The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 948

Once his true identity was revealed, that’d be the end.

However, he wasn’t going to give up that easily.

Boom!!!

His dormant mana surged violently as his pupils transformed, splitting vertically like those of a reptile.

"Rudel!"

"Stand back, my lady."

Even though he had resolved to put an end to his game, he still called Evangeline “my lady” out of habit.

[Hahaha! What a disaster!]

Karma mocked, laughing uproariously. Despite returning to his true form, his arm remained ragged and barely attached after Evangeline’s slash.

[Well, fine. I’ve had my fun. But seriously, that filthy lower being dared leave my arm in this state? Polymorph or not, I can’t let that strike slide.]

As his overwhelming Fear began to intensify, Rudel stepped forward without hesitation.

[Nova Flame]

Boom!! Boom!!!

A massive pillar of molten lava instantly shot toward him.

"Huff... Huff..."

It was a 7th Circle Spell, Nova Flame.

[You damn bastard...]

Karma, who had been preparing to unleash his breath attack at Evangeline, emitted menacing battle energy.

"Hey. Why don’t you leave the human alone and focus on me? When did dragons become such petty creatures?"

[You sure talk big. It would seem you still don’t know your place—]

"Karma. If you stay in your true form for too long, you’ll draw attention. Finish this quickly—if the Elder Council catches wind of our actions, it won’t end with just a simple punishment."

At the stern warning of the black-haired dragon maintaining their humanoid form, Karma clicked his tongue in irritation.

[Listen, Rudel. The elders ordered us to simply retrieve you, but let’s just say... we have other plans.]

"Shut your mouth."

With those words, Rudel fully released his seals, conjuring fireballs in both hands before launching himself into the air. At the same time, Karma lunged toward him in his massive dragon form, and a fierce battle erupted.

[You think a bastard like you deserves the elders’ attention? Once I kill you here, they’ll understand...]

Bang! Bang!!

[That we’re the superior ones.]

It was the purest form of jealousy, but the intensity of his rage far surpassed simple envy.

Of the five dragons present, four merely observed the fight between Karma and Rudel, as though it wasn’t their business. Though they emphasized that there was a lack of time, they didn’t intervene, thinking that getting caught wouldn’t be such a big deal after all.

The battle was clearly in Karma’s favor. Unlike Rudel, who kept his polymorphed form to avoid widespread destruction of the environment during battle, Karma fought in his true form, keeping an advantage even though he bore injuries.

Crash!!

"Urgh!!"

Rudel, struck mid-air by Karma’s massive tail, was sent flying and coughing up dark blood.

[Do you really think you can fight me without revealing your true form?]

Polymorph served as a method to suppress the full power of a dragon’s true body. Even Eclipse had faced such situations before.

In a battle where both sides were of a similar age but only one had revealed their true form, the outcome was obvious.

Boom!!

Eventually, as if uninterested in fighting any longer, Karma’s eyes gleamed with power, and a massive gravitational force slammed Rudel into the ground.

"Ugh... Gaaa!!!”

[You fool, clinging to that ridiculous notion of harmony. Too scared to reveal your true form? That kind of thinking is why you can’t measure up to us.]

"Shut up... I’ll release this now, and start tearing you apart. Then, I’ll finish off every single one of you."

Rudel gritted his teeth and began to push himself up.

"Graaah... Aaahhh!!!"

[What the...?]

Karma's expression faltered as he watched Rudelite slowly rise, breaking free from the crushing gravity. He hadn’t expected Rudellite to withstand the sheer force of a gravitational spell—let alone while in his polymorphed form.

Karma tried to increase the pressure, intending to crush Rudel completely, but it was of no use.

"Ughhh... Aaaahhh!!!"

Crash!!

[What the hell?! You broke my gravitational magic while still in your polymorphed state?!]

Panting heavily, Rudel glared at Karma with his vertically slit eyes.

"Doesn’t any of this faze you?"

[...]

"Do you feel nothing after seeing Lady Evangeline?"

At first, Rudelite thought it was just his own delusion, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

"If you don’t... then there’s no point in talking. I’ll end all of you here today."

Red mana erupted from his entire body.

And then—

[Ah, yes. Dragons with unique hearts are always terrifying, aren’t they?]

With a thunderous crash, Rudel, who had managed to overcome Karma’s gravitational magic, was pinned back down.

"Ugh... Argh...!"

The intensity of the gravitational force this time was incomparably stronger than before. Karma turned his head toward the source of the new power, where a dragon with black scales stood nonchalantly, exuding an overwhelming presence.

[Karrella...]

[Step aside. I can’t stand watching this pitiful display any longer.]

[But...]

[I said, move.]

Karma flinched at its words and stepped back.

[Reveal your true form, Rudelite. Otherwise, this battle has no meaning.]

"Ugh... Gaaa!!”

Rudelite struggled to rise, his body trembling under the immense pressure. Suddenly, black, feather-like lights began to rain down around him, and he widened his eyes in shock.

"No!!!"

Boom!!!

A series of black explosions erupted in rapid succession, swallowing the entire area.

The destructive force spread in an instant.

* * *

As the aftermath of the massive explosion subsided, all that was left was a bloodied Rudel with Evangeline who had protected him.

“Hah... You’re fine after all that... I guess there was no need to protect you after all...”

Thud!

Rudel collapsed, his body battered and drenched in blood, while Evangeline stood over him, her jaw clenched and her eyes wide open.

“Rudel!! Rudel!!”

“I... I’m sorry, my lady... Please... run... Run to that human...”

With tremendous effort, Rudel managed to force the words out.

[Still refusing to reveal your true form? Then how about this?]

Karrella extended its massive claw into the air. Space itself tore open at its touch, and something began to emerge from the rift.

[Isn’t this what you’ve been looking for?]

“Cough...!”

Rudel, who had been rolling his eyes in exhaustion, widened them in shock. What Karrella held was none other than a small pendant.

[This is the last trace of your little sister left in this world, isn’t it? She was sacrificed for the ritual long ago, and now her older brother is to be the next offering. Do you know why the elders of your moderate faction are so desperate to find you?]

“...”

[They want to use the trace of the Primordial Dragon that resides in your heart to regain their faction’s power. Whether you die here or in their hands, it won’t make much of a difference, will it?]

Then Karrella stepped closer.

[But oh dear... What do I do now?]

With a swift motion, Karrella tossed the pendant into the air. Before Rudel could even react, an invisible force broke it, reducing the cherished memento to nothing but debris.

Crack!!

"Graaahhh!!!"

Rudel let out a roar, his eyes glowing with an intense crimson light. The mana he let out surged wildly, far beyond anything he had unleashed before.

He revealed his true form as a dragon.

The blue dragon Karma flinched at the overwhelming mana, while black dragon Karrella coldly observed him with an unfazed expression.

Surrounded by a crimson light, Rudel had reached beyond the point of no return. Yet, with his reason already lost, such concerns no longer mattered.

Boom!!!

Finally, with a deafening roar, the crimson smoke dissipated.

A dragon larger than either Karma or Karrella slowly revealed himself.

Three pairs of wings.

Scales that shimmered as if ablaze.

Two massive horns.

The red dragon that emanated a suffocating aura of mana.

Rudelite, the only child of the current Dragon Lord and the one who bore a unique heart, had finally revealed his true form.

Despite the oppressive air that weighed down on everything around them, Karrella remained calm and composed.

[Impressive, I must admit. But really, this is it? I don’t understand what the elders saw in you to make them pursue you so obsessively.]

Karrella prepared to launch an attack. However, when Rudelite spread his three pairs of wings and gathered his breath for a devastating attack, Karrella hesitated.

Suddenly, a strange and unsettling aura filled the air, making them instinctively aware of an imminent danger.

“Megalodria, pin that bastard down.”

A calm yet commanding voice rang out.

Boom!

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, rumbling with thunder. The sky itself began to distort as a rift formed, and a massive, bipedal dragon burst forth.

The enormous dragon struck Rudelite on the back with its knee, slamming him into the ground and pinned his head down with one massive claw, holding him firmly in place.

[You insignificant pests have grown far too bold.]

The voice was coarse and chilling, sending shivers down the spines of everyone present.

The crimson and black dragon flapped its dark, blood-red wings as if demonstrating its dominance. Even though Rudelite struggled fiercely, the newly arrived dragon simply let its glowing eyes flash once, instantly silencing his resistance.

[What... is this?]

The gathered dragons were stunned. The creature before them seemed like a dragon, yet... it wasn’t. Its presence alone was enough to instill fear in them.

It was Megarodria, the Azure Sky's Storm Dragon King and the King of Mythical Beasts. Slowly, it raised its head.

[It’s been a long time. Being treated like a mere mount these days hasn’t exactly been pleasant, but if it’s facing creatures like you, I suppose I can cut loose—]

“Who said you could ‘cut loose?’ I told you to grab him because I didn’t want the surroundings to get ruined. Just hold him and wait.”

Someone walked toward the crowd. The dragons hadn’t even sensed the person’s approach until they were already close.

[How dare some insignificant lower being tread—]

“Hey. Lizard.”

The voice, though simple, was enough to make their blood run cold.

“Do you even realize whose territory you’ve crawled into?”

[...]

The gathered dragons froze, unable to utter a word as their bodies stiffened. They instinctively began to emanate an oppressive aura in response.

Davey ignored their intimidation entirely. He walked past them in silence, heading toward Evangeline.

“Evangeline, are you okay?”

“Ah... Daddy...”

Her voice trembled as she looked up at him. As Evangeline sobbed and moved closer to Davey, he lovingly extended his hand and gently stroked her hair.

“I’m sorry, honey. I was delayed a bit while adjusting the large-scale dimensional alignment,” he said softly.

“Sniff... sniff...”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Rudel... Rudel...”

She pointed toward Rudelite, who was still pinned and silenced by Megalodria. Davey looked at Rudelite with a darkened face.

He then turned his attention toward the dragons who had attacked Rudelit— no, Evangeline.

[How did some insignificant human get lucky enough to make it here—]

- Kneel.

Thud!!

Before Karma could finish his sentence, he was cut off as his body was violently slammed into the ground.

It wasn’t simply gravitational magic.

Davey had used a higher-level dragontongue to suppress born masters of dragontongue.

[What?! D-Dragontongue?! How...?!]

Karma gasped in disbelief. Davey was in front of him before he could respond, looking at him with eerie eyes.

“How much does your heart weigh? You see, I collect and pick all kinds of magical materials.”

Though he looked human, his dragontongue magic carried a weight that none of the dragons could go against.

The dragons were paralyzed by confusion and primitive fear.

Meanwhile, far away on the Arrasis Peninsula, over twenty dragons began crossing the ocean toward Tionis.