Chapter 1869

Martial God Chiyou—he was the one who made Zik, who didn't respect or revere the gods, bow his head on his own initiative. He was intense from the first impression and specially approached Grid. He gave Grid the right to take Chiyou's Test, despite not being a yangban, and bestowed a great favor upon Grid after he passed the ordeal. As a result, Grid unlocked his potential thanks to Chiyou and overcame his limitations several times.

"I've been watching you."

In the first place, there was a sense of emotion from his eyes. Chiyou's eyes were infinitely warm when he looked at Grid and Grid felt deep affection and gratitude. Regardless of his changed status, Grid deeply bowed his head.

"I also thought of you often. I'm relieved to see you in good spirits."

"It is a great provocation."

"......?"

The conversation between the two of them wasn't transmitted to the outside world.

A colorless divinity—it was the aftermath of Chiyou's divinity, which used the aspirations of all living things that craved power as its source, creating an invisible veil. It was a phenomenon created by Chiyou's will to refuse to be worshiped.

The effect was great. The thousands or tens of thousands of people gathered because of Metatron—none of them had a good grasp of the current situation.

'What type of conversation are they having?' Chiyou looked blurry to everyone except for Grid. It definitely resembled a human form, but it felt like he was surrounded by fog. If Grid hadn't mentioned the name Chiyou, they wouldn't have even known who he was.

"...He is on the same side, right?"

The Overgeared Guild started to feel relieved. In fact, they had been somewhat intimidated by the sight of the giant angel called Metatron.

An angel with 18 pairs of wings. They even had a number of halos. The so-called halo of the angels. The angels in Satisfy could shrink or expand the halo, shooting beams or using it as a blade to brutally kill their targets. This meant that the more halos there were, the higher the probability of exerting great destructive power.

Just as they were worried that such a monster would go on a rampage in the middle of the city and cause great damage, Chiyou appeared. He blew Metatron, who was talking nonsense, all the way out of the city with a single blow, and Grid bowed in gratitude. It was natural to interpret him as an ally.

However, the situation inside the veil was going differently than what people thought.

"Even when you blocked Dominion's spear."

Jingle.

Chiyou's bells were very sensitive. They cried just because Chiyou opened his mouth.

Grid belatedly noticed. He hadn't known because it had been hidden by the collar and sleeves. There were several bells hanging from Chiyou's body.

"Even when you defeated the apostle of the God of the Beginning, who had lost the god she served and was wandering."

Jingle.

Grid took a step back. He suddenly realized why Chiyou had so many bells hanging from his body.

"Even when you received an apology from the Fire Dragon."

Jingle.

"I rarely felt the limits of my patience."

The bells were consideration. It was consideration for those trying to hurt him.

I am here. Don't miss me. Point the sword at me properly.

"I wanted to run to you right away and point your sword at my neck."

Jingle jingle.

The sound of bells gradually became louder. It was because Chiyou started walking. His steps were slow yet fast as he approached. They might be ordinary strides, but the distance between the two of them was too short. Grid wasn't given enough time to think.

"But I endured it. I judged that if I urged you, who was tired from going through trials every time, it would increase the odds of things going wrong."

The words were strangely twisted.

Grid noticed it. Chiyou didn't feel any affection for him. He was just waiting patiently with consideration to achieve his own purpose. That was it, but Grid arbitrarily interpreted and misunderstood Chiyou's favor.

There was something called common sense. But now he had to admit it. The existence in front of him was far from common sense. He just did things for his own sake. In other words, he was also a selfish being who did favors for others in order to 'die.'

"When you finally killed Baal."

Jingle jingle jingle!

The sound of the bells started to ring like crazy. It was a loud noise created by the action of entering through Grid's gap and slowly drawing a sword.

"I thought it was worth the wait."

"......"

"And now, at last, the moment has come to finally put an end to it."

You shouldn't have referred to yourself as the Martial God...

Grid pondered on Metatron's cry, which he had dismissed as nonsense. When he came out of the tower, people called him the Martial God.

Grid had taken it lightly. It was a natural response. However, the existence of Chiyou shouldn't be overlooked. At the very least, Grid shouldn't have forgotten the weight of the title 'Martial God.'

Of course, it was unfair.

'Who would consider such a thing as foreshadowing?'

Still, regret meant nothing. Even if he had prevented people from mentioning the Martial God, the result would've been the same. Chiyou would surely stand in front of Grid at some point. If he was targeted by Chiyou just because he pretended to be the Martial God, Zeratul would've already been killed by Chiyou hundreds of times...

Chiyou's chilly-looking long sword revealed its full appearance. Grid saw his expression reflected on the blade and suddenly looked up at the sky. It occurred to him that all the heavenly gods must be watching this place right now.

Loosen the constraints of the Overgeared World...

He realized what Metatron's last cry meant. It meant giving the heavenly gods the right to set foot on the surface.

'Asgard is seriously intent on fighting Chiyou.'

Asura had also said it. What the heavenly gods wanted from him was for him to fight against Chiyou.

'Is there any chance of winning?'

It was a useless question. No matter how skilled, even Chiyou wouldn't be able to endure when withstanding a pincer attack from the gods of Asgard. Then he became curious about something else.

Why did Chiyou bother to visit him?

"...If you have been watching me, you know about Asura as well."

"The Evil God that Baal gave birth to. He went up to Asgard."

"He has the energy of a God Killer. If you really want to be destroyed, wouldn't it be easier for you to confront the gods of Asgard rather than me?"

"You haven't grasped the essence yet." Chiyou shook his head. "The gods of Asgard can't extinguish me."

"It is the same for me..."

"No, you are the Martial God that humanity thinks of."

"......"

"Only you can destroy me and replace me. It is something I've only recently learned."

Thump.

Grid received a shock like his heart was being destroyed. It was because he realized that all his efforts made the current results. The stronger he got and the more new achievements he got, the more he was acknowledged by the people.

Naturally, he was faced with the fate of confronting Chiyou. It felt like he had been caught in a net without him knowing it. It was more painful and sad than unpleasant.

"However, in order for you to extinguish and replace me, you must fulfill one precondition."

First of all, Grid liked Chiyou.

'The bigger problem is—'

It was because Chiyou was too strong.

"You have to fight me and win in front of everybody."

"......"

Grid, who had been patient so far, frowned for the first time. By what means did he have to fight him and win? Chiyou was a special being among the gods. He was an existence where he couldn't help mentioning the inherent differences.

Grid fighting against Chiyou and winning? It was a bug. It was the wrong worldview. It was impossible to win. Grid quickly came to a conclusion and was about to reject it.

"Of course, you will lose today."

Chiyou told the truth. He proved that he wasn't crazy.

"But it will provide you with plenty of experience. As always, you will use defeat as nourishment to grow further. After repeating this, you will surely tear my heart and soul apart."

Don't deal with him.

He is an absurd guy.

He might harm your hierarchy.

Etc etc.

Grid remembered Metatron's warning. That's right. Putting aside his desire to prove that Chiyou wasn't crazy, Chiyou was starting to look crazy in Grid's eyes. For once, defeat was fatal for Grid. He was also a god. There was a fear that his status would be seriously undermined if he was defeated in public. Chiyou's proposal wasn't realistic.

It was the moment when Grid was about to refuse again...

"You can't veto it." Chiyou drove in the nail. He also gave advice. "Focus on the sound of bells. Even if your eyes miss me, let the tip of your sword chase the sound."

'This damn thing.'

In fact, if he thought about it in a composed manner, there was a high probability that Chiyou was the most distorted person in the world. An existence who only yearned for death couldn't be normal—in the first place, most transcendents were crazy so it was a shameless wish to hope that Chiyou wouldn't be crazy.

'I must avoid being defeated by a landslide...'

Grid sensed that a fight was inevitable and activated the White Tiger's Posture. His goal was to increase his resistance and increase the chance to withstand Chiyou's attack.

Chiyou shook his head. "Didn't I say that it is only meaningful if it is you?"

".....!"

Grid's face was filled with astonishment.

[Martial God Chiyou has neutralized 'White Tiger's Posture Engulfed in Flames.']

Skill cancellation—it was a power that Chiyou naturally used.

"Only the power that is your source can damage my status."

"No..."

In that case, wasn't even the sword dance meaningless because Pagma was its source? Grid was about to say something in a flustered manner, only to close his mouth. It wasn't because of Chiyou.

[An unauthorized being has entered the Overgeared World.]

It was only when the back of a white-haired giant blocked Grid's view that a notification window rose up. The system only recognized it belatedly because the intruder was so fast.

Rattle.

The noise of heavy chains sweeping on the ground was just as loud as the sound of Chiyou's bells.

"...Zeratul?"

Grid noticed the identity of the white-haired giant and was flustered because he couldn't understand what was going on.

"I am the Martial God," the giant declared. "Specter who still believes himself to be the Martial God. You have been disqualified from the moment you left your responsibilities long ago. Engrave the name of the new Martial God on those rotten ears. I am Zeratul."

rainbowturtle's Thoughts

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Translator: Rainbow Turtle

Editor: Jyazen

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