The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Kyuuuu!

The muscle rabbits went down in an instant. Davey absorbed their source of power with the jasper-colored Absolute Gem, which devoured it.

"Phew... Alright. That’s done.”

"You despicable bastard."

"Winning’s all that matters. I don’t want to waste my time and energy on those things.”

Davey felt like hives were breaking out all over his body from the chills. Once the muscle rabbits disappeared, only demon corpses remained. As he silently approached them, he placed his hand on the back of their necks. He could sense that it was already too late for them to be saved, as the muscle rabbits were those who were already dead and had temporarily risen.

"Well, now that I’ve taken care of the most dangerous one... let’s deal with the rest."

Davey knew he still had preparations to make since Fenrir, the demonic beast that devoured the World Tree, was the most dangerous threat after the muscle rabbits.

***

Except for those who had already been unsealed, the rest did not come out. Davey figured they wanted him to unseal the rest of them. He believed that they thought his purpose was to simply strengthen their seal. Simply put, they were mistakenly believing that Davey was wary of their power and didn’t want them to get loose and run wild.

On Aiur, there were two responders. First was the Killer Rabbit, which, although no longer sealed, was still obsessed with muscle gains. Despite its rather unsettling appearance, it remained fairly calm. The snake, however, was a different story. Davey figured that once its seal was broken, it would likely try to devour everything in sight. Accordingly, he knew it was crucial for him to strike first.

"I tried to find the people you mentioned... but it’s not easy to track them down."

"Hmm..."

"More than anything, the sentiment in the territory is divided. Some believe they should follow you, while others think they shouldn’t."

"So cooperation isn’t working too well, and the ancient demonic beasts are hiding because they think I’m going to kill the responders..."

Davey knew that the ancient demonic beasts could escape using their power, but that was only if the responders survived. Alfred's situation was a bit of an exception.

"I want to handle this as humanely as possible. That’s what I’m hoping for.”

"Uh… Demon King?”

"What?"

"Alfred is..."

"He’s weakened right now. It looks like he turned into a responder and used his power at the cost of his vitality. He can still recover though, since his Zhen Qi hasn’t been completely depleted. Here."

Davey wrote down a list of herbs that worked well for demons on a piece of paper.

"Mix these according to the ratios and give them to him three times a day, one after each meal. He should regain his strength in a month or two."

"Thank... Thank you! Thank you so much!" he exclaimed, his face bright red as he bowed to Davey several times as if he had been redeemed.

"Thank… Thank you so much... Sob…”

Even though Davey, who had saved his son’s life, was once an enemy, the man did not withhold his gratitude. Watching him, Davey realized that fatherhood was not something to be taken lightly.

Reflecting on it, Davey couldn’t help but compare the demon to his own father, King Krianes O’Rowane of the Kingdom of Rowane. Due to his position as king, Krianes hadn’t shown any signs of affection or protection for Davey when it truly mattered. Despite the vast difference between a demon and a human king, a father's love for his son was universal.

‘He probably doesn’t have that many days left anymore…’ Davey thought.

Even though Davey had almost disowned him, it didn’t feel good knowing his death was approaching. He just hoped that his younger brother, Baris—who would soon marry a princess of the Duchy of Felicity—would not have to experience such a sad event before his big day.

Sebastian sobbed for a long time and repeated words of gratitude to Davey, then slowly raised his head.

“Demon King.”

“Do you have something to say?”

“Are you trying to unseal the ancient monsters that are currently sealed underground?”

"Yes."

Even though it seemed like Davey was about to release a monster beyond control, he could sense Sebastian’s faith in him.

“Just give me the orders. Even if all the other demons fear and hate you, I will follow you. I, Sebastian, am not an ungrateful demon.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“I will find the responders you are looking for—even if it means using rough methods.”

"That's okay. You don’t need to go that far."

Sebastian tilted his head in confusion at Davey's response.

"Pardon me, Demon King, but aren’t you trying to summon them quickly?"

"Yeah, I am. I’m sure Perserque is probably gritting her teeth right now,” Davey said jokingly.

When Davey mentioned Perserque, Sebastian’s face turned pale. Davey then got up from his seat. He was relieved they had found the first responder, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling of uncertainty as he thought about how to find the second one.

It was then.

Crackle…

A purple flame burned before Davey. A pair of eyes of a giant snake, like an illusion, looked at him from within the flames as if it had been waiting for him. Sebastian fell on the ground and trembled as his gaze filled with terror.

[Ssss…Ha… It's your fault that Killer Rabbit’s energy disappeared. I know you will, without a doubt, seal it again.]

‘Seal? I never sealed him to begin with?’ Davey thought.

“Did you say your name is Yom?”

[Yes, mortal being. First of all, let me express my gratitude. Killer Rabbit is a different being from us—it was a hindrance to our plans.]

Davey was really grateful that this guy kept showing up out of the blue and explaining things.

“I bet it hasn’t been able to come to its senses after getting hit by me once.”

[Hmph. Don't get all worked up about just taking care of one of the thousands of pieces, you trivial mortal. How dare you, a mere mortal, think you can do anything to us, the true immortals?]

Yom continued with its provocation.

[I am not sure how you sealed Killer Rabbit, but you can't fool me. Even if your special power works on us, there’s not the slightest chance that you’ll be able to kill us…]

“Alright, whatever. Let me just ask you one question…”

[...]

“As far as I can tell, there are about four to five of you self-proclaimed ancient gods. Am I right?"

[Yes, be afraid. There is Fenrir, the demon beast of devouring. Myself, Yom, the snake that wraps the world! And the ruler of the sky, Grasshopper Khan! You cannot defeat any of us!]

"Is that so? Then shall we give it a try?” Davey said while smiling. Yom then looked directly at him.

“I will liberate all of you right here, right now. So don’t play any games and fight against me fair and square.”

[What a trivial trick.]

"Trick? Hehe, you’re mistaken about something.”

Davey sneered and broke a nearby wine bottle, pouring his divine power into it.

“Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can beat me, even if all of you attack me at once.”

Back then his soul and body were out of sync, when he had no divine power and hadn't yet reached the proper level of a demigod. And it was before Arbit had even strengthened his power of taboo. Now, he was a completely different person.

Davey could care less about the wolf that ate the World Tree and the snake that wrapped the world. None of them mattered to him.

[I have no intention of playing your little games and tricks. Soon our existence will be revealed to the world. I will bring destruction to you then.]

"No! I’m telling you to just cooperate with me. I’ll take all of you out. But if you’re really that confident, try joining sides against me and hit me with your best shot,” Davey said while pointing the end of the broken wine bottle at him. However, Yom continued to say only what he wanted to say.

[Just wait. Until we finally get there, it would be a good idea to start preparing for the end of the world.]

"Oh, come on! You’re not even trying to listen, are you? Just saying whatever you want. Fine. If you want to keep things this way, I’ve got my own methods, you son of a bitch."

Davey jumped up from his seat, leaving behind Yom who slithered away and disappeared, then turned his gaze toward Sebastian who was sitting down and shaking.

“We’re not going to do anything with the responder.”

Sebastian looked puzzled at Davey's words. At the same time, Kain frowned.

“You’re about to do something strange again.”

"Nope. It’s not something you should worry about. I don’t care what problem arises in the demon world, I will personally take out all three of them at once.”

Davey knew there was only one way to handle this. Although the World Tree Al would have to pay the price, it had entrusted him with this task, so Davey figured he had to go with his wild plan to live up to its expectations.

***

The World Tree’s Al laid down leisurely and put fruit in her mouth.

“The taste is rich. The upcoming harvest should be very bountiful.”

“Really, mother?” Emilia, the Divine Tree’s Saintess, asked. Al smiled leisurely in response.

"Ah... this feels great. No troublesome people, no troublemakers. It's so peaceful."

“A troublemaker…?”

"Who else could it be? That guy who destroys the forest every time then claims he's practicing swordsmanship."

"Aha…”

“The thorn in my side finally fell out.”

Emilia knew how much she had suffered because of Isildi. Seeing her like this, she couldn’t help but smile. At that moment, her ears perked up.

“By the way, Mother. Didn’t they give you some fruit before he left?”

“He did give me one as a gift.”

Although it was something that went beyond the level of a simple gift, it was not of great value to him. Still, depending on how one used it, it could potentially bring huge effects.

"Then…”

“Oh no, I don’t think so. There’s no way he would’ve done something to the…”

But sometimes, underestimating the unexpected backfired.

“Hmph?!”

Al suddenly woke up and opened her eyes.

“H-How dare that bastard do this….!! You scoundrel, what on earth did you do to the fruit?!” Al screamed as she vanished into the light.

Emilia sighed, suspecting that Davey had done something to the fruit. She figured that was the reason for Al’s unusual behavior. However, she couldn’t figure out what he had done to make her so flustered. With this thought in mind, Emilia gently stroked the neck of the deer that had approached her.

***

"Good, good! You bastards, eat everything up!” Davey shouted.

The fruit of the World Tree, also considered the incomparable spirit fruit, contained the power of the vast World Tree. The efficacy varied greatly depending on the use, but what Davey was doing now was well within its capabilities.

Davey’s actions were shocking to Al. He had taken Yggdrasil's Fruit, essentially a part of the World Tree, and planted it right in the central plaza of Aiur.

When Yggdrasil’s Fruit took new roots, the branches of the new World Tree gradually connected with the original World Tree, absorbing a large amount of power. It was just like a child growing in the placenta receiving nutrients from its mother.

Naturally, the land where the World Tree grew inevitably became more fertile and full of vitality. While spirit energy was not all that good for demons, it didn't really matter. Davey could give them all the power that the ancient demonic beasts had gathered in one go.

But some could argue he should just charge the gem with the power of the World Tree. But that wasn’t a possibility, as she would have to lose too much power to do that.

A large amount of power flowed to the fruit from the core of the entire continent. Davey figured that Al probably never thought that the fruit of the World Tree would be planted like this and forced to germinate.

Al wasn’t the only one shocked by what Davey did. As the newly grown branches of the World Tree began to spread a vast amount of vitality across the surrounding land, the area became fertile and life energy began flowing through the desolate demon world.

In response, Davey unleashed the power of the Demon King so that the demons could better adapt to the World Tree’s energy..

A large amount of energy began to flow. Davey figured World Tree Al would probably be gnashing her teeth in fury, but since she told him to take care of things on his own, he was going to follow her words.

Of course, there were also some potential areas of concern. Davey didn't know what kind of big problem could arise in this land as a result of his current actions. There could also be a problem with the empty space after the emergence of an ancient demon, but he realized that that was also something the World Tree had to take care of.

‘Can't the Mother of this earth, who supports the world, at least do this much for me?’ Davey thought.

As he waved his dancing fingers in the air, a large magic circle appeared in the air and a large amount of power began to flow.

“Using the power of the World Tree to create energy in the demon world, and feeding all the leftover waste to them as food. This is the best example of killing two birds with one stone.”

“My goodness… The World Tree will try to tear you to pieces until death.”

“So what?” Davey answered calmly. He then lowered the resistance of the magic circle, and some mysterious power began to siphon away the World Tree’s power.

Davey figured it was probably the three ancient beasts. They started consuming the abundant energy, and as he continued to spread its power by planting fruit, they only grew stronger. He knew this power would be a bait they couldn't refuse, and it didn't take long for the results to appear and prove him right.

An enormous energy began to hover in the dark sky of the demon world, the force strong enough to take one’s breath away. The ancient beasts had consumed this power and begun to forcibly break their seals, beginning to fill the demon world with the energy of death.

The first place to show results was the massive city Aiur where Davey was. The fools had no idea they had taken the bait; they were so fixated on the idea of liberation that they didn’t realize he had lured them right where he wanted.

Perhaps because he had summoned all three of them in one place, incredibly strong power poured out profusely. Davey then went past the demons, who were shaking in shock, and spoke to Isildi.

“Kill anyone that makes their way out.”

“And why should I listen to you?”

“...”

As he looked at her in silence, she sighed and nodded. He gathered the trembling demons together and shouted, “Listen!!”

“...”

"The monsters that laid here, the ones that made you all tremble in fear, have been released—by my own hands!"

The demons then made faces of despair and anger. They were looking at him with eyes of indignance, not knowing what they had done to deserve what was happening to them.

“However, don’t be scared!! This is why I came to the demon world!”

The surroundings became quiet at his shout. Although they were afraid of the power of the three strengthened ancient monsters, excluding Killer Rabbit, they did not take their eyes off him.

“They are the ones who filled this land with death and made your lives a barren struggle. Do you want to live your entire lives losing your loved ones and land to them?” Davey shouted.

The demons flinched at his words.

“Or do you want me to clean them up, right here and now?”

At this, the demons looked at each other with uncertainty. But then, a demon spoke up.

“What is everyone standing still for?! Even though there was a war, this person is the Demon King! He’s asking you all directly if you want our race to be saved or not!”

“But... But he’s a human... and he killed a lot of demons...” one of them muttered.

“Don’t forget the legitimacy of the demons! This person is a legitimate demon who can use the authority of the Demon King that has been dormant for a long time! He wants to save us! Are you still going to refuse his salvation?”

“B—But what can we do against those monsters? Even with our weapons, we still won’t be able to do much…”

“Who told you that you had to fight?” Davey interrupted.

“P—Pardon?”

“There is only one thing for you to do,” Davey declared proudly, pulling out Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon.

Shing…

The two authorities came together, combining with his divine power to emit a large amount of energy. Soon, the waves of the two swords merged, turning into a blue-red long sword.

“You guys watch from here—see for yourself that I’m the one to protect you. Engrave this in your minds at this very moment.”

“...”

“Believe in me. Although you may hate and fear me, I will show you that I am different from the ruling class of the past who only longed for revenge and did not care about your lives!”

“I will save you all. I will make this place a paradise so you can eat well and live well here, without having to go to the continent of Tionis! So, let me ask again!!!”

When Davey paused for a moment, everyone looked at him with intensity.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a black cat or white cat—as long as it catches the mice!”

Then one of the demons bravely shouted back.

“What does that matter?! It doesn’t change the fact that you killed my family!!”

The demons had attacked first, but these people were not the ones who had made the decision to attack. Davey knew they were just victims.

“You can hate me, and you can take revenge someday! But to do that, you have to survive! You have to survive to get revenge!”

Davey knew he couldn't get close to them on a deep emotional level. He knew that the fact he had killed many demons in the war would never change. He also realized that, despite saying all of this, not much would likely change. But he knew that this would be enough.

As he spoke, black wings began to appear on his back as he raised Super Ribbon.

[Equipped title Incomplete Demon King]

The surroundings shook with his shout, and a huge wave of thoughts stirred. An enormous amount of divine power mixed with the Demon King’s demonic force began to change.

[The title Incomplete Demon King changed to Demon King.]

[Equipping this title establishes absolute dignity and trust from demons.]

This was the first time his title had changed in a specific situation other than the basic unlock method. Davey silently thanked the sassy Goddess for the opportunity.

He turned his gaze toward the massive purple wolf several kilometers long, that appeared after breaking through the ground on the other side. The wolf unleashed fierce anger toward him.

[Damn you, mortal! Today’s my lucky day! Ever since you put me in that darkness again, I've been waiting for the day to swallow you up in one bite!!]

The wolf had eaten the World Tree. It was a creature that couldn't be killed using traditional methods. But Davey had faced worse threats before, just as he was completely different now from when he first met the wolf.

As Davey took a step toward the giant wolf, his body began to float. The demons who were moving to defend the city looked at him with blank expressions.

Thousands of pitch-black swords began to form around him as he soared toward the giant wolf charging at the city while making huge roars. The tips of the swords, imbued with his demonic energy and the power of taboo, were all aimed at the purple wolf. The power of taboo no longer took over his demonic energy, because it was now completely part of his power. He figured this much should be enough.

[Demonic Spirit Sword]

[Sword Manipulation]

[Descent of the Demon King]

[I will swallow you whole!!]

“Swords. Launch.”

At his command, black swords rained down on the wolf. Considering the size difference, it seemed impossible for Davey to win. However, results weren’t necessarily determined by size.

As Fenrir let out a huge roar, the swords imbued with the power of taboo slowed down for a moment, but they then continued through. Startled, Fenrir blinked in surprise and hit the ground with his front paws. Something like a black swamp formed on the floor, and huge shadow wolves emerged, flying toward the swords. The number of shadow wolves was in the thousands, matching the swords.

Fenrir planned to intercept his attack, but surprisingly, only a small number of swords were canceled out by the shadow wolves. The rest of the swords penetrated toward him. Davey figured this was likely due to the World Tree's Al's power running rampant inside his body.

‘This is what happens when you carelessly eat things,’ Davey thought.

[These puny swords can’t possibly get through my hard skin… What?!]

It didn’t take Fenrir long to realize something was wrong.

Crack! Crack!!

He was taken aback at the power of the black swords that penetrated his hard skin. He tried to stop them, but Davey approached him faster than he could react.

Squelsh!!

Then, as Fenrir swung his huge front paw, Davey pierced through it with Super Ribbon, eventually stabbing him between his eyes.

His body exploded and a huge wave of energy spread out, tearing apart some of the black clouds in the sky. Additionally, some buildings in the demon city of Aiur, usually entirely protected by the barrier, were destroyed by the power that leaked.

Silence fell.

Thousands of swords rained down on Fenrir, piercing his body and sending him crashing to the ground. There was light blue-red mist coming out from Super Ribbon that was in between his eyes.

Davey then pulled out Super Ribbon from the wolf head that had fallen silent and still, revealing a small heart-like object stabbed on the tip of the sword.

[Gaaa... What is this... Yom said you didn’t have the power to kill us...]

‘No wonder that snake didn’t show up. He was testing the waters,’ Davey thought.

“You were fooled, you idiot. Besides, you shouldn’t just eat anything simply because it’ll make you stronger.”

The power that helped them unseal themselves in the first place wasn’t theirs. Although they’d absorbed it before, the World Tree wasn’t stupid enough to get its power absorbed twice.

It had used a lot of power to break their seals forcefully. The power of the World Tree, which was supposed to supplement their strength, had also drained their power, acting as extreme poison to shake their foundations.

However, since Fenrir let his guard down against an enemy whom he should have tried his best against, the outcome was rather obvious.

When Davey pulled out his inner elixir and fed it to the Absolute Gem, the pure, immense power of Fenrir began to seep into the gem. The power of ancient demonic beasts was great, but what was even more surprising was the Absolute Gem that could cause such a great upheaval using their power.

The energy used in the Absolute Gem was like a car battery. Only a small amount of electricity was required to start a car, and then the car would run on gasoline. The enormous power put into the gem served as the small amount of electricity. But what gasoline was equivalent to, the energy allowing it to run, was something that not even those in academia could discern.

The impatience and eerie madness within Davey tempted him. The more he used the power of taboo, the stronger the madness grew. The fact that he tried to suppress it, only to unleash it again, had become the trigger.

As the huge body collapsed and disappeared into particles, Davey pointed in two directions where he felt large amounts of force and grinned.

He figured they would know by now that, even though the seal they had longed to break was gone and all, something was wrong. They could never have imagined that a monster beyond their wildest fears was waiting outside.

“Ready or not, here I come you bastards.”

As soon as Davey took a step, the previously still powers he felt from the two directions changed—they were clearly starting to move away from him. Even though they were mythical monsters that had terrified the demons for a long time, they began to desperately run away once they saw him approach.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

The batteries were in grave danger—they realized exactly what their situation was. But then, just as Davey was about to chase them,

[Kyu?]

The ground broke open, and large muscular rabbits began to appear around him. They started rushing toward the two ancient demonic beasts that were running away, ignoring Davey entirely.

‘But Killer Rabbit is definitely dead?’ Davey thought.

[Oh my, boo, you really were feisty earlier. I like you, and now I want to follow you. I just need to catch them first, right?]

A greasy male voice echoed. It was the most terrifying and spine-tingling statement he had heard ever since he came to the demon world.

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