“If we meet again in a war, I hope that we are no longer enemies.”

These words left a huge impression on Bubat. The joy that Bubat felt when he heard that the supreme one, whom he was aiming for, wanted to fight with him was indescribable. He thought of his future appearance with the supreme one and became more enthusiastic and worked harder. Thus, his disappointment was great.

‘Boring.’—Grid’s words when he announced that he wouldn’t take part in the national competition brought a sense of loss to Bubat.

“Helping us instead of hindering us...! Does it mean we’re not even your competitors?”

Once Grid didn’t even look at him after they were reunited, Bubat couldn’t control his anger. The words two years ago were just a pretense...

Bubat stared at Grid with a resentful gaze and Grid stared back at him.

“The reason I helped you isn’t because I’m ignoring you. I just did it.”

“...!”

It dealt a reminder to Bubat’s spirit. His sense of reason, which had been buried in anger, suddenly recovered. The result...

“Transcended Link Flower.”

“Hug the Cruciate Ligament!”

Bubat had a dream of joining Grid. Resist the ‘gods’ of the East Continent along with Grid. He wasn’t afraid. He was the strongest crowd controller and if he joined with Grid, who boasted the strongest attack, he was convinced he could win against any opponent.

“Drag the Arm!”

“Linked Kill Flower Pinnacle.”

Irresistible crowd controller and a powerful attack. The combination of Grid and Bubat was fantastic enough to be called the strongest of all time. It was such a perfect match that there were speculations about whether they were a perfect couple in their previous life.

“Cough, cough!”

“You...! These people!!”

How many times has it been already? The wrath of the yangbans soared into the sky as they were beaten to the ground by humans, stabbed, and covered in dirt and blood. Here, Bubat’s weakness was exposed. He didn’t have any taunting skills. In general, the moment when the duration of the crowd control was over, the gap would be filled with a provocateur who would act as an auxiliary tanker. However, this was impossible for Bubat. Like Grid, he was a victim of balance.

Crusher—it had a large number of irresistible crowd control skills so it had no taunts for balance reasons. This meant it failed to function properly as a tanker.

“Grid!”

The shocked Bubat shouted desperately as the yangbans rose from the ground and ran to Grid while ignoring Bubat. The aggro was inevitably focused on the damage dealers. Bubat lamented his limitation in being unable to stop it and foresaw Grid’s death. Bubat was oblivious. What led to Grid being called the Overgeared King?

“......”

Grid wasn’t just a damage dealer. He was someone who could perform all roles.

“What?!”

The faces of the yangbans were filled with amazement. They had already planned to punish the human, who was already a living corpse, before going to fight the human’s colleague. Then their plan went awry. Grid extended his stride and tilted his upper body to reproduce the predatory posture of a predator. Not only did he block the swords of the yangbans with a different firmness from before, he also summoned flames. They were flames provided by White Tiger’s Posture Engulfed in Flames.

‘Is this the red phoenix?’

The yangbans were astonished by the unexpected flames and reflexively stepped back. It was a big mistake. It was a mistake made because they hadn’t figured out that Grid’s survivability was stronger than a cockroach.

[The effect of White Tiger’s Posture Engulfed in Flames has increased health recovery by 50%.]

[The power of the great demon Belial sealed in the Rune of Gluttony has been opened!]

[It is impossible for a human to digest all three of Belial’s powers.]

[The Red Phoenix’s 9th Heart is empowering your body. You can withstand the pressure of a great demon. However, it is still impossible for a human to digest all three of Belial’s powers at the same time.]

[You can use one of Belial’s three powers of: Darkness, fire, or illusion.]

[You have chosen the power of fire!]

[The passive skill Fire Queen is applied for two minutes while Belial’s Power is maintained. You can also use the Queen’s Flames of Hell and Flames of Hell Path.]

[The effect of Fire Queen increases health recovery by 300%.]

[There is no damage for 5 seconds. The Wind of Recovery skill of Tiramet's Belt’s will be activated. Health recovery rate will double.]

Flames overlapped with flames. A violent wind blew the flames and it increased.

“What?”

The yangbans and rankers stared at Grid surrounded by flames with wide eyes. It was because the various wounds on Grid’s body were recovering at a tremendous rate. No matter how deep the wound, it soon scabbed and formed new flesh, making Grid’s skin smooth. This was a miracle beyond the level of recovery. It was the miracle of rebirth.

“You... who are you?!”

The reason why the yangbans weren’t afraid of humans was simple. The yangbans were clear about the existence of humans. They didn’t feel the need to be afraid of humans because they knew everything. Yet at this moment, Grid was entering an unknown state. The yangbans became afraid because they couldn’t understand.

“Sigh...”

Grid recovered sufficient mana after drinking potions and turned his eyes to one of the two yangbans. His name was Nakil. Out of the two yangbans that Grid encountered, he was the one with the highest physical defense. It was right to say he had the highest defense after Garam.

“Queen’s Flames of Hell.”

It was extremely powerful magic that consumed 90% of his maximum magic power. Grid halved the magic power consumption thanks to the Ring of Absurdity and the magic exploded toward Nakil’s body.

“...!”

Nakil’s eyes rolled and he collapsed helplessly. He might have high physical defense but this meant he had relatively low magic resistance.

“You!”

Once another brother fell down, the enraged yangban Dodam opened the power of the black tortoise. The deadly energy gathered at his sword and shot forward like a waterfall, splitting apart Grid’s fire.

“I'll tear you apart and throw your soul into hell!”

The powerful water and fire collided and steam dominated the area. Bubat and the rankers were covered by the thick steam and couldn’t see. They didn’t notice that the black tortoise shifted its gaze from the sky toward the ground. The black tortoise’s red eyes were shaking as he stared at Dodam’s torrent.

The shockwave generated when Grid and Dodam’s swords collided and the reaction created by them trying to extinguish each other caused the steam to dissipate in all directions. Bubat and the rankers could clearly see Grid and Dodam fighting without a break.

Then it soon happened once again. The moment Grid and Dodam’s swords interlocked, thick steam rose again and obscured the view of Bubat and the rankers. The same thing was repeated. Every time a shockwave occurred in the center of the steam, it would scatter and cover the entire city to reveal Grid and Dodam’s appearance again. When the battle of the two people temporarily entered a lull, the steam would fill again and block people’s vision.

“What’s going on?”

It happened when the rankers were trying to grasp the flow of the battle that was in a different dimension. An electric current appeared and the grey steam was turned yellow. Dodam shouted in a slightly trembling voice. He noticed something big.

“Die, human!”

It might not reach the level of the original Meteor but there was a major explosion that was enough to turn the area to ashes. It was an explosion caused by the electricity burning all the steam and dust generated by the battle between Grid and Dodam.

Dodam used the Blue Dragon’s Breath. There was a deep smile on Dodam’s face as he watched the continuous explosions where not even the screams of a dying human could be heard.

‘He is the one who resurrected the red phoenix.’

Dodam had felt the aura of the red phoenix from the flames around the human. He was forced to admit that this human was a tough opponent.

‘Still, he is a human in the end. He lost any chance from the time I operated two breaths simultaneously.’

There would be no way for the human to respond to the sudden electricity...

Dodam swept away all the steam and kept turning around. He didn’t find the human’s body. The human must’ve died without a trace.

“Get up, Nakil.”

Dodam’s eyes were cold as ice as they swept over Bubat and the rankers. Due to their concerted efforts, the rankers had managed to keep their lives but none of them were in a good state.

“You will soon be condemned.”

The hearts of Bubat and the rankers sank. They had assisted rather than repelled the intruder so they bowed their heads without making any excuses. The reason why they bowed their heads wasn’t out of shame. They just hid the direction of their gaze to prevent Dodam from noticing.

Meanwhile, Nakil was making his last death throes. Dodam heard the sound coming from Nakil and took a step back to him. Dodam’s hair blew in the wind. It was followed by an intense noise. Only then did Dodam become aware of it. His throat had been cut.

“...?”

Dodam’s body tilted against his will. A human figure was engulfed in lightning.

“Lightning... God!”

[An unknown person is writing the fifth epic.]

Dodam remembered the terrifying power of the blue dragon, who became lightning and pierced through the Five Seniors. All the Five Seniors in the path of the blue dragon lost their power and panicked. Just like himself now.

[The beginning of the narrative comes from the recollection of a forgotten myth.]

“Ugh!”

Dodam had lost magic power and couldn’t operate the White Tiger’s Breath. All he could do to stop the blood flowing from his half-cut neck was to cover it by hand. Dodam held his neck with one hand and the sword in the other hand. He aimed at the human...

[He recreated the forgotten god.]

No, he aimed at the Lightning God. It was a meaningless struggle. The power of Lightning God meant Grid was immune to physical attacks. Interception was virtually impossible unless magic was used.

Grid cut Dodam again and again. The blue current that trailed behind him drew a dizzying spiral and it was like the blue dragon had descended to the ground.

[The stigma of truth was etched on the ground covered with false myths.]