Overgeared

Chapter 1789

‘I never thought a day like this would come.’

Grid and Zeratul had a bad relationship. They had already clashed directly or indirectly a number of times. Zeratul had suffered heavy losses every time and blatantly hated Grid. It was especially the case in Reinhardt’s ‘coffin.’ Zeratul suffered a fatal defeat in the presence of all the watching humans and faced the worst outcome of having his divinity greatly damaged.

From Zeratul’s point of view, Grid was like his sworn enemy. Yet he was helping Grid at this moment. It wasn’t enough to just open the retreat route. He also blocked it. Of course, this didn’t mean he wanted to reconcile with Grid. He just grabbed Raphael’s ankle because he hated Raphael more than Grid.

As a result, it helped Grid tremendously. Grid wouldn’t have been able to rescue Khan and Hexetia without Zeratul’s help.

‘Looking back, Zeratul has always been a great help to me.’

Changes started to occur in Grid’s heart as he realized it again. He felt a vague liking toward Zeratul. Of course, Zeratul had a history of trying to hurt Lord and his colleagues, but they weren’t hurt in the end. It was thanks to Hayate, but in any case... Grid didn’t find him ‘unforgivable.’

“What are you doing without running away?” Hexetia urged Grid after they managed to escape from the prison.

“......”

Grid couldn’t take a step forward. He quietly watched the door of the prison, which had been restored by a bound magic circle after it had been destroyed by Raphael earlier. He couldn’t take his eyes off Zeratul’s back through the gate.

‘...This isn’t the time.’

Grid shook off his miscellaneous thoughts and focused on the warmth felt from his hands. It was the body temperature of Khan and Hexetia, whom he might never be able to reunite with if he lost them here again. Grid shouted while using all his might to hold the hands of blacksmiths that were full of calluses, “Zeratul!”

“......?”

Beyond the door that gradually took shape, Zeratul smiled for some reason as he looked away.

“I will someday repay you for today’s grace! So please escape safely as well!”

“...This crazy guy?”

Why? Why did his face turn red and become angry?

Grid was slightly taken aback by Zeratul’s unexpected reaction, but shrugged it off as part of Zeratul’s eccentric personality.

“Don’t forget! Just as you, the Martial God, show off your armed might, I will naturally keep my promises!”

“......”

Killing intent faded from Zeratul’s eyes as he glared at Grid.

“Bah, do as you please.” Zeratul grunted and threw something at him.

Grid was slightly surprised as he grabbed it. It was the key to the Prison of Eternity. It was an item that went missing from his hand when he was swept away by the explosion caused by Raphael’s appearance.

“Even if you have gone crazy, this is too crazy! Are you planning to be trapped here forever with me?!” Raphael’s urgent cry was heard. It seemed that even the 1st ranked Archangel in charge of the security of Asgard couldn’t escape from the Prison of Eternity as long as they were ‘trapped’ inside.

“Won’t the Goddess you believe in save you?” At the end of Zeratul’s sarcastic words, the door finished being restored and completely disconnected the prison from the outside. Hundreds of angels and the lone Zeratul were swallowed whole.

Surprisingly, Noe was the one who shattered the silence. “Hu... Hurry.”

To Noe, the number one demonic creature of hell, everything that made up Asgard acted as poison. Of course, he was okay when staying in the pet inventory, but the psychological pressure was so immense that he urged Grid.

“Yes.”

Time was too tight to stay on the lingering emotions. The duration of the ‘Golden Protection’ protecting Grid was less than nine minutes.

“Hold on tightly.”

Grid gave strength to the hand holding the two seniors and used Shunpo. Khan’s eyes widened in surprise, but Hexetia was calm. He didn’t show any objection to the speed at which Shunpo moved through space and was at ease enough to give instructions. Shunpo was a basic skill for him who was a Chief God. He was also an Absolute. The blue and red flames on both his nipples were one of the proofs. Didn’t he exert an unstoppable power that split the angel army in half and pressured Raphael?

‘Just because I am an Absolute doesn’t mean I am good at fighting.’

The only power that Hexetia showed was the strengthening of the flames. He possessed various qualities of an Absolute, but he wasn’t familiar with fighting itself. It was because he was purely a blacksmithing god. If a list of Hexetia’s skills could be seen, all the skills possessed would be related to production.

“Your destination seemed to be the crossroads of hundreds. Then you had better head southwest from here. It is a bit faster and is more likely to be poorly guarded. Judar is in charge of that area, so we can only put our hope on his disinterest in everything.”

“Indifferent to everything? He truly is Rebecca’s descendant. He resembles her in everything.”

“It is a bit different. It is only natural for you to misunderstand about the Goddess, but… in fact, the Goddess’ personality has always been very active. She pays attention to all things. Don’t you already know that? The blessing of the Goddess that is still on you is one of the proofs.”

“...Certainly.”

In the past, Goddess Rebecca had direct interactions with humans.

Making Damian her agent to help Grid, entrusted Grid with the fate of the Rebecca Church, and giving him a blessing in return—not only did she answer the prayers of the church members, but she had formed relationships with players in various forms.

Then one day, she suddenly fell silent. She ignored people’s prayers.

“Why did the Goddess’ personality suddenly change?”

“Who knows...? There isn’t enough evidence to conclude that her personality has changed. I can’t even say anything.”

This was even though he was a Chief God. After all, he was created by Rebecca. To Hexetia, Rebecca was like unfathomable territory and it was even more so than the universe that was unfathomable to humans.

“Is that so...?”

Grid sped up his pace. He could no longer rely on the King of Poor Fate’s Brooch. It was because it only affected the wearer, so Hexetia and Khan’s positions were exposed anyway. It was best to follow Hexetia’s advice to correct his course and move.

‘I hope the Great Robber is safe.’

All the Archangels other than Raphael seemed to have headed in the direction of the Great Robber. It was a power that even Grid couldn’t handle alone.

‘He will be fine.’

Grid recalled the inclination of the Great Robber. He didn’t bother fighting. He easily deceived the target with this stealth technique. He also held a large number of the Refractive Dragon’s treasures.

‘No matter what crisis he faces, he isn’t someone who can be easily isolated. He can surely break through even the Archangels’ siege.’

After a while, Grid arrived at the scene without having any doubts.

“Aren’t you too late?”

He reunited with the Great Robber of the Red Night at the promised location. The unkempt Great Robber was tied up with a rope. He was surrounded by an army of angels and looked like a sinner, like Zeratul. It was an army led by the 2nd ranked Archangel, Gabriel. The number was small compared to Raphael’s army, but they didn’t lose in terms of momentum.

“...What is this?” Grid asked in a bewildered manner.

The Great Robber of the Red Night looked like it was unfair as he replied, “I definitely got what I wanted and I managed to escape safely. However, I was caught because I waited for you here a long time.”

“It has been a while.”

The Great Robber’s words were interrupted by Gabriel. In the past, she failed to dispose of Garion, the God of the Earth, and lost her body in reverse. She was very happy to see Grid after suffering great humiliation due to him. She grinned as she pushed up her round glasses.

“You are out of the ordinary and have finally risen to the hierarchy of Only One God. Of course, the Only One God isn’t synonymous with Chiyou, so the weight is different.”

Not all Only One Gods were the same...

Gabriel was clearly downgrading Grid. It was a normal attitude. It was because one of the most important concepts in the hierarchy of a transcendent or higher was the status. Striving to downgrade the enemy’s status was the basis of battle in the upper ranks. Of course, status couldn’t be reduced with just a few words as long as they didn’t try to scam everyone like Grid.

‘Is the identity of the other intruder Grid? I was very lucky to have arrived here before my colleagues.’

Gabriel was feeling a sense of fate that she had never felt before. She had the opportunity to get revenge on the enemy who disrupted her mission and humiliated her. It was also in heaven, not on the surface. The situation was too good.

‘Seeing that he managed to escape from prison with the prisoners, Zeratul must’ve been a variable.’

Gabriel didn’t attach any special significance to Grid outwitting Raphael and reaching this far. She guessed it was all thanks to Zeratul. It was purely because she considered the usual relationship between Raphael and Zeratul. Zeratul had been locked up in prison and his grudge deepened. Therefore, he would’ve poured out his anger on Raphael, opening up a way for Grid to escape in the gap.

‘What a fool.’

How would Zeratul be feeling after he saved Grid, whom he hated so much?

Gabriel covered her ridicule with graceful gestures and gathered light in both hands. In a split second, the light took the form of a sword and shield.

Gabriel declared as she reached Grid in an instant, “The sin of invading heaven without permission. It is a summary execution for the conviction of bringing out prisoners who were imprisoned by the gods. You and this human will die here and the prisoners will go back to where they belong.”

Just like you did to me on the surface, I will also ruin your work.

Unlike Raphael, she was cautious and understood Grid’s power. This was even though she clearly knew that Grid would be greatly weakened after being suppressed by the dimension. She thoroughly prepared a way to neutralize Grid.

First of all, the halo above her head split into hundreds and were used as cannons that shot light rays. It was a weapon that would intercept and disable the God Hands from various angles as soon as they appeared.

The reason why she used a sword and shield to dig deep into Grid was to undermine the power of the sword dance. It was intended to engage in close combat and block the path of the fusion sword dance, which became stronger the more the movements were linked.

Of course, she saved her power. It was a loss to take out this card in a must-win situation. Just like the current Grid, it was better to save her strength for a future situation where she could exploit it.

‘Killing him completely here is beyond my power.’

It was unfortunate, but she would focus on damaging his status by beating him badly today. She would spread the sight of Grid falling down in a bloody pool through the angel’s songs to the surface.

Gabriel was thinking this when she suddenly stiffened. Grid broke through her using Freely Move and appeared among the angels before she knew it. It was hard to believe he could move so swiftly under the oppression of the dimension. It was even powerful. He overpowered and shook off the angels and finally got a hold of the Great Robber.

“Angels are surprisingly insignificant...”

It was a heartfelt murmur. The sentiment that Grid expressed at the end sparked Gabriel’s wrath, but it was already too late.

It was because the treasure of the Refractive Dragon consumed by the Great Robber allowed the group to escape from the scene.