The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

‘There’s a survivor?’

The continent of Peslisa, the homeland of Death Lord Rho Aias, was also the world where the Illuminati first appeared.

The Illuminati had claimed that their world was destroyed by things that emerged from the Red Void, but it seemed there were still survivors.

This situation gave Davey a strange sense of déjà vu. There was definitely a time when Davey had experienced something like this before—when he met the young boy from the Yurigan Continent named Evanov, who looked exactly like Eva van Hoenheim.

That boy had survived alone among the monsters, only to throw himself into danger to save Davey. He thought the current situation was eerily similar to that time.

But he couldn’t figure out why the bizarre monsters weren’t following or pursuing him. Despite having their eyes locked on him through the black fog, they weren’t moving a single inch.

“Huff… huff…”

The boy dragged Davey along for a while before finally entering a small, abandoned building.

“That was close.”

“Sir, where did you come from? I haven’t heard of any survivors around here,” he said in a formal tone, despite speaking in a casual one earlier. But Davey wasn’t one to make a fuss about such a thing, especially given the circumstances—he knew people tend to change tones when they’re in a hurry.

As Davey remained silent and simply watched him, he smiled awkwardly and rummaged through the abandoned building with familiarity. The boy eventually opened a small hidey hole in a wall, retrieving a uniquely shaped box and handing Davey some food.

“Here you go. I can only imagine how hungry you must be. Please.”

The boy used his hands to split the food in half, eating one part himself and offering the other to Davey. He quietly took it and began to eat without saying anything.

“The lady with you… I’m assuming she’s one of the mutated ones.”

Davey was aware that Rinne’s appearance was eye-catching.

“Mutated?”

“Ah, right. The mutated are people infected by the virus spread by the mysterious beings that devour the world. Unlike ordinary people, they either gain tremendous strength or undergo physical transformations like that,” he explained casually while munching on his food.

Then Rinne’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Rinne evaluates the collection of new flavor data highly…”

“Haha, even the way she speaks is unusual,” the boy chuckled.

Unbothered by his comment, Rinne popped the food into her mouth and started chewing. Suddenly, she shuddered and turned to Davey.”

“Master Davey, Rinne declares this as hella fire.”

“Where did you even learn that phrase from?”

“Rinne collected data from Grape-flavored Cat Tower.”

“How dare that kiddo…”

Grape-flavored Cat Tower was a friend of the Oxygen siblings and his former number one crafting slave. Davey didn't ask him for anything or give him tasks these days, but he had heard that he had been treated quite well since he started making full use of his abilities.

Davey ate a snack resembling a chocolate bar.

“I have to say, you two were extremely lucky. Those mysterious beings tear people apart when they get their hands on them.”

‘Tear them apart?’

“What exactly are they?”

“They’re mutated monsters. They were human once, but were turned into monsters by sinister devil mana and the virus. That’s why we call them mysterious beings. Their goal is to tear apart every living human,” he explained while he took out equipment from his backpack for a supply check.

“You must be exhausted. You should rest here for the night—those things probably won’t find you here,” the boy said before leaving.

Once he was gone, Rinne flicked her tongue and spat out the chocolate bar she had been eating. Davey, on the other hand, swallowed it without hesitation.

“Tastes fine to me.”

“Master Davey, Rinne detects significant toxic elements. Rinne evaluates this as a nuclear spicy chocolate bar.”

“That’s not the same thing as spicy.”

The chocolate bar had a level of toxicity that could knock out an ordinary person with just a lick. However, Davey just stood up, looked around the area around him, and lightly kicked the ground. He then gently placed his foot on the floor.

Pat…

Faint mana mixed with divine power spread out.

A lot had changed since Davey obtained divinity. He was able to easily achieve things that would’ve been impossible with regular mana.

“I guess they didn’t just bring me here for no reason,” Davey muttered as he unsheathed Red Ribbon.

He slashed at the solid wall without hesitation.

A dark space appeared. As soon as he stepped inside, a chilling and eerie feeling washed over him. He nodded toward Rinne, then her eyes gleamed blue and the halo above her head spun rapidly, emitting a bright light.

Then the hidden room came into view.

“Hm…”

Davey saw numerous humans hanging from large hooks side by side, like chunks of meat. Rinne narrowed her eyes at the sight.

Creak…

Just then, Davey heard a voice come from behind.

“Oh? How did you find this place?”

“The smell gave it away. It’s hard to not notice.”

The boy chuckled at his response.

“The smell? I thought I covered it with deodorizer.”

“So, what is all this?” Davey asked.

The boy smirked and approached him with a casual demeanor.

“Nothing special. I’m just collecting survivors.”

Rinne snapped her fingers in an instant once he finished. Then particles gathered in her hand and formed a black crowbar.

“What an interesting power. Is it because she’s a mutant…?” the boy mused, unfazed, before showing the two a small device that resembled a remote controller.

“Well, since you’ve figured out what I wanted, there’s not much left for me to do. I was, at the very least, hoping to collect you two painlessly.”

“And then…? What do you plan to do after collecting us?”

“Nothing special. I just like to store humans like this before eating them later. You see, it’s been a while since I’ve had a decent catch, so I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.”

“I see.”

“But why aren’t you surprised at this? Don’t tell me you knew all along?”

“No, this is the first time I’ve learned about your little hobby. But...”

‘But I knew you weren’t worthy of being called a human being from the start.’

“Heh…”

The boy gave a chilling smile and pressed the button on the device in his hand.

Clank! Thud!!

Metal gates opened, and grotesquely transformed mysterious beings began pouring out.

“Well, now that you’ve caught on, I'm left with no other choice. I’m sorry to say this, but my food supply is running low and could use some replenishing.”

Despite the boy’s sly smile, Davey’s attention was on the shelf to the side. He saw a book with an interesting title—The Study of the Vitality of Dark Magic.

“A book on magic?”

As Davey opened the book, he recognized the familiar language of the Peslisa Continent. While he flipped through the pages, he couldn’t help but think the content itself wasn’t very useful.

“Rinne, get rid of them,” Davey said.

“Hm…?”

Her eyes gleamed and formed six wings radiating immense light.

“Interesting. It’d be a shame to just eat her up….” the boy mused as he watched, considering his options.

“What’s your name?” Davey asked.

“Hmm... Before I became a mysterious being, I went by the name Yust,” he replied.

“You still remember, do you?”

“Well, bits and pieces.”

Yust responded nonchalantly while nodding his head. Then black mysterious beings, each about three meters tall, started rushing toward Rinne. Of course, Rinne, holding a crowbar in one hand, was not intimidated in the slightest. She simply took a step forward.

Shoosh!

A golden spear crashed down from the sky, piercing through the building and landing in front of Rinne.

"That is…?”

"The Spear that Can Melt the Balance of the World. Rinne evaluates the spear's durability highly.”

She then swung her crowbar at the spear, and the spear dissolved into particles of light, scattering into the air.

Then—

Boom!!!

Golden spears rained down in a deluge of metal.

* * *

“So? You’re saying this book is just something you grabbed from an abandoned magic tower?”

“Uh... Yes... Yes, that’s right...”

Yust, his face swollen from the beating, nodded frantically with his knees on the ground.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you what happens when you get caught lying?”

“Mmph... mmphh!!”

“What’s he mumbling about?”

“Even Rinne's advanced interpretation system cannot determine or interpret his speech. Rinne evaluates that he is in need of recovery.”

“That’s why I told you not to mess up his face.”

As Davey gently drew his divine power, the boy’s face began to heal. It wasn’t holy power—Yust had a trait that was highly incompatible with holy power, after all.

“This... This is...”

Yust looked up at Davey with wide eyes, clearly in shock, then began touching his healed face in disbelief. After checking himself over for a while, a glint of hostility returned to his eyes, and he shouted.

“Ha!! Human! Even if you borrowed the power of that monster, since you’re still within my range—!"

Before he could finish, Rinne drop kicked him in a flash, slamming him back into the wall.

“Rinne, start cutting off his limbs one by one,” Davey said while tossing a high-quality mithril sword to her. The boy’s face turned pale once he heard that.

“P-Please!! I was wrong!”

“My ass. Now, back to our conversation. Are there any survivors?”

“N-No, there aren’t! I’ve been here for two months, and aside from a few that barely made it, I haven’t seen a single soul!”

“You don’t seem very useful. Should we kill him?”

“Master Davey, Rinne evaluates her killing ability and efficiency highly. Rinne determines she can remove him with 0.23% of her maximum output.”

“P-Please spare me! I’ll tell you everything I know! And I won’t eat humans anymore! Oh! I also know where a lot of magic books like that one are stored!”

Yust frantically pleaded as he desperately tried to prove his worth. Davey tossed the rather useless magic book aside and met his gaze. Rinne glared at the boy with an expressionless face.

“Turn off the lights.”

Flash—

The light in Rinne’s eyes dimmed.

“There’s an abandoned magic tower not far from here. I believe... it’s called the Jade Tower!”

“Look, I didn’t spare you just so I can raid a magic tower. I can find magic towers on my own. There’s no reason to keep you alive if that's all you can offer.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re looking for exactly, but I know the location of a secret room! Most of the magic books have been lost, but I found a room with secrets stashed!”

“You did? How?”

“T-That’s... uh...”

“Rinne, finger.”

Crack!

“Eeek!!”

At the command, Rinne had slammed her crowbar down right next to his fingers.

“Rinne evaluates her inaccurate aim lowly.”

Just as she was about to swing again, Yust shouted.

“I-I heard sobbing from the secret room while I was searching for food! Yes! That’s how I found it!”

“Sobbing?”

“It... It was a human. A very fresh human. Not a mutant, just a rare, prime specimen!”

His desperate explanation stirred Davey’s curiosity.

“You said you still have human memories. Doesn’t eating humans bother you at all?”

“T-That’s...”

“Rinne, toe.”

“The thing is! I really don’t know! When I eat other food, I can’t keep it down! Only human flesh satisfies me...” he frantically responded.

“Well, fine. Show me the way to the secret room you're talking about.”

Even though most people said this land was already destroyed, it seemed like there were still quite a few survivors.

Davey couldn’t seem to notice how human the natural mysterious beings that had been eyeing him for a while seemed to be.

When he saw the grotesquely twisted mysterious beings through his divinity, with the red glowing eyes… their souls were human souls. And in their gaze, it seemed like they were pleading for help. He wasn’t sure if this was another one of the duties a being with divinity had to bear.

Unfortunately, Davey didn’t have time to deal with them right now.

Davey coldly kicked the boy and said, "What are you waiting for? Lead the way."

"Y-Yes..."

"And just so you know, if you lead me to your comrades, take me to the wrong place, or lure me into a trap…”

"...."

His eyes widened at those words.

‘I’m sorry, but I can see right through your mind.’

Davey didn’t know if this was also a result of his divinity. It was also possible that it was one of the abilities he absorbed from Thanatos that had been altered to suit him.

He couldn't tell either way.

“You’ll die. Whether you run, or stay still, you’re going to die. Understand?”

“T-Then, if I guide you, will you spare me?”

“You still want to live after eating people?”

“I... I don’t want to die!”

Watching him shout this with such conviction, Davey nodded slightly.

‘Fine, go ahead and lead. I can always kill you later. After all, having a guide for now wouldn’t be a bad idea,’ he thought.

Davey knew his chances of success were low—continents had been in decline ever since the age of heroes, after all.

Developed worlds were rare. It was just too unlikely to find text about vitality that even Rho Aias, the Death Lord, didn’t mention. Since the Death Lord didn’t bring it up, he figured it must not have been particularly important.

However, if by the slightest chance research into vitality was conducted after her death, uncovering parts he wasn’t aware of, he knew that it would be something worth manifesting using his divinity or devil mana— something on the level of the Death Lord.

The difference between now and before was that, unlike the other heroes, Davey was still alive while wielding divine power through his divinity.

“Speed up. See my feet? Left, right, left, right. If you slow down again, I’ll cut off another finger.”

“Heek!”

He yelped, jumping forward.

“Got a problem?”

“N-No!”

“Then why is the back of your head making that face?[1]”

“M-My apologies!”

“If you’re sorry, why’d you do it in the first place?”

“Please forgive me!”

“Do you think apologizing lets you off the hook?”

“Absolutely not!”

“We’re outside. you idiot, not indoors.”

Berating him relentlessly was just for amusement. Davey was going to kill him soon enough, but for now, he was the only one with some intelligence in the area.

As he frantically walked, they eventually reached a massive magic tower building. Among the disorganized chaos inside the place, they found a small secret room in the basement.

“Th-This is it!”

“Hmm, I see.”

Davey walked forward without hesitation.

Beep!

[Intruder detected. Intruder detected. Leave immediately, or you will be terminated.]

A pre-recorded voice rang out, accompanied by dozens of devices that blew out wind and went after Rinne and Davey.

‘Seems like they’re hiding something valuable.’

“This... This wasn’t here last time! I swear!”

“It probably didn’t react properly before because you’re not human.”

Davey assumed the system responded when something determined as a human appeared. But whatever it was, he couldn’t help but feel curious and interested in what it was guarding.

[Warning. Warning. Leave now. Proceeding further will result in a threat to your life.]

Ignoring the warning, Davey grabbed Yust by the back of his neck and walked forward.

Swish!

A black magic bullet flew toward Yust, who Davey was using as a shield.

“Argh…”

He groaned in pain and glared at Davey with bloodshot eyes.

“Don’t worry. You seem to know this area well enough, so I won’t kill you yet.”

As Davey healed him with divine power, they continued walking. His face had already turned pale.

“Places like this sometimes burn and destroy all their data to prevent leaks when their defense system gets destroyed.”

Davey knew he had to leave the system intact if he wanted results.

“D-Don’t lie! Even if you break through the defenses, the data won’t disappear! L-Let me deactivate the defenses! No, just let me go in! I can bring the stuff out!”

“Nope. I need to make you suffer a little.”

Davey was lying, of course. He knew this tower didn’t have the capacity to erase its own data. Besides, he knew that even if Yust’s body got torn apart by the spells flying at them, he wouldn’t die easily. His vitality was far sturdier than he had expected.

Davey figured he might as well experiment with him while he was at it.

‘Don’t worry, little one. You mysterious beings have an incredibly strong vitality, so you won’t die easily.’

1. It’s a joke. Davey is finding faults in him in every possible way to bully him. ☜