Overgeared

Chapter 1838

“If you are immortal by overcoming death, I am immortal because I can’t die.”

A declaration of invincibility—it was beyond arrogance. It was a statement that even the humans who believed in and followed Grid would accept as absurd. However, Baal intuitively sensed it wasn’t a lie.

In fact, there was something that had been making him slightly uncomfortable since the beginning.

Armor made by waving the scales of the Fire Dragon like threads—Grid and Hexetia’s knowledge and skills were integrated, and it activated the absolute defense by default. The power of the attack was inevitably weakened in the process of penetrating it. It also had a remarkable elasticity. No matter what form of attack, it would absorb a significant amount of the shock. At best, it overshadowed the information and experience that Baal’s fragments had gained.

The demon sword and nails that should’ve torn, pierced, and smashed the dragon armor weren’t working properly. Of course, he initially judged that it wasn’t a big problem. The current Baal had made tremendous progress after predicting that Grid would challenge him again and acquired all types of techniques.

In particular, Baal had focused on the powers and skills of those who were killed by Grid. He analyzed the reasons why they lost to Grid and learned how to defeat Grid. Baal’s attacks were linked in a way that he thoroughly neutralized Grid’s strengths.

Thanks to this, he had gained the upper hand during the battle. Finally, he achieved the feat of piercing Grid’s heart. It was even with the energy of a God Killer. In other words, he succeeded in driving Grid to death. This was even though it took longer than expected to subdue Grid.

It was a very good achievement considering that Grid had a ‘durability similar to that of an Old Dragon’ thanks to his armor. From now on, he judged that he could include dragons as his hunting targets. This was until he saw that Grid was alive and well.

‘What is the principle behind this?’

Of course, an Absolute didn’t die easily. Furthermore, Grid was a god who virtually monopolized human worship. Baal knew it would be difficult to extinguish him. He knew that Grid would be resurrected even when he died.

However, it was right that a considerable amount of power and strength would be permanently lost due to the soul being damaged by the energy of the God Killer. Additionally, he expected that Grid’s authority would plummet because the epic would mention his death.

However, Grid was immune to death itself. The energy of a God Killer should’ve been like Hayate’s Dragon Killing Sword, which exerted absolute power against dragons, but it was reduced to nothing. It was purely due to that armor.

‘…Why is that so special?’

The legends and transcendents that his clones fought against were also armed with dragon armor. It was similar in form to Grid’s armor and resembled its functions. So why was there such a huge difference in performance?

Baal quickly figured out the cause.

‘It is the heart’s desire… it contains a wish.’

Why was the armor on Grid so special? It was because it contained a strong desire. It was a desire for Grid’s well-being. It was similar to the origin of the canyon of metal that he experienced in the place. Baal had studied Grid, so he immediately came up with an existence.

‘Blacksmith Khan.’

The one who died and ascended to heaven without falling into hell. It was a great loss that the angels took him away. If only his death was a bit later. If only he had died around the time when Baal became conscious of Grid. Khan would’ve fallen to hell and then Grid would’ve been in his hands forever.

‘…Am I feeling disappointed?’

Baal stopped his random flow of thoughts and was somewhat agitated.

Regret—wasn’t it an emotion that only trivial existences felt? It wasn’t a suitable emotion for him to feel.

Just then, the atmosphere shook. The aura that emanated from Grid’s armor rapidly engulfed the infernal sky.

The sky split apart with a roar. It was louder than any portent of great magic. A huge wave could be felt rising from the cracks in the sky. For some reason, it was familiar.

“Is it my magic power?’

It was a magic power that contained the energy of a God Killer. It felt like another Baal was lurking in the sky. The vision of the confused Bal was submerged in a sunset light.

Grid’s divinity was pouring out. It was a divinity that had the power to return the damage suffered in the past 20 seconds to the target. It was the skill attached to the Fire Dragon’s Armor, Another Tomb.

Absolute Defense, Shock Mitigation, an instant death immunity, and the unconditional reflection that followed right after that—a single piece of armor was creating an incredible fraudulent miracle that the opponent couldn’t understand.

A column of orange divinity that fell in a straight line exploded, targeting Baal. It was an explosion that dispelled the darkness of hell.

The entire hell was dyed with sunset with Baal’s castle in the center. It was a scene reminiscent of a nuclear explosion. It was larger and more spectacular than any skill effects that had ever existed in Satisfy.

The viewers, demons all over hell, as well as the Overgeared members and apostles were overwhelmed. Even Grid himself gulped. How could Another Tomb exert such power and impact? It was evidence of how powerful Baal’s attacks that pushed Grid to the defensive were.

The aftermath was great.

“…Kuaaaaack!”

1st Great Demon Baal—he, who reigned as an object of terror, couldn’t stand it and screamed. He just couldn’t be seen clearly because he was obscured by divinity. His whole body seemed to go through the process of burning and disappearing.

It was understandable. Baal had already been hit by Grid’s six fusion sword dance several times and had already suffered heavy damage. It wasn’t strange for him to die. In fact, notification windows popped up in Grid’s point of view.

[The 1st Great Demon, ‘Baal,’ has died.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has in….]

……

…

It wasn’t even one time.

[The 1st Great Demon, ‘Baal,’ has died.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level…]

……

…

It was just as how Hayate’s Dragon Killing Sword could exert overwhelming power against non-dragon targets.

[The 1st Great Demon, ‘Baal,’ has died.]

[Your level…]

……

…

The God Killer energy of Another Tomb also dealt a fatal blow to Baal.

[The 1st Great Demon, ‘Baal,’ has died.]

[Your level…]

……

…

As many as four times—Baal received the damage inflicted on Grid and suffered a total of four deaths in a row. The epic told the whole world about it.

A god who fought for humanity—it said that he punished the demon who twisted hell and took his life many times. It didn’t state exactly how many times.

How many times did Baal die in that moment? It was left purely to the imagination of the listener.

[Humanity’s fear has faded.]

[Humanity’s fear has faded.]

[Humanity’s fear has faded.]

[Humanity’s fear…]

……

…

What lurked at the end of death wasn’t rest, but eternal torment…

Humanity had been in despair after learning this truth and had originally lost all motivation. They collapsed and couldn’t get up easily. There was no point in clinging to a meaningless life.

Grid was the one who raised them back up and sustained them.

A god who had always taken the lead in fighting—his declaration that he would restore the distorted hell became the hope of humanity. It brought humanity back to life.

Yes, it was the only hope.

The trust that humanity had in Grid was beyond imagination. Many interpreted the epic that Grid killed Baal ‘several times’ as dozens or hundreds of times. Some even claimed that it was thousands of times. The impact of the description was great.

[The King of Hell received punishment and screamed in agony.]

[The sunset divinity that burned the King of Hell colored the whole hell.]

It was a description that gave rise to faith that wasn’t there. Ironically, it was the result created by Baal himself. Since he was so strong, it raised the power of Another Tomb beyond expectations.

“You…”

Once the aftermath of the explosion was over and the divinity was lifted. Baal gritted his teeth and appeared unscathed after overcoming death. He seemed to judge that any further conversation was worthless. He immediately rushed over to rectify the situation.

The demon sword containing the energy of a God Killer pierced Grid. It was a blow that should have dealt death.

However, Grid was once again fine this time. He ignored the sword stuck in his chest and counterattacked, slitting Baal’s throat. It was a normal skill attack, not a fusion sword dance. This was because Baal had learned a defense that made him immune to the sword dances.

Blood gushed from Baal’s neck.

Defying the Natural Order amplified the power of ordinary swordsmanship to a tremendous level.

However, it was still a far cry from dealing death to Baal. Like Grid, Baal ignored his wounds and fought back.

Hundreds of exchanges of blows continued like this. The two Absolutes got entangled with each other dozens of times in seconds.

The ruined great hall area turned into dust and scattered. It was a battle pattern that resembled the beginning. However, there was a clear difference. Baal’s strength, technique, and speed were the same as the beginning, while Grid’s strength and speed had increased.

It was the result of his level-up. Since Baal died four times, Grid’s level rose by over 30 levels.

The second phase—Grid was showing what Baal was supposed to show.

‘What is this guy…’

A person who grew up by compressing time—after recalling Grid’s true value, Baal fixed his posture to change the flow. For some reason, he withdrew the energy of a God Killer that wasn’t effective and filled the demon sword with pure demonic energy.

Baal’s inherent power was revealed to the world. With just a wave of power, the ground cracked and reduced all the objects in the area to dust. The God Hands, assisting Grid from the side, repeatedly stiffened and virtually stopped working.

‘Is he going all-in on his power?’

Grid read Baal’s intentions and was somewhat nervous. Baal used the energy of a God Killer, various magic, and techniques to push Grid to the inferior position. His fighting style was the norm.

However, the efficiency against Grid was poor. He used all types of means to increase his attack accuracy, but it wasn’t easy to fatally wound Grid, who wore the Fire Dragon’s Armor and wielded the power of the Four Auspicious Beasts.

Then the story changed when the one blow fight started. There was a limit to the damage neutralized by Shock Mitigation and Grid’s health wasn’t infinite.

‘It has a big impact that the sword dances below the five fusion sword dances are sealed.’

It was a situation where he had to endure with ordinary attacks and try to reverse it with one of his few six fusion sword dances. He was forced to aim for a long-term battle, but Baal’s intention of aiming for a short-term battle ruined the flow.

It happened when the tension inside Grid grew…

“……”

Baal glared silently at Grid. The incredible energy condensed on the bloated demon sword didn’t attack prematurely. It was because he remembered the situation a while ago. If the damage he inflicted was returned in full—

The fact that he could die several times again weighed on him. He could get over the deaths, but it was hard to stand by as Grid became stronger. If he couldn’t kill Grid in a single blow, then he was just helping Grid…

Baal’s thoughts went this far and hesitated.

‘Don’t tell me.’

Grid vaguely read Baal’s heart. He thought it was natural to be like this. Baal didn’t know that Another Tomb had a cooldown of one hour.

Grid decided to act boldly. He lowered himself into the White Tiger’s Posture and pointed a finger at his heart. “Come.”

“……”

Satisfy had billions of players. The number of times they succeeded in a boss raid was countless. An enormous amount of data on bizarre boss attack methods had accumulated on the main server. However, this was the first time they had seen a strategy of challenging the boss to attack while having no defense.