Overgeared

Each person should live by relying on themselves—it was a command that Grid left to the apostles. It meant they shouldn't follow him and should take care of themselves. It had always been that way. Grid didn't bring his knights and apostles with him when he went to dangerous places. It was an attitude like they were a nuisance.

At the outskirts of Reinhardt…

"I have become a god, but it still isn't rewarding," Braham, the God of Magic and Wisdom, lamented.

He sat on a large and handsome statue of himself installed on a cliff. It was a transcendent sight.

"Now I also have an immortal body. Then isn't the fact that I still can't accompany Grid proof that I'm not trusted? This is a treatment that goes beyond worry."

An apostle was a being who served their god. It was right for them to take on the danger that the god had to go through. However, it was shameful that he was left behind without being able to go to the No Offspring Tomb. He felt a great sense of sadness.

"The No Offspring Tomb is home to myth predators. You going there is no different than a rabbit entering a tiger's den."

"Tsk…"

It was the moment when Zik expressed the facts and made Braham even more uncomfortable…

There was a thunderous roar from far away and the sky turned pitch black. Then it split apart. The dimensional gap that appeared was as red as the belly of a beast that had just been slaughtered.fre𝑒𝘸𝑒𝑏𝗻𝒐v𝐞l.𝘤𝘰𝒎

"…It is completely different from what has appeared so far."

It happened after Kraugel left in search of Muller. At this point, dozens of dimensional gaps had already been destroyed and the world had suffered from all sorts of aftermath. The emergence of monsters was the smallest and most trivial thing. The collapse of the laws that protected the world caused all sorts of mysteries to occur. Sometimes they were beneficial mysteries, but even so, confusion was inevitable.

This was why the apostles were busy. The seven apostles, including Braham and Zik, were solving all types of cases in various parts of the continent. In other words, the apostles were fully responsible for the tasks that would've normally been solved by the Overgeared members.

Braham had been the only one complaining about this, but now he laughed. He looked quite happy as he raised his chin in a proud manner.

"It is Muller. No, is it Muller's 'traces'?"

The mysteries caused by the dimensional gaps violated common sense. They made knowledge useless. Thus, they were mysteries. It was no wonder that shadows reproducing Muller, who fought with Kraugel, and Kraugel, who fought with Muller, suddenly appeared and threatened the surface.

"It is a chance to regain the honor that I have lost."

Swordsmen had an advantage over magicians—this was in an ordinary situation, but it was a law that didn't work on Braham.

The only exception was when he was compared to Muller. Braham didn't see a chance of winning against Muller. Of course, this didn't mean he had fought Muller in person. It was the result of a virtual fight produced based on various information. It wasn't even done by Braham himself, but through the mouths of rich people.

If the strongest swordsman of all time and a legendary great magician fought, who would win? The scholars analyzed their powers based on their achievements and held several virtual confrontations that always ended in Braham's defeat.

Braham couldn't deny it at all. His defeat was obvious even when he calculated it himself. Yet now, hundreds of years later, Braham became a god. The opportunity to erase the shameful record of the past had arrived.

"Zik, I would appreciate it if you could bring people over."

"I will summon knights who are skilled in a sword formation. This is the best way to offset Muller's sword energy a little bit."

"No, anyone is fine. I just need a lot of people. That way, I will be seen trampling on Muller and have it recorded in history."

"……"

Zik's expressionless face shook slightly.

Braham, who was obsessed with personal success even after becoming a god, seemed amazing in a way. He swallowed back the words that rose in his throat and turned around in order to leave.

"Wait," Braham suddenly called out to Zik, "I can't be obsessed with fame and hurt the people. I was pathetic. My words just now are invalid, so I hope you stay."

"……"

Zik glanced up at the sky. There were as many as three of Muller's shadows that emerged from the cracks in the collapsed dimensional gap.

***

-Mother-in-law is very beautiful. You look exactly like Marie Rose when young. No, Marie Rose must look like mother-in-law, right? Hahaha! You look so young that I was momentarily mistaken.

"When will that disgusting monster leave the world…?"

The Divine Wood Coffin standing beside Beriache kept talking nonsense. One of the few saints in the history of humanity—Chreshler was the one the first pope chose as his successor purely based on talent. He proved his predecessor's discerning eye. As if to repay the trust of the first pope, he accumulated countless achievements, including a strong force, and maintained the title of strongest pope for hundreds of years. He was naturally classified as a great man.

Chreshler might be perverted, but Grid tried to respect him. However, he ran out of patience at this moment. It was because after defeating the executives of the No Offspring Tomb and growing using them, it seemed like Chreshler would soon become an enemy. Chreshler's attitude toward Beriache was like a puppy welcoming back its owner after a few days, so Grid's suspicions were perfectly justified.

"You are my son-in-law."

It was after someone bloomed from the red lump of flesh. Beriache was silent for a while before finally opening her mouth. No, this wasn't Beriache. It was just Beriache's dead body. It was a pale, expressionless face and two empty eyes whose thoughts can't be seen. No life could be found anywhere.

Nevertheless, she opened her mouth. She clearly looked at Grid and recognized him. It was different from Chreshler's corpse, which had been only a puppet.

'Why is she different?'

Beriache's soul was in hell. The corpse in front of him was just an empty shell, so how did it recognize her and talk to her?

'Is it the power of the Specter?'

Injecting the soul of another into a soulless body. He thought it would be easy for the apostle of Yatan. Grid thought that someone else was 'acting' as Beriache. It was a reasonable doubt.

-……

Chreshler seemed to have the same doubts. He calmed down his mind that had been deceived by the name 'Beriache' and quietly returned to Grid's side.

-This can't be real. It doesn't make sense to pretend to be alive. Look at my own corpse. Wasn't it a soulless corpse like a doll?

"Why did you do that when you know so well?"

-What? Ah… Wasn't I just greeting my mother-in-law? I was just keeping human morality.

"That isn't a person, right?"

-You are holding the dead to the standards of the living? My mother-in-law was a vampire during her life. Why does it matter when she is dead? Don't you feel sorry for her?

"I mean you."

-……

Chreshler finally shut his mouth (?). From the time when he destroyed his own corpse. No, it was the distant past when he became a coffin. He himself abandoned humanity.

Grid's point was valid…

-But… if I abandon even the doctrine of humans, then I'm no different from a beast.

"……"

Skunk covered his face as he looked at the back of Chreshler, who was muttering bitterly. It was an effort to suppress the anger that boiled deep in his heart. What was this shamelessness? He didn't even understand sarcastic comments and reacted like that?

Skunk had sincerely admired Chreshler, unlike Grid, but now the things covering his eyes were slowly peeled off.

"Still, Chreshler is pretty good. At the very least, he didn't go crazy or cause much trouble. You will meet more transcendents in the future so try to adapt."

Grid gave comfort that wasn't really comfort. It was an attitude that treated most transcendents as lunatics greater than Chreshler.

A beautiful voice pierced the ears of the shocked Skunk—Beriache spoke while looking at Grid, "Seeing that Marie Rose couldn't come here, she still seems to be a virgin. Why hasn't she become pregnant even after getting a great Blood King like you? Has she forgotten her position and responsibilities and became shy?"

'What?'

This was a fake, not Beriache—Grid's belief in this statement started to waver. It wasn't because she discovered his identity as Blood King. Grid had the direct descendant vampires. Anyone with deep knowledge of vampire history could easily infer that Grid was the Blood King. However, no one could show the conviction that Marie Rose 'couldn't come' here.

Yes, it wasn't that Marie Rose didn't come here, but that she couldn't. The reason was that it became difficult to control blood. She withdrew alone despite being worried about Grid. She handed over the Divine Wood Coffin in the hopes that it could be of some help.

"You… are you really Beriache?"

"Yes. The moment I sensed the resurrection of my body, a part of my soul in hell dwelt in this body. I am incomplete, but I am me."

The way she talked like he was a child. Beriache's style of talking resembled Marie Rose. The only difference was that it was insipid without any emotions. It wasn't known if Beriache was joking or serious.

Beriache also didn't have even a faint glimmer of goodwill toward prey. Was it because she wasn't interested in Grid? The probability of that was small. The Blood King project was Beriache's aspiration. It was right to say that Beriache's current interest was all focused on Grid, who had become a Blood King.

'It is because she is a corpse.'

Grid interpreted Beriache's emotional attitude as inevitable. As her expressionless face proved, she was unable to express her emotions because she was a corpse. Blood magic spread around Beriache. It resembled a butterfly spreading its wings. It was beautiful apart from the bloody smell.

"It seems that control of this body belongs to the one who resurrected it, not me. My father's faithful servant is still alive."

This was the end. Beriache briefly explained that she had no choice but to become an enemy and used magic. It was spectacular. The Realm of Domination, Blood Field, various blood weapons and tails, etcetera—the ultimate skills of the direct descendants were used at the same time. It was so fast and simple that it could be called casual.

"The weakness is here."

In the midst of the dizzying storm of blood, Beriache tapped her forehead with small, slender fingers.

"Originally, it is a weakness that would've been covered by bloodstones, but there isn't a single drop of blood in this corpse's body. The blood that you are seeing and feeling now is nothing more than a fake reproduced with pure magic power. Even so, the fact that it acts as a medium for blood magic is surprising."

Grid was also using the Sanctuary of Metal. He offset Beriache's field magic while also slashing the blood weapons with the rain of battle gear.

"It is great. I have heard of your high reputation from hell, but it exceeds my expectations."

"Are you being held captive by Baal in hell?" Grid tried to talk. Beriache's body might be hostile to him, but her soul was favorable. He wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to get as much information as possible.

"No, I am with Amoract."

"Amoract…?"

The 2nd Great Demon, who had her face covered with a white cloth and was chained—she was an impressive existence who was one of the Three Evils of the Beginning, but attempted diplomacy with Grid. Amoract's location was so special that Grid always kept it in mind when thinking about the purification of hell.

"My soul was intercepted right before it fell into the hell where Baal resides. She tried to absorb me in order to find the strength to confront Baal, but suffered a disaster."

"A disaster…? Do you have anything to do with the chains that binds her?"

"You got it right. Yes. My last spell should've originally bound Baal, but it ended up tying her up. Baal didn't seem to know what was going on."

"……"

Was Braham's trolling genetic? Grid seriously suspected it and shook his head. The reason why Amoract was chained was due to her greed, not Beriache's intention. It wasn't Beriache's trolling, but the result of Amoract's own actions.

"It is hard to maintain my consciousness. Three facts… keep these in mind."

Beriache's busily moving small, thick lips gradually slowed down.

"Amo… ract… don't trust… against me… don't get hurt… my father's faithful servant… I'm afraid… what it will do…"

The words that barely ended—it was silent after that. Could it be that the connection to the soul was severed?

Beriache's corpse, whose expression became cold, started to silently attack Grid. It was while expanding the Realm of the Absolute.

The Three Evils of the Beginning—Beriache was bound to the same hierarchy as Baal and her power was terrifying even as a soulless corpse. The Specter's ability to restore the corpse so it could use the abilities of its lifetime was too great.

In any case, Grid also started the full-scale battle.