‘He isn’t dead or logged out...?’

Did he really faint in the game?

The world message announcing the death of the God of the beginning, Hanul, was Grid’s last memory. He also remembered the epic that worshiped his new achievements, and a somewhat unfamiliar rewards breakdown...

Dozens of lines of notifications were flashing in front of him, but Grid lost consciousness before he had the time to take a closer look.

“......”

Step.

Consciousness Separation was an omnipotent skill. It wasn’t necessary for the subject to always control the divided consciousness. According to the subject’s will, or when the subject was unresponding, like now, Grid’s clone could operate in auto mode.

Thanks to his high Intelligence stat, he could make decisions like a super named-grade NPC.

The clone protected Grid. “Don’t get any closer,” he warned Chiyou. He kept his voice and gaze gentle out of fear of provoking him.

Noe and Randy whined as they emerged to take care of Grid.

[Did you notice?]

Chiyou didn’t bother to stop them. He put away his sword and crossed his arms, like he had no intention of harming Grid.

[If Hanul had dealt a low blow at the end, Grid would’ve died.]

The clone couldn’t deny that. “...I suppose so.”

Thanks to having Grid’s memories, it was safe to say that the clone had also mastered swordsmanship. Hanul had created a sword out of the Annihilation energy stolen from Grid and brandished a purple sword. If he hadn’t been so certain of victory, if he had predicted in advance that Rebecca would intervene, he never would’ve raised the sword above his head. Instead of doing that, he would’ve unleashed a low strike in preparation for Grid’s counterattack.

[Even if Grid had dashed forward at the speed of light, Hanul would’ve likely stabbed Grid in the chest. He was a God of the beginning. He might’ve acted like a fool for many years when he was blinded by the light, but he wasn’t a weakling.]

Hanul’s authority was to issue wide-area quests. This meant that he could easily influence others with his words. It was easy for him to make Grid’s epic react with just a few shouts. Hanul’s declaration that he would kill Grid, thus triggering the epic, was clearly intentional.

Hanul had planned a dramatic performance to show his prestige to the Overgeared World, which controlled most of the planet. His somewhat exaggerated words and deeds probably stemmed from this plan. He probably intended to imprint himself in history by holding the giant sword above his head.

This had resulted in the worst possible outcome, but there was a clear reason for Hanul’s choices and actions.

[Of course, I have no intention of defending someone who is already dead.]

Chiyou hated romanticism. He wasn’t obsessed with fame. He just wanted to die. He was jealous of Hanul, who died, and had no sympathy whatsoever for him.

Jingle.

Chiyou paused for a moment before approaching. The clone was surprised to see him get closer and tried to stop him, only to change his mind.

“Ack, ong!”

Noe was wary of Chiyou. Noe, who was terrified of dragons, stood up and showed that he was willing to fight against the Martial God. Even Randy was already swinging her sword.

Chiyou bent down and dodged the swing. He whispered to the unconscious Grid, [Grid, don’t forget that you were lucky enough to win. Don’t be arrogant just because you defeated a God of the beginning. You have to remember this so that you may cut my throat the next time we meet.]

Jingle.

Soon, only the sound of bells remained. Chiyou disappeared without a trace. Grid’s group was left alone on the battlefield, stunned. However, they couldn’t stay here forever.

The darkened sky kept screaming. It was connected to the now-fallen World Tree, the entrance to the Hwan Kingdom.

The clone said, “I wonder if Hanul’s death has caused the Hwan Kingdom to become even more unstable...” He turned to Noe and Randy and added, “King Sobyeol might be coming, so we must hurry. I don’t think Grid has recovered from his wounds, so there is no guarantee we can deal with the king easily.”

“I understand, nyang.”

Grid’s shattered dragon armor, helmet, gauntlets, looked pitiful...

The clone, Noe, and Randy tried to gather as many fragments of Grid’s items scattered throughout the battlefield as they could. To repair items that weren’t just broken or damaged, but completely destroyed, they needed as many parts as possible.

It wasn’t an easy thing to do. The armor fragments were so small that they scattered everywhere, as if they had been swept away by a storm. This was proof of how strong Hanul’s Annihilation sword had been.

“It can’t be helped.”

The cries from the blackened sky grew louder.

Grid’s clone made a decision. “Okay, that’s enough. We have to go. Now.”

The clone didn’t wait for Noe and Randy to reply. He used Mass Teleport to get himself and his companions out of there.

Immediately afterward—

[I was one second too late.]

King Sobyeol showed up. He didn’t feel any regrets. Instead, he was overjoyed. Since the moment Grid betrayed him, he had dedicated his time to training. However, he had been pessimistic about his bleak future. He thought that it would be impossible for him to regain his original strength once Hanul no longer had any expectations of him.

But Hanul was dead. Grid had granted King Sobyeol the opportunity to live. He might even inherit some of his father’s influence. He would become the master of the Hwan Kingdom. This alone made it possible for him to regain his strength and secure a safer position than before.

Of course, the Hwan Kingdom had declined to the point where it couldn’t even be compared to the Overgeared World or Asgard, but that was okay. If he lived in seclusion for thousands or tens of thousands of years to regain his power, he would surely have new opportunities to...

[...Um?]

King Sobyeol was smiling, but now he was frowning.

Rumble!!

The sky, which was dark and roaring, suddenly cracked open and spat out a single familiar-looking person.

[Garam?]

“It is an honor that you remember my humble name.”

[How did you survive?]

The Hwan Kingdom had suffered enormous damage and was in a terrible state after Hanul’s death. King Sobyeol wouldn’t find it surprising if the three masters were intending to betray him and take over the kingdom. However, it didn’t make sense for a long-dead yangban to suddenly come back to life. People were saying that Garam’s soul had been annihilated during the destruction of hell.

Garam shrugged. “Who knows? Perhaps Hanul had high expectations for me? I didn’t expect that he had prepared not only a spare body, but also a spare soul.”

[You used to be as talented as Mir. But Garam, you are being rude.]

King Sobyeol was an Absolute. He had lost a lot of power after losing to Grid a few months earlier, but he could easily harm a Transcendent. Hanul was known to have no manners. Garam was sinister in many ways, so King Sobyeol was determined to cut off his head in one go.

However...

[This strength?]

Garam easily blocked King Sobyeol’s surprise attack. No, he didn’t exactly block it. Garam just stood still, and King Sobyeol’s surprise attack didn’t work at all.

“I was resurrected after Hanul’s death. Do you still not understand what’s going on? I don’t know why, but Hanul chose me as his successor. I inherited his power, even though it’s only a little bit.”

A pure white energy was radiating from Garam. This energy not only easily neutralized King Sobyeol’s attack, but it also absorbed his divinity. From King Sobyeol’s perspective, not even the gods could fight back against this power. This was none other than Hanul’s divinity.

[Hanul...! What can you do as a mere yangban...?!]

King Sobyeol trembled. He wasn’t angry at Garam, but at Hanul. How could he pass his divinity to someone who wasn’t even his flesh and blood? Wasn’t that completely insane?

Suddenly, King Sobyeol remembered what Grid had told him some time before.

“It's just that I couldn’t trust you because you betrayed your brother and ended up like this.”

That was what Grid had whispered before stabbing him in the back. Perhaps Hanul also didn’t trust King Sobyeol...

He laughed.

[Did you know the truth, Hanul?]

King Sobyeol had wanted for a long time to become the sole heir of the God of the beginning and reign over the Gods. Thus, he betrayed his older brother, Daebyeol, who was more talented and popular than him. He had thrown his brother into hell.

He felt like he had the whole world at his feet once he finally heard the news of Daebyeol’s death...

He had been mistaken. His world had already collapsed.

[You did this to yourself.]

Retribution was inevitable. He remembered that Grid, who was just an ephemeral human, had annihilated Baal. King Sobyeol simply accepted his death. Recognizing his inevitable fate meant he had no motivation to resist.

King Sobyeol’s head burst like a smashed-in watermelon. Garam absorbed his white divinity that was released. King Sobyeol regressed, dying by returning to his origins.

“...Can I live the way I want now?”

Garam, who had unexpectedly resurrected, grinned. He knew why Hanul had brought him back to life. If Hanul was to die, he wanted a madman to inherit some of his power and use it freely. Why? Maybe he wanted the world to be destroyed if he died.

Knowing this, Garam asked himself, “Shall I save the world instead?”

Garam was going to do the opposite of what had been asked of him. That was his nature. He targeted the fortresses he perceived with his Absolute senses and dipped.

***

The city swept away by fire was reduced to ashes. The embers flying everywhere crackled eerily.

“......”

Lost Justice barely managed to escape from the broken Overgeared Cannon and was speechless. The Tomb of the Gods, the empire’s moving fortress, which symbolized Grid’s power and forces, was collapsing. The city that hundreds of thousands of engineers had struggled to build for years was now gone. Only the black and gold deck, made from Greed, remained.

“Some mortals have particularly tough lives.”

Lost Justice was suddenly startled by a voice coming from above and looked up. Hundreds of cultivators surrounded by protective layers of different colors were adorning the sky like stars. They were all at least Transcendents, and their power was incredible.

Slash. Lost Justice got decapitated, and her head rolled pitifully on the deck.

The cultivators were all staring at the place where dozens of huge circular instruments were lined up—the warp gates zone.

The void refining realm cultivator broke Lauel’s finger and asked him, “Why aren’t you activating them?”

The cultivators hadn’t destroyed the warp gates because they planned to summon imperial forces using them and wipe the Overgeared members out. However, only Lauel, the prime minister of the empire, had the authority to activate the warp gates. Nine of his fingers had been broken, but he never screamed.

“This is your last chance. Wouldn’t it be better for you to summon all your troops to fight against us?”

“If you don’t activate these gates, we will go to each kingdom and city and exterminate all the mortals living there. In the process, all your precious troops will be annihilated. You still have a chance not to lose everything.”

The cultivators kept threatening him. Lauel, who had kept his mouth shut the whole time, checked the time and smiled.

“We will see... Your threats aren’t scary at all.”

“Are you crazy...? Huh?”

The cultivators were frowning, confused by Lauel’s unfathomable confidence. Suddenly, communication talismans flew from each sect, telling the cultivators that the Full Moon Fortresses were being attacked.

“What? How?”

Lauel said, “Summon the troops? I can’t do that, because there are no troops to summon. By the time you left the Full Moon Fortresses, I had already sent everyone there.”

Lauel had risen to his position because of his intelligence. He had accurately predicted the cultivators’ counterattack and used this opportunity to strike. He sent out thousands or tens of thousands of support troops to the existing raid groups as reinforcements. As a result, the elite cultivators selected from each sect were likely to lose their Full Moon Fortress in no time.

“How does it feel to lose your home? You’ve always taken things away from others, so I can’t imagine how you feel.”

The cultivators trembled when they saw Lauel smile, his eyes bright.