The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

193. The Third Slave and Olga, the Malicious Spirit of Diseases

“Damn, can’t you go any faster?”

Seo Ho-Jin had to run for his life in order to survive.

“You stupid, clueless bastards…”

He tried to shake off his anxiety. Since he had already caused a large-scale incident, he would be considered a criminal unless he took control of the country.

This was his golden opportunity. The military could step in to contain the rampaging Awakened—who had gained their power by pure luck—and force them to fight monsters while other countries were preoccupied with monsters and unable to set their sights on Korea.

It was the perfect moment to ensure the beginning of the military regime he had dreamed of. In fact, his plan had progressed step by step through oppression, intimidation, and appeasement. He was also able to secure the support of a number of people who shared his vision.

But…

“This way sir. It’s too risky to take a plane. We have to sneak out.”

“Father, do we really have to go?”

“Stop talking nonsense and follow me! This country is already lost. With foreign powers running wild, there will be no sovereignty left here.”

With a frown, Seo Ho-Jin changed his clothes into the set he had prepared beforehand. Then he boarded the ship, which left the port and headed out into the open sea, just as planned.

Or at least, it tried to.

Before they knew it, the sea surface froze as if they were suddenly at the North Pole.

Crack… Crack…

The ship stopped out of the blue, and a sudden coldness surrounded the area. Seo Ho-Jin, who was unable to contain his emotions, staggered toward the main deck of the ship. Then he saw, from a distance, a young man with black hair walking toward him.

“...”

The mysterious man began to speak to Seo Ho-Jin, saying, “Seawater has a low freezing point, which is why it normally doesn't freeze that easily. So how cold does it have to be to freeze like this? Have you ever thought about it?”

Seo Ho-Jin trembled at his question. It then suddenly dawned on him that the devil-like figure had finally come to see him.

“Don’t worry. No one knows that we’re meeting right now.”

Seo Ho-Jin was momentarily relieved by his words, as it meant that the people of Korea weren’t seeing his current state.

“Hmph. You’re just a kid rampaging around with that power you got by being lucky,” he replied while rummaging through his coat, unable to control his anger. He then took out a gun and pointed it at the young man.

“Do you really think I’d hand over this country to someone like you?”

“Well, I don’t think I’ll interfere with people’s lives as much as you.”

“Your intention doesn’t matter. Your invasion will never bear fruit.”

Bang!

He fired a shot at Davey.

Clank!

But something intangible caused the bullet to ricochet before it could hit Davey.

“You fucking monster. Are you going to arrest me?”

“Hmmm…”

“You can never kill me if you want things to go the way you want them to. This country has the death penalty, but execution without due process is prohibited. Even if I end up in prison again, you can’t kill me.”

Hearing Seo Ho-Jin’s assertion, Davey wondered if he genuinely thought that he wouldn't be able to kill him if he really wanted to. But before he could reach a conclusion, Seo Ho-Jin pointed his gun at him again.

“Alright, let’s see how long you can keep stopping me,” Seo Ho Jin said.

As he was about to reload, Davey interrupted him. “Were you planning to take your family somewhere else and focus the spotlight on me?”

“...”

“A person who runs a country in any way he pleases sure cares deeply about his family.”

“This country is not like Tionis, where you come from. It's not a nation with a barbaric, absolute monarchy. This is Korea, and you have no authority here whatso…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I also have no intention of doing anything legally. The reason I streamed and saved you was simply to sway public opinion. It really has nothing to do with what you have in mind.”

“...”

While Seo Ho-Jin stayed silent, Davey slowly walked toward the boat. Then he jumped lightly and landed in front of Seo Ho-Jin.

“I don’t care whether you have a military regime or a dictatorial one,” Davey said while smiling. He then took Seo Ho-Jin’s right hand, which was holding the gun, and waved it.

This caused Seo Ho-Jin’s eyes to widen in shock.

“W-what?!”

“An eye for an eye. Blood for blood. Since you laid hands on my wife, your wife will have to pay for it.”

Seo Ho-Jin’s face turned pale from Davey’s cold, menacing presence.

He had planned things out in an overly political manner. He thought that as long as he manipulated the people’s views and opinions, Davey would be hesitant to take him down. He probably also imagined that getting arrested would be the worst-case scenario for him.

But he could now tell that Davey wasn’t there to capture him. Instead, he was going to wrap things up.

“No… That can’t happen!” Seo Ho-Jin shouted in fear. “S-she didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Then what mistake did Perserque make to be caught up in your schemes?” Davey asked as he stepped forward.

Manifestations of condensed mana in the form of golden swords made of light began to appear in the air.

“I’m simply here to help this country. You are the one who rejected it and crossed the line!” Davey roared.

“How could I tell if you were an ally or not in this situation? You destroyed Alf Online and summoned terrifying monsters!” Seo Ho-Jin yelled back.

Davey smiled at his outburst. Then he grabbed a sword from the air and slashed Seo Ho-Jin down before he could even react.

Shing!

All of the swords in the air pierced Seo Ho-Jin, causing an eerie sound of flesh being slashed.

“Ga… Gaaa…”

“Bullshit. Did I look like a saint who would play along with your lies?”

Seo Ho-Jin slowly collapsed, and for some reason, Davey felt like he could read the emotions in the other man's eyes. He imagined Seo Ho-Jin was saying something along the lines of, 'But you are a saint, you son of a bitch...'

But such titles did not represent the person.

Of course, Davey had no intention of ending things like this.

Seo Ho-Jin’s soul escaped from his fallen corpse, ready to enter the cycle of reincarnation, but Davey intercepted it with necromantic magic.

“Uh-uh. Where do you think you're going?”

“What in the…”

“Did you really think it was all going to end once you died?”

“You vicious bastard!!”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing special. There’s an interesting religion in this country. Do you know about the 49-day period after death in Buddhism?" Davey asked quietly with a smile while grabbing onto Seo Ho-Jin’s soul.

An overwhelmingly unreasonable judgment awaited him, and with a trial process with no courtesy, it could only be described as abuse.

“Those who have killed or tried to kill people will be thrown into a fiery pit. Those who say lies will have their tongues pulled out…”

“W-what are you talking about?!”

“A lazy person will suffer the punishment of labor. An arrogant one will receive an iron judgment accordingly. On the other hand, a lustful person will have their part cut off, and a greedy person will forever fall into inescapable poverty.”

Seo Ho-Jin’s soul tried to break free from his control as Davey was speaking, “Do you want to understand what I’m saying?”

-W-what?!

“If you have lived a good life, you wouldn't have a problem. At least, that’s what they say. But to put it bluntly, there isn’t a single person in this world who gets away clean.”

No living being could be perfect.

[Title Equipped: The One Who Destroyed the Karma of Killing.]

With the sound of Seo Ho-Jin’s soul getting twisted, karmic judgment was applied to him and Davey. But unlike before, it quickly faded, as if the power of the Judge couldn’t pass a verdict on a delegate with the power of Goddess Freyja, who was the foundation of the dream world.

Davey was obviously fine, but Seo Ho-Jin was different.

- Gaaa!!!

He screamed eerily as the floor split and light leaked out from within. Red hands that were engulfed in flames emerged and began to drag him.

- Help… Help me!! Help me!!!

As he screamed, Davey just watched. “What do you mean help? You’re already dead.”

- Please forgive me! I was wrong!! Gaaa!!”

Davey slowly bent down as he listened to Seo Ho-Jin’s miserable screams. “Say that to the people you killed, not to me.”

The number of people he had murdered was clear in the last stage of the Karma of Killing.

“Don’t worry. When that’s over, the next judgment will be waiting for you.”

Greed. Laziness. Anger. Lust. Pride. Arrogance.

Davey had experienced all of these as well, and they were truly unreasonable.

He proceeded to apply all the remaining power of judgment to Seo Ho-Jin’s soul before unequipping the title. Then he turned to the trembling people on the floor. They were the family members who Seo Ho-Jin tried to flee with—his wife and his child.

They couldn’t see the soul of Seo Ho-Jin that was screaming in agony. All they saw was his body turning into a cold corpse in Davey’s hands.

“That’s strange. Why don’t I see anything? I was trying to get revenge, but now I have no choice but to slowly look around into every nook and cranny,” Davey muttered. He then turned around and snapped his fingers, melting all the ice that had been surrounding the ship.

***

“I can’t make this.”

“Me neither. It’s a different type.”

“Can’t you just make it yourself? I heard you’re supposed to be a craftsman of great skill. They say you even built that boat.”

Grape-Flavored Cat Tower and matter transmuter Maga, whose real name was Han Yu-Na, had completely given up on processing the material from the Malicious Spirit Meses that Davey had given them. It was understandable, as neither of them had the expertise to process the piece of black rag from Meses.

Even though they were top-ranking producers, their specialties were blacksmithing and matter transmuting, so they didn't have any tailoring skills.

“Hmm…”

Davey, who had touched the material himself, knew that having an expert handle it would be more stable and effective than doing it himself.

The Malicious Spirit Meses left three materials: one was the box that drove Davey into a pit of anger, another was a piece of black rag with an unknown purpose, and the last was a marble that granted the power of Shadow Predation, which he hadn’t taken in yet.

“Are you going to give up just because you can’t figure it out right now? If it doesn't work, make it work. Wasn’t that our contract?” Davey scolded.

“It’s not just a matter of our contract or something. It is not possible to get it done by simply working and doing things on it.”

“Then you need to find a way.”

Cat Tower’s and Maga’s expressions turned to astonishment.

“Wow... I can’t believe there’s actually someone like you.”

“Well, here I am.”

“Damn it!”

Unlike Cat Tower, who was fuming, Maga sighed. Then she suddenly exclaimed, “Oh! Why don’t we go ask there?”

“There?” Davey replied.

“After the Awakened started appearing, an online community site called the Artisan Association came into existence. Almost all of the Awakened producers gathered there. So how about finding a good tailor there?”

“I don’t think anyone there would be able to do something with this. Don’t you think so?”

“Have you forgotten how we became the number one producers?” Maga asked.

“Ah…”

Davey began to contemplate as he watched Cat Tower sigh in agreement with Yu-na. “Should I bring in an additional slave?”

With this in mind, Davey accessed the site that Maga had mentioned. He browsed through articles that contained know-hows and tips from Awakened producers, and he finally stopped at an article after a while.

-We make clothes with magical fabric. If you provide us with the materials and labor costs, we will produce high-quality products.

The user’s nickname was Alhazard. It seemed like they were doing a talent-sharing event to gain experience and improve their skills. But Davey had to pause before commenting because of the note they left at the bottom.

-There is a problem in my country, so it is impossible to work right now. I have to stop pursuing my personal interests in order to help the people in my country, so I will not be taking requests at this time.

Davey smacked his lips and left a comment in response to their note.

-I need to make a request. But it seems like you are facing a problem at the moment. I can help you. Where is this problem at?

Davey asked a simple question and got a reply sooner than he expected.

- As mentioned above, I cannot do any work at the moment.

- No, that’s not the answer I’m looking for. Where is that country of yours?

Davey wondered if his question was so bold that the user, Alhazard, was taken aback.

- It is a small country in the Middle East. I don't post information concerning this on international websites since I don't want to cause unnecessary anxiety.

- If I solve the problem that is going on there, will you accept my request?

Alhazard didn’t answer for quite some time. But a few minutes later…

- Don’t play around with me. Do you think you’re the Saint of Tionis or something? If you happen to be the Saint of Tionis, then I’m grateful for your words, but I have no time to play around.

Davey burst out laughing at his answer.

- I wasn’t playing around either.

***

Alhazard, who was the Arab prince, was irritated by an overseas user who persistently pulled off pranks on him, which was the first time in a long time.

He had been making full use of the producer skills he had learned from Alf Online to help many people. But he became extremely stressed out when a major accident occurred not too long ago at an oil rig, which caused work to stop. The damage continued to worsen, and the people became impoverished. But even though he wanted to ask for help, he couldn’t do it. All because he knew that the powerful nations were all just waiting to take a piece of their pie they had the opportunity.

And then, while he was still caught up in the middle of the complicated problem, he received the notification for the comment.

A user left him a very straightforward question. They had asked if he could take their request if they solved his problem for him.

And Alhazard thought he was being pranked once again.