Overgeared

‘Even if he is crazy, there are limits to his craziness... He’s telling the truth? Really? He truly is Braham’s apprentice...’

Grid’s face turned pale as he checked the view of the surface through the pond again and again. He trembled several times, his eyes wide. He was really sick of this. If he hadn’t given up on his stubbornness and ended up swinging the Falling Moon Sword, that white sword would’ve cut so many people’s necks and hearts... It was terrible just imagining it...

[Pfft.]

Raphael sneered. He cleared his head and hurriedly gathered his thoughts. His face gradually turned red. Grid was the most unscrupulous and annoying bastard in the world. Resisting the opportunity to laugh at the existence Raphael had hated for so long was incredibly hard. He couldn’t think straight.

Grid glared at Raphael, who finally burst out laughing.

[...Pfft...]

“You are an actual idiot. Innocent people almost died without even knowing the reason, but you are laughing? Since you are an angel, why don’t you at least try to pretend?”

[...No one got hurt, right? Hehe...]

Raphael didn’t look at the people who almost died. He just laughed because it felt a bit exhilarating to see Grid being scared to death. However, he didn’t resolve the misunderstanding. He felt as if he would die if he told him the truth.

“Psychotic bastard. I feel sorry for Rebecca. She must’ve regretted creating you many times.”

This scathing remark would make even Huroi click his tongue. Rebecca and Raphael’s relationship resembled that between a parent and a child.

[.....]

Raphael made every effort to clear his mind. His desire to curse at Grid leaked out through his intent. The two of them mixed together like oil and water, so Raphael was having a hard time.

Flash!

Two beams of light, the remnants of teleportation magic, fell from the sky. Marie Rose and Mumud appeared next to Grid and Raphael.

“Marie Rose!”

Grid’s face lit up. He had been worried about Marie Rose being safe around Mumud. He thought it would be a jackpot for Mumud to capture her.

Meanwhile, Mumud was relieved to see that the Full Moon Fortress was in one piece. He had removed Transition in a hurry because he was worried that Grid would take a risk. He was afraid that Grid would slash at the Full Moon Fortress again without caring about people’s deaths.

Most successful beings didn’t mind sacrificing their cattle for the cause. Mumud himself would probably think the same in the future. Fortunately, Grid wasn’t like that. Grid knew that everyone mattered, no matter how important they were.

Raphael laughed at Mumud, who was happy to confirm that Grid was a good being.

[You don’t know Grid. If you had been a bit late, the Full Moon Fortress would’ve been in two pieces.]

“......”

This time, Grid failed to refute it. Contrary to Mumud’s belief, he wasn’t so kind-hearted. If he decided it was necessary, then he would have made a bold decision. That was why he had given Lauel enormous power. After many slaughters and sacrifices, Lauel had risen to his current position.

“So... Did your conversation go well?”

Grid cleared his throat to improve the atmosphere and focused on understanding what was going on. He thought that Marie Rose had succeeded in subjugating Mumud and captured him. However, Mumud seemed to be okay. Marie Rose was also the same as usual. There were no signs of fighting.

Marie Rose smiled and shifted her attention to Mumud. She was telling him to explain himself.

[Yes.]

Mumud nodded obediently and closed his eyes for a moment to organize his thoughts.

‘She is charismatic.’

Grid was thrilled. Mumud was a rare genius who had become an Absolute by fusing the mystical arts of the cultivators with magic. He had created the spell that could transfer damage taken from a target to another. Someone like that seemed to respect Marie Rose.

Of course, based on the degree of kinship, Marie Rose was like Mumud’s elder. From Mumud’s perspective, she was the sister of his teacher. Also, Marie Rose was actually much older... However, this was only from a Confucian point of view.

The characters of Satisfy, especially the archangels of Asgard, weren’t familiar with Confucianism. Would they respect their opponent simply because the other person was older?

Furthermore, Mumud hated his teacher. There was absolutely no reason for him to respect his teacher’s sister. Nevertheless, treating Marie Rose like this meant he was influenced by external factors, such as her personality or power.

[What is with that expression...?]

Raphael pretended to throw up. He was disgusted by Grid, who looked up at Marie Rose with watery, shiny eyes.

Grid didn’t care. He expressed his feelings honestly.

“Right now... I have fallen in love with my wife once again.”

Raphael told him, [You have a strong libido.]

“...What?”

[I’ve been taught that being affectionate to the opposite sex is because of sexual desire.]

“You are frivolous... Seeing that you don’t understand the concept of love, the rumor that angels are eunuchs has to be true. You really don’t have genitalia, do you?”

[No? We do. You have Sariel by your side. Don’t you know this?]

“Wait, dammit... Does that really change every time you change your gender?”

[Of course. Angels are complete beings, so we aren’t caught up in trivial desires like sexual desire.]

[.....]

Mumud scowled as he was gathering his thoughts in silence. The lowly conversation between Raphael and Grid broke his focus. Marise Rose fixed the situation.

“My dear husband, have you become friends with Raphael?”

“Absolutely not.”

[Not at all.]

“But you seem to get along pretty well.”

“What are you saying? This is a misunderstanding.”

[Disgusting.]

Grid was dissatisfied with Raphael’s constant interruptions. “...Come to think of it, why are you still alive?” he suddenly asked the archangel.

At first, Grid tried to talk to Raphael to obtain more information. Now Marie Rose had persuaded Mumud and brought him back. Raphael was useless.

“Die.”

[W-Wait! Wait a moment!]

Could Grid count how many people he had killed? No. Even the demon in charge of managing the register of hell surely quit halfway because their job was too difficult. Grid telling Raphael to die wasn’t just a threat. It was a possibility that would become reality soon.

[I will be of great use if you keep me alive!]

Raphael showed a reaction speed worthy of the first-ranked archangel. He unleashed a series of spells to form a powerful defense and spoke hastily.

[Are you willing to put your trust in Mumud, who has already used his overly brilliant mind to deceive and betray several gods and angels? Keep me by your side! I have been around since the beginning and I am familiar with the principles of Asgard. I can give you insight and advice every time Mumud tries to deceive you!!]

Raphael wasn’t exaggerating. The fact that the eyes of the gods didn’t properly reach this Collapsed Temple and that there was a huge temple submerged deep in the lake... Only Raphael and Mumud knew about the existence of the submerged temple.

Defying the Natural Order stopped right next to Raphael’s throat. In the blink of an eye, Grid had penetrated through all of Raphael’s spells and reached his target.

[...You’ve become this strong?]

Raphael’s intent leaked out uncontrollably as he stared at Grid in disbelief. His intent was filled with strong fear. It was to the point where he mistakenly thought he had been killed and had thoughts like, ‘I’m dying,’ ‘I’m dead,’ or ‘I can’t survive any longer.’ He kept repeating these things.

The Annihilation energy was a fear induced by Grid’s ability to kill immortal beings with a single slash.

Grid slowly said, “I will stay in Asgard for a while to fight Asura, so I’ll keep you alive until then. It is purely up to you to survive after that. You understand what I mean, right?”

[I will keep that in mind.]

Flop!

Raphael’s legs gave out and he slumped down as if bowing. He died and was now alive. He let go of the prejudice he had been harboring against Grid because of Grid’s human origin.

[...Great god.]

Putting aside prejudice, Grid’s identity was simple. He was the Only One God. He was comparable to a God of the beginning. No matter how Raphael looked at Grid, he couldn’t find anything different from Rebecca.

No, the difference was that Rebecca didn’t kill with her own hands while Grid killed without hesitation. That made Raphael even more afraid. Grid was a being who had to be unconditionally served with respect.

Raphael couldn’t hold onto his pride.

[.....]

The lord of the skies was a huge bird of prey that roamed the skies and preyed on everything below it. Raphael reminded himself that Grid, with those fierce eyes of his, only saw him as nothing more than trivial prey and bowed even deeper.

A notification window popped up in front of Grid.

[An archangel of Asgard, Raphael, submits to you.]

[His degree of obedience exceeds 100%. Raphael will never betray you.]

After only one swing of the sword... The result exceeded Grid’s expectations.

‘Obedience... is a bit different from being loyal.’

In any case, this was why Grid needed to be strong. Did Grid ever think the day would come when Raphael would submit after they started off the wrong foot and Raphael troubled him every time?

Grid had imagined hundreds of times about the moment when he would kill Raphael, but he never dreamed that such a day would come.

‘I will have to work him like a dog.’

Grid hummed a tune, extremely satisfied and in good spirits.

Finally, Mumud organized his thoughts and made up his mind. [...Please cut down the Full Moon Fortress. If you reign as the ruler of Asgard, we won’t have to rely on the alien cultivators.]

“I understand... Huh?”

Grid tilted his head. Reign as the ruler of Asgard? What nonsense was Mumud saying all of a sudden?

[Just as you did with hell, bring Asgard under the control of the Overgeared World. Then most of the problems will naturally be solved.]

For now, Grid decided to focus on the task at hand.

“...Have you dismantled that strange spell on the Full Moon Fortress?”

Mumud nodded.

Slash!

The Falling Moon Sword sliced the Full Moon Fortress in half.

[W-What...]

Mumud’s eyes shook dizzily. The power of the Falling Moon Sword was greater than rumored. Even if Transition had been intact, it wouldn’t have been able to withstand the power of the weapon. Transition’s multiple magic circles would’ve been sliced apart in one go.

[I... I’ve never been in control.]

“Yes. I feel like I struggled on my end to persuade you when Grid could have handled things so easily.”

Marie Rose noticed Mumud’s genuine reaction and chuckled. Just as Grid fell in love with her again every time, Marie Rose fell in love with Grid every passing moment.

[The archangel candidate, Mumud, proposes to be your angel.]

Two companions were added to Grid’s group.