Overgeared

Grid mass produced items to be given as 'holy swords' while looking at the third draft of the 'Flying Ship Design' that Lauel personally brought. He was impressed and felt admiration when he found Radwolf's thoughts in the design. Then suddenly, a notification window appeared in Grid's sight.

[Some of the settlement has been completed.]

[One of the parts of the Absolute that symbolizes you has unlocked the potential of a 'God Killer.']

'Some...? The reward doesn't end here?'

Parts of an Absolute—to put it bluntly, it was a concept that might be the process of entering the beginning stage of an Absolute. It had a different meaning. It heralded the second birth of an Absolute in the history of humanity. He fully understood the system's position about a settlement taking a long time. It was worth understanding.

[There is a high probability that fixed damage is added every time you attack a 'god.' The fixed damage value is applied as 9% of your current attack power.]

[If you inflict fatal damage to a god, there is a very small probability that the escape path of the 'god' will be blocked.]

[A god who has lost their escape path can't retreat for a certain period of time. It is for a minimum of 10 seconds, and a maximum of three minutes.]

[However, your 'Emergency Escape' skill will also be prohibited from the moment you block the escape path of other gods.]

In essence, it was impossible for a god to become a God Killer. It was due to the setting of the Emergency Escape system. The emergency escape was when the gods opened and used the 'door to their own temple or their divine world.' Being blocked by the waves of a God Killer meant the god who embraced the energy of a God Killer could easily destroy themselves. Since a god was eternal, there was no need to take such risks.

It was the background of the worldview that a god couldn't kill another god. However, the system made an exception for Grid. Based on Grid's numerous achievements, it was decided that it was reasonable to ignore the existing laws and make Grid qualified as a God Killer.

'Good. This is definitely good.'

He could be resurrected even if he died. He would suffer the huge penalty of his divinity being damaged, but it was enough to restore it. On the other hand, other gods couldn't be resurrected. It was because they weren't players. It might be a very small chance, but it was only a benefit for Grid.

The rewards didn't end here.

[The weapons you create will also be judged to be the 'divine objects of the Overgeared God' and will gain a faint God Killer effect. However, it only applies to weapons with a legendary or higher rating.]

[If attacking a 'god' with a divine object of the Overgeared God, there is a normal probability of adding fixed damage. The fixed damage value is applied as 3% of the user's current attack power. It can overlap with the same type of effect.]

[The same effect will be applied to weapons made in the past.]

...It felt like he was gradually getting stronger. Grid, who was conscious of the gazes around him, cheered silently.

Morpheus was an artificial intelligence with a conscience. It was a hundred times better than the S.A Group who used balance as an excuse.

***

At the same time, Cokro Island...

"Agreement... are you talking about an alliance?"Zik asked softly with closed eyes.

He was trying to guess what principles behind the divinity of King Sobyeol, which maximized the sunlight.

'Is it a divinity that amplifies one's nature?'

Or was it simply 'containment,' and the light naturally grew as if reflected infinitely?

'Perhaps it is both... no matter what, I can't deal with it.'

In the past when he visited the Hwan Kingdom with Grid, Zik had only been polite to three gods: the Only One God, Chiyou; the God of the Beginning, Hanul; and the last one was King Sobyeol. Their hierarchy was the highest even during their time in Asgard. Aside from Chiyou, Hanul, at his peak, was on par with Rebecca. Then there was King Sobyeol, Dominion, and Judar.

This was all information he got during his days as one of the Seven Malignant Saints. It was relatively accurate, so Zik naturally showed respect to King Sobyeol. It was the same now.

King Sobyeol amplified the sunlight and blinded his eyes, but Zik didn't dare to feel displeased. He even suppressed the hostility he had toward the existence of a god itself.

"What else will we agree upon if it isn't an alliance? It just happens to be a good time. Hanul has recently been engaged in the 'cycle.' Sometimes he revealed the will of heaven, but other times, he is almost unconscious. His mind isn't sane based on the way he just watched as the Four Auspicious Beasts were liberated."

The cycle—it was an expression used when Rebecca was absent, or Yatan went missing.

"What exactly is the cycle? Why do the Gods of the Beginning go through such a phenomenon?"

"You don't need to know. You won't understand it even if I tell you. Ah, the Overgeared God might understand."

Then maybe I can tell you.

Zik suppressed the doubts that suddenly appeared.

A bright and clear mirror—this was the mental world that supported Zik. For him, who used wisdom as a weapon, composure was a secret weapon and a bastion that should never be lost.

Zike's eyes slowly opened. Some time had passed since the small sun that had risen as if to envelop King Sobyeol had disappeared. The vision he saw through his bloodshot eyes was still shaky and white, but he didn't show it.

The Seven Malignant Saints—those born into human bodies and were blessed, or cursed, by Rebecca, and turned into half-gods.

Zik, the pinnacle among them, felt the need to show King Sobyeol that his resilience was beyond normal. He was vigilant. It was because King Sobyeol's attitude of suddenly blinding him was nonsensical, unlike his soft tone. It wasn't easy to guess what type of situation Zik would face the moment he showed a loophole.

'In the first place, it is a monstrous strength. It is right to say I'm facing the inexplicable.'

King Sobyeol slowly descended toward Zik, who was gradually becoming nervous. It was without leaving any footprints on the white sand.The movement of King Sobyeol was so extraordinary that he would've doubted it was a virtual image if it wasn't for the shadow that was cast.

"In any case, the Overgeared God will be hoping for cooperation with the Hwan Kingdom. Looking at his actions, he is clearly hostile to Asgard. He might be wary due to recent events, but it is enough if I forgive him."

The Overgeared God stole many things from the Hwan Kingdom. It was a trivial matter that he had killed several yangbans over a long period of time. Didn't he liberate the Four Auspicious Beasts, weaken the influence of the Hwan Kingdom in the east, and take away Mir? In fact, the Hwan Kingdom was in a position where Grid shouldn't be forgiven.

However, King Sobyeol had never been hostile to Grid. The same would be true in the future. King Sobyeol's position was too vague. He wasn't in a position to take responsibility for anything like Hanul, and he had been dissatisfied with the plan of the Hwan Kingdom from the beginning. Rather, he was in a position to enjoy watching Grid flourish.

"Hanul declared that he would raise the yangbans as gods to stand up against Asgard, but I'm not so certain. It is realistically impossible. Even if the yangbans borrow the power of false myths to become gods, it is clear they won't be able to handle a single Dominion and will be swept away. It isn't an exaggeration to say it would be fortunate if they managed to tie up the feet of the angels before dying."

The power of the Hwan Kingdom was very weak.

First of all, Chiyou wasn't a part of the Hwan Kingdom. He was merely staying in the Hwan Kingdom because he helped Hanul's group escape from Asgard. In other words, the number of chief gods in the Hwan Kingdom was incomparably less than Asgard.

Raising the yangbans to get revenge on Asgard? It was impossible from the beginning. It was even more so considering Hanul's characteristic, who exerted his full power only when more beings were guided on the 'path.' Therefore, the Hwan Kingdom tried to recruit Zik, who was only a half-god.

Now there was no reason to be obsessed with Zik. Once they cooperated with the Overgeared God, Zik would naturally become one of the forces who followed them.

"The Hwan Kingdom needed to make a decision and it went very well. The Three Masters, who had been secretly wary of me, became quiet as death thanks to the Overgeared God. If I forgive and cooperate with the Overgeared God, we will have some power to confront Asgard. You will convey my will well to the Overgeared God..."

King Sobyeol suddenly closed his mouth as he was revealing his thoughts and plans. It was because Zik, who had been polite so far, was making straight eye contact with him. There was a faint hostility in Zik's eyes. It was an attitude King Sobyeol had never experienced, so he felt quite strange and puzzled.

Zik opened his mouth, "The word 'forgiveness' that you have used twice is offensive."

"......"

"You don't deserve to forgive my god."

Zik had long hated the gods. He suffered due to the gods of Asgard, who deceived and destroyed the humanity of the previous world. He hated the species called 'god' itself. Then he met Grid. A human who was reborn as the ideal god-for Zik, Grid was the only god he served and the highest being. Who would dare to accuse him of a sin and discuss forgiveness?

Zik harbored a cold rage. He maintained his bright and clear mind, while thinking about how to drive away the enemy in front of him. The answer was simple.

'It is enough if I create a disturbance.'

This was the surface. Even King Sobyeol was greatly weakened here. It meant he didn't want a situation where more people came to interfere. Zik made a judgment and immediately drew his sword. Then he surrounded it with sword energy and runes.

His intention was to deploy large-scale swordsmanship in order to devastate the shore and bring people over. It was a strategy that could be established because he knew that the Overgeared members could communicate with each other while ignoring distance. However, his intention didn't work out.

"......!"

The sword energy around Saharan's Sword disappeared. The runes were also scattered. To be precise, it was absorbed by King Sobyeol's colorless divinity. Thanks to this, King Sobyeol gained Zik's sword energy and runes as a self-defense force, and he spoke with a cold expression, "You've become a fanatic of the Overgeared God. Well, I've witnessed such miracles, so I can understand it."

"......!"

Zik collapsed to the ground. He couldn't even groan because his throat was cut by the sword energy that King Sobyeol had absorbed and released. The sound of the sword falling from his hand was also swallowed up by the white sand.

"You are a half-god, so you won't die from this much."

Zik's body was caught by the colorless divinity and floated in the air. A true god was a concept, not life. For King Sobyeol, his divinity was something that could be handled as freely as his body.

"Shall we go back to the East Continent together? If you, the best of the apostles, notarize it, then even the Overgeared will believe me and accept my forgiveness."

From the very beginning, King Sobyeol had aimed at Zik's personal safety. He never dreamed that he would suffer such a disgrace in the process, but...

'I have no right to forgive the Overgeared God? It is amazing sophistry.'

Did a figure like Zik not understand the absolute authority of a god who had existed since the beginning? It was to the extent that he cherished the foolish belief that the Overgeared God was the greatest.

'I know what Judar and Dominion have been like.'

They were soldiers who didn't move hastily without Rebecca's orders. Those who couldn't escape from the shadow of their parents, like King Daebyeol, ruined the hierarchy.

King Sobyeol lamented as he split apart the world. He replaced divinity with physical force and dealt a wound to the dimension of the surface itself. Then the door leading to the Hwan Kingdom opened.

"Kuek..."

Zik recovered in real time and resisted. Suddenly, he pulled out a new sword and swung it.

King Sobyeol ignored it. It was because a sword that had lost its sword energy and runes wasn't a threat at all. It was just a mere fly.

"......!"

"......?"

Zik and King Sobyeol's eyes widened at the same time. Zik was surprised because he didn't know this action would work, while King Sobyeol was surprised because the area that the sword cut hurt sharply.

'...What?'

It pierced through his divinity and conveyed a faint shock? King Sobyeol wiped away the blood from his neck and was momentarily dazed. It was just one drop of blood. In human terms, it was harmless, like a mosquito bite. However, it was something that shouldn't have happened considering King Sobyeol's hierarchy. The same was true even considering the fact that this wasn't the Hwan Kingdom and that he was in a greatly weakened state.

"You—are you qualified as a God Killer...?"

It happened at the time when King Sobyeol restrained Zik's limbs and questioned him with a stiff expression...

Flash!

A beam of light fell from the sky.

"The smell was strange."

A legendary great magician who usurped the myth of the great monster who brought eternal pain to the gods, the hydra; a direct descendant of one of the Three Evils, Beriache; and one of the seven apostles of the Overgeared God—Braham, who was attracted by the strange scent of blood, broke into the scene.