The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 675: A Blighted Land Called the Demon World

Many things had changed after Davey surpassed the level of a human spirit, but they were very difficult to control. He was exhausted beyond belief, so he could no longer pay any attention to work or anything else. He then decisively ordered others not to disturb him for three days and went into seclusion.

Davey found it quite addictive to fiddle with Perserque’s horns while she slept soundly in his arms. Originally, horns were weapons and akin to a storage of power. Which was why a demon’s horn did not naturally feel sensations. Of course, Perserque’s body, which was created entirely by Davey’s hands from horn to toe, was similar yet also quite different from a normal demon’s.

Perserque currently had a real spirit in an artificial body. This was the reason why she could not have children with Davey and why her spirit could be protected. So there were benefits as much as there were drawbacks, but it also meant that she could never reach her full potential or do things that she could possibly have done with a real body—like evolving on her own.

Thanatos craved Perserque’s spirit while continuously dreaming of resurrection. Because of his desire, high-level Abyssal entities, such as Overmind, awakened. On top of that, Perserque’s power intensified to an uncontrollable degree because of these entities’ activities.

Which was why Davey thought it was necessary for Perserque to undergo Metamorphosis, in order to prevent her from unintentionally destroying the continent of Tionis like she had done in the dream-like world. Through Metamorphosis, Davey intended to change her not by giving her a new body, but by making her current one as authentic and real as possible.

Davey had kept Perserque from sleeping for days, so she whined while she slept. As Davey looked at her, he wondered whether he had been too hard on her..

“Hmph… This is difficult,” he whispered quietly as he gently stroked her cheek.

Considering Davey’s uncertainty about the exact time when Overmind would awaken, he had no choice but to really make use of the hint Princess Davey had given.

Davey slowly got up.

He walked out of the dimly lit room and swiftly scrutinized her shelf that was filled with her belongings. There were research materials and various samples of herbs. Other than those, there was also a set of embroidery on one side, which she had just started as a hobby. Noble ladies in Tionis learned embroidery as a hobby, and they frequently left handkerchiefs, scarves, and other items as tokens of their affection for their loved ones. Meanwhile, men offered other items as a sign of reciprocation.

“…”

Although they were married, touching her belongings without permission was still disrespectful, but he reached out his hands without hesitation, driven by anxiety.

Rustle…

He abruptly came to a stop in the middle of rummaging through Perserque’s belongings.

“…”

Underneath her stacked tools was a small box. When he opened it, he saw a blue handkerchief with the words ‘To my husband, whom I will love for all my life’ on top of a neatly folded black and red suit.

[Davey!! Please, just kill me! Please… please… sob.]

It felt as though he could hear Perserque’s despairing voice in the dream world when she realized the change that was happening in her as her power became uncontrollable. Although Overmind was the one who caused the corruption of the Pallan Empire, the surge of power within Perserque was the reason why it became powerful in the first place. Perserque had then despaired and begged to be killed after witnessing the collapse of the continent that her power had caused.

Davey could not let that happen in this world. Since Perserque had not yet given the handkerchief to him, there was still some time left. But the future was uncertain, so there was no room for complacency.

“…”

Without making any sound, Davey clenched his fist.

***

Where was the best place for a Metamorphosis? One would usually consider the Divine Tree’s Land. But fortunately for Perserque, there existed a place better than that.

“Lord Davey, this is the funding request from Miss Aina,” Amy said as she handed over the documents that were written by Aina Helishana.

She was a dark elf, and the older sister of Yuria Helishana, who was the chief of the Moon Forest. For Davey, Aina was a source of information, who embodied the highest level of trustworthiness. She was part of the Echo Guild that provided him with various information. After her departure, other informants were dispatched, but the factual accuracy of the information they provided was only about 60%.

Most informants were not as good as Aina. It was because of that Davey, who did not wish to lose her, had the desire to either retain her for a long time or to completely convert her to his affiliation. But she had her own pursuits. So she left in search of something she was desperate to find, using his name as a reference and his funds, which Davey had allowed her to do as a sign of appreciation for the unpaid labor she provided.

“Frankly, I’m full of suspicions, but I lack solid evidence.”

She had mentioned that she was looking for a human. But it remained doubtful whether there was any human who could teach and assist her. Davey learned that she was now in the southern region of the eastern continent, not as a member of an information guild. Rather, she was there on a personal quest to find her savior who aided her.

It seemed foolish that Aina wasn’t seeking for Davey’s direct help in the search of her savior..

“The amount spent on gold coins is quite significant… What should we do?”

“Let her spend as she wishes. She’s not the kind to embezzle.”

At his words, Amy quietly nodded and said, “Really… Lord Davey, you’re too generous.”

“She helped me a lot, so I should help her as well. In fact, this is rather cheap, considering all the hard work she had put in so far.”

Davey even planned to bring her out from the Echo Guild when she finished her personal pursuit.

“Just let her do as she pleases.”

Having said that, Davey proceeded to sign a few places on the documents and handed them back to Amy.

“Shred the rest. Fucking bastards trying to monopolize in my territory.”

As the territory expanded and became more developed, conflicts arose among everyone from mercantile guilds to local business owners.

Amy, who was learning the internal management of the territory through the steward Bernile, was quite skilled. But she still lacked experience, and this meant that Davey had to train her.

“Davey, I’m ready to go,” Perserque, who was in a sleek and beautiful black dress, said as she flew towards Davey. She then landed on his shoulder.

Despite her original size, she stayed as small as a palm, maybe because of her long-time habit.

“Oh… Lady Perserque!” Amy, seeing Perserque, exclaimed as she smiled brightly.

Perserque flew over to pat Amy’s head with a giggle. She then said, “There is more work for you nowadays because Davey has been slacking off, isn’t there? ”

“No... No! Thanks to him, I… I get to lead a life where I can use my skills in full!”

Perserque narrowed her eyes as she replied, “Lying isn’t good.”

“I… I’m fine.”

‘Are they hiding something from me?’ Davey thought.

Feeling it was a bit awkward to figure out what they were hiding, Davey told Amy to exit the office. He then tossed some essential travel items into the Pocket Plane and took Perserque, Red Ribbon, and Blue Ribbon before turning around to leave.

Milpieu, who was suffering from aftereffects following their return from the dream-like world, had to be sent by Davey to the vampire lord, Josiah. Meanwhile, Rinne went to meet with Aeonitia and Edison, the technology advisor, in order to attempt her own evolution. Other than that, Davey had also instructed Aeonitia to come up with a low-cost printing method. It would be interesting to see how long it would take her to find a solution.

"Let's go."

"I never see you staying in the territory," Perserque grumbled.

"It’s all because of someone, you know"

Had time permitted, Davey would have spent about a month focusing on adjusting to the higher level of his spirit he recently achieved. But Davey could not afford to waste time, knowing that Overmind would complete its awakening any time now. If he was too slow, it would be the end of the Pallan Empire. On top of that, Davey could not ignore Princess Davey’s request, which she had made after they had failed too many times in the dream-like world.

"Hmm... Dad, where are we going?"

"We're going on a picnic. A picnic."

"Picnic?"

Davey stroked Red Ribbon’s head that was tilted in curiosity. Holding hands with Blue Ribbon, Red Ribbon then giggled and jumped up and down.

Davey proceeded to carry the two children and left the castle with them in his arms. He then looked at the giant black dragon that had been summoned upon his command.

"Taxi, I’m here."

[Damn it, Summoner! I am not a transport!]

"Yet you'll still give us a ride."

The dragon gritted its teeth as it glared at Davey, but it said nothing more. After all, Davey liked to think he was a better person than the dragon's previous master.

[Summoner, Shandra Minea is…]

"Still neutralizing. It's possible to treat Shandra now, but I have to prioritize other issues at the moment."

Megalodria had managed to recover from Urd's corruption quite quickly. However, Shandra Minea was taking a lot longer to convalesce because of its weak mental strength and the aftereffects of corruption, so it was still in Heavenly Demon’s Card Album. To put it plainly, that was the difference between a somewhat intelligent being and a bonehead. Megalodria recovered quickly, but the bonehead Shandra Minea...

"Hmm… Seeing this situation, Behemoth won’t even be able to recover."

"Wow! A black bird! A black bird!"

Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon were delighted, making them squeal in joy when Davey mounted Megalodria’s back. The dragon then slowly fluttered its wings.

"But Davey, you never told me exactly where we were going," Perserque said.

"We're going somewhere good for you."

This response caused Perserque to tilt her head.

Just then, Megalodria, whose speed was incomparable to that of Fire Chicken, spread its enormous wings and soared high into the sky, creating massive gales. Immediately, Megalodria changed direction and dove toward the ground as if it were free-falling.

"Agh?!" Perserque exclaimed in surprise due to Megalodria’s sudden change in direction. She clung to Davey's neck, while Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon screamed in joy.

The dragon shot across the territory, swiftly flying straight ahead as it broke through the sound barrier and changing course right before it crashed into the ground. Many looked up at the dragon with stunned faces, especially at the Heins Academy, where students from various countries were attending because of the academy's stellar professors. Even those people could not help but be captivated by Megalodria’s overwhelming presence.

[Hmph!]

After swiftly crossing the territory, Megalodria curled slightly and plunged from high skies, producing a tremendous shockwave that went far beyond the sonic boom.

*

At the moment, the Demon World, which was the home of the demons, could only be accessed through Tartaros underground mountains. Going there through spatial warping was out of the question, for it was inefficient due to the unique magnetic field that interfered with the movement of mana.

"Welcome! I've been waiting for you."

Davey saw a lich, who now closely resembled a human, gesturing with her hand as she stimulated her scalp with a uniquely shaped comb.

Seeing her, Davey frowned and said, "What are you doing?"

"Obviously, giving a massage. People should take good care of their hair. Otherwise, you never know when your hair follicles might lose strength."

Her expression turned gloomy, seemingly recalling terrible memories. She then said, "You realize how empty it feels to see bald spots only after hair starts to fall out."

As far as Davey knew, her hair had fallen out because she had been nothing but a skeleton. But even now that she was in a human guise and unable to return to her original form, she still seemed to have a fanatical obsession with her hair.

"Umm… Sister, is your hair falling out?" Blue Ribbon asked cautiously, looking up at the lich innocently.

In response, Iro fervently shook her head, saying, "Not at all! It's not falling out!"

Seeing her nearly scream in denial, Red Ribbon playfully pulled her hair.

"Ahhh!! Don't pull! I have delicate hair follicles!"

Davey felt as though he had found someone to play with the children in place of Rinne.

"Stop talking nonsense. Have you delivered the message I gave you?"

This world was not the dream-like world, so Davey could be sure that Iro was a saintess and a lich. Iro had sent Davey’s message to the Demon World. However…

"Ah… I did deliver it. But," she replied uneasily. "It seems Grand Duke Astaroth is not in a good condition to…"

‘Huh? He had the Demon World under his control on some level.’

"Right now, there's a conflict between the radicals and moderates, and Grand Duke Astaroth is currently ill."