Chapter 2038

Tenacity, persistence, hard work—these were the driving forces behind Grid's growth.

Like the main protagonist of a shonen manga, his story of breaking through the limit several times without giving up was incredibly famous. However, there was actually one more aspect that had made Grid who he was—wrath.

Back when he used to be weak and pathetic, Grid used to direct it at himself and at others who stood in his way. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The abyss that made up Grid was full of venom. Of course, because of the many responsibilities he shouldered, often times he couldn't do what he wanted and had to compromise, but...

'...It's impossible to compromise with someone who has stolen all of my accomplishments and turned me into a lich.'

For example, Mumud and Kasim were completely different. Kasim, the King of Shadows, used to hold a tremendous grudge against Empire Juander and the Saharan Empire. He used to live only for revenge. However, Grid hoped that Kasim would let go of his grudge. Why did he want this? It wasn't because Grid didn't have a conscience, or because he looked down on the weight of Kasim's grudge.

'Kasim has Lord.'

Kasim wasn't alone. He had been with Lord since Lord was born. They were best friends, a teacher and disciple who learned from each other, friends who had no secrets from each other, and family. Like Grid and Khan, Lord and Kasim's relationship was unique. Kasim was also aware of this fact. If he forced himself to get revenge and made a mistake, Lord would be the one who would be very upset.

So, Kasim gave up his revenge. He surely didn't forgive his enemy for destroying his home, but he gave up on killing him. Love calmed his anger. However, Mumud didn't have someone like Lord. Except for him, all the other angels were just soldiers who acted according to the will of the gods. They didn't keep the memories of their previous lives.

Did this mean the gods would become friends with Mumud? There was no way. To gods, angels were nothing more than convenient tools. The gods treated even Raphael, the first ranked archangel, as a servant.

Here in Asgard, Mumud surely felt alone. There was no reason for him to suppress the hatred in his heart. The most important thing was...

"You have too much to hide from me."

Grid had interrogated the demon cultivators using the Memory Searching Technique. At that time, he learned that archangels such as Metatron and Raphael were helping with the construction of the Full Moon Fortress. However, Metatron was trapped in the depths of Asgard with Dominion's group.

"You weren't the only one who led the construction of the Full Moon Fortress, right? Aren't Metatron and Raphael behind it as well? Among them, Metatron seems to have dropped out along the way, but..."

Grid didn't know the details, but Metatron definitely changed course along the way. Instead of cooperating with the demon cultivators, they decided to follow Dominion. Because of that, Metatron was trapped along with Dominion.

"Where is Raphael?"

Grid was wary of his surroundings. Of course, Raphael wasn't a threat to him. Grid could probably kill Raphael with a single blow, though that was a bit of an exaggeration. This didn't mean that he intended to ignore how powerful the first ranked archangel was. If the opponent was openly plotting, then Grid should be vigilant.

"Do you think I'm playing the role of a decoy?" Mumud wondered.

"It would be difficult to disobey the orders of an archangel since you're an angel. Above all, your story can easily mislead me. It seems fitting for Raphael to use you as bait."

"Is that so?"

Mumud wasn't flustered. On the contrary, he had a wide smile on his face.

"You are correct."

Suddenly, he unleashed spectacular iridescent energy. Mystical characters clung to every streak of magic that emanated from him in tens of thousands of strands. This was a perfect combination of magic and mystical arts. It was a new technique that even Braham hadn't mastered yet. The genius of this era had perfected it.

"This counters me."

Marie Rose was rarely shocked. The magic power that Mumud utilized was dispersed in all the colors of the rainbow because it had seven attributes.

Mumud moved as he pleased. He could cast any spell regardless of attribute and form, no matter how reality-defying it seemed. Now, he could also use all types of mystical arts. No matter who Mumud was targeting, he could easily dissect them.

Marie Rose's magic was specialized in only one attribute, so her spells were more likely to be dissected and crushed as soon as they collided with Mumud's.

"I'll stop him, so destroy the Full Moon Fortress." Grid said this after also seeing that Marie Rose was at a disadvantage. Thus, he prepared for battle without taking his eyes off Mumud for a moment.

Just then, Mumud's magic flashed like the light of a sword. It was engraved in the air. It was so powerful, space distorted around it.

Grid and Marie Rose paused. They didn't feel any animosity from Mumud's magic. From the beginning, he had intended to strike the air.

[Mumud, you...! Now that you released me, do you think I will forgive you...?!]

Someone's intent leaked out through the gap in space. The owner of this intent was none other than...

"Raphael?"

Baaaaaaang!

A thunderous roar shook the temple. It was a noise made by an angel spreading out his several pairs of wings and squeezing through the gap in space.

[How dare an angel lock me up? You have lost your fear after becoming an archangel candidate! You will pay for betraying me!]

Raphael's face was covered in blood. The one who once had the reputation of the first ranked archangel growled and glared at Mumud. If looks could kill, Mumud would be dead.

It seemed as if Raphael hadn't yet noticed Grid and Marie Rose.

Mumud cast a spherical magical space to trap Raphael and explained. "It was mostly Metatron and Raphael who negotiated with the demon cultivators. At that time, the gods of Asgard were mostly optimistic about negotiations. Therefore, they forced the archangels to be the god's agents and negotiate. Then Dominion emerged from his closed door training. What happened next was obvious. God Dominion was unwilling to cooperate with foreign beings and everyone changed their mind."

"So you locked up all of Dominion's faction?"

"Yes. I decided that a Full Moon Fortress was absolutely necessary. It just so happens that I started to learn the techniques of the demon cultivators thanks to their goodwill. They weren't wary of me so it didn't take much effort to lock them up."

"......"

"Since then, the construction of the Full Moon Fortress was carried out swiftly. The negotiations with the demon cultivators ended well thanks to Raphael's status as archangel. Because of the efforts of Asura and the other gods, we easily secured the materials necessary for the construction of the Full Moon Fortress."

Raphael, Asura, and some gods still wanted a change. Some dreamed of regaining their former glory while others wanted to gain unprecedented authority. Insatiable greed wasn't exclusive to humanity. Blinded by greed, they allowed Mumud to operate freely.

"By the time all the formations that would lead to the completion of the Full Moon Fortress were installed, Asura began slaughtering the cultivators. Most of the demon cultivators were killed and the gods lost their status. However, Raphael tried to cooperate with Asura to survive, so I put him in this dimensional rift."

Thump, thump. Thump!

Raphael struggled in the magical area he was trapped in. He swung his spear and fired divinity to smash the barrier. This wasn't the end. His blond hair, which was brighter than gold, became frizzy. His skin, which resembles white jade, was covered in wounds. His bloodshot eyes lost focus. He looked like a wounded beast.

But, no matter how much he went on a rampage, the magical area didn't budge. The rainbow magic power and mystical characters dissected and disrupted his barrage of attacks. Raphael's disturbed divinity turned into a chain, restraining him.

"You... I was expecting Asura to betray me along the way."

By the time Asura betrayed them, Mumud's plan was already complete. He took possession of the Full Moon Fortress without anyone disturbing him. The result was too perfect to be attributed to only luck.

Mumud nodded. "From the time God Dominion was trapped, there was nothing left that could restrain Asura."

The leash Judar had placed around Asura's neck became loose. Dominion could grab the leash and shake it, but Mumud had made Dominion lose his grip. Asura running wild was a natural progression.

Grid got to the point. "Okay. Let's say that everything went according to your plan. Even so, I still doubt your sincerity. Make Asgard independent? At first glance, this seems to be beneficial for humanity, but the risk is too great in the long run."

If the gods of Asgard no longer appeared before the eyes of humanity, the faith of humanity would solely be concentrated on the gods of the Overgeared World. This would make the Overgeared World more stable and stronger. The greedy political battles the Asgardian gods would have wouldn't be disastrous to humanity.

Instead, the Full Moon Fortress in Asgard would completely escape from the Overgeared World's surveillance system. They would have no idea of how many cultivators the gods of Asgard would receive from the Full Moon Fortress or what types of tricks the gods would use these cultivators for in the future.

Asgard's independence was a double-edged sword. For the Asgardian gods, independence from humanity meant that humanity would become unnecessary to them. They would no longer think that humanity's existence was beneficial for their existence. In the future, the Overgeared World and Asgard could reach a point where they would harm each other without hesitation.

'No.'

As long as Mumud hated humans, there would surely be a war of epic proportions one day.

Mumud listened silently to Grid's explanation before asking, "Is it so hard to believe that I don't hate humans?"

"Even if you don't hate humans, you hate Braham. Thus, I think the result will be the same."

Grid shaking his head decisively made Mumud laugh. He still sounded very gentle when he said, "You are very stubborn."

If a third party had witnessed the recent confrontation, they would've thought Mumud was good-natured and that Grid was unnecessarily stubborn. However, there was no third party here. Everyone present was involved in the matter.

Marie Rose snorted. "You disparage my dear husband's concerns as stubbornness? Plus, Braham isn't that self-righteous these days."

Grid's eyes became cold. "Let's make a lot of concessions and say that you are sincere in your desire to protect Asgard. You are an angel now, so it might be your instinct. But... no matter how I think about it, something is off. Is independence the only way to protect Asgard? Asgard won't be forgotten as long as people don't forget Rebecca. Even if she is hunted by the Refractive Dragon forever, she will never be forgotten as a God of the beginning."

"......"

"Of course, other gods except Rebecca might be forgotten and disappear. But what does that have to do with you? Isn't Rebecca the one that the angels ultimately serve, and no one else?"

Thump, thump. Thump!

Raphael, trapped in the magical space, was struggling even harder. The emotion in those bloodshot eyes was no longer anger. It was joy. At some point, Raphael started looking at Grid, not Mumud. He was smiling like a maniac.

Grid's Annihilation sword shattered the area that trapped Raphael. Grid hadn't pulled out the Annihilation energy earlier purely because he was wary of Asura. There was no need to save it now.

Thanks to this, Raphael was now free.

[Hahaha! Mumud! Foolish renegade! Did you think that your eloquence would work on Grid, who made me, the first ranked archangel, this way? Grid rules alone. He makes me want to curse him, but he isn't as simple-hearted as me.]

"...How annoying."

The remnants of the magical area smashed by the Annihilation sword turned into chains, imprisoning Grid's group.