Overgeared

The red lump of flesh—it received the souls of humans who fell to hell and inflated its flesh, and was the moon projected in the sky of hell and the cause of the distortion of hell. It used the countless eyes made from the swallowed souls and drove everything in hell crazy.

"…What is this?"

Why was it here? Grid couldn't understand what was happening in front of him. He was just overwhelmed with a huge sense of deja vu.

The shape and characteristic of the red flesh. The size and structure of the space where the flesh was located. From the air flow to the temperature and humidity. Everything matched what he had seen and felt in hell.

'Don't tell me that this place… is it hell?'

It was to the point where an absurd question popped up in his mind. He suspected that after wandering through the ever-changing labyrinth of the No Offspring Tomb, he had crossed into hell.

"Is it possible that we crossed dimensions without knowing it?"

-I didn't feel that way at all, but…

Chreshler responded like it was nonsense.

"This place is the No Offspring Tomb." Skunk immediately denied it. He was a legendary adventurer and he couldn't mistake his current position. Adventure-related skills and indicators that only Skunk could see showed that this was the No Offspring Tomb.

"…As expected, it couldn't be trusted."

Grid frowned and his divinity flared up like wildfire. The Yellow Dragon seemed to be breathing fire from its mouth. As people said, one of the advantages of a myth class was its 'coolness.' It represented some of its owner's feelings and set the atmosphere.

"I'm ashamed that I was almost deceived."

Hunting the executives and experiencing their past—Grid gradually developed a certain belief while doing this. It was the belief that the Specter was something close to good. It was because it seemed to be trying to restore the distorted hell. No matter how he looked at it, the Specter who visited and captured transcendents to prevent them from dying, and managed the No Offspring Tomb, was fighting for the world.

Based on the fragmented conversations it had with transcendents, it was possible to tell that it hated Baal terribly. Its overriding goal was to restore hell to its original state, so it was clearly at odds with Baal. As a result, it was beneficial to humanity.

Of course, there were cruel and cold aspects to it. No matter how much karma the transcendents who went crazy had unintentionally accumulated, the Specter ignored their human rights and ethics and turned them into the undead. It also deserved to be criticized for hunting human gods.

However, Grid wanted to believe it. He vaguely hoped that he would gain a reliable ally in this hopeless world. All sorts of circumstances fueled expectations.

It was ridiculous. Grid's swollen heart shriveled like a balloon with holes in it. In an instant, he lost all expectations and faith in the Specter. How could he trust a lunatic who recreated hell on the surface?

He even felt betrayed.

"Is it thinking of restoring the lost hell by recreating it on the surface, rather than reclaiming the hell that was lost to Baal?"

It was a reasonable doubt. The forces of hell were tremendously powerful. Baal, who had been defeated by Grid several times, would be much stronger now than he was back then. There were also the variables of the red flesh and Asura. Considering that Amoract and many other great demons were hostile to Baal, it made no sense for the Specter to face hell alone, even if it was much more powerful than Baal or Grid.

The executives and soldiers of the No Offspring Tomb and the evil gods with the statues turned upside down? They were obviously powerful, but they could be offset by the strength of the army led by Baal.

Every time Grid fought Baal and won, it had to be taken into account that Baal was 'alone.' Baal didn't wage a war against Grid. He just insisted on fighting one-on-one and enjoyed it for his personal amusement. It hurt his pride, but it was an objective fact.

On the contrary, Grid worked with Bunhelier and Nefelina to attack Baal…

'I'm becoming angry for some reason.'

Grid became embarrassed after objectively comparing the power of hell and the No Offspring Tomb, and he trembled. His divinity spread even more. The coiled up Yellow Dragon soared to ascend.

-It is a hero's spirit.

Chreshler unknowingly praised it.

"Ohh…"

Skunk was thrilled.

Even to a legendary player, Grid was a person from a different world. This was even though he was a member of the Overgeared Guild and watched Grid closely.

The embarrassed Grid coughed.

"In any case, it is good that we came to the No Offspring Tomb."

This disgusting, ominous red flesh. It must be destroyed.

Grid used a skill. He combined Twilight and the Fire Dragon Sword, and combined Cranbel's Horn and Gujel's Fang. He intended to use a six fusion sword dance to destroy the flesh.

At this moment—

"In the past."

A voice was heard. A harsh voice, like the breathing of a wounded beast, rang out in all directions. It echoed terribly even considering the size and structure of the space. To add a bit of exaggeration, he got the illusion that his brain was shaking.

"I remember feeling unfamiliar eyes. The gazes were from so far away that it was hard to fathom the distance."

Only the voice was heard. It didn't show itself. It was impossible to identify the location even when Grid maximized his senses.

'It isn't here.'

Grid didn't assume that he 'couldn't find' the other person. Just like all his stats, the insight he accumulated over the years were a testament to his hard work. It was the same for his status as a god and his qualifications of an Absolute. He used all his abilities and powers, but he couldn't find the other existence? It couldn't be. The owner of the voice simply wasn't here. It was just a magical tool playing the role of a speaker.

"Now I know the identity of the gaze I felt."

The Specter—the owner of the voice was clearly the Specter.

"Uhh…" The white-faced Skunk trembled. He just heard a voice, but he was experiencing a status abnormality. It wasn't fear or confusion. He was overwhelmed. He was overwhelmed by an enormous pressure that was difficult to interpret as just a difference in status and he couldn't even move a fingertip. He had been reduced to prey.

-In terms of the momentum alone, it is more than Marie Rose…

Chreshler muttered in a rare dark voice. He felt a very powerful origin and history. An entity who had hunted countless transcendents and human gods, with the God of the Beginning, Yatan, as its source. The Specter had a background that meant it 'naturally' had to be powerful. He had an intuition that it would be a tougher opponent than what he was prepared for.

It was the same for Grid. However, he couldn't care about failure or defeat. Valhalla of Infinite Affection was thickly covering him in his mental world. The ultimate goal of rescuing Khan by all means that was instilled in him gave him an unbreakable will. No desperate situation could frustrate Grid. Thus, he became the hope and lantern of humanity.

"Specter, what is your purpose?" Grid asked in a straightforward manner.

"It is the salvation of the world through the restoration of hell," the Specter answered. It was an immediate reply without any worries. It was hard to see any ulterior motives or hypocrisy.

"Is it about creating a new hell rather than reclaiming the distorted hell?"

"You are distorting it. The hell that I will create here is a means to restore the real hell, not a new one. Only One God, stop speculating."

"You have a long tongue even though you aren't Huroi… I don't understand anything at all. In any case, the bottom line is that you are going to make this place hell, right?"

Grid wasn't a good person. His intuition was more like a learned ability. He ignorantly relied on his immense experience and the information he had built up from it. Perhaps that was why his intuition was telling him even more accurately—he had to destroy this red lump of flesh right now. He couldn't be misled by the sophistry of the Specter.

'An object that distorts hell. There is an object on the surface that is exactly the same as the object that Baal cherishes the most.'

Sitting on the sidelines? It was a foolish thing. It wasn't a situation where he could fathom the intentions of the Specter.

"Serve Dragon Pinnacle Wave Kill Link."

Grid shot forward like a beam of light. By the time Skunk and Chreshler noticed this fact, a shadow was about to pierced the red flesh. It was Grid's figure. Along with the sound of skin exploding, a series of creepy cutting sounds followed. The mangled red flesh released blood darker than its own color in all directions. The subsequent shock wave of the sword dance shook the huge space and made it seem like it was about to collapse.

However, the red flesh that had been targeted was still floating in the air. The blood that had been pouring out quickly subsided. The health gauge had been greatly reduced, but even that gave off an ominous feeling. The thing that was revealed behind the cut gauge wasn't blank space, but a gauge with a new color. There were probably a few more bars of health left to withstand the six fusion sword dance.

"…It is great."

It wasn't just Grid who was agitated. The Specter's close to silent sentiment was the proof.

"You have enough strength to make my plans go awry. I can see why the irresponsible bystanders considered you special and gave you blessings."

Irresponsible bystanders—the word 'blessing' helped him infer their identities. It would be Rebecca and Chiyou. Grid was still enjoying the effect of Ultimate Martial Art after becoming an Only One God, and the God Hands hadn't lost the Goddess' protection.

"You… I could've used you." The tone was as if it was dealing with something pitiful. The Specter whispered to the lump of flesh after making Grid's mood even worse, "Open your eyes, Beriache."

Beriache—it was the moment when an absurd name popped out.

"……?"

Grid doubted his ears.

"……!!"

Skunk was shocked.

-Mother-in-law?

Chreshler was restless and didn't know what to do. He seemed to be looking for a mirror.

The blood that the red flesh spilled started gathering together at a single point. It gradually took the shape of a woman and a chill shot down Grid's spine.

[The direct descendant vampire, 'Ruson,' has sensed his mother's presence and cheered.]

[The direct descendant vampire, 'Tiramet,' has sensed his mother's presence and is trembling.]

[The direct descendant vampire, 'Latina,' has sensed her mother's presence and is thrilled.]

[The direct descendant vampire…]

……

…

Ruson, Tiramet, Latina, Cray, Yetima, and Elfin Stone—they were scattered all over the No Offspring Tomb to help the Overgeared members and reacted in unison.

[The direct descendant vampires will serve their long-missed mother.]

[The authority of the 'Blood King' is temporarily suspended.]

They were out of Grid's control. The ball of blood in front of him suddenly took a complete human form. No, it was the shape of a vampire.

[The progenitor of the vampires, 'Beriache,' has descended.]

[The direct descendant vampires are chasing after Beriache's presence.]

"This… what?"

Grid felt a chill all the way down to his butt. It was because he could vividly feel the smooth, silky feeling of the undergarment he was currently wearing.

"Her soul is unfortunately caught in hell, but… this is enough to buy time. I'll be there soon."

To make matters worse, the Specter declared it would visit soon. Would Marie Rose look like this when she was in middle school? Grid stared blankly at Beriache for a moment before hurriedly shouting, "Chreshler! We have to use all our strength before the direct descendants and the Specter…"

-Greetings to my mother-in-law.

"……"

Let's subdue Beriache as soon as possible.

Grid made a judgment and was about to shout this, only to close his mouth. It was because the Divine Wood Coffin approached Beriache and bowed to her.

He truly wanted to kill Creshler.