The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 766. The Queen Thrown into a Black Sea

The sounds of tearing and breaking echoed through the black space. A little girl, covered in blood, lay collapsed while the black fog with scarlet eyes loomed over her. The black fog said nothing, but its eyes were filled with extreme anger as it looked down at the girl.

Everything twisted.

[Frey... ja.]

A croaking voice filled with longing echoed across the space. The black fog with scarlet eyes immediately seeped into the fallen girl clad in a gothic lace dress.

"Ah... Ah... AAAH!!"

The fallen girl began to scream in pain, clutching her head with both hands. She opened her eyes wide, and her vertically slit pupils turned dull and lifeless.

[Be afraid... I am the origin of all darkness. The world will come to an end, and I will soon make my anger known to all.]

As the fear-inducing voice echoed, the girl trembled, pressing down on her head and digging in her nails. Then her vertically slit pupils emitted a harsh glow.

"It’s... It’s not over yet...”

Her voice was filled with countless emotions.

"Hell... hasn’t...”

The girl gritted her teeth and trembled. Her body jerked as if she had been shot.

"Hera... Cl... Lass..."

Transparent tears trickled down her cheeks until the black fog soon seeped into her again, turning her tears black.

“Destroy it. And... I will reclaim myself... Come find me... I will invite you there. Delegate of Freyja...”

A voice filled with madness, different from before, echoed through.

***

“Prince Davey! I was just about to come find you... Hmph?!”

President Kutin, who was urgently approaching Davey, looked out the window with wide eyes. The sky, which had been bright blue just a moment ago, had suddenly turned red.

Stomp, stomp!

He reflexively ran to the window, opened it, and looked up at the sky. He was astonished to see numerous black shadows floating above, ready to fall at any moment.

“You have thirty seconds to explain yourself.”

“...”

Kutin trembled as he stumbled back. He had sort of expected the situation to turn out like this from the beginning. As an outstanding leader, he knew he had to speak in order to resolve the situation.

“If I\'m not satisfied, you can\'t give me an answer, or you give me an answer different from what I expect, I will make sure those things drop successfully.”

As if reflecting Davey’s feelings, the air around him trembled eerily. Kutin was certain that, despite Davey\'s smile, he was angrier than ever. He broke into a cold sweat, realizing that one wrong word would end everything. Despite being the ruler of such a powerful country, he now felt like a lamb to the slaughter in front of the being who was both human and something more.

“First of all, there’s a huge misunderstanding! We, Russia, do not intend to be hostile to you...”

Swish, Boom!

Then something zipped right past his face.

“So you attacked Perserque when you had no intention of being hostile? I’m sure Rinne relayed the situation to you at least once.”

At his words, Kutin recalled the small girl with light blue-silver hair who had visited him not long ago. The girl, unique and unmistakably not human, had asked him not to touch Perserque in a tone as distinctive as her presence before vanishing. She had told him that provoking Perserque would cause something no one could expect.

Kutin had already witnessed the catastrophe that happened when Rinne and Perserque clashed once, so he accepted the advice without hesitation. He knew that it was best to avoid walking disasters whenever possible. Attacking her intentionally was out of the question. Whatever the reason would be, he knew attacking her would be pointless and detrimental, akin to voluntarily stepping on a landmine.

“As you know, there is no reason for Russia to be hostile to you,” he said, carefully trying to conceal his growing fear.

“Regardless, the Russian army and the Awakened still attacked her.”

“We are already quickly investigating this matter. I believe we’re being deliberately framed. Someone must’ve played tricks in the middle to set us up.”

Davey quietly closed his eyes as Kutin desperately pleaded his case.

“So, there was a development that you, the Commander-in-Chief, were unaware of. Is that what you’re saying?”

“We are currently investigating the matter further. I promise you that once we find out who they are, we will catch them and put them in front of you...”

Bang!

“Hmph!?”

Kutin flinched and backed away.

“How could you not know? It doesn’t make sense that you don’t.”

“Ah... T-That is entirely my fault...”

Bang!

“Eek!!”

“Then I guess you have no excuses.”

\'Damn it!\' Kutin thought. He tried his best to hide the sinking feeling in his heart. He had no idea how to mollify Davey. But soon, a report came in that he knew Davey would like.

"Commander!"

Kutin\'s eyes widened at the urgent shout of a man who rushed in.

“We got him! General Gorba, who gave the attack order, is currently being captured and transported!”

He turned to Davey immediately.

“Sir, let’s go right this instant—they say they caught him! Let me make it clear: we in Russia have absolutely no intention of repaying favors with hostility. We will of course make sure you get all the information regarding General Gorba. We will fully support you in your future endeavors.”

He had to do and say whatever he could to calm Davey down for now.

[This... This situation is probably more dire than the collapse of the Soviet Union—something so devastating and impactful that it was first taken as a joke.]

Muttering bitterly to himself, Kutin carefully observed Davey’s reactions. He watched Davey, who was silent and seemed ready to explode at any moment, with a nervous expression for a long time. As Davey’s simmering maliciousness subsided, Kutin finally sighed with relief.

“He’ll have to give me an answer I like.”

“Of course. I’ll even find out how many times he wet his bed as a child.”

“There is no need for that.”

They exchanged jokes in awfully dismissive tones as they walked.

***

President Kutin\'s actions were commendable. He instantly began arresting everyone who had ordered this incident. Once Davey confirmed that the escalation truly wasn’t Kutin\'s order and intention, he couldn\'t waste any more time in Russia. He knew he could punish those who had already been caught at any time, regardless of their motives and reasons. He couldn\'t help but notice how similar their situation was to Verdandi’s, making him feel astonished in a way.

After Davey left Russia, he returned to the place where Perserque was sleeping and saw Verdandi putting up a mysterious barrier.

"What is this?" Davey asked.

“The only way to stop you if you go berserk,” Verdandi sighed quietly while looking at him.

“Berserk?”

“In order to save that woman, I’m going to use my power to fly you into her depths. You’ll get affected by the Abyss on your way there. I don’t know if your body will go berserk, but I have to make preparations.”

“You’re certainly skilled at justification after betraying someone.”

“...”

“If you don’t go crazy then there won\'t be a big problem, but... if you do, then everything is over.”

She was stating that there was a possibility Davey wouldn’t be able to save Perserque, and if he stayed in the Abyss too long, he might go crazy like Eclipse. If that were to happen, everything would truly be done for.

The Abyss—the black space that even Eclipse, one of the leaders of the ancient dragons, was turned crazy by. It was the end of the darkness where Thanatos had been trapped for a long time. It was also the place where Perserque was currently trapped. Therefore, Davey couldn’t help but feel impatient as he knew that even at this very moment, she would be waiting for him, trembling in fear in the endless darkness.

Davey didn’t take long contemplating. Verdandi was the only one who could help him save her—that was why he didn\'t kill her despite hating her.

“If you save her, I will let you kill me with your sword afterward.”

“...”

“But I’m still against this plan,” Verdandi said, knowing how miniscule the chances of success were. “The possibility of finding her. The possibility of saving her is very low. If you’re not careful, you and her both will end up going berserk in the Abyss.”

Then Davey quietly asked her, “Is that what happened to Eclipse?”

“...”

She didn’t answer his question. It wasn’t that she couldn’t—she simply chose not to. Instead, she just made a sad expression.

Verdandi told Davey to return to Asgard and prepare himself, as it wasn’t time yet. However, since she had already betrayed him once, the fact that she was the only one who could help him made things complicated for Davey. As such, he wanted to get things started as soon as possible to avoid further problems, robbing her of any time to think about betraying him again.

"Let\'s begin."

Afterward, he went beyond the barrier she had set up, and she lifted the magic book before it floated in the air.

“First, I’m going to separate your soul since your body has too much magic resistance. So don\'t resist—if we fail even once, we can never try again. Of course, since you have a good reason not to trust me, you’re welcome to use Geas for assurance.”

Without hesitation, Davey cast a type of black magic on her—the subordination contract magic called the Lord of Geas. She made a contract with him without resisting his magic, promising to assist him with all her might until he rescued Perserque—in the event of betrayal, he would take Skuld’s life instead of hers.

Davey figured she could do anything if she set her mind to it, considering she was already prepared to throw away her life in the first place. However, if Skuld\'s life, which she was determined to protect, was at stake, it would be a different matter.

She was a little bitter and reluctant about Davey\'s decision, but she eventually accepted it.

After finalizing their contract, Davey let go of all the resistance in his body. He felt like he was floating. He had no idea how she was going to extract parts of his consciousness and send them into the depths of Perserque’s mind.

But he knew that she, someone just like the Abyss, was the only one who could do something like this. Davey soon felt dizzy, and his body completely floated. He felt like he was dead. When he came to his senses and looked down, he saw his actual body lying limp in the center of the barrier she had created.

He saw Rinne, who was watching in silence with a complicated face. He then saw Verdandi, who looked back at him directly and said, “It takes about half a day for the spiritual body to stabilize. Just walk around wherever you want to get used to it. Being as familiar with it as possible increases your chances of surviving there.”

Davey quietly nodded and left his physical body, moving around and flying up. It seemed like Rinne couldn\'t see him, but Verdandi was looking straight at him. After that, he flew up at incredible speed and proceeded to roam around.

His first destination was Asgard, the airship not far away.

***

The elves and dwarves inside Asgard couldn\'t see Davey. Aeria was no different. It was natural for most people to not notice his presence.

He gradually became more familiar with his movements. In all honesty, Davey couldn\'t completely trust Verdandi, so he had taken some precautions. However, he didn\'t anticipate any problems if things continued like this.

Although the gap between his soul and body had almost disappeared, the upper limit of his soul\'s power remained the same as in the Hall of Heroes, making him feel even lighter and more agile. When he drew out the energy of his spiritual body and cast magic silently, he was able to do so effortlessly.

After Asgard, he headed to Korea. He wanted to see Hyun-Ah once before leaving.

Twang...

Davey heard beautiful music. When he arrived at Hyun-Ah’s place, he saw her sitting on the terrace, quietly playing an instrument. While floating in the air, he saw her play with her eyes closed. Just when he was about to leave...

"What is it this time? You’re a ghost now?” she asked as she slowly opened her eyes.

‘What? No human should be able to see me...’ Davey thought. But then his eyes widened.

"Ah. Your Ghost Eyes haven’t closed yet.”

In response to his question, she just looked at him.

“Ghost Eyes? Wait... Are you dead?!” she shouted in a startled tone while jumping up.

“Die? Who said I’m dead? I just took out my soul.”

"Oh lord...”

Davey felt a bit whimsical seeing her astonished. “I’m going to leave for a while, and I might not be able to come back.”

“You’re leaving...?”

"Yes."

“To your hometown?”

"No."

She seemed to feel uneasy at his words.

“You know about Perserque’s situation, right?”

“Only an idiot wouldn’t know. The world is going crazy with what’s happening with her right now.”

It was only natural for her to know, as there probably wasn’t anyone who didn\'t know what she did when she went on her rampage.

“Are you leaving to rescue Perserque?”

"Yeah.”

“It must be dangerous, right?”

“The probability of success is probably less than 1 percent.”

She then walked up to him, reaching out her hand. Even though he was a spirit, with her Ghost Eyes open, she was still able to touch him.

"Hey, back off.”

“Can you not...”

Her voice was mixed with crying. Davey was surprised by her reaction.

"Go...?”

It seemed like she had instinctively sensed how dangerous the place he was heading to was, regardless of how high or low his chances of success were.

"Don\'t go... I can tell it’s a dangerous place..."

Davey looked at her without saying a word then said, “Per is waiting for me. I have to go.”

"Don\'t go! Can’t... Can\'t you just stay here?! Why do you have to go?!”

“Then who will go instead?”

“...”

“Why are you so desperate to stop me in the first place?”

He did have some enduring affection toward her, but for her, their relationship was only temporary. Yet, she was trying so desperately to stop him now. In response to his question, she tried to say something but hesitated. Finally, she replied.

“Because you’re precious.”

Davey\'s eyes widened at her words. He thought about the possibility when he incarnated as Shin Hyun-soo and met her, but he never thought it could be true, at least until now.

"You... Don’t tell me...”

When he looked at her in surprise and asked, she sighed and nodded.

“You’re right.”

“You don’t... .”

"That\'s right. I know now.”

After being silent for a moment, she and Davey opened their mouths at the same time.

“Do you like me?”

“That you are Hyun-Soo.”

‘Huh?’

They both looked at each other with puzzled expressions.