The Hemilton principality was the land that the founder Saharan gave to his third son. The location was the southernmost part of the continent. Geographically, it was the furthest from the empire. It was the best option to protect his son, who failed to become the emperor and was exiled.

“It is too remote and they haven’t been there before...”

“You mean Sticks and Braham?”

“Yes.”

The Overgeared Shadows identified Agnus’ location. It was a feat of the general unit. Faker was proud of the performance of his subordinates, but also worried. Was it possible for regular members to completely deceive Agnus’ senses? Perhaps Agnus had already noticed their eyes?

Faker failed to dispel his doubts and concluded that he couldn’t wait for support. The Hemilton principality that resumed exchanges with the continent from the moment that Lord’s coming of age ceremony ended was too closed off. There was no means to warp there and even Braham and Sticks didn’t know the coordinates. What if Agnus fled to hell while Faker waited for support? There might not be a second opportunity. If a chance did come again, it would be too late. A bunch of artifacts would already be in Agnus’ inventory.

‘I must be willing to make sacrifices for the members.’

Eventually, Faker went first. It was comforting to know that Pon’s armored cavalry unit was just near the Hemilton border. As Faker and the Overgeared Shadows were fighting...

“Send me to the place nearest to the principality.” Grid stepped forward himself. Of course, he trusted Faker’s skills. In particular, he couldn’t help being thrilled and impressed when he heard about the power of the Kill List. However, the opponent was Agnus. He might be weakened by the loss of Mumud, but he wasn’t an opponent the Shadows could go against. The quiet period he showed after yielding Mumud to Euphemina was very disturbing. It was hard to fathom how much stronger Agnus had become. The potential was too high.

‘Still, he is one level below Kraugel...’

Grid was speaking of Kraugel after learning the Matchless Sword. It was a fact that he learned after they fought together. He and Kraugel had the same Noble Belief. It was natural since Noble Belief was a skill that was generated by watching and feeling enlightened by Kraugel.

‘Agnus isn’t normal.’

Grid had no intention of dismissing Agnus’ talent and potential. Nevertheless, the reason for being sure that Agnus was below himself and Kraugel lay in Agnus’ personality and attitude. Would Agnus have tried hard like them? It was absolutely impossible. It could be seen just by tracing his past actions a little bit. In the traces they found of Agnus’ actions, there was little focus on ‘growth.’ It was rare to pursue efficiency. He moved according to his heart.

It had been like this for years. The fact that he was still one of the best gave people goosebumps, but in any case, he could only be one level below Grid and Kraugel currently.

“I will move you to the Gultan Sea.”

Braham glimpsed Grid’s nervousness and started Mass Teleport without any complaints. Thanks to this, Grid fell into the sea and became a wet mouse. He ended up going into the stomach of a gray whale... it was too long to explain everything one by one.

Grid escaped by cutting through the gray whale’s stomach and subsequently resorted to using Shunpo. His stamina was depleted, but thanks to the help of Overgeared Corn, he repeatedly used Shunpo. He was able to arrive at the scene in time. It was a time where he experienced how great and precious the power of a transcendent was.

Unfortunately, many Shadow members died. Grid felt anger and sadness, but he didn’t resent Agnus. This time, they were invaders. He understood and accepted it. Grid was gradually realizing that it wasn’t efficient to waste emotions on someone or a situation every time something happened. It was the process in which his mind world expanded following his body and spirit.

“From your position, we are villains. I’m sorry.”

Grid showed the minimum of politeness. He didn’t forget that Agnus had protected Irene and Lord. Still, there was no hesitation. He immediately drew his sword and defeated Agnus’ death knights.

***

[Your death knight ‘Lantier’ has suffered catastrophic damage.]

Lantier’s skull was smashed. He seemed to stumble before immediately finding his balance and fighting back. This was the level of a former legend. He might’ve lost a lot of the strength of his life due to becoming an undead, but his basic skills were certain.

However, Agnus had no intention of watching Lantier’s unyielding struggles. He immediately cancelled the summoning. It was good judgment. If his judgment had been even 0.1 seconds slower, the man’s sword that was cutting through the air would’ve split Lantier in half. The lich and death knights also had the concept of level, so it was best to avoid the death penalties.

“Grid...” Agnus stared at the man who had sharp eyes.

Overgeared God Grid. At this point, there was no other ill-fated relationship. There were more than one or two things taken away by Grid and it was likely that he would be robbed again at this moment. It wasn’t an honorable thing. His side had a history of stealing Grid’s precious things.

‘It was Khan.’

It was during the Third National Competition. Veradin moved Immortal, invaded Reinhardt, and killed Grid’s mentor. It wasn’t an incident where Agnus intervened. Far from intervening, he didn’t even know what Immortal was doing. He turned a blind eye and didn’t care about the people who gathered because of him. That sneaky bastard Veradin used Immortal to his liking. Well... it didn’t matter at all. The things that were one-sidedly robbed by Grid were also accidents that happened because he was weaker than Grid.

“It is funny that you are apologizing.”

Agnus laughed at Grid’s lame attitude and started to resist. There was no further conversation. Grid was tired from the aftermath of using Shunpo nonstop and gritted his teeth while Agnus used his brain nonstop to find a way out of this crisis. Satisfy’s skills were well known for their gorgeousness, but this was too much. It felt like the final boss in a movie.

Every time Grid swung his sword, a shockwave like a Breath would burst out. The heavens and earth opened up and Agnus instinctively stiffened. A sense of reason was a problem at times like this. He would feel fear and fear caused errors in judgment. Still, it was better to be sane than crazy.

As Agnus pulled himself together, Grid broke through two death knights without difficulty and reached him. Agnus blocked the attack by overlapping ‘Corpse Shield’ and ‘Belief of the Blue Knight’ and used the recoil of the impact to retreat. He saw a gap, but he didn’t try a counterattack. He was familiar with Grid’s ‘you hit me and I’ll hit you back’ combat style. It was common sense that he would lose in an exchange of blows with Grid.

‘It is a different time.’

Agnus realized desperately when he felt the difference in strength. Grid started as Pagma's Successor and became a myth (most people thought of Grid’s class rating as myth) and it was obvious how hard he had been working in Satisfy since its opening. Then what about him? It was great that he got Baal’s Contractor, but now he was like this.

‘You stupid jerk.’ Agnus was swearing at his past self when his old robe fluttered in the wind. It was wind created by the deceased returning from where he interfered with Pon on the battlefield. A work created by combining the permanent mechanism with all types of precious materials. Unfortunately, it was only unique rated, but it still had the best fighting power. It was good enough to stand against Grid for a while.

The shockwave that occurred every time Grid’s sword collided with the deceased’s fist caused the earth to shake. The deceased that boasted infinite magic power and great speed thanks to the permanent mechanism made Grid step back a little bit.

Agnus looked down at his arms.

Mutter mutter.

Chepardea was chanting a spell. It was to open the hell gate. He was a member of Baal’s household, but he seemed to think that fighting Grid was crazy.

‘10 minutes.’

According to Chepardea’s claim, he was a ‘demon of magic greater than a great demon.’ Baal’s subordinate actually had a lot of talent. It was to the point where he could go back and forth between the human world at will. This meant he could open a gate to hell. It was easy to open a gate in hell, but it took a long time to open it in the human world. It was 10 minutes. This was the aftermath of the decline in stats.

‘I have to hold on somehow.’

Agnus was running out of all his resources, including health, and was facing a crisis. He blocked Faker’s dagger that was attacking Pauld and tried to fight back, but failed. He was disturbed by the cooperation of the God Hands that each held a sword or hammer. It was quite a headache.

‘The problem is that I can’t reverse summon Pauld.’

Pauld was a special being. Not only did he become a lich of his own will, but he also absorbed the energy of the Kunlun Ginseng and formed a body with flesh. By achieving certain conditions, he existed again as an independent body. He made artifacts and could intervene in the worldview. He could even be regarded as an NPC. He was obviously dominated by Agnus by force and became Agnus’ property, but he was less influenced by the system.

There was no concept of summoning or reverse summoning. Pauld was always out in the world. This was a big advantage. There was no need to use the domination he required to maintain the summons. Now it was a weakness. An NPC who was immortal due to the characteristics of a lich and the Kunlun Ginseng. He was like that, but... looking at Faker, there was definitely a method to kill him.

‘The best thing right now is to kill Faker...’

-Bend down!

Chepardea’s scream woke Agnus up from his thoughts. Agnus reflexively bent down and in his low vision, he saw the back of the deceased, whose upper body was separated from the lower body. It wasn’t just the deceased. The ghouls blocking Pon and the knights were also split in half. It was happening simultaneously without a time difference. Agnus belatedly realized that he wasn’t safe either.

[You have suffered catastrophic damage!]

Flop! Agnus’ body collapsed to the ground. He stared up at the sky blankly and belatedly saw a sword light. It grew to the size of a huge half moon and swept through half of the battlefield. Ash rose in every place where the sword light passed. The dead who split in half were turning into ash.

-It is really great swordsmanship. It isn’t perfect, but it is almost there. Croak. He is able to fight a single digit great demon that is restricted in the human world.

Chepardea expressed what he was feeling. It seemed he had given up on opening the hell door. He stopped the spell to talk. Grid approached and swung his sword. In his immortal state, Agnus rose to his feet and reacted. He activated the Rune of Death to use the power to reverse health. “Bentao’s Mockery.”

The target was naturally Grid and it hit. However...

[Your health has successfully been exchanged with the target ‘Randy.’]

“A pet?” Agnus frowned and stabbed his sword forward. He struck the ‘Grid figure’ who had been the target of Bentao’s Mockery so hard that he was dizzy.

“Kuock... Stars.”

The memphis and God Hands struck after Agnus’ unexpected counterattack. It was a baptism of electric currents, blades, and hammers. If it wasn’t for Chepardea’s tongue, Agnus’ body would be covered with holes.

-It is amazing that you’ve raised a memphis up to here. Croak. It has been a really long time since I have seen an adult memphis. Is this person really Pagma's Successor? Isn’t he better than Muller?

“Shut up.” Agnus’ patience ran out when this unhelpful guy expressed his admiration.

Agnus was extremely sensitive right now. It was because he realized why he had won every time he fought others. Variables created using his pets and runes. People had a hard time responding to it. It was just like he was having trouble responding to Grid’s variables right now.

‘He is too talented.’

Grid was an opponent he couldn’t win against even in his best state. It wasn’t strange to lose when he had already been tied up by Faker and consumed a lot. The Overgeared members approached and surrounded Agnus, who collapsed with a smile, and Pauld, who was frightened. Grid pointed his sword at Agnus’ neck. The sight of the clear sword tinged with red was impressive. However, Faker’s shadow sword was even more disturbing.

“T-That guy is dangerous.”

Pauld was also afraid of Faker. The opponent who showed an overwhelming force was Grid, but he was looking at Faker, not Grid.

“Why aren’t you killing me? Are you going to show me compassion now?”

Agnus taunted Grid, but Grid didn’t respond. If Grid killed Agnus first, he didn’t know what would happen with Pauld. Thus, he was trying to avoid variables. Tsk. Agnus clicked his tongue and shifted his gaze to Faker. He wondered if there was a way to do anything before Faker killed Pauld. However, there was no gap. Pon and the knights were protecting Faker.

“Pauld. I had fun in the meantime.”

Agnus gave a greeting that didn’t fit him. Pauld’s uneasiness became a reality and he gave up. Agnus had a bittersweet expression as he stared into Pauld’s shaky eyes.

“Don’t be too sorry. Even if you die, your traces will remain in the world.”

Step.

The footsteps of death were getting closer.

“N-No...! It... it wasn’t easy to create the permanent mechanism!”

Did he have to die before his dreams came true? Why did he struggle for hundreds of years to be resurrected? These questions rose as Pauld looked frustrated.

Freedom. He felt the freedom he had longed for. The terrible power of Agnus that bound his entire body disappeared without a trace. Perhaps... was it a consideration to free the soul as much as possible before dying? It was ridiculous considering Agnus’ usual temperament, but Pauld couldn’t help smiling. Perhaps it was because the time they were together was quite long, or because this was the last moment of his life, but right now, Agnus felt like a friend.

“Agnus...?” Pauld was smiling and trying to express his thanks when his eyes widened. It was because Agnus’ hand pierced his heart. It was a hand imprinted with the Rune of Death.

“I’ll use it for you—your strength.”

“Cough!”

“......!”

“......!”

Things changed rapidly. Grid, who had been confused by the sight of Agnus trying to comfort the wounded Pauld, hurriedly swung his sword at Agnus. However, it was too late. Pauld was killed instantly.

Faker’s judgment was quick. He changed the trajectory of the shadow sword that had been aiming for Pauld and pierced Agnus’ heart. The name was already written in the Kill List. He calculated that he could kill Agnus from the time that Grid arrived.

[You have killed ‘Agnus’, the target of the kill list.]

[The target’s death penalty is increased by at least two times and up to three times.]

[The purpose has been achieved and the name ‘Agnus’ has been removed from the kill list.]

“I don’t feel resentment. Someday, you guys will also...” Agnus spoke as he turned to ash. He accepted death rather than using the undead transformation. His eyes were too calm and it made people feel even creepier. What were Agnus’ later words that were swallowed up by the wind? The Overgeared members were vaguely feeling afraid, while Faker was placing a new name on the kill list.

[Would you like to assign the player ‘Agnus’ as a target of the kill list? You have already specified this target once.]

[...It has been specified.]