The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1209

Davey suddenly realized that there weren’t as many people around.

In the cold air between them, the man in the mask silently stared at Davey.

“Well now... This is quite the unexpected catch,” he murmured coolly.

Reina quietly nibbled on the snack in her hand, cool as a cucumber despite the tension that seemed about to erupt at any moment.

No one said a word. Davey watched in silence, while the masked man pulled documents from his coat and flipped through them as if Davey wasn’t even there. Between the two of them, there was no clash of overwhelming force.

Even so, the atmosphere grew cold. Frightening, even.

“Amazing. Three of the Empire’s most wanted criminals, all in one place. The Witch of the Plains, who killed hundreds of Imperial soldiers; the young lady Shuneria, who siphoned Imperial assets to the rebels; and a terrorist who assassinated His Majesty the Emperor’s incarnation. Hmm.”

He paused in thought. At the same time, Shuneria, realizing the situation had taken a turn for the worst, quickly pulled something from her waist.

Click!

It was a portable magic device enchanted with piercing magic, which gave it considerable penetration power. It looked fairly powerful.

Snap!

She tried to use the device to target his heart, yet alas, she was still just a noble’s daughter. There was no way her speed could ever exceed his own reaction time.

Wearing a unique looking metallic eyepatch, he moved with impressive swiftness. He grabbed her arm in an attempt to subdue her.

Strangely enough, he didn’t follow through. He simply let go and backed off.

“Hmm. Not bad.” From behind the mask, it almost felt like he was smiling.

Davey hadn’t made a single move, but that didn’t mean he was idle.

“You were just a second away from attacking me, weren’t you?” When Davey said nothing, the man casually loosened up his stance. “Well, what do I do now? Technically, I was supposed to be on patrol, but I was actually slacking off before I met you three.”

“Then how about you walk away? I’m pretty sure I gave you folks a warning.”

The man tilted his head.

“Warning?”

“Yeah. Killing the emperor wasn’t enough for you?”

Shuneria widened her eyes and took a step back at the realization.

“Hmm. Right. Your charges were the attempted assassination of His Majesty, but that’s strange. His Majesty is still alive, so who exactly did you kill?”

“You think semantics and word games can erase a warning?”

“Sounds like you’re the one unable to grasp the situation.”

Crack!!

As soon as the man finished, he lightly stomped the ground, and a massive wave of pressure swept across the area. One by one, the few remaining people around them lost consciousness and collapsed.

“It’s true His Majesty’s guards were lacking at the time. Still, do you really think you’ll get a second chance?”

“So that’s how it is.”

Frankly, even if the Empire went to war with Earth, that was their problem—Davey had no justification to get involved. Yet, there were two reasons he chose to intervene and give a warning.

“Then listen closely. Go back and tell the emperor you serve exactly this: First, I only went for his life because he targeted someone important to me. Second, don’t mess with the dimensional passage I created. It’s not meant for humans to just pass through on a whim.”

The man shrugged at his warning. “Wouldn’t it be better to deliver that in person? If you don’t resist, I can take you without hurting you—”

He stopped mid-sentence and chuckled. “Just kidding. So? Want to resist?”

He snapped his fingers. Something invisible began to press down heavily on the surroundings.

It wasn’t just mana—t was a highly original form of pressure.

Davey and Reina simply stared back, unfazed. However, Shuneria seemed to struggle under the weight.

Her eyes darted around as the pressure steadily intensified, clearly looking for a way out.

What annoyed Davey was that he thought he’d given a proper warning. However, by the way the man said things, it seemed he hadn’t been clear enough.

Just then, Reina grabbed his collar. She looked up at him, shaking her head in fear. “It’s turning black... Don’t.”

Hearing her trembling voice, he briefly forgot about the standoff and checked the power within his body. It was faint, but a crack had truly formed in the balance.

‘Did I do something to trigger it?’

“Watch out!!” Shuneria shouted in panic.

Davey turned his head to see that the masked man had already closed the distance.

“You’re really getting on my nerves.”

Boom!!

He reached out toward the man who’d tried to take advantage of his opening.

Although the man had the initiative, Davey was already gripping his face.

“What—”

Boom!!

That was the end of it.

Slammed into the ground with enough force to break it, the man lay limp. He was likely knocked out with a severe concussion.

Davey casually took the mask from his face. “Hey. This thing’s pretty sturdy. Kinda stylish, too. Want it?”

“Hmmm. Not really my taste.”

Shame, but nothing could be done about it. Davey handed the mask to the stunned Shuneria. “You carry it. Who knows? Might come in handy.”

“You... Who are you?”

“Don’t you have something more urgent to deal with?”

“Is that really important right now?! That was an Executioner! A symbol of elite power, and you just...!”

Davey and Reina just looked at each other. Then, without saying a word, they both burst into laughter.

“Hahaha!”

“Ahaha!”

Even Reina was laughing like that, so it said everything.

Wait, maybe not.

“Reina. Your personality changed.”

“Oh no! I really need to watch myself.” She slapped her own mouth with a grim look.

Maybe she was changing in response to Davey. He knew exactly where that change would lead.

Just like Thanatos or Neltarid’s other half, it would only end in pure, unrelenting hatred.

Truth be told, Davey had been curious about what had made those two turn out the way they were.

Thanatos had been completely encroached and corrupted. Neltarid, who held out until the very end, endured only by clinging to the memories of Davey’s past life as Freyja that he absolutely didn’t remember.

He knew neither of them started out like that.

“Ugh. Quit laughing and say something!”

“Wasn’t something urgent going on?”

“Oh! Right, that...”

“Anyway, wherever you’re going, it’ll take a while, right?”

She nodded. “I need to go back to the place where I met you.”

Davey pointed to empty space.

He figured a little action wouldn’t cause a stir as long as no one else was around.

“See this?”

“See what?”

Slice!

As Davey cut through the air with his hand, a rift formed. Shuneria stared at it in a daze.

“A dimensional passage?! How can a person without any equipment...”

“That passageway wasn’t made for people to travel through in the first place...”

Designating coordinates for a place he’d already been wasn’t difficult for him.

Shuneria just stared blankly at Davey, stunned by what she saw. “What are you...?”

“Hurry up. Or rather, let’s go together. There’s nothing left for us here.”

“I-It’s okay. I can go alone...”

“Doesn’t look that way to me.”

She flinched, then lowered her head. “I just got an emergency signal from my siblings. I think... they’ve been captured by imperial forces.”

Reina, seeing her pale face, grabbed Davey by the arm. “Let’s go help them.”

Between the Empire and her, it was obvious which side he’d take.

“Alright, let’s move.”

“But it’s going to be dangerous.”

“And it wouldn’t be if I sent you alone?”

“That’s...”

“I had business with the Imperial Family anyway, so let’s go.”

She quietly lowered her head.

She had planned to go alone, not wanting to burden the two of them. Still, she realized it was unlikely she could rescue her siblings, now probably captured by the Empire, all by herself.

“Please... My siblings are the only precious things I have left in this world.”

Hearing her plea, Davey gave a small nod. “Then go through already.”

He gave her a little push forward.

Shuneria stepped into the rift before Reina followed.

Davey glanced at the man lying on the ground, then let out a chuckle. “So as long as I don’t kill them, it should be fine?”

The rift, born from a fleeting impulse, had already started closing back into its original form.

* * *

One of the three Mythical Beast Kings, known as the Azure Sky's Storm Dragon King, the black dragon Megalodria turned its gaze toward the humans who had arrived at the vast radioactive zone they had recently offered up as tribute.

It figured that since Davey had already caused an uproar, no sane human would dare antagonize it without good reason.

As long as they didn’t cross Davey, Megalodria had no real interest in who the humans chose to fight.

Given that, it had been feeling somewhat appreciative toward the humans that guided it to highly concentrated radioactive areas, something which had become harder to come by.

After all, humans couldn’t handle this delicious stuff.

Naturally, satisfied with the rich, deep flavor, Megalodria gave a promise in high spirits, as if making a proclamation.

Fine. If they needed help, it’d grant them that much.

The humans were, of course, delighted. Judging by their visit now, they had likely come to ask for that very favor.

“O Guardian of the Divine Protector...”

It didn’t particularly like that title. It didn’t care about this guardian or divine protector crap. Still, it was in a good mood after gorging itself on radiation, so it didn’t say anything.

[Speak, short-lived ones.]

“We beg your pardon, but does your offer to grant us a request still stand?”

[It does. As long as it’s not something ridiculous, I’ll allow it.]

‘Since I’m in a good mood! I’ll do at least that much!’

Davey, its contractor, had forbidden it from consuming radiation for quite some time now, so its frustration had built up.

If it could smack around a few humans and thereby earn itself such a tasty treat, that was what it called the life of a dragon.

After it responded with satisfaction, a noble of the Empire cautiously spoke up. “Then, if an enemy were to threaten our Empire, would you step forward to stop them?”

It wasn’t a difficult request. Humans were still just humans, after all. As long as they weren’t monsters like Davey, it wouldn’t matter.

Of course, the Empire had once clashed with Davey, but Megalodria figured they weren’t crazy enough to challenge him again after what had happened—especially not after he’d warned them by killing their leader on the spot.

Megalodria gave its word and absorbed the condensed radiation completely.

It was truly a delight.