The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1041

Apollo’s expression was unusually serious. Daphne rose to her feet in response.

“Hey, get lost. I’ll tell him myself.”

“Oh, my beloved Daphne, there’s no need for that—”

“Ugh, just stop! How long are you going to keep this up?”

He had no response to that.

When Apollo backed off, Daphne shot him a glare before grabbing Davey by the arm and pulling him away.

Once they were out of earshot from the other heroes, she spoke, ”Davey.”

“What’s with setting the mood to be so serious?”

“It’s nothing. Did you kill all of those things wherever you got that from?”

“The monsters have been wiped out, for now. The gray one ran off, but it won’t be able to do much alone.”

Daphne nodded at his response. “Hey. Do you know why Apollo created the Last Wisp?”

“Because of the evil beasts from the Zone of Evil, right?”

The Last Wisp was an alliance of knights dedicated to monitoring and exterminating the monsters from the farthest reaches of the world—monsters far more dangerous than the normal ones.

Without them, Tionis wouldn’t have been able to enjoy such stability as it had.

They had fought; suffered heavy losses; sealed away Evil Beast Kings; and prevented evil beast outbreaks.

Of course, that hadn’t been enough to entirely stop corruption from festering. Until Davey turned everything upside down, Last Wisp had been full of traitors.

“The giant monster you saw... it was probably Persephone.”

“Persephone?”

“Yeah. She was the reason Last Wisp was founded. The Monster Queen.”

That title sent a strange feeling down his spine. ”Monster Queen?”

“Haven’t you been wondering where all the monsters on Earth were coming from? To be honest, I've been wondering the same thing. But after hearing what you said, I think I might have a lead.”

The monsters that were invading Earth had been eradicated in Tionis long ago.

Her words made Davey's eyes widen. No matter how hard he tried to recall that grotesque, monstrous creature, he couldn’t remember sensing even the faintest trace of humanity in the lingering soul remains of its corpse.

“Are you saying it’s a human?”

“Yeah. A human. It's a human who fell into a beast lair and never made it back. She was a priestess from the same order as me.”

A flicker of bitterness crossed her face. Compared to the other heroes, she had always been much more emotional.

“Back in the day, there were these holes scattered across Tionis. Officially, they were called beast lairs. Unlike the way monsters gradually spawn through reproduction nowadays, monsters used to just naturally appear in those places. It was like they were being copied and suddenly pasted.”

And not a single human who went into those lairs had ever come back alive.

“Persephone was dragged into one of those lairs. Then, after about three years, she came back... as a monster.”

“Wait a second. You mean—”

“Shut up and listen, you fucking buffoon! Anyway, she became the Monster Queen. Monsters that came from the lairs blindly followed the Queen, regardless of species or number.”

“The story makes it sound like a human actually turned into a monster.”

“It’s a possibility. We only found out she became the Monster Queen by complete chance. Once she appeared, the lairs started producing monsters even more aggressively. Eventually, she gathered them all and led an all-out invasion of Tionis.”

She then paused, showing a strangely bitter and worn out expression.

“Anyway, the Monster Queen died back then. Apollo and I are the ones who took her down. We wiped out the Queen and destroyed all the beast lairs.”

Since then, Tionis hadn't seen another lair led by the Monster Queen.

But Apollo had said something strange at the time—that whatever happened once could happen again someday. He insisted that they needed to form a secret knight order as a preventative measure.

”Honestly, we were all shocked. Who would've guessed that womanizer would say something profound and noble like that?”

Davey thought he might know why—though it was just a hunch.

“So, people who were on the same page got together and formed a knight order. And then, out of nowhere, traitors showed up?”

“Exactly. I'm not sure if you successfully killed them all or not, though.”

“Then that gray monster... There's a good chance it's the next Monster Queen, right?”

“Can't say for sure. But as long as I’m the one managing the situation, those beast lairs won’t run wild again. So don’t worry about it.”

Davey figured there was no point digging deeper. ”What about the one who made it out alive?”

“You think that guy can do anything? I’ll block it myself, so don’t worry.” She slapped Davey hard on the back. ”If you’re done, then get going. Nothing more for you to do here.”

Watching her walk away, Davey felt eerily strange. He had a fleeting urge to dig into why she looked so worn out, but knowing how sharp Daphne was, he figured she’d probably fly into a rage and try to kill him if he pried.

“Guess there’s no helping it.”

The fact that she wasn’t willing to say more probably meant it was personal, not something of great importance. freeweɓnovel-cøm

Still staring at her retreating back, Davey brushed off the uneasy feeling and opened the rift again.

“Oh, right. I forgot to unsummon those guys.”

* * *

Right after the rift disappeared, the people in Japan couldn’t hide their confusion.

The rift was gone, and the initial group of Awakened individuals had made it out alive. Mysterious skeletons were lounging at the entrance of the rift, snacking and playing card games—a fact which by itself was enough to be baffling. But the person who was supposed to come out apparently still remained inside.

Naturally, people started to panic, and online speculation ran wild. People assumed something must’ve happened to Davey inside the rift; that he’d either gone missing or died. After all, when a rift disappeared, the bodies usually vanished as well.

Some still thought he had made it out, knowing who he was. After all, the skeletons were still sitting around. Though, no one could say for sure. Even the other Awakened individuals who had been keeping an eye on the situation were in the same boat.

“What in the world is going on? Why hasn’t he come out yet?”

“The rift’s gone, yet he’s still not showing up. Did he actually die in there?”

“No way. You know what kind of monster he is.”

After seeing what he was capable of firsthand, none of them believed someone like him would die so easily. In addition, the skeletons were still fine, likely evidence that there was no way their master could’ve died.

“Ummm.”

Kouna, who had been standing by nervously in case something went wrong, tapped one of the skeletons gently on the collarbone with a conflicted look.

“Clack, clack?”

The skeleton tilted its head and clattered its teeth together.

“Why isn’t your master coming out?”

The squadron of skeletons turned their gaze toward her all at once. The other Awakened individuals and reporters couldn’t hold back their curiosity and stared at the interaction. Just when one of the skeletons seemed about to say something, a sudden flash of light blinded the onlookers.

All the skeletons had vanished at once.

“No way...”

Only then did Kouna's face turn pale. The skeletons were gone. When someone didn’t come out of a monster rift and the rift disappeared, it usually meant one thing—death.

She collapsed to the ground, shouting at the spot where the skeletons had been, now completely empty. “N-No... No!!”

“Kouna!”

“No!! I said no!!” she screamed in agony.

She knew Davey wasn’t someone who should’ve died like that. Earth still needed his help. Sure, one could say the same from a rational point of view, but Kouna had been through a lot with him. And honestly, she had grown quite attached to him. Even if he was a little scary at times, he had gone into that rift to save the first response team.

“Aaah. Aaahhhh!”

Known for her usually expressionless face, she sat on the ground sobbing, the scene being captured by countless cameras.

That day, every media outlet on Earth reported that the Saint of Tionis had officially sealed the rift and tragically died in the process.

Meanwhile, Davey was happily humming to himself as he made his way to the Last Wisp knights in Tionis.

* * *

“Teacher Boris.”

“Davey.”

Boris greeted him with a gentle smile. He was a knight of the Last Wisp and a teacher from Alpha Reinforcements.

They had once fought side by side, and he always acted with a great deal of integrity.

On the outside, he looked like a hot-headed, muscle-bound man, but in truth, he was more delicate than anyone would've imagined.

“It’s been a while. I’ve been receiving the wheat and spices you send regularly—it's much appreciated.”

“Sorry that I can’t do more than that. How is everyone else doing?”

“Same as always. The evil beasts have been quiet lately, and we recently got a batch of new recruits, too.”

Davey had always felt grateful for the knight order’s quiet but constant protection of Tionis.

“I’ll be counting on you going forward, since I can’t be active myself right now.”

“No need to worry. Just the fact that you keep sending us supplies is already a huge help.”

“How about the other teachers?”

“Still the same as ever.”

Clearly, not much had changed. He had also only asked out of formality.

“Although... the new recruits for Alpha Reinforcements this time around are a bit feisty.”

“Feisty?”

“Yeah. They’re very talented, but... a little too full of themselves.” Boris gave Davey a sideways glance. “Been busy lately?”

“Ah. I’ll stop by with Illyna sometime soon.”

“Right. Cadet Illyna—or rather, Dame Illyna. Haven’t seen her in a while. So, I heard she got married.”

He was clearly repeating something he already knew.

“Why are you like this, Teacher?”

“Hahaha. Anyway, don’t be too hard on them. I’m counting on you.”

“I’ll train them like we were trained.”

Of course, he'd do it just a bit more aggressively. He knew that should do the trick.

“So, what brings you here today?”

“Well, I was wondering if I could take a look at the secret archives.”

Boris's expression hardened. “The secret archives, huh...”

“There’s someone I’d like to look into.”

The rift on Earth had stabilized, and he figured there probably wouldn’t be any issues for the next few years, so it wasn't exactly a pressing situation. Still, curiosity had gotten the better of him.

“You’re technically an executioner, but since you chose to remain a standard knight, you don’t have access.”

“I’m aware.”

“Tell me who it is, and I’ll see what I can find.”

“Could you look into Persephone for me?”

“Persephone? Who’s that?”

“Please just search for it, Teacher.”

“Hmm. Alright. That name sounds vaguely familiar, somehow.”

He didn’t press any further. ”Okay. I’ll look into it right away.”

After securing his help, Davey gave him a bottle of wine as a gift and quietly left the central office of the main headquarters.

Just then, a familiar figure bowed his head to Davey.

“You don't have to do that. I'm just a regular knight.”

“It's simply a courtesy shown to the strong.” Basara, once a core member of the main headquarters, gave him a respectful nod.

Then, without another word, he walked past him and disappeared into the distance. Briefly watching his back as he left, Davey slowly continued walking.

* * *

Back on Earth, at a joint memorial altar in Japan, countless framed photographs of the deceased were displayed. Most of them were the Awakened individuals who had perished in the recent incident. After all, the rift had been sealed before it completely opened, leading to minimal casualties. At the center of the altar’s display, there was a photo of one man smiling.

The Saint of Tionis. Davey O’Rowane.

Japan, though they hadn’t always had the best relationship with him, formally expressed their condolences and honored him with a memorial despite the absence of his body. Their ties had been complicated, but in the end, he had sealed the rift for them.

No one knew exactly who was responsible for his death, but every nation learned from the incident that if they didn’t raise the overall level of their Awakened individuals as soon as possible, the massive rift Davey had warned about would bring disaster in the near future.

While no one expected to show the same overwhelming result that Davey had achieved, it was considered essential to at least build collective strength strong enough to withstand such rifts.

”Miss Kouna, you’ve come again.” Sato Wakizaka, a diplomat in charge of managing the memorial, looked wearily at her standing with a hardened expression.

“Yes.”

“You must’ve been close to him.”

“No, not really. He only became my custodian out of obligation.”

Koona had thought that he probably hadn’t liked her very much. ”I wasn’t good enough. That’s all.”

“But Miss Kouna, you’re so kind and charming.”

“To someone like him, I must’ve been terribly frustrating.”

Sato gently patted her on the shoulder in silence.

“As someone who knew how much he was doing for the world, I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. I shouldn’t have lived so passively...” Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“People don’t realize what they have until it’s gone. It’s unfortunate, but... you’ll rise again from this, and grow stronger.”

In the end, she broke down in tears.

The memorial hall was packed with grieving families and people paying their respects.

There were even many attendees who normally wouldn’t be seen at a typical Awakened individuals’s memorial.

The president of Russia; the president of the United States; representatives from Korea, China, the UK, and even France. Nations that had direct connections with Davey or had received his aid all sent their leaders or official delegates to express condolences.

Of course, those who only had transactional ties to him didn’t see it as such a big deal, but those who Davey had personally helped couldn’t hide their sorrow.

Some countries, having developed especially close ties with Davey, even went as far as producing and airing documentaries about who he was, how he'd saved people, and what his sacrifices were for.

It was a bit laughable, sure—but whether it was for political reasons or genuine sentiment, they went ahead with what they thought was the right thing to do.

It was a bitter truth, but a lavish spectacle nonetheless.

Watching the flow of the ceremony, Kouna swallowed her tears. Then, she turned her gaze toward a woman standing off to the side. His sworn sister—the young lady often called the next head of the Sacred Group. Shin Hyun-Ah.

Kouna wasn’t sure if she should apologize to her, or if she even had the right to do so.

Hyun-Ah only stood there quietly, looking at the photo. She’d probably never see him again. But if, by some miracle, by some absurd chance, she ever had the chance to speak to him again—

“I really wanted to tell him...”

“We will now begin the joint funeral service.” When the memorial staff made the announcement, everyone’s attention shifted forward.

“I really wanted to tell him...”

Someone then responded to her words.

“What did you want to say, loser octopus?”

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