The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-357

The event unfolded quickly and silenced the scene.

Thud... Thud...

Amidst the silence, a man strode forward unflinchingly, his frosty expression contrasting with his otherwise handsome features.

"You have three seconds to explain this situation to me."

His calm voice only intensified the silence.

"Three."

In truth, he didn't care about the explanation.

"Ding, time's up."

Thwack!!!

He kicked the headless body away and yelled at the guards, sparing only the fallen Monmider.

"Do something. Round them all up. The charge? Disturbing the peace and causing a fiasco."

The power of a Saint exceeded that of the royal family in certain circumstances.

"Yes... Yes!"

Intimidated by Davey, the guards swiftly moved to restrain the Paladins.

"This strange witch dares to impersonate the Saint! In the name of Goddess Freyja, I shall smite this witch—"

There were always a few hardliners among the Paladins. The Paladin who could not accept the female figure as Davey raised his sword with conviction. He was swiftly struck in the groin and sent crashing into a wall. It was a merciless attack.

Thwack!!

"Are you blind? Who looks like a witch? Take them away before I decide to kill them all."

Davey was already in a foul mood and had no intention of letting these fools off the hook. Regardless of the Paladins' motives, they had threatened his siblings, injured a loyal servant, and, most importantly, had been chasing after Perserque.

With his thoughts clouded by matters concerning his family, Davey saw no reason to be lenient with the Paladins.

Amidst the silence, he approached Aeonitia and Tanya, both visibly trembling. He asked, "Are you injured?"

"Are... are you Brother Davey?" Tanya asked, clearly startled.

"Yes."

"H-How did you...?"

"I had a bit of a rough day. I'll be back to normal soon."

As Davey flashed a reassuring grin, Tanya's eyes widened. She seemed taken aback because, even though everything else seemed familiar, Davey's physical appearance was completely different. Aeonitia trembled sporadically. Fortunately, they were both relatively unharmed.

Davey sat down, leaving the quickly suppressed and humiliated Paladins behind, and focused on Monmider, who was vomiting blood.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I wasn't good enough..."

"No, you did well."

As Davey gently placed his hand on Monmider's forehead, a warm glow radiated. The light infiltrated Monmider's body, and his bluish, discolored skin gradually regained its original color.

"Cough! Thank you, my Lord!"

Although his words acknowledged Davey, Monmider still looked at Davey with some uncertainty, as if trying to reconcile the Davey in front of him with the Davey he knew.

"I did tell you to be cautious of people."

"I'm, I'm sorry."

"Go inside and rest for now. And keep an eye on those damn fanatics."

"Yes, my Lord!"

Upon his order, the guards promptly dispersed.

It felt as if a storm had just passed. Davey remembered something similar from the past. Even though he now held a noble title, there was a time when he had executed a priest for harassing Amy, who was his personal maid at the time. The issue was the difference in hierarchy between a low-ranking clergyman and a high-ranking Paladin of the Heresy Tribunal.

‘So is this a serious issue? No,’ Davey thought.

Silently, he stroked Aeonitia's head. She looked up at him, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "You really...are Brother Davey, right?"

"Yeah."

"But... Gasp! No… It's nothing."

Having been through so much due to the rebellion, Aeonitia was quite perceptive.

"Luckily, both of you were not seriously injured. That must have been scary, though. Go to your rooms and rest."

Davey noticed that Tanya wanted to talk to him. First, however, he turned his head to Amy, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

"Gasp!"

Amy was flustered and unsure of what to do. Her eyes kept darting around until Davey finally spoke to her.

"Amy."

"Yes! My Lord...! My Lord?"

Her response came out of reflex, but as she looked at his face, she still seemed perplexed.

However, there was something familiar about Davey's appearance.

"My Lord? You... It's you, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, my Lord! I failed to attend to the two princesses…"

"It's okay. From now on, we cut off all transactions and financial support heading toward the Holy Empire."

Amy’s eyes widened. The Holy Empire traditionally received a certain amount of taxes from affluent territories and provided periodic support to its clergy.

‘Clergy support? Let them starve and suffer,’ Davey thought.

"Freeze all funds heading toward the Holy Empire. Also, completely sever all other transactions with them."

The Paladins may not have been acting under orders from the Holy Empire. However, regardless of their intentions, it was not a concern of Davey's whether there was internal discord within the empire. It was only natural for those who couldn't even manage their own house to suffer the consequences.

"I won't accept any objections. Do you understand?" Davey emphasized his point in a cold voice.

"Yes, my Lord!"

Such a measure would inevitably cause discord between the Holy Empire and the Heins territory. Considering the Holy Empire's influence and their importance, it was an extremely dangerous act. Yet, he did not retract his decision.

‘Let's see who bleeds more. This is just the beginning.’

He looked at the blood-stained corridor for a long time, leaving Amy behind as she hurried away to carry out his orders.

Blood had been spilled in this manor, where there should have been none. A bitter sigh escaped his lips as he silently surveyed his surroundings.

"Sigh... Ugh..."

At that moment, he heard someone approaching from behind him.

"Davey... I'm sorry..."

It was a voice filled with sorrow. The owner of the voice believed that this situation had occurred because of her, and she appeared visibly upset.

Slowly turning his head, Davey grabbed her horns and pushed her against the wall.

Thud!!

"Gah!" A rather cute scream escaped Perserque, who was being pushed back.

"Haah… I've been waiting for this."

"Huh?! Get, get off!"

Realizing Davey’s intentions, she panicked and flailed about. She protested, "Don't make a fool out of me! Is this what you wanted to do after coming back with that bizarre look?! I am not a toy! Let me go!"

Davey observed Perserque as she cried out and struggled with a flushed face. After a while, he slowly released her and then embraced her. He asked, "Does it hurt anywhere?"

With a flushed face, she avoided his gaze and muttered softly, "...No. But what is all this talk about getting married? You live such a reckless life, but this is going too far."

Her voice was faint, but he could hear it clearly.

"So?" he asked, slightly furrowing his brows.

With her eyes looking visibly startled, Perserque nodded briefly before she continued.

"Again, I don't have a preference for younger men! And if you were going to resurrect me, you should have put me in a human form! What's the reason for putting these massive horns on my head, especially knowing about the war between demons and humans!"

The horns of the Dark Lord, similar to those of demons, symbolized their power.

Perserque, unlike previous Dark Lords, had acquired a significant amount of power. As a result, her horns were much larger than those of other demons, which were about the size of a finger joint. Hers seemed more appropriate for a dragon.

"The horns look nice… They were designed to be comfortable."

"My horns are not meant for satisfying your desires. From the start, if I didn't have these horns, I wouldn't have been suspected... Huh?"

As she shot back coldly, Davey reached out and grabbed her horns. She looked at him perplexed—her horns had simply detached from her forehead and were now in his hands. Her forehead now looked like an ordinary human's, with no scars or injuries, as if the horns had never been there.

"Didn't you know? You can remove them; they respond to mana."

The shock on Perserque's face wouldn't go away.

‘Your physical body, in a sense, is the flesh of a demon beneath the skin of a human. It doesn't tire easily, it changes very little over time, and even if it's injured or broken, it can heal itself by utilizing mana. This technology is also currently employed by the Decepticon Fleet and the new Avenger Golems,’ Davey thought.

* * *

Several days had passed since the Paladins had stormed the Heins territory.

Squeak…

The door opened quietly, and Alice, the former Saint candidate, walked in, wearing her plain white outfit. As she was escorted by the central Paladins, there were only two people in her sight: Lena, the soon-to-be Saintess and the only remaining Saint candidate, and Cydelis Shoren Harezelem, the current Pope of the Holy Empire.

"Your Holiness."

"I am glad that you arrived safely, Saintess Candidate Alice."

"I am now an archbishop. The Saintess Candidate position is too much for me."

"Ah... Haha... Alice, it's been a while," Lena said.

"Yes, it has. Have you been studying a lot?"

"Hehe... Well..."

"Sigh... You're always like that."

"I'm, I'm sorry," Lena shrunk under Alice's reprimand.

"I'm not blaming you specifically. But now that you're the only Saintess Candidate, you should at least handle some pressure. You can't live a leisurely life forever, can you?"

Lena turned gloomy as Alice scolded her. She was just a young lady who loved to go outside whenever she wanted to eat delicious honey bread, see the lively streets, and enjoy beautiful sunsets.

Unfortunately, the Saintess position could not be held with dreams alone, except for the monstrous prince of the Heins territory. Who would doubt that he was a Saint after witnessing his tremendous power? Of course, most in the Holy Empire were unaware of his abilities.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me before I leave the Holy Empire? Also, you even called Lena here," Alice asked with a short sigh.

Pope Cydelis broke out in a cold sweat and let out a sigh. "That's the thing. As I told Lena, the Heresy Tribunal of the Holy Empire has split. Someone is causing discord in the Holy Empire. They took advantage of our attention being drawn to this war."

"Heresy... Tribunal..." Alice gritted her teeth at those words. It was not a term that evoked good feelings. After all, it was a gathering of fanatics.

"What's the problem? It won't be relevant to me since I am about to leave the territory..."

"The problem is that they claim to have received a divine revelation to find and kill the demons. We don't know if this revelation is real, but those fanatics have begun to stir up quite a fuss."

"That's not good. So... what should we do?"

It didn't have anything to do with her anyway. She was about to leave for the Heins territory.

"The problem is, it seems they've turned the Heins territory upside down. They took advantage of Prince Davey, the Saint, being absent."

"Oh..." Alice's eyes bulged. Cold sweat trickled down her back. "Don't tell me... They caused some commotion there..."

"They did."

It was a calm response. But the voice didn't belong to Pope Cydelis or Lena. It was a familiar tone, but oddly low.

"Huh?!"

Surprised, Alice turned her head and saw a girl leisurely sitting in one corner of the reception room, playing with her hand. Well, she was a bit androgynous to be simply called a girl.

"Who…"

"I am the owner of the territory."

That one sentence made Alice's face turn pale.

"Right now, I've placed seven spells of the 8th Circle at two thousand meters in the air. You have ten minutes to explain yourself before I start dropping them." Davey stopped for a moment, then added, "Not enough? Should I add more?"

He spoke in a jesting tone, but Alice could tell. His facial expressions conveyed that this person, presumably Prince Davey with his appearance changed, was genuinely upset.

"Those damn fanatics need to know who they've messed with."

‘You're out of luck,’ Davey thought.

His smile did not resemble the one he had on his face while taking care of everything and treating patients on the battlefield. This smile was not warm but chillingly cold.