The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1322

All life was fated to eventually die. Egos eventually wore away and disappeared.

There was no way someone who’d practiced necromancy like Davey could be ignorant of that fact. Still, even as a Death Lord-level necromancer, for all his understanding of life and death, Davey couldn't easily accept the sudden death of a loved one.

Willow had returned to nothingness. He immediately tried to think of any possible ways to revive her. He came up with one, though he knew it was reckless and absurd.

Nonetheless, he couldn't stop himself. He quickly made his way to the Saint Sanctuary to meet up with Goddess Freyja’s manifestation. Catching her asleep, he quickly spoke to wake her up, “Goddess, it’s not healthy to sleep too long.”

She groggily raised her tablet above her.

[Don’t give me that bullshit.]

“You’re the only one who can make this possible. Then again, you already knew that, didn't you? You must’ve known that I’d come looking for you here.”

[Yes, I knew.]

“Then why didn't you say anything?! Why?!” he suddenly screamed in a fit.

Despite his loud display, she looked at him calmly.

[If you waver, the flow of vitality wavers too.]

“She’s not just dead, she fucking vanished!! God dammit, you really think I could calm down right now?!”

For all his shouting, Davey couldn’t help but feel himself to be pathetic.

‘Even if she had told me ahead of time, would anything have truly changed?’

Seeming to know what he was thinking, she quietly showed him her tablet.

[You must be very sad.]

He couldn’t argue with that.

She didn't chide him at all. Still, every time the tablet in her hand flashed, he felt as if a dagger pierced his heart.

The fact just kept spinning around in his head, a recursive plummet into despair. Even if she had told him, he knew it would’ve been too late.

When he finally slumped down, she slowly reached out and embraced his head.

His visit to the goddess was just an act of desperation, unable to think of any other way to save Willow.

The slumbering omnipotent goddess would be able to do more than the avatar before him, but she was different from her relatively expressive avatar. Even if her emotions were somewhat awakened, she was fundamentally an emotionless transcendent being.

Even if she had started to favor him lately, the odds of her willingly breaking fundamental rules to bring Willow back were pitifully low.

Even if she did make a move; even if she made it possible for Willow to exist again, the consequences would spread into areas nobody could easily handle.

So, she merely comforted him in silence.

‘There’s nothing I can do... The one who truly deserves this comfort is Willow.’

He knew he had no right to be comforted. Though he had known the goddess wouldn’t help him, he’d still gone to see her. In the end, their meeting yielded almost nothing.

* * *

All notion of heading back to Tionis had fled from Davey’s crowded and despairing mind.

Instead of returning home, he went to the Butterfly Empress Island where Willow had vanished.

Once arriving, he asked aloud, “Why’d you follow me?”

[It's a place stained with sad memories.]

The goddess gave an out-of-the-blue answer and silently watched him.

Waking up the true Goddess Freyja to reverse Willow's disappearance had become virtually impossible. Even if he kept demanding it, there was no chance for the sleeping goddess to wake up. However, that didn’t mean he could just stand still.

Willow had vanished there, yet not a single trace of her remained anywhere on the island. Walking around, looking utterly lost, he silently stared at the night sea lit by the moonlight. Eventually, he mused, “If I could, I want to erase this memory of mine.”

‘Have I ever hated my Absolute Memory so much?’

It was true that he didn't have many memories together with Willow. However, a parent's love for their child didn't weaken just because they lacked plentiful memories. Especially now, with children of his own that he cherished so much, his anguish was even more intense.

‘Will drinking strong liquor help?’

He tore open his Pocket Plane to pull out a jug of Nirvana Brew. He slumped down on the shore and chugged the priceless concoction, blankly listening to the sound of the waves.

It was a special liquor, strong enough to make even the seasoned alcoholics from the Hall of Heroes, so he drank it desperately, hoping to feel its effects take over.

Normally, he would’ve felt tipsy and cheerful. Instead the more he drank, the more lugubrious he felt.

Drinking the liquor like a madman, he muttered into the air, “I wish she could’ve at least been reincarnated.”

Willow originally possessed an ego, but was never exactly a living being. As an artificial creation, her soul was different from that of an ordinary living being. Having been gnawed away by the power of the Abyss and Predatory Assimilation until she vanished, the concept of reincarnation was nothing more than a luxury for her.

“What’s the point of being able to control souls...” he muttered forlornly before raising his head. “Willow... Willow...”

He kept repeating her name, a name he had never called out properly, as his sorrow for her only deepened.

Then, the goddess showed him her tablet.

[Return to the children who are worried about you.]

“I don’t feel like it today...” His words almost slurred like a drunk, but a part of his mind was perfectly clear. Muttering blankly, he started drinking the Nirvana Brew again.

The goddess just sat across from him, quietly closing her eyes. “Goddess, isn’t the world so cruel? How could it not give me even a single chance?”

People say hardship makes a person stronger. Surely, what doesn’t kill them makes them grow and evolve like a Super Saiyan.

Normally, he would’ve accepted such platitudes, but he felt he absolutely couldn’t endure it at that moment. Her absence felt overwhelming, and so he kept drinking.

Then, his eyes caught something subtle. It was a small pouch that Willow seemed to have dropped while fleeing from him.

Just as her physical body had been Super Ribbon's, the pouch also remained intact and left behind.

Stumbling forward, drunk, he picked it up and checked what was inside.

It didn’t hold something grand, by any means. Inside it was one small, passport-sized photo of him and another small piece of paper.

“What’s this?”

Blankly unfolding the paper, he realized it was a letter she had left behind.

- Dad.

Her handwriting was similar to Super Ribbon's, yet he could tell the tone and feel of it was slightly different. He could tell it was clearly hers, and blankly read the letter she had written. It was the last trace of her he would ever have.

- I really thought hard and long about whether to write this letter. If you’re reading this, I must have already vanished. I truly thought a lot about whether I really needed to leave such lingering feelings behind.

The handwriting seemed to instill a sense of relief.

- At first, I resented you a lot. I was hurt, and I was miserable. You didn't even try to recognize me until the very end!

- Still, I couldn't do that anymore. I still remember the first time I saw you, when I first gained my will. Even though you weren’t looking at me, that brightly smiling face of yours stayed in my memory for a very long time.

- A lot of things happened after that. I watched from afar, worrying a lot about Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon possibly losing control of their power. If they went berserk, you’d get hurt! I tried my best to prevent that from behind the scenes, but now I wonder if you were ever aware of it at all.

- Do you remember that day? The day you forcibly drew out Red Ribbon’s power for the first time? The time you gathered the thunderclouds in the atmosphere at Ordem Territory and dealt with a ton of chimeras?

- Controlling the rampaging power that day was really hard, but at the same time, I felt proud. Proud I was able to help you in a real, practical way. I kept thinking about how I would brag and show off to you once we finally and formally met someday.

- I still can’t go outside into the physical world myself right now, but I’ve worked hard to become a great source of strength for you when I finally can. I guess it was all for nothing, though.

Part of the paper looked as if it had been soaked, crumpled and wrinkled. It didn't take long for him to realize it was her tears.

He trembled as he continued to read, seeing a clumsy emoticon angrily pouting as if to say, 'I'm mad!'

- >:( As you know, I couldn't make it outside even in the end. It was already a struggle just to control my own power, and my resentment started growing more than my hope. It seemed like you’d never recognize me, and no matter how loud I screamed that I was in pain, you couldn’t hear me. I was so afraid that I might suffer forever like this, without you ever even knowing I was here.

He started trembling even harder.

- Actually, me managing to take control outside was all just one big coincidence. It was only because Super Ribbon was under immense stress, and so I got sucked into the gap. Funny, right? Unintentionally getting to breathe the world's air, I found it felt stale yet refreshing. Actually, the first thing I thought about was finally getting to meet you.

He saw countless tear stains across the letter as his eyes traveled further down the paper.

- Saying I hate you, that you’re annoying, that I despise you... Even as I muttered those things to myself like a mantra, only I suffered more. That...

He saw a bunch of crossed out sentences after that. Though it was a mess, he tried to read the part that followed the erased section.

- Still, I don’t regret it. Oh, I hope you’re not crying while reading this.

Given the letter had gotten wet, the writing on the back was hardly discernible. Davey couldn’t fathom how much she had cried.

However, he soon realized it wasn't actually her fault.

“Ah. Aaaah!”

What made the letter difficult to read weren’t her tears, but his own tears falling onto the dry letter. Although a significant amount was already smudged and erased, the last sentence was still clear.

- I love you. From your first daughter, Willow, who loved you the most in the world.

“Uwaaaah!!!!” Clutching the letter in one hand, all he could do was sob and wail, crouching down.

Thud! Thud! Thud!!

He pounded the ground like a madman as he screamed in pain. Every time he did, the earth cracked and twisted. The surrounding atmosphere, affected by his unstable will, heavily shuddered with each blow.

The calm night sea raged endlessly, and the quiet wind scattered like a storm.

A terrible sense of self-loathing and grief began to gnaw at his whole body. He kept screaming while sobbing, unable to stop the tears streaming down his face.

The goddess silently hugged him.

Normally, he wouldn’t have bothered returning a hug to just an avatar However, at that moment, he had no capacity to think of anything else. He let go of everything and cried like a child in her arms, shedding endless tears.

It was the first time in his current life he’d felt so hateful and unforgiving of himself, the most since he died in his previous life without apologizing to Hyun-Ah.

The goddess merely comforted him in silence.

There was no way to go back. Willow was gone, and he had the duty to bear that weight.

He knew there’d be no way to revive her without the Goddess's unique authority.

Then, a chilling thought suddenly crossed his mind. Even if this was his daughter's revenge for not recognizing her, he felt he had no choice but to surrender to that flow.

As if noticing his intent, the Goddess tightly embraced him and floated her tablet in the air.

[Stop. No, that wouldn’t be right.]

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

The Goddess looked at him with a sad expression.

Suddenly enthralled by the method that had suddenly flashed in his mind, he refused to back down and pushed forward with his decision. “If you won't help, I’ll just have to use another method. I’ll deal directly with the world’s law.”

If he couldn't revive the child with the power of the Creator God who ruled over all things, then he would use other means to make it possible.

Ignoring Goddess Freyja, who was blocking his path and spreading her arms as if to restrain him, he transformed his entire body.

His firm muscles slowly disappeared, and fair, smooth skin covered his entire body. His short hair grew long according to the form of genderlessness, and faint specks of light scattered over his entire body. He had assumed the divine physical form most fitting for divinity.

The Goddess reached out to restrain him, but he didn't let that stop him.

He tore through the void and headed straight for the Saint Sanctuary. To be more precise, he shot for the center of the Saint Sanctuary, far in its depths. It was the sacred space where the core of the world’s law resided.

There he saw a massive sphere of energy. It looked calm enough on the surface, seeming like nothing special. However, inside was a colossal collection of information that made up the world, as well as the fundamental hidden side of the Goddess that regulated the world.

Splash. Splash.

Davey walked through an area flooded with shallow water

At the same time, the Primordial Predator, the power that could interfere with the world’s law, manifested.

“Give me the authority of time. I’ll pay the price.”

He knew it was a mad act, but he couldn't stop. The smile Willow had shown before she vanished was on the verge of gnawing at his mind and driving him insane. Each smile and sorrowful tears of hers were unforgettable.

His damned Absolute Memory would probably torment him for the rest of his life.

Even if it was hypocrisy, and even if it was just for his own satisfaction, as long as a faint sliver of hope existed, he had no intention of stopping. He felt a strong sense of karma accumulating, becoming a burden he’d have to carry for the rest of his life.

Whummm!!

The world’s law rejected his demand, causing a massive ripple and trying to push him away.

However, he didn't stop there. If the world’s law rejected his proposal, he was determined to forcefully get what he wanted.

Boom!!

However, a huge shockwave suddenly flew in and deflected him, interrupting his approach.

“What are you doing?!” he angrily barked out.

“That's what I want to ask, Davey,” the newcomer responded.

‘He’s usually so lazy. He lived with the same pain as me. What makes him think he’s so great, even stopping me?’

Sword God Ares stood in front of him, holding a single sword of black light. “Davey, go back. No one here can agree with your decision.”

“Get out of the way, Father-in-law.”

“Think of those who remain, you idiot!”

Davey couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. Staggering and clutching his head, he made a desolate smile. “Ares.”

“Davey!”

“You, of all people, shouldn't be saying that.”

‘You, too, had a history of personally slaying your own daughter.’

Though he didn't speak his thoughts aloud, Ares's face slightly contorted in understanding.

Clang!!

Davey forcibly drew out the hibernating Super Ribbon and created a massive sword aura.

Sword God Ares frowned and deflected his attack. He then responded with a sword strike of immense weight that instantly collided with Davey’s blade energy.

Bzzt!! Bzzt!!

The surrounding space tore and shattered before returning to its original state.

“I know how you feel,” Ares said with a troubled look. “But don’t forget your position. If you waver, Davey, the world will waver with you.”

Davey grumbled in annoyance, “And why should I care?”

Ares sighed and assumed his combat stance once more. “If you truly want to destroy the current world that we worked so hard to build...”

Once Ares realized the futility of discussion, the void tore open on all sides before numerous men and women appeared.

First Saintess Daphne; Death Lord Rho Aias; Sword God Ares; Dokgo Jun the Heavenly Destroyer; Hypocria, the Goddess of Medicine; and Odin, the God of Mages, all appeared. In addition to them, numerous other beings surrounded him, as if laying siege.

“I will say again—you cannot do this, Davey,” Ares spoke as their representative.

As soon as he raised his sword, Davey slowly raised Super Ribbon, whose ego was dormant. “Please move aside, while I’m still asking nicely.”

Yet, not a single hero moved a single step. They stared directly at him.

Finally, Odin slowly snapped her fingers, and a massive, enormous magic circle began to envelop the entire area from all directions. “I don’t like repaying kindness with hostility, but your current state is truly unbearable to watch.”

Along with her harsh words, Davey let out an immense amount of mana and divine power from his body.