The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

The half-broken spire, which was dozens of meters in height, received the brunt of the earth giant’s attack.

For a split second, the earth giant’s blow created a vacuum that sucked in the air before releasing a powerful impact that shook the ground. It completely tore the spire apart.

“Even if you die, stop them!!!”

The vampires who had staged an attack on Hyeon Kingdom never expected an invasion from such existences at all. However, they were still a bit different from the vampires that had first struck Davey.

Basically, most of the vampires here were using their pure power and not the strange power that the other vampires had used before. Among them were vampires who could use power of a stranger kind, but they were few and far between. Simply put, the vampires here were pure-blooded vampires.

Of course, vampires of that caliber were all stubborn and bull-headed. Every single one of them, including the women and the children, faced against Gnoass as if they were warriors. All of them were determined to sacrifice their lives in such a desperate struggle.

However, most of their reinforcement troops could not answer their calls. On top of that, they were dealing with not one but two Spirit Kings. With these two facts in mind, they felt endless despair.

The vampires who were keeping Gnoass in check fell to the ground. A fountain of blood spurted from their bodies as a sharp whip of water cut them down.

[Ellaim. Limit your consumption of power. Although our contractor has become much stronger, he won’t be able to handle it if we use our powers indiscriminately.]

[I’m still wondering how a human, aside from Yuriana, can release that much power while supporting two Spirit Kings.]

[The contractor’s magic is an imitation. It is an imitation that produces the same effect with only a minimal amount of mana.]

According to Gnoass, Davey could not really summon a meteor shower even if he called for it. He was just inducing the same effects by overlapping the forces of nature.

Needless to say, they were of the same magic with their levels of efficiency at polar opposite ends.

Ellaim, who altered her figure to appear on Gnoass’ shoulder, shook her head.

Although the Spirit Kings weren’t able to use the same power as what they had in the Spirit World, their consumption of mana was still very high. In order to minimize consumption, one had to achieve assimilation. However, it was not easy for a Spirit King to achieve complete assimilation with their contractors.

[That’s very crazy.]

Gnoass murmured as he shook off the annoying low-ranking vampires, who brandished their bright red swords against him.

[My goodness…]

At the same time, Ellaim, who followed Gnoass, looked up at the sky in shock. She noticed that the sky was littered with hundreds of purple magic circles, which repeatedly fused and separated on their own.

Gnoass, who was very much aware of how much power was needed to use those magic circles this recklessly, had to wonder how his contractor could stay in one piece. He found it ridiculous.

[If we’re talking about normal circumstances, then we can safely say that he’s using most of his powers to allow us, the Spirit Kings, to materialize in this world… But… That…]

[That is a magic that controls the laws of nature. It’s comparable to Ifrit’s powers.]

Gnoass was right.

Not long after, the magic circles in the sky finally fused into a gigantic one. This was its final form.

The vampires gaped as they anxiously watched a catastrophe appear in the sky above them.

“What the hell…”

“What in the world? What is going on?”

Despite their pride and ego, the vampires could not help but feel tremendous fear at the overwhelming existence that had appeared above them.

Unlike ordinary humans, the vampires that had the power of [Blood Energy] since their birth were very sensitive to the flow of mana. They might not know the exact situation that they were in, but they could feel the severity of their situation.

Not long after, the vampires’ eyes grew wide as the shape and form of the magic circle changed.

“Don’t tell me…”

“That’s… That’s impossible.”

Some of the vampires even collapsed on the ground with stunned looks on their faces. In fact, anyone would, especially after feeling such a huge amount of power coming from the magic circle. They knew exactly what the magic circle was going to do.

Just like that, dozens of fireballs appeared in the sky. This magic was less intense than Meteor Strike, a top skill of the magic world. If the widely known Meteor Strike was a rock, then the magic in front of the vampires was a pebble.

Of course, the magic was several times more severe than the analogy given. There was quite a big difference between the two magical attacks, but the fact that there were hundreds of fireballs pouring down from the sky was like hell in and of itself.

“Protect… Protect the Lord!!!”

“The Lord is in danger!!!”

Instinctively realizing who the meteorites were aiming for, the vampires hurriedly left their nests and ignored the Spirit Kings who had come to smash and destroy their homes.

[Ellaim, go back to the Spirit World.]

[What do you mean?]

[Once those meteorites fall, the terrain would be destroyed. It’s not just one but hundreds of them. That would change the story. If I don’t hold the fort down, then this entire area would change on the map.]

Since Gnoass had judged the situation to be like that, then Ellaim would also be able to reach the same conclusion.

[What a reckless contractor…]

The moment Ellaim vanished into droplets of water, Gnoass slammed both his arms on the ground.

At the same time, the first meteorite fell on the ground. This sent out a huge shockwave, which began to destroy the entire area.

***

“Ha… I’m not someone who’s particularly drunk on heroism…but this is more like God’s reproach to an egregious fate. What else can we do? This is the only way for us to find the final key… We need that human who you’re protecting…”

“The Demon Lord’s revival? I’m telling you, that will never happen…”

“That does not matter to me. The ones who want to revive the Demon Lord are the radicals who’ve left my rule and the demon race. We just want to remain in this position and silently protect the survival of our species!”

The bastard that Davey was looking at right now was in a different faction from the vampires that he had encountered before. However, in the end, these bastards who kidnapped Josiah were just as heinous and vicious as the ones from before.

“You should know that you’re not doing a good job regarding that, right?”

“For us, the nobles are far more precious than regular humans. Although I do not participate in bullying and taking advantage of the weak, you bastard do not have the right to judge us!”

The boy, the Vampire Lord, was unaware of the details of the magic that Davey had unleashed. He ended up being stunned once the casting of magic was over. It seemed like he could instinctively feel the danger after sensing the overwhelming amount of mana that had appeared and moved in the sky.

As the magic fell from the sky, the vampires’ current monarch, the Vampire Lord, seemed to have judged that having a conversation with Davey would no longer prove to be useful. He started to unleash an onslaught of attacks.

The Vampire Lord was not the head of their race for no reason. The nameless boy showed Davey great fighting skills and combat experience.

However, this was exactly what Davey had expected of him.

The Vampire Lord’s bloody red sword barely blocked Red Ribbon’s attacks. Still, it was a sword made by a variant power and not by the physical laws of this world.

No matter how Red Ribbon could cut down anything that was physical, the sharpness of the opponent’s blade could not be ignored. The opponent’s weapon was, after all, comparable to a divine sword.

In other words, if Red Ribbon could not cut down the Vampire Lord, then the Vampire Lord definitely had the power to rival the Lord that Davey had met.

“So, you’re just a half. You punk.”

When Davey swung Blue Ribbon to cut down his blood sword, moving to cut down his arm, the boy chose to let half of his nails get cut in order to prevent any further injury. He also screamed, “What the hell do you know, you bastard?!”

“I just made a blind guess, since you’re weak for a Vampire Lord. I guess I did hit the nail right on the head, huh?” Davey said.

The boy’s expression turned stiff. He retreated while vomiting a mouthful of blood.

A Vampire Lord was obviously a very strong existence. Although it could not move freely because of the restrictions placed upon it, the Vampire Lord was the root and source of the entire species.

To Davey, it did not make sense that such a Lord would have a hard time blocking a few attacks and meteorites that he had sent.

“The Vampire Lord in my memories leaned toward the excessively strong side.”

It was true that Davey had met and fought with a Vampire Lord who had been constructed based on Sword God Ares’ memories. Davey had even spent quite a bit of time trying to kill the said Lord.

It was not just the problem of force and blood aura, because the Vampire Lord was in possession of a very unique innate authority. And it was for that reason that Davey had placed the Vampire Lord as the most difficult enemy to deal with among all of the beings that he had fought against.

—Even…if you include all of your teachers?

Those who were beyond comparison should be firmly excluded from any kind of comparison.

The boy’s expression hardened even further upon feeling the intense vibration that shook the room. He muttered, “What a ridiculous way of using Meteor Magic…”

“In the next twenty minutes, the entire castle will collapse into nothing. Let’s finish it all before that.”

It was none of Davey’s business. He did not need to distinguish whether they were white or black. He was just getting tired of eradicating these mosquitoes.

The Vampire Lord’s expression turned bitter.

“My Lord!!! We will make sure to stop that human, even at the cost of our lives! Please escape!”

Not long after, vampires came bursting in to stand in front of the boy. They formed a protective circle. They were showing so much loyalty that Davey felt bile rise to his throat.

Such a warm display of the relationship between a lord and his vassals would be able to touch people’s hearts, but…

“At the very least, I will let you depart this world swiftly and cleanly.”

It did not matter what their goal was, because they were the rascals who had cut off his disciple’s arm and had even kidnapped her. Their only miscalculation was being tracked down and caught by Davey.

“Human, think once again. The nobles here are different from the radicals that have been driving your race to a corner.”

The Vampire Lord, who saw his subordinates being placed in a situation where they might die, quickly analyzed the situation and promptly chose to negotiate once again. His cool-headedness and rationality had returned.

“Then, you shouldn’t have dared to touch my student. Josiah is human too, no? And wasn’t that bastard who you seduced, Collin, also a human?”

To be honest, Davey did not care if Collin was alive or dead. However, the mastermind of the kidnapping still had not shown himself.

The main reason why Collin had done something like that was because of this boy right in front of Davey. Even the main reason for this confrontation had been provided by the vampires themselves.

“Everything is so we can save our race. Of course, for me, the safety and survival of my own species is much more important than the life of a single human!”

“Very well said. And for me, the safety of my students is much more important than your lives.”

“…” The boy realized that it was useless to try to fight Davey’s logic with his own. The expression on his face grew determined as he looked up at Davey.

However, no matter how Davey looked at the boy, there was no way that the boy was a proper Lord.

Meanwhile, the meteorites continued to fall on the ground, destroying the ceiling and crashing not too far away from where Davey was. They created a huge shockwave.

—Oh my! It seems like you have decided to just decimate everything and burn this entire area down to the ground…

Perserque’s harsh criticism obviously reached Davey’s ears, but it was the Vampire Lord’s voice that reached him first.

“I… I am an imperfect Lord. Human, I will give you my oath. If you let us go, then all of the vampires under my command will no longer act hostile against humans. We simply need a true and complete Lord to lead the nobles of the night!”

“And you’re using Josiah as a sacrifice?”

“…”

“Stop making a fuss, Vampire Lord.”

“It’s just one human! It’s not like I don’t understand how ridiculous that logic is, but all we need is that human girl!”

Davey paused for a moment before laughing at the boy’s ridiculous words. He said, “Then, let’s remain in confrontation forever. Also, you should go back and relearn how to negotiate. You are not negotiating but throwing a tantrum.”

The boy’s fists shook. He could not even hide his troubled expression.

The Vampire Lord was an existence that could bring about real danger. It was a being that stood at the peak of their race. To put it simply, if the Demon Lord was the king of the demons, then the Vampire Lord was the king of the vampires.

Although they possessed tremendous powers, they were met with several restrictions. So, Davey never expected that he would meet with the Vampire Lord in such a location. No, to be exact…

—You probably thought that the Vampire Lord was not in the house, right? After all, how could the vampires be living in such poor condition if their lord was present?

The Vampire Lord was a pivotal existence to the vampires. They had the power to purify and strengthen the vampires just by existing and staying alive. However, that did not seem to be the case for the vampires that Davey had seen.

As for the Vampire Lord, the boy was expressing weakness in not so subtle ways at all.

Then, was the boy’s existence a lie? Davey felt that that was not the case at all. That was why he judged that the boy was only half a Vampire Lord.

“Just a bit more… A bit more and we could have witnessed the fulfillment of our race’s long-cherished wish of achieving safety and peace…” the boy sighed bitterly, his expression mirroring his words.

“Fine. If there’s no more room for negotiation… A desperate struggle is our only solution,” the boy said as the whites of his eyes slowly turned red.

Seeing this, Davey immediately thought of one of the Vampire Lord’s authorities. He hurriedly moved to restrain the boy.

A violent and ferocious aura burst out of the boy as his body blazed with erupting flames.

Wasn’t this phenomenon quite familiar? This was the same as what Warrior Reina had done when she had burned her life to kill First Lich Nyx. Even if the boy was not a complete Vampire Lord, a lord-level existence was putting his life on the line just to stop Davey…

At the same time, all of the power that the boy released started to gather in his hand to form a gigantic blood spear.

—That looks a bit dangerous…

Perserque, who instinctively felt danger coming from the Vampire Lord, hurriedly pushed the twin swords back into Davey’s Pocket Plane. She then looked in front with her hands clasped tightly together.

“You’re doing something that’s not even fated for you.”

[I implore you, Goddess Freyja. Let my sword carry out your will.]

Davey ignored the gigantic blood spear that was slowly coagulating into its complete form as he gathered most of the holy mana in his body.

[Let me bring judgment under your name.]

—What’s wrong with using a normal and proper prayer…?

Davey completely ignored Perserque’s complaints. He continued with his prayer, a firm and determined look on his face.

[Allow me to tread this thorny and difficult path. Let my steps be like the martyr’s penance as he walks toward you.]

Whether he won or lost the fight, the Vampire Lord’s death was already determined. However, that was not the case for the other vampires. After receiving the Vampire Lord’s orders, the vampires immediately scattered and dispersed, going far away from this place’s blazing inferno.

Davey originally did not have any intentions of letting them go. However, he just let them run away.

[Let me guide the lost sheep with two of the shepherd’s staves.]

Not long after, the gigantic blood spear was completed. Its sharp tip pointed straight toward Davey. Then, as if determined not to give Davey any sort of reprieve, the Vampire Lord charged at him.

At the same time, Davey’s prayer ended.

[Descend just one time and I won’t kill you.]

[10th Level, Transcendent Holy Magic]

[God’s Descent]

[God’s Slap]

Davey’s hands reached out toward the gigantic blood spear that seemed capable of piercing through everything. He muttered, “You would have lived longer if you just chose to silently retire.”

“God’s Descent… What a load of bullsh…”

What was the point of everything when the outcome was already irreversible?

A huge and pristine white hand, accompanied by fluttering white feathers, devoured the boy who held onto the blood spear. It looked like the boy had been slapped by the gigantic hand.

God’s Slap, just like its name, smacked the incomplete monarch and destroyed the blood spear in his hand. It also devoured and burned everything in its path.