Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 182

Memorial Service (7)

Late at night.

An urgent news bulletin hit the airwaves.

―God Hand and Flame Emperor were alive.

This miraculous good news spread instantly to every corner of the country through news channels and community forums.

People rushed to access the Akashic Records. The live channel at the top of the platform, ranking first in viewer count, was none other than Hero Isaac’s account.

The resurrection of two S-rank heroes whose funerals had already been held. The exploits of SS-rank hero Isaac, who carried the future of humanity on his shoulders.

Unable to resist the hype, viewer numbers exploded.

Mr. A, who had been suffering from insomnia lately, was one of them.

“Aaaargh!?”

The disaster scene broadcast on the 32-inch monitor. A swarm of pale fish-like creatures comes rushing in.

The hot-blooded handsome man who subdued the strange life forms with their pointed snouts using flaming fists was, no matter how you looked at it, Hero Flame Emperor.

“They said he was dead! Huuuuh. Waaaah!”

He cried pitifully. Tears and snot flowed freely.

The emaciated Grandpa God Hand was also leisurely following behind Flame Emperor.

Chat messages in various languages from around the world kept popping up. With years of hero fandom experience under his belt, Mr. A’s exceptional peripheral vision allowed him to easily pick out the familiar messages in his native language.

―They say it’s not a complete resurrection yet! Apparently, they need to purify the Rift to fully come back to life.

―Isaac is a god… Isaac is a god… Isaac is a god… Isaac is a god… Isaac is a god… Isaac is a god…

―With humanity’s extinction scheduled in a month, Isaac working hard on missions suddenly seems even more impressive.

―Constant worship…! Surprise sighting…! Simply the GOAT.

He single-handedly defeated a terrifying alien species. He’s absolutely overwhelming, even among the elite heroes that human civilization has produced.

Isaac, who suddenly became an S-rank hero, turned into a legend in just one year.

From his days as a villainous CEO to becoming an SS-rank hero, Mr. A had followed Isaac’s footsteps from the beginning until now. He had even accumulated 10 pieces of fan art modeled after him.

Unable to contain his overflowing fan enthusiasm, Mr. A typed on his keyboard.

―Our calm leader as always.. This cool-toned demon is off to achieve enlightenment.

He had completely shed the stigma of being a kill-stealer. He proved his own claim that he had maintained the leader position of just giving orders because he was too strong.

The negative reaction of “What are you doing at a disaster site?” transformed into admiration for his consideration in not taking away opportunities for his juniors to grow.

‘He must have been so upset.’

Isaac was just a strong hero. Simply looking at his delicate face brings peace to one’s heart.

Even when he’s trudging along with a face that says the world is too bothersome, it looks like he has a plan for everything.

As expected, it was all about building up a career. Chats from all over the world were praising the leader. Mr. A felt proud by association.

But that aside…….

“Wait. What’s up with our kids?”

Before he could fully enjoy the joy of Flame Emperor and God Hand’s return to life, he saw something unsettling.

The momentum of his favorite hero squad subduing the monsters was no joke.

Swoosh!

Boom boom boom―

White paint-covered creatures that looked like swordfish were being sliced and exploded in droves. Jin-soo’s blade burst with starlight, and a warm yet ominous darkness enveloped Man-deuk.

And that brilliant darkness was blooming from the touch of Eun-ha, who had become the very embodiment of an ice beauty.

“Is this for real?”

And Gil-seong, who used to be like a mischievous kid……. She was flying through the sky on something like a jetpack, firing lasers, missiles, and explosive rounds, showing off the true charm of a mecha hero.

Zzzzzap―

Boom!

Whirrr.

The leader’s live composition was exquisite.

The long-awaited performance of the kids was being streamed with unwavering view and quality.

The impressive arsenal wielded by the heroes exuded the power of capital.

“What’s up with everyone, seriously.”

Their methods were on a completely different level.

While people were focused on self-survival under martial law, they had grown frighteningly strong.

In fact, even Flame Emperor, an S-rank hero, was serious about dealing with the white swordfish creatures. His flames were ferocious. It meant these swordfish monsters were quite tough.

And yet, they were pummeling these monsters at a pace similar to Flame Emperor’s.

“What on earth did they do?”

Whatever the leader had done, he must have done it thoroughly.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the heroes of the Harmony Clan were on par with ‘S-rank’!

‘I can’t stand this.’

Mr. A continued his multitasking, with the live stream on his right monitor and the official fan cafe of the Harmony Clan, ‘Harmonious Square,’ on his left monitor.

Already, posts analyzing and dissecting the miraculous resurrection of God Hand and Flame Emperor, along with the leader’s nostalgic performance (?) of casually strolling through a disaster site after so long, were popping up in real-time.

His empty heart was being filled in real-time.

He could proudly call it the ideal mental health management method during wartime.

As expected, the fear of disaster should be dispelled by the sight of reliable heroes. Today too, Mr. A felt pride in being a hero otaku.

“Come on. Read the room a little.”

However, even amidst all this, the naysayers popped up.

―But why is Isaac doing this here?

―Right. It’s good to help China, but is this really the time?

―Glad I’m not the only one feeling frustrated. Shouldn’t he be busy developing some kind of secret weapon right now…?

God Hand and Flame Emperor have returned alive. Instead of dancing with joy, people are pointing fingers and assigning blame. As always, it’s a small group of sociopaths causing problems wherever you go.

“We should assume they have their reasons.”

It must be a kind of warm-up before the final battle against those terrifying demon folk. That’s how Mr. A rationalized the naysayers’ objections.

There had always been talk about Isaac being an alien or a reformed monster.

It was the so-called ‘fear of the unknown’ at work.

His behavior was lazy and nonchalant, and he possessed power beyond common sense.

To be honest, Isaac was closer to an inexplicable being that induced cosmic horror rather than an ‘ideal hero’.

Even though he was taking steps to protect the peace of Earth.

A character who was neither particularly righteous nor friendly had single-handedly driven back the demon horde to an island in the Sea of Okhotsk. It was certainly something to be grateful for, but the underlying fear was unavoidable.

Mr. A, with his years of social experience, knew well that not everyone could be as favorably disposed towards Isaac as he was.

“This won’t do.”

Today too, he had to spread the word about Isaac’s goodness.

Isaac occasionally appears on the web variety show ‘Harmonious Hero Life’.

Uploading funny edited video shorts of the lovable heroes to promote them had become Mr. A’s latest hobby.

He chose the most humorous scenes to widely promote Isaac’s benevolent image. The Harmony Clan did good work, but they were lacking in these detailed aspects.

They produced good variety content, but the promotion was insufficient.

‘Leave the politicking to me!’

The devoted fan’s enthusiasm was bubbling over.

[Sluuurp.]

“Eek! Oh. What’s this? Huh? A new ability?”

As Mr. A was seeking happiness amid misfortune, selecting sources for tonight’s shorts video in his mind,

Isaac, who had been following the children with steady steps, suddenly sank into the ground. At first, it seemed like he had been caught up in some dangerous anomaly. But then the live feed suddenly shifted, and the director who had disappeared resurfaced from the ground!

For a moment, his heart sank.

“Just how many abilities does he have?”

Viewers who were as surprised as Mr. A reacted intensely.

―A hero who controls summons, punches villains, and simultaneously leaps through space with shadows? Isn’t this a bug? Why does he alone have multiple talents?

―What’s with the shadows undulating around him? ㅠㅠㅠ I almost kissed my screen…

―For a second I thought he’d been eaten by a monster ㅇㅅㅇ;

[Swoooosh―]

Something like a black liquid enveloped the director. A pine tree that looked as if it were possessed by a ghost was reflected in his cold eyes.

With an expression that seemed addicted to laziness, the director spoke plainly.

[Trigger detected. Activating.]

Whoosh!

The black liquid that bloomed from his fingertips shot out in a long stream. A brilliant golden light shone through the split in the pine tree.

It seems he’s touched something dangerous, whether it’s a trigger or whatever!

“Is this okay?”

Come to think of it, this was the place where God Hand and Flame Emperor’s souls were bound. If those two were tightly bound, then the identity of the monster who unfolded the Rift must be at least Emperor-class… which means.

“Ah, but Isaac is there after all.”

He tried to deny it, but anxiety was welling up.

An emergency had arisen in what was supposed to be a comfortable live viewing. Mr. A’s hands came together demurely.

“No, no. It’ll be fine.”

Regardless, the 32-inch monitor was engulfed in golden light. The dive into a deeper Rift had begun.

===

***

===

Whooooosh―

The gloomy world brightened. In cases where the Rift is an open field, the environment of the entire Rift changes like this with the activation of a trigger.

[Difficulty has increased.]

[Experience gained +80%]

[Item quantity +65%]

[Item rarity +65%]

[Uber Trauma fused with the Rift has appeared]

Two modifiers were attached to the trauma. Fused and uber.

This means that in addition to the master of the Rift, a powerful boss monster will appear.

Sluuurp―

I, who had seeped under the shadow, rejoined the team members. In the center of the Rift, a golden tree 100 meters tall was revealing its divine form.

[Prevent the fusion of evil spirits and eliminate the master of the Rift. The longer it takes, the higher the difficulty will rise.]

―Current difficulty: Level 3

Moreover, the additional objectives displayed in the upper right were updated. Something must have gone wrong for the difficulty to jump from level 1 to level 3.

‘Not a time-related technique. Just fusion, huh.’

It was an intuitive expression.

There was no time to relax.

I spoke while looking at the center of the Rift.

“That tree is the master of the Rift. Let’s start with reconnaissance to understand its patterns. God Hand, prepare your restoration technique.”

We don’t know what variables might pop up.

With God Hand’s meticulous strategies and techniques that saved not only his own life but also Flame Emperor’s in extreme situations, we should be able to prevent any potential damage at its source.

“Of course. However, I hope there won’t be a need for me to step in.”

I hope so too.

But my skin is tingling quite a bit. The concentration of negative energy has exceeded the limit.

Even the spiritual power of a 5-star peak is struggling to handle it.

‘Let’s try to prevent the fusion first.’

I thought the evil spirit had swallowed up the corrupted spiritual beings to form a new mutation. But it seems the fusion is not complete yet, and a ‘main ego’ hasn’t formed.

Whoosh!

Boom―

Without warning, the golden tree began to burn. It was a flame burning with intense malice.

The crown of the golden tree, which had grown to an enormous size, became a lush head, and the thick tree trunk transformed into a body. Eventually, even the roots were uprooted, becoming multiple legs.

Grooooowl!

No sooner had this happened than the wicked roar of a monstrous life form echoed from the other side of the Rift. In the distance, a monster with demonic wings unfurled was writhing and crawling on the ground.

Boom. Boom!

The burning golden tree turned its body not towards the heroes, but towards the giant demon. Its back view somewhat resembled a holy warrior destroying evil.

After observing the situation, I said,

“It seems it hasn’t been decided which side will become the main ego yet. The golden tree is the main body. That demon must be a collection of corrupted spiritual beings.”

The terror of the massacre gave birth to evil spirits. As a result, the corrupted spiritual beings merged into one, likely reborn in the form of the demon folk who had massacred them.

On the other hand, the golden tree was…

【Information Window】

▶ Name: Grateful Divine Tree

▶ Level: 97

▶ Classification: Monster

▶ Mutation: [Flames of Destruction Lv.10]

▶ Skill: [Monstrous Strength Defying Gods]

Though a monster, its origin was divine.

Perhaps things might resolve easily.

God Hand, Flame Emperor, and the team members’ eyes sparkled with expressions that said, ‘Please give us your orders.’

The bored genius’s brain, drawing on the background knowledge of a Chloe ranker, quickly deduced an answer.

“Let’s help the golden tree purify that evil spirit first.”