The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1282

Auxiliary Bishop Tophenne followed Roam to a secluded area.

“Are you worried?”

‘Hmm. He wasn’t this kind of man before.’

For a priest, Roam harbored an unusually dark and twisted desire. Hence, even though Tophenne occasionally sympathized with his ideology, he’d never liked him as a person.

There were parts of the situation Tophenne had found himself in that he couldn’t quite understand.

The current events, the divine revelation, and Roam’s approach... Something didn’t quite seem right with any of it.

“Father Roam, what exactly is God trying to tell us?”

Questioning such a directive alone wounded his pride as a devout priest. As His mere creation, he knew he shouldn't commit the blasphemous act of testing the Creator's will. However, he just couldn't bring himself to suppress his curiosity.

“Do not doubt,” Roam replied. “I received the revelation to guide you first. To put it bluntly, I believe the root of this whole incident lies with Saint Davey.”

Tophenne’s eyes widened at those words. “Is that true?!”

“Auxiliary Bishop Tophenne. Even after receiving the divine stigmata, you still harbor doubt?”

Tophenne’s face twisted with confusion. “But if he’s a false saint as God claimed, then the stigma he received is...?”

“The stigma is a mark granted by God, but it is also something that can disappear. Think about it, has the existence of a saint or saintess been revealed and recorded since the First Saintess Daphne? Not once. Thus, it’s possible those who received the stigmata fell into corruption and were erased from history.”

If Tophenne had been more discerning, he would’ve noticed the contradiction in that statement. However, his sudden bestowal of a stigma kept him from thinking clearly. The mere fact that he had received the divine mark overwhelmed him so much that he couldn’t consider anything else. Just looking at the faintly glowing stigmata made him feel as though his entire life’s purpose had been validated.

Still, he was doubtful. “You’re saying Davey caused all of this? Where’s the proof?”

“You must’ve seen him turn a blind eye to those in pain,” Roam calmly replied. “There’s more evidence as well, but now’s not the time.”

“What do you mean it’s not the time?! People are suffering even as we speak!”

“Auxiliary Bishop Tophenne,” Roam called out to him in a low voice. “Do you know how powerful Prince Davey is?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ve heard that even the Empire doesn’t lightly interfere with the Heins Territory.”

It was hard to believe a mere territory could rival an entire empire in terms of strength.

“It’s true. If things go south here, he’ll drag this entire continent into ruin. By then, it’ll already be too late.”

“But even if we move in secret like this...” Tophenne had a hard time believing they could pull anything off against that man.

“There’s only one chance. We don’t know what he’s trying to gain by causing this mess and shifting the blame to someone else, but it can’t be anything good.”

Right. He had been bestowed with a stigma. That meant Roam, who was designated as his guide, had to be credible and trustworthy.

Auxiliary Bishop Tophenne drew in a short breath. “Even with my family’s backing, I can’t stop him directly.”

“That’s exactly why you were chosen: you’re insignificant.”

“What?”

Roam shot him a sharp stare. “Do you really think Saint Davey will care about you? Not a chance, not even close. That’s what gives you a chance! Someone like you can find a blind spot he hasn't noticed and then strike. Listen to me, Auxiliary Bishop Tophenne. Do you know why the saints and saintesses of the past were able to accomplish such great feats?”

With a tongue like a serpent, Roam continued to manipulate Tophenne. Taking advantage of the young man’s devout nature, he preyed on his faith in the stigma.

“Why?”

“The stigma carries God’s blessing. The mark given to you is a form of protection.”

“Protection?”

“Yes. God told me that the power of your stigma can be used to cast a time barrier around that man. Even for a powerful saint like him, if he gets caught in a time gap, unless he possesses some exceptional force capable of ignoring otherworldly powers, he won’t escape easily.”

“But what if he doesn’t respond according to our plan?”

“Don’t worry. He’s searching for something, but God said he won’t find it easily. Once he starts to falter, we will wait for the right moment and take action.”

Had Tophenne known that Davey wielded various forces, including the power of Predatory Assimilation and Super Ribbon, he never would’ve accepted Roam’s proposition.

Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t help but be swayed again by the question of whether a human could truly be that powerful.

“It only needs to be for a moment. Just trap him in the barrier. While he’s caught, I’ll put an end to this nightmare that’s stealing people’s souls. This ritual is massive, and Saint Davey has invested heavily in it. If it fails, the massive recoil will neutralize him. Then, we’ll present the evidence and subdue him.”

“Can that really be done?”

“Yes. If you cannot trust me, then trust in the stigma.”

“In that case... I’ll believe you. Tell me exactly what I need to do.”

Roam couldn’t help but smile. “All in accordance with God’s will.”

“In accordance with the Goddess’s will...”

Tophenne didn’t realize at all that there was something off about what Roam said.

* * *

Saintess Lena’s expression hardened as she listened to the bishops’ report.

“There are no fatalities, excluding a few minor accidents, but everyone who had something drained from them is in this condition.”

It was like they were lifeless. Though clearly alive, they looked as soulless as could be.

Tears welled in her eyes. “It’s so frustrating that there’s nothing I can do.”

If there was one thing a person could be certain of regarding Saintess Lena, it was her selflessness.

She felt distinctly different from Shuneria of the Nacha Empire.

“Davey, isn’t there anything you can do?”

Even after scouring through all the ancient texts, she hadn’t found a single case similar to what had just happened. In the end, the only person she could lean on was Davey, who had received his stigma before she did.

“It’s like their souls have been taken.”

Davey reassured her, “Their souls haven’t been taken, so don’t worry. Once we take care of the one behind all this, we’ll find a solution.”

Her usually soft and dreamy eyes narrowed as she put pressure on him. “Really? Do you honestly think so?”

“Yes. I’m not entirely sure, but what they’ve lost is something akin to vitality. It’s some kind of innate human energy.”

It was a different kind of formless energy that living beings carried, something impossible to measure or control.

Saintess Daphne had once described such an ailment as having one's time stolen. She didn’t know what the side effects were, or even whether it was realistically possible. However, she made it clear that losing it wouldn’t immediately endanger their lives.

- Extreme lethargy. Disorientation. Impaired judgment. Along with several other side effects. But they’re more temporary than permanent.

After explaining that much, she had left, saying she had something important to prepare.

Though she’d acted as if she’d stick around to support him, she had left anyway. Just before she did, though, Davey had asked her another question.

- Why even come down here and say you’d help if this is what you’re going to do?

Her answer had been vague at best.

- I’m preparing something for the entire Holy Empire. Besides, it wouldn’t be good if my face got too well-known.

If she had a plan, Davey had no choice but to respect it.

The Continental Council gathered again amidst the chaos, and Davey didn’t waste time. He knew there was no point in keeping things hidden if he wanted fast cooperation, so he stated his purpose directly.

“I’ll be blunt. The demon I killed in the Haetan Kingdom worked with the same being that once controlled the demonkind. I don’t know if it was the last of its kind.” Davey paused, then looked at the gathered leaders. “The explosion that occurred in the Haetan Kingdom wasn’t like this situation. It was just an aftershock from the demon’s resurrection. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Hesitantly, one of them remarked, “Then...”

“That's right. This is far worse than what happened back then. We have to stop worrying about the small stuff and eliminate the root cause of this situation.”

It was safe to assume that once the demon was beheaded, it would vanish.

First of all, the creature didn’t die even from Super Ribbon’s slices or high-level magic.

Whether its time-related powers had interfered, or it was hiding some other trick, Davey didn’t know. What he did know was that he had to teach it that three strikes meant it was out.

Even if Super Ribbon wasn't effective, he’d use the authority of Predatory Assimilation if he had to.

“The problem is finding that thing.”

“It’s like a natural disaster occurred, but there’s no trace of this demon anywhere.”

That was the biggest issue. Despite the Holy Empire being thrown into chaos, no one could figure out where the ritual was even taking place.

Davey clicked his tongue in frustration. “I really didn’t want to use this move.”

He slowly stood up.

Albert, Yulis, and the others turned to look at him.

Yulis, who often visited Evangeline’s lair, seemed to realize what Davey was about to do. “Davey, don’t tell me...”

“Yes,” he confirmed. “I didn’t want to, but I have no choice.”

Right in front of everyone, Davey gently slashed his hand through the air. The space itself tore open.

“What else can I do? I need to find that demon bastard.”

Crossing through the rift in space, Davey stepped before the room he had targeted and knocked once before swinging the door open.

There, sitting in front of a computer monitor, Evangeline was shrieking while covering her face with both hands, spinning around like a maniac.

Davey was speechless. He had messed up.

Evangeline wasn’t a child anymore, and he should’ve respected her privacy. Instead, he had just quickly knocked and barged in without giving her time to respond.

He braced himself, wondering how he should explain himself while also expecting her to scream at him in rage to get out.

Instead, with a sudden shriek and a beaming face, she bolted toward him at lightning speed and clung to him tightly. “Dad!!! I love you!!”

“Evangeline?”

Her reaction was so far beyond what he’d expected that his mind completely blanked for a moment.

Still, seeing Evangeline—who always complained about the smell of alcohol and said she hated him—clinging to him like this wasn’t so bad.

Davey couldn’t help but smile.

[????]

[No way... she’s going to run away just like that?!]

[What’s Boss doing?! You think bets are a joke?!]

He glanced at the chat and quickly pieced together what had happened.

On her monitor, he could see an RPG game she wasn’t even good at.

“Eva, did you make a bet?”

“Dad! Talk later! Let’s go now! Everything’s on me!! Just say what you want!!” She kept pushing him toward the door, urging him to leave quickly.

He finally figured out what was really going on. She must’ve lost a bet with her viewers and was about to do an embarrassing dance. The moment Davey appeared, she immediately seized her chance to escape.

‘What was I expecting anyway.’

Still, he appreciated those viewers for making her show such a cute side of herself.

“Well, what does that matter? It’s nice seeing my daughter being all cute,” Davey murmured under his breath, a flood of question marks being spammed in the chat. “Evangeline, there’s something urgent that I need your help with. Can you stop the stream?”

“Huh? Ah. But it’s only been an hour?”

She couldn’t hide her troubled expression, but Davey gravely responded, “If you don’t come now, I don’t know how many people will die in Tionis.”

Without asking for any more details, she turned back to the screen.

“Everyone, I think I have to end the stream here.”

[Huh... you’re leaving already?]

[Boss, it’s cold here...]

[Where are we? It’s too dark...]

[You psychos, cut it out. Let her go, lives are at stake! The stream can wait.]

[I definitely won’t be crying while you’re gone. Go... Just go!!]

Thankfully, most of the viewers seemed to understand. It was a testament to the great community and reputation that Evangeline had built up over time.

Now that he had thought about it, she really seemed to be an absolute natural at streaming.

Davey glanced over and saw the viewer count was nearing two hundred thousand.

“Then bye, everyone. See you next time.”

[You know you still owe us that punishment when you come back, right?]

“What are you talking about? A bet ends when the stream ends. Maybe next time!”

[There is nothing behind those eyes, not even a conscience (T-T)]

Successfully avoiding the punishment, Evangeline ended the stream, let out a short sigh, and looked at Davey with a relieved face.

He silently tore open another rift and brought her back with him to the Holy Empire.

However, the moment they arrived, Evangeline flared up in rage, her power exploding outward. “Is that? Yes, it’s that bastard!! He’s alive!!”

Davey could only wonder why demons and ancient dragons were such natural enemies.

No matter how well the creature could hide, there was no way it could escape Evangeline.