The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-775

“...”

Davey’s proposal itself sounded good, but the demons didn’t come forward—it was as if they wanted to just stand by the sidelines and watch. Davey knew why they were acting this way.

“You’re acting suspicious because the timing is too good and it’s so out of the blue, no?”

The demons did not deny or confirm. Everyone was terrified of the ancient monsters breaking out of their seals and going on a rampage. However, they could not bring themselves to believe and trust that Davey, who had appeared so suddenly, would truly solve this problem for them.

Furthermore, Davey’s existence was akin to a tyrant who had destroyed their race’s long-cherished dream. The only reason why they were not charging at him right away was because they valued their lives—that was just how bad Davey’s reputation was among the demon race.

Astaroth, the old man who had been standing on the sidelines since earlier, looked at Davey. He then said, “I refuse.”

“What?”

“You are the Demon King, and we must obey your orders no matter what. But is this your order?”

“Well, I guarantee that you’re free to choose whether you accept this or not.”

“Then I refuse.”

Davey did not ask him why. He just stared at the old man until he grew tense and nervous.

Davey had a bit of knowledge about the Demon World’s current situation.

“Hey!!! You damn old man!!! Beggars can’t be choosers, you know?!”

“Your race is in a state of unrest. If you’re the leader of your own race, then show the wisdom that comes with your position!”

“...”

Davey smiled slightly. “You must live a very exhausting life too, eh?”

“I cannot help you officially. However, Arita will soon head to the outskirts of Carla Town as an Inspector General. There are also rumors circulating that the chosen demons are in that place. Ah, of course, I’m just talking to myself.”

Basically, even if Astaroth couldn’t officially help Davey resolve the matter, he was still going to give him information. And for the record, he was really totally just talking out loud to himself. After realizing that there was nothing more that he had to say here, Davey stepped down. Of course, he did not forget to make an important request before he left.

“Do you have a big bottle here, around two meters in height? Ah, by the way, this is an order and I’m not giving you the freedom to refuse: if you don’t want to die, you better bring it to me.”

The craftsmanship was crude, but it wasn’t as if they didn’t have glass in the Demon World. Astaroth looked at Davey in doubt, but one of the demon maids soon delivered what the man ordered.

“This is a bottle typically used to manufacture magic reagents. I don’t know where you’re going to use this, but since it’s your order as the Demon King, I have to bring it regardless…”

“This is going to be very useful. I’ll probably use it soon. Ah. Are there any glass artisans among the demon craftsmen under your command? I don’t care how much it costs, make me glass bottles with heights of two meters, three meters, five meters, eight meters, twelve meters, and twenty meters. It doesn’t matter if the craftsmanship is crude and rough—I’ll enchant it with reinforcement magic either way.”

If a glass bottle was enchanted once, it would not break even if shot by a rifle. This was a prime example of a creative economy, and could also be considered as the epitome of cost-effectiveness.

Davey pushed the bottle into his pocket plane amidst the puzzled gazes of the demons. An expression of relief flashed across their faces when Davey turned around and finally left.

After leaving the castle, Isildi turned to look at Davey and said, “Hey, you said that you’re busy. Why are you moving so leisurely like this?”

“I am busy, but this has happened quite a lot of times. Although Perserque looks like that, if I get back late then she will start to nitpick non-stop and fight with me.”

There was no law that prohibited fighting between newlyweds. Wasn’t there an old saying about how two humans would eventually fight after coming together?

“So, then why did you stand down?”

“What are you talking about?” Davey stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.

Standing in the dark hallway, she looked at Davey and frowned. It seemed like she didn’t quite know how to adequately explain what she wanted to say.

“I thought you would make a fuss about them not listening to you.”

“Well it’s not as if I can’t understand Astaroth’s situation and decision. Besides, this is much better for me.”

First of all, Davey was both the Saint and the prince of the Rowane Kingdom. However, he also chose to take over the position of the Demon King himself. Although there were those who claimed that they were the Demon King just because they held a part of the Demon King’s authority, they could not change how they viewed the true Demon King—this was ingrained in their instincts.

That was why they were very afraid of Davey and couldn’t bring themselves to show even a hint of hatred toward him—showing a hint of hatred was equivalent to treason. This was also equivalent to them applying for a Demon King’s Struggle and fighting against the Demon King.

Davey told them that they were free to challenge him any time. Even so, no one was reckless enough to fight him—after all, they still valued their lives. Well actually, there was one.

Davey stepped back when he saw the huge weapon lodged in the center of the lobby at the central castle. It was a balrog’s weapon.

“We can’t just attack them. That's the nature of a demon. Ah, but if we look at it from the demons’ perspective, I’m the one who destroyed their long-cherished dream. Even more, I’ve also killed so many demons.”

Of course, confusion was bound to arise among the demons after seeing their high-ranking commanders fawn over their supposed enemy. That was why they could not help Davey in an official capacity even though he had generously stepped forward to help resolve their problems.

Davey still had the option of changing the uncertain public opinion and reputation that he had among the demons from bad to good. That way, he could avoid being the evil being who took away everything that they had to offer. Public opinion and reputation worked by simple logic.

“That’s strange. In the book that the other Kain had read in the Pallan Imperial Family, it said that the demons worshiped power and that they rule everything through power and force.”

“That’s right—it’s just some kind of race characteristic. We should just crush those who don’t want to listen and deal with them once and for all. Can’t we go with that?” Isildi said calmly despite the gruesome contents of her words.

However, Davey could not be bothered to refute her. If he had more time, he would definitely do it though.

“This is funny. The humans and demons, who used to be powerful allies in Goddess Freyja’s camp, are now divided like this.”

“Allies? Were the demons originally on the hornes’ side?”

“That’s what I heard. Although, it has been more than ten thousand years since then.”

Well, Davey’s source was a 30,000 year-old ancient dragon, who was waiting for him in the Red Void. Yes, the information came from none other than Arbit.

“If possible, I want to end this Cold War-like situation. But for me to do so, I have to throw away the notion of suppressing others with force. Although, I must admit I have no idea what initially caused the grudge between the two races. ”

They should settle things through communication and understanding and not through the use of force. If no other problem arose, then their hate would fade over time. Then, if they could start to open and exchange with each other little by little, there was a possibility that the two races would become close—just like how people from many countries interacted well with each other.

What was the difference between a human and a demon, anyways? Heritage? The horns on their heads? Or the fact that humans used mana while demons used demonic energy? The truth was none of that mattered.

“Fighting the Abyss is not the end of the line. The Demon World is the place where I will rule in the future, so I’ll have to reorganize it.”

“Then, if that god jumps out from the Abyss where I came from…” Isildi trailed off. She tried her hardest to suppress her fear as she recalled Thanatos’ existence.

When Thanatos appeared and absorbed all of the beings of the Abyss, the ones who kept on shouting “We are one,” Isildi luckily escaped. As someone who had established an ego of her own with the help of Verdandi, she felt uncomfortable and terrified at the thought of sacrificing herself for that god.

It wasn’t because Isildi was weak. The strongest among the Princesses of the Abyss was Eclipse, but she was a rare and unusual outlier case. The strongest being among them was basically Sleesia, and the only one who Sleesia dared not fight recklessly was none other than the woman in front of Davey. That was just how strong she was. Her trepidation was just confirmation that even the strong could feel fear.

“Birdbrain.”

“What? Hey! What does that mean, huh?! I feel really bad right now!!!”

“Do you get angry whenever you don’t know what a word means?”

“It’s making me even angrier now that you say that!”

“Be quiet and follow me.”

Isildi jumped up and lost her temper when she heard Davey’s words. “Hey!!! You! Stop right there! I said stop right there!”

“Shut up, Abyss.”

Of course, there was someone who got fed up and just could not leave her alone.

“What did you say?! Do you want to die, huh

?!”

“That’s what I want to say to you, you damn Abyss.”

“Shut up! The one who betrayed you was Verdandi, not me!”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that at the end of it all, you’re both from the same Abyss.”

“Kain, you shut up too.”

In the end, the two who were growling at each other had no choice but to withdraw and step back at Davey’s intervention. Of course, the two of them were still seething with anger.

After that, Arita departed for the demon city that Astaroth had mentioned. As for Davey and his companions? They moved separately—Davey found it to be too time consuming to just walk over there.

The area of the Demon World’s landmass was quite expansive, so Davey dragged down a wild wyvern mid-flight. After letting it undergo the noble and sublime trial of being beaten up in the name of training, he managed to turn it into the perfect vehicle.

Carla was one of the numerous cities in the Demon World. Although it wasn’t the largest city, it was still fairly busy and bustling. Even then, it was especially quiet and dark for its size.

‘Ah, it’s not because the sky is dark.’

The lives of demons were not as lavish as one thought. As beings who were born in a rough and wild environment, they tended to turn their eyes away when there was a fight.

The moment Davey stepped foot in the demon territory, he could feel the fear and hatred of the demons, who recognized him as a human, prickling his skin. Some of the demons were still unaware that Davey was the Demon King.

In their eyes, Davey, who had almost hidden the breath of his demonic energy and the Demon King’s authority that he possessed completely, looked like a human being. There were some who jumped out and tried to restrain him but Davey, the mere human in their eyes, easily defeated them.

Davey had immediately cast hypnosis magic the moment he entered the city. He believed that it was better to reveal his identity now that he was inside.

A human is here.

That Davey O’Rowane, the object of your fear, is here.

This was the best aggro method.

“Hmm. What’s that? It smells so good.”

“How… How can a human being be here?! I… I don’t buy it!” a little demon boy shouted at Davey, despite his frightened expression and trembling body. Although he was afraid, the light in his eyes was saying that he was willing to confront Davey.

“This brat! Callum!”

At that moment, a demon who seemed to be the parent of the young boy hugged him and immediately ran away.

“No! Don’t you dare go against him! That guy’s a human! He must be the Demon King’s liaison!”

The Demon King was originally someone that the demons respected and gave their loyalty to, but the current Demon King was nothing but the object of their fear and hatred.

It didn’t really matter to Davey—he never expected the public’s opinion about him would be good here.

“No matter where we go, they all look the same. They’re just puppies that can only bark in fear,” Isildi said.

Kain laughed at her scathing remarks. “There are also venomous women in the world who only know how to betray others.”

“If you open that mouth of yours one more time then it wouldn’t matter whether or not we’re on the same side. I will kill you. I am warning you: I am no longer the fool who calls for justice every step of the way. The only thing that keeps me on the hornes’ side is my master’s teachings and my fellow disciples.”

In the past, Isildi was one of the leaders of the Martial Alliance, someone who always fought for justice. But after the changes in her existence, some of her ferociousness still remained even though most of her instincts had been sealed off.

As for the fellow disciples she was talking about? They were the Heavenrend Sect Master’s daughter, who was learning the Scattering Blossom Flash, and Dokgo Jun’s descendant. At some point, Davey would have to check how they were doing.

“Kain, I believe I told you to stop?”

“To be honest, I can’t and don’t want to understand you right now! Shouldn’t you be the most angry?!” Kain’s response was very sharp. Perhaps it was only natural. After all, he was a race created solely to counter and fight against the Abyss.

“Alright, I’ll explain it so you can understand. Now, you better open those ears of yours wide.”

Then go back and leave me alone. Or something like that. To be honest, Davey did not have any interest in ticking this bastard off and making him sulk.

“Verdandi is different from the Abyss. The reason why she betrayed us is not because of the Abyss—it’s because of Eclipse.”

No matter how angry they were, this had to be made clear.

“...”

“And this stupid idiot right here is a slow-witted brat, who got abandoned when their entire race merged together. It would be hard to see her as the Abyss, considering she’s different from Verdandi. So, to put it simply, Verdandi, the Abyss and Isildi are all standing in different positions.”

“No matter how you look at it, they’re all the same Abyss. What if she betrays you too? Just look at her face. We’ll definitely be in trouble if she betrays you. Am I wrong?”

Kain’s ability to curse someone upfront was truly extraordinary. Isildi, listening to him, slowly released the dreary energy from deep within her. Davey immediately slapped her on the back of her head to calm her down.

“Are you going to be like this just because a brat is growling and sulking?”

“Didn’t you say that it doesn’t matter if the opponent is a child or an adult? If they need to get hit, then they should be hit.”

“If you would just shut that trap of yours, you'd look pretty and kind,” Davey spoke calmly. Then, he turned to look at Kain. “Who was the one who betrayed us? This birdbrain, the Abyss, or Verdandi?”

“...”

“Regardless of Isildi’s origins, her power is a great addition to our side. In a situation where we need all the manpower that we can get our hands on, are you telling me I should kill her? Do you even have any intention of winning this war, huh?”

Kain flinched. It was just like Davey said—they truly lacked manpower.

“I’m… sorry.”

“All that Neltarid has left is you and Freyja. Get your act together. The more you behave badly, the more your reputation will be tarnished. It’s not me who's going to get cursed. It’s you. After all, Neltarid was the one who trusted you and sent you to me.”

There were two Kains. There was actually another Kain inside the immature and young Kain who treated Illyna as his mother. The relationship between the two was none of Davey’s business. Nevertheless, the current Kain, Kain mk2, was the one who Davey could communicate with.

“Anyway, all you need is a target that can help you release all that pent up anger inside.”

“Hoo… Yes, you’re right. I really need to release all of this pent up anger. I’m just so angry at the fact that the ritual that I worked so hard on could not be put to use, and that the power of the Absolute Gem, which we worked so hard to restore, was squandered and blown away!”

Of course, Verdandi’s situation was similar to Davey and Kain’s own. But then again, that was none of Davey’s business. She deserved death for what she did, but they were forced to let her live because of Eclipse.

“I hate the system of guilt by association—we should not get angry at someone just because they came from the same place. I have no intention of saying anything about that to Isildi. Her power will definitely be a huge help to us in our future fights. As for Verdandi, I’ll be the one to take care of it.”

Kain gritted his teeth after hearing Davey’s cold and firm decision. As he mentioned before, they truly lacked manpower.

“Oh… You look kind of cool. Alright, do you understand? Right now, you’re making a huge blunder. You damn brat.”

A moment of silence fell upon them.

“Ha… I can understand why World Tree [Al] was so upset she wanted to kill herself when she saw you.”

‘This bitch! Why don’t you use tact?!’

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Orb's thoughts:

“Well, I guarantee that you’re free to choose whether you accept this or not.”

Hello, Davey Hunt. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate and track down all the monsters lurking underneath our very feet. As always, in the event of your capture, the Secretary of Defense will disavow any and all knowledge of your activities.