Overgeared

Satisfy wasn’t kind. It didn’t explain everything to the user. The typical evidence was that many of those attempting to change to a hidden class failed their class change quests, and a legendary blacksmith didn’t know the existence of the convenient ‘automatic item production’ function existed.

‘Is this a characteristic of the myth class as well?’

Grid sensed a very important change as he sliced at Michael with the Sky sword dance. The balance of his body didn’t collapse when using the sword dances. Things such as pausing the action, holding the sword with both hands, or adding force to certain parts of the body to cope with the changing center of gravity were all eliminated.

‘I have the ability to be immune to physical abnormalities.’

Did this mean he ignored the physical laws to a certain extent? He was thankful. Grid’s ability to use the sword dance was freer than ever. He wielded his sword with one hand, leaving his other hand free to block Michael’s counterattack or tear off his wings. He was able to go backward while using Kill and turn around while using Link.

The scope of the actions of his sword dances were greatly expanded. The speed of linking sword dances together became faster and more natural. The inherent shortcomings of the sword dances, that existed no matter how many times he improved it, now disappeared completely.

Grid’s sword dances were still elegant, but they were as simple as swordsmanship. It was very beautiful in harmony with the orange polar lights. It gave the impression of divinity.

Grid utilized time in a manner different from others. It was for the last dozens of days. Unlike his colleagues, he stayed alone in a smithy and completed the innovation of his divine swords. It was the result of spending the time when he couldn’t go to the hunting ground as more precious than gold.

The cutting power of his innovated and more powerful divine swords had naturally increased. The ‘Cutting’ skill that was a symbol of Failure was now attached to all the divine swords. The performance of the effects themselves were enhanced. It was the reason why Michael’s body could be cut and split apart so easily.

“Ugh...” The church members on the ground sobbed and groaned. They felt like Michael was a monster as he repeatedly regenerated nerves and muscles from his cut body while also reconnecting bones.

Pope Michael had spread out six wings and used the Holy Sword, revealing his identity as an angel. He was far from the noble image of an angel that the followers had imagined. It was a particular big problem when contrasted with the noble Grid. Good and evil seemed to be reversed. The cheering and encouragement of the church members toward Michael stopped. The baptism of heals calmed down. In the first place, Michael didn’t need the heals.

‘Even though I am blessed by the three gods—’ Michael’s thoughts were interrupted and repeated as his brain kept being split apart and regenerated. ‘The blessings of the three gods are great, but he is so powerful?’

Michael was flustered. It was because he was completely overwhelmed. The Trinity was lost and a considerable amount of power was sealed in the aftermath of his descent, but his swordsmanship wasn’t rusty. Yet he was being pushed back. His execution sword had killed numerous pagans for a long time, but it couldn’t punish Grid. Grid didn’t die even when he was stabbed. His arms weren’t cut off. On the other hand, every time Michael allowed an attack, his bones were broken or something was cut off.

‘Did the goddess acknowledge him as a god?’ Angels couldn’t cut the gods of Asgard. It was a law that couldn’t be broken unless they were corrupted like Sariel. Michael had to suspect if Grid had become a god of Asgard.

He was mistaken. The reason he couldn’t hurt Grid was simply because he lacked attack power. All the armor that Grid was wearing were new ones that had been innovated. He even made a significant number of them with Greed. It might be possible to accumulate impact and deal damage, but it was impossible to cut them.

The situation would’ve been the same even if the Trinity had been formed or he ascended to heaven to liberate the power of an archangel. Greed had become a myth in accordance with Grid’s growth and it only allowed damage that could threaten a god or was equal to a god.

‘No, the goddess wouldn’t have done this without saying anything. This person hadn’t been recognized by the goddess yet.’

Feelings had no effect on the principles of an angel’s behavior. They moved solely on faith. Michael might be flustered and confused a thousand times, but his sword never slowed down. The reason he was wary of Grid was due to Grid’s title of Angel Slayer.

It was after Sky was finished...

Michael restored his arm that had been cut off again by the two fusion sword dances and immediately counterattacked. The Holy Sword that was filled with a strong divine power struck Grid’s chest. A brilliant white glow soared to the sky and seemed to cut through the sunset.

Grid endured the shock and lowered the Formless Sword in his hand. It was because Michael dug in deep for super close combat. It was a difficult distance to use the strength of the Formless Sword. The 1st God Hand flew over and held the Formless Sword in its hand. Meanwhile, Grid pulled out the Magic Power Ejection Machine. The magic power mixed with silver threat stretched out and wound around Michael’s wrists.

Grid pulled and twisted the trajectory of the Holy Sword before inserting his knee into Michael’s chest. Thanks to this, the Holy Sword missed Grid, but the particles of light released by the Holy Sword became knives and bombarded Grid. Grid didn’t move. He connected the Enlightenment Sword with the Magic Power Ejection Machine and pierced Michael’s abdomen. Michael modified the trajectory of the Holy Sword by breaking his wrist and stabbed the sword at Grid’s neck. The God Hand holding the Formless Sword blocked it.

The attacks and defenses accelerated.

Grid and Michael didn’t think. They immersed themselves in the movements learned purely by experience and pressed the opponent. Grid was assisted by the God Hands and ego items, while Michael used divine power. Dozens of blows were exchanged per second.

On the surface, it seemed that only Grid accumulated wounds. However, Michael wasn’t invincible just because his limbs and wings regenerated as soon as they were cut off. Every time he was cut and regenerated, his health gauge was decreasing. Just—

‘The utilization of that light is too high.’

The fragments of light that scattered from Michael’s holy sword—they extended like a spear, bent like a whip, and exploded like a bomb. While annihilating the enemy, they gradually restored health every time they touched Michael’s body. It was an unrivaled recovery ability. It was really an absurdly great ability. It gave Grid goosebumps at the thought of such a person falling in the middle of his allies. He wouldn’t die, but would massacre a large number of troops in an instant.

‘He would’ve been a great help in the great human demon war if he was on the same side.’

Grid had never seen the 3rd ranked great demon. Therefore, he had no choice but to compare Michael to Baal or Marie Rose rather than the 3rd great demon. Compared to them, Michael’s impression was a lower rank given his weakened condition. However, Grid couldn’t easily perceive Michael. The combat characteristics that focused on mass slaughter and recovery were optimized as ‘weapons.’ It made him wonder if hell feared Michael most among the angels.

‘I have to kill him here.’

Today, Michael was an enemy of the Overgeared Church. If he wasn’t killed here, he would surely be a disaster for the Overgeared Kingdom. He didn’t want to encounter Michael one day when visiting Asgard to rescue Hexetia. If the archangels ranked 1~3 formed a Trinity... it would be hard to see any chances of winning. Therefore—

[Storm of the Fire God has been triggered.]

Grid tangled together with Michael and set up his own domain. It wasn’t just his surroundings. The entire sky was stained with his color. The Red Phoenix’s 9th Heart and the Formless Will of Duke of Fire resonated with the Overgeared God’s divinity. The incomplete Storm of the Fire God was completed after Grid became a god.

[The divine flames will be expanded to the extent of your senses.]

[All allies except for the undead or evil eyes will have their healing effect increased by 30% and reduce the healing effect of all enemies by 60%. Once a target with a reduced healing effect attempts to heal, ‘Rage of the Fire God’ will cause fixed damage equal to 5% of the target’s current health and there is a high chance of reversing the healing effect.]

[If the race is an undead or demonkin, they will continuously receive heavy damage in the range of the storm. This effect is maintained while Storm of the Fire God is used.]

[Fire of Willpower has been added to Divine Flames. All enemies in the storm’s range will receive the ‘heart’ attribute damage proportional to the willpower and strength stat. Fire damage will be added that is proportional to the willpower and intelligence stats. The dual attribute damage will penetrate the defense and resistance of the target. However, it can’t damage targets with the willpower stat. The target will be burned unconditionally and there is a high chance of their willpower falling. This effect is maintained during Storm of the Fire God.]

[The Divine Flames and Fire of Willpower overflow. The range of influence of the flames is extended in proportion to the field activation time. This effect is maintained during Storm of the Fire God.]

[The Red Phoenix’s 9th Heart has resonated with the red phoenix in the east. You can make a rain of fire by bringing down the will of the red phoenix. The amount of damage and recovery from the rain of fire is affected by the red phoenix’s stats. 20,000 mana is consumed for every descent. Cooldown Time: 10 minutes]

[The Red Phoenix’s 9th Heart has completed after the growth and strengthened the willpower of the red phoenix. If you want, the main body of the red phoenix can be manifested. However, if the summoned red phoenix dies, then a severe penalty will be imposed on both you and the red phoenix. 10,000 mana will be consumed when summoning. Cooldown Time: 12 hours.]

[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.]

[The Overgeared God’s mental world can be manifested for a moment. Target up to four items in the area of the storm. It will enhance or weaken the power. The enhancement figure is affected by the stats of the most powerful item you’ve ever created. The weakening figure is affected by the stats of the weakest item you’ve ever created. It lasts up to 10 seconds and consumes an additional 20,000 mana per second during the duration.]

“Um?” Michael naturally cocked his head. It was because the light of the Holy Sword became so weak it was to the level of nothing. It was like the flame of a candle just before going out. Additionally, Grid’s momentum had become stronger. He was almost intimidated by the calm gaze. It was a very amazing experience. There were only two gods in Asgard who could make an archangel shrink back.

“This... it is really amazing. I felt it when I punished the seven malignant saints a long time ago, but I know the reason why the goddess is so obsessed with humans...”

Michael’s blue eyes shone, but his excited voice wasn’t able to continue to the end. Cold moonlight soaked his body.

“Ah.” The vision of both eyes fell. It was slowly at first and then quickly. Michael belatedly realized that his bisected body was falling. The fall of an angel symbolized corruption. It was a thing he didn’t want to experience even if it was just a symbol.

For the first time, the halves of Michael’s face were filled with instinctive disgust. His composure was shaken, but his judgment and actions were swift. He was an angel among angels. He wasn’t affected by emotions. Nerves and muscles grew from each cut surface of his body.

Bones connected with each other again. In the Storm of the Fire God, the fragments of light struggled to maintain their shape to facilitate the regeneration of the last remaining wound. It happened in an instant. The recoil took place immediately.

“......?!”

Michael’s face once again distorted. Along with creation, recovery was one of the original powers of the goddess. Among the powers that the goddess bestowed to the archangel, this one was quite close to the original. Yet it was denied?

“You, don’t, tell, me...”

Michael was reminded of the worst possibility.

......Had there ever been a god who was complete without Asgard’s recognition apart from Chiyou? Michael failed to recover, but he didn’t give up.

No, for the angels, recovery and regeneration weren’t a matter of giving up or not. It was done naturally. His cut off body parts were reattached or regenerated and his wounds were restored. It was slowed down and denied by Storm of the Fire God, but it repeated the same task. His spirit flashed and Michael foresaw his ending.

‘This’ would die.

His body that barely maintained its form. Grid’s fusion sword dances kept cutting it. It was regenerated, cut, regenerated, and cut again. During the time when Storm of the Fire God was in its best state, he used Item Combination and stacked up the fusion sword dances. On the other hand, Michael’s sword failed to touch Grid’s body.

“Eh...?”

“T-This?”

The 30 dark metal hands locked onto Michael’s flesh and spun like windmills. It was an informal type of sword dance. His flesh was crushed. The speed of cutting and crushing was faster than the speed of regeneration. It was a devastating sight. The shocked viewers and church members in the square asked themselves.

Was the angel weak? No, he was strong. He was superior in many ways to the great demons they had seen many times. Just—if they didn’t think carefully, they would remember him as weak. It was because strength was relative. Compared to the person who slaughtered him, it was infinitely shabby.

The world was silent.

‘My preparations were negligent.’

Michael’s body finally reached its limit. His flesh that was cut off was no longer restored. However, Michael was calm. For angels, death wasn’t the end. To paraphrase, it was like throwing away a piece of clothing.

‘Now that I’ve figured out the opponent’s level, I’ll have to make every effort next time.’

Michael concentrated his divine power into his broken body. He intended to explode his body to threaten Grid’s life. Many of the church members swept up in the explosion would also die... he decided it was better for the future if he died with the minimum of dignity.

The explosion was fast and powerful. The transcendent shockwaves struck Grid and the buildings of the Vatican turned to ashes... or it should’ve been like that.

‘......?’

Michael’s soul that slipped out of his exploding body stopped thinking. The eyes of his soul shook as they stared at Asgard that was on the other side of the ominous orange sky. It was because it was a black darkness that greeted him, not a bright light. His home felt far away.

Grid had summoned the Saintess Ruby before departing for the Vatican. She had left hell for a moment and joined Grid. The divinity that was different from the goddess’ divinity formed a barrier to protect Grid and the church members. It also returned Michael’s soul to his vanishing body.

The force that couldn’t be resisted shocked Michael. He intuitively sensed that the ‘opportunity’ he enjoyed like a right taken for granted had disappeared and he despaired. He belatedly doubted and resented the fact that the Templar never showed up.

It was useless work. White feathers fluttered around the pillar of ash that soared particularly high.

[Michael, the 3rd ranked archangel, has been destroyed.]

This world message appeared.