Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad-Chapter 257

Curiosity flickered in Hemis’s eyes.

It was quite interesting that the Pope had changed into such a youthful appearance.

And this power.

It wasn’t something to be taken lightly, even in jest.

While it might have been different in the past, in her current weakened state, she couldn’t guarantee victory.

“Grotesque Eater… It’s been a while.”

The Pope spat out the words.

His tone suggested as if he had met her before.

“Oh my, you know me?”

The current Pope was elected decades ago.

Hemis hadn’t shown herself in human affairs for about a hundred years, having been stuck in the Black Giant Star.

Naturally, there shouldn’t have been any connection between them.

“I don’t need to know anything. More importantly, that thing in your arms. Hand it over.”

“I don’t want to~”

“Do you think you can defeat me, even if it’s you? Especially in your weakened state?”

Threatening magical power flowed from the Pope.

The magical power harmonizing with powerful holy power felt unfamiliar yet strangely familiar.

Suddenly, a glint appeared in Hemis’s eyes.

“Hmm~ I thought this felt familiar.”

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

“You’re the one they called the Last Hero, aren’t you?”

The Last Hero.

About a hundred years ago from now.

The hero who last challenged the previous Demon King Tegrad.

At that time, she had personally stepped in to open the path to the Demon King’s castle.

She had hoped the fight with a strong human would make Tegrad more vigilant.

‘I thought the Demon King had simply won, but it seems there was a backdoor deal even then?’

The Last Hero and the Demon King.

She remembered being disappointed that their battle ended rather anticlimactically, contrary to her hopes.

Who would have known there was such an inside story?

Looking back now, it made sense that the Demon King and Pope got along well, both being cunning figures.

“Who would have thought that hero from back then would be playing Pope now?”

“I have no interest in conversing with an old monster. Just hand over Choi Hyun-seok quietly.”

“No.”

Hemis grinned.

Her mouth corners rose gradually, then twisted grotesquely until her face was distorted.

The Pope noticed something was wrong and tried to move, but was too late.

“Yaaawn~”

Hemis swallowed Choi Hyun-seok in an instant.

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

He could tell instinctively.

What just happened was closer to ‘storage’ than ‘eating’.

Even if it was eating, he absolutely couldn’t let this go without seeing Choi Hyun-seok’s death with his own eyes.

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

That monstrous growth rate.

He would surely surpass himself before long.

“Is Choi Hyun-seok dead?”

“Who knows~?”

The Pope’s eyes narrowed even more sharply.

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

“Ohohoho! Who’s cutting whose stomach? How interesting~”

“You think I can’t do it!?”

The Pope’s body shot forward like a cannonball.

Such incredible speed it almost seemed like spatial movement.

Hemis quickly flew up into the sky to dodge.

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

“Hmm~ I don’t want to~”

“Then die here!”

Magical power exploded from the Pope.

With the air trembling, vast magical power gathered before him then shot out like a laser.

Kwaaaa-!

High-temperature plasma.

It was magic with enough destructive power to eliminate any material without a trace upon contact.

Moreover, it could move freely, making it difficult to dodge.

Then Hemis’s mouth opened wide.

Kwaaaa-!

The plasma was sucked into her enormous mouth.

Though the Pope released enough magical power to make his body tremble, Hemis didn’t even flinch.

Whoosh…

Soon the magic completely disappeared.

Hemis covered her mouth and smiled with her eyes as she let out a small burp.

“Oh my, excuse me.”

The Pope wasn’t flustered.

This attack was just a probe from the start.

No matter how weakened she is, the opponent is the Grotesque Eater who had made the continent tremble.

He didn’t think she could be dealt with by just one spell.

“The battle is just beginning!”

With a thunderous sound, light began to shine down from the sky.

While Hemis’s abilities are mysterious, she Isn’t without weaknesses.

‘No matter how monstrous, she’s still a demon race. Vulnerable to holy power.’

While it was regrettable that there were no Holy Maiden or holy knights here, it wasn’t a problem.

Because there were countless priests here.

“As Pope, I command! Release holy power immediately and pressure the Grotesque Eater!”

The Pope’s voice echoed across the battlefield.

While using linked magic to spread a barrier would be more effective, it wasn’t possible now.

Instead, he ordered the release of holy power as a makeshift solution.

Whoosh-!

The priests on the battlefield began releasing holy power.

While this reckless action alone might be insignificant, it’s different when ten thousand priests do it together.

This alone began filling the battlefield with holy power, which should surely pressure the Grotesque Eater.

That’s what he believed.

Until the Grotesque Eater’s mouth opened again.

Creeeeak-!

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 from her mouth were countless demon race beings.

“We greet our lord.”

“We greet our lord.”

“We greet our lord.”

About 20 demon race beings.

All were vassals who had pledged loyalty to Hemis.

Each possessed military power ranging from top-tier hero to semi-legendary level.

However, this power was merely measured by the amount of demonic energy they possessed.

Their true terror lay in their rich experience and combat skills gained from years on battlefields.

“See those guys releasing that disgusting energy? Sweep them away.”

“We accept your command.”

The 20 demon race beings descended to the ground.

And the massacre began.

“Arghhh!”

“What are these creatures!?”

“Block them! Priests fall back!”

“Call the holy knights! Bring the holy knights!”

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

However, with most of the elite knights, legends, and commanders absent now.

The formation had long since collapsed, and their large numbers became obstacles to each other.

“Hmm~ I sent them to buy time, but they might sweep away one-third if they do well?”

The smile on Hemis’s lips grew deeper.

“Shouldn’t you hurry and go?”

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

But if he did that, Hemis would certainly escape.

“Tch…!”

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

Hemis snapped her fingers cheerfully.

Cracks appeared in the sky, and bundles of demonic energy began falling through the gaps.

Boom-boom-boom!

Soldiers hit by the intense demonic energy were torn apart.

Screams filled the air, and casualties instantly exceeded thousands.

No matter how elite they were.

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

But apparently, the same was true for the Pope.

“Whether those insects live or die! Do you think I care!?”

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

“Grotesque Eater! You absolutely cannot escape from here!”

“Ah, you know what?”

Hemis let out a deep sigh.

Sticky demonic energy flowed from her body and began taking a black form. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“I don’t like clingy men either.”

Getting rid of this persistent man seemed like it wouldn’t be as easy as expected.

***

“Urgh…!”

“We have critical patients here! Priest! Where are the priests!?”

“You think there’s only one or two urgent cases!?”

“I-I don’t want to die… Please…”

The brutal battle had ended.

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

“The casualties… No need to confirm them specifically.”

Following Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-a, and then Hemis.

In the battle that lasted about half a day, the death toll exceeded 40,000.

Including the severely wounded, the scale of damage was immeasurable.

Moreover, with many troops lost defending the Grand Temple, the damage to Gatren as a whole would be even greater.

It was even more painful that they weren’t ordinary soldiers, but elite troops, priests, and holy knights.

“Did you capture Park Hyun-a?”

“I apologize. We lost her due to Drason’s interference.”

“I see.”

The Pope nodded.

In the end, they gained nothing.

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

To suffer such losses when the Deusis faith’s influence was already rapidly declining.

Even if they had killed both Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-a here, it wouldn’t have been worth it – a losing business.

Yet they lost both.

Park Hyun-a safely evacuated with Drason’s support.

Choi Hyun-seok disappeared with Hemis, making it impossible to confirm if he was alive or dead.

The Pope clenched his fist.

‘Grotesque Eater… I should have killed her here somehow…!’

As expected, Hemis was strong.

Almost unbelievably so for someone supposedly weakened.

However, it wasn’t enough to defeat him.

If they had fought to the end, he could have won.

But Hemis had no intention of ending things here.

After continuously amplifying the confusion, when she judged the time was ripe, she escaped in one breath.

Since both the barrier and the field blocking spatial movement had already disappeared, there was no way to stop her.

“What happened to the Grand Temple?”

“Fortunately, we were able to stop it at the point where 4 were destroyed.”

The Hound Commander, Kuan O’Brien, said while bowing his head.

“That’s somewhat fortunate…”

The Pope closed his eyes.

What should we do now?

In today’s battle, Gartren suffered a fatal wound.

It’s impossible to gauge how long it will take to recover from this much damage.

No, since the war with the Drason Empire is about to begin, recovery is impossible.

In the worst situation.

We’ll face the strongest enemy.

The odds are 50-50.

That’s assuming I personally run on my own two feet.

If Choi Hyun-seok and Park Hyun-a recover and join the battle here, the tide of war will instantly tilt to 1:9.

Defeat was essentially a confirmed future.

The Holy Empire of Gatren.

The Deusis faith is now over.

“Huh huh…”

The Pope burst into a bitter laugh.

“I don’t know what these hundred years were for.”

He had strived for an immeasurably long time.

Every moment was desperate, as if someone was chasing from behind.

If you gathered all the bloodshed to achieve the goal, it would form a river.

All of that has become bubbles on water.

“Even if we started over from the beginning, could we make it this far?”

The Pope, who was muttering self-deprecatingly, shook his head.

“No. I am too tired.”

Even if we could reach this point by starting over.

Now he didn’t want to do that.

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

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

“I must see the end here.”

The Pope looked at Kuan O’Brien.

“Lord Kuan O’Brien.”

“Yes.”

“Activate the Empire’s Sacrifice.”

Kuan O’Brien’s pupils trembled finely.

“But Your Holiness. That is…”

“If we miss this timing, Gatren will collapse without even fighting.”

Kuan O’Brien trembled while keeping his head bowed.

Even for someone who cleaned filth in the shadows of the Holy Empire, the Empire’s Sacrifice couldn’t be activated carelessly.

Who could easily press the button of world destruction that might kill millions, perhaps tens of millions?

“You bear no fault. You are merely following my orders to survive.”

The Pope placed his hand on Kuan O’Brien’s shoulder.

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

Kuan O’Brien looked at the Pope with his eyes.

The young Pope who came close enough to feel his breath.

When their eyes met, his mind burned white-hot and no thoughts could form.

“Do you understand my words?”

All Kuan O’Brien could do was nod his head.

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