The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1244

Evangeline unleashed an instinctual, near-trance-like destruction. It wasn't purely from anger, but from something deeper. It was the nature of her race, unleashing the purest of rage.

Ancient dragons, known as the ancestors of all dragons, were natural enemies with demons. They could never tolerate each other’s existence.

Even as a psychic-type dragon, she hadn’t fully matured, and the unfamiliar sensation dragged her into a whirlwind of rage.

In that moment, what mattered most to her wasn’t the Patrocisists or the scattered remnants of the Nacha Empire. It was what lay beneath the massive rocky cliff—the hidden underground bunker. Within lied the massive demon egg, concealed within a natural cave.

Had Davey been there with her, it wouldn’t have been weird for him to grumble something like why demons kept on popping up when they were supposed to be extinct.

The truth was relatively simple, but only one being in the world knew it. The goddess.

Even now, Evangeline wasn’t using the full extent of her power. She wasn’t even streaming to absorb mass energy, instead just using her base strength. Even so, that was already more than enough. When she streamed, her power would accelerate toward a limit far beyond what was required for such amateur demon scum.

Rock walls and reinforced steel were carved through like tofu. The breath attack she unleashed left molten craters behind, burning high-temperature scars across the ground.

The Patroshists, unaware of the historic relationship between dragons and demonic energy, had unknowingly triggered a species-level reaction. It was a disaster for them.

They thought they had hidden it well! Even when faced with minor setbacks, they believed the operation would succeed. Yet all it took was one mistake, and everything was in ruins.

Most of their high-ranking operatives had already been killed or incapacitated by her rampage.

They could’ve shouted with outrage about how she was killing people without a second thought, trying to drum up support for a retaliation against or public condemnation of her, but there wasn’t a single person who would go along with them. After all, they were the ones who had committed ruthless acts of terrorism without hesitation.

“Damn it! Think of something! Gather whatever’s left! Just stop that lunatic!!”

Desperation filled their voices, but no one could stop her once she’d already begun.

The Evangeline they had seen in old battle footage had been strong, sure, but the girl rampaging before them felt wholly different. Knowing she wasn’t human, they could only interpret it as her having gone through some insane growth spurt unique to her species.

Bang! Bang!!

Gunfire poured toward her, accompanied by Awakened individuals making use of their abilities to attack her with all their might.

Evangeline moved through the bunker like a hurricane nonetheless, sweeping through it with unrelenting force. Effectively a giant dump truck, she crashed through everything in her path. She didn’t even bother to differentiate targets.

By the time her enemies realized what had happened, most were already broken and bleeding on the ground.

Yet, she didn’t kill those who didn’t stand in her way. She didn’t even look at them. Such behavior made it clear that she wasn’t there for them, only focused on what was hidden below.

Of course, the ones who had transformed their bodies through the mutagenic catalyst were instantly torn to shreds regardless. Still, the untainted humans were spared.

Naturally, when the enemies realized the truth of her motivations, they did the only sane thing.

Running away.

With all potential obstacles scattering like mice, her momentum surged, bulldozing her way to the underground cave the Patroshists had desperately kept hidden.

There, Evangeline finally calmed down a bit and put on a slightly relaxed face. “What... is going on?”

She wondered why she had been so enraged, unable to understand what exactly had happened to her. Even so, that wasn’t important.

The cave was tied to the remnants of the Nacha Empire, the same ones who had attacked Park Seung-Hyun. The egg before her was something that needed to be destroyed, no matter what it was.

She stepped forward. The divine dragon sword, Twilight, twitched in her hand as she gave it a light flick. “Hey.”

The ones in the chamber were already scared, having seen along the way what she was capable of. Each of them possessed varying levels of individual combat power. Some among them were extremely dangerous, but all of them had come to the same decision with one mind—tricks wouldn’t work on that monstrous lunatic. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“You’d better start talking. Tell me what that is. Now!”

Her eyes gave no room for negotiation.

‘She flew all the way from Korea despite not even knowing what she was after?’?

They wanted to shout, but their lips wouldn’t move. It was as if their lips had been sealed tight by fear.

* * *

Davey knew there had to be someone or something taking in all the energy that those monstrous creatures were channeling. Something which was born through the mutation medium they used.

According to intel secured by the Alliance with the cooperation of NATO, the Patroshists had gathered insects, animals, and even humans to use as sacrificial material in the creation of something special.

There was no longer even a shred of doubt in anyone's mind that it was connected to the demon race. If it were just a mutated creature, there wouldn’t be much cause for concern, yet years of experience and instinct said otherwise.

Even the origin of the mutation medium itself was unclear. Saying it came from the Emperor of Nacha didn’t exactly sit right with a satisfying conclusion. A subtle feeling stirred something in their instincts, suggesting something darker and deeper than such a thing could ever be.

The incident couldn’t be left alone. It had to be found and dealt with before it escalated further.

The bastards had gone great lengths to conceal their hideout, and the reality that it wouldn’t be easy to find them brought Davey’s mood down.

If there was no way, he’d make one. Whatever it was, once they crossed the line, all he had to do was carve out the part that had done it.

However, that resolve was rendered pointless right from the start. Evangeline had suddenly headed somewhere entirely unexpected and begun a rampage. Davey, instinctively sensing something was going on, had flown straight toward her.

Once he reached the point between the ruins of the desert and the rocky cliff zones, he saw people fleeing in terror.

He could sense that Evangeline was somewhere beneath the rocky cliff. Seeing people frantically escaping, he was unclear whether she had simply missed them in her purge or deliberately let them go.

They had believed, without the slightest doubt, that their hidden stronghold would never be discovered. Once reality proved otherwise, they had no choice but to flee. If not, they risked getting caught in the intelligence net and wiped out in one fell swoop.

However, the fleeing group of people soon came to a stop.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Davey stood in their path with armed Magic Missiles hovering around him.

“S-Saint of Tionis...!”

“Is that all you want to say?”

His question left them puzzled, but that was where it ended. They never got to say anything else as they soon became nothing more than chunks of meat.

“Don’t think this is going to end nicely.” He reached out toward the souls trying to ascend. His eyes turned black and flashed once, then black hands stretched out from the shattered ground and tore the souls from their bodies.

[In the name of the Death Lord, I command you.]

‘You are denied rest.’

Crunch!! Crack!!

Gruesome tearing sounds rang out. However, that didn't matter much to him. He had no merciful sympathy for them and their brutal deaths. Once all of their souls had been ripped apart, Davey shoved them back into their broken bodies.

“Ah, seriously?! You can’t just turn us into pretas like this!!”

Pretas were the starving ghosts of the dead. Davey had cursed the souls with infinite hunger, immortal yet endlessly tormented by hunger.

Of course, if left alone, they’d just cause more trouble. To prevent it, he severed their limbs, making sure they couldn’t move properly. Writhing on the ground, the creatures mouthed silent cries of pain.

It was the kind of thing he wouldn’t have done before, too cruel to even consider. Unfortunately for them, the fact that those bastards had attacked Evangeline just to pull his attention elsewhere made something in him snap.

Even Jeo-Seung hurried to stop him, appalled. However, after getting a good look at his face, he turned pale and backed off. “I-I mean... This isn’t allowed, but...”

“Speak clearly.”

“It is. Yes! It’s allowed. Woochi does it sometimes, too. For someone who rips apart the souls of evil men, why wouldn’t you be allowed to do so? Yes, go ahead. Shred them. As much as you want. Those souls wouldn’t be able to reincarnate properly, anyway. Might as well crush them completely and let them settle their karma here. Yepp, for certain, man.” His sudden change in attitude was nothing short of impressive.

Davey brutally tore apart every last soul of the ones who had attacked Evangeline, with no remorse. He then moved on and stepped past the wreckage.

Most of the enemies had already been wiped out. The few who remained had already been completely crushed by Evangeline’s surprise attack.

If everything were actually handled, he assumed the monster would’ve shown itself already. Yet it hadn’t, leaving him confused as to what exactly was going on.

He was sure Evangeline wouldn’t be hurt, yet as her father, he couldn’t help but worry. Even without a drop of blood shared between them, he had raised Evangeline from birth with love and affection. She was his irreplaceably precious daughter.

“Josiah, I’ll be finishing this in three minutes.”

- Huh? Teacher!!! Wait! Ten minutes! Just give me ten!!

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve already given you enough time.”

Once Davey killed the thing hiding in this underground facility, it would throw off Josiah’s carefully laid plan to give Mit Chyde real combat experience. As such, he had no plans on immediately destroying the demon in its entirety, even after finding it.

That’s when it happened.

Boom!!

A heavy impact shook the ground. Davey could feel Evangeline’s ancient dragon power waver for a moment.

“You now have one minute.”

- W-What?! Teacher?! Teacher!!

[Swordless Art]

[Singular Slash]

Rip!!

Without hesitation, Davey tore through space, forcing it open.

Once he reached the other side, he saw Evangeline clutching the divine dragon sword Twilight in one hand, breathing hard. He also saw a grotesque black creature towering over her.

At first glance, there didn’t seem to be a problem. Then Davey saw the small wound on the back of her pale hand.

“Dad...?”

Boom!!!

At that moment, massive pillars of white light dropped from the sky and crushed the monster instantly.

He’d known from the start that it might come to this. Thinking too much was a bad habit, no matter the reason. Think carefully, but act quickly.

He wondered if he had been acting quickly enough lately. Perhaps he had grown too complacent, too comfortable with his goals and sense of security.

It didn’t take long for him to lose it.

* * *

Evangeline’s eyes flew wide open the moment she saw Davey. “Dad? What are you doing here?!”

“I could ask you the same, Eva,” he said calmly.

Her apprehensive eyes showed she was already aware of the imminent scolding and ass-chewing she was about to experience. Almost instinctively, she tucked her injured hand behind her back and frowned. “W-We can talk about it later.”

The creature Davey had pinned beneath a pillar of white light began to struggle.

‘If I press it down with enough force...’

Crack!!

‘Huh? It broke free?’

His brow twitched in disbelief.

Evangeline growled, “That one’s mine! Don’t touch it!!”

He wondered what made her so furious. It couldn’t just be anger over some failed terrorist attack. There was something deeper, something personal in her rage.

However, what mattered more was that she didn’t want him to intervene any further.

‘Consider yourself lucky, Josiah.’

Honestly, Davey wanted to smash the thing flat and take Evangeline home. Yet seeing her that determined, that serious, tugged at something in him.

“Ahhh!!” Evangeline gripped the divine dragon sword Twilight in a reverse stance and flew forward like lightning.

The monster had a massive body with thick, reinforced legs. It was armored like an alien crustacean straight out of a sci-fi horror movie.

It lashed out its tail, trying to block her strike.

Bang!! Crack!!

However, the ancient dragon claws materialized behind her back swiftly crushed it down. Evangeline took the opportunity and drove Twilight deep into its body, piercing clean through.

Krrr!!

It let out a dangerous aura. The fact that it had awakened prematurely meant it had already sensed its own impending death.

If it were allowed to evolve further, it could very well become even more monstrous than the demon that once stole the body of Nacha’s emperor.

While it was difficult to measure how strong it’d become, letting it live was out of the question.

- Zzzt! Teacher! Just three more minutes! Please! He’s already entered a combat trance! Whatever he did, if we get just three more minutes, he’ll break into the Third Circle—!”

Bam!!

The creature suddenly swung its enormous arm and smacked Evangeline across the battlefield.

Davey’s eyes snapped open.

She skidded back violently, biting down hard as she groaned, “That hurt...”

She was already furious, but the demon just had to go and make it worse. Far, far worse.

It even laughed.

“You’re... laughing? Did you just mock me?”

Davey wondered if it thought that it could handle her just because he wasn’t stepping in.

Evangeline’s eyes welled up in humiliated fury before tears rolled down her cheeks.

She grit her teeth and shouted, “I didn’t want to have to do this, but you’ve left me no choice! Prepare for retribution, beast!”

She then turned and ran straight into his arms, sobbing. “Uwaaah! Dad!! That bastard!!!”

- Zzzt!! Teacher! Are you listening? Just a few more seconds, and—”

The second he heard Evangeline’s cry, the conclusion was already set in stone.

[9th Circle Transcendent]

[Range Compression]

[Territorial Cataclysm]

Crack!!

Accompanied by a chilling sound, the monster distorted and tore apart under the formless, colorless energy.

- Haaah.

Josiah let out a defeated sigh from the other end of the call.