Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 196

The King’s Game (7)

Incomprehensible alien species that came and went from Earth. And the war of the macro world that was said to be approaching.

The apocalyptic end that was thought to be the outcry of heretics became tangible to Earth’s inhabitants.

The End.

Something that evokes a distant fear in intelligent beings by its very nature, like the judgment of nature that living things cannot resist.

However, having once suffered from wild monsters breaking through rifts, and later tormented by villain organizations led by DRR and the Northern Demon Clan, humanity on Earth must have developed at least some resistance to the idea of the end.

Like how the ground hardens after rain. It was a sad yet fortunate story of how the struggle to survive had made the species itself stronger and more resilient.

Decisively, with the blue-eyed SS-rank Irregular proclaiming himself as humanity’s protector, wasn’t there a clear way out even if the sky were to fall?

Because of this, the heroes representing humanity and the executives of the World Association saw hope even in despair.

Like how South Korea achieved the Miracle on the Han River in the past, aspiring for a brilliant future in the midst of a gloomy reality. The will of not only the leadership of each country but also ordinary citizens was united under the grand mission of ‘human survival and development’.

Earth would find an answer as it always had.

After all, the faces of humanity’s representatives who had boarded the ark of trials were brimming with shameless confidence.

Whoosh!

However, just as Isaac’s presentation of the modern-day Noah’s Ark was about to end, the vast and chilling wave of negative energy that swept over them shook the mental fortitude of humanity’s representatives, who had just rearmed themselves with a renewed sense of purpose, to its very core.

‘Is this the end?’

‘Are we going to be devoured?’

‘The scale is completely different!’

In the face of the ominous energy wave that seemed to engulf the world, what the heroes and World Association executives reflexively thought of was the true end of the universe.

It was enough to make Isaac’s impeccable presentation on the project to save humanity seem insignificant.

Whoosh. Swish swish swish.

The eyes of the audience, sensing a threat to their lives, fixed upon the blue-eyed handsome man who had become humanity’s protector.

It was like the instinct of a newborn seeking its parents in times of danger.

Even the gaze of James Sullivan, the Director of Peacekeeping who had been trying to keep Isaac’s one-man rule in check, was trembling pitifully like that of a pet fearing abandonment by its owner.

‘Has it come?’

A massive-scale hellification.

The tyranny of the extremely wicked negative energy that would pollute all of Terraria must be the work of Satanael, the head of the Legion faction.

Just as the soldiers of the Celestial Realm and the contaminated beings of the Rift were descending one by one to the middle realm, it seemed that the turn of the final boss of the worldview had finally come.

―High concentrations of negative energy have been radiated across the eastern continent and southern regions of Terraria.

―The contamination range is estimated to cover all of Terraria, accordingly, we are deploying a multidimensional shield.

The negative energy that Satanael had arbitrarily dispersed was so potent that even the ancient cosmic battleship had to deploy a separate shield.

Earth, being an adjacent realm, might be less affected, but at this rate, wouldn’t it lead to a tragedy where not only the small worlds but also countless ethereals of Terraria would collectively transform into monsters?

Just like in the history of the primordial universe, where the Terra race was collectively monsterfied after being contaminated by Satanael’s transcendence.

[The Rift unfolds.]

[A red moon rises.]

Satanael’s Rift had, strangely enough, aspects similar to the scenery Isaac encountered when he was first caught up in a hellification.

The four satellites that had illuminated the night sky of the small world disappeared, and a red moon (赤月) of overwhelming size hazily rose.

Guoooo…!

The sight of the vast background being covered in an unclean dark red color was as surreal as the highlight scene of a fantasy action movie with serious CG treatment.

―Shield deployment complete.

―The concentration of negative energy within the ship has stabilized.

While Noah’s artificial intelligence was responding to the enemy commander’s surprise attack, Isaac looked around at the audience consumed by fear.

Although the multidimensional shield seemed impressive in performance, they had already been exposed to Satanael’s overwhelming negative energy.

It was fortunate that it ended in that state.

‘Monsterfication didn’t occur. Then.’

Could it mean that the head of the Celestial Realm had also made a clever move against Satanael’s ultra-wide-range hellification?

[A massive causality has intervened.]

[Difficulty is being reset…]

In line with Isaac’s speculation, a timely system message appeared, fortunate amidst the misfortune.

Woong…!

Soon, the dark red fog-like substance covering the world gradually thinned, and even the Red Moon majestically hanging in the sky was reduced to half its size.

As the intervention of Tetragrammaton, existing outside of space and time, became clear, Isaac spoke monotonously in response to the allied forces’ timely reaction.

“It seems the head of the Celestial Realm has thwarted the Legion’s plan.”

“Oh! Is that so.”

As expected, the SS-rank hero’s intuition seemed to have detected something specific. Moreover, with the appearance of the reassuring title ‘head of the Celestial Realm’, the dignitaries who had been listening to Isaac’s presentation on the human preservation project could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

[Difficulty has been reset.]

[The King’s Game begins.]

‘Huh?’

A vocabulary that didn’t match the end-of-the-world atmosphere at all. A game usually mentioned only in adult drinking parties had popped up.

The game where the king’s orders often involve intense skinship or even forced kisses, and with the power of alcohol, it tends to develop in a rather risqué direction.

[Protect the king of the allied forces and defeat the king of the enemy forces.]

However, with the additional explanation of the flashing system message, Isaac understood that this final hellification was to be interpreted literally.

“Uh…? What’s this?”

“Something has appeared, but…”

Judging by the audience’s reaction, it seemed the system had decided to affect them as well.

Shockingly, the messages that appeared before their eyes were visible even to Isaac’s naked eye.

“Soldier…?”

“Me, an untouchable?!”

[You are a soldier.]

[You are an untouchable.]

Individual ranks within the Rift were being determined in real-time.

As the Rift enveloped all of Terraria, the positions of S-rank heroes who had been doing well on Earth plummeted to the level of untouchables.

[You are an insignificant being.]

[Don’t try to do anything.]

“What is this…!”

“What could this be? Is it telling us our ranks or something?”

Unfortunately, the position of James Sullivan, the Director of Peacekeeping who was concerned about Isaac’s dictatorship, was that of an insignificant being.

Most of the ordinary citizens of Earth would likely be treated as insignificant beings or cosmic dust.

After all, compared to the massive races of Terraria with their long history, Earth’s military power would be infinitesimally small in scale.

There was no place for a minor civilization from the periphery in the history of universal warfare.

“It seems the Rift has spread over a wide area. On a scale larger than a small world.”

“Then defeating the king of the enemy forces must be the condition for purifying the Rift.”

The adaptation speed of the S-rank heroes who had grown by beating up villains and monsters was indeed remarkable.

The heroes of Earth who had managed to accept the strange phenomenon of system messages in less than 5 minutes.

Among them, The One and Black Emperor, who stood out for their composure, were given the position of Ten-man Commander (十人將). It could be said that they had maintained the dignity of Awakened ones.

After all, it meant they were talented enough to command at least 10 soldiers.

[The king of the enemy forces is ‘Satanael’.]

“Satanael!”

“If it’s Satan, does that mean the devil from the Bible…?”

At that moment, the ominous name of the enemy commander was announced to the world. The name of the Incarnate was blatantly revealed to be Demiurgos’s true name, without a single word of explanation.

If that was the case, the king of the allied forces would soon be indicated by his true name as well.

‘The king of our forces is probably one of the great archangels of the celestial realm, the Primordial Heavenly Lord, or one of the many celestial Buddhas.’

If the enemy commander was Satanael, then at least a Tetragrammaton should step up from our side, but hadn’t that transcendent being long ago fused with the primordial beings, the Aeons, to become the ‘System’ that governs the fate of the multiverse?

Accordingly, the second-in-command of the celestial realm with a physical existence would ascend to the throne.

Although Lee Gunha had quickly binged through Season 5, where the celestial deities engaged in messy infighting, even the possessed individual himself found it difficult to be certain about who the celestial realm would put forward as ‘king’ at this point.

Nevertheless, if he had to narrow down the likely candidates…

‘I think it might be Maitreya.’

The final boss of Season 5, Maitreya of the Deep Night. The one who dropped the Miracle of Midnight, the generator of the Final Finish.

Back then, he appeared in a position like a god of destruction, corrupted by negative energy and wreaking havoc on the celestial realm, but wasn’t he the one who had been trusted by the celestial beings for a while as the heir apparent to save the future?

Above all, according to the official settings, he’s at the top in combat power among the celestial deities. This isn’t a presidential election, after all; it would be best to choose the strongest one as the ‘king’ of the allied forces.

Beep.

Soon after, before Isaac’s eyes, who was hoping his deduction would be correct, the king of the allied forces was announced, so shocking that it seemed he might lose his mind.

[The king of the allied forces is ‘Isaac’.]

[Protect the king of the allied forces ‘Isaac’ and defeat the king of the enemy forces ‘Satanael’.]

‘F**k. This damn, f**king!’

Even throwing internal expletives didn’t seem to alleviate his frustration. But he couldn’t shout out loud as there were many eyes watching.

‘What are they thinking?’

To put forward a hero with only one tool skill as a commander, setting aside sturdy king candidates like Maitreya, the Primordial Heavenly Lord, and the great archangels.

Wasn’t this side supposed to be the secret weapon to launch a surprise attack and deliver the final blow to Satanael?

Now that he had been chosen as king, could he even go to the front lines? It seemed more appropriate to be confined in an invincible bunker surrounded by celestial soldiers, or to run away if the defense network was somehow breached.

“Haah.”

The king of the enemy forces was Satanael, the leader of legions and father of all monsters, with a name that was despairing from the start. On the other hand, the king of the allied forces was some nobody called Isaac that no one had ever heard of. Unless they were from Earth, there was no way anyone would know the king’s name.

He could vividly imagine how the powerful ethereals of Terraria, who had been suddenly caught up in the Rift, would react. Surely, a public petition asking “Who the hell is this guy to be our king?” would be causing an uproar in the Terraria community.

Sparkling.

Twinkling.

“……”

Isaac, who had suddenly become the highest-ranking official in the Rift, slightly turned his head away to avoid the burdensome gazes of his subjects.

For the spectators who had confirmed the system message at the same time as Isaac, their pride in Earth was swelling to the top of their heads.

A hero from Earth had been chosen as the king of the Ethereal faction, beating out the unknown alien species said to have come from the sky and the massive races of the vast Terraria!

“Congratulations!”

“I’ll protect you with my life! Though I’m not sure how much help I’ll be. Haha.”

As The One and Black Emperor, who had quickly adapted after experiencing all sorts of Rifts, immersed themselves in the Rift role-play, a spectacular scene unfolded where the ordinary soldiers, commoners, and cosmic dust of lower ranks hesitantly bowed their heads.

“Please don’t do this.”

Isaac, who had internally shuddered, denied this creepy role-play with cloudy eyes.

As if he wasn’t already having enough of a headache, how could the heavens impose such a trial on him?

He could only resent Tetragrammaton’s sinister scheme.

‘Rather, it seems okay since I’m openly the king.’

‘I guess this is better than someone else whose ideology we don’t know becoming king…’

‘Come to think of it, nothing’s really changed?’

What would make Isaac even more disgusted was that his modesty was seen as a quality of a sage king who also possessed humility.

Isn’t his usually carefree attitude even better now that we think of him as a king?

They thought he was the ideal type of superior who was capable but didn’t want to do work.

—Two additional powerful Ethereal entities confirmed.

—Approaching by spacecraft.

While the Earth representatives were accepting Isaac as king, Noah’s cool voice brought a new pile of headaches.

—Rapidly moving within detectable range.

—Transmitting now.

Zing.

The visuals shown on the hologram screen were faces that Isaac was already familiar with.

‘Ophelia! And over there is…’

Riding on a giant lotus flower, it was the uncorrupted Maitreya, a monk with a golden crown.