The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

The elf disappeared, and the woman turned around silently. She was Goddess Freyja’s high priestess, who existed 10,000 years ago. Not only was she a sacrifice for Goddess Freyja’s advent, she was also a being that existed two lives before Davey’s current life.

Rinne, who had kept quiet all along, appeared slightly different, even though her expressionless face remained the same. It was impossible to discern what thoughts she harbored as she watched.

The peaceful vegetation then darkened under the night sky, and in what seemed like a blink of an eye, the only figures that remained were Rinne and a woman who appeared to be around 20 years old.

But a few things appeared different. Instead of being peaceful, there were now ominous eyes amid the dark clouds, hovering in the sky and gazing down at Earth.

Then a massive explosion happened, and Freyja was seen desperately fleeing as black projectiles began to rain down from the sky.

The earth split and resounded with a thundering noise. The attack was so horrible that it could only be characterized as wicked and hell-like. It corrupted the land and killed everything that was alive. And just when black demonic figures descended to kill Freyja, a dazzling flash of light began attacking them, moving with unimaginable speed and leaving a massive trail. Once the last of the black figures was eliminated, the identity behind the flash of light was revealed.

"Rinne!!"

"Idiot. You should have followed quicker," she said blankly. But something different was detectable in her voice—a hint of affection for Freyja.

The memory then changed again. In front of a mountain of corpses, Rinne, with clear tears streaming down from her blue eyes, was seen thrusting a sword of light into Freyja's abdomen. Her lips quivered, looking like she was trying to say something, but before she could get a word out, her wings flapped intensely.

After that, the last memory was shown. Rinne was seen having a conversation with several figures in an underground ruin. She stood on top of a massive magic circle as she sacrificed her spirit.

That was where the fragments of memories ended. But Davey could sense that his will was being drawn elsewhere.

"What exactly are you?"

If the vision was true, then who was the being in front of him? If the Goddess was only a created being, then it would mean that only Neltarid and Thanatos truly existed. But if that were the case, that would make all the myths that have existed since the world’s creation untrue. So, what exactly was she?

The answer from the blue-haired little girl was straightforward.

[The primal will. An existence that is without an individual entity.]

It was clear now. The Goddess was an entirely separate being, a great will from the start of time, rather than the demigod Neltarid who courted Freyja. To refer to it as a god was a little inaccurate. Not a demigod mixing with mortals, but an absolute will ruling the entire world, it was one of the basic components of the huge planet, the most recognizable primordial force to all, and yet the goddess whose existence is the hardest to prove. That was Goddess Freyja's origin today.

Obviously, the existence of the goddess was unknown, and it was merely considered a part of folklore. But humans, or Hornes, eventually invoked the goddess. Was it called the Scripture of Descent? It was believed that the goddess had bestowed on humans the nHorne, giving them the ability to evolve on their own, perhaps as a reward for humans who had invoked her. But she could not be an individual being or possess an individual’s intellect. She could only remain as an absolute will.

"Nameless at first, but then descended after being given a name. Then the will was confined within the framework of a god… Is that how we should see it?" Davey inquired, voicing out his line of thoughts.

She quietly nodded in affirmation.

The emotional, rational Goddess Freyja ended the war and consequently eliminated the problematic beings. It then becclear that Goddess Freyja was not merely a goddess but literally the will of creation itself, while Neltarid was a demigod.

"What about Thanatos?"

What was Thanatos, exactly?

Freyja did not answer the question.

"I think we need to sort things out. Did you bringhere because your will remains in this place?"

Still, there was no answer.

Originally, demigods existed in this world. They endlessly craved to beccomplete gods without knowing why, and Neltarid was one of those demigods. He was worshiped by races such as the Malicious Spirits, Valkyries, and the White Wing Sephiroth, among others. However, there was still much unknown about other races.

Neltarid's vague desire for completeness—to beca perfect god—resulted in something going awry even when he achieved complete godhood. It then left him as an incomplete being as the war intensified.

Thanatos of the Abyss, along with Neltarid and the humans who believed in the past's primal Goddess of extraordinary will, engaged in a three-way war. In the process, humans eventually succeeded in anchoring the primal will within the individual entity known as Goddess Freyja.

With Freyja, whose interference grew stronger despite her declining rank, and Neltarid, whose status had risen despite becoming corrupted, the situation was undeniably chaotic.

Davey realized that Goddess Freyja was far more than just a goddess. Goddess Freyja was originally intended to reside within the priestess, who was Davey's previous incarnation. But Rinne killed her. As a result, by invoking a transcendent will in her stead, Rinne awakened as Goddess Freyja.

At that time, Rinne was completely annihilated, and the current Rinne was a different creature—an ancient biogolem that was merely a vessel for storing memories and whose power originated only from her physical body.

A barrage of complicated facts suddenly filled Davey's mind. The current suprgoddess was an ancient will devoid of emotion and reason, while the being he mistook for a goddess turned out to be a demigod who had long been revered by all living things.

"If I becyour priest, what will you do with my spirit?" Davey asked.

However, she didn’t say anything in response and merely extended her hand.

Davey could not yet understand her true essence, so he went on to ask her another question. "I have another question. Neltarid referred toas the priest of vengeance. Were you not the goddess of mercy?"

She swathed him with light and then answered,

[O thou who would make the schoice again even after losing everything…]

Davey stared silently at her.

[You shall grow through the trials.]

***

Not only had the goddess disappeared without a single trace left, but so had the enormous dragon that had attacked Davey. All that was left were subtly shining mana stones, which were different from regular mana stones that absorbed mana periodically to release energy. Instead, these stones fused mana molecules together, creating mana itself, and this was what made them the highest form of energy stone.

Eventually, the barrier protecting the stones cracked and collapsed, seemingly disappearing after serving its purpose for a very long time. Then, as Davey entered the area where the stones were, the devices holding them in place began to unlock, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

“…”

A complicated feeling filled Davey.

"What are these?"

"Leave a few behind. This place doesn't mean much anymore."

Davey would be using about half of the stones for Metamorphosis, but it remained uncertain what this half could do if Neltarid, who had been raised from a demigod to a god through the will of the Malicious Spirit, was truly awakened. There was one thing Davey knew for certain, though—-his current strength would not be enough to oppose Thanatos and Neltarid’s half. Davey definitely needed to regain most, if not all, of his power, because half would not suffice.

"Let's keep it for now."

Davey, who still knew nothing about Hercules or the purpose of the Hall of Heroes, left the ruins without saying a word after collecting the stone.

But one could not get full on the first spoonful. The gears had started moving, and Davey intended to remove any obstacles to achieve his life goal of living a proper life wherein he could enjoy hobbies and do things that other people do. But it turned out that living like everyone else proved to be incredibly hard.

Holding the sleeping Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon, Davey stepped out of the ruins.

A sudden, loud noise, which was accompanied by another strange sound, echoed from the entrance, and Davey felt something strange run through him. But since it was more like a hunch than an actual feeling, Davey ignored it, thinking he was just mistaken.

Davey then went on to visit the holy kingdom once again. He familiarly headed to Saintess Lena's prayer room, where an unexpected scene unfolded.

"Now, follow after me!" Iro exclaimed, raising her hands high.

At this, Saintess Lena mimicked her with a naive look on her face.

"Oh, merciful Goddess Freyja, may your blessings reach this land. As a shepherd true to your will, I pledge eternal faith to you..."

Davey felt odd hearing the prayer.

"...and offer my life. Extract the blood and entrails of the lamb..."

Hearing that, Davey quickly passed Red Ribbon to Rinne and swiftly moved to stand behind Iro. He then grabbed her head and threatened ominously, "I told you to go to the underworld, and yet you are here teaching weird stuff? Shall I show you shair loss?"

Iro's eyes widened in shock. "Ahh! No, that won't do! Goddess Freyja, please protect the tender roots of this poor lamb..."

Iro shook violently, trying to protect her head.

Davey then shifted his attention and glanced at Saintess Lena, asking, "What are you doing?"

"What?" Lena replied.

Her response caused Davey to sigh as he realized that expecting a proper answer was futile.

Saints always had issues. One was extremely foul-mouthed. Another one had an unbelievably flowery mind, while the last possessed a weird temperament.

"Seems I'm the only normal one among the stigmata bearers," Davey remarked, earning him an odd look from Rinne.

Iro was clearly from an ancient era, a unique case that survived by becoming a lich.

How she ended up a Saintess despite being a lich remained a mystery, but seeing Freyja's grace answer her prayers proved that she might indeed be a Saintess.

"Why are you staying here?" Davey asked.

"Sorry, but who are you?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Who are you?"

His expression soured. "I'm Davey."

Given the puzzled looks they were exchanging, there seemed to be a serious misunderstanding.

"Davey? But you're not Davey."

It was, after all, a huge mistake to ignore one’s intuition. It seemed like something had gone terribly wrong when he exited the ruins.