The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

The confrontation between Davey and the woman named Reina was quiet and tense.

Compared to the two who had blocked him earlier, Reina was definitely the stronger one. The greatest proof of this was Aura Blade, the aura that mixed white and black flames together to cover the blade of her sword. Aura Blade was a symbol of a master.

From what Davey heard, these people were a ragtag group of warriors. In this era, the ‘warrior’ title was never used as a joke. Anyone who played around with a sword that emitted holy power would also definitely be an unusual sight.

—Davey.

Perserque, who had used the Abyss’ Authority ahead of Davey, said in shock. This prompted Davey to use the authority too.

[…]

Strangely enough, the translucent window that appeared in front of Davey was only filled with dots. There was nothing written on it at all.

Needless to say, a human being was capable of escaping an authority that even a God could not escape from…

With a single look at the warrior group, Davey could tell that Reina was the leader of their ragtag group. Did warriors really have a special power like this? To ask that question would only get others to call one crazy. After all, the world could never be that easy.

This special power was a separate matter from Reina becoming a warrior. Also, the authority also would not make any mistakes or errors. There was definitely another reason why the authority did not work on the woman standing in front of Davey.

“Things won’t go your way since we’re already here!”

The ragtag group was obviously misunderstanding Davey and his actions.

“Tell me once again. What are the things that would not go the way I want them to be?”

“Wh… What?! Stop playing word games with me!!! Bastard! You’re definitely the bastard who bought all of the slaves from the auction house!”

Those words alone proved to Davey that they had witnessed the entire auction.

“Aren’t dark mages known for sacrificing a lot of humans?!”

They weren’t entirely wrong, but they were still mistaken.

“This is why stereotypes are very scary.”

Roina rambled on until Reina stopped her. Reina then quietly said, “Her words are slightly excessive but… Since you’re a dark mage, we can’t let you go. Right now, the existence of a dark mage is very dangerous for this continent.”

“And who are you to decide that?”

“Are you telling me that a human who calmly enjoyed buying everything at this illegal auction house is a good human being?”

Davey had finally confirmed their position on this matter. They had seen Davey, who had his mask on, participating in the auction and had assumed that he was buying all of the illegal slaves to use them in a bad way.

This misunderstanding should be resolved. However, Davey, who had been busy trying to figure out how he would get the slaves out of their Mind Suppression as soon as possible, was annoyed by their constant ramblings.

Besides, Davey didn’t think that they would believe him even if he told them the truth. After all, they kept on telling him that he should stop playing around with them whenever he tried to explain things.

“Well, whatever you’re thinking, you’re definitely mistaken,” Davey said calmly as he flicked his finger.

[4th Circle Dark Magic]

[Strangling Chains]

At the same time, black chains shot out from the cracks in the ground. They bound the slaves who were spread out to gather them together. Their destination? The gate that had been created through the crack in space. The gate would directly lead to the Heins Territory’s seigneur’s castle where Royal Attendant Bernile would be waiting.

Although he was sending across a lot more people than he had initially planned, Davey was sure that his attendant would be able to take care of things neatly and quickly. After all, Royal Attendant Bernile was a quick-witted man.

“No!!!” Roina cried out in frustration.

Even the male beastfolk who was embedded deep in the wall had a look of frustration on his face. As for Reina, the leader of their party, she remained silent.

Davey had saved all the people that he needed to save, so he just had to find out the identity of the woman who was currently arousing his and Perserque’s doubts.

“You look very familiar…” Davey murmured thoughtfully.

Reina raised her sword as black and white flames burst out from its sharp tip. She said, “That’s not very funny.”

“Very familiar, yes. But your ages are different and even your swordsmanship, too.”

Ignoring Davey, Reina simply charged at him with her sword twisting slightly. She said, “It doesn’t matter who I am. So, stop judging me as you please.”

The white and black flames grew sharply on Reina’s blade, overturning the entire space recklessly as they engulfed Davey.

Perhaps she was now relieved that the slaves she had been protecting were already gone beyond the gate? Or perhaps she was angry that all the captives had easily been taken away by Davey? No matter the reason, one thing was for certain. Reina recognized Davey as her enemy.

From the outside, they looked just like a normal party of mercenaries. However, their leader was at Master rank.

What kind of a great existence was a Swordmaster? A nation having one Swordmaster in their rank was already enough for the other nations to be wary of them. Of course, the number of Swordmasters in the entire continent was not that huge. In fact, each and every single one of them were occupying their own place. None would be foolish enough to play around and become a mercenary.

Knowing that for a fact, Davey became even more curious about Reina’s identity.

“Ha! I don’t know how good you are, but as long as Reina is here, you’re already done for! Bastard!”

“Quiet, Roina!!!”

“Well, what?! What did I say wrong?! Reina is a warrior! The Warrior chosen by the Divine Sword!”

Davey cut down the silver greatsword that was being thrusted toward his abdomen without any hesitation.

—There’s… There’s something that Red Ribbon can’t cut through?!

As long as something escaped the laws of nature, Red Ribbon would not be able to do anything against it. However, if Davey’s guess was right, Blue Ribbon would be unable to do anything in this situation too.

As far as Davey was concerned, there was only one sword in this world that Red Ribbon could not cut through. And that fact alone left even more questions for him. After all, there could not be two of the same person in the world…

At that moment, Davey decided that he did not have to pay any attention to the circumstances or surroundings. He could just go as wild as he could.

“Ugh?!” Reina groaned. She was flustered by the powerful impact that had traveled through her silver greatsword after colliding with Red Ribbon. She was so flustered that she slightly lost her stance.

Reina tried to increase the distance between them, but Davey was a step faster. He grabbed her by the collar, then raised his left foot and swept her feet off of the ground.

Just as Reina fell and rolled on the ground, a colorless and odorless shockwave spread out. It wreaked havoc in the area.

A powerful gust of wind soon blew across the underground space as a huge crater appeared right where Reina had fallen.

“Kyaaack!”

The wind kicked up a dust cloud that only settled down after a while. When it finally cleared up, Roina and the male beastfolk were helplessly embedded in a cracked wall. They were quite far away from where Davey was.

Ignoring the other two, Davey put pressure on Reina’s collarbone. As Reina coughed, Davey commented, “You know, there’s only one sword in the world that Red Ribbon cannot cut through.”

Reina raised her head to look up at Davey.

Davey could tell that Reina was not using some kind of trick to activate those black and white flames. He was sure that the flames that had attacked him were divine flames created by holy magic. To be exact, it was the Flame of God.

—Why is there a black energy surrounding the Flame of God…?

A distorted holy spirit and a twisted faith… The sword that Reina wielded, the black and white flames that she used… They were all proof that Reina the warrior was very twisted.

“I’ll see who you are for myself.”

“N… No!!!”

Reina was truly as strong as a Master-rank individual. However, that only indicated the level of her skills. No matter who she was, Davey would know the moment he saw her face.

Just as Davey was about to force the mask away from Reina’s face…

A windblade flew in from afar and tried to pierce through Davey’s neck. Of course, the power behind the attack hardly threatened Davey, who could easily block it with one hand.

“Im-Impossible! You stopped a wind cutter with your bare hands?!”

After the scream rang out, a boy and a girl in robes appeared. The boy looked shocked to see his magic being deflected so easily.

The white-robed girl, bursting into a bright white light, yelled, “O’ merciful Goddess Freyja! Bring punishment upon the devil in front of me!!! Smite!”

Dozens of light pillars shot up and trapped Davey.

They had completely determined that Davey was a dark mage, and the priest’s sacred attack magic was very effective against dark mages. However, did a fish ever die from drowning?

With the help of the curse within him, Davey was protected from all other curses or spells. As for holy magic… it obviously did not affect him much either.

“Reina!!!” The male beastfolk shouted as he immediately jumped in to save Reina, who was pinned to the ground by Davey.

Of course, this was the group’s golden opportunity to save their friend and comrade. With the light pillars restricting Davey’s movements, they had to use the chance to save their leader.

Davey gave them passing grades on their plan of attack. He found it commendable that they had instantly staged an attack to rescue Reina. However, that didn’t mean that their plan would work. After all, Davey wouldn’t just let them get away with everything while watching the light pillars appear around him.

[Devil Ylgr’s Crowd Suppression]

[Forehead Flick]

Davey stretched his arm out from the confines of the light pillars. Then, his hand shot up with a considerable amount of force to flick the male beastfolk’s forehead with his middle finger. Did it look like a simple finger flick? Well, the male beastfolk who had been hit would definitely disagree with that.

“Keuaaaaack!!!”

Noticing that the male beastfolk had enough energy to scream like that, Davey could tell that he had a strong physique.

The group turned pale as they watched the male beastfolk named Vendique roll on the ground several times before getting stuck on the wall. The Swordmaster, who was obviously severely injured, could not believe that they had failed to inflict any damage on Davey despite the several attacks that they had staged.

After separating the male beastfolk and Reina, Davey turned toward the girl who had shot the white pillars of light and said, “This is how you use holy magic, brat.”

[7th Circle]

[Holy Smite]

“Kyaaaack!!!” The white-robed girl screamed as a huge pillar of white light fell down upon her.

“Essylt!!! Damn it! How can a dark mage use holy magic?!” Vendique cried out as blood dripped from his nose.

None of them could tell that they had been hit by 7th Circle holy magic, which was the highest tier.

“Don’t be fooled! It’s a simple trick! There’s no way that a dark mage can use holy magic!!!” The boy, who was a mage, gritted his teeth and hurriedly cast his wind magic in response.

Davey could clearly see that the boy was going to use another wind cutter. If that was the case, then Davey thought that he should give the boy a gift.

[7th Circle]

[Tempest Cutter]

Davey’s mana, which was faster and stronger than the boy’s own, surged up and created a thick blade of wind that slammed straight down on the ground. The blade of wind was so powerful that it entirely overturned the ground that the boy was standing on.

The attack would, of course, not kill the boy. However, the impact forced him to roll on the ground. His body became limp afterward, as if he would be out of commission for a while. From what it looked like, the shock was a bit too much for a weak mage like the boy to endure.

In an instant, three people had been incapacitated.

The last person still standing was finally making a move. It was Roina, the girl with the bright and pesky personality who had stopped Davey earlier on. She was furious.

Roina tugged on the shield on her back and charged at Davey. “You bastard!!!”

As her speed accelerated, Roina’s eyes turned red from anger. She was charging at Davey at a frightening speed. She looked just like a charging train.

At this point, Davey was childishly determined to pay them back with whatever attacks that they were using. Holy magic for holy magic, dark magic for stealth attacks, magic for magic, and finally a mindless charge…

[Longsword]

[Paladin’s Style]

The holy power slumbering in Davey’s body began to move as he started to use the swordsmanship that had been created by combining the Sword God’s Longsword and Paladin’s swordsmanship.

[Altered]

[Dump Truck]

Roina’s thick white shield broke uselessly as she was sent flying from the impact of Davey’s attack.

Davey could tell that he had added too much power behind that attack.

—Davey, you’re acting like a kid.

Perhaps it was because Davey’s arms and legs had shrunk with his disguise. Even his tone of voice was different. He appeared to be asking Perserque to give him a break.

Looking at Davey, Perserque smiled faintly.

After overpowering everyone else and making them unconscious, Davey grabbed Reina by the collar again. As the woman was finally regaining her senses again, he quickly asked, “What the hell are you?”

Reina did not answer the question. Instead, she swung her sword at Davey.

For Davey, that attack only raised even more questions. He found Reina’s attack method very familiar. Despite the very short attack distance, she had used the method of increasing destructive power. It was the very same method that Davey had previously taught Illyna; it was swordsmanship that focused on destruction.

“The swordsmanship. Even the sword.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Stop your bullshit,” Davey said coldly. “You are not Illyna, so why do you have Caldeiras with you?”

Reina flinched.

“Do you think I’m a stupid pushover? Did you think that I would not recognize the sword that my teacher made just because the sword’s shape has changed and its ego has collapsed?”

But was that really Caldeiras? The real Caldeiras was definitely still in closed-door training with Illyna.

Reina remained silent, not offering Davey any answers.

Davey sighed. He did not know if Reina was choosing to stay silent out of shock or because of any other reasons.

“Well, you don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to. I can just check it out for myself.”

Since he could not read his opponent with Perserque’s Authority, Davey had to see Reina’s true face with his own eyes.

Once Davey placed a hand on her mask, Reina snatched the wrist that was holding her by the collar.

Just then, a strong flash of white light momentarily blinded Davey and left him in a daze. It was only for a few short seconds, but that was enough for Reina. During that time, she had completely disappeared from sight. Even her party members had disappeared.

“…”

—Da… Davey…

Davey left Perserque, who looked at him with pity at the unfortunate turn of events. Then, he murmured, “Wow… She got me good there.”

Reina’s final move was completely different from the typical traps and tricks being used by sly and cunning opponents. She had successfully run away from Davey by reading the situation and adapting to her circumstances, a feat that could only be done by someone who had been toiling hard on the battlefield for decades.