Chapter 1837  

Ahh...

Ahhhh...

The screams continued endlessly. They were close to sobs. Screams tinged with emptiness and despair, not pain, echoed and swallowed even the noise of the river flowing violently.

“Aren’t you nervous?”

Hundreds of billions—no, a huge river where the number of souls that drifted was even more than that.

Kraugel had been quietly watching the cruel and sad scene of the river of reincarnation, only to look away. Black Knight Eligos was approaching.

“You won’t have a chance to play if you stay here.”

“......”

Kraugel withheld his answer for a moment.

In the first place, he didn’t like Eligos. Unlike Grid, who didn’t wear colored glasses when interacting with others, Kraugel was somewhat conservative. He paid attention to the nature of the target as much as possible. He didn’t know about anything else, but he made a clear distinction between good and evil. It was very different from Grid, who easily interacted with or harmed a target, regardless of which faction they belonged to.

Of course, it wasn’t a very good attitude. Common sense thinking and choices had few opportunities to bring about special events. It wasn’t suitable for the position of a ranker. In fact, Kraugel had a much lower hidden quest acquisition rate compared to Grid. Nevertheless, his level was second only to Grid and it was great that he was so strong.

In any case, Kraugel was suspicious of Eligos. Putting aside Grid’s trust, this was a great demon. He had even guarded the river of reincarnation. It meant he watched the bondage of countless souls drifting without leaving the river. It was something that he might’ve mocked.

‘...No, at the very least, I don’t think that happened.’

Kraugel turned his gaze to the hill behind Eligos. He could see Cerberus waving its tail as it gazed at the spirits wandering in the river. It was bigger than several elephants put together and it was definitely like a puppy, except for the fact that it had three heads. It showed pure curiosity to the souls without expressing any malice nor intent to kill. In other words, it was proof that this guy's master, Eligos, didn't abuse the souls. Dogs were bound to resemble their masters.

Kraugel briefly organized his thoughts and opened his mouth, “The meaning of your words is offensive. Do you think Grid can’t do it?”

Kraugel came here to block Baal’s retreat. It was an activity with the possibility that Baal would be weakened after several deaths to Grid and come here to help himself recover. However, Eligos said that wouldn’t happen. It was as if Baal wouldn’t be on the defensive.

Eligos shook his head. “I have no intention of disparaging the god you serve. This is just... It is a simple matter.”

Black—it was a color that meant darkness, evil, death, etc. It was heard that those who used the color black in hell had very great authority.

This actually seemed to be the case. Armed with pitch black equipment, Eligos might only be ranked 20th in hell, but he retained a sharper demonic energy compared to the single digit great demons that Kraugel had encountered. His force was so great that he wasn’t certain he could win in a fight. It didn’t seem to be a myth that even Baal didn’t touch him hastily.

“It doesn’t matter if your god wins or loses when fighting against Baal. Baal had transcended the concept of death. Even if Grid killed the bastard, who overcame death the moment they died without going through resurrection, what was the big deal?”

Eligos’ gaze went down the cliff. His vision captured the souls floundering in the violent swirling river.

“This guy won’t weaken no matter how many times he is defeated by your god and dies. It is safe to say that there is virtually no chance of him coming here to recuperate.”

“Get to the point.”

Eligos’s eyes revealed through the helmet were slightly curved. He seemed quite satisfied with Kraugel’s attitude. He wasn’t the type to chat either.

“Sword Saint Kraugel. You and I are at the level to stab through Baal’s gap. Rather than waste time here, it is right to infiltrate Baal’s city and help Grid. We should hurry as much as possible. There is the rule that movement magic isn’t allowed throughout hell so it will take quite a long time to get to Baal’s city.”

“There is too little explanation this time. Why should I intervene in the battle against Grid’s will?”

“It is to put Baal on the perfect defensive. You see, there is only one way to kill Baal. We need to get rid of humanity’s fear of him, but in fact, this is impossible. The conclusion that I have come to after many years of deliberation is to not expect anything from humanity. Rather, it is to directly instill fear in Baal.”

There was only one reason why Eligos remained in charge of the river of reincarnation and stuck to the rank of 20th place.

A symbol—he wanted to be a symbol of hell. Thus, he stayed here for thousands of years. Along with Cerberus, who left footprints in mythology, he guarded the river of reincarnation and carved his own image on the souls of the dead. He left his name in the cries of souls who craved a life they would never regain again.

Look.

Listen.

I am hell.

It was a grand ambition. For him, Baal was just a stumbling block. He longed for Baal’s death more than anyone else.

“Do you mean to beat fear with fear?”

"That’s right. I am sure that the moment Baal feels fear, the fear that sustains him will betray him.”

It was the logic of fighting evil with evil.

Kraugel thought it was quite possible. Therefore, he shook his head. “I refuse. We will protect this place.”

“Are you saying you can’t disobey the will of the god whom you serve?”

“I will ask you in reverse.” Kraugel was a constant stream of change. He always responded to those who were good with a bright smile and he was aloof to those who weren’t good. He had unbreakable will in his eyes when expressing a firm belief like now. “Do you think that threatening someone who is beyond death will make them feel fear?”

“...Of course, it won’t be easy. Therefore, we have to work with Grid to push him to the limit.”

“You are wrong. Baal is the type who will willingly throw himself off a cliff if driven to the edge.”

He knew this. But there was no other way than this. Eligos wanted to object but he couldn’t express it. Before he knew it, he was overwhelmed by the look in the eyes of the present day Sword Saint, Kraugel, who had completely removed the air of a novice.

“Simple force isn’t a means of terrorizing Baal. In order for him to understand the feeling of fear, he must first learn the feeling of despair.”

Suddenly, Kraugel felt that the screams of the souls seemed to have faded. He had the idea that they were eavesdropping on his conversation.

The center of the worldview. It was the world Grid had lived in. Even a moment or a little action could give hope to countless brings or bring despair. A stronger will was added to Kraugel’s self-aware voice.

“Grid must’ve known that, so he went to Baal alone. It was without the apostles and Sir Biban, who are more powerful than us.”

“......”

Stronger than him?

Eligos frowned. He didn’t agree with Kraugel’s one-sided assessment. It was only for a moment. He remembered Sword God Biban, whom he saw when he picked up Grid.

‘Certainly, he... is a monster.’

He didn’t seem sane wearing a broken sword at his waist. But in terms of skills, it felt comparable to Grid. If Grid was accompanied by Biban, he would’ve been more advantageous in the fight against Baal. However, this wasn’t the case. He went to Baal alone.

Kraugel explained the reason why, “Grid understands the only way to kill Baal.”

Just then—

The screams of the souls completely ceased. The river of reincarnation became calm for the first time in thousands of years. There was only the sound of the river flowing.

Kraugel was convinced that the hundreds of billions of souls were looking at him. He noticed that all of them were feeling expectant at Grid’s name. He didn’t think Grid would betray these expectations.

“He will bring despair to Baal.”

It was while single-handedly overwhelming Baal. Of course, objectively, it was close to impossible. However, Kraugel believed in Grid. It was a situation where he had to believe in him.

***

“Ah...” Sighs were heard all over the world.

Grid and Baal, who had been fighting across the vast castle like maniacs—the turbulent appearance of the sky and earth with every swing of their fists or feet reminded people of an imaginary war between gods. It was simply a different dimension. They thought it wouldn’t be strange if this fierce battle continued forever. They even joked that Zeratul should be demoted and Baal promoted to a god.

However, the balance was unexpectedly broken quite quickly. Baal’s sword pierced Grid’s heart and people witnessed a sight they had never imagined. Grid collapsed as if crumbling down.

It became a situation where he knelt down before Baal.

Grid, who had always brought opponents to their knees, was now in that position. Some ignorant media outlets were already pouring out breaking news with headlines such as ‘The Hero’s Defeat’ and ‘The Fallen God.’ That was how serious the situation was.

There was a fatal blow right after a fierce battle that raised suspicions that his immortality had already been lost. This was really dangerous.

The 1st Great Demon, Baal—Grid alone wasn’t worthy of challenging him. Why did he bother to try it alone in the first place? It was a terrible arrogance.

It happened as public opinion doubting Grid’s judgment was forming...

“God Killer. It is a force created only to kill a god,” Baal said while twisting and pulling out the demon sword stuck in Grid’s heart, “It is a familiar energy to you. It is the energy absorbed from Hanul’s failed work that you killed with your own hands.”

A smile gradually spread across Baal’s face.

God Killer—it was an energy that had been honed to the extreme after taking it away from Garam’s soul, who had endured so much. At this point, he thought it would be a good idea to target Asgard. It was that powerful.

Baal had already qualified to be a God Killer. He used the authority and effort of an innate Absolute to even acquire the qualification of a God Killer. He had been reborn as something that had never existed before. Baal was proud that he was now the Absolute of Absolutes.

One day, he would transcend even the Gods of the Beginning. It was nice not to be afraid of an Only One God. “This energy makes your death inevitable.”

Baal took a step back. It was to savor and appreciate the appearance of Grid, who was already crossing the threshold of death.

A notification window emerged in Grid’s field of view.

[You have been struck by a fatal blow.]

It was a phrase that came up when allowing an instant kill skill.

[The energy of a God Killer has pierced you. The immortality and emergency escape passive skills are sealed.]

It was followed by a phrase telling him how dangerous the energy of a God Killer was. There was one fortunate thing.

[You have become immune to the damage due to the effect of the ‘+1 Fire Dragon’s Armor.’]

The dragon armor Grid was armed with—it wasn’t powerful just because it used the scales and leather of an ancient dragon as materials. It was completed only because it contained the desire of a precious person to protect Grid.

[★ Immunity to instant death and assassination skills.]

This was one of the effects attached to Fire Dragon’s Armor. It was an absolute counter to the energy of a God Killer that Baal had honed.

“...What?” Baal hadn’t dared to act rashly due to being conscious of the epic, but he was taken aback.

Grid’s black eyes were staring at him. They were clearly projecting him when they should’ve lost focus. This reaction moved the epic that had stopped. It wasn’t only the humans on the surface, but also the souls in the river of reincarnation took note of this moment.

“Weak.”

Baal was an Absolute who overshadowed the absolute defense, but he couldn’t take away Grid’s immortality. There was also the ‘Shock Mitigation’ effect that ‘significantly’ reduced all types of damage attached to the Fire Dragon’s Armor. It was even after the fierce battle where he eventually had his heart pierced by a blow containing the energy of a God Killer.

Grid’s complexion was fine as he slowly raised himself up. “If you are immortal by overcoming death, I am immortal because I haven’t died.”

“......”

Baal’s mental world was shaken for the first time. The shape of his self-defense and the demon sword created with magic power was disrupted for a moment.

Grid didn’t miss this opportunity and cast Another Tomb. It was a massive bombardment skill that returned all the damage suffered in the last 20 seconds to the target.