The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

[By the will of the divine, I seek to save this lamb.]

[O Lord, hear the prayers of this wretched soul.]

[Though death may stand before me, let faith see me through.]

Chiiiiing!

A fiery crimson aura began to rise around Evangeline.

[When I walk through darkness where no light shines, by my lamp, oh Lord.]

[Grant me the courage to tread the thorny path.]

Fwooosh!!

"This is…?” Evangeline muttered.

The monsters that had been trying to attack her first froze then retreated. It was only natural; though Evangeline felt no pain, the monsters were clearly feeling its wrath.

[Ah. My Lord, hear this prayer.]

[6th Level Holy Magic]

[Divine Shield]

Whoosh! Thud!!

An enormous Fire Demon shield manifested around her, orbiting her like a protective barrier.

Shoosh! Boom!

From the other side of the forest, a figure dressed in a robe suddenly darted forward with astonishing speed. Wielding a massive gleaming battle axe, she struck it down upon an ogre, its skull shattering with a deafening crack.

"Step back, sister,” said the woman in a calm voice.

- Arrrrgh!!!

The figure—draped in a midnight-blue robe adorned with golden embroidery—moved with breathtaking agility while taking down the monsters. Her sudden intervention left the monsters stunned and hesitant to continue their assault. ṙἈ𝐍Ŏ𝐛ËṦ

Meanwhile, Evangeline gritted her teeth and picked up her sword. Despite the woman taking down the surrounding monsters with her gleaming axe, the relentless tide of monsters was undeterred.

[Longsword]

[Mountain Cleave]

Crack!!

A burst of energy erupted from her blade, slashing down a wave of monsters.

"Sister…"

"You’re in danger!"

"Thank you."

The woman, whose momentary distraction had left her back exposed to an ogre, turned and bowed slightly toward Evangeline with gratitude. She then began swinging her axe as its glow intensified.

No matter the situation, if the monsters escaped the fight, they’d inevitably head straight for the local territory. That was something that couldn’t be allowed.

Knowing this, Evangeline gathered her strength once more and continued cutting down the enemies.

A strange combination—her raw power paired with her lack of experience had led her into this situation. However, with the assistance of a remarkably powerful priest, she regained her composure and threw herself back into the fray, tearing through the relentless monster wave.

The two of them mercilessly crushed the monsters with overwhelming force, cooperating as if in perfect sync.

Still, even after taking down hundreds of monsters, there seemed no end to them. Perhaps judging that their losses were too severe, the monsters instead intensified their attacks, pressing forward with even greater ferocity.

"Dammit… How are there so many…? Sister, I’ll clear a path for retreat! Follow me!"

"But—!" Evangeline said.

"We won’t be able to spread the word if we stay here! We need to fall back!"@@novelbin@@

"Ahh! Priestess!"

From the other side of the forest, a swarm of gargoyles swooped down on the priestess. She swung her massive axe with the ease of swiping a branch around, but their continuous assault eventually exploited an opening in her defense.

Grasp!

One of the gargoyles snatched onto her shoulders with its claws, lifting her into the air.

"Urgh!" She struggled, gathering her holy power to combat it.

Just as she was about to manifest the power, someone interrupted.

"The grace… I’ll take it.”

Then the unknown figure said a prayer in an extremely arrogant way.

[9th Level]

[Middle Finger of God]

Crack!!

A massive pillar of light descended from the heavens, wiping out a portion of the horde in an instant. Following the light, a torrential downpour pierced through the remaining monsters.

"9th… Level Miracle…?” The priestess stammered as she fell to the ground.

She had clearly heard the incantation spoken before manifesting holy power, but she had never seen an individual cast 9th Level magic in her life. And if an individual did happen to cast one, the incantation alone would require continuous, flawless prayer for almost an hour.

In other words, it was almost an absolute miracle to successfully cast.

It was terrifying that one had cast the spell with a mere phrase, but the more shocking thing was that two holy magics had been cast simultaneously.

The monsters screamed in the face of the flood of light that appeared out of the blue. Moments later, a ominous tone flooded the forest, and the monsters fled en masse.

Just two people had successfully managed to stop thousands of monsters in their tracks.

The priestess, frozen on the spot, stared into the now-open sky. The wind blew her hood back, revealing long navy-blue hair—she looked like she was in her early twenties. Her wide, startled eyes indicated her inability to comprehend what had just happened.

Sling…

Suddenly, the cold edge of a dark spear pressed against her neck.

"Don’t move. Inquisition Tribunal,” a low, commanding voice ordered.

"Y-You…"

"I have many questions for you," the figure behind her said firmly.

As she tried to turn around and see who was talking, her body instinctively stiffened as the fear that she might actually die took root within her.

[Grant me the courage to tread the thorny path.]

She silently recited this prayer, over and over. Finally, she managed to muster the strength to slowly, cautiously, glance back.

“Daddy?!"

The suffocating killing aura that had enveloped the area vanished in an instant.

“Daddy, is that really you?”

When the priestess turned to the voice, she saw the brave young girl who she had saved clinging to a man who looked young enough to be her brother.

“Daddy, stop! This Sister saved me!” Evangeline cried out, her voice filled with urgency.

The man, calm and composed, grabbed hold of her. His killing aura, which had seemed so real moments ago, dissipated as if it had never existed.

“You can’t run off again now, Evangeline.”

“W-What?”

* * *

"It’s an honor to meet you, Saint of the Continent. I am Hildesnova, Executioner of the Third Legion of the Inquisition Tribunal. Please, call me Hildes," the navy-robed priestess introduced herself with a respectful bow.

Davey, standing before her, responded with a question, “So, Hildes, you’re with the Inquisition Tribunal?”

She nodded. "Yes, I am. And you… Are you the one I think you are?"

“If the person you’re thinking of is Davey O’Rowane, then yes.”

“Oh, I knew it,” she said, clasping her hands together in a prayer stance. “The Goddess Freyja hasn’t abandoned us after all.”

“Enough with the prayers. Now, tell me, what’s a priestess from the Inquisition Tribunal doing here?”

“I was traveling the world under the orders of Saintess Lena, bringing heretics to repentance, when I happened upon this place,” Hildes explained.

‘Wait, Saintless Lena?’

“Did you just say Saintess Lena?” Davey’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Yes… After you dismantled the Inquisition Tribunal’s main headquarters, the Holy Empire found out the atrocities committed by the organization. That led to a reformation, restructuring it into a new organization with new rules and policies.”

The current Inquisition Tribunal had undergone significant reforms, showing that its existence remained necessary. Without it, cults—particularly the dangerous and malicious ones—would rise unchecked.

"The Church of Freyja doesn’t suppress other faiths, but when things get out of hand, we have no choice but to intervene anyway. It’s part of the treaty we signed with the Three Empires."

Davey nodded slightly. "You know more than I expected."

"May I ask… why you pointed a weapon at me earlier?"

"It’s nothing personal. I’ve been hunting down a group of heretic judges,” Davey replied.

"Heretic… judges? You don’t mean executors?"

"No, not executors. I mean judges.”

Her face paled. "Judges? That can’t be. Claiming the title of judge is a direct violation of church doctrine."

"Maybe by your human standards.”

She widened her eyes in response. "What do you… mean by that?"

"Do you know anything about the monsters that attacked just now?"

"Ah… Yes, I’ve encountered similar incidents before. But…"

"Didn’t it seem strange to you?"

As the realization began to dawn on her, she fell silent.

"That’s their doing. I thought the Inquisition Tribunal might have some useful information, but it seems I was wrong," Davey said with a shrug.

"Saint, please—"

"Return to your headquarters," Davey interrupted. "Report to Saintess Lena that there are people using the name of the Church of Freyja to commit atrocities.”

Of course, the irony was that Davey was no different from them.

Beings masquerading as the Church—specifically, claiming to be from the Inquisition Tribunal—were conducting purges the original Inquisition Tribunal had never carried out in the past.

"I can’t do that," Hildes said firmly, bowing her head. "I’ll send a code, but let me assist you as well.”

"I’ll refuse your request. Honestly, you’ll just get in the way."

"I’m not trying to brag, but I’m a First-Class Executioner capable of using 6th Level holy magic! I can be of great help!" she protested, her voice rising in determination.

“It seems the Tribunal changed quite a bit. Back then, it was just a group of high-handed lunatics."

"That’s because of you. Everything changed after your intervention.”

“Hm.”

He then turned around.

"But still no."

"But…" she tried to argue in shock.

"No means no. I’ll apologize now for pointing a weapon at your neck. My daughter was in danger, and I lost my temper."

"Is she really your daughter?"

"Yep. A daughter so precious I wouldn’t trade her for the world," Davey replied with a warm smile.

The sincerity of his smile left Hildes momentarily stunned before she bowed respectfully.

"Is there truly no way I can help?"

"Nope. But if you can guide me around this area, that’d—”

"Ah! I know this place really well! Better than most mercenaries!”

"Hm?”

"I grew up around here, so you can leave it to me! Though we’ve had our differences, the Inquisition Tribunal is committed to fulfilling our sacred duty when it’s needed most," Hildes declared with conviction.

"Is that so? Alright, I’ll take you up on that."

"Then let’s get moving right awa—"

"Hold on. Before we go," Davey interrupted, pulling out a box.

It had two plush toys—a rabbit and a bear.

For a moment, she stared at the toys with a shocked face wondering if the Saint of the Continent had this kind of cute hobby.

"Evangeline’s upset, so I thought a gift might cheer her up. Which one do you think she’d like better?"

Her jaw dropped in response. "Evangeline…?"

"My daughter. The one you just saved."

"Ah…"

Hildes muttered in confusion, then hesitantly pointed to the rabbit. "I’d say… this one."

"Got it. I’ll trust you on this," Davey said, neatly wrapping the rabbit plush with a ribbon and stowing it in the gift box before standing.

Hildes watched him in silence, her thoughts swirling.

‘Is this really the man who tore apart the Inquisition Tribunal without mercy? The same person who stormed the Holy Empire and summoned dozens of meteors to threaten us?’ He’s the brilliant tactician who prepared to single-handedly defend the continent?

Hildes sighed and shook her head with a faint smile. "Turns out he’s just a… total daughter-obsessed fool."

* * *

Evangeline sat on a wooden chair in the guild, quietly sipping her drink. She looked away when the man in front of her suddenly plopped down with a heavy sigh.

"I’m sorry, Evangeline," Davey said, his voice soft.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

‘Why is Daddy apologizing? I should be the one apologizing.’

"I’m sorry for not understanding your feelings better," Davey continued, handing her a box. "Here, this is for you. I hope you like it."

Evangeline hesitated before carefully taking the box. Slowly, she opened it to find a rabbit plush. Her cheeks flushed as she hugged the toy close to her chest and tears welled up in her eyes.

‘How could he not be my Daddy? He loves me so deeply, worries about me without end—how could he not be?’

The thought of him not being her biological parent no longer mattered. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she hugged the plush toy tightly.

Seeing her crying, Davey panicked. "Evangeline? Did Daddy do something wrong? Tell me, okay?"

"Sniff... sniff."

Through her tears, Evangeline slowly raised her head. "Daddy…"

Thud!!

‘Damn it, there’s always someone who ruins the moment.’

"We’ve heard reports of a mercenary causing chaos here at the Southern Plains! Surrender immediately! Young Master Waldo of the territory demands your presence!"

Knights barged in, forming a heavy atmosphere. The nearby mercenaries muttered to each other in confusion.

But Davey paid them no mind.

"Evangeline? Do you want to come hug Daddy?"

"Sniff… sniff.”

"It’s okay. Come here."

Completely ignoring the commotion, Davey focused on calming his daughter.

"Hey! You there! Are you deaf?! I said—!”

Before the knight could finish, Davey casually waved his hand, sealing his mouth shut before he could speak another word.

"Shut the hell up. Can’t you see something important is going on here?"

"Daddy… Are you really my real daddy?"

"Of course I am. Do you think I’m a fake dad or something?"

"But my real parents…"

"Don’t you think I’m more of a dad than the terrible ones who abandon their own children after bringing them into this world?" Davey asked with a teasing grin.

Evangeline stared at him, realizing how futile her endless worrying had been. But she still had one question that she had thought about for so long—the one truth she needed to confront.

It was too heavy a burden for a child her age to bear.

"Then… is it true that… Daddy killed Eclipse?"

Davey froze for a moment.

At the same time, the knights who felt they had been ignored stepped closer, pointing their swords at him.

"Are you ignoring the order of a knight—”

"Hey," Davey interrupted casually, holding Evangeline in his arms. "You might want to lower that sword while I’m still asking nicely. I’m not sure if I can stay calm much longer."

"Silence, mercenary scum!" the knight barked.

"Let’s talk while we move," he said.

"Huh?" Evangeline looked at him, confused.

"I’ll explain everything. And you said you wanted to be a hero, right? I’ll help you. How about we travel together for a while?"

"Really?"

"Of course. So forget all the worries for now—"

Evangeline stiffened suddenly, her body tense in his arms. Davey tilted his head.

"Not the right thing to say? Hm,"

"Sigh… He shouldn’t have said that.”

Davey was extremely calm despite being surrounded by knights.

"Evangeline?" Davey called gently.

She bit her lip, trying to hold back tears. Her eyes shimmered as she looked up at him.

"I… I’m sorry. I must’ve said something wrong again.”

"No… It’s fine.”

"Alright. Now," Davey turned his attention to the knights. "You guys came looking for me, did you?"

A chilling smile flickered across his face, belying his high levels of stress.

"What are you doing? Lead the way. Go on," he ordered.

"You were the one… that caused chaos in the woods?”

"Yeah. That was me. Now lead the way.”

"F-Follow us…."

The knights felt the weight of his unsettling smile to be colossal, but they had no choice but to follow the orders of their master.

* * *

"Please! Spare me! Do you know who I am?! I’m the son of the lord who protects this land! Stop… Stop!!"

"You’re a heretic.”

"You’re a heretic.”

The young girls chanted like robots. From their midst, a woman emerged.

"Mercy for heretics? None exists. Seek repentance elsewhere."

Crack!!

She smashed the man in one blow and rested her axe on her shoulder.

"The Saint of the Continent will soon be making his way here. Withdraw immediately.”

"Yes, Judge.”

"Just you wait, Davey O’Rowane. You killed my brother. I’ll make sure you meet the same fate,” she said in a chilling tone.

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Editorb’s Thoughts

Oh, so that's where Waldo was. I should've known.