The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-491

The curse that could heighten one's senses to extreme sensitivity was remarkably efficient, enabling them to act as they wished. This curse had piqued Davey's interest.

‘One shot of this and… they won’t be able to move…’

If Davey obtained this curse, he would gain an overwhelming advantage over Persreque, who, for some reason, sought revenge on him, and Rinne, who always feigned innocence whenever Davey complained about her. Possessing this curse would be akin to having a potent weapon.

“You, you… What the hell…” The Princess of the Abyss dispersed into smoke and slipped from Davey’s grasp, only to reappear with a frown on her face. She said, “I'm certain you can't move, can you?”

“Nope. Hey, I'll spare you if you teach me that. How about that?”

“Davey?! Stop joking around!”

“No. This power is from the Abyss. You can't fathom its potential importance in the future,” Davey asserted firmly as he approached the Princess of the Abyss one step at a time.

The Princess of the Abyss, still frowning, extended her palms toward Davey and muttered, “The curse didn't work? Then, how about this?”

A powerful black wind surged from her outstretched hands and struck Davey.

“You will undoubtedly experience excruciating pain, even if you're just standing still. Just you wait!”

Davey felt something entering his body, something peculiar and uncomfortable, much like what had occurred earlier.

Shwaaaaaaaaa—

Nonetheless, the dark and insidious presence, buried deep within his body—no, within his very soul—raised its head and seized the uncomfortable force that had entered Davey’s being. It was as if it proclaimed, "This is my domain. Begone."

The dark energy within his soul transformed into a pair of hands that clutched the unwelcome force, contorting it until it writhed and screamed in protest. However, due to their disparate power levels, the intrusive force proved powerless against it.

Certainly, the curse deeply ensconced in Davey’s soul, the curse that resisted the natural flow of the world, did not cease at that.

Fwoooooosh…

"What... What the hell are you?!" the Princess of the Abyss exclaimed in shock as she finally recognized the oddity of the situation. Her face stiffened, and she took a step back.

"No, why are you trying to run away?" Davey asked, his face sporting a delighted smile.

The Princess of the Abyss's complexion turned pale, as if she were being pursued by a beast, while Davey continued to approach with his joyful expression. It appeared that she possessed no abilities other than controlling and sending curses.

Davey had previously fought against someone like her. However, in the case of Grell Orphan, the lich from the giant race and an 8th Circle Curse Black Mage, the quality of his curses had been so low that the curse within Davey's body had been too lethargic to fight back. This woman, though, was different.

As Davey had verified earlier, the Princess of the Abyss before him genuinely had the power to manipulate, control, and send curses. Yet, every previous Princess of the Abyss he had encountered had the power to obliterate an entire world with their abilities. Verdandi was a somewhat unique case, but Sleesia and Urd undoubtedly possessed the power to lay waste to a world. The same was true for the curse power possessed by this woman.

Her curse knew no bounds or restrictions. In essence, if thousands of people flocked to her, every single one of them would descend into hell the moment she unleashed her curse. So, how was he able to counter it? This was because Davey already had a curse deeply embedded in his body, one that was on a level capable of easily blocking and defying the power of the Abyss. This was the caliber of the woman known as Death Lord Rho Aias, a true black mage.

In fact, among the heroes in the Hall, Rho Aias was regarded as the one with the highest level of power and influence, with the exception of Hercules, who existed in an entirely different realm. All the other heroes were extremely cautious around her to avoid offending her.

Davey realized that what Rho Aias had done to his body went beyond his wildest imagination. In fact, even the Princess of the Abyss, who had previously waved her hand to cast her curse, began to doubt if Davey was truly a human being when she saw that nothing happened to him.

"Don't... Don't come near me! I said, don't come here!!!" the Princess of the Abyss screamed, as though she had glimpsed the black hand that reached into his body. This must have been the first time such an occurrence had happened to her.

To be honest, this was also the first time Davey had witnessed the curse that rejected the natural flow moving to counter another curse. That's why he was somewhat bewildered.

Slash!!!

The curse placed by Rho Aias on Davey possessed the power to protect him. If the various and temperamental mana residing within Davey’s body were to move to strike and protect his core, then the curse rejecting the natural flow acted as an iron fortress, akin to the final boss that would appear in the later stages of a game.

"You're trying to run away? Wait there for a moment. Don't even think you can escape."

"Keuk?!" The frightened Princess of the Abyss stepped back upon seeing the ominous and eerie smile on Davey’s face.

"Let's cooperate. Come on, you only need to teach me that curse that enhances all senses."

"C-Crazy human! Impossible! How… How can a human bear such a terrible curse hidden inside their body?"

"It's because it's not yet my time to die."

Aware that her power was ineffective against Davey, the Princess of the Abyss vanished and attempted to evade him in some way. Davey wasn't sure how she materialized in front of him in an illusory state, but knowing she existed was enough.

Curses adhered to one absolute rule when applied to any being: lower-ranked curses would not function in the presence of higher-ranked curses. It appeared that the rules of the Abyss were no different. Davey had already been afflicted by the curse rejecting the natural flow, so any subsequent curses would be ineffective.

Davey was certain that the Princess of the Abyss wouldn't get far. Thanks to her retreat, Rinne and Perserque, who had been suffering from her curse, could finally catch their breath.

"Hoo… hoo…"

"Rinne... assesses this... lowly... Haa..."

Seeing Rinne's face display embarrassment, a stark contrast to her usual expressionless demeanor, made Davey feel mischievous. What else could he do, right? Naturally, he reached his hand out toward Rinne. However, Rinne recoiled in fear and resisted his advances.

"R-Rinne assesses Davey lowly..."

"What a shame."

Nevertheless, it didn't matter much. After all, he had already determined its effectiveness. Davey extended his hand toward Perserque, who was sweating profusely and concealing her embarrassment behind her pale hands, and unleashed his power.

"Wait here. Since she employs curses, there's no point in using numbers against her," Davey said before turning to Rinne, who observed him quietly, and gave her an order, "Return. If there are people trying to escape from here, take care of them."

"Rinne has accepted your orders," Rinne replied succinctly as she reached for her crowbar, which swiftly flew into her hands.

Rinne then flapped the wings on her back, assisted Perserque to her feet, and flew with her toward the cave entrance.

Slurp—

‘Well, then…’

"Let's proceed and negotiate fairly and courteously."

A prominent peacemonger from modern Earth once said, "There will be no bloodshed if you surrender meekly." However, at this juncture, one had to question whether the term associated with 'monger' was indeed peace and not war.

"Wait for me," Davey declared, a dark and ominous smile on his face as he retrieved Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon from his Pocket Plane and dashed forward.

Davey was certain that something or someone would obstruct the path to the Princess of the Abyss. But if they intended to act as obstacles, there would be no issue if he handled them himself.

***

Dash, dash, dash, dash…

“This… This is impossible… This is impossible!!!”

Bang!!!

The objects nearby were sent into the air and disintegrated into smaller particles the moment she cried out. The ability to disintegrate things with just her voice was truly terrifying, akin to a catastrophe capable of laying waste to the world.

Nevertheless, despite possessing such power, she found herself filled with fear by a single human being. The curse she observed within the human's body was unlike anything she had ever seen before in her entire life.

"What the hell... How can a human survive with such a curse?"

However, before attempting to answer that question, she couldn't help but wonder how this human could be remembered by the people around him while carrying such a terrifying curse. She believed she knew everything there was to know about curses, yet she had never encountered such a dark and dreadful curse in her life.

"This is impossible... How can a curse be darker and more profound than our Abyss... It's..."

Bang, bang, bang!!!

The window shattered into pieces as her anger surged.

"What's the matter, Miss Versha?!"

Several men approached her, confused by the loud commotion. However, before they could reach her, something black engulfed their bodies, stopping them in their tracks.

"Shut up! Get lost!"

"What? Uwaaaaaack?!!!"

The flesh on their faces began to melt, and their eyes bulged out after losing the support of their flesh. Shortly after, the remaining flesh on their bodies also began to melt. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of diseases coalesced together, forming a curse that was unleashed toward the men who had approached Versha.

Versha bit her thumbs as she gazed at the men who had transformed into a puddle of repugnant and foul-smelling liquid.

"No... No... It will be difficult for me to deal with a monster immune to my curses on my own... In that case... Sleesia! Yes, I will harness Sleesia's power!" Versha screamed, her eyes widening with the idea that flashed through her mind.

She swiftly employed her power. As long as she had Sleesia's ability to traverse dimensions, she could move between their hometown and the worlds that had been marked by Sleesia.

Versha was already terrified of the human after encountering him in her illusory form. How much more terrifying would it be if she met him in person? Especially with that dark and menacing black hand that extended from the human's body whenever she attempted to use her powers on him. She knew that the two of them were like oil and water, highly incompatible.

This fact alone filled Versha with a sense of urgency as she waited for the dimensional crack to open in front of her. However...

"Why... Why won't it open?!" Versha shrieked. If it didn't open, that human would certainly find her.

As a Princess of the Abyss, it wounded her pride to be desperately trying to escape from beings they considered insignificant. However, Versha held her own life in high regard.

"Sleesia!!! Why won't it open?!" Versha shouted in frustration when the dimensional crack failed to open as expected.

All these pathways were created by Sleesia and connected to her. Even with her somewhat eccentric personality, she would still respond to their calls. However, there was no response.

"No one will answer you. It's because she's dead," an eerie voice from behind Versha declared.

Fear and terror were vividly displayed on her face as her body trembled.

It was inconceivable that a human could elicit such terror from them, right? However, the black curse deeply embedded within the human's soul in front of her instilled extreme fear and terror in Versha.

"How... How did you get here?"

"Rho Aias' curse will never release its grip once it latches onto you. It doesn't matter where you go; I will still find you and tear you apart," the boy, no, the man, stated.

Versha's face was truly filled with fear, fear of the darkness concealed in the depths of the human before her.

"Do you want to live?"

Versha remained silent. She couldn't even use her power on him. After all, the moment she employed her powers, that terrifying hand would emerge once again.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!" Versha screeched, opting to bombard the man in front of her with physical attacks. Even if her curses were ineffective, she believed she could push back a mere human with her physical strength...

Crack, crack, crack…

Versha was left in a daze after witnessing her arm caught in the boy's hands and twisted until it looked deformed.

"Sleesia, Urd, Verdandi. I've encountered several Princesses of the Abyss, but it seems I still can't control my strength, huh?"

Normally, it would be challenging to inflict severe injuries on Abyss creatures, especially high-ranking monsters like the Princesses of the Abyss. However, Davey possessed a power that was lethal to the Abyss itself. The fact that Davey, a mere and inconsequential human, could effortlessly breach her defenses and cause severe injuries filled Versha with even greater fear and terror.

"You should share the source of your powers."

Versha's pupils quivered upon hearing his words. Her reaction was as if she had heard the devil whispering in her ears. The human who was slowly advancing toward her was no longer a mere bug she could trample upon. He had become a monster capable of tearing her apart.

"Do you want to live? Then, you must surrender the source of your powers."

Since he wasn't using a knife, it couldn't be considered a robbery.

"Did you think I'd give it to an insignificant... Keheok?!"

Versha shrieked as she felt her body being crushed. Simultaneously, a blue sword floated in front of her, pointing at her neck, while a black stream of energy emerged and encircled her body.

They said it wouldn't be considered a robbery if a knife wasn't involved. However, now that he had drawn his blade, there was no turning back, right?

***

A quiet yet terrifying scene. These were the words that would describe the scene in which countless mutants, as well as their controllers, spurted blood and collapsed to their deaths. However, there was no sympathy for these individuals who treated human lives as insignificant and committed heinous and evil deeds.

Rinne reabsorbed the lightsaber she had manifested and turned to look at the silent Perserque, who stood behind her. She said, "Miss Per, Rinne believes there's something wrong with your biological signals."

"I'm fine, Rinne. I'm just a bit embarrassed." Perserque waved her off, still wearing a lingering frown.

Perserque felt that there was no curse more terrible than the one they had experienced earlier, where all their senses were amplified to the extreme. It was a horrendous sensation. The tingling feeling, immediately followed by numbness after the slightest touch, was dreadful.

Perserque was aware that her existence was deeply entwined with the Abyss to the extent that she was referred to as its mother and queen. However, at present, she possessed only a few remnants of the Abyss's power. She was no longer in a position to freely draw upon its powers and use them as she pleased. This meant that she could no longer casually disregard the curse of a powerful being like the Princess of the Abyss.

“Hoo…”

She clearly noticed the glint in Davey's eyes when he observed the curse placed on her earlier. Perserque didn't even want to contemplate what might occur if Davey, the sadistic madman, learned the mechanics of that curse and could use it on others.

Perserque swiftly shook her head, a shiver coursing down her spine at the mere thought. The curse wielded by the Princess of the Abyss was distinct from existing curses. Even if Davey was intrigued by it, there was no way he could wield it. Or at least, that's what she believed.

Swoosh…

“Hiiiiiiik?!!!”

All of the senses in Perserque’s body throbbed and tingled, her knees folding as she collapsed on the ground.

‘This eerie sensation…’

How could she forget the piercing and numbing sensation that enveloped her entire body, as if all her senses had suddenly awakened to the world? Perserque endured the eerie sensation and turned her head.

"I only touched you lightly, yet the effects are already at this level... Isn't it truly remarkable?" Davey reached out to her with a creepy smile that revealed his deep interest in experimenting.

‘How the hell? How did he do it?’

What had Davey done in that brief span of time to acquire and master the same power as the curse that amplified one's senses, the one the Princess of the Abyss had used earlier?

However, the issue lay elsewhere. This was the first time he had employed the curse on Perserque, and it had only heightened her senses to the extent that her body became numb. It hadn't reached the point where she was hypersensitive enough to react with a scream. Nonetheless, Davey had accomplished it.

Perserque felt cold sweat trickling down the back of her pale neck.

‘He would eventually be able to do it…’