Overgeared

“Was a fortnight in hell 15 years on the surface?”

It was a half-hearted joke. It was Baal’s own effort to understand Grid’s rapid development.

Of course, the current Baal wasn’t complete. A substitute for Yatan—it was also right after he consumed a considerable amount of energy while experimenting with creating a new evil god. Due to this devastated mind, his mental image loosened. His condition was bad, his magic power weakened, he felt numb and dull, etc.

Nevertheless, he was still an Absolute. He was in a position where he shouldn’t suffer a unilateral loss twice in a row. However, he received a blow. It meant that Grid had truly become strong.

‘This is why the failure I experienced a fortnight ago was great.’

It was a failure, not a defeat.

The cooperation between Grid and Bunhelier—Baal had only died once to the Crazy God and Crazy Dragon, who had reached the level of an Absolute. He could fight harder until he got the same result thousands of times. However, Grid’s epic judged his death to be a defeat. It was pure nonsense. It was an unacceptable defeat for Baal. Therefore, he described it as a failure.

‘It is a shame that my status was damaged back then.’

Why did he feel regret now? Of course, it was due to Grid. That guy’s growth rate was beyond predictions. It was much faster compared to the previous steps in development that he made so far. He was almost a threat.

“Whoa.”

Grid’s divine sword seemed like it had been created from the beginning to respond to Amoract. It was a great combination with the pure white hell created by Amoract’s bizarre mental world. Every time it moved, it blurred and erased its presence.

“The two of you look alike.”

Baal used the demon sword like Grid’s artificial senses. Based on the reaction of the dark demonic energy surrounding the sword, he read and responded to Twilight’s approach.

“Both of you don’t know shame.” A smirk spread across Baal’s face as he finally started to avoid Grid’s sword dance in an easy manner. “A demon who tries to flatter a god and a god who deceives the uncivilized human race. It suits you.”

“You must be very nervous seeing that you are making a personal attack,” Grid opened his mouth. It was to buy a bit of time. Every time Baal’s demon sword struck, black demonic energy spread and covered the area. The divinity spreading from Twilight deepened. The efficiency was bad even if he tried a surprise attack. It was read clearly by Baal.

Grid instead switched to a defensive posture to take advantage of the increased attack power.

Then Baal asked him, “How is Hexetia doing?”

“……?”

“I still vividly remember the one who asked me to help bring a divine punishment down on Pagma. The appearance of the god who was jealous of a mere human being and rushed to hell to ask for help was ugly enough to make me vomit.”

This was the background of the previous Great Human and Demon War. Baal’s expression was pleasant as he recalled that time. “You should know. The reason Hexetia gave you that sword as a gift is to erase his ugly past, not for you. If you trust him, then you will surely regret it one day. The one who was jealous of a single human would surely be jealous of you.”

“A gift? This?” Grid asked while pointing to Twilight and Baal shrugged.

Then what was this? He seemed to truly believe it was Hexetia’s work. It couldn’t be helped. Baal couldn’t see the situation of Asgard in real time. Even if he knew that Hexetia had been imprisoned, he would’ve mistakenly believed that Hexetia was released the moment he saw Twilight. It was because Twilight was the strongest weapon ever. It was to the point where one would naturally believe it was made by the blacksmithing god.

“I made it.”

“…Kuhahahat!” Baal eventually burst out laughing. His eyes, which were black without any whites, started to emit various colors.

Uhhh…

A painful groan followed. Before anyone knew it, Pagma’s soul was in his grasp.

“I have Pagma’s discerning eyes. Are you lying when it is an obvious fact that you can’t make that sword with your skills? You must have pretty low self-esteem. One day, you will get to the point where you will be like Hexetia and be jealous of humans. It is just right to say that you will get along with each other.”

“Think as you please.”

Was it necessary to explain the details of the fact that he planned it and made it with Kraugel? Grid snorted and restored his breathing. It was while reading the signs from Nefelina, who was standing beside Yura in the distance.

It was a while ago when Baal, who had become part of Asura, invaded. Yura had ignored Amoract’s cry to flee. She persisted without wasting her Hell Leap. Thanks to this, Grid’s path of retreat was still open. Nefelina was on standby to cooperate with Grid at any time.

‘I have to think of it as a one time opportunity.’

Baal could use Pagma’s Sword Dance and the Undefeated King’s Swordsmanship. Just like Grid, he had both the skill crushing swordsmanship and counterattack swordsmanship. Even the six fusion sword dance could be blocked if the activation was mistimed.

‘First… I need to light up my surroundings again.’

Currently, the area was blackened by Baal’s demonic energy. Twilight significantly lost its hit rate, while its attack power was significantly increased. Baal responded to every swing. He needed to light up his surroundings again. Using an attack that Baal perceived one step late was the only chance of winning. It was because right now, there was no Bunhelier to draw Baal’s attention from Grid. He also couldn’t expect Amoract’s cooperation. Grid didn’t trust her yet. In the first place, how could she help when she was bound by chains?

“Flower.”

Grid established the Sanctuary of Metal and scattered the petals of sword energy. Under the influence of Twilight, the aura of each petal, with the glow of the sunset, was so strong that it was incomparable to before. It was at the level of vibrating the atmosphere and it was safe to say that every one of them was a weapon containing the power of a deadly blow.

Of course, it wasn’t to the point of threatening Baal. Baal didn’t bother to avoid the fluttering petals. He broke through without hesitation and narrowed the distance to Grid. He decided that it was better to drag Grid into a deeper darkness.

It was as Grid expected. Grid was currently dual wielding. In addition to Twilight, he was holding a sword that was the combination of Gujel’s Dao and Cranbel’s Horn. The two swords had a common effect. It was the effect of ‘a high probability of neutralizing the target’s defense skills, magic,q, and powers’ every time an attack hit.

Demonic energy was a type of power. It was the power possessed by a demon rather than a power innate to Baal. It was included in the target to be neutralized.

“……!”

Baal’s eyes widened as he was gradually narrowing the distance to Grid. The petals that exploded when they touched his skin cleared up the darkness around them. For the moment, the demonic energy that was scattered from his body blurred even the shape of the demon sword for a moment. In fact, the power of the demon sword hadn’t weakened. His sword was basically based on his mental image and demonic energy was just an additional concept. The problem was that the darkness had been lifted.

Baal felt a sense of crisis and raised his strength. He used the Undefeated King’s Swordsmanship even without securing enough distance. He unfolded the senses of the Absolute.

The whole area entered a vacuum state. In the world that seemed to have stopped, only Baal’s sword rapidly stretched out.

Grid had to feel like he was submerged. It felt like he was wearing hundreds of cotton coats that were soaked in water. His heavy, sunken hand couldn’t move. No, it was obviously moving, but it was slow. On the other hand, he could only stare at Baal’s sword that stretched out rapidly.

‘I should’ve used the Dragon Knight effect from the beginning.’

It was in a world where even sound had disappeared. Just before his neck was cut by Baal’s sword, which approached him like a flash of lightning—

Grid was rebuking himself for his mistakes when the feeling of hundreds of cotton coats wrapped around his body was stripped away. It was at the same time as when he felt his feet touch something.

[You have boarded the Transcendent Dragon, Nefelina.]

[The effect of the only one title in the world, ‘Dragon Knight,’ is activated.]

[All your stats are increased by three times and your status is increased.]

“……!”

“……!”

Grid was amazed, while Nefelina was horrified. Yura had used the Hell Leap skill from the moment Baal attempted to close the distance with Grid. As a result, Nefelina moved to under Grid’s feet. She stiffened when she saw Baal in front of her, while Grid smiled. At this moment, he was a complete Absolute.

Baal’s demon sword cut the back of Grid’s neck. First of all, it touched Valhalla’s collar. Then it slipped due to the notches and lost some of its power. After that, it was blocked by Cranbel’s Head. This alone caused Grid to experience terrible pain. His entire brain shook like white lightning exploded in front of them. At least half his health was blown away at once. However, it was enough to avoid an instant death from decapitation.

“What?”

You are fine after having your neck cut?

One side of the completely surprised Baal’s vision was distorted. It was the aftermath of Twilight crushing the atmosphere after unexpectedly revealing its presence. The six fusion sword dance started to hit Baal.

“Kukuk…!” Baal responded with a laugh. He immediately restored the arms and legs that were cut off in real time and wielded his demon sword. He grabbed Grid’s wrist and dragged it down as if to properly put it in place. It was just that he couldn’t overpower Grid when Grid momentarily used Saleos’ Power and it became a draw. Of course, Saleos’ power was only a one-off.

Grid’s wrist was eventually grabbed by Baal. The second six fusion sword dance was canceled during the activation. Baal’s headbutt struck Grid’s face. It was a headbutt with three sharp horns. It was normal to have holes in his face, but Grid was armed with an invisible helmet and crown. He only got a small nosebleed.

Baal had an inquiring expression on his face. “Are you a monster?”

“The monster is you.”

A body that was immediately restored if it was cut or stabbed. Even his health was close to infinity. On the other hand, this side had one life.

Grid barely held onto his dizzy mind and exhaled. At the same time when Baal’s vision was dazzled, he used the third six fusion sword dance. It was a sword dance aimed at the blind spot in the field of view by cutting from the bottom. It was Transcend Linked Dragon Pinnacle Kill Wave that showed the best harmony with Twilight in a bright place. It was also a new fusion sword dance that wasn’t in Baal’s information.

Baal was completely caught off guard and his body was split in two.

“You…!” Baal’s eyes were bloodshot as he bled from his entire body. He was clearly enraged that he had lost another life. It was an unbelievable reaction for a guy who was talking about how he wanted to die. It must be a matter of pride.

“Yura!” Grid shouted urgently as he pulled Nefelina’s little horn and made her turn her head. Yura’s skill cooldown time was very short in hell. Each time another skill was used, the cooldown time of the previously used skill was further shortened. She had been supporting Grid by using her skills and already finished the preparations.

The Hell Leap skill was used in Grid’s movement path.

“Overgeared God!” Baal rebuilt the demon sword that had shattered at the moment of death and restored his body. Then he chased after Grid. His demon sword stabbed at Grid’s heart from behind, but it was a step late. Grid’s party had already used Hell Leap and left.

“……”

Baal was distracted for a moment and Amoract quietly chanted a spell. Then the length of the chain that restrained her was suddenly shortened, pulling her back into the castle that stood tall behind her. On the other hand…

[Your level has risen.]

[Your level has risen.]

[Your level…]

“Good!”

After safely arriving at the crystal castle, Grid hugged Yura and Nefelina and cheered. He had the idea that he had properly caught a pushover.