The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 924

[By the will of the divine, I seek to save this lamb.]

[O Lord, hear the prayers of this wretched soul.]

[Though death may stand before me, let faith see me through.]

Chiiiiing!

A fiery crimson aura began to rise around Evangeline.

[When I walk through darkness where no light shines, by my lamp, oh Lord.]

[Grant me the courage to tread the thorny path.]

Fwooosh!!

"This is...?” Evangeline muttered.

- Grrr!!!

The monsters that had been trying to attack her first froze then retreated. It was only natural; though Evangeline felt no pain, the monsters were clearly feeling its wrath.

[Ah. My Lord, hear this prayer.]

[6th Level Holy Magic]

[Divine Shield]

Whoosh! Thud!!

An enormous Fire Demon shield manifested around her, orbiting her like a protective barrier.

Shoosh! Boom!

From the other side of the forest, a figure dressed in a robe suddenly darted forward with astonishing speed. Wielding a massive gleaming battle axe, she struck it down upon an ogre, its skull shattering with a deafening crack.

"Step back, sister,” said the woman in a calm voice.

- Arrrrgh!!!

The figure—draped in a midnight-blue robe adorned with golden embroidery—moved with breathtaking agility while taking down the monsters. Her sudden intervention left the monsters stunned and hesitant to continue their assault. ṙἈNŎbËṦ

Meanwhile, Evangeline gritted her teeth and picked up her sword. Despite the woman taking down the surrounding monsters with her gleaming axe, the relentless tide of monsters was undeterred.

[Longsword]

[Mountain Cleave]

Crack!!

A burst of energy erupted from her blade, slashing down a wave of monsters.

"Sister..."

"You’re in danger!"

"Thank you."

The woman, whose momentary distraction had left her back exposed to an ogre, turned and bowed slightly toward Evangeline with gratitude. She then began swinging her axe as its glow intensified.

No matter the situation, if the monsters escaped the fight, they’d inevitably head straight for the local territory. That was something that couldn’t be allowed.

Knowing this, Evangeline gathered her strength once more and continued cutting down the enemies.

A strange combination—her raw power paired with her lack of experience had led her into this situation. However, with the assistance of a remarkably powerful priest, she regained her composure and threw herself back into the fray, tearing through the relentless monster wave.

The two of them mercilessly crushed the monsters with overwhelming force, cooperating as if in perfect sync.

Still, even after taking down hundreds of monsters, there seemed no end to them. Perhaps judging that their losses were too severe, the monsters instead intensified their attacks, pressing forward with even greater ferocity.

"Dammit... How are there so many...? Sister, I’ll clear a path for retreat! Follow me!"

"But—!" Evangeline said.

"We won’t be able to spread the word if we stay here! We need to fall back!"

"Ahh! Priestess!"

From the other side of the forest, a swarm of gargoyles swooped down on the priestess. She swung her massive axe with the ease of swiping a branch around, but their continuous assault eventually exploited an opening in her defense.

Grasp!

One of the gargoyles snatched onto her shoulders with its claws, lifting her into the air.

"Urgh!" She struggled, gathering her holy power to combat it.

Just as she was about to manifest the power, someone interrupted.

"The grace... I’ll take it.”

Then the unknown figure said a prayer in an extremely arrogant way.

[9th Level]

[Middle Finger of God]

Crack!!

A massive pillar of light descended from the heavens, wiping out a portion of the horde in an instant. Following the light, a torrential downpour pierced through the remaining monsters.

"9th... Level Miracle...?” The priestess stammered as she fell to the ground.

She had clearly heard the incantation spoken before manifesting holy power, but she had never seen an individual cast 9th Level magic in her life. And if an individual did happen to cast one, the incantation alone would require continuous, flawless prayer for almost an hour.

In other words, it was almost an absolute miracle to successfully cast.

It was terrifying that one had cast the spell with a mere phrase, but the more shocking thing was that two holy magics had been cast simultaneously.

The monsters screamed in the face of the flood of light that appeared out of the blue. Moments later, a ominous tone flooded the forest, and the monsters fled en masse.

Just two people had successfully managed to stop thousands of monsters in their tracks.

The priestess, frozen on the spot, stared into the now-open sky. The wind blew her hood back, revealing long navy-blue hair—she looked like she was in her early twenties. Her wide, startled eyes indicated her inability to comprehend what had just happened.

Sling...

Suddenly, the cold edge of a dark spear pressed against her neck.

"Don’t move. Inquisition Tribunal,” a low, commanding voice ordered.

"Y-You..."

"I have many questions for you," the figure behind her said firmly.

As she tried to turn around and see who was talking, her body instinctively stiffened as the fear that she might actually die took root within her.

[Grant me the courage to tread the thorny path.]

She silently recited this prayer, over and over. Finally, she managed to muster the strength to slowly, cautiously, glance back.

“Daddy?!"

The suffocating killing aura that had enveloped the area vanished in an instant.

“Daddy, is that really you?”

When the priestess turned to the voice, she saw the brave young girl who she had saved clinging to a man who looked young enough to be her brother.

"I’m sorry, Evangeline," Davey said, his voice soft.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

‘Why is Daddy apologizing? I should be the one apologizing.’

"I’m sorry for not understanding your feelings better," Davey continued, handing her a box. "Here, this is for you. I hope you like it."

Evangeline hesitated before carefully taking the box. Slowly, she opened it to find a rabbit plush. Her cheeks flushed as she hugged the toy close to her chest and tears welled up in her eyes.

‘How could he not be my Daddy? He loves me so deeply, worries about me without end—how could he not be?’

The thought of him not being her biological parent no longer mattered. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she hugged the plush toy tightly.

Seeing her crying, Davey panicked. "Evangeline? Did Daddy do something wrong? Tell me, okay?"

"Sniff... sniff."

Through her tears, Evangeline slowly raised her head. "Daddy..."

Thud!!

‘Damn it, there’s always someone who ruins the moment.’

"We’ve heard reports of a mercenary causing chaos here at the Southern Plains! Surrender immediately! Young Master Waldo of the territory demands your presence!"

Knights barged in, forming a heavy atmosphere. The nearby mercenaries muttered to each other in confusion.

But Davey paid them no mind.

"Evangeline? Do you want to come hug Daddy?"

"Sniff... sniff.”

"It’s okay. Come here."

Completely ignoring the commotion, Davey focused on calming his daughter.

"Hey! You there! Are you deaf?! I said—!”

Before the knight could finish, Davey casually waved his hand, sealing his mouth shut before he could speak another word.

"Shut the hell up. Can’t you see something important is going on here?"

"Daddy... Are you really my real daddy?"

"Of course I am. Do you think I’m a fake dad or something?"

"But my real parents..."

"Don’t you think I’m more of a dad than the terrible ones who abandon their own children after bringing them into this world?" Davey asked with a teasing grin.

Evangeline stared at him, realizing how futile her endless worrying had been. But she still had one question that she had thought about for so long—the one truth she needed to confront.

It was too heavy a burden for a child her age to bear.

"Then... is it true that... Daddy killed Eclipse?"

Davey froze for a moment.

At the same time, the knights who felt they had been ignored stepped closer, pointing their swords at him.

"Are you ignoring the order of a knight—”

"Hey," Davey interrupted casually, holding Evangeline in his arms. "You might want to lower that sword while I’m still asking nicely. I’m not sure if I can stay calm much longer."

"Silence, mercenary scum!" the knight barked.

"Let’s talk while we move," he said.

"Huh?" Evangeline looked at him, confused.

"I’ll explain everything. And you said you wanted to be a hero, right? I’ll help you. How about we travel together for a while?"

"Really?"

"Of course. So forget all the worries for now—"

Evangeline stiffened suddenly, her body tense in his arms. Davey tilted his head.

"Not the right thing to say? Hm,"

"Sigh... He shouldn’t have said that.”

Davey was extremely calm despite being surrounded by knights.

"Evangeline?" Davey called gently.

She bit her lip, trying to hold back tears. Her eyes shimmered as she looked up at him.

"I... I’m sorry. I must’ve said something wrong again.”

"No... It’s fine.”

"Alright. Now," Davey turned his attention to the knights. "You guys came looking for me, did you?"

A chilling smile flickered across his face, belying his high levels of stress.

"What are you doing? Lead the way. Go on," he ordered.

"You were the one... that caused chaos in the woods?”

"Yeah. That was me. Now lead the way.”

"F-Follow us...."

The knights felt the weight of his unsettling smile to be colossal, but they had no choice but to follow the orders of their master.

* * *

"Please! Spare me! Do you know who I am?! I’m the son of the lord who protects this land! Stop... Stop!!"

"You’re a heretic.”

"You’re a heretic.”

The young girls chanted like robots. From their midst, a woman emerged.

"Mercy for heretics? None exists. Seek repentance elsewhere."

Crack!!

She smashed the man in one blow and rested her axe on her shoulder.

"The Saint of the Continent will soon be making his way here. Withdraw immediately.”

"Yes, Judge.”

"Just you wait, Davey O’Rowane. You killed my brother. I’ll make sure you meet the same fate,” she said in a chilling tone.

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Editorb’s Thoughts

Oh, so that's where Waldo was. I should've known.