Chapter 2032
The north…
Jormungandr’s hint helped tremendously. Based on Grid’s current position, there was only one area in the north where the demon cultivators could set up their base.
‘The Collapsed Temple.’
The cemetery of the forgotten gods.
Grid’s expression became bitter as he checked the annotation on the map. Even beings who were supposed to be gods would die the moment they were forgotten because there was no such thing as a god that no one knew about.
In that sense, the gods of Asgard had a fire burning at their feet because it was the Overgeared World, not Asgard, that was closely involved in the lives of humanity currently. The gods of the Overgeared World, united around Grid, lived alongside humans. They watched humans from the side, helped them, and thus, became the objects of a new faith.
Meanwhile, the gods of Asgard faded from people’s memories. With the exception of Rebecca, Dominion, and Judar, who had formed huge religions, most of the gods could end up forgotten and extinguished within decades. This was very serious.
However, it wasn’t that bad. The gods of Asgard didn’t take action prematurely. It wasn’t that they had something they believed in. Rather, they were greatly influenced by the current state of things. The Refractive Dragon was chasing Rebecca. Judar, who had radical ideas, was dead.
The gods of Asgard had nowhere to turn. Unlike Judar, Dominion seemed to use his brain a lot. Therefore, they couldn’t act rashly and would only be nervous.
Grid understood to a certain extent how the gods who sided with Asura and Mumud felt.
‘They just desire to do something rather than sit still and wait for death.’
Mumud, whom he once encountered, was clever. His ability to read the flow of current events was excellent. He probably believed that there was no hope left for Asgard.
‘That explains why he joined forces with the demon cultivators.’
Humanity was virtually dominated by the Overgeared World. This was retribution, the price that Asgard had to pay for betraying so many of humanity’s beliefs and expectations in the past.
Could Asgard regain its former status now? That was impossible to do, unless the gods overthrew the Overgeared World by force. However, in terms of force, the Overgeared World wasn’t weaker than Asgard. The balance had been offset the moment Hayate came back alive from hell and Grid killed Judar.
What measures did Asgard come up with this time?
‘They want to support a whole new humanity.’
The new humanity would be the cultivators who would cross over to this world through the Full Moon Fortress. Grid was sure that Asura and Mumud had demanded worship in exchange for helping the demon cultivators. The demon cultivators wouldn’t have been able to resist this, so the deal should have gone smoothly.
‘…They usually do well when it comes to things like this.’
If Asgard hadn’t betrayed humanity, they wouldn’t have been in this extreme situation. The heavenly gods would’ve still been worshiped. From Grid’s perspective, this was good. The Asgard that hadn’t betrayed humanity wouldn’t have been at odds with Grid.
If only Judar had acted normally, the world would’ve been at peace, and Grid wouldn’t have needed to take on so many responsibilities. The Absolutes would’ve been busy with each other, and Grid would’ve enjoyed raid competitions with ordinary players.
‘Maybe I would’ve been busy fighting over land with Valhalla.’
Wouldn’t it have been quite interesting if either side hadn’t been able to overcome each other with force and had a fierce rivalry? The fate of humanity or the world wouldn’t have rested on Grid’s shoulders, so he would’ve accepted defeat cheerfully no matter how many times he experienced it… He wouldn’t need to feel stressed…
Grid had been letting his imagination run wild. He suddenly frowned.
‘…Bullshit. I’d still be stressed.’
A war between nations… According to his experience, all types of tricks would be used in such a scenario. Lies and incitement were just the basic methods. It was necessary to gain the political upper hand in a war.
What if Grid lost the political battle? Then, even if he had a lot of military power, the possibilities of ending up isolated from international allied forces and experiencing failures would increase. Of course, it had to be very stressful to get involved in a dirty political fight.
‘More than anything, the way people would react if I lost in PVP…’
Grid was disgusted by the idea of being criticized by all sorts of communities the moment he would lose in a competition against other players. The masses always demanded endless proof of his strength. It was easy to take sports players as an example. What if a player who achieved a hat trick in the previous game showed a lackluster performance in the next one? Then people would look down upon them right away. That would be hell.
‘Still, that doesn’t mean things are alright now, right…?’
As expected, there seemed to be no perfect scenario in this world. Grid once again realized how the world worked and his expression turned bitter.
Marie Rose tilted her head in confusion. “My dear husband, you look upset. Do you want to go back and confront Jormungandr?”
Grid shook his head. “No, never.” He picked up the pace.
No matter the cause or the feelings of the Asgardian gods who had sided with Mumud and Asura, this situation had escalated up until this point. What Grid needed to worry about was how to resolve this. There was no reason to become sentimental.
[You have entered the Collapsed Temple.]
Grid and Marie Rose arrived at the destination without feeling exhausted at all, even though they used Shunpo consecutively. After all, they were complete Absolutes who weren’t limited by Stamina.
A beautiful yet desolate landscape appeared in front of them. They were in a green forest. Birds were chirping. Ahead was a clear blue lake surrounded by hundreds of huge white temples that had been left unattended for a long time and covered in vines. Some had no roof, some had a lot of cracks in their pillars, some had collapsed in the lake…
These were really ruins that nobody had touched in a long time. They appeared even more miserable when contrasted with the beautiful natural scenery.
“Gods and humans are equally impermanent.”
Marie Rose suddenly laughed. “Yes. As expected, living seems to be the greatest blessing.”
If she hadn’t met Grid, would she have realized the preciousness of life? She could guarantee that she wouldn’t have. She probably wouldn’t have resisted her mother and would have surrendered to her.
Grid grasped what Marie Rose was thinking abouts and revived the atmosphere.
“There is a reason people say that living is better even if it means rolling around in a field of dog poop.”
“A field of dog poop…? Is there such a place?”
“I’m sorry…”
Grid really didn’t have a lot of romance in him. It was pathetic that this was all he could say when comforting a beautiful and lovely lady.
Marie Rose smiled at Grid, who was admonishing himself. “The child is kicking my belly. I guess the child liked your joke, my dear husband.”
“I wasn’t joking… In any case, I’m glad the child is having fun.”
Grid was cautiously caressing Marie Rose’s swollen belly. This was the fruit of their love. It was amazing. Every time he remembered that the baby was real, he felt a greater sense of responsibility. For his children’s sake, he once again remembered his pledge to wipe out the cultivators.
[The child in Marie Rose’s womb senses your killing intent.]
[This affects prenatal education.]
[The baby’s Strength and Intelligence has increased by 10 and they have become more vigorous.]
Grid gasped. What did he do? He was flustered that he revealed killing intent in front of a child in the womb and held his head. He felt a deep sense of guilt.
Marie Rose’s expression became a bit serious. “Does the child already understand the concept of death?”
“Uh…? Come to think of it…”
“Huhu, as expected of our child. This child is going to become strong very quickly. I’m relieved that you don’t have anything to worry about.”
“……”
Was that a good thing? Grid was confused. He turned his attention back to the lake. The water had a bizarre shade of blue. That wasn’t a natural color. It seemed like tens of thousands of top-quality mana potions had been poured inside it.
‘Are they down there?’
The Collapsed Temple area was very quiet. Birds kept chirping. There were no signs of movement at all. However, Jormungandr had told Grid that there was a group of demon cultivators here.
Grid reasonably speculated that this lake, which was too blue to even peer inside, was the best hiding spot around here. He walked toward the lake as soon as he thought that.
Just then—
“Wait, wait a moment.”
Marie Rose grabbed Grid by the shoulder. She dipped her foot in the lake. Her little white foot was smeared red. Her soft white jade-like skin melted in an instant and turned bloody.
“Marie Rose…!”
“Shh.”
Marie Rose raised her finger to signal Grid to be quiet before dipping her other foot in the lake.
The lake turned completely red. It was like looking at a slice of hell. Grid was referring to the hell that had been distorted by Baal, not the hell ruled by Eligos. It was terrible.
“This is a combination of at least two hundred types of poisons and spells. Seeing that many of them are unfamiliar, this seems to be a trick of the cultivation world.”
Marie Rose’s expression was calm, unlike Grid, who was afraid and confused. She wasn’t agitated even though her lower half had completely melted into blood and disappeared.
Blood was her origin. She didn’t only become stronger when she absorbed the blood of others. Above all, she was able to achieve what she wanted by completely controlling her own blood.
The lake overflowed. A huge wave rose and split it in half. Possessed by Marie Rose’s blood, the water moved according to her will. All the poisons, spells, and techniques used by Mumud and the demon cultivators completely lost their effect.
“Now, come. This is a path I made for you.”
Marie Rose regenerated both her legs in no time. She reached out to Grid. A completely dry path appeared behind her. The blood-red waterfalls that soared on both sides of the path looked like a line of enemy soldiers who didn’t dare to resist the invasion of the couple and bowed their heads.
“Is this how it feels seeing a god…?”
Grid was filled with overwhelming emotions every time he relied on someone. He became eager to worship Marie Rose. This was how he felt every time he received help from Yura and Jishuka in real life. His feelings were sincere.
[The deep bond between you and Marie Rose influences prenatal education.]
Grid kissed the back of Marie Rose’s hand. She whispered to him, “This isn’t the time…”
“Ah…”
Grid sobered up and lifted his head. There was a temple at the end of a long path. It was covered in moss because it had been buried at the bottom of the lake for a long time. It was tilting to the side, but it was magnificent. It was so huge, it seemed even bigger than Dominion’s temple.
‘Could this be the temple where Hanul lived?’
Whose temple was it? The question didn’t really matter. The only thing that mattered now was that Grid had finally reached his destination. He quietly watched the flow created by the waves of mystical characters covering the huge temple when Noe flew beside him.
“I’m sorry I’m late. Grrrrng.”
Noe, who appeared in his adult form, was carrying armor and gaiters on his back. These were the masterpieces created by Khan and Hexetia with the help of Grid’s clone. They were flawless both in design and performance. They had been created by people who knew Grid well, so they thoroughly reflected Grid’s taste.
“How did you find me?”
Noe changed back into his cat form. He looked exhausted. “The angels guided me. When did you end up on the same side as Asgard?”
However, Noe had no time to rest.
“World affairs are inherently complicated,” Grid said. “Now, let’s get moving.”
“Moving…? W-Where… Nyaaaang!”
Noe cried out after being immediately sent to fight after a long journey, but Grid didn’t even raise an eyebrow…
[Your behavior affects prenatal education.]
“……”