon. It was a situation where even a little bit of help might not be enough to win, so she felt a certain sense of betrayal when she saw the demon's inner thoughts.

""……""

The demon couldn't easily answer. Despite feeling the same sense of horror as Mercedes, as well as a terrible sense of desolation, he didn't have the courage to antagonize this chunk of flesh. It was because he knew the truth that Mercedes didn't know.

""That… it is better not to touch it. It is because that thing is probably a god.""

"A god?"

""I noticed at first sight that it resembled Demon God Sitri.""

Demon God Sitri—a god who screamed and wandered, created by the accumulation of souls who lost their place.

""If it was Baal who made it… the usage of it would definitely be dangerous. Maybe it is linked to Demon God Sitri. The moment you harm it, the pain and anger might be transferred to Sitri. This can be an opportunity to awaken Sitri into a cruel being. Then hell would really be over.""

The demon didn't think that Baal would use it to make himself a god. It meant he understood Baal's personality very well.

"It could be a vessel for creating a completely new god. Then I have to get rid of it."

""A new god… isn't that impossible even for Baal?""

Baal was a direct descendant of God Yatan and the ruler of hell. He wielded great power, but he wasn't omnipotent. If even the heavenly gods weren't omnipotent, how could the child of a god be omnipotent? It was the demon's idea that it was impossible to create an entirely new god.

However, he couldn't convince Mercedes.

"I think I have to get rid of it now."

Now wasn't the time to drag things out. No matter the reality of this thing, it was true that it was currently performing the role of a hell moon. It was the culprit that turned the surface into an Asura Road. This was the overriding goal of this expedition and Mercedes had an obligation to get rid of it. To be honest, she didn't care what happened to hell.

""…You aren't a character who needs a conversation.""

The demon clicked his tongue and stepped to the side. He had lost the will to fight Mercedes. Originally, his anger and resentment had been directed at Baal for many years. He had just turned away while waiting for the right time, but now he couldn't turn away any longer.

""You should hurry. Five of the six demons above have long become Baal's henchmen.""

The ones with the souls of human legends like himself. No, the old demons who had been transplanted with false, fused souls. They also longed for the hell of the past and held a deep resentment toward Baal. However, this had changed over the years. They were intoxicated by the easily acquired power and forgot about the past. They would never be as easily persuaded as himself…

The demon advised and Mercedes nodded. She was no longer hindered and ran toward the chunk of flesh. The chunk of flesh fired the souls to resist, but it didn't stop her. It was cut by the sharp and huge sword, and writhed bizarrely. It was incompatible with Keen Insight, which distinguished between souls. It happened as Mercedes was gaining momentum…

[Do it, in moderation.]

One of the cut pieces of flesh took a human form and attacked Mercedes. Mercedes immediately sensed killing intent and twisted the trajectory of her sword to fight back. However, the latecomer's technique wasn't easily blocked. In exchange for acting first, she was cut first and flew far away with her shield.

"……"

Mercedes' expression hardened as she got up and wiped the blood from her mouth. It was because the human figure formed from the chunk of flesh resembled Grid at first glance. However, he had fangs that came down, white skin, and red eyes. It was a deceitful and demonic figure. It was the blackened Grid who once roamed through hell.

[Killing intent. I, kill you.]

"……!"

Mercedes hurriedly extended her sword. She was wary of the layers of souls around the blackened Grid's body. It was undoubtedly powerful. He used not only swordsmanship, but also magic. It was noticed that at least dozens of souls of great swordsmen and great magicians were accumulated and attached to him. He showed a martial power that transcended legends.

'Ugh.' It was the moment when Mercedes swallowed down a groan after being hit and coughed up blood again…

"…Let's end this."

Grid's eyes sank coldly as he floated above the river of reincarnation. The Sanctuary of Metal was unfolded. The 100 God Hands that were moving dizzily stopped in unison and grabbed swords. It was a spectacle that couldn't be seen anywhere else.

The already tired Eligos felt shock. To be honest, he was fascinated. Grid's high charm and dignity stats combined with the situation to exert a powerful effect. However, Eligos didn't show it. He asked in a calm tone, "Why are you in a hurry to win all of a sudden?"

"I have a place to go to."

"…Then just go. I will let you go."

"You want to hit me in the back of the head, but it won't work."

"You can sign a contract with me if you don't believe me. You know that a demon bound by a contract can't lie."

"……?"

At the Dog's Mouth that connected hell and the surface…

Eligos, the Black Knight who guarded the river of reincarnation where souls were bound—one of the strongest beings in hell and who overshadowed the concept of hierarchy was now requesting a contract from Grid.

It was a crazy situation that even Baal couldn't have predicted.