The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Regardless of how skilled a Swordmaster was, if they relied solely on swordsmanship without using any mana—like when they were in a sword duel—they could lose to an expert-level knight in a life-threatening fight.

This was because mana didn’t just enhance the emission of energy; it had a profound impact on one’s entire body. This meant that there were often times when one’s body was unable to keep up with one’s mind.

However, Davey now had to go against Illyna, who wielded the Continuum-Severing Blade and used the Sword God’s signature technique—a move that could effortlessly slice through weakened dimensions without the need for any weapons or mana; it was just relying solely on physical abilities. This situation made Davey feel like a child kickboxing against a professional mixed martial artist.

Illyna had definitely been a weakling by Davey’s standards. But now, she had received some kind of training from the Sword God using an unknown method, and she had become stronger than before.

Illyna from the parallel world had endured countless hardships and desperately mastered swordsmanship just to survive, reaching a level that easily surpassed even Reina. She was no longer just a Swordmaster. Except for Davey, she was, in fact, one of the greatest forces on the continent of Tionis.

Davey knew that his past self would never have stood a chance against such a powerful opponent, with victory far from guaranteed. It was astonishing to think that he had to defeat someone of her strength using only his body and improvisation. However, if he just gave up and said he couldn’t do so, he knew the only response he’d get would be a brutal beating. So, he had no choice but to give it his all.

Davey had been taught this way in the hall. He was all too familiar with the upgraded version of the very method he had used to teach the failing students of Shakuntala Magic School and the professors of Heins Academy.

There was nothing to be surprised about now.

‘On that note, I wonder if Archbishop Alice is leading the Gorneo Academy well?’ he suddenly thought.

Everyone had their own so-called ‘limits.’ The Continuum-Severing Blade that Illyna began to learn, or more accurately, the Continuum-Attacking Blade, was a technique that Ares created when he came to the hall. It was safe to say it was his signature skill—a sword technique that effortlessly passed through time and cut without regard to space.

This sword technique had enough power to easily rip apart a lightly closed dimension, but Davey couldn’t learn it—he couldn’t even learn Hercules' capability for infinite evolution. Death Lord’s transcendence black magic was also beyond his grasp. Odin's celestial magic was out of the question, too. The simultaneous summoning of all the spirit kings created by the Spirit Queen Yuriana, along with the unique spirit magic created by maximizing synchronization with the spirit kings or the realization of the spirit world, was also beyond his ability.

Davey could absorb many things through mass soul modification, possessing the talent to learn them and make them his own. But unlike Illyna, he didn’t have the talent to bring them up to a peak level. That was why he had his own path of growth.

Zzt…

Illyna charged toward Davey with the determination to win.

“When will I ever again get the opportunity to beat you? I know this is my chance! En garde!”

‘The audacity of this bitch…’

“You really are trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

“You better not fake it and try to use mana.”

“How long has it been since that guy’s been with you?”

“It’s been a while. I just couldn’t say it all this time.”

“Why not?”

“Well, that’s…”

[To deceive the eyes of God. Davey, concentrate.]

Hearing the Sword God’s stern voice, Davey snapped back to reality and jumped to avoid the sword. He dodged the sword energy that flew toward him like a bullet, but he panted—he was approaching his limits. The fact that he had also dealt with a Malicious Spirit certainly didn’t help.

“Ares.”

Ares turned to Davey instead of answering, his expression calm and serious.

“I’ll ask again, where are the… other folks?”

But he didn’t quite get his answer.

[It’s not something you need to worry about, Davey.]

Ares yawned while lounging in the air, but Davey could tell it was just his way of hiding his emotions.

‘How… How many people are sacrificing themselves for me?’ Davey thought.

He clenched his fist so hard that it made a crackling sound, but he didn’t let this show on his face. Davey didn’t know why the heroes suddenly intervened and made those choices. But if they had made them for him, he knew it would be hard for him to break his promise to them.

“Davey, how long are you going to play around? Did you just turn into an all-talk guy after waking from a coma? You better concentrate!”

“Damn it!!”

Even Illyna was startled by his sudden shout. Although they were damn strict and annoying teachers, they were always thorough with their promises. All Davey had to do was trust them, and they had to lead Davey who they believed in. It was that simple.

Davey took a short breath, put one hand behind his back, opened his other hand, and directed it at Illyna.

“It’s your fault if this hurts.”

“Hmph. It won’t be easy to hurt me.”

As if Davey had hurt her pride, she charged toward him. Although she was definitely clumsy compared to the Sword God Ares, she was still a swordsman who had learned the Continuum-Severing Blade. So, while she was by no means an opponent to overlook, Davey closed his eyes, then slowly opened them and took a step forward.

He had passed tests under worse conditions than this. If this was enough to make him falter, he would have fallen a while back.

Clash!!

Davey knew that a straightforward collision would put him at a disadvantage, so he countered by narrowly deflecting and dodging her aggressive yet controlled attacks. He understood that if he met her sword head-on, it would be nearly impossible to parry or deflect. Instead, he countered by pushing away the blade surface with the back of his hand, palm, or even by kicking it.

Clank!! Clank!!

Illyna made a surprised face, and Davey did everything he could to keep her off balance. He quickly kicked the ground, sending sand flying, and made use of the grass and nearby terrain features.

The most difficult part for him was containing his mana, which would try to run wild whenever he was in danger. As he tried to control it, the things that normally obeyed his commands began sending out danger signals and moving on their own, creating errors in his defense.

"Ah! Cheater!" Illyna shouted. As Davey rolled out of the way to avoid her sword, he kicked the ground to fling more sand at her, making her frown.

“Keep in mind that there’s no such thing as cowardice or ‘fair’ in a fight where your life's on the line.”

She frowned even more and shouted back at his warning, “But you and I aren’t fighting to death right now?!”

“I’m making this clear: if you manage to get me with your sword, I’ll probably die in… Hmph!!”

A surprise attack followed. Her attack, containing overwhelming power, destroyed a small part that couldn’t even wreck the abandoned factory, but the floor where her sword touched was completely erased, as if paper had been sliced clean with a huge sword.

“Heh! How do you like that? A page from your book.”

“Where did you learn such dirty tricks?!”

“That’s just what you’ve been doing!”

As expected, her learning speed was astonishing. Her attacks quickly shifted from straightforward to unpredictable, making them increasingly difficult for Davey to avoid. In response, Ares made another demand.

[Davey, you learned Blood Circle Severance from Dokgo Jun, right? Use it on your body right now.]

“You madman!”

Blood Severance was a blood magic that was quite difficult to use and forcibly blocked the flow of mana for a very short period of time. It would have a brief effect on an enemy, but using it on himself would be an entirely different story.

Even as he cursed under his breath, Davey didn’t hesitate to apply Blood Severance to himself. His mana that ran wild whenever he was in danger began to slow down, eventually stopping. Even the small amount of mana that kept making its way through to assist him completely disappeared. He had completely gone through metamorphosis, with only his transcendent physical abilities remaining.

In response, the Sword God made even stricter demands.

[Descendant, attack him with the intent to kill.]

“W-What?! No matter the circumstances, isn’t asking me to kill Davey too…?!

[No objections will be accepted.]

Illyna hesitated at his firm command. Davey, out of breath, plopped down on the floor for a moment before slowly getting up.

“Attack with the intent to kill,” Davey repeated.

“Davey!”

“I trust you, father-in-law.”

[Damn bastard! Don’t call me father-in-law, you little punk!]

Ignoring the grumbling Ares, Davey slowly caught his breath and gathered his stamina. He couldn’t use mana, weapons, power of taboo, or even divine powers. His spirit mana and magic were, in a sense, also tied to mana. He realized that most of his power had been sealed away.

‘Then what else can I do?’ Davey thought.

Davey racked his brain, trying to figure out what the Sword God Ares wanted from this training where he pretended to be crazy and tried to kill him. Of course, there wasn’t much to think about.

Simple, brute-force, reckless teaching was their specialty—and it was also Davey’s own specialty.

- Risk your life when you train! If you practice with safety in mind, you will never escape that safety net!

This was what Hercules had said when he first taught Davey, who had known nothing. He figured there was a reason for this teaching—he knew he simply had to overcome the ordeal and he’d be fine.

Illyna pointed the tip of her sword toward Davey in a composed stance before widening the gap between her feet.

"Ah... Screw it! Here goes nothing!”

Davey could clearly tell that she was planning to rush in and stab him before he could react. The sight of her wearing a pitch-black suit with bright blonde hair was striking—unlike anything he had seen before. Despite her appearance, though, her intent was deadly serious.

Seeing how much faith she had toward the Sword God, Davey wondered just how much he had brainwashed her. He assumed she knew that even the slightest mistake on his part could cost him his life—then he realized it made no difference.

Clearing his mind, Davey closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them. Not a single trace of mana flowed within him, but he felt no fear. Even though he had the levels of a demi-god and his physical abilities had been honed to superhuman levels through metamorphosis, he was still slower compared to her.

[Heavy Sword]

[Continuum-Attacking Sword]

[Major Eruption]

Illyna's starting stance shifted to mirror the tremendous sword energy that Ares had shown before. She aimed her sword straight at Davey's heart.

Crack!!

The typhoon-like wind swirling around her began to grow stronger, and soon the entire abandoned factory—generally untouched by either of them—started distorting from the sheer force she generated.

Even though Davey had modified Caldeiras to accommodate all of her power, and the synergy between the Sword God Ares and her overwhelming sword talent was strong, her attack was on a level beyond mere metamorphosis; it was something entirely different.

Davey didn’t feel denial or helplessness.

Instead, he wondered how much she had learned from him in the meantime—she had absorbed more than he realized within the time he had spent. Even if it had only been a second from the outside, Davey figured the torrent of time she experienced might have caused some kind of distortion. Perhaps she had devoted an unimaginable amount of time to mastering the sword. And on top of that, she had mixed in the Continuum-Severing Blade.

Davey took a stance, his mind completely clear, before instantly shattering the floor and rushing toward her.

He knew that defending would be ridiculous. Avoiding her attack didn’t seem possible either.

All he had left was to fight back. If he couldn’t use mana, he knew he had to rely entirely on his experience and the things he learned.

His body became full of both large and small wounds as their battle continued. He was frustrated as he knew he was at a severe disadvantage; it wasn’t like his opponent was weak, and he had to fight her practically with his hands and legs severed.

At the same time, he could feel death instinctively when he looked at her sword. A fight like this was nonsensical unless he was ready to die—even so, Davey didn’t stop.

He knew this was what faith was—believing and following through, knowing the results that would come.

Illyna's fierce fighting spirit began to cut Davey’s body. The reason her intense fighting spirit exerted physical power was probably due to the unique characteristics of her sword. And no matter how Davey tried to respond, she kept coming at him without mercy or rest.

He knew something had to be done.

He naturally drew out his survival instincts as he was facing danger with his mana sealed.

"Oh?!"

Surprised, Illyna took a step back—it was only natural for her to respond this way. Although it was only for a moment, the madness that Davey had suppressed—a side effect of accumulating unreasonable power—began to reveal itself again.

‘This damn madness. Are you trying to drive me crazy?’ he thought.

However, unlike before, he couldn’t suppress the madness with mana. He was suppressing it purely through willpower alone.

‘Listen to…’

Ssss…

As his consciousness became blurry, it urged him to kill the woman in front of him.

‘Me, you bastard.’

Power that he couldn’t control was like poison. If he couldn’t master it, he knew it would become a problem in the future. He wondered if Sword God Ares had deliberately created this situation to teach him to control it, though that seemed unlikely.

As Davey took a step or two back from her, he used all his mental strength to suppress the madness that was trying to break out inside him. He controlled his impulses, forcing himself to breathe calmer. Gritting his teeth, he looked at the young Illyna who was beginning to show a hint of fear.

He knew that a little bastard who didn’t listen needed to be taught a lesson.

Davey grabbed a metal pipe lying nearby and hit his own head without hesitation. The iron pipe bent from the enormous force of the blow, and he was able to calm down—even if only for a short time. He gritted his teeth, trying to keep his madness suppressed.

‘Hey. Listen to me when I’m saying it nicely.’

He wasn’t suppressing it with mana, but with sheer mental power.

‘Deja vu?’

Suddenly, Davey felt like he had been through a similar situation before. With his perfect memory, there was no way he couldn’t recall something, but it seemed like this one thing was slipping away for some reason. He instinctively knew he couldn’t miss this opportunity, so he curled up, gritted his teeth, and searched for something unstable inside himself.

At that moment, Ales, who was lying in the air, spoke up.

Davey was able to reflexively read his lips and realize what Ares had said.

[As expected, it hadn’t disappeared. As his mind grew, he began to gain control little by little. Rho Aias, I believe we can let him go now.]

‘Let me go?’

Then the madness within Davey blurred for a moment, and he showed an opening to Illyna again.

[What are you doing?! How long are you just going to stand there staring?! Move!]

Startled by Ares’ shouting, Illyna immediately put on a serious expression and didn’t miss her opportunity.

Bang!!

Even Davey, who had experience using mana, was surprised by the speed at which she closed in. In response, he surrendered himself to the unknown force that had begun to move within his body.

He had no idea what it was or where it came from. But if he could harness it; if he could use it to inflict even a bit of damage on Thanatos; if he could create synergy and weave it into the power he already wielded to amplify that strength, Davey was gladly going to embrace it.

As Confucius once said, “Even among strict rules, there is always a way out.”

For a very brief moment, Davey saw the spirit body of the Sword God smiling at him.

‘I don’t know exactly what's going on, but it would be foolish to miss enlightenment when it presents itself.’

Thud!

Davey launched himself forward as if he were about to collide head-on with her sword, but then twisted his body at the last second. Illyna's eyes widened as her sharp blade narrowly sliced through the flesh near his heart, missing it by mere inches. Then, Davey unleashed all the power that he still couldn’t fully control.

Pow!!

An intangible shock wave exploded outward.

[The heroes of the hall all have their own unique characteristics. Hercules has evolution. Odin has infinite mana. Yuriana is an absolute communicator. Lord Yurg is a divine martial. And...]

His explanation didn’t make much sense to Davey. All he could feel was that the power running wild within him was assimilating even his divine power and power of taboo.

He wondered if he had possessed this kind of power from the start—if so, he could’ve been using it this whole time. He then realized he really did have it all along, but he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t remembered.

Memories began to surface. His own characteristic that went out of control and destroyed the lifespan of a hero in the hall.

[It’s absolutely no coincidence that you came to the hall, Davey. Don’t forget that.]

It was a unique characteristic that had existed within him from the beginning, but for some reason he had forgotten it even existed. It consumed all of the divine power of Tranquility, which was the other half of Goddess Freyja and Neltarid.

His blocked blood flow began to overflow like a flood, giving explosive force to his entire body. Davey slammed his fist right next to Illyna's face.

Pow!!

And then, the uncontrolled power spread out from his fist. It passed right next to her face and completely distorted the sky.

[Davey, that special characteristic you have… The trait we awakened in you, we decided to call Predatory Assimilation.]

‘Predatory Assimilation?’

[To put it simply, the reason you have perfect memory is due to that characteristic, and it’s also the reason you’ve developed a unique physical constitution capable of accepting foreign powers. Originally, you couldn’t control it at all and went berserk, so Rho Aias forcibly cursed it and sealed it away.]

He preyed on memories and made them his; he preyed on soul modifications to bring about transformations. Davey had devoured each and every skill of the heroes of the hall, making them his own.

[Didn't you notice something strange at some point? Notice your characteristic that can consume two divine powers and somehow allow them to coexist? And on top of that, despite being the underdog, you casually pulled off the unprecedented and absurd feat of preying on a Demon King. Do you really think just anyone could do something like that? They can't.]

The power that had existed in Davey’s soul from the very beginning. As Sword God Ares had said, it was no coincidence that Davey had fallen into the hall. It was no coincidence that Goddess Freyja showed interest in him.

This wasn’t some borrowed power, like his divine power or power of taboo. For the first time, Davey’s unique characteristic had awakened with his own will.

And after a moment of silence, Davey was able to fully feel the unique power rushing through his entire body.

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