The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

Chapter 436

Aeria El Lyndis found it hard to regain her senses from the pressure that suddenly enveloped her entire head when the all-out war began. She did not know why it was happening to her; all she knew was that there was something trying to tear her head and consciousness apart.

"Oh my god… What in the world am I seeing?"

Most of the people in the fortress shared the same sentiment. Even the Resistance Army guarding the walls seemed to echo those words. The outcomes that a single human being had brought about were beyond their comprehension based on common sense.

When the human first sent the clay soldiers back, a sense of foreboding spread among the resistance soldiers: "Ah, so this is where we meet our end." They found themselves in a dire situation, with the enemy forces advancing relentlessly, seemingly untouched by the divine.

In the face of impending doom, Eurina, the youthful commander of the Resistance Army, attempted to make a heroic sacrifice to ensure the survival of her comrades. Yet, the boy's actions defied all expectations as he effortlessly subdued her.

To everyone, the boy had been known merely as a highly intelligent individual who commanded the formidable clay soldiers. While gratitude was owed for his assistance, his sudden shifts in demeanor brought about bewilderment.

"Who dares dismiss this as mere capriciousness?" whispered an aged soldier, his halberd serving as a makeshift cane.

Indeed, it was not mere whimsy. The boy stood as an existence beyond comparison with the clay soldiers. Wasn't he addressed as such by the very soldiers they called "God's Army"? The Great Ruler.

The boy, who had infused hope into humanity during the darkest depths of resistance... Was he truly a human?

"This... this is a Miracle of God..."

"Don't tell me that guy, Davey, is..."

A grave and somber realization dawned upon everyone, etching itself on their faces.

In a world where no one else could cleave the horizon with a single strike, conjure forth cascades of explosions and lightning, paint the sky with the divine emblem: God's Symbol, or plummet colossal asteroids from heavens.

No one else could single-handedly tilt the tide against hundreds of thousands of demons with a solitary blow! The God of War, or perhaps the God of Destruction. Maybe, just maybe, the boy was indeed a deity.

As the soldiers of the Resistance Army shook off their stupor, their attention turned to the girl accompanying the boy. An exquisitely beautiful woman of the beastfolk, her mere presence commanded attention. If the boy was a god, then...

"No way, could she be the goddess...?"

"No wonder... No wonder she weeps and mourns at every loss of life..."

At last, divine compassion had graced humanity! The Resistance Army regarded Aeria, whether inadvertently or not, as a goddess in their eyes.

Meanwhile, Aeria herself found herself in an entirely different realm. An illusion, in truth, though her condition hardly allowed for such analysis. The pain she felt was akin to her head being torn asunder.

‘U… Ugh…’

Aeria clutched the walls with a single hand, her ears twitching as her body involuntarily crouched under the onslaught of excruciating pain. Why had this torment erupted within her all of a sudden? Dizziness overwhelmed her, causing tears to trickle down her cheeks unnoticed.

Yet, even amidst this turmoil, an inexplicable urge compelled her to gaze beyond the fortress walls. Her mind couldn't make sense of it, but her body was moving autonomously. It was an intriguing and perplexing sensation.

Nevertheless, an innate sense of peril coursed through Aeria's being. Fear gripped her, the fear that enduring this ordeal might lead to her demise. Despite her instincts' vehement warnings, she clenched her teeth and endured.

Though her memories remained elusive, her past persona: one that eschewed burdening others despite her affliction: resurfaced like an indelible habit. Thus, her mindset inclined her to undervalue herself.

Prince Davey had been her first acquaintance in this foreign realm, the sole individual hailing from her own world within this enigmatic domain. Aeria recognized Prince Davey as a compassionate soul, one who consistently adorned her with smiles and safeguarded her. Even now, he stood alone against the forces beyond, his sword a shield for her and the inhabitants here.

In Aeria's eyes, her contributions appeared scant, her helplessness laid bare. "I must... do something..." she gasped, her breath ragged as she took a faltering step forward. Instinct propelled her, urging her to descend the fortress walls and aid Davey.

Amidst the dread and brutality of the battlefield, saturated with the acrid tang of blood and iron, an unfamiliar fragrance wafted to Aeria's nose. Pursuing the scent, her gaze widened as she beheld life sprouting from crevices in the wall: a shrub of cornelius cherry. Warmth and solace emanated from the delicate blooms.

In that instant, her attention shifted skyward, where lightning descended from a regal, purple magic circle. Something within her mind seemed to shatter, as if a long-locked door had swung open. How could she have forgotten? How could the memory of her cherished one, the person she yearned for, have slipped away?

Tears cascaded naturally, a luminous smile gracing her lips. The torment in her head dissipated. Aeria was unburdened, free of all that had plagued her.

‘As expected… You have always protected me since the very beginning.’

The warm and comforting scent surrounded Aeria as a voice drifted to her ears.

[——]

Though the voice's words were imperfectly enunciated, their meaning resonated with Aeria. The voice entreated her to reach a verdict, a choice of monumental consequence, one capable of upending her entire existence. Astonishingly, she hesitated not, arriving at a resolute determination in an instant.

‘If not for that person, I wouldn't be here. His gaze upon me may have been absent, yet he shielded and safeguarded me. I…’

Aeria smiled brightly as she murmured, “I love you.”

‘Even if your heart already belongs to another, and they stand by your side, leaving no room for me... Should the need arise to rescue you one day, I'm prepared to do whatever it takes.’

Her choice was made, resolute and unwavering. Aeria gradually drifted into slumber, comforted by the faint yet steady rhythm that emerged within her lower abdomen.

***

‘Welcome, welcome~ This is your first time being so defenseless and experiencing damage, no?’

Amidst the unsettling sound of rending flesh, the colossal form into which Sleesia had metamorphosed was cleaved in twain.

The Descending Lunar Rock incantation stood apart from the conventional Meteor Strike. Within this arcane spell, both moons' mighty energies merged with the plummeting asteroids, delivering a devastating blow to adversaries. Davey harnessed the crimson moon's potency to orchestrate the asteroid's descent, an observable might that defied denial.

Simultaneously, a massive sword descended, sweeping through all in its path and imprinting a bluish-red trail in its wake.

[Kghhh… Kghhhh…]

Davey held his silence, absorbing the spine-chilling and unnerving noises emanating from the immense, contorting form before him. He had foreseen her survival after the initial strike, yet the sight of her undulating and assuming such a repugnant shape left him both astonished and intrigued.

[We… Weeeee… Weeeeeee…]

Attempting to articulate a response, Sleesia struggled, her mangled throat preventing coherent speech. In her agony, an array of tentacles sprouted from the wounded, bifurcated expanse of her form.

‘What the hell is a Princess of the Abyss?’

Davey couldn't deny that the Abyss held a significant advantage over the current state of the Tionis Continent. Nevertheless, it stood as yet another realm on the opposite side, a fact he acknowledged. While Tionis might lag behind in certain aspects, the parallel world shouldn't possess the strength to rupture the barriers erected by the divine and sow chaos across countless realms.

Yet, the presence of Abyssal Princesses like Sleesia and Urd undeniably confirmed the breach of those barriers. That wasn't the extent of it, though. Verdandi, Urd's younger sibling, and numerous other Abyssal Princesses whose existence eluded Davey, further attested to the shattered confines. This implied the existence of many other formidable entities akin to them, posing formidable challenges that Davey would struggle to overcome. This, undoubtedly, presented a monumental and intricate dilemma.

Twitch, twitch…

Before long, the entity, Sleesia, ensnared in torment, commenced a convulsive motion. The environment surrounding her promptly fractured and contorted, giving birth to chains bristling with jagged edges. These lethal appendages streaked toward Davey with rapidity.

Bang!!!

As Davey thwarted the chains' attempts to breach his defenses, he experienced a notable rebound of force from his counterattacks. The potency of the Super Ribbon was surpassed, a consequence of its fusion of Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon. While this rendered Sleesia susceptible to Davey's onslaught, it also hinted at the challenge he would face in halting creatures like her once his powers reverted to normal—a pressing concern.

Sleesia, now a mass of flesh, continued to assail Davey relentlessly with a combination of both physical and metaphysical chains.

Gazing at the fleshy mass in a heavy silence, Davey drew a brief breath. The realization dawned upon him that the fortress's inhabitants had been transported by space transfer magic, with Megalodria spiriting Aeria away. The ruins, Sleesia, and Davey himself were all that remained in this desolate expanse.

"Let's go for a grand gesture," Davey declared.

Releasing the entirety of his energy previously focused on suppressing the chains, he maneuvered gently away from their reach. With the continuous generation of chains, he saw no reason to expend his efforts in combating them any longer.

Shutting his eyes, Davey sensed the restoration and rapid replenishment of the powers he had been expanding. As he opened his eyes and directed his gaze toward the convulsing fleshly mass, he observed the regenerated segment where Sleesia had been cleaved in two. It was evident that he needed to eradicate the source to halt her regeneration. Utilizing his Taboo's Karma ability would allow him to target her life essence without complication.

[W… Weeeeeee… Weeeee… We… We… We…]

The amorphous lump of Sleesia's flesh emitted a continuous murmur, its words resonating akin to a slogan, a rhythmic chant.

[W, W, We… We are one… One, one, one…]

Initially perceiving Sleesia as an individual entity, Davey was confronted with a revelation that shattered this notion. Amidst the cacophony of hundreds of intertwining voices, he found himself unequivocally certain of one truth.

The Abyss was an amalgamation, a composition born from the fusion of myriad entities and objects. This extended to the Abyssal Princesses themselves, borne from the convergence of countless wills residing within the Abyss.

In essence, the Abyssal Princesses were the very embodiment of the Abyss. Following this thread of realization, Davey discerned that the resolution to this predicament lay in simultaneously overcoming all the Princesses. With his insight thus clarified, Davey's focus shifted away from Sleesia, the lingering thoughts about her now dispelled.

‘Let’s finish this all at once.’

In due course, the mass of flesh—whether a conglomerate of beings or otherwise—swelled to tens of meters in size and embarked on movement. Simultaneously, the ebony chains, seemingly propelled by a renewed intent, surged toward Davey with heightened speed. However, Davey's agility enabled him to sidestep their advances by inching his footing and utilizing the Super Ribbon to deflect any that ventured too close.

Using his unoccupied hand, Davey executed a swift motion, tracing his fingertips through the air. In their wake, an obsidian magic circle began to materialize. Fixated on the precise location where Sleesia's nucleus should have resided, Davey harnessed all the accumulated power within him.

No longer concerned about collateral consequences, Davey understood that this isolated clash would bear no impact on others. Consequently, he relinquished his meticulous control over his might, allowing it to surge unhindered.

The efficacy of a spell did not solely hinge on its successful incantation; instances existed wherein incorrectly formulated or executed magic wielded greater potency than intended.

‘How about a taste of Odin’s Natural Disaster Magic?’

Employing this form of magic would invariably lead to an extraordinary depletion of mana in the vicinity for the next century. Nonetheless, Davey remained indifferent to these ramifications.

Prometheus, the 8th Circle Fire Magic, was Davey's chosen conduit to incinerate the implanted tumor orchestrated by Sleesia. Manipulating the spell's radius and potency seemed unnecessary; on the contrary, Davey aimed to amplify its might.

Resolute in his decision to exhaust the area's mana, Davey acted without hesitation. His Hypernova magic surged forth, manifesting in an unrestrained and unguided frenzy. Swiftly anchoring the burgeoning magic's epicenter to the struggling Sleesia, he activated the spell in its entirety.

Subsequently, the Hypernova magic commenced a process of absorbing all mana within tens to hundreds of kilometers around its locus. The Tionis Continent, perennially endowed with a wealth of mana, emerged as a veritable bastion of magical potential, a proposition independent of time or space.

‘Do you grasp the number of heroes claimed by the very magic Odin forged? If you believe you possess the fortitude to withstand this onslaught, then strive with all your might to endure.’

Vwooooooooooong!!!

[Final Rampant Fire Magic]

[Realm of Fire]

A resounding and jarring cacophony reverberated, the magic's tempestuous resonance inundating the surroundings. Davey crumpled to the ground, his unoccupied hand pressed against the earth to bear the torment as his innards writhed and contorted.

Boom!!!

Summoning the last dregs of mana within him, Davey hastened the creation of a space transfer magic circle.

Thud!

Yet, in the midst of his conjuration, the frenzied magic's lingering aftermath slammed into him from behind. The impact launched him, sending his form somersaulting across the familiar deck of a ship as he transitioned through space.

“Urk… Ugh…!”

[Davey!]

Simultaneously arriving, Megalodria swiftly soared toward the point of impact where Davey had landed, his visage a mixture of astonishment and disbelief.

[Are you out of your mind? That was utterly reckless! What possessed you to attempt such madness?]

Hearing Megalodria's alarmed cries, Davey glanced back, even though the distance between them and the epicenter spanned thousands of kilometers, the effects of his magic remained starkly evident.

"I unleashed the final strike and was caught in the aftermath. Let's return," Davey calmly stated before he, the unconscious Aeria, and Megalodria vanished in a burst of light.

[Transaction complete.]