The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-421

After a long time, First Lich Nyx resurrected, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he controlled the entire geopolitical landscape of the continent. Unlike other liches, the source of his immortality lied in his ability to transfer hosts—a power that reached the 8th Circle, or so they said. Although Reina stated that he belonged to the 8th Circle, she was unable to discern the extent of Nyx's power.

‘Had he grown in the meantime? Or did he reach the 9th Circle as soon as he woke up from his seal?’

Davey slowly approached Nyx, who had far more mana than could be attributed to a mere 8th Circle black mage. Of course, it did not matter whether he was in the eighth or 9th Circle. His power was truly an astonishing achievement, but luck was not always on Nyx’s side.

"I'm confident in a battle of strength."

It was necessary to remind those who relied only on their quantity of devil mana and dared to fight that life was a real battle.

"Ugh?!"

As Nyx tried to suppress Davey with his magic, he was shocked when his own power was suppressed in a split second, flailing wildly as his eyes shook. At the same time, dozens, hundreds of black spheres began to form around Nyx.

"How dare you humiliate me! I will ensure you do not have a comfortable death!!" Enraged, Nyx moved his hand, sending the black spheres flying toward Davey.

"Danger!!" The warning cry came from Euris, who had been knocked down at a distance.

Nevertheless, Davey did not consider avoiding it and instead continued to approach Nyx. Excessive intervention could lead Davey to a situation from which he could not escape. In other words, even with a lot of power, recklessly using it could make it hard to handle the aftermath. Therefore, Davey had been regulating his power to a certain extent.

However, Nyx was a bit of an exception. As the instigator of this entire war and the link that perpetuated the endless hatred, it was problematic to leave him as he was. Unlike the peace-seeking Perserque, Nyx desired the complete annihilation of one side.

'At least if Perserque is the woman I know, if Nyx dies and his control disappears, she will be able to decide for herself.'

If Nyx died, the restrictions imposed on Perserque would disappear. He had been the one to have the most significant impact on her resurrection. Ultimately, the peace-loving Dark Lord would prefer to stop the war now and maintain the status quo rather than having one side annihilated. At least Perserque, whom Davey knew, would put an end to the war.

[Dispel]

The light wave of magic spread from Davey's body, causing the black spheres around Nyx to evaporate as if they were disappearing all at once.

"What... What is this?!"

"What do you mean what? It's dispel."

Dispel. It was magic that forcibly canceled the opponent's magic, but usually, it was necessary to have a skill that was at least two circles above the target magic for dispel to be applied without any problem. The problem was that the magic Nyx had just used... was the 8th Circle. In other words, one would need to reach the 9th Circle or above to erase his magic. Davey knew his own limits well, but in general, it was difficult to estimate and accept the limit of the power he held.

"Dis...Dispel? You say it's dispel? Don't make me laugh. How dare you mock me?!"

"Mocking or not, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

"The dispel spell cancels magic that is at least two circles lower! In theory, it's impossible to dispel 8th Circle magic!"

Nyx's horrified outburst felt like déjà vu. In fact, Nyx, who had been utterly destroyed by Davey before, had said the same thing. It was theoretically impossible to dispel 8th Circle magic.

Davey had not expected any novelty from him, but the repetition made it seem banal. "Isn't it a bit arrogant to declare something impossible just because you can't do it?" Approaching him with a calm demeanor, Davey saw confusion writ large on his face as he let out a roar and started hurling magic at him like a madman.

Starting from the 7th Circle Dark Hole, there were even spells from the 8th Circle mixed in. His power to cast multiple spells at once was truly fascinating. However, was what Nyx could do something Davey could not? In total, Davey had tried 13,372 times, battling the illusion created specifically to kill Nyx. Davey had fought to the point where he knew the number of holes in Nyx's bones, so Davey was familiar with his patterns.

Suddenly, the massive black fissure rising to engulf Davey warped and shattered. It was a dispel of all the numerous spells that he had cast. Considering that it was more difficult to break a spell than to cast one, there was only one answer this result could provide - Davey was now at a level far beyond that of Nyx's magic.

"It's impossible!!!" Nyx cried out in fury, stretching out one hand. At the same time, a skeletal bone appeared in his hand, and he began to form a sword that resembled a lightsaber. Screaming in disbelief that all his magic had been blocked, he rose and charged at Davey. Then he began swinging his black sword at Davey.

Of course, whether he wielded a sword or magic, it did not matter to Davey. After all, Nyx was going to die here. As the black sword aimed at Davey's throat came within reach, Davey's hand flashed.

A red afterimage and a blue afterimage engulfed the entire area. It was Blue Ribbon, one of the twin swords, unleashing its power. In an instant, Nyx’s defensive magic shattered, and Red Ribbon’s energy cleanly sliced through Nyx's body.

"You... Bastard."

As Nyx crumbled like cleanly cut bamboo sliding down, Davey shook off his swords.

"Who... are you…?" Nyx stammered.

If he was not an idiot, he would know after his battle against Davey that Davey’s power was insurmountable. Nyx's eyes, once full of distrust and arrogance, were now filled with confusion and fear. Was he, the immortal, feeling fear? While it was a laughable thought, the fear he felt was not for his death, but for the potential disruption of all his plans by a single individual.

"I have never heard of... a human like you... and you have never appeared before."

"It's natural to become weak when you forget about war and get used to peace," Davey said.

Nyx was a being from the era of Sword Lord Ares 3000 years ago. Even in a world filled with overwhelmingly powerful beings, he was infamous, and so he was the one who could understand Davey's words the best.

"In fact, the demons won on this continent, but I have no intention of reversing all of that."

Whether the demons won or the humans did, it was all part of the flow. There was no issue with the balance of the world itself. Did the Goddess Freyja create the Dark Lord and his antagonist for no reason?

"We can't determine the end. Tell me! What are you!" Nyx yelled as if having a seizure.

In response, Davey approached him, emitting a dark aura from his hand. Nyx's life source was his power to transfer hosts. Even if he were cut by Red Ribbon, his soul would escape and cause a dimensional rift before dying from the cut. His tenacity for life was truly astounding.

To kill him, Davey would need the arrow that Surtr had created. But Davey did not have that arrow. So how was he to kill Nyx? In his original world, he had used a gem to briefly acquire his current power, but without Surtr's arrow, there was no way to kill him. If he could not silence him completely, the only option was to seal him away completely so that no one could release him.

As Davey was unfolding the magic circle in front of a subdued Nyx, no one could understand or interrupt the situation. The power that Nyx was emitting was certainly enough to suppress the surroundings, but the aura that Davey was emitting was incomparably more powerful.

"Did Sword Lord Ares have a hard time sealing you away?"

"How... do you..."

"How do I know? I heard it from you. Is there something special about that?" Even though his words were more boastful than real, Nyx could not blindly deny them anymore. The reality unfolding in front of his eyes felt like a lie, making the lies seem like the truth and the truth feel like lies.

Sword Lord Ares could not use magic, so when he sealed Nyx away, he had to weaken Nyx first and then have a large number of high circle mages seal him away. But that was not enough for a perfect seal. There was a limit to each mage's individual abilities.

[9th Circle Grand Barrier]

A massive wave of mana, enough to surpass the 9th Circle, began to spill over, spreading outward as if to envelop Nyx. Soon after, dozens of chains emerged from the ground, starting to bind and wrap around his shattered skeleton.

"Arrrrgh! I cannot be sealed again! I cannot fall back into that terrifying darkness!"

"Do losers have a choice?" Quoting Nyx’s own words back at him, Davey solidified his magic, then released devil mana and divine power simultaneously.

[9th Circle Dark Magic]

[Soul Shackles]

Chains rattled and clanged as the devil mana encompassed Nyx, including the grand barrier magic circle.

"I will surely return! Do you think I can't escape a second time?"

"You talk too much," Davey commented calmly, beginning to draw upon his divine power.

If the abyss and the original world were two sides of a coin, the place Davey now occupied was equivalent to the part that was between the two sides. This meant that he was in the central part, which was related to both sides.

The problem was that the influence of the gods in this peculiar world was significantly weaker than in the original world. It was uncertain whether he would see proper results, but giving up was not an option.

[Oh Lord, who scrutinizes all, Goddess Freyja. Your humble servant implores you for strength. Please grant it.]

As divine power began to spill out, Nyx, who was being dragged into the ground by the shackles, let out a groan. "This is impossible... Absolutely impossible… It can't be."

[9th Circle Holy Magic Barrier]

[Deus Sanctuary]

Using holy magic, he blocked the inflow of devil mana that would have given strength to Nyx's resurrection. Completely isolated, Nyx let out a desperate voice. "Following magic... dark magic... and now divine power too... How is such a phenomenon possible...?"

"I can make it possible. So, shut up. You're noisy."

Holy magic enveloped him. Davey cast a barrier of elemental magic to trap Nyx temporarily and layered the grand barrier with a mix of 9th Circle dark magic and 9th Circle holy magic. He did not stop there.

From the void, he summoned a bell branch and sutra streamer, which danced through the air like threads. Hundreds of charms made of light were simultaneously launched into the sky, soon raining down and piercing the ground around them with sharp precision.

[1st Grade Binding Arts]

[The Taiji Yin-Yang Orb]

The powers within Davey resonated and trembled all at once, creating the Taiji symbol beneath him. Simultaneously, linked with the charms, it produced a band of light.

"No, no... let me go. Human! I cannot be pulled back in again!" Nyx's voice started to distort as his physical form began to be sucked into the ground.

The surrounding landscape warped, and in the place where Nyx was being sealed, a gigantic stone statue began to form. It was a cross, symbolizing a god, supported by massive pillars.

"Rot in there forever."

There was only one way for him to break free: either a being stronger than Davey would have to appear and shatter his magic circle, or Blue Ribbon would have to slash through this barrier more than half a dozen times. Davey had already overstepped with his interference to this degree. Any further would be outright recklessness, but having sealed him was enough. All of Nyx's power in this world had begun to disappear.

It was at this moment, while Davey was leisurely wrapping up his magic and Nyx's spirit was glaring at him, not yet fully absorbed, when a shadow filled the sky.

Nyx’s gaze met the sky. Then, with a voice full of joy, he exclaimed, "Grimghast! Oh... It's Grimghast! The loyal servants of the Dark Lord! Even a monster like you can't block their attack while casting such powerful magic!!"

At Nyx's shout, Davey accelerated his magic while stroking his own chin. "True, I can't kill you, but I've put a lot of effort into making sure you can't break this seal. I don't have the capacity to focus elsewhere."

"Attack, Grimghast! Attack this monstrous human! Just a small opening is enough! Hurry!"

Even the smallest gap would allow Nyx to escape his domain. That was what he was aiming for. Grimghast was a being that followed the Dark Lord's orders, and would never betray him. But, contrary to what Nyx had expected, he was utterly astonished by what happened next.

"What, what is this?!"

The Black Dragons, who followed no demons other than the Dark Lord, landed around Davey as if saluting, and began to bow their heads to him.

"The Black Dragons... Why would they…?"

"Why indeed."

As Nyx was being completely sucked into the ground, Davey gave a sly grin. He patted one of the Black Dragons on the snout, summoning the power most familiar to Nyx.

Nyx's eyes twitched. "The Dark Lord's... hierarchy..."

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Davey, the newly appointed Dark Lord from another world."

"What..."

"Even if we're not from the same world, as a demon, you cannot simply ignore the Dark Lord's devil, right?"

There could not be two Dark Lords at the same time. But if there were Dark Lords in different worlds, the demons ended up in an ambiguous position where they could not ignore either. Davey's existence was nothing but a source of confusion for them.