The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 827

The sun was setting even though it was still the middle of the day.

On the continent of Tionis, people would say there was a problem with the blessing of Goddess Freyja if the Sun God Syras lost his light.

“What on earth happened? We followed Prince Davey’s instructions and kept on fleeing, but the damage caused is beyond words! We trusted him because of what he has done so far. Now, the sun is still losing its shine!”

The sun began fading away immediately after the enemy disappeared—the evidence seemed to suggest the two events truly were related.

Since ancient times, sunlight fading away midday had always been considered an ominous sign. And yet, the one person who should be offering answers—Davey—had been not only quiet about it but even absent for days, leaving everyone in the dark.

“We need an explanation from Saint Prince Davey O’Rowane right now,” one of the leaders demanded.

“Everyone, calm down,” said Prince Sullivan, who had remained silent until now, smiling to help everyone keep calm. “Coincidence or not, I’ve received a letter from Saint Prince Davey regarding the current situation.”

“But he’s not here when we need him the most! What could he possibly be doing in such dire times that leaves him absent?!”

“Relax,” Sullivan continued, gesturing to the servants and maids who entered the room carrying elegantly wrapped boxes. They placed them before each of the kings and representatives.

“What are these?” one of them asked.

“These are gifts from the Moon Forest, an elven forest near Heins Territory. Prince Davey sends his apologies for not being able to attend the meeting personally.”

"A bribe, huh?" one scoffed.

“It’s hardly a bribe. Besides, it’ll shortly be the time he mentioned in his letter,” Sullivan said while glancing out the window.

“The time? What are you talking about?” one of the leaders asked.

“Look,” Sullivan said, pointing out the window.

The sky was still just as dim.

“What are we supposed to be looking at?”

“Hmph! Wait... T-The sky...!” one king exclaimed, eyes wide with disbelief.

In an instant, gasps filled the room. It was only natural for them to react this way—the sky which had been dark moments before was now returning to its normal, bright state.

“Crown Prince... What in the world just happened?”

“I don’t know the exact details,” Sullivan replied, “but I was told that Saint Prince Davey and the Hero of Light would resolve the issue.”

“Hmph!”

The biggest problem they'd ever faced was resolved in an instant.

“That’s quite amusing,” said Emperor Contas with a hint of mockery.

“What... do you mean?” someone asked cautiously.

Sullivan smiled. “While you were all sitting here arguing away, the person who made the biggest contribution to solving this crisis was taking care of the matter himself.”

“That’s...”

"In such a situation, instead of trying to solve it yourselves, you’ve spent your time thinking about scolding him,” Sullivan continued. “I remember you folks targeting him last time as well. What has he done wrong to you folks?”

“Th-That’s not true!” croaked a weak defense.

“Then the right thing to do is honor the trust we’ve built with him and wait patiently.”

“Ugh...”

Emperor Contas opened the box one of the maids had placed in front of him. Inside was a delicately shaped, petal-like snack.

"Hmm... This tastes amazing. Have you heard anything about this before?”

“All I know is that it was made by the head of the Moon Forest herself.”

“Hmm...” Contas muttered, clearly impressed. He continued eating, making the other leaders take interest in the boxes as well. Soon, exclamations of delight spread throughout the room.

“Hmm... This is fantastic! The scent is rich, and the flavor... It's so deep! What ingredients could they have used?” one king mused aloud.

However, Sullivan broke into a cold sweat as he glanced at Emperor Deorte. He noticed that he had his eyes closed, not so much as touching his snack. While his posture seemed to enhance his sense of authority, the truth was quite different. The two looked at each other, each having their own thoughts.

‘That old man knows what this is...’ Sullivan thought.

‘Hmph. You still have a million years before you can try to get me with something like this. You fool.’ Emperor Deorte thought.

The two knew that the Moon Forest snacks were gourmet oddities. The head of the Moon Forest, Yuria Helishana, was known for using all kinds of bizarre ingredients in order to enhance its taste and potency.

Sullivan hadn’t asked Davey what the snacks were made of, fearful since he remembered the time when Davey had once given him delicious bread... made from fairy saliva. With this thought in mind, he couldn’t make himself eat the snacks in front of him.

He was relieved that the snacks weren’t made out of people, yet he couldn’t help remembering the tea made with cricket wings.

“Why don’t you give it a try?” Emperor Contas asked, noticing Sullivan’s hesitation. “It’s quite good.”

Sullivan only shook his head, sweating nervously. “I’ll enjoy it later.”

“What about you, old man? Are you thinking the same?”

Emperor Deorte smirked. “As I’ve aged, I’ve found myself drawn more to things sour than sweet.”

“Hah! Nonsense,” Contas laughed, then paused mid-chew, his eyes narrowing. “Wait... What exactly is this made out of?”

At his words, Emperor Deorte’s expression hardened.

“I don’t care what’s in it—this is delicious! Hahahaha!”

It really seemed he had no clue what they were made out of.

* * *

As a large amount of vitality was consumed, the distorted flow of the world slowly returned to its original state. Standing alone with his eyes fixed on the gorge of the mountain range across from him, Davey closed his eyes.

Three years.

That’s how much time this world had left.

Two conditions were necessary for the world to collapse completely into nothingness—a state just like the Abyss where no gods, living creatures, or concepts remained.

The existence of Thanatos’s divinity, and a massive amount of vitality depletion.

Most worlds, including Tionis, were already on the verge of running out of vitality. The remaining time before the effects became catastrophic was about three years, though it felt like no time at all.

The heroes from the hall had fought hard to secure three precious years, and it was now up to Davey to make the most of this borrowed time. He had used Thanatos's divinity to stabilize the sunlight, but relying on that alone was only a temporary fix.

Even divinity from influential beings had limits—without a way to restore or generate new vitality, the end was inevitable.

“I need to finish this quickly so I can head back.”

After the battle with Thanatos, Davey had spent several days asleep. Once he woke, he fulfilled his promise to spend the night with Illyna and Aeria. The two were a bit clumsy, and they had gone through some other complications as Aeria awakened her Nine-Tails instincts midway. Her awakening was such a spectacular experience that it could be called the very symbol of seduction, but in the end, the important thing was that he could keep his promise.

The official national marriage ceremony was forthcoming, but it was a mere formality that Davey didn’t care too much about.

Leaving Illyna and Aeria both thoroughly exhausted, Davey set out with a lunch box Perserque had prepared for him.

There were several places on the continent that were suffering from severe depletion of vitality, and though it would’ve been ideal to ask a divine being for help, Neltarid was busy restoring Earth at the moment since everything was in disarray.

Davey tried his best to remedy things with any alternatives. He relied on the World Tree Al to locate the most critical areas within Tionis, using the remaining untainted divinity from Thanatos to restore those areas.

“Things seem to be okay here,” Davey muttered as he inspected the area.

He needed to hurry if he wanted to keep his promise with Perserque, who had urged him to return early. But the depletion of vitality wasn’t the only problem on Tionis. On top of this, the vitality problem was happening across dimensions.

Yurgian, Heavenly Central Plains, Earth, Berdel, and even the magical continent of Atrellia were all experiencing similar issues. Traveling through dimensions and providing vitality took a lot of effort, so Davey had to make use of the Absolute Gem alongside Kain.

[The ritual is ready... Are you really sure about this?]

Davey put his hand to his ear, confirming his decision.

“No questions. Just do what I said.”

[Sigh... I can’t believe we’re using the Absolute Gem now, on a place like this... I just don’t understand you sometimes. But once this is over, Frelia will return to Earth. And I’ll be heading back as well.]

Kain and Frelia were part of the Valkyrie race, beings that Neltarid, the god of Earth, had created. Once their task was done, it was only right for them to return.

“I bet you haven’t talked to Illyna yet,” Davey added.

[...]

“You should.”

[That’s...]

Kain replied in a hesitant tone.

‘Then I’ll just make him talk to her.’

“If you don’t want to die by my hands.”

[Understood. I’ll make sure to talk to her.]

Davey nodded, satisfied with the response he got.

‘How nice would it have been if he said yes from the beginning?’

Davey knew Illyna had quite the temper, so he knew it’d be necessary.

[You acted like you didn't care before... Understood. Let's get started.]

There was nobody to interfere and stop the ceremony of the Absolute Gem. As Kain focused his consciousness, things began to change.

After obtaining divinity, Davey had begun to see the flow of energy in the world. Even here, far from Heins Territory, he could feel the powerful currents.

[I’ll begin.]

The force soon began to seep into Tionis and many other worlds. The dimensional walls thinned, and energy started to circulate. The Absolute Gem was incredible to make such things possible.

But remember, this is just a temporary fix. I’ll need to handle the rest with this.'

The immense vitality that made up Thanatos' divinity was vast enough to extend the lifespan of countless dimensions. Even so, that wasn’t a fundamental and foundational solution to the current crisis.

Riffle...

The card that sealed Thanatos's divinity still bore the image of a black scythe. Davey drew out a massive amount of vitality and began pouring it into the vast energy currents that formed the foundation of this world.

[But why are we even doing this?]

“You don’t need to know.”

[Why not just tell me? Even Thanatos is gone. What’s with the urgency?]

Davey ignored Kain’s grumbling and turned away after communication. He then moved after confirming that the vitality had fully merged into the great energy currents.

“I need to find a more permanent solution.”

Kain’s ritual would soon be complete. When Davey witnessed the immense, intangible energy spreading across the entire continent and into every dimension, he summoned his divine power and tore through the space.

His destination was a world no longer inhabited by people. A world destroyed by the monsters that emerged from the Red Void—the home of Mute, the Hero of Music, and the Death Lord, Rho Aias. The continent of Peslisa.

Davey assumed that the Death Lord may have left something behind someplace nobody knew about. He knew he needed to search not only through the magical continent of Atrellia but also the ruined continent of Peslisa, and even the technologically advanced continent of Yurgian.

Of these, the least troublesome place was the already ruined Peslisa continent.

“Master Davey.”

Rinne, who had followed him, quietly approached. She believed that Davey was acting on some whim, as usual.

“You don’t have to come.”

“Master Davey is Rinne’s owner. Rinne remarks that wherever Master Davey goes, Rinne will follow.”

“Fine.”

Though there was no real danger now, he knew there was no good in taking Perserque and the others to an already perished world. Once the space fully opened, Davey stepped through without hesitation before Rinne flitted after him, flying into the rift.

Zzzt!!

The weakened rift was fortunately still able to sustain their passage. Soon, the ruins of countless buildings came into view.

The continent of Peslisa had been one of the most advanced magical worlds of the past.

Now it was...

“Where do I even start with this mess?”

Davey reminded himself to replenish the place with vitality while he was there.

But then—

Grrr... Grrr...

Davey turned his head at the eerie sound. Strange creatures with glowing red eyes began to emerge from between the buildings. They stared at him as if he were prey. The beings, neither human nor monster, charged toward him.

Boom! Psss!

Then, a strange device flew his direction and spun in front of him. As it opened, it emitted a black mist while manifesting a magical circle.

It was dark magic—a Dark Fog spell.

Someone soon dashed out of the mist, grabbed Davey’s hand, and urgently pulled him away.

“Come with me! It’s dangerous here!”

A boy’s voice, full of panic, echoed as he dragged Davey.

“If those things catch you, they’ll tear you apart while still alive! Hurry!!”