The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1009

"Ugh. What in the...?”

Chris Marten groaned, rubbing his aching head.

His eyelids fluttered as he slowly lifted his head.

He looked around—only to realize he was sitting inside a car.

‘Did I fall asleep?’

His memories felt foggy, as if he had gotten into an accident.

But he realized he was in his favorite ride—his beloved car.

"Hmm. No problem with the parking, either. But why am I here?"

He looked around and spotted a massive building in front of him. It was a luxury hotel.

Chris leaned back, staring at the ceiling as he tried to recall how he got there.

"Weird... I feel like I was about to do something important."

But he no longer had any memory of meeting a mysterious person or the gift for Hyun-Ah associated with this place.

He couldn’t brush off the strange feeling of forgetting something crucial.

But in the end, he simply grinned.

"Whatever. I got lucky today; I survived! I'll pop open that expensive wine I've been saving!"

Vroom!!!

With the car’s rumbling roar, he sped off into the night. A lone figure watched from a hotel window as the car disappeared into the distance.

"So? Care to explain how you wiped his memory?"

"I have my ways."

Davey smirked, leaning against the window.

Behind him, Illyna, wrapped in a light blanket, narrowed her eyes toward him. She stretched her arm and casually tied back her golden hair.

"Hyun-Ah keeps complaining about not being able to get married... I think I finally understand why."

Davey tilted his head at her words.

"Oh? You figured it out? It’s obvious—who’d want to take in that squid? Men have an instinctive sense of danger, after all."

"Stop spouting nonsense.”

Illyna grabbed a pillow and chucked it at him.

She then narrowed her eyes and studied him.

"You’re thinking about something, aren’t you?"

His usual soft smile faded. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Normally, Perserque was the one who saw through him so clearly. But at some point, Illyna had started noticing it, too.

Even when Davey was angry, amused, or deep in thought, he usually kept his emotions hidden.

But like Perserque had said—he still had unconscious habits that gave him away.

"I just sensed something strange near Hyun-Ah."

Illyna widened her eyes.

"What? Is she in danger?"

"No. It wasn’t hostile."

His expression turned odd.

"But it got me thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Ever since we dealt with the Red Void, there hasn’t been anything major for about a year."

"Yeah?"

"But then after a year... small incidents started happening."

Precisely speaking, incidents began unraveling about two years later.

The constellations, once all-powerful, had fallen, with only a few left in hiding.

Loki Devan of Atrellia had appeared as well.

And most recently, Shiverwock, the Dokkaebi King who should never have been in this world.

To ensure Shiverwock didn’t overhear their conversation, Davey double-checked that he had sealed the card’s connection and continued.

"It got me thinking that this turn of events seems like some conspiracy."

The world always moved forward, with villains replacing villains.

Davey had assumed the constellations and other forces were just another part of that cycle.

But there seemed to be a pattern.

"The Zodiac Constellations were traces of Goddess Freyja, and Loki was a trace of Odin.”

She didn’t have a response.

"And now, Sorcerer Woochi.”

"Davey, you’re saying..."

"So, who’s next?"

Illyna fell silent.

From her perspective, it wasn’t something she could just brush off. His intuition was sometimes frighteningly accurate—so much so that to dismiss his theory as some kind of baseless conspiracy would be foolish.

“I mean, that’s probably what’s going on.”

“Huh? You’re just assuming?”

“Yeah.”

Davey said with a rather strange face.

She shook her head, but she couldn’t help thinking about what he said.

All the way up to when it really came true.

* * *

There had been two unusual rifts that appeared in the United States.

Three days had passed since one of them vanished.

S-Class Awakened individuals were protected by the government. Even if they caused trouble, their combat power ensured they were too valuable to discard easily.

However, Dusk, the one responsible for the entire incident, admitted fault and blamed himself. The government imposed a reasonable level of punishment on him, considering he had caused the deaths of multiple A-Class Awakened individuals.

After all, he had acted on his own during a national operation, causing the deaths and injuries of many people.

There was a saying that anyone who was still breathing could crawl back even from the depths of hell—but nothing could be done for those who had already died.

Of course, from President Drumper’s point of view, what Dusk did ultimately led to him breaking the promise he had with Davey to wait until he arrived. He had to go through another round of negotiations with him to amend their relationship.

As a result, President Drumper knew they had to give up more than was necessary—still, the US government didn’t want to lose a single S-Class asset.

Once the chaotic rift incident settled down, the news spread within the US and foreign media outlets through a Presidential Address.

Officially, it was disclosed that five S-class Awakened individuals, several A-class Awakened individuals, and the Saint of Tionis had stepped in to deal with the rift. Even so, rumors began to circulate that something of a completely new level had been discovered within the rift.

Naturally, countries around the world started conducting frantic investigations, worried that similar massive rifts might appear in their own territories.

Meanwhile, the US had no choice but to remain cautious about their one remaining rift.

It fortunately hadn’t distorted or released anything from within, but according to US authorities, further exploration wasn’t a possibility for the time being.

‘The rift you were in disappeared, and the people affected by your power seem to have returned to normal.’

The hypnosis incident happened when the seal Woochi had placed started to weaken, and the power Shiverwock had been accumulating over time slipped out of control.

Born from human emotion, Shiverwock’s power was inexorably connected to humans.

“Hm?”

Clack...

The military base they had gone to, tightly guarded by numerous soldiers, didn’t feel like a typical facility.

It felt like they were trying to hide something.

Davey couldn’t help but tell Shiverwock about his excitement, whispering, “Back in my past life, when I practically lived confined in a hospital room, I got really into conspiracy theories. This place we’re entering is like a conspiracy fanboy’s wet dream.” “I have no idea what you’re even talking about.”

Davey continued nonetheless.

“There have always been tons of rumors about this place, from aliens to classified underground weapons research, but nobody from the public was ever able to get in and find proof.

Davey once heard that someone had simply gotten close to the area, yet a large number of US military vehicles suddenly swarmed in to suppress and interrogate them.

Whether any of it was true remained unknown, but for mystery and conspiracy theory enthusiasts, it was a popular and legendary spot.

“Halt. This area is restric— ah.”

“This is Rick Bustam, the President’s personal aide and bodyguard. You should’ve already received the President’s orders, no?”

“Confirmed. Please follow me inside.”

They had entered none other than the infamous Area 51 Military Base.

A strange tension filled the air.

“So this is the fabled wet dream?”

Ignoring Shiverwock, who now spoke to him as if talking to a friend, Davey approached an area where several men in suits were quietly inspecting equipment.

They were posted in front of a rift approximately twenty-five meters in diameter, a blend of black, gray, and purple colors.

It looked similar to Shiverwock’s rift, yet something about it felt distinctly different.

Fortunately, unlike its rift, this one didn’t seem to be affecting its surroundings.

“Hurry up and go in! If our guess is right, the Jangsan Tiger should be in there! It has to be!”

The Jangsan Tiger.

It was a Korean spirit—a monster with stark white, overly long fur and a grotesque body.

While relatively well-known in Korea, it was a figure hardly known outside of the country.

“This is it.”

Rick Bustam pointed toward the rift, his expression tense.

Back during the Shiverwock incident, five S-Class and thirty A-Class Awakened individuals had been mobilized.

Yet this time, it was just Rick Bustam and Davey being sent in.

“It looks similar, but it seems to give off no external influence like the other’s hypnosis field.”

“That’s our observation as well until now, but... please wait a moment.”

Rick walked over to the vehicle they’d arrived in, pulling out a large suitcase and opening it. He then began assembling some unique equipment laying inside.

“What are you doing?”

“Sir? I’m getting ready. It’s a dangerous rift—if I go in unarmed...”

He spoke with a nervous face.

“Just follow me already. Sigh.”

Davey whispered to himself, “This guy’s just wasting our time.”

“Hahahaha, damn straight! Does he really think some basic monster like the Jangsan Tiger could take down someone who was able to beat me to a pulp?”

Back during the time when Shiverwock was first sealed, countless monsters and spirits had run rampant across Earth in what was called the Wild Hunt.

Among them, the Jangsan Tiger demonstrated its power as a special kind of ghost, having waged a faction war against Shiverwock.

Of course, just like Shiverwock, the Jangsan Tiger was eventually beaten up and sealed away by Sorcerer Woochi, who had shown up to solo them during that time.

Honestly, whether it was Shiverwock or the Jangsan Tiger, the fact behind why they were showing up again was still a complete mystery.

“A-Are you sure you’ll be okay?! At least take this shoulder guard, if nothing else.”

Rick held out a shoulder guard with a tense expression, but Davey just threw himself into the rift without a second thought.

* * *

Originally, Davey had planned to go in alone.

“Go with him and observe. See for yourself just how powerful he really is. I don’t trust what I’ve only heard. But I trust you, Rick. You understand what I mean, right?”

It was commonly believed that the strongest Awakened individual in the United States was Chris Marten—someone who wielded incomparable power. The best hero, known to be capable of both offense and defense using his intangible force.

But the truth was different.

Thirty-eight-year-old Rick Bustam was, in reality, the unofficial most powerful Awakened individual in the country.

It was by his own request that his abilities had been kept under wraps, and he served directly as the President’s personal bodyguard.

“Crrrk. Crrrk.”

Inside the rift lay a vast forest.

The moment they entered, twisted spiritual entities began to reveal themselves with snarls, causing Rick to tense up.

He could tell they were strong even by their appearance.

Maybe a single one wouldn’t be too threatening on its own, but once they started to group together, he knew even an S-Class would likely struggle to hold on. He quickly came to the solemn realization that the rift’s danger far surpassed any others he had ever encountered.

It became clear why even people like Chris Marten would have such a hard time.

“I’ll take care of things here. You should conserve your ener—”

Just as Rick was speaking, Davey threw something into the air.

“Rise, all of you.”

Clank!!

Four finely crafted cubes flew from his hand, beginning to glow and expanding in midair.

Rick couldn’t even maintain his usual cold expression at the sight. His face froze in shock.

The cubes moved intelligently, as if trying to form into some massive and intricate construct. In the blink of an eye, they’d transformed into towering, bipedal golems.

“Decepticon Fleet, standby for further orders.”

“Awaiting your command.”

With a mechanical voice, the leader of the Decepticon Fleet, Megatron, rose to its feet.

Davey had used AI for its ego at one point.

“Eliminate every enemy out there.”

He had modified the Decepticon Fleet over and over, to the point that they were no longer mass-produced, instead transforming over time into custom-made golems.

Rick gulped at the sudden appearance of a mechanical army.

Krrrr... Whiiirrr!!!

Megatron brandished a massive chainsaw.

Behind him, Juggernaut, armed with a minigun; and Tanker, wielding a giant shield, began to move as well.

“W-What’re thooose?” Rick asked in a stunned voice.

He’d come on the rift expedition with Davey alone at the President’s request—sent to witness the man’s true power with his own eyes. The US had pulled every string and contingency they had for this mission.

The scene before him proved downright unbelievable.

“Kyaaak!!!”

Megatron grabbed a grotesquely shaped giant monkey with its bare hands, slammed it into the ground, and stomped on its abdomen.

It then went to cleanly bisect it using the mana chainsaw—from its head to its groin.

The monkey’s skin was tough, however, initially managing to withstand the attack.

But then, a special power surged through Megatron’s entire body. The density of mana around the chainsaw rapidly intensified until it easily shredded the beast’s hide like paper.

“Kyaaak!!!”

Despite its screams of agony, Megatron tore through the enemy without mercy.

Rick realized that each golem was effectively an S-Class fighter.

Just by looking at them, it was obvious they’d been artificially created—yet he couldn’t figure out how constructs so strong could even exist.

Rick made a mental note to himself, knowing he absolutely had to report back about this Decepticon Fleet.

He knew that if the US had even just a couple of them, domestic security would reach unprecedented stability.

They couldn’t possess Davey himself—but just having two of these golems would bring incredible benefits too.

This was information that he had to report, no matter what.

“What do you think? It’s a great conversation starter,” Davey said casually. “If anything really dangerous shows up, I can step in. Until then, I can just collect data.”

Even though the ghosts and monsters fighting the Decepticon Fleet couldn’t understand his words, they began to back away slowly, visibly shaken.

Megatron’s only response was stepping forward.