The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 756. Operation Persephone

Gasp!

Perserque’s eyes snapped open. From what she could see, she was in the deepest part of a gorge filled with nothing but fog and darkness. Cold wind blew around her in this place devoid of warmth or human presence. Despite the glaring darkness, Perserque knew where she was.

“This place again? I’m so tired of this.”

When did she start having these dreams? Usually, the contents of one’s dreams should be hazy and indistinct upon awakening. But in Perserque’s case, this recurring dream was clear and could never be forgotten.

[Stop resisting. We are one.]

Along with the dark and gloomy voice, the black fog began to move as if it were alive and gathered in front of Perserque. The fog soon took on the vague form of a human with a glowing pair of eyes as its only distinctive feature. The fog looked at Perserque.

“Enough... Stay away from me. Even if you continue to say it again and again in this dream, things won’t work out the same way you want them to.”

[I am you, and you are me.]

“My name is Perserque. I’m not Thanatos!!!”

[We are one... You should know of our sorrows.]

Perserque could only retreat as the black fog slowly approached her, saying whatever it wanted regardless of her consent. She couldn’t communicate with it at all.

Thud!!!

In the end, the black fog reached the place where she was standing only moments before and slammed its fist on the ground. At the same time, the fog and darkness around her made the hem of Perserque’s clothes and her hair flutter wildly. She could only close her eyes and hold onto her hair to stop it from flying all over the place.

[No matter what happens, the one slumbering will awaken. It has already been predetermined. It is time.]

“Once the Absolute Gem completely cuts the Abyss off from the world, your hatred will no longer be able to bear fruit.”

[Even if you do that, nothing will change.]

With those words, the fog and the darkness surrounded Perserque as the black fog walked toward her once again.

[Remember. Recognize. My sorrow. My pain. The betrayal that I suffered... My voice that was born and abandoned by the primordial until I fell into the Abyss.]

The being in front of Perserque was one that only ever spoke these exact words over and over and over again.

“I...” Perserque trailed off. Then, she gritted her teeth and said, “I will say this again one more time, so open those ears of yours!!! I am Perserque! I am not Thanatos!!!”

Perserque repeated the same words that she had uttered so many times before, shouting as if she wanted to carve them into the fog’s entire being.

When this happened the first time, she screamed and wept, unable to help but fall into despair after realizing the tragic reality that she was going to face. For days on end, she couldn't even sleep due to her fear of this dream plaguing her. But the dreams were forcing her to face reality, and the conclusion that she had seen...

“Right... This is enough. This is more than enough,” Perserque murmured, a sad smile gracing her face.

[You should know how this ends.]

Her expression hardened as a single teardrop fell from her eyes.

“Listen well, Thanatos.”

The first time, she was afraid. The second, she felt helpless. But now? She had made up her mind. She no longer has anything to be afraid of.

“I will never allow you to step foot into this world. That’ll never happen.”

Thud!!!

Following her will, a huge force erupted and pushed away the fog that was Thanatos.

Ha!

Perserque gasped, her eyes snapping open. When she turned her head, she saw the face of a young man silently looking down at her. “Davey.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“...”

She had thought that everything was fine. But now, when she saw the sadness, pity, and remorse on the young man’s face, she felt terrified and burst into tears—her sadness was overwhelming. Why did this have to happen to her?

“Heuk... Huheuk... Sorry... I’m sorry, Davey!”

“...”

In the end, Davey couldn’t find anything to say. All he could do was hug her for a very long time. They tried to resist the absolute ending. But when faced with the unchanging truth, the choice that she made was the simplest one.

***

According to Perserque, it started when Princess of the Abyss Urd first appeared in the world. When he disappeared, Perserque had gone to the place where Davey and Urd fought to try to find him. Back then, the memories sealed within her were awakened by the wavelength released by the power of the overwhelmingly strong Princess of the Abyss.

That was when Thanatos began appearing in her dreams. At the same time, a power similar to the Authority of the Abyss slowly opened its eyes within her.

Thanatos’ resurrection could not be stopped. And the Center of the Abyss Thanatos’ case was different from Neltarid’s—it was not the divine creator but the divine wrath that would touch the world.

It didn’t matter how strong one could get, they would not be able to resist a god. Davey did not know if Goddess Freyja would step up and personally tear Thanatos apart, but there wasn’t any precedent of her coming forward to deal with matters personally.

No. It did not matter whether Goddess Freyja came forward or not. The greatest takeaway here was that the Twilight God, who was born and abandoned by the hands of Goddess Freyja herself, hated the world to the extreme.

Maybe metamorphosis would save her? Indeed, that was what Davey thought of when he came face to face with the same being as him in the parallel world—but that was not the case at all. Despite undergoing metamorphosis, Thanatos’ roots were still able to take root within Perserque and slowly open its eyes. It only slowed the process down, it didn’t allow Perserque to avoid such a fate.

If that was the case, then Davey thought that it was much better to leave the position of the Demon Lord to her even if she had to live a hard life.

“Don’t regret it,” Perserque whispered as she buried herself in his embrace. “I am happy. I am very, very happy. I’m sure I will never be able to forget the memories I have with you.”

“Per,” Davey called out, his voice low and deep.

Perserque chuckled. She raised her hand and gently cradled his cheek. “I love you.”

“...”

‘Thanatos will forever tie me to his side, so let me go.’

Davey could tell that she had made up her mind. Davey thought like that at first too. However, his decision would not change from this point on.

“Two days. No, a day and a half.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll find a way to save you in that time.”

“Davey...”

“It always has been and always will be my decision. As long as there’s a sliver of hope, even if they say that it’s impossible to tear away and remove Thanatos from you, I will make sure to do it. Even if it means that I have to take over the helm of the Red Void.”

Who was the one who awakened Thanatos? Was it Goddess Freyja? No. It was none other than that absolute existence who reached the pinnacle of the human body—the prince of the human race... Hercules. In that case, then...

‘As long as there’s even the slightest chance, that’s enough.’

Even if it was as Verdandi said, and Thanatos was a pitiful god who was created and betrayed by Goddess Freyja, Davey didn’t care. If the bastard dared to destroy Davey’s family, he would have no choice but to tear him apart once again.

On top of that, Davey had found traces of the appearance of the drunkard Heavenly Destroyer Dokgo Jun, one of his swordsmanship masters, in this world. If Goddess Freyja tried to do something by summoning the heroes from the Hall of Heroes, then there was a high chance that Davey might be able to meet Hercules again.

Davey decided to use every means possible.

“Davey.”

“Just shut up and accept the salvation that I am offering you. I won’t accept any disagreement. Don’t make me say it twice.”

‘If you try to sacrifice yourself one more time, then I will make sure that you regret it.’

Kain’s knowledge would not be of much help. After all, he was a stupid brat who didn’t know anything important.

Davey could not pray for Goddess Freyja’s mercy and wisdom either. This was because Goddess Freyja viewed Perserque, who was basically Thanatos, as an unwelcome existence.

As for Neltarid, he was busy fighting his other half. He wasn’t in a situation where he could provide any grace or mercy.

If that was the case, then Davey had no other choice but to meet the other owner of the space, who was showing blind loyalty to him in an extreme manner.

Davey held Perserque and soothed her all night. She wouldn't let him go, as if she wanted to feel his warmth just a bit longer. Only after she fell asleep did he exit her embrace and stand up.

Davey looked out the window. There, he saw the reddish pillar of light that stretched out from the place where Kain was activating the Absolute Gem. It might look like the Abyss was starting to retreat, but from what Davey could see they were just preparing for their final shot. Basically, this was the calm before the storm.

‘The rain and wind is going strong outside. It’s cold. Whether it’s you who's shabby or us... hmm... that’s not it.’

Davey stared at the reddish pillar of light in silence. After a while, he started to move. Rinne followed Davey’s every move, but that didn’t bother him at all.

Davey activated the power of taboo that Arbit had awakened in his body while his soul and body were in synchronization. He used that power, which was also called sin of god, to connect to the Red Void.

Rinne looked at Davey in surprise when she saw him open a space that was completely red. However, she did not ask anything and just followed behind him. The terrifying and icy red fog covered Davey’s entire body, giving a chill down to his very bones.

Arbit.

[My lord, you’re back.]

A gigantic dragon appeared through the red fog at Davey’s call. This space was normally quiet and calm, but it would shake and fluctuate fiercely at the slightest chance.

In fact, Hercules had become an expert of survival in the process of stabilizing and taking over this space. In a sense, this space—which Hercules stabilized after dying hundreds of thousands of times—was like a planet born from chaos. It was a world that was no different from the world that Goddess Freyja created. Of course, the only thing left in this world was red fog.

“The Absolute Gem will be activated in one and a half days. Once that is done, the Abyss and all of the path that connected it to the world will be cut off. But before that happens, I will tear Thanatos apart.”

[Are you... talking about that Thanatos?]

“Whether Eclipse or that damned bastard Katshi interfere, it doesn’t matter to me. The outcome will not change.”

[My lord.]

“Tell me the way,” Davey said. Although he sounded extremely arrogant, no one could stop him from doing what he wanted.

The time flowing inside the Red Void was different from the time outside.

Arbit closed his eyes for a moment after hearing Davey’s demands. Then, he slowly opened them and said...

[It’s impossible to kill a god, my lord. It’s because creations and the creators are on different levels in the hierarchy of things.]

“Who in the world doesn’t know that?”

[Sir?]

“A method. Find it.”

Arbit’s gigantic eyes blinked blankly at his words.

If it was impossible, then he just had to make it possible. Was he really supposed to give up just because it was supposed to be impossible?

Arbit turned silent for a while.

[My lord. Please calm down and tell me what’s going on first...]

“Just tell me. I’m going to tear apart and kill that damn bastard Thanatos.”

Although he fell short of the Primordial God, Goddess Freyja, God of the Abyss Thanatos was still a god. The Abyss and all living beings in the Abyss were all born from the hands of Thanatos. That wasn’t all—he was also a god who possessed enormous powers.

That was why Davey knew that he could not do what his master had done before.

[My lord, I really want to rest now. I have been alive for far too long...]

“Resignation rejected. You have to work a bit longer, understand?”

[A method...]

Not long after, Arbit opened his mouth.

[I understand the situation, but... there’s only one method... that I know of...]

“There is one?”

[By any chance, have you heard of this legend? There’s this place called the Underworld. If a living being eats the food from that place then they will never be able to return.]