The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 890

Hum...

The video stone Perserque had taken out began to shine as it played.

“This is what we found there,” she explained, drawing their attention to the screen.

“We’re lucky to have discovered something this big.”

The video played a meeting of around seven people, faces serious.

“Look at them, all acting so high and mighty...”

“Just keep watching.”

[How are things progressing?]

[Smoothly. We’ve already succeeded in producing C-class Demon Gods and have three B-class completed as well.]

[What about the S-class Demon God?]

[Since it’s linked with Behemoth, it’s still difficult to control, but recent progress at the Pacific Ocean seabed base has given us a prototype we can control using Behemoth’s serum. Once we harness the S-class Demon God, we can use the Stone of Evolution to command even more Demon Gods.”]

As they talked, Davey recalled the various human figures that burned with different colored flames.

“They mention that S-class Demon Gods burn with red flames.”

“Yeah, I saw one of them. Since it resonated with Behemoth, it was able to neutralize most of its attacks.”

“Was it strong?”

“Honestly, creating something like that with Behemoth’s power was a remarkable feat.”

Whatever pride they’d had in their high-ranking Demon Gods was pointless now—they’d already been reduced to fragments.

“This all you wanted to show me?” Davey asked, looking over at Perserque.

“Just keep watching.”

[And what about the Saint of Tionis?]

[If we act rashly, it’ll only jeopardize our operation. We need to accumulate enough power to oppose him before he notices us.]

[And do you have a plan?]

[Among the people that came from Tionis, there are two suitable women among his wives. One possesses a unique mana, and the other could serve as the vessel for a Demon God that surpasses S-class.]

‘Vessel...?’

The battle aura Davey began to leak cracked the floor beneath his feet.

[Follow her closely, but make sure you don’t get caught. When the Saint’s attention is diverted, bring her here without fail.]

[Rumors say she’s not human.]

[A beastfolk—a rare one, even. Failure is not an option here. Remember, regardless of our nationalities, we’re all united by a singular purpose.]

[We mustn’t waste this opportunity, finally granted by the monsters who’ve brought chaos to the world.]

They had come together for absolute control.

As Davey contemplated their absolute resolution, he closed his eyes.

“So, they targeted someone’s wife just to fulfill their vain goals? And she would be what? A vessel?”

“One of their purposes is to forcibly inseminate human women with monster seeds so that they can give birth to Demon Gods. To try to spin that as having come together to take control of the global political landscape...” Perserque replied.

“Is pure fanaticism,” Davey said, voice low. “If this were merely about politics, they wouldn’t go to such lengths, lying to their own countries.”

Korea, Japan, China, Russia, France, the U.K., the U.S., etc.—they were all involved. Davey knew there had to be another underlying reason for all of these different countries to come together and move with a singular purpose.

“People aren’t that blindly obedient,” Perserque replied.

“But does that really matter?”

“You have a point. Here’s the last video.”

[Proceed with the operation as planned. The Tokyo air raid preparations are in place, yes?]

[Indeed. With only Korean representatives killed in the strike, it should incite a conflict between the two nations.]

“Seems like this was what Kouna’s prophecy was talking about,” Davey murmured, studying the faces in the video. Though he couldn’t identify their faces, he made sure to remember their features.

“And one more thing,” Perserque said while slipping her arms around his neck. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips, then gave his neck a light bite.

“Are you trying to be a vampire?”

“I’ve gotta leave my mark, letting everyone know that you belong to me,” she replied, flashing a playful yet seductive smile with her cheeks slightly flushed.

Though she had an allure different from Ilyna, she was equally relentless in her own way.

“I only got to kiss you once today, so we’ll have to make up the difference later,” she said, hands clasped behind her as she walked away.

She then swirled around and looked at him with a mischievous grin.

“Since they dared to target Aeria and Illyna, there’s no need to show mercy, don’t you think?”

“Funny you mention that—the hard drive that one of the three bastards stashed had a list of their next targets on it. I’ll make sure to look into everything and take care of that organization, Adamantium or whatever it’s called, once and for all.”

Davey laughed grimly as he gripped his bastard sword. Of course, it seemed that the bastard had taken the hard drive believing it contained obscene content. But upon discovering that it contained information about a certain human, it had been so disheartened that it ended up being forcefully unsummoned—a rather comical turn of events.

For something that looked like a gray mummy, it certainly had strange priorities.

* * *

After investigating the rift, Seo-Yoon had managed to secure an extended leave of absence for herself. Fresh off her ‘vacation,’ she was giving a briefing with the presentation slides she had prepared.

“His name is Vorba Dakayev. He was formerly in the Russian military, until he was discharged following a scandal that landed him in jail, ultimately ending up as a mercenary.”

“And he’s connected to the rift incidents?”

“You remember that mark you saw in the rift, right?”

She was referring to the distinct and unsettling three-headed bulldog mark.

“I know what it is. It’s the symbol of the FI, an international crime organization.”

“And how would you know that?”

“Did you forget who my father is?”

“Oh right, your father was head of a counter-terrorism unit. Anyways, if we can bring in this Vorba Dakayev or whoever...”

Just then, the seminar room door swung open and someone walked in.

Thud!

Without hesitation, the newcomer threw down a large sack.

“You’re...!” Seo-Yoon shouted in surprise.

“First, I want to thank you,” Davey said nonchalantly. “With the intel you’ve provided, I managed to protect a key figure at one of the sites I raided.”

“Davey... O’Rowane.” Yoon-Seok murmured, his face tense.

The sack then squirmed.

“Heek!”

“We have a bit of an audience, I see,” Davey remarked as the dimly lit room brightened, revealing four more people who had been in the middle of the meeting.

“You spilled everything already? Talk about loose lips,” he said, glancing at Seo-Yoon.

“These people are trustworthy. In fact, it was thanks to everyone here that I was able to piece together so much intel.”

“Alright, whatever. Now, does anyone here have a knife?”

Seo-Yoon then looked at the writhing bag with curiosity as Yoon-Seok took out a dagger and handed it over. Davey then tore open the sack, yanking out a disheveled man.

“That’s...!”

The room erupted in shock.

The man in front of them was none other than Vorba Dakayev, the man they had just been wracking their brains to capture. Before they even had the chance, Davey had caught him first.

“Urgh... Ngh...”

“By the way, this is a pretty nice secret lair to interrogate someone in,” he said in a joking tone.

“Pure coincidence.”

Davey then sat Vorba on a chair and waved his hand, ropes of light strapping him down tight.

“Urgh...”

“I’m sure you have plenty of questions for him,” Davey said, gesturing to Seo-Yoon.

“Yes...”

She stepped forward, her face stern and cold. “Vorba Dakayev, tell us everything you know about the revolutionary organization Adamantium.”

If they were going to get any information out of him, it was best done sooner rather than later. Based on the clues from the rift, Vorba was their only lead that hadn’t dried up.

“Urgh... Adamantium?” Vorba Dakayev scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“If you don’t cooperate, I’m afraid we’ll have to use some... rather unpleasant methods.”

“Unpleasant methods? Hehehe! Listen, little girl. Killing monsters is one thing; you think torturing a human being is on the same level? Killing a monster and a human are completely different,” he taunted with a sneer.

Seo-Yoon twisted her face slightly in response. As he mentioned, she had experience fighting monsters, but none dealing with human enemies—there was a world of difference between the two.

“Well...”

“Just untie me, huh? Interpol might be after me, but that doesn’t mean you can just haul me in without proper—”

Ping! Whirrrrr! Squelsh!

Before he could finish, Davey stepped forward, casually spinning the dagger in his hand. He sliced off Vorba’s pinky finger without so much as blinking, even casting a magic to keep him conscious.

[Reinforce the Mind]

“Arghhh!!”

Vorba widened his eyes as he screamed at the top of his lungs, red blood trickling down his hand while the others stared in horror.

“Yeah, I suppose leaving the interrogation to the kids was stupid of me,” Davey said, leaning in with a cold smile as he met Vorba at eye level.

“Vorba Dakayev.”

Sizzle...

“Arggghhh!!!”

Davey ignited black flames on his wound.

“They might not be able to do something so barbaric and brutal,” Davey said calmly, “but I certainly can.”

“Gaaa... Haaa... Arghhh...!”

“You’re gonna have to tell me sooner or later.”

As Vorba saw his smile, cold sweat trickled down his forehead. He glared at him and then spat at his direction in defiance.

However, Davey easily blocked it with his dagger.

“You sure have watched a lot of movies, haven’t you?”

Squelsh!!

“Arggghhh!!!”

He sliced off a pinky finger. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“You still have eight fingers left, plus plenty of teeth.”

“You... You devil... Who in the world—” Vorba stammered, his face full of fear.

“Oh? You don’t know who I am? That doesn’t seem very likely.”

“Wait...”

Vorba only then widened his eyes as realization dawned upon him.

“I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of scenes in movies and dramas where the guy being tortured manages to keep his mouth shut no matter what.”

“Sob... Gaaa...!!!”

“Well, that’s not how the real world works. That’s all fiction.”

Whoosh! Crack!!

“Gaaa!!!”

His middle finger went flying as he writhed in the chair, bound and helpless.

“You fucking devil... just kill me...”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Davey said with a grin. His eyes almost seemed like crimson flames were flickering within. “Humans don’t die so easily. And even if they did, you don’t think that’ll be the end of your ordeal, do you?”

“Ah... No... no, no...”

“Whether you die peacefully, or endure an eternity of agony... that’s entirely up to you.”

Watching the two, Seo-Yoon and Yoon-Seok swallowed hard.

“He’s... brutal...”

“It’s a miracle that we didn’t get our heads chopped off before...” someone muttered with a trembling voice. Davey ignored them, focusing on Vorba instead.

“First of all, let’s talk. You multinational fools—you really thought this was a good idea? What are you trying to achieve?”

Vorba, panting in pain from his lost fingers, lifted his head and glared with intense hatred. “This world is becoming unstable because of the monsters—the long-standing peace is being shattered. If we can gather enough power now...”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Crack!

His index finger went flying as he gasped in agony, but with the mental strength magic Davey cast on him, he couldn’t even escape the pain by passing out.

“Aghhh!!” he groaned, clenching his teeth.

“To eradicate them,” he finally said.

“What?”

“To... annihilate monsters completely from this world, and then execute the traitors of humanity who profit from them!”

Seo-Yoon and Yoon-Seook looked startled, taken aback by his fervor.

However—

“Hm... So that’s why you all seemed so... fanatic. It’s not simply about the state of the world. If people who lost family to monsters or bore deep grudges gathered together, it’s actually not that surprising for them to commit to this kind of insane organization, regardless of national boundaries."

Davey nodded slightly, having partly expected that answer. With a rather interested face, he continued to speak.

“And for that, you abandoned all ethics to create monsters you could control?”

“With our actions, humanity has taken a step closer to the complete eradication of monsters! I know you won’t be able to deny...”

“No, no... You got it all wrong,” Davey replied calmly with a smile on his face. “What you guys are doing, that is.”

He continued speaking while casually spinning the knife in his hand.

“You’re just inviting a tiger in to chase out a wildcat.”

Crack!

Another finger went flying, splattering blood across the floor.

“You seem to have a decent position in the organization. So, tell me everything—tell me all about your hideouts and key members. We have all the time in the world.”

“Like hell... Gaa... I’ll tell you anything...!”

Crack!

“Aaaahhh! Haaa... haaa...”

“Whether you talk or not, I’ll let you know that you’ve already crossed three lines. Let me start with the least severe of them. First, you violated a taboo.”

Crack!

“Second, you twisted Behemoth into an abomination.”

Crack!

“And third, you dared to target Aeria and Illyna.”

Crack!

“Aaaahhh!!!”

* * *

“Protector!!”

So-Ya, the beautiful mermaid with a radiant tail, called out with a delighted smile as Behemoth surfaced.

Poof!!

Behemoth shrank down in size to meet her. Since arriving on Earth, it’d gained the ability to reduce its size and even adopt a human disguise.

“Pro... tector?”

But as she approached it, her expression changed slightly.

“Protector?”

[What is it?]

“Um... what’s that?”

[Hmph! Don’t ask!]

To her astonishment, it had a massive lump jutting out from its head.

“It’s nothing,” Behemoth muttered. “I just got hit while I was rampaging about. It'll probably be like that for a few months.”

"Pfft..." Illyna laughed at its ridiculous appearance, which only made its aura turn sharper.

[How dare you, you creature! Do you wish to die?!]

“Oh? Are you that eager to be killed?!” Illyna retorted coldly, drawing Caldeiras with a piercing glare.

If it were anyone else, Behemoth could’ve taken them on with ease. But Illyna had surpassed a level that a Mythical Beast King could handle. She was quite literally overpowered.

It seemed necessary to calm the two down, with both of them growling at each other.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Davey intervened.

[Grrr!!!]

At the same moment, a towering blue figure appeared behind it.

[Hmph?!]

“It looks like you want a matching bump. I can make you another one.”

[N-No, I think I’m fine!]

Behemoth backed down instantly.

“Hahaha!”

[Grr! You damn kid!!]

So-Ya laughed at their exchange, until Behemoth swept her up with the wave he summoned.

Behemoth, once a fierce and combative beast, had changed considerably. Davey knew it was thanks to the influence of this mermaid keeping it in check.

"This is the first time I've seen a High Mermaid in person," Davey muttered.

So-Ya, who had been laughing gleefully beside Behemoth, turned her gaze to him.

“Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing.”

She then dove down, disappearing below the waves for a moment. She resurfaced right in front of Davey, bowing her head with sincere gratitude.

"Thank you... for rescuing both Protector and me. Please, take this as a token of gratitude—it’s a pearl I've held for a long time. Unlike other pearls, it has the blessing of a mermaid.”

The pearl she held out shimmered with a rainbow-like radiance.

Davey was actually familiar with the type of immortal being in front of him. So-Ya, a High Mermaid, was a Daughter of the Sea—also known as a Protector of Nature and Mother of Life.

Unlike other ordinary mermaids who had fish-like features, she had a fully human upper body. She just had the tail and fins of a mermaid.

Rumor had it that High Mermaids could take on a fully human form if they chose, though So-Ya seemed to be too young to use such abilities. He then thought that she had come to Earth through a rift as well.

He had also heard about the pearl she had given him.

Known as the blessing of a mermaid, it granted the bearer a promise of calm seas and good fortune, even entailing a charm to avoid storms. Being such an incredible artifact, it was rarely given away. Yet So-Ya had given hers to him.

But of course, he needed to clear up things as well.

“Thanks, I’ll make good use of it. But you should know, that thing over there is mine now.”

“Pardon...?” So-Ya asked in response.

“Behemoth’s a Mythical Beast King. As a Mythical Beast Summoner, I made a contract with it.”

So-Ya turned to Behemoth with a slightly pouty expression. It averted its gaze, the bump on its head only adding to the ridiculousness.

[Hmph!]

“I heard my Protector caused you quite the ordeal because of me,” she said with a small frown.

“It did,” Davey replied.

“I’m sorry...”

“That’s something you should tell it directly, not just me. Though, can I ask you something?”

She looked at him innocently, blinking her eyes.

“Yes, please.”

“What exactly did you do that made it adore you so much?!”

[Contractor! Don’t speak such nonsense! Why would I care for this foolish fish?!]

Ignoring Behemoth, So-Ya blushed slightly and replied, “At first, it didn’t like me...”

“But?”

“Well, eventually... it came to love my jokes!”

“Jokes? Like the kind that makes others laugh?”

“Yes! Would you like to hear one?”

Davey figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a small break before smashing Adamantium’s secret bases—found using the information he obtained from Vorba Dakayev.

“Hm. I’m curious too,” Perserque chimed in.

He couldn’t help but feel intrigued, as it was hard to imagine a mermaid telling jokes, let alone ones that could charm a ferocious beast like Behemoth. It seemed like she had spent a good amount of time on Earth.

He just hoped that she had something good to show for all that time spent.

“Hmph! Davey, do you know how fish commute to work?”

“How?”

“They carpool!”

“...”

Davey, Illyna, and Perserque all stared in stunned silence.

“Why did the traveler visit Korea? Because they were doing some Seoul-searching!”

“...”

They felt like they had been stabbed in the chest, hearing incredibly horrendous jokes.

Then...

[Pfft!]

All three turned their heads in unison toward the one who laughed.

Behemoth, the massive white whale, was laughing.

“Seriously?” Davey asked, his tone deadly serious and expression one of disbelief.

[Ahem! I was just... clearing my throat!]

But So-Ya wasn’t done.

“A math book went to the hospital. Do you know why? Because it had too many problems!”

[Pffft!!]

[Grand General of Heaven]

Davey summoned the mighty blue giant holding a cudgel. Its glowing crimson eyes, flickering brightly enough to illuminate the surroundings, burned with intense fury.

“Hey, Illyna.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s make sashimi out of her. Mind lending me Caldeiras for the job?”

Usually, she’d berate him for saying such nonsense, but today she silently handed over Caldeiras while shaking in fury. Behemoth and So-Ya, however, didn’t notice how angry the three were.

[Pfft... Pfft... Hahaha!!]

“Funny, right? I know tons of great jokes, thanks to all the human culture I’ve absorbed! Of course, I got captured in the process, but still...”

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this much regret for what I’ve done,” Davey muttered.

“Hm? ‘Regret?’ But I didn’t even hear you gret the first time...”

A mermaid who knew her prefixes...

“I should never have saved you.”

Whoosh!

Unable to hold it back any longer, the Grand General of Heaven swung its cudgel through the air.

“N-No! Are you trying to destroy the entire area?” So-Ya yelped.