Overgeared

Chapter 1768

The flames of Fire Dragon Trauka weren't extinguished. They remained even after Xenon's massive body turned to ash, engulfing Reidan's land and buildings. It was also about to engulf Grid.

'There is no need to be afraid.'

Fire, like metal, was a concept that formed Grid's mental world. In the Sanctuary of Metal, there was a hot fire in the background where all forms of battle gear were present. Grid believed that even though the flames of the Fire Dragon were very strong, he could control them.

He was mistaken.

"......!"

Grid's eyes gradually widened as he was closely watching Trauka. He belatedly noticed that none of the bright red flames surrounding Reidan were burning it.

Were these really the flames that turned Gray Dragon Xenon to ashes a moment ago? The flames of the Fire Dragon were so cold that such a question arose. The soil, vegetation, buildings, and people of Reidan—everything engulfed in the flames remained in shape.

'Mental world...'

Grid noticed the identity of the flames. This wasn't a by-product of the oxidation process. It wasn't an element of magic, nor a phenomenon reproduced by divinity or magic power. It was just the embodiment of Fire Dragon Trauka's will. In other words, it was like Greed that made up the Sanctuary of Metal. It didn't allow the intervention of others. All the results of the flames were purely in accordance with Trauka's will.

"...A request?"

There were some things that Grid couldn't tolerate. Hurting those he had a relationship with and coveting his property. Fire Dragon Trauka was obviously Grid's enemy from the moment he harmed Xenon.

Of course, Xenon wasn't Grid's friend. They had no personal interactions. However, he was a valuable backer who provided the materials for a dragon weapon every month. It wasn't known what Xenon thought of Grid, but Grid was always grateful to Xenon. He personally had good feelings toward Xenon.

Although Grid was very angry at Xenon's death, he decided to have a conversation for now. The value of Trauka's name was too high for Grid to demand that he pay for his crimes without a conversation. It was the same even though the modifier 'wounded' was attached to Trauka's name.

Fire Dragon Ifrit, the one who made Grid the main character of 'Crazy God and Crazy Dragon'—thanks to her targeting Trauka in an attempt at mutual destruction, the tower members speculated that Trauka would have to recuperate for hundreds of years.

Despite the speculation, Trauka emerged from his lair and was active. He killed Gray Dragon Xenon so easily.

A dragon heart—he was also absorbing the powerful magic power and vitality contained in Xenon's heart in real time. In the first place, he was an old dragon. Putting aside his wounds, he was one of the strongest beings.

"What type of request are you going to make?" Grid suppressed his boiling anger and asked as politely as possible. Good anger management while hiding it from the opponent—this was one of Grid's advantages.

As expected. Trauka's flames, which had been spreading all throughout Reidan, quickly died down. It was sucked into Trauka's mouth and nose, as if he was breathing in, before finally disappearing completely. Trauka's body was surrounded by an intense light and rapidly shrank.

A body size that was bigger than a great mountain—he took back the body that overshadowed half of Reidan and took on a human form. It was Polymorph. The human version of Trauka was a beautiful, red-haired man. Nevertheless, the pressure he gave off remained.

His height was easily over two meters, his hair was like flames, his teeth were sharper than any other beast, and he had sanpaku eyes. [1]

It could be clearly seen that this person was a non-human being. He looked completely different from Gourmet Dragon Raiders. The human version of Raiders had given Grid a sense of intimidation due to the mysterious eyes where no emotions could be read.

"I'm glad that Braham's master is a man who knows courtesy. I don't want to waste my strength unnecessarily."

"Braham..."

It happened a long time ago. It wasn't known where Braham got the courage, but he dared to rob Trauka's lair. Part of the reason why Braham's self-esteem was so high was because he survived against Trauka. In any case, he had survived unharmed. Grid had interpreted it as a natural thing, not due to Trauka's mercy. For Trauka, Braham would've been like a mayfly.

Just as humans didn't remember and chase after every face they encountered in their daily lives, Trauka considered Braham to be insignificant and quickly erased Braham from his memory. Thus, Grid thought Braham survived safely. It was a misjudgment. Trauka clearly remembered Braham.

"Are you threatening me? Will you hurt Braham if I refuse the request?"

"Are you going to refuse my request?" Trauka asked in response to the very vigilant Grid. It was a response that could never be imagined.

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"Don't worry about Braham's safety. He has passed the 'standard,' so I have no intention of hurting him," Trauka continued speaking as Grid was feeling dumbfounded.

"Standard...?"

"The standard by which I determine the value of an object."

"......"

Grid didn't want to understand. Trauka was a lunatic who ate his own children. Understanding a lunatic was impossible and unnecessary.

Grid was uncomfortable with this encounter and quickly urged Trauka, "Tell me what your request is."

"Bunhelier's heart," Trauka replied immediately, "Your next destination is probably hell. I'm sure that Bunhelier will try to accompany you. Bunhelier needs to gain something from Baal in order to break his curse of weakness."

"......"

"I want you to cooperate with him and betray him along the way, taking his heart. You will get one chance to hurt him as long as the stage is hell."

Killing a dragon and taking their heart? Trauka made it sound like an easy task, but it was a request with a nearly 0% success rate. This was even considering the fact that Bunhelier would be weakened in hell. An old dragon who had lived forever wouldn't be stupid. He would be fully prepared for any danger.

'In the first place, would I give it away if I could get the heart of a dragon?'

Grid barely suppressed the words welling in his throat and shook his head. "I don't want to."

"Are you going to refuse without even hearing about the rewards?"

"Aren't you aiming for Bunhelier's heart in order to use it to help you recover? Your recovery will only increase the potential threat to humanity. Why should I help you?"

"There is a big misunderstanding. The surface is safe only when I am in a perfect state."

"......?"

From Grid's perspective, it was nonsense that he never even thought about.

"Judar, Dominion, and the others. Unlike the fake Martial God, the reason why the smart heavenly gods don't cross the 'line' on the surface is so they won't provide me with an excuse," Trauka explained to Grid, who was doubting his ears.

Grid recalled something. The reason why gods and dragons didn't collide—it was because they signed a non-aggression pact with Trauka, who had 'hunted' the heavenly gods in the past.

"You might not know because you have belatedly become the world's protagonist, but the world has already established and maintained strong rules since the distant past. Only One God Grid, your role isn't as great as what you pride yourself on."

"Shit." Eventually, Grid couldn't hold back any longer and his expression distorted.

"Trauka, putting aside your existence, hasn't the world repeatedly come to an end? How shameful is it to talk sophistry, as if the surface is safe thanks to your existence?"

"...Hmm." Trauka was about to refute it, but he soon closed his mouth with an intrigued expression. He stared at Grid, who was gritting his teeth, and asked a question, "Then can you stop the end of the world?"

"I am going to stop it," Grid replied instantly, "I can stop it, and I will stop it unconditionally."

In any case, it should be stopped. If Grid didn't stop it, people like Irene, Lord, Mercedes, and Basara would all disappear.

"Okay. I will cancel the request."

"......?"

Grid belatedly fell into a daze. He was so agitated that he offended Trauka, so he thought he would have to fight.

Deep regret poured into him. Regardless of whether he won or lost, the aftermath of the fight would lead to Reidan's disappearance.

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Surprisingly, Trauka withdrew obediently. "In fact, I am fully satisfied after receiving Xenon as a gift."

"What?"

Gift? Grid couldn't understand these words at all and frowned.

"Didn't you make Xenon visit the same place regularly?" Trauka laughed. "Didn't you forcibly expose Xenon's location to give him as a gift to someone who might consider him as prey?"

"......!!" Grid was shocked. He felt like he had been hit in the head with a hammer.

"In particular, I just happened to need an elixir. It is because of you, who cooperated with my daughter, Ifrit."

"...No."

"I thought you offered me Xenon to avoid my anger. In any case, it was a good thing. Your sincerity has relieved some of my anger."

"No!!"

Grid's divinity responded to his anger. The Yellow Dragon uncoiled and raised itself up. Then it opened its mouth as if to devour Trauka. It was infinitely small compared to Trauka's main body.

Trauka didn't even blink. "Put that away unless you want to make Xenon's sacrifice futile."

Sacrifice. Grid was once again shocked. Could it be that Xenon silently visited Reidan even though he knew he would be in danger? There was a huge flood of guilt.

Trauka turned his back to the completely stunned Grid and created a warp gate. It was a warp connected with his lair. At first glance, the scenery of the lair was completely different from when Grid had visited it in the past. The location itself seemed different. The supreme old dragon had moved the position of his lair. It was evidence that Trauka's physical condition was more serious than it seemed.

"I've canceled the request, but I won't refuse if you bring me Bunhelier's heart. I'll pay you the rewards you deserve. If the opportunity comes, think about it... what?"

Trauka gasped as he was entering the warp gate.

The woman's black hair, shaded from the sun with a parasol, was disturbing Grid's shaky vision. "Why are you bothering my dear husband?"

Marie Rose's body was sucked into the crack in the warp gate that was quickly closing after the burning Trauka. Only the parasol remained and rolled to Grid's feet.

"......"

"Are you okay?" The members of the Tower of Wisdom arrived at the scene one step later. After confirming that Grid and Reidan were safe, they analyzed the remnants of the warp gate with relief.

Grid watched them silently while taking care of the muddy parasol. This time as well—Marie Rose arrived at the scene faster than anyone else. She sensed Grid's crisis one step faster than the tower members who always monitored the movements of dragons.

'...She is always watching me.'

Grid questioned it again. Had he ever properly thanked Marie Rose?

Grid carefully placed Marie Rose's parasol in his inventory and asked, "Can you track it?"

It was with an expression full of killing intent. He was ready to chase and fight Trauka right away.

"It isn't easy."

The giant brothers, Radwolf and Fronzaltz, replied cautiously. Even if they found Trauka's location, they wouldn't be able to tell Grid easily.

It happened the moment when Grid was about to feel frustrated...

"Be sure to find it," Hayate ordered the tower members.

No objections were received.

1. Literally 'three whites'. Refers to eyes where the white space above or below the iris is shown and in physiognomy (reading personal qualities from the face), it generally has a negative impression. https://www.tsingapore.com/article/sanpaku-eyes-marilyn-monroe-billie-eilish/) ☜