Overgeared

Mumud had made an incredible threat to Grid—attacking the Full Moon Fortress would kill the humans on the surface.

[He won’t be able to strike quickly. He might hesitate for hours or tens of minutes. Grid is a good person. Above all, I believe you won’t be easily defeated.]

[That is a possibility.]

Marie Rose seemed to have little interest in Grid’s choice. She nodded roughly and stared at Mumud. That was all. She didn’t take any actions or ask any questions. Mumud was a bit taken aback, so he took the lead in the conversation while building a magical area around him so that his intent didn’t leak out.

[I’m trying to separate Asgard from the surface for the sake of both humans and gods. As long as the Overgeared World exists, it is impossible for Asgard and the surface to coexist.]

Human worship was necessary for gods to exist. The more worship the gods received, the stronger they became. The more they were forgotten, the more they disappeared.

Now, the humans on the surface were serving the gods of the Overgeared World, not Asgard. This was a serious problem for Asgard. Once enough time passed, the anxious gods of Asgard would eventually struggle to exert any sort of influence over the humans on the surface. There would be a lot of confusion and strife.

[As an angel, I have an instinct to protect Asgard. I also want to protect humans due to my memories as a human. Just...]

Mumud’s eyes, which seemed warm despite being silver, immediately became cold.

[I will punish Braham. Marie Rose, I’m sure you can relate. My teacher’s existence is useless to the world.]

Marie Rose realized something. Mumud was being sincere now.

[His desire for knowledge can’t be suppressed and will never dissipate. One day, he will sacrifice everything in order to satisfy that desire. I know this because I’ve been through it.]

This was the real reason Mumud wanted to protect the Full Moon Fortress. He had good intentions and really wanted to protect the land and Asgard. However, he also planned to harm Braham, just as Grid had expected, but not because of a personal grudge.

[Marie Rose, please support me.]

It took him less than a second to ask this because they were conversing with intent, not words.

[You are greedy.]

After using teleportation to pursue Mumud, Marie Rose had only been looking for a way to subdue him. Now, she responded to the conversation properly for the first time.

[I agree with your opinion that Braham’s desire for knowledge will grow endlessly. That is everything he inherited from Beriache. But I don’t think he will cause the same accident as before.]

[Is it because Grid is with him now?]

[......]

Marie Rose was about to say something else, but gave up and just nodded.

Mumud’s expression darkened.

[Grid will disappear someday.]

[......?]

Marie Rose tilted her head. Only One God Grid... Her immortal husband would be gone one day? That was a far-fetched argument. Everything else could disappear, but Grid would survive forever.

Mumud looked at her like she was pitiful and revealed the truth to her.

[For Grid, this world is nothing more than a space for his entertainment. Don’t expect him to settle down here forever...]

The world was just a game. The extraordinary genius who had been observing Rebecca, Judar, and Dominion had realized the incredible truth. This was why he felt the need to prepare for a world without Grid.

[......]

Marie Rose reacted subtly.

Flash!

One of the strands of magic power that Mumud released flickered intensely. This was a sign that the Full Moon Fortress had been attacked. Mumud was shocked when he saw what was going on.

[He didn’t hesitate?]

Mumud was forced to take the humans of the surface as hostages. He never expected that his bluff wouldn’t work at all. Mumud was surprised by Grid’s choice and hurriedly pulled out a glass bottle of holy water.

Holy water was water made by Rebecca, a God of the beginning. It was infinitely clear and projected everything. Asgard’s seas, rivers, lakes, ponds and wells, which allowed the gods and angels to observe the situation of the surface, all contained holy water. A droplet from the bottle caused ripples, creating a small pond. It appeared between Mumud and Marie Rose, showing the landscape of the surface. This was the spot where the largest number of humans were currently gathered.

[They will die...!]

Mumud’s face turned pale. No humans could withstand Grid’s attack power. Mumud’s warning that the humans of the surface would die if the Full Moon Fortress was attacked was real.

His new spell created by evolving Great Shift of the Universe, Transition, was truly powerful. The target that was protected by Transition was virtually invulnerable since all the damage it would potentially take was sent out to another target.

Of course, as Grid and Raphael had guessed, there were a lot of constraints. First of all, it required a large magic circle, so the time required to activate it was very long. At least three hundred magic circles had to be installed with their lines overlapping or intersecting to complete the Transition spell.

As a result, more than five thousand magic circles were required for the finished spell. Most of them were dummy magic circles. This meant the Transition spell was designed to be completed using countless dummy magic circles.

This was only to deal with Grid, who had the famous Falling Moon Sword and Annihilation energy. Mumud had made the spell withstand Grid, who could cut anything. The probability of Grid destroying the real formula of Transition in one blow was only one in ten thousand.

The spell had many other shortcomings and weaknesses, but... the effect was obvious. After all, magic had a rule: the more weaknesses there were, the more powerful the spell was. Additionally, the targets that Mumud pointed to as the target of Transition’s damage relocation were ordinary human beings. They would die just from the gods breathing on them. There was no way they could bear a blow from Grid.

Mumud was certain that many people would die.

[Ack...!]

It was too late to dismantle Transition now. He had been wrong for targeting humans in the first place. He had thought the threat would work a bit on Grid. While Grid was thinking over his options, Mumud hoped that he would be able to convince Marie Rose.

This had been terrible arrogance on his part. This was just like his short time spent as a human due to his terminal illness. No matter how brilliant he was, he couldn’t predict what life had in store for him.

Hopeless, Mumud squeezed his eyes shut. Every emotion passed over his face as quickly as beams of light. However, Marie Rose captured all of them.

She said, [You even have the same weaknesses as Braham.]

Mumud furrowed his brows. For the first time, he resented Marie Rose a bit for insisting that he resembled Braham.

[Open your eyes and look at it clearly.]

Marie Rose didn’t care how Mumud felt. A hand made of red blood held his cheek and forced him to open his eyes. Mumud saw that the humans on the surface who got hit by Grid’s attack instead of the Full Moon Fortress...

“A-Ah...”

“S-So exhilarating!”

...were all ecstatic.

Fortunately, the Motley Flail ended up giving buffs to the humans on the surface. Of course, there would’ve been no casualties even if a debuff had been applied. There would only be people unlucky enough to have their health drop to 1, or almost die from poisoning or burns.

[......?]

Mumud was stunned. He didn’t expect this. His expression was clearly revealed thanks to his angel’s halo, which had been partially removed because of the blood magic surrounding his cheeks. Instead of being disappointed, he seemed relieved.

Marie Rose snorted. [As you expected, Braham is likely to make the same mistake.]

[I knew you would agree with me...]

[Yes, it’s a mistake.]

[......?]

[No matter the reason, Braham used his own kin as test subjects to gain knowledge. He betrayed his siblings and disciple, and threatened humans many times. Even so, in the end, he regretted all the mistakes he made.]

Mumud gritted his teeth. He didn’t agree with Marie Rose’s opinion at all. [Does this mean that if you feel regret for your sin, it isn’t a sin, but a mistake?]

Marie Rose shook her head.

[What I mean is that, if he makes the same mistake again after regretting it, it will surely be a mistake. Of course, just because it’s a mistake, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a sin.]

Marie Rose wasn’t a talkative person. She had been alone for most of her life, so she was unfamiliar with conversing. But this changed after meeting Grid. She whispered her love to him all night long and had learned how to communicate to others.

[But Braham is pretty smart. I think he will try to not make the same mistake. If he tries to do that again, the people around him will be able to stop him.]

[Who will control Braham in a world without Grid? The desire he inherited from Beriache can’t be overcome with hard work or with other people’s help.]

[You know something else, right?]

Suddenly, Mumud became aware of how terrible his own face looked in Marie Rose’s red eyes. Why did he look so distressed? The reason was simple. Marie Rose was right. He knew something else.

[How much did Braham regret and reflect on the sins he committed against you?]

Before he regained his memories, Mumud had glimpsed the emotions in Braham’s eyes when Braham looked at him. Regret, sadness, compassion, affection, and remorse...

Mumud wanted to believe that Braham wasn’t the same person he used to be. He wouldn’t commit the same sin again. But...

[The result will still be the same. Braham... Teacher will betray those around him again once his desire reaches its pinnacle.]

[No, I think it will be different if you are around. My siblings and I intend to watch him from the side.]

Before Beriache died, Marie Rose would’ve been suspicious of Braham till the very end. However, she had witnessed Braham’s transformation. For the sake of his sister and in the hope that his mother wouldn’t regret betraying someone close to her like he did, Braham stopped his mother’s wrongdoings even though he loved and respected her the most. He had sided with Marie Rose despite hating his sister so much.

He couldn’t make the same mistake again after going through that...

[.....]

Mumud was speechless after hearing the explanation. He was lost in thought for a moment.

Would Marie Rose go to such lengths to defend Braham? No. Everyone knew that Marie Rose didn’t get along well with her brother. They hated each other the most, so they weren’t likely to protect each other.

But she had changed. Then, wouldn’t it be possible for Braham to change as well?

Rustle...

The stream of magic power that connected Mumud and the Full Moon Fortress, the activation formula that maintained the ultimate spell called Transition, gradually faded.