“...You should’ve told me that earlier.”

-What?Have you already arrived in Asgard?

“No way. What I mean is that, if I consulted with you beforehand, there would’ve been no reason for me to worry.”

Grid lied because he didn’t want to worry Braham.

-Hmph, it’s okay that you know now.In the future, please consult me as soon as something happens.

This was the end of Braham’s sound transmission. Braham was the type to act prideful when something happened, but he was also considerate in his own awkward way.

‘We’ve known each other for a long time, but I can’t afford to go see him right now.’

There were many times when Grid didn’t bring his Apostles along when he decided to fight against enemies who were considered the strongest of this era. To be honest, it wouldn't help the Apostles too much if they fought the strongest enemies. Of course, they were very helpful to Grid. Having them as teammates would make it much easier for Grid to focus on the fight.

However, it wouldn’t do the Apostles much good. Fighting enemies who were way more powerful than them? This was worthless. Grid knew better. After gaining numerous wounds from Garam barely doing anything because Grid hadn’t known Formless Will, the only thing Grid had received from that was great humiliation. That experience hadn’t helped him become stronger in any way.

It wasn’t until much later when Grid became strong enough to fight Garam that the battle against him had been a great source of inspiration to Grid. He could use the time when he first learned swordsmanship from Piaro as an example. Despite all the private lessons he got from Piaro as they traveled through the desert of Reidan, Grid never learned how to apply them properly during his journey through the desert...

In other words, this meant that the Apostles had to be able to fight the enemy well by themselves. This was why Grid wasn’t participating in the final battle of the Full Moon Fortress. The remaining cultivators putting up a fight at the Full Moon Fortress were a good way for the Overgeared members and the Apostles to become stronger.

“...In that sense, Asgard is the last place where I can become stronger,” Grid murmured.

He didn’t look nervous despite being surrounded by dozens of angels. Braham’s advice that Marie Rose would be safe had calmed him down. The angels also reacted somewhat positively upon seeing him. They didn’t seem bothered even though Grid had killed Judar. They just looked at him nonchalantly.

Angels generally showed no emotions. Some archangels were exceptions to that rule. Maybe they were emotionally constipated.

Angels were beings created purely for the needs of the gods. They had been summoned to heaven rather than fell to hell because the gods recognized the deeds they committed during their human lifetime. Angels were merely soldiers that carried out the gods’ will. Emotions were unnecessary.

One of the angels staring at Grid finally asked, “For what purpose has the god of the surface come to heaven?”

Seeing how this angel had four wings, they seemed to have a fairly high rank. Nevertheless, the look in their eyes through the helmet was indifferent. Grid thought about this optimistically. If they had been scared or angry, he wouldn’t have been able to talk to them at all.

“Judar asked me to do something. However, it’s very hard to do that, so I came to ask for advice.”

“From who?”

Judar asked Grid to do something? Was Grid telling the truth? If so, what was his task? Even though they had a few questions, the angels didn’t ask any. They didn’t seem able to question the affairs of the gods.

“Who knows? Angels who are higher in rank should know whom I should ask for advice, right?”

“Please be patient.”

The angel closed their eyes and fell silent. After a while, a wind seemed to blow past the angel’s long eyelashes. The golden clouds that lit up the area parted, revealing an infinitely wide boulevard, wide as the Atlantic Ocean. Grid was briefly overwhelmed.

The golden road was one of the official channels between the surface and the world of the gods. The moment he saw Rebecca’s stone statue in the sky, which remained the same size no matter what angle or distance it was viewed at, he thought this could be a road she had made herself.

“Go up.”

Who had given Grid access to Asgard? The angels didn’t bother explaining. They guided Grid without saying anything.

‘What?’

Grid was a bit in a daze. He thought Asgard wouldn’t let him in, but they did. Some time before, after a long confrontation, he had stolen away Khan, Hexetia and Zeratul. Finally, Grid had killed Judar. So why were they doing this?

‘What I said has intrigued the gods...’

Or maybe this was a trap. It was probably one of these two options. There was also the possibility that Grid had intrigued the gods and that he was walking right into a trap. He was a bit nervous. He had long identified Asgard as the last enemy he would have to face, but he never expected that Asgard would welcome him with open arms.

Grid wasn’t mentally prepared at all. Of course, he had no intention of backing down. He was sure that Marie Rose had infiltrated Asgard somehow. Even if she acted according to what Braham said, Grid was still worried. He definitely wanted to help her.

How much time had passed? Grid was exhausted as he stared at the back of the angels’ heads. “Who gave me permission to enter?”

Surprisingly, the angels responded obediently. “Metatron.”

However, this answer didn’t erase Grid’s doubts. Even though Metatron was strong, he was nothing more than an archangel. In the end, this meant some god had surely ordered Metatron to give instructions to the angels.

‘They probably don’t know anything.’

Who were the higher-ups who had allowed Grid to enter and what were their intentions in meeting him?

‘Perhaps...’

Grid started speculating. The demon cultivators building the Full Moon Fortress in Asgard… Would all the gods of Asgard have welcomed them? No way. Surely some had protested. It was difficult to believe that the gods would be united after losing Judar. Weren’t they divided into factions even when Judar was alive? It would be funny if they were united now.

How did Grid know that they were divided into factions? It was easy to conclude this when recalling the incident of Hexetia and Zeratul’s imprisonment. Venice, the goddess of money, had secretly made a deal with them behind the scenes back then.

“Come this way.”

The angels turned away from the straight path and changed course midway. Unbelievably, they guided Grid down a dreary and secluded path. There was a place like this in Asgard?

‘Do they want to have a secret chat with me?’

This was proof that the rank of the one who allowed Grid access wasn’t very high. If Dominion had summoned Grid, he wouldn’t have cared about who was watching and confidently called Grid to meet up.

However, the other party acted very secretly and cautiously. It seemed that they wanted to meet Grid without anyone else noticing.

This made Grid anxious. The higher the status of the other party, the more they would demand from their deal.

‘Dominion would be less willing to trade with me, but the weaker gods would be different.’

Since this god colluded with Metatron, they shouldn’t really be weak. Maybe Grid could set the stage for overthrowing Asgard today.

The landscape around him changed rapidly. The trailing path widened and repeatedly brightened. Eventually, it became the same as before. In the high sky, the stone statue of Rebecca reappeared. Before he knew it, he was back on the normal path. It seemed as if he had escaped a certain surveillance network without realizing it.

“We’re here.”

After walking for a long time, Grid arrived at an area of intricately intertwined mountain ridges. On every small hill was a temple. The buildings were very large. Plus, the scenery was different from what Grid expected.

Grid had guessed that the person who had allowed him to enter had a relatively low rank. He thought he would encounter a shabby landscape that didn’t match Asgard, just like the back road he had just passed through.

“Wait, this place is...??”

Grid stared at the unexpected scenery for a moment before his eyes widened. The hairs all over his body stood up. The land covered with golden clouds, the high and low hills, the great and splendid temples on the hills... Looking closely, he realized that they all looked familiar.

Grid had been here once before. He had stumbled upon this place while wandering through Asgard when he tried rescuing Hexetia and Khan. This was the dwelling place of the chief gods, the heart of Asgard.

‘As expected, this was a trap.’

Grid recognized the temple on the highest mountain as belonging to Dominion and took a step back.

[Where are you going in such a hurry?]

A very aggressive intent was carved into the space. This was Metatron’s. Heavily armed Valkyries and angels appeared from all directions. Grid’s attention snapped to their weapons. Those were weapons he had crafted. He was used to seeing weapons made by him wielded by the inhabitants of Asgard. He was about to take them all away and make it rain weapons.

[Only One God Grid.]

Beams of light erupted from the tallest temple, revealing a great god. In the absence of Rebecca and Judar, he was the greatest god in Asgard at the moment. This was Dominion, the God of War. No wonder there were a lot of Valkyries nearby.

‘Is he going to fight me already? This is ridiculous.’

Fortunately, Grid didn’t see Asura anywhere. However, it was never a good thing to face Dominion, who had a large Valkyrie army, and Metatron, who had a large angel army. In addition, other gods were also appearing one by one. Grid was completely isolated.

‘I can’t avoid this situation.’

Grid’s actions had been completely exposed the moment he encountered the angels. It had become impossible for him to move through Asgard stealthily. Of course he was now in such a predicament. This was a risk he had to take because he had no intention of retreating until he found Marie Rose.

“It’s been a while. I’m sure you have already heard from the angels, but Judar has asked me to do something. And by something, I mean...”

Grid tried to talk to the gods. He planned to distract them to make them lower their guard. However, that didn’t work.

[Judar’s request surely is about finding his soul in hell and extinguishing it. He wouldn’t want to be resurrected again.]

Dominion knew what Judar would have wanted. He was like a brother who had watched Judar from the side. He had witnessed Judar’s despair when the other god had learned that the world was nothing more than a game.

‘Fuck.’

Grid realized that his plan was ruined and grabbed the hilt of Defying the Natural Order.

[But it’s interesting to know that Judar already knew the souls of dead gods would also go to hell. Did God Yatan see gods as targets of salvation as well...?] Dominion muttered bitterly, much to Grid’s confusion. [At any rate, I also have a favor to ask of you. This is why I have allowed your visit.]

“...A favor?”

[Take your wife away with you.]

“......??”

[I don’t want to have a ticking time bomb around me.]

“Oh my, calling a person a bomb.”

This wasn’t a trap...

Grid couldn’t help laughing when he saw the beautiful, full-term pregnant woman who appeared on the roof of Dominion’s temple.