Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad-Chapter 251

As Choi Hyun-seok crossed through the air, he recalled his memories.

‘What happened?’

He clearly remembered launching a kick toward the Pope’s head.

Then for a moment, his eyes met with the Pope’s.

When he came to his senses, he was flying through the roof of the Grand Temple.

‘Judging by how my body aches, I must have been hit by something.’

His whole body was tingling.

The sensation was different from the pain that follows using Plomot.

It was definitely the aftermath of being hit by some strong impact.

‘I don’t know exactly what it was, but he definitely reacted instantly and sent me flying.’

He had expected that someone of the Pope’s status would have an ace up his sleeve, but he didn’t expect him to react at this speed.

Even Choi Hyun-seok himself could barely perceive that speed.

“Whew…”

He adjusted his posture in mid-air and steadied his breathing.

He could now see the Pope who had followed him out of the Grand Temple.

Only then did Choi Hyun-seok properly observe the Pope’s appearance.

Though covered in white garments, just from the exposed skin, one could tell the Pope had a skinny frame.

It was puzzling how he had blocked his attack with such a frail body that looked like it would struggle even to run.

“What a peculiar fate this is. Don’t you agree?”

After they faced each other for a while, the Pope spoke first.

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Being a Hero, I mean. In fact, you’re already a body that has died once, aren’t you? Originally, reincarnation would have been the natural order, yet you fell into this world, deceived by that being called God.”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

The Pope seemed to want to talk about heroes.

Choi Hyun-seok decided to play along.

After all, what mattered now was catching the Pope’s attention while buying time.

There was no reason to refuse the conversation.

“Choi Hyun-seok. Why do you fight? What are you doing all this for?”

The Pope asked.

What do you fight for?

Why go this far?

After contemplating briefly, Choi Hyun-seok smirked and shook his head.

“I have no choice. I’m a hero. It’s a hero’s job to defeat villains like you and save the world.”

“Save the world? That’s just an empty justification. It’s nothing more than propaganda that demands only the hero’s sacrifice.”

“What do you mean? Stop beating around the bush and just say it.”

“You seem to have had no doubts even after defeating the Demon King.”

A hint of disappointment seeped into the Pope’s voice.

With cold, sunken eyes fixed on Choi Hyun-seok, he continued.

“True salvation. Eternal peace. These are all illusions. Like dreams. Choi Hyun-seok. Do you truly believe such a paradise, which even children wouldn’t believe in, will come?”

“That’s…”

Choi Hyun-seok, who was about to say something, closed his mouth.

He wanted to refute but couldn’t think of anything right away.

The Pope’s words had hit right at the core.

Choi Hyun-seok knew this because he had been contemplating similar issues recently.

‘Yeah. It is a messed-up world.’

It was simple at the beginning.

The Demon King was absolute evil.

So if the Demon King was defeated, peace would come.

But reality wasn’t like that.

Nothing changed even after the Demon King died.

Instead, an even more chaotic world had arrived.

‘Is this chaos simply because we didn’t exterminate the demon race?’

Some might say this.

The world hasn’t changed because demon-kind still exists.

As long as a new Demon King appears and demon-kind who follow them exist, peace won’t come.

To suppress the chaos, all demon-kind must be killed.

Choi Hyun-seok shook his head.

‘No. Demon-kind wasn’t the problem, to begin with.’

He could guarantee it.

The fundamental problem isn’t demon-kind.

Even if all demon-kind disappeared from the continent, peace wouldn’t come.

Rather, wasn’t it because of demon-kind’s existence that there was peace between humans?

‘Then will peace come if the Pope and Gatren fall?’

That’s when the Pope’s voice pulled Choi Hyun-seok from his thoughts.

“Right now, you’re probably thinking that I am absolute evil.”

“…”

“Even if I die, and Gatren and the Deusis faith fall. Do you think peace will come to this continent?”

It was a piercing question as if he had seen right through Choi Hyun-seok’s mind.

Choi Hyun-seok clenched his fist.

“Yeah. Peace might not come even if I defeat you. No, it won’t come. As time passes, second Popes, tand hird Popes will keep appearing. After all, crazy people exist anywhere and anytime.”

“Then even now…”

Choi Hyun-seok cut off the Pope’s words.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to give up and turn back.”

“Are you saying you’ll fight a meaningless battle?”

“I’m saying I’ll live a life faithful to the present.”

“How foolish.”

The Pope shook his head as if he couldn’t understand.

Choi Hyun-seok hadn’t particularly expected empathy, so he just let it be.

“This is what heroes are like. How would a villain understand a hero’s heart?”

“That’s why it’s even more foolish. Why won’t you listen to the advice of one who has walked this path before?”

“What…?”

“Have you still not realized?”

Bewilderment clouded Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes.

One who has walked this path before.

In other words…

“You’re saying you’re a hero…?”

Pope Orban IV is a hero.

That’s what he meant.

The Pope neither confirmed nor denied it.

He just retreated slowly with a bitter smile.

“Only a futile death awaits the foolish.”

“Wait!”

“Where are you going!”

Choi Hyun-seok, who tried to chase after the Pope, had no choice but to step back.

Legend Kinley Fusel and her companions Gelling and Asmund.

The legendary trio of the Holy Empire of Gatren blocked his path.

‘With such power, why is he running away?’

Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t understand.

The Pope’s power is shown momentarily.

It was clearly above that of ordinary legends.

Even though it was just one strike, Choi Hyun-seok, who had surpassed the physical abilities of Legends and was even using Plomot, was helplessly overwhelmed.

‘If they combine forces with the Legend Trio now, they could deal with me without much difficulty. Yet he deliberately runs away? There must be a reason.’

Why is the Pope leaving as if running away?

There are largely two possible reasons to speculate.

Either something has happened that forces him to leave his position.

‘Or he’s in a situation where he can’t fight himself.’

The Pope is elderly.

No matter how great his power, it wouldn’t be easy to fight with such an aged body.

What if the Pope lacks the ability to maintain continuous combat?

‘If I can just deal with this trio, I can finish the Pope too.’

Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes gleamed.

Those three are top-tier even among Legends.

Moreover, they’ve worked together for hundreds of years, perfecting their teamwork.

No matter how superior Choi Hyun-seok’s physical specs were, they weren’t opponents whose defeat he could easily guarantee.

‘And now the small fry are starting to gather too. Even those guys can be troublesome when they bunch up.’

He could sense holy power rapidly gathering.

Probably priests and holy knights.

Although Choi Hyun-seok refers to them as small fry, in reality, each one is nothing short of an elite force.

When such individuals gather and start creating synergy, they can quickly surpass even ordinary Legends.

‘What should I do? According to plan, I need to buy time, but the longer this goes on, the more disadvantageous this battle becomes. But if I fight too recklessly, I’ll run out of stamina before filling the time.’

He can’t give it his all.

He can’t hold back either.

As his worries deepened, Rachel’s voice reached him.

“Hero! Get your head in the game!”

“Huh?”

“For now, focus on dealing with the trio in front of you!”

“Ah, right.”

Rachel’s words brought him back to his senses.

Yeah. Now isn’t the time to weigh various options.

The enemies before him aren’t opponents he can afford to face while having such idle thoughts.

“Shall we get started then?”

Choi Hyun-seok adjusted his stance and glared at Kinley Fusel.

***

“I’ll leave the rear to you, Lady Kinley Fusel.”

The Pope said as he withdrew.

Kinley Fusel responded with a slight bow.

Honestly, she wished the Pope would hurry up and disappear.

Being with him was uncomfortable in many ways.

However, the Pope, who said he’d leave things to her, didn’t leave and continued to make irritating remarks.

“Choi Hyun-seok is currently using physical enhancement magic. Don’t try to defeat him forcefully, but drag out the time. It’ll be easier to win by draining his stamina.”

“Yes.”

“Never let your guard down and maintain a defensive approach to the battle.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t let pride get in the way, use everything at your disposal. It’s better to think of the enemy as an overwhelming force.”

“… Yes.”

“Then I’ll trust you and go.”

Contrary to his words about trust, the Pope retreated while looking at Kinley with distrustful eyes until the very end.

Kinley Fusel smiled fiercely while grinding her molars.

“Now you’re openly showing your disrespect. Fine.”

After several failures.

The Pope’s trust in Kinley Fusel seemed to have hit rock bottom.

Although he still appeared respectful on the surface, she knew.

She was only being kept around because there was no replacement.

If there had been another replaceable part available, the Pope wouldn’t have hesitated for a moment before discarding her.

‘Well, maybe it’s better this way. Now that he’s taken away field command authority and uses me purely as a part, it’s easier for me too.’

Thanks to that, Kinley Fusel stepped down from her position as strategy commander.

At some point, the command was taken over by a commander-in-chief appointed by the Pope.

Kinley was reduced to being used as a chess piece called Legend along with her companions.

Because of that, she ended up coordinating with the Hero Unit which had made her uncomfortable, but what could she do?

That’s how it goes – losers follow without complaint.

‘I suppose the one fortunate thing is that they showed some consideration by keeping me away from those insane ones.’ 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The Hero Cultivation Project.

Kinley hadn’t liked them from the start.

Something felt off from when she first learned of the plan, and when she actually met the subjects, that discomfort grew even stronger.

You could say she felt a physiological revulsion.

‘Those things aren’t human.’

People with hollow eyes, every single one of them.

All they know how to do is mechanically destroy things.

That’s why when Kinley was in command of operations, she deliberately excluded the Hero Unit.

‘By now those things should be fighting outside the capital, so I should finish this here without running into them if possible.’

Roughly organizing her thoughts, Kinley gripped her hammer.

Just then, it seemed the other side was ready to fight too, as they could be seen taking stance.

Kinley smiled fiercely.

“The game of tag is over now. Abandon any thought of escape.”

“Escape? Me?”

Choi Hyun-seok pointed to himself with a dumbfounded expression.

“Why would I need to run from a no-hope trio?”

“No-hope trio? What does that mean?”

“It means you three are idiots.”

“You…!”

Though she knew it was a meaningless provocation, her blood pressure rose involuntarily.

This guy, that guy, everyone’s so quick to disrespect her.

Kinley spoke through gritted teeth.

“Is that all for your last words…?”

“No. Come to think of it, you guys seem to throw around the title ‘Legend’ too easily. There’s no weight to it. No weight. I’ll give you something more fitting.”

Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Choi Hyun-seok opened his mouth.

“No-hope trio really suits you well. Or maybe the Three no-hope Siblings works too.”

“I’ll tear that wicked mouth of yours!”

Kinley shouted as she kicked off into the air.

As she moved straight ahead, her companions spread out to the sides.

Three Legends flying at terrifying speed.

The man Choi Hyun-seok, standing at their destination, smiled as if satisfied.

“After all, childish trash talk works best.”

This kind of vulgar provocation is more effective than trying to get under their skin in a sophisticated way.

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