The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-777

The beings that raided the demon city of Carla were all left in stunned silence when they saw Davey rolling the snake—which was apparently created and sent by the ancient monster sealed underground—and shoving it into a bottle. They were all in disbelief as he leisurely prepared the wine that he was about to ferment.

Boom!!!

In the distance, the muscular bunnies flew away one after the other after, sent soaring by Isildi’s flaming punches. Regardless of whether they fell near Davey or not, his leisurely pace wasn’t interrupted.

“Let’s see... The key to making good snake wine is in the orientation of the head.”

The venom that would flow out of its fangs once he placed the head of the snake in position would make the wine undrinkable for humans. Still, it would definitely be a perfect spice that would give it a very special flavor to his taste buds.

Davey thought that it was good that he had only knocked out the snake and not killed it. However, the time had come where he needed to make a choice.

“Should I drink it with company or enjoy it alone?”

He pondered long and hard about this matter.

This was an ingredient that he would not be able to get his hands on again. Although they would absorb the source of its powers, which was its inner elixir, and only use the rest of its body to make the wine, the fact that it was a very rare material that was hard to come by did not change.

“Alright. I’ll just use the biggest one to make a wine with venom!”

After all, that was truly a one-of-a-kind material in this world. And if he started the fermentation process with it still alive, then... the flavor would definitely be perfect!

The rampaging monsters in the demon city of Carla were easily suppressed. The demons, used to running or hiding, were all left stunned when the snake that had been bothering them was suppressed just like that only to be stuffed inside a bottle to be made into a snake wine.

“Ha! Ha!”

Davey, who was calmly going about his work, turned his head to see Isildi stacking the rabbit demons like she was making a Jenga tower. She looked like she had gone crazy in that short amount of time. Although she was acting as if she did not want to get any closer to them, she seemed to have done a good job—perhaps it was because of how angry she was at the muscular bunnies.

“I have to wash my hands... My hands... My hands smell like sweat...” Isildi muttered, a shudder running down her spine. “These bastards...! They all jumped at me while showing off their muscles!”

“Right. You did a good job.” Davey shook his head before approaching Arita.

“H... Human.”

“That’s right. I’m a human.” Davey pressed her head down. He then turned to the demons, staring blankly at the scene in front of them, and said, “Your lives are nothing but a waste. Am I wrong?”

“...”

The entire area came to a standstill.

“If you truly dislike me so much, then make sure to live long lives and survive. If you do, then maybe you'll eventually become strong enough. Show me, and take me down.”

It did not matter to Davey whether they had been shackled by their hatred from the war or not.

“Use me. And, of course, I will also make use of you.”

‘Basically, leave that hatred behind for a moment and follow me. Just this once, put your trust in me!’

It was like he was half-pleading for their trust. But if doing so could get them to cooperate with him briefly, it was be worth it to be able to save more lives. The demons must not go extinct—it was a race that had been sacrificed at a time when Perserque desperately wanted to protect them. If they continued to lead miserable lives here, then perhaps harmony between the humans and the demons would never come to fruition.

‘Reconnecting with the elves and the dwarves was easy, but why is the connection with the demons so difficult to do?!’

Of course, that damned vampire Josiah was the exception.

A buzz slowly rose among the crowd at Davey’s words. In this moment, Davey realized how bad the public’s views on the Demon King were.

“I don’t want anything from you right now. But if you want me to do something for you, then you have to at least give me some information, no?”

“D—Don’t make me laugh! We don’t have anything to say to the one who killed dad... hmph! Hmph!” one of the demon boys shouted at Davey.

“Enough, Maxim! Do you want to die?! Do you think that fearlessness of yours can get you anywhere, eh?!” A demon girl shot out and clamped the boy’s mouth shut before dragging him away. She looked like she was a family member.

“M—Mercy...”

“Mercy? May as well, fine. It’s only mercy.” Davey grinned as the girl approached him.

The girl immediately looked down and avoided his gaze. The horns growing on the girl’s head were an indication that she was a pure-blooded demon.

“But as intellectuals, if someone takes something then someone still has to give something in return...”

Whispers erupted once again. The boy’s eyes looked like they were full of flames, but the girl just pressed down further on the boy’s head. She then looked at the people around her. Seeing her gaze, some of the demons crept up and dragged the boy away from her.

“No!!! Sister! Sister!!!” The boy screamed. “I’ll kill you!!! I’ll kill you, Demon King! I’ll kill you with my own hands!!! If you dare touch a single hair on my sister...!”

“It’s really noisy.”

Thwack!!!

With a clap of Davey’s hands, a silence magic was cast over the entire area. Davey just wanted a give-and-take relationship here, but the boy kept on shouting—they didn’t want to give anything, only take from him. Then, he looked at the girl nervously standing in front of him.

“Uhm... Do you want to do it at my place?”

“Huh? Why should I go to your house? Call the bastard who manages this city and bring him to the plaza.”

Davey turned a blind eye to the fact that they weren’t cooperating with him. At first, he planned to play with their beat and follow along. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t stand the ugly rabbits. At this moment, he decided to pull out all of the self-proclaimed ancient gods and send them to the afterlife.

“Yes?” The girl looked at Davey in confusion. And with tears in her eyes, she said, “Do—Doing that in front of others... Do you want to commit crime in broad daylight?”

“Ah...”

‘No way?’

Only at that moment did Davey understand why the boy had reacted that way earlier.

“Yo, you suddenly became a bad guy, huh? Congratulations. You were already bad, but now you have become a completely worthless piece of trash.”

“I’ll plead ignorance.”

Davey sighed at Kain and Isildi’s scathing remarks. “I’m going to put you two in the wine later. For reals. Hey, you! What’s your name?”

“I... am called Magna, Demon King.”

“Alright. You saw that snake and those ugly rabbits a while ago, right?”

“Eh? Yes...”

“What do you think my position is?” Davey said as he released the silence magic and let everyone listen in on their conversation.

“D—Demon King.”

“That’s right. And what is the Demon King? If you get it right, then you’ll get a gift.”

“The... The one who rules over the demons...”

“Mhm. That’s also correct. Anything else?”

“The strongest man in the Demon World...”

“Hmm... That’s right. And...?”

Davey’s patience was about to run out. He had never seen a fighting nation before like this one that was filled with nothing but muscles.

“The... The one... who protects the demons...”

“Right. That’s the answer I was looking for,” Davey said calmly as he stretched his hand out and reached for Magna’s injuries. White light appeared and began to seep into her wounds.

“H—Holy power!” Magna shouted, shock and fear evident on her face.

She resisted and tried to run away, but the struggle suddenly stopped—the holy power had already finished healing her wounds.

“H—How?!”

“Holy power dwells in all our bodies.”

The surprised demons all looked at Davey.

“Well, holy power does not have any adverse effects on you. In the first place, the Demon God that you are serving is also Goddess Freyja.”

“Th... That’s blasphemy!”

“Now, now! Everyone, pay attention!!!” Davey cried out to get the attention of everyone present. “I’m sure that you don’t like my existence! In your eyes, I’m the devil who killed your families!”

A gloomy atmosphere pervaded the area with his words. After all, the target of their revenge was standing right in front of them. Nevertheless, all of them were aware that they would die if they dared to step forward. Although the demons revered and worshiped power, it was not as if they didn’t cherish their lives.

“But!!! If you don’t get my help right now, then you’ll either turn into a weird and ugly rabbit or be eaten by a snake!!!”

Davey was not sure about the snake, but he was sure that the strange rabbits were most likely ordinary demons first. They probably mutated and changed into something like that after being contaminated by some power. The implications didn't matter—what truly mattered was that the demonic beast who created that weird rabbit would now be the first to go.

“If you know anything, tell me! Tell me everything! If that’s your only way to survive, then you should take it!!!”

Everyone focused on Davey. Although they did not view him in a favorable line dt, if they needed his help to survive then they were willing to make use of him.

Arita, who was watching the situation from the sidelines, approached him. “I don't think your request is going to do any good. The Count managing this place lost his son to the humans.”

This was the problem—it was the reason why the demons, including Astaroth, did not want to get Davey’s help even though they also wanted to fight against the ancient demonic beasts.

Many of the demons had died in the war, and most of their families harbored hatred toward Davey because of that. That was why Astaroth could not openly ask for Davey’s help or show that he wanted to cooperate with him.

If they showed that the higher-ranking nobles leading the Demon World were in league with the Demon King, all the hatred of their people would be directed at them. By then, it would no longer be a matter of resentment alone. Perhaps even the foundation of the Demon World would be shaken greatly.

But if Davey showed them that he was targeting their public enemy, then perhaps the public’s opinion of him would ease greatly.

“All I need to do is pressure them with the power of the Demon King.”

“Moron. What good would looking at what’s in front of you do when you have the future to worry about?” Davey shot back at Kain. He then turned to the demons and spoke, “Who will be brave enough to come forward? Tell me what you know, and I will help you. Hate and resentment is one thing, but you have to live and survive first, don’t you?”

Some of the demons watching on the sidelines began to move after hearing Davey’s words.

***

“Fufufu! Good! Good! Great!!!”

Inside a luxurious mansion, a ruling-class demon drank fine wine while teasing the countless young girls standing around him.

“You. When did you arrive here?”

“I... I began... working in the lord’s castle since yesterday, Lord Count.”

“Is that so? Are you married?”

“N—Not yet. I will get married soon, my lord.”

“Then, you must be aware of the prima nocta[1] right?”

The girl flinched when she heard the count’s question. The prima nocta was a barbaric custom. They did not know about the other cities, but if one was unlucky in this city, then they would be caught by the lord to exercise this legal right.

No, it wasn’t like that in Carla City before. Even though their lord was prodigal and foolish, he had always maintained a bottom line. But ever since his son died in the war, he has been in a state of extreme hatred. He hated the humans and completely rejected the Demon King.

In fact, the new Demon King, the human named Davey O’Rowane, didn’t really do much damage to them. But he suppressed the demons under his rule and forced them until they started to harbor hatred toward the Demon King.

The lord’s behavior grew worse by the day. He even began to show signs of madness.

“B—But...”

“You’re not going to listen to me? Have you not heard about what happened to the last person who disobeyed my orders?”

Who in their city could possibly be unaware? There was an incident where a girl from the slums refused the prima nocta. The lord dragged the girl from the slums and put her in a torture room. He not only tortured her, but also devastated and mentally destroyed her before throwing her out.

Although something strange was happening in the territory and monsters had been appearing in the area, the residents realized that they were left in a situation where no help was coming. That was just how brutal their situation was.

The demon girl shut her eyes tightly, her body trembling as she nodded lightly in fear.

“I... under... stand...”

“Fufu... Of course, of course you should do that. Ah, by the way, what happened to those guys that I told you to prepare?”

“Following your orders, I have bathed and prepared ten children for you, my lord.”

“Is that so?” The count stood up, an unsettling smile on his face. He grabbed the girl and left his office.

Clack!!! Creaaaaaak!!!

The door creaked harshly. It was as if it had not been greased or maintained for a very long time. The girl’s eyes were filled with pleading tears. She did not care who it was—all she wanted was for someone to help her.

Then, at that moment...

“Is this what you call a lord? I can’t accept a bastard like this in the land under my jurisdiction. Ah, more importantly, I think there’s a demonic beast somewhere around here.”

“What? You can tell something like that?”

“There’s an energy wafting around here that’s similar to those terribly ugly and strange rabbits from earlier. Maybe this is also because of Arbit...”

Standing in the room... a young man with red eyes stared at the lord of the territory while muttering to himself.

The blood drained from the lord's face when he saw who the young man was.

“You... You!”

“You’re Count Girta, the lord of the territory. Right?”

“De... Demon King!!!” Count Girta flinched as he hastily retreated.

The young man with red eyes, Davey, smiled and called out, “Arita.”

“Yeah... huh?” Arita replied, the gaze in her eyes growing firm and solemn after seeing the terrible state of debauchery that the room was in.

“Do you know how far the authority of the Demon King reaches?”

“There is nothing that the Demon King cannot do in the Demon World...”

“Is that so?” Davey said, a smile on his face when he heard Arita’s confirmation.

If that was the case, then things would surely be a bit easier for him. That meant that Davey wouldn’t need to hesitate to cut down this man who was acting worse than a beast.

Count Grita’s mouth twitched upon seeing his formidable mortal enemy in front of him. And the last word that he uttered was...

“What?!”

Slash!!!

...[What]. That was it. The count’s head flew through the air, his body collapsing onto the ground.

“A fucking bastard like you does not deserve to be a lord who is responsible for the lives of many. As of this moment, this place is under the direct jurisdiction of the Demon King. I will personally rule this place and decide on its matters.”

First the Heins Territory, and now this territory...

“The name of the territory... right. Let’s go with Ayer.”

It was not a bad name. Amidst the silence, the girl was left in a daze when she realized that the lord who had driven her into the depths of hell was dead.

“What are you doing? Come here.” The Demon King spoke calmly as he pulled her behind him.

At the same time, the decapitated body of the count suddenly began to twitch and swell. The clothes on its lower half changed into white tights while the muscles of its upper body swelled and bulged. A new head was even slowly coming out of its empty neck—and the head that appeared was not a demon head, instead that of a strange rabbit with a pair of long and fluffy ears.

“Oh, shit... This is a bit...”

The rabbit, which grew from the fallen body, stood up and tilted its head at Davey.

“Kyu~?”

Boom!!!

Isildi immediately punched the monster’s body. It didn’t take very long for the rabbit to fall.

“Do they turn into those hideous monsters after death? It seems like the infestation has gone very deep—I have to find the connection with the demonic beast quickly. What are you all doing? Get dressed and get me the man who manages this castle!” Davey shouted.

Everyone immediately scrambled to cover themselves with the sheets.

“The one that you just killed is the administrator.”

“That’s the guy who manages this castle? Then get me the deputy administrator, I guess?”

His words made everyone silent. Not long after, Davey saw an old demon running over to where he was.

“W—What is this?!” the panicked old demon shouted. Then, he saw Davey. “Are... are you the D—Demon King?”

“That’s right. And you are?”

“My name is Sebastian. I am the one in charge of the finances of the territory.”

“Alright, Sebastian. From now on, you are the de facto lord of this territory.”

“Eh...? Is that so? What do you...”

The old man did not hide his vigilance against Davey. However, he did not go out of his way to antagonize him either.

“You are now the lord of the territory.”

“T—That... I’m just a low-ranking demon...”

“I don’t care about that. If I tell you to be the lord, then you will be the lord.”

The old man looked dazed at Davey’s imposing and majestic words.

The territory would be under the direct jurisdiction of the Demon King. However, Davey believed that it would be better if a demon were the one to govern the land instead of him, a human. Either way, he would basically run this territory the way Davey wanted it to run.

“Then, you are a high-ranking demon from now on.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s impossible to change something that has already been decided at birth...”

“But I’m sure there’s something related to that among the Demon King’s authorities...”

[Appointment]

Going by what Davey had learned from Perserque, the command of the Demon King’s incantation, uttered with the use of demonic energy, could interfere with a lower-ranking demon’s body and turn them into a ruler-class demon.

There hadn’t been a single case of this happening for three thousand years, mainly because the seat of the Demon King had been vacant. But now, Davey had become the Antagonist, the Demon King.

[With the authority of the Demon King, I appoint you, Sebastian, to the position of a high-ranking demon.]

Sebastian’s eyes grew wide when he heard Davey’s words. At the same time, he felt a surge of energy coursing through his veins. Of course, a huge amount of demonic energy escaped Davey’s body to supply the surge, but it was a relatively small portion of what he had.

Either way, Davey didn’t really care whether his demonic energy decreased or not. After all, he did not use it that much. However, he wondered for a moment if the demons felt this sense of catharsis when they gave him their powers.

While he contemplated, a light burst out and engulfed Sebastian. When the light disappeared, all of the age spots and wrinkles on his face had disappeared. The Sebastian who appeared in front of them was now the younger version of himself.

Davey, with utmost confidence, asked, “Do you feel the difference in strength?”

“Yes?”

“Kidding. What do you think? Do you feel alright?”

“I’m... I’m full of energy!” Sebastian looked down at his hands in disbelief.

Now that his class, which he was born in and he believed would never change until his death, had actually changed. Sebastian had regained his strength and his youth.

“D—Demon King...”

“Well, I don’t have anything to ask of you yet. Let’s get rid of all of the strange things in this territory first.”

When the lord died, he almost immediately turned into the grossest and most bizarre muscle rabbit of all time. In other words, the power that turned them into those hideous rabbits was likely spreading from deep within the lord’s castle. Perhaps there was a passage here that connected to the ancient monsters, and the responding culprit was using that to connect with the monster.

The ancient demonic beasts would contact the responder through their dreams and instruct them on how to approach the demonic beasts and unseal them. During the process, a portion of their power has been transferred. This power then leaked out and infected the demons, including the lord, turning them into these bizarre and hideous muscle bunnies the moment they died.

If Davey left them alone, then it wouldn’t matter if they were demon soldiers or warriors—these muscle rabbits would continue to appear.

The solution to this was simply to kill the responder and strengthen the seal once again. If that would not work, then he would use the responder to let the demonic beast free and immediately point his gun at it. It would be one of the two.

“Either way, you like the latter more, no?” Isildi asked, sarcasm evident in her voice.

“That’s why I brought you here. Work hard and fight hard!”

“What? I’m only some half-baked powerhouse! You’re much stronger than me now!”

“Have you seen the boss rush out when his subordinates are still around?”

Isildi looked at Davey with disgust and contempt.

Davey was then completely honest with her, not even hiding his true feelings. “I also don’t like the sweaty muscle bunnies...”

This was Davey’s true intention. He wanted her to deal with those disgusting things instead.

After that discussion, Davey focused on searching the underground area of the castle for any signs of the responder. However, his retinue did not know how they hid, so it was a bit hard to detect.

“Okay, I’ll give my first order. Bring me all of the documents related to the status of the territory as well as the map of the entire castle.”

The absent-minded Sebastian looked up at Davey’s words. After a short contemplation, he nodded and brought in the collected documents.

Davey ended up throwing the documents after reading through them, shouting, “Fucking bastard! This is so fucking messy! Even if a three-year-old ran this territory, he would be better at it than that piece o’ shit!”

1. Droit du seigneur ('right of the lord'), also known as jus primae noctis ('right of the first night'). A supposed legal right that allowed feudal lords to have sexual relations with any of their female subject on their wedding night. ☜