The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1239

Shuneria’s shrill, almost screeching prayer echoed through Davey’s mind once again.

He muttered to himself, “The goddess must hear prayers like this from countless others.”

‘No wonder she can’t keep herself together with a sense of self.’

Letting out a sigh, Davey lent the rest of his divine power just as the blasphemous saintess demanded. It wasn’t much, but it’d be more than enough for her to fulfill whatever purpose she was trying to achieve.

“But seriously, what should I do about that jelly lass? Everything else is fine, but...”

If Reina just saw Shuneria as a rival, all it would take is some minor interference to make her think she was still the best, and she’d feel secure. She wouldn't even bother keeping Rinne in check anymore.

However, her dark obsession was already making her believe that his affection should belong to her and her alone. He remembered Freyja giving him advice.

- This is the most dangerous situation. Listen closely. It’s best to handle this with a soft approach, but if her condition starts to worsen, then you must correct her, even if that means being harsh.

Otherwise, she could end up twisted, just like the many gods Davey had erased with his own hands. He knew it all too well, having seen it with his own eyes.

Reina cleared the entire area with a massive roar for flair, then walked up to Davey with a beautiful smile. “Did I do well?”

“You did.”

When Davey smiled and gave his approval, she lit up like she had just won the world. “Thanks! But the thing he set off earlier felt a little different from a normal weapon, didn't it?”

“Considering that I sensed a faint trace of demonic energy, it looks like that emperor bastard made something strange,” Davey answered calmly while heading back to where the NATO-led allied forces were waiting.

After the multinational special forces team silently saluted him, he asked their leader, “Is everything wrapped up?”

“Yes, sir. High command believes you've done more than enough.”

“Good to hear.”

“Please get to the chopper, sir. We’ll escort you,” the soldiers said politely.

Davey nodded and went on board. He knew there were a lot of ways for him to get back, most even many times more efficient. Yet...

“I’ve always wanted to ride in a helicopter at least once.” He had ridden one before, but it still made for a pretty fun experience.

As the helicopter lifted off, a high-ranking officer waiting inside reached out a hand to Davey. “You’ve done an incredible job.”

“Nah, it was nothing special.”

The man insisted, “No, that is absolutely not the case! Without you, it would've been impossible to crush them before they tried something else.”

Even the Patroshist terrorist group alone was a problem. With the remnants from the Nacha Empire added into the equation, it was too complicated for even the EU or NATO to launch a full-scale operation easily.

To make matters worse, those cowards who used to run the moment things got tough had gained enough strength to threaten national military forces. It was no wonder the higher-ups had practically pulled their hair out.

With the problem having been resolved in such a dramatic fashion by joining forces with Davey, it was no exaggeration to say their troops had been saved.

“Thanks to you, we didn’t have to make any unnecessary sacrifices. No matter how fundamental war may be to our forces’ purpose, a soldier’s life is still precious.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

The helicopter flew over an area still in ruins from the monster outbreak as it entered the city. Looking down from high above, where even massive buildings would look tiny, Davey spotted the large grounds of a military base on approach.

Reina sat quietly to the side, just casually peering at her surroundings. Perhaps that was why a few soldiers kept glancing at her.

Meanwhile, Rinne had a rhinoceros beetle perched on her finger. Frankly, Davey didn’t even know when she had caught it. She stared at it in silence, then suddenly opened her mouth and popped it in.

Everyone else was rendered speechless.

Moments later, she spat it out again. “Rinne analyzes it as extremely unappetizing.”

Despite enduring such a harrowing ordeal, the beetle survived. Emerging with a newfound appreciation for life, it shook its wings and quickly escaped. Rinne watched it go, looking disappointed.

“We’re almost at the base. I know you must be busy, but at the very least, the Commander wishes to meet with you...”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

After all, it had taken Davey less than a few days to completely wipe out the entirety of the remnants still lingering in Europe, starting from Central Asia.

Engines roaring in the background, Davey watched the soldiers inside the base as they went about training and maintaining their fitness. He then spotted a lone soldier on the drill field, looking up at the helicopter and raising his hand.

As Davey watched in silence, the officer beside him followed his gaze. “What are you—ah.”

His face shifted into slight surprise. He hurriedly grabbed a radio and started contacting someone. “It’s me. There is a soldier saluting alone at Training Ground B. Give him a commendation.”

‘Wait, just for that?’

Davey looked at him curiously, but the officer just chuckled like it was nothing.

In Davey’s eyes, it just looked like the soldier had moved into the shade to escape the sun. Yet to the officer, it looked undeniably like a salute.

Peering into the distance, Davey saw another officer rushing toward the soldier on the training field. He was probably the one who’d been contacted over the radio.

‘So it’s always the same, no matter the country.’

Davey had thought things would be different in countries with voluntary service, but the idea made him chuckle. “This is just like what I used to see on TV back in the day...”

Soon, the helicopter landed, and once Davey stepped down, he saw a line of soldiers simultaneously snap into a salute.

“Unit, attention! Salute!”

The high-ranking officer beside Davey looked over with a warm smile. “How about accepting the salute, sir?”

“Is that okay? I’ve never actually served in the military.”

“Just think of it as a matter of respect,” the man insisted.

“Well then...” Davey returned the salute with sharp form, and their faces immediately lit up with glee.

“Shall we head in?”

“Right away!!”

The soldiers saluted once more as they went on with their way.

The officer took the lead to guide Davey, who silently followed him into the barracks.

Inside, he found an elderly general conversing with two others.

“Antonio?” He recognized one person immediately. He was Al Hajat’s direct subordinate and secretary, who had recently gotten into editing videos of Evangeline.

He recognized the other person, as well. “Kain?”

“It’s been a while.”

It was Kain, a Valkyrie and Apostle of Neltarid, and one of whose personalities was also Illyna’s adopted son.

“Seeing you here means something important’s going on, huh?”

“It’s nothing major. But we do need help.”

“I’m actually here as a representative of the Central Asian Union.”

Davey gave a nod in understanding. Even if Kain’s other personality showed up, it wouldn’t be a problem. Davey knew better, since that whiny brat wouldn’t fit in such a tense formal setting anyway.

Davey turned to the general, greeting, “Nice to meet you. I'm Davey O’Rowane.”

“Thank you for your support. I’m General Fastio.”

After Davey took a seat prepared for him, the officer who’d guided him in saluted his superior and quickly exited. For someone of his rank to leave meant that the discussion was going to be serious.

“Well, let’s hear your pitch. I did agree to help, since I’ll be getting paid for it.”

“Thank you. The apostle here will give you a simple briefing.”

Since the Neltarid Church was a verified divine order, Kain’s status probably even outranked any pope.

“Thanks to you resolving the Patroshist issue, we’ve managed to prevent a major crisis.”

“We’re not having this meeting just to praise each other, are we? Get to the point, will you?”

Davey had addressed Kain informally, causing the general to show a startled expression, but he quickly held his tongue, picking up on the situation.

“Take a look at this.” Kain snapped his fingers, and light rose from the artifact in the center of the table, projecting a strange object.

Davey curiously asked, “What’s that?”

“It’s a mutagenic catalyst made from concentrated demon blood.”

“Mutagenic catalyst?”

“Yes. It alters the structure of living beings, turning them into monsters. It’s what the beings from another realm who allied with the Patroshists used to transform themselves.”

Davey nodded. “Isn’t this something we already know? So, what about it?”

“Actually, the standard mutagenic catalyst isn’t much of a problem. However, now that they’ve joined forces with the Patroshists, it seems they’ve begun planning something on a much bigger scale.”

“Huh. Okay. So the bottom line is, the alliance can’t handle it alone and wants me to step in?”

“The catalyst you’re seeing now isn’t just some minor enhancer for humans. Despite our extensive research, we still have no idea what kind of entity might emerge from its exposure.”

“Why don’t you deal with it yourself?”

“We have a bad feeling about this.”

At those words, Davey turned to Antonio.

“Does the Central Union feel the same?”

“The Patroshists are already a global headache. We want to deal with this before it causes more meaningless casualties.”

Davey paused to consider. While he knew it wouldn’t be hard to deal with, the only problem was the potential casualties.

“No one’s died yet, so I guess I’ll have to take care of it before that happens?”

“That’d be ideal... but their movements are definitely unusual. They’re suddenly expanding their reach and growing their forces in a seemingly strategic way. Even their tactics have shifted.”

Davey sighed. “Just get to the point.”

“We believe they’ve already gathered all the sacrificial offerings they need.”

Davey’s eyes squinted at the revelation.

“Leave it to me. I’ll take care of it,” Reina, who had been listening to the conversation, said with confidence. “We can’t just let monsters created from the sacrifice of innocent people run free.”

The hero spirit in her hadn’t gone anywhere. Her nature had simply taken a turn due to her obsessive tendencies.

While Davey frowned slightly at her response, the general looked at her with what seemed like genuine admiration.

“To take this so seriously, even though it's a foreign matter, simply because lives are at stake... You truly are worthy of being called a Saint.”

‘No, that’s not it. Yes, there’s a problem, but I’m not even thinking about the mutagenic catalyst at all.’

Letting out an awkward smile, Davey’s eyes narrowed and he looked at the general.

‘Trying to block any excuses I could make?’

It was all too obvious that the man hadn’t earned his position as a general through empty merit.

“Fine, as long as the nations affiliated with NATO keep their end of the deal they made with me.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Then we'd better get moving. Before that, you need to know that once we relocate the target to an area with minimal civilian presence, there’s something that needs to be done first. Can you cooperate with that?”

“Something that needs to be done?”

“Yes. There’s someone who needs to train a bit. It’ll be a good chance to give him some experience.”

“That’s...”

“If things get dangerous, I’ll step in immediately.”

“In that case, I see no issue.”

* * *

Illyna de Pallan had an obsessive nature. In the past, she’d shown that obsession for vampires. Later, she turned that same intensity toward her love for Davey.

Even now, the way she openly expressed her affection for Davey might’ve been part of that same tendency.

They said the fine line between truly loving someone and loving them so much it became destructive was razor-thin.

Illyna herself didn’t realize it, but at least one thing was clear.

She stepped out of the bathroom in silence, letting out a sigh as she looked at the pregnancy test in her hand.

One line. Negative.

It was a failure, but she felt relieved.

She murmured anxiously, “Thank goodness... I can’t have a child right now.”