The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1007

When it tried to peer into his mind through some form of mental link, Davey unintentionally caught a glimpse of a piece of it in return.

It clearly hadn’t expected Davey to look back into its mind.

And so, he managed to catch a glimpse of the strongest memory buried deep inside its consciousness.

- He feared you and betrayed you.

- What fools. But don’t let that make you hate humans. Even if things are the way they are now, try believing in them one more time.

- When you awaken from your long slumber... things will be different.

- I promise you.

- You’re wondering who I am?

- I fear nothing above or below the heavens. I am the Sorcerer of Heaven Beyond Heaven—Woochi.

Seeing the memory of Woochi grinning playfully, Davey smirked.

The Sorcerer Woochi was notorious for being a walking disaster, even among the heroes of the hall. Granted, even the chaos he caused in their hall was mild compared to what he was like when he was alive.

‘Sorcerer Woochi. I evaluate your embarrassing history highly.’

Now the question was what could Davey squeeze out of that history.

Just as Davey was deep in thought, Shiverwock suddenly let out a furious roar.

“You dare try to deceive me!?”

“Deceive you? You peered directly into my mind. You of all dokkaebis should know if what you saw was the truth or a lie.”

“Woochi... that bastard deceived me! Even when he said he’d believe in me until the end, it was a lie!! Nothing’s changed! Humans are still foolish, and we are all doomed to wander in circles for eternity!”

Dark currents surged around it.

When it swung its massive club, the black currents gathered at the tip, and a swarm of small dokkaebis and autas erupted from it.

This rift was different from the usual ones.

“He never lied to you.”

“You... Who the hell are you!? How dare you speak as if you know anything about me and him!?”

The moment Shiverwock pointed its club at Davey, the little autas and dokkaebis rushed in.

But Davey didn’t fight using Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon.

Those two liked walking around in human form, and it would've been a hassle to bring them along. Not to mention, killing the dokkaebis in front of him would cause him more trouble than they were worth.

Considering he only planned to beat them just enough while keeping them from dying, it would’ve been hard to do so with the two who made killing others easy.

While he contemplated, he suddenly noticed an odd movement from Shiverwock. It had been backing away slowly with a furrowed face, then suddenly turned to flee in a panic.

It looked like it was trying to buy time using the creatures it summoned.

Squelsh!!

In a blink, the black spears that formed around him shot forward and pierced the creatures clean through, wiping them out completely.

The autas that had relentlessly attacked the other Awakened individuals were swept away in an instant.

Watching Shiverwock’s shaking back, Davey could read one thing most—confusion.

Before it was sealed away, it had been the most dangerous threat. And now, it realized that the only being who ever truly understood its heart was somehow involved in all this too.

“No... No way! This can’t be happening!!”

Watching it flee, Davey didn’t rush after it. Instead, he scanned the area, checking on the fallen.

He then casually waved his hand and activated holy magic.

[8th Level Holy Magic]

[High Recovery]

White light spread outward, almost creating an illusion of feathers scattering in the wind.

The surviving Awakened individuals who had lost consciousness began to open their eyes.

“Urgh...”

The first one to regain consciousness was Chris Marten.

Grimacing in pain, he groaned and forced himself up, then looked over at Davey.

“You’re...”

By the time Davey had saved him, he had already been halfway unconscious.

As he blinked in confusion, clearly not understanding what was going on, the rest of the survivors slowly started to sit up as well.

None of them had any remnant injuries exceeding their ability to heal. While some wounds would take more time to recover from, it wasn’t like they were beyond saving.

As they slowly looked around in a daze, it was clear that they were still trying to process what had just happened.

That was when one of the Awakened stepped forward.

It was the A-Class individual Davey had saved earlier from the autas and small dokkaebi.

“Is everyone back with us now?”

“Mary?”

“We were lucky.”

She answered calmly and followed up with an explanation.

“If he had arrived even a little later, none of us would’ve made it.”

No one could argue with her.

The S-Class Awakened individuals had managed to survive mostly because of their durability, while more than half of the A-Class individuals had outright perished.

It was certainly a catastrophic loss.

Among them, the one who had orchestrated the whole disaster—Dusk—looked pale as a ghost.

“Hey, Dusk... don’t you have anything to say?”

Albert Patch, who’d been quiet until now, questioned him.

Dusk, who had been trembling, lowered his eyes.

“T-That’s...”

One of the Awakened fighters suddenly lunged at him and grabbed him by the collar.

“You’re the one who insisted we charge in like idiots! Say something! Do you even know how many people died in just that short amount of time!?”

Dusk’s eyes shook violently, his lips trembling, but no words came out.

“Say something!! God damn it!! I followed you because I trusted you—my younger brother died for it!!”

Even as the A-Class Awakened individual wailed in anguish, Dusk couldn’t say a word.

He had been prideful, but he clearly hadn’t wished for that kind of tragedy.

Of course, from Davey’s perspective, it was all just an absurd play.

“Alright, quiet down, everyone,” Davey said flatly.

The crowd flinched.

“To me, you’re all the same.”

There was no difference among them. Yet there they were, trying to put all the blame onto one person. He couldn’t help but think how stereotypically perfect their deplorable group behavior was.

Sitting on a nearby rock, Davey glanced their way before continuing.

“I’m pretty sure I sent down a letter to tell you not to enter, didn’t I?”

He was met with shameful silence.

“Do any of you actually know anything about this rift?”

“Well...”

“The way rifts are manifested, the mechanism behind how it gathers power, the anomalies the rift itself creates—stuff like that,” he said as he looked around. “You don’t, right? Then why the hell did you ignore the words of someone who does?”

More silence. Not a single one of them had anything to say.

“You people just see a rift and think it’s something to break. Meanwhile, government officials diligently study those rifts to make sure you can take them down safely.”

“That’s...”

“Do you still have something to say back? If I hadn’t shown up, you’d all be dead. And that’s not the worst part.”

It wasn’t an ordinary rift—it was a space created to seal the calamitous Shiverwock.

“Because of you, Shiverwock got out. Now that it’s loose, in the time until Behemoth finally manages to subdue it, hundreds of thousands—maybe even millions—of people are going to die.”

If that were to happen, Davey would no longer be able to save Shiverwock effectively.

“Damn it...” Chris Marten muttered in a bitter tone.

“Whatever. You’re just in the way, so get out,” Davey said.

He then summoned the Vermilion Bird Fire Chicken and the White Tiger Whitey to stand by their side.

“Kiii!!!”

Fire Chicken’s appearance was accompanied by a burst of flame. The Awakened individuals looked at it in shock.

But as it turned its sharp gaze toward Dusk, the tension in the air elevated, and everyone fell silent.

“Kiii!!!”

Suddenly, Fire Chicken’s eyes flashed as it ferociously pecked Dusk.

“Argh!! Gah!!”

Screaming and rolling on the ground, Dusk was thoroughly punished by Fire Chicken. Only after a while did it finally stop and make a satisfied face.

“Take them out of here,” Davey said.

It then snorted and turned as if to lead the way.

“Uh... Are they our only transportation option?”

“If you don’t like them, feel free to tag along with me.”

‘Honestly, they should be grateful I didn’t bring along that musclehead rabbit.’

While Fire Chicken made it clear how pissed off it was—its mood clearly influenced by Davey’s—Whitey, the idiotic embodiment of elegance, silently observed one of the Awakened individuals.

The individual froze in fear, faced with the enormous white tiger’s stare.

Whitey then slowly lifted its massive paw, gently pressing it down on the man’s face before stepping back.

The man looked completely dumbfounded.

Davey had no clue what it was trying to do. He just looked at Whitey as if he was looking at something stupid, and then turned his head.

“Alright, you clean freak. Get started.”

Following his command, golden flashes of light began to rain down from the sky once more.

* * *

“This can’t be! There’s no way!”

Shiverwock ran forward in a frenzy. Its mind was in complete chaos.

It didn’t even understand why it was running in the first place.

All it knew was that the damned human had some connection to Woochi. And when it inspected him, he saw something inside the human that was so terrifying it couldn’t even bring itself to look directly at it.

It was overwhelmed by instinctual fear. That was all. That was the reason it ran.

“Grrr!!”

Boom!!

Twirling its massive frame, Shiverwock snapped a giant tree in half as it whipped around toward the noise.

It stared tensely toward the other side of the forest.

The human hadn’t shown himself yet, but it knew he was coming.

“Forget everything—Woochi is dead. He broke his promise.”

The Dokkaebi King Shiverwock muttered under its breath like it was trying to brainwash itself. It then took a deep breath.

Lifting its massive dokkaebi club in one hand, its eyes flashed.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re really connected to him or not. I will punish all humans!”

Humans feared him, and they betrayed him.

Woochi had said that when it woke from its long sleep, the world would be different. That there would be people who didn’t fear or reject it.

Shiverwock wasn’t stupid. It knew that humans feared it because of its size and monstrous appearance.

But that fear always led to rejection, a pain it desperately wanted to forget.

That was why it had lost control when it saw the humans.

But that human—Davey—was different.

He claimed to be Woochi’s disciple.

Like master, like student; he didn’t fear Shiverwock at all.

And that was what left it truly shaken.

It had once vaguely considered the possibility, but in truth, it never really imagined that another person like Woochi could exist.

Back on Earth, Shiverwock was a symbol of fear. A monster no one could approach.

“You’re a harmful existence.”

Even though he hadn’t done anything.

“You’re dangerous.”

Even when he had actually saved people.

Still, humans feared it, rejected it, and tried to kill it.

As it stared at the small human approaching slowly, Shiverwock grit its teeth.

“Silence! Don’t mock me any further!!”

“Mock you? Let’s not twist the narrative here.”

“Humans and I can never coexist! The only reason you don’t fear me is because you’re arrogant about your own strength! Humans never change, no matter how much time passes!”

It roared furiously, raising its club high.

“Turtle, turtle! Offer me your head! Or I’ll roast you whole!!”

It began leaping and dancing in a bizarre, erratic rhythm, and the scenery around them warped into something that resembled a burning hell.

“Do not mock the dokkaebis, human! You may seem dangerous, but you are nothing before me!! You’re just a lower being who is incomparable to Woochi!!”

Davey didn’t respond. Once it had fully activated its domain, its eyes blazed.

“Let me show you the truth. In this space... you can’t kill me!”

The so-called immortal being—Shiverwock.

Its true nature was tied to its space.

It was none other than its domain, the Dokkaebi Grounds.

Everything within it was forcefully bent to its will.

In actuality, all of it stemmed from its sorcery.

“Not all humans are the same. I’m not here to say some bullshit—”

“How ridiculous!”

“They’re the ones that feared you, not me.”

Davey said in a calm voice as he pulled out a few talismans.

“It’s nothing fancy; just come with me. I’ll punish anyone who tries to mess with you. Where I live, we’ve got idiots who look way worse than you. Trust me, you’re not scaring anyone back home.”

Shiverwock flinched at the prospect.

Originally, it was meant to go on to the Heavenly Central Plains.

But its seal had prevented that, leaving it behind as one of the few transcendent beings still lingering there. It was just like So-Ya the mermaid, rumored to be immortal.

Upon hearing his explanation, Shiverwock scoffed.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I was born from humanity’s despair and suffering. Even from the very start, I was never meant to blend in with humans.”

“That’s not your call to make. That decision belongs to the ones willing to accept you.”

‘Why the hell are you acting like a little bitch when I’m saying you’ll be fine?’

Davey casually tossed the talismans into the air.

[Special Sorcery]

[Descent of the Monster God]

[Grand General of Heaven]

“Fool! I never gave permission for you to use sorcery in this space!”

“Didn’t ask. Don’t need it.”

Once Davey calmly responded and pulled out the shamanic rattle from his Pocket Plane, Shiverwock’s eyes widened to the point that they were about to tear.

“That shamanic rattle?!”

“Looks familiar, eh?”

Boom!!

Despite the space’s attempt at interference, Davey’s sorcery began to operate.

Behind him, a massive giant clad in full armor took form—shaped like a war general.

Soon, the Grand General of Heaven was holding a spiked club similar to the one Shiverwock was wielding.

“Woochi...”

Only then did Shiverwock finally face reality and let out a low growl.

The Grand General of Heaven radiated an overwhelming presence, releasing killing intent toward Shiverwock as though it had encountered its archenemy.

Shiverwock began drawing up its power, intending to crush the Grand General of Heaven.

But it stopped after seeing what Davey did next.

He slapped a pure white talisman right onto the Grand General of Heaven’s forehead, and everything fell silent.

Shiverwock stared in blank confusion. The general, too, looked back at Davey with a confused, annoyed face.

“You flipped me off last time you got pulled back, remember that?”

Davey hadn’t forgotten.

Back when the Grand General of Heaven had vanished after a fight, it’d raised a middle finger toward Davey.

“You really thought I was going to let that slide, you little bastard?”

“Graaahhh!!”

The Grand General of Heaven let out an eerie cry and staggered, then dispersed completely. Only the massive spiked club it had been wielding clattered to the ground.

Davey had used sorcery to summon a being, only to forcefully dismiss it with a single talisman.

Shiverwock had no clue what was going on.

“What are you doing? You managed to manifest sorcery by chance, and now you're erasing it?!”

“By chance? Are you high or something?”

Speaking casually, Davey picked up the massive club. As soon as he touched it, the club shrank—just enough for him to comfortably grip it.

Even so, the size and thickness of it were still several times that of a normal human weapon.

“I haven’t even started using real sorcery yet.”

“Ha! Go ahead, try me! Let’s see how amazing your sorcery really—”

Thud!!!

Silence fell again.

With just a swing, his blow had distorted the very space around them through sheer force.

Shiverwock froze, eyes wide.

Davey smiled pleasantly at it.

“It’s sorcery, I assure you. It also just so happens to have a physical element.”

“Ah... W-Wait a minute...”

“Wait a minute, my ass. I don’t feel like taking the time to understand how you feel carefully and gradually, so from now on, I’m going to bind you to me. Like it or not, you’re mine now.”

Boom!!!

Seeing Davey bring down a bone-chilling strike, Shiverwock hurled itself aside in a panic.

If that hit had landed on it, it knew it would not have been able to walk away unscathed.

A deep, primal fear—something it hadn’t even felt from Woochi—completely overtook it.

“All right, next sorcery.”

[Advanced Specter Purification Technique] freewebnσvel.cøm

Shiverwock could feel sweat trickle down its cheek.

[Physical]

“Y-You psycho—!!”

It screamed as it stumbled, trying to dodge again.

Bang!!

But the club went straight for its back, striking true. It howled in pain, rolling across the ground.

“Gaaah!! My back!! My bones!! S-Stop!!!”

“Uh-uh. Don’t move, or your bones will break for real.”

Davey grinned darkly, resting the massive club on his shoulder.

Shiverwock looked up at him, muttering to itself in fear and rebuke.

“Woochi... you were right. Humans really have changed...

“But this isn’t how I wanted them to change, dammit!!!”

Its scream of realization quickly turned into another wail of pain.

* * *

“Hey.”

No response.

“Don’t play dead.”

“Y-Yes, sir...” it replied meekly.

“The hell was that?”

“Aaaahhh!!”

It let out another cry and collapsed to the ground once again. Davey looked down at it and calmly continued his questioning.

“Did you make the other areas too?”

The rifts looked similar, after all.

Shiverwock, trembling in fear, answered quietly, yet in a slightly annoyed tone.

“I don’t know...”

Davey tilted his head.

“Do we have an attitude problem here?”

“No, not at all...”

Davey chuckled.

“Did you forget your manners?”

“I dunno...”

“What’s with that tone of yours?’

“I’m not sure, sir!!!”

Bruised all over, Shiverwock shouted desperately.

“Not sure? What, you think you’ll get out of this if you keep on saying you don’t know?”

Smack!!

“Gaaahhh!!”

It rolled across the ground, screaming.

‘Damn it, Woochi!! I didn’t want you to send me some lunatic like him!’

At the same time, those who had made it out of the rift were watching the massive shockwaves rippling and distorting the interior of the space.

They all came to one conclusion: The battle between the Saint of Tionis and the monster they saw must be reaching its peak.

Soon after, based on survivor testimonies, the United States officially declared a state of national emergency.