The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 986

"Uh... Uh, huh?! Wait a second! This isn't right!"

"Shut up! I'm not small!!"

A massive burst of flames engulfed Davey in a kiln of indignance.

It was such a familiar sensation that, oddly enough, it felt almost welcoming.

"Ugh!!"

He plummeted to the ground, sprawling out in a daze. After his body went limp, Odin calmly spoke while pinning him down to prevent any movement.

"Hey, Davey.”

A bit later, Perserque rushed over to check on him. She then witnessed the flames that were clinging to his body vanish in an instant—almost as if they had been nothing more than an illusion.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm used to it."

After all, this wasn’t the first or even second time he had been burned alive. Compared to the hellish training he had endured in the Hall of Heroes to build resistance, this was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

"Even if you are his mentor, wasn't that a bit excessive?" Perserque asked, her voice tinged with anger as she glared at Odin.

Odin, however, merely looked at her in silence for a moment.

"The child of Ares."

“...”

“I’m sorry. But he's unharmed, so there's no need to worry."

Davey’s eyes narrowed as he observed Odin—it was unexpected to see her admit fault so readily. He tightened his grip on his black sword and stood up.

"Per. Step aside."

He pointed his blade directly at her.

‘Perhaps it’s time for a temporary check-up slash.’

"The Odin I know would never apologize to anyone. Who the hell are you?"

At his question, she simply stared at him without a word. Then, without hesitation, she slowly approached and kicked his shin with her small foot.

Under normal circumstances, he should’ve felt a sharp pain, but for some reason, he only felt a dull tap.

"This is the last time."

"Huh?"

"This is the last time I let you run your mouth unchecked,” she said in a calm voice.

She then reached out, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into a lower stance before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry..." she said in a quiet voice.

Davey stiffened.

The contrast was unsettling, almost eerie. And yet, it was precisely because of that disparity that he could feel her sincerity.

"A mentor allowing her disciple to risk his life just to stop her... What kind of teacher does that?"

To everyone else, Odin was nothing short of extraordinary.

She was a divine entity. An unreachable beacon. An absolute standard.

But behind all that, she was still just a person.

"Davey. Do you remember what I told you long ago? To never make promises carelessly?"

Her voice sank lower.

"Don't ever do it."

Because that was the very thing that had led to her current state.

"Someday, the promises you make will become a weakness others will use to exploit you."

- I will help Loki Devan, who will be born thousands of years from now, achieve his desires.

Davey knew there was no way she had willingly made that promise.

Yet nonetheless, Odin had been stripped of her own will, forced into submission by an empty consciousness that blindly followed his words.

"What exactly did you promise?"

Odin remained silent.

"Uh... Excuse me, but Davey is my husband, so I’d appreciate it if you could stop clinging to him."

"Oh my."

Odin’s eyes widened slightly before she promptly shoved Davey away.

She then spoke in a quiet voice, revealing more about what had bound her so tightly.

"Davey, are you aware of the current state of Atrellia?"

"Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?"

To be frank, it wasn’t a topic he cared about.

"Long ago, after the revolution, Atrellia transitioned into a parliamentary system, which the continent followed."

"Ah, yes. I remember hearing that you abolished the monarchy, and that the parliamentary system has remained in place ever since."

"A world without competition or dissenting voices is terrifying."

Competition.

A world where no one could challenge authority would inevitably fall to corruption.

"There were many events. It all began with noble intentions—the notion of equality. The parliamentary system aimed to ensure that mages focused on magic while non-mages took on tasks beyond the reach of magic."

It worked—in the beginning.

But over time, everything began to change.

The ones in power clung to their authority, and eventually the parliamentary system, once built on ideals of fairness, rotted away into corruption, creating a world no different from before.

"Nothing lasts forever. So, what does that have to do with the promise?"

Odin fell silent for a moment.

"Even in death, I will protect this land and prevent it from falling into despair."

Davey stared at her intently. He could tell she was lying.

But he didn’t say anything.

He figured there were things she didn’t want to talk about, and so he didn’t press further.

"But... that Loki bastard. Is he really your descendant?"

"What the hell are you implying, you brat?"

"I mean, I never heard anything about you getting married, and honestly, looking at your body... If any man actually married you, he’d need to be locked up first."

As Davey voiced his reasonable suspicions, Odin shot up to her feet.

Then, without warning, she lunged at him and throttled his neck.

"You little—just die already!"

Coughing and gasping, Davey desperately turned his eyes to Perserque for help, but all he received in return was an icy stare.

"Hmph. That mouth of yours is always asking for trouble. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything, so deal with it yourself."

Davey could do nothing but scream until Odin was done unleashing her anger.

However, despite her aggressive actions, there wasn’t a single ounce of real strength behind her grip.

* * *

Her assault dragged on for quite a while, but unlike her usual beatings, Davey felt like she was trying to mask her embarrassment.

He wondered what had driven her to such a state, to the point where even her ego had been stripped away.

He figured something catastrophic must’ve happened to the Atrellia continent, something so severe that she had been forced to uphold her promise.

Davey wasn’t entirely sure whether her promise was truly just to ensure that no one would fall into despair. Still, he was certain of one thing.

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"Human emotions become a source of power, guided by some unknown law. And right now, with this damned war between the royal army and the resistance spreading across the continent, despair has reached its peak."

Wars were nothing new. They had always existed. But the fact that Odin was bound to this place meant that this particular war was different.

"So then..."

"Davey. No matter what it takes, stop these damn humans from falling into despair. Any method will do."

He mulled over her words before speaking. For him, the condition was surprisingly simple.

"That’s all you need?"

"Can you do it? I’ll take care of the rest."

"It won’t be difficult. But tell me something first."

His crimson eyes faintly flickered.

"This whole situation... Are you really telling me you didn’t see it coming?"

He couldn’t help but wonder if she had truly been caught up in it against her will.

"What are you implying?"

"All of you from the hall... It seems like you’re all just standing by and letting this happen for some reason.”

The reason he thought so was that Rho Aias had remained silent, as if the entire ordeal was something only Davey and Odin were meant to resolve.

"Quit spouting nonsense and get going."

Her evasive response made him click his tongue.

He then reached over and hoisted the now palm-sized Perserque onto his shoulder before waving his hand in the air.

Shrrrip!

"Davey. Are you finally able to use teleporting magic again?"

"The biggest obstacle finally got her act together, so we’re in the clear now."

Once he visited a location, he could firmly establish and remember its coordinates. Now that Odin was no longer interfering with his teleportation magic, there was nothing to restrict his movements.

Odin watched Davey disappear while sitting down. She then slowly closed her eyes.

- I promise you. Even if my soul burns away to nothing.

A memory resurfaced.

She was bloodied and battered, clinging onto a dying man. She was screaming at the top of her lungs in despair.

She didn’t possess a perfect memory like Davey, but even after thousands of years, the moment was etched into her soul.

- Even if I have to use these eyes, I will make sure that no one on this damned land is denied an opportunity.

A promise she had engraved into her very soul using her Dark Eye.

A vow she had made to someone precious in their final moments.

It was her lingering regret.

What she had tasked Davey with—preventing people from falling into despair—was slightly different from the promise she had once made.

But she knew it’d still be enough.

She couldn’t let her disciple bear the burden of her own mistakes.

One of the reasons she hadn't told him the full truth was simple—she didn’t want her student to know about her shameful past.

"Davey, let’s see how you handle this."

Odin wondered if he’d be able to bring an end to the godforsaken war, born from an endless cycle of hatred.

She then began forcibly suppressing the Dark Eye that had gone rampant due to the Ouroboros Ritual.

* * *

There was only one city that was directly connected to the coordinates.

It was Arthem, the very place where Davey had first purchased medicinal herbs and clashed with the Peacekeeper Enforcer.

He then began to think that maybe, in some way, what he did back then had actually helped Odin.

"Per, why do you think wars are so hard to stop once they begin?"

At his question, she showed a bitter expression.

"Hatred and rage, I suppose.”

The spark that ignited wars was often something trivial.

But once the flames spread, the reason for its start no longer mattered.

"Wars claim countless lives. Over time, the conflict’s essence changes into nothing more than a battle to exterminate the other side."

The ones who suffered most were those fighting on the front lines.

Meanwhile, the instigators sat back, feasting in luxury and watching from a distance.

"And that’s not even the worst part."

Perserque, perched on his shoulder at the peak of a towering spire, muttered in a bitter tone.

"Even after a war ends, the hatred it leaves behind takes an agonizingly long time to fade."

It was true—the dead did not return.

Those who lost their families could only direct their rage toward enemy soldiers and their faction.

It was a burden that war carried, an inevitable karma.

"Even if people want to stop wars fueled by hatred, they can't. Their hatred won’t let them."

Davey muttered as he gazed down at a group of men and women being violently dragged away by Enforcers dressed in obsidian-colored armor.

"Once hatred is born, it won’t just disappear. That’s why we have to act before it spreads any further."

According to Odin, Atrellia had originally been running on a parliamentary system. But clearly, corruption ran rampant.

Then a royalist faction had suddenly emerged, sparking a full-scale civil war between the two sides.

And that damned Loki had been taking advantage of the war to tighten his grip on Odin, ensuring she remained bound to this land.

If all mana disappeared, the means to continue the war would vanish.

Loki, being the type to sacrifice the many for the sake of the few, likely didn’t care how many had to die in the process. But that was a naive, reckless judgment made by someone who didn’t understand the fundamental absurdities of war.

"Per, have I ever told you about the Four Great Swords?"

"I find that story very misleading.”

"I haven’t used one yet, have I?"

The Peacekeepers were dragging civilians away, while another faction moved to stop them.

The two sides were about to hack at each other any minute.

"When unexpected problems arise..."

‘The only solution is to slap on a maintenance slash.’

From high above on the spire, Davey snapped his fingers toward the crowd.

At the same time, his Pocket Plane tore open.

Countless swords and spears spilled forth, hovering in the air at his will. A moment later, the energy of the black Heavenly Destroyer seeped into the weapons. He then guided them skyward before aiming their tips downward.

And then, just as some enraged men prepared to lunge at the Peacekeepers, he made his weapons rain down on them.

[Sword of the Mind]

[Ten Thousand Sword Rain]

Boom!!

Watching the weapons pouring down while glinting, everyone froze on the spot.

"Ahhh!!"

"W-What the hell?!”

It was as if any movement, even the slightest twitch, would turn them into human skewers.

Of course, Davey made sure not to harm a single individual. He had landed each weapon with terrifying precision, forcing the crowd who had been moments away from tearing each other apart to stop their attacks.

“Emergency maintenance in progress. Please log out, everyone.”

Ssss... Thud!!

As Davey landed lightly atop a halberd stuck in the ground, everyone turned their attention to him.

Some among the crowd widened their eyes in alarm the moment they recognized him.

“Since you’re in the way...”

“Y-You are?!”

Ignoring the familiar bald man’s outcry, Davey calmly made his declaration.

“Stop the war.”

The longer a war dragged on, the deeper the hatred grew.

Davey had no idea how to resolve that kind of hatred.

But if the conflict was still in its early stages, he believed simply forcing it to a stop could yield significant results.

Standing atop the massive halberd, perfectly centered amid the sea of black weapons piercing the ground, Davey ended his announcement—

“Unless you want to die.”