Overgeared

Grid's status after the 20th epic had risen to a level comparable to when he rode a top dragon. This didn't mean that the need to rely on Dragon Knight was gone. It was because Dragon Knight's strengths weren't just limited to a rise in status. It was an increase in his stats by three times and the implementation of the Breath.

The biggest advantage of Grid riding a dragon was purely the 'getting stronger' part. The current Grid was weak compared to when he fought Baal. He used the immense power of 'skill cooldown time erased' with the effect of the Overgeared World behind him, but the power of each six fusion sword dance was incomparable to when he was riding Bunhelier.

Of course, Grid had performed the six fusion sword dance a total of six times. It was while keeping the Sweet Candy in his mouth. He momentarily demonstrated enough firepower to kill Baal of hell more than once. The problem was that Nevartan's defense and health surpassed Baal's.

The dragons were the ultimate of the giant and transcendent species. The old dragons were the pinnacle of the dragons. Regardless of the power of Absolute Defense, their stats themselves were the strongest in the worldview. The scales on their body mitigated all types of damage. They weren't opponents who could be easily harmed.

It was a completely different case from Bunhelier, who suffered severe internal injuries from Nevartan and was severely restricted against Baal. In fact, Nevartan was hit by the six fusion sword dance and was still unscathed. He restored his severed limbs at a visible speed while swinging his long tail to smash the temples of the Overgeared World.

The deep lake in the center of the Overgeared World repeatedly exposed its bottom again and again in the aftermath of the shock of the Breaths, which were being fired non-stop. The bodies of Grid, the apostles, and the tower members were drenched by the lake water that soared up high and poured down like torrential rain.

It was proof that there was no room to relax. Normally, the apostles and tower members didn't get wet even if they were in the middle of a rainstorm or a blizzard. It was virtually impossible for foreign substances to touch them when they freely operated energy and magic power.

However, they couldn't prevent the lake water from splashing and became like wet mice. It was because he was in a hurry to handle Nevartan's attack.

"Kuek...!"

Was it the effect of the insane mental image? Nevartan's Breath was different from that of other dragons. It stretched out in a straight line but repeatedly changed the trajectory along the way. The damage radius was greatly extended when it soared like a spinning wheel or sprayed in all directions. It was correct to express it as crazy beyond the anomalous level.

"Can't you stop his breathing?" Hayate's feet were tied up from trying to cut and stop the Breaths that Nevartan was constantly shooting. He couldn't help asking Biban this question.

Biban cocked his head as he made a huge stone sword by absorbing the fragments of the broken temples to his sword. "Stop his breathing? Nevartan's Breath?"

"Don't let him shoot the Breath."

"Huhu, if I could cut the neck, why would I choose to cut his Breath? It isn't appropriate for you, who is usually very serious, to joke in this situation. Did you become very excited after meeting strong comrades?"

"I see."

Hayate didn't bother to tell the story of Kraugel. It was because it seemed that Biban, who was getting worse due to dementia, would have a reaction that was hard to handle. He felt worried about Biban while missing Kraugel, who had been with him for a short time...

"Nevartan is adapting to the dimension." Mercedes' urgent voice was heard. Her Keen Insight had an accurate grasp of the situation as she relentlessly targeted Nevartan's side.

An old dragon. They were creatures that hunted the celestial gods until the 'convention.' Would it have been possible for them to run wild in Asgard if they were hampered by the dimensional effects? Asgard was a divine world that had existed since the beginning. It was a powerful divine world that was incomparable to the Overgeared World, which was established only recently. After adapting and resisting Asgard's oppression, the level of the Overgeared World was too weak to forever suppress an old dragon, who had entered like this was his own house.

[The invader 'Nevartan' is destroying the ecosystem of the Overgeared World!]

[Be careful, the Overgeared World might perish!]

Nevartan was threatening beyond adapting to the environment of the Overgeared World. Every time he rampaged and destroyed a temple, the status of the god was dangerously shaken. In particular, the condition of the fishing god Lars was bad. It was the influence of the depth of the lake water becoming shallow as its bottom was revealed again and again.

The weakening of Lars, who had a rare healing ability, hindered the activities of his allies.

"I didn't think it was possible to resist the oppression of the divine world..." Braham frowned.

Hayate, a person who had already reached Braham's goal for a thousand years.

Grid, the strongest in this new era, was acknowledged by such a Hayate.

There was also Zik and Fronzaltz.

There were many strong people here whom Braham was forced to acknowledge. He judged that Nevartan could be destroyed by taking advantage of the dimensional effect of the Overgeared World. It was a misjudgment that happened because he didn't know much about dragons. Nevartan was far more powerful than he expected.

Boooom!

Braham's body floated in the air. He was hit by the tail that broke through dozens of layers of magic shields and his arms and waist were bent at bizarre angles. His broken ribs dug into his intestines, causing terrible pain.

'Too fast...!'

It was possible for him to sense the crisis based on the divinity and transcendence he accumulated over the years, but it wasn't possible for him to react. He was already hit by the attack the moment he realized that an attack was coming. His immortality would've been consumed immediately if it wasn't for the shields that were deployed all the time.

"Is it to this extent when he is moving according to his instincts?"

Zik flew in while creating runes for recovery, regeneration, and acceleration and supported Braham.

Was it a coincidence? Braham became Nevartan's target as soon as he cast great magic. As a result, he was seriously injured and suffered from a magic power reflux. The timing was too exquisite to be called a coincidence.

"......!"

The surprised Zik left his position. The tail that had passed by after hitting Braham came back and devastated the area. Zik was able to react thanks to the runes of detection, navigation, and acceleration, but his expression was rarely dark.

For a natural hunter, instincts might actually be a blessing. In his opinion, madness wasn't a factor in weakening Nevartan. He didn't think there were any flaws in Nevartan's combat ability now compared to when his mental state was intact.

Fronzaltz said, "It is true that he has been weakened by madness."

He was indeed a wise giant. He read Zik's thoughts based on his expression and reaction.

"The fact that Dragon Words has been sealed is no different from having a limb amputated in human terms."

"Is it to that extent?" A look of surprise appeared on Zik's face. Braham's expression was no different as he hung from Zik's shoulder like a piece of laundry. He realized the greatness of Grid who had fought against dragons. He also gained greater respect for Hayate and the tower members.

At the same time, Grid was aided by Zik and Ken and was approaching Nevartan again. He triggered the Sanctuary of Metal and used the six fusion sword dances in a row. The momentum of lifting and smashing the undulating scales and digging into the thick flesh was fierce.

However, he failed to penetrate Nevartan this time. He was hit in the back by the claw that Nevartan swung and flew toward the canyon he had built in his mental world. He slammed into it and the entire Overgeared World was shaken.

Grid's back as he immediately jumped up again was projected into the eyes of Zik and Braham.

It was an always phenomenal defense.

Grid's voice entered the ears of Zik, who had flown and arrived near Grid. "Thank you for the assistance."

Zik's runes were mostly concentrated on Grid. The dozens of rune words helped Grid by forming sentences of different meanings in real time.

"We can't do it alone," Braham said as he got down from Zik's back.

Grid's expression was uneasy. The faces of the people currently attacking Nevartan along with Grid were all gorgeous. Weren't all the apostles and tower members gathered? Apart from Nefelina, who couldn't come forward hastily, and Hayate, who was concentrating on preventing the Breath, all the others were launching attacks against Nevartan. Yet it wasn't enough? The implications were too great to be accepted smoothly.

Boooom!

At the same time, a huge sword that was tens of meters in size blocked the flying tail. It was the sword wielded by Biban. It served to offset the weight on the tail. Grid's sword appeared between the fragments of shattered and scattered stones and exploded with a sharp burst of sword light.

Nevartan's tail was cut off. Nevertheless, there wasn't a single person who acted recklessly. They already learned that the fastest regenerating part of a dragon's body was its tail.

Nevartan's tail immediately regenerated and fell toward the heads of the group. At this point, Grid was forced to admit it.

'He keeps getting stronger.'

It wasn't simply due to adapting to the environment of the Overgeared World. Putting aside the status he had lost, Nevartan was gaining dominance in all aspects of attack power, defense, recovery, and resistance.

"Bunhelier's assessment that Nevartan gets stronger the more damage he suffers is an unexaggerated truth."

Hayate aimed for the moment when Nevartan's tail and the Breath's paths overlapped and blocked it. Then he came to Grid's side and said this.

"The apostles and tower members should use their own means to survive."

The reason why Hayate was in charge of Nevartan's Breath was simple. The power of the Breath was too strong. It was difficult to cut or block it unless it was weakened by the Dragon Killing Sword. The other tower members and apostles had to put all their energy into it to handle Nevartan's Breath. It meant the efficiency was poor.

Hayate had wanted the others to destroy Nevartan with Grid while he faced the Breaths. However, he came to the conclusion that it was impossible. If it was like this, there was only one option.

"Overgeared God, cooperate with me."

Hayate's white clothing gradually lengthened. The coat that touched the ankle dragged to the floor like a cloak and fluttered like a veil. The dragon killing sword energy rose to the peak, glowed, and scattered.

Nevartan's consciousness was focused on Hayate.

"Now."

──!

Sound disappeared. The Dragon Killing Sword momentarily reached the speed of light and turned the area into a vacuum.

Grid was crushed by the immense pressure and was flustered. Even so, he gritted his teeth and somehow took a step. It was an effort to respond to the Absolute.

There were multicolored lights scattering in his vision. Nevartan's roar and the Breath he fired and the waves of the Dragon Killing Sword advancing toward him became entangled together and spread out repeatedly.

On the other hand, Grid's orange divinity was weak. It couldn't move forward in a world without sound. It was inferior compared to the Absolute. It was a world he hadn't reached yet.

Grid was feeling bitter as he had to admit this, only for his feet to step on something hard and squishy. It was Nefelina's back after she released Polymorph. A young dragon dozens of times smaller than her father predicted the path Grid would take forward and got in his way. It was a miracle that was accomplished after communing as Grid's apostle, friend, and family member.

[I...! I want to live with Grid!!]

Nefelina's cry spread clearly in the world where the sound had disappeared. It was willpower, not a live voice. It was Dragon Words.

[How did a hatchling...?] Nevartan was shocked. His eyes, which were black like there was a hole in them, returned to gold in an instant.

A hatchling used complete Dragon Words. The extraordinary image of his daughter, who overcame limits and achieved transcendence for the first time in dragon history, awakened his consciousness. It might be distorted from a human point of view, but his love for his child was real.

[Your apostle 'Nefelina' has earned the title of 'Transcendent Dragon.']

[Some of the stats of your apostle 'Nefelina' are unlocked.]

[I!! I am going to be with Grid!!]

She was transcendent because she had lifted her limits. The sight of his still small and feeble, yet dignified daughter made Nevartan smile.

[I'll allow it.]

[You have boarded the transcendent dragon, Nefelina.]

[The effect of the only one title in the world, 'Dragon Knight,' is activated.]

[All your stats are increased by three times and your status is increased.]

The dying orange divinity rose like wildfire. It was the moment when Grid truly stepped into the world of the Absolute.

[Your union.]

"......?!"

Boooom...