Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 213

Our first encounter was clearly a ‘bad match.’

A legion commander of the Demon King’s army and a mere soldier.

Hemis even knew that Choi Hyun-seok was the Hero.

Perhaps that’s why.

All she did was throw Choi Hyun-seok to the wolves as bait.

A position with a 0% survival rate.

It was practically sending him to his death.

However, Choi Hyun-seok survived.

He endured and persevered.

“One month. Fight and defeat the guy I’ve chosen within that time. Each victory will extend your protection period by one month.”

Thus began an inescapable survival game.

Each mission was so extreme that he could never have accomplished it at his level back then.

But Choi Hyun-seok succeeded.

He survived every time and grew stronger with each one.

At some point, Hemis’s attitude towards Choi Hyun-seok began to change as well.

She seemed to have a strange sense of anticipation beyond mere amusement.

Unlike before, she began to help him directly.

All of this led to Choi Hyun-seok becoming stronger.

And now, he was able to face her again in this place.

‘If it weren’t for Hemis… I probably wouldn’t have been able to grow like this.’

Given the nature of this world, he would have likely died unnoticed somewhere.

Perhaps that’s why he felt a mix of complex emotions when he saw Hemis.

Resentful yet grateful.

It was akin to a love-hate relationship.

Suddenly, Choi Hyun-seok wondered what she thought of him.

“Hemis-nim.”

After the argument with Park Hyun-ah.

Choi Hyun-seok stopped Hemis as she was about to leave, saying she had something to do.

“What is it?”

Hemis turned around.

Choi Hyun-seok scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward.

He didn’t know what to say now that he was face to face with her.

“You… you were always beautiful, but you’ve become even more so now! Hahaha…!”

Choi Hyun-seok’s heart burned.

‘Idiot! That’s not it!’

All he could manage was a compliment on her appearance after calling her over.

Of course, it was true that Hemis had become insanely beautiful.

But that wasn’t what he wanted to say right now.

“Ohohoho! Your silver tongue is as sharp as ever.”

“You flatter me! Hahaha!”

As their awkward laughter continued.

Hemis suddenly turned serious and continued.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“Um… are you going back to the Demon King’s army?”

“Well, I’m not sure yet.”

Hemis looked up at the sky.

“Leaving the Demon King’s army and wandering around has been quite fun.”

“Is that so?”

“Human cities are interesting. They offer much more diverse and richer experiences and fun than the lives of demons.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded.

If Hemis’s true identity were revealed, the city would be turned upside down, and even the king would tremble, but so what?

If she quietly enjoyed herself and left, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for everyone.

After all, the current Hemis was a beauty.

“Um… are you not going back to your previous form?”

“My previous form? Ah, are you talking about this?”

In an instant, Hemis’s features disappeared, and her lips began to grow huge.

She had turned into the lip monster he knew.

Choi Hyun-seok felt like his heart had dropped.

‘Is this some kind of PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder]…’

No matter how strong he became, he would break out in a cold sweat whenever he saw that form.

“This is a form I had to create out of necessity. My power became too strong, and my physical form couldn’t be maintained.”

Hemis shrugged and continued.

“I was too lazy to keep restoring my constantly collapsing body, so I just changed it into a form that could be maintained. But now, there’s no need for that.”

“I see.”

Her body was collapsing because her power was too strong.

He didn’t know what that meant, but he understood one thing.

What Park Hyun-ah had said was true.

“You’re the one who feels different from before? Your demonic energy has decreased by a third.”

Hemis had become weaker.

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t feel much of a difference, but at least the current Hemis didn’t possess the kind of power that would cause her physical form to collapse.

‘But it’s not like I can beat her now…’

Just a moment ago, Choi Hyun-seok had secretly checked her combat power.

The result was still unmeasurable.

The advanced combat power measuring device he currently possessed could measure up to 600,000.

In other words, even though Hemis had weakened, her combat power still exceeded 600,000.

“So, have you said everything you wanted to say?”

Choi Hyun-seok snapped out of his thoughts at Hemis’s words.

“Ah, well…”

Choi Hyun-seok, who had been dragging out his words, suddenly bowed his head.

Hemis tilted her head at his sudden action.

“What are you doing?”

“Thank you for everything.”

Choi Hyun-seok raised his head again after bowing.

His expression looked somewhat relieved.

“Thank you? For what?”

“Just… I wanted to say goodbye and get it off my chest.”

“Hmph~?”

Hemis smirked.

Even Choi Hyun-seok himself didn’t know why he was saying these things.

But Hemis nodded as if she understood everything.

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

“Yes.”

“I hope something more interesting happens when we meet next time. Well, I’m busy, so I’ll be going now.”

Hemis waved her snow-white hand and left.

Leaving her behind.

Choi Hyun-seok returned to his group, who were waiting for him.

“Hey. What’s there to be thankful for to that mouth? That woman is so vicious.”

Park Hyun-ah said with a dissatisfied expression.

“That’s right! Hero! Are you thinking straight? A Hero thanking a legion commander of the Demon King’s army!”

Rahel, who had been hiding, popped out of nowhere and echoed Park Hyun-ah’s words.

Choi Hyun-seok scratched his cheek, feeling embarrassed.

“I don’t know either. I guess I’ve grown fond of her despite everything. And Rahel, you couldn’t say a word in front of Hemis and hid, but now you’re having a field day as soon as she leaves?”

Rahel had been so quiet that she barely breathed when Hemis was around.

But now she was confidently saying such things as soon as she left, which was absurd.

“Hmph! Rahel just knows how to choose the right time and place!”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s what you say.”

“I’m serious! It’s all because I’m considerate of the Hero…”

“Okay, okay. I get it.”

While Choi Hyun-seok and Rahel were bickering.

Sarah Dunphy, who had been watching the situation, approached.

“You seem to have a personal acquaintance with her.”

“Well, I’ve been indebted to her in many ways.”

“Is that so…?”

Sarah Dunphy kept looking in the direction Hemis had left, as if she had something on her mind.

“Is there a problem?”

“No. I just found it fascinating.”

“Fascinating?”

Sarah Dunphy nodded and continued.

“Since awakening in this world, I have been personally researching demons and magical beasts. They are life forms that did not exist in my time, so I was intrigued.”

Sarah Dunphy lived long before demons appeared.

Naturally, she would find demons and magical beasts, which she was seeing for the first time, fascinating.

“As a result, I have learned a clear criterion for distinguishing between demons and magical beasts.”

“Oh, I’m interested in that.”

Park Hyun-ah, who had been listening to the conversation, chimed in.

Humans still didn’t have a clear criterion for distinguishing between demons and magical beasts.

The fact that they lumped together a collection of different races as demons showed how ignorant humans were about demons.

“Usually, if they can communicate, they are called demons, and if they can’t, they are called magical beasts, but even this boundary is ambiguous. There are individuals among those called magical beasts who possess high intelligence and can communicate.”

“That’s right. Intelligence or the ability to communicate is not particularly relevant to distinguishing between the two.”

“Then what is it?”

“To put it simply, it’s the difference in how they absorb demonic energy.”

“The way they absorb demonic energy…?”

When Park Hyun-ah and Choi Hyun-seok made puzzled expressions, Sarah Dunphy continued her explanation.

“Demons absorb demonic energy in a way similar to how humans absorb mana, while magical beasts absorb demonic energy in a completely different system.”

“Hmm, I don’t quite understand.”

“You don’t necessarily need to understand it. It’s not a particularly important fact anyway. However, what I find questionable is…”

In an instant, a strange heat filled Sarah Dunphy’s eyes.

“That Hemis. I can’t tell if she’s a demon or a magical beast.”

“Excuse me?”

“She has the characteristics of both. It’s amazing to see such a life form exist.”

She had the characteristics of both demons and magical beasts.

It was hard to believe even as she heard it.

Even Park Hyun-ah, who possessed a wealth of knowledge, seemed to be struggling, as if she didn’t fully understand.

“Park Hyun-ah. I will explain it to you later.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Anyway, would you be willing to arrange a separate meeting if the opportunity arises? I would like to talk to her personally.”

“Well… I don’t know if it will work out, but I’ll try to mention it.”

Hemis’s personality was so unpredictable that she couldn’t give a definite answer.

Still, she was thinking of trying, considering the help she had received from Sarah Dunphy.

“So, what do we do now? It seems like we’re done here. Shall we go back?”

Putting aside the matter of Hemis for now.

They had to decide on the direction the group should take from now on.

The goal of making Sidriel the Demon King had been achieved faster than expected.

“Now that things have turned out this way, I think it wouldn’t be bad to stay here and help Sidriel.”

The Ultimum Fes, which was originally their base, had also disappeared.

The power of those gathered here was far from enough to stop the Holy War.

In that case, it seemed like a good idea to join forces with the Demon King’s army to resist.

“Well. We could stay here and stop the Holy Empire with the Demon King’s army… but is there really a need to do that?”

Park Hyun-ah shook her head.

“From now on, Sidriel will unite the demons and resist. It won’t be easy, but at least they won’t collapse as easily as before.”

The Demon King’s army had collapsed quickly due to internal problems rather than external factors.

Now that the most troublesome family affairs had been resolved, the battles from now on would be different from what they had been.

“So, instead of staying here, let’s go back to the Mariette Kingdom for now. We’ll keep in touch with this side, and we’ll prepare to overthrow the Holy Empire in our own way.”

“I also agree with Park Hyun-ah. It’s not wise to insist on a head-on confrontation against a powerful enemy.”

“Alright.”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded in agreement.

“We still need to finish treating my sister, so let’s return to the Mariette Kingdom and think about what to do next.”

***

The emergence of a new Demon King.

Sidriel’s story quickly spread throughout the continent.

The fact that the Demon King had changed was the first time since the appearance of demons, so it quickly became the biggest topic on the continent.

As if responding to the enthusiastic reaction, the new Demon King presented a completely unexpected and unconventional move.

“We desire peace.”

Demons desired peace.

Humans were dumbfounded, and the demons were even more dumbfounded.

Peaceful demons?

It was logically unacceptable.

Demons were so violent that their entire lives could be described as a struggle.

It was practically a joke for these war maniacs to cry out for peace.

Despite everyone’s ridicule, the new Demon King, Sidriel, was serious.

“If the demons’ territory is respected, the demons will not covet human lands either.”

“However, we will retaliate against invaders with death.”

The new Demon King’s declaration was bound to generate many stories.

“Yeah. It’s time to stop the war with humans.”

“I’m tired too.”

Some demons agreed with her opinion.

“Running away from war! The new Demon King is a coward!”

“It’s not like a demon! Weak!”

Some were angry, saying that humans and demons could not coexist.

The situation was no different for humans.

“Hmm, this is a completely unexpected development.”

Pope Orban IV’s brow was deeply furrowed.

He was overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events.

“Not only has a new Demon King appeared, but she also desires peace. Is this even possible?”

The cardinals nodded in unison.

“However, Your Holiness. Public sentiment is wavering.”

“That’s right. Now that the demons have promised peace, there are frequent voices saying that there is no need to continue the war.”

“There is already an organized movement calling for an end to the Holy War and the pursuit of peace.”

The wrinkles on the Pope’s forehead deepened.

“To see such movements already… there must be someone behind it.”

Either way, the Holy War was achieving the best results in history.

Just a few days ago, people were filled with the expectation that they could wipe out the demons from this land forever.

But they were so easily swayed by the single statement that the demons desired peace.

Someone must be waging a public opinion war from behind.

“Shall we arrest them all?”

“No, Your Holiness. Doing so could further shake public sentiment.”

The Pope tapped the armrest.

“It’s a shame. We were almost there.”

“…”

“What has the intelligence agency been doing? They didn’t notice the demons preparing such a move at all.”

“We apologize!”

The person in charge of the intelligence agency bowed his head deeply.

The Pope clicked his tongue and continued.

“Tsk, let’s continue the Holy War as it is for now and watch the situation. After all, they are cornered. If we hurry, we can definitely bring this war to a victorious conclusion.”

“Yes!”

“And investigate those who are calling for peace. There must be Draken Empire or Domis Kingdom stooges hiding among them.”

“Leave it to us!”

The intelligence agency answered vigorously, as if trying to make up for their mistake.

They had no choice, because if they failed even this, the intelligence agency would lose its value.

And the Pope never lets those without value live.

“Ha, my head hurts. Let’s end the meeting here for today.”

A little later.

After the meeting, the Pope, left alone, leaned back in his chair.

“The great work is faltering from the start, which is not good.”

A response came from the empty air at the Pope’s words.

“I apologize.”