The 32nd Great Demon, Belialshe was the first of the great demons to come to the surface and she imprinted terrible fear on humanity. Didnt she alone overwhelm the power of a nation and drive the Overgeared members, including Grid and Piaro, to the brink of annihilation? Her force was so great that it was still talked about among people several years later.

Maybe she was the cause. People started to point to Baal as the final boss.

[The 1st Great Demon, Baal, has been defeated.]

The strongest final boss candidateof course, there were some beings in the world who were stronger than Baal. It was just rare to see an existence of pure malice like Baal. It was why the theory that Baal was the final boss gained weight.

In fact, Baal was involved in much of Satisfys twisted history. He was behind the ruin of countless individuals, groups, kingdoms, and eras.

At this moment, the thoughts of the Overgeared members who won against Baal werent much different. They still recognized Baal as an enemy who had to be confronted at the very end.

Of course, the final boss is likely to be determined by the tendencies of the Gods of the Beginning.

Asura was a very annoying being. A transparent, huge hand that erased all the resources around it and sucked away Piaros vitality. It had the name Asuras Hand That Is Being Completed and it was a force that went against providence.

In particular, Regas agitation was very great. He had reached level 500 and tried to change to the fifth class advancement, only to revert to the third class Asura. He felt like he was stuck in this class. He got the feeling that the class called Asura was alive and breathing, disturbing him. Then he witnessed a part of Asura that Baal had created. It was a powerful body part that couldnt be compared to the fragments of Asura that they saw in the hell expedition. He thought it must be related to him.

It takes constant effort and talent to change to Asura.

The previous difficulty level was so high that there was the evaluation it seems to filter out people. From a certain point on, changing to the Asura class aroused a sense of challenge among talented people.

Among many young people who started the game late, there were many who said they became martial artists purely with the goal of reaching the Asura class. Out of all those who challenged the Asura class in order to prove their talent and skills, only a few geniuses with persistence and ingenious ideas succeeded in changing classes after never giving up.

What if all of them had something to do with the Asura that Baal was creating?

These thoughts made Regas feel uneasy. It was the aftermath of imagining himself and other Asura players being forced to take the side of hell through a quest.

Dont worry too much.

Jishuka read Regas expression and patted him on the back.

Even Baals Contractor has become independent of Baal. Will you be much different? If the situation that you are worried about happens, you just need to control the situation yourself. Havent you always been good at being disobedient?

Haha...

Now was the time for pure rejoicing. The rewards for a successful Baal raid without Grid were extremely great. Of course, Baals condition hadnt been perfect. However, it was the main body, so it was natural to receive big rewards.

[You have transcended the limits of a human.]

The legends gained a transcendent status for the first time.

[You are slowly becoming a legend on the path you are walking on.]

Some people qualified to become new legends.

[Your status will increase even further.]

The person who was already a transcendent increased their status. Unfortunately, the members with a low performance only received rewards that greatly increased their level. In exchange, they gained a lot of reputation and a title.

[Guardian of the Hero King]

Their favorability with Muller increased and they were qualified to learn swordsmanship skills. The rewards obtained by the apostles were even greater. Perhaps it was because they were more active than the members of the Overgeared Guild, but their status rose by several levels. The level up was just a bonus.

However, Brahams expression was dark. I couldnt win one-on-one.

The current Braham was stronger than when Grid first defeated Baal. Of course, his defense was much lower, but this was something that could be covered up with various spells. He used to think there was a good chance of winning unless it was hell.

However, reality was very different from his beliefs. Braham was completely on the defensive from the beginning against an Absolute, who stretched an instant into eternity. He repeatedly failed to follow the flow of battle and suffered unilateral damage.

How did Grid fight against an Absolute during his days as a transcendent?

Grid didnt always win when fighting against Absolutes. Nevertheless, he was lucky enough to escape the crisis in a way where the situation was resolved. In any case, the possibility of a fight was established. It was different from himself, who couldnt even touch a single strand of Baals hair in an important moment.

Braham looked back on the moments when Grid fought and seriously pondered it.

Should I tame a dragon as well? He started dreaming of becoming the second Dragon Knight.

...It doesnt make sense.

Braham immediately frowned.

Taming a dragon? He knew it was absolutely impossible. It was impossible to steal a dragons egg or to kidnap a hatchling and raise it from scratch. A dragon was a being that understood all concepts and grasped the flow of the world the moment it was born. It would be unreasonable for a dragon to be favorable to its kidnapper. It was completely crazy to cooperate with an adult dragon.[1]

...Wait. Braham suddenly remembered something. He remembered the moments when Grid fought against a being with a higher status than himself even before he became a Dragon Knight. He pictured the scene of the God Hands hovering around Grid without any regularity. There was a faint stream of magic power that followed the direction the God Hands moved.

Perhaps...?

Grids artificial senses left no traces. It was a mixture of magic power with the silver thread powder that had been finely split to the point of being invisible. The density was so low that it was difficult for beings other than Grid to perceive it. It was the same reason why a person couldnt recognize the dust that touched their body when they walked.

Yet now, Braham noticed the existence of the artificial senses purely through a hypothesis.

Ill go back first.

Arent you going to see Grid?

Hmph, Im sure he is fine.

During the course of battle, the artifact that blurred Baals presence was destroyed. Nevertheless, Grid never came to the scene. This made some people feel worried about Grid. Maybe something happened underground that made it impossible for him to come?

However, Braham knew. Grid wasnt experiencing any problems. He just trusted them and entrusted Baal to them. He read and replied to Brahams intention that they would eliminate Baal, so he didnt have to worry about it.

Thus, Braham really left this scene without any hesitation. He didnt have time to waste here when he had to grasp the inspiration that was just beginning to emerge.

Braham left. The only thing that remained was the remnants of Teleport, which made a buzzing sound.

In this moment of silence, Jishuka started taking care of the situation. Lets help Muller recover until Grid and Ruby return.

***

I never thought they would really win.

At the deepest underground area of the No Offspring Tomb...

Grid cheered in a breathless manner.

It was a little while ago.

It was hard to believe that the person who looked like a demon after Baals sudden appearance would suddenly be so unbelievably bright.

Although Baal. Might not have been perfect... how? With the power of apostles and humans alone... the Specter murmured.

She never imagined that Baal would break into the No Offspring Tomb. The moment she read Baals energy, she realized that she had been manipulated by him all this time and lamented greatly. It was actually discouraging.

Baal invaded when she was away. It was right after the fierce battle with Grid, so it was difficult for her to respond immediately. She suffered the mishap of losing Beriaches heart and decided that all the efforts she made over the years would soon be in vain.

Then what was the reality? Baal was helplessly defeated. It was a miracle made by the apostles and humans who served Grid.

You actually... could have... easily beaten me... The Specter misunderstood. She thought that Grid, who couldve easily beaten her if he broke in with all the apostles, let her go. From the beginning. Communication with me... was your purpose. I am... the adversary of humanity. It is determined. First of all, to understand... why did you try? As expected. The reason you didnt kill me. Now I know for sure. You... are more than I thought. You are a kind being...

......

Grid had a guilty conscience. However, he had no intention of clearing up the misunderstanding. In the first place, Duke of Virtue had activated and saved the Specter. It was system favorability. The Specter felt a great liking toward Grid. She had a tendency to try and interpret things related to Grid in a positive manner most of the time.

You cant keep doing this...

[Your favorability with Yatans apostle, Eve, has increased.]

...Isnt it okay if she takes off her mask?

The mask and armor made from the bones of human gods were the basic equipment for the Specter. She had been defeated by Grid and vowed to change in the future, but she didnt take off her mask and armor. It was as if she was declaring that she would never forget the beings she killed. In any case, she had a terrifying appearance. At first glance, she was no different from a lich. He didnt want to see a lich twisting her body with both arrms around her chest.

That when are you going to show it to us?

It was the same with Ruby. She urged the Specter with a pale face. The Specter came to her senses and opened the firmly closed door of the temple.

Creak...

A white temple that stood alone in the dark undergroundthe place that had been tightly closed for a long time finally revealed its interior. A desolate landscape unfolded. The interior of the temple was empty.

This person... my god.

The Specter fell to her knees and caressed the ground while making the introduction.

The siblings noticed it one step late. It was the fact that paintings covered the ground. They were portraits of someone. The portraits were of Yatan, whom the siblings met a moment ago. Yet unlike Yatans actual appearance, the portraits gave off an ominous feeling. It was because the portraits were painted using only red paint.

Is this it? Grid thought that Yatan would be sleeping here. The Specter had said that a part of Yatan was sleeping here. In reality, it wasnt even a part of him. They were just paintings.

The Specter explained to the disappointed and confused Grid, The blood that God shed before entering the cycle...

......?

Grid doubted his ears.

Portraits of Yatan covered the floor of the temple. They were tens of meters in size. Painting portraits like these with blood?

Is this all Yatans blood? Did someone squeeze them out like laundry?

There was no other way to compare it. Yatan mightve shed a lot of blood, but this was too much. It was to the point where he was certain that there wasnt a single drop of blood left in Yatans body. Of course, it was impossible to define a true god as a living creature, so he wouldnt die due to a lack of blood, but...

...In any case.

The cycleGrid had roughly imagined it to be hibernation or seclusion. He didnt know exactly what the cycle was or why it was necessary. In any case, it was cutting off all contact. In other words, he didnt think it would cause bloodshed like this. He couldnt understand the situation.

That is approximately. Correct.

......?

The confused Grid was shocked.

Things became a mess.

The Specter started to reminisce about the past.

The original cycle. It wasnt anything special. It was more like a routine that repeated itself every three years... but that day. Everything changed...

1. After all the confusion over the sudden appearance of the saint-class dragon (I also debated with my editor several times about what it should be), it has finally been determined that author combined the words adult and dragon together and shortened them i.e. a portmanteau and the meaning should actually be adult dragon, which makes a lot more sense. Thanks to the person who figured it out and my editor for letting me know. It has been changed from saint-class to adult dragon in all previous and future chapters.