The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1012

The woman approached the dazed Hyun-Ah and furrowed her brows in a strange way.

"That’s weird. This is definitely Woochi’s sorcery...”

The way she scrutinized Hyun-Ah, like she was appraising her, was quite rude. However, Hyun-Ah couldn't voice any complaints.

The subtle fragrance filling the room kept making her feel too dazed.

"Tch. Then the ultimate soul incense is completely useless."

She looked displeased, as if something wasn't sitting right with her.

Just as she was about to snap her fingers, a faint energy suddenly poured out of Hyun-Ah’s body. Slowly, yet steadily, it neutralized every trace of the fragrance around her.

The black-haired woman stared in shock at the sight.

"She neutralized the ultimate soul incense? What the hell is she?"

Muttering in disbelief, she quickly sprang into action when Hyun-Ah’s eyes widened, now fully alert.

She lunged forward to restrain her.

"J-Just hold still! I’m not a bad person!"

"Who are you?!"

"Ugh. I just took a wrong turn, that's all. Miss, have you ever heard of Woochi?"

Hyun-Ah made a wary expression as she studied the woman carefully.

"Woochi?"

"You don’t know? He looks like... well, kind of like this," she said, manifesting an imitation of his aura.

"No, I have no idea."

"That's odd. This was definitely Woochi’s qi and sorcery...”

Lost in thought, the woman scrutinized Hyun-Ah up and down.

"Judging by the way you behave, you don’t seem like a human who learned sorcery. That means someone else must've cast it on you. Miss, do you know who placed that sorcery on your body?"

Hyun-Ah instinctively stepped back at the invasive question.

Most of the strange defensive magic on her body had been cast by Davey.

In other words, while she had no idea who this Woochi was, it was clear that this woman had come looking for Davey.

‘There’s no way someone who hypnotizes people on a first meeting is normal...’

If she was connected to her brother, but seemed suspicious, she figured that recklessly giving away information could cause unnecessary trouble.

Denying any knowledge was the safest option.

Just as Hyun-Ah was about to speak, the woman suddenly started sobbing.

"Hic. Woochiii. Where did you go?"

As she watched the woman break down into sorrowful tears, Hyun-Ah found herself engulfed in confusion.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she had misjudged her.

* * *

"Alright, alright. Just take it slow."

Hyun-Ah was currently serving dessert to the woman in a hanbok sitting across from her.

"Mmm! Mmm! This is delicious!"

The woman devoured the cakes Hyun-Ah handed her, as if she were a black hole sucking up everything in its path.

"It's so soft and sweet! I've never had anything like this before!"

"It's called cake."

"Cake?! Never heard that word before," the woman exclaimed in shock.

"It's English."

"English?"

"The language humans in this land use."

The woman set down her fork and made a complicated expression at the new information.

"Yeah... The world has changed way too much. Giant buildings that defy logic, lumps of metal rolling around on their own, and every human having colored eyes." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

"In this place, you'd probably be the one who looks out of place,” Hyun-Ah commented.

From her perspective, the woman was a complete mystery.

She was a stunning, East Asian-looking beauty dressed in a modified hanbok.

In addition, she seemed to recognize one of the protective spells Davey had placed on Hyun-Ah.

What was even funnier was how completely unfamiliar she was with modern civilization, as if she had been living a primitive life deep in the mountains until then.

The woman suddenly shivered with delight, enjoying the sweets.

At the same time, above her head, a pair of black animal ears suddenly perked up.

"Huh?"

For some reason, Hyun-Ah felt they looked familiar.

After a short contemplation, she let out a gasp of realization, breaking her usual composed workaholic expression.

‘That’s right! Aeria’s ears!’

"Nine-Tails!"

"Hm?"

"Are you a Nine-Tails too?"

Hyun-Ah looked at her curiously. If she was a Nine-Tails, she wondered if she was also from Tionis.

Just as she was waiting for an answer, the woman frowned and tilted her head.

"What are you talking about? What's that?"

‘I guess not?’

Hyun-Ah suddenly felt embarrassed for jumping to conclusions.

From the very beginning, her instincts had told her that the woman in front of her wasn’t human.

Her ears, and the overall feeling she gave off; she was extremely similar to Aeria. If they weren’t the same species, Hyun-Ah had no clue what she could be.

"Mmm! So good! I like it. What’s your name?"

"Hyun-Ah. Shin Hyun-Ah. And you?"

"Me? Hmm, that’s a bit tricky. Just call me Gumiho."

The woman answered with a playful smirk, making Hyun-Ah frown in confusion.

"Gumiho? You mean... a nine-tailed fox?"

"You know your stuff! That’s right! I’m a being humans both fear and desire—the Gumiho."

"So, you're a Nine-Tails."

"No! I’m telling you, I’m a Gumiho! A Gumiho!"

"It’s the same thing!"

Hyun-Ah snapped, getting irritated.

"Fine. So what’s your name?"

"I can’t tell you. If a Gumiho reveals their name carelessly, the listener will be enchanted by it. And you gave me such delicious food, so I can’t have you falling under my spell, now can I?"

That was new information.

"That’s weird. The Nine-Tails I know never had anything like that."

"What? There’s another Gumiho besides me?"

"Yeah."

"No way... We were supposed to be extinct."

She muttered to herself with a serious expression.

"Hyun-Ah. The Gumiho you’re talking about—what’s her name?"

"Aeria. Aeria O’Rowane.”

Originally, her last name had been Lyndis, but after getting married, she had changed it to O’Rowane.

"What’s with that ridiculously long name?"

"And what’s your name?"

"I already told you—if I say it, you’ll be enchanted."

At this point, Hyun-Ah started wondering if this woman was just some scam artist.

"Let me be the judge of that. Just tell me."

For some reason, she suddenly felt stubborn about it.

"Haa. You’re not going to like it. My name is..."

The woman let out a short sigh.

"Yeon."

Hyun-Ah instantly froze.

"Sigh... I knew this would happen. This is why I never reveal my name."

An enchanted victim was no different from a slave. With no other choice, Yeon materialized her vital energy pearl and prepared to use daoist magic to break Hyun-Ah out of her trance.

Or at least, that’s what she tried to do.

Zap!

"Ahhh! Ow, ow, ow! What in the world?!”

Facing a sudden spark, Hyun-Ah staggered, clutching her head.

"What the- Did you just break the enchantment on your own?!"

Yeon stared in shock as Hyun-Ah groaned and gave a small nod.

"So it was real... Sorry for doubting you."

"You... What the hell are you? No human or taoist has ever been able to dispel the enchantment on their own..."

A Gumiho’s name was strong enough to enchant even women. That was why Yeon looked so astonished.

"This is... Well, it’s a bit complicated to explain. But it's probably because of the protection my brother put on me."

"Aha! Woochi’s sorcery! It has to be! Woochi is definitely the one who cast the spell on you!"

"It’s not Woochi. It’s Davey. He used to be Shin Hyun-Su.”

"He could’ve been reincarnated!"

The mention of reincarnation made Hyun-Ah pause and think.

"I don’t think so."

"Hmm... No, I’m sure of it. This sorcery formula—only Woochi knew how to use it. By the way, the world really has changed, huh? Just how much time has passed?"

Her question suddenly made Hyun-Ah curious.

"How old are you, exactly?"

"I don’t know. I was in a deep sleep, and when I woke up, everything had changed. Oh, right! Is Silla still around?"

At the word Silla, Hyun-Ah felt her brain short-circuit.

"Silla? Wait... You mean that Silla? From the Three Kingdoms era?!"

"Yeah! We used to fight them all the time back then."

"Oh my god. I’m talking to a fossil..."

She had already accepted that the woman in front of her was real, but this was beyond absurdity.

"Wait, no. Now that I think about it, Davey being reincarnated and living in another world is already pretty bizarre, so this might not be a big leap."

The shock didn’t last too long.

"Unfortunately, the Woochi you're looking for is probably long dead."

Yeon narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"The Silla and Baekje period? That was over a thousand years ago. And this isn’t even Korea—it’s the United States."

Honestly, it made no sense for a Korean mythical creature to be wandering around in America.

Though, thanks to what she had heard from Davey about creatures like Shiverwock and Jangsan Tiger, she wasn’t too shocked.

"A thousand years. A whole one thousand years..."

Yeon muttered in a conflicted tone, and for some reason, Hyun-Ah felt a bit sorry for her.

It seemed like Woochi was an important person to her. But if it really had been a thousand years, then the odds of him being alive were slim to none.

As Hyun-Ah hesitated over whether she should comfort her, she noticed her suddenly smiling.

"Doesn’t matter. Actually, that’s even better."

She was thrown off by her answer.

"Better?"

"Yeah. If he doesn’t remember me, I won’t have to run away anymore. By the way... No matter how I look at it, the magic on your body is definitely Woochi’s sorcery. Can’t you introduce me to him?"

For some reason, her request sent a shiver down her spine.

"Uh, Yeon. Let’s just say, if Woochi really did reincarnate..."

Considering that it had been a thousand years, Hyun-Ah thought that Woochi could’ve been one of Davey’s past lives.

After all, Yeon was convinced that Davey’s protection magic was Woochi’s work.

If that were the case...

"What will you do if you meet him?"

Yeon, who had been grinning brightly, responded casually.

"What else? This time, I’ll make sure he never runs away again. I’ll tie him down and love him properly."

Watching her say such a thing with a blissful expression, Hyun-Ah’s face turned pale.

‘I absolutely cannot let her meet him!’

Regardless of who she really was, Hyun-Ah came to the conclusion that she was definitely not normal.

And Davey was supposed to be visiting soon. That meant she needed to send Yeon straight to Korea now, before he arrived.

"Hyun-Ah, can you get me a Santa outfit?”

He said in a slow, teasing voice.

Hyun-Ah froze.

‘Oh, you absolute disaster of a human...!’