Overgeared

"At that time, I understood King Sobyeol's divinity. He was infinitely close to invincible, yet he had a certain weakness. The moment I realized this, I triple casted large-scale magic and opened up my mental world, setting the stage for Ragnarok."

At the East Continent...

Braham appeared in front of Grid and explained with a calm expression. He seemed like he was trying not to get excited, but he couldn't help his trembling voice. It was a god. He even defeated one of the gods in the highest positions. He might've been in an environmentally advantageous position, but who would deny that he had the third greatest achievement after Grid and Hayate.

"The sight of hundreds of types of magic covering an entire area and growing into an infinitely great number was a wonder in itself. I was actually watching it, but it didn't feel real."

Zik came with him and occasionally made a comment. He made Grid realize the great achievement on behalf of Braham, who explained the principle of Ragnarok, because the power was unimaginable even if Grid heard it a hundred times.

"King Sobyeol..."

Mir and Yeum were astonished. In particular, Yeum looked at Braham like he was a ghost. She recalled the faces of her siblings who lost their lives to him in the past. Braham had already been a monster back then. He took the lives of several yangbans in exchange for only giving up one arm. Unexpectedly, he grew to the level of repelling a true god. It was even in just a few years.

'...The assessment that the concept of time is meaningless to the Overgeared God is correct.'

The one who overshadowed the years—these words had to follow when discussing the Overgeared God. It was because he chased after transcendents, who had existed for thousands of years, with a human body that lived for less than 100 years. His apostles also seemed to be greatly affected. Every time she saw him, he became stronger as if he was compressing time.

'The qualification of the Martial God...'

Yeum suddenly thought of a certain future. It was Grid who became the Only One God and the eight gods who bowed in front of him. The seven apostles, including Mir, and Yeum herself would one day grow to be the chief gods of the Overgeared World.

"Stop imagining unpleasant things."

"Hiik."

Yeum was in an ecstatic trance, only to come to her senses in a frightened manner. It was because the frowning Braham was staring at her. Her heart pounded like when she faced the Overgeared God as an enemy. Was this what a rat felt like in front of a cat?

"It makes me laugh. Tsk,"Braham scolded her before turning his gaze to Mir. The final puzzle that completed the seven apostles. Did Mir really deserve to be the last apostle?

'Saving Grid's life is a separate matter.'

The apostles improved day by day. Even the lizard child, who could only eat, was able to recreate Crazy God and Crazy Dragon.

Grid was facing hell and Asgard. The apostles needed to grow steadily in order to be helpful to him. They couldn't pause for a moment. They needed bone cutting effort and a determination to die. Did Mir have such desperation when he was created from the beginning to be a counterpart to Baal or Raphael? In fact, he didn't seem to have improved compared to what Braham had seen a few months ago.

'No, on the contrary, he got a defect.'

Was this fallen guy the last apostle?

Braham was clearly disappointed. He accepted that Mir had taken the position of an apostle purely through personal connections.

"That..."

Braham, who had come to visit and tell his story, now created an atmosphere of fear. Grid couldn't sit idly by. Grid thought he had to calm down Braham, who was looking at Mir with dissatisfied eyes.

Mir took a step forward. "It must be hard to trust me, who came from the yangbans. It is understandable. However, I have no feelings left for the Hwan Kingdom..."

"Where youcame from? That isn't a problem."

Braham was the child of a great demon. Among the seven apostles, there was also an angel who had been cast out of Asgard and the child of the Insane Dragon. If someone came and questioned their origins, there were only a few apostles who could act proud.

"Do you deserve to serve Grid? Looking at your skills that have degenerated, it seems your mindset itself is rotten."

Yeum was full of anger. She thought that Braham, who recklessly judged Mir without knowing what he had gone through, was unsightly. However, she remained silent without showing any expression. It was Mir's job. It was up to him to dispel the misunderstandings. It wasn't that she couldn't come forward because she was afraid of Braham...

"I have met quite a few yangbans. Most of them rely on their innate strength. They are those who wasted their years. Aren't you the same as them?"

The number of yangbans that Braham had killed was close to the double digits. He had enough experience to define what a yangban was. It was less biased compared to Grid, who used to evaluate yangbans just by looking at Garam.

'That guy, Garam, is really...'

The more he thought about it, the more talented Garam seemed. Looking back on it now, he felt even better. It was a pity that he had such a poor personality.

Grid thought this while watching the situation.

"I'll show you a different side of me from now on,"Mir said with a reverent expression.

He didn't explain what he had gone through like he didn't want to use it as an excuse. He only discussed the future. He showed a gentle, wise, and imposing temperament at the same time.

Grid was satisfied. 'As expected, there must be at least one person like Mir.'

It would've been terrible if Mir's personality was similar to the other apostles. He would've been caught up in Braham's accusing attitude that arbitrarily misunderstood and might've immediately drawn his sword. Grid wanted the apostles to get along as much as possible. He believed that the more they trusted and depended on each other, the more they would be able to perform at their full potential.

"Hah... Huh?"

Did he expect a lame excuse? Braham scoffed the moment Mir opened his mouth, only to fall silent as he felt a rare embarrassment. He seemed to want to say something else, but he couldn't carelessly open his mouth. It was because of Mir's attitude. Braham would be the only ugly one if he said anything else here.

'He is a fox-like guy.'

Braham felt his insides boiling. It was because he saw Grid looking at Mir with satisfaction. He thought that Mir was trying to blur the point and manipulate things to gain Grid's confidence.

It was natural. What transcendent in the world would readily accept criticism? It was a hierarchy where they couldn't doubt that the path they walked was the correct one. Mir's attitude of reverently accepting it after being criticized was strange and suspicious enough.

-Stop being ugly.

Then Zik's sound transmission was heard. He gave a warning after seeing Braham's face slowly heating up. Thanks to this, Braham regained his composure and took a deep breath. He barely restrained his desire to challenge Mir to a duel.

Mir was smiling. The slight curve of his eyes was reminiscent of Pagma. They might be artificially created beings, but a blood relative was a blood relative.

'It is unlucky just looking at the face.'

"Are the Four Auspicious Beasts busy now? I would like to introduce Braham and Zik to them while they are here."

Grid cleared up the atmosphere. The East Continent was merging with the Overgeared World at a rate of 1% a day. The gods of this land would soon become gods belonging to the Overgeared World. There was no harm with them greeting the apostles in advance.

Wasn't it just after the defeat of King Sobyeol? For the time being, the East Continent was perhaps the safest place in the world. It was good to relax a bit.

"God, aren't you the Yellow Dragon? I think all of the Four Auspicious Beasts will gather as soon as they receive your call."

This was Mir's opinion. How could he speak so beautifully? Grid smiled happily without knowing Braham's inner heart and released a golden breath.

"Four Auspicious Beasts, please answer my call."

He said it inside his heart as well, just in case.

[Did you call?]

[I came.]

All of the Four Auspicious Beasts responded to his call. There was the Red Phoenix made of the flames of life and the Blue Dragon made of blue lightning. There was the Black Tortoise that released a dance of death with every breath and the White Tiger, who felt rooted in the earth. The sight of the huge Four Auspicious Beasts gathered in one place was overwhelming.

Braham and Zik were shocked for a moment.

[Ohh...]

The Four Auspicious Beasts openly expressed their admiration. They had already heard that Braham and Zik had defeated King Sobyeol. All four pairs of eyes with different colors were filled with envy.

[Braham and Zik... I have heard of your reputation.]

[The apostles of the Overgeared God are amazing. I am glad that I will be able to serve humans on the same side as you in the future.]

"I also think positively of your joining."

Fortunately, Braham didn't engage in a war of nerves against the Four Auspicious Beasts. Thanks to this, the atmosphere that had been stiff for a while relaxed.

[Will I be able to implement your magic with my flames?]

The Red Phoenix and the Blue Dragon showed great interest in Braham's magic. From the perspective of the Red Phoenix, who was fire itself, and the Blue Dragon, who was lightning itself, they hoped that they would be able to use magic based on their constitution.

"Interesting..." Braham also showed great interest. Could the energy that made up the Red Phoenix and the Blue Dragon be replaced with magic power? If possible, the world's purest elemental magic would be born...

It happened at the time when the Duke of Wisdom, who had greater academic zeal than anyone else, embraced a new spirit of challenge...

Buzz buzz.

People were crowded outside the palace where Grid was staying. It was a procession to pay tribute to the world's savior, the Overgeared God. Grid was pleased in many ways.

Very strong enemies and a relatively weak force—his always anxious mind became comfortable once the East Continent was liberated and the number of apostles grew. Enough power was in place. By the time the final version of the flying ship came out, perhaps the invasion of Asgard wouldn't be an empty dream.

"It looks like you have been through a lot."

Meanwhile, Zik was showing interest in Mir. He had communicated with the Hwan Kingdom to some extent, to the point where he was even invited to the Hwan Kingdom, so he knew Mir's tendencies well. There was an unrivaled spirit for improvement. He was the one who aimed at the Martial God. He wouldn't have regressed for trivial reasons.

"You... do you know me?" Mir's careful question made Zik understand the situation immediately.

He nodded quietly and took out a rune. It was a character that meant 'record.' "I think this will help you."

***

At the same time, Reinhardt...

Sariel, who was praying in front of a statue of the Overgeared God, slowly opened their eyes.

"...How dare you come here."

Pure white feathers fluttered on the breeze and scattered throughout Reinhardt. Some feathers flew into Irene's bedroom and formed a guardian barrier, while others tracked the location of the intruders.

Asmophel and the former Red Knights, the knights and soldiers who had been taught by them, Jude and the security forces, and Sword Saint Kraugel ran in the darkness of the night after the feathers.