Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 269

Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah immediately entered the Imperial Palace.

They needed to find the Pope right away.

This fight would only end if they eliminated him as quickly as possible.

Despite knowing this, they had to stop for a moment.

The bizarre sight inside the Imperial Palace caught their attention.

“…It’s like white ice.”
“It’s just a mass of Divine Power. I don’t know how much Divine Power is needed to make something like this.”

The floor, walls, and ceiling were all covered in pure white Divine Power crystals.

If the outside was like a snow-covered city, the inside was like a frozen ice cave.

The Divine Power crystals didn’t just cover the walls; they hung down like icicles.

“Doesn’t it feel like we’re being pressured not to enter?”

For some reason, that’s how it felt.

This pure white world felt like a sanctuary that rejected human intrusion.

Park Hyun-ah nudged Choi Hyun-seok and walked past him.

“What a load of crap. You’re not getting scared now, are you?”

She reached out and grabbed an icicle-shaped crystal mass.

It was to check if there was any danger.

“Ugh, it’s disgustingly hard.”

She tried to break off the crystal, but it wouldn’t budge.

Choi Hyun-seok, who was watching from the side, grabbed it with her, and only then did the crystal fall off with a snap!

The crystal was about 50cm long.

An enormous amount of Divine Power was felt within it.

“This one chunk alone is equal to a Cardinal-level of Divine Power.”

Just looking at the hallway they were standing in, there were more than ten crystals of this size.

Considering the enormity of the Imperial Palace, there would probably be thousands, or even more, crystal masses.

It was impossible to even estimate how much Divine Power was concentrated in this city and the Imperial Palace.

“This is harder than it looks. At this rate, it could protect the building on its own.”
“Right. It wouldn’t even get scratched by a decent attack.”

The entire Imperial Palace was covered in solid Divine Power crystals.

This wasn’t a bad situation for them.

The fact that the building was sturdy meant that it was harder for external enemies to invade.

“Let’s keep moving. It’s hard to tell because the Divine Power is so dense, but it seems to be getting stronger in that direction.”

Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah hurried on.

Finding where the Pope was in the massive Imperial Palace wasn’t really a problem.

Even in the Divine Power-condensed Imperial Palace, there was a place where the Divine Power felt particularly strong.

In all likelihood, the Pope was there.

How long had they been moving like that?

“We’re almost there.”

The Divine Power was noticeably intensifying.

Now, they could feel their bodies being pressed down by the energy alone.

The Divine Power crystals also gradually increased, and the structure of the building was barely visible.

It was believable that it was a uniquely shaped natural cave.

Only pure white crystals were sparkling everywhere.

“That’s far enough.”

It was then that a group of people appeared.

A petite woman and twenty giant muscle-bound men were standing there.

The muscle-bound men had physiques that exceeded the limits of humans, making the woman standing in front of them look relatively small.

“This is a sacred area. You unbelievers cannot pass through here.”
“Long time no see. You look great. After selling your god like that, did you finally get divine punishment?”

Park Hyun-ah provoked them with a relaxed expression, but inside, she was very flustered.

This situation was completely unexpected.

She and Choi Hyun-seok quickly exchanged glances.

‘Damn it.’

‘Weren’t all the Cardinals fighting outside?’
‘There were way more than we expected.’

Before entering this place, they had briefly confirmed that nearly twenty Cardinals were fighting Kinley Fusel and his group.

Naturally, they expected that there would be no Cardinals inside the Imperial Palace, or at most five or less.

But when they opened the lid, another twenty Cardinals appeared.

In addition to that, there was the woman at the very front.

It was clear that she was the Saintess Moriel.

‘That woman. Be careful.’

Saintess Moriel originally possessed the most Divine Power on the continent.

What kind of monster had she transformed into after the Empire’s devotion?

At least outwardly, her body hadn’t swollen up like the Cardinals.

However, her body was covered in Divine Power crystals, making it smooth and shiny, and her eyes had turned pure white, making it a bizarre sight where it was impossible to tell where she was looking.

Frankly speaking, she looked more like a mass of Divine Power than a human.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Park Hyun-ah sighed inwardly.

She couldn’t see a way out of this situation.

Time was running out.

The enemies were strong.

They couldn’t just leave them and go find the Pope.

No, the question was whether they could even beat them in the first place.

“Unbelievers. You will….”

It was then that a tentacle flew in.

Whoosh!

The tentacle, which flew in from the back of the hallway at a terrifying speed, instantly passed Choi Hyun-seok and bit Saintess Moriel’s head.

Crack-!

Moriel, whose head had been blown off, collapsed to the ground.

“What is…?”

A voice of disbelief leaked out.

At the same time, the sound of heels echoed through the hallway.

Clack- clack-

“Heung~ Sorry, what did you say? What’s an unbeliever?”

Hemis appeared with a smirk.

She nonchalantly stomped on Saintess Moriel’s back.

“Say it again.”

***

Hemis looked around with an arrogant expression.

For some reason, the Cardinals were just standing there, watching.

Saintess Moriel was lying face down, her head gone.

Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-ah’s widened eyes showed their bewilderment.

As if these reactions were amusing, Hemis’s lips curved into a deeper smile.

“You’re later than I thought? Do you know how hard it was for me while waiting?”

Waiting, she said.

Choi Hyun-seok blinked at the incomprehensible words.

“What do you….”

Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t finish his question.

Saintess Moriel, whose head had been blown off.

She stood up.

“…”

There was still nothing above her neck.

Saintess Moriel stood upright in that spot without a head.

Fwoosh…

The surrounding Divine Power crystals began to gather.

The crystals gradually took shape and soon formed the shape of a human face.

She had regenerated her severed head.

“Gourmand [Hemis’s nickname, referring to her ability to consume anything]. You’ve appeared again.”

Saintess Moriel spoke with a nonchalant expression, as if she didn’t care about such things.

“Heung~ It’s still amazing. No matter how many times I see it, I don’t understand the principle behind it, you know?”
“You also cannot pass through this place. Give up.”

In fact, Hemis had been in Gratiam [the Empire’s capital city] all along.

To be precise, she had been attacking the Imperial Palace alone to eliminate the Pope.

However, she had not achieved any results for over ten days.

Saintess Moriel and the Cardinals’ defense was too solid.

In particular, Saintess Moriel recovered from any injury in an instant, so she had no idea how to deal with her.

“Choi Hyun-seok. Park Hyun-ah and I will hold them back, so you go inside and eliminate the Pope.”

Suddenly, Hemis erased her smile and said.

“Yes?”

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t know how to react.

She suddenly appeared and told him to eliminate the Pope.

Of course, he was planning to deal with the Pope even if she didn’t say so.

But was it right to leave them behind and go alone?

“Wouldn’t it be better to deal with them all together here and then confront the Pope?”
“No. Even if we go together, we won’t be of any help.”

He couldn’t understand more and more.

Hemis and Park Hyun-ah were forces that could be called the strongest on the continent.

If they weren’t helpful, then who would be?

However, Hemis’s expression was firm.

For some reason, she seemed to be sure of her thoughts.

“Only you can win. This was that kind of fight from the start.”
“Hey. You better listen to her now.”

Park Hyun-ah stepped forward and said.

“We’ll block these bastards, so you go inside.”

“…I’ll leave it to you.”

Choi Hyun-seok kicked off the ground and shot out like an arrow.

His honest feeling was confusion.

Why did Hemis appear at this timing?

Why was she trying to send him to the Pope?

What did Park Hyun-ah believe in Hemis that she was telling him to follow her?

He couldn’t understand any of it.

However, Choi Hyun-seok ran without looking back.

‘In the end, everything will be resolved if I just kill the Pope.’

One most important and certain fact.

That was that this fight would end if he eliminated the Pope.

In order to eliminate him, he had to meet him first.

If it served that purpose, he didn’t care about any other trivial questions.

“It’s useless. You can never pass through this place.”

The Cardinals and Saintess Moriel began to move.

As if they would never let Choi Hyun-seok go.

However, Hemis wasn’t going to let them.

Chwaaaaa!

Hemis’s lips tore open, and countless tentacles burst out.

At the end of the tentacles were small mouths that looked like shrunken lips.

Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!

Hundreds of tentacles intertwined and tore at flesh indiscriminately.

It didn’t matter how much they surrounded themselves with Divine Power.

They devoured the flesh of the Cardinals and Saintess as if biting into soft tofu.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Park Hyun-ah also used her Fighting Spirit to blow away the approaching Cardinals.

She mainly used magic, but that didn’t mean her close combat abilities were lacking.

Rather, she showed overwhelming abilities that were superior to any legend.

“Unbeliever! Stop there…!”

Kwaaaang-

The Cardinals who tried to stop Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t even approach due to the overwhelming magic power.

In the meantime, Choi Hyun-seok disappeared leisurely to the other side of the hallway.

***

After a brief sprint, Choi Hyun-seok arrived in front of a huge door.

“It’s here.”

The Pope was beyond this door.

The density of Divine Power was so high that his vision was blurred like a fog.

He felt like Divine Power was entering his body just by breathing.

Choi Hyun-seok tensed his body and pushed the door.

Kugugugugu…

Because the door was covered in Divine Power crystals, it felt like pushing a huge rock.

Kooong!

Soon, the door opened completely.

At the same time, his vision was completely dyed white.

The space, presumed to be a chapel, had a mysterious atmosphere due to the Divine Power crystals and the Divine Power particles floating in the air like mist.

In the middle of it, the Pope was standing.

He, who had been closing his eyes, felt a presence and slowly opened his eyes.

“I was expecting you to come.”

The Pope’s eyes were pure white.

Like Saintess Moriel, whom he had seen outside.

He was also looking at Choi Hyun-seok with pure white eyes.

“Can I ask you just one thing?”

Choi Hyun-seok nodded.

Either way, he also needed some preparation for the final fight.

He circulated his mana and awakened the cells throughout his body.

Phlomote Stage 1 – Blooming (開花) [Activation of mana within the body].

His skin turned reddish, and his heart rate quickened.

He stared at the Pope with bloodshot eyes.

“Why did you choose to be a hero?”

“…Well. If you’re asking about the mindset of a hero, I don’t know either.”

Choi Hyun-seok’s mana began to rage even more violently.

Phlomote Stage 2 – Full Bloom (滿開) [Further amplification of mana].

The reddish skin turned completely red, and hot steam began to rise from his body.

“Think about it. Is salvation even possible in this world? No, do you even believe it’s possible in the first place?”
“So? You’re just going to flip everything over because you’re annoyed like a little kid? If you’ve eaten your age [grown up], you should act your age, you punk.”

Choi Hyun-seok’s body turned completely black, not just red.

The bloodshot eyes also turned pure white, becoming pure white eyes like the Pope.

Phlomote Stage 3 – Falling Petals (落花) [Peak of mana control, nearing its limit].

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t stop there.

“I don’t really have any grand reasons for acting like a hero.”

Originally, Phlomote consisted of three stages of Fighting Spirit.

While modifying it to fit his body, he added one more thing.

“There are so many guys who get in the way of what I want to do. Yeah. I’m talking about guys like you.”

“…”

“So I just get rid of them first.”

The mana began to burn his body, beyond just stimulating it.

The flames of mana soared above the skin that was dying black.