The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Davey held Evangeline’s hand firmly as they walked alongside the knights.

“You should consider yourself fortunate,” one of the knights said in a stern tone. “The young master is merciful—if he deems the circumstances reasonable, he may even forgive you by allowing you to serve under him.”

Evangeline tilted her head in innocent confusion. “Daddy, what does he mean by serving under him?”

He smiled softly in response and patted her head.

“It’s nothing important. It just means these men want to give me some work to do for them.”

“Work? Why?”

“Maybe they think I’ve done something wrong.”

“Hm… But you didn’t do anything wrong!”

“If Evangeline says so, it must be true.”

“We’ll head back to the territory first.”

“Boo…” Evangeline pouted, puffing out her cheeks.

Ever since the two had begun talking, the knights kept exchanging looks.

“Are you, by chance, a nobleman?” one of the knights asked cautiously.

“What do you think?”

The knight sighed heavily with a perplexed expression. “Forgive our impudence,” he said, bowing his head. His demeanor shifted entirely, from suspicion to deference.

“You don’t seem too thrilled about doing this,” Davey said as he swirled his finger in a big circle.

“I am not. But I am a vassal of my lord, and I cannot ignore his orders.”

In the distance, a mansion gradually came into view.

‘I smell blood…’

“To be honest, our young master is an ambitious man,” the knight explained. “He seeks to gather strong individuals under his command to bolster his forces by any means necessary.”

Davey closed his eyes. The concept wasn’t entirely unheard of; it wasn’t unusual for nobles to enter the service of other nobles. In fact, most royal attendants and maids came from noble backgrounds.

“So, he plans to use the fact that I destroyed the forest as leverage to put a leash on me?” Davey asked.

“Essentially… yes. But I ask for your understanding. The young master may be ambitious and a bit foolish, but he’s not cruel.”

“Hm?”

“He accepts anyone with talent, be they mercenaries, commoners, or nobility. While his methods can be aggressive, he still protects those he considers his own till the end.” РἈΝỘᛒËS

The knight made a faint smile at the thought. Davey figured that was likely why he was following his master.

“If he realizes you are a noble, he’ll surely do his best to treat you with respect.”

“That seems unlikely.”

As they approached the mansion, Davey moved Evangeline behind him and extended his hand.

“Wait, what are you—”

“Stay back.”

[Dispel]

The entire mansion seemed to shatter as the illusion broke, and a grotesque scene came into view. The sound of glass shattering reverberated in their minds as the mansion’s true state was revealed.

“What in the world…”

“The stench of blood still lingering in the air suggests this happened not long ago,” Davey replied calmly. “They cloaked the mansion to appear intact, but the inside is already a disaster.”

“D-Don’t just stand there! Find the Count and the young master! Second squad, locate whoever is responsible for this atrocity!”

“Yes, sir!”

The knights sprang into action, hurriedly storming into the mansion.

“Daddy…” Evangeline said as she wrapped her arms around his with a shocked face.

“Evangeline… The world isn’t as beautiful as you might think.”

“…”

“If you want to become a hero, you can’t turn away from sights like this.”

He wanted to let her know that a true hero couldn’t avert their eyes from horrors and filth; that they faced them and still held fast to their convictions.

In that way, Reina was someone to be respected. She had vowed to dedicate her life to the continent’s peace, pouring everything she had into her dream of tranquility.

For ten years, her resolve had never wavered.

That was the weight of the title, The Continent’s Sole Hero.

“Are you scared?” Davey asked.

“No. I’ve made up my mind: I’ll be someone just as amazing as you, Daddy. Even if I’m not a hero, I’m still your daughter.”

“Good girl.”

Though he remained strict in his teachings, it was done in the hope that his methods would help Evangeline grow.

“Here he is! We found the young master!” a knight shouted from inside the mansion.

“Damn it! Find the attackers! Hunt them down!” another voice followed, filled with fury.

Davey entered the dark, grim mansion. He walked up to the crowd of knights and saw what they were surrounding.

“My goodness…”

Evangeline gasped in surprise before Davey quickly covered her eyes with his hand.

“Daddy…” Her voice quivered.

It was only natural for her to respond in such a way.

The sight before them was gruesome, to say the least. The body lying on the ground was so mangled and burned that it was barely recognizable as human. Above the head of the corpse, carved into the wall, was the symbol of the Goddess Freyja.

“Captain! Look at this!”

“This… This is the seal of the Inquisition Tribunal!”

The eyes of the knights burned with fury and disbelief.

“The Inquisition Tribunal… Did they truly—?”

“No. It’s not the Inquisition,” Davey interjected as he stepped forward.

“Really?” one of the knights asked with a tone of confusion.

“The Inquisition doesn’t operate like this. Even the radical factions of the past never did such covert assassinations. When they acted, it was always out in the open, with public trials and executions.”

“Who are you exactly, to say such things…?” a knight asked cautiously.

Davey extended his hand in silence. Particles of pure white light began to spin gently before gathering around his fingertips.

‘Suffice to say their deaths weren’t peaceful. At the very least, I’ll offer some peace to the dead.’

The particles began to gather the shattered fragments of the boy’s soul, slowly piecing them back together. Whoever had done this hadn’t just killed him—they had torn his very soul to shreds. After a moment, his ghostly form radiated before dissolving.

“This… what is this…?”

“Are the other bodies in the same condition?” Davey asked.

“Y-Yes… but how… Who are you, to be able to do this…?”

Before Davey could respond, another voice interrupted from behind.

“He is His Highness, Davey O’Rowane, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Rowane and the Saint of the Continent, officially recognized by the Holy Empire.”

Everyone turned their attention to the newcomer, who had entered through the same shattered window Davey had entered from earlier.

“Did I speak out of turn?” the figure asked.

“No, you did well,” Davey replied calmly, turning toward her.

“It’s… it’s the Inquisition Tribunal!!” one of the knights exclaimed as all of them drew their swords at the intruder.

The woman was none other than Hildesnova, the Executioner of the Third Legion of the Inquisition Tribunal, who had previously aided Evangeline in fending off monsters.

“I arrived as soon as I received word,” she explained.

“You…” one of the knights began, suspicious.

“I’ve told you before,” Davey interrupted. “This may be a heresy trial, but it’s not the Inquisition Tribunal’s doing.”

“What do you mean?! The culprits left the Inquisition Tribunal’s seal! Even the most skilled can’t commit such macabre atrocities as this. If not the Inquisition, then who?”

“Let me say it in a way you can understand,” Davey said coolly.

He scuffed his foot against the symbol of the Goddess Freyja etched on the wall. With a burst of flame, the symbol burned away.

“The culprits are just fanatics, using the name of the Goddess Freyja to spread their madness.”

* * *

The beings that had targeted Josiah and the one responsible for massacring the Count were the same.

According to what Davey had heard, a seemingly ordinary peasant girl that wielded a hand axe was strong enough to slaughter dozens of knights.

The knights stared at the devastated scene, having happened right after they left to follow their orders, with hollow expressions. Despite the Count’s efforts hiring capable mercenaries, not a single soul had survived.

The disturbing aftermath of the massacre was everywhere: mangled bodies, signs of resistance, and splatters of blood all over the mansion.

Davey placed his hand on one of the blood-stained walls, his expression cold and calculating. The Heresy Inquisitor Hildesnova, having joined them late, confirmed that this was indeed the work of a cult. She began organizing the removal of bodies and gathering evidence for further investigation.

Evangeline had turned pale after seeing the horrendous scene. Davey entrusted her to Rinne and sent her outside to recover.

“If they were strong enough to put Josiah in such a dire state, they’re no ordinary opponents,” Davey murmured.

Josiah Frances was a Vampire Lord, far different from other vampires. In fact she was a complete one—an Eternal Vampire Lord. Even though she hadn’t fully awakened her power, the power of blood she had should’ve offered her ample protection against any assault. @@novelbin@@

They had even managed to kill her once—she revived, but had suffered injuries so severe that even her regeneration had been delayed. If the culprits were using powers related to the Heresy Inquisitors, it could explain how they managed to harm her despite all that power.

After all, the power of belief that the Heresy Tribunal used was especially effective against vampires.

But that also only applied to ordinary vampires. Against higher noble vampires—especially a Vampire Lord—such powers were almost useless. The idea that it could affect someone like Josiah was laughable.

“I need to probe some memories,” Davey muttered.

The culprits had gone to great lengths to erase the memories of their deeds. However, in their haste to flee, he figured they must have slipped up somewhere.

He placed his hand on the bloodstained wall, drawing mana to trace the shattered flow of memory. Just as he had expected, not all had been erased.

“The back garden…” he murmured.

With his hands in his pockets, he silently began to walk toward the garden. The faint, nearly imperceptible traces were something even most high-level mages or elementalists wouldn’t be able to detect. He followed the traces and slowly began to see what they were leading to.

He could tell that the individuals clad in embroidered robes had fled using the path he was walking.

Just then—

Shoosh!! Boom!!

From the forest, a burst of pure white flames erupted, followed by an ambush. Several figures dressed in black priest robes emerged, attacking him without hesitation.

They had aimed for the throat. The speed and precision were remarkable—enough to overwhelm ordinary Expert knights and cause Master knights to flinch. But their weapons and massive axe, as large as a man, never reached him.

Davey, with his hands still in his pockets, calmly lifted one leg, stopping the giant axe mid-swing simply by stepping on it.

“...”

Despite realizing their attack had been effortlessly blocked by the enemy before them, the attackers pressed on relentlessly, showing no fear. One of them began chanting rapidly.

[Bless us with your light, oh benevolent primordial Goddess Freyja—]

"A Lord’s Prayer? That’s crossing the line. You bitches," Davey muttered, narrowing his eyes.

Crack!!

The priest went down before they could finish their chant, blood spraying all over the place as they collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Davey hadn’t even lifted a hand to render their life forfeit. Even so, the rest showed no signs of retreating.

“Hmph.”

‘They were expecting me from the start.’

"Fine. I’ll play along."

Whoosh!

The woman wielding the axe ignited it with blazing white-hot flames once more, charging toward Davey with furious speed hoping to catch him off guard.

Thud!!

But the next moment, she found herself immobilized, with Davey holding her head firmly in his palm.

Boom!!

He took her out in one single, sickening blow. Her entire body shattered, blood pooling beneath her as her body fell lifelessly to the ground.

Of the three attackers, only one remained.

He figured he needed to leave one alive if he needed to extract information from them.

Still, something gnawed at his thoughts.

"This doesn’t add up. If they’re this weak, there’s no way Josiah would’ve been taken down by them.”

Josiah wasn’t someone who’d fall easily, even in the worst of circumstances. It would seem these attackers were more like puppets—mere facades of power. He figured something or someone was hidden beneath the surface.

In other words, it should’ve been impossible for them to kill Josiah—there had to be something Davey wasn’t aware of.

And then it happened.

Zzzt…

A sudden distortion rippled through the air. A clear voice resonated in his ears.

- I will utterly destroy you, Davey O’Rowane.

"…"

- Submit yourself to judgment.

The tone was mocking, laced with seething hatred.

- I bet you’re wondering who we are. Don’t worry. We’re united under one will. We are the judges born from the lives you’ve so carelessly ended.

"Care to elaborate?" he replied, his tone icy.

- We are the karma of the lives you’ve taken. Did you think the beings you slaughtered had no families of their own?

Davey paused at that, his expression darkening.

“...”

- You’ll never understand us, just as we’ll never understand you. Whatever your reasons, you’ve stolen our loved ones, and for that, we’ll destroy you.

"Now what kind of bull—”

But his words were cut off by an explosion.

“...”

As the voice disappeared, Davey made a bitter smile, realizing what the voice had been talking about.

"This… fucking bitch."

His anger swept the surrounding area in an instant.

"Fucking bitch? Daddy, what’s a fucking bitch?” Evangeline asked, peeking up at him innocently.

Davey froze for a moment, realizing his slip.