The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1285

Evangeline furrowed her brow, clearly unable to grasp what was being said, despite the enemy standing right in front of them.

She turned to Davey, who had just finished healing Abel and was now suppressing his internal injuries temporarily. “Dad, what are you talking about? Abel?”

Her expression showed she truly didn’t understand.

Evangeline had always adored her younger brother Abel. Davey still clearly remembered the way she used to mumble to herself and smile sweetly while watching him sleep, unable to contain how cute she thought he was.

“Look out!” Right as Davey spoke, streaks of black light shot toward them.

Boom!!

They hadn’t even organized their formation yet. Even Evangeline couldn’t step in for Davey at that moment. Instead, he pulled mana from deep within and moved to intercept the attack. However, as the demon continued transforming, their powers began repelling each other and refused to interfere with one another.

‘Like hell! Not yet.’

Crackkk!

Annoyed, Davey forcibly overloaded his power, neutralizing the incoming attack, and then turned to the three who were still watching the demon in shock.

“I’ll provide support, but you guys have to be the ones to finish it. Got it?”

“W-We do?”

“Yeah. I can’t land a critical hit on him because of my divinity.”

While the demon also couldn’t hurt Davey, the reality was that only he was saddled with a ridiculous list of penalties. He could still keep the demon in check for the time being, but once it completely shed its former energy, there was no telling what might happen.

The ones who could deal fatal damage were Abel and Evangeline. Unfortunately, the demon could also hurt them. If it escaped, the divine pact might trigger the worst.

“If you understand, get to it. If you two move in sync, then with my support, victory is doable.”

He figured they’d be able to work together well. They were siblings, after all. If their father couldn’t trust them, who would?

Abel, however, scowled. “Father! That’s not what matters right now! Kouna... Kouna is—!”

“This space is under its control,” Davey informed him. “I can’t influence it directly, so I don’t know how long it’ll take to find her. The faster you take it down, the better chance we have.”

If the demon died, the twisted space would collapse as well. Only then might they be able to find Kouna.

Abel nodded, understanding his father’s reasoning, though the anxiety on his face didn’t vanish. It was only natural for him to react this way. After all, he’d chased after Kouna for nearly ten years.

Furious at being completely ignored, the demon screamed in rage, unable to suppress its frustration. It kept trying to flee, but Davey was still capable of keeping it in check.

Saintess Lena, however, was shaken by its shrieks. She quickly turned pale and covered her ears as she collapsed to the ground.

“Are you all right?” Davey asked her.

“Y-Yes. I-I’m okay. But what can you and I even do here?”

“Honestly? In terms of offense, not much,” he confirmed. “We’re pretty much useless.”

“Davey, you’re not useless!” she protested.

“I’m just speaking practically. I’d rather avoid using our last resort if I can.”

Nothing came without a cost, and the last resort came with an incredibly heavy one. In order to deal with the demon directly on his own, Davey would have to outright abandon his divinity. Not only did he not know if he could in the first place, but doing so would sever all his connections to the Saint Sanctuary.

On top of that, he’d likely lose the ability to move between dimensions. Worse comes to worst, it could even interfere with his control over the third moon Thanatos, including its vitality.

After this mess, he had to find a way to deal with that damned restriction. Still, another part of him wanted to watch how the kids would grow stronger when faced with such struggles.

Saintess Lena may have gained the stigmata and access to higher holy magic, but her nature was never suited for battle.

As for Davey, while he couldn’t attack directly, he could overload his powers periodically to suppress the demon. On top of that, he had no restrictions when it came to healing or supporting magic. Thus, as long as the demon didn’t pull out some weird trick, he figured there shouldn’t be any major issues.

“Saintess Lena, there’s something I need you to do.”

She was surprised to hear him suddenly call out to her. “Me?”

“Yes. I’m going to start channeling holy power. I need you to remember this and keep it flowing using the holy power of your stigmata. Since it’ll take some time for things to finish up here, if you could do this while we wait, that’d be great.”

“What is it for?”

“We’re going to look for someone named Kouna. I don’t know if it’ll work, but it’s better than doing nothing.”

She had come along to witness the situation firsthand and testify to it. Davey couldn’t leave her behind.

Finally, Evangeline stepped forward with a low growl, drawing the divine dragon sword Twilight.

However, unlike before, her hostility toward the demon had clearly diminished. Davey didn’t know why, but wondered if it was because the demon had transformed. Evangeline had deep hatred for the demon race, but the creature before them was fundamentally different from any other demons Davey had seen.

Abel, meanwhile, driven by his obsession with finding Kouna, completely ignored Evangeline and recklessly charged toward the demon. Even with the layered buffs Davey had casted, Abel alone wasn’t going to be enough. Still, given that they were his children, Davey figured they’d be able to manage against a demon he was already suppressing.

With that thought, he dispelled the barrier, completely sealing the demon, and clapped his hands together with tremendous force. A shockwave burst forth. The talismans he had prepared in advance then floated into the air and formed massive rings of light, binding the demon and forcibly weakening its physical capabilities.

‘At least the debuffs are working.’

The demon shrieked in fury, “You bastard! Using divinity?! You think that’s enough to stop me?!”

Davey simply smirked with mockery.

* * *

It had been doable. There was a time Davey genuinely believed that.

Suppressing the dizziness creeping in, Davey looked over at Abel and Evangeline. The two were now glaring at each other.

“Is bad blood between siblings, like, a divine law or something?” Davey asked Lena.

She responded, “Huh? Uhmm. I don’t know.”

The demon, still trapped by his sealing sorcery, remained silent. It was undeniably dangerous.

Davey was burning through energy rapidly, straining to keep the demon suppressed with a spell that had terrible efficiency. He had practically violated a divine pact to restrain it, which made him feel sick.

The demon's power couldn't compare to his, yet he couldn’t kill it. Fortunately, binding its movements wasn’t too difficult. At first, the demon resisted, then eventually it simply stood there, quietly watching Davey.

Suspicion crept in, and he couldn’t help but wonder what it was thinking. Alas, there was no way to know.

Just as Davey couldn’t read the demon, the demon couldn’t read Davey either. If they both had cards hidden up their sleeves, neither had a reason to play them first.

However, more pressing than the demon was the disharmony between the two siblings he had sent to fight together.

“What are you staring at me for?! Have you lost your mind?! If you hadn’t blasted that wide-area spell, we would’ve been perfectly fine!”

“Evangeline, are you being serious right now? What kind of idiot waits around and lets the enemy get ready first? I told you that we’re the ones who don’t have time!”

“What?! Are you saying you did the right thing?!”

They’d started off awkwardly enough. Then, after each of their mistakes was compounded, they began sighing louder and louder instead of speaking out loud. In the end, they lost their temper. Both made serious mistakes and nearly struck each other during the fight.

Davey had stepped in to stop them, but the two were growling at each other like animals.

Meeting for the first time? Please. Siblings were siblings at the end of the day. It felt like watching himself and Hyun-Ah all over again.

“Wait, no. Yeon-Hee and I got along just fine.”

Perhaps it was the small age difference. Then again, Abel should be a full-grown adult by his current point. Potato, potahto, Evangeline and Abel.

To Davey, both were trolls at the highest level, and neither had any right to point fingers.

“Screw this! You haven’t changed at all since the old days! Same awful temper!” Abel screamed in frustration.

“You wanna die right now?!”

As they tangled and shouted at each other again, Davey’s head throbbed even harder.

“Pufufu.” Then the demon, who had been silent with the spell still binding it, spoke up and suggested, “Let’s make a deal.”

“Who said you get to talk?” Davey said with a frown.

“I only want to return. I was deceived by Thanatos and thrown into this place, but now Thanatos is no more.”

It clearly knew a lot about Thanatos.

The Princess of the Abyss had once mentioned that the demon found inside the killer’s body in Heins Territory was the last of its kind.

He wondered if the thing was something else entirely. “Aren’t you from the demon race?”

“Pufufu. I’m nothing like those manufactured puppets.”

“Puppets?”

“Pufufu. I once longed for a perfect world. Thanatos lured me in with promises, and so I lent her my power. She then used it to create the demon race. During that process...” Steam hissed from its body. Davey wondered if it was angry. “She deceived me. Bound me under an incantation. I foolishly trusted her. After that, I lost my true self... and became a weapon for war.”

“Get to the point.”

“But Thanatos never fully encroached on me. I vowed never to work with her again, sealing myself away and waiting for the day one of my creations would awaken me.

‘So that was what that egg was.’

Davey didn’t respond right away. The demon seemed to take that as a sign of hesitation and pressed forward. “Listen. There’s no reason for us to continue this meaningless battle—”

“Hey. Demon scum. You slaughtered hundreds, maybe even thousands of humans in Haetan.” The demon fell silent. “You absorbed something. I saw it.”

“I stole their time. The intrinsic time each living being possesses grants me great power. Pufufu.”

“Right. You stole that, and now you’re saying there’s no reason to fight?”

“If we clash head-on, more lives will be lost. Pufufu. But if you send me back with minimal sacrifice, then we—”

“Shut your mouth.” Davey felt his patience snap.

He glared coldly at the demon, then turned and grabbed both Abel and Evangeline by the scruffs of their necks as they kept bickering. “You two aren’t in sync at all. But I will say, demon, if a three-man party wipes out the boss in one try, how the hell are you supposed to be a raid boss? Boss my ass.”

The monster was incensed. “You!”

“Here’s some advice for ya. First, you’re never getting out of here. Second, if you wanted help, you should’ve asked nicely from the start.”

If the demon hadn’t attacked and hurt anyone, Davey might’ve considered helping. He could’ve regarded whatever happened before he knew the demon as the past.

However, that ship had already sailed.

“And more than that, after everything you’ve done to us, you think I’m just going to let you go?”

- “So you’re choosing conflict to the very end.”

“You’re gonna sit there and get wrecked by these two. That’s what you get.”

Of course, with the sealing circle completely restraining it, it’d be hard for Evangeline or Abel to do any real damage, but Davey could just lift the seal again.

Turning away from the demon, Davey looked at the two who were still huffing and glaring at each other. “We’re going again. I’ll give you the strategy for taking him down, so pay attention.”

During the time the two fought the demon and bickered with each other, Davey had already analyzed the demon’s movements and power flow.

That alone was probably enough to disregard half of the tricks the demon had hidden.

“How’s it feel to be the raid boss?”

Facing his mocking tone, the demon gave a silent, mocking grin of its own.

“Try me, then. Your arrogance will be what kills them both. I know full well you can’t kill me, because of your divinity. As time passes and I return to my original form, that restriction will only grow stronger.” The demon bared its silver fangs, as if ready to tear everything apart at any moment.

“Uhh. Dad, wait a sec!” Evangeline suddenly shouted. “I’m not doing this with that idiot! No way, I refuse to fight that thing!”

“I can’t either, Father! I knew Evangeline was stubborn, but this is ridiculous!”

As the two kids whined and adamantly declared they couldn’t cooperate, Davey pressed a hand to his forehead.

He then cast a sound barrier so the demon couldn’t hear. “Listen carefully, Abel. You’re the main damage dealer here, and frankly, you’re not in great shape at the moment. You know that, right?”

“What? Dad, what are you talking about? He’s not in good shape?”

“And Evangeline, you’re not weaker than Abel, but you lack combat experience. That makes it more likely you’ll leave an opening at the worst possible moment.”

Evangeline pressed her lips tightly together.

“You like games, Evangeline? You too, right Abel?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s assign roles. Evangeline, you’re the tanker. Abel, you’re the dealer. I’ll handle buffs, debuffs, and healing.”

Saintess Lena, sitting off to the side with her eyes closed, was channeling the sacred magic Davey had taught her, so she wouldn’t be much help to them at the moment.

He had no choice but to rely on these two.

“The demon has three main attack patterns. That probably means it’s limited in what powers it can use. First, those warped, dark-purple streaks it shoots? Don’t get hit by those.”

“But they didn’t seem that bad?” Evangeline muttered.

Davey flicked her lightly on the forehead with his finger.

“Ack!”

“They didn’t seem bad because I nullified them. Those are curses, genius.”

While the demon seemed to wield time as its main power, it was also skilled in illusions. One mistake, and that curse could seriously mess them up.

“Lucky for us, that dumbass doesn’t know a single word we’re saying, so I can lay it all out. Habits are dangerous things.”

Davey broke down the demon’s attack patterns, habits, how to counter them, and how to corner it properly. He finished, “Listen up! In raids, one person trolling is all it takes for a party to be wiped. I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt. However, the more my power resonates, the weaker its effects become.”

Evangeline grew somber at the news.

“That thing probably has something else hidden up its sleeve. Let’s call that boss phase two. For now, focus on forcing it to reveal everything it’s got. If what you try doesn’t work, pull back. It can’t escape, and I’ll reseal it the moment you retreat.”

Even just sealing the demon still reduced his influence, but that was still better than striking directly.

“We don’t have unlimited retries. Can you do it?” Daveyt asked them.

“Well, he’s doing whatever he wants to do,” Evangeline grumbled.

Abel passionately declared, “We have to find Kouna fast.”

“Then work together. Let me make this clear: because of a promise the goddess made long ago, I can’t kill it.”

Abel fell silent at his words.

“Abel, learn when to yield to your sister.”

He lowered his head. “Understood, Father.”

“Evangeline, trust your little brother. You need to work with him. Got it?”

She dropped her attitude and nodded. “Okay.”

“Alright, let’s go. This is a life-or-death fight. I explained it like a game, but don’t let your guard down. You’ll have to adjust your teamwork in real time.” Davey then paused for a second before continuing, “If either of you get seriously injured, I’m going to give up my divinity in order to take it down.”

Their eyes widened. They knew that if he abandoned his divinity, he could rip the demon to shreds in an instant. However, they also understood the accompanying costs and consequences.

He’d lose everything that came with that power.

“I believe that you know exactly what that means.”

Evangeline still hadn't heard why Abel had returned as a grown man, and that left her more confused than anyone. Yet, for the moment, she seemed to decide that the urgent threat came first.

“We’ll give it a try.”

Both picked up weapons that were strangely similar in style. They stood and stepped forward.

At the same time, Davey released the sealing sorcery and cast massive buff magic over both of them, then slammed his hands together.

[Special Sorcery]

[Anti-Demon Subjugation Formation]

Lit talismans shot out in all directions, spreading and attaching to the air like glue, distorting the surrounding space.

“Cheap tricks won’t save you!!” the creature roared.

“I’m first sealing away all your powers that are too much for them to handle.”

Following his taunt, Evangeline stepped forward, gripping Twilight in both hands. Using the magic circle behind her, she summoned massive dragon forearms. Without hesitation, she charged the demon head-on, twisting her body mid-assault to pivot and make an opening for Abel.

At that exact moment, Abel cast his spell.

Davey had explained everything like a raid in a game, but the one who was the most anxious was none other than himself.

People said parents needed to trust their children, but no matter how grown they become, to a parent, their child always felt like a baby that couldn’t do anything on its own.

That was something neither of them understood.