The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-698

#189. Meses’ Shadow

“Haaaaa…” Davey yawned, his eyes filled with drowsiness as he left this bloody place without regrets or hesitation after burying all of the monsters’ corpses in the ground.

He also made sure to recover the keepsakes and belongings left behind by the four victims, who had become food for the monsters. Although he didn’t really have any reason to do so, he still did, thinking it would be unfair to do it for only one of them and ignore the rest.

Various types of monsters—from goblins to trolls—had been attacking Davey nonstop the moment he stepped foot in this place, as if they had been waiting for him the entire time. There were even ogres and cyclops that came out and attacked him.

Davey couldn't help but wonder why there was a high death rate among the players who had come here to kill the Malicious Spirits. But after meeting a few Awakened humans earlier, the answer to that question became clear. It wouldn’t actually be strange for them to die in a place like this, given their current level.

While Davey had no idea about the players' level back when they were still enjoying and playing Alf Online, he could still tell just by looking at their current level that they could only hunt orcs. Meanwhile, they would find it difficult to defeat monsters with levels higher than an orc's.

Was it because they faced limitations? Not at all. Based on what Davey had seen, the state of their bodies was similar to his own. In a way, their souls and bodies could be deemed unsynchronized. In their case, it seemed more like their bodies were still adjusting to the specs they acquired from the game. Looking at it from another perspective, one could say that this situation could be the most difficult time for human beings.

All of those factors were taken into consideration in the monster-luring trap, an elaborate plan that ended up targeting Davey. But the problem was that the one who came to this place was not an Awakened human.

And as Davey dealt with the monsters, one thing became apparent to him. That person, named Yoon Tae-Gang, was trying to summon one of the Malicious Spirits and had then worn the mask of a survivor. He even went so far as to silence the two people who had learned about his secret, and he also sacrificed two more to the monsters.

If that was really the case, then what should Davey do next? To give the humans a chance at survival, it would be better for Davey to prevent the summoning of the Malicious Spirit. But if he allowed some of the humans to be sacrificed, then…

“I will have the opportunity to drag the Malicious Spirits out and get rid of them completely.”

Regardless of the rank of the Malicious Spirit that would come out, Davey would be able to give them a heavy blow as long as he could determine the summoning time. Well, that was if Eclipse wouldn’t come. But he was still left with a decision to make: should he choose humanity’s life or death?

Currently, Megalodria was running wild and destroying every last monster in the city. The only thing left was for Rinne and Fire Chicken to transport Hyun-Ah back. While the destination was not that far, it would still probably take around six hours via vehicle, given how congested the highway was. But with Fire Chicken, there was no problem at all. After all, no vehicle could match Fire Chicken’s speed. Maybe they were already nearing their destination by now.

With everything taken care of, it was time for Davey to decide. Should he protect the humans, or should he sacrifice some of them and put an end to the Malicious Spirits?

As he pondered over the matter, he could not help but feel as if he were spiraling into his own self-destruction.

“...”

Thankfully, it did not take too long for him to break free from his troubles.

“That’s right. People are more important.”

Besides, Davey was confident that he would still be able to win, even if he did not sacrifice a single innocent person. Since that was the case, there was no need for him to sacrifice someone else and do something that he would regret later on in his life.

Now that he had finally made his decision, it was time for him to stop the Malicious Spirit before it got released.

‘I should go and pick up that item now.’

There was no longer any hint of hesitation in his movements.

***

Currently, the defense line set up along Nakdong River was being fully utilized to prevent the monsters from entering Daegu.

Just like the 625 Upheaval[1] in the past, they were forced to relocate their capital to Busan, abandoning Seoul, which had been razed to the ground and was left in a devastating state. In fact, they were in a situation where their only remaining bastions were Daegu and South Jeolla Province.

Hundreds of thousands of Awakened risked their lives and worked with the soldiers to protect the people behind them and stop the monsters’ advance. But there was a problem. No more Awakened people appeared. That was why it would be stupid to use them recklessly and treat them as dispensable pawns. The fact that they formed a team of eight awakened and sent them out to retrieve an item—only God knows what—was ridiculous.

Vwooong–!

As soon as Davey reached Daegu, he saw that the people had made camps to block the monsters’ advances.

“Halt! Halt!!! We will shoot you if you move!” one of the soldiers shouted nervously as he raised and pointed his gun at Davey.

Seeing this, Davey halted in his tracks.

Given that he had no reason to show himself to them, he actually had the option to just sneak in. But even then, he chose not to, since he didn't want to cause any problems on their side. His main goal was to protect the humans of Earth, not to anger or make an enemy out of them.

“Don’t come closer!!!”

They had decided that he should not approach their defense line, regardless of whether he was an enemy or an ally.

“One more step, and I will shoot you!!! Give us something that will prove your identity!” the captain, whose hat had three diamonds, shouted.

Davey took out Rowane Kingdom’s mythril royal plaque and waved it at them, saying, “I only have this. Is this fine?”

“...”

The tension in the air was so palpable that it almost grew solid.

“There must be people who have arrived here ahead of me, no? Didn’t you hear anything from them?”

“What?”

“I’m pretty sure you should have heard something from Shin Hyun-Ah, the personnel dispatched by Sacred Group, and the four survivors, Awakened Park Doo-Sik, Lee Ji-Min, Yoon Tae-Gang, and Heo Jin-Woo, no?”

Surprise flashed on the captain’s face when he heard what Davey had said. He then hurriedly radioed someone while he kept his gun pointed at Davey.

After receiving a response crackling through the radio, it was only then that he answered Davey.

“Wait here.”

“I see.”

Having lost nearly half of Korea to monsters, there were no longer any normal, functioning cities beyond the defense life. Basically, there should no longer be any survivors coming from beyond this line. So it was frightening enough for everyone encamped in the place to see a man with red eyes appear without a single scratch on his body.

Fortunately, none of them were idiots. After knowing about the situation over the radio, the captain informed the other soldiers about it.Then he pulled out his pistol and slowly approached Davey.

“Please excuse our rudeness. I am Captain Lee Sang-Han, the field commander in charge of the checkpoint. I've been informed over the radio that you have saved the survivors. However, considering our circumstances, I hope that you can understand that we have to keep you restrained and in our custody until we clear things up.”

Davey raised his hands and said, “Wow. I really wanted to try and do this.”

Indeed. Davey had always wanted to experience what it felt like to be restrained and taken into custody. He was immediately restrained with a strange metal handcuff by Captain Lee Sang-Han, who was staring at him. But rather than a simple and normal handcuff, what was used to him looked more like a shackle for restraining gigantic monsters.

Once the handcuffs were secured, Lee Sang-Han, along with a couple of soldiers, led Davey away and made him ride a military jeepwith them. They entered the city and stopped right in front of a police detention center, where many soldiers were stationed..

“Master Davey.”

Rinne was also in the detention center. She was handcuffed like Davey and was bouncing on her feet as he waited for him.

Seeing Rinne use the refraction of light to hide her wings and halo was quite funny to Davey. She seemed to have concealed her wings and halo with the thought that they might cause her unnecessary problems.

“Why are you out here?”

“Rinne wants to experience the unrealistic elements mentioned in the novel, where one is restrained and imprisoned.”

“You… I wonder who your master is… Haa…”

“Rinne asks Master Davey what his circumstances are?”

“Wouldn’t people want to experience things that they had never experienced in their lives?”

Hearing Davey’s reply, Rinne approached him and looked up at him. Then, with an impassive face and wide eyes, she quietly said, “Very inefficient hobby. Rinne rates it lowly.”

“Look who’s talking.”

At the same time, Rinne and Davey raised their handcuffed hands and bumped them against each other.

***

Davey and Rinne’s detention experience obviously did not last long, all because Hyun-Ah, who guaranteed their identities, worked hard to get them out of that place.

But there was something that Davey could not understand. According to the spirit he had talked to earlier, the humans on Earth held a lot of grudges and resentment against the Saint of Tionis—in other words, him. So, they really should’ve recognized him, and yet things were quieter than he imagined.

Clack–

“Please go inside.”

Escorted by men in black suits, Davey entered a room where there were several people waiting for him.

“Come in.” A middle-aged man stepped forward and greeted Davey and Rinne with a stern face. “First of all, let me thank you. Thanks to you, the Sacred Group was able to save face and finish a very important task.”

“If that was the case, then you should at least release us,” Davey said as he raised his handcuffed hands. “There’s no meaning to this, no?”

“We can’t do that. I hope that you can understand that we can’t simply release your restraints, especially since we cannot guarantee our safety around you.”

Another person then chimed in, saying, “Those handcuffs carry a power that can restrict the monsters and the Awakened who use special powers. You see, we want to avoid unnecessary commotion.”

“It wouldn’t be good for your side if you show hostility to me, you know?” Davey replied.

The middle-aged man then sighed and answered, “Of course, we’re very grateful for your help. However, you have done things that you should not have done.”

The meaning behind his words was simple.

“Don’t you think so too, Saint of Tionis? After all, you are the one who put all of humanity at risk.”

But Davey merely responded nonchalantly, saying, “I don’t know what kind of misconception you have about me, but if you’re talking about the destruction of Alf Online, then you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

“What…”

“You don't really have time to waste on something like this, do you? After sending the survivors, they brought…”

In the situation that they were in, saving human lives came first. Davey didn't have to sacrifice innocent lives just because some people harbored ugly and dirty thoughts. He could just deal with them later. Why? Because that was common sense. After all, to take lives unnecessarily was nothing but arrogance.

But…

[Contractor. A lot of snacks! There’s a lot of snacks coming this way!]

Ever since Davey had received and accepted Shane Scrift’s genes and had signed a contract with Megalodria as a mythical beast summoner, Davey and Megalodria were able to send their wills and thoughts directly to each other's minds.

‘Snack?’

[It’s the smell of something radioactive! It’s falling from the sky! And…]

Davey cut short Megalodria's chatter and remained silent.

Something radioactive was falling from the sky… There was only one thing that could make that possible—a nuclear missile.

“...”

“What’s the matter?”

“Just go kill yourself already.”

Davey’s original plan was to clear out any misunderstanding between him and these people, then cooperate with them to stop the sacrifices and prevent Yoon Tae-Gang from unleashing the Malicious Spirit using the summoning core inside the box he had brought in.

But Davey had already changed his mind. While a human’s life was undoubtedly important, all negotiations would have to be called off the moment they attacked him and everyone under his care for no reason at all.

“Do you know what you have just done?”

When they heard Davey’s question, they all looked at him with confusion written clearly in their faces.

“What?”

“No. That’s it. We’re done here. I don’t need to ask around or investigate; it’s already very obvious. Negotiations are over.”

Crack–!

Davey broke the handcuffs that had bound his hands.

Restrain his powers? That was truly a wise decision on their part. But what they should’ve known was that for a being who carried a certain amount of power, something like the handcuff was just utterly pointless.

They should count themselves lucky that Davey did not want to kill them with his own hands. But what they did had just cost them their last ray of hope.

1. Also known as the Korean War. The war started on June 25 1950 and was then referred to as 625 War, 625 Upheaval etc. ☜