The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-752

Yeon-Hee's body emitted a battle aura of an incomprehensible level.

Thanks to them deliberately setting up their defense at a distance from the ritual site, the ritual was unaffected. If it had been nearby, it would definitely have been impacted.

Davey had ordered Rinne to prevent the enemies from interfering with the ritual at all costs. He had given her this huge task because of his trust in her—but she knew that with her current growth rate, it would be difficult to stop the rampaging monster.

But there was something Davey didn’t seem to realize. He hadn’t told Rinne explicitly to fight...

‘...While preserving my life,’ Rinne thought.

A blue light shimmered in her eyes. She never changed her expression no matter what happened, but now, even though she was expressionless, she clearly showed signs of determination.

“You’re different. Humanity looks good on you–-that machinelike stoicism never fit.”

“Rinne demands that you reveal your identity.”

The family of Shin Hyun-Soo, Davey’s past life, owned Rinne. Although the being in front of her took on the appearance of Shin Yeon-Hee, the eldest daughter, it was not really her. It was impossible for her to have such an aura and intimidation in the first place.

Yeon-Hee smiled bitterly at those words, and soon her shape began to distort. She turned into the form of a small boy.

“You’re not a being that belongs here.”

“Rinne clarifies she has no intention of negotiating.”

Clank!

Particles gathered in Rinne’s hand, creating the shape of a huge main battery. Then, she supported it with her other hand, pointed it at Katshi, and spoke again.

“Rinne was given the order to prevent all enemies from entering.”

‘“How did you, who were part of Neltarid’s extermination unit, become so corrupt?”

“Rinne assures you she doesn’t know such a thing.”

“Then let me tell you.”

Vmmm...

Boom!!

An enormous amount of concentrated energy flew toward Katshi in an instant. Rinne was pushed back by the enormous force, supporting her body with her bare feet as if she was plowing the ground. She was releasing energy incomparable to when she first woke up.

She used to be a half-vampire with only simple master-level powers, unable to overwhelm even Milpieu. But now, the power she was emitting was too great for a mere master-level being to block.

Boom! Bang!

Unlike Katshi, who did not show any particularly aggressive behavior, Rinne flew in all directions to bombard him without hesitation. After several attacks, the lightsaber that appeared on the back of her hand emitted a high-temperature light.

“Hmph!”

Katshi's eyes widened, and at the same time, Rinne flashed toward him while spinning her lightsaber.

“You were a proud servant of Neltarid, and a symbol of the absolute extermination unit.”

Her threatening attacks continued, but Katshi easily avoided her attacks and continued to provoke her.

“Rinne doesn’t know any...!”

“Don't lie to me! You can’t deceive my eyes!!”

After shouting fiercely, Katshi bent down as if he were trying to headbutt Rinne. At the same time, Rinne slightly widened her blue eyes.

Bang!

As Katshi hit the ground with force, black tendrils emerged from his toes and enveloped Rinne for a moment before disappearing. Like a swarm of insects gathering, the black fog surrounded Rinne as if it were alive, and then dispersed.

When the black fog cleared, Rinne's body was completely different from before. Her once clean clothes were in tatters, and her body was covered in wounds.

“Huh?! Argh!”

She couldn't help but violently vomit, expelling the red energy solution that ran through her body. Seeing her fall with a shocked face, Katshi quickly dashed toward her. She was falling down slowly as if time had slowed down before he grabbed her by the neck and mercilessly threw her to the floor.

Bang!

When her body hit the ground, the surroundings cracked and broke apart.

“How many times are you going to be taken advantage of by that damned Freyja?! Not only were you tricked once into betraying your entire race, but you also offered your body to her! And now you've even got your memories sealed and your soul in tatters?!”

Rinne didn’t even have the time to respond. Katshi dragged her away.

“You, a member of the proud extermination unit! How dare the Sephiroth, the White Wings that symbolize the sword of God...! You’re basically the same race as them!”

Katshi for some reason was extremely angry. He grabbed Rinne's head and slammed it into the ground as if trying to crush her bones.

Bang!!! Bang!!!

The brutal, unbearable attacks continued. When Katshi stopped after several violent attacks, Rinne raised her trembling arm and grasped his wrist to stop him from moving.

“How did you become like this? You’re quite ridiculous, losing your body and memory before turning into a marionette like this,” Katshi said.

Then a faint smile replaced her empty expression.

“Rinne...”

“...”

Katshi stopped moving and just looked at her.

“Rinne is Master Davey’s excellent biological golem. Rinne makes it clear that she’s not interested in anything else at the mo... ment.”

Her mechanical heart rapidly slowed down—she had taken too much of a shock at once.

It wasn’t like Rinne didn’t know things would end up like this from the start. There was no way she could stand against Katshi, whom even Davey had to use all his strength to fight. However, she couldn't bring herself to call Davey for help. He was traveling around the world, destroying the creatures of the Abyss wherever he could. She wanted to be helpful to him, not another burden.

Of course, she had no intention of letting Katshi get away like this. Since she had risked her life to stop him, she was going to hold him back as much as she could.

The price she was going to pay to do this... was her life.

“What a pity. To be honest, I absolutely abhor you.”

Bang!!

Rinne created a small lightsaber dagger of gathered particles and stabbed it into his arm, then stopped moving. He grabbed her head and slammed her into the ground once more. Her wings lost their light and became dull, the small gem engraved on her forehead slowly beginning to fade as her vitality gradually diminished.

“Rinne... Proceeding with mission...” she muttered in a voice that almost seemed like a whisper. Soon enough, the ground began to crack.

“Hmph?!”

Katshi’s eyes widened as he grabbed Rinne and looked around. Suddenly, a series of golden bars shot up from the ground, trapping both him and Rinne.

Clank!

And then they closed completely.

“Sephiroth... First strike barrier...”

Then Katshi muttered bitterly with an expression of disappointment, “Damn it. I never thought they were preparing a barrier like this underground.”

“Rinne... Proceed with the mission...”

“Are you still alive? Well, I suppose since you’re using the power of Sephiroth... It means you have some memories left.”

“Rinne... Doesn’t understand what you are saying...”

Katshi sighed and smiled futilely as he watched Rinne struggle to the end.

“It won’t matter. I’ll just have to finish you off and break these bars,” he muttered calmly before he casually threw Rinne into the bars. He then grabbed the bars with both hands.

“Even though it’s a first strike barrier, one created without your original body is just a joke.”

Crack!! Crack!!

As he gathered power at his fingertips, the bars slowly trembled. Given Katshi's strength in fight with Eclipse, he was incredibly powerful. The bars were ridiculously strong—however, they still weren't enough to stop him.

Rinne, whose entire body was broken and distorted, looked miserable and didn't move an inch. Her arm had been torn off at some point, exposing blue parts and circuits, and the surface of her leg was twisted with blue sparks flying.

Her entire body briefly twitched. Even as she was dying, her eyes never left Katshi. She had an injury more fatal than any she had ever experienced before; her mechanical heart had been excessively damaged.

Rinne said, pursing her lips that were not moving very well, “First strike... barrier... is fatal to you...”

“Even so... you’re much weaker than you used to be. Maybe I would’ve taken more damage if you had attacked as your former self, symbol of the extermination unit and Sephiroth herself.”

Rinne smiled.

Rumble!

Soon, the barrier she had created began to distort. She knew she could only hold Katshi for thirty minutes to an hour with it. But now, Rinne was dead silent. As the first strike barrier crumbled like stone, Katshi looked down at his arm with a stern expression and slowly turned his head.

“I don’t like you either. You’re from the same Abyss as that damn ancient dragon.”

“It’s quite ridiculous for you to be talking when you have an alliance with the Abyss.”

A silver-haired girl in a lively dress blocked his path. She had large white horns symbolizing a demon, and they were the largest he had ever seen, incomparable to any other demon. Considering that demon horns were usually about the size of a thumb, hers were unusually large. She certainly had a lot to be proud of, since demons usually took pride in the size of their horns.

The girl walked lightly toward Katshi while gathering light in her hand.

Crack!!

At the same time, Katshi's body stumbled as he tried to approach her.

“Huh? Now?!” he muttered in a shocked tone.

It wasn’t because of Rinne’s attacks. Eclipse was stronger than Katshi had anticipated—making it alive from his fight with Eclipse was 50% luck in the first place. He fought back against her, but unfortunately, he too was severely injured.

Slither!

Katshi glared at the girl as she restrained his limbs with her shadows seemingly imbued with life.

“Rest assured. Honestly, the Abyss is seeking you out... But I hate you. To be frank, what would be the problem of killing you here?

‘Those Abyss bastards can go fuck themselves,’ Katshi thought.

“Respecting each other’s values wasn’t a thing from the beginning.”

Even though the Abyss could try taking her away, they could not kill her—if she died, everything would end. The destructive side of Neltarid, including Katshi, on the other hand...

None of that mattered to her.

“I was sure that horne would have prevented you from coming here... It looks like you ignored him and came here.”

“Because I couldn’t stand by and watch Rinne’s vitality drop,” Perserque said with eyes of cold fury. She then saw Rinne in tatters.

“The pure white executioner—the symbol of Thanatos, worried about the Sephiroth of the Six Wings. How ridiculous. It’s actually surprising that Sephiroth, who killed most of Freyja’s side including hornes, is now part of the hornes,” Katshi mumbled briefly as he tried to escape the tentacles of shadow. But when he couldn’t escape, his expression twisted in frustration.

“You. Your injury is still so severe that you can’t even fight properly.”

Perserque saw right through his condition. As she walked lightly toward him, the space around her began to distort.

“It would be okay to blame the Abyss for making me the person I am right now. I really don't want change, but... but I can make something like this possible if I make up my mind and fight.”

She was about to do something that Davey had no clue she was capable of.

She smiled slightly and slowly walked toward Katshi, one arm raised in the air—her movements were almost seductive. She then snapped her fingers.

Snap!

The space around Katshi was desaturated into black and white. Beyond this altered space, a startling phenomenon began to occur.

“Gaaa?!”

Katshi’s jaw dropped in disbelief at the astonishing sight.