Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 194

King Game (5)

Small World. Or small-realm.

Despite having the character for “small” (小) in its name, its size is immense, reaching 50 times that of Earth.

In the harsh wilderness of the apocalypse, the role of the Small World is to nurture a small civilization within a massive dome-like structure called the Celestial Canopy.

The Celestial Canopy, which protects the interior like a hard shell, is only removed when a dominant species capable of unifying the entire Small World emerges.

This system resembles the process of birthing new life in an incubator.

Just as a fertilized bird embryo breaks out of its egg—a world unto itself—to greet the light of a new world, the massive races of the vast Terraria must have followed a similar path.

“Nature truly is fascinating, isn’t it?”

From microorganisms, which can be considered the smallest unit of life, to the dominant species of Terraria known as ancient dragons.

Countless species must have devoured each other for sustenance and adapted to their environments.

The endless cycle of predation and evolution, the perpetual circulation of the food chain—the fact that such a grand nature was created through this process was sometimes difficult to comprehend even for an archangel who had lived for eons.

Do they know? The fact that this place has been chosen as the battlefield for the fate of the multiverse means the impending doom of the world they’ve been living in.

“Lady Uriel. They say the airship will arrive soon.”

Griffin Grace.

The biological father of Ophelia Grace, who was selected as Uriel’s avatar due to her high compatibility.

Following his experienced advice, the forces of the Grace family, which Uriel had somehow come to lead, had arrived at Arcanix, the transportation hub of the Eastern Continent, just two hours ago.

In Uriel’s view, as she quietly surveyed the city’s landscape, the busy daily lives of various races bustled through the streets.

Minotaurs and satyrs in suits heading to work, gnomes and dwarves nimbly crossing the streets to avoid the larger beings, the fiery Flamekin race burning brightly, and even the shadowy Shadowveils with their indistinct forms.

It was a diverse racial composition befitting the city’s reputation as a center of culture and trade.

Whoosh—

As Uriel was appreciating the small scenes of Terraria, destined for destruction, a bulky airship flew in from the western sky.

Though its speed was turtle-like, it seemed capable of accommodating a considerable number of passengers.

“If we board that, we can reach the southern port city…”

Zap!

Suddenly, Uriel’s eyes turned fierce.

In tandem, darkness spread across the face of Griffin Grace, who was about to brief her on their upcoming journey.

The being who now possessed his youngest daughter’s body was none other than an archangel of the celestial realm. And not just any archangel, but Uriel herself, the subject of countless myths about vanquishing evil with holy fire.

For such a being to reveal such murderous intent meant…

Whoosh—

Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!

No sooner had the unease set in than hundreds of ice spears tore through the clear sky.

‘This is—!’

The concentration of dark energy permeating the air surpassed Terraria’s standards—it was that of the Netherworld.

The wide-range freezing magic tore the approaching airship into thousands of fragments, scattering them.

Screech!

The city’s defense forces, who had maintained an excellent battle readiness, took to the sky in haste, but their opponents were likely demon lords or fallen angels freshly arrived from the Netherworld.

Whoosh!

Crack-crack-crack.

Right after the natural disaster-level magic had shredded the airship, a frost storm threatening to swallow the densely populated city whole swept in.

The troops who had taken flight on trained drakes, as well as the exposed plaza area, froze solid in the face of this casting speed that defied common sense.

“How could this happen…!”

An unbelievable situation where hundreds of thousands of multicultural inhabitants who had filled the streets of Arcanix just minutes ago had become the dead.

It had truly begun, just as Uriel had foretold.

A war between Ethereals and Monsters for the fate of the universe, where beings of the middle realm couldn’t even attempt a counterattack.

“It seems our opponent is no ordinary foe. Just as we have a transcendent being on our side, they must have seen through our plans.”

The enemy’s ability was ice, the polar opposite of fire.

Just as the celestial realm, protected by the Tetragrammaton, had seen through the enemy’s strategy, it seemed they were in a similar position.

“Ugh, aaaaah!”

“Run awaaay!”

The appearance of sentient beings facing annihilation was not much different, whether in a Small World or the middle realm.

Even the ascended ones and priests, who could be considered a fighting force, were summoning various means of flight to escape.

Rather, the ordinary people who were fortunate enough to be outside the storm’s radius were awkwardly hovering around the outskirts of the city.

The higher one’s level, the keener their intuition, and the earlier they realized just how formidable their opponent was.

This was also true for the archmage Griffin Grace, who had long since reached 8 stars and was on the verge of his second awakening.

‘I can’t sense their level. Then, they must be at least 9 stars!’

As an ascended one who used the ancient magic ‘Kabbalah,’ it was only natural to follow the orders of the celestial realm. Moreover, the Grace family had been enjoying its prime for thousands of years, blessed by magic.

Crucially, the situation had become absurd with the archangel of fire, Uriel, descending into the body of his youngest daughter, Ophelia.

“L-Lady Uriel. At this rate, we…”

Although Griffin Grace was usually steadfast in his faith, if there was an archangel on this side, wouldn’t there be an equally formidable being on the other side?

Thus, he couldn’t help but show weakness, throwing away his pride.

He meant to say, “Since we’d only be a hindrance if we intervened, couldn’t you understand if we quickly ran away, knowing our place?”

Whoosh!

Just as Griffin Grace was about to risk divine sacrilege on behalf of his family, another freezing storm swept in.

Its power was enough to completely engulf the city’s airspace. Befitting the head of a prestigious magic family, Griffin’s survival instinct was impeccable—a crisp teleportation scroll had already appeared in his right hand.

“Lady Uriel?!”

“I know.”

Snap―

Whoosh.

A tiny flame flickering on her index finger.

She drew it horizontally across the air.

Sizzle!

A miracle befitting the reputation of the Archangel of Fire occurred. The bone-chilling blizzard subsided in an instant, and instead, the entire area became swelteringly hot.

‘Ah! This is the power of an Archangel!’

Griffin Grace’s wavering faith was strengthened. In the face of Uriel’s great feat—whom he had thought only capable of eating sweet cakes until now—the teleportation scroll in his right hand was hastily shoved into a pocket dimension.

“What should we do now?”

His voice carried much more gravitas compared to his previous flippant tone. Like the Israelites who witnessed Moses’ miracle of parting the sea, his faith had become devout, at least for the moment.

“Take the survivors and fall back. This looks to be a difficult battle. I may not be able to keep my promise to use this body carefully.”

“…I shall obey your command.”

Splash. Splash.

As the ascended beings of the Grace family hurriedly chanted high-level magic spells, having received their mission to rescue the refugees, two malevolent creatures approached, cooling off the intense heat.

Among them, the large middle-aged human with a protruding belly wore pitch-black robes, while the slender, alluring woman had grotesque black wings attached to her back.

Their very appearance screamed that they were a fresh demon-fallen angel combo straight from the Underworld.

“The Heavenly Demon Lords of the Dark Continent! Be careful. These beings have already achieved their second awakening, even in their physical forms.”

With this seemingly loyal advice, Griffin Grace and his subordinate mages, along with the multicultural citizens, were enveloped in a brilliant white light.

Whoosh!

As soon as the young lambs of the middle realm retreated, Uriel’s entire body, which had been gentle until now, exuded the aura of a battle-hardened gladiator.

An Archangel is the leader of angels who destroy evil. The heavenly judge who punishes the forces of evil could never possess an “angelic personality.”

“What do you think about the stereotype that angels are good and demons are evil?”

The skill of the high-ranking celestial officials who had beautifully marketed the image of angels across the universe was indeed top-notch.

However, angels who annihilate evil with fanatical faith had to be, in a sense, more demonic than demons themselves.

For instance, they had to be willing to accept the destruction of the underworld’s ecosystem if it meant eradicating evil.

Whoosh!

Dazzling wings of fire sprouted from Uriel’s back.

“You see, my ability is to burn everything. If I were to engulf this world in flames while trying to incinerate you, who would be the evil one? Me or you?”

Sizzle.

The bitter cold clashed with the scorching heat. Blue frost and blazing flames. In this bizarre phenomenon where the world seemed split in half, the two monstrosities known as the Celestial Demon Lords finished their reconnaissance first.

Crackle―

Boom!

‘Frost, and amplification?’

As the exhibitionist who seemed obsessed with showing off her figure summoned extreme cold to her hands, the chubby one, who appeared to be a physical fighter, formed strange hand seals.

Whoosh!

The frigid demonic energy multiplied several times over.

It wasn’t a balance between ranged and close combat, but rather an extremely skewed combination synergy.

Whatever their original bodies might have been, what dwelled within these two creatures were an Underworld demon and a fallen angel.

They were the ultimate hard counter, anticipating Uriel’s appearance.

“Aha! I see both of your mental barriers have crumbled?”

Despite her cheerful question, the two absolute beings, whose appearances contrasted but whose abilities harmonized, remained silent.

The moment Uriel’s strategy to provoke and gather information failed, a beam of extreme cold was fired after a long wind-up.

Whoosh!

“I wasn’t just standing around either, you know.”

However, Uriel, who should have been weak to cold, was completely at ease. She demonstrated her principle that if you’re weak to cold, you just need to turn up the heat.

Fwoosh!

Sizzle―

The two monstrosities took dynamic stances as if firing a combined energy blast with both hands. In contrast, Uriel’s aura as she pointed at the two with a single finger of her slender arm exuded the elegance of a social scene’s star attraction.

“But you know what? I’ve figured something out thanks to you.”

Boom―

Dozens of sparks extended from her blazing wings, following Uriel’s index finger as they were launched.

The ugly man and beautiful woman, who had been firing their frigid beam, transformed the cold energy to form a semicircular light-blocking screen.

Pop pop pop!

Their response was quick, but the hastily made igloo-like structure was riddled with holes. If Uriel was weak to cold, the same was true for her opponents’ weakness to heat.

The flames that annihilate evil touched the two monstrosities and blazed fiercely.

“As I thought, you’re just pawns of the ‘Legion.’ Monsters are infected beings born from Satanael’s transcendent ‘corruption.’ If the ‘Legion’ is the headquarters, then the Underworld is just a subcontractor. One that can be treated roughly without even legal consequences.”

Fwoosh!

The large man with his already impressive belly and the woman with her impressive figure in a different sense were engulfed by the demon-destroying flames, their forms becoming unrecognizable.

Uriel’s monologue, delivered in an elegant voice towards them, was reminiscent of a slightly unhinged inquisitor.

“You were probably forced to follow orders due to Satanael’s transcendence. That was your fate from the beginning.”

The true enemy of the Celestial Realm was not the Underworld, but the Legion.

If the Legion was the de facto ruler of the multiverse, then the Celestial Realm was a group of defeated soldiers who had fled to the outskirts, and the Underworld was made up of traitors who had attempted a coup among those defeated soldiers.

It was Uriel’s belief that no matter how much they had been pushed back by the Legion, they weren’t about to be defeated by rootless infected beings.

The demons and fallen angels who had built the Underworld as their hideout might not be of the highest born, but they certainly weren’t qualified to stand against the immortals and angels who were at least of noble birth.

“Isn’t this proof that your sense of self is completely buried?”

Creak― Creak.

As if responding to Uriel’s provocation, the two incinerated corpses began to twitch.

Thud. Thump.

However, for corpses whose muscles, nervous systems, and even bones should have melted and deteriorated, their movements were quite vigorous.

It defied logic that the flames of demon destruction couldn’t completely incinerate beings who had merely descended into physical bodies from the Underworld, and that too, from the mortal realm.

Although Uriel herself had descended into the weak body of Ophelia Grace, her opponents weren’t renowned figures of the Underworld like the King of Hell or the Demon King of Chaos.

“Oh? What’s this?”

The twitching corpses finally managed to stand up. Surprisingly, Uriel’s flames that had been intensely scorching the bodies of the demon-fallen angel combo were slowly cooling down.

She had no choice but to draw the bow that the original owner of this body had used.

Twang―

A blazing fire arrow was nocked on the bowstring.

Just as Uriel, who had been expressing doubt, finally released the bowstring, a sharp icicle flew from the direction of the fallen angel, whose blackened body had somehow been restored.

Thunk!

Her side grew cold.