Overgeared

Something was caught in Grid’s artificial senses. One side of the spider-web-like magic power shook through the particles of silver thread. The area was narrow. There wasn’t enough time to accurately determine the size, but he could tell it was a weapon, not a human. In terms of speed, it seemed to be a weapon built to be fired. 

Grid immediately drew his weapon. It showed a clear difference between a sword and a dao in Satisfy. The stabbing damage was weak, but the speed and power of the ‘first attack’ after drawing the dao was considered an advantage. Moreover, it was Gujel’s Dao. 

The moment Grid drew his weapon, a half moon sword of light spread over his head like a shroud. Just then— 

‘The opposite side?’ 

Grid was startled. He felt a slight fluctuation in magic power from the other direction. It was very threatening because it happened with virtually no time difference. The weapon that fell from the sky collided with Gujel’s Dao. He thought it was an arrow, but its identity was surprisingly a spear. It was thrown, but it had great weight to it. The interlocked Gujel’s Dao made a sharp noise and Grid gritted his teeth. He hurriedly added his other hand to the hilt he was holding with one hand. 

[There are no attacks that you won’t recognize.] 

The transcendent senses overshadowed by his artificial senses were triggered. Movement came from behind him. Grid twisted his head fiercely. It wasn’t in order to fight back. Both of his hands were tied up by the spear that had fallen from the sky. Both feet were nailed to the ground due to the impact and the God Hands remained spread out in order to maintain the artificial senses. There was no time to respond, such as dropping a lump of Greed or summoning a pet. 

In a split second, Grid’s neck felt like it was squeezed by something. Grid’s view only contained the sky. Then a crater that was tens of meters in diameter formed around Grid, who was now stuck in the ground. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

Grid’s body was struck several more times. Every time, the area collapsed. The buildings of Titan, which only had traces remaining, burned to ashes and disappeared. After being bounced back by Gujel’s Dao, the spear that was spinning in the air suddenly twisted its trajectory. It was toward Grid’s defenseless heart. It shot forward like a ray of light. 

Kraugel, who had been running since it started, blocked it. 

“......?!” Kraugel collided with the spear and responded in the same manner as Grid. He quickly grabbed the hilt with both hands. The difference with Grid was that he couldn’t withstand the weight of the spear. Unlike Grid, who held himself in place, Kraugel was pushed back dozens of meters. He was overwhelmed in the strength fight. 

“Sigh.” One of Kraugel’s shoulders slumped down as he chose to step back and take a breath. Then the spear that was interlocked with the White Tiger Sword slipped and soared into the air. 

At that time, Grid flew far away. He barely stopped just before he was stuck in the city wall. He barely succeeded in getting rid of the touch that had reached out to him continuously. 

“......”

An unidentified figure slowly rose into the sky, followed by the spear that had been blocked by Kraugel.

Click. 

The existence who finally grabbed the spear—they were in the shape of a human being. However, there were wings on their back. The face was deeply shrouded, but it was due to the halo of light above their head. Everyone’s shocked gaze was nailed on them. 

A young angel with a spear larger than their height that was leaning at an angle on their shoulder. The name above the head of the teenager whose gender was hard to identify was very shocking. 

Raphael. The number one archangel. Two cherubs armed with small swords and shields circled around the individual and blew trumpets. It was a majestic performance as if to announce the march of the triumphant general. 

“Hello, Overgeared God Grid and all the human beings.” Raphael’s face was clear. There was no killing intent or enmity. 

‘Did we get it wrong when we saw them throw Grid a while ago?’ 

Such doubts could arise. 

“It is nice to meet you. It feels new to actually face the creatures created by the goddess. This is actually my first visit to the ground.” 

Raphael was unwilling to speak for a long time. After giving a bright and polite greeting, they immediately closed their mouth. They just looked at Grid with a smile. 

“What is your business?” Grid used Storm of the Fire God before responding to the conversation. He was frustrated that the cooldown of the red phoenix manifestation that he used on Gamigin was 12 hours. 

The 1st ranked Raphael, who mobilized the cherubs to form a trinity. The power that Grid momentarily experienced wasn’t comparable to Baal’s ego fragment. It was in a different dimension. In the two seconds of chaos, a third of his health flew away. 

‘We can’t fight here. There is a high probability of annihilation.’

First of all, Braham was vulnerable to angels. He might’ve regained his power as a direct descendant, but there were no combat skills outside of magic. It was right to consider him as having no combat power. Mercedes was also absent. She chased Barbatos into the Abyss. There was the knight summoning, but it wasn’t an option. The moment she returned, Barbatos’s sniping would become free. 

Out of those remaining, only Kraugel and Kyle could react to this speed. Among them, Kraugel was incomplete. First of all, he would be hampered by the stats difference. Based on the trajectory that was vaguely read with his super sensitivity, he would have to fight close up for predictions, but he would only be able to hold on for a while. 

‘Besides, Kyle has lost his immortality.’ 

It was impossible to rely on the souls of legends and heroes. The souls were freed after Gamigin’s death. They were literally in a state of pure soul, not soldiers devoted to the king. It was impossible for them to fight because they had lost their shape, becoming light that hovered around Grid. 

‘Do I have to deal with Raphael with Kraugel?’ 

How long could they last? Could the others flee while they held on? 

The hopeful part was that Raphael’s descent wouldn’t last long. The status of the 1st archangel was too high. The world couldn’t afford it. In fact, Raphael revealed that it was their first time visiting the surface. 

The clear evidence was that the expressions of the cherubs, who were originally smiling like Raphael, were becoming stiff. Maybe they would go back by the time they were teary-eyed. 

As Grid made this guess, Ruby and the 10 meritorious retainers, such as Peak Sword, Chris, Huroi, and Yura, lined up on his left and right sides. They were fine compared to the other players who were caught up in the shockwaves that occurred after Raphael’s emergence and became ragged or died. 

Grid couldn’t help laughing. 

‘They are trustworthy.’ 

It was after the start of the great human and demon war. Grid grasped most of the combat that took place all over the continent. The battlefields that the Overgeared members didn’t participate in were only known through news while the battlefields where the Overgeared members participated were personally examined through videos sent by Lauel. 

At the same time, he felt the growth of his colleagues. In particular, the 10 meritorious retainers armed with items made by Grid was enough to raid the lower ranked great demons alone. It was a huge power. It was similar to Grid just a few years ago. It meant that no one could be the opponents of the 10 meritorious retainers unless they were the top beings of each region or species. Many of the 10 meritorious retainers even had a normal class. 

Grid had very high expectations for them. He didn’t want much. He wanted victory to ring even when he wasn’t present and he wanted to rely on them in situations like now. In a word, he wanted to feel comfortable. It was very harsh to bear the responsibility and maintain tension at every moment. 

“I visited to retrieve the souls of the legends. I’ve decided to ascend them to heaven.” Raphael revealed their business obediently. 

Tzudan’s soul responded. 

[Ascension! Tzudan is delighted that the hand of salvation has finally been found.] 

In Satisfy, Asgard was synonymous with heaven. Additionally, heaven had been the kingdom of the sky since ancient times. Originally, Asgard meant goodness. During their very long history, only the seven malignant saints perceived them as villains. There was no way to know exactly which era Tzudan was from, but for him, Asgard was heaven and angels were the savior. It was natural for him to be happy. 

Tzudan’s soul was slowly heading toward Raphael when he was blocked by Haksen’s soul. 

[Haksen is criticizing Tzudan. He is saying that Tzudan can’t read the atmosphere at all and is ridiculing Tzudan for having a monkey-level intelligence.] 

[Filewolf is nodding. He is arguing that they shouldn’t trust the opponent who suddenly attacked Grid that destroyed the great demon.] 

As expected of the giant and great magician. Haksen and Filewolf had a reasonable grasp of the situation. The startled soul of Tzudan was convinced and he hid behind Grid. 

Raphael didn’t care at all about the reaction of the souls. They still watched Grid while slowly extending a small hand. “Don’t be too vigilant. Asgard isn’t the enemy of you or humanity. Obediently devote the souls of the legends.” 

“Are you crazy?” Peak Sword opened his mouth in place of Grid, who was speechless from the absurdity. His eyes were wide as he pointed recklessly at the 1st ranked archangel. “Why are you saying that now after a surprise attack? You aren’t an enemy? Do you think we don’t know that Judar is behind the demons? This angel bastard! Don’t look down on a Korean’s ghost-like resourcefulness!” 

Raphael blinked their eyes. They seemed to be trying to understand Peak Sword’s words. Then they gave up and just got to the main point. 

“It is right that I sneak attacked Grid, but I don’t have any hostility. In order to save time, I wanted to subdue him first and then seize the souls.” 

“W-What? Isn’t this really crazy?” 

“I guess they didn’t receive a proper home education. I don’t think they have a home.” 

As Peak Sword poured out curse words, Huroi calmly analyzed it. His attitude was quite serious as he gave Raphael a sympathetic look and this made Raphael feel strange. 

“...I feel bad for some reason. I should go back soon. Now, Grid?” Raphael urged Grid. 

It was a strange sight to people. The spokesman of heaven was forcing a god of the surface to offer a tribute. It would be humiliating if Grid accepted the demand in this way. This was tantamount to the surface recognizing Asgard’s domination. That’s right. People recognized Grid as the representative of humanity. It was the same even for the dukes of the empire. It was a natural result, not something Grid wanted or intended. 

“Why do you want the souls?” Grid asked. 

He induced a conversation to buy time. Time was on the side of humanity. Raphael’s presence was fading in real time. 

“It is a question I don’t have the authority to answer.” 

“Is it true that Asgard isn’t the enemy of humanity?” 

“Of course. Isn’t your existence the proof? If humanity had been our enemy, you would’ve been extinct.” 

“Then why did Zeratul and Judar...” 

“That also isn’t something I can answer. “There is something called the divine right. Gods also have their private lives and this privacy deserves respect.” 

‘The seven sins.’ 

“So what about the souls?” The smile was gone from Raphael’s face. It was impossible for Raphael to not notice that they didn’t have time. They slowly lowered their gaze and a dark shadow was cast on their face again due to the halo of light tilting. It was bizarre because their face seemed missing. 

Meanwhile, Grid’s health had been completely restored. The conversation might’ve been short, but he benefited from maintaining Storm of the Fire God. He stretched his neck and spread out a wide area buff. 

[Your undying willpower will influence your allies. All allies in the range of the storm are significantly less likely to gain an abnormal status. It lasts for up to 3 minutes and consumes an additional 5,000 mana per second during the duration. Cooldown Time: 3 hours.]

[Every time your allies resist an abnormal status, you and your allies will gain a buff skill. However, it doesn’t stack with buff skills of the same type. The buff duration time depends on the type of buff.] 

He thought about it. There was no reason to shrink back even if it was a fight with a small chance of winning. There were many allies around him. Every player on the field, not just the Overgeared members, were hoping to fight with Grid. The responsibility that Grid had carried for a long time felt different. It felt warm and not heavy. 

‘The 1st ranked archangel is trivial.’ 

This was the surface. It was his sanctuary. In the first place, Grid pledged that he would one day go to heaven and rescue Hexetia. It was laughable to be scared of a single angel now when there were hundreds of thousands of angels to fight. 

“I can’t give what is mine to you.” 

Grid looked at Raphael and his fighting spirit rose like a flame. Gujel’s Dao roared as if responding to the sharp, murderous air. 

“I can’t communicate with you at all.” 

The atmosphere around Raphael sank heavily. Both eyes in the shadow shone coldly. Just then— 

Flash! 

Raphael’s halo grew rapidly in size and shone brilliantly. It was a light that could bleach all of the scenery white. 

[You have lost your eyesight. Resistance has failed.] 

It was a physical state that a legend’s resistance didn’t work against. Those who could resist it were extremely rare. Grid and Kyle with high transcendence, Kraugel with his sword light, Braham who responded with magic, and Yura with her high overall resistance... 

“......”

Somehow, there were only six people, including Ruby, who looked calm alone. 

“......!!”

People who had lost their vision shouted. Through communication, they attempted to overcome the darkness together. However, Raphael didn’t give them time. Raphael aimed at the battlefield by tilting the halo that shone and expanded its volume. 

“This...!” 

Braham felt the rapidly changing flow of magic power. Then the halo released a pillar of light. It was a pillar large enough to dominate the whole battlefield. This time, Kyle couldn’t escape the blindness. The physical states resisted by transcendence were based on probability and wasn’t complete. 

Kraugel was also blinded. The speed at which he slashed at the light couldn’t keep up with the speed of the rushing light. Braham’s magic was broken and Yura collapsed. It was because the particles of light caused a backflow in magic power. The existence of an angel itself was specialized in dispels. 

In the midst of the confusion and horror, Grid slashed at the pillar of light with the Falling Moon Sword. Raphael could be seen beyond the pillar that split in half. They had regained their smile. On the other hand, the cherubs on Raphael’s shoulders were about to cry. This sight gave Grid hope. 

Flash! 

The sight of Raphael and the cherubs quickly disappeared again. It was due to the pillars of light that were created continuously. The pillars of light covering an area of tens of kilometers once again swallowed Grid’s vision. It felt like Piaro’s Pounding Mortar had been expanded by thousands of times. Unfortunately, there were several, not just one. 

“Keuk...!” Grid didn’t despair. He cut another pillar with 200,000 Army Crushing Sword. He endured the pain of his muscles being torn by the recoil and used Divinity. 

‘One more time.’ 

He used the crushing sword after the cooldown was reset. 

“It’s okay! I’m here!” 

The pain of Grid’s body grew bigger, but Ruby supported him. Heals and buffs were linked as she shouted hard to hide her tremors. Yes, he wasn’t alone. Once again, one more time, one more time, one more time. In just a few seconds, Grid fired the crushing sword to his limits. 

It was due to what the cherubs showed. He recalled that hope and consumed all of his Divinity. The result— 

“......”

It was a complete defeat. There was a limit to Grid and Ruby’s skills while the halo of light was working nonstop. It continued to fire new pillars while still aiming at the battlefield. The non-legendary players would be wiped out. There was also a high probability that Kyle and the dukes of the empire would die. The worst thing was to have the souls taken away. In this case, he should put down his pride and consider fleeing... 

‘...No, I can summon Sariel.’

Currently, the number of angels present was three. If Sariel was added, then the trinity might be broken. It happened as Grid was accelerating his thinking in response to the falling pillars of light... 

Blue lightning danced wildly. It boasted a size and momentum incomparable to Kyle’s lightning and it resembled a dragon. It wasn’t a normal dragon, but a dragon of the east that was biting a yeouiju. The dozens of blue dragons broke through the pillars of light. They destroyed all the pillars and even hit the halo that was the light source beyond them. The formation of the pillars stopped along with a deafening explosion. 

People’s vision slowly recovered. In a world that lost the light, the first thing that people saw was Raphael’s stiff expression as they floated in the sky. 

“They are looking for a replacement for Michael.” 

The monologue of the man standing beside Grid caught people’s attention one step later. 

“It is really good that you didn’t give them the souls. I pay homage to you.” 

The hem of the silk dopo rose and fell in the storm. The moment this collar fluttered, a scar was revealed. Strangely, it didn’t look ugly. In combination with the man’s hazy eyes, it was reminiscent of a deep story. 

The pinnacle of all yangbans and the ultimate half-god, Mir—the existence made by the expelled gods to counter Raphael, he descended to the far western land. He was driven to destiny by his own will, not the command of the gods he served.