Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 006

Radiant Figure Marius

The leading member of the Dark Redemption Regiment, opening the prologue of Clan of Heroes second episode ‘Light and Darkness’. He becomes a formidable opponent appearing as a raid boss in the latter part of the first part’s story, but his face is briefly revealed even in the early scenes, showing he’s a villain.

Thus, it’s impossible to defeat him now, even if he were to wake up after dying.

“Who are you? Reveal your identity!”

Hwang Man-deuk shouted. He was such an unusual opponent that it’s hard to figure out how to give orders. My mind felt like it had stopped.

‘Ugh, this is ridiculous.’

What do you even do when a guy like that appears in your first mission?

Cold sweat streamed down my spine. Although the robust members could handle it, as a civilian, a graze from Marius’ photon beam meant instant death.

“you want know my identity, you ask? The educator or teacher for failures over there, perhaps?”

Tang!

As soon as Marius revealed himself as a villain, a sniper bullet from Gil-seong pierced through his torso. There was a twist, as if the villain was casually ignoring the attacks without taking any damage.

“Oh no, my cape is ruined.”

He playfully fixed his cape as if performing in a high-class drama. Marius’ ability was ‘Light’. Due to the skill ‘Photon,’ he was immune to physical attacks. Regardless of how hard the current members attacked, they wouldn’t be able to land a single blow on him.

“Haah!”

“Die!”

Thud.

Bang!

Hwang Man-deuk’s punch, Gil-seong’s bullet, and Yeo-Jin-soo’s strike all hit and pierced through villain Marius.

[Hero Hwang Man-deuk’s ‘Solid Fist’ didn’t deal any damage]

[Hero Gil-seong’s ‘Piercing Shot’ didn’t deal any damage]

[Hero Yeo-Jin-soo’s ‘Long Slash’ didn’t deal any damage]

Villain Marius endured all those attacks while laughing.

Zing.

Zwaaah!

Light burst forth followed the trajectory of Marius flicked finger.

And that was the end of it.

“Ugh!”

“Kyaaah!”

All members of the 1st Squad, who had been filled with confidence just a moment ago, collapsed without a fight.

[The heroes are now in an incapacitated state]

[The battle gauge has dramatically increased]

“……”

Multiple ‘Photon Beams’ shot out, blazing toward the squad members.

It was only a speculation; it was too fast to see properly.

In the blink of an eye, all the members were wiped out.

An overwhelming power difference.

“Well, I didn’t control my strength. It’s because I cherish this cape.”

Marius, who looked like a mild-mannered monk, scratched his head and shook with laughter.

He had probably killed thousands or even tens of thousands of innocent people with that face.

Marius came flying toward me.

My mind grew distant. My chest felt tight, making even breathing difficult.

“Give it a try. Killing you outright would be boring.”

Confidence that no matter what a pitiful hero before him did, it wouldn’t harm him.

In reality, the difference in strength between him and me was like heaven and earth.

‘Am I… dying? Is it this anticlimactic?’

Blank mind.

I can’t think of anything.

What am I supposed to do here…?

‘Ah?’

In a moment of despair, by chance, my gaze fell below. my mind grew chillingly cold. It felt like an arrow was released from the arrogant smile on his face.

“Not yet. It’s not over until it’s over.”

Marius is careless. And at the lower left corner of my field of view, in the center of a cyan circular gauge, a value was displayed: [100%]. The gauge had just reached its maximum.

Even the previously inactive leader skill icon was now lit.

「Final Finish」

▶ Category: Leader Skill

▶ Grade: Transcendent

▶ Description: Can be used when the combat gauge reaches 100%. The combat gauge accumulates through the influence of various combat elements.

▶ Effect: When used, enhances the next attack to have the power of a finishing blow. The attack receives an unconditional ‘Finishing Blow’ judgment.

‘There’s no other choice.’

With a swift motion, I raised my fist. If the attack misses, it’s over. Marius is ready to receive my attack while being overly confident.

Thud.

Cold sweat dripped down his chin.

If I want to survive, I have to do something. If I do nothing, nothing will change.

‘Please.’

A technique born from sacrificing twelve legendary-grade leader skills. Its rank is transcendent.

“Afraid? I told you to do something.”

Snick.

Marius sneered. Pure malice, as if he wanted to play with a weakling like a toy, was written all over his lips.

“Well then, I won’t hold back.”

Even if the sky collapses, there’s a single opportunity to rise. As I raised my right arm to form a fist, my left hand discreetly touched the activated [Leader Skill] button.

[Used ‘Final Finish’]

[The next attack will be enhanced with the power of a finishing blow]

I clenched my teeth.

‘I can do it. My body, and my squad…’

I’ve never been in a fight, never learned martial arts. So, I just clenched my fist with all my might and swung with all the force containing my frustration.

‘I will Protect us with my own hands!’

A pathetic stance. The last stand of a typical loser.

A feeble punch with no rotation in the shoulders or waist.

“Hahaha, you call that an attack?”

Thud.

As my punch, which even I felt was pathetic, finally made contact with the villain Marius’s abdomen…

A series of ones echoed.

“Pa-a-a-a-ang!”

A miracle occurred.

There was no other way to explain this phenomenon but as a miracle. It manifested right before my eyes.

“…!”

An inexplicable strength or a transcendental force. Something like that struck the villain with my fist just now.

Whoaaaa!

A tremendous noise that made me wonder if a nuclear explosion had gone off slammed against the snail shell-like structure, and shockwaves swept through the entire auditorium.

The unknown power that had filled my body vanished in an instant, and I turned into a powerless Isaac once again.

‘This… is… Final Finish?’

Literally, a finishing blow in a single strike.

My eyes widened in disbelief.

Hoo-oo-oo-ng…

It took about ten seconds for the shockwaves to finally subside.

“Kkuk….”

Where my fist was headed.

There was now a hole in the villain Marius’s abdomen, resembling a manhole cover.

Our gazes met.

In the bloodshot eyes of the guy, whose blood vessels had burst and turned red, feelings of distrust were swirling.

“You… wh-who…”

That was the final incoherent mumbling of the villain Marius.

Squelch squelch,

Pa-a-a-a-ang.

His body began to split apart, disintegrating into light.

Light particles scattered from his fingertips. In the end, even his body and face dissolved into light, passing through my cheeks like a gentle spring breeze and fading away.

“This… I… did it?”

It felt unreal.

Like I was dreaming.

oo-oo-ooh…

Dust floated down beneath the auditorium, and the beam of light from the radiant Marious below, which had been threatening us, vanished without a trace.

Soon, the result of the battle was right in front of us.

[VICTORY!]

[Defeated the Radiant Marius (Avatar)]

[Earned 1,000 points by defeating a formidable foe]

‘I… did it?’

My fingertips trembled sweetly.

I went from death to life.

Not only did I save the lives of my squad and myself, but I also prevented the loss of civilian lives that would have occurred due to the terror.

It was unbelievable.

The fact that I had achieved all of this.

‘It’s real. I protected them.’

In a corner of the collapsed spectator seats.

The dust-covered squad members looked up at me on the stage, their expressions full of bewilderment. An emotion that was difficult to put into words surged within me. I had been about to walk towards the exhausted squad members when a sense of pride briefly welled up. With the tension dissipating, the stress that had been suppressed suddenly surged back. My head felt clear, but my body was exhausted.

In the midst of extreme exhaustion, control over my body slipped away, and it felt like even my mind was abruptly disconnected.

“…?”

Fwoosh!

Through the blurry vision, flames surged. A human form was engulfed in flames. More precisely, flames were erupting from a person’s body.

Thinking that I might be seeing things, I closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them.

‘Ah.’

It wasn’t an illusion.

Shoulders squared. Overbearing presence, self-centered features. Even without the help of information panels, I could deduce the identity of the one spewing flames.

‘Class S Hero, Flame Emperor.’

One of the most powerful NPCs in Klahi.

*********

Kuung.

An energy wave that made the skin tingle to the point of numbness, originating several kilometers away from the outskirts of the city.

‘At least a Level 1 disaster, this is an emergency.’

Kiiiiick.

Fwoooosh.

A man who had abruptly stopped his open car was enveloped in flames. The high-temperature energy was released downward, propelling the man upward like a missile.

Hoo-waaaah!

It took only a few dozen seconds for the time it took to travel to the source of the energy wave through the air.

Gooooooo.

Even the Class S Hero himself, who could hardly guarantee victory, detected an immense evil presence, emanating from the grand dome-like structure.

‘Evacuating? Seems like someone got here first!’

Citizens who seemed to have escaped from inside the building were fleeing in a row. The worst situation had not yet occurred.

Fwoosh!

The flames that supported the country with their fiery talents, the pillar of the hero Flame Emperor, reached their maximum output.

Kwuung.

“….”

The moment he switched into combat mode, just as he was being deployed to the scene, that different intensity from an immense evil force pressed down on him.

The unknown energy’s total quantity easily exceeded the presence of immense evil. Two powerful energies were on the verge of collision.

‘A shockwave is coming!’

I had to prevent a situation where the entire city could be blown away. I erected a massive wall of flames, ensuring that the explosion wouldn’t engulf the city.

Fwoosh!

Paang.

“Who’s that?!”

The Flame Emperor flew towards the scene like bullet of flame. The scene, viewed with his superhuman eyes, was a man who had faced an opponent only once before, overseas.

A villain who had wreaked havoc across all of Europe, a high-ranking member of DRR with a notorious reputation—Marius. And the man whose name I didn’t know, delivering powerful punches against him.

“Ha-ah!”

Fwoosh!

Rising flames.

As Marius was about to devour him, the mysterious man’s fist, punched with determination, struck Marius’s abdomen.

Whossshhh!

“…!”

The fabric of reality warped. Right after, a delayed sonic boom phenomenon followed suit.

Paaah!

Flames surged.

“What the…!”

An unbelievable power that couldn’t be believed as the ability of just one hero. In terms of sheer destructive force, it was an attack on the level of the world’s top.

‘Even his presence vanished in an instant. Not just the output, but perfect control over his magic power as well!’

Due to the rushing shockwave, visibility was almost zero, yet Flame Emperor’s power armor was clearly visible and he focused on the man who had confronted villain Marius.

‘Who are you?’

Hoo-woooong…

Fwoooosh!

Flame Emperor, confirming the destruction of villain Marius, ignited flames to reveal his presence.

The man who felt the heat turned his gaze calmly.

Swoosh.

As expected, it was an unfamiliar face.

Blue eyes combined with a wild demeanor. Over it flowed an indolent anger. Breathing out a shallow sigh as if displeased with something, he half-opened his eyes and looked through Class S Hero Flame Emperor.

An expression that said if you have something to say, say it quickly and get lost.

Though his attitude was rude, it didn’t particularly anger me.

The man’s unique aura made it clear that he shouldn’t be trifled with.

‘He has allies. He’s not an unregistered ability user.’

The audience seats of the Art Hall had turned into a mess. Heroes who appeared to be his allies were struggling to stand up. The place was a mess, and so were the fleeing citizens.

The man would have performed security duties with them here. Then, when villain Marius attacked, he had used his full strength to annihilate him during the critical moment of crisis.

I was curious.

Why hadn’t the reputation of such a person spread yet?

“Who are you?”

“Hero, isaac.”

“…Isaac?”

A name I had never heard before.

Naturally, his name wasn’t listed among the eight S-rank heroes in South Korea.

“I am the leader of the clan [Harmony Clan]”

Harmony Clan. That was a name I had heard before.

A recently talked-about clan due to unethical management, and also the place that had caused controversy by signing a contract with Seo Eun-ha, the granddaughter of the guaranteed star association chairman. However, the man in front of me, hero Isaac, surpassed most S-rank heroes in terms of power.

Yet, I had never heard any rumors about the leader of the Harmony Clan being S-rank.

“We can be talk later. For now, I’m exhausted.”

He did look tired. Not physically, but mentally.

‘His eyes are dead.’

His demeanor seemed to say that he couldn’t even be bothered to breathe. Even though he had defeated immense evil and protected the city, there was no change in his attitude. Even when the S-rank hero Flame Emperor appeared, he seemed indifferent.

Through the insight and experience of a top-level hero, Flame Emperor vaguely saw through the essence of the man named Isaac.

‘I think I know. The path that man walked.’

Sometimes, there are things that you can understand without even hearing them. Among the veteran heroes who have been active on the front lines for decades and retired, there is hardly anyone who hasn’t suffered from mental afflictions. That is the grim underbelly of the dazzling heroes on the surface. Not just anyone reaches that kind of point.

Beyond the bodies of his comrades, even if his bones and organs were twisted, he wouldn’t skip a single day of training. Flame Emperor had also endured such adversity.

‘Even such great heroes have fallen so miserably.’

That’s the life of a hero. After long trials, emotions become rough, and eventually, even the reason for living is lost. Flame Emperor had witnessed the expressions of heroes whose gaze had died out many times.

Thud, thud.

Isaac, weakly moving away, took deep breaths as he looked after his comrades. Among them, the face of Hero Seo Eun-ha was visible as well. There was also a tall boy who seemed to have seen him somewhere before.

‘Did they not know either?’

The young heroes’ reactions were as such. When Isaac opened his mouth, they couldn’t meet his gaze and lowered their heads. Sometimes they would gaze blankly at his back, or sneak glances at his face. It was a mixture of awe, fear, and bewilderment in their gestures.

Whee-eeeing…

Beep beep beep…

The sound of an ambulance came from a distance.

Isaac, who had brought out the young members, looked at Flame Emperor, who was still standing, with a hint of dissatisfaction.

“Step aside.”

“Is this a hobby, or lingering attachment?”

“Think whatever you want.”

Isaac extended his hand with a vexed expression that seemed to say the world was a nuisance. It was a signal for him to leave quickly.

Now he was the leader of the Harmony Clan. Most likely, his true identity was a worn-out former hero with emotions eroded away. His status probably wouldn’t have been hard to conceal.

‘I’m curious.’

The story of an absolutist who had abandoned his past, and the footprints he would leave going forward.

Whoosh.

He reached out his arm. He couldn’t help but do so. It was the camaraderie, admiration, or similarity he felt as someone who had walked the same path, having forged himself through absolute trials.

Though the reason for it was unclear even to Flame Emperor himself, he found a faint smile on his lips.

“Until we meet again.”

“…”

Thump.

Isaac let out a small sigh and wordlessly accepted Flame Emperor’s handshake.

That marked the historic first meeting between S-rank Hero Flame Emperor and Isaac, the leader of the Harmony Clan.