The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-508

The only means of communicating with creatures incapable of verbal communication was essentially through conversation.

"Here it is."

"Do you live here all by yourself?"

Iro nodded and responded quietly as he guided Davey and Illyna. "Didn't I tell you? This place is tough and hard to live in, but if you adapt, it's not uninhabitable."

Certainly, the place Iro led Davey to was not filled with magma but with clear and cool underground water. The interior shimmered beautifully with glowing green stones and moonlit fireflies and was populated with various herbs and mysterious plants.

"It's a fascinating place."

Then, from a distant rock, someone poked their head out and soon rushed toward Iro.

"Iro!!"

"A beast-kin and a demon?"

Indeed, it was a young Rabbitfolk boy and a girl with the unique bloodshot eyes of demons. The two children who rushed over sparkled their eyes at Iro and exclaimed, "Did you bring a friend?"

"Yes, I did, though it wasn't intentional." Iro pointed familiarly to the Magma Cow following behind Davey. "So, what do you think?"

"Wow..." The Rabbitfolk boy perked his ears and stared in awe, while the demon girl curiously inspected the Magma Cow from all angles.

"Where are the others?"

"A guest arrived! So, the adults told us to play outside!"

Iro's pupils flickered at the child's innocent shout. "Oh, unexpected guests. I'm sorry, but could you wait a little longer?"

At Iro's words, Davey quietly nodded and then looked at the Magma Cow, which was carefully observing him, and smiled warmly. "Stay here; it'll be fun if you run off. Got it?"

The trembling Magma Cow nodded frantically. Davey satisfactorily tapped its horn. Then, Davey followed Iro.

The village Iro spoke of was not large, with around 30 to 40 inhabitants. It was surprising that such a space existed within this hellish underground mountain range.

However, what should have been a quiet and peaceful village was in complete chaos. Residents of the village, who seemed to be from demon, beastfolk, orc, and dwarf tribes, were surrounded in the village center. Encircling them were skeletons in black armor, slowly closing in.

"Stop!"

Upon seeing this, Iro swiftly moved in front of the threatened villagers and stood against the skeletons.

"Wasn't our agreement different? You said you'd leave us alone!"

Not the skeletons, but a succubus emerged from between them in response.

"The situation has changed." The scantily clad girl, showing no sign of embarrassment, tossed her pink hair and smirked.

"What do you mean the situation has changed?" Iro's voice trembled against the intimidating succubus. "You promised! Every six months, I provide the elixir I made, and in return, you promised to protect the villagers and stay out of our affairs!"

The succubus chuckled. "Yes, that was the initial agreement."

"But!"

"That's why I said the situation has changed." The succubus’ face turned stern. "We are no longer in a comfortable situation."

Explosions of darkness surrounded the village.

"I'll give you three days. If you don't produce and deliver the elixir accumulated over 50 years within that time, I'll burn this place down."

"That's tyranny!" Iro, in shock, clenched his teeth and shouted.

"What's your point? Wasn't it you who originally proposed the deal with the elixir?"

"Well, that's..."

"I won't kill today, just consider this a warning. While your power might harm us, never forget, we have a protector who's beyond your reach, someone a lowly lich like you can't touch."

As the succubus and skeletal soldiers turned to leave, Iro, left behind, collapsed to the ground, his hands trembling in fear.

"I... I was foolish," he uttered, remorse evident in his tone.

* * *

Tracking down the succubus proved fruitless. Instead of using roads, they dispersed right there, and their leader, the succubus, exited the place using her unique dream-based power. In the end, the only way to find the route to the demonic realm through the land without depleting their strength was to seek the help of Lich Iro.

Was there not a path the demons used to invade the continent in the past? Initially, some entities had lost their will and strength because they did not use terrestrial routes but spatial transitions, forcefully breaching the protective barrier Ares had set up.

The method of paying a price to gain entry was not at all appealing. It was unlikely they knew about the path Iro was aware of. If they had, they would not have faced such losses coming over. The village inhabitants were not thrilled with outsiders.

Ignoring the cold stares directed at Illyna and himself, Davey observed as Iro personally tended to the injured.

"A Lich who betrays his god, follows another, offers prayers, and even heals..."

"Haha, Goddess Freyja watches over us."

It seemed odd coming from a lich, whose appearance was now just bones with a sinister glow in his eyes.

"So, when will you guide us?"

Upon the question, the Lich stopped what he was doing and then looked up, "You won't help?"

"One should handle their affairs themselves."

"Hehehe. I thought as much. You're not wrong," Iro muttered sardonically. "After all, even you would have a hard time against that monster."

Davey could tell the lich had no idea about the true nature of the Continent's Saint. "I was foolish. I shouldn't have made such a dangerous promise when I realized he had set his sights on this place."

"A dangerous promise?"

Upon Davey's question, the lich dimmed the light in his eyes before slowly reigniting it and showed a tiny hand that was all bone. Then, a small light gathered above the bony hand, forming a small orb.

"Wow."

"Even if I'm a Lich now, I once practiced the craft of making these orbs. My profession may have changed since then," he admitted. Typically, these orbs were crafted by magicians. Although I now employ dark magic, there have been associations of dark mages in the past.

"He highly valued the soul orbs I create. In exchange for regularly providing him with elixirs, he promised to keep our existence a secret and turn a blind eye."

In the demonic realm, the law of the jungle prevails, with the weak often falling prey to the strong. It's evident that the demon who can exert such pressure on Lich Iro and control a large territory is the one Davey had in mind.

"He is aware of the passageway that only our villagers and I know of. That's why he continues to exert pressure on us. But recently, it seems there's been an issue." Iro seemed unable to take the matter lightly, as the entity applying pressure on him didn't typically seek to disrupt the peace.

"So, what's the plan?"

To Illyna's question, Iro lowered his head in contemplation. "Sadly, we might have to abandon this place and seek safety elsewhere."

"Why not seek refuge in the Pallan Empire? We can provide protection."

At Illyna's offer, Iro shook his head. "We've become detached from the world. There's no reason to return now."

"So, you're resigned to staying here, potentially facing danger, or endlessly searching for a safe haven you may never find?"

"We can't resist him."

"Have you even attempted to resist?"

At Illyna’s question, Iro remained silent. Instead, he met her gaze with glowing red eyes, challenging her. "Do you believe resistance is possible? You don’t understand. He's a monster. Unbeatable..."

"You're already paralyzed by fear."

"I have nothing more to say. Please, don’t interfere any further. Since you helped tame the magma cow, I'll guide you to the demonic realm. But no more or less... Ahhhh! Don't pull my hair! My roots! The precious last traces of my once lush hair!" Davey, breaking the somber atmosphere, playfully tugged at a strand of the lich’s hair, eliciting a scream.

"How could a Saint serving a god be so cruel! Even he didn't touch my hair!"

"You, a Saint who serves a god, are swayed by the desire for hair?"

"Do you believe it's alright?! Everyone loses their hair eventually..."

"I haven't lost any, don't worry. You've been bald from birth, unlike me."

"How dare you! And I'm not bald! I still have some hair left..."

"The rest must have ascended to the heavens."

"Argh!" Iro couldn't contain his anger and flailed in frustration.

Just then, a small child peeked out from behind a distant rock. It was the Rabbitfolk boy and the demon girl Davey had met before. Without saying a word, the two children approached, darting quickly, and hid behind Iro, just peeking their heads out.

"Aww! So cute!"

Seeing this, Illyna grabbed her cheeks and let out a squeal of delight. The children, startled, hid more tightly behind Iro.

"Whoa, don't pull on my hair!"

"Hehehe! No hair! Iro’s bald! Bald!"

"Gah?!"

As the children roughly pulled at Iro’s hair, Iro screamed, clenching his teeth in pain.

"Iro! Mom sent this for you!"

"Yes! Bread makes you grow tall and might even make your hair grow too!"

As the Rabbitfolk boy handed over a small bread basket, Iro's screams subsided. The emotion reflected in his eyes was warmth. "Ah... Thank you for this. The bread looks delicious."

"Uh, um..." The children hesitated, then looked at Davey and Illyna and spoke quietly. "Well, mom said to share the delicious stuff..."

"Then, let's all share. Sit here." Efficiently, Iro picked up the two children and placed them on a nearby rock. "Would you like to join us?"

"No, we'll pass."

Though Davey wondered how they cultivated flour or rice underground, he didn't dwell on it too deeply. One could always find a way. The children, munching on the bread and looking curiously at Illyna and Davey, seemed fascinated.

"Do I look interesting to you?"

"Beautiful lady! Are you the beautiful goddess Iro spoke of?"

"Oh my, thank you!"

As the demon girl responded with a bashful giggle, Illyna's cheeks turned pink. The Rabbitfolk boy averted his gaze, blushing.

Even children could recognize beauty when they saw it. Despite the world's challenges, children remained innocent.

"It might not be easy to set up camp right away, but we'll have time after guiding you back. A bit of hard work on my part will suffice. And we need to leave this place before the next delivery deadline. If I sacrifice my life, maybe I can protect them."

Hearing him, Davey casually took out a toy from his pocket and showed it to the Rabbitfolk boy.

"Wow..."

"It's a gift. Do you like it?"

"...Yes... Yes!"

As Davey smiled broadly and patted his head, the boy's eyes sparkled, tightly holding the small toy.

Looking at Iro, Davey asked, "From what I see, you seem to want to send us away before we get noticed by them. Am I wrong?"

"You're right. They are dangerous. I understand you possess great power, but can even a saint handle them?" Iro, gritting his teeth, looked at Davey. "Ah, of course, with your temperament, it's hard to see you as a saint."

"I want to recruit you."

"Recruit?"

"Your skill in making the elixir seems quite useful."

Iro waved his skeletal hand dismissively. "As I've said before, I refuse. I've cut ties with the world."

By now, Davey was getting curious. There were not many who would be causing such chaos from the demon realm, especially since Davey had previously driven them off.

"Who is this person?"

"That person... yes, very dangerous." Iro sighed briefly, closing his eyes.

Just then...

Boom!!!

Another explosive noise reverberated through the once-quiet village.

"What?!" Startled, Iro immediately stood up and rushed into the village without a backward glance.

Seeing this, Illyna drew her sword. "Shall we?"

"Are you going to interfere?"

"The children are innocent."

True to her sense of justice, she couldn't simply stand by and watch. Davey squinted his eyes, leaving Illyna, who was quickly moving with Iro, to observe the dark aura beginning to spread throughout the village. Somehow, it seemed familiar. With that thought, Davey began to move. Constant interference like this made journeying to the underworld no easy task. As he lightly sprang toward the village, he noticed some people already severely injured and lying on the ground. Among them, some seemed lifeless, showing no signs of movement.

"Why did you attack?!" Iro angrily confronted a figure wearing a robe.

"Hehehe. I suspected you might come up with various excuses to flee. So, I sent Succubus Lapis to keep an eye on you, and behold, you were preparing to escape."

Iro gritted his darkened teeth, a glint of anger in his eyes. "If this is the case, I can't just let you be!" Iro shouted, gathering dark energy in his hands.

"Oh, you'll resist me?" The robed figure taunted.

"I have no choice but to drive you out from here!" Iro began to form a magical barrier. Dark beams of light started to revolve around him. But the figure in the black robe displayed his power even before Iro could complete his attack, suppressing Iro’s efforts.

"How dare you bare your fangs at me? A mere underling who hasn't even surpassed the 7th Circle challenges the Commander?!"

Davey, who had been silently observing, slowly stepped forward, sensing the figure was likely the mastermind behind this situation.

"Kuh!" Iro collapsed, seemingly affected by mana backlash.

"Iro!" The alarmed villagers attempted to approach him, but black knights blocked their way.

"Don't worry. I won't take his life. All will be according to my grand design. He will become a loyal subordinate of the true immortal!" The robed fiend announced proudly. From behind him, Succubus Lapis, who had first attacked the place, slowly emerged.

"Lord Deian, why hesitate? The Demon King of Destruction awaits."

"Silence! I know what I must do!"

The Demon King of Destruction? As Davey listened, he noticed the robed fiend, Deian, was about to use a spell on Iro. Davey reached out, stopping Illyna, who was trying to intervene.

"Davey?"

"Let me handle it," Davey reassured. He seemed to have some history with this foe.

"Thought you were hiding."

As Davey took another step, Deian released a dark energy toward Iro.

"That… That is?!"

"It's an absolute curse you cannot handle! No one has ever survived its touch!" Deian proclaimed.

But just as the dark sphere was about to hit Iro, Davey swiftly stepped in front, intercepting it.

"What?!"

"Saint! What are you doing?!" Iro and the others looked on in shock. It was too close to defend against, yet Davey neither defended himself nor used any mana. He simply took the full brunt of the dark curse.

A huge explosion of dark energy engulfed Davey, prompting Deian to momentarily pause and laugh. "Hahahaha! I don't know where you came from, but you've chosen your place to die, insignificant mortal! Now that dark vortex will—"

His confident proclamation trailed off, replaced by stunned silence.

"No one has ever resisted, you said?" Davey murmured, making Deian hesitate. "Remember my voice, you worthless wretch?"

Davey effortlessly shook off the dark energy and revealed himself unscathed, smiling wryly. This made Deian flinch, and for a moment, silence reigned.

"Hey."

"Uh... uh-hum! Let's call it a day. I'll give you time, so make sure you keep your promise..."

"Hold it right there. Stand still and don't play any tricks." Davey displayed a menacing smile. "Commander Deian. Your minions are dead or fleeing, but you seem alive and well. Spreading lies that no one survives your attack?"

Deian was none other than the Commander responsible for the ancient undead attack in the Pallan Empire, who had once called himself the King of the Dead.