Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 126

– Ziiing─. –
Over 30% of the Celestial Canopy of the small world had been lifted.
Almost there. No, it was practically a success. There was no one on this Trial’s Ark who could oppose him.
A sinister smile played on the lips of Theodren, the ascendant who had awaited this day.
By the arrangement of his ancestors, his body was absorbing vast amounts of corrupted power.
The power was so overwhelming that it was difficult to control, but ironically, the ancient spell engraved on the triangular structure that sealed the fallen angel was preventing him from going berserk.
– Wooooong―. –
– Flash! –
Suddenly, a bright light flashed above the command center, and two figures fell to the floor.
‘As expected. Someone has come.’
Determination flashed in Theodren’s eyes.
If the ancestors had arranged for him to acquire their remains today, the angels who had sealed him would have also prepared countermeasures.
“Keyholder?”
The intruder in the black suit had a familiar appearance. He was the ethereal being from the small world that Gojeok had brought, claiming he held the key.
His presence had been bothersome from the start, but a mere 3-star being could not obstruct his path.
‘He has reached 5-star by consuming the Declining Life Elixir. The woman beside him is also only at the early 6-star level.’
A smirk formed on his lips.
He had already absorbed most of his ancestor’s remains, reaching 8-star. No matter how unique the treasure the 6-star being wielded, it could never match an 8-star ethereal.
“A familiar face among them. Gojeok, Gorgog. Subdue him and bring him to me. Do as you wish with the woman.”
“Understood!”
At Theodren’s command, the old man in black robes, Gojeok, and the frog monster, Gorgog, simultaneously flew to the third floor.
Since Theodren had taken control of the ship, there was no problem using the flight technique.
“The runaway has come back on his own. Foolish brat.”
Gojeok grinned wickedly as he faced Isaac, the young man in the black suit.
This brat had dared to defy the orders of his seniors and escape the cave. Though his key was now meaningless, it was infuriating that he had survived with such mediocre skills after breaking through the barrier with just a 5-star level.
“And you? You needed the key but managed to get into the command center.”
“What?! How dare you! Kneel and show respect immediately!”
Fury surged to the top of his head.
He wanted nothing more than to punch the brat’s face, but Theodren had ordered him to capture, not kill.
‘And the woman?’
The woman was not part of the order.
Having come with the insolent brat, she had likely been brought along after being charmed by Isaac’s handsome face.
‘They must have met by chance, and she probably asked him to protect her, using the key as leverage.’
In reality, they had appeared above the command center using some kind of spatial teleportation technique.
Had they not met them, they might have escaped the ship with the treasure.
‘Do as you wish with her, he said.’
– Crunch! –
His fist clenched with force.
He couldn’t bring himself to go easy on the one who had defied his orders and fled. Instead, he decided to vent his anger on the woman. If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have to see Isaac’s infuriating face.
“The aura of a fallen angel! Theodren, did you unseal the fallen angel?”
The woman dared to speak without fear.
Her face was quite attractive; it seemed like she could be turned into a servant after being half-killed. Just as he was about to launch his first attack, Gorgog’s voice echoed in his mind.
“Isn’t that the ethereal who was with the sage back then? What is going on here?”
“Who knows. But what is certain now is that we need to capture those bastards, no matter what.”
“That shouldn’t be difficult. I can handle it alone.”
“Our senior is watching. We should at least pretend to do our best. I’ll take care of the woman.”
– Flash! –
Gojeok shot forward like a snake, aiming a fist at the woman with the bow on her back, Ophelia.
She was in the early stages of 6-star, so she reacted half a beat too late to Gojeok’s swift movement.
– Swoosh―. –
In that critical moment, a black tiger was summoned in midair and swiped at Gojeok with its front paw.
– Thud! –
“Huh?!”
Gojeok was pushed back by the single blow. The black tiger was undoubtedly Isaac’s summoned creature. However, its power was on a different level compared to what he had seen near the Land of Screams.
‘Even if he’s reached 5-star, this is!’
– Screeech! –
– Thud! –
The black tiger charged and swung its paw again. The movement was so fast that Gojeok could barely defend himself.
After taking three or four more hits, Gojeok’s arm throbbed, and he had to retreat.
“How, how is this possible!”
His eyes widened as if they would pop out.
Isaac was now exuding the aura of a late-stage 6-star.
Even though the Declining Life Elixir was optimized for rapidly elevating a person’s level, reaching late-stage 6-star in just a few months was nothing short of a miracle.
Gorgog was equally astonished.
“His level has suddenly risen to late-stage 6-star!”
“This, this can’t be… This is impossible. What trickery have you used, you scoundrel!”
It must have been a legendary treasure, like the Blood Flame Vessel of the tiger monster, which temporarily boosted one’s level.
Heaven was truly indifferent; how could such a treasure fall into the hands of an ungrateful wretch like him!
“What do we do now? Our senior is watching. If you have any hidden treasures, now’s the time to use them!”
“Do you think I have such things? Do you think treasures that can counter a higher level are common?”
Gojeok and Gorgog’s resolve wavered.
Meanwhile, the black tiger was charging at them, and a phoenix made of blue flames appeared, spewing fire.
– Boom! –
Gojeok deflected the blue fireball, only to see hundreds of arrows reflected in his eyes.
“Damn it!”
– Screeech―. –
– Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! –
Gojeok’s hands and feet moved at invisible speeds. Only two of the light arrows struck his shoulder and chest.
In contrast, five arrows were embedded in the large body of the frog monster, Gorgog.
They pulled out the arrows with simple physical manipulation techniques and glared at the archer, Ophelia.
He wanted to take down the annoying archer first, but the two summoned creatures were standing firm, making it difficult to approach.
– Crunch! –
– Thud―. –
Gojeok, who was engaged in a fierce battle with the black tiger, had a sudden glint in his eyes.
“That guy hasn’t moved a single step since earlier. He seems specialized in summoning techniques!”
“That seems to be the case! Let’s target him together.”
– Whoosh―. –
– Flash! –
Gojeok gathered his mystical power and executed his fastest escape technique.
Escape techniques allowed monks to move quickly over long distances, and his movements were so fast that afterimages were left in the air.
– Whoosh! –
A strong wind blew towards Isaac.
Gojeok had used Wind Escape Technique, known for its speed among escape techniques.
– Swoosh! –
Simultaneously, Gorgog emerged from beneath his feet. Using Earth Escape Technique, which allowed movement through the ground, he had bypassed the two summoned creatures and charged forward.
‘It’s over!’
Gojeok’s firm grip reached for Isaac’s neck. Unable to subdue an opponent of a higher level, he intended to break Isaac’s neck in one swift move.
“You lined up perfectly.”
– Sling―. –
The Karna Blade was drawn from Isaac’s scabbard. His movement seemed to defy the flow of time, slicing vertically in an instant.
– Slash! –
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
Gojeok and Gorgog were engulfed in excruciating pain as if their bodies were being split in half.
Barely retreating and trembling, they applied first aid to their wounds and hastily poured healing potions into their mouths.
Witnessing this, Theodren, who had almost fully absorbed the remains of his ancestor, had a curious look in his eyes.
‘What an intriguing fellow.’
A being whose limit was at the 5-star level suddenly emitted the aura of a late 6-star, and just moments ago, displayed swordsmanship worthy of a 7-star swordsman.
‘A peculiar constitution that allows the size of his vessel to change freely.’
Isaac’s level had dropped back to 5-star. Even if he used a special technique to hide his aura perfectly, he couldn’t deceive the eyes of an 8-star like Theodren.
Isaac’s level genuinely rose and fell.
“Fools. Step back and tend to your wounds.”
“S-Sorry.”
Despite their severe injuries, Gojeok and Gorgog had to kneel submissively. Theodren, who approached by folding space, passed by the two nearly dead men and stood before Isaac.
“You have an interesting body. I would like to conduct various experiments on it, but I prefer it undamaged. So, I have a proposal. After the experiments, I will transfer your consciousness into a new body, so why not surrender and stop this meaningless resistance?”
Theodren was an 8-star absolute being.
Even if Isaac forcibly raised his level with his peculiar constitution, he could never be a match for Theodren.
However, Isaac, perhaps mentally exhausted from the arduous march, began to speak nonsense.
“Did you gain complete control of the Ark? How did you do it?”
“Haha, why do you ask such a thing? Do you think you can control the ship with your incomplete key? Do you really think that’s possible?”
“The key? Is that rod stuck down there the key?”
“Indeed. I, Theodren, am the new captain of this ark. Soon, the Celestial Canopy enveloping the small world will be lifted, and the power used there will be redirected to control the ship.”
“Lifting the Celestial Canopy to control the ship? Hmm, I might have use for this ark in the future.”
Isaac looked around the command center as if the Trial’s Ark would soon be his own.
Theodren’s brow furrowed slightly at Isaac’s arrogant attitude.
“Tsk tsk, I gave you a chance to live, but you didn’t take it. Foolish.”
– Ziiing―. –
– Thud! –
A purple line of energy shot from Theodren’s index finger, piercing Isaac’s chest. A fist-sized hole appeared exactly where his heart was.
Ophelia, standing behind Isaac, let out a short scream, but then nodded as if she understood something when a black shadow covered the wound.
“Hmm?”
“Theodren! Pretending to be an ascendant while coveting the power of a fallen angel, I will purify you according to the will of heaven!”
Saint Ophelia placed her left hand on her waist and pointed her right index finger at Theodren, speaking clearly.
It was so absurd that he was momentarily speechless.
How dare beings at 6-star challenge an 8-star existence? Did they think they had multiple lives?
Theodren decided to simply annihilate these irrational fools.
“Tsk tsk, you are in poor condition. Both of you, die.”
– Ziiing. –
– Swoosh―! –
Once again, purple energy shot from Theodren’s fingers. It was much thicker and more intense than before, but as it approached Isaac, a black silhouette emerged and swallowed it.
Theodren couldn’t believe his eyes.
‘How did he do that?’
Now that he thought about it, Isaac’s level had gone from 5-star to completely undetectable.
‘Yet he blocked my attack.’
It had to be one of two things, either he had mastered a legendary technique that perfectly concealed his level, or the difference in their levels was extreme.
‘It’s not his physique. He must have mastered a legendary technique that can deceive even my eyes. To think such a thing existed.’
Naturally, Theodren assumed the former.
There was no way mythical beings whose levels he couldn’t discern would be lingering in Terraria.
‘First, kill him and extract the memories from his mind.’
Even Theodren, who had absorbed the remains of the fallen angel, was curious about the legendary technique Isaac had mastered.
– Roar───! –
A massive amount of corrupted energy erupted from Theodren’s armored body. As his tattered wings flapped.
– Screeech! –
His fist was already descending towards Isaac’s head.
– Boom! –
“An interesting defensive technique.”
But even his unimaginably fast surprise attack was blocked by the mysterious shadow.
Seeing his attack easily blocked, Theodren abandoned his composure and began to pummel Isaac.
– Bam bam bam bam bam! –
In an instant, over three hundred punches and kicks landed. However, none of them managed to penetrate the shadow’s defensive line.
Frustrated by his attacks being continuously blocked, Theodren let out a shout and sent Isaac flying through the air.
“Haaap!”
– Clang! –
– Boom! –
Isaac flew like a bullet and crashed into the wall. The ancient, advanced material of the wall dented deeply inward, but astonishingly, Isaac remained in the same condition as before.
‘No. That can’t be.’
Theodren’s superhuman senses saw and heard everything.
The nonchalant yawn of the figure embedded in the wall. The casual dusting off of his hands as if he were merely annoyed. The barely audible mutter, “Defense is less tiring.”
A subtle sense of unease began to rise.
‘That’s impossible.’
Even if Isaac were a mythical being far surpassing the 8-star level, angels, demons, and immortals descending to the mortal realm had their powers significantly restricted.
‘The writhing shadows that blocked my attacks must be the effect of a legendary defensive treasure. It won’t be long before he runs out of tricks.’
Theodren’s analysis was both logical and strategic.
‘I need to break through his defenses with a stronger attack.’
Theodren stepped back and began preparing a more powerful offensive technique.
– Wiiing―. –
A purple ring appeared behind Theodren as he floated in the air. The rings multiplied, eventually forming five overlapping rings rotating irregularly.
– Roar───! –
The sphere-like formation was filled with the power of corruption. Its presence, as if it had gathered all the world’s malice, caused Gojeok and Gorgog to faint and collapse.
The corrupt energy reached its peak, becoming visible like flowing lava, dripping down the rotating rings.
This was evidence that he had not yet fully mastered the power of corruption.
– Ziiing―. –
Finally.
“Be disintegrated by the light of corruption. Cataclysmic Blast!”
Theodren aimed his right palm at Isaac. From the five rotating rings, a thick purple beam shot out.
– Kuwaaah! –