The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-820

Davey knew trust wouldn’t come easily in the Continental Alliance meeting—if he was lying to them, it would mean he had successfully conducted a continent-wide scam. In this context, their skepticism was understandable.

But the real threat wasn’t the conclusion of whether or not they trusted Davey—it was the force behind the gray-armored knights. In other words, Thanatos who had consumed Eclipse.

As Davey stared at the map of the continent, his thoughts turned to where Thanatos could be hiding.

He had already advised the Continental Alliance to avoid direct confrontation and tasked the Last Wisp with luring the giant knights to the outskirts of the continent by sniping from a distance.

As for the Demon World? Davey knew there was already someone there to protect it.

What remained pivotal was the whereabouts of Thanatos. But he still had no clue where she could be…

Deep in thought, he suddenly sensed something.

“Your hiding skills still need some work. Come in.”

“…You’re as sharp as ever,” a familiar voice replied.

A figure dressed in a black shamanic dress appeared out of thin air.

“Shall I call you Jack? Or…?”

“Please call me Aina, since Yuria isn’t here right now,” she replied calmly.

“When are you going to finally meet your sister?”

“At least not now. Not yet…”

“So, then what brings you here?” Davey asked.

She then removed her mask, revealing the beautiful dark elf with light bronze skin underneath.

“It's been resolved,” she said, bowing her head in gratitude. “I won’t forget this grace you’ve given me.”

She had used his resources and name for her own purposes without hesitation, and now it seemed she had accomplished her mission. Davey had a vague idea of who she had been looking for, but that wasn’t his concern right now.

“There’s a reason you came here, I assume?”

“Isn’t there some information that you want?” Aina said as she pulled out a small document from her pockets, handing it to him.

“The continent is in turmoil over the revelation, and there are too many suspicious aspects to ignore. I decided to do my own investigation.”

The document she handed him had information regarding one certain area.

“The revelation is being treated as the truth, but this one is different from the usual revelations. This one doesn't seem to come from a god but…”

“It’s more like a devil’s whisper,” Davey muttered.

“Do you remember that lake in the center of the Central Continent?” she asked.

“Lake?”

Davey knew there was a Lake Selisha in the center of the Central Continent. It was a vast body of water located in the Pallan Empire, roughly the size of several small kingdoms combined. In fact, it was the largest lake on the entire continent.

“There’s an island that only appears this time of year. However, a strange fog covers the lake’s central area, making it impossible to see clearly,” she explained.

Davey found it interesting that a lake had a natural ebb and flow. He then asked, “And there’s something there?”

“A fisherman recently reported seeing something strange through the fog—an eerie creature covering the entire island. He was terrified and subsequently fled, but he described it to be a massive lump of purple flesh.”

‘Bingo,’ Davey thought.

An island that only appeared at certain times. The fog that appeared with the right timing. Davey knew this wasn’t a coincidence. He was certain that the fisherman was able to see the island because the fog hadn’t appeared when it was supposed to.

“As expected, there’s no informant better than you,” Davey said with a chuckle.

Aina gave him a blank stare, unimpressed. “I noticed you’ve been replacing Echo Guild informants non-stop.”

“Yes, that’s right. My standards are too high now after our exchanges. I hold you personally responsible for that.”

“Is there anything else you need?” Aina replied with a short sigh.

“Nope, that was all I needed.”

“Then…” she said in a hesitant tone. Then after a moment, she finally asked, “Do… Do you know what the current situation is in the Demon World?”

Davey closed his eyes at her cautious question.

“And why would you care about the Demon World?”

“That’s…”

“Well, I suppose that’s not important. What matters is why you’re worried about the well-being of demons.”

“There are… people there who need help,” she replied.

Her response made Davey chuckle. He realized why she had come to see him with valuable information—she was hoping that he would save the Demon World from the gray armored knights. Davey knew the Demon World would also be in chaos as well, of course. But what he couldn’t figure out was why she was worried about demons all of the sudden.

He wondered if the person she was looking for was a demon. On further thought, he remembered seeing a succubus in the Demon World who used the same footwork as Aina. The succubus was far stronger than any master-level fighter, next to the Succubus Queen.

“I don’t get involved with their matters.”

“What?!”

“Aren’t demons the enemies of humans?”

“You… You said they weren’t our enemies...”

“Tsk.”

He couldn’t help but click his tongue at her unprofessional behavior for an informant.

“Don’t worry about the Demon World. There's already a guardian there watching over it,” Davey said calmly before standing up.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Now that I'm finally ready, it’s time to act. Thanks for the information. You saved me a lot of time.”

Whoosh! Thud!!

Just as he finished speaking, a massive black dragon landed nearby.

* * *

Lake Selisha was shrouded in fog, making it difficult for boats to even set sail, restricted to the perimeters of the lake. This place was known for being blanketed in thick fog during certain seasons, so dense that it became hard to make anything out unless it was right in front of you.

However, things were different at that moment. The fog was thinner, almost as if some unseen force had subtly altered its behavior.

Lake Selisha, as vast as several small kingdoms combined, had earned a couple of nicknames.

The Lake Blessed by God.

The Continental Oasis.

The list went on.

The lake was known for its bountiful waters that never dried up. The Pallan Empire—strongest among the three empires—prospered from its abundance, avoiding droughts when others suffered.

However, the lake had negative qualities as well. Every year, during a specific period, it was engulfed in a thick fog that lasted one to two months, making the lake impassable. Only the most reckless or desperate explorers dared venture into it during this period.

Splash!!

Ssss…

A chunk of meat squished as it met the ground. A ghostly white woman dressed in black rags stumbled around the lake.

“Ugh... Where am I?” she groaned as she looked around.

The sky above was veiled in fog, and the ground around her was littered with grotesque lumps of flesh that were pulsing as though alive. Then a figure appeared before her.

"You…" the woman croaked out.

“Follow me. I've been waiting for you to wake up,” the figure replied coldly.

The figure led the cold elegant woman in black into a cave filled with more blobs of flesh. Inside were three or four other women standing silently with indifferent expressions. The woman in rags could tell they were of the same race as her.

“Welcome,” a voice echoed from the depths of the cave.

The woman in rags tensed, her eyes widening as she bowed low, recognizing the voice.

“Oh… My Creator... My source, my…”

She suddenly paused before continuing.

“My salvation.”

“Your name will be Versha. It once belonged to another, but now it will be yours.”

The woman thought the name sounded strangely familiar for some reason.

"Yes, Versha... I will honor the name," the newly named Versha replied, bowing her head even lower in submission.

The woman had been in complete confusion just a few moments ago, but once she saw the girl with black hair dressed in a gothic lace gown of dark purple, her instincts led her toward the girl. She knew, without question, that this girl before her was everything.

Ssss…

Amanda, the being that had recently completed her awakening, slowly rose to her feet with her black dress swaying side to side. Information that hadn’t existed before now filled her mind—knowledge of the power she possessed, along with the identity of the figure standing before her.

She felt the dark energy rise within her. As she controlled the power of the curse like it was second nature, she sagged her head.

“Go. Prevent the enemy from entering. Protect me from the devil that seeks to destroy me,” said the voice in a pitiful, frail tone. The voice didn’t seem fit for a mighty creator, but it didn’t matter.

No matter what form she took, to them—the newly born princesses of the Abyss—it wasn’t even a question worth pondering.

“Cough!”

The princesses of the Abyss bowed their heads with sympathetic expressions as they watched Thanatos cough up blood.

“I’m counting on you.”

With those words, the newly born princesses began to rise one by one and exit the cave alongside enormous blobs of flesh. Meanwhile, Thanatos—who had encroached Eclipse's body—quietly stood up and began to draw upon her unique divine power. Her eyes glowed in her symbolic yellow.

The princesses of the Abyss, making their way toward the outskirts of the island, remained expressionless. Though they were newly born, each one possessed immense power. Naturally, they had absolute faith in their own formidable abilities. Each of them were monsters capable of destroying the world on their own.

It wasn’t long before something came into their overwhelmingly wide field of vision. They all saw a small boat carrying a single standalone lantern. Riding the eerily still boat, with no wind blowing, were two figures. Both were draped in black robes, but one was considerably shorter than the other.

“What is that?”

“How would I know? What do you want to do? Do you want to take care of it?” asked the woman who inherited the name Versha. The figures on the boat appeared to be ordinary humans with barely any noticeable power.

“Sleesia.”

Another newly born princess of the Abyss, who had inherited the name Sleesia, stepped forward.

“The Creator commanded us to eliminate any traces that could let the devil track this location down.”

“I know that,” she snapped.

With that, Sleesia slowly extended her hands, twisting the air as if she were about to shatter it.

The sea trembled, and the atmosphere vibrated. Even though she had just been born, the power Sleesia wielded—having inherited her name and its accompanying power—was on a different level from the other princesses of the Abyss.

Crack! Crack!!

The boat that had been approaching the island began to shake violently.

“Hmph!”

Crack!!

In the next instant, the space where the boat had been was completely obliterated, leaving no trace behind. Sleesia brushed her hands off nonchalantly and turned her head.

“Annoying. You deal with the rest.”

“What? Who do you think you ar—gah!”

Before one of the princesses of the Abyss could finish her irritated complaint, Sleesia grabbed her by the throat and spoke to her in a cold voice.

“Don’t get cocky. You don’t actually think we’re the same, do you?”

The irony was that she was a completely different individual from the real Sleesia. She simply shared a similar method of using power; her total strength couldn’t even compare to that of the real Sleesia. However, that didn’t matter to them at all. The only thing that mattered among the newly born princesses was that she, who had inherited the name of Sleesia, was the strongest among them.

“Hey.”

One of the princesses of the Abyss, sitting casually on a mound of flesh and toying with a mass of tentacles, stretched out and pointed her arm.

Everyone turned to look in the same direction—toward the edge of the island. None of them knew when they had gotten there, but the two robed figures were now walking toward them along the shore.

“They survived?”

“But I twisted the very space around them…”

Sleesia frowned, stepping forward. She figured she must’ve made a mistake, likely due to her inexperience in wielding her power. With this in mind, she quickly moved behind the two.

She leisurely called out to the taller robed figure.

“Well, well, well. Looks like we’ve got some pests who don’t even know what they’ve gotten themselves into.”

As she taunted them, the robed figure turned their head. They pulled back their hood, and every princess of the Abyss made a shocked face.

The figure was none other than the delegate of Freyja that Thanatos was wary of. Freyja’s dog. It was Davey, a member of the Horne race.

The atmosphere instantly chilled. their enemy having appeared before their very eyes.

“What, did she give birth while I was away?”

“Rinne analyzes every one of them to be a princess of the Abyss.”

“Yeah. Obviously. But how in the world does she have the power to create new princesses of the Abyss?” Davey muttered in frustration

Sleesia then radiated cold energy from her body.

“How dare a filthy insect—”

She then raised her arm in the air.

Crack!!

This time, she promised herself she wouldn’t fail. She began to twist the space around Davey itself.

She noticed that he didn’t seem particularly dangerous, despite what they had been told. She also noted that his expression remained calm and serene despite the circumstances.

Sleesia, irritated by the smug look of the insignificant pest that should be squashed, began to slowly compress the space around him.

“Before you can meet the Creator, you’ll die here by my hands. I’ll make sure it’s as painful as possible.”

“This... is Sleesia’s power, huh? Oh geez, you really are pulling out all the stops.”

As Davey responded casually and dismissively, Sleesia frowned even harder.

“Let’s see how long you can stay so cocky!”

Crack!!

The space itself around Davey warped violently. All that mattered to her was stopping the enemy their Creator feared. However, even as the space distorted around him, Davey still didn’t show any sign of pain.

“I guess I came to the right place. She must’ve been in quite the rush.”

“According to Rinne’s analysis, the probability of Thanatos being present is ninety eight point two one percent. Rinne evaluates Aina’s intel highly.”

“Right?”

As Davey continued to speak nonchalantly with Rinne, another princess tried to step forward. However, Sleesia's pride was wounded, and she shot a fierce glare at the others who tried to intervene.

“Stay out of it!! This bug is mine to kill!”

“Bug, bug, bug... Enough with the yapping.”

It was only then that Davey finally turned his attention to Sleesia.

“You’re just a newly hatched chick.”

“What?”

“Forget it. There’s no point arguing with those who can’t understand. Alright, we’ve landed. Once you’ve confirmed the location, commence jump.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the dense misty sky suddenly tore open in a circular shape, revealing a clear sky above.

“What the—?!”

The princesses of the Abyss looked up at the sky with stunned faces. They saw a girl with blue hair rapidly descend, slowly drawing the sword she had strapped to her waist.

Their instincts were telling them that the blue-haired woman was undoubtedly one of their own.

As they hesitated, the blue-haired girl aimed her sword at them and plummeted toward the ground at a terrifying speed. A massive surge of power began to radiate from her blade.

[Demonic Sword]

[Downward Strike]

A devastating wave of blade energy rained down like a falling meteor.

Thud!!

The entire island shook violently as the princesses of the Abyss went flying, unable to even scream. They couldn’t understand why one of their own would do such a thing.

As they tried to gather their strength for a counterattack, mysterious chains suddenly appeared and wrapped around them.

“If you’re planning another betrayal, get lost. I’m not dying here.”

Despite having just unleashed such overwhelming power, the blue-haired woman acted as if nothing special happened and began attacking the girls with black hair.

Meanwhile, the human—who seemed all too ordinary amongst the girls who possessed overwhelming forces—calmly surveyed the scene before turning and walking toward the cave the princesses had been guarding.

* * *

Throughout the continent, the terrible knights were still wreaking havoc. Tionis and the Demon World were going through the same ordeal.

As the countless gray-armored knights suddenly attacked, the demons were being relentlessly driven back from their longtime homes.

“No! No! Fall back! I said fall back!!”

Arita, granddaughter of Grand Duke Astaroth, screamed at her race as they fell, spilling blood.

They had failed to defend. When they killed the knights, strange black swamps appeared, and if they left them alone, they swung their weapons mercilessly. Magic could only delay them so much; their defense had crumbled completely. They had already lost so many fortresses without being able to put up a proper fight.

Grinding her teeth and weeping, Arita couldn’t help but think that things would’ve been different if only the Demon King was here. If only the Demon King had stayed…

“Hah?! What am I thinking?!”

She shook her head violently, trying to deny her thoughts, but the truth was that she desperately needed his power. His strength was beyond what a living being could wield. She couldn’t help but think that if it were him, he would’ve had a solution.

“Look out! Lady Arita!!!”

She had already used the lives of her demon followers to prolong her own survival, but the best she could do with the tragic opportunity was to flee. As someone who was destined to become the next Grand Duke, responsible for the Demon World, she couldn’t bear to keep running away. Finally, she resolved to face her death head-on.

The massive gray knight and the smaller knights following it had already consumed half the castle. As the knight behind her thrust its spear to pierce her neck, her eyes widened before she tightly squeezed them shut.

Boom!!

But the sound that followed wasn’t the one she expected—it wasn’t the sound of flesh being pierced, but rather the clash of two enormous forces.

“Ah… Ahh…”

Trembling, she slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head. There, standing before her, was a massive white figure flexing its muscles.

“Kyu?”

“...”

Alita felt her stomach churn.