Overgeared

'They are angels... I have a headache.'

Kyle's face was always full of discontent, but it was especially distorted today. The lightning flashing through his gray eyes that were soaked from the pouring rain was returning focus to his hazy eyes. Soon, the drunkenness flew away and fluttering feathers were clearly projected onto his pupils.

Pure white feathers. The figure with a faint glow that was uselessly divine. It was a sight that could only be seen on the stained glass of the Rebecca Temple in the past.

A symbol of the angels—beings with high resistance to projectiles and magic power. Angels were immune to most magic. They were also very tricky opponents for Kyle. The lightning he emitted came from his 'physical body' but he used magic power as his output.

In the first place, Kyle thought that his nickname of Lightning God was too much. The expectant gazes of the magicians who spotted him and were currently cheering for him were burdensome.

'If I had been the Lightning King or Lightning Lord, there wouldn't be so many expectations of me.'

First of all, Lightning Emperor shouldn't be used. It was a high treason crime where it wouldn't be strange if any imperial citizen with 'emperor' added to their nickname was caught and executed immediately. Perhaps that was why people gave him the nickname of Lightning God rather than Lightning Emperor.

…They were rare fools.

Ever since Grid became a god, the nickname of Lightning God was really the worst. Kyle was always worried that it might seem like he was challenging Grid's hierarchy. There was a time when he had nightmares for four days straight that Faker would appear from the shadows and swing his dagger.

Wasn't Faker also called the God of Death? Kyle felt that Faker must be playing the role of a subordinate to the Overgeared God while having a similar heart to himself.

Therefore, Kyle had been trying. In order to lose his nickname of Lightning God, he lived in a drunken state as much as possible. However, once one developed a reputation, that reputation usually grew on its own.

Kyle's reputation was extremely great after his active role in the Great Human and Demon War. The number of people who praised Kyle as the Lightning God and relied on him increased every day. It was just like the idiotic magicians cheering for him over there.

'Just... I want to run away...'

Kyle didn't want to be in front of people as much as possible. However, he wasn't confident about dealing with the consequences if he turned a blind eye when the angels openly invaded Titan. He would be brutally killed by Grid.

'...Additionally, Empress Basara will soon arrive with her troops. Let's fight to the point where I won't die until then.'

Yes, fight moderately. It happened as Kyle was planning...

"Ohh!"

The screams of the angels rang out. He looked back and saw Piaro, who had recovered from his almost dead state and was running wild. The arrogant angels were busy dodging like they were facing a mad bull.

'...What?'

Had Piaro reached a new prime? Kyle paused for a moment at the sight of Piaro, who was much stronger than the Great Human and Demon War. Then he lost his mind. The surrounding landscape turned dark and he was mesmerized by the Milky Way that emerged.

It was magic that was a mixture of black magic power and divine power. A form of magic never imagined before was being realized in front of his eyes. It was magic that drew the universe. Since the universe was infinite, the magic potential of drawing the universe was also impossible to measure.

"A god..." Kyle looked at Euphemina with a trembling gaze. He, who feared a god—the Overgeared God—more than anyone else in the world, actually dared to put the word 'god' in his mouth. He immediately realized his mistake and hurriedly closed his mouth out of surprise, but it was too late.

Kyle called a human other than Grid a god. Kyle was a rare transcendent in the world. Every single word he spoke had a tremendous ripple effect, contrary to his wishes.

"A god...?"

The faces of the angels stiffened.

"Ohh...! Uwah...!" The magicians of the Tower of Eternity rejoiced.

Everyone in the area clearly heard it. What did the great Lightning God Kyle define the great magician called Euphemina?

"U-Uh?" Euphemina, who was excitedly running around and combining magic one after another, stiffened for a moment. Her large, clear eyes faintly shook. She couldn't help being surprised.

[A faint divinity is blossoming.]

The class that had been stagnant so far was showing signs of changing for the first time. It was a change that was still weak, but she felt it clearly. There were no physical changes such as a rise in level of stats, but Euphemina clearly felt that her existence itself had become a bit stronger. She thought it was good to say that she had become noble.

"T-Thank you?" Euphemina made eye contact with Kyle and suddenly thanked him. It was natural since Kyle created a situation she never expected.

"......"

Kyle's face was as white as a corpse.

He dared. He dared to call a being other than the Overgeared God a god. It was blasphemy...

It was hopeless. He would surely be killed by the Overgeared God...

Kyle was convinced and his body became brightly incandescent. It spread out through the pouring rain.

Lightning Speed Transformation—it was a technique of turning his body into lightning. The trident, which was originally flying to pierce Kyle, touched the lightning and burned black. The body of the angel swinging the trident was electrocuted, and started flapping and drooping.

Kyle's hand, which had released the lightning, grabbed the scorched angel's neck and broke it.

"You guys... it is all your fault..."

It was a growling voice reminiscent of a wounded beast. It was a voice filled with deep resentment and killing intent. The angels were somewhat puzzled. Why was he so angry when he wasn't hurt by their colleague's surprise attack? Didn't he easily avoid it and kill the angel in reverse?

The angels, who established selfish logic for pure reasons—Kyle declared to them, "I will die here today."

In any case, he would be killed by Grid if he survived. It would be far less painful to fight here and die than to be brutally killed by Grid, who was much more fearful than a demon.

"I'll bring one more companion with me..."

I will make you regret killing me...

The people were impressed by Kyle's energetic appearance. It was the same with the magicians of the Tower of Eternity, Euphemina, Laella, and Piaro.

Piaro even put down his farming equipment for a moment and clapped. "You are full of spirit. As expected of the pillar that supported Saharan since I left. You grew up wonderfully, Kyle. I can see why His Majesty has been keeping an eye on you."

"......"

As expected, Grid was watching me.

The dazed Kyle started to wield the lightning again. He half lost his sense of reason and ran wild. In the eyes of the angels, he appeared to be a lunatic. Meanwhile, in the eyes of Piaro's group, he was a hero prepared for death. Piaro was once again impressed by Kyle's determined appearance, while Euphemina realized how rapidly she had grown stronger.

It was through Kyle. A legend and a transcendent—Kyle was the one following in Grid's footsteps. It was special even among the named NPCs. It was particularly impressive to see him believe in that special hierarchy and act modestly without being arrogant. He was a great man who deserved to be imitated, both in ability and character. However, such a person didn't play much of a role against the angels. Apart from Lightning Speed Transformation, which was presumed to be his ultimate skill, the angels couldn't be fatally wounded and the battle became sluggish.

On the other hand, Euphemina quickly killed the angels. It wasn't because she was significantly stronger than Kyle. She was able to utilize mana, black magic power, and divine power at the same time, and it was an absurdly superior advantage. It was possible to neutralize the enemy's strengths and counter them in real time. To borrow Grid's tone, it was a f*ing scam. Additionally, she had just obtained divinity, even if it was feeble. Someday, she would blossom her own divinity. Euphemina couldn't fathom how strong she would be at that time.

'Thank you.'

Euphemina looked at Piaro's back in the lead and gave thanks.

'Thank you.'

She also thanked Laella, who practiced magic with her.

'Thank you.'

Additionally, she thanked Grid, who seemed to be active in the East Continent at this moment. Her colleagues and friends...

She realized that the precious people she gained through meeting Grid made her who she was today.

"Lord Piaro!"

Eventually, the reinforcements arrived. It was faster than expected. Based on the way that the clothes of Empress Basara, who was in the lead, were a mess, they seemed to be in a hurry. In fact, the horse carrying her was breathing heavily.

"The pigeons have escaped from the cage as a group."

Spear Saint Rachel stepped forward. Next to her were Duke Grenhal and Duke Morse. There were also thousands of elite troops armed with Grid produced items.

People started to sigh with relief. Euphemina also felt relieved. She had been very bothered by the three archangels standing silently behind the angels and hoarding the strength, but now she could stare at them.

"Piaro, Lord Kyle, we will work together to bring down the angels..."

"Ohhhhh!"

"Lord Kyle?"

"Ohhhhh!"

"......"

The reason Kyle was rumored to be humble was purely because he was reticent. Most of the people who knew his arrogant and fierce way of speaking were already dead. It was back in the days when the Overgeared God was still a royal family. They were the people who tried to obstruct the attempt to merge with the Saharan imperial family. In any case, Euphemina thought that Kyle was very reticent, but it didn't seem to be the case on the battlefield.

'He gets excited when he sees blood...'

Euphemina was embarrassed about not being able to communicate when her eyes suddenly widened.

"If you would allow it, I would like to add even my feeble strength."

The best spearman on the continent, Kirinus—a bigshot, also known as Kraugel's teacher, arrived at the scene one step late. It was after the Great Human and Demon War. He had gone into the world to help the devastated people and there were rumors that Basara had personally invited him. It seemed she had successfully recruited him.

"I'll gladly accept it."

Who could build up transcendence other than players? One of the most frequently mentioned figures by the Overgeared members when discussing this for fun was Kirinus. It was highly likely that the achievement of teaching Kraugel, a Sword Saint who was building up brilliant achievements, had greatly raised Kirinus' status. In fact, he was much stronger than he had been a few years ago. He was naturally inferior compared to Piaro, Euphemina, and Kyle, but he played a role in blocking the archangels' attacks once in a while.

Thanks to this, the angels' sense of crisis was growing larger. The angels showed their blatant displeasure. However, Kyle's discomfort was thousands of times greater than theirs. The archangels were so embarrassed that they couldn't express their anger.

Then it ended.

"The fleeing gods ruined things. Let's back off."

The archangels gave the order to retreat. They suffered a setback due to the incompetent gods of the East Continent who fled and nourished the Overgeared God in real time. The archangels passed the blame for the failure of the operation purely on the gods of the Hwan Kingdom.

They were quite arrogant. Perhaps that was why they issued the order to retreat very late. They only gave the order after losing most of their troops, so their escape to heaven was shabby. Their dignified look when they appeared had disappeared without a trace and they were literally losers.

"Uwahhhh!"

The angel army was defeated. It was purely with their own strength. It was without the help of the Overgeared God. This new experience made the soldiers and magicians cheer.

Basara, the dukes, Piaro, Laella, and Euphemina smiled brightly. Now they felt the tremendous sense of satisfaction that they were starting to help Grid, little by little. Only Kyle had an expression like he was chewing on poo and Piaro couldn't help laughing. "Are you not satisfied with your performance? It is a spirit of improvement that is worth seeing. His Majesty will be greatly pleased to hear the news about you."

"...Please kill me nicely."

How long am I going to play with fear...?

Kyle's timid murmur was buried underneath the cheers of the people.