The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 732

“As promised?” Davey asked.

Arbit paused for a moment. Instead of answering him, he asked, “Do you know what kind of place this is?”

“It has something to do with the power of taboo, wait no, the Sin of God, doesn’t it?”

Arbit was the first ancient dragon that Davey had ever seen. He was a massive, powerful being that stretched multiple kilometers and made Davey heavily reevaluate the power that ancient dragons possessed.

Arbit was so strong that Davey could only damage him using his unleashed power of taboo. Frankly, he found it hard to believe that this ancient dragon now followed him as a subordinate. He couldn’t help but think about what had happened in the past.

“Please, come this way.”

He casually drew a huge magic circle and looked straight at Davey.

“I have lived far too long. I have spent over thirty thousand years in this dimension, where time flows differently from the world of the goddess Freyja. Fufu… I suppose that makes me the oldest ancient dragon to have ever lived.”

Davey narrowed his eyes at him. “Thirty thousand years… Like thirty millennia?”

"Yes. It has been a long, long time. I suppose that would be around ten thousand years in the other world. All this time, I’ve been waiting here for Hercules, believing that he will one day purify this space.”

Davey detected profound sadness in his voice.

“This is no time for grievances, though. My lord, please stand over here. Accept the essence of every Sin of God that I have collected so far, and you will gain the ability to activate them.”

“Activate?”

"Yes. You will gain the right to rule this dimension, making you its second ruler after Hercules. Although he was only about as strong as you when he ascended the throne, this ritual made him infinitely stronger. Your powers haven’t fully bloomed yet, my lord. Allow me to awaken them.”

“And how would you do that?”

“I have spent my time in this place accumulating power for Hercules. Now that he’s gone, it is only right for me to pass on that power to you, his successor.”

“What led you to that conclusion?

“You were able to overcome my time power using the Sin of God, which means you’ve already awakened that part of the power.”

Precisely speaking, Davey fled the realm of time that Arbit had created by simply ignoring it.

“My lord, your power is unique—two perfect powers can’t coexist in the same world. That alone makes you worthy of my gift,” Arbit added.

If Davey understood Arbit’s explanation correctly, then Hercules had passed away, and he inherited his power. Having become a demigod, he was now worthy of awakening and using it.

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

Feeling satisfied with Davey’s answer, Arbit expanded the magic circle as red energy gathered from all directions.

“I don’t think Goddess Freyja will just stand by and watch while we do this,” Davey commented.

“Not even her power has influence here. This is your territory now,” Arbit explained.

He then shrunk into a ball of light and transformed into an old man covered in age spots. Just by his appearance, it wouldn’t be surprising if he died any time soon. Still, his wrinkled face was full of joy and relief.

“Ah… I can finally go to my eternal resting place. Hercules…”

“Eclipse seemed so young when I saw her.”

Arbit flinched. “What… What did you say? Who?”

“Eclipse.”

"That can’t be true. Lady Eclipse volunteered to travel and personally watch over the Abyss…” he trailed off. After a short pause, he locked eyes with Davey. “Has Lady Eclipse… been corrupted by some power?”

"Yeah, and she’s scary strong.”

"Oh no… Goddess Freyja… This can’t be…” he muttered bitterly, nervously fidgeting with his cane. “Although I somewhat expected something like this to happen, this is still really terrible news. For her to also end up…”

“Did you know her well?”

“Yes, very well. Lady Eclipse was one of the Lord-class ancient dragons. Among them, she was the friendliest to humans… and the strongest.”

“Well, she’s certainly strong,” Davey remarked.

“Did you… happen to fight her?”

“I was lucky enough to survive.”

“That’s impossible, my lord. Lady Eclipse was a powerful being. Even with your current strength, she should have been able to easily obliterate you,” he replied, doubt evident in his expression. He then asked, “Did she perhaps go through a hierophany?”

“Hierophany? Are you referring to her body?”

“Yes.”

“She looked like a little kid about this tall.”

“Then you were lucky, my lord. Lady Eclipse had overwhelming physical capabilities in her true form. Now that she’s been corrupted… you won’t be able to handle her true form.”

Whether Eclipse could fully transform was a different matter entirely, though.

Arbit continued crafting the magic circle, making it shine even more.

“Come… With your power, you’re destined to be a king.”

“...”

Davey felt a strange power flowing through him. A strong, tingling sensation then coursed through him, making him glance at Arbit. Davey knew that this strengthening was the best that he could hope for given the current situation. However, he felt strangely uneasy… and that anxiety was soon validated.

“Hmmm?”

Davey frowned as he began to feel a subtle discrepancy in his fingertips.

“Arbit...”

“Yes, my lord?”

“What are you doing to me?”

The ancient dragon tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“I think my mana is disappearing right now.”

As Davey spoke, his devil mana, elemental mana, divine power, sorcery… The foundation of all his mana was scattering away.

“My lord, this is supposed to happen. Becoming the master of this Red Void means severing all your connection with the Goddess Freyja.”

His explanation brought Davey back to his senses.

‘Is this bastard trying to completely disconnect me from reality and turn me into a human who can only exist in the Red Void? Is that what he’s saying?’

“Stop.”

“My lord?”

“Stop the ritual. I still have a lot to do in the outside world.”

“You can still go outside to catch the mutants that have escaped if you really want to.”

“How about doing other things?”

“...”

“Don’t you dare hide anything from me. What kind of being will I be in the outside world if I accept this?”

“What else is there for you to do out there?”

“Stop. Now.”

This sequence of events served as a reminder to Davey that nothing good in the world ever came without a cost.

“But, my lord!”

“I’m warning you. Stop this right now.”

“We can’t just stop now! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this—”

“I don’t care! I told you to stop!”

Boom!

Davey let out heavy energy. At the same time, he gripped Super Ribbon and imbued her with an enormous amount of taboo power.

“Gaaa! Don’t do this, my lord! According to the oath, you’re the only one who can become the ruler of this place!”

“No, no, a subject cannot tell their king what to do.”

Slash!

Davey cut the magic circle’s flow of power, shocking Arbit.

“No… No!!! My thirty thousand years of waiting…! My lord!! If you don’t do this, you will forever be just another side of Goddess Freyja! You have to be different from who you were during the previous wars—”

“Do you know who Goddess Freyja is fighting outside right now?”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s fighting Thanatos and Neltarid, the very beings your species have been fighting all this time.”

Crumble…

The magic circle that was transforming Davey collapsed.

Arbit stared at Davey in silence, his hopes shattered and his long wait rendered meaningless. Nevertheless, although Davey had taken away his salvation, it did not enrage him.

“My lord…”

“You want to die, don’t you?”

“... Yes.”

“I have no intention of throwing my life away to become the ruler of this place. However, if you can wait just a little longer, I will return to save you. Actually, I have a lot to ask you, but there’s something I need to take care of first.”

His words resonated with Arbit. Standing still, he stared at Davey in silence for a good while again.

Finally, he leaned on his cane and replied, “I accept, my lord. I shall wait here a little longer. Still, you remain weak. With Lady Eclipse, Thanatos, and Neltarid as your enemies… the Celestial Dragon, Sephiroth, Valkyrie, Demons, Fairies, Totrias, and Iron Glows could reemerge.”

Arbit placed his hand on his chest, pulling out a blurry figure of light and giving it to Davey.

“You need more power, my lord. Since you refuse to become a perfect being who has fully taken in the power of the Sin of God—”

“Get to the point.”

“I will instead help you master the power of Goddess Freyja…”

Arbit still seemed to be planning to get rid of the disparity between Davey’s body and soul.

Davey was confused. He thought the procedure earlier had been enough.

“You will? How?”

“Have you forgotten, sire? You are the ruler of the Red Void, and time here is currently under my control.”

“So you’re going to bring us through time?”

“I believe you will eventually resolve the gap between your soul and body. Hence, though it may not last long, I can bring you to that moment and let you experience it.”

Shimmer…

A mass of light with immense power permeated throughout Davey. Arbit’s plan was unconventional, sure, but it wasn’t impossible. He was basically saying that he would summon the time when Davey would bridge the gap between his body and soul, regardless of how many years, decades, or centuries that was into the future.

“I’m not willing to grow old here.”

“Haha! Don’t worry—as a demigod, aging has no meaning for you. Anyway, this is a bit surprising. Who would have thought that a human could reach such an extraordinary state...”

“Well, thanks.”

Davey didn’t know how long he could last like this. As the time that Arbit summoned took hold, Davey felt his body change. He couldn’t help but smile.

***

Shanghai, China.

The city had descended into chaos.

Crackle!

An Awakened rained down hundreds of explosive fireballs from the sky.

A red mutant had taken over Chao Huang. By devouring other Awakened fighters, he eventually became stronger than the ones he had consumed. He had committed mass murder in nearly an instant.

“...”

Chao Huang didn't talk; he only ate. His pure desire for predation made him gobble everyone in his path, regardless of age or gender. He even had moments of stupidity where he tried to eat cars, only to then spit them out in frustration.

“Stop him!”

Rattle, rattle, rattle!!

Dozens of tanks lined up and aimed at Chao Huang, who was standing alone and trying to eat the windows of a car.

“Fire!!’

Thoom!! Thoom!!

When the tanks shot at him, Chao Huang opened his eyes and extended red tentacles to snatch up the projectiles. Instead of making them explode, he swallowed them, opened his huge mouth, and fired them back like cannonballs. The volley of shells streaking across the sky made for quite the apocalyptic scene.

Before the emergence of the Awakened, China’s military was among the best in the world. Nevertheless, despite its formidable military and Awakened fighters, the Chinese government still struggled to contain Chao Huang.

He grew stronger without end, becoming smarter and more formidable with each passing moment. He was easily one of the worst monsters that China had ever faced.

To make matters worse, similar problems were cropping up all across the world. Strange mutants had appeared out of the blue—not through rifts, but by humans turning into monsters. Hence, China began to assume that Chao Huang was a mutant just like all the others.

He continued to rampage through Shanghai, decimating the army and the Awakened. After wreaking unbelievable destruction, he switched directions and headed toward the territorial waters of Japan.

Noticing that he was en route to a city in the Kyushu region, the Chinese government made a shocking decision. Rather than wasting resources trying to stop the disaster that already seemed to be leaving their territory, they sat back and let it head to Japan in hopes of weakening their political rival.

Unfortunately, even with Chao Huang gone, they still faced severe mutant problems. Dozens of mutants had appeared in Shanghai, causing further destruction. Having been weakened by Chao Huang, the Chinese government struggled to handle the new threats.

“Aaaah!!!”

A girl wailed in fear and despair as a mutant swallowed her parents whole, sacrificing themselves to save their daughter. Her screams intensified as her parents’ cold bodies slid down the mutant’s gullet, causing the ten-meter-long monster to focus its attention on her.

Too afraid to engage, the Awakened fighters simply watched in silence as the mutant approached the girl. They likely wouldn’t be able to save her anyway even if they tried to help. After all, not even tanks could take down this exceptionally dangerous mutant.

Soon enough, the mutant opened its maw to swallow the girl whole, revealing rows of fangs.

Clack!!

But all the mutant swallowed was empty air.

“Kid, have you seen anything that looks like this red jelly?” asked a young man with black hair as he put the girl down. He sounded so relaxed that it was almost as if he was simply lost and asking for directions.

However, the girl simply kept sobbing.

The young man sighed, realizing he wouldn't get an answer. When the mutant lunged at him, he took a step forward.

“Huh, I guess there are mutants here too.”

Wham!!

A dark rift suddenly opened, and black arms shot out of it en masse. They grabbed the mutant’s limbs and held it in place.

“I don’t have any more elixirs now. You’ll have to look for them elsewhere.”

The young man casually flicked his hand in the mutant’s direction. An enormous black beam several meters in diameter shot up from the ground, swiftly rising into the sky. When it disappeared, only silence and darkness remained.

From afar, the young man looked no different from any other person. However, his overwhelming strength far surpassed the Awakened fighters’. Hence, his casual demeanor, which made him look as if he was simply on a stroll, naturally shocked everyone. It belied his incredible strength.

Looking at where the mutant had just been, the young man smiled faintly. “I guess closing the gap between my body and soul did make me stronger. Thanks, Arbit. I’ll use this power well.”