The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

Night fell swiftly in the desert, casting its dark veil over the arid landscape. Fortunately, Davey had stumbled upon a large rocky area, offering them respite from the scorching sun. Silently, he carried Illyna on his back as they made their way toward the sheltered refuge.

The condition of the place was not ideal for immediate rest, but if there was no suitable resting place, why not create one? Utilizing a Fire Blast spell, Davey drilled a hole into a massive rock, fashioning a makeshift cave. He then collected the flammable parts of the Desert Horn Moths and other desert creatures he had captured, arranging them into a blazing fire.

Silence enveloped the night, with Illyna choosing to remain silent, perhaps out of consideration for not disturbing Davey. Despite her fatigue and exhaustion, she refused to utter a word, determined not to show any sign of weakness as she grew more at ease.

In response, Davey quickened his pace, intentionally making it challenging for her.

However, Illyna remained resolute. Then, she finally asked, "Davey... Do you understand the nature of divine punishment?"

"I am well aware," he replied.

"In that case... Those who receive divine punishment... What becomes of them?"

"It varies depending on the circumstances. What you witnessed is the usual outcome, where they are reduced to ashes and judged on the spot. My situation is different."

Indeed, Davey's case was highly unusual. To put it simply, his actions warranted a higher level of judgment. There was a significant likelihood that he would endure eternal suffering within this space specifically created for his divine punishment.

"Instances of great turmoil that disrupt the divine order are often dealt with swiftly, obliterating them on the spot. However, there are also punishments and judgments such as this," Davey explained.

"So, are we going to die here?" Illyna asked, her voice filled with apprehension.

"Your soul will be obliterated. What do you think? Isn't it a clean solution?"

Illyna's expression turned shocked at his response. She buried her face in her lap and murmured, "Belial... What he did... Did he choose it willingly?"

"How would you like me to answer that?" Davey retorted.

"If you dare suggest that you were the cause of it all, I'll hit you."

"Well, what can I say? I am indeed the cause," Davey admitted without denial.

A fist flew toward Davey without hesitation, its sharpness and speed apparent. However, Davey calmly raised his palm and effortlessly blocked the punch, retorting, "I did not agree to being hit."

"Mean bastard... He's still a living being," Illyna muttered.

"Are vampires any different?" Davey countered.

Silence hung between them as Illyna struggled to respond to his challenging question, her tears welling up.

"If you insist on your twisted and biased logic, I suggest you keep it to yourself," Davey coldly criticized, further unsettling the girl before him.

"But..."

"What right do you have to pass judgment on something he chose for himself?"

"He's pitiful..." Illyna finally managed to utter through her tears. "I don't know much about him... but I couldn't bear to see him die in vain... I didn't save him only for him to meet that fate..."

Such an emotional attachment to a life they had saved was a common sentiment among those who possessed medicinal skills. With limited experience in saving others, Illyna's attachment had likely exceeded the norm in this case.

"He accepted my offer because he desired it. He found satisfaction in his fate," Davey stated.

Silence pervaded the air, and Illyna, bound by her knight's oath, understood the importance of showing respect.

"Sacrifice is an overrated word," she murmured. "But you, more than anyone else, should understand how difficult it is for someone close to you to disappear."

"You know nothing about me," Davey replied.

"Isn't that precisely why you protect others so fiercely? Your half-mad nature drives you to extreme measures in safeguarding those around you."

Davey remained silent, absorbing her words.

[Mother! Don’t die! Please!]

Memories of being cursed and ridiculed flooded Davey's mind for no apparent reason. He remained silent but playfully ruffled Illyna's hair.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" she protested.

"Stop talking nonsense," Davey replied.

Illyna refrained from asking further questions. She had learned about Perserque's existence through Caldeiras and respected Davey's boundaries by not prying into Belial. Despite her frustration with Davey's radical behavior, she understood that she had no right to question him or point fingers recklessly. After all, she was still an outsider.

Davey focused on the meat in front of him. They were fortunate to have obtained desert monsters for food. Davey had skillfully processed the creatures, ensuring they were safe to eat.

As Illyna observed Davey's movements, a thought crossed her mind, and she cautiously asked, "Davey, will you protect everyone dear to you like this?"

"...Losing someone is a terrible feeling," he admitted.

"Then who will protect you?"

Davey found himself momentarily speechless at the absurd question. "Protect me? From whom?"

"Do you plan to bear everything alone like this? I know you more than you think. As far as I can tell, no one knew about this plan except Belial, right? Even Perserque, the beautiful Demon Lord, had no knowledge of it."

"The more people who know, the more disadvantageous the plan becomes," Davey explained calmly.

Illyna smiled helplessly at his composed response. "I want to become stronger."

Silence hung between them.

"I want to become strong enough to hold onto someone and never lose them, just like you did this time," she continued silently. "And I will protect you, who protected everyone until the very end, even when no one came to protect you."

Her bright smile caught Davey off guard, and she asked, "So, feeling better now?"

Davey grinned, watching Illyna fidget. He chewed on the cooked meat of the edible monster, swallowed, and slowly rose to his feet. He remarked, "These bastards won't even give me time to be emotional.”

Illyna's eyes widened at both Davey's words and his manner of devouring the meat before him. Bewildered, she asked, "What are you talking about?"

"They've arrived," Davey responded calmly, taking hold of the Transcendence Demise and stepping out of the cave. Illyna hastily grasped Caldeiras and trailed closely behind him.

***

The place to which Davey had been dragged was an illusion, a realm created by the will of God within her dreams. In other words, this fantasy world where Davey would face judgment was not an ordinary realm inhabited by humans.

From a distance, hundreds, perhaps even more, of gigantic beings could be seen slowly marching toward them. In their hands, they held massive and sharp sickles attached to black chains, seemingly meant for restraining someone.

Despite the large number of beings, Davey felt that they were too few. However, what was truly strange was the cold and eerie aura emanating from each and every one of them.

"Davey... What are they?" Illyna asked, her voice filled with uncertainty.

"I don't know either. I have never encountered anything like them before."

However, one thing was certain to Davey. These beings, the inhabitants of this world, held deep hostility toward him and Illyna.

Observing Davey casually twirl the Transcendence Demise and point the dragonheart toward the ground, Illyna's anxiety grew. She voiced her concerns, "It doesn't seem like they have good intentions, no matter how I look at it."

There was no denying it. After all, they were specifically heading toward the cave where Illyna and Davey had taken shelter. If they weren't their intended target, then who else could it be?

"In scholarly circles, it has long been believed that hawks are excellent medicine for those who struggle to communicate. I'll tidy up a bit and join you. Stay back," Illyna declared confidently as she followed closely behind Davey, who took a step forward, and drew Caldeiras, which was currently dormant.

"I should be the one saying that line."

"It hasn't been that long since we last talked, has it? I will protect you. Do as you please."

Davey couldn't help but wonder where she found such unwavering confidence. However, he could see that there was no way to dissuade her from her resolve. So, he abandoned his attempt to persuade her and forcefully stomped his foot on the ground.

Sand flew out of the area as Davey shot forward.

—Grrrr!

The bastards in front of Davey snarled and swung their sickles, intent on attacking him. The formidable weapons, with their sharp and menacing blades attached to thick and heavy chains, could be considered quite impressive.

Davey swiftly twisted his body, narrowly evading the swinging sickles. His form grazed against the chains as he gathered mana on the tip of the Transcendence Demise, delivering a powerful strike to one of the creatures.

As he approached closer, he noticed that these creatures, adorned in fur pelts, had a single eye on their faces. They also sported sharp fangs and robust horns atop their heads. Based on their appearance, they resembled dokkaebis, beings often found in fairy tales and folklore.

Davey blasted one of the dokkaebi’s head off. However, a strange feeling lingered in his hands, prompting him to activate his status window.

“F*cking sick.”

There was no way that someone as small-minded as Goddess Freyja would allow Davey to roam freely in this place so easily.

[Davey O’Rowane is prohibited from killing.]

Originally, the attack could have easily left a huge crater behind. However, the head did not even explode. This was due to the restrictions imposed by Goddess Freyja's power, which prevented Davey from killing. Instead of creating a crater, the dokkaebi stood up and launched another attack.

Davey felt as if his limbs would be severed by the chains that unpredictably lashed at him the moment he lowered his guard. The peculiar thing was that Davey's attacks seemed to pass through the creatures, as if they were mere illusions. No matter what he did, it seemed like he was fighting a losing battle.

[Longsword]

[Great Spinning Slash]

Then, the sound of something being slashed by a sharp object reached Davey's ears. However, it wasn't Davey who had launched the attack, but Illyna.

When it came to offense, Davey surpassed his enemies by far. However, due to his restrictions, he couldn't inflict any injuries on them. On the other hand, Goddess Freyja had no reason or grounds to restrict Illyna, someone who had simply been caught up in this judgment. Unlike Davey, who was in the defendant's position, Illyna was essentially an outsider in this world.

Quietly manipulating his mana, Davey gripped the Transcendence Demise tightly in his hand, his thoughts drifting in that direction. Muscle reinforcement, speed enhancement, mana shield. With his abundant and overpowering mana, he cast several buff spells that a mage could cast onto Illyna.

"Illyna, take a deep breath."

"Heup!"

She drew her heavy sword, which felt as weighty as lead, and followed Davey's instructions without hesitation.

"Relax your wrists. Let your thighs endure."

"Now, swiftly draw your sword and deliver the most powerful and weighty downward slash you can muster."

[Transcendental Longsword]

[Mystical Speed, Quick Draw]

[Piercing Moonlight Sword]

As she swiftly drew her sword, a heavy pressure enveloped the surroundings. So what if Davey couldn't cut them down? Illyna could assist him in doing so.

"Look! What did I tell you?! Didn't I say I'll protect you?! I don't know why you were so confident about fighting earlier when you can't even do anything to them, but this strangely feels good, Davey! Hahahahahaha!"

Davey couldn't comprehend what was so enjoyable about doing something he was restricted from doing. Well, he didn't understand what was going on in her mind, but she appeared genuinely happy with her actions. Illyna beamed brightly, identifying her opponents and swinging her aura blade with wild abandon.

True to her words, Davey currently had no means to deal with them. In truth, it wasn't entirely impossible for him if he wanted to. However, he believed that further offending Goddess Freyja would put him at a disadvantage. And that was something he deemed highly inefficient.

Meanwhile, Illyna, who relentlessly cut down the dokkaebis, was growing as a Sword Master. Her progress was remarkable. Despite only witnessing the sword strike once, she had the talent to make the skill her own. It was as if she was proving that she wasn't the descendant of the Sword God for nothing, displaying an unexpectedly fast growth rate.

Before long, she stood between Davey and the dokkaebis, shouting, "You have to go through me if you want to harm Davey!"

The dokkaebis were generally at a level that Illyna could handle, so it wasn't overly challenging for her. As for Davey? He was restricted due to the goddess's wrath for his actions. Thus, he had no choice but to keep his hands at bay and observe.

"Well, do your best."

"You have to grant one of my wishes if we make it out of here."

"I'll probably consider it."

At Davey's response, Illyna released a wave of blue mana, seemingly content with that answer. Then, she prepared to launch another attack, following the initial movements of her leading skill. However...

The serene sands of the desert suddenly twisted and contorted as a massive snake, tens of meters in length, emerged.

Simultaneously, Davey thought he should provide a little stimulation to those cursed monitors that still peeped at them like perverted voyeurs amidst this chaos.

"Goodness... why is that thing so enormous?" Illyna wondered, gripping Caldeiras' hilt tightly. "Davey... You can't kill those monsters right now, can you?"

"..."

"I believe we should retreat for now... That opponent doesn't seem easy to deal with."

In response to her words, Davey casually stretched out his hand. He explained, "Prohibition on Killing."

"What?"

"This is the penalty imposed by Goddess Freyja upon me."

In essence, it meant that no matter how powerful the strike, his adversaries would never die.

"However, do you know what this implies?"

Confused by Davey's question, Illyna tilted her head. Meanwhile, the colossal snake slithered among the dokkaebis, lunging forward as if it aimed to swallow Davey in one gulp.

"Even if I strike them relentlessly, they won't perish. In simple terms, they're the perfect sandbags."

Had they set up this trap to trap Davey, rendering him helpless? Unfortunately for them, Davey firmly believed that if they blocked route one, he would take route two. And if they attempted to obstruct route two, then he would pursue route three and devour them whole.

Davey unleashed a powerful punch at the swiftly approaching snake, sending it crashing to the ground. With its fang firmly grasped, he wore a pitiful smile and uttered, "Lead us to the judges or trial supervisors who sent you."

There was no reason for Davey to follow their orchestrated trial. Besides, with this massive snake, they would be able to traverse the vast desert in no time.

In the standard procedure of intimidation and threats, showcasing one's power and asserting demands came first. If the opposition refused to comply, it was crucial to demonstrate that actions spoke louder than words.

Of course, the gigantic snake had no intention of heeding Davey's words, even if it understood them. It lunged at him once more, displaying its ferocity by opening its mouth wide as if to swallow him whole, despite his grip on its fang, keeping its head in place.

Undeterred, Davey seized Red Ribbon and fearlessly stabbed the snake's gums, an eerie smile gracing his face as he remarked, "You don't want to cooperate? That's fine. We have plenty of time together. It just so happens that I need someone to help me relieve some stress, and your size makes you a perfect candidate. Let's have some fun, shall we?"

With deftness acquired through battling dragons in the past, Davey extracted hundreds of teeth from the snake. The simple task of extracting teeth from a lesser creature like a snake posed no challenge for him.

"Although we lack anesthesia, there's no need to fret. I'll ensure a clean extraction by snapping them off neatly."

For a moment, Davey sensed a trembling quality in the eerie yellow eyes of the giant snake. Perhaps it wasn't mere imagination. After all, the snake exuded a similar aura to that of a divine beast. However, the issue at hand was that Davey possessed great confidence in dealing with mythical-class creatures.

Davey intended to make the snake realize that its inability to comprehend his words was actually a fortunate circumstance.