Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 257

Hemis’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

The Pope’s transformation into such a young figure was quite intriguing.

Moreover, this power…

It was nothing to scoff at, even figuratively speaking.

Unlike before, she couldn’t guarantee victory in her weakened state.

“Gourmet… it’s been a while.”

The Pope spat out the words as if they tasted foul.

His tone suggested a prior acquaintance.

“Oh my, do you know me?”

The current Pope had been elected decades ago.

Hemis had last appeared in human affairs roughly a hundred years ago before embedding herself in the Black Star.

Normally, there should have been no point of contact.

“I don’t need to know you. More importantly, that thing you’re holding. Hand it over.”

“I don’t want to~?”

“Do you really think you can beat me, even if you are who you are? Especially in your weakened state?”

A threatening magical power emanated from the Pope.

The magic intertwined with powerful divine power was both unfamiliar and strangely familiar.

In an instant, a peculiar light flashed in Hemis’s eyes.

“Hmph~ I wondered why it felt so familiar.”

She had experienced the same magical power as the Pope before.

“You’re that guy called the Last Hero, aren’t you?”

The Last Hero.

About a hundred years ago.

The hero who last challenged the Demon King Tegrad.

At the time, she had personally opened the way to the Demon King’s castle.

It was out of a desire for Tegrad to be wary of fighting strong humans.

‘I simply thought the Demon King had won, but it seems there was some backroom dealing going on back then?’

The Last Hero and the Demon King.

Contrary to her wishes, their battle ended surprisingly anticlimactically, which she remembered being disappointing.

But who knew there was such an inside story.

Looking back now, it seemed the Demon King and the Pope were both sly figures who got along well.

“Who would have known that hero would be playing Pope like this?””I have no desire to converse with an old monster. Hand over Choi Hyun-seok willingly.”

“No.”

Hemis grinned.

The corners of her mouth gradually rose, stretching grotesquely until her face was distorted.

The Pope, noticing something was wrong, tried to move, but was a step too late.

“Haaam~”

Hemis instantly swallowed Choi Hyun-seok.

‘Is he dead?’ the Pope thought, but soon shook his head.

He could tell instinctively.

That just now was closer to ‘storage’ than ‘eating’.

Even if that act was eating, he would never let Choi Hyun-seok go until he saw his death with his own eyes.

If he couldn’t kill him now, Choi Hyun-seok would grow again and return.

That monstrous growth rate.

Before long, he would surely surpass him.

“Is Choi Hyun-seok dead?”

“Who knows~?”

The Pope’s eyes narrowed even more sharply.

“I’ll have to cut open that stomach to confirm.”

“Ohohoho! Who’s cutting whose stomach? How amusing~!””Do you think I can’t do it!?”

The Pope shot out like a cannonball.

An incredible speed that made one wonder if it was teleportation.

Hemis quickly flew into the sky to evade.

“Leave Choi Hyun-seok behind, and I’ll spare your life!”

“Hmph~ I don’t want to~?”

“Then die here!”

Magical power exploded from the Pope.

With the trembling of the air, a vast amount of magic gathered in front of him, then shot out like a laser.

Kwaaaaaaa-!

Ultra-high temperature plasma.

A magic containing the destructive power to annihilate any substance upon contact without a trace.

Moreover, it moved freely, making it impossible to dodge.

At that moment, Hemis’s mouth gaped open.

Kwaaaaaaa-!

The plasma was sucked into her giant mouth.

The Pope released so much magic that his body trembled, but Hemis didn’t budge.

Pshhh…

Soon, the magic completely disappeared.

Hemis, who burped softly, covered her mouth and smiled coyly.

“Oh my, excuse me.”

The Pope was not flustered.

From the start, this attack was a probing maneuver.

Even weakened, the opponent was the Gourmet who had shaken the continent.

He didn’t think he could deal with her with just one spell.

“The battle has only just begun!”

With a roar, light began to pour from the sky.

Hemis’s abilities were mysterious, but not without weaknesses.

‘No matter how much of a monster she is, she’s still a demon. Vulnerable to divine power.’

It was a pity that there were no saints or Knights of Divine Grace here, but it wasn’t a problem.

Because there were countless priests here.

“As Pope, I command you! Immediately release divine power to pressure the Gourmet!”

The Pope’s voice echoed throughout the battlefield.

It would be much more effective to use linked magic to create a barrier, but it was impossible now.

Instead, as a last resort, he ordered the release of divine power.

Hwaaaaa-!

The priests on the battlefield began to release divine power.

This reckless act of spewing out divine power would be a different story if ten thousand priests did it together.

This alone would fill the battlefield with divine power and put definite pressure on the Gourmet.

That’s what he believed.

Until the Gourmet’s mouth opened again.

Tteueueueueok-!

Something poured out from her opened mouth.

The Pope couldn’t help but doubt his eyes for a moment.

He naturally expected an attack.

But what came out of her mouth were countless demons.

“We greet our lord.”

“We greet our lord.”

“We greet our lord.”

About 20 demons.

All of them were retainers who pledged allegiance to Hemis.

Each one possessed martial prowess ranging from the top tier of heroes to quasi-legendary [almost legendary figures].

However, this power was only measured by the amount of magical energy they possessed.

The real terror of these demons was their rich experience and combat skills gained from wandering the battlefield for a long time.

“You see those guys exuding disgusting energy? Wipe them out.”

“Understood.”

The 20 demons descended to the ground.

A massacre began.

“Kkeuaaaaa!”

“What are these guys!?”

“Block them! Priests, fall back!””Holy Knights! Bring the Holy Knights!”

In fact, no matter how strong Hemis’s retainers were, they couldn’t win against Gatren’s 100,000 elite soldiers.

However, the most elite knights, legends, and commanders were largely absent.

The formation had already collapsed, and the sheer number of soldiers hindered each other.

“Hmph~ I only sent them to buy time, but if they do well, they might wipe out a third of them?”

The smile on Hemis’s lips deepened.

“Shouldn’t you hurry and go?”

If the Pope stepped in, he could stop them before the damage grew.

But if he did, Hemis would surely escape.

“Iik…!”

“I don’t like indecisive men~ Shall I help you a little?”

Hemis snapped her fingers lightly.

Then, a crack appeared in the sky, and bundles of magical energy began to fall through the gap.

Kwagwagwagwagwa-!

The soldiers hit by the intense magical energy were torn to shreds.

Screams rang out, and the number of casualties quickly exceeded thousands.

No matter how elite they were.

If they couldn’t surpass a certain level, they were no different from roadside bugs to Hemis.

But, it seemed that was the same for the Pope.

“Whether those bugs die or not! Do you think I care!?”

Contrary to expectations that he would protect the soldiers, the Pope flew straight at Hemis.

“Gourmet! You absolutely cannot escape from this place!””Haa, you know what?”

Hemis sighed deeply.

Sticky magical energy flowed from her body and began to take on a black form.

“I don’t like clingy men either.”

It seemed it wouldn’t be easy to shake off this sticky man.

***

“Kkeueueuk…!”

“Emergency patient here! Priest! Where’s a priest!?””Do you think you’re the only one in critical condition right now!?””I, I don’t want to die… Please…”

The horrific battle was over.

The shouts and screams that had filled the battlefield had disappeared, replaced by the groans of the wounded.

“The damage… I don’t think we need to bother confirming it.”

Following Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah, even Hemis.

The number of deaths from the battle, which lasted about half a day, alone exceeded 40,000.

Including the seriously injured, it was impossible to even estimate the extent of the damage.

In addition, many soldiers were harmed while defending the Great Temple, so the scale of the damage would be even greater when looking at Gatren as a whole.

It was even more painful that all of them were not ordinary soldiers, but elite soldiers, priests, and holy knights.

“Did you capture Park Hyun-ah?””I’m sorry. We missed her due to Drasen’s interference.”

“I see.”

The Pope nodded.

In the end, nothing was gained.

Numerous elite soldiers, priests, holy knights, heroes, and legends died.

In a situation where the influence of the Deusis Order was rapidly declining, suffering such damage was a losing proposition, not even breaking even.

But both of them were missed.

Park Hyun-ah safely evacuated with Drasen’s support.

Choi Hyun-seok disappeared with Hemis, making it impossible to confirm his life or death.

The Pope clenched his fist tightly.

‘Gourmet… I should have killed her here no matter what…!’

As expected, Hemis was strong.

Unbelievably so for someone in a weakened state.

However, it wasn’t to the point where he would be defeated.

He could have won if he had fought to the end.

But Hemis had no intention of ending things here.

She continued to increase the chaos, and when she judged that the time was ripe, she fled in an instant.

Since the barrier and the anti-teleportation field had all disappeared, there was no way to stop her.

“How is the Great Temple?””Fortunately, we were able to stop it at the point where four were destroyed.”

Kuan Obriel, the leader of the Hounds, lowered his head and said.

“That’s a relief…”

The Pope closed his eyes.

What should he do now?

Gatren suffered a fatal blow in today’s battle.

It was impossible to estimate how long it would take to recover from this damage.

No, it was impossible to recover now that the war with the Drasen Empire had begun.

In the worst situation.

He faced the best enemy.

The odds of winning were about 50/50.

That was only if he personally ran around on his own two feet.

If Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah recovered and joined the war, the odds would instantly tilt to 10/90.

In reality, defeat was a certain future.

The Holy Gatren Empire.

The Deusis Order was now finished.

“Hehe…”

The Pope burst into a hollow laugh.

“I don’t know what a hundred years was for.”

He had worked tirelessly for an unimaginably long time.

He was desperate, as if someone was chasing him from behind every moment.

The blood he shed to achieve his goal would form a river if collected.

All of that had become a bubble.

“Even if I started over from the beginning, could I come this far?”

The Pope shook his head, muttering self-deprecatingly.

“No. I’m too tired.”

Even if he could start over and reach this point.

He didn’t want to anymore.

The passion and will that had filled his chest had burned for too long, leaving only black ashes.

Even if he wanted to light a fire, there was nothing left to burn.

“I’ll have to end it here.”

The Pope looked at Kuan Obriel.

“Sir Kuan Obriel.”

“Yes.”

“Activate the Empire’s Devotion.”

Kuan Obriel’s eyes trembled slightly.

“But, Your Holiness. That’s…””If we miss the timing now, Gatren will collapse without even fighting.”

Kuan Obriel trembled with his head bowed.

Even Gra, who had been cleaning up the filth in the shadow of the Holy Empire, couldn’t easily activate the Empire’s Devotion [a self-destruction mechanism].

Who could easily press the world’s destruction button that could kill millions, perhaps even billions?

“You are not at fault in any way. You are simply following my orders to survive.”

The Pope placed his hand on Kuan Obriel’s shoulder.

“I will give the order. And I will bear all the responsibility and karma.”

Kuan Obriel looked at the Pope with his eyes.

The young Pope, who was so close that he could feel his breath.

The moment he made eye contact with him, his mind burned white and he couldn’t think of anything.

“My words. Do you understand?”

All Kuan Obriel could do was nod.