The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

“Rinne, do you not see this old man?”

“Rinne reports that Rinne does not know what Master Davey is talking about. Please give further explanations.”

“So you really can’t see him?”

[I’m just a projection of your mind. That’s why Lady Rinne cannot see me. Still, why is Lady Rinne…]

“I awakened her in the underground ruins.”

[I see. Lady Rinne’s soul must have disappeared for Goddess Freyja’s descent… Cough! More importantly, my lord, the more time we waste here, the bigger the problem that mutant becomes.]

“How do you suggest we find it, then?”

The mutant was aware that Davey was the supreme saint and that he was trying to track it down. That was why it used a decoy to run away. It assumed that there was no possible way that Davey could find the mutant… However, despite the challenging circumstances, Davey already had another method in mind.

[Forgive me, my lord. If only I had done a better job…]

“No, it’s fine. What you need to do now is tell me all about the mutant’s characteristics and abilities. Out with it.”

Listening to Davey, Rinne her head in confusion. “Master Davey? Rinne analyzes that this habit of talking to air is a tell-tale sign of being a lunatic.”

“It doesn’t matter. What’s the situation like?”

“Rinne’s elevation-sensing abilities are rated highly. Rinne reports that the target is stable.”

Davey’s uncle, who had become a mutant, had already returned to his original form. This would have normally been impossible, but to save him, Davey used the elixir that he had been keeping. He was sure that he’d eventually pull another for as long as the random box was still working anyway.

Rinne flew back into the mansion, likely to announce Davey’s return.

[Her expression is different from Lady Rinne, but… the air around her is definitely the same.]

“The Rinne that you knew is dead. The Rinne now is a separate existence.”

It did not matter if she was originally from the Sephiroth race—she was now a biological golem created using alchemy. This fact would remain unchanged.

“Now tell me something about that mutant.”

[It’s just as you’ve said, my lord. It probably knows that you are chasing after it. Given how desperately he\'s running, it will be difficult to catch it using normal means. We have to set a trap.]

After a brief pause, Arbit added, [While you’re planning this, do keep in mind that the mutant we’re hunting down can use the powers of any person or being that it has devoured.]

“I see.” Davey nodded as he quietly entered the silent mansion, finding everyone still asleep.

Swoosh–

Having drunk the elixir and returned to his original form, his uncle could finally rest in his bed at home. Davey silently looked on from his bedside as he slept.

[As the ruler of the Red Void, you should always keep your calm, my lord.]

“Shut it,” Davey snapped at Arbit before continuing to silently observe his uncle.

The man was sleeping comfortably despite the exhaustion and fatigue, that he had no doubt accumulated throughout the years. Although his uncle no longer looked like he was in pain, Davey’s medical skills told him that his uncle’s character and personality had undoubtedly been affected.

“Ugh… Uncle…” Hyun-Ah mumbled in her sleep. She was sleeping with her head resting on her uncle’s bed.

“An octopus is a cold-blooded sea creature. Do you think that makes you immune to the cold or something?” Davey said.

Perhaps because she had just gone through a draining situation, she was so exhausted that she didn’t even wake up when Davey picked her up and put her to bed in her room.

After dropping the girl off, Davey returned to his uncle’s room.

“A person should learn when to take a break from their busy lives.”

For some reason, his uncle’s exhausted face and the stubble that had grown on his chin made him uncomfortable.

“You look really funny…”

Naturally, there was no way the man would reply to his murmurs. Davey sat on the chair that Hyun-Ah had been using earlier.

Davey’s uncle had been one of the most important people in his memories since a long, long time ago. He was more like a parent to him than his actual parents. In comparison, his memories of his parents were a bit blurred and lacking.

It wasn’t that his parents didn\'t give him enough love—his uncle just gave him more. The man simply had so much love for his family. He even went so far as to continuously send money to his nephew, who had never even properly seen his loving uncle’s face.

Since the nature of his disease was very special, they had received support from the hospital in exchange for whatever data they could gather from him. However, it was also true that his uncle would regularly pay for his medical expenses. Now, this selfless uncle of his was lying on the bed in front of him, looking all shabby and unkempt.

“Please wake up. Hyun-ah has really grown, you know. It feels weird to see a three-legged octopus like her studying to become a doctor, though.”

Still no answer.

“I also saw Yeon-Hee noona. She’s really… Well, she’s always been pretty. Even her heart…”

Even if they were only family members from his previous life, as long as they remained in his memories, their relationship would never be cut off. Davey quieted down as he tightened his hold on his uncle’s hand.

“I’ll keep you safe…”

No other words were needed.

“You can’t go yet… Don’t you still have two people depending on you, uncle?” Davey whispered with a bitter smile on his face.

After staring at the man in front of him for some time, he finally stood up.

“According to the novels, his fingers should twitch and move around this time, right?”

He laughed at his own joke, but his joy was short-lived.

“Please get a good rest.”

Davey then turned around without any hesitation or regret. He had now seen Yeon-Hee noona, Hyun-Ah, and his uncle, whom he couldn’t even properly thank.

Kain thought that Davey definitely had a bitter taste in his mouth when he used the elixir to save his uncle when it could have revitalized and revived the Absolute Gem and ultimately ended the war with the Abyss.

In his eyes, using the elixir to adjust and tune the entire world was much more effective than using it to treat one human being. Nevertheless, Kain could not complain Davey was the one who made the decision.

Right now, Davey was just doing what he could. Fortunately, he already had the answer.

[My lord, we don’t have time for this. If we don’t catch that mutant, then—

“Arbit. Can I put that mutant under my control?”

The red mutant was able to find a specific wavelength that allowed it to sense Davey’s movements and promptly run away from him. What if, instead of evading Davey, it could figure out the location or movements of other beings too?

If Davey could put the red mutant under his control, he would be able to find the Malicious Spirits that he was having a hard time searching for. Through the mutant, he’d ultimately be able to break down the tricks that those bastards were using and stop them from dragging out time.

[If we can put that thing under your control, it’ll be the perfect detector.]

Davey liked the sound of that. The only problem now was finding a way to catch it and put it under his control.

[I suppose it’s not impossible. However, let me tell you that it’s not going to be easy catching that guy. Moreover, putting such a dangerous being under your control…]

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.”

It didn’t matter what else the mutant did to try to escape him. The power of the two beings on Davey’s side was enough to deal with it.

Davey took out the communication crystal ball, an item that he had not used for quite a long time. It could lead him directly to the person who followed him when he came to Earth.

“It’s me. I know you’re busy, but we’ve got work to do.”

***

Japan. Honshu Region. Somewhere in Osaka.

The mutant that had escaped from the Red Void ate something out of its hand as it walked quietly to a deserted building. It now looked like a young man.

While other mutants continued to spread all over the world, this mutant had quietly detected a strand of one being’s power. Aware that being captured meant death, it promptly ran away. The only thing keeping this young man moving forward was its simple instinct to survive.

Unbeknownst to the mutant, there were some beings in this world that were too difficult for it to judge and analyze. Eating the unknown flesh, the young man wiped the blood covering its mouth and slowly raised its head. It then looked around in doubt but couldn’t feel anything strange.

“He… He didn’t come after me?” the mutant mumbled as he tilted his head in confusion. His garbled speech was a clear indication that he still needed to further adapt to his new form.

The ruler of the Red Void, a place which the mutant could consider its home, chased it for the first while. But now, it could no longer feel his presence. Hence, it figured that it wasn\'t in danger for now.

Crack– Munch, munch–

The mutant continued to eat the plump and meaty human flesh.

On his way to this place, he had been eating humans randomly. However, he still made sure not to do anything noticeable. He was confident that there was little to no chance that the ruler would find him…

“Ugh?!”

At that moment, the mutant’s eyes widened as it shot toward the ceiling of the abandoned building. Sensing that something was amiss, it tried to run away, but dozens of flashes of light struck it before it could. Right after, a huge explosion went off.

Boom!!! Boom, boom!!!

Rumble!!!

The sudden attack shocked the red mutant. No matter how hard it racked its brains, it just could not understand what happened. When it looked up at the sky through the now broken ceiling, it saw a ship gathering a tremendous amount of power.

‘Ship…’

That was right. According to the knowledge of the humans that the red mutant had devoured, it was correct to call it a ship.

Unfortunately for the mutant, its predicament was just beginning; a being who could make every nerve in its body stay on edge appeared right next to it.

‘How did the ruler get here?!’

The wavelength the ruler emitted was quite far away from the mutant’s current location. Should he decide to head in its direction, it was confident that it would have enough time to run away. Hence, it moved around with its main body instead of making a decoy.

So, how?

“You’re really good at escaping, aren’t you? I really want your ability.”

“Kyaack!!!”

The red mutant struggled desperately to escape, but the young man quickly grabbed him by the neck. He smiled brightly as he stared at the mutant with his piercing red eyes.

Except for the blood, the two looked exactly the same, yet their powers were different.

“You’re quite cocky for a mutant, huh? You even dared to take my appearance,” the young man said as he released his battle energy.

The mutant’s instincts were screaming. Feeling infinitely afraid of the energy that was rushing out of the young man, it struggled desperately to break free from his grasp and escape.

Rumble!!! Bang! Bang!!!

However, Davey gave it no chance. Black chains shot out from the sky and pierced through it, pinning it down to the floor.

“H-How…?” the mutant mumbled, its head twisting grotesquely as if to tilt it in confusion.

“Wondering how I got here? Well, you’ve been tricked. Idiot.”

The mutant obviously felt the man’s wavelength on the other side of the world. But… what if someone had interfered with the wavelength’s path?

The demonic technique of the Princess of the Abyss, Verdandi, had the power to distort reality. Coupled with the weakened power of Awakened Kouna, it was not that difficult for Davey to find the mutant.

Fooled by the illusion of his wavelength coming from a distant and empty place, the mutant naturally did not run away. That made it easy for Davey to catch it.

“S-Spare…me… Don’t… Don’t want…to die…” the mutant cried out, its speech garbled as it begged for its life.

Davey smiled as he released his hold on the mutant.

“Don’t worry, I won\'t kill you. After all, you’re going to be my precious navigator,” he responded.

This mutant would completely overturn the tides of war.

Not long after, a bright light flashed in Davey’s red eyes. Arbit, who was by Davey’s side, then released a weak interference that seeped into the red mutant, causing it to pass out.

“Is this gonna be enough?” Davey asked with a wide smile, his eyes still on the mutant.

[I have already given it a hint of the Malicious Spirits’ wavelengths. This mutant will now try to find them.]

“Is that so? Now that that’s out of the way, let’s stop it from preying on and eating something unnecessary.”

The red mutant had the power to search for special wavelengths and run away from that source. However, with the combination of some hints and a bit of brainwashing, they had made it want to find and chase after the wavelengths of the Malicious Spirits.

From this point on, the mutant would believe that it was searching for and running away from Davey’s wavelength. But in reality, it was constantly moving in search of the Malicious Spirits, which was more than enough for Davey to track them down.

Not long after, Davey left the mutant behind. Unaware of the hint and the brainwashing, the mutant slowly stood up and began its search for the Malicious Spirits. It was like a dog with an excellent sense of smell following the scent that it had recognized a few moments prior.

“Run… Run away… I have… to run… away…”

Overcome by its fear of the ruler, the red mutant twisted its shape as it started to make its way to some location, unaware that someone was watching its every move.