The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

The sudden turn of events left everyone speechless.

An assassin capable of defeating a Swordmaster in a one-on-one fight was incredibly rare and valuable.

And yet, that assassin—an individual with sensory abilities sharper than even a Swordmaster—was now on the ground after a single slap.

His cheeks were bleeding profusely.

“What a shame. That’s a serious wound.”

Davey then approached Sullivan, who was bleeding heavily, and grabbed the dagger stuck in his abdomen.

“This will hurt a bit. Brace yourself.”

Squelch!

“Gah!!”

“Consider yourself lucky. Even the slightest shift would’ve had you bleed out in seconds.”

“Ugh...cough... Where were you... huff... Why’d you only just get here now…?” Sullivan said with a ting of frustration.

Davey clicked his tongue.

“There was chaos outside. I took care of that first.”

His explanation made the atmosphere grow tense.

“Who is that new bastard?”

“Well, that’s...”

“Capture him. Drag him before me. He dared kill my men—he’ll pay the price,” the golden-haired young man said.

Then Davey glanced around to assess the situation.

“What is this? A rebellion?”

“Hah... I let my guard down. Even though the investigation was carried out in secret, they managed to exploit this opening so precisely...”

“Judging by his appearance, he must be a royal,” Davey murmured.

The royal directed his attention to him.

“You. You think you’re invincible or something, after killing just one of us? Are you not afraid for your life? Kneel before me this instant, and I might just spare you.”

“Daddy...”

Evangeline ran up and clung to Davey, causing the royal to smirk with interest.

“Well, well, well. What a charming child. Listen, even if things go south, make sure that girl is kept alive. I’ll take her back so she can be an imperial concubine.”

“...”

Davey turned his head slightly in response.

“Who the hell is that guy?”

"My disgraceful younger brother that our Royal Father once disowned."

"If even Emperor Pallan disowned him, he must’ve caused quite a problem. What exactly did he do?"

"He tried to molest Illyna."

Snap.

Davey stood up, cutting the conversation short.

"Wow, there sure are all kinds of scums in this world.”

Evangeline glared at the man. Davey sent her behind Sullivan before he continued talking.

"This won’t spark some war over royal bloodshed, will it?"

"As long as I live, that’ll never happen. Even if a war were to break out, the Empire's nobles aren't foolish enough to engage in a losing battle."

"Good to hear."

Then Prince Sibylle let out a cold laugh.

"You still don’t get it, do you? Brother, you have no idea how much power I've amassed by now.”

"It doesn’t matter whether I know or not—you’re not leaving this place alive."

"Ha. What are you all waiting for? I've changed my mind. Just kill him."

At his command, the assassins began to make their moves. However, none of them could take a single step.

"Wha… What is this…?"

They tried to move, but their bodies wouldn't respond.

"Three Swordmaster-level assassins, with the rest being Expert level. That’s quite the sizable force."

It was practically equivalent to a small nation's army.

"But that’s by the continent’s standards," Davey said calmly as he slowly extended his hand. Then—

Smack!

He lightly slapped the cheek of an assassin standing nearby.

Boom!

The sound of air exploding followed as the man’s body went flying, crashing and collapsing into a heap.

"W-What was that?!"

The assassins were bewildered, having seen it as nothing more than a simple slap.

"What’s his name?"

"Sibylle… it’s just Sibylle. He lost his family name."

"Got it. Hey, so you’re Sibylle the bastard?"

"It’s simply Sibylle, you scum!"

"Doesn’t matter to me."

Davey casually swiped the air and opened his Pocket Plane. He pulled out a card and gave it a spin.

"Hope it’s a good one."

Ssss…

A single card among fifty glimmered as it emerged. Light began to gather on the card, etching a single image onto its surface.

"Ha! I drew a funny one.”

The card depicted a pack of black beasts.

[Heavenly Demon’s Card Sorcery]

[Pack of Predators]

Black light began to gather around him, forming into sinister shapes.

"Go ahead and rip them apart."

With that, bears, wolves, leopards, tigers, eagles, and other beasts took form and swarmed the enemies.

"W-What’re those?!"

The startled assassins attempted to scatter, but the beasts attacked with relentless ferocity and overwhelming power.

* * *

Davey had practically subdued the enemies in an instant, changing the atmosphere dramatically. For Sibylle, who had acted recklessly without fully grasping who he was, Davey was basically a bolt from the blue.

“Ugh… Ahhh… Ahhh!!!”

Even when the assassins slashed at the beasts with Aura Blades, the creatures simply reassembled and resumed their attacks. The black beasts moved faster than they could flee.

The black beasts were different from ordinary animals. Their claws resembled Aura Blades but carried a different power, and their special skin, even when torn apart by Aura Blades, could allow them to continue moving.

“Prince… what are those things?!”

“They’re spiritual beasts—projections of soul power created through specialized sorcery. However, spiritual beasts aren’t usually this powerful. Their strength is directly tied to their master.”

‘You really have terrible luck for me to draw this card, Sibylle.’

With the soul of a demigod projected into these spiritual beasts, they were far beyond what Expert-level opponents could handle. Even Master-level warriors would struggle when overwhelmed.

“There’s an old saying that no one can withstand overwhelming numbers.’”

“What…?”

“Nothing. I’m just muttering to myself. More importantly, is Sir Halphas still working on finishing the trial?”

“Hah… That old dwarf would keep hammering even if the world were ending. Sibylle didn’t dare touch him or his work, so he’s probably coveting Surtr’s masterpiece as well.”

Davey glanced at Halphas who was engrossed in his forging, hammering away as if possessed.

“Seems like it’ll take a couple of days,” he said with a shrug.

He could see that Halphas was a truly passionate blacksmith. However, if he wanted to pass Surtr’s test, he was still lacking a few critical qualities.

“Graaah!! Get off me! Get off!!”

As the battle subsided, one of the black spiritual beasts approached, dragging Sibylle by the scruff of his neck toward Davey.

“This… This can’t be… It’s impossible…”

“Your Majesty, Emperor Sullivan.”

“Yes, Prince. What is it?”

“Did you bring me here intending for this to happen from the start?”

Sullivan shook his head.

“No. This matter was handled in complete secrecy. Even the nobles within the Empire, or even my closest aides, knew nothing about it.”

‘And yet they knew precisely when and where to attack?’

“They didn’t account for your presence, though.”

“That simplifies the question, doesn’t it?”

“Yes—there’s a traitor among us. That’s my conclusion.”

Sibylle, still writhing and cursing, was in denial of the situation.

“This can’t be… How could this happen… They’re supposed to be—!”

“Supposed to be what?”

“That’s… That’s…”

Sullivan approached the silent Sibylle and spoke slowly.

"Knight Commander."

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty!" The Knight Commander, who had watched the situation unfold in stunned silence, snapped to attention and rushed forward.

"This man is a traitor. Seal his mana and imprison him in the royal palace's underground dungeon."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"This can't be! This isn't possible!!"

The spiritual beasts had made swift work of his prized assassins. Though their skills were exceptional, they had simply chosen the wrong opponent.

"If I hadn’t been here, the Pallan Empire might’ve been thrown into chaos," Davey remarked.

"Haha… I will never forget this debt," Sullivan said sincerely.

"Be more cautious. If you die and the Pallan Empire starts causing trouble, I won’t be able to help next time.”

‘Even if the Pallan Empire is Illyna’s homeland.’

"You’ll regret this, Brother! Don’t think I’ll let this slide! I’ll kill you all!" Sibylle shrieked as he was dragged out.

After he was out of sight, Davey handed Evangeline over to Sullivan. "I need to step out for a bit. I’ll leave the spiritual beasts here in case anything comes up, so they can help if you need anything.”

"Where are you going? What…?"

"I’ll be back shortly," Davey said while waving in the air as if he was slicing through the air.

A thin, transparent veil appeared and tore open.

"Evangeline, be a good girl while I'm gone."

"Okay," she replied with a nod.

Davey then stepped into the Saint Sanctuary.

* * *

Surtr was trembling, his hands shaking as he took in labored breaths.

"This can’t be… This isn’t right… I have to stop him."

Rustle.

"Arghhh!!"

Surtr let out a bizarre cry as cold sweat trickled down his back. However, it turned out to be nothing more than the sound of a tool falling to the ground.

"Ugh… I must be losing my mind. Thinking about that damn kid has made my life hell these past few days," he muttered, looking like he had aged ten years.

He grabbed a nearby bottle of alcohol and chugged it down.

"I can’t let things continue like this. There has to be some way to stop him…"

But Surtr was at a loss. He couldn’t do anything himself, nor could he risk seeking help from the other heroes.

"I-If I tell those lunatics, they’ll go after it and learn about it themselves…"

There was no stopping Davey. Surtr knew he’d blow up the entire dungeon just to get what he wanted.

Though Surtr had hidden it long ago with the help of an old friend, he knew that no trap or safeguard would hold against his student who was deemed as the greatest psycho in the hall.

After all, even though they were close friends, the skill disparity was a completely different matter.

“It’s no use… I’ll have to go and ask Ares for help…”

As much as the Sword God Ares hated descending, Surtr believed friends should help each other in dire situations.

He swung the workshop door open, prepared to storm out.

“Ugh… The dark dragon’s energy in my right arm…!” He gritted his teeth, clutching his arm.

“Argh! You bastard! Your resistance is strong, but now that you’re sealed in my arm, you’ll never escape! Your name shall be Black—”

“Aaaarghhh!!”

Surtr collapsed to the ground, his body rolling about uncontrollably.

“Ah… No matter how hard I try, I can’t forget it…”

A devilish figure approached with a teasing smile.

“Davey… Don’t tell me… you found everything?”

“Hm. I might have? I can’t quite remember.”

“Don’t give me that nonsense! You, unable to remember?!”

Surtr clutched his head, wailing on the ground. “Forget it! Don’t say another word about it! I’ll… I’ll kill you if you do!”

Davey grinned even more sinisterly.

“Surtr, as your student, there's no way I’d let my master die. I’ve burned everything there to ashes—no traces remain,” he said calmly.

At that, Surtr widened his eyes.

“R-Really?”

“Yes. I’m not sure why you didn’t just destroy it yourself, but rest assured, I burned it all and buried the ashes deep.”

“A… Aaaah… Y-You…” Surtr crawled toward Davey, grabbing onto his leg. “You really burned it?”

“Yes. I noticed you seemed to have a bad reaction to something in there—I understand some substances don’t suit everyone, but you seemed particularly affected.”

“Well… I had… some bad side effects when I was young…”

“Oh, and that hidden room deeper inside…”

At the mention of the extra hidden room, the hero’s eyes shot wide open again.

“You were surprisingly pretty back then. I never would’ve guessed you had five older sisters.”

“Aaaah…”

“And… Well, I found out the reason you picked up the hammer was to become more of a man, which I assume you don’t want word to get out about. Don’t worry—I burned that too. But I have to admit; finding out that cross-dressing was considered your safest option back then was… quite the revelation.”

His entire body trembled in fury.

“The people of the continent will never know, and I’ll keep my mouth shut. I’ll take this secret to my grave.”

Surtr looked at his apprentice with a mix of overwhelming gratitude and affection. Then, in an outburst of joy, he shouted, “Thank you! Truly, thank you! I’ll never forget this debt for the rest of my—”

“Three kilograms of Helixium,” Davey interjected.

“...”

“Within three days. Oh, and it seemed like we’re running low on a few Star Cores as well. You can give me some, can’t you? You’re just pretending you can’t.”

Surtr knew all too well how many stars Davey had destroyed. Helixium, which could only be harvested in minuscule amounts from stars that shattered once every few millennia, was no longer the precious, nearly unattainable material it used to be—at least, not to Davey. Obtaining them was one thing, but the main problem was that the process of procuring it was grueling.

Davey smiled even more sinisterly.

“D-Davey? Have you lost your mind? Are you trying to kill your mentor?!”

“Weren’t you the one who always said we were equals as craftsmen?”

“That’s—!”

“Oh my, I feel my lips loosening without any Helixium to seal them shut. Oh, look at that! I think they’re about to start talking to Daphne and Apollo! I think it’s on my way to my father-in-law. You know, a Helixium lock on my mouth might just keep me quiet.”

“Aaaargh! No! You demon bastard!” Surtr screamed, grabbing onto Davey in desperation.

Davey crouched down, bringing his face close to Surtr.

“Now it's four kilograms of Helixium. And a Dragon Heart. You have three days.”

“...”

“Five kilog—”

“Alright! I get it, dammit! I’ll get them for you! Just stop! What did I do to earn just a hellish storm in my twilight years?!” Surtr finally surrendered, raising both hands in defeat. He knew there was no point resisting.

The moment his devilish apprentice had figured out the dungeon’s secrets, all hope was lost.

“Ah, thank you for such a fair deal.”

“Huff… Huff… You’re worse than a devil! Fine, I’ll make you the Helixium and whatever else you want, but you keep your mouth shut about all this! You hear me?! Not a word!”

As Surtr shouted in frustration, Davey paused on his way out and tilted his head.

“What are you talking about, Master?”

“You… You can’t mean—”

“Didn’t I say it was a good deal? And who stops doing business after just one exchange? Let’s continue working together. I’ll visit often.”

The situation took a sharp nosedive into chaos.

“Y-You, do you think I’ll actually give it to you if you keep it up like this?”

“Well, if you don’t, who knows what secrets I might accidentally spill?”

After accomplishing his initial goal, his radiant smile seemed as if a decade’s worth of burdens had been lifted from his shoulders.

Surtr groaned, knowing full well he had no choice but to comply for now. If he could just buy himself some time, maybe—just maybe—he could figure out a way to silence Davey for good.

“Oh, one more thing.”

“Shut it, you lunatic!”

Like master, like apprentice.

The problem, however, was that Surtr wasn’t Davey’s only master.