The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1053

She had barely been held together by the vitality Davey had given her. Unfortunately, she had finally hit her limit.

Zzzttt.

“Ugh. Huff.”

Her soul trembled, glitching with static, clearly in pain.

She believed it was her duty to continue suppressing the beings of the beast lair—Hell—just as she always had, even if it meant sacrificing her own soul.

The world operated on a system of laws. The beast lair wouldn’t simply disappear just because it had been sealed. There needed to also be an equal force to hold it back. And if Persephone, the one suppressing it, were to collapse, monsters would begin popping up across the continent again as if nothing had ever held them back at all.

“Before we go any further, let me ask you one thing,” Davey said while looking at Persephone. “The monsters in Earth’s dimension. They came from the beast lair, so did you send them?”

“That’s right.”

Davey frowned at her reply.

“The God of Tranquility was able to help release some of the pressure from the saturated beast lair by allowing monsters to spill into Earth’s dimension. It’s unfortunate that monsters are appearing there, but given both the circumstances in Earth’s dimension and our current situation, there was no other choice.”

A change beyond their domain of control. Earth and the beast lair needed to be partially connected.

“What about that monster kid?” Davey asked in response.

She immediately made a sad face. “I don’t really know. My soul is missing parts of my memory, after all.”

Being the Monster Queen was a painful burden. She didn’t want anyone else to suffer the agony she endured in that position.

“Hey. Can you restore my health? Even if I’m just my soul, I can still maintain control of myself for now. I’ll keep suppressing the beast lair, so just give me the strength to move again.”

“You said you had a plan, right?” he said with a smile.

“Huh?”

“A plan so that Daphne doesn’t do anything out of the blue. And so that you, in your own way, can enter reincarnation.”

“That’s an impossible result. It’s not realistic to get both outcomes.”

Even if Daphne’s issue were set aside, saving Persephone would cause the beast lair to spiral out of control. But if the beast lair were to stabilize, Persephone could never be saved.

“And that’s not the only problem. I’m a clone born from her soul, a creation from taboo. I can only protect her because I exist within an isolated space like the beast lair. If I leave it, there’s no telling what kind of conflict might arise between our souls.”

“There are two prerequisites for success, then. Replacing the Monster Queen, and preventing the clash of two souls.”

Among the authorities Goddess Freyja had left for him to use, he thought there could be one that could save her. But then he thought that if that had been possible, Goddess Freyja would’ve saved her already. Yet she hadn’t—because the one she loved was Daphne, not the taboo-born Persephone. And at that time, it probably wasn’t doable.

Still, Goddess Freyja was the Goddess of Mercy. Maybe she had foreseen that Davey would meet Persephone one day and that was perhaps why she saved Reina and sent her to him.

“There’s only one way. It’s risky—almost impossible—but still doable. Nonetheless, the odds are slim, and you won’t be the same person afterward.”

Unlike with Reina, even in the best-case scenario, all she would gain was the possibility of reincarnation.

“If it fails, your soul will perish. And then to protect Daphne, I’ll destroy the beast lair myself.”

She didn't know what to say.

“But if it succeeds, you and Daphne will no longer share the same soul. You’ll both be able to exist without one of you needing to vanish.”

“But like you said, staying in the position of the Monster Queen will become harder as a result.”

Even if the process succeeded, unless someone else took over the role of the Monster Queen, she wouldn’t be able to leave. Or rather, she wouldn't want to.

“Well, about the child you gave birth to...”

Her eyes widened at his words.

“Despite its immense power, there’s something genuinely pure about it.”

Because of that purity, it had been influenced by the surface-level consciousness Persephone created, coming to despise Daphne too.

“It’s painful for a human to be the Monster Queen, but what if a monster took on that role instead? How would that change things?”

A monster becoming the Monster Queen wouldn’t mean much change. It would probably just become stronger. But Davey thought that if it could be controlled, it’d lead to a new possibility.

Her eyes widened further. For both her and that monster child, it was an unbearably cruel proposition.

“That...”

“No matter the method, you don’t have much time left. You have to make a choice sooner rather than later.”

She thought maybe it was time to let go. That perhaps it was too much to keep expecting miracles.

“It’s probably impossible. Our souls being the same is an immutable fact.”

“That’s true. I’m not like Goddess Freyja, and can’t perfectly split a soul.”

But there was no need to fully revive someone who was already dead. As tragic as it was, he figured it might be better for her to lose all her memories.

“The longer we wait, the lower our odds get. Honestly, this is only possible because you still have some willpower left.”

Silence.

“Well? Are you going to try or not? It’s the only way to give both you and Daphne the chance to be satisfied.”

“But what if it fails?”

“Then I’ll destroy the beast lair, no matter what it does to the world’s system.”

She had no other options left to retreat.

“I’ll do it. No matter how painful it is, I can endure it.”

“Good luck. This isn’t like the other times where you’d just go to sleep and wake up after it’s over. You’re going to have to grit your teeth and bear through it.”

* * *

She didn’t bother explaining exactly what kind of pain came with becoming the Monster Queen. But even without asking, it was clear that no sane person could easily endure the terror and agony of their own flesh rotting away, their body twisting grotesquely as they suffered the anguish of being cast into endless solitude. The suffering that came from turning into a monster she was never meant to be.

“So in other words, monsters aren’t twisted like that from the beginning,” Davey said to Daphne. “I told you before that I saw a monster back on Earth, right? Let’s go find it. The beast lair system is a damn curse on this world, but we can’t go without it.”

“And?”

“I’m going to make that one the next Monster Queen.”

“Hey. Davey,” she said, standing up.

“What, would you rather sacrifice someone else again?”

“Say something that actually makes sense,” she said while glaring at him. “Finding it probably won’t be that difficult, but do you really think it’ll do what you want? And one more thing—I can’t accept this damn beast lair’s existence, not even for a second.”

She was clearly bitter over the fact that Persephone had suffered and eventually disappeared because of the beast lair.

“You always used to tell me the same thing. ‘Don’t forget your place.’”

“You must have some kind of plan,” she said through clenched teeth, “if you’re making a decision like this, right?”

“Well, nothing’s set in stone yet. I don’t want to get excited for nothing, and let’s just say it’s my version of a surprise.”

“What are you even saying right now?”

“I’m saying that I’ve got my own ideas for solutions. This isn’t something we can take lightly.” Davey gave her the rundown and pushed her to decide. “So? You in or out? If you’re scared, go back home. I’ll handle it myself if I have to.”

“No. I’m not going to let this damn beast lair system stay as it is,” she said, closing her eyes. “First, let’s clean up the monsters that appeared as a result of Persephone’s awakening. We’ll talk more after that.”

Davey nodded at her response.

* * *

Whether Persephone had intended it or not, her actions to stop Daphne’s sacrifice caused the influence of the beast lairs to spread. While she managed to suppress most of them, there was one place she couldn’t contain. As such, the monsters had already broken loose from it.

“Kyahhh!!”

“Damn it, my leg!!”

The western dormitory of the Alpha Reinforcement Order was in total chaos due to a sudden massive monster invasion.

“Everyone, move!!”

The paladin Fildyr, Lucia, and a handful of remaining knights from the order were desperately evacuating the younger trainees.

“Grrrhhh!!!”

It was the result of a one-off beast lair. The beast lair had disappeared the moment it spit out the monsters, but the real problem was the monsters themselves. It wasn’t just one or two—dozens had come through. The beast lair had basically been a literal hell’s gate.

“What in the world is that? I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Fildyr said with a stunned face, watching the knights struggling to hold the creatures at bay.

The problem was, even with the strength of the knight commanders, the monsters were too much to handle. Most of their forces had already gone deep into the Pandora Region to investigate the beast lairs. The ones that had been left behind were mostly support personnel or green trainees from the 269th and 270th classes. The timing couldn’t have been worse.

“Grrrhhh!!!”

“Lucia!!! What are you doing?!”

Lucia Shelman, who had been dashing forward in a daze, snapped back to her senses with Fildyr’s sudden shout, ducking low.

Boom!!

The wall exploded as a grotesque beast burst through. It walked on two legs, but its body resembled a cross between a goat and a lion. The problem wasn’t just a double combo appearance, either. The creature looked like a fusion of dozens of animals, its level of genetic distortion far from natural.

“Ugh!! This way!!” Lucia quickly yanked a fleeing trainee from the 270th class out of the monster’s range, then swung her mace with all her strength to deflect the attack.

“Kyaah!!”

Even when blessed with buff magic, she couldn’t match the creature’s raw strength.

“Get it together! Don’t try to fight it head-on! We’ll retreat for now! Our job is to run and stall until the commanders start moving!”

“Got it!”

The two resumed leading the 270th class trainees in their frantic escape.

“Damn it. Is that what a true evil beast is supposed to be?”

“Just after looking at it, my legs are shaking.”

They had confidence in their own strength, sure. However, when they saw the enemy, they quickly realized fighting the beasts was not about power. It was about something else entirely. The monsters’ attacks stirred a primal fear in them, far beyond anything they’d experienced or imagined.

They couldn’t help but recall that the senior knights they used to look down on were the ones who had been holding the line against monsters the same way, drawing them away, fighting them off, and protecting the continent all along. They were nothing like the trainees who had relied solely on strength.

“You’re the future of the order, and your seniors will protect you. Just keep up!” Fildyr said with his shield raised, leading the way.

The 270th trainees could only follow, overwhelmed and shaken.

Lucia, bringing up the rear and checking to make sure no one had fallen behind, bit her lip hard. ‘Yeah. Thinking about it now won’t change anything.’

Fildyr had said their previous experience with the statues was just a dream. But after Davey had teleported her to the front lines, Lucia couldn’t help but question if what she had seen was really just a dream. Too many things matched up for it to be just her imagination. If it had really been real, she couldn’t help but think that the saintess she had always believed in, her pillar of support Daphne, was fake.

While she was caught in that swirl of confusion and despair—

“Eek!! Just fight already! Why are we only running?!”

“No!!”

Unable to hold it in any longer, one of the hot-tempered trainees recklessly lashed out before Lucia threw herself in to stop him. He was enraged by the fact that he had to run away, and tried to fight again. But with his pitiful skill level, it was impossible.

“Grrrhhh!!!”

Though he had followed the others in fleeing, Bethel, frustrated by the situation, boldly turned back to block the monster. But that turn was all he could follow through with. A chilling certainty of death ran through him.

Just as a sharp, solid claw was about to tear into his body, Lucia hurled herself at him, knocking him down under a bridge and saving his life. Though she managed to save him, her reckless move left her badly injured.

“Bethel! Get up! If we stop here, we’re dead!”

“A-Aah. S-Senior.”

“I’m fine! Just get up, NOW!!” Lucia shouted, gritting her teeth at the terrified trainee.

The monsters chasing them were nothing like the usual evil beasts they'd learned about—they exuded an overwhelming pressure that instilled fear within them.

Lucia and the other veterans had grown somewhat used to it, but the younger trainees lacked the experience. To them, it inspired pure terror.

“Lucia!!”

“Fildyr, go ahead! I’ll take Bethel and escape another way!” she shouted back, standing between the monster and Bethel, shielding him. “Bethel, can you stand?!”

“I-I don’t know.”

“You’re a knight of the order! You’re supposed to be strong! You can’t break here!”

Her words made his eyes widen. He had been so arrogant, so disrespectful. He couldn’t understand why his seniors were going so far to protect him and his rude class. Deep inside, he knew no one would blame them if they left him and his classmates to die.

“You’re a member of the order. Don’t forget, we’re all here to protect the continent.”

Bethel began to cry. He realized how much of an arrogant, ignorant fool he had been.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Senior. I’ve been so stupid!”

Unable to hold back his guilt, Bethel wept, knowing that Lucia had only been hurt because of his own recklessness.

While Lucia tried to comfort him and get moving again, the beast chasing Fildyr’s group suddenly leapt down under the bridge, cutting off their escape.

“Grreeeeeekh!!!”

The monster let out a grotesque shriek as it slowly approached.

Crack!!

Lucia shoved Bethel aside, letting the monster just take her instead.

“S-Senior!!!”

When Bethel screamed, Lucia, despite the pain twisting her face, gestured for him to run.

“Ugh. Uaaahhh!!” Bethel cried out and finally ran, sobbing uncontrollably.

Left alone, Lucia let out a bitter smile. The meaning of life had vanished for her. If what she had heard was true—if Saintess Daphne, the person she had always admired, was merely a fabricated legend and not even a real being—she didn’t know what she had been living for.

The despair crushed her. She had joined the church because she wanted to become someone like Saintess Daphne. The crushing realization that everything she’d relied on was a lie was unbearable.

“O’ Radiant One of the Primal...”

Even in the depths of her despair, she didn’t forget her duty. She began to pray, willing to burn her own life away to buy even a few moments for her comrades.

It was not a prayer to Daphne, but to Goddess Freyja. However, before she could even finish, she had no choice but to stop. Someone had appeared and filled her dimming vision.

A woman, descending with three pairs of radiant wings, reached out her hand. With just that simple motion, she instantly erased the monstrous beast. She then turned to Lucia, offering a warm smile like none she had ever seen before.

Lucia had previously felt an overwhelming emptiness and sorrow upon realizing the person she believed in was just a collection of legends, merely a fictional symbol. Nonetheless, she had no choice but to accept it. Forget Persephone or the other supposed saintesses—the woman standing before her now was Saintess Daphne.

“I can die without regret.” Lucia smiled in peace and lost consciousness after being embraced by the very person she had admired for so long.

“She looks pretty hurt.”

“Leave her be. I’ve got no idea what she’s talking about either,” Davey muttered. He then commanded, “I’ll give you three minutes to wipe out every evil beast assaulting the order. Move.”

With that, a black dragon soared through the air, blocking the sky and darkening it like a storm. Following it were a wingless Groundburst Dragon, two Spirit Kings, and four divine beasts, all moving in unison. The monsters that had been wreaking havoc on the order’s headquarters panicked at the overwhelming force that had suddenly appeared.

They tried to flee, but it was already far too late.

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