Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 120

A vast, barren desert stretched endlessly.
Under the blue sky and scorching sun, the endless expanse of sand showed no sign of an oasis or even a single cactus. Only sporadic, massive rocks jutted out, with hot winds blowing between them, making the landscape even more desolate.
The only life forms that survived under the blazing sun were the peculiar species living beneath the sand.
– Wooooong…! –
A resonant hum emanated from a large structure towering in the center of the desert. It was built atop a massive stone pillar, with a red beam of light shooting skyward from its peak.
Its appearance resembled the elevators used by Ethereals and monsters to board their ships.
– Boom! –
– Crash! –
Not far from the elevator, two human figures and a frog-like monster clashed with grotesque beast-type monsters. The monsters, boasting massive bodies, resembled tigers, leopards, lynxes, and wolves, each armed with sharp teeth and claws. They relentlessly attacked the two humans and the toad monster.
Among them, a bipedal tiger monster exuded a menacing aura and spoke.
“Theodren! Your pretense of nobility ends today. Did you think you could harm our kind and survive?”
The tiger monster’s entire body was stained red, looking like a demon incarnate. At the tiger monster’s provocation, a young man clad in sturdy armor smirked and raised his sharp longsword.
“You’ve gathered all the Bloodstained Chalices. It seems you’ve poured all your resources into this.”
The tiger monster poured the blood from the chalice over itself, doubling its combat power. Even Theodren, who was in the late stages of 6-star, struggled to gain the upper hand against the monster.
Beside him, an elderly man in black robes, his expression grim, cautiously asked.
“Senior, the monster’s aura is unusual. Shouldn’t we consider retreating?”
“No need.”
“…Ugh.”
The frog monster, flicking its tongue, groaned. They were up against eight monsters, and their leader had temporarily boosted his power using a precious artifact.
No matter how he calculated, their defeat seemed inevitable. Yet, their leader’s stubbornness made him desperately want to abandon him and flee alone.
– Bzzzz. –
At that moment, the armored young man reluctantly summoned a dazzling staff from thin air. The staff was made of gold, with a blue gem embedded in its round top.
He raised the staff high into the sky and began muttering in an unknown alien language. The black-robed old man and the frog monster blinked in confusion, having never heard such words before.
– Wiiiiing. –
Soon, a beam of light shot out from the blue gem embedded in the staff, causing the sky to ripple.
As the armored young man performed his suspicious actions, the bipedal tiger monster charged at him like a cannonball.
“Are you trying to escape?!”
– Rumble— Boom! –
Just as the tiger monster’s sharp claws were about to slash the young man’s throat, the sandy ground shook, and a massive worm monster erupted between them.
– Rumble— Boom! –
– Boom! –
Dozens, even hundreds, of these giant sand worms emerged from the ground, attempting to devour the monsters. The monstrous horde, their faces pale, tried to fend off the worms with their fangs and claws but were soon overwhelmed by the sheer number and size of the worms.
“Giant Sand Worms! Why are they… Ugh!”
Strangely, the giant worms only attacked the intelligent beast-type monsters, leaving the armored young man, the black-robed old man, and the frog monster unharmed.
The young man smirked and commanded.
“Let’s use this chance to escape.”
The black-robed old man and the frog monster hurriedly followed him. They soon reached the red pillar of light that soared into the sky.
– Bzzzz. –
The circular stone structure atop the pillar began to rise. The black-robed old man finally sighed in relief.
“Phew, thanks to you, we avoided a disaster. What exactly did you do back there?”
“Actually, I have a ‘key’ as well. That staff is the key. I merely used its authority to temporarily control part of the ship’s system.”
“What?! Ah, so that’s why you didn’t chase after that monster. I was about to explode with frustration, but now I understand why you remained so calm. Haha, though it would have been nice if you had informed us of such an important detail beforehand.”
“I intended to. But since you brought that creature as a key, there was no need to reveal my hand.”
“Ah, that makes sense. Anyway, we can now proceed to inspect the command center as planned. That creature is probably dead by now, with not even a corpse left. No matter how much it consumed the Elixir of Immortality and reached 5-star, trying to navigate this treacherous domain alone was foolish. If it had waited patiently, it could have lived for another six months at least. Tsk, tsk.”
“That was his fate. Let’s forget about him and focus on the future. According to my information, the command center…”
The three supreme beings in the elevator continued discussing their strategy for conquering the command center, their ultimate goal. With the key already in their possession, they seemed indifferent to the fate of the human they had kidnapped.
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***
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He’s definitely a hero. One of the top-tier heroes, no doubt.
Ophelia Grace, the second daughter of the prestigious Grace family of magicians, was certain.
“Sorry about that. The situation was urgent.”
“I thought I was going to get a hole in my stomach.”
“At least wipe your mouth.”
“Oh, ugh.”
With a spell, Ophelia erased the traces left by the black tiger’s maw and stole glances at Isaac, the hero.
He had killed a Tier 2 regular monster in just two blows and covered hundreds of kilometers in an instant. Yet, he showed no signs of fatigue. This indicated he was a 7-star powerhouse.
‘He perfectly concealed his strength and endured poor treatment.’
He must have been on a critical mission, infiltrating this place.
From the start, he had hidden his aura using special methods, concealing his true power and identity from all the Ethereals and monsters aboard the ship.
Even getting captured by Theodren’s group was likely part of his plan.
‘Bringing me along was also his intention.’
She felt like a pawn perfectly manipulated by someone else’s hand. This was a first for her. It must be a difference in experience.
His blue eyes, which occasionally showed boredom, his hollow expression, and his listless gait—he seemed not just familiar with such tasks but utterly tired of them.
He must have been carrying out the duties of a hero for at least hundreds, if not thousands, of years, following the will of the heavens.
Though it was blasphemous to even imagine, he might be resenting his destiny chosen by the heavens.
He exuded an aura of subtle lamentation, misfortune, and laziness.
‘Even if my mouth itches to say something, I am not qualified.’
A hero dissatisfied with the will of the heavens—such blasphemy. Yet, Ophelia was not in a position to criticize his attitude.
She was a fledgling saintess who had just received a secret mission from the ‘Voice.’ It wasn’t her place to challenge a seasoned veteran.
‘I can do this. No, I must do this.’
She, too, had come here following the guidance of the Voice. While she hadn’t managed to control her environment as perfectly as he had, she had never revealed her identity or mission as a saintess to anyone.
“Hero, I look forward to working with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“This mission. I may still be lacking, but as a saintess working with a hero, I’ll do my best.”
“…?”
He played dumb to the end, wearing a face that said, ‘What is she talking about?’ What was the point of acting like this now?
‘Every hero has their own style, I suppose.’
He seemed like the type who preferred to work alone, meticulously planning everything and slowly tightening the noose towards his goal.
It wouldn’t be proper for a rookie saintess to push further when a veteran hero had drawn the line. As someone with a good nature, she decided to back off.
“Never mind, then.”
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***
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The King of Shadows longed for a happy ending, even in his dreams.
The third pattern of the Rift ‘Shadow of Worlds’ was ‘Reconstruction of Events.’
[Castle of Lies]
The massive castle, whose outline was barely visible from the sea of shadows, came into view. As we opened the castle gate and entered, the scenery of a distant past was recreated perfectly.
For now, we were—
“Who are these people?”
“Intruders! Capture them!”
—imprisoned.
– Creak. –
– Clang. –
The King of Shadows had three people who were like light to him. Tonight, we had to save all three and escape with the prince.
If we failed to save even one of them, we would be devoured by this Rift.
If we didn’t execute this pattern correctly, the King of Shadows would appear in his full strength. Facing an unweakened King of Shadows was something I couldn’t handle.
Even if I piled up ores around me as high as a mountain using Tempering, I wouldn’t withstand a single blow.
– Rustle. –
Ophelia, who had been sitting quietly, opened the fairy tale book. She glanced at me and subtly offered the old book.
“Want to read it together?”
“No, thanks.”
“…You already know everything, I see. But just in case you missed something, you should listen. This fairy tale seems to be about the King of Shadows.”
Analyzing the narrative of the Rift was fundamental to conquering it.
As an Ethereal aiming to purify the Rift, her eyes sparkled with determination.
“Any useful information?”
At my question, she suddenly sat up straight, like a student being called on by a teacher.
“The first prince of the Dorothenian Kingdom was a leper. He also had low intelligence and could barely speak. So, he was confined to a secluded tower during his childhood, and the king and queen never visited him.”
It was a common tale in monarchies. The Dorothenian Kingdom, lacking advanced civilization and magical engineering, apparently had no competent doctors.
“A sad story.”
“Right. And the conclusion of this sad fairy tale is…”
The cursed first prince of the Dorothenian Kingdom lived confined in the tower. In that narrow world, only three people brought light to his life.
Nanny Valentine.
Retired knight Bradan.
Fallen noble Elisa.
Nanny Valentine encouraged the first prince, telling him he would become a great king someday. Retired knight Bradan taught him swordsmanship, bringing him the joy of learning. Fallen noble Elisa visited the tower as a reader, becoming the prince’s only friend.
“…On the day of the second prince’s coronation, the soldiers dragged the first prince to the sewers and stabbed him to death. Nanny Valentine tried to stop them and was killed first. Then…”
The soldiers deceived the first prince, telling him he would inherit the throne, and led him to the sewers. Dreaming of becoming king, the first prince was sacrificed for the absolute power of the second prince.
Along with his close companions, retired knight Bradan and fallen noble Elisa.
However, when the first prince saw his Nanny, who had taken the spear for him, he screamed in agony and transformed into a powerful monster.
“Now that you’ve read the fairy tale, you know what we need to do.”
“Yes! We need to kill the second prince and put the first prince on the throne!”
What was she talking about? The foolish first prince loved the second prince too. She clearly hadn’t read the fairy tale thoroughly.
I explained in simple terms that the happy ending of the sad fairy tale was for the four of them to live happily in a quiet village.
“Oh! I see!”
What did she mean by “I see”? And why were her eyes sparkling like that?
Since she started calling me “Hero,” she seemed to rely on me openly. She needed to maintain some caution.
“You take care of retired knight Bradan and fallen noble Elisa.”
“And you, Hero, will save the first prince and Nanny Valentine, right? Got it!”
Once you knew the strategy, this pattern was incredibly simple.
The night was deep, so it was time to move.
– Crack! –
We tore through the prison bars with sheer force and stepped out.