The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-417

"Ouch... Ah, it hurts," Aeria stammered, flustered by her own behavior.

Davey let out a short breath and said, "Princess, you brought this upon yourself."

"No, I don't want this... Don't do this," she begged.

"It's already too late," he responded, causing tears to well up in Aeria’s eyes.

Despite her desperate struggle to get away from him, Davey slowly approached her, stretching out his other hand. The atmosphere between them was undeniably lascivious, with her clothes clinging to her body.

In this strangely heated atmosphere, Aeria, unable to contain her fear, tightly shut her eyes. She bit her lips and began to tremble violently.

Thud!

Contrary to her worry, Davey’s hand grasped her shoulder. She let out a weak moan. Her eyes, which had been fixated on Davey, rolled back.

"Ah… Huh?" she exclaimed, now with her back to him and was seated on the floor.

However, Davey had already laid both of his hands on her shoulders. Then, with a 'crack', the sound of stiffened muscles and bones twisting filled the air.

"Ah!" A surprised scream escaped Aeria’s mouth.

Davey flashed the princess a gleeful grin. He savored the taste of victory. His desire to knead tight muscles never seemed to fade, and it was all those damned heroes’ fault!

* * *

Gasping for breath, Aeria was left lying outside the pond while Davey casually used his mana.

[Dry]

As he cast the 3rd Circle magic spell, his drenched clothes and Aeria's dress began to dry.

Aeria, her face blank, looked up at him with resentful eyes. She complained, "You startled me."

"I have this habit. When I see tense muscles, I want to loosen them."

"If you had mentioned that from the start..."

"Well, were you thinking of something else?" Davey teased.

"No, not at all!" Aeria shouted in surprise and quickly turned her head away. Struggling to move, she murmured, "You really are horrible.”

"The door's open," Davey announced.

The mana water had been completely absorbed by both their bodies, serving its purpose. It seemed pointless to bathe in it any further. If one or two more people entered, it would turn completely into ordinary water.

Davey hoisted the exhausted and blushing Aeria onto his back, and began to slowly walk toward the door on the other side of the pond. The water in the pond that was knee-deep earlier, now felt as if it had a bottom as soon as his foot touched it.

"Ah!" Aeria looked around in surprise from his back and gave a gasp of amazement.

The light of the pond grew brighter with each step he took. Carrying Aeria, who was mesmerized by the surroundings, Davey silently crossed the pond and headed toward the slowly opening door.

[You're a strange one. Yes, this is the final room. The Silver Chime should be here.]

At these words, Davey spotted a small jewel emitting a bright light at the end of the enormous hollow. The jewel, shaped like a teardrop and emitting a soft light, was filled with an unusual flow of mana.

"How strange," he mused.

He had seen Philosopher's Stones and all sorts of machinery, but never anything as peculiar as this. Not even those from the Hall of Heroes had mentioned such an object. It was an object of wonder, yet just as deadly. Its beauty was so compelling that it invoked a primal sense of greed.

Davey gradually approached the altar where the chime was placed. He gently set down Aeria, then turned his attention to the altar. Aeria, too, was staring blankly at the chime, her expression awestruck.

"It's beautiful," she murmured. The glow in her eyes started to faintly fade away as she spoke.

Seeing the princess’ reaction, Davey halted in his tracks and promptly turned back to tap lightly on Aeria's forehead. It was not a simple tap; he infused it with divine power and mana to penetrate her mind.

"Ah," she breathed out. As the sudden distortion in her expression from her overwhelming greed returned back to normal, she stammered, "What... What did I…?"

"Beauty often carries a deadly venom," Davey cautioned her. "be vigilant."

At his words, she seemed to realize how entranced she had been by the chime. She lowered her head, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Oh..." she muttered, clamping her mouth shut and biting down hard on her lower lip. "I'm sorry, I'll be more careful."

Satisfied with her response, Davey resumed his steps.

The temptation was so strong that it could easily ensnare any expert, yet Aeria seemed to have resisted it with her unique stubbornness and clear mind.

[Once you touch the chime, it will be absorbed instantly. Once it's absorbed, you'll be unconscious until you've fully felt its effects. Don't forget, you'll have to carry her out.]

At those words, Davey was about to grab the chime when he paused and reached out his hand toward Aeria. He took her up to the altar with him and held onto her arm.

"Prince Davey?" she questioned.

"There's a barrier around the chime. If you reach out carelessly, your hand will evaporate," he explained, and her face paled.

"It's okay. I'll handle it. Trust me and slowly reach out your hand," he reassured her, to which she silently nodded in compliance.

After swallowing hard, Aeria reached out to grab the chime, stopping just before touching it.

Woosh!!!

A chilling breeze, reminiscent of the one they had felt when they first entered the dungeon, swept over the entire cave, casting a cold pallor over the surroundings.

“Hehehehehe…”

“Hahahaha…”

There was eerie laughter echoing from all directions. The cavern was significantly larger than any they had previously encountered, and the sound of the laughter filled the entire space.

Aeria flinched and looked up at the sudden noise. Then, she saw them. The giant statues that adorned the cavern, their stone eyes were staring at her.

"Ah!" she cried out in surprise.

It was understandable. The eyes of the massive statues in the center of the cave had begun to move in unison, all turning toward Aeria and Davey.

"How dare you enter here!" one statue bellowed, followed by many others shouting, "Do you even know where you are?! Leave at once!"

Their voices were so loud, it was as if hundreds were screaming directly into Aeria's ears. She couldn't bear it and curled up, covering her ears with her hands. In response, Davey quickly used a silence spell to block all sound from reaching Aeria and stared at the statues.

"So, you won't give up that easily," he murmured calmly.

He watched the massive doors closing, blocking their way out, and the massive clay figures that started to rise from the ground, all while sporting a smirk.

Among the clay figures were humans, beastfolks, and demons. There were elves and dwarves too. All dressed in armor and weapons. Their numbers increased from a handful to hundreds, filling the entire cave and surrounding Davey and Aeria.

The massive stone statues that had stood still as if protecting the cave began to move slowly. With the slowly advancing figures pointing their weapons at them, Aeria did not know what to do and looked around frantically.

"How dare you come here!" one statue shouted.

Then, from among them, a giant clay figure wearing a jewel-encrusted crown emerged, shouting, "What do you think you're doing touching that object?!"

As it spoke, the sound of spears clashing against the ground echoed around them. It was like metal striking rock, even though it was just clay.

Seeing the stand-off that had rapidly developed, Davey finally said, "Now that we've found the object, it's okay if we overturn the place, right?"

Surrounded by an overwhelming number of clay figures and statues, Davey’s voice was surprisingly as leisurely as ever.

[Do as you please. But I believe they are valuable enough to be used.]

"I'll be the judge of that," Davey replied.

Even though this world might bring forth something unfamiliar, to him, it was merely a low difficulty challenge.

The blasted abyss had interfered, causing a tangled ultra-nightmare level of difficulty in his original world. The clay soldiers and stone statues were embodiments that certainly harbored souls. In other words, they were different from the deceased controlled by the necromancer.

While a typical death mage or a lich trained in necromancy might struggle with this... Davey did not stop there. Eventually, his eyes, which had been closed, glowed with an inky light. Necromantic mana began to leak out little by little.

"Soulless wretches sure talk a lot," he commented.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! A death mage dares to control us!"

"Insolent!"

As their shouts suggested, ordinary necromancers could not handle these high-ranking souls. Whether it be Grell Orphan, the 8th Circle Lich specializing in curses who called himself the absolute immortal, or even Nyx from the 9th Circle, they could not control them. Attempting to forcibly handle high-ranking souls could rip the soul of the caster apart. That was why low-level necromancers could not handle high-level undead, such as Death Knights.

"Certainly, they'd be difficult to handle normally."

"Do we seem so insignificant that a death mage could control us! Insolent living one!"

"Your arrogance will drive you to death! As a price for daring to control us, your soul will be torn to shreds!!!"

Upon understanding their words, Aeria looked at Davey with concern. Indeed, they were right. It would be impossible under normal circumstances. However, these wretches had not realized one thing yet.

The necromantic mana that had been gradually released began to warp momentarily. It was a power darker and deeper than ordinary necromantic mana, a higher-dimensional power. As it began to oppressively pervade the area, the uproar momentarily ceased.

‘8th Circle Lich Grell Orphan? 9th Circle Lich Nyx? Don't dare to compare those guys with me. The master who taught me was the unparalleled absolute being who had existed once in all dimensions, the entity that pioneered the end of death alone.’

[I command in the name of the Imperfection Death Lord.]

Although Davey could not wield the power of Rho Aias, as a necromancer who had learned everything from her, Davey had reached a state where he could learn all the magic she used except for one.

‘Would you dare to fight with necromancy against me, who once worked my soul to the bone to impress my first love?’

Boom!!!

Upon hearing Davey’s words, the clay soldiers and stone statues approaching him with eerie laughter suddenly froze. Just as their expressions froze, a command from the ruler of the dead was issued.

[Lower your eyes, insignificant beings.]

Davey’s voice echoed ominously once more.