Chapter 1856
To save one world—Grid had already experienced how hard it was in the East Continent. It took more than five years to unseal the Four Auspicious Beasts. He experienced so many things while traveling between the East Continent and West Continent.
Furthermore, this expedition was to save two worlds at the same time: hell and the surface. It was normal to be tired.
‘I was naive to believe that killing Baal would end everything.’
Braham and Kraugel hadn’t returned. Grid, who was anxious about what was happening at this moment, calmed himself down. Rather than being dissatisfied with the unfinished situation, he found a way to understand and deal with it.
Leraje was a big help.
“I think Eligos is still at the river of reincarnation. I can feel Cerberus’ presence.”
Cerberus, the gatekeeper of hell—he seemed to deny Noe’s claim that the memphis was the strongest demonic creature of hell. Unlike Noe, who did nothing to help throughout the fight with Baal, Cerberus showed an unflinching spirit toward anyone who was his opponent. The proof was that he attacked Grid at Eligos’ will.
Seeing the way that Leraje reacted sensitively to Cerberus’ presence, it seemed that the great demons also highly valued Cerberus. Leraje tracked the location of Eligos and Kraugel based on Cerberus’ whereabouts.
Perhaps her attitude encouraged a competitive spirit, but the till then silent Noe spoke out shamelessly, “He is simply so big that he stands out.”
Grid ignored him. He wasn’t particularly disappointed in Noe even though Noe seemed useless against enemies such as Baal and the dragons. It was because the opponents were too terrible. The moment they returned to the surface, Noe would be able to reign as the guardian god of the Overgeared Empire.
Yes, strength was relative. Noe was strong enough and a great helper.
‘...Cancel summoning.’
Grid looked affectionately at Noe, only to frown. It was because he found that Noe had a black mouse in his mouth.
Evil Dragon Bunhelier—he had polymorphed into a black mouse and had been hiding in Grid’s cloak, only to be bitten on the back by Noe.
‘This is crazy.’
A chill went down Grid’s spine as he watched the Old Dragon he had reluctantly claimed as a companion. He was at a loss for words and bewildered. Then Bunhelier told him, “You don’t have to worry. Mere creatures driven by instinct are part of providence. Squeak."
‘...He is generous in strange areas.’
No, it wasn’t generosity. It was more like an attitude of not caring about trivial matters. It was like people didn’t care about the ants they stepped on, even though it didn’t look very good.
At this moment—
“......!”
The world shook. It felt like it was split in half. A tremendous wave of power came from the direction of the river of reincarnation. Grid immediately knew what this power was. There was no way he couldn’t notice. Out of all the legends of the past, he was the one with the deepest connection to Grid apart from Pagma and Braham.
Undefeated King Madra—the familiar ripples of the swordsmanship Grid had been implementing originated from the river of reincarnation.
Like Grid, Biban grasped the situation and murmured, “There is a reason why my junior was stranded.”
He was clearly aware of the situation of Kraugel, who seemed to be colliding with Madra, but he didn’t seem nervous. It was the same for Grid. It was clear that Madra was a powerful man from a previous era who deserved to be respected, but Kraugel’s value far exceeded Madra’s.
In terms of achievements and force—who could deny that Kraugel surpassed Madra in every way? In the first place, Madra was classified as a swordsman. He might be able to release the One Million Army Swordsmanship, but he wouldn’t be able to compete with Kraugel as long as it was in swordsmanship. However, Grid couldn’t be relieved. The fact that Madra’s soul was active meant that something had gone wrong with the river of reincarnation. Beings other than Madra might be holding back Kraugel and Eligos. In particular, Grid was concerned about the consequences of the disappearance of the red flesh. It was because the raw material of the red flesh was the son of a God of the Beginning.
“If the soul of a mere legend is flourishing... when it comes to the soul of an Absolute, you can’t grasp the subject at all. Squeak.”
Coincidentally, Bunhelier seemed to have also thought about King Daebyeol.
“Take people to the river of reincarnation,” Grid requested of Yura.
The fact that Kraugel might be in danger was a secondary issue. Grid was more worried that the river of reincarnation would collapse.
“Yes,” Yura agreed to the request. She changed course toward the river of reincarnation and the others immediately followed.
Biban and the apostles were with her. They also realized the importance of this task. There was the threat of hell being distorted into another form the moment the river of reincarnation collapsed. This meant that all the work done to get rid of Baal and the red flesh, and to stop Asura, could be in vain.
For now, it was right to do everything in their power to protect the river of reincarnation. In the first place, it was enough for Grid to search for Braham alone. The relationship between a god and his apostles was so strong that it was superior to any other concept.
“Let’s finish it perfectly this time.”
Then meet again without any worries.
Grid left behind these words of goodbye to his colleagues who were trying not to show signs of exhaustion. Then Grid used Shunpo and constantly changed his position.
The hell cleared of darkness and lava—Grid used Shunpo continuously with the momentum of going around this whole place, which was as huge as the surface. As a result, the world was covered with a sunset. It was the aftermath of the remnants of orange divinity remaining in each area where Grid appeared.
The demonkin accepted the sight as a blessing from the gods.
The demonkin—there were variations depending on the individual, but unlike demons and demonic creatures, they were the inhabitants of hell who lived in the neutral zone while maintaining their sense of reason. They interpreted it as the god of the surface sprinkling beautiful divinity on them to bless their future after he restored peace in hell.
[The inhabitants of hell worship you.]
[In the undistorted hell, the weight of your name is equal to that of the God of the Beginning, Yatan.]
[A part of the purified hell has started to be incorporated into the Overgeared World.]
Apart from the events that continued to occur after Baal’s death, hell was constantly undergoing the right changes. Putting aside Grid’s fatigue and tension, the situation was stabilizing. Sooner or later, the perfect outcome that Grid hoped for would arrive.
Then what was this growing anxiety?
Grid’s expression crumpled as he sped up the pace in which he used Shunpo. He felt motion sickness due to the changing scenery around him and was overwhelmed with anxiety because he couldn’t detect Braham’s traces at all.
‘...A barrier.’
At this point, there was only one reason why he couldn’t feel Braham. Braham himself was rejecting Grid. It was clear that he didn’t want Grid to find him and had done something about it. Why? It was obvious.
‘He is with Beriache.’
Grid had been suspicious of Beriache, whose whereabouts were unknown. He assumed a situation where Beriache became an ‘enemy.’ He also understood Braham’s position.
The only one he loved and admired—it was an expression used by Braham in the past to describe his mother.
‘Braham doesn’t want me to fight Beriache.’ He was going to take care of it on his own...
Grid went crazy at this thought and distributed all his stat points to intelligence. Subsequently—
“Magic Missile.”
He started to fire magic along with the 300 God Hands. It was the most basic magic. However, it was a Braham-style enhanced type. Depending on the caster’s capabilities, it had the potential to exert power comparable to great magic. And at this time, Grid’s intelligence transcended Braham’s. There were also as many as 300 God Hands implementing some of Grid’s stats.
Unusually silent spots that gave off an eerie feeling—these strangely serene points were set as the bombardment locations of Magic Missile and were devastated. One of them was near the hell elevator.
[Braham’s Barrier has been destroyed.]
Bingo.
The barrier that he couldn’t distinguish was disastrously broken. Then the true scene was reflected in Grid’s eyes. There were signs of destruction all around the elevator. There was also a silver-haired man lying in the center of it. It was Braham.
“This... what an ignorant method...?”
Braham was devastated when he witnessed the destruction of the barrier that couldn’t cope with the power of pure magic. He looked at Grid like he was a monster. Grid glared at him as he lay sprawled out while covered in wounds. It was while checking the elevator that had just been activated.
“Beriache has already left for the surface.”
“She left a little while ago. There is no need to be angry. She has no intention of doing any harm to the surface. Therefore, I didn’t betray you...”
“......”
Grid’s distorted expression didn’t loosen up at all. He felt betrayed by Braham and tried to suppress his soaring anger, but there was a limit.
“How can I believe that? Braham, you might want to trust Beriache, but I can’t trust her at all.”
Grid didn’t even care about Braham’s condition. He ignored Braham and pressed the button on the elevator. The noise of the descending elevator eroded the scene that was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Finally, just as the elevator arrived...
“...I’m sorry,” Braham finally opened his mouth. It was an apology. It was a look he had only shown a few times despite the fact that they had been together for quite a long time.
“By the time you arrive, Mother would’ve already died,” Braham assured Grid, who entered the elevator without responding.
Braham had vowed never to troll again. Today, he faithfully fulfilled his role even though he might’ve deceived Grid. After a fierce struggle, he weakened his mother. Beriache might’ve absorbed the power of Baal and Amoract, but she had a limit in her soul body.
In the first place, Braham was stronger than people thought.
The God of Magic and Wisdom—as a god with two modifiers, he was on the level of claiming to be the strongest among the apostles.
“Maybe Marie Rose has already hurt her...”
Braham’s voice trembled as he barely managed to speak. He was struggling to contain his grief. He, who had done his best to protect Grid’s companion—putting aside his love for his mother, he had done everything in his power to distract her. As a result, it was Braham’s judgment that the weakened Beriache could not cope with Marie Rose.
“If... if Marie Rose showed mercy to her, and my mother is still alive...”
“......”
“I hope you can let her go in a painless manner.”
Braham’s rare request softened Grid’s expression. The answer from Grid flowed through the crack in the elevator’s slowly closing doors.
“I will try.”
It was enough. Now Braham had only one wish left. When his mother, who failed to resurrect and was about to die again, was reborn—
He hoped she could recognize him.