The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1057

Perhaps due to how noble the knight’s intentions were, Davey chose to silently watch the scene unfold.

- I’m sorry.

- I won’t ask anything in return, as you’re a Saintess. Loving you was simply my own burden to bear.

He spoke calmly, pulling a small handkerchief from his chest and holding it out to Persephone.

- But if, even just barely, you're able to remain conscious... I hope you’ll look at this and remember me.

- Even if I lose my mind, I will never forget you.

- I love you, Persephone.

- Do you know something, Arta? I... I also...

She smiled so brightly.

- Love you too.

With that, the scene shifted, and a completely different landscape came into view. There was a massive rift in the beast lair, unlike anything they had seen before. Standing silently in front of it, dressed in Saint robes, was Daphne. No, to be precise, it was Persephone, her clone made from taboo.

Behind her stood numerous knights. Their armor was all different, but the badge they wore was the same as the one Davey had seen before—the badge of the former Last Wisp Knights.

Bang!! Boom!!

A man with a solemn, heavy demeanor stepped forward.

- She and that scoundrel are coming. Get inside, right now.

Persephone took a tense breath. Even though she knew that stepping forward meant a terrible fate worse than death, she slowly took a step.

- Merciful Goddess Freyja, grant me greater courage and light.

As she walked closer to the beast lair, changes began to occur. Blackish-purple hands began to rise from the lair, wrapping around her as if they were telling her to come in.

Boom!!

But then, a thunderous crash rang out as someone new suddenly appeared. The knights silently drew their swords, pointing their tips toward the intruder.

- Arta. I don’t recall giving you permission to defy orders.

- No matter how I think about it, this isn’t right.

- You mean to disobey?

- No one else has the right to decide her life—not even the Goddess Freyja herself.

- So you really intend to go against orders, then.

The knights raised their fighting spirit, preparing to clash with him.

- Don’t do this, Arta! You can’t die like this!!

Persephone’s desperate cries rang out as Arta solemnly raised his sword and took a formal stance. His posture resembled a knight taking an oath.

- My life belongs to you.

And with those words, a brutal battle began. While Arta may have been powerful, the number of knights was overwhelming, and each one had the skill to rival a modern-day knight commander.

Even as he suffered severe wounds, Arta continued to swing his blade. But in the end, he couldn’t protect Persephone. In the middle of the battle, just as she was trying to break free from the grasp of the beast lair, she was successfully dragged inside.

Arta let out a crazed scream at the sight and decimated the remaining knights, hurling every last one of them into the beast lair. As he lay on the ground with exhaustion, he made a faint, inscrutable smile as if being graced by the light at the end of a tunnel. He then slowly crawled into the rift.

Zzzt!!

That was the end of the memory shown in the vision.

Davey closed his eyes, leaving behind the sight of Arta slowly dissolving into dust. Arta von Pallan. Unlike the Pallan Empire’s royal family, he chose to forfeit his last name, dying and fading away into history as a nobody.

* * *

[If I had seen him while he was still awake, I might’ve acknowledged him as my master even before Illyna.]

It seemed that Davey wasn’t the only one who had seen Arta’s lingering thoughts and experiences. The memory had spread like a shockwave, engulfing the surrounding area and drawing others—including Illyna—into its influence.

Daphne wore a hollow, disheartened expression when the truth stood plainly before her. Persephone, having passed on the authority of the Monster Queen to that gray creature, had left after imprinting her memories and purpose onto it. Now, alongside the new Monster Queen, only Daphne, Davey, and Illyna remained.

“So sad... He liked her, but never even got the chance to say it before sacrificing himself like that.”

“Those bastards. They didn’t deserve a clean death. They should’ve had their damn skin peeled off!”

Daphne had once confessed that she regretted arriving late, after everything had already ended. In the end, Daphne had dragged Persephone, who had turned into a monster, and killed her as a way to save her.

But contrary to expectations, Persephone hadn’t been saved. The knights who had entered the beast lair—including Arta—were then reborn through their twisted beliefs as lingering thoughts, sustaining themselves even to the present day.

Illyna, deep in thought about what she’d just seen, suddenly raised a philosophical question. “Do you really think they were just outright bad people?”

“They were already in the wrong the moment they used their so-called beliefs to push others into sacrifice, all without any intention of sacrificing themselves as well.”

“I know they were terrible, but maybe... just maybe, their insane actions are still the reason the beast lairs haven’t resurfaced until now.”

The beast lair—the abyss of Hell—wasn’t particularly threatening. If Davey wanted to, he could twist and crush this tiny space right now. Still, that perceived weakness was by his incredibly high standards. On a continental scale, if the beast lair suddenly reappeared and caused widespread destruction, it’d be a disaster beyond compare.

“Ecosystems really are just so full of danger,” Illyna sighed and shook her head.

Davey didn’t know if there had been another option available to the people back then, either.

Then Daphne, who had been silent for a while, spoke up, “Davey, I just got word that Persephone’s soul has finally entered the cycle of reincarnation. Woochi says he’s placing her soul in a recovery phase first, and once it’s stable, he’ll let it reincarnate.”

“That’s a relief.”

“I’m going back up there to help out. Restoring souls is my responsibility, after all.”

Though in truth, it was less her job and more Jeo-Seung’s.

“Thanks,” she then muttered.

“If you’re thankful, I’d say you owe me something.”

“What do you want?” she warily asked.

Davey simply smirked.

* * *

“Senior! You’ve gotta try this!”

Lucia looked at the boy in front of her with a complicated expression. Among the 270th class—the most troublesome and chaotic bunch—Bethel had the worst reputation, primarily for his arrogance. Yet there he was, practically glued to her side, acting like her personal assistant. It was downright ridiculous.

“What’s with that guy?” Davey asked with a chuckle.

Relatively empty, the headquarters was busy with restoration work, dealing with the monsters that had poured out from the beast lair.

“Hey, you finally made it! When the dorms got attacked by monsters, Lucia threw herself into danger just to save that punk. That’s why he’s acting like that,” Fildyr explained.

Davey recalled hearing how Lucia had fallen from a ledge, trying to save a young apprentice knight.

“Senior, your shoulders must be sore! Let me give you a massage!”

“Doesn’t look like she’s enjoying it.”

“Hell if I know. It’s just, he’s getting on my nerves for some reason.” Fildyr clicked his tongue in irritation.

Lucia glanced at Fildyr, clearly asking for help, but he only snorted and looked away. Davey left them and made his way over to the dining table where the other 268th class members and seniors were gathered.

“What’d Fildyr say about it?” someone asked.

“He’s jealous.”

“Pfft. Called it,” Shair said, reaching out to her twin sister, Fendyr. “Hand it over.”

Fendyr glared at Fildyr in annoyance, then pulled a pretty gem out from her clothes and handed it over. “Tch. Fildyr, that shy boy. When’s he going to get his act together?”

“Beats me.”

It seemed like everyone had already figured out why Fildyr was acting so irritated while watching Lucia and Bethel.

“At this rate, that Bethel kid’s gonna snatch her up first.”

“Not like there’s a law saying work partners have to end up together.”

The Alpha Reinforcement Order was full of surprises—there were actually a few couples who ended up getting married after being paired as partners.

But since both Fildyr and Lucia Shelman were part of the Church of Freyja, most people figured they weren’t interested in that sort of thing.

“Should we get Fildyr drunk, just to see what happens? Who knows, maybe he’ll go knocking on her door in the middle of the night,” Damul interjected.

“Damul, shut it.”

“Why’s it always me you snap at?” he sulked.

Shair then looked at Davey. “How does it feel to be a hero?”

“Screw that whole thing. Wait, so how much was broken in the attack?”

“One dorm building’s completely gone, so we’ll have to rebuild it from the ground up. Another one’s repairable, though.”

“We don't have to fix them ourselves, do we?”

“What, you think we have extra labor lying around? We were up at four in the morning the other day working on the new fences!” she groaned, clearly fed up with her job.

“Alright, alright, enough chit-chat! Let’s move! We’ve got urgent repairs to do! Knights whose names are called, step forward!”

Everyone’s faces immediately soured.

“Davey, it'd be real nice if you stepped in right now,” one of them suggested.

Then everyone turned toward Davey with hopeful eyes.

“Yeah, if Davey would jus— wait. Where’d he go?” Heg looked around, flustered.

“T-That bastard! He used invisibility magic to bail on us!”

Ignoring the howls of outrage behind him, Davey grabbed Illyna by the arm and bolted away.

He knew nothing. Heard nothing. He was gone.

Sure, he’d solved an unintentional incident for the Alpha Reinforcement Order, but he wasn’t exactly thrilled about it. He’d already declared retirement after solving the Red Void, the sign of the world’s collapse. Somehow, just when he thinks he's out, they pull him back in.

“Still, something feels off,” Davey muttered.

“Worried? Want a kiss to calm your nerves?”

Ignoring her random offer, Davey tried to think if he’d forgotten anything back in Heins Territory. Nothing came to mind.

‘At least, I don't think there should be anything else left.’

* * *

It wasn't long before he was back in his territory.

“Wait, why does the vibe feel so weird?” Davey’s eyes narrowed when he noticed the attendants and maids quietly moving about like mice.

“W-Welcome back, Your Highness. We’ve been expecting you,” said Royal Attendant Bernile, his forehead glistening with cold sweat.

Behind him, Amy peered out, teary-eyed and sniffling. “Hmm?”

“What’s going on, Royal Attendant?” Illyna asked in place of Davey, her expression turning serious.

Bernile didn’t answer. Instead, he slowly pointed toward Perserque’s room. “Your Highness, what did you do?”

“What do you mean?” Then, a heavy pressure that hadn’t been there before washed over him.

He instinctively knew something dangerous was about to happen. “Maybe I’ll check on the territory while I’m here and—” he said as he tried to flee.

“Davey.”

If only it hadn’t been for that voice.

“What... what did you do to my body?”

Her face was beautiful, but the look in her eyes was nothing but rage and pure irritation, all was aimed squarely at Davey.

“H-Hey, Per. I can explain.”

“Don’t even think about lying.”

When she marched toward him, Davey immediately realized what was happening. The life essence orb had successfully allowed her to conceive. But since the absorption process wasn’t complete, the changes should’ve been introduced gradually.

“Um. Why is she making that face?” Illyna muttered nervously.

“It’s okay, Illyna. I just want to have a little chat with Davey. Alone. Would that be alright?”

“O-Of course.” Startled by the unexpected intensity, Illyna swiftly backed off.

She spotted Aeria carrying a tea tray and rushed over to her. “A-Aeria! What’s going on with her?”

“Ah. Um. I think she’s, uh... on going through menstruation? But, um.”

“M-Menstruation?”

“Yes, but it’s... kinda intense.”

Her words smashed straight into Davey’s eardrums like a hammer. “Ah.”

Davey didn’t have prophecy magic like Kouna, but he was certain that he already knew what was about to happen.

“P-Per! Can we maybe talk about this lat—Guh!”

She shot forward like lightning and grabbed Davey by the collar.

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