The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1013

Amidst the quiet atmosphere, four people exchanged glances.

The first to speak was Davey.

“A Gumiho? Am I seeing things?

“Hmmm. This is interesting. Seems like she's of a similar kind to Aeria.”

Hyun-Ah broke into a cold sweat and avoided eye contact, while the Gumiho woman, who had been silently glaring at him, stood up and looked him up and down.

“Hmm. No. The energy is similar, but the color of his soul isn’t the same as Woochi’s.”

‘Woochi?’

Davey instinctively realized that she was the owner of the hairpin.

‘So that’s what it is. She’s the one who made Woochi tremble in fear and run away.’

Davey had been curious about who Woochi, the embodiment of arrogance and someone who acted as if he was above all things in the world, was utterly terrified of.

The owner of the hairpin.

He figured the Gumiho in front of him was her.

Of course, he was just guessing, but his instincts were screaming that he was right.

“Davey, that’s the face you make when you’re up to something troublesome.”

“When have I ever?”

“Tsk.”

But no matter how much of a Nine-Tails she was, if she had existed since Woochi’s time, he thought it was odd that she wasn’t already dead.

Deep in thought, Davey decided to clear up the biggest question that came to mind.

“I’m sorry to ask, but—”

After much consideration, he asked directly, “How old are you?”

Silence fell.

* * *

There was a possibility that Woochi was Davey’s past life.

Although he was currently known as Davey O’Rowane, he had once existed as a human named Shin Hyun-Su and had become Davey through reincarnation.

If that was the case, he could’ve been anyone before becoming Shin Hyun-Su.

That was what confused Hyun-Ah the most.

In truth, in one of his past lives, he was Freyja, the Saintess of Tionis, who could channel the Primordial Will in its purest form. However, there were no memories or traces of that past.

The assumption that Woochi was his past life was clearly incorrect, but Hyun-Ah had no way of knowing that.

Besides, when Yeon had mentioned Woochi’s qi, it’d made Davey uneasy. He began to worry if there was a past even he was unaware of.

If he really was Woochi...

‘She doesn’t seem like a bad person... but she’s way too dangerous.’

Hyun-Ah knew all too well how frighteningly accurate human intuition could be.

“Let’s confirm something first,” Davey, who had been silently watching Yeon, finally spoke.

“Did you remove all traces of your enchantment from Hyun-Ah?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking politely, since you might be my master’s wife.”

His calm expression carried a chilling intensity.

“If you’ve left even the slightest bit of that enchantment on her, remove it now. Otherwise... things are going to get very ugly.”

He was smiling, but the malicious energy he let out made her feel as if he could tear her apart at any moment.

Yeon paled slightly, but her mental fortitude was stronger than one might expect. Though she grimaced, she did not back down.

As the killing aura thickened, Hyun-Ah, unable to bear the tension, shot up from her seat to stop him.

“D-Davey, stop! It’s fine! I’m completely fine!”

“Be quiet. Do I look like I’m talking to you right now?”

Hyun-Ah froze in place, like a frog caught in front of a snake.

Instinctively, she realized that her brother was furious.

Meanwhile, Yeon—her face still pale—let out a quiet sigh.

“Sorry, but don’t treat me like some rude devil. I’ve already severed ties with all those scumbags,” she muttered in irritation. “Damn it! No sign of Woochi, and now I’m surrounded by weirdos...”

“If not, then we’re okay. I heard you were looking for Woochi?”

“Davey?”

Hyun-Ah looked at him with growing unease, her expression filled with suspicion. But Davey didn’t seem to care.

“You know Woochi?” Yeon asked.

“Of course I do. That’s why I’m asking—this hairpin. Is it yours?”

Davey quickly used a pen to sketch the hairpin that had pierced Jangsan Tiger.

Yeon silently stared at the drawing before speaking.

“What the heck? This isn’t a brush, so why is ink coming out of it?”

Davey was left speechless.

Fascinated, she snatched the pen from his hand, her eyes shining with excitement.

“Hey, can I have this? It’s really cool!”

“I can give you even more of them, if you want.”

“Really?! Thanks!”

She cheerfully hugged Hyun-Ah tightly, leaving her flustered.

Tap, tap.

“You came here to meet Woochi, didn’t you?”

“Oh, right. I totally forgot. Yeah, that hairpin—it’s mine.”

‘Bingo.’

“The Jangsan Tiger, too?”

“That cat? Not sure how you know about it, but yeah. It had already weakened significantly, so taking it down wasn’t difficult. But before I could retrieve my hairpin, I got sucked into some weird gap, and when I came to my senses, I was around here.”

“D-Davey... You’re not actually Woochi, are you?” Hyun-Ah chimed in.

“No. Why?”

“N-No reason. As long as you’re not, it’s fine... So, do you know him?”

“He was my sorcery master.”

Apparently, that wasn’t the answer she had expected. Her face twisted in a mix of confusion and disbelief.

"Wait a minute. You’re saying he was your master? Then does that mean this so-called master has been alive since the Silla era?"

"Yeah! Where is Woochi at now?! If you know, tell me! I’ll make sure to repay you!"

Facing their barrage of questions, Davey closed his eyes for a moment, contemplating. Then, he gave them a simple answer.

"He died a long time ago. He’s not around anymore."

It was the undeniable truth. There was no way Woochi, who had existed so long ago, could still be alive.

Yeon let out a reassuring chuckle.

"Yeah, I figured. It’s been over a thousand years since Silla existed. No matter how powerful a taoist he was, he couldn’t have lived that long. Even if he could, I doubt he’d have wanted to."

She seemed to deliberately speak casually about it.

"But I don’t care. If his soul entered the cycle of reincarnation and was reborn, I’ll still love him regardless of whether he’s a man or a woman. More importantly, since you’re calling him your master, does that mean you remember your past life? That’s pretty rare."

"I’m not sure how to put this..."

Davey hesitated for a moment before giving a brutal answer.

"He didn’t reincarnate—he’s completely gone from this world. The one who taught me was just his lingering soul."

Yeon’s head tilted with astonishment, mouth left gaping.

She looked like she wanted to speak but had no idea what to say.

* * *

“Damn it! No way! I can’t just sit here! I need a plan!”

Woochi clutched his head with both hands, trembling.

Watching him with a look of utter disdain, Astrea—the King of Conquest and the founder of the Paladia-style Galactic Spear—clicked his tongue.

“What the hell are you freaking out for? You’re a grown man. If you act this spineless, how are you planning to handle things later?”

“You idiot! You don’t get it! No, this is really bad. I need to find a safe place to hide, or maybe even seal myself away!”

Screaming, Woochi shot to his feet and began frantically rummaging through the bundle at his waist, pulling out talismans one after another.

“Not this one. Not this one either... Dammit! Where the hell did I put it?”

“Ugh. Here he goes again.”

Watching him in exasperation, Yuriana the Spirit Queen let out a sigh.

Meanwhile, Ylgr, the Demon King and King of Martial Arts, smirked in amusement.

“Well, since things have come to this, how about we start betting?”

The heroes—including Saint Daphne, Odin, and Hypocria—immediately gathered around at the potential excitement.

“What is it? What is it? Something fun again?” Daphne, who still looked satisfied after utterly wrecking Bow Lord Apollo in an earlier match, asked excitedly.

“What’s the game this time?”

“You remember that hairpin Davey brought back recently? Apparently, its owner has shown up in middle earth. The woman it belongs to has got Woochi shaking in his boots.”

Everyone nodded in understanding.

“We’ll bet on what Davey does when he meets her—no cheating with clairvoyance, you all. Let’s just go with instinct and have some fun.”

The heroes all pulled out pouches from who-knows-where.

“Are we betting with jade stones again?”

“Of course. But this time, I think I’ll bet against the odds. Davey may be a lunatic, but he really followed and respected Woochi.”

“That he did.”

“With that in mind, do you really think he’ll make the two meet when Woochi is already this terrified? I’m betting fifty jade stones that Davey will make sure they never meet.”

The other heroes exchanged glances.

“Yeah. Hypocria and Woochi were the two people Davey followed the most.”

Daphne, seemingly convinced, then tossed her pouch onto the pile with a declaration. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

“I’ll match Ylgr’s wager—fifty stones. But I’m betting against you, instead. Ylgr, you still don’t know that guy well enough, eh?”

“Same here. I’m with Daphne.”

Some heroes were still convinced by Ylgr, so they placed their bets that Davey would prevent their meeting.

“Fair point. But do you really think that Davey is so reckless he can’t separate personal matters from business? And look at Woochi—if the person he followed so well is this scared, even Davey won’t just let them meet so easily.”

Ylgr played up his reasoning, trying to sway those who hadn’t placed bets yet.

“In the end, it’s your choice.”

“Umm. I’ll take the opposing bet, with Ylgr. Put me down for one hundred stones.”

“Hic!! If the Goddess of Fortune bet on that side, then it’s already decided! I’m going all in on the opposite of Rho Aias. Hic!”

“Hey! I’m putting everything on the same side as this bastard! I’ll even bet both my hands, that damned Davey is definitely up to something.”

Surtr, the Thousand-day Blacksmith, visibly trembled as he placed his bet, clearly holding a grudge from one of his past losses.

Meanwhile, Dokgo Jun ignored them all, casually downing his liquor straight from a gourd while absentmindedly picking his ear.

And so, the gambling scene in the Saint Sanctuary was stirred back to life.

“Shit. Maybe I should’ve just bet normally instead of trying to gamble on a miracle.”

Ylgr, who had ended up betting on the same side as Rho Aias at the last minute, muttered under his breath, his face turning pale.

* * *

Hearing that Woochi hadn't reincarnated, Yeon went blank for a moment.

Her name alone was enough to entrance people, so all Davey was able to hear was her surname—Bi. But her actual name didn't really matter.

"Hey. Human. I don’t like jokes."

"I'm not joking either, Bi," Davey replied. "It’s been over a thousand years. Woochi passed away a long time ago."

"Hah. So you're saying Woochi died and didn’t reincarnate?"

"Yes."

"That he no longer exists in this world at all?"

When Davey nodded again, her eyes slitted vertically, and black markings resembling whiskers appeared on her cheeks.

Wham!

She let out a foxfire apparition and lunged at him. With her ears sharp and upright, she grabbed him by the collar.

"Human. I told you—I don’t like jokes."

"I don’t like repeating myself, either," Davey warned in a low voice, meeting her gaze.

Perserque reached out and easily took the woman’s hands off of Davey.

"Enough. This isn’t Davey’s fault, so don’t take your anger out on him."

She staggered slightly before collapsing back onto the couch.

"That... That can’t be true.”

"But it is. You need to accept it."

"It doesn’t make sense! How is that possible?! How can a soul not reincarnate!?” she shouted in rage.

As if reacting to her chaotic emotions, the surroundings began to tremble. Seeing that, Perserque flicked her fingers, releasing glowing butterflies that dispersed into the air, forcefully calming her.

Souls always reincarnated.

It was an assumption she had made, but only because she wasn’t aware of special circumstances.

"A soul undergoes endless cycles of reincarnation. There are no exceptions."

"That’s how it seems, sure. But it’s not impossible. Some souls don’t reincarnate for over ten thousand years."

"And what do you know?!"

"Tell me, do I look like just a regular human to you?"

She didn’t have an answer for him.

He figured that, as a Nine-Tails who had cultivated vital energy for centuries, she must’ve sensed something different about him.

After all, Davey had once been Freyja, the Saintess of Tionis, over ten thousand years ago.

Yet after that life, he’d never reincarnated until he became Shin Hyun-Su. There was a ten-thousand-year gap between his reincarnations.

Her pupils trembled violently.

"Ten thousand years... No way. Even though I can live for a long time, I only survived a thousand years because I was sealed. I wouldn’t last over even five hundred otherwise."

She couldn't survive waiting ten thousand years.

Once despair set in, she began to cry.

"This is impossible. This can’t be happening! Woochi, hic."

Watching her sob so miserably, even Hyun-Ah, who had been wary of her, hesitated. Not knowing what to do, she clutched a handkerchief in her hands and shot Davey a pleading look.

He felt like she was telling him to do something, calling him all sorts of weird things to admonish him.

At least, that was the message he got from her glare.

“What exactly was your relationship with Woochi?”

If she was simply his loving wife, Woochi’s reaction before seemed far too extreme.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sniffled.

"What do you mean, what relationship?! We were married! Why else would I miss him so much?!"

"You were really married? Seriously?"

"Yes!"

"Then why was Woochi so terrified of you?"

She started hiccuping from shock, her voice rising in frustration.

"I don’t know! I just loved him, but one day he suddenly started avoiding me! Wait a second... That’s strange."

Finally, she seemed to catch the contradiction Davey had subtly mentioned.

‘Think carefully. But once you decide, act without hesitation.’

Making up his mind in an instant, Davey threw her a lifeline.

"There is one more case where a soul doesn’t reincarnate. Want to hear it?"

There was a clear hint in his words.

He was Woochi’s disciple from a thousand years ago; he knew exactly what had happened to him; and most importantly, he had mentioned that Woochi feared her.

All of these things should’ve been impossible—unless his soul still existed.

"Wait... That doesn’t make sense. Are you lying to me? How could someone who died a thousand years ago have taught you and told you about me?"

"Isn’t it obvious? If a soul still exists, it won’t reincarnate. It can even talk to people."

His single statement had a massive impact.

As she looked at him, Davey smirked and formed a small circle with his thumb and index finger.

"So you’re saying... his soul is still intact? That he hasn’t reincarnated, but still exists as a soul?"

"Wow, were you She-lock Sholmes in a past life? Nothing ever gets past you,” he chuckled jokingly.

At last, she understood. Davey was the one person who could help her meet him.

“Are you telling the truth?"

"If you give me a good offer and the price is right, I’ll even capture him alive and bring him before you."

The Saint Sanctuary was inaccessible to anyone unless they possessed divinity—Davey, for example.

But the other way around was a different story.

Even if not for long, he could forcefully manifest a soul into the physical world for about a week if he really put his mind to it.

Both he and the other heroes knew this.

And for a lesser divinity with minimal influence, like Woochi and Odin, it’d be even easier.

Despite seeing his eerie smile, Hyun-Ah still didn’t seem to grasp the situation fully.

"Davey, so you're saying Woochi’s soul hasn’t reincarnated, and you can make contact with him?"

"Something like that. So, what will it be, Bi? Just so you know, if I don’t help, you’ll never be able to meet him, no matter what you do."

Perserque’s expression grew complicated at his silly negotiation tactics.

"Manifesting him, huh...?"

Whatever Bi was thinking, she seemed completely lost in thought.

"He’s still... alive? The real Woochi—not reincarnated, but existing as a soul?"

"That’s what I’m telling you. He’s doing just fine. And if you don’t agree now, I won’t be offering my help later. You better decide quickly."

He couldn’t believe he was about to witness something this entertaining, all because he’d gone out to pick up Santa suits as gifts for Red Ribbon, Blue Ribbon, and the other children.

After hesitating, she cautiously asked, "What’s the price?"

"I’ll tell you later."

It sounded like coercion, but he couldn’t care less.

She was the one who was desperate.

In truth, what Davey wanted from her wasn’t even that big.

He just wanted a spectacular show. It would be a show so entertaining and ridiculously rare that even if someone paid a fortune, they’d never get to witness it again.

Somewhere in the distance, he swore he heard raucous cheers of excitement.