The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

"It's still there, though?" Davey murmured in the otherwise silent amphitheater, his tone unable to hide the absurdity he felt inside. "Was it trashed?"

However, the prohibition was still in effect. This meant Davey would not be able to kill any living being. Did that mean he could take advantage of a loophole?

Davey was the only one who had received a restriction and was prohibited from killing. That meant there was only one thing that could explain it. Probably, there was only one condition, and that was that he should not deal with them with his own hands. If he met that condition, then he would be able to move more freely. It made sense up to that point, but...

However, the reality was that Davey's situation could only be described with the word 'despair'. Simply put, there was no way for Davey to take advantage of this loophole since he could not summon his divine beasts and spirits—beings that could fight for him—in this situation.

It was actually not a problem if they could not die; however, did the Judge of Greed die? Well, the answer to that was obvious. Each of the dokkaebis seemed to have an inherent power. The Judge of Death had the power to release extremely hot and blazing flames, and the Judge of Greed? He had an overwhelming vitality. Well, whatever it was, Davey found it very, very annoying.

Davey silently reached his hand out toward the Judge of Greed, who instantly regenerated and attacked him once again without even looking at the dokkaebi. He stretched out his index finger and thumb, gathered mana at the tips of his fingers, and pointed down.

At the same time, an independent and intangible pressure appeared, completely ignoring their momentum that affected gravity and dragged the Judge of Greed to the ground. Davey, who saw the dokkaebi not groan once as if he did not feel pain after being overpowered, could only sigh while saying, "Let's start with the next judgment."

To get out of this place, Davey needed to face off against all of the judges. But despite Davey's words, the Judge of Greed continued to launch ferocious attacks on him as if he was not yet done with his job.

The problem here was that Davey's condition was just too good. In other words, even if transcendental-level individuals like the judges attacked him, their attacks did not really pose any threats to his life. Except for the prohibition on killing placed upon him, Davey's situation had reached a point where he only needed to manage the use of his vast power.

The fist and the huge hammer collided; however, the sound of the collision seemed as though two thick metals had strongly collided.

With his slightly bent fingers, he stopped the hammer. Then, he twisted his wrist and forced it to change directions before slowly digging into the dokkaebi’s abdomen. After doing so, Davey took a short breath. The main point here is that they would not die.

"If you're done with work, then you have to go home quickly," Davey said sarcastically. His movements looked a tad bit slow as he punched the pit of the stomach of the black dokkaebi in front of him.

"Ah…"

For the first time, words spilled out of the mouth of the black dokkaebi during their fight. The Judge of Greed tried to block the attacks of Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon, who flew sharply at him from who knew where. The two blades effectively hindered the dokkaebi’s movements.

[Devil Ylgr’s Death Fist]

[One-inch Abdominal Crushing Punch]

The dokkaebi's body twitched from the loud explosion that erupted within him. Not long after, Davey stretched his right index finger and moved it in the air as though he were tracing something. Even if their bodies had reached the transcendental level, as long as they walked on two feet, the map of their meridians would not change.

Before the judge could react, Davey had already poked his finger on his body's meridians. What Davey performed was none other than the technique: Striking Meridians. Since he couldn't kill them, he could only restrict their movements.

***

The Judge of Greed's face did not show any expression as he collapsed on the ground after losing control of his body. The fact that the dokkaebi could not get up after collapsing on the ground meant that the method had worked perfectly.

"Next," Davey murmured calmly as a dokkaebi with a gigantic build approached him. Behind him were three other dokkaebis. This was completely unlike the Judge of Greed, who came out alone. For a moment, Davey had to wonder if they were coming in with numbers now.

Davey could not tell who was who by the color of their skin. So, instead of asking them who they were, he just turned to look at the crystal balls in their hands.

"The Corrupt's Karma discerns whether you covet mindless carnal desires. As the judge in charge of Lust's Karma, I will judge whether you have built up Lust Karma in you."

The expression of the dokkaebi that handed Davey the crystal ball was as calm as the Judge of Greed. Currently, one of the dokkaebi's comrades has died while the other was rendered immobile. However, the dokkaebi in front of him showed a calm and cold expression, to the point that one would feel that it was eerie. It was as if he was not angry at the fact that Davey had made a mess of everything regarding the rules they had made.

“…”

Meanwhile, Illyna, struggling against the transparent wall by smashing her fist against it, paused at the words of the Judge of Lust and turned to look at Davey.

However, Davey was unaware of it. All he did was place his hands on top of the crystal ball, wearing an exhausted look on his face.

No, he was actually just about to place his hand on it, but the crystal ball broke apart before his fingers could even touch it.

"What the hell is this?"

What would happen if the crystal ball broke before they could even check his karma? However, when Davey looked at the Judge of Lust, the dokkaebi with bright red skin, to ask for an explanation for the broken crystal ball, he saw a satisfied look on the judge.

"The One that Will Receive Judgment, Davey O'Rowane, your head is filled with impudent and profane thoughts. This could already be judged as something that deserves severe punishment. However, I can see clearly that you have controlled yourself and have not accumulated karma regarding this at all."

“…”

Unless one were an idiot, there was no way one would be unable to understand the meaning of the dokkaebi's words.

"Because of that, I, the judge in charge of Lust Karma, have judged that the One who Will Receive Judgment, Davey O'Rowane, is innocent."

The Judge of Lust declared Davey's innocence without hesitation, and he showed no intention of reversing the judgment. Anyway, it wouldn't matter whether he was guilty or innocent. However, for some reason, Davey wanted to be judged guilty for something like this.

"Change it."

"What?"

"Judge me as guilty."

"You are as innocent as a newborn. I salute your uprightness. You can even overcome a human's basic desire for reproduction just like that."

"This damned dokkaebi. Are you making fun of others right now?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I prioritize Lust Karma more than any other providence or rule. More importantly, I'm pretty sure I heard something break."

Davey gritted his teeth at those words.

"Your Lust Karma is as clear as that of a newborn. Why do you want to be deemed guilty?"

The dokkaebi was probably unaware that his words were making Davey feel more irritated. Seeing Davey frown openly, the Judge of Lust immediately manifested a gigantic spear in his hands and stepped away from him.

"The Final Judge has given his orders. Davey O'Rowane's punishment for the murder of the judge in charge of Dead Karma will be postponed. It will be resumed once you finish undergoing all judgments."

At the same time, three dokkaebis stepped forward as if they had been waiting for this moment. They were the ones in charge of envy, arrogance, and anger. All three of them reached their hands out towards Davey simultaneously. It seemed like they were going to make their judgment at the same time. The three dokkaebis closed their eyes for a moment and remained silent, their hands still stretched out towards Davey.

The tension in Davey's body had already completely disappeared after receiving the judgment of the Judge of Lust earlier. He just stood there silently, waiting for them with the attitude of wanting to do things at his own pace and finish everything as quickly as possible.

Whatever Goddess Freyja had planned, it wouldn't happen unless the divine punishment had been given and all the judges had passed judgment on him.

"I, the judge in charge of Opportunity's Karma, will give my judgment."

"I, the judge in charge of Anger's Karma, will give my judgment."

"I... Envy..."

After a moment of silence, the three delivered either a highly unexpected judgment or perhaps an entirely predictable one. Davey was found guilty.

Well, that was to be expected. Generally, the accused would more often than not be declared guilty. In fact, all except for the previous two had found Davey guilty.

As Davey glanced at the dokkaebis surrounding him at a certain distance, he realized there was still one more judge. Didn't they inform him that there were seven trials?

"I'm pretty sure only six judges have passed judgment on me."

So, what about the remaining one?

The Judge of Greed, previously rendered immobile, suddenly disintegrated before reappearing once again. It seemed that he had compelled his own body to reconstruct just to regain movement. Then, he announced, "In accordance with the will of the Final Judge, Davey O'Rowane, who has completed the six judgments and trials, the final judgment shall now be given."

Simultaneously, the other dokkaebis drew their weapons and raised them skyward.

"The Final Judge is the Judge of Indolence. The Final Judge will personally deliver the judgment."

Upon hearing those words, a radiant pillar of light enveloped Davey. He couldn't help but frown when he suddenly caught sight of a human figure swiftly emerging from within the dazzling flash of light, which nearly blinded him.

The nonchalance and leisure in Davey’s voice had disappeared. This was no longer a prank; this was a true and genuine provocation. Davey’s face remained blank as he looked at the human approaching him.

Unlike the other judges, the Final Judge was a small human being. Her small physique and young appearance made her stand out from the rest, to the point that he could consider her unusual.

However, what bothered Davey the most was the outfit the little girl in front of him was wearing. It was none other than a blue sterile suit, a uniform specially designed to be worn inside aseptic rooms, so as not to bring pathogens in or get anything from inside the room. And it was something Davey was very familiar with.

“Let’s begin the judgment of indolence. Can you see me now?” The child, no... the young girl who had been silent earlier, spoke up with the exact same voice as that person.

When Davey remained silent at her question, the girl looked up at him, her eyes flashing sharply in her otherwise expressionless face. Then she repeated her words, “I asked you if you can see me now?”

“Hyeon...”

Davey had a hard time spitting out words from his mouth. He even felt like the scene in front of him was strangely hazy and blurred.

“My figure will definitely be someone that you know. The image that I, the Final Judge, am showing in front of you is the image of the person that suffered the most from your indolence and laziness.”

“What?” Davey mumbled, his expression despondent as he sat down on his heels. He had been very surprised by the familiar appearance that appeared in front of him at first. However, the words of the Final Judge were the ones that brought far greater shock to him.

Davey’s eyes grew wide from shock. He could not help but grit his teeth when he realized that he was unable to control the trembling in his hands. All he could do was watch the little girl smile brightly as she slowly approached him.

“That’s right. I will be judging your own karma.”

“Hyun-Ah...”

It was as if a trigger had been pulled in his head at that moment. He could feel his oldest memories, the memories that he had kept locked up on one side of his head, appearing vividly in his mind.

Davey considered forgetting as a blessing. After all, for someone like him who could not forget the face of his family from his previous life, even after a thousand years had passed, it was more of a curse to him.