The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

"Keheok…" Kathryn groaned. She glanced around the now bloody campsite, then looked at the woman who had just closed her mage's robe lightly.

The Grand Duchess was undoubtedly a high-ranking warrior, her strength comparable to that of Reina, the Sword Saint. This became evident when she defeated a Frost Wyrm Bone Dragon despite its aerial advantages.

However, the woman had employed an attack so swift that Kathryn couldn't even react to it. It didn’t seem like magic, yet it was also somehow different from the typically condensed aura of knights.

Instinctively, Kathryn wrapped herself around the princess to protect her. Slowly rising from her position, she noticed Aeria's eyes wide with fear and her body trembling fiercely. The entire campsite had transformed into a field of corpses.

Crack, crack, crack…

Kathryn clenched her palms into fists, feeling her bones protest from the force of her grip. She glared at the woman standing freely among the corpses, seemingly unaffected by the blood splattered on her face. The woman's vertical pupils alone made Kathryn tremble.

“Fufufu,” the woman chuckled lightly, turning her head and retracting the red whip that had flashed from her fingers. “This… I had intended to let you go with as little pain as possible.”

“Identify yourself. Are you an assassin sent to kill her Imperial Highness?!” Kathryn demanded.

If the woman truly were an assassin, Kathryn would have to applaud her bravery for daring to attack the imperial princess, who was under the protection of the Grand Duchess, a powerhouse of the Lyndis Empire. In fact, the woman herself seemed like a confident and formidable monster, having killed almost everyone in the area before Kathryn could even respond.

Where on earth had such a monster come from? Kathryn quickly pulled the trembling Aeria behind her, scanning her surroundings. Most of their dependable and capable imperial knights had perished, clueless about what had struck them. Even the benevolent and outstanding Sword Master, Sir Belross, had suffered a fatal wound. Though he was still breathing, it wouldn't be surprising if he passed away at any moment.

Swoosh… swoosh…

Whether they were fine or not, the black-haired woman didn't care. She simply reached out her hand, and a red whip shot out, seemingly absorbing the gray smoke floating in the air.

"Hmm..." the woman sighed briefly. "I'm sorry. It won't work if I don't consume your souls."

Following her words, another thick whip shot out from her index and middle finger, and she continued calmly, "So, I suggest you close your eyes. I'll make sure it won't hurt."

Reacting on instinct, Kathryn moved to block another flash of red light. However, she realized that all sensation in one of her arms had disappeared, even though she had wrapped it tightly with thick and sturdy mana.

"Ah..."

"Your Imperial Highness!!!" Kathryn screamed as she saw bright red blood seeping through the simple and light pink dress of the girl behind her.

The turquoise-haired girl stared blankly at her pierced abdomen. The blow was so strong that she couldn't even scream. All she could do was collapse helplessly to the ground.

Aeria was not someone who couldn't fight. In fact, she had a very high affinity with spirits from birth and could summon spirits of the lower and even the intermediate level. However, her enemy was just too overwhelmingly strong, and she hadn't had the time to summon any of them.

"You damn b*tch!!!"

What the hell was going on? Kathryn could tell that the opponent was not merely an assassin who came solely to kill Aeria. Perhaps it was just their bad luck that they had encountered someone like her? After all, there were people like her all over the continent, and they were often referred to as witches.

However, the witches Kathryn was familiar with were not as strong or as terrifying as the woman in front of her. Most of them were just people with strange powers.

"Your Imperial Highness... This is a joke, right? Haha..." Kathryn wept as she held Aeria's body.

This couldn't be happening. Kathryn was protecting the princess, so how could she die right in front of Kathryn's eyes? Aeria had been suffering from illness for as long as Kathryn had known her. She had already been saved and had finally started seeing the light. And now, her pitiful life ended so abruptly, right in front of Kathryn.

"Please say that all of this is a lie. Please!" Kathryn cried, tears dripping down her chin.

She had always felt sorry for Aeria, a child who had been suffering because of the customs and traditions of the beastfolk since she was young. Kathryn had fallen in love with Aeria's naive and innocent personality and had vowed to protect her with her own hands.

For Kathryn, who had no children of her own, Aeria was like a lovely daughter or a cute niece. She felt immense joy when the child finally took off her mask and saw the light again. So, why? Why did she have to die like this? What did she ever do wrong?

As she wallowed in her sadness, an energy akin to flames flared up all over her body. Kathryn slowly got up. Even though she had lost an arm and was still shedding tears, she seemed to have completely forgotten her injuries as she glared at the woman in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to feel any pain, but you're much stronger than I thought," the woman said calmly, aggravating Kathryn, who gnashed her teeth at the woman's words.

“I live off of the souls of humans. That’s why I have to eat you for me to live.”

“F*cking b*tch,” Kathryn cursed, her body curling up briefly as she shot forward. She was extremely fast, to the point that she left a clear afterimage behind her.

Baaaaang!!!

‘I will kill this b*tch with my own hands. I will avenge Aeria and make this wench pay for Her Imperial Highness’ death by tearing her limbs off one by one!’

A loud, earth-shattering explosion erupted in the silent forest.

***

"I don't have a hobby of inflicting pain on others," the woman continued to speak calmly, still fine and unscathed.

In fact, even her mage robe remained clean, without a speck of dust on her long hair or skin.

On the other hand, Kathryn was now in her grip, covered in blood.

"But this is quite amazing. I never expected that there would be strong humans like you," the woman said smoothly as she let go of Kathryn's shoulder.

Thump...

Kathryn collapsed to the ground.

The woman retrieved her red whip once again, indifferent to whether Kathryn had the strength to get up or speak again. She whispered to herself, "I will do my best to ensure that you leave this world without pain. I'm sorry, but I have to eat. I have to live too, don't I?"

Kathryn's eyes filled with resentment at the woman, who now smiled in a crazed manner. If they were closer to Heins Territory, she would have definitely asked for help from the lord of the territory, the boy considered the strongest in the world. However, he was too far away for her to seek assistance.

"Just close your eyes and wait. I will let you leave this world without pain," Urd said as she raised her hands and then gently lowered them.

Kathryn could tell that Urd intended to decapitate her. Yet, she had no strength left to resist the blow. All she could do was close her eyes, giving up and wallowing in regret, blaming herself for lacking the power to fight against such a being.

But then, she saw a boy standing behind Urd.

"Ugh?" Urd flinched at the unexpected turn of events as the arm about to strike down on Kathryn was forcefully stopped by a fair yet firm hand.

A flash of light appeared in the pair of bloody-red eyes, eyes that looked at her with a dark, daunting, and eerie gaze, as the boy's sword severed her arm.

Shwaaaaaa!!!

The flash of red light came from none other than the sharp and smooth blade. Urd immediately increased the distance between her and the owner of those bloody-red eyes, and the interest in her eyes began to wane.

"Ah… that's no fun," Urd murmured calmly as she looked at her severed arm.

Then, the boy with red eyes walked slowly out of the darkness.

"I don't have a single ounce of patience in my body. What bad luck, huh?" the boy said calmly as he approached Kathryn, who had collapsed on the ground. He then dragged the cut-off arm of the Grand Duchess and let it fly toward the severed part while rousing his holy mana.

He asked Kathryn, "Why are you here?"

Kathryn remained silent, facing the complex and pointed question. No, she was in a situation where she could not speak. A warm light slowly spread out and restored her body. The brief fight had left her with significant wounds—she was basically in tatters. The hideous injuries she had sustained couldn't be easily healed even with recovery magic.

"It’s only been five minutes and you’ve already made such a mess.”

The boy slowly stood up and looked at his surroundings, his eyes growing wide as if he had found something. He stopped in front of the place where Aeria's lifeless body had collapsed.

“…” Aeria was still and silent. Her body had not yet cooled down, but her heart had already stopped working.

Kathryn desperately wanted to shout, ‘Please save Her Imperial Highness!’ but she knew that it was impossible even for a Saint to revive a dead person. However, Kathryn truly wanted to save Aeria.

Of course, no miracle happened.

The boy's eyes narrowed, his hands trembling as he caressed Aeria's cheeks. And in that silence, a red whip snapped forward and wrapped around his neck.

"Oh my, Davey O'Rowane? I thought of checking you out because you're quite famous. So, you're the gatekeeper of this land?"

The antagonist. That was right, the presence of the antagonist was the one that blocked all threats on every continent. However, Kathryn couldn't understand the underlying meaning from the woman's words.

"But that's strange. I don't think the gatekeeper carries two roles, no?"

In this continent, the Demon Lord and the antagonist should be on opposing sides.

"The Demon Lord is the gatekeeper and also the antagonist... You're quite special, huh? I think I understand why it's so difficult to bring this continent under my control," Urd said calmly as she tightened her grip on the whip. A simple swing could easily cut off the boy's neck.

However, the boy remained silent and continued to touch Aeria's cheeks. As he slowly wiped the blood off of her cheeks, he closed his eyes and murmured, "Choose... What choice should I make…?"

The boy only pondered briefly.

"Well, it's better to lose money now than regret it later, right?" the boy said as he reached into his pocket plane without hesitation and pulled out a red stone.

Inside the stone was a bright red ember, resembling the flickering light of someone's burning soul.