Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 198

“Are they going to be alright?”

Sullivan’s face was etched with worry as he spoke.

“We should have gathered more information and moved after we had solid evidence…”
“We’re not exactly in a situation where we can afford to be leisurely, are we?”

Carebe Cowell, the leader of Ultimum Fes, remained calm.

He had lived for 500 years.

He had reached a point where he could laugh off most things, so he didn’t seem particularly anxious now.

“Their plan may seem reckless at first glance, but I don’t think it’s bad.”
“Why? Everything is uncertain. We have no information about the Demon King, we don’t know how many troops are in the Demon King’s castle, and we don’t know anything about the surrounding situation.”

To Sullivan, it was an excessively reckless operation.

To go directly to the Demon King and ask about his plans.

Was that something a hero should say?

Why did Carebe Cowell approve the operation?

Why did Park Hyun-ah grumble and follow along?

He couldn’t understand it at all.

“Sometimes you have to take reckless actions to find a breakthrough.”

Carebe Cowell slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

“That’s how life is. Things can’t always fit together like gears turning. Sometimes you have to rely on your gut feeling. Sometimes you have to leave everything to chance.”
“Even if it’s a matter of risking your own life?”
“What can you do? That’s life.”

Sullivan glared at Carebe Cowell for a moment.

“You talk a good game. But they’re the ones risking their lives right now.”
“Ahem! I’m just speaking from my experience.”

Carebe Cowell, feeling stung, cleared his throat awkwardly.

“This is…?”

“You felt it too?”

Suddenly, their expressions hardened.

“Magic power. And…”

“Divine power.”

A tremendous amount of magic power and divine power was surging in.

Carebe Cowell and Sullivan hurriedly rushed out of the barracks.

“Damn it!”

As soon as they stepped outside, they were met with a huge surge of magic power.

Carebe Cowell quickly drew his sword and deflected the incoming magic.

Kwaaaang!

The magic scattered with a deafening explosion.

As if on cue, shouts erupted from all directions.

“Enemy attack!”

“Enemies everywhere! We’re already surrounded!”

This was the worst possible scenario.

The enemy had already surrounded them on all sides.

The hand holding the sword clenched tightly.

“How did they know…?”

It was incomprehensible.

Ultimum Fes had been perfectly hidden, avoiding everyone’s eyes until now.

But to have their location discovered and be completely surrounded…

Could the Drasen Empire have betrayed them?

“Tch. This is hopeless. I’ll have to abandon this body.”

They heard Duke Olaven Grimier muttering with a frown in the distance.

There was no reason for him to act in this situation, so the Drasen Empire hadn’t betrayed them either.

Then why was their location discovered?

“Just think about escaping for now! A barrier has been deployed, so we have to break through ourselves!”

Carebe Cowell nodded at Sullivan’s words.

‘Right. I need to focus on escaping for now.’

Just as he was about to steel his resolve and move, a familiar voice spoke.

“Long time no see, Carebe Cowell.”

Turning around, he saw three figures approaching: two men and a woman.

“Kinley. Gelling. Asmund.”

The legends of Gatrein [a powerful group or organization] who appeared with the declaration of the Holy War.

Carebe Cowell was acquainted with all of them.

Former comrades who fought against the demons on the same front.

Kinley, the only woman among them, stepped forward.

“Surrender. You’re already surrounded.”

Kinley said, hefting a huge hammer.

Carebe Cowell responded by drawing his sword.

“How did you know? We kept the secret to prevent our location from being discovered…”

“Hahahahaha!”

Suddenly, Kinley burst out laughing.

The other legends behind her, Gelling and Asmund, couldn’t help but join in, as if they found it incredibly amusing.

Carebe Cowell frowned.

“What’s so funny?”
“Carebe, you’ve gotten old and your senses have dulled. You can’t even figure out how we knew your location.”

Kinley gave a cynical smile.

“There’s no such thing as absolute secrecy. We’ve known your location for years. We just didn’t need to deal with you, so we left you alone.”

“What…?”

“Did you forget? We are Gatrein.”

Pride filled Kinley’s face, and at the same time, a look of contempt flowed from her eyes.

“Until now, we just didn’t have a reason to kill you, so we let you live, but now the time has come.”

“…”

“Choose, Carebe Cowell.”

Thousands of elite troops were already lined up around them.

“Surrender, or death. Which is it?”

***

“What…? Why is it so quiet?”

Park Hyun-ah looked around with an uneasy expression.

“It’s completely empty.”

Choi Hyun-seok also scanned their surroundings repeatedly, a strange expression on his face.

Quite some time had passed since the two heroes arrived at the Demon King’s castle.

At first, they moved with great tension, but that only lasted for a moment.

No matter how much time passed, they couldn’t sense any presence, so they couldn’t help but realize that something was wrong.

“Did they all move out or something?”

“That’s impossible.”

The Demon King’s castle is not simply a residence for the Demon King.

The Demon King’s castle is a symbol that represents the Demon King’s dignity.

The Demon King would choose death rather than abandon the Demon King’s castle.

That was the rule of the demons.

“I’d rather believe that all the troops are gathered to strike somewhere. There’s no way they’d move.”
“Then what happened?”
“Well… let’s keep going for now.”

Even though there was no one around, magical energy was flowing out from the center of the castle.

Perhaps the Demon King was there.

“It’s up ahead.”

After a while, the group stood in front of a huge door that appeared to be made of solid minerals.

Its height alone was a whopping 5 meters [approximately 16.4 feet].

The door, decorated with bizarre patterns, was intimidating just to stand in front of.

Park Hyun-ah knew where this was.

‘The Demon King’s residence.’

She had been here once before.

She had met the Demon King here.

Inside was a huge hall, containing only a throne.

The Demon King said that he always spent his time sitting in that chair.

“Let’s go in.”

Park Hyun-ah nodded at Choi Hyun-seok’s words.

The door slowly opened.

Gugugugu…!

Eventually, a huge hall was revealed.

The throne was placed in the center, and a man was sitting there.

“Demon King…?”

Park Hyun-ah narrowed her eyes.

It was clear that the one sitting in the chair was the Demon King Tegrad, but he looked very different from what she remembered.

“Is that the Demon King?”

Choi Hyun-seok asked in a slightly embarrassed voice.

“That’s right. His magical energy is definitely his. But…”
“He looks like he’s on the verge of death?”

“I guess so.”

The Demon King looked incredibly old.

His appearance resembled an old man well over eighty years old.

The magnificent horns that once represented the Demon King’s dignity were crumbling, with less than half remaining.

“Park Hyun-ah, is it…”

Then the Demon King Tegrad opened his eyes.

“Yes. It’s been a while.”
“Did you come to kill me?”

Park Hyun-ah didn’t answer.

She walked through the hall and asked a question.

“You’re in a terrible state, Demon King.”
“So it seems to you too.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing happened. I simply entrusted myself to the natural order.”

Tegrad slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

“You must be happy. You’ll be the first hero to kill a Demon King. Isn’t that the greatest honor for a human?”
“What glory is there in killing an old man who’s about to die anyway?”

Park Hyun-ah, who had finally arrived in front of Tegrad, stopped.

She looked around once and continued.

“Where did the other guys go?”

“They left.”

“Where to?”

“To find a new Demon King. It’s a natural thing. It’s the nature of demons to follow the strong.”

At this point, Park Hyun-ah couldn’t help but realize the situation.

She laughed cynically.

“You’ve been betrayed.”

“Betrayed?”

“The Demon King’s army is retreating now. They’re deliberately opening the way for you to kill the Demon King.”

Now all the questions were answered.

The Demon King’s army’s repeated retreat.

The appearance that the command system had collapsed somewhere.

It was all because the legion commanders had betrayed the aging Demon King Tegrad.

The collapse of the command system was probably because the internal reorganization wasn’t completely finished yet.

“Doritus. Is that unlucky bastard behind this?”

Tegrad didn’t answer.

Park Hyun-ah, who accepted the silence as affirmation, continued her questioning.

“Demon King, what on earth were you thinking?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you kill Hemis? What was the reason for starting a war by raising necromancy? And why didn’t you step down from the Demon King’s throne until you got to this point?”
“Too many questions.”

Tegrad shook his head.

“I have some regrets regarding you, so I’ll answer just one question sincerely.”

It was about the story of trying to kill Park Hyun-ah in the past and turn her into an undead.

Although they were together because they needed each other, he was the one who betrayed her first anyway.

So it would be okay to resolve her doubts before he died.

However, Park Hyun-ah didn’t seem to like the answer.

She narrowed her brows and opened her mouth.

“Just one question? Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not in a position to be picky, are you?”
“Park Hyun-ah, do I look like I have any attachment to life?”

Tegrad burst into a hearty laugh.

Park Hyun-ah clicked her tongue.

The Demon King would die soon even if he was left alone.

This kind of childish threat won’t work.

“Then just answer this.”

“Tell me.”

“What the hell are you up to? I know you’re not stupid enough to do these things without any thought.”

“What I’m up to…”

Tegrad raised his head and stared at the empty air.

“I just wanted to save the demons. Fortunately, it seems to be going according to my plan to some extent.”

“…”

“The reason I killed Hemis… is because I couldn’t trust him. I’ve been watching Hemis for nearly a thousand years, but I can’t figure out what he’s thinking.”

An uncontrollable element.

A demon who is incredibly reliable when he is an ally, but has the power to destroy all plans if he is not.

That’s why he eliminated him.

“I thought it would be better to eliminate him than to leave him as an unstable element.”
“Wait a minute. You’re dodging my question. I asked you what you were up to when you did these things.”
“Are you subtly increasing the number of questions?”
“You didn’t answer properly.”

“Is that so?”

Tegrad chuckled.

“I’ll just tell you this.”

In an instant, his atmosphere changed.

He looked at Park Hyun-ah with serious eyes and opened his mouth.

“If things continue like this, the demons will eventually be destroyed. So I had no choice but to take a bit of a dangerous gamble.”
“So what is that gamble?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you anymore.”

“Ha, damn it.”

Park Hyun-ah scratched her head irritably.

There is still no clear answer.

Even if I ask more questions here, nothing will come out.

“Hurry up and finish it. I’m getting tired.”

Tegrad closed his eyes.

“I didn’t know I would die at your hands. But this ending isn’t so bad either.”

Tegrad somehow felt that the current situation was funny.

A Demon King dying at the hands of a hero.

A development like a fairy tale that humans like.

But what is the reality?

There is only a Demon King who has become a loser and a hero who has become an enemy of mankind.

There is no winner here.

“No, I’m not going to kill you.”

Then Park Hyun-ah turned around.

She tapped Choi Hyun-seok on the shoulder.

“Finish it.”

“Yes? Me?”

“Anyway, my growth has reached its limit.”
“Well, I appreciate it, but…”

Choi Hyun-seok scratched the back of his head.

Honestly, I feel uncomfortable.

I feel like this is not my place.

Besides, I’ve always been helped by Park Hyun-ah in this way, so my conscience is pricked.

“Hey. My bonus points are over 100 now.”
“Why are you collecting so much?”

“Even if I raise my stats further, I’m not confident that I’ll be able to use them properly.”

“…”

“So don’t worry about me and finish it.”

“I understand.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded.

If the bonus points are over 100, there is no need to raise the level any further.

He approached the Demon King.

Tegrad slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Choi Hyun-seok.

“I see. So you’re Choi Hyun-seok…”

“Do you know me?”

“How can I not know you… the person who was at the center of all the chaos…”

Tegrad’s eyes as he looked at Choi Hyun-seok were strange.

“That’s why I had to deal with Hemis. It’s a pity I didn’t make a decision a little faster.”

“Is that the end of your will?”

Tegrad closed his eyes instead of answering.

Choi Hyun-seok reached out and twisted his neck in one swift motion.

Wooddeuk-!

The neck twisted easily.

At the same time, a system alarm rang.

[Congratulations! You have defeated the Demon King Tegrad!]

[Acquire a large amount of experience]

[Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!][Level up!]….

Level-up alarms continued non-stop.

After that, various system alarms continued.

[Acquire 100,000 Hero Points]

[The title ‘Regular Hero’ is promoted to ‘Veteran Hero’]

[The title ‘Veteran Hero’ is promoted to ‘Legendary Hero’]

[All stats increase by 20 points]

[The grade of Magic Power Control increases from S → SS]

….

Too many alarms continued, making him feel dazed.

Choi Hyun-seok read the alarms with a blank expression.

In the meantime,

Ding!

Along with a cheerful alarm, a system message that he had never seen before appeared.

★☆★☆★ Notice ★☆★☆★

Clap clap clap-! Congratulations!

You have finally defeated the Demon King Tegrad!

But it’s too early to rest assured.

This precarious world still needs your help!

Here, I would like to make a promise to you.

When all threats disappear and peace comes,

I will give you a choice.

That choice is…

-See details-

Choi Hyun-seok swallowed hard and pressed the See details button.

…

The last sentence revealed after a long blank.

That is…

It’s a secret ^_^

Please save the world quickly if you’re curious!

“What the…!”