Overgeared

“This... it is a portrait of Goddess Rebecca.” She noticed after mistaking it for the face of a living person. Mercedes, who stepped back in surprise after seeing the third painting, belatedly identified the identity of the subject of the painting and corrected her posture.

“It is like she is watching us.”

It was like the gaze of Mona Lisa. No matter which direction they looked at the painting, Rebecca’s line of sight in the painting always followed Grid and Mercedes.

‘I’m getting goosebumps.’

If she had a gentle face like the Mona Lisa, then she would give off a mysterious feeling. Yet in the painting, Rebecca smiled ferociously. The disdainful gaze followed Grid and Mercedes, making them feel unpleasant and creepy.

“it must be painted by a demon right?”

Mercedes was also active in the Drasion raid. She had witnessed the depravity of the angels, who committed evil deeds to hide the disgrace of the gods. It meant she knew the truth that ‘gods are unconditionally good’ was wrong. This didn’t mean she thought ‘the gods are evil.’ Humanity hadn’t reached that point yet.

“Perhaps it isn’t the work of a human.”

Putting aside the interpretation of Rebecca for the moment, the artist was likely to be a demon just by looking at the fact that they knew about the beginning of hell. Since this was Marie Rose’s castle, the artist’s identity might be Beriache.

‘...No, it is unlikely to be Beriache.’

If she was the artist, then she would’ve portrayed Yatan, who drove her out of hell, as ugly as Rebecca.

Step.

Grid hastened his pace. He wanted to quickly get away from Rebecca’s gaze in the painting.

‘Damn, surely it isn’t a ghost?’

The back of his head was itchy. Rebecca’s gaze continued to follow.

“Your Majesty?”

He hated ghosts. They weren’t scary (probably), but he hated them physiologically. Mercedes chased Grid who started to run. Moments later, the two of them found the fourth painting and stopped in front of it. The protagonist of the fourth painting was Yatan. It was just a black existence. He stood alone on a cliff and seemed to be looking down. There was darkness above his head. In the first and second paintings, it was like a crown. Now it faded like a fire about to go out.

“He looks depressed for some reason.”

There was no right answer to art. Regardless of the artist’s intention, the essence of the work depended on the viewer’s interpretation. Grid had no intention of denying Mercedes’ sentiment. No, he thought it was an appropriate impression. Was it because the darkness above his head was weakened or was it due to the back that bent while looking down the cliff? Yatan in the painting looked really listless. He seemed to be in agony. The origin of all evil was like this... it really didn’t suit him.

Step, step.

The two of them walked a bit further. They soon stood in front of the fifth painting. The red demon, green demon, and giant demon, that appeared in the second painting, stood by Yatan. Yatan’s back was straight and the darkness above his head was burning majestically again.

“It feels like he has regained his energy. Does it mean that it is meaningless for a god to exist alone and that he is a god because he is being served?”

The usually silent Mercedes had a lot to say today. At this point, Grid noticed she had a lot of interest in paintings.

‘Come to think about it... there were several paintings in the place where Mercedes originally lived.’

It was when Mercedes was still the empire’s knight. She was attacked by the 4th Red Knight Gyuratan (Great Demon Astaroth) in her home and Grid helped her. At that time, the interior of the mansion had been slightly exposed by the collapsed outer wall. The scene of various paintings hanging flashed in Grid’s memories.

‘Why am I only thinking about it now?’

He said she was precious with words, but in fact, he was indifferent to Mercedes. Grid frowned as he touched his forehead. He realized what a ruthless person he was to those around him.

‘Thinking about it, Jishuka immigrated to South Korea because of me.’

He didn’t believe it at first. He told himself the reason she moved to South Korea was to find some new opportunities. However, it was impossible to deny it now. Jishuka’s feelings toward him were real. He trampled on her heart himself. He said it was a choice made for her, but was it convincing from her position?

‘...I feel bitter.’

He let out a sigh. However, he didn’t think about Jishuka’s problem right now. He had to focus on the situation in front of him. This was a very important section.

“I’m sorry. I was presumptuous.”

After a period of silence, Mercedes lowered her head. She was worried that a shallow interpretation would hinder her king’s concentration.

“No, not at all. I think it is a good interpretation.”

Grid patted Mercedes’ shoulder while making up his mind at this moment. In the future, he would collect good paintings and give them to Mercedes. At the same time, he started thinking. He wondered if Yatan’s recovery in the fifth painting was actually a bluff.

The situation in the painting. In the third painting, Goddess Rebecca suddenly appeared. Then in the next painting, Yatan was anguished. It was probably because he heard some type of sly whisper from Goddess Rebecca. The whisper would’ve been to propose (or discuss) the destruction and restoration of the world and Yatan’s anguish deepened. It meant it was somewhat unreasonable to say that he had recovered his energy.

“......”

There were dozens of colors painted in the sixth painting. There were exactly 32 colors with the exception of the black Yatan, and Baal, who was characterized as a giant. Three demons had grown to 33. It was the birth of the 33 great demons.

The seventh painting was a landscape painting. The rough land, grim sky, and red river. It contained the scenery Grid had seen many times in hell. A number of demons appeared in the eighth painting. Thousands of demons with different appearances filled the vast but nutritious land of hell. In the ninth painting...

“Ah, it gave me a fright.”

Once again, Goddess Rebecca appeared. Like the third painting, it was a delicately painted portrait. It seemed to have copied the real thing. There was a wave of light floating above her head like a crown. Her hands were neatly clasped together and she was smiling lovingly.

The goddess of light, who blessed all of humanity. It was the appearance of the Goddess Rebecca that people knew.

“It warms my heart.”

“Um...”

Just looking at the painting made them feel relieved and happy. He was confident that the moment this painting was released to the world, the Rebecca Church would be revitalized. Sure enough, Goddess Rebecca must be kind... Perhaps the actions of the actions of the angels, who stabbed Damian to death, were arbitrary, or the order of another god who envied Rebecca?

The moment Grid had this thought, the frame rotated and the back of the painting was revealed. The 10th painting appeared after the 9th painting. It was a slaughter. The black color representing Yatan spread out to hell and the human world above hell, swallowing up all living creatures.

The frame rotated one more time. The portrait of Goddess Rebecca once again appeared. Like the third painting, it was a portrait of Goddess Rebecca with an ugly smile. The two neat hands of Goddess Rebecca were now covered with red paint. It meant blood.

“......”

It was unpleasant. Grid retreated from the painting, grabbed Mercedes’ hand, and started walking again. This was a long corridor.Every time Grid advanced forward one step, a torch lit up the path ahead. However, the end was still an abyss.

‘Is there an end?’

At this point, he couldn’t help suspecting that he was bewitched. Grid felt nervous and stopped walking. The 11th painting was revealed under the newly lit torch. The figure in black was slumped down. It was a painting of the evil god Yatan, who collapsed as if he was crying. He felt Yatan’s deep regret and sorrow.

“The creator of this work portrays Rebecca as the source of destruction and Yatan as the victim.”

“Um...”

At this point, he wasn’t a victim but a pushover. A puppet controlled by Rebecca’s willpower. The artist depicted Yatan just like this. A piece of trash that had no value in discussing good or evil.

‘Now that I see this—’

It seemed that this was indeed Beriache’s work. It was almost certain seeing that both Rebecca and Yatan were criticized.

Step step.

Grid and Mercedes continued to walk. The corridor wasn’t finished and paintings were constantly appearing. From the first painting to the 11th one... after that, the same paintings appeared again and again. It seemed to express a world that was repeatedly destroyed and re-blessed.

How many hours did they walk?

A new painting appeared in the corridor where only the same paintings appeared repeatedly for a while. It depicted Rebecca, who was smiling in an ugly manner, and Yatan watching the red figure in front of them.

Red.

The color that seemed to symbolize Beriache faced Yatan alone in the following painting. In the next painting, the red figure fell below the cliff. The size of the red figure that fell was twice as small as it had been so far. Then it was multiplied in the next painting.

There were several reds.

‘The red was indeed Beriache.’

The bottom of the cliff meant the human world and the smaller size meant she lost the power of a great demon. The proliferation represented the birth of her children.

Finally, Grid and Mercedes saw the end of the corridor. Two newly lit torches illuminated the entrance to another location.

Click.

Mercedes raised her shield and advanced first. “I will go in first.”

Marie Rose. Was it the aftermath of His Majesty becoming the Blood King? She was as favorable to him as any other vampire. Even so, Mercedes couldn’t let go of her tension...

“......!”

Mercedes, who had been ready to unfold her silver wings at any time when she entered the castle, stiffened like a stone. It was because a fishy blood smell entered the tip of her nose and a red wave surged.

“Ugh...!” A torrent of blood crushed Mercedes’ shield. She spread out her silver wings, but it was hard to bear the pressure. She stepped back and was pushed along the corridor as someone in the darkness spoke to her, “You don’t qualify, so step back.”

It was Marie Rose’s voice. “The only person who can step into my bedroom is the Blood King.”

There were slight tremors in her voice. It was obviously excitement. Mercedes’ fair face distorted slightly from displeasure. However, she didn’t have the qualifications or strength to restrain Marie Rose. After pushing Mercedes away, the blood stream soaking the ground vibrated and rose. It had the shape of a giant hand.

“Your Majesty!”

It wrapped around Grid’s waist.

“Huhu, come in.” Marie Rose brought him into the room... “...E-Eh?”

Marie Rose’s always laid back and relaxed voice suddenly became perplexed. It was because the bloody hand wrapped around Grid stopped listening to her. Marie Rose naturally dominated all the blood in the world since her birth. This was the first time this incident happened to her, so she naturally stopped.

[The effect of the blood magic has been blocked due to the ‘Blood Master’ skill attached to Beriache’s Underclothing.]

On the other hand, Grid felt the texture of the underclothing covering his bare skin more clearly than ever.