Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad

Choi Hyun-seok cheered sincerely.

If he had been alone, he would have jumped around screaming.

‘As expected, Reidrun! There’s no one but you!’

Red Nightmare!

Choi Hyun-seok’s guardian!

The hero Reidrun appeared to stop the wicked villain.

Choi Hyun-seok secretly glared at Motem.

‘You’re dead now. Reidrun is so strong!’

Reidrun and Motem were walking to the center of the training ground.

[Combat Power: 199,958]

Motem’s combat power was nearly 200,000, barely within the measurable range.

[Combat Power: 168,302]

In comparison, Reidrun’s combat power was about 170,000.

About 30,000 lower than Motem.

But it doesn’t matter.

‘At that level, 30,000 isn’t such a big difference.’

When combat power 10,000 fights against 40,000, you could say 40,000 wins without fail.

But a fight between 170,000 and 200,000 is different.

‘How you use your power is more important.’

Clearly, having 200,000 combat power is more advantageous.

It means better basic specs.

But even with good specs, they’re useless if the user is ignorant.

Unless there’s an overwhelming difference, there’s plenty of possibility to win even with lower combat power.

In fact, Choi Hyun-seok himself had defeated countless beings with higher combat power than his own.

‘Among the demons I know, Reidrun fights the best, relative to his combat power.’

He realized this for certain after seeing demons and humans of similar levels recently.

Reidrun is truly strong.

Much stronger than his combat power suggests.

Moreover, Choi Hyun-seok had never seen Reidrun at full power.

In the last battle with the Holy Empire’s hero, he only saw Reidrun fighting while exhausted.

Yet he could tell Reidrun was strong.

He couldn’t even imagine what power Reidrun would display fighting at full strength in peak conditions.

“Fighting! You must win!”

Choi Hyun-seok shouted with all his might.

Both Motem and Reidrun turned around simultaneously.

“Ah… Fighting to both of you! In sparring, everyone can be a winner… Hahaha…!”

Choi Hyun-seok said with a bright smile.

Rachel, watching from the side, heaved a deep sigh.

“Hero. Aren’t you being too servile? Now that you’re an official hero, you should maintain some dignity.”

“Does dignity put food on the table? If you die, there’s no dignity or anything else.”

“Well, that’s true!”

“Enough, stop talking now. It’s starting.”

Choi Hyun-seok stared ahead with a serious expression.

‘I need to focus.’

It’s rare to see strong ones of this level fight.

While Hemis was too extraordinary to learn anything from watching, he might be able to gain something from Reidrun and Motem’s fight.

Though Hero Choi Hyun-seok was servile, he was a professional who always took battle-related matters seriously.

***

Motem rolled his shoulders to warm up.

“I’ll let you attack first.”

His attitude was relaxed.

He hadn’t even drawn the greatsword on his back.

“You’re not drawing your sword?”

“I’ve decided to draw this sword only against true warriors. It would be discourteous to the sword to cut just anything.”

Motem said while lightly tapping his sword.

“Though I’m a bit concerned since there hasn’t been any occasion to draw it for quite some time.”

It was quite provocative, but Reidrun’s expression remained unchanged.

He simply nodded calmly.

“Then I’ll begin.”

“Come.”

Reidrun kicked the ground.

With a booming sound, his body shot forward like an arrow.

Reaching Motem’s front in an instant, he thrust his fist.

Pa-ba-ba-bat-!

Hands and feet crossed.

Reidrun and Motem exchanged attacks and defenses without pause.

Their movements were so fast that the watching demons couldn’t tell what was happening.

Only Choi Hyun-seok could roughly grasp what was occurring between the two.

“Better than expected. I suppose there was a reason Lord Hemis took you in.”

Motem said while slightly increasing the distance.

Dozens of exchanges had occurred in that brief moment, but neither allowed a clean hit.

Reidrun rolled his shoulders to warm up, just as Motem had done.

“That was just a warm-up. I make it a point not to use full power against those who aren’t true warriors.”

A provocation using Motem’s earlier words.

One corner of Motem’s mouth twisted.

“Your jokes are quite skillful.”

“I’m being serious though.”

“I hope your skills match your mouth.”

They began clashing again.

Faster than before.

Colliding more intensely.

Kwang-gwang-gwang-gwang!

The training ground rang out from the collision of demonic energy.

The power was overwhelming even though neither used battle techniques.

Twoong!

In an instant, Reidrun’s fist struck Motem’s abdomen.

A shallow groan escaped Motem’s mouth.

His armor was dented from that single punch.

Pow, Puck! Pabababat!

Reidrun struck relentlessly.

Gradually, Motem’s fists were cutting through the air more frequently.

And with each strike, Reidrun’s fists hit Motem more accurately.

He had figured out Motem’s movements in real-time during the battle.

“Whew…”

Before he knew it, Motem was in tatters.

His black armor was so dented and damaged everywhere that it could no longer serve its purpose.

For a moment, Motem stepped back.

As Reidrun showed a puzzled expression,

Motem lowered his head.

“I’m sorry.”

Reidrun hesitated at the sudden apology.

“What do you mean?”

“I was arrogant. To think there would be a demon like you in this era.”

*Swoosh…*

Motem drew his greatsword from his back.

At the same time, his damaged armor returned to its original state.

Since it was magical armor made from Motem’s demonic energy in the first place, he could restore it anytime before his demonic energy ran out.

“You are a warrior.”

Motem’s presence, as he took his stance with the greatsword, was on a completely different level from before.

“Warrior to warrior. I will fight seriously now.”

“Good.”

A deep smile hung on Reidrun’s lips as he clenched his fists.

***

Choi Hyun-seok watched the battle with wide eyes.

As if he couldn’t miss even a single moment.

While watching the battle with eyes that looked like they might pop out, his mind was constantly turning.

‘The level… No, it’s a different dimension altogether.’

Motem and Reidrun clashing in the training ground.

Their battle was much more intense than Choi Hyun-seok had expected.

And much more sophisticated.

‘Honestly, when they were just having a fistfight earlier, I thought it was manageable… But I was completely wrong.’

In the early stages of the sparring.

Before Motem drew his greatsword.

Even though Choi Hyun-seok was impressed then, he wasn’t too surprised.

He thought that even if they were much stronger than his current self, he could catch up someday.

But things changed after Motem drew his sword.

‘Even though Reidrun’s level went up too, this Motem guy is really… A monster itself.’

Suddenly, he remembered what Hemis had said before leaving.

‘At least in our corps, excluding me, there’s no one who can beat Motem.’

The statement that no one in the 3rd Corps except Hemis could defeat Motem.

At that time, he was actually a bit skeptical.

After all, many Division Commanders had combat power exceeding 200,000.

Even Grat with the crocodile head was like that.

Division Commanders didn’t get their positions by playing games.

They fought countless battles to achieve and maintain their positions.

How could they be so certain that Motem could defeat other Division Commanders among such individuals?

It was hard to accept then, but now he understands.

Hemis was right.

‘Of course, he was certain. How could anyone defeat such a monster.’

Motem seemed like he was performing magic.

Their speeds were almost identical, but Reidrun’s attacks barely reached Motem.

Even while using Fighting Techniques.

Motem broke through everything just by swinging his sword and moving his body.

*Slash!*

The wounds on Reidrun’s body increased.

Motem moved as if he knew everything.

How Reidrun would move.

How he should move so Reidrun couldn’t respond.

He couldn’t move like that without predicting each and everything.

He was such a capable fighter that one might wonder if he actually had the ability to see the future.

‘How can someone change so much just by holding a sword?’

Choi Hyun-seok seriously suspected that some magical power might be imbued in Motem’s sword.

But that was a wrong assumption.

While it’s true that Motem’s sword was a famous blade, it didn’t have any ability to predict the future.

A sword is just a sword.

Actually, the reason for Motem’s change movement was simple.

He had never learned how to fight with his fists.

As a swordsman who had only wielded a sword for hundreds of years, the difference between having and not having a sword was bound to be dramatic.

In other words, Motem’s combat sense was so exceptional that he could briefly compete in strength with Reidrun, who was an expert in a field Motem knew nothing about.

“Whew…”

Reidrun exhaled a labored breath.

His body was now covered in red blood.

Thanks to his best efforts there were no fatal wounds, but the bleeding was too severe.

His movements had started to become dull as too many muscles were torn.

There was no meaning in fighting any further.

“I’ve lost.”

Reidrun bowed his head.

Motem lightly patted Reidrun’s shoulder.

“No need to bow. It was a good match.”

“Why did you lie?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you would fight seriously. But you didn’t, did you?”

Just before, when drawing his sword, Motem had said,

‘Warrior to warrior. I will fight seriously now.’

Fight seriously.

In Reidrun’s opinion, Motem hadn’t done that.

While he had actively used Reidrun-style Fighting Technique, Motem hadn’t used Fighting Technique even once.

“How can you say you fought seriously when you didn’t even use Fighting Technique?”

Reidrun asked.

It wasn’t particularly angry or confrontational.

Just a question bordering on self-deprecation.

Then Motem smiled.

“By that logic, weren’t you also not taking it seriously? I know you have some hidden moves.”

“…”

“Criticizing me, your superior isn’t very warrior-like.”

“Haha…”

Reidrun shook his head.

“I’m sorry. It’s my complete defeat.”

“Complete defeat? Didn’t that person over there say this was just a sparring match?”

“…”

“In sparring, everyone can be a winner.”

Motem extended his hand.

“It was a good match.”

Reidrun smiled and grabbed his hand.

“It was an honor to compete with you.”

In the warm atmosphere, both men sensed it.

That this sparring match wouldn’t end with just this one time.

***

Barena Forest.

In this territory of the Holy Empire, untimely screams were echoing.

“Aaaagh! Run away!”

Thousands of humans in heavy armor were running around.

Their faces were all filled with terror.

“Hero! Where did Hero Jerena go!?”

“You fool! Already dead! Everyone’s dead!”

“I-I don’t want to die… Please save…”

Crack-!

The upper body of the soldier crying in fear disappears.

Crunch, crunch…!

The soldier, armor and all begins to be chewed by something.

Gulp…!

Whatever swallowed the soldier smiled.

“Hmm~ Starting to feel full.”

“Aaagh! You monster! Die!”

A commander who witnessed his subordinate’s death draws his sword and charges.

It might have seemed quite brave if someone had seen it, but reality is cruel.

“Monster? Isn’t that too harsh?”

Splash-!

With a light gesture, the knight dissolves into a splash of blood.

The soldiers who had been watching with a glimmer of hope fell back into panic and fled.

The commander they followed was a renowned knight even within the Empire.

With his fall, there was no hope.

“Aaaaaaah!”

“Run! We have to run!”

“It’s already too late. Everyone will die… You can’t defeat the Gourmand… The Empire will fall…”

The being who brought despair to everyone.

Hemis called the Gourmand, stroked her chin with her white hand.

“Hmm~ Where should I go next?”

From the human perspective, she was a legendary demon race.

The Gourmand.

At her appearance, all humans could only tremble in fear.

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