Overgeared

Chapter 1776

Sword Saint Muller and the tower members were great people. They lived lives worthy of praise. However, they refused to admire and praise themselves. It was because they remember the lives they failed to protect, rather than the lives they saved. They were always ashamed of themselves, despite living for others all their lives.

Moreover, Muller had a history of escaping to the dimensional gap. Recently, the tower members failed to fulfill their duties against the dragons.

"...It is an honor to meet you."

Muller and the tower members understood each other's positions. They regarded this momentous meeting as a great honor but they didn't show it.

As a result, Nefelina watched their encounter and snorted. It was while caressing her soft belly. "It must be embarrassing to see that the great Muller is a pervert."

"What do you mean by Muller is a pervert?"

"Don't pretend you didn't see it. Grid, it isn't just you. The tower also witnessed him harassing me. Trying to cover up the incident will only damage your reputation."

"Harassment...? I see." Grid thought for a moment before nodding. "It must've been quite upsetting that Muller chased you through the teleportation. I wasn't sensitive. Sorry."

Grid put himself in Nefelina's shoes. She was only a hatchling, but she was the daughter of the Insane Dragon. She must've taken great pride in the fact that she was a master of magic, but she was tricked by humans. It was natural to be angry.

"But to call him perverted is a bit..."

"What are you saying?" Nefelina looked at Grid, who was cautiously speaking, as if he was pitiful. "I just teleported in response to your call. Technically, Muller tracked your magic, not mine. It isn't me who should be angry, it is you, Grid."

"......?"

Was it like this? Indeed, summoning an apostle was like summoning the knights. It was a skill where he was the subject, so it made sense...

Grid started to feel bad for some reason.

Nefelina's eyes were dull as she looked at him. "Fool."

"What?"

"A man who is an outsider touched my stomach. Why aren't you doing anything, Grid? Why do you keep paying attention to useless things? Fool! Grid is a fool!"

"......"

"Basara said it! A woman should value her body, especially her belly! Grid, you are a fool who doesn't even know that!"

Grid's mind gradually became confused. This happened right after the fight with Fire Dragon Trauka. He was emotionally disturbed because his emotions fluctuated in many ways. He was also anxious because he was worried about Biban's condition.

In this situation, Nefelina kept talking nonsense. Wouldn't he have hit her on the head if she wasn't polymorphed into the form of a little girl?

Grid's current state wasn't intact, so he couldn't help thinking this. Then suddenly—

"Nefelina is indeed like a girl," Hayate said while walking beside him. There was a faint smile on his face and he looked very pleased.

Grid looked at Muller and came to his senses. He compared Nefelina, who was glaring at him with puffed out cheeks, to other dragons.

A dragon—they were monsters that could never be understood with a human perspective. Nefelina was different from them. She was thinking like a human being in the aftermath of living with people. She showed this side when she met her father, but now she was more like a person.

'Is this child working hard in her own way?'

"W-What is it?"

Nefelina's face turned white and she stepped back. It was because Grid suddenly seemed to stop, only to stride closer. Was it too much to call him a fool? She was a bit upset and agitated...

Grid's hand fell on Nefelina's head as she was belated regretting it. It was a large hand that covered the little girl's entire face. It was bumpy, but terribly warm and kind. "Calm down. I'll warn Sir Muller separately."

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"Uh... U-Uh!" Nefelina's face, which had been as white as porcelain, turned red.

Dragons were lonely creatures. Most were born for their parents. They lived alone from the moment they were born and died when they were called by a parent. It was an irresistible providence, a fate set by the old dragons. From the moment they were born, they realized the principles of the world and naturally understood the concepts of 'affection' and 'love' in their heads, but they didn't have a chance to experience it directly.

However, Nefelina was experiencing it from Grid and the people of the empire. She was happy. It was to the extent where she thought she did well to disobey her father and choose Grid. She was touched by Grid's warm eyes and lowered her head. "...I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry I called you a fool!"

"It isn't a big deal."

Grid smiled and Nefelina was delighted. The two of them, who looked like a father and daughter, were the hope of the tower members. It made them dream of a future where dragons and humans could coexist.

'I must apologize to Nefelina.'

Muller thought with a smile as he walked a long way ahead. The energy detection of a Sword Saint was unmatched. It was a level where it could move awkwardly through the Realm of the Absolute. There was no way he couldn't notice the commotion coming from behind him. He didn't even miss the fact that the breath of Biban, who was on Ken's back, was gradually fading.

"We had better hurry," Muller urged and Ken immediately responded. He struck the walls to shorten the distance to the hospital room. Dozens of walls were demolished, spreading dust in all directions.

"......"

Grid and Muller were taken aback, but the tower members were calm. To them, the tower was just a consumable good.

'I guess the Gold Dragon has roughly determined the location of the tower.'

Grid was belatedly convinced. He remembered Kubartos, the top dragon who ambushed them relatively close to the Tower of Wisdom. This meant they would be forced to move towers once more. At that time, the probability of the tower members' position being exposed would increase for a while, so it was good in many ways for Biban to recover.

Ken arrived at the hospital room and laid Biban down. Then he raised his voice in a panicked manner. "Hey! Biban!"

Biban's eyelids were twitching madly as if he was suffering from some type of nightmare.

"This is my first time dissecting a human other than myself..."

In the midst of the panicked tower members, Betty pulled out a scalpel. She seemed to have judged that the medical knowledge acquired by dissecting the creatures of hell should be utilized. There was no faith at all when seeing her trembling hands.

Grid hurriedly stopped her as her eyes were spinning around and he talked to Muller, "I am sober. If you need help, then please let me know."

Ever since he got back from the No Offspring Tomb, Grid decided to treat Muller as a respected person. It was judged that there was no need to apply the hierarchy of the emperor and god against Muller. It was natural. Muller was a hero revered by all and a figure from hundreds of years ago. Being respectful to him wasn't a liability or would cause any confusion in their relationship.

"I was about to ask Your Majesty for help."

Muller didn't refuse. He smiled brightly and let light flicker at his fingertips. It was a phenomenon where the drawn sword repeatedly reflected and absorbed sunlight.

"......?"

Drawing a sword?

The faces of Grid and the tower members hardened. They were reminded about the fact that the other person wasn't a doctor or a priest, but someone who was crazy about the sword. Yes, the man in front of him with particularly impressive big, clear eyes was the same as Biban. It meant they shouldn't have been misled by his straightforward eye.

"Wait..."

Grid realized that things were going wrong and reached out, but it was too late. Before he could stop it, Muller's sword was stuck in Biban's chest. The direction that the blood instantly surged out in was constant. Not a single drop of blood escaped and scattered under the sunlight. It had a color as dark as wine and caught the attention of Grid and the tower members.

"Isn't this crazy?"

Ken's face twisted like a demon.

If Abellio hadn't swung his paintbrush and set up a barrier, his hand would've crushed Muller's wrist rather than a ball of magic power. It was complete turmoil.

From Trauka's invasion to the present time—Grid had gone through too much in a short amount of time and felt immense fatigue. He wanted to quit everything and rest for a while.

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"A swordsman's wishes are mostly the same. It is to cut better. No matter their ultimate goal, using the sword well will make it easier for a swordsman to achieve that goal."

It was a heavy yet clear voice—Muller's powerful voice stopped the turmoil in the room.

The eyes of Grid and the tower members widened. It was because there was no wound on Biban's chest, which was supposedly stabbed. The blood gushing in an unrealistic direction was the hint.

Muller had never stabbed Biban. He just created the illusion that Biban was stabbed with the Heart Sword.

"However, there is no perfect swordsmanship in the world. The Matchless Sword created by Sir Biban and the Undefeated King's Swordsmanship that greatly intimidated Saharan, who wasn't afraid of even the sky. The more they achieved, the more regret they felt. It is a natural result as long as they rely on the tool called the sword."

Simply swinging their hand and swinging their sword were two different things. No matter how hard they tried, it was impossible to shake off the very slight feeling of strangeness.

"That is why they dream of unity."

Becoming one with the sword—the swordsman who reached the peak inevitably had this type of wish. It was to recognize the sword as their own body and break away from the limitations of tools. This was also the minimum qualification for a Sword Saint.

In fact, swordsmen who integrated with the sword were different from usual swordsmen. They swung the sword without being conscious of the sword and cut the target faster.

"But it is quite a struggle to maintain this unity."

In order to recognize the sword they wielded in their hand as their own body, they needed an unshakable mental image. They needed to repeat infinitely that they were one with the sword. It was never an easy task. Even Muller had his unity with the sword broken when he learned the truth of the world and felt despair.

Thus, he grabbed one more sword and honed it. It was a sword that he held in his heart and wielded with his heart—Heart Sword.

However, Biban was different.

"That is why Sir Biban chose a different method. It wasn't the direction of uniting with the sword, but recognizing himself as the sword."

The reason why Biban's mind gradually faded. Simply put, it was because he had given up on being human. After climbing the tower, the hero faced a monster called dragons that even the Dragon Slayer was afraid of. He decided to become a sword in order to replace Muller's talent, which he didn't have. It was to one day cut off a dragon's neck and save the world.

He must've fulfilled a greater purpose after defending Hayate today.

Muller's sword, full of killing intent, slashed at Biban's cheek. The blood dripping down the rough beard proved it was real. This time, Biban really was slashed.

However, there was no response. He was a simple tool called a sword, not a human, so he didn't respond to the killing intent that harmed him.

"...What can I do to help you?"

Grid's voice trembled as he learned how Biban had reached his present state. Grid was also worried about what he could do.

"Teach Sir Biban about the greatness of tools."

Muller would never forget the first time he met Grid. The impression left by the scene where Grid summoned thousands of swords with different hand grips and told him to choose the one he wanted was too intense. That was when he realized the fact that sword unity couldn't be achieved by denying the tool called a sword.

This approach itself was wrong. Some swordsmen, especially Biban, needed to be awakened. They had to learn from Grid.

"The sword that was just born today."

Muller's Heart Sword let out a roar. It was the noise generated in the process of cutting down the mental world created by Biban's subconscious in order to form an entrance.

"Please break it."

A door that felt completely different from a warp gate opened up in front of Grid's eyes. It was a door emitting a pale light. It seemed to express Biban's empty heart.

"It is only meaningful if you break it."

Muller's expression was dark. It was a pity that after a life and death struggle with the Specter of the No Offspring Tomb and fighting an old dragon, he had to make Grid shoulder new responsibilities without any time to rest. He thought he would understand even if Grid couldn't stand it and turned away. He knew best the pain of a person who carried such responsibilities.

Yet unexpectedly, Grid's eyes were shining with willpower.

"I'm glad I can help."

[You have entered the mental world of Sword Saint 'Biban.']

The King of Heroes set out to save the hero.