The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1039

Kouna could tell something was off when the monsters suddenly started fleeing away.

Monsters typically stuck to their territories, so seeing them swarm toward a single point had been highly unusual.

She even thought the same when she saw the monster horde when the gray monster appeared.

But then it suddenly all made sense.

‘They were running away.’

Even for the brutal, survival-driven monsters of this rift, he was something so terrifying that they had instantly abandoned their instincts to flee for their lives.

The Awakened individuals around Davey looked confused.

"Hey, back off. You’re too old for this. You’re gonna get snot on me."

"Huaaahhh!!" Kouna clung to Davey, sobbing uncontrollably. She had barely escaped death, and the weight of it crashed down on her all at once.

Davey frowned, clearly uncomfortable, but he still clicked his tongue and patted her on the back. "There, there. You’re fine now. Cut it out. Man, I really hope Per isn’t watching this live stream.”

- Yo, is he cheating on the Queen right now?

- Damn, his skill at seducing minors is insane.

- Lock him up.

"If you don’t wanna get timed out and banned, shut the hell up, assholes," Davey grumbled as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the tears and blood from her face.

The man somehow managed to be just as inscrutable and impossible to predict as ever. One moment, he’d be merciless. Next, he’d be unbelievably warm to those within his bounds.

"Alright, move aside. How many people are injured?"

When Davey firmly pushed Kouna away, she looked up at him with a complicated face. "You are...”

"The Saint of Tionis..."

The Awakened individuals looked visibly shaken. Frankly, they weren’t sure whether they should be relieved or terrified.

"Run!! That thing is on a completely different level from anything else we’ve seen!" one of the Awakened screamed as others agreed, their voices full of desperation.

Davey, however, silently glanced at the chat window.

- Damn, they looked exhausted as fuck.

- Thank goodness he got there in time. This could’ve been a massacre.

- What even is that thing? That’s a... placenta and an umbilical cord, isn’t it?

- Bro... I think I’m gonna puke.

Some panicked at the gray monster’s grotesque appearance, some among them even paralyzed by its terrifying aura.

- That thing looks like a final boss, but why am I not even a little nervous?

- For real tho LMAO

The viewers weren’t taking the situation seriously at all.

Then, the creature opened its horribly twisted mouth.

[Hor... ne?]

The monster spoke in an eerie voice, tilting its head.

"Oh? It talks?"

[Horne. Kill horne.]

Despite the overwhelming aura pressing it down, it struggled to rise back to its feet.

“Mother... enemy. Daphne, kill.”

Hearing that, Davey’s expression shifted instantly.

Kouna widened her eyes when she felt the sudden, icy shift in his presence.

"Sorry, I’m stopping the stream for a bit,” he said in a flat voice.

With that, he switched off the camera pinned to his outfit.

"What the hell is that thing?"

[Kraaaa!!!]

The gray monster, still struggling against the pressure crushing it, roared in defiance.

Just as Kouna opened her mouth to shout something, the creature split open its maw.

From within, dozens of tendrils exploded outward, wrapping around Davey’s arms and legs. It then yanked him forward, attempting to swallow him whole.

[Daphne... Daphne!!]

Hearing that name again, his expression became even harder to read.

The monster continued to scream and struggle.

The other Awakened individuals—their last hope bound and apparently helpless—began to panic. Their faces turned ashen, despair settling in.

But there was something they weren’t connecting together.

They should’ve realized what kind of being it took for every monster in the rift to flee without attempting to resist or fight back.

"Never seen a species like this before."

Boom!!!

The moment Davey spoke, the tendrils wrapped around him shuddered violently. It wasn't long before they burst into flames.

"You’re really weak to holy power, huh?"

The monster convulsed in pain. Mental pressure alone clearly wasn’t enough to suppress it.

Whether it was in a berserk state or simply too pure to even comprehend the difference, the thing was far too alien to be considered as just an ordinary creature.

"I’ll ask Daphne for the details later." Reaching into his pocket, Davey pulled out a light-green mana stone and activated it.

He then approached Kouna and handed it to her.

"Hey. Do you see that thing?"

Kouna hesitated, gripping the stone tightly. "Yes..."

The way he acted so casually in front of a formidable enemy left the onlookers speechless.

"Make sure to get a good shot of that guy. From now on, we're capturing everything we see, one by one. Oh, before I forget.”

As if something had suddenly come to mind, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Whum!! Clang!!

A pure white light burst from behind him, scattering feathers into the air.

They soon seeped into her body, fully restoring what had only been partially healed before.

"Feeling better now? Make sure not to miss a single thing. For the rest, I'll make sure they're only short of breath at most."

While she quickly glanced around, the others who had been barely hanging on began recovering at an astonishing rate.

She felt like she was witnessing a miracle first-hand. No healer, no matter how gifted, could perform such an absurd gift of restoration. Even back when she had traveled to Tionis in Alf Online, she had never seen anything close.

She wondered if it was simply the healing power granted to one who bore a stigmata. Looking at those who examined their now-healed bodies in astonishment, she quietly steadied her breath.

Aggression, voice, attack patterns, durability—everything. She moved to capture footage of exactly what he had asked for.

Meanwhile, Davey slightly stretched before wrapping both fists in holy power.

The satisfying sound of joints popping echoed.

"There weren’t any monsters like you in the other rifts, so I guess this place is a little special? Go ahead, put on a show for me."

An annoying variable had appeared.

The trembling monster let out an ear-piercing shriek, charging forward like a child in the middle of a tantrum.

Boom!!!

Unlike what its childish movements would suggest, its speed was formidable. It lunged toward Davey like a flash of lightning, its claws aiming straight for his heart.

Considering those claws pierced through metal and anything else without resistance, someone watching would have thought Davey was being careless.

"Kyaaa!" A sickening sound echoed, and a totally unexpected scene unfolded before them. “Kiaaahhh!!”

Davey had closed the distance in an instant and broken its claw.

Its claws were about thirty centimeters long, yet instead of just breaking them at the base, he had completely ripped them out.

"Man, that’s a bit too dangerous for a kid to toy around with!!”

But of course, the thing wasn’t called a monster for nothing.

It suddenly lashed its long tail toward Davey, forcing him to cut himself off mid-sentence and step back.

"Hmm. So you're adept at mutation too. Unfortunately, it looks like a conversation won't be possible."

For a second, he’d thought it was capable of speech. But clearly, that wasn't the case.

[Hor... ne Horne. Kill.]

“Hm, I definitely overestimated you.”

Having made up his mind, Davey tapped his foot lightly against the ground before raising his head to meet its gaze.

"Seems like you're hiding quite a bit. Guess I’ll have to be a little rough until you spill it all." His tone was as if scolding a child, but there was nothing gentle about the intent behind his words.

Boom!!

He drove his fist into the monster’s stomach. Despite its gaunt frame, its bloated abdomen caved in upon impact and forced a grotesque liquid out of its mouth.

Ssss!!!

"Ugh! What the hell is this thing?! Some kind of alien?!"

The unknown substance—whether blood, stomach acid, or something else—corroded everything it touched, melting through the ground.

Looking at what it could do, Davey knew it was clearly something far beyond ordinary stomach acid.

Nonetheless, what followed was a completely one-sided assault. The gray monster, whose sheer presence alone had crushed the Awakened individuals under its weight, was rendered to nothing more than a struggling creature desperately fighting to survive against a single man.

"Am I dreaming?"

"H-He’s... on a whole different level."

For the onlookers, Davey’s level of dominance was nothing short of absurd.

They had seen powerful individuals before, but standing face-to-face with such an overwhelming force made them realize just how insignificant those individuals were in comparison.

They couldn’t believe he wasn’t even an Awakened individual—he was just a regular human who had reached such a level through sheer effort and training.

It was impossible to fathom just how much he’d had to endure, how much he’d pushed himself to become who he was at that moment.

But not everyone was drowning in disbelief.

"If we have him helping us, then dangerous rifts won’t even be a problem anymore,” one of the Awakened muttered.

"Yeah..."

While some risked their lives with the survival of humanity heavy on their shoulders, there was an individual who was facing the enemy as if he were merely out for a stroll.

One of the individuals analyzed the situation aloud, "He’s not just taking it easy. Normally, he should've finished it in an instant, but that thing is being cautious too.”

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Despite standing not far away from the gray monster, they were more preoccupied with discussing the unfolding scene than preparing to fight.

‘No, that's not it.’

Unlike them, Kouna understood that Davey never had any intention of killing the monster.

He was busy extracting information from it—its movements, traits, and every other detail. He was intentionally creating openings, deliberately pressing it, and purposefully giving it opportunities.

Still, Kouna wasn’t about to criticize her comrades for failing to notice his intent.

"Hmm. It’s definitely a newborn."

Davey, however, found the situation a bit puzzling. He knew that no being should possess such ridiculous strength at birth.

The fleshy umbilical cord hanging from its stomach was clear proof that it had only been born moments before. The presence of the cord also meant that it had to be naturally birthed.

It was different from artificially created beings like the Princesses of the Abyss. For a lifeform born through natural laws, the thing was absurdly strong.

It saying Daphne’s name also piqued his curiosity. Her name gnawed at his thoughts, deepening his intrigue.

"Did anything about it stand out?" Davey asked Kouna.

Startled by his sudden question, she stammered before speaking up, "A-A standout?"

"Yeah. Anything strange or unusual."

"Not really... But right before it appeared, there was an enormous energy fluctuation."

"So that's where that came from, eh?"

The creature clearly lacked control over its power.

"Then it’s fair to assume it was just lying dormant until now, and has only just been born.”

With that conclusion, Davey decided to press harder to investigate what had caused the thing to come to that rift.

It was weak against holy power, so he struck it with a fist infused with holy power, tearing off its entire arm. The monster let out a terrified shriek, its body trembling uncontrollably. Then, rather than retaliate, it turned and bolted as fast as it could.

"It has the intelligence to run away, too. Kouna,” he called out while turning to her, “get out of the rift. I’ll take care of the rest."

"B-But there are still monsters—"

"I’ll have someone escort you out. Just hold onto that and return it to me once I’m out." Pointing to the video stone, Davey snapped his fingers.

At that instant, as if waiting for his command, some being began gathering from the surrounding shadows.

It wasn't long before about thirty skeletons emerged.

"H-Holy shit!!"

"M-Monsters?!"

Having just barely survived against the monsters of the rift, the Awakened individuals instinctively recoiled in terror, but it didn’t take long for them to realize that the skeletons were different.

They saw one holding a monster's severed head in its bony hands.

"Take these people to the exit. And that bastard as well.”

Click, clack.

The lord skeletons clacked their jaws and gave a nod before turning toward the exit.

"Uhhh. We’re really just going on our own?"

"The skeletons will escort you. Now hurry up and leave."

Though his dismissive wave of the hand gave them some relief, it also filled them with dread.

Those things were clearly undead monsters. They couldn’t help but worry, scared that they’d suddenly turn on and slaughter them instead.

Given their experience in the rift, their paranoia was more than justified.

"Well, if you'd rather clear the monsters yourselves and then leave, be my guest."

When he asked that with a chilling tone, one of the quicker-witted individuals hastily shouted, "N-No, we’ll go!!"

Without hesitation, the individual rallied the others and began to retreat. Watching them go, Davey then reached out into the air and spoke.

"Red Ribbon, Blue Ribbon.”

Whummm!!!

A massive surge of energy erupted from his body, tearing through the rift itself. From within, two swords slowly emerged.

Red and blue trails of mana flowed from the ends of their scabbards, intertwining in the air.

Davey swiftly drew them and smiled toward their gleaming blades.

Then, without a moment's hesitation, he set off in the direction the monster had fled.

* * *

Reaching the place where the gray monster had been born and fled to wasn’t difficult.

"A dungeon like this... in the middle of a city?"

The area had been reduced to ruins a long time before. It had no traces of civilization left. Even so, the stone dungeon itself felt strangely out of place.

Davey had seen countless monster corpses littering the ground on his way there.

Every single one had been killed in the same way—their throats torn out in an instant.

There wasn’t a single one left alive among them.

He wondered if the gray monster had ripped them apart while making its retreat.

"So it recovers by consuming flesh..."

Pondering the information he had picked up along the way, Davey slowly stepped into the stone dungeon.

A foul stench lingered in the air, with unidentifiable fluids splattered across the walls and floor. There were no additional monsters, nor were there any traps.

Yet even there, corpses were sprawled all over the place.

He wondered if the creatures had been wandering the area, or if they were guarding something.

Judging by their positions, it didn’t seem like they had been simply roaming around—it was more as if they were standing guard over something deep within.

Following the desolate path further in, Davey saw something massive.

"By Goddess Freyja... That thing is disgustingly huge."

Within the massive cavern, there was something that closely resembled the gray monster—yet different and spanning hundreds of meters long.

Its limbs were unnaturally long, and it had six arms, an elongated, twisted head, and eight horns. In addition were its hundreds of tails.

But the most grotesque feature was the countless eyeballs covering its entire body.

Just looking at it was enough to trigger trypophobia.

However, since it was already a corpse, there was no trace of the overwhelming energy that the baby-like creature had exuded before.

He figured it had either been dead for a long time, or never possessed such power to begin with.

"Was it born from that thing?"

He had Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon with him, but he’d seen no need to use them.

However, he was unclear if it was a good thing or a bad thing, looking at its position.

The gargantuan corpse’s abdomen had been torn open, and surrounding it were countless unidentified figures made of hardened soil, each of a different shape. They seemed like creatures that had been turned into clay statues while still alive.

Among them stood towering behemoths, each measuring dozens of meters in height.

The entire scene resembled a throne room.

[Guaaa... Waaaaah!]

He saw the gray monster clinging to the enormous corpse. It wailed sorrowfully, weeping over what Davey assumed to be its mother. It reminded him of a crying child, helpless in its great pain.

When he approached, the creature flinched violently in his presence. It trembled even harder and pressed itself desperately against the corpse.

Then, as if seeking safety, it tried to crawl back inside the torn abdomen.

It was a terrified child, wracked with fear.

Even so, leaving it alive wasn’t an option.

He thought of a game plan.

‘I’ll cut that thing down first, then have Daphne descend here.’

Just as he reached for his swords, he heard a voice.

[Halt, intruder. Do you know where you stand?]

[Will you disturb the rest of the dead?]

[If you value your life, leave at once.]

Deep voices resonated through the cavern.

Several figures clad in armor appeared around Davey, surrounding him.

"You are...”

Though they looked like ordinary knights, their eyes flickered with an inhuman light.

But it wasn’t their strange appearance that caught his attention—it was the emblem engraved upon their armor.

"Last Wisp?"

The Last Wisp was a secret alliance of knights, scattered across the remote regions of Tionis. Their duty was to watch over and subdue the evil beasts and evil beast kings lurking in the extreme lands.

Though the knights before him bore slightly different emblems, they closely resembled those of the various branches of the Last Wisp.

"What the hell are you people?"

[Do not disturb the rest of the dead.]

"Shut up and move aside, you damned spectral essences. You think I don’t see what’s right in front of me?"

Of course, whoever they were or whatever they had done, Davey couldn’t care less.

After all, he was a man that never backed away.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on fre(e)webnov(l).com