Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Memorial Service (1)

In a corner of the island.

A demon soldier with a pair of wings flew into the rugged iron fortress.

Though rough on the outside, the fortress was well-equipped on the inside.

At the head seat in the command room, a figure in black robes opened his previously closed eyes.

“Demons under the Dragon General Division, receive the royal command.”

“…Royal command?”

The eyebrows of the black-robed figure, Morpheus, the former leader of DRR, twitched.

He took the scroll handed to him by the demon soldier.

Unfamiliar hieroglyphs were lined up in long rows. The sentence interpreted with the help of a translator and magic was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

“Retrieve the lacking spirit essence?”

The demon army had carried out mass slaughters in China and Russia. They should have obtained spirit essence numbering in the hundreds of millions, but during the retrieval process, Isaac, humanity’s savior, intervened.

In the process, the demons also lost 8 million of their troops.

Isaac, the unprecedented SS-class hero.

This was the reason why Morpheus had to leave DRR headquarters and cling to the Northern Demons.

“I heard Isaac merely released his energy and repelled the demon forces. Did the Champion-class survivors fail to complete the task?”

Even the 0-star Ethereals, that is, Earth’s civilians, possess a tiny amount of spirit essence. Ethereals are nourishment for villains and monsters, and they are each other’s prey.

The Northern Demons’ invasion of Earth is to secure a large amount of spirit essence and expand their territory.

However, at that time, Isaac didn’t stay behind to exterminate the surviving demons in every corner.

This meant that the surviving Champion-class and higher demons had neglected the purpose of the war.

“Do not doubt the loyalty of our demon soldiers. The surviving Warrior-class troops did their best to retrieve the spirit essence. Nevertheless, we are short of tens of millions of spirit essence compared to the number of humans slaughtered.”

“Someone either siphoned it off or it was contaminated early. Is that what you’re saying?”

“The investigation into that matter is also your responsibility.”

“I heard we’ve agreed to a one-month ceasefire with Earth’s civilization. It seems they’ve entrusted this to us to avoid causing a disturbance. Tell the great Demon King that we’ll return with the lacking spirit essence within two weeks. And…”

Zap!

Kuuung―

“Urgh!”

The demon soldier was forced to his knees by an unprecedented great force. His mask of bravado crumbled. It was a clear difference in power.

“You mutant-class pawn, your words are too short. We are rightfully members of the Dragon General Division. If you dare to act so haughty in front of me again, I’ll tear off your wings.”

“…Ugh. I… I… the royal command…”

“Oh ho, if that’s your dying wish. Alright. I’ll grant it.”

Snap.

Splat!

As Morpheus snapped his fingers, the demon soldier’s body instantly exploded. Fragments of organs and flesh scattered along with blood.

The blonde Westerner assisting him clapped his hands gleefully.

Clap clap clap clap.

“What an artistic explosion! You killed him without even listening to everything!”

“Specter, don’t blindly enjoy it. I did what had to be done.”

“I know. That grunt disrespected us. He deserved to die.”

Wrong.

Yet he nods his head innocently despite his nature. This is why Specter was a useful comrade, and why he was such a troublesome fellow.

Specter, the villain of pure evil. A self-proclaimed artist of death who knows nothing of cunning.

As an enemy, he was not someone you’d want to encounter.

“In the world of monsters, the hierarchy of command based on rank is absolute. A mere soldier wouldn’t dare to act territorial. It seems he was acting under someone’s instructions.”

“Right. We killed him for disrespecting us.”

“…Anyway, this time it’s you and me. And Goliath. The three of us will go.”

“Goliath? Oh! Great members. All three are artistic. Artistic blood and artistic muscles! And me, Specter! It’s truly an artistic trio set.”

In short, secrecy was vital.

Earth’s forces have been consolidated under the names of ‘World Government’ and ‘World Hero Association’.

The irregular named Isaac single-handedly prevented a doomsday-level disaster, and all of humanity is sharpening the blade of war.

‘China, huh. There should be plenty of gaps.’

Half of the population had been sacrificed.

It’s a country so busy trying to recover and rise again from an advanced economy to a developing one that they have no time to catch their breath.

Retrieving the lost spirit essence in such a country while avoiding the eyes of heroes. The difficulty itself shouldn’t be too high. Instead, if discovered, they must be prepared to face death.

Morpheus, his eyes now calm, said,

“Disciple, relay this in its place. Tell them we will retrieve the spirit essence and return within two weeks.”

They had left the river called Earth and ventured into the sea of the Northern Demons. It was time to take the first step to prove their worth as sailors in this new world.

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Nom nom munch munch.

Crispy on the outside, soft and savory on the inside. Taking a bite revealed a chewy texture along with a sweet and salty flavor.

Even the unique aroma of Peking duck was close to perfection.

It seemed they had chosen the restaurant well.

“Mmm~ It’s so delicious!”

“Eat plenty.”

“Wow, this just melts in your mouth! Wait, this is sea cucumber?!”

Gil-seong’s excitement continued with each new course that arrived.

Enjoying good times with good people in a good restaurant.

The back of his head felt cozy. It seemed as if hormones beneficial to mental health were being secreted.

Isaac, having filled his stomach to some extent, asked,

“I have a concern.”

“Huh?!”

Hwang Man-deuk’s mouth fell open. It was that surprising of an event.

The leader having a concern? And he’s trying to share it with the members.

It was a step forward in their hierarchical relationship.

Even Seo Eun-ha, who had been enjoying her meal with dignity, opened her eyes wide.

“Please, tell us anything!”

Hero Isaac. The leader of the Harmony’s clan.

With a bit of exaggeration, he was the light and salt. The alpha and omega.

Not only his extraordinary combat power, but as a manager and as an adult, he was close to ideal.

Even his seemingly emotionless personality that appeared to have lost all love for humanity was now perceived as a strength.

An unwavering great tree. A lighthouse in the deep sea. Heroes from all over the world run towards his guiding light.

And now, this leader had a concern and wanted to share it. It was more joyful than receiving praise on a mission.

“Lately, I’ve been pondering what it means to be ‘me’. Tell me your thoughts. What kind of being do I seem to be?”

It was an emergency.

There were times when I had pondered what kind of being the Leader was until my head turned white.

He was once a hot-tempered, miserly, and trashy manager who took his employees for granted.

I seriously contemplated over and over whether I could continue to work with such a person.

After analyzing Isaac’s usual behavior, personality, work ethic, and clan management policies, and applying them to create a picture, I saw a bleak future.

To put it bluntly, he was human garbage. Even sugar-coating it, he was at the level of the dregs of humanity. That was Seo Eun-ha’s definition of Leader Isaac’s essence.

‘Either he recovered from a mental illness. Or he finally broke free from a severe spell.’

Then, from some point on, the person changed. He started giving orders he hadn’t before, and participated directly in battles. That’s how the legend began.

Isaac was a powerful hero.

Isaac was a perfect commander.

Isaac was an excellent manager.

Before we knew it, Leader Isaac had become an SS-class hero respected by all.

In other words, Isaac was Isaac.

‘An obvious answer won’t do!’

The flowery rhetoric that the media constantly attaches is dismissed.

Given the Leader’s personality, he’s not looking for flattery or praise either.

I need to come up with an answer that’s somewhat philosophical yet capable of moving even a wooden block’s heart.

While Seo Eun-ha was contemplating, Gil-seong answered first.

“You’re Daddy Long Legs!”

It was an impressive answer.

It was also specific.

“The original title of ‘Daddy Long Legs’ is ‘Daddy Long Legs’. The protagonist of the novel, Judy, was an orphan who, with the help of Daddy Long Legs John Smith, went to college and even graduated. Later, Judy finds out that her friend’s uncle, John Smith, is actually Daddy Long Legs, and they even get married!”

Judy, the orphan protagonist. John Smith, the Daddy Long Legs who helps her.

To the manifested heroes living in harsh reality while always dreaming of ideals, one day hero Isaac approached and extended his hand.

And so, the harsh reality came closer to a dream. Like a novel.

“…!”

Yeo Jin-soo, who had been seriously holding his head, stared blankly at Gil-seong.

He seemed shocked by her eloquence.

Gil-seong, unable to contain herself, burst out,

“Why are you looking at me like that? I read quite a bit, you know?”

“No… Marriage…”

“Huh?”

Yeo Jin-soo was shocked by a strange part.

Gil-seong’s face immediately turned red, and she started hitting her close younger brother’s shoulder.

“It’s not like that, it’s not!”

“A double negative is a positive…”

Thump thump.

The conversation briefly went off track.

Isaac smiled slightly at the children’s variety show-like banter.

Hwang Man-deuk, who had been grinning, straightened up and asked,

“But what part are you concerned about? Is it a philosophical self-reflection?”

“Hmm. Rather than that, it’s a concern about my combat style. I don’t think I like the hit-and-take fighting style.”

The Leader’s combat style.

This wasn’t an area where the members could advise.

When it came to fighting, Isaac himself would have more experience than anyone else here.

Hwang Man-deuk, wracking his brain, said,

“Umm…! I think the Leader is a one-hit kill Nuker. You also control summons. Your defensive spells are also considerable. After all, the ‘powerful one-shot’ had a big impact. You’ve shown that kind of image several times.”

A Nuker refers to a position that inflicts explosive damage in an instant.

Isaac usually defeated his opponents with the first strike. Even when controlling summons or exchanging blows, his pattern was to play along moderately before delivering a sincere, decisive blow.

Thus, the hero industry saw Isaac’s original talent as one-hit kill superhuman strength. It was quite close to the truth. The experts weren’t fools.

“The Leader is a God of War!”

Besides that, there was Yeo Jin-soo’s mention of ‘God of War’, but that was something religious that existed only in Jin-soo’s mental world.

Isaac was secretly satisfied.

‘I’m glad I asked.’

It felt like the unraveled thread had been wound up a bit. Daddy Long Legs. One-hit kill Nuker. And even God of War.

It feels like floating on fluffy cumulus clouds. This seemed better than the stifling mental state just before.

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Beijing, the capital of China.

That was the reason for choosing Peking duck for lunch.

They were now in Beijing.

▷ Difficulty: Very Hard

▷ Content: Uncover the truth behind the disappearances occurring throughout Beijing and eliminate the root cause.

It seems to be related to a recently popular local folk belief.

▷ Request Fee: 2 billion

▷ Reward: 1,000 points

This was the mission assigned to the members. The hint was at the level of just mentioning the local folk belief.

Seo Eun-ha, who serves as the brain of the squad, said,

“The information agents reportedly started an investigation a month ago, but they all disappeared during the investigation. The strange thing is that even China’s A-class heroes went missing while performing this mission.”

China had suffered massive damage from two apocalyptic disasters.

Regrettably, due to severe power loss, numerous disasters were left unattended across the country, and for disasters difficult to resolve internally, they often had to reach out to foreign countries, especially their neighboring country, South Korea.

This mission was one of the most urgent to handle, and it was assigned to the Harmony Clan, which has high international credibility.

‘Are we being treated as practically S-class?’

The members’ level was still 3-star. They were about to reach 4-star, but they were clearly A-class heroes.

Yet, they’re assigned missions that should be handled by S-class heroes. And they actually accomplish them.

As the Leader, his shoulders rose. This was the power of nurturing.

“So far, about 1,000 people have disappeared due to the unidentified anomalous phenomenon. The Murim Alliance believes that the victims were all affected by the same phenomenon.”

“What’s the basis?”

“The pattern is identical. The families of the victims all testified that the missing persons uniformly took a posture of crouching in a corner, overcome with fear. This is also all that the information agents were able to uncover.”

Folk belief. Crouching in fear. The outline of the incident was already taking shape.

“It’s the work of an evil spirit.”