Chapter 2028

‘Braham doesn’t know anything about his sister.’

Marie Rose wasn’t the type to take risks, so there was no need to worry after all. Grid laughed, recalling Braham’s fleeting advice. Grid shouldn’t have expected anything else in the first place.

Braham and Marie Rose didn’t have a normal sibling relationship. Braham had hated his sister for hundreds of years. At the end of the day, he had sided with Marie Rose instead of his mother, but... In any case, Braham didn’t understand what kind of person his sister really was. He wasn’t in the position to grasp her personality.

Grid felt foolish for believing Braham. He briefly felt relieved.

‘...Still, there is room for hope.’

Braham trusted Marie Rose. He knew she wasn't a fool and that she was cautious. Grid hoped that the relationship between the two would eventually improve. Of course, now wasn’t the right time to think about the future since Grid was in the middle of enemy territory.

“......”

Dominion urged Grid to take Marie Rose with him, but he couldn’t take Dominion’s words at face value unless he was a fool. After all, Grid was Asgard’s fiercest enemy. Would they really miss the opportunity to exterminate his family? If Grid had been in Dominion’s shoes, he would’ve never missed this chance.

‘What is he up to? Is he trying to catch me off guard just to stab me in the back? Or did he set up a trap in advance that activates some type of barrier the moment I join Marie Rose?’

It had taken Grid approximately an hour to get here with the angels’ guidance. Considering how powerful gods were, this was enough time to prepare a trap.

‘Dominion is the God of War. He surely knows a lot of tactical skills, such as setting up an ambush.’

Grid was extremely vigilant. He turned to look at Marie Rose, who was standing on the roof of a temple supported by dozens of pillars. It wouldn’t be strange if something lurked inside those thick pillars.

Seeing that Grid wasn’t moving, Dominion said, [You don’t have to be so vigilant. If you regard this issue as similar to Chiyou’s invasion of your city, the answer you are seeking should be simple, right?]

“Um.”

Certainly. Grid thought this might not be a trap. Two Absolutes invading the heart of Asgard and causing mayhem? This would be terrible for Dominion. No matter how much the god punished the intruders, the nearby buildings and landscape would suffer enormous damage. Grid and Marie Rose had come here of their own volition. They hadn’t been lured to this place by some scheme.

Grid calmed down and stopped being so suspicious.

Marie Rose’s jewel-like red eyes stared at Dominion. She looked down at him, even though Dominion was way stronger than her.

“Stop freaking out and be quiet. It’s up to my dear husband and me whether we leave or not.”

The look she gave the God of war was ingrained in her personality, innate even. Her extremely cold voice immediately made the atmosphere less tense than it was before.

Metatron, who had been holding back the whole time, finally spoke.

[Marie Rose, you might’ve greedily devoured your mother and become Yatan’s blood relative, but there is a line that must not be crossed. Dominion is higher than you on the hierarchy. Shouldn’t you show respect?]

A faint smile appeared on Marie Rose’s face as she tilted her head. “Greedily devoured my mother? Hierarchy?”

A fight could break out at any moment now. Grid, who had calmed down, was once again anxious.

Dominion chimed in. [Metatron, the reason she hurt Beriache wasn’t out of personal greed, but to defend herself. Plus, I’m not higher than her on the hierarchy. The hierarchy of Mother and Yatan is officially the same.]

Grid was relieved. Dominion really didn’t want to fight. They might be able to escape safely after all...

“Dominion, stop with your shallow tricks. You know that the Full Moon Fortress is being built here. Do you think we will go back without a fight?”

And now Marie Rose made the atmosphere tense again. Grid didn’t dare blame her. Bringing up the issue of the Full Moon Fortress was the right thing to do. Right now, Marie Rose was stepping up for Grid, who was too nervous to do anything.

Grid came back to his senses. “She’s right. We can’t just sit around long as you help the demon cultivators. We will turn this place into a battlefield before the Full Moon Fortress is completed. You can be sure of that.”

[...Full Moon?]

Dominion blinked. There was a hint of confusion on his face. His acting was disgustingly bad.

“The door that connects our dimension to the dimension of the cultivators. You’re really pretending you don’t know what the humans of the surface are trying to destroy...?”

Grid’s eyes widened. The wells, ponds, lakes, rivers... The clear water from the wells and ponds reflected the landscape of the surface in real time. Everywhere in Asgard, there were ways to monitor what was happening on the surface.

However, not anymore. The waters were murky. The surface could no longer be seen reflected in the waters. Grid realized this using Barbatos’ Vision and panicked.

Metatron sensed this.

[Asgard has had some issues lately. Many angels and gods have gone missing and all the water was contaminated, making it impossible for us to know what was going on outside.]

“Can that really happen?”

[This shouldn’t have happened. But right now, Asgard is in a state of great turmoil due to the Refractive Dragon you resurrected, Grid. Things went wrong, so we assumed this had to do with the Refractive Dragon.]

Dominion chimed in yet again. [Now that you’re here, this doesn’t seem to be the Refractive Dragon’s fault. Are you sure that the so-called demon cultivators are building the Full Moon Fortress in Asgard?]

“I heard this from the demon cultivators themselves. They said the gods and angels are cooperating with them.”

[Could it be that the missing gods and angels are doing that...?]

“...Is it correct to say that they’re missing? Asgard is really isolated. Isn’t it easy for you to figure out what is going on inside of Asgard?”

[It seems that my explanation wasn’t thorough enough. We are isolated in this sector of Asgard.]

“Sector? Here?”

Grid grimaced as he pointed to the ground he stood on. The place where the temples of the chief gods were, right here, in the depths of Asgard, was where big shots like Dominion and Metatron were trapped? This wasn’t convincing in the slightest.

Dominion didn’t respond. His eyes were closed. He seemed to be pondering on something. Grid didn’t bother him.

While Dominion was distracted, Grid quietly approached Marie Rose.

“What were you thinking coming to such a dangerous place alone? You are pregnant. What if something happens?” he asked with a frown.

Marie Rose’s red and plump lips twitched. “My dear husband, you forget to use honorifics when you are excited. I should work hard to figure out how to excite you every time.”

“...No, I’m trying to talk as casually as possible so don’t do that.”

“What did you imagine that made you blush?”

“You’re doing this on purpose...” Grid grumbled.

Marie Rose was clearly holding back her laughter. Grid couldn’t be angry any longer because he couldn’t hold Marie Rose accountable for her actions. His heart melted every time he looked at her beautiful face.

“Don’t worry about the child. The child I conceived shares their life with mine. They are safe as long as I don’t die.”

“Aren’t you too confident? There is no guarantee you will be safe in the middle of enemy territory.”

Marie Rose showed no signs of remorse. She turned her attention back to Dominion, confident. “My dear husband, you are blinded by worry. This is also a form of love, so I understand and accept your behavior.”

Grid was depressed for a moment by her reaction. He asked himself, what kind of woman was his fourth wife?

‘Indeed... I can’t imagine Marie Rose in trouble.’

Grid recalled the battle during which he had cooperated with Marie Rose. At that time, she had nullified enemy attacks by turning into fog. She had also turned into a stream of blood to shoot forward at the speed of light. It was very difficult to seriously injure her unless her opponent had a special resource like Annihilation energy.

Grid didn’t have to worry. He could now breathe easily. But...

“I am still going to worry about you every time. Remember this.”

Marie Rose looked a bit embarrassed. She laughed.

“Sure. That’s not a bad thing.”

After falling in love with someone, it was natural to worry about them. Marie Rose had never imagined that she would be in this position. Now that she was experiencing this herself, she felt pretty good.

Metatron, who had been watching Grid and Marie Rose hold hands, eventually revealed their true thoughts.

[...You are crazy.]

Grid and Marie Rose were in the middle of enemy territory! Seeing them flirt while standing on the roof of Dominion’s temple didn’t seem normal at all. The two of them glared at Metatron.

Dominion finally opened his eyes and said, [Mumud.]

Metatron became nervous.

[Are you talking about the archangel candidate?]

[Yes, it looks like he is deeply involved in this situation.]

“Can you elaborate?”

The name Mumud was also very familiar to Grid. Mumud had been very special to Braham.

Dominion seemed a bit nervous.

[He is one of the missing angels. Around the time he disappeared, all the waters in heaven became contaminated. At the same time, we ended up trapped here.]

Dominion raised his left arm and swung it around.

Then—

Rattle!

A clink of metal was heard. Hundreds of black chains were revealed. The chains, wrapped around Dominion’s thick arms, were nailed to the ground, motionless.

Grid and Marie Rose were shocked.

“What type of seal could bind Rebecca’s only flesh and blood to this land?”

[Even though I was vulnerable while training in seclusion, this isn’t something that just anyone can do.]

Grid nodded. “So this made you think of Mumud? That makes sense. He was born talented. Braham was always jealous of him when he was just a human. If he learned mystical arts from the cultivators after striking a deal with them, it’s even more likely that he is the culprit.”

[Are the mystical arts of a cultivator that great?]

“I can’t say they’re better than spells, but they are definitely different from magic. If he adds mystical arts to something that can’t be accomplished with magic alone, he can create a new miracle.”

Dominion had a grim expression on his face. [If the missing angels and gods deliberately imprisoned us here and cooperated with the cultivators, the situation is worse than I thought. Asura is also among the missing gods.]

Just then—

[The hidden quest Rebirth of the Origin of Evil has occurred!]

A notification window popped up in Grid’s field of view.

[Please help us while you are here,] Dominion asked.

“No... That’s absurd.”

In the middle of enemy territory, Grid received a quest from the leader of the enemy.

Even the experienced Grid had to click his tongue. This was the first time he encountered something like this.