The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Currently, there weren’t many dragons who could freely move.

The three elders; the lord who had yet to awaken; seven other dragons that had reached an age where they could participate in battles; the rest were mostly young hatchlings or recently matured dragons.

Even when tallied together, there were only about thirty of them.

Originally, the dragon population had far exceeded that. Before most dragons entered their slumber, they strained themselves to reproduce, but those efforts only managed to bring their count up to fifty.

Most dragons used to reside on the Arrasis Continent—the vast landmass past the ocean on the far east of Tionis. At their peak, the dragon population numbered over a hundred. While not all of these dragons reached the 8th Circle, many had terrifying levels by human standards, capable of wielding dragontongue magic.

Of course, as arbiters of the continent, dragons avoided interfering too much and chose to live quietly amongst themselves.

However, at some point in the past, an internal conflict had erupted among the dragons, spiraling into a devastating conflict. The war, caused by a clash of ideologies, had led to countless dragons being injured or even killed. Even their lord had to enter slumber, while most dragons went into hibernation to preserve their strength and protect their offspring from future threats.

Centuries passed, and for some reason, all the dragons had awakened once again. The problem was that, in addition to the current generation of dragons who valued harmony, the radicals who had instigated their civil war had also woken up.

After the meeting concluded and the attending dragons scattered, Sapphire prepared to leave, only to be stopped by the blue dragon elder Marin.

“What is it, Father?” Sapphire responded curtly. Marin, with his blue hair and mature demeanor, calmly continued the conversation.

“From now on, focus on locating Rudelite.”

“That’s what I’ve already been doing. I went to his lair to find him, but he had already left on one of his games.”

“You’re the one best suited to finding his location. Don’t forget—our entire race’s fate depends on this.”

Sapphire frowned in frustration. Everyone seemed obsessed with finding his rival. He couldn’t understand why everyone was obsessed with the crazy bastard so much.

“Father, do we really need that red lunatic to serve as the Ceremonial Priest? You know how unstable he is—he’s practically insane.”

“I’m well aware.”

“Then why…?”

“Sapphire. Do you know why that lunatic was chosen as the Ceremonial Priest?”

Sapphire shook his head.

“It’s his destiny.”

“And if he goes through with the ritual?”

“Hmm?”

“What will happen to him once he completes the ritual?”

“The ritual involves placing a dragon’s heart into the Dragon Chalice. It’s nothing like our typical ceremonies.”

In other words, he would die.

“So, go find him, but don’t ever reveal the truth to him. It’s tragic, but the fate of our race depends on his sacrifice. We can’t handle the corrupted dragons with our current strength. Their power far exceeds what we had ever imagined.”

With that, Marin turned away. Watching his father’s retreating figure, Sapphire muttered under his breath.

“In the end, it’s all just an excuse we use because we’re too weak.”

“Then do you have another plan?”

At his question, Sapphire suddenly recalled the human he had encountered. That arrogant, shameless, and monster-like human being.

‘Maybe if… No, what am I even thinking? Even if he’s strong, there’s no way he’d be on par with the dragon elders.’

Though, the breath attack he had used was certainly an exception.

“I understand.”

He pulled a small gemstone from his pocket—it was linked to the one Rudelite held.

They were rivals, constantly fighting whenever they met, sure. But the idea of simply letting him die just didn’t sit right with him.

“He’s not far from here.”

* * *

Rudelite wore a conflicted expression.

The reason he had come here under the pretense of his game, deciding to stay, was simple.

“That sword… it just looks so dangerous,” he muttered, watching Evangeline swing her jet-black sword as she trained.

Technically speaking, if anyone discovered that he was actually a dragon, there’d be hell and chaos to pay. But he was enjoying the thrill of this precarious situation far too much to stop now.

He was a pervert who chased extreme thrills.

Even his kin referred him as such.

Of course, there was more to it than just enjoying himself. He had his own reasons for his current behavior.

One was to reclaim the treasure that the devil Davey had stolen from him. His other objective was waiting until these humans passed away from old age, going past their corpses to retrieve the divine dragon sword Twilight that Evangeline possessed.

For the moment, he knew it’d be impossible.

But dragons had one undeniable advantage over humans: their long lifespans.

If he could earn their favor and remain by their side all the way until their natural life came to an end, he could quietly recover everything without issue.

“Humans only live for about a hundred years, at best. But that sword… it’s too dangerous to be left alone.”

If something like that were left unchecked in the world, it would undoubtedly create unimaginable chaos. As an arbiter, he couldn’t allow that to happen.

That wasn’t all—Heins territory was teeming with fascinating things.

There were unique inventions and countless other oddities that piqued his interest.

Above all, for some reason, he found himself strangely drawn to Evangeline. It wasn't romantic—it was something else entirely. He felt as though he was looking at one of his own kind.

“Rudel,” Evangeline called out.

“Yes, my lady?”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Evangeline approached him slowly, wiping the sweat off her brow. Rudelite gave her a wry smile.

“Now that you mention it, I feel like I could eat a horse.”

“Hehe! Then let’s eat! Lunchbox time!”

She cheerfully pulled out a sandwich from the basket she had left under the tree and took a small bite. Then, she turned to him with a question.

“Do you like it here, Rudel?”

“Hmm… I suppose so. It’s quite nice.”

“What was it like being a mercenary?”

“Well... nothing out of the ordinary. Just traveling from place to place, taking on adventures and whatnot.”

“Wow…”

Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Watching her, Rudelite couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

This young human seemed to hold an idealized view of the word adventure.

Though her skills were beyond remarkable for her age—her Aura Blade being proof of that—the world was far from an idyllic place.

“One day, I’m going to become a hero, just like the Hero of Light Reina.”

“A hero, huh... I see. It won’t be an easy path.”

“Daddy says he’s annoyed with it constantly, but he’s saved the world multiple times.”

“His Highness did?”

“Yup! Hey, Rudel, if two people you care about fell into the water and you could only save one, who would you save?”

‘Dying just from falling into water? Oh, right—humans can’t survive long if they can’t breathe.’

Rudelite shrugged in response. “Hmm… That’s a tough one. I don’t know.”

“Daddy said there’s nothing to worry about in that kind of situation.”

He tilted his head, puzzled. No matter the other circumstances, if both individuals were precious to you, the idea of choosing one and abandoning the other shouldn’t be so easy.

But before he could linger on the thought, he noticed Evangeline making a comical impression.

Puffing up her chest and clearing her throat exaggeratedly, she deepened her voice to mimic her father’s.

“Are you just gonna sit and stew in your indecision forever? Save both of them! What’s there to think about?”

At her words, Rudelite’s eyes widened slightly.

[You, or your sibling—choose one.]

[I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die!]

[Then your heart will be placed there.]

He remembered that cold gaze, accompanied by the desperate cries of someone staring directly at him.

“Rudel?”

“…”

“Rudel? What’s wrong?”

“Ah… Nothing, milady,” he replied before standing up abruptly. “My lady, I just remembered something urgent to attend to. I’ll need to excuse myself for now.”

“Huh? Oh, okay! That’s fine!”

After seeing her cheerful smile, he turned away, his own smile fading quickly.

“Something isn’t right…” Rudelite muttered under his breath, letting out a heavy sigh as he walked away.

He wasn’t some fledgling dragon anymore—he’d been a full-fledged dragon for ages. Even so, he had made a mistake about something so trivial.

“For some reason, I can’t seem to control myself around those humans.”

Normally, when dragons engaged in their games, they stuck strictly to the roles they had set for themselves. But whenever he was near Evangeline or Davey, those carefully crafted roles seemed to crumble, making him expose his true feelings.

“I should organize my magic books or something to get my head together.”

Staying near Evangeline had always been entertaining. But her earlier words had left him feeling oddly unsettled, so he just wanted to be alone for the moment.

“Leave me alone. Everyone, out,” he said as he stepped into the quiet library.

Not that anyone was there to begin with.

He settled himself down in a chair in the far corner of the silent library, then began sorting through the books on magic.

“Why do you look so grim?”

Then a voice interrupted him.

“Who is it? Is that you, Slushy Head?” Rudelite replied dryly.

“Shut it. I’m pretty sure I already warned you that I’d kill you if you called me that even one more time.”

“Whatever. What are you doing here? Isn’t it bad manners to interrupt someone who’s in the middle of playing their game?”

“Sigh… Game? Do you even know what all is going on right now?”

“None of your business.”

“The Elder Council made a decision. You’ve been chosen as the Ceremonial Priest.”

Rudelite froze.

“Really? Great.”

“Anyway, what are you doing here? The air in this place feels... off.”

“It’s where a certain human resides. I’m fairly certain you know them.”

“A human I know?”

“Yeah. Davey O’Rowane.”

Crash!!

Sapphire widened his eyes and stumbled into a bookshelf in shock.

“You... You lunatic! What the hell are you doing hanging around that monster of a human?! Don’t tell me… you didn’t teach him dragontongue magic, did you?”

Now it all made sense. No matter how one looked at it, it was bizarre for a human to wield dragontongue magic. Sapphire became certain that Rudelite had taught the human their sacred magic.

“Even if I did teach him, do you really think that a human could harness so much power like that?”

“Fair point...”

“Anyway. Okay. Now leave. If you get caught, he won’t spare you like he did last time. That human goes into a frenzy at the mere sight of a dragon, saying he’ll rip their heart out on the spot.”

Sapphire tilted his head at the warning.

“And you?”

“I’m no different. That’s why I’m being so careful not to get caught.”

When a dragon was exposed during one of their games, the usual protocol was to erase all evidence and abandon it. But given the circumstances, it seemed like he’d likely be eradicated in body and spirit before he could erase anything.

“Then why are you still here?”

“Because it’s thrilling.”

“You lunatic…”

Sapphire let out a sigh, thinking to himself that there couldn’t possibly be another dragon as reckless as his rival. He then looked at Rudelite seriously.

“Hey. You need to run.”

“What?”

“There isn’t time to worry about your game. Once the elders find you, you’ll be made the Ceremonial Priest.”

“So what?”

“You idiot. You’ll die.”

“What…?”

“The moment your heart is placed in the chalice, you’ll die. Do you not understand what that means?”

Rudelite fell silent at the fact that he might actually die.

“So... the time has come, huh?”