Overgeared

'Ahh, in the end, it turned out like this…'

'…huh? Don't tell me?'

'No… as expected, this won't work either.'

'Isn't this unbelievable?'

During the short time in solitary confinement, Yeo Yulan aged quickly. Even though she already ascended and became a daoist immortal, light wrinkles appeared on her face.

It was from the point when she discovered that Grid had stepped deep underground.

She was anxious when an overwhelming demon suddenly appeared and attacked Grid. She read the signs that Grid was gradually gaining victory and felt like her life was shortened by ten years. Then she noticed the appearance of the Specter and was on the verge of fainting.

The aftermath of experiencing very severe emotional ups and downs were great.

"……"

Yeo Yulan caught her breath and her mind gradually stabilized. Her ability to sense energy was among the highest among the transcendents. It was impossible that she couldn't read the spirits of the Absolutes who fought without hiding their presence. She felt the words of the Absolute and even the intentions in his sword.

"Grid broke the Specter."

The exhausted Yeo Yulan was speechless after being overwhelmed by repeated frustration, joy, and despair. Her bountiful hair, which had been finely combed and stuck with a hairpin, was on the verge of becoming scattered. Her dopo, which was free of wrinkles, was sweaty and disheveled, leaving no place to look at her in a pleasant manner. It wasn't a suitable appearance for a daoist immortal, who should have exemplary grooming and demeanor.

However, Yeo Yulan didn't care. She was just happy.

Finally, she smiled brightly like a human being and closed her eyes. She listened to the words spoken by Grid that were being written in the scripture that would be handed down forever, as if savoring their meaning.

[I know that the weight of the responsibility borne by you alone is great.]

[I feel sorry for you who deviated from the norm with no malice after repeated anguish.]

I understand you. I expect you to be righteous. Therefore, I forgive you for your sins.

The will of the Only One God—it seeped into the whole world like rainwater and embraced the Specter with such a meaning. There was a warmth that even touched Yeo Yulan's heart.

What would the Specter feel? Sure enough, the Specter bowed her head.

It was the best outcome for Yeo Yulan. She was someone who defined the heavenly gods as her greatest enemies, so from her perspective, Grid and the Specter were indispensable beings to the world. She felt joy because they joined forces without hurting each other.

'I must go and see the two of them soon.'

Yeo Yulan was accustomed to the rule of the gods. The Peach Blossom Spring, the home of the daoist immortals, had long been ruled by heaven. It was common for the gods of Asgard and the gods of the Hwan Kingdom to use the daoist immortals according to their tastes.

Thus, Yeo Yulan knew the essence of the gods. Gods weren't very different from humans. Their personality and attitude changed according to the situation or need, rather than always being the same.

Grid wasn't an exception. It was true that Grid was good, but Yeo Yulan understood that he couldn't be free from all desires. Therefore, she was in a hurry.

The thing buried underground—depending on its value, Grid would inevitably suffer from greed. Yeo Yulan planned to go to his side in advance to give advice and center him.

'I know it is presumptuous, but someone has to do it.'

Yeo Yulan had seen too many gods. She had witnessed in real time several gods degrading to human beings for all types of reasons. One of them was Only One God Chiyou. It was a sight that she never wanted to see again.

Creak.

Once she opened the door and came out, she found two liches waiting for her. The rest of them must've left to help the Specter.

"Open the way obediently. I can handle the two of you, even if it is with my bare hands."

All of Yeo Yulan's swords, daoist treasures, and amulets were confiscated when she was put into solitary confinement by the will of the Specter. However, she didn't lose her spirit and she directly faced the transcendents of the old era.

""Wait a minute.""

Grrrrrung.

The lich's words, which sounded like the breaths of a wild animal, stopped Yeo Yulan.

'Is it trying to buy time until reinforcements arrive?'

There was no choice but to fight.

Yeo Yulan made this judgment and chanted something. She used her mental image as paper and carved words with the intent of making an invisible amulet. Yeo Yulan's fingers stretched into the air and a transparent wave was generated from it. The intangible amulet was completed as the Formless Sword.

"I'm in a hurry so I won't show mercy," Yeo Yulan declared and quickly dug into the gap between the liches.

It was a surprise attack for the liches, who were communicating with someone through the crystal ball. They were startled and the mana shields they belatedly set up couldn't block Yeo Yulan's sword.

""Groan… What is this? I was asking Grid if I could release you, but you attacked me…? I heard that the minimum condition for ascending is nirvana, but that seems to be a myth judging from your attitude of rampaging?""

"…You were asking for permission from Grid, not the Specter?"

""Serving Grid from now on is the last order left by the Specter. Damn, the six ribs that have just been cut won't stick together. Did you put a non-recovery technique on the Formless Sword? The viciousness of your actions is more like a rascal than a daoist immortal.""

"……"

Was it because the owner they served had changed? A bit of personality started to appear in the tone of the liches.

The even more embarrassed Yeo Yulan put away the Formless Sword and asked, "I apologize. More than that, what did Grid say? Of course, he is going to release me, right?"

""He said to lock you up.""

"What?"

Yeo Yulan looked like she couldn't understand it at all. She forgot for a while because she was excited after witnessing the upheaval in the world of the No Offspring Tomb. It was that she stood in Grid's way and wielded her sword. From Grid's point of view, there was no reason to show favor to Yeo Yulan yet. Yeo Yulan was the only one who felt a sense of familiarity with Grid.

"It can't be! Something is wrong!"

""Are you going to defy the will of the supreme being?""

"No, that isn't it. I just want you to double check."

""You want to let me hassle Grid…?""

"No, I have to meet him."

Yeo Yulan tried to persuade them, only to shut her mouth. She realized it. It was a loss to say anything in this situation. She was battered and exhausted.

'It is a big problem.'

I have to stay by his side to center him…

Yeo Yulan's anxiety grew bigger. She couldn't help feeling even more worried when thinking of the state of the crazy coffin who accompanied Grid.

However, she couldn't resist. If she defied Grid's will from the beginning, then she could never enter his sight. She returned to the room with a dark expression while not knowing anything about Grid. For example, the fact that Grid would never shake and that there were already many people who could center him.

***

The underground of the No Offspring Tomb was deeper than he thought. From the location of the red flesh, it was possible to go down another 10 floors. It went without saying that the scale was enormous.

'Each floor is the size of a city.'

It was a sight that showed the sincerity behind the Specter's plan to turn this place into hell.

'It is a futile plan.'

No matter how large the No Offspring Tomb was, it was only a small part of the surface. This scale alone couldn't fully contain the hell that was as big as the surface. If the Specter recreated hell here, the hell she created would've stretched beyond the No Offspring Tomb and across the surface.

'I have goosebumps.'

Not so long ago, Grid never thought that the No Offspring Tomb would be such an important place. He couldn't even guess what was buried. It was natural that information was lacking.

'If I hadn't thought about raising the status of the Overgeared Battleship quickly and delayed coming here… it would've been really out of control.

Wouldn't he have regretted hitting it only after something happened to the surface? It was awful to think that he might've needed to fight against two hells. If the two Baals worked together to do something crazy, it was likely that all of the surface, except for the Overgeared World, would've been destroyed. Of course, there might've been a quest to collaborate with the Specter, but…

'I wouldn't have trusted the Specter…'

-What's wrong?

-Huh? What?

Grid had been walking while staring at the back of the Specter's small, round head. Then he came to his senses when he received Ruby's whisper. Ruby said with a somewhat pale face…

-It looks like you are going to kill the Specter…

"……"

He must've stared like he was going to catch and eat her without realizing it. It happened as Grid felt the need to be careful and was about to control his expression…

"God Yatan. He was kind… just like you."

A video unfolded in front of Grid and Ruby's eyes. It was at some point in the past. The Specter had a bright expression, unlike now, and she was staring at someone's huge back.

He was a man with long hair flowing down his back. No, it wasn't hair. The black divinity overlapped and made him look like he had long hair. It was like Grid. He even had a tremendous presence.

"He always… lamented… this world. It is wrong."

The Specter's voice, which was like scratching iron, was being cut off more frequently. It was the price for excessively using Yatan's divinity, which she couldn't fully handle, while fighting Grid. Ruby offered to heal the Specter, but she refused. It was the price she had to pay.

'Will Mercedes also put a strain on her body if she uses God's Descent often? Thinking of Mercedes makes me miss Irene and Yura. I am worried that Basara will overdo it again while taking care of state affairs.'

Grid always missed his precious people. The fortunate thing was that Jishuka participated in this expedition. Jishuka was the only one of Grid's lovers who had a meek side, so he was most worried about her when he couldn't see her.

'On the outside, she looks to be the one who is least lacking something.'

Looking back, there were many lacking parts.

It happened when Jishuka came to South Korea and met Grid for the first time. Didn't she get drunk and fall asleep on the street without knowing how scary the world was? Yura was the same, but…

'Is it possible that they have liked me since then? Did they actually exceed their drinking capacity while competing with me?'

He felt it was possible for Jishuka. Yet Yura… there was a high possibility that she deliberately pretended to be drunk and was dragged along with Jishuka.

'Both of them have been cute since back then.'

Grid was happy after realizing the truth too late. To Ruby, her brother looked like a madman. It didn't seem normal to smile alone while the Specter was showing them a scene from the past. Nevertheless, the Specter didn't really care. Her barren emotions had somewhat recovered thanks to Grid, but she was still far from normal. She didn't feel it was strange even when Grid showed emotional ups and downs that didn't fit the situation.

In the first place, she knew that Grid was paying attention to her. Grid's concentration was beyond the ordinary category. He was able to think about something else while focusing on the situation.

"There were threats to human beings in the world… he pointed out that there were too many."

Then Grid and Ruby's consciousness were sucked into the moment in the past that was being shown in front of them.

It must've been in the past.

"Hmm?"

Then why—

"You are interesting beings." Evil God Yatan looked at them and smiled.

The faces of Grid and his sister stiffened.