The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-654

Davey could not fathom why he caused such a commotion upon encountering Hyun-Ah.

It had been a few days since he returned to Tionis.

Meanwhile, Han Yu-Na, who was still unable to open her eyes, and Yun Ji-Ah, whose body had been severely weakened by the division of spirit and body, found it difficult to stand. It was either due to Kain’s influence or to the mental shock they had suffered.

"Dr. Han said there was nothing wrong with their bodies. Then why can’t they get up?"

"There's no problem. They're simply exhausted," said Davey calmly, crossing his arms as he stood behind Hyun-Ah.

For a short moment, he allowed himself to observe the two ladies before drawing his attention away from them to ask Hyun-Ah a question. "Friends, did you say?"

"Ji-Ah is someone I met recently, but Yu-Na and I have known each other for a long time."

"To go on a blind date while your friends are teetering on the edge of death... Are you even in the right frame of mind to do that?”

The question earned Davey a frown and a glare from Hyun-Ah.

"I don’t know what you know, but I have no idea why you keep meddling like this."

Hyun-Ah proceeded to slowly stand up and approach Davey. Then, while her gaze was fixed on him, she further said, "People have things they must do and things they don’t have to. Oh, what? As the so-called Grim Reaper, you don’t know that?”

Her sarcastic demeanor reminded Davey of someone.

"Then how about you stop making pointless comments and leave? This is trespassing."

At her remark, a snicker escaped Davey. "What if I don’t want to?"

"It’s not like I can really report this..."

She had already recognized that Davey was an entity that only she could actually see and communicate with. And this was exactly the most concerning point for Davey. Why was she able to do that?

This land had such absolutely limited transcendent powers that even Kain showed only a slightly better level of physical ability than an average person. Yet she saw Davey and Perserque, who were clearly abnormal beings. On top of that, she talked to them nonchalantly and even deceitfully referred to them with a ridiculous term like Grim Reaper without any issues arising. Really, was there no problem with that?

As he harbored such complicated thoughts, Davey finally took notice of Hyun-Ah, who was waving her hands in front of him.

"Hey, can't you hear me?"

"Do you have... something to say?"

"Something to say... yes. I’m sure you know why I’m able to see you."

Davey remained silent, not offering her any kind of answer to her statement.

"In my entire life, I’ve never heard that I have some supernatural gift. Plus, I've never seen a ghost other than you."

"I don’t know either," Davey responded calmly.

Hyuna’s expression was then filled with incredulity as she stared at him as if his answer was unbelievable.

If he was being his typical self, Davey would have just checked on her condition, as well as Yu-Na and Ji-Ah's, then left. Yet hesitation gnawed on him, making him slightly unwilling to leave her.

"I came here to find out something,” he said instead, because he, too, could not explain why she could see him and the others could not.

"Sigh... Follow me or don’t. But let me warn you, if you interfere, I won’t just stand by."

Davey did not say anything in response.

* * *

Hyun-Ah, who had been waiting, got into a car that was brought to her by some people. Once seated and ready to go, she then headed toward the downtown area.

Korea University—a university in Seoul, South Korea that was known among the so-called prestigious ‘SKY universities’—was a place that many hopeful students wished to enter and a school that Davey was well aware of. His memories of the school remained strong even years later, giving him a nostalgic feeling.

The reason Davey knew about this place was simple. It was a memory from over a thousand years ago that still lingered because of his younger sister, Hyun-Ah, who used to talk about it incessantly.

"Korea University School of Medicine..."

Hyun-Ah had aspired to attend Korea University. Whether it was truly her dream to become a doctor or if circumstances led her to that path, she had worked hard and succeeded in getting admitted.

And it was while she was taking her exams that Davey, unable to show her his final moments, died.

Suddenly, Davey’s expression became complicated as he felt a clear sensation echoing in his mind.

[The choice is—]

It felt as if someone was whispering, but it was too faint to confirm yet too distinct to be considered nothing but imagination.

"Is it just my imagination?"

The voice was too vivid to dismiss it as nothing, but it was also too vague to confidently say he truly heard something.

Closing his eyes and murmuring softly, Davey levitated himself. He floated in the air in his spiritual state and proceeded to try a few experiments.

Could he not interfere completely while in an incorporeal state?

Using the ridiculous excuse of being a Grim Reaper to get through the current situation meant that simple chills, hallucinations, or even possession by ghosts could potentially be loopholes.

So as he looked at Hyun-Ah, who was walking away in the distance, he reached out toward a sparrow chirping nearby—an act that was nothing new.

[The power a spirit has is indeed very similar to that of other entities in this world. So... to... today’s class, we’ll practice being in a spiritual state. Okay, you’re now in a spiritual state, but we’ll go and separate the spirit once more. It’s difficult... but if someone sets a trap and tries to separate your spirit, Davey... Sorry!]

Davey was familiar with being in a spiritual state, all thanks to Rho Aias, who had once split his spirit into two using the deathly spell [Power Word Kill], a move that was nearly as fatal as the Ancient Dragon's ultimate technique. And it was due to the fact that the materialized form of the Ancient Dragon could not compare to the power of the skill Power Word Kill that Davey practiced being in a spiritual state. This had then taken a permanent spot in his memory.

The sparrow, seemingly indifferent to the world, fluttered away, screaming in a strange tone after being affected by the chill—the cold energy Davey had released. Feeling a sudden cold or inexplicable unease was one thing. He then decided to shift his target to a human to see how far the protective rules governing this world would allow interference.

He proceeded to touch the nape of a college girl, who was talking with a friend, and slightly increased his spiritual energy.

"Kyaa!" The girl dropped the coffee she was holding and shivered all over as she started to look around.

But the girl and her friend could not see Davey, despite him standing right next to them.

"What happened?"

"Ah... Just now, something passed by the back of my neck."

Her friend looked around curiously, but of course, the two could not see the reason behind what the girl just felt, since Davey was invisible to them.

Feeling somewhat satisfied, he eventually sought out Hyun-Ah, the last subject of his pranks, and roamed around the university campus. However, she had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen, despite having only left a short while ago.

Eventually, Davey found her after searching for a while. She was in a small cafe within the university, drinking coffee with a man. For a moment, Davey observed Hyun-Ah as she laughed and talked with the man. However, a frown appeared on his face, seeing the man's smile.

"Completely looks like a playboy. Tsk."

Davey quickly scanned and studied the young man, who had a friendly and likable face rather than a reliable one. Given the subtly luxurious accessories he was wearing, the man appeared to have come from an affluent family.

'Cartier, and that’s an artisan work from Prada workshop. He’s spent quite a bit.'

But instead of foolishly flaunting these items, he subtly adorned himself with them. On top of that, his smile was quite appealing, and he seemed genuinely considerate, making him irresistible to most ladies.

People of similar standing would end up together, as the saying went. Though seemingly modest at first glance, Hyun-Ah was the daughter of Sacred Group, one of the world's leading corporations.

There had to be a good explanation why, despite being aware of Yu-Na's condition, she couldn't ditch this blind date and instead met with him.

Of course, one would need to take a good look to see what kind of person the other was.

It was after they had spent a great time laughing and chatting that Hyun-Ah excused herself and stealthily exited the cafe.

Then, the smile she had vanished in an instant, and she began to tap on her smartphone with a tired expression.

Davey slowly floated behind her and reached for her nape. But then he got busted before he could even do his little prank.

"Don't try any funny business,” she said, as if she knew exactly what he was trying to do without even looking at Davey.

"What am I doing?"

"Weren’t you trying to do something weird? Don’t do it. I'm so tired I could die.”

Davey crossed his arms and floated in mid-air, asking, "Why are you doing this if you don't like it?"

"I've come to realize at some point that one can't always do what they want in life," she said with a self-deprecating smile. "Don't you know everything since you're a Grim Reaper? I guess I have to do this to not bother my uncle."

"You have to do it? Laughing and entertaining as a job?"

"Well, he is the son of the CEO of East Corporation, and I need the East Corporation to provide a large amount of pharmaceutical supplies for the large medical volunteer project I'm pushing forward."

So, even for a fairly large company, Sacred Group did not use its influence just to achieve a personal goal. But her purpose was not too difficult to achieve anyway, since she just needed to cooperate with another company.

"Whew... But he turned out to be nicer than I thought. I was really wondering whether to let everything go and start dating him."

"What a joke." Davey, whose face remained calm, turned his gaze away. He then flew toward a man who was making a phone call.

"That's right. It's really amazing, damn. Fuck," the man said with an unsettling face; his kind and gentle expression from before was nowhere to be seen. This created a profound sense of dissonance.

"Hey. They say it's a leading company, but it's nothing much. Just sweet-talk them a bit, and they all fall over so easily. Anyway, her face and body are just..."

Hearing such vulgar and crude words from the man, Davey closed his eyes.

"Hey, don't worry. Who do you think I am? I'm going straight to the hotel today. It looks like I’ll be having the chance to make her give a great moan... Eeeek!!!"

The man, who was quietly talking on the phone, suddenly screamed and jumped.

Davey narrowed his eyes and stretched his arm toward the man's head.

This was not the reason why he was on Earth in his spiritual state. Why was he even in this state in the first place?

Thinking this, he mused further, 'Just have to deal with this guy.'

Davey's doable actions as a spirit were limited. Even dealing with this man, who seemed to have two personalities, was not an easy task.

So as she approached with a flushed smile, Davey used his index finger to point his own eyes, then at hers.

Hyun-Ah was startled by this, and it made her stare at Davey. He then pointed his fingers between her and the man in front of them, sending various sign language gestures her way. But she just tilted her head in confusion, unable to understand.

[Don't be stupid beyond a certain extent. This guy, I'll take care of him.]

While it was impossible to manifest power, there was one power he was allowed to use: moving back and forth between dimensions. And the Dimensional Key could work another way, not just for a round trip.

"Eh?"

Davey’s hand passed through the man, who shivered at the cold chill the simple action caused.

Davey then twisted the Dimensional Key to activate it. But it wasn’t really certain whether it would work or not. Either way, it had to be tried.

Woosh!

A gap in the dimension opened. Davey's spirit was then sucked back into the crevice, all the while he exposed a part of the man's spirit to the same suction force. This would mean that it was not Davey's power that was used here but the Dimensional Key, which was infused with Neltarid’s power.

There was nothing else to do now but watch and see if there was a problem with this too.

Ping!!!

In an instant, the scene changed.

"What... What the?! Who are you?!"

The sudden scream made Davey slowly raise his head to see the man, who had been rendered into a spiritual state. Although he was not a complete spirit, enough of his consciousness seemed to have been ripped out. So at this moment, the man's physical body would likely be in a vegetative state—neither dead nor alive.

The point was, the experiment was a success.

"Welcome."

Whoosh!!!

With a bright smile, Davey threw the man's spirit into the air and used black ropes of devil mana to bind a part of his spirit. Since he was a powerless human, and his spirit was not particularly strong, this scheme was possible but generally a risky gamble. Davey had no intention of missing this opportunity, though.

"To hell with you, you bastard."

-What...What are you?!

"What am I? Haven't you ever heard of a Grim Reaper?" Davey asked.

At this, the man furrowed his brows in confusion.

"No matter what, even if it’s a woman as trifling as a three-legged cuttlefish, it's not right to deceive and play with her..." Davey trailed off and then tore apart a portion of the man's spirit.

This act was devoid of any mercy.

"Only I can, you bastard."

-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

The tormented spirit's scream echoed, but no one was there to hear it apart from the tormentor himself.