The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-277

Unlike the usual gigantic metal body that was characteristic of golems, the golem that appeared in front of Reina looked sophisticated and agile with its surprisingly human-like body.

Whiiiir! Whiiiiiiir!!!

The gigantic saw in the golem’s hand roared loudly as it spun fiercely.

“Ah!” shouted Reina, who was left in a daze by the golem’s sudden appearance, after seeing a huge ogre swing a human-sized metal hammer toward the golem.

However, the golem wasn’t going to react to her shout.

Bang!!!

In the end, a resounding roar rang loudly as the golem’s upper body was bent by the heavy blow.

No matter how sophisticated or amazing a golem was, it would still be stopped by a tremendous blow or shock. Reina thought that its inner workings were most likely damaged from that one blow.

Whiiiiir!!!

As if to defy Reina’s expectations, the saw in the golem’s hand once again whirred back to life and spun fiercely. Its upper body was still bent in its unrecognizable form, but the golem quickly jumped and snatched the ogre by the head.

“Roaaaaaar!!!” The armored ogre roared in embarrassment at the sudden fierce grip that was grabbing it by the head.

It had firmly believed that the earlier shot should have been enough to kill the golem.

However, the blue-eyed golem looked at the ogre as if it had no idea what it was trying to imply. Then, it slaughtered the ogre mercilessly.

What material was the golem made out of for it to easily rip apart an ogre, which was known for its tough skin? On top of that, the ogre was even wearing thick armor.

Reina’s mouth hung wide open at the incredulous scene that was unfolding in front of her. The golem dealt with the ogre in such a brutal and gruesome manner that even she felt sorry for it.

Thump!!!

Once the golem finished its report, Reina saw a blue flare appear in the skies above them that tore apart the wings of the small gargoyles loitering in the skies. She was once again left in a daze when she saw several golems appear so suddenly, slaughtering the monsters and saving the screaming people.

The young mage, Mersil, looked around in amazement. “These flames… They are completely harmless to humans…”

Common sense would tell anyone that a blazing fire released high temperatures. The only way to explain this mysterious flame that went beyond the laws of physics was to identify it as a special magic flame. However, there was a problem… There was not a shred of mana in it.

“Goodness… It’s true,” said Roina, the crusader and vanguard of the party, in amazement as she touched the flames that were licking the ground beneath them.

In fact, she could not feel any heat or substance to the flames at all. However, she knew that the flames were not just a trick of the eye.

—Roaaaaaaaar!

The countless monsters that invaded the city shrieked upon being exposed to the flames. They soon rolled on the ground in pain and turned into ashes.

The rain of fire was like the world letting out its anger and bringing forth divine punishment. However, the objects of punishment were limited to the monsters that had invaded this city, nothing more, nothing less.

Reina was left speechless at the bizarre situation in front of her. She flinched only when Vendique shook her shoulders roughly and shouted in her ears, “Get a grip! It seems like those bastards have noticed our movements and have hit us in advance!”

“This… This… This is impossible! It would take a lot more time before the military comes over…”

“Impossible or not, the reality is right in front of us! Reina! Make a decision, now!”

Reina fell silent at Vendique’s cry. She looked up at the ominous red star in the dark sky.

How could she forget? There was no way that she would forget the First Lich Nyx’s power. It was so strong that it could affect the surrounding environment. And the fact that his growing resentment and influence was already starting to affect the world outside meant that his seal, a seal that had lasted for a very long time, was coming undone.

“Are we going to protect the city, or are we going to deal with that?”

Roina, who was dealing with the monsters, Mercil, who was giving her his magic support, and Essylt, who was treating the injured with holy magic, all turned to look at Reina after hearing Vendique’s question.

“If he gets fully awakened, we won’t be able to stop him with our power alone. We will only be able to stop him for a while and temporarily buy us some more time.”

But how many would die if they left this place to stop Nyx’s unsealing? Perhaps that was the best solution. After all, it was better to sacrifice this place than allow the rest of the continent to suffer.

Those thoughts came about when Reina recalled the memories that she had of the time when they had failed to stop Nyx’s unsealing. Back then, droves of monsters had flocked to the cities to wreak more havoc than this… If that happened, then this world would also meet its end. Reina had come here to protect one person, but it seemed like she would lose everything again.

She stumbled as she clutched her mask with one hand. She felt pure and utter disgust for the miserable reality that they were in. This world was about to experience the doors of hell opening, just like she had experienced before. The reality continued to unfold the same way as it did before as if it was mocking her, as if it was telling her that the future would not change no matter how hard she tried.

Reina had once failed to prevent the resurrection of the Demon Lord’s confidants who had been sealed for three thousand years, with the first being First Lich Nyx. As a result, the awakened First Lich Nyx had turned the entire Eastern Continent into a sea of flames in just a short three months. Was it due to his immense power? Well, it was true that Nyx was strong. However, the bigger problem was the beings who appeared at his call.

“Do what you think is right. I will support your decision,” Vendique said.

Reina clenched her fists and thought, ‘I have to be objective. I have to be cold-hearted here.’

Reina felt her body twitch as relief flooded her veins, knowing that those unknown golems with tremendous powers and that unknown firebird would be here to stop these monsters. On top of that, the army of the coastal city-state of Valkass had also started to make their move.

Knowing all of that, Reina was sure that they would be able to defend the city even if the damage that they would incur would be severe. If that was the case, then…

Bzzt, bzzt…

At that moment, something unusual happened. Hundreds of black cracks began to appear in the dark sky above them. Reina and her party could not help but look at the strange phenomenon in a panic.

“N… No!” Reina, who had seen those black cracks several times before, shouted frantically as she swung the sword in her hands.

[Longsword]

[Splitting the Mountains]

Crack!!!

The heavy slash flew through the air, cutting down one of the black cracks.

However, the cracks were spreading quickly with more than hundreds of them in the sky. Reina was going to struggle to stop them even with her power.

It did not matter how strong she was, Reina would eventually face her own limits. She was a Swordmaster, so she could possibly end this with a lot more time and effort. However, the true problem here was the time that she would need and the sacrifice that she had to make.

Hundreds of thousands of monsters had already started a simple attack through the ships, but even more of them were emerging from the cracks in the skies. It was a huge spectacle.

“Oh my god… What is that…?” Mercil murmured with a stiff expression on his face while Essylt trembled beside him.

“Impossible… Where in the world are all those monsters coming from…?” muttered the assassin Vendique before his voice trailed off.

Even if there were tremendously strong golems or a firebird that could burn monsters non-stop, this place would still be destroyed. By the time this ended, the small areas and cities that surrounded this area would also be completely destroyed. No, perhaps the damage would be even more than that.

‘How… How are the demons moving so fast?!’ Reina thought, failing to make a swift decision. She forcibly hid her urgency as she continuously brandished her sword to break the cracks.

“First Lich, Nyx…”

Whatever choice Reina made, the consequences would be devastating. Large-scale monster raids were also vivid in her memories, but this particular raid was by far the most ridiculous one of all that she could recall.

There should be another half a year before Nyx, the Demon Lord’s close confidant, would properly and completely awaken to summon all of the demons, monsters, and demonic beasts that served under him. However, the reality presented in front of Reina was different. The devastation had pushed ahead of time.

It was also very important for them to prevent First Lich Nyx’s complete unsealing, but they had to be alright with a tremendous amount of bloodshed to do so. They couldn’t have their cake and eat it too. It was clear that the party had to choose between the two scenarios and make some sacrifices.

In this situation, it almost felt like fate was toying with them and telling them that the future was fixed. The world was indeed cruel. Reina almost felt like crying about how unfair this world was.

“…”

“Can you really just sit back and relax here? From the looks of it, he’s already about to awaken. You won’t be able to deal with him if you’re too late, you know?”

Just then, right before Reina could jump into a group of monsters with her sword raised high above her, a calm voice rang out.

Reina and the rest of her party turned toward the voice in surprise. They saw a boy, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, looking down at them.

How could Reina not know who he was? She considered him to be a complete variable. He was a new powerhouse that did not exist in Reina’s own world. According to the rumors, he was a very great and powerful person who even Grand Duchess Kathryn could not keep up with him.

If she were to be honest, Reina simply couldn’t believe it. This was also why she did not directly ask for Prince Davey’s help.

Davey should not have known that they were here. And even if he knew, he should not have been able to arrive right at this moment. However, the boy standing above them was clearly Prince Davey. After all, there was no way that Reina would forget the face of the person she had just met recently.

“You’re still in a daze? What, are you thinking of losing both sides because you can’t make a decision?”

Reina was rendered speechless.

***

Goddess Freyja had made a deal with Davey to save Reina. In the first place, this was a deal proposed out of blatant favoritism. In fact, Davey had already disposed of his expectations of receiving Goddess Freyja’s love and affection very early on in this set-up. Also, this was the second time that the Goddess’ will had used him for the sake of one person alone.

Putting everything aside, Goddess Freyja had intended this to become a forced yet very favorable deal especially since she had even given Davey a glimpse of Reina’s past.

After some introspection, Davey had decided to accept the situation and the deal with Goddess Freyja.

Even so, this situation made Davey feel a bit sorry for Reina. This was why he did not tell her to stop talking unnecessarily, wash her hands off of this situation, and sleep somewhere far away. He was sure that this was Reina’s only goal, the reason why she was still living.

“You… How did you come here…?”

“How? Didn’t I tell you already?”

‘If you go, you’ll just die a useless and meaningless death.’

“What are you saying…?”

“This is not the place where you were before.”

Reina fell silent.

“I wasn’t in that place but I am here.”

“…”

“The difference is very small, right?”

“What are you…?”

“The First Lich that should have run wild in the Pallan Empire was subjugated in a very short period of time. Even the World Tree, who should have gone crazy in the Western Continent, is now showing favor towards the humans.”

Davey’s words were becoming hard to understand thanks to the explosions that rang out from all over the place. Still, Reina could hear him clearly enough to flinch at his words.

This was only natural. The future that Reina knew was a future where the self-proclaimed immortal Lich had wreaked havoc and turned the entire Pallan Empire upside down. It was also the future where the World Tree had brought ruin upon the West. But was that all?

“Something strange also happened in the Western Continent’s Ming Empire, which allowed the flow of power in the West to remain steady and calm.”

“Who…the hell are you…?”

Reina was starting to question Davey’s identity. There should be no one in this world who knew of her true identity. That was why Reina had no choice but to be wary of Davey, who continued to speak as if he knew her well.

However, Davey had no intention of clarifying any of Reina’s doubts right now.

“That’s why, you should just go and do what you intended to do the first time. Go and stop that bald Lich bastard who is preparing to awaken on the island.”

‘These guys are different from the ones that you have been looking for.’

Reina trembled. “What can you do…alone? Humans will eventually reach their limits! No matter how great your abilities are, this is a threat that you can’t handle on your own! I’d rather everyone join forces and…”

With a vicious smile tugging at his lips, Davey asked, “Who said that?”

“…Yes?”

“Who said that I can’t deal with this alone? Did Goddess Freyja say that?”

Reina clenched her fists at Davey’s provocation. “This is not the time to make jokes!”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Davey said as he calmly pulled out his Divine Spear Longinus from his Pocket Plane.

Mage Mercil stared at Davey with wide eyes when he pulled out the spear, which immediately turned into a cross, from his Pocket Plane. However, Davey ignored him.

“Go and clear the path. I don’t care what kind of mindset you have, but you have already come all the way here. You should do what you intended to do. Besides, there’s nothing for you to do here,” Davey said calmly as he gently tapped the spear on the ground.

Thud!

Just then, a completely unexpected change began to occur around Reina.