The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 761: In a Way, it’s Only Natural (1)

[What’s your name? Urd? Ha, that's a funny name. And you? You don’t have one? Hey, Hercules, why’d you bring these kinds of things back? She’s Verdandi. That one over there is Skuld. Got it? Well then, get out of my sight.]

[You idiot. If you’re sick, who’s going to massage Hercules' shoulders? Hurry up and gobble this shit down, then get up. This is the liver of the Sea King, who’s probably putting on airs in the southern mountains].

[What? You think Verdandi is copying me these days? Hmph, let her be. Whatever she does, it doesn’t matter to me.]

[Who in the damn obese lizards made my babies cry? Was it you? Or you? You bastards, y’all just wait. I’m going to scale you all and eat you alive.]

Verdandi closed her eyes and bit her lips. Frelia, who had fallen to the floor, looked at the Absolute Gem, its light fading in vain, with an expression of disbelief.

"Ah… no… God's wish... The aspirations of our species...” she muttered in despair. The Absolute Gem, which had been charging for so long, was now extinguished once more. The ritual went south at the last moment, shattering everything.

“...”

Kain knelt silently with a sword stabbed through him. In front of him was a girl hugging a magic book. His eyes filled with bitterness, Kain looked at Frelia lying in a pool of her own blood.

“Have you been pretending to be on his side for this moment?” he asked helplessly.

“If... I hadn’t known…” said Verdandi. Then she, who had plunged her sword into Kain, broke the blade into particles and let them fall to the ground. Her voice was filled with desperate pain.

“It would’ve been better if I hadn’t remembered…”

“Don’t make excuses. Everything went to waste because of you. You have no idea how many people will die because of your choice now.”

“...”

“Go ahead and kill me. There is no longer any meaning to my existence if I cannot complete God’s mission.”

Verdandi gritted her teeth and lowered her head in response to Kain's cold words.

“...”

“Tell me! Was it that fun?! Are you so happy that so many lives have died by your hands? You shouldn’t have worked with the Abyss in the first place! I should have killed every damn enemy in sight!”

She shed a single tear, unable to retort.

***

Davey was bleeding heavily. No matter how strong his body was, there was no way he could be okay after letting Eclipse attack him the way she did.

“Get out of my way while I give you the chance,” Davey said. Then Skuld looked at him nervously and tugged on Urd’s shirt.

“Urd…”

“...”

But Urd said nothing.

‘She can’t be thinking of stopping now, can she?’ Davey thought.

“I’m clearly warning you… Phew… Even though I look like this right now, it’s not hard for me to beat the shit out of you.”

Davey glared with murderous intent as he took short breaths, holding Super Ribbon in his hand. Even though he screamed every time he moved, he knew he was recovering. He also knew he was too strong to lose to Urd, who fought solely based on her hardware’s capabilities.

Urd remained silent and still. As Davey advanced toward her, the space tore apart.

Rip!

A huge dragon's foot burst through and struck his body, throwing him to the ground.

“Cough!!”

‘What power…?’

Struggling from the mind-numbing attack, he opened his eyes wide and turned his head, feeling chills throughout his entire body.

Splosh!

Eclipse's hands pierced his body.

“Cough…”

Blood gushed out. Eclipse, who had absorbed Thanatos and gone berserk, looked at him with a grim expression. Then she put on a faint, charming grin and tilted her head as she stood and looked up at him with her hands behind her back. Davey noticed that her eyes had turned yellow and her voice sounded robotic.

“Did you think…”

“...”

“I’d go down just like that?”

Despite her cute voice, the atmosphere she formed was ominous.

Boom!!

An intangible shockwave enveloped his entire body and sent him flying.

Davey sighed inwardly, having missed the opportunity due to Verdandi’s betrayal. He realized why gambling with one’s life on the line was dangerous. He knew that if things continued like this, the situation would become very difficult.

The partial awakening of Thanatos' consciousness in Eclipse was unsettling, and the presence of the Princesses of the Abyss didn’t help.

He knew that if he died now, Goddess Freyja’s side would be defeated. He wondered if she was aware of this.

As Davey stayed silent, he raised his trembling hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, flicking it into the air. Red blood drops splattered in all directions.

[Blood Roll]

Josiah's blood, not his mana, pulsed in his hands. At the same time, a red vortex swirled from Perserque’s ring and began to surround both her and Rinne. He was planning to take her to safety as silently and quickly as possible.

Of course, Thanatos wasn’t going to let him have things his way. She looked at him dangerously and smiled brightly. Then, she climbed on top of Davey lying on the floor, smirked seductively, and licked the blood from his fingers.

“What? You’re going to run away?” she said with a bright smile that resembled Eclipse's but was a little more innocent and pure.

“Well, I can’t let you… Hehehe.”

She then waved her hand toward the blood drops that surrounded Perseque and Rinne.

Boom!!

A shock wave exploded, and their bodies went flying.

"Hehehe. Did you really think you could get rid of me?” she said as she looked at Davey with innocent eyes. She then pointed to Perserque.

“Watch.”

Perserque’s blood-red eyes flashed scarlet.

"Ga! Gaaahhh!!”

She began to writhe in agony as black energy surrounded her, soon engulfing her completely.

“You can’t escape from Eclipse. Never."

With those words, Perserque stopped screaming and stood still. She then walked lightly as if she was having fun and turned around.

“How adorable. Eclipse is just going to go back for now. Ah! Have fun with Thanatos!”

She then clapped her hands and shouted, "I’ll be back soon with a fun game. But before that…”

As she trailed off, black spheres gathered in her hand. The remaining divine power in Davey’s body reflexively enveloped him, but her divine power slowly made its way in. He could feel it getting closer to his heart. He knew that if things continued like this, his heart would be pierced. It felt unfair to die this way. He thought if that was the case, he could at least make one last move…

Boom!

As he was lost in thought, he heard a sudden sound of impact. He turned to see Urd, who had been silent until now but just released intangible energy to knock Eclipse away.

“Ouch…”

Of course, the blow didn't even leave a mark. Eclipse immediately got up.

“Hmm… Interesting…”

Without saying a word, Urd slowly passed Davey and blocked Eclipse’s path to protect him. That alone was already enough to enrage Eclipse who had absorbed the origin of Thanatos.

"How dare a remnant…”

“I am not your remnant,” Urd responded coldly. But the result of her words was not positive. A beam of black light shot in an instant and blew off one of her arms.

Thump!!

"Urd!!" Skuld, surprised, hurriedly flew toward her and began pouring out black energy.

"Urd! I told you we should’ve run away earlier!”

Urd said nothing.

“It’s been ten thousand years, and yet you’re still resisting? Well, I guess you need to be scolded for that,” Eclipse said. She then clapped her hands lightly.

“Gaaa?!”

With her clap, Urd and Skuld floated into the air as if their necks were caught by something intangible.

“You two will become one with Eclipse.”

“...”

Urd struggled, groaning in pain, but it seemed like she couldn't escape despite her overwhelming physical strength.

Davey figured it was only natural because Eclipse, who was already powerful, now had the origin of a god within her as well. He wondered if there even existed a monster that could defeat her.

“Who should I scold first?” she mused while hopping around with her hands behind her back. She then took out the parasol she had brought with her in the beginning and unfolded it. She then smiled innocently.

“Should I start with you?”

“Aaaah!!!”

Skuld's body twisted.

“Or maybe... you?”

“Gaaa!”

Urd’s body twisted as well.

In the midst of the overwhelming torture, no one could move. Rinne was busy protecting Davey, and Perserque was still motionless. Davey thought this situation was ridiculous, as those two were now trying to protect him despite having interrupted him just moments ago.

Black energy flowed within his body. His ferocious devil mana was running wild, on the verge of breaking free, while his holy power was slowly subsiding and falling asleep. The sassy and grumpy elemental mana moved quietly in fury. His rationality slowly degraded, replaced by the madness that had been lying dormant within him.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Eclipse played with Skuld and Urd as if they were toys.

Finally, she slowly stretched out her hand. Skuld widened her eyes in terror—Urd, scowling in surprise, broke free of her restraints and stepped in front of Skuld.

Slash!!

Along with an eerie sound, Urd fell, spewing a large amount of blood. She lay still, seemingly dead.

“Urd? Urd…!!!” Skuld screamed holding on to Urd. Eclipse tilted her head and slowly walked over.

“Hmm… That’s a lot of red,” she said, smiling before turning her attention to Davey.

“Ah, Davey, you come with me.”

She changed direction and approached him. “Let’s go to Eclipse’s hometown for a moment.”

She then lifted him up and said, “To the hell where you continuously tried to throw Eclipse away.”

Black air currents flowed through her body and soon engulfed him, reminiscent of black tar-like slime that covered all but his head and neck.

‘Slowly… Just a little more… Just a little more…’ Davey thought.

Davey then unleashed the madness rampaging inside him. He wondered if he could ever come back from this… Perhaps not. But in a situation like this, he was willing to sacrifice his life to get rid of the bitch in front of him.

Fwoosh!!!

Eclipse looked at Davey in shock as his power began to flow out of his body, ready to go on a rampage.

“Davey, that’s…”

‘Let’s see this through the end, you bitch.’

[Mana Annihilation]

Beyond his fading reason, a heavy force surged with the urge to tear and destroy everything. But that power never managed to fully take control of him, as all the mana around him froze and disappeared with a small voice.

“I told you—you still have a long way to go.”

The voice he had missed so much rang out.

“I remember telling you that you shouldn’t treat mana that way.”

Someone approached him with a clattering sound.

“Have you forgotten how you, a weakling amongst weaklings, have come this far? How many heroes have disappeared? Stop before I burn you up.”

He saw a very familiar face appear, along with the voice of a small girl.

"O… Od-”

"Shut up! If you make fun of me one more time, I’ll burn you with Hellfire for eternity,” she shouted in an agitated voice.

‘When did I say such a thing?’ Davey thought.

She then kicked him and walked past, heading toward Eclipse.

“Ten seconds… Not too long. It’s been a long time, but this is the end for me,” said the girl with blond hair and an eyepatch calmly. She then stretched out her hand.

When Eclipse saw her, her expression twisted into that of a demon.

“Freyja!!!!!”

As she cried out in extreme hatred, Davey's mana froze as his consciousness slipped away completely.