The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

It only took a short while before Shin Hyun-Ah calmed down from her crying. Ji-Ah and Yu-Na then followed her to a nearby town, where they sat down in a quiet pavilion. There, the sound of insects could be heard, and the clear air could be felt. The atmosphere led them to open up a conversation.

"Is... there an owner to this place?" Ji-Ah cautiously started.

"It's mine, so don't worry about it," she replied, leading Ji-Ah to automatically realize that she must have been immensely wealthy.

"Ah... In that case, I will gladly..."

Yu-Na began to unpack the things she had brought with her, making Ji-Ah whisper to her, "Hey... Yu-Na, how do you even know someone like her?"

"Uh? Ah... Well, it just happened..." Yu-Na answered vaguely, clearly flustered as she remembered that she had never mentioned her wealthy family.

This earned Yu-Na a look from Ji-Ah that held a touch of suspicion. But Ji-Ah said nothing more.

There was nothing Yu-Na could do about it anyway. It wasn't simply one or two people who had gotten themselves into trouble by getting involved in the murky world in which they, from wealthy families, lived. That was why Yu-Na had purposefully given Go Jin-Seok the location of another village when they got into a fight back in Alf Online, all because she feared he might hurt Oxygen.

"But what about your sister?"

"She hasn't been well lately."

"Because of that disease?"

"The doctor says we need to wait and see how it progresses a bit more..."

"Hah... It'll... be alright," Yu-Na stammered in response, her distress evident.

This caused Hyun-Ah to chuckle softly.

"We have to hope... We must," Hyun-Ah murmured with a bittersweet tone. Out of nowhere, she stood up as if she just remembered something. She then said, "Can you wait a moment? I have a gift for Ms. Ji-Ah."

She didn’t wait for their response before briskly walking away from Yu-Na and Ji-Ah.

"She's surprisingly modest for someone nicknamed the princess of a world-leading corporation."

"Well, she is incredibly wealthy. Did you see? There's only one urn in the family shrine. It was made by Hyun-Ah and her uncle for Mr. Hyun-Su. He liked quiet places with clean air back when he was still alive.”

"It seems he was very precious to her. Being sad over squids and whatnot..."

"I don't really know what kind of person Mr. Hyun-Su was, but I've heard the stories. He had been sick with a rare disease since graduating from elementary school, leading him to live in a special germ-free room for his entire life. And that was even before Sacred Group existed. It was when Hyun-Ah was living a notably difficult life."

Hyun-Ah originally wanted to become a doctor for a very straightforward reason—to cure her brother, who could not leave the germ-free room due to his illness. But despite her best efforts, Shin Hyun-Su, her brother, who was a frequent cause for her worry but also someone she loved dearly, passed away in the germ-free room on the day she took her exams.

"Hyun-Ah might seem cold and heartless on the outside, but she's been through a lot of pain. That's why she's so affectionate," Yu-Na explained.

And that was also the reason Yu-Na showed Hyun-Ah the same level of affection that she did Ji-Ah. Yu-Na's love was sincere and without deception. She didn't care about a person's wealth or family background. If she deemed someone to be worthy of her affection, she would be consistent in expressing it to them.

"I really wanted to introduce you to her. I thought that if it was you... you who supported me when I was struggling, then maybe you could heal Hyun-Ah too. This place used to be where Hyun-Ah lived. The air is clean, so I also thought it might help with your recovery."

"Hmm..." Ji-Ah let out a groan, feeling an unnecessary burden. "Ugh... It's too much pressure."

"It's not like I'm asking you to do it right away. She’s really just someone I truly wanted to introduce you to."

Regardless of the person's social status, she wanted to introduce Ji-Ah to Hyun-Ah on a human level.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise. It was while Ji-Ah and Yu-Na chatted happily that two black cars approached in the distance.

"Is someone supposed to come here?"

"They're heading this way?"

"Hm? This is private property. So they shouldn't be able to just come in."

Yu-Na's expression hardened. But then her face suddenly turned ashen, as if she had just seen a ghost.

"Ji-Ah! Run!" Yu-Na shouted with urgency. Her voice then turned angry as she said, "Did this crazy bastard really cross the line?!"

Ji-Ah was startled, unable to comprehend what was going on. Still, she stood up quickly, heeding Yu-Na’s instruction. But before they could flee from the pavilion, the doors of the parked vans swung open, and men in black suits came out.

"Ji-Ah!!" Yu-Na exclaimed in shock.

But the men, who had seemed to come out of nowhere, quickly subdued them. With a cloth that appeared to be soaked with some chemical, they covered Ji-Ah’s and Yu-Na’s noses and mouths, causing them to faint.

"It's done. What should we do next?"

"Take them as the boss ordered."

"But there was supposed to be only one..."

"Let's see, Han Yu-Na... Han Yu-Na... This woman here is the one we need. So you can do whatever you want with the other one, but don't leave any traces."

"Her face is pretty. Can have a bit of fun before selling her off for a good price," one of the men said with a poor Korean accent.

"Damn, that dude is human trash," another man muttered while the others wore a scornful look on their faces.

"Why? Human bodies are worth a lot."

"Keep a reasonable level of decency, you fuck. While our boss is drawing attention away from us, we should get going already."

After saying this, the men quickly loaded the two women onto the vehicles and disappeared as if they had never been there at all.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Kain asked.

Davey quietly nodded his head in affirmation. "Yes."

He then attached one of the enhanced Chirvat Earrings, which were made from a mix of Goumda and Leora's essence, to his left ear.

"Davey, I'll go as well," declared Perserque, who appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She removed her red earrings and carefully stored them before putting on her left ear the pair of Chirvat Earring that Davey was wearing.

"Can't you just stay behind?"

"With the husband on his way, how could the wife not follow? I will go. Take it as such."

Acknowledging her stubbornness, Davey didn’t argue further and simply nodded.

"I can't be responsible for any side effects."

Kain had already been briefed on the Chirvat Earrings, and he did not disagree with Davey’s decision to attempt to enter Earth in spirit form. Besides, he was only currently mediating between Davey and Neltarid, who were maintaining a friendly relationship.

Davey had a simple reason for heading to Earth anyway: to investigate the Neltarid cult rumored to be spread across the planet, as well as to fulfill a promise to Han Yu-Na. After all, the Lord of Gears was a magic of mutual contract binding.

Just as Maga and Cat Tower had kept their end of the bargain with Davey, he too had to fulfill the contract conditions they had set. Cat Tower wanted support, and Maga wanted to prevent that brainless young man from getting anywhere near her.

But dealing with Maga's issue was not something Davey could handle, considering he would only be a spirit on Earth. However, if Kain handled it on his behalf, it would not be too difficult.

Finally, Kain, exuding a slightly different yet sacred aura, drew a magical circle while his blue hair lit up. Then, an indiscernible quiet murmur flowed out of his mouth, and eventually, a light began to pour out, enveloping Davey and Perserque, who were standing above the magic circle.

Woosh!!!!!

Within the light, Davey felt a sense of weariness throughout his entire body, and his vision flickered out.

* * *

Spiritual state. When crossing dimensions, one’s existence was usually cut and pasted. But in this case, it was not cut out. Instead, merely the colors within were transferred.

A colossal storm of power swept past, and the tremendous storm of dimensions that was pouring down proved that it was a boundary that could not be crossed by normal means. But Perserque and Davey simply let the storm of power pass by them, unlike Kain, who led the way as if he was already familiar with the path to take to avoid it.

Woosh!!! Boom!!!

And Davey, having crossed that massive storm of power, arrived in a world that was both incredibly familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

"Hmm. Stuffy air. It's been so long that it's nauseating."

Perserque, feeling a wave of nausea, slowly raised her head and asked, "Ugh... Davey, was your homeland like this?"

"It looks like an industrial area. Given its quietness, perhaps it's a place that's been abandoned by people?"

There were machines labeled in Korean scattered everywhere, and Davey found himself in a vast area of factories and warehouses. Clearly, Kain had teleported them to the location of Han Yu-Na, Davey's contractual counterpart. But then Kain, Perserque, and Davey all appeared in this place. If Kain's tracking abilities had weakened, the meaning behind it was clear.

"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!" A desperate scream struck Davey's ears as Kain's wings flapped once.

"It's a scream." Kain quickly revealed himself and led Davey and Perserque, moving them along.

Swoosh...

Being in a spiritual state, Davey effortlessly passed through the walls, so it didn’t take him long before he saw an unexpected scene.

In the completely dark warehouse, a generator turned with a thudding sound, and the lights shone faintly but brightly. Needless to say, the atmosphere was ominous. And there, inside the warehouse, two women were on a chair, tied up with ropes. But they remained unrecognizable since their faces were covered with cloth, as if to hide them. Pitifully, all they could do was scream in terror as they trembled like aspen trees, making their immense fear undeniably evident.

"Brother, the young master is late."

"You, brat. Just wait a bit longer. Have some patience."

“Brother~ come on...” The beefy man rubbed his hands together as if he wanted something.

"To have a taste of such women, do you think it’s easy? If we're doing this, then..."

Slap!!

Having run out of patience, the annoyed man smacked the back of the beefy man's head and shouted, "Ah, wait, I told you!"

This caused the beefy man to groan in pain from the harsh treatment he just received.

Meanwhile, Davey sent a glance to Kain, looking for guidance.

‘What is this?’

Kain, who understood the glance Davey sent his way, returned the look silently. He then quietly made a circle with his thumb and index finger.

What does he mean by that?

Davey was in a spiritual state, as was Perserque. It was against the rules for them to step in, even if someone died right in front of them.

Of course, being in a spiritual state had some perks. Currently, the source of Davey's power was his spirit. While there was originally a disparity caused by the physical body, preventing full utilization of spirit power, Davey, who had no physical body at the moment, was able to muster a level of strength akin to having a jewel fully opened.

But what good was it in such a situation in which he must not interfere? Fortunately, Kain could interfere with reality, unlike Davey and Perserque. But then Davey stopped Kain from stepping forward with a raised arm and silently watched the situation unfold.

Creak!!!

It was not long before the big door of the warehouse opened, and a man entered.

"Damned woman. So prickly."

Several men then hurried to the man, who had just entered with an annoyed mumbling.

"How did your trip go?"

"Are you expecting me to say it went well?"

The man proceeded to roughly sit down on an empty chair and sighed.

On the other hand, the other men began to watch his mood, making it clear to anyone that this young man was the cause of the current situation.

‘Davey, you have made a contract with Han Yu-Na, a human from Earth. Hence, I used the link you shared with her to come to Earth.'

This meant Han Yu-Na had to be nearby. She had to be somewhere here.

‘One of those two tied up there is likely her.'

‘A terrible commotion in Korea, a place that used to have a high rate of safety. To think they are doing this in such a country...'

At Davey's murmur, Kain offered a suggestion, asking, ‘Shall I take care of them?'

‘No, just watch for now.'

As soon as Davey finished speaking, Go Jin-Seok, the young man who just arrived, snapped his fingers and ordered, “Take that off."

Following the command, two of the henchmen approached the women and removed the sacks covering their heads.

"Ugh... ugh..."

Removing the cloth revealed the faces of the two terrified women, who were sobbing in fear. Their mouths were gagged, and their limbs were restrained to prevent any movement.

But despite her crying that smeared her face with tears, Han Yu-Na glared at Go Jin-Seok as she lifted her head.

"It's really hard to see you just once."

"Ugh!! Ugh!!!!!!" She screamed in agony while he burst into a chilling laughter.

But her resistance was futile. Because even though she ranked first in the game production rankings, she was still just a human in reality.

"If only you had come when I just wanted to talk. Say something, Yu-Na."

His soft tone made Han Yu-Na shiver.

"Hey. Untie her," he commanded, ordering the men to remove the gag. Slowly, he then approached her and proceeded to show her a smartphone.

"Do you think you can escape me?"

"You bastard... Fucker... I will definitely report you and get you thrown in prison..."

"Just look at her. Already caught and still talking big."

"My dad will take care of you!!"

"Your dad? Ha! As if a man who knows nothing but business could ever touch my hidden plans," he coldly said. He then held Yu-Na by the chin and turned her face from side to side as if he was scrutinizing her. "You really are intriguing. I usually don't cling to women I've been with. But you, you're different. So be my toy until I conquer the lady from the Sacred Group."

After saying this, Go Jin-Seok frowned.

"It's regrettable that I could not vent my frustration on that Davey guy or whatever. That damned piece of data... But it doesn't matter.”

Go Jin-Seok then turned to the other men in the warehouse and said, “As for the other woman, do as you please with her. Just clean up afterward."

At his words, the beefy men started moving while snickering sinisterly.

Kain, who had been watching the scene unfold, looked toward Davey.

After confirming several times that his hand could pass through objects, Davey raised his hand and brought it down again, as if he had just been waiting to give Kain the signal.

'All of them, except for that one. Wipe them out.'