The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1252

Soft, steady footsteps echoed through the space.

In contrast to all the deafening sound from moments earlier, the surroundings had turned so silent that it seemed like sound itself had disappeared.

Prince Vasilion froze, staring blankly at Davey.

Mit, bleeding out on the floor, actually snickered between coughs. He sounded like air hissing out from a balloon from all the injuries, saying, “Pffft. Cough, cough. You’re screwed now, you son of a bitch.”

Crude and ragged for such a noble son, his state looked dire.

However, Davey simply kicked him in the side. “Keep moving that mouth of yours, will ya?”

“Gahh! W-Why did you kick me?!”

“Couple ribs shattered, stab wounds, mana corruption... Even a corpse would be in better shape.”

The blunt diagnosis drained the color from Mit’s face. “C-Can I... can I live?”

“Hold still.” Davey flipped him onto his back, set the bones by force, and pushed pure mana through his system to isolate and drain the corrupted flow.

“Aaaarghhh!!” Mit thrashed in agony, but Davey pinned him down without budging, snapping each and every bone back into place.

“Ughhh! Hrk!”

“Quit whining.”

“I’m not trying to! It hurts like hell! Gaaah!!!”

Davey knew he wasn’t lying. Forcing out corrupted mana hurt even more than broken bones ever could.

Sling.

Then a killing aura came in from behind, accompanying a blade coming straight for the back of Davey’s head.

Mit’s eyes widened at the sight.

It was none other than Isera!

Her face was empty, her body draped in rags, a bloodied sword clutched tight. She had never once hurt anyone before, or even held a blade properly.

Yet her strike at Davey came sharp and precise nonetheless.

Mit screamed, “D-Don’t kill her!!”

It wasn’t out of fear for Davey’s safety, but fear that he might kill her.

Davey, feeling annoyed, felt the impulse to cut her down. Instead, he ignored her entirely and snapped Mit’s last rib back into place.

“Grahhh!!!”

Thud!!

Of course, without him resisting or repositioning away from the blade, she was on track to pierce him clean through. Despite all that, however, the sword never so much as grazed Davey.

Rinne stepped in after planting her spear in the ground. She shattered the blade barehanded before twisting Isera’s arm, slamming her into the ground.

Despite Rinne’s small frame, she weighed over two hundred kilograms. Her body itself was a weapon all its own.

“Aaaaghhh!! Gaaa. Aaaahhh!!” She writhed and shrieked, struggling under the crushing hold. She screamed like she had become a monster.

Mit, while looking at her in vain, let out another scream, “Gaaa!!!”

Davey released him at last. “Bones are set, with no lasting damage thanks to my insane skill. I’ll send you the bill.”

Mit was left speechless at the audacity.

Davey stood, casting a light healing spell over him. Not even bothering to turn his head towards the retreating Vasilion, Dave smirked and spoke, “Thinking about running? Where to, friendo?”

“What...?”

“You’ll die regardless of if you reach the surface or not. Don’t bother going anywhere panting and panicking, it’s exhausting to watch.” He then laid a hand on Isera’s head and quickly checked her mana.

Unfortunately, it was too late for her. It wasn’t the power of vampires in her system, but rather the addiction to the drugs made from Sacred Grass.

The drug gave tremendous strength in exchange for a reduced lifespan among other hideous side effects. The precision of its effects was far too refined for it to have been whipped up overnight.

Even if he cut the flow now, the odds of her successfully recovering full functions would be slim. While he could save her with harsher methods, he also saw no need.

“She’ll carry trauma, for sure.” He severed a mana thread coiled into her mind, then she went limp like a toy whose battery had died.

“Isera!!”

“She’s not dead. Calm down,” Davey reassured him with an uninterested tone.

“O-Oh. So she’s not dead? T-That’s... good.”

Her twisted mana flow had been shooting into her brain, fueling the brainwashing. Davey had cut it off. The aftereffects would linger, but the incomplete research left a possibility to fix her.

Davey turned his gaze to Vasilion.

The prince gave a hollow laugh, masking his fear, and forced his voice to steady, saying, “Well, this is unexpected. The Saint of Tionis, here interfering in another nation’s affairs?”

“Interfering?”

“Yes. I am a prince of this kingdom! Your meddling here equates to Heins using its strength to oppress the Bosta Kingdom.”

Davey said nothing. Vasilion, mistaking the silence as a stepping stone to be more confident, spoke even louder, “You are strong, yes. Strong enough that even the Empire avoids open conflict. But you always held to neutrality! You never acted without a justification, and that neutrality was what earned you respect abroad.”

“Hmm.”

“But now? Where’s your justification? This is simple interference.” Vasilion gave a sly smirk, flashing his teeth. “So... step back. If you withdraw, I’ll overlook all that happened here. We’ll say nothing of it, and—”

Thwack!

The sound of something cracking rang out, and Prince Vasilion staggered to one knee. “Gah! What the—?!”

“You’re mistaken about something, sweet prince—I don’t mind if this gets out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why don’t you check for yourself?”

Davey then released the pressure on him. Vasilion took the chance to snatch up a stick to brace his broken leg before hobbling away with a limp.

“Should we let him go?”

“Might as well check his condition before he dies, though. A little mercy won’t hurt.”

Davey held no personal grudge against Vasilion. Sure, he hated that the Bosta Kingdom had tried to use vampire powers for their own ends despite a binding resolution forbidding it, but he didn’t plan to incite a scandal that’d crush the whole kingdom. With only the moderate faction of vampires left, stirring up conflict between them and humans would only deepen the rift between humans and the demons he hoped to reconcile over the next decade.

“First, let’s deal with the noise coming from above. Josiah.”

Following his words, something crashed through the shattered ceiling and landed in front of him. Dust sifted everywhere, but Josiah emerged without a scratch, her expression grim.

“What was up there?”

“It was some kind of chimera, mixed up of a bunch of living beings. I thought they’d all been cleared out in past purges, but looks like there were still some who slipped by. There were a lot of them, and the number of people glued together made it difficult to take them down, even with 6th Circle spells.”

“Were their chimeras that tough?”

“According to Milpieu, vampires once researched some kind of substance here for a long time. I destroyed most of it, but that prince must’ve used their brainwashing tech to try controlling monsters.”

If the drug already strengthened ordinary soldiers, then a strengthened monster could only be even stronger.

Falling out of the broken ceiling, a massive entity was revealed. It was a monstrous mass with grotesque, bulging veins. Its form was rather indescribable, and it showed not even an ounce of respect or fear toward Josiah who had just been fighting it.

For a living being made from the power of blood, it was quite surprising to see it not bow to a Vampire Lord.

“Can they not control it?”

“You may have seen machines be loyal to humans, but this? This thing’s just a chimera blob built from the power of blood. Besides, it’s heavily brainwashed, probably dosed to high heaven.”

Davey nodded in acknowledgement.

“Kraaa!!!” The chimera released a terrible roar. Despite only being a few meters in size, its loud wail made Mit clamp his ears in pain.

“Ugh!”

“Josiah,” Davey began.

“Yes?”

“I’ll lift your restraints. Wipe it clean, and make sure to leave no trace.” Davey couldn’t let more vampire traces come to light and reignite debate, as nothing good could possibly from it.

Josiah was shocked. “Wipe the traces? You won’t make this public?”

“The ones who originally caused this are extremist vampires. If word gets out, only the moderates who refuse to pick fights with humans will get blamed.”

He knew that wouldn’t be good for Josiah.

She looked at him, clearly touched. “Teacher...”

“Also, the demon project would suffer a setback.”

Even if it hurt now, derailing the scandal would help his plan over the coming decades.

“Do it. Clean it up fast.”

His words seemed to have lifted her mood, as she stepped forward lightly.

“T-Teacher! It’s dangerous!” Mit yelled.

It seemed Mit still didn’t fully understand what Josiah was capable of. His screaming was understandable though, as just looking at the monster was enough to make it seem too dangerous, even for a 6th Circle mage.

Thankfully, his worry didn’t last.

“Graaa!!” The chimera swung a massive, twisted arm at Josiah. At the same time, red droplets erupted from the floor, forming blood spears that impaled the beast like porcupine quills. Without any sign of mana buildup, the blood spears pierced through the thick skin of the creature.

Mit gaped at the sight. “What the...?”

“Do you think Vampire Lords are puny goblins or something?”

Each Vampire Lord possessed near-apocalyptic power. It was only natural for her to handle it so effortlessly.

Josiah flicked her hand, and the blood spears scattered. Then, up from the dispersed droplets, a massive wolflike maw surged and swallowed the chimera whole before disappearing.

“Jesus...” Mit went blank, his brain only then finally registering how powerful his teacher was.

“Hey, little Mit. Your teacher’s fucking awesome, isn’t she?” Josiah smugly asked.

“Teacher, why did you even learn magic? You can already hit like that without an incantation!”

“Shut up, you orangutan,” Davey grunted. “Going around using that stuff in public would only bring us all trouble, you fool.”

While he wasn’t sure about Earth, in Tionis, vampires certainly had a terrible public image. Mit seemed to finally understand why Josiah held back her power despite possessing such overwhelming strength.

Clearing the chimera left Josiah visibly uncomfortable, having used her true power for the first time in a while.

“So, Teacher, why are you here? You said you’d never interfere.” She hadn’t expected him to appear there at all. “I tried not to interfere, either. Kept my head down unless it was vampire business.”

Davey assured her, “You don’t have to anymore. Step in if you want.”

“Why? Wouldn’t this just get troublesome if word spreads?”

Davey shrugged. “Yepp. If I get tangled up for no reason, I’ll have to say bye-bye to my vacation.”

“Then why?” Her voice brightened, a little too cheerful. “Don’t tell me... you came here just to save me?”

“I made a deal with Count Chyde.”

Josiah clicked her tongue, annoyed.

Mit’s eyes flew wide open, flabbergasted. “What did you just say...?”

“Your father came and asked me to save you and your sister.”

Mit froze, stunned. He’d believed his father would forever cast family aside for strict principles, guarding the house above all else. The idea that Count Chyde had thrown all of that away to protect his children was hard for Mit to accept.

* * *

“Haaah! Haah!” Panting, Prince Vasilion staggered back inside the facility’s control room. Facing a monster like the Saint of Tionis, he knew he could only run so far away before being caught. At that moment, his life depended on the Bosta Kingdom’s royal family.

Whummm!! Whummm!!

He activated an artifact linked to the royal line, breathing raggedly as he shouted hoarsely, “Switch me to my older brother! It’s urgent!!”

His was full of desperation, trying to swallow back the pain.

He heard a familiar came over the line, saying, “What’s the matter?”

“Brother! Big trouble! The Saint of Tionis is here!” He kept shaking the artifact, trying to explain the situation. “They even stole a successful sample! Are you going to stand by while it happens?!”

The projection of the elder prince flickered as he fixed his gaze on Vasilion. “What are you talking about? A ‘successful sample?’ Why would the Saint of Tionis be there?”

“What do you mean?! Brother, send support! Now!!”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, Vasilion. Don’t tell me... you’ve been manufacturing forbidden drugs using heavily regulated Scared Grass?”

Vasilion could hardly believe what he was hearing. “Brother?”

“I knew you’d fallen, but I didn’t think you’d stoop this low.” His voice went cold. “From this moment on, for crimes against humanity and the violation of international agreements, the royal family hereby strips you of your rank. Our Kingdom's sovereign has authorized it.”

‘What kind of nonsense is this?’

The elder prince, his own brother, was the very person who had proposed the entire scheme. Yet there he stood, acting like he knew nothing.

“Give me your location, Vasilion. If you once held the title of prince, accept your sentence.” He was even trying to have Vasilion killed!

“What the hell are you talking about!!” He thrashed the artifact around in a blind panic. “I did this at your order! I trusted you—”

Then it hit him. Finally.

He had become the pawn.

Unfortunately for the royal family, Vasilion wasn’t dumb enough to miss the fact that he had just been scapegoated.

He glanced at his brother, then chuckled coldly as he turned off the projection. He turned around, facing the newly arrived Davey. “I should’ve known from the start when you stepped in. I was stupid.”

“See? The royalty isn’t your lifeline.”

When he saw Davey’s sardonic smile, he finally understood that the man had been involved all along.

Whether or not Davey had acted personally or pushed the Continental Union to action, the forbidden research would soon go public. The Bosta Kingdom would then immediately scapegoat Vasilion, claiming ignorance.

In short, Vasilion would take the fall for everything. The scene felt painfully familiar.

“Feels familiar, doesn’t it? It’s your old trick, making others take the blame.”

The prince couldn't think of anything to say.

“Ah! Actually, I take that back. This time is a bit different since you acted personally, so you share in the guilt.”

“W-Why are you doing this to me?! I thought you didn’t have any special ties to Mit Chyde.” Vasilion clenched his fists so hard it seemed they might shatter.

Davey responded, “No special reason, really. Count Chyde changed his mind after realizing what you’ve done, and so he came to me for help saving his children.”

‘That stubborn Count Chyde did such a thing?’

Vasilion couldn’t believe it. He’d felt completely assured that such a cold man would inevitably sacrifice family for principle. The idea that the count had broken his own rules to protect his kids felt impossible.

“Maybe this happened because you changed Mit Chyde so much,” Davey suggested.

Vasilion sank down in disbelief and glared at him. “What did he promise you?”

“Why would I tell you?”

“Hah.” He ground his teeth. “I can make you an offer. Whatever the count promised you, I’ll double it!”

Davey shook his head. “Probably won’t work.”

“No, I’m a prince of this country! We don’t hold grudges against each other. If it benefits both sides, why not just do a trade?”

Davey nodded at his words. “Right. Whatever Count Chyde does, or whatever Bosta Kingdom pulls, that’s a fight with the Continental Union, not my problem.”

“If that’s the case—!”

“Why would I care? What do I get out of it?”

Vasilion was suddenly left speechless.

“Besides, it’s something you could never follow through with.”

Vasilion stared blankly toward the rear. Mit Chyde lay unconscious with Isera on his back, as Rinne stood guard and Josiah watched from nearby.

“W-Why are you even doing this to me?! What could a strong man like you possibly want, for you to wreck everyone’s plans?

Davey paused, then gave a single, familiar answer. “For fun.”

Hearing that brought a satisfied smile to Mit's face.

Vasilion’s face, however, was drained of color. He had said those exact words to Mit the night he’d almost killed him.

“Ah. Aah!”

He was already taking the fall for the Sacred Grass incident. The crown had abandoned him, and Davey stood before him. Even if Davey didn’t kill him right then and there, it wouldn't be long before the crown pinned every crime on him and brutally executed him.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan to kill you,” Davey assured him.

“But I won’t have a future...”

“That’s for you to deal with. By the way, I’ll keep quiet about the vampire matter.”

Hearing about his supposed generosity, Vasilion ground his teeth with hatred. He loathed the mastermind who’d orchestrated the whole mess.

Vasilion suddenly snatched up a fallen case before opening it. Inside sat syringes filled with a crimson liquid that resembled blood.

“What’s that?” Josiah muttered as her brows raised.

Vasilion bared his teeth and shouted, “I won’t go down without a fight! I shall not go quietly into the night!”

He hastily grabbed several of the syringes and plunged them into his own neck.

The research records from the vampires had laid the foundation for the clandestine Sacred Grass experiments. The syringes were the product of those efforts.

Inside lay a drug that turned humans into enhanced soldiers and brainwashed them. It was also the prototype for a half-completed enhancement formula.

It was the culmination of years of work by the Bosta Kingdom, built upon the vampire research they had secretly held onto.

Crack. Crack!!

Within an instant, Vasilion’s body had already begun changing. Davey only sighed.

“I’ll kill you all!” As Vasilion let out a killing aura, a white light gathered in Davey’s hand.

“News flash asshole. Vampire power clashes with holy power, and the person standing before you is a literal Saint.”

The transformation continued, and his small frame ballooned to monstrous proportions in seconds.

Davey looked up at the shattered ceiling and snapped his fingers. “And Yosia, this is something you need to learn.”

He then snapped his fingers once more. “Waiting while your opponent transforms is foolish. I didn’t originally plan to kill him, but I can’t let any vampire traces leak.”

[The Lord spoketh unto them a solemn declaration]

[Eat shit]

[9th Level Holy Magic]

[Middle Finger of God]

A pillar of white light slammed down from the clear sky above the broken ceiling, striking the expanding figure and instantly incinerating him.