The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1267

Kouna went between Japan and Korea, working with Awakened individuals from many different countries who were all contracted under the Sacred Group. Some were Japanese like her, while others were Korean, American, British, Kazakh, Thai, and Dutch. The Awakened individuals came from all over the world, after all.

Even though Sacred Group had started in Korea, its roots weren’t tied deeply to any single nation.

“Ugh. I’m exhausted...” Nana, a Thai Awakened, muttered in slightly clumsy but fairly fluent Korean.

She had immigrated from Thailand to Korea and had been studying the language for years, so she spoke it quite well.

“I just wanna go shower and sleep,” she groaned as she stretched in the passenger seat.

“Nana, seatbelt,” Kouna said flatly, expressionless.

“I’m a defensive-type body Awakened. Even if we crash and I go flying, I won’t get hurt that bad.”

Nana shrugged, but Kouna was stubborn in her own way. “Want me to slow down?”

“Ugh, fine. Geez, you’re so uptight...” Nana sighed, and Kouna stepped on the accelerator again.

She was using the same car she’d driven Super Ribbon with before. At first, she wasn’t used to the Korean roads compared to Japan’s, but she’d gotten used to it.

“So, Kouna, are you not seeing anyone these days?”

The question made her freeze for a second. “No.”

“Hmm. Really? Felt you have one, but if you say no, then I guess not. As for me, I’m super happy lately.”

Nana was popular among the Awakened task force team members for her approachable personality and pretty looks. Her love life seemed to flourish because of it.

“My boyfriend said we should go on a trip soon. Where do you think we should go?” she asked playfully, almost teasing.

Hearing that, Kouna felt something twist in her chest. That feeling spilled out into her body’s movements.

Vroom! Screeech!

“Kyaa!!”

Kouna jerked the wheel, swerving hard enough to make the car lurch. Nana screamed and grabbed onto anything she could. “Are you out of your mind?!”

“Sorry. My mistake.”

“Mistake, my ass!” Nana fumed. “You think I don’t know? You’re just jealous and acting out.”

“If you know, then drop it.”

Her calm reply made Nana fall silent with a sour look. After a moment, she finally responded, “No charm for a girl at all, huh? They say Japanese women are all about being cutesy, but looking at you, I guess people are the same everywhere.”

There was no need to answer. Kouna just sped down the empty road.

Nana lost interest, so she pulled out her phone to send messages over DurianTalk.

Kouna’s mind was instead stuck on what Nana had said earlier.

‘Someone I like...?’

Back in Japan, she’d once been engaged. Even though he was a nobody now, that man had been an important part of her life. After everything she’d gone through because of him, she hadn’t thought about dating in a while.

Then again, he’d been the one to tell her to live however she wanted, so perhaps it was time she tried.

‘Someone I like, huh...?’

She thought through the men around her. No matter how she analyzed them, none stood out.

Her young age was definitely a contributing factor in her general disinterest. Yet since dating wasn’t the same as marriage, Kouna knew it wasn’t forbidden territory to be treated with the utmost caution and care.

When trying to come up with someone she liked, she couldn’t help but think of one man.

Black hair. Crimson eyes. That mischievous smile he always had.

The thought made her tremble suddenly, and she quickly pulled the car to the side.

“Eh? What now?!” Nana asked, shocked.

“N-Nothing.”

“Huh? You don’t look fine. Did a monster’s poison finally get to you?”

“You know I’ve got high poison resistance,” Kouna denied.

“Strange. You’re burning up, and your face is all red—”

Before Nana could finish, Kouna flinched and pulled back. Then, before she could say anything, Nana turned her head and froze. “T-The Saint of Tionis!”

Far down the deserted road, someone was walking toward them at a relaxed pace.

The chance of running into him there, of all places, was near zero.

As Kouna stared blankly, he was already at the front of the car, smiling faintly. “Where’ve you been?”

She was jolted out of her stupor. “Ah! M-Monster subjugation. But... what are you doing here?”

“I came to see you,” he calmly responded.

“M-Me?!”

Nana looked between Kouna and the Saint of Tionis with a face of confusion and suspicion, eventually deciding to introduce herself. “Hello. I’m Nana.”

“Nice to meet you. More importantly,” he said, turning to Kouna. “Can I borrow Haitai?”

The moment he said Haitai, the hopeful look on her face twisted with disappointment. “Haitai?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s it? You don’t have anything else to say to me?”

“Uh. Are you uncomfortable with something?”

There was no room in the question, so Kouna silently glared at Davey.

The car she sat in came from him, and she had gotten her position thanks to him as well. However, Kouna needed something else most of all. She gathered strength in her hand, summoned a small doll-like figure, and held it out to him.

“You said you’d be my guardian.” Her tone carried clear displeasure, but Davey ignored it. “Do you ever even know where I am or what I’m doing?”

“Hm?” Davey hadn't expected that response.

“Would you care if I met some random guy?”

Facing her question, Davey pressed his palm onto her head and gave her a pat. She hadn’t expected him to do something like that, and it set her off.

“Don’t treat me like a kid!!” She exploded and slapped his hand away. The air around them seemed to drop a few degrees. “I’m just your doll, aren’t I?! I’m asking you if I’m anything but a collectible!”

“Hey...” Davey began.

She batted away Davey’s hand again and glared at him. Nana looked on, horrified.

“You said you’d be my guardian.”

Davey held the small white tiger spirit in his arms and silently looked at Kouna.

She gave a sigh and said, “I’m sorry... I’m leaving. When you finish talking to Haitai, just let it go. I can summon it whenever I want, so it’s fine. Sorry for throwing a tantrum.”

People were often most triggered by the unexpected.

Kouna turned on her heel, climbed into the car, and Nana, after reading the atmosphere, hopped into the passenger seat and tilted her head.

Vroom!! Screeeech!!

Kouna peeled away in the luxury car and drifted past the next corner.

Davey closed his eyes for a moment. He had first tried to show interest like she was his kid, but that felt too much like coddling. Instead, he had chosen to foster her independence on purpose.

She had stood there telling him not to treat her like a kid, yet she still wanted him to keep paying attention to her anyways.

“I mean, what does she want me to do? Pick one... just one... please.”

She didn’t want to be treated like a kid, but she still wanted the treatment??? Maybe he just had it wrong.

“Taking care of kids isn’t easy.”

* * *

Davey could guess why Kouna got angry. She probably snapped because he promised to be her guardian but didn’t stay by her side. He had involved himself in her entire life’s trajectory, then couldn’t even follow through. If Perserque saw it, she’d laugh at him for a good long while.

“Ahahaha!!! Haha!” In fact, she was already sitting on his shoulder, laughing.

She no longer suffered from postpartum aftereffects, that time having long passed. Her natural rate of recovery, combined with his healing magic, left her with virtually no lingering issues.

She smiled, alluring as ever, and murmured from his shoulder with eyes full of amusement, “How bold.”

“I get what she was trying to say, but damn. Can you believe that girl?”

“Yeah, I can see what she meant.” She nodded, then gave a smirk. “Rather, I think you’re the one who doesn’t get it.”

“What do you mean? She told me not to treat her like a kid, so I trusted her and let her handle things on her own. I don’t know why she suddenly acted like that.”

“When Kouna said not to treat her like a kid, that wasn't what she meant, Davey.” He looked puzzled, and she rose lightly from his shoulder. “She’s saying she’s grown up now.”

“Yeah, exactly,” he agreed, seeming to believe they were on the same page.

She clarified, “Not as a little brat, but as a woman.”

He shut his mouth. Perserque snapped her fingers, then his phone floated up from his pocket and opened by itself. “Well, well... look at this.”

It was a photo of Kouna sitting awkwardly in the car he’d bought her.

“Do you still see her as a little girl?”

“Let’s drop it.” With nothing to say, the only thing he could do was to stay silent.

“How could I stop teasing you about something this fun?”

Davey chose to ignore her and called out, “Haitai.”

At the call, the small, pure-white tiger lifted its head. The creature sat still like a doll, but what Davey saw was only the fixed form of the divine beast that Kouna had summoned and locked in place as part of her growing power.

He couldn’t keep it manifested for long, but enough for them to talk about what he wanted.

The tiger sprang from his arms, landed, padded a short distance away, and slumped onto the floor.

[What do you want?]

Haitai sounded very annoyed. Unlike Davey’s other contracted divine beasts, the one before him only showed interest in Kouna.

“Why do you sound annoyed?”

[Is that a real question? Why should I cozy up to the one who shakes my contractor’s heart?]

He must’ve seen Kouna’s outburst.

“Fine, let’s keep it simple then. I’ve had some dreams.”

Haitai glanced up, clearly uninterested.

[Dreams come and go, why would—]

“Tell me if they’re prophetic dreams.”

Haitai fell silent and stared at Davey, then slowly stepped closer and lifted a front paw. It placed it on his outstretched hand and released a massive surge of blue energy.

Its power wrapped around his entire body and pushed in like it wanted to invade. Normally, Davey would’ve swatted it away, but he accepted it given the circumstances.

After a while, Haitai checked the traces of the dreams and gave a response.

[I already knew your soul had left humanity and climbed toward the divine, but I didn’t think your levels would’ve risen this high. You’re becoming a level of being I wouldn’t dare speak to.]

“Get to the point.”

[They’re prophetic. All of them.]

After the first dream when he gave the name Abel, Davey had experienced more prophetic dreams. They weren’t short-term visions, but those of futures far ahead.

[That's all you wanted to ask?]

“That’s all. I just needed confirmation, so that's it. Go on,” Davey answered weakly as a feeling of emptiness washed over him.

Blue flames engulfed Haitai’s body, the sign of its reverse-summoning.

[Don’t get the wrong idea.]

“Hm?”

[Prophetic dreams show a future with high probability, not a guaranteed one.]

Davey knew that better than anyone.

[So don’t let them rule you.]

“It doesn’t even make sense that someone is trying to decide my son’s future. Don’t you think so?”

The boy hadn’t done anything wrong. He just had an abundance of innate demonic force and a trace of the Abyss. It made no sense for him to be given such responsibility to the point that his fate would be fixed.

[Ridiculous. Your son did nothing wrong.]

“What?”

[Think like a human. Your son is a child of divinity.]

Its words hit Davey hard. It wasn’t about him being influenced by a demon or Abyss, but because he was the son of a being with complete divinity.

[One more thing—the dream you had when you named him Abel feels different from the others.]

“How?”

[It wasn't fixed, and kept changing. It was dynamic.]

“Dynamic?”

[Meaning reality might not follow through with that specific future. The Abel vision simply shows a future you can read from current circumstances.]

In short, it showed the future that would result if Davey raised his son as usual, without any other changes.

[The other dreams felt more solid. They might not happen exactly as seen, but the future will go similarly.]

Maybe that was why the goddess gave his son the name Abel and told him to choose.

So it was either a guaranteed future where the child had no say, or a future where nothing could be predicted, but the child could grow up just the way they wanted.

“And you think I’ll let him run around to play with women?”

Haitai snorted.

[Maybe he only turns out that way because you never negotiate a different result.]

The history attached to the name Abel only served as a decoy. He himself was a child of divinity.

Haitai’s guess hit the mark. The youngest couldn’t share a human fate, as he was the son of a complete divinity. Perhaps the goddess blessed the name Abel to stop anyone from reading his future.

What the name meant in the past didn’t matter.

If no one could predict his future, no one could know whether he’d grow up right, and the future could be good or bad for him. If that didn’t sit right with him, Davey could pick a different name, the kind that led to a fixed future from the visions that felt safe.

Perserque seemed to wrestle with the same thing. “Do we give him a blessed name that was meant to keep his future free so that he can live how he wants? Or... do we give him a set future that keeps him happy? I prefer the latter... but that’s probably just a parent being greedy.”

She was right.

For two rookie parents like Davey and Perserque, the choice felt brutal.

* * *

Kouna didn’t get far before she pulled her car into a rest stop. She crouched in a corner and buried her face in her hands, looking depressed.

“No one you like, huh?” Nana teased.

Kouna didn't know what to say.

“Are you out of your mind? He’s married! Pick your battles.”

Her face reddened even more, and she sighed. “I know. I do, but...”

“God, you’re just making life hard for yourself. I mean, he’s not that special. He’s only capable, kind, rich, young... Okay, fine, I get why you fell for him.” Nana strode off and came back from the convenience store with a big bottle of soju and a jug of water. She put the soju in the car and handed Kouna the water. “Drink cold water and get it together, man. Let’s drink when we get back. I heard Chris stopped in Korea, so we’ll invite him over to hang out.”

Kouna glanced at the water jug, then nodded. She didn’t know why she had snapped at him and blurted out her real feelings, but she didn’t want to lie to him.

“What am I supposed to do?”

She hadn’t expected herself to act like that either. Yet, come to think of it, it felt like Haitai might’ve shown her a similar future.

However, people’s futures didn’t bend to their own will like that.

Nana tried to comfort her, saying, “You’re a high-ranking Awakened, right? You probably won’t age much, and you’ll live longer than most.”

“Huh?”

“So you can just shoot your shot later, after his wives grow old and pass on.”

It sounded like nonsense, something to let in one ear and out the other.

Thud.

She had thrown a tantrum, but if someone asked what she wanted, she didn’t think she could answer.