The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-324

Davey was quite surprised to meet with a member of the demon race in this place. He was doubly surprised by the fact that this demon was the same one from back in the marine city state.

This was the very same black-armored demon who had guarded the path that had led to where the 9th Circle Dark Mage, the closest confidant to the Demon Lord, the First Lich Nyx, had been.

The fact that this demon was here had exceeded Davey’s expectations. He found it hard to understand, because he was sure that the demon had undoubtedly received fatal injuries from both Rinne and Grand Duchess Kathryn back then. He never thought that the demon would be hiding in the Pallan Empire after having fled.

Belial could not understand what Davey was talking about. To him, this was his first time meeting Reina. Since the former Warrior Reina’s existence had been deleted in this world, Belial understandably would have no recollection of having met her. It was very obvious that he had no memories of meeting Warrior Reina, who had been in her dying moments back then.

With an enemy in front of him, Davey had no qualms checking out the demon’s information. Using the Abyss’ Authority, he could see that the demon’s name was Belial. He could also see that he was a high-ranking demon. Apart from that, the only thing that Davey could see was the fact that Belial was just a naive and honest demon.

Belial, who had been sent flying in an instant, looked confused. As for Reina, she held onto her sword of white light and was ready to subdue and kill the demon at any given moment. With an expression of betrayal and anger, she said, “You… You’re trying to violate a weak girl…”

It was hard to tell how the situation had come to be, but seeing one of the men that had made her life tolerable in her own world unexpectedly crushing the version of herself in this world was enough to infuriate Reina. This had been the only demon to have respected and recognized her as a knight back then. Needless to say, her sense of betrayal was justified.

Illyna simply looked at everything in a daze. She could not understand the situation at all. As for Davey, he just watched the entire situation unfold in silence.

“W-What?”

Illyna was the most flustered in this situation. With her blonde hair fluttering behind her, she stared at Davey blankly. Then, with an unconscious step forward, she called out to him, “Davey? Why did you come here?!”

She sounded uneasy, like a child having been caught doing something wrong. It was probably due to her bewilderment.

“Why did I come here?”

“That’s right! I’m sure I haven’t told anyone that I would be here…”

Davey tapped his collar and said calmly, “I found you through that. I was actually wondering where you’re going.”

Illyna immediately checked her collar, but found nothing. Looking at Davey suspiciously, she said, “But there’s nothing.”

Ignoring Illyna, Davey walked toward Belial, who had been subdued by Reina. A moment later, he explained to Illyna, “I’ve planted Tracking Magic in your body.”

“W-What?! Are you crazy?! Planting magic on the body of a member of the Imperial Family?! Do you know what’d happen if you got caught?! I don’t mind it, but what do you think the Pallan Empire would do to you?!”

“Ah. That? It doesn’t matter,” Davey said calmly as he gestured for Reina to step down and grabbed Belial by the collar. He continued, “That’s something that’s already been dealt with. You seem to be in the dark, but discussions regarding your safety and protection had been discussed since a long time ago.”

“My, my god… I, I didn’t hear anything about that!!!”

“Ah, just to let you know, it also has the function to listen in on your conversations.”

“Kyaaack! Perverted bastard!!!”

“It’s a lie.”

Illyna looked embarrassed.

Davey wasn’t exactly lying. After the war with the Undead in the Pallan Empire’s territory, Prince Sullivan had set up a private meeting with Davey and made one request. He had requested for Davey to protect Illyna and secure her safety secretly until the moment she became a Sword Master. The compensation was a huge sum of money.

In all honesty, Davey was not actually that obsessed with money. However, he hadn’t been able to find a good enough reason to reject the request. After accepting the offer, Davey had secretly planted a Tracking Magic on Illyna’s body.

Sullivan, the Pallan Empire’s new Crown Prince, had chosen to protect his younger sister in the dark. Even if he got hated and ostracized by Illyna, it would not matter to him as long as he could protect her from the others’ dirty hands. And was he simply protecting his sister for the sake of their nation’s prestige and honor? Of course not.

With Belial looking at him silently, Davey said with a smile, “We’re not in any kind of relationship. However, at this very moment, I’m fulfilling the position of her guardian. I’m not so patient to keep a bastard like you who’s been sneaking around alive. Do you have any excuse?”

Belial kept quiet.

Davey never thought that the demon could have been a problem. After all, the demon should not have been here.

Suddenly recognizing Davey, Belial’s eyes widened as he murmured, “You…”

“We’ve had the pleasure of making each other’s acquaintance, no?”

Belial had actually never met Davey, but he could not deny whatever the boy had just said. Since the rules of the world had erased Warrior Reina’s existence, that empty gap in everyone’s memories had been replaced by Davey.

In fact, anyone putting all of the continent’s rumors together would assume that Davey had been the one to resolve the problem regarding First Lich Nyx. Simply put, everyone believed that it was not Reina but Davey and Grand Duchess Kathryn Carabella who had fought against Black Knight Belial, who had guarded First Lich Nyx’s seal.

“I see… So the human that she was talking about is you,” Belial said as he glanced at Illyna, finally understanding whatever she had said before.

“It seems like your closed-door training has just ended. I came here to see you, but I am met with a situation that I can’t even pass as a joke,” Davey said with a calm smile on his face. Then, with that very same smile, he looked at Illyna and asked, “What shall we do with this guy, huh?”

“…”

“Speak. It seems like you know that he’s a dangerous man and a member of the demon race. Just one word from you, and I can kill this guy in an instant.”

However, Belial began moving even before Davey could finish speaking. Although he had lost most of his strength and power due to his injury, he was still able to create a sword in his hand by raising the black demonic energy in his body. Using a very familiar swordsmanship, he immediately shook Davey off and widened the distance between them.

Despite having suffered from a fatal injury, a Sword Master was still a Sword Master. An ordinary person would not be able to react to the speed and technique that he was showing right now.

In fact, Illyna would fail to react at all.

In this situation, it was clear just how great the Sword Master level was. For people like Illyna, who were able to reach the Sword Master level before the age of 20, they could all be considered as heaven-sent talents who were rarely discovered.

However, that did not mean that Illyna was now a complete Master. She had just climbed to the ranks of a Master very recently. It was for that reason that Illyna could not keep up with the movements of Belial, who had surpassed the Master level.

Bang!!!

“Keo…heok…”

Belial was strong by Illyna’s standards. Unfortunately for him, Davey was not a greenhorn who had just reached the Sword Master level.

“I never expected that there would be someone fearless enough to try and steal the biggest empire’s precious flower. Even if I bully and tease her, I still have to keep that precious line in mind, you know?” Davey said calmly as he grabbed Belial by the neck and slammed him on the tree behind him.

Davey could not help but squint at the demon, whose disastrous condition could be discovered with a quick scan of the body. He commented, “Your internal organs are all messed up. Even your blood flow is all twisted. Don’t move. One more impact like this and you’re as good as dead.”

Davey did not really hate the demon race. However, it was very uncommon to give recognition and acceptance to an enemy like Belial.

Belial looked at Davey in exhaustion. With blood dripping down his chin, he said, “What… What a ridiculous speed. Are, are you sure you’re a human?”

“If you want to doubt my existence, then you can do as you please. I’m fine with that.”

Just as Belial fell silent, someone else stepped forward and said threateningly, “Please leave him to me. I can easily deal with this shameless and reckless man right here and now.”

It was none other than Reina. Using her white sword energy, she created a sword and pointed it at Belial’s neck.

“…”

Seeing Reina’s face up close, doubt flashed across Belial’s face.

This was understandable. Reina’s face had changed slightly but she still carried a huge resemblance to Illyna. Although Davey had changed her body based on his own preference, the basic features of her face as well as its shape hadn’t really changed.

“You…”

“I thought you were one of the few demons who valued righteousness and grace,” Reina mumbled coldly as her eyes shot daggers at Belial. “I did not expect that you’re a very disgusting demon who’d try to force a woman who’s far weaker than you…”

“I have never seen you in my life.”

“Yes, you haven’t, but I have already grown sick and tired of seeing your face,” Reina said, her hands shaking as she pressed her sword closer to Belial.

“Davey! Stop that! He’s my patient!” Illyna hurriedly cried out.

“A patient? Even if the one who did the treatment is a quack, do patients really knock them down on the ground?”

“Stop playing around with your words! It’s just an accident during a spar! Are you going to joke around with me even though you’re completely aware of what happened?!”

Davey looked at Belial silently. In the end, his expression relaxed as he took a step back and said, “Reina, put your sword away.”

“Yes,” Reina said, immediately stepping down. She pulled her sword away as her attitude changed, but a vigilant look still remained on her face.

Belial, who was only being supported by Davey’s hand on his neck, collapsed on the ground and vomited blood.

“So, you’re a Sword Master now. Congratulations.”

Illyna turned coy, turning away to avoid Davey’s eyes while saying, “Hmph. You’re quite quick on the uptake…”

“And you even finished your training this fast. Hmmm. Seeing that you’ve grown prettier, you must have succeeded with your metamorphosis.”

“Anyone who wields the sword like I do will get the hang of it quickly, no? And, and you won’t get anything from me even if you compliment me.”

Feeling better from Davey’s compliments, Illyna blushed.

She had swung her sword until crossing the wall to become a Sword Master, and had undergone a complete metamorphosis. What? Was metamorphosis just some bullshit? Of course not. This was not a feat that anyone could achieve normally.

As Davey patted her head, Illyna realized the situation that she was in and immediately stepped away from him. With wide eyes in shock, she asked, “You… Are you going to keep treating others like children?”

“Who am I treating like a child?”

“When I look at you from time to time… I always see you treating others like children.”

‘Ah. I got caught.’

Illyna glared at Davey as she moved to support Belial. She asked, “Hey. Are you alright?”

“…”

As Belial stayed silent, Illyna turned to Davey and asked, “Davey, can’t you save this guy? He doesn’t show any signs of improvement even though I have given him the basic treatment. I’ll make sure to compensate you properly.”

“That guy is a demon.” After Illyna shut her mouth, Davey further explained, “And he’s not an ordinary demon. He’s the demon who guarded the place where First Lich Nyx was sealed. Do you know what that means?”

Listening to those harsh words, Illyna bowed her head and avoided Davey’s gaze.

“He’s allied with the vampires that you want to kill so badly,” Davey reminded Illyna of the fact that she was already aware of.

Illyna frowned slightly. “I know… I know that, but… Whenever I think of Per… I think that not all demons are bad…”

‘Ah. Come to think of it, Illyna knows of your existence because of Caldeiras.’

—That’s right.

“Whether he’s good or bad, he’s still an enemy.”

“I, I know that! I know that, but…”

Seeing Illyna try to find the words that she wanted to say, Davey asked quietly, “So, you want to save him?”

“At the very least, I don’t want to pretend that I haven’t seen him suffer and die a slow death. Besides…he’s not really a bad demon.”

Reina, who was standing next to Davey, gritted her teeth and said, “Continue living with that kind of mindset and you’ll be in hell.”

Illyna glared sharply at Reina when she heard her sarcastic remarks. She angrily strode toward Reina and said, “Who are you?! Who are you to dare to pretend to know everything, huh?!”

Reina smiled coldly at Illyna, who was raising her aura against her.

From Davey’s point of view, this was Reina trying to give advice to her past self. It seemed like Reina felt like it was only humane to wake her younger self from these thoughts, even if she had to do it harshly and unreasonably.

“Unlike what you believe, the world is not a righteous place.”

“Thank you for the advice, but it will be up to me to judge. I believe in what I see,” Illyna said angrily as she took a step closer to Reina.

“Huh?” Illyna suddenly became flustered.

Although Reina’s face had changed slightly, she still looked just like the girl named Illyna de Pallan who had crossed over to this world from a parallel one. The Illyna from this world was still 17 years old. On the other hand, Reina was already in her late twenties. There was a huge difference between them, but it also appeared as if there was hardly any difference at all.

“Da… Davey… this… this person… Who the hell is she?” Illyna took a step back and hurriedly turned to ask Davey.