Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 68

The darkness Hemis had spread dissipated.

Motem’s gaze, which had been directed towards the sky, lowered to face forward.

He murmured in a low voice.

“My lord is displeased.”

One could tell just from his voice.

That Hemis wasn’t in a good mood.

-Motem, can you hear me?

At that moment, a voice echoed in Motem’s mind.

It was Hemis.

“Yes, my lord. Speak.”-No need to hold back. It doesn’t matter if they die, so crush them without mercy.

“Understood.”

-Hmm, but if you see any who seem reasonably sensible, subtly hand over a flag.

“Are you saying I should intentionally give them a flag?”-Yes. After all, even if they all gang up on you, it would be impossible for them to take a flag from you.

Hemis was right.

The participants would all work together to avoid the penalty.

But Motem was confident.

If he wanted, he wouldn’t hand over a single flag.

-It won’t do if no one gets through. Hand over a flag if they seem reasonably capable. Do you understand?

“Yes, I will.”-Good. Just hang in there for one more hour.

Hemis’s voice cut off.

Motem lightly stretched his body.

‘This might be fun.’

The situation was different from before.

Perhaps all 100 participants would join forces and attack with the determination to die.

On the other hand, Motem had to fight while making sure they didn’t die.

‘I wonder what it will be like…’

Would there be anyone capable of taking a flag from him?

If there was someone who showed truly good sense, as Hemis had instructed, he intended to hand over a flag.

However, gaining his approval wouldn’t be easy.

“First, these guys are out.”

Motem reached out his hand.

His grip was already clutching a demon’s neck.

“Gah, guh…!”

“Was this supposed to be a surprise attack? It’s pathetic to even look at.”

Motem slammed the demon he was holding onto the ground.

*Thwack!*

The demon, whose head was half-buried in the ground, immediately lost consciousness.

Perhaps he was dead, but it didn’t matter.

Crush them without mercy, that was his lord’s command.

It would be fine if one or two of these pathetic guys died.

“Kill him!”

“Take the flag! He’s alone!”

As if the first attack was a signal flare, demons rushed in from all directions.

The number was easily in the dozens.

The participants, who had been cautiously lurking, all pounced at once.

The corners of Motem’s lips, hidden beneath his armor, slightly curved upwards.

‘Come on.’

Attacks flew in from all directions.

He couldn’t dodge them all.

He would take most attacks with his body.

*Thwack, crack!*

The greatsword on Motem’s back remained undrawn.

He swung his heavy hands and feet, gradually crushing the participants.

***

Choi Hyun-seok stared ahead with sunken eyes.

His lips moved slightly.

“Not yet. Wait.”

The team members, who were about to rush out, flinched and stopped.

“If we go in now, we’ll only get caught up in the fight.”

A fierce battle was underway a short distance away.

The participants were each on par with battalion commanders [high-ranking military officers].

As such powerful individuals fought with the determination to die, the aftermath was terrifying.

The forest continued to echo with roars as if it were being overturned.

“We’ll wait a little longer.”

“How long are we going to wait? There’s less than 10 minutes left now.”

Holgoth looked up at the sky and said.

As he said, the timer on the situation panel displayed in the sky was decreasing in real-time.

[ 9:45 ]

About 10 minutes remaining.

If they didn’t get the flag within that time, it was all over.

“I don’t want to receive the Endurance Punishment…”

The centipede demon, Pedissen, opened his mouth for the first time.

A thick fear was evident in his stiff voice.

He was completely different from his usual self, when he innocently played with dirt.

That was how terrifying the Endurance Punishment was for demons.

“Endure it. There’s only one chance. We have to be as careful as possible.”

The situation was chaos itself.

The participants were recklessly throwing magic around.

They were so caught up in the thought of defeating Motem that they couldn’t make proper judgments.

‘More of them are being hit by their own magic than being defeated by the black armor.’

Most of the magic didn’t hit Motem.

Those who were hit by other participants’ magic and fell were increasing in number.

Going into that situation would only add to the chaos.

‘Having a large number only gets in each other’s way. I’ll wait for the optimal moment to grab the flag.’

There was another reason for Choi Hyun-seok’s patience.

‘He hasn’t tried to reclaim a flag once it’s been taken.’

Motem only defended the flags and didn’t show any movement to reclaim the ones he lost.

In other words, as long as they managed to get a flag in their hands, victory was assured.

“Wait a little longer. The timing is coming soon.”

Choi Hyun-seok, who was encouraging his team members, was also impatient.

He desperately suppressed his emotions and checked the time.

[ 3:23 ]

Less than 4 minutes left.

There really wasn’t much time left.

“How long are we going to wait! At this rate, the game will end!”

Holgoth shouted anxiously.

At that moment, Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes lit up.

‘Now…!’

He had waited and waited.

He was anxious, but he endured.

For the optimal timing.

And now.

Choi Hyun-seok finally sensed that the time he had been waiting for had come.

He jumped to his feet.

“Now! Move!”

At the same time as his shout, the team members rushed out as if they had been waiting.

Choi Hyun-seok also ran forward.

He shouted, looking at Holgoth.

“Holgoth! Launch it!”

“Don’t order me!”

Despite his annoyed reply, Holgoth used the magic he had diligently prepared.

“Rain of Beads!”

The magic he had used against Choi Hyun-seok before.

A magic that scattered small beads with explosive power over a wide area.

“Die!”

But the magical energy contained within was incomparable to that time.

Holgoth poured out his magical energy with all his might for survival.

When the beads touched the ground, a large-scale explosion occurred.

*Kwagwagwagwang!*

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes lit up at the sight of the power.

‘At first glance, it looks like there will be an impact, but the black armor will be fine.’

Among the magic that the participants had unleashed so far, there were many with stronger power than this.

This much wouldn’t even tickle the black armor, Motem.

Nevertheless, there was a reason why Choi Hyun-seok had him use this magic.

*Pshooo…*

Due to the explosion, black smoke and dust rose throughout the area.

The vision was obscured as if a smoke grenade had exploded.

Choi Hyun-seok shouted again.

“Ikigle!”

Ikigle, who had been floating in the sky, quickly fell to the ground.

It was an incredible speed, much faster than Choi Hyun-seok running at full speed.

“Snatch it!”

Ikigle pierced through the dust and arrived in front of Motem.

His eyes were fixed on the flag stuck in Motem’s back.

‘Please!’

Ikigle quickly reached out his hand.

*Thud!*

But Motem’s hand was one step faster.

Motem grabbed Ikigle’s leash.

“Guh…!”

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes lit up as he watched Ikigle struggling in pain.

‘Now is the time.’

After all, this was within the expected range.

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t expect it from the start.

It would have been nice if Ikigle had succeeded, but the chances of that happening were very low.

Therefore, the real thing is now.

He began the final attack he had prepared.

Raiderun Style Grappling

Form 3 – Wild Charge

Choi Hyun-seok charged forward at an incredible speed.

Black flames rose behind him as he ran.

The target was Motem’s back.

The plan was to attack from behind and steal the flag.

Perhaps sensing the magical energy, Motem turned around.

The distance to Choi Hyun-seok was only about ten meters.

Even though it seemed like a considerable distance, it could be reached in the blink of an eye.

However, Motem showed a monstrous reaction speed.

‘He’s trying to dodge after all.’

In a desperate situation where sudden attacks were pouring in one after another.

Even in that situation, Motem was trying to twist his body to avoid Choi Hyun-seok’s attack.

‘I got him.’

At that moment, Choi Hyun-seok grinned.

At the same time, Pedissen, who had sprung up from the ground, grabbed Motem’s ankle.

Suddenly!

“Oh…”

A voice of bewilderment flowed from Motem’s mouth for the first time.

*Kwaaang!*

Choi Hyun-seok and Motem collided.

***

There were as many as 100 demons with the strength of battalion commanders.

Even though he was under concentrated attack from them, Motem was relaxed.

No, to be exact, he was a little bored.

‘Most of them are below average.’

He was excited to be back in the world after 100 years.

But it quickly cooled down.

These guys are all trash.

Not a single one of them knows how to properly use the power they have.

It feels like fighting a child with uncontrollable, excessive power.

‘Have the demons of this era become this weak?’

The demons of the era when Motem was active were not like this.

The demons of that time were all true warriors.

The demons, who were so strong, were now just strong idiots.

‘It wasn’t this bad even 100 years ago.’

Why do demons get weaker over time?

Motem felt depressed and angry at the same time.

‘There are 10 minutes left. There are no more guys to give flags to.’

There wasn’t much time left now.

The total number of demons he had given flags to so far was five.

In fact, he didn’t even want to give them, but he had no choice because of Hemis’s order.

The idiots who were happy without even knowing that he had deliberately given them the flags flickered in his eyes.

‘How unfortunate. How unfortunate…’

At that moment when Motem was sighing inwardly.

Choi Hyun-seok and his team members moved.

“Rain of Beads!”

Magical energy beads falling from the sky.

They contain explosive power.

‘Pathetic.’

It looks flashy on the outside, but it has no substance.

Only below-average small fries would be hit by this kind of magic.

*Kwagwagwagwang!*

A large-scale explosion occurred near Motem, and soon he was enveloped in dust.

‘Hmm, was it to block my vision?’

Now that he saw it, it seemed that the main purpose was to block his eyes.

At that time, he felt magical energy approaching at a rapid speed from the sky.

‘The speed is decent. But it’s too straightforward.’

Motem reached out his hand without even looking.

As if drawn in by a magnet, Ikigle’s neck came into Motem’s grasp.

Ikigle struggling in pain.

Just as he was about to finish him off, he felt magical energy approaching from behind.

‘Oh, is there something left?’

When he turned around, he saw a human with a devilish expression.

‘Is that human the lord was talking about?’

He had already heard about Choi Hyun-seok.

“Ah, you might see a human during the game.”

“Are humans also participating?”

“Yeah. He’s quite an interesting guy, so you can look forward to it.”

A human that even Hemis said he could look forward to.

Motem stared intently at the approaching Choi Hyun-seok.

‘The fighting spirit itself is quite excellent, but the user who handles it is unskilled… no, considering the amount of magical energy, is it rather outstanding?’

He didn’t know why a human possessed magical energy.

But the skill to use magical energy itself didn’t seem bad.

‘He’s pouring in most of the magical energy he has.’

Generally, when the total amount of magical energy one has is 100, the magical energy used in fighting spirit is about 5.

Even 10 would greatly increase the difficulty and put a strong burden on the body.

But the human running in front of him was pouring in nearly half of the magical energy he had and using fighting spirit.

‘It’s an outstanding ability, but if this is the end, it’s a little disappointing.’

Simply pouring in magical energy and using fighting spirit doesn’t solve everything.

That human will collapse as a result of using the technique.

And he will still be standing.

‘Has he not grasped my skills even after watching me so far?’

Motem was trying to twist his body to avoid the attack.

However, a leg that had sprung up from the ground was grabbing his ankle.

“Oh…”

Was this the real thing?

Even though it was in the ground, he didn’t feel any magical energy at all.

With a brief moment of bewilderment, Choi Hyun-seok’s shoulder charged into Motem’s waist.

‘Hmm!’

The power is considerable.

The total amount of magical energy that the human possessed was not that great, but it was because he had poured in most of the magical energy he had.

‘This is not enough!’

However, it was far from enough to inflict damage on Motem.

At that moment, ‘magical power’ instead of ‘magical energy’ moved from Choi Hyun-seok’s body.

“Mana Explosion Style!”

Mana Explosion Style (魔爆式) [A technique that combines magical power and magical energy for a powerful burst].

A technique that intentionally collides magical power and magical energy.

It was the foundation of the fighting spirit ‘Raiderun Style Grappling Variation’.

Motem’s face slightly distorted from the attack.

‘An alien energy I’ve never felt before.’

It was clearly magical energy, but it was different from the magical energy Motem knew.

Violent and erratic magical energy rushed into Motem’s interior.

‘I can’t block it. Is enduring it all I can do?’

If he had experienced similar attacks a few times, he might have known, but for now, enduring it was the best he could do.

Choi Hyun-seok’s magical energy shook Motem’s interior.

Motem felt slightly nauseous.

‘Annoying.’

Was it because he was attacked by a human he had only thought of as a playmate?

Before he knew it, his eyes sharpened.

Motem reached out his hand towards Choi Hyun-seok.

He was going to fold this arrogant human in half at the waist.

‘Hmm?’

But Motem’s hand only brushed through the air.

Choi Hyun-seok had collapsed to the ground as if crumbling.

“Hah… hah…”

Choi Hyun-seok, who was lying on the ground, was holding a flag in his hand.

He looked up at Motem.

A grin on his lips.

It was a clear mockery.

Motem’s brow furrowed.

‘This bastard…!’

He had only played along for a moment, and he was trying to climb all the way to the top of his head.

At that time, Choi Hyun-seok pointed to the sky with his finger.

“Up.”

Motem instinctively raised his head and looked at the sky.

[ 00:02 ]

[ 00:01 ]

[ Game Over ]

Motem’s gaze turned back to Choi Hyun-seok, who was lying on the ground.

Choi Hyun-seok was trembling, as if he had run out of strength, and raised his hand.

His middle finger slowly went up.

“It was shitty meeting you… let’s not see each other again.”

That’s how the second game ended.