The best outcome that Mumud had hoped for was the mutual destruction of Grid and Asura.

“I knew that you and Asura would surely clash. I also thought there would be a high probability that both of you would be seriously injured.”

“I’m embarrassed that I didn’t live up to your expectations.”

Mumud had thought Grid would fight to the death with Asura but, surprisingly, Grid avoided the fight... Grid laughed as he remembered what Mumud had said to him the moment they met.

“You planned to kill us back then on the premise that we would be exhausted.”

“No. I was actually planning to help you kill Asura. I was going to let you live no matter what,” Mumud said firmly. “If I kill you, a player, you will resurrect anyway. Then the Overgeared World will forever be wary and hostile to me.”

It was true. At the time, Mumud’s ultimate goal had been to defeat Braham. He had planned to accumulate sufficient power after isolating Asgard and the surface. Until then, it was necessary to keep away from the eyes of the Overgeared World. That way, no one would expect a surprise attack on Braham in the distant future. Grid was convinced of that.

“Um...”

Grid wasn’t surprised that Mumud understood the concept of a player. Rebecca and Judar had been quick to realize that this world was just a game. Wouldn’t the rare genius of the era, who had been watching them from the side, notice this fact?

However, Marie Rose... Grid looked at her. Fortunately, she didn’t seem interested in their conversation. She seemed to be enjoying the scenery of Asgard and paying attention to the baby in her belly.

Mumud told Grid the details of his plan. “The plan was to guard the Full Moon Fortress of the demon cultivators. I was planning to use you to defend the Full Moon Fortress and then banish Asura from Asgard. If everything worked out, Asgard would have successfully been isolated from the surface.”

“Is it possible to banish Asura?”

“While I was working with Asura, I created a spell by thoroughly analyzing his magic power and divinity. This spell encourages Asgard to reject and push out Asura. It takes away control of Asgard for a while, so the side effects are huge and it is only a one-time thing, but... It is quite possible to use this spell.”

“......”

Grid was speechless for a moment. Asgard was a divine world created by the Gods of the beginning. Naturally, Rebecca was the one in control of it. Dominion had taken on her role but even he wouldn’t be able to make the entirety of Asgard yield all of his commands.

However, Mumud could. The spell was a one-time use, but he said he could exceed even the authority of a God of the beginning. This could only be done with the power of magic.

“I feel this every time, but... The spells you create are miracles that transcend the realm of science. I can see why Braham admires you.”

“Because of my skills, jealousy bloomed on Braham’s part, bringing a lot of misfortune to both of us. My talent isn’t something to be praised, but a curse to be guarded against.”

“You’re overthinking. Why are you blaming yourself when what happened was simply Braham’s fault? I see it as a blessing to the world that a good and upright being like you is so talented.”

“Haha... I knew it. It was Teacher who did the wrong thing.”

“......”

Grid felt stung by the words. Mumud had already decided to forgive Braham, but now Grid had turned Mumud against Braham for no reason.

Mumud smiled upon seeing the worry on Grid’s face.

“Don’t worry. Thanks to Marie Rose, I have already understood Teacher’s reasons and forgiven him. I also believe that Teacher has changed.”

All the vigilance and worries in my heart have been lifted...

Grid was relieved by what Mumud said. Mumud alternately looked between Grid and Marie Rose.

Grid asked, “What was the worst-case scenario you predicted?”

“The worst thing was for me to lose the Full Moon Fortress while becoming enemies with you. Thanks to you trusting me and giving me a chance, I avoided this scenario. I am grateful for that.”

“I am atoning on Braham’s behalf.”

Grid was half joking and half sincere. Putting aside Braham, he trusted Mumud because of the life Mumud had lived before becoming an angel. In his previous life, he had given back to society by studying magic, which had developed solely through his efforts.

Braham had stolen these achievements. In his previous life, Mumud had forgiven his corrupt teacher. He was betrayed once again after he died. Then , Mumud recalled all the memories of his past life and had defined Braham as an evil that had to be eliminated...

In the end, Mumud declared that he would believe in Braham once again. He had twice forgiven his crazy teacher who had stolen his student’s accomplishments and turned him into a lich after he died. Mumud wasn’t just good and upright. He let others take advantage of him. To put it bluntly, he was a pushover. To put it kindly, it was hard to find someone as kind as him.

Grid was thankful that Mumud was so kind.

Just in time, the one leading the group, Raphael, stopped walking and gave a signal. “We've here."

A huge disk with many layers stood in the group’s way.

“This is the back road that leads to the center of Asgard. Minerals that suppress the waves of magic power and divinity grow in large quantities, hiding the presence of those who enter and exit. It will take a while for Asura to detect us.”

“Why is there such a thing as a back road?”

The heart of Asgard was like Reinhardt in the Overgeared Empire. It could be considered the capital of this divine world. Of course, only authorized people could enter, but it was still puzzling that there was a secret passage for it.

Grid was suspicious of Raphael, so the archangel was forced to come clean. “Uhm… We needed a passage for the Goddess to use.”

Mumud understood immediately. “This is one of the ways to avoid the refractive dragon’s pursuit.”

“...That’s right. Even the Goddess needs time to recover occasionally. There are less than five people in Asgard who know that this place exists.”

Raphael’s face was red all the way to his ears as he nodded forcefully. He seemed to feel humiliated that he was forced to expose the Goddess’ secret.

Grid had his doubts dispelled. He said, “I’ve also met the Refractive Dragon. He was a tough opponent. Even Garam, who inherited Hanul’s power, suffered a setback due to the dragon. It’s formidable that Rebecca can shake off the pursuit of the guy with the ability to refract light for decades or even hundreds of years.”

There was no shame in Rebecca running away...

Grid was trying to offer comfort. Raphael looked curiously at him.

“Why are you consoling me...? Don’t you hate me a lot?”

“What? You’re imagining things.”

Grid had decided to cooperate with Rebecca and respected her. He took it for granted that he would protect her honor. The reason Grid comforted Raphael was purely to protect Rebecca’s honor.

However, few people in the world knew precisely about the interaction between Grid and Rebecca. Raphael had disappointed Rebecca several times and never had a chance to hear her personal stories. Thus, he misunderstood Grid’s intentions. He thought Grid was offering comfort for his sake.

“This is the first time I’ve ever received this type of kindness from someone other than the Goddess. I even troubled you a few times... Agh... I, Raphael, will never forget how considerate you are and will repay you!”

[Raphael’s obedience has changed to loyalty.]

[The first-ranked archangel, Raphael, has reached peak loyalty with you. Unless you betray Goddess Rebecca, he will sell his soul for you.]

“...Raphael, you have greatly misunderstood.”

For Grid, it wasn’t beneficial for him to clear up Raphael’s misunderstanding. In the future, it would be convenient in many ways if the first-ranked archangel was loyal to him. He just had to keep his mouth shut.

However, he didn’t do that. Grid had some hope that he could use this opportunity to change Raphael’s corrupt mind.

“No one has shown you kindness other than the Goddess? No, surely countless people have done that. I still vividly remember the day we met.”

A pure white angel had descended on golden clouds. Countless people had knelt and prayed to the angel who had feathers and a halo of divine light over his head like a crown. The angel had blessed the people to the point that some of them became overwhelmed with emotion.

“Think back of the many prayers that the people have sent to you. How strong was the faith and goodwill of the prayers that you took for granted?”

“......”

Raphael’s wide eyes shook. This was the reaction of someone who remembered something he had forgotten. Grid determined that this was enough. He believed that this small realization was like a small ripple in a lake for Raphael. One day, this ripple would turn into a torrent that would break down the huge dam that existed in Raphael’s mind.

After standing still for a moment, Raphael came to his senses and approached the disk.

“...First of all, do what I do.”

Something mysterious happened the moment Raphael placed his hands on the disk. A chant rang out and the disks that had originally been stacked in layers were now quickly changing positions. The dozens of puzzle-like disks eventually formed a wall that soared into the sky. The center of the wall split open wide.

What used to be a collection of disks now worked as a door.Beyond the door, a warm stream of light revealed a path.

“This way leads to the temple of the Goddess. I beg of you not to disturb the temple.”

“Yes.”

Raphael’s request was a bit out of place, but Grid nodded and took the lead. According to Raphael, the amount of time it took to walk along this path varied greatly. The higher the concentration of magic power and divinity that the minerals growing on this path had to suppress, the slower the target’s steps would become.

As a result, it took exactly twenty-one minutes and forty-three seconds for Raphael to walk this path while the time for Rebecca to use it exceeded ten hours. This was why Grid had to take the lead from now on.

“Grid, you will probably take more than eight hours to traverse this path. As for the clone and... miss Marie Rose... it will probably take them around six hours. For Mumud, maybe… around ten minutes? So everyone will calculate the time difference between them with Grid and depart according to it...”

Raphael fell silent. He was at a loss for words despite being in the middle of an explanation. Marie Rose smiled knowingly while Mumud looked a bit perplexed.

Finally, Raphael couldn’t bear the silence any longer and carefully said, “Excuse me, Grid. There is no need to worry about your pride.”

He was talking to Grid, who had barely taken two steps. Grid, who was walking slower than a turtle, looked puzzled.

“What pride should I worry about?”

“You aren’t... acting?”

Raphael shuddered. A thought crossed his mind. Maybe Grid was already stronger than the Goddess.