The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

75. I Will Not Turn Back and Regret It.

Was he going to throw his final life away in vain, or was he going to reveal the card up his sleeve? It was clear that Grell was trying to keep Davey away from a certain place, even if it meant sacrificing his life. The reason probably had to do with the fact that Saintess candidate Alice hadn’t been seen in any of the past places Grell had been resurrected at.

“Let’s see…” Davey’s voice trailed off.

He released his powers to find Grell’s location before casting a warp spell. However, he immediately shook his hand and stopped casting when he saw the coordinates changing in a strange manner.

—Davey?

“It disconnected, but he didn’t do it by himself… The mana is too irregular.”

The proof was in the pudding; Davey could figure it all out with a single glance.

Davey searched his surroundings, putting all the confusing pieces together and finding the coordinates of a safe space.

—Is this possible?

“It is.”

Ignoring Perserque’s disbelief, Davey jumped dimensions to see that the entire forest had died.

—This is…

“Where he’s sealed.”

Considering what Grell had said and done up until now, it was clear that this place and the whole area contained something huge. And that something was probably none other than the King of the Dead Deian, the immortal being who Grell absolutely worshiped.

“It feels completely different.”

This being was something beyond Davey’s imagination. There was a great feeling of danger, because it gave off a shockingly intense and deadly energy that was on a completely another level. Compared to it, Grell’s energy was not threatening at all.

—Don’t go inside. This seems dangerous.

“So this is where he ended up running off to, huh?”

This was already Grell’s last life, so he was pushing Davey very hard and not going to stop at anything.

Of course, it wasn’t difficult for Davey to enter this place alone like Grell wanted. He did, however, wonder what could possibly be in the forest that stung his skin so much.

“Let’s go.”

Davey knelt down on one knee and lowered his head, trying to hide his presence. If the number of Undead in the forest was similar to or more than what was outside, Davey would take a lot of time to get to his destination. If so…

“It’s undercover action.”

—...You’re going to kill all of them and then act like a secret ambush, just because nobody is here to witness it?

“I am not doing anything wrong. Plus, I plan on sneaking in this time.”

Davey hid his presence and the sound of his movements, from his heartbeat to his footsteps. He even hid his scent. Then, he placed his twin swords into the Pocket Plane and slowly walked into the forest.

* * *

To Davey’s surprise, sneaking in wasn’t all that difficult. Perhaps Grell couldn’t afford to focus on dealing with him, or perhaps Grell was simply very confident this time.

Davey ignored the Undead and walked past them, soon arriving at the huge ancient ruins that was connected to the underground. This was the ancient ruins where Grell Orfan, the giant Lich, had awoken after being sealed; it was the epicenter and origin of this entire incident.

Shriek… Squeak!

Davey began to see more Undead, which were also stronger than those he had met, as he walked deeper into the ancient ruins. He also saw Undead who were clearly beyond the capabilities of Grell Orfan. The most irritating thing was…

“...”

The flow of mana was a mess.

The basics of casting a spell was to create something by one’s mana and controlling the mana in one’s surroundings. But what if the flow of mana was a mess, like in this situation? It was obvious that magic spells could not be cast properly. In the worst case scenario, the mana in the surroundings would collide and cause a huge explosion.

Thud!!

Davey, who arrived at the entrance, stopped hiding his presence and slashed the tough stone walls with Red Ribbon.

Crash!!

When the firmly shut stone gates fell to the ground with a big crash, Davey could finally see the strange situation inside.

“D–Damn bastard! So, you followed me even to this place!” Grell Orfan snapped.

The first thing Davey saw was the wheezing giant Lich who was reforming his body in the middle of the large hall.

“You cannot go further than this.”

“If you were thinking about stopping me, you shouldn’t have let me find out about this place.”

Of course, it wouldn’t have changed the fact that Davey was going to forcibly come here even if Grell did manage to hide this place from him.

Grell’s eyes shone. He stayed silent as Davey provoked him. Then, he began to move slowly. His behavior was so reckless that it was difficult to see it as the behavior of someone who was facing death. Releasing his death energy, he swung his spare staff and threw powerful attacks at Davey nonstop. He was seemingly trying to squeeze out everything he had in his last life.

There were many ways to dodge the attacks or counter them, but there was a limit to blocking them all with the power Davey could release right now. He could see the ways to stop the attacks, but his physical body could not follow.

“What’s the matter?! You can’t deal with it that easily, huh?! Kehehehehe!” Grell shouted while cackling terrifyingly.

Just like Grell said, every one of his continuous attacks was powerful enough to cause significant damage.

Grell, who amplified his powers excessively by putting his life on the line, continued to put pressure on Davey. He was gambling with his life, harnessing the power he had gathered from losing his life vessels.

As powerful attacks that could hit him if he lost focus for even just a second were being thrown at him, Davey threw Red Ribbon into the air and gathered mana in his empty hands.

[8th Circle Magic]

[Fire-type]

[Prometheus]

Crackle.

As a blue flame burned on his fingertips for a split second, Davey threw the small balls of fire into the air from his fingers without hesitation.

Boom!!!

Then, the giant explosion engulfed the surroundings in moments. Davey looked for a small window of opportunity in the midst of the attacks that were filling the sky. And when he found it…

“Red Ribbon, let’s go.”

Red Ribbon, who Davey had left floating in the air, automatically began to make a red flash of light.

Crack!!!

The end of Red Ribbon’s blade charged into Grell in seconds and penetrated him, pinning him to the wall.

Instead of stopping there, Davey raised Blue Ribbon up to his head and pulled it back.

[Longsword]

[Swift Withdraw]

[Great Earthshake]

‘I don’t know what you’re hiding under there, but…’

Davey had no choice but to forcibly advance if Grell was going to stop him desperately. As soon as Davey’s arm muscles twitched, blue energy flowed out and enveloped the surroundings.

Then, Blue Ribbon turned three hundred sixty degrees into a vertical position and split the ground into two. A dense blade energy in the shape of a crescent flew towards Grell as it crushed the ground with an immense weight.

Boom!!!!

As Davey had made the decision to slash Grell, this attack was more powerful and destructive than any other attack he had shown during battle.

* * *

In mere seconds, the large hall went quiet. The outcome of the battle was already decided.

Davey wondered whether this battle would have been this easy if it weren’t for Red and Blue Ribbon, then confidently shook his head. The only reason he was at an advantage in this battle was that he had a sword that cut both the physical and the antiphysical; he would have been in quite some trouble if he had taken the normal route.

“Kehe… Kehehe…”

Slowly walking through the dust clouds, Davey approached the sound of eerie laughter. He soon saw Grell Orfan, the giant Lich, on the floor.

Half dissolved, Grell growled, “I curse your existence.”

“I will embrace your curse,” Davey said calmly as he crushed Grell’s skull with his foot and pulled Red Ribbon out of Grell’s chest.

It seemed like Grell had closely dodged Blue Ribbon’s blade energy, since he didn’t die instantly. Of course, his life was disappearing since he had failed to dodge the attacks entirely.

“What’s left for you if you do this?”

To be honest, Davey was a little curious. Devil mana did have a bit of a violent personality, but its effectiveness depended on the person’s heart. Even though it was dark and dull, it could be used to save numerous people and even protect them.

However, Grell Orfan had destroyed everything around him as soon as he had woken up from the ancient ruins.

“What’s left… You’re right, there is nothing left for me in the end,” Grell said calmly, then chuckled.

It didn’t seem like Davey needed to end Grell’s life, since he was already dying a slow death.

“But the allegiance that I have pledged to my master still remains.”

Grell’s eyes shone for a second.

Squeak…

An irritatingly loud sound rang out in the surroundings. It had come from the metal hinges of a huge wooden door that hadn’t been greased in a long time.

Splatter!

Then, Davey frowned as something quickly pierced through his chest.

“...”

“Finally… Finally, he has awakened! Everything will fall under his feet! He will destroy evil and wicked humans and everything will return!!” Grell Orfan shouted.

The floor began cracking and collapsing. Then, an invisible energy from the explosion hit Davey and pushed him away by a few meters.

Rustle… Rustle…

Davey, who was looking down at his chest in the midst of the loud noise and the building’s collapse, slowly raised his head. He heard the faint sound of footsteps. Then, he saw a woman in black walking toward him with an emotionless face.

The woman had pale skin and a blue jewel embedded in her forehead. Davey had seen her before, but she had never overflowed with such a great power or been so immersed in evil.

“Are you crazy?”

As the woman just stared at him emotionlessly, Davey asked calmly, “Should I change the question? Saintess candidate Alice, are you out of your mind?”

“Oh… My lord… My lord, Deian, the King of the Dead! I have planned for your resurrection and waited for this day! Please punish this unfaithful one for failing to resurrect you completely!!” Grell screamed like a zealot.

The woman slowly turned over to Davey, who could not read her gaze. Her eyes then shone for a moment.

Splatter!!

Once again, there was a horrifying slash.