The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

The two focused in silence on what they needed to do.

Davey held the blade of Red Ribbon heated in the fire then began hammering, folding, and unfolding over and over.

The metal still had the ego, authority, and power it had accumulated over a long period of time within it. This wasn’t just any normal metal—it was a magic sword that defied the rules of normal weaponry and manifested authority. These were the very weapons that had proudly called him daddy—failure wasn’t an option.

Davey was covered in sweat as the intense heat bore down on him, but he gripped the hammer firmly and struck with all his might.

Clang!

A clear sound rang out as an intangible wave spread from the blade. Surtr quickly adjusted the blade’s position with tongs, and Davey hammered away at the two red-hot swords, super focused.

And just like that, fifteen days passed in the forge.

* * *

Zzz… Snrk… Zzz…

The intense heat that filled the forge, seemingly capable of melting the entire place, vanished as if it had never been there.

Davey silently saw the two swords glowing in red and blue shimmer under the night sky. After they were done working on them, Surtr had fallen asleep without saying a word. As promised, he had assisted Davey from start to finish without offering any advice, but they had managed to work in perfect and implicit synchronization.

The two swords gently floated up from his hands.

[Telekinetic Blade Control]

[Heavenly Dance]

The two swords danced their way up into the air. Along with being able to cut through both physical and non-physical laws, they now had Arbit’s Absolute Gem seeped into them.

Their new power was the mana of ancient dragons, the power of time. Davey couldn’t fully understand the effect, but he had a feeling that if Arbit could manipulate time, then Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon must have gained similar powers.

The swords swirled for a while before descending slowly. As they landed, their egos fully awakened. At that moment, the blue and red swords shined and transformed into two children.

Their outward appearances were the same, but the power they were radiating was far beyond the power Caldeiras possessed. Caldiras was the weapon Surtr forged at the cost of his life, but these were weapons Surtr had given Davey after thousands of years. On top of this, they had the heart of an ancient dragon forged into them.

Two children, dressed in light, opened their eyes and smiled brightly with cute faces at Davey.

“Daddy!!”

Davey, exhausted, sat down as the two children rushed at and toppled him—he had no strength left to brace himself. They nuzzled their heads against his chest, overjoyed to see him again after so long.

“Daddy! Daddy! Red Ribbon! Red Ribbon had a strange dream!”

“Blue Ribbon had a dream too!”

Unlike how they used to mumble like children, their voices were clearer than before. They had grown, though they still retained the innocence of children. Now, Davey could feel the overwhelming power of the ancient dragons flowing through them. The aftereffects of their authority had grown stronger.

At this point, even someone completely new to swordsmanship could become equivalent to a sword master once they wielded Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon.

Whether that was a good or bad thing, Davey wasn’t sure.

He hugged the two children silently. Though it hadn’t been a fight for his life, he had poured his soul into every hammer strike as if everything depended on it. It was only natural that he felt utterly drained.

Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon were complete. His divinity was now perfect as well. No matter what Thanatos had planned, he only had one thing to do now—finish Thanatos.

“Davey,” a voice called quietly from behind.

As he turned around, he was surprised to see Rinne. But her eyes glowed in bright blue.

“Oh… You’re not Rinne.”

But Davey recognized the being. It was Goddess Freyja, who had descended in Rinne previously.

“Hm? Rinne?” Red Ribbon smiled brightly as if she was going to run to Rinne right away. But it didn’t take her long to stop and tilt her head in confusion. She instinctively knew that something was off about the Rinne in front of her.

Freyja, observing the two children who were looking at her with a mix of confusion and cuteness, borrowed Rinne’s body and placed her fingers gently on their foreheads. A pure white light seeped into them.

It was the Saint Miracle.

Though Davey wasn’t sure exactly what it was, since the total amount of power didn’t increase, he assumed it to be a different kind of blessing.

“Daddy, Red Ribbon’s head feels weird!”

“This feels weird!”

Davey didn’t respond to their questions. Instead, he turned to Freyja.

“What brings you here?” he asked.

She spread her hands without a word, and a pure white feather floated down into her palm.

“This…” Davey muttered.

Still, she said nothing. She placed the feather in her hand and held it out to Davey as if she wanted him to take it.

As Davey hesitated, she extended her hand again to offer him the feather. Then, he felt her divine will.

[What do you call an unattainable trial, an unchangeable flow?]

Davey responded without hesitation.

“There’s no such thing. If it doesn’t work the first time, I’ll keep at it until it does.”

[Blessings upon the choice of the divine trader.]

Davey realized that Freyja had noticed what he was trying to do.

Without another word, she held out the feather again. This time, Davey took it. The feather glowed and slowly seeped into his chest as if it had a life of its own.

Davey wondered if she had descended to deliver this message in person or if she was giving him an indirect warning not to attempt anything reckless.

Though Davey was her delegate and divine trader, he couldn’t fully understand her true intentions. It seemed like she was showing respect for his choice, but he knew he couldn’t take things at face value.

Finally, as if she had accomplished her purpose, Goddess Freyja quietly stepped back from Davey. Soon, she closed her eyes and dissolved into divine power, disappearing.

With Freyja gone, Rinne, who had been supporting her presence, collapsed to the floor. She clutched her head, groaning as she suffered from a headache.

“Ugh... Rinne is rebooting her brain circuits... Rinne determines this to be a terrible hangover.”

“Do golems these days get drunk?”

Even though Rinne was a biological golem, the idea of her getting drunk seemed absurd.

Davey couldn’t help but make a bitter smile. The feather Freyja had given him wasn’t overly powerful, but it had a distinct, almost unique feeling to it. He wondered how much Freyja had figured out before handing over the mysterious feather.

He wasn’t entirely sure, but it didn’t feel ominous. He had the sense it would come in handy one day.

“Master Davey. Rinne requests an explanation on why she is here currently.”

“Hell if I know,” Davey sighed.

“Rinne analyzes kidnapping as a bad thing. Rinne rates this very lowly.”

“You came here willingly.”

“Rinne analyzes with her brain circuits that she did not come here of her own volition.”

“Well, you came here willingly.”

“Master Davey is Rinne’s owner. Rinne determines lying is… Ugh!” she groaned.

Davey cut her off by grabbing her head and pressing it down.

“Why is that old hag here?” Daphne asked, knowing that Rinne was over ten thousand years old. Rinne then looked back at her with her usual emotionless expression.

“Rinne determines that the number of years isn’t relevant. Rinne determines that she is mentally a year younger than Daphne at least. Rinne therefore analyzes that she is much younger than the elderly Daphne.”

“How do you always have something to say back…? Geez” Daphne grumbled.

Davey could tell the two had already argued a couple of times after coming here.

“Have you forgotten that I saved you from Eva when he was about to dissect you?” Daphne retorted.

“Rinne evaluates your unnecessary meddling very lowly,” Rinne replied in her neutral tone. Yet, it was evident that she was upset.

‘Oh right, I have something I wanted to ask Eva about,’ Davey thought.

He wanted to ask him about the kid, Evanov, from the Yurgian Continent.

The two eventually stopped talking after some back-and-forth grumbling. Then, Daphne turned to Davey, feeling awkward in the moment, and asked, “So, is it done?”

“Yes,” Davey confirmed.

“Daddy! Daddy! Pretty sister is here!” Red Ribbon exclaimed.

“Pretty sister!” Blue Ribbon echoed, both of them bouncing up and down excitedly as they saw Daphne. She blushed as the two children showered her with attention.

“Those two… Making me embarrassed like this…”

“What brings you here anyway? I thought training was over,” Davey asked.

“Training is over. There’s nothing more we can teach you now. From now on, you need to pioneer your way forward.”

Davey had reached the same wall that heroes in the past had met and confronted.

“Sister! I’m Red Ribbon!”

“And I’m B-Blue Ribbon...”

When the two clung to Daphne and oozed cuteness, she twitched her mouth. She awkwardly patted their heads, her face growing redder by the second as she tried to hide her embarrassment.

“I’m... jealous of those kids...”

‘I wonder who you’re saying that to,’ Davey thought to himself.

“Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon, is it?” Daphne inquired.

“Yes!! I’m Red Ribbon!”

“And… I’m Blue Ribbon!”

“They’re... pretty names...” Daphne trailed off, giving Davey a sideways glance.

‘Oh, I know this look.’

He knew she was silently questioning his naming sense.

‘Why’s she giving me that look? What’s wrong with the names Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon? They’re the best names I ever came up with in my entire life!’ he thought.

As Davey tilted his head in confusion, Daphne sighed, clearly thinking otherwise.

“What can I expect from an idiot like you… Anyway, you need to come with me. There’s some leftover nirvana from Dokgo Jun. Everyone left in the hall will now see you as an equal.”

Davey was no longer going to be treated as a disciple, but as a hero—an equal. Surtr had been the first to recognize Davey this way, but now the other heroes were making the same decision.

“I feel a bit... bittersweet,” Davey admitted.

“I mean, you weren’t planning to stay as a disciple forever, right? Besides, your wife, Perserque, had a request too.”

“A request?” Davey asked, surprised.

“Hold a wedding ceremony with Ares\'s descendant and the beastfolk girl here. Chances like this don’t come everyday—all these so-called heroes will give you soul blessings.”

Davey figured the blessings the heroes spoke of weren’t referring to literal blessings.

“And Per… asked for this?”

“Yes, as Tionis will become a battlefield from now on. She probably wants to make sure that you don’t just focus on her but the other two as well.”

Davey knew that Perserque was worrying about things she didn’t need to. Still, he thought it’d be better to hold the ceremony with the blessings of heroes who were like his godfather and godmother, rather than on Tionis, which was about to become a battlefield.

Davey took out two rings from Pocket Plane and looked at them quietly.

“Vampire? You know that mosquito bastard?”

“There was a Lord among the students at the magic school. To be honest, they lived like a human so it was kind of disappointing.”

“A Vampire Lord… What on earth were you doing during that time?”

“I lived a normal life. Nothing special.”

“Normal? Normal my ass.”

Davey could feel his time here coming to an end. As Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon approached, Davey pulled the two children into his arms and glanced at Daphne’s rather lonely-looking back. She didn’t look any different from usual, but he could feel a subtle gloom from her.

He wondered what was making her feel so down.

“It’s been a while since we reunited... Time sure flies.”

Hearing this, Davey realized why her back seemed so heavy with sorrow. He realized these people were no different from him, and yet they sacrificed themselves for him. They had met, formed bonds, and become family. He knew it wouldn’t be easy to let someone like this go.

Then Davey spoke as he was caught in the moment.

“I don’t really like bad endings.”

“Did some crazy guy beat your head like a drum? What nonsense are you spouting now?” She frowned and flipped him off. “Stop being a drama queen and just follow me.”

“You don’t have to act so cold.”

“What did you say to me, you bastard?”

Davey lowered his gaze as he saw her frown. He then wondered if Goddess Freyja knew. But then, he thought about it again and realized that he was wasting time on a foolish question. He came to the conclusion that even if all the other heroes didn’t know, there was no way Freyja didn’t, which was most likely why she approached him in the first place. She had approached him knowing what he was going to do next.

“Daphne.”

“What?”

“Don’t die.”

Davey thought of how each of them became a hero for their own reasons, and that he would become their heroic reason.

With this in mind, he took steps forward.

Soon after, countless lights swirled around as if offering blessings, illuminating the center of the hall in Daphne’s residence, the Saintess Sanctuary.

All the others he hadn’t seen while he was training recently were gathered here, their eyes fixed on him. Then, through the crowd, Perserque approached, having been waiting for him.

“You always come up with things like this out of nowhere. You need to trust me a bit more,” Davey commented.

“I do it because you’re still young.”

Davey smirked at her playful words.

“That’s right, I’ve only lived for a thousand years, whereas you lived three thou—”

Before he could finish, she cut him off with a punch to the stomach, smiling brightly as she leaned in for a playful kiss. She kissed him hard, then pulled back slowly, licking her lips with a mischievous, lustful expression.

“Since I can’t sew up that mouth of yours, I can only stop it with mine.”

At that, several heroes chuckled and laughed.

“That idiot’s totally whipped.”

“Didn’t I tell you? He was bound to end up like that.”

Davey glanced at their faces, making a mental note to remember each one of them.

The remaining days in the hall passed like this, without a clue of what was happening outside.