Overgeared

The ground on which Grid stood lost its shape. Every time he took a step, it was crushed. There was bound to be strength. It was because he had to repeat the position change that reversed his field of view with one step.

Grid was wary of Gamigin’s charge. He tried not to face Gamigin in a straight line. It was up and down in all directions. Grid’s field of view that managed to face all sides every second represented how intense his movements were. The orange glow, which was gradually growing darker, eventually expanded like the sun.

Grid’s cloak fluttered in a dizzying manner. It was due to the wind pressure caused by Gamigin’s forehead passing by. Grid avoided the attack by a difference that was a single sheet of paper.

‘Certainly, the charging speed is the best.’

Gamigin’s four-legged charge was as natural and fast as running water. It was an area of supersonic speed and was reminiscent of Zeratul. It was definitely faster compared to when she fought Braham. Still, there was nothing to be flustered about. It was a situation he had predicted from the time she appeared with the souls of legends. Even Judar had intervened.

Gamigin had returned in a stronger state. It was the reason why Braham avoided a confrontation.

‘It is okay.’

Grid held his sword to Gamigin’s throat as she passed by and bent his wrist vigorously. He slashed Gamigin’s throat and guided her head in the direction he wanted. He offset the fog-like demonic energy with Storm of the Fire God and greeted the physical attacks.

It was a waste of time to avoid the attacks. Evasive opportunities would consume counterattack opportunities. Of course, fatal attacks were avoided. Grid was able to distinguish the trajectories and strength of the incoming attacks. The 30 God Hands were maintaining the ‘artificial senses.’ Gamigin’s charging attacks were meaningless even if they broke through supersonic speed.

In the first place, Gamigin had a big weakness. Thanks to the horse-like lower body, she specialized in linear movements while the direction change was slow. Of course, it would seem very quick to the average person, but it was definitely substandard to Grid. He had dealt with great talents. His experience with difficult battles had accumulated so much that it was sad.

Gujel’s Dao, which specialized in both slashing and stabbing after it was combined with the Fire Dragon Sword—the moment it touched Gamigin’s throat, an explosion occurred. It was the sound of the absolute defense being broken. Grid’s original fighting energy and Gujel’s Dao showed an outstanding combination. There was a high probability of breaking the absolute defense. In this way, it was possible to deal a serious injury even if he couldn’t raid a dragon. This was the level he evaluated himself.

Five minutes. In fact, Gamigin became bloody just five minutes after the battle began. She was the 4th Great Demon, so her health would be ‘at least’ in the billions.

Grid’s attack power was at the level where calling it transcendent was lacking. It was a fraudulent level. It was safe to say it was at the level of a bug. It was at the peak due to items. Grid’s achievements, titles, status, and stats raised the strongest weapon, the dragon weapon, to the limit.

“Sigh...” Gamigin breathed out heavily and her expression was surprisingly calm. The stronger the crisis, the calmer she became.

‘There must be something that she believes in.’

Grid’s head was hot because he went through hundreds of visual changes per minute. His body wasn’t tired, but his mental fatigue was considerable. This was one of the reasons why Satisfy was so difficult. The higher the physical ability, the greater the price to the players. It was impossible to maintain concentration for a long time. It was a side effect of suppressing the system’s assistance effect as much as possible to increase the sense of realism.

However, Grid was okay. He could handle mental fatigue as much as physical fatigue, unless there were system constraints such as his stamina running out.

Persistence—this was Grid’s biggest strength.

‘She probably has a means of overcoming her weakness.’

Grid’s focus, which had reached its peak after the battle began, remained unwavering. He guessed and prepared for what other measures Gamigin had taken. He didn’t make it obvious. He maintained his battle pattern without changing his movements and steadily captured an advantageous position. He didn’t give Gamigin the shortest route forward and constantly stepped to the side, sublimating the process into the sword dances.

The magic in the sword dances was influenced by Gujel’s ego. The dragon’s roar stiffened the surrounding demonic creatures. It was incomplete, but it was Dragon Fear. Enemies that were one stage lower or significantly lower statuses than Grid lost their fighting power in front of the fear. The duration was only one second, but this was virtually meaningless. The magic of the sword dances continued to be linked and the duration of Dragon Fear increased.

When the sword wielding Grid appeared at Gamigin’s lower left, new blood gushed from Gamigin’s chest and back at the same time. It was a swift sword technique that made his allies cheer.

“......!” On the other hand, a chill went down Braham’s spine. He was looking up at Grid while tying up Tzudan and Filewolf. He could see a smile spreading on Gamigin’s face. There was no time for him to shout. He immediately cast a shield that covered Grid’s entire body. However, there were already dark rays being fired from Gamigin’s arms.

It was the moment when Gamigin’s weaknesses that were relentlessly targeted by Grid, the blind spots at her flank, were turned into sharp weapons.

“......!”

“......!”

The eight rays of light centered from Gamigin exerted unimaginable power. From above, it looked like a crystal with black eyes. Yet unlike its mysterious and beautiful appearance, it produced terrible results. The players and demonic creatures in the path of the rays turned to ash without a trace. Defensive skills and magic were useless. It was an instant death with just a passing hit.

Additionally, the range was large. One ray was tens of meters in diameter and the flying distance was tens of kilometers. This meant that the battlefield had become devastated in the aftermath of a single ray of light.

Grid encountered the rays from right in front of him and couldn’t dodge. The moment his transcendent senses were activated, his entire field of view was already covered by rays, so it was impossible to initiate Shunpo. Instead, he responded with Revolve. There was no delay because he had predicted a counterattack. Gujel’s Dao immediately rotated and accurately hit the rays. Still, it was just a reversal.

[You have suffered 150,000 damage.]

There was fixed damage that ignored physical forces and magic power. The rays that penetrated without colliding with the sword dances entered Grid’s entire body. It was high damage that explained why the rankers died immediately. There was something even worse than the rays.

[You have suffered 150,000 damage.]

It was the structure that overlapped damage until the target was out of range. It was 300,000 damage per second. This was the true value of the 4th ranked Great Demon. This proved that the players weren’t in a position to challenge her hastily.

“Kuhahaha!” Gamigin burst out laughing. She maintained the rays that swallowed up Grid and it looked like her 100 years of congestion was gone. In the process, Braham’s magic was allowed one after another. It was inevitable that she would reveal gaps in order to maintain the transcendent power of the rays.

She had to deal with it. She gained the power of this dark ray in exchange for belonging to Baal’s faction. According to Baal, it was the power of God Yatan. Of course, it was impossible with Gamigin’s ability to fully unleash and utilize the power, but it was possible to exert sufficient power by mimicking it.

The attribute of the rays themselves was unreasonable. They pulled, suppressed, and disintegrated substances with huge masses. At the same time, they completely ignored the inherent resistance of each substance. Once touched by a ray, the object could never escape from it until death.

“I... have killed a god! Kuhat! Kuhahahat!”

Blood that was like black ink flowed from the seven orifices of her human head as she was unable to stop the light. Her swollen blood vessels burst in a disastrous manner. It wouldn’t be surprising if she died straight away. Of course, she couldn’t die easily. The great demon’s inherent regenerative power and Judar’s power supported her.

Just then, there was a strange noise. A portal opened above the wide-eyed Gamigin. Jade-colored magic power poured out like light. It was the return of the hell expedition.

“Hell Regulation.”

The legendary Demon Slayer was unlikely to be able to influence the power of a god of the beginning. It was impossible even for an ordinary main god. However, the power of the dark rays noticeably weakened. It was due to the environment. Yatan was a god worshipped in hell. The presence of the rays naturally faded the moment hell disappeared from the battlefield.

“You...!” Gamigin didn’t stop the rays. In other words, her body that faced the limit was weakened even further by Hell Regulation. Even so, she persevered. It was literally her limit.

The battle against Grid was terribly short, but the damage suffered by Gamigin was devastating. There was no sense of reality at all. In fact, all these moments were like a dream for Gamigin. In order to not end this dream as a nightmare, she had to stop Grid’s breathing. If she stepped back here, she wouldn’t get any benefits...

“......!” Gamigin’s thoughts stopped for a moment. It was due to the human being who dropped right next to her. It was a man with black hair. Gamigin’s two arms floated over the silvery sword trajectory that followed him like a meteor. “Sword Saint!”

“I got involved for no reason.”

Click.

Kraugel muttered to himself and put away the sword. He put his hand on the sheath that was tied to his waist and took a step back. He seemed to be opening the way for someone. He didn’t care about Gamigin at all.

It was a very cheeky attitude, but Gamigin couldn’t afford to be angry. It was because she could feel the heat that was burning her skin. It was heat approaching from beyond the rays that were still being maintained. Looking at it now, the center of the dark rays was burned red. Faint wings were visible. They were wings of fire that couldn’t be extinguished by the rays.

“Wh...at...?”

The rays might’ve been weakened by Hell Regulation, but they still contained the status of one of the gods of the beginning. Now the center was twisting out of shape. They were melting like they couldn’t handle the heat.

Step. Step. Step.

The sound of footsteps that didn’t suit the situation gave Gamigin goosebumps. Through the quiet steps, Gamigin realized something. The outcome had been decided from the beginning.

“You have become stronger.” Grid appeared through the rays split in half and smiled at Kraugel.

The flaming red phoenix was decorating his back as he swung the Falling Moon Sword and Gujel’s Dao sequentially without even looking at Gamigin. It was a sword that aimed for the weaknesses he had targeted since the beginning. The protection of the red phoenix on the two swords and Ruby’s buff offset Judar’s protection that was on Gamigin to a certain extent. The grayish color that mixed with the blood gushing like a fountain announced the news.

[The 4th Great Demon, ‘Gamigin,’ has been destroyed.]

[It is recorded as defeating a great demon in the shortest time.]

[It took only 7 minutes and 31 seconds since the start of the battle to defeat Gamigin. This record was set by Overgeared God Grid.]

The new divine sword—it was the moment when the power of the dragon weapon was revealed to the entire world.

***

The genre of the world had changed. It was from a despair causing apocalypse to a hack-and-slash full of pleasure. The sight of the remnant of the gray dragon penetrating the battlefield and killing the demonic creatures every time Grid swung his sword gave people an unlimited sense of pleasure. It was a visual drug.

『 U-Uwahhhh! !』

Eventually, Gamigin died.

The broadcasters got up from their seats and cheered. Even the anchors of the broadcasting stations didn’t care about their appearance and went wild. The expression that the studio was turned upside down was correct. Experts who were previously criticizing each other due to conflicts of opinions now hugged and jumped around.

The heat in the communities was even hotter.

-No, it is crazy ᄏᄏᄏᄏ

-This effect of this weapon’s power is too cool...

ᄂThis comment will soon be arrested by Peak Sword.

ᄂWhy?

ᄂIt seems to be because he called it the Japanese slang for cool. (TL: To clarify, the above person used a Japanese word that is used as a slang word for ‘cool’ in South Korea.)

ᄂDoesn’t Peak Sword use battojutsu?

ᄂIt isn’t battojutsu, but drawing the sword that is unique to the Korean people. Peak Sword has revealed it in person in the past. There is no basis.

ᄂ??

-Is that a dragon weapon?

ᄂIt is unlikely to be a dragon weapon. There is no history of dragons being killed.

ᄂ No, no, if you go to the remote mountainous area called Trempit, there is a folk song praising a hero who sealed one 500 years ago.

ᄂThat is sealed, not killed. Is this intelligence real?

ᄂ Raising my middle finger.

-There is a dragon hatchling among Grid’s apostles. It also appeared in the epic. Did he kill her and turn her into a weapon??

ᄂAre you crazy? ᄏᄏᄏᄏ

ᄂIt seems so? I think she is the only one I haven’t seen among Grid’s apostles.

ᄂThese bastards like Baal.

-In any case, it is fXing cool.

There was one fact that people realized as they lived. It was the fact that eternal things were rare in the world. People, especially middle-aged people, speculated that even Grid’s invincible myth would have a shelf life. This wasn’t meant to disparage Grid’s skills. They weren’t cursing him because they wanted Grid to be ruined. They were just preparing for the flow that would come naturally.

In fact, the enemies kept becoming stronger and eventually the great human and demon war broke out. It was a war of transcendent beings slaughtering thousands. They were all strong existences who threatened the unrivaled Grid. It was a tense situation even for Grid, the supreme one under the sky. They were worried that his reputation that eventually reached a myth would become damaged.

In fact, Grid didn’t participate directly in the war.

Many people discussed him. They argued if the king should’ve come out directly from the beginning, if the army should’ve been gathered, etc. However, it wasn’t a calm analysis.

For players, war was a great opportunity. There was experience everywhere. It was correct to fight for even one more second in the long-term. Yet Grid fled from the war. It was obvious he was nervous. They noticed an extreme reluctance to suffer defeat.

The middle-aged players understood Grid’s judgment. Rather, they judged it as appropriate.

Grid was the symbol of humanity. If he lost, the momentum of the enemies would go out of control and victory or defeat in the war was likely to be easily concluded. The more people understood Grid’s value, the more they wanted Grid to be cowardly. They hoped he would intervene only when he could aim for a clear victory, holding on to being a disaster to the enemies and hope for his allies.

That’s right. The time when Grid fought against Baal. Surprisingly, many people didn’t welcome Grid’s choice. They said he was taking a risk and he was too emotional. Fortunately, he knocked down Baal, but it was just a lucky result. It was because it was a close win. Grid was wounded seriously in that battle. Humanity could lose hope if he wasn’t careful. Then today...

Grid once again took risks. He failed to ignore the crisis of thousands of people who were mostly players. Since ancient times, heroes were honest to a fault, but this was too unwise. It wasn’t just one or two people who were worried while watching him.

This was until a few seconds ago.

-Grid has come back even stronger.

-It is thanks to the new divine sword he made. It is really admirable. Haha. I want him to be my son-in-law.

-I... If I was 30 years young, I would’ve eaten and fought with Grid. Uhem. Time flies.

-My generation should’ve made our kids play games instead of studying. It is my mistake. This way, Grid would be less lonely. I’m really sorry...

It was after Gamigin’s fall.

The middle-aged players, who were silently watching and evaluating Grid, finally got rid of their useless worries. They were purely enthusiastic and dominated the broadcast’s chat window. The community posts increased in a hurry. It was truly overwhelming firepower that proved the seriousness of the aging society. Some immature young people mocked them using derogatory words for the elderly, but it was only a few.

In the first place, they were people who shared the same hobbies and interests. Age wasn’t important. It was the integration of generations. It was a phenomenon that appeared all over the world. Grid had achieved an achievement that no great person had ever achieved.