Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 73

Choi Hyun-seok dashed through the forest, a blur of motion.

It would undoubtedly draw the attention of the monsters, but he had no choice.

Getting away from Holgot was his top priority right now.

“Why is that goat bastard only picking on me?!”
“Hero, let’s just get rid of him!”
“How are you going to get rid of him?”
“Like this! By beating him! Up!”

Rachel swung her fists wildly in the air.

Choi Hyun-seok sighed and shook his head.

“Just wait. We need to avoid fighting if possible right now.”

In his heart, Choi Hyun-seok wanted to have it out with him.

However, the timing was terrible.

So far, two participants had been eliminated.

There were still 22 participants left.

To achieve his goal of finishing in the top 10, Choi Hyun-seok had to conserve his strength.

‘Even though he looks like that, that goat bastard has a combat power of over 40,000. There’s no guarantee I’ll win. And even if I do win, I’m bound to get hurt. That would interfere with the upcoming matches.’

Considering all these factors, it was right to avoid combat right now.

But the situation wasn’t so easy.

“Running away again!”

Holgot’s combat power was high.

That meant he possessed a stronger body and greater magical energy than Choi Hyun-seok.

No matter how much Choi Hyun-seok tried to avoid the fight, Holgot persistently pursued him.

“Just get lost!”
“Mehehehe! I have no intention of leaving until you’re dead!”

Before he knew it, Holgot had caught up with Choi Hyun-seok and fired a barrage of magical energy.

Choi Hyun-seok gritted his teeth and twisted his body.

Nobilis

Form 1 – King’s Stride

In an instant, Choi Hyun-seok’s speed increased, leaving behind a purple afterimage.

The barrage of magical energy fired by Holgot narrowly missed the afterimage.

“This rat bastard…”
“The rat bastard is you!”

Choi Hyun-seok approached Holgot.

He had tried to avoid combat if possible, but he had no choice.

There was no solution if he kept running away like this.

He had to counterattack.

Choi Hyun-seok began to draw up magical energy and mana simultaneously.

‘I need to blow away his mobility so he can’t follow me.’

He was planning to use a new form of Nobilis.

A technique he was using for the first time in actual combat.

But he wasn’t worried.

He had practiced countless times, and Choi Hyun-seok was already a pro among pros when it came to using his body.

Nobilis

Form 2 – Expression of Respect

Choi Hyun-seok’s leg flew towards Holgot’s lower body.

On the surface, it looked like an ordinary leg kick.

But Choi Hyun-seok had put in countless hours of grueling effort to deliver this one leg kick.

“Watch out for your cruciate ligament!” [The cruciate ligaments are major ligaments in the knee, prone to injury.]

The shin, flying like lightning, was about to collide with the knee.

Holgot wrapped himself in magical energy to prepare for the attack.

“This is nothing but a tickle…!”

He was planning to simply take Choi Hyun-seok’s attack head-on.

Soon, the leg kick landed, and purple light burst out upon impact.

A groan involuntarily escaped from Holgot’s mouth.

“Keuh!”

The impact was stronger than expected.

He had prepared for the attack with magical energy, but it was too sudden to block it properly.

Holgot staggered, lost his balance, and fell.

“Stay right there.”

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t stop and launched a second attack.

He struck the back of Holgot’s head, who was kneeling.

Crack, thud!

With a heavy sound, Holgot’s head slammed into the ground.

Choi Hyun-seok clenched his fist.

‘I’ll seize the momentum and finish him off!’

A victory that came more easily than expected.

It seemed like he could end the battle like this.

But combat power of 40,000 wasn’t obtained for nothing.

Holgot got up as soon as he fell and unleashed magical energy.

“Kuaaaaaa!”

The magical energy that exploded in all directions was unavoidable.

Choi Hyun-seok blocked the attack and hurriedly retreated.

The arm that had been touched by Holgot’s magical energy throbbed.

“It’s not easy after all.”
“Hero! That guy’s close combat skills are terrible, aren’t they?”
“Yeah. It’s more manageable than I thought. He must be a ranged type.”
“Now that it’s come to this, let’s stick close and finish him off!”

Choi Hyun-seok pondered Rachel’s suggestion.

If he pushed Holgot like this, he might be able to win.

After a brief exchange, it seemed clear that he was weak in close combat.

However, he was still worried about what would happen afterward.

There was no way Holgot would be easily defeated, and a lot of mana and magical energy would be consumed.

The risk of injury couldn’t be ignored either.

“Keuheue…”

Holgot was also having similar thoughts.

He didn’t move any further and glared at Choi Hyun-seok.

His eyes clearly showed signs of bewilderment.

Choi Hyun-seok was too strong for what he expected.

‘Human. He definitely became a company commander recently, but how…!?’

Holgot had never doubted his victory even once.

The opponent was a weak human.

And a rookie who had only recently become a company commander.

When he actually met him, his mana wasn’t that strong either.

He naturally expected an overwhelming victory, but the situation was unfolding in the opposite direction.

‘Continuing to fight like this would be too much of a loss.’

Holgot was also a cunning demon.

He couldn’t help but think about the aftermath.

“…”

A moment of silence.

A strange current flowed between the two who were facing each other.

The first to speak was Choi Hyun-seok.

“Hey. Just get lost at this point.”
“Are you ordering me around, you human! You get lost!”
“What is this crazy goat saying? You came looking for me, so why are you telling me to get lost!?”
“I am a valiant demon! Retreat is not allowed.”

Choi Hyun-seok swallowed a laugh at the word ‘valiant’.

“Valiant my ass! You ran away just fine last time.”
“At that time, victory was assured, so there was no reason to stay! I certainly did not run away!”

“Haa…”

Choi Hyun-seok sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He wanted to run over and rip out all of Holgot’s beard.

But now was the time to think and act rationally.

‘Judging by the atmosphere, that guy doesn’t seem to want to fight anymore either…’

How could he avoid the battle?

As he was pondering, Rachel approached.

“Hero! You’re not running away, are you!?”

“Huh?”

“That burn mark. He’s just scared right now! Let’s push him now!”

Holgot flared up at Rachel’s words and shouted.

“What is that tiny little girl saying! I, Holgot, am not scared at all!”
“You are scared! I know you want to run away right now!”
“The one who’s scared is that human over there!”

Holgot stroked his beard and began to laugh exaggeratedly.

“Human, run away quickly! Tremble in fear at the power of this Holgot and run away! Mehahahaha!”

“…”

“Are you too afraid to even speak? Is that it? Well, I suppose it’s understandable. I, Holgot, understand! It is natural for a lowly human to be frightened by a noble demon! So don’t be ashamed and run away quickly! Run away, I say! Mehahahaha!”

Holgot rolled his eyes and rambled on and on.

He seemed to have gone half-mad.

Choi Hyun-seok closed his eyes.

‘Should I just kill him…’

Choi Hyun-seok thought.

He could throw his pride into the toilet for the sake of survival.

But he wouldn’t allow himself to run away here.

If he didn’t give that annoying goat a taste of his own medicine, he felt like he would live in regret for the rest of his life.

‘Yeah. Let’s just beat him up and think about it later.’

His deliberation was short, and his actions were swift.

“Goat. Have you heard of the Low Kick of Negotiation?”

“What are you talking about!?”

“Yeah. You wouldn’t know.”

Choi Hyun-seok kicked off the ground.

His target was Holgot’s left leg.

He intended to strike the same spot and break his leg this time.

“Just wait right there. Let’s see if you can still talk after your leg is crippled.”
“You foolish human…!”

The moment Choi Hyun-seok was about to clash with Holgot once again.

“Found him! Human!”

“There’s a human here! Kill him!”
“Don’t kill him. Just pretend to kill him!”

“Accidentally kill him!”

Participants began to pour in from all directions.

***

Choi Hyun-seok ran and ran, a desperate flight.

When he opened the map, the locations of the participants, visible every hour, were displayed.

“What the hell is this?!”

The blue dot representing his location.

Behind it, more than 20 red dots were trailing closely.

“Why are you only picking on me!?”
“It’s all because of that lip monster!”

What Hemis had said just before the match.

He knew that the provocation had ignited the participants’ hearts to some extent.

But, no matter what, he never imagined that they would all join forces and rush at him.

“This is cheating! It’s cheating!”
“There was no rule in this match that said you couldn’t join forces! Mehahahaha!”

Holgot stroked his beard and laughed loudly.

He didn’t know what would happen afterward, but if he could defeat Choi Hyun-seok right now, that was enough for him.

The other participants didn’t have any other thoughts either.

“Human. I don’t like you.”
“How dare a human receive Hemis-nim’s favor. I cannot allow it.”
“We can’t let a human take such a beautiful woman!”

Choi Hyun-seok was dumbfounded.

He screamed as if in a desperate attempt to express his rising sense of injustice.

“Favor, beauty, my ass! There’s nothing relatable about any of this!”
“Isn’t trying to understand demons in the first place a mistake?”

“I know that!”

He knew that demons were stupid.

But there was a limit to everything.

To think that the level of the guys he carefully selected to become squad leaders was this low.

He felt like despairing at the humans who couldn’t defeat this group of idiots.

“Hero! I’ll buy you some time!”

In an instant, Rachel turned back.

At the same time, mana poured out of Choi Hyun-seok’s body in clumps.

“Haa!”

An enormous light emanated from Rachel’s body.

It was a light so bright that it gave the illusion that the world was turning pure white.

“What is it!?”

“Keuek! I’m blinded!”

The demons who were running towards them stopped.

The light was so bright that it felt like their eyes were burning.

Choi Hyun-seok waited in anticipation for what would happen next.

“Rachel. What kind of ultimate move is this!?”
“That’s it! Run away quickly!”

“Huh?”

“It’s just emitting light, that’s all!”
“Damn it! Why waste mana on something useless!?”
“Well, I stopped them for a moment anyway!”
“I’m the idiot for expecting something!”

Choi Hyun-seok started running again.

While diligently moving his legs, he was constantly racking his brain.

‘What should I do? I can’t hold out for long like this.’

He was somehow managing to escape right now, but he couldn’t just keep running away.

There was a limit to the mana and magical energy he possessed.

And no one among the participants here had less magical energy than Choi Hyun-seok.

Even their physical abilities were far superior.

No matter how he thought about it, running away wasn’t the answer.

‘But I can’t fight either…’

As he was lost in thought.

Rachel brought up a new idea.

“Hero. Let’s go to where the boss monster is!”

“That’s it!”

The map didn’t just show Choi Hyun-seok and the participants.

It also showed monsters marked with purple dots.

He didn’t know for sure, but it was certain to be incredibly strong.

If he could use it to create a variable, he might see a way out.

“Let’s go!”

Choi Hyun-seok was about to move straight towards the direction where the purple dot was visible.

But that plan was soon blocked by a wall.

‘What is this again?’

A group of unidentified people who had appeared out of nowhere.

Those who had deeply pressed down their hoods were blocking the way.

***

“Ohoho! It’s flowing interestingly!”
“Tsk! What’s so interesting about this kind of thing.”

Hemis laughed in a high-pitched voice as if she was enjoying herself.

Park Hyun-ah spoke as if she was indifferent, but she also couldn’t stop glancing at the screen, as she was also curious about the match.

“I didn’t know they would all target Choi Hyun-seok, I feel a little sorry about this?”
“Did you put some saliva on your lips? What are you feeling sorry about while grinning like that.”

“Oh my, was I caught?”

Hemis was watching Choi Hyun-seok’s match in real time.

She was purely enjoying herself.

Park Hyun-ah was also interested in watching Choi Hyun-seok’s story, so she continued to stare at the screen without saying anything.

“Huh?”

The atmosphere suddenly changed in an instant.

A strange group had appeared on the screen.

“That looks like a gate over there.”

“It does.”

The demons guarding the gate and the unidentified group were engaging in battle.

At the same time, the broadcast screen was cut off.

Hemis called out to Raidrun, who was standing behind her.

“Raidrun?”

“Yes. Commander.”

“Depart.”

“Understood.”

There was no time to give a detailed explanation.

Nor was there a need to.

The astute Raidrun immediately understood the order and departed.

The enemy’s target was the space-time gate.

Before that, he had to enter the gate and stop the enemy, or, if that wasn’t possible, he had to run on foot to Inemosheet.

As Raidrun left the room.

Only Hemis and Park Hyun-ah were left in the office.

“…”

A cold silence hung in the air.

It felt like her body was stinging from the magical energy flowing out of Hemis.

Eventually, Park Hyun-ah, unable to bear it any longer, opened her mouth.

“Why are you staring at me so intently?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

Hemis’s lips twisted slightly.

Park Hyun-ah frowned and shook her head.

“I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not it.”
“This situation. Is it possible without someone leaking information from the inside?”

“That’s…”

Park Hyun-ah closed her mouth as she was about to say something.

Hemis’s words were correct.

Judging from the circumstances, the enemy knew the information in advance and prepared thoroughly.

Of course, there would have been a traitor or a spy.

She also knew that the most suspicious person here was herself, who had appeared under the Demon King’s orders.

But she was truly wronged.

If she had planned something like this in the first place, she wouldn’t have even come to the Black Star.

She hated to admit it, but even if they were both commanders, there was a difference in class between Hemis and herself.

Park Hyun-ah didn’t want to die in a place like this.

“Hey, think rationally. I’m a human who despises the Holy Empire. Have you forgotten how I entered the Demon King’s army?”
“Once you betray, there’s no rule that says you can’t betray twice.”
“That’s why! Is there any reason for me to risk my life and do something like this!”

Park Hyun-ah spewed out her words.

Hemis fell into a brief moment of contemplation after listening to her story.

She seemed to have organized her thoughts as she stood up.

“Hmm… To be honest, it doesn’t matter if you’re not the traitor.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“I just mean that I just need to relieve this dirty feeling.”

Hemis grinned.

A terrible magical energy flowed out of her.

“But you just happen to be here?”

“This is really messed up.”

“Yeah. Isn’t that all that matters?”

“Haa, you crazy bitch…”

Park Hyun-ah let out a deep sigh.

‘Damn it. That’s why I said I didn’t want to come…’

It was a day when she resented the Demon King who had sent her here.