The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-484

Thud!!! Thud!

The survivors found themselves unable to do anything but stare in astonishment as the zombies began to incinerate under the intense white light. It resembled the aftermath of an explosion, causing them to momentarily mistake it for something else. It seemed as though they had assumed Davey had planted an explosive earlier, and he had just triggered it with a casual gesture of his middle finger.

"What are you doing? Aren't we leaving?"

Davey's question caught the survivors off guard. Fortunately, they quickly snapped back to their senses and fled from the fading horde of monsters. They hastily sought refuge within a peculiar building, constructed from a combination of wood and other unusual materials, slamming the doors shut behind them.

Naturally, they took extra precautions, twisting the door's original lever and wedging some broken pieces of wood into the handle to further secure it.

The survivors gasped for breath, collapsing on the ground as they realized they had reached safety.

"Keuk... Haa... Haa... Did we make it?"

"I'm not sure. We won't know until the cargo plane arrives and we manage to escape from this place."

Relief washed over their faces as they grasped the reality of their survival.

"Boris! Wake up! You're still alive!"

"Kghhk... urk..."

A nearby woman shook the boy who had collapsed earlier, noticing his labored breathing, and implored, "No! Wake up!"

The name Boris triggered a flicker of recognition in Davey's mind. Yes, it was the name of the kind-hearted giant who had instructed the apprentices of the secretive knight order, Alpha Reinforcement.

"Let go!"

Davey, momentarily lost in thought, turned his attention to the sudden commotion.

"I've already been bitten by those monsters! I'm infected with those parasites, and I'll soon turn into a monster! Don't you understand this, huh? Do you really not know what happens to those infected by those mutants?"

"What will happen?"

The man, who had been seething with anger, fell silent at Davey's question and turned to face him. "Hmph! So, was it you guys back there? I don't know who it was, but my life was saved thanks to you."

"People survive by helping each other. Can you provide more details about what you mentioned earlier?"

"Ah, damn it. Those monsters infect others by injecting their eggs through their saliva. According to studies, one bite can inject hundreds to thousands of eggs all at once. Because of that, there's no vaccine to stop it."

The person who responded was a seemingly young woman with a copper skin tone, who was tending to the boy's condition.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lisa Cer, a senior researcher from the Infected Task Force. I was originally working in this place, but... Hoo... Damn Parasol Corporation."

"I'm Davey, and this is Rinne," Davey said, patting Rinne on the head, an action that seemed to dampen Lisa's expression.

"The fact that even a young child like her has to face such a dire situation... My god."

"We know how to take care of ourselves."

"Anyway, once their saliva has been injected into the bloodstream, that's it. Boris has already been bitten. He has at most an hour..."

Lisa's words hung heavy in the air, causing even the young boy to break into tears.

"I... I don't want to die... I don't want to die..."

A man approached the weeping Boris and grabbed him by the collar. "Pull yourself together! If you collapse here, what will happen to you?"

"Let go! I'm already bitten! What's the point of keeping it together, huh?"

The two argued while Boris cried out, and the man trying to console him turned his head away with a grimace. For some reason, Davey felt a pang of sympathy, sensing the heaviness in the atmosphere.

"What are you doing?" Davey asked, drawing everyone's attention.

"What..."

"Why is the atmosphere here already as somber as that of a funeral home?"

"Can't you read the room? Can't you see the situation right now?!"

Davey just shrugged in response to the outraged cry. He then asked, "Look closely. I'm genuinely curious. Don't tell me you're not aware that you're immune to the infection?"

They all tensed up at Davey's question.

"What do you…?"

"So, you don't know."

Well, if they had truly been aware of the situation, they wouldn't have reacted this way until it escalated to this point.

"Now that I think about it, Boris... your arms..."

Amidst the chaos of the situation, it seemed like they had overlooked this detail. But now that they had a moment to reflect, they finally noticed that Boris's arms, which had been bitten and torn apart by the monster, were completely unharmed. This realization triggered a dramatic change in their expressions.

Simultaneously, a man approached Davey with a threatening aura. "You... are you affiliated with the Parasol Corporation?"

"What's that? Some sort of mass production company?" Davey replied nonchalantly.

Parasol could be interpreted as yangsan[1]. And just as its name suggested, it was a mass production company.

"Stop pretending as if you're in the dark! They're the ones who engineered those mutant viruses with some arcane knowledge! And that light, which deals with the mutant-infected and can regenerate the body, that's an astounding technology only those cursed Parasol bastards can wield!"

The man's face was a canvas of hatred and a hint of doubt. From what Davey gathered, the mass production company, or whoever they were, was the primary culprit in this situation. It seemed somewhat different from what he'd heard from Eva. Nonetheless, the key point was that the man didn't fully grasp the dire situation they were in, hence his reaction.

"You'd better calm down. If I were your enemy, would I even need to save you? Based on what I observed earlier, creating those peculiar monsters required significant effort. So why would I destroy them if I were your enemy?"

The man collapsed onto the ground at Davey's words. "I don't know... Maybe you want to turn us into experimental subjects..."

"Well, whatever. Even if I urge you to believe me, you'll probably insist on disbelief. So, what's the issue with this city? It doesn't appear to have been in this state for long, right?"

Lisa Cer clenched her teeth and murmured, "The army that was guarding this city got infected. It only took an instant for the city's security to crumble. The city tried to contain the situation, but in the end, it devolved into the living nightmare you see now."

All those who failed to escape had transformed into monsters.

"This city was one of the most stable regions, but..."

Everything had crumbled in an instant.

"Then, what about you? Why are you still here?"

"I have my reasons. Anyway, what matters is I saved you. At the very least, could you spare two seats for us when you escape this place?"

A silence descended upon the group at Davey's words.

"Let's take them with us. Regardless of their reasons for being here, they did assist us," the young man wearing a robe, standing in the darkest corner, murmured. "My name is Leonhardt."

"That's a wise choice," Davey acknowledged.

With the decision made, there was no further opposition. The survivors harbored suspicions about Davey and Rinne's connection to the Parasol Corporation, the company they believed to be the main instigator of this chaos.

However, Davey could discern that Lisa Cer was not entirely devoid of involvement with the Parasol Corporation. With some careful probing, he could compel them to reconsider their confrontational stance.

They abandoned the dysfunctional elevator and ascended the stairs, armed with weapons like long swords and firearms. It didn't take long for the group to reach the rooftop.

The building comprised approximately ten stories, an architectural rarity in the Tionis Continent, which predominantly relied on mana. Magic towers were the sole exception. However, buildings of this nature were commonplace in the Yurgian Continent, thanks to its advanced alchemical development, offering them access to a plethora of new materials.

Davey pondered the potential repercussions if the technology from this world were to permeate the Tionis Continent. Nevertheless, he dismissed the notion; there was a proper time and opportunity for technological advancement. Attempting to superimpose something that shouldn't exist in the first place would invariably yield grave side effects.

Bzzt!!!

"This is Special Task Force Code Raccoon's Leonhardt. We have successfully secured the target. Please dispatch a cargo plane. Over."

—Bzzt!!! We have received your report. The cargo plane is on standby. Fire a flare so we can locate you and fly immediately. Over.

"Understood. Over," Leonhardt murmured as he retrieved a red stick from his vest.

Fwoooooosh!!! Ping!!!

A green flame appeared at the end of the stick, melting it until smoke began to rise into the sky. Not long after, a reasonably-sized airship appeared in the distance.

Vwoooooong!!!

"They're here! We're saved!" exclaimed the survivors.

Davey observed as the cargo plane landed on the rooftop, and several men, wearing unusual protective headgear and crisp uniforms, disembarked while carrying something resembling the handle of a lightsaber.

"Good work, Private First Class Leonhardt."

"There are five more survivors with me."

"Confirmed. And the infected...?"

Leonhardt briefly glanced at Boris at those words. They had all witnessed Boris getting bitten by the mutated monster. However, after an hour, there was still no sign of infection. He also recalled what Davey had mentioned earlier.

"...There are none," Leonhardt responded confidently after a moment of contemplation.

***

"We're currently heading to a survivor facility. It's one of the largest with over 300,000 survivors. The entire facility is surrounded by massive walls, so most of the mutants wouldn't even be able to get near us," Lisa Cer explained, with Davey nodding in agreement.

"I thought I was going to become a mutant's meal in that damned city. I'm very relieved I didn't," Boris murmured, his fear evident.

"By the way, did you say your name is Davey?" a man with a dignified expression called out to Davey. He was the same man who had been furious with him earlier.

"Yes," Davey confirmed.

"You said we were carriers... Does that mean there's a risk of infecting others if we bite them...?"

"It's a possibility," Davey replied.

He hadn't witnessed it firsthand, but all he had seen were the inactive parasites within their bodies. He continued, "Now that you know, you better be cautious. If you get infected while we're in the air, I won't be responsible if you fall during the flight."

The man cursed under his breath upon hearing Davey's response. He must have thought he was clean and safe, so the idea of being already infected seemed ridiculous to him.

"Once Private First Class Leonhardt returns, the Senior Corporal will come and find you. Now, let's move quickly with Lisa Cer, a mutant virus researcher."

"I understand. However, I think we should bring that man too," Leonhardt suggested, pointing at Davey.

"That guy? What do you..."

"He's suspicious, but like Dr. Lisa Cer, he seems to know something about the mutation. Gathering more knowledgeable people could be beneficial to us. It might be the key to saving others."

The uniformed officer nodded in agreement with Leonhardt's words. "But I recall there were only four survivors before."

"We met on the way while we were escaping from that place to come here. Without their help, none of us would be here," Leonhardt explained, winking at Davey, his actions seeming somewhat comical.

‘I don’t like men winking at me.’

‘Why? He’s cute though?’ Perserque quipped as she sat on Davey’s shoulders.

‘Should I kill him first?’

‘I'm just joking. Stop that.’ Perserque immediately waved her hands, her face turning pale after thinking Davey might actually carry out his words. Then, she frowned and pulled Davey's earlobes. ‘You! If you keep on doing things like this, I'll get angry!’

‘Is that so? I really want to see that.’

‘Is there even a point in beating them like that?’

Fortunately, this comical man named Leonhardt, or Leon, appeared to have connections with someone of significant status within the survivor facility. If that were the case, Davey might be able to discuss matters more comfortably with them.

"By the way, do you know of any places where you can mine plutium?" Davey inquired.

Leon tilted his head in response to Davey's question. "Plutium?"

"Yes, I need it for something."

"Well... Since it's an essential material for human survival, we have a small mine inside the shelter. However, that place is under strict control."

"Is there anywhere else?"

"Aaah. There is. From where we came." Leon chuckled as he prepared to disembark from the cargo plane, which was already beginning to land on a massive wall. "Raccoon City is the best plutium mining site on the continent."

'I shouldn't have followed them here.'

"This is Special Task Force's Private First Class Leonhardt. We have brought in Dr. Lisa Cer and some survivors."

Vwoooooooong!!!

The soldiers were about to respond to his call when unusual wyverns landed all at once, and people jumped out, pushing glowing rods toward Davey and the rest of the group.

"This... What are you doing, Corporal Laeuri?" Leon snarled at the woman who had landed, while the expressions of the other survivors stiffened.

From this encounter, Davey could tell that they were not on good terms.

"It's only natural for us to check those who came from the outside for viruses."

"Inspection, my ass. We've been surviving outside for a few days now. If we were infected, we would have already turned."

"We obviously reported that we weren't infected."

"We don't know that," the woman said coldly as she lifted her head.

Then, some of the men who had landed with her thrust their glowing rods forward and scanned the survivors roughly. Then...

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Everyone's faces turned stiff as the loud beeping rang through the area.

"Prepare to attack."

All of the survivors, including Leon, drew their weapons as the soldiers thrust their glowing rods toward them at Laeuri's orders.

‘What the hell is this? I don’t want to get involved with some kind of territorial fight.’

"Everyone except those two? That's not even funny. Prepare to attack!"

"Yes!"

The two in question were Davey and Rinne. Why only two? Because Perserque was in an invisible state. They immediately excluded Davey and Rinne, brandishing their weapons as if they were about to launch an assault.

Seeing their readiness for violence, Davey had no choice but to intervene and mediate. "What's going on? Is it because you suspect I'm a carrier?"

"You better step back! Although we haven't detected any infection in you, after a thorough examination and quarantine, we..."

"Shall we settle this, then?"

Davey's words left everyone frozen in disbelief. He slowly approached the trembling Boris and gently placed his hand on the man's head.

"Davey! What the hell are you doing?" Leon, taken aback by Davey's unexpected behavior, shouted.

Simultaneously, a stream of dark energy emanated from Davey's hand, causing Boris's body to tremble violently. What Davey employed was a form of black magic that targeted a specific area. His extensive study of black magic and dark magic, limited only by his human body's capacity, had given him great confidence in its effectiveness.

Before long, Boris collapsed as if he had fainted. Davey then took a scanning rod from a nearby soldier and examined Boris's body. This time, no alarms rang out. Why? Because Davey had already crushed the active parasite, despite its weakness, inside Boris' body, reducing it to minuscule molecular units.

Of course, such actions were essentially futile. If they became infected again, it would be the end for them. They might be carriers, but they were not immune to the virus.

"This side is clear now, right?" Davey inquired.

"You... What the hell..." one of the soldiers muttered in astonishment.

Davey calmly turned to face their bewildered gazes and said, "We don't have much time. Let's keep moving."

Despite Davey's urging, the people around him remained motionless, their faces marked by doubt and shock.

"By any chance..." Boris, who had risen once more, cautiously ventured, "...are you God?"

‘God has already frozen to death.’

1. Parasol Corporation was written as 파라솔 코퍼레이션, meanwhile the 양산 used in 양산회사(mass production company) can also mean parasol, a play on words ☜