The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

“Evangeline?” Davey called.

“Huh… Daddy, what does ‘fucking bitch’ mean?”

“Uh… uh, w-well… you see…” Davey stammered, scrambling for an answer.

She tilted her head in confusion, but it didn’t take long for her face to lit up with realization. She clapped her hands together. “Ah! I got it!”

Before he could respond, she ran toward him and hugged him. Despite the smell of blood hanging in the air, she was as innocent as she could be.

Davey figured she knew enough to understand that he had spoken curse words, given their harsh tone. He shifted the subject, lifting her into his arms.

“You’re not scared at all?”

“Why would I be scared when Daddy is right here?”

“Right…”

“Don’t worry. Daddy will always protect you.”

* * *

“Hey.”

“I’m sorry.”

Davey responded calmly as he looked away. Standing before him, gripping him by the collar, was none other than Perserque. Her expression softened slightly as she let out a deep sigh. She released him and sat on a desk, crossing her legs with folded arms as she stared down at him.

Her demeanor was strikingly queen-like.

“You,” she began. “How many times do I have to tell you to watch that foul mouth of yours?”

“Well, you see, Evangeline tends to slip into my speaking range from time to time…”

“That’s a poor excuse, even for you.”

“I didn’t think she’d realize I was cursing…”

“She’s still a child—one who lacks knowledge. How would she even know what cursing is, you fool?” Perserque snapped, pinching his cheek.

“Oww!” Davey yelped but made no attempt to resist.

For some reason, Evangeline was particularly difficult to sense. He had no clue that the cursed cult dude would blindside him out of nowhere! He had cursed in the heat of the moment, and Evangeline had unfortunately picked it up easily. 𐍂ÂŊŎꞖƐ𝐬

“If I ever hear Evangeline or any other children curse again,” Perserque said ominously, “I’ll personally see to your punishment.”

Her piercing crimson gaze was as captivating as it was terrifying. Davey knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

“Fine, I’ll tone it down,” he promised.

“Good.” She sighed, her voice softening. “You’re not hurt, are you? If they could injure someone like Josiah…”

“Well, something about them did seem a bit strange.”

The sequence of events was simple enough.

Evangeline had flown back home alone after leaving Illyna in the territory to help Davey, which was when she reunited with Perserque—only to receive a scolding from her right off the bat. Only after that did she apologize and admit her wrongdoing.

Perserque, in turn, comforted her with her favorite snacks. But when Evangeline proudly declared that she had learned new words from Davey—only for them to be curse words—the situation took a turn for the worse.

And so, Davey found himself in his current predicament.

Davey knew this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

“So, she didn't get hurt, right?” Perserque asked.

“She’s fine. What about Josiah?”

“Still hasn’t fully recovered after all this time, which is a first for her. But more importantly, I’d like to know what exactly you need from me,” she asked with a playful smile.

Davey looked at her silently for a moment before speaking.

“Nothing much.”

“‘Nothing much?”

“I just wanted to see you.”

“…”@@novelbin@@

She stared at him in silence. After a while, she sighed softly and looked away, her cheeks blushing.

“You’re so shameless with your lies.”

“Hey, come on. If you react like that…” Davey trailed off, feeling his own face flush as well.

It had been over two years since they’d married, yet there were still moments when he would get butterflies in his stomach because of her.

“If Illyna or Aeria saw us like this, they’d be jealous.”

“You’re all important to me, of course. But right now, you’re the one in front of me.”

“That sounds like something a playboy would say. Still, I quite like it, so I suppose you deserve a reward.”

She chuckled softly, stood, and leaned down to kiss his forehead. She had once been shy about such gestures, but Davey realized that the previous two years had brought many changes.

“Now, stop joking around and tell me the truth. What do you need me to do?”

“….”

“It’s not a pleasant task, is it?”

“Sorry,” Davey said briefly, his gaze locked with hers.

Asking her to do the task he wanted was absurd, but it was something he couldn’t entrust to anyone else.

He knew the enemy would never show themselves to him directly. If they had boldly crossed that line, it would’ve been much easier to track them down and deal with them.

But their leader was clever, and the power protecting her only added to the difficulty. Intelligence guilds were an option, but not knowing her face made it seem impossible to get any help from them either.

“Don’t worry,” Perserque said. “It may have been a long time ago, but I was once a queen who was at the seat of Demon King.”

Her smile was radiant, as if she had read his thoughts and sought to reassure him. Davey sighed, pulling her close to him and resting his head against her.

“I’ll settle this as quickly as I can.”

“You’re… acting different.”

“It’s just… complicated.”

Problems like these weren’t new. They came in different forms, but in the end, they were all the same.

But this time, Davey was genuinely shaken.

It wasn’t because they had targeted Josiah. Nor was it because they had gone after the Count’s family.

The real reason for the complication and difficulty was that the monsters were its creation. That truth complicated things in a way nothing else had.

“That’s why… I need you to become a queen,” Davey said firmly.

* * *

They harbored a deep grudge against Davey—not just as a source of anger or a passing obstacle, but as one of their ultimate targets.

Yet, they didn’t foolishly seek a direct confrontation. Instead, they finished before Davey could confront them and fled immediately after.

Their goal wasn’t to defeat him head-to-head—it was to bring about his complete downfall.

Fights were nothing new to Davey. He was always in some conflict or other. However, this time, their motivation seemed to be different. In most previous cases, the enemies had pursued their own goals, clashing with Davey only when he stood in their way.

But now, the roles were reversed.

“Their goal is your destruction,” Perserque said.

“…”

“And by your assumption, they’re trying to achieve it with this fanatical heresy trial. Is that correct?”

Multiple individuals had banded together, all united in their goal of killing Davey.

“Everyone has their own story,” Davey murmured.

Every person he had killed had a family. Those among them who had turned their grief into hatred had gathered together. This was the burden Davey had to carry—the price of his actions.

Someone who took the life of others must be prepared to lose their own. But if they continued to live on, they must bear the weight of the lives they’d taken. Philosophically, this was called karma.

It was somewhat similar to the karma utilized by Maximus, who was the Prince of Terraria and a user of Tai Chi. Overall, it was a derivation of karma.

Even though he had only killed those who deserved it, that reasoning wouldn’t bring comfort to the remaining family members. These people had been consumed by grief and despair. To them, it didn’t matter what their loved ones had done or whether they deserved it; in their eyes, he was the monster who had taken their family from them.

Logic and reason weren’t something they cared about, only vengeance.

Backing them was the constellation Libra. However, unlike Cancer or Taurus, Libra wasn’t a demigod with a distinct will or personality—it felt more like a system.

“Are you going to let them kill you out of sympathy?” Perserque asked coldly.

Davey remained silent, his eyes closed. Slowly, he reopened them with a steady, resolute, and unyielding gaze.

* * *

“I’ll be honest with you. The situation isn’t good,” Hildesnova admitted.

“Because of the investigation team’s intervention?” Davey asked.

Given that such a catastrophic incident had occurred at the Count’s estate, it only made sense for the royal investigation unit to step in. The explosion the damned cult caused at the very end was basically the starting signal of the elaborate plan they had crafted to bring down Davey.

The first move of their strategy was civil and political isolation.

A small nation couldn’t stand against the powerful Holy Empire. However, they did a surprisingly profound degree of damage. As with any truth that couldn’t be hidden from the world, this one came to light.

Furthermore, given the fact they caused the explosions using human souls as materials, it was clear that these individuals would stop at nothing to achieve their goals—no matter how vile the means.

“It’s all made for a big problem, as I’m sure you’ve already realized,” Hildesnova said.

“They know they can’t take me down through a direct confrontation. Instead, their path is clear—they’ll pursue two tactics to bring me down.”

Hildesnova nodded quietly at his deduction.

“Exactly. The first is tarnishing your honor and eroding public trust in you. And the second…”

“Destroying the things within my domain, rather than confronting me directly.”

The female leader of the Heresy Inquisitors seemed to be orchestrating two schemes, with no attempt to conceal her movements.

News was spreading of the brutal massacre at the Count’s mansion, where an innocent noble family from a small kingdom had been slaughtered by Heresy Inquisitors from the Holy Empire.

Naturally, the small kingdom would protest in anger, but it wouldn’t be enough to affect the Holy Empire. However, things would be different if it weren’t just one kingdom.

Davey figured the cult would expand their chaos across the continent by committing similar atrocities, making countless nations involved. The countries would then lodge formal protests against the Holy Empire. Even if he intervened, the evidence would still point to the Inquisition Tribunal.

The nations of the continent might begin perceiving the Holy Empire as a hostile entity. They could form an alliance to either attack the Holy Empire at worst, or impose severe penalties at best. Once the first blow was struck, it wouldn’t matter who started it—a vicious cycle of chaos would take over.

If the Holy Empire lost its influence, so would his Empire-recognized title as the Saint of the Continent. Such a loss would lead to serious ramifications across multiple levels.

“I’m sorry,” Hildesnova said solemnly. “I promised to help immediately, but it seems our only option now is to prove the Holy Empire’s innocence to the investigation team.”

At such a time, proving that something didn’t happen was much harder than proving something that did.

Unfortunately, Davey knew it to be only the beginning.

Count Farnese, an outer noble house of the Boltis royal family.

Viscount Shantis of the Pallan Empire.

Count Ariel and Marquis Shantis of the Lyndis Empire.

Marquis Devia of the Contas Empire.

The Shin family of the Blue Empire.

The Gong family of the Hyeon Empire.

Noble houses from all across the continent were simultaneously caught in similar incidents as the situation unfolded.

“Looks like I’ve taken a serious hit to my reputation,” Davey muttered, piecing together reports gathered about the continent. He clenched his fist so tightly his veins bulged.

Many countries had already been drawn into the fray. If the Holy Empire couldn’t prove its innocence in time, the consequences would be catastrophic. His enemies’ shadowy schemes were slowly ensnaring Davey, starting at his ankles and creeping upward.

Then, a few days later, he received an anonymous letter:

- Don’t think you can escape so easily, Saint of the Continent. Your holy magic will never stop our faith.

‘How dare this bitch provoke me like this… Fine. Let’s see how well your so-called faith holds up against my holy power.’

“Perserque. Sorry, but we’re accelerating the plan. It has to start now.”

He had both a strategy and divine power—if anyone dared to provoke a fight, Davey wasn’t going to back down. Especially now, with the Holy Empire teetering on the brink of being invaded by multiple nations.

They were provoking the Holy Empire, then redirecting the target before Davey could intervene, leaving him unable to track them down and focus.

If he turned a blind eye to the Holy Empire, it would suffer massive damage to its reputation, even potentially being falsely accused to the point of having other countries declaring war against it.

A spark fueled by growing anger and hatred could easily spiral out of control. And in this tight timeframe, hunting them down and eradicating them seemed impossible. Even if he did find them, they’d only try to fan the flames of chaos further.

Their methods weren’t about grand strategies but about cunning, petty schemes.

Davey gritted his teeth, his expression dark as he sat at the desk in his office.

“This type of opponent is the most annoying.”

“Your Highness! The Pallan Empire has begun publicly condemning the Holy Empire!” a voice interrupted his train of thought.

Diplomatic letters meant to dissuade them were useless. In fact, it was worse than just ineffectual—they backfired. The incident in which countless lives were brutally taken had been labeled the Blood Sabbath across the continent, and voices of grief and condemnation grew louder by the day.

The Holy Empire, suspected to be at the root of the disaster, was being pressured to admit responsibility, provide an explanation, and pay massive reparations.

Two more days passed as tensions built. While Davey was waiting for news from the northern mercenaries sent to investigate, word finally arrived.

Four days. If the truth wasn’t uncovered within four days, countless nations, including the Lyndis Empire and the Pallan Empire, would attack the Holy Empire.

Preventing war or violent world alliances seemed futile at the moment.

Humanity had a tendency to push forward relentlessly once it identified a clear common enemy. Davey knew this better than anyone, as he had done the same thing before.

In other words, these fanatics were making Davey repay his past actions by using his own methods against him—almost as if they wanted him to notice.