“Is it a target that can be raided alone?”

This was a question that pierced to the core—the blue-eyed reporter made good use of the short time he was allowed to address Chairman Lim Cheolho.

“It can’t be done alone.”

It had been six hours since Baal’s expedition had entered hell.

Half a day had passed inside Satisfy. As morning turned to night, Grid and the Overgeared members fought non-stop. Even the concept of stamina, which had always held players back, seemed unable to dampen their enthusiasm.

“Then... in order for the expedition to succeed, the Overgeared members and apostles must join Grid, right?”

The Baal raid—due to the large-scale event that occurred by Grid’s will, the S.A Group suffered tremendously. Throughout this half a day, media companies around the world flooded them with requests for interviews. Obviously, the level of interest was very high. It was a far cry from the National Competition, which had been on a downward spiral since Grid stopped participating.

To put it bluntly, everyone in the world was watching the Baal raid and it disrupted their daily lives. At this time, it wasn’t very good for the S.A Group to remain silent. There was no reason for it. This was why Chairman Lim Cheolho held a large-scale press conference.

“It can’t be done even with many people.”

The crowd was agitated. The reporters writing articles in real time increased their typing speed.

“Can I say that it is like a dragon?”

In the past, Chairman Lim Cheolho had designated dragons as targets that couldn’t be hunted. Well, Grid had personally demonstrated that even if he couldn’t kill them, he could use them as a ride, but... in any case, a dragon’s majesty was still great. Was it the same with Baal?

Speculative articles were on the verge of pouring out in a matter of seconds.

Then Chairman Lim Cheolho shook his head. “It isn’t like a dragon.”

The dragons that Lim Cheolho was talking about were naturally the Old Dragons. It was because the Old Dragons were the true dragons.

“Baal is the ultimate goal for players. He is one of the final pieces of content.”

Just—

“But not in his current form.”

Baal used human fear as his source of strength. He couldn’t perish as long as people were afraid of him. He was impossible to raid in a different sense from dragons. It was necessary to achieve the prerequisites to make the impossible possible. It was to create an environment where people felt greater hope than their fear of Baal. It wasn’t something that a handful of players or groups could do.

Billions of players needed to interact deeply with Satisfy’s residents and built trust. A simple example was the relationship between Grid and Khan. The hope designed by Lim Cheolho was to sprout from the fact that the majority of players valued the residents of Satisfy and cherished Satisfy as much as reality.

The name Satisfy reflected Chairman Lim Cheolho’s wishes. Lim Cheolho wanted Satisfy to be beautiful, unlike reality. The great evil called Baal was a type of gateway to reaching such a world. It was the opportunity and key to uniting people with one heart and one mind. He wasn’t a being created for one individual to stab to death...

“Eh?”

It happened as Chairman Lim Cheolho was starting to explain...

A buzzing occurred among the reporters who stopped typing. They stared at Chairman Lim Cheolho in disbelief. No, to be precise, they were staring at the super-large screen behind where the chairman was sitting.

Chairman Lim Cheolho turned back and his face hardened. Baal revealed his original appearance. It was the last phase of the Baal raid. It meant that Baal was driven to the defensive in the ten minutes he took to move to this conference room.

“How...?”

It happened as Chairman Lim Cheolho was very flustered...

Kuaaack...

Baal let out a scream as his neck was slashed by Grid. It was an incredible sight. In this state, Baal’s defense increased by at least 20 times, but Grid alone dealt a significant blow...

Morpheus even added something shocking.

-Player Grid has broken the record for the highest damage dealt.

“......”

***

The shadow hovering over the horizon—they wondered how huge was that thing, seeing that it could be vaguely seen even from here...

The appearance of Baal, seen from a distance, stimulated human imagination to the limit. The apostles and members of the party were worried about Grid.“Let’s go help,” Asuka urged.

She threw the hand axe pulled from a demon’s skull behind her back. Red feathers fluttered. The feathers that were originally white fell from wings that had turned red due to the blood of demons.

Kiyaaaaak!

Asuka wasn’t obsessed with a single weapon. She hadn’t even taken out the dragon weapon she had received from Grid during the angel appointment ceremony. She kept swinging and throwing new weapons she took from her inventory to slaughter demons.

All of them were Grid-made items. They were weapons that had been steadily strengthened every time Grid used Request to Stand With Me.

‘Where did she get all these crazy things...’

Ibellin clicked his tongue. He clearly realized that Asuka’s wealth and obsession were unmatched, and determined that he didn’t have to support her.

“Of course, we have to go.”

This wasn’t why he agreed. Even before Asuka could speak, Ibellin’s body had been turning in Grid’s direction. He acted like the captain of the angels protecting Grid. He intended to fly toward Grid the moment he shook off the demons around him.

The other angels felt the same way. Coke, Asuka, and the two people wearing silver and gold masks...

All of them were preparing to rush at Grid without anyone telling them.

‘Who are these people?’

He had good feelings for these dubious people. They were reliable, like colleagues who had been fighting together for a long time. In the first place, they were the ones Grid had appointed as angels. It was right to feel trust. However, it was inevitable to be wary.

He was reluctant to put his trust in people whose names and faces were hidden behind masks and who just silently carried out their duties. In any case, it was the time when the five Overgeared angels moved forward with one mind.

“Stop.” Someone put a stop to it.

It was Biban. The man who stood with his arms folded and yawned throughout the battle.

There were too many demonic creatures who tried to enter the underground area after hearing the screams of the red flesh... unlike the angels, who ran over and fought hard after hearing the report, he didn’t have a single drop of blood on his body.

“There isn’t anything you can do. You will only be killed like dogs, even if you arrive on time.”

“Shut up.”

Asuka let it spill out her other ear.

A member of the Tower of Wisdom—he was a Sword Saint and he had become the Sword God. She swore at him even though she had to know Biban’s reputation.

Ibellin and Coke were worried. Biban’s condition was strange to look at, with a broken sword hanging from his waist, but he wasn’t an opponent to be treated casually. It wasn’t that they were worried about Asuka being angry. The problem was that she didn’t respect Grid’s precious connections.

“I-Impertinent!”

“What nonsense about impertinence?”

Asuka laughed at Coke, who had shouted at her, and finally flew up into the sky. It was a complete flight. This ability was gained thanks to the angel wings. She liked it very much. It was only now that the game seemed like a game. She hadn’t been able to shake off the peculiarity of Satisfy, which had seemed too real even though it wasn’t real.

“Rumor has it that you are an old man with dementia? Do we really need to listen to whatever you say? In the first place, we didn’t come all the way to hell to kill mobs, did we? Half of us can stand guard at the entrance here. I will go.”

“Uhh...”

Wasn’t it true that they came here to catch mobs? It happened as Ibellin was about to stop the excited Asuka...

Slap!

Before he knew it, Biban had stood in front of Asuka and slapped her in the face. Then an amazing thing happened.

Asuka, one of the strongest players, fell to the ground without even reacting. In the center of the large crater that had been created by her fall, she flinched as she was stuck upside down.

Was she dead...?

Ibellin and Coke couldn’t keep up with the situation and were stunned.

“Hahat! You want to fight, right?” Asuka shouted as she jumped up. She was much more energetic than before. It was because her berserker trait was activated. Her health had been decreased to a great extent because she had been slapped by Biban. If it wasn’t for the dragon armor, it probably would’ve been decreased to less than half. Finally, she pulled out the dragon weapon.

The angel with the silver mask, who had been silently watching the situation, prepared to step out. Then Biban appeared in front of Asuka again. He grabbed her by the collar and threw her in the direction of the newly approaching demon army.“......”

An angel in the grip of madness—Asuka unexpectedly started slaughtering the army of demonic creatures and was much more brutal than Michael, who once appeared at the Rebecca Church’s Vatican. It was convincing why she was given the title of ‘Angel of Madness.’

“What a useful friend,” Biban said cheerfully with a benevolent smile. He didn’t seem like someone who half-killed a person and threw them into the middle of the enemy camp.

Biban warned the dumbfounded Ibellin, “Don’t be swayed by your subordinates on the battlefield.”

“...Yes.”

In fact, he wasn’t swayed at all. If Asuka hadn’t stepped in, Ibellin would’ve run in Grid’s direction right away. However, he hid this truth. He didn’t want to be treated the same as Asuka.

After his awkward answer, Biban spoke to him again, “Focus on the mission. The reason why Grid entrusted me and you with different missions is because it is for the best.”

They were words filled with strong trust. Ibellin was able to realize that the man in front of him had absolute trust in Grid. He thought that he wanted to learn from this person.

“Above all, right now...” Biban smiled at the vigorously nodding Ibellin and his eyes returned to the middle of the battlefield. It was the spot where Asuka was in full swing. To be precise, it was slightly above her.

A light was flashing in the sky in Biban’s vision.

Magic?

Ibellin was on guard, only to soon doubt his eyes. The light approaching at the speed of light. It was something’s arms, legs, and torso.

“We don’t have enough room to leave here.”action

The underground area where Yura and her group was struggling—Biban blocked the entrance to it while drawing the Broken Sword. He was aware of it.

The fragments of Asura that had separated from Baal after he became a giant—they were trying to combine with the red flesh. He had a hunch that he shouldn’t let that happen.

***

It felt like running on a ridge that rose at right angles. The peak barely reached the end of his field of view...

This was Grid’s impression as he sped over Baal’s body, which was so big. It was a short thought. The ridge seemed to sway and his view rotated 360 degrees. It was the aftermath of the movement of Baal’s arm, which Grid was stepping on. Baal shook off the hand that had been gripping at Grid’s neck and waved his arms wildly. It was to remove Grid.

Bang! Bang! Baaang!

The explosion that occurred every time Baal swung his arms was deafening.

In the midst of the raging storm, the orange divinity that Grid wore around his body swayed like it was going to be extinguished. It became weak in an instant.

Grid held on with gritted teeth. He held the sword inserted into Baal’s skin like it was a pillar and hung down.

A shadow was cast over his body. It was the shadow created by the palm of Baal’s hand as it attacked him. He thought that the scenery that mosquitoes saw right before they died after sucking human blood must be similar to what he saw now.

A giant who would embrace and comfort the dead—after returning to his primal form, Baal overwhelmed Grid with his sheer size. However, the smaller being wasn’t overwhelmed.

If Grid was a mosquito, then there was a mote. It was Bunhelier, who was in the form of a black mouse. Baal’s enormous size gave him more freedom and he was already perched on Grid’s shoulder before he knew it.

“...Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

Grid let out a laugh. It was a laugh of delight.

“Get on!”

Squeak squeak!

Bunhelier cried as he jumped off Grid’s shoulder. He grew his body at the same time, while Grid launched himself toward him.

Flash!

Bunhelier revealed his body. He was on the smaller side among the Old Dragons, and he had a rather small body compared to Baal, but he was big enough. Due to the free flight, Grid and Baal were at roughly the same eye level.

“Go!"

“Ohhhhhhh!!”

Bunhelier rushed in while releasing his magic power. Grid stood against the horn that rose taller than his head and released his full force.

It was a scene like two giant monsters colliding.

It felt like the genre had changed.

The epic depicted it magnificently. Humanity’s fear of Baal continued to fade.

Contrary to Chairman Lim Cheolho’s intention, a single human, called Grid, had taken root in the world. The name of the root was hope.