The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1097

The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1097

Chapter 1097
There was no one else watching them here.
In the midst of the silence, the one most shaken was none other than Tsuna's soul.
[Dad... Say it ain’t so. Say I misheard you!!]
When Tsuna started to thrash around, Jeo-Seung instantly seized her.
[Let go of me!!]
She struggled furiously, but aside from being able to come up with outside-of-the-box business deals, she had spent her life as just an ordinary person. There was no way she could have managed to fend off Jeo-Seung.
[I said let go of me!!]
Even as Tsuna cried out with tears streaming down her face, no one responded to her pleas.
“Excuse me for a moment.” Jeo-Seung quickly vanished with Tsuna’s soul in tow.
Left behind in that space, Davey stared at the place where the avatar of Goddess Freyja had once stood, and turned to the soul of the Chancellor. “Keep in mind that, regardless of whether you succeed or fail, your soul will never enter the cycle of reincarnation again.”
Humans feared the idea of their soul vanishing without ever reincarnating. It was a primal instinct etched deep within the soul, even stronger than the fear of the unknown. To be precise, the fear of erasure was so powerful it could make someone abandon even their children.
Davey, still seated, spoke clearly, almost as if reading the terms of a contract, “Are you sure you still want to make your decision, knowing that?”
[Yes.]
The Chancellor gave a firm answer. Hearing his resolution, Davey was left questioning if he could give the same answer if placed in such a situation. Even if he could, his resolve was so unwavering that it was startling.
Taking that into consideration, Davey couldn't help but muse that, if the man’s daughter had meant that much to him, he could’ve said he loved her a little more while he was still alive. Davey had seen plenty of fools who cared for and loved others but never expressed it.
The Emperor of the Pallan Empire, Sullivan de Pallan, and his sister Illyna de Pallan.
Illyna still resented her brother, and Sullivan had taken on her resentment willingly, all to protect her. Davey wondered if a day would come when Sullivan regretted not telling her that he loved her.
“Once you go with this, there’s no going back.”
[Other than that, is there any more to consider?]
“There will be side effects. Her body died, and now she’s being brought back.”
It was almost laughable to even consider resurrection as a possibility. Once oxygen stopped flowing to the brain, it died. Tsuna’s body was clearly a corpse, so even if a soul re-entered it and the heart started beating again, the odds of the brain recovering were slim.
Hearing Davey’s explanation, the man’s expression darkened.
[If that’s the case...]
“Speaking as a physician, if luck isn’t on her side, she’ll simply die again. It’s also possible that her soul might be damaged from brain death. That’s from a medical standpoint.
“From a priest’s perspective, if her soul wants to reenter the cycle of reincarnation, it’ll need at least one or two hundred years to recover. Until then, she’ll drift across the River of Souls.”
Her father's expression grew even darker. It was only now sinking in that his daughter had been brutally murdered, and that the situation had become woefully dire.
[Go on. By the way you’re speaking, it sounds like you have something more left to say.]
“From the perspective of someone with divinity? Well, there’s a chance. First, I’ll need to infuse her with vitality beyond what a normal human should have, in an attempt to restore the body.”
In other words, turning death into a suspended animation.
[And then return the soul?]
“For now, yes. It’d normally be impossible, but I already started the preparations since they couldn't hurt.”
The process had already begun. No one else had noticed, but from the moment Davey examined Tsuna’s body, he had started infusing it with vitality using the third moon Thanatos.
‘Once you’ve helped bring back this dead person, Thanatos, it’ll help ease your sins.’
[
Huh.
Just how far ahead did you plan this? Does that mean that there won't be any problem?!]
“I didn’t foresee it, I just left a possibility open. Technically, her body was declared dead, but there were some anomalies in the wounds. The real issue starts now.”
So far, nothing had been a major problem. Davey had carved out a path of possibility, but there was one thing a sudden possibility alone couldn’t solve.
[And that is...?]
“Her soul is too weak. If we try to force it back into her body while it's in suspended animation, it’ll suffer a major shock.”
He would make it succeed, no matter what. Nonetheless, there would certainly be a cost.
[That’s...]
“There needs to be a sacrifice. I’d say one of her most emotionally intense memories will have to be lost.”
It could be her attachment to the ducal house; or her memories of a past life; or her loyalty to Alberta.
Or—
“She might forget you altogether.”
The possibility that the daughter might lose all memories of the father who was willing to face oblivion just to save her was a heartbreakingly lonely ending.
* * *
Two days had passed since Count Trink of the Vatan Kingdom had been eliminated alongside the mutated special forces.
The royal court of Alberta was in complete chaos.
“Those damn Vatan bastards assassinated our Chancellor and used our people for human experimentation! Isn’t that what it boils down to?!” Although the existence of the secret facility had been kept under wraps for quite a long time, the truth was bound to eventually come out.
Donna had spilled the information hoping to stir up disorder. That left her with nothing to do but await the day of her execution, but even that meant she had fulfilled her mission.
“Whether the test subjects were citizens of Alberta or not...”
“Listen here, Viscount! Do you think this is the Vatan Kingdom? This is Alberta! Alberta! They secretly activated an ancient hidden facility right here below our feet and used it to create monsters from living people! Now, you dare say they weren’t our citizens?!”
Expectations had been that Marquis Barogo’s faction would gain tremendous influence following Tsuna’s death, yet the marquis himself remained silent instead of stepping to the front. The two-faced pragmatic nobles saw that as an opportunity to tear each other apart, snatching whatever benefits they could.
“Watch your mouth! This is clearly a ploy to sweep out all the pro-Vatan factions! We must not go to war! The penalties and resource losses from such a conflict would be immense, especially in the midst of a national famine like this!”
“
Hah!
So we’re supposed to just keep on giving now? How can you not be enraged when Vatan has blatantly denied involvement and still acts so shamelessly?!”
From the nobles’ perspective, the actual number of commoners who would die in the case of waging war with Vatan didn’t matter. Their aristocratic minds were consumed only with how to exploit the situation to their advantage.
The young King of Alberta silently turned his eyes toward Marquis Barogo. “Marquis, why are you staying silent?”
“Well, that...”
Someone immediately interjected, “Your Majesty, what is there to hesitate over?! This is the assassination of a Chancellor we’re talking about! We must lodge a strong protest through the International Federation, and if Vatan fails to respond accordingly, we must declare war!”
“
Hah!
Did you really forget that the International Federation strictly forbids all acts of war?!” another contradicted.
“Even so, there are clearly exceptions to everything.”
As the heated debate dragged on, the young king clutched his head, growing increasingly overwhelmed.
He almost missed the days when Tsuna and Marquis Barogo played their mind games against each other. Barogo had become a toothless tiger, backing down without doing anything. In his absence, the foxes had started running wild, pretending to be tigers themselves.
“Your Majestyyy!!”
Just then, the doors to the council room flew open as a noble burst in, breathless.
“A-An urgent has just arrived from the border! The V-Vatan Kingdom has deployed its entire military force to our border!”
“What?!”
It seemed they had made up their minds to attack. Ever since Tsuna’s assassination, tensions between the two nations had been high enough for war to break out at any moment. Coupled with Vatan claiming innocence while aggressively moving its army, Alberta was thrown into turmoil.
The more extreme pro-Vatan nobles seized the moment.
“Your Majesty, considering our current state, we must avoid war at all costs. Please send me to negotiate peace and prevent this conflict from escalating!”
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“I’m pretty sure you mean to say ‘sell out the country,’ you damn traitor!”
“What did you say?!”
Seeing the royal court once again devolve into chaos, the king let out a heavy sigh. “So tell me... why would Vatan do this?”
“They claim that Alberta attacked one of their border fortresses using secret bio-weapons.”
The King knew that their claim was complete nonsense, as Alberta had done no such thing. Even so, Vatan was clearly enraged, as if ready to kill.
“Marquis, prepare our forces to defend against an invasion. You, send someone to investigate the fortress they claim was attacked. If we find no trace of such an assault... their actions will not be forgiven.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The standoff between the two nations, and the rising tension, made it feel like the situation could turn into complete chaos at any moment. With no information being exchanged, Alberta began scrambling to prepare for Vatan’s invasion.
They were woefully unaware that Vatan had truly been attacked. Even worse, the enemy wasn’t merely preparing for war, having already begun marching toward Alberta to put their plans to action.
What made the geopolitical situation even more volatile was the fact both nations had signed numerous mutual defense pacts with other countries. If war broke out, plenty of other nations would inevitably get dragged in.
“Make your decision carefully, because a war between Vatan and Alberta is no simple matter. If it starts, this could become...”
The spark of a world war. It would be the war that the International Federation had long suppressed, potentially spreading across the entire continent.
As absurd as it sounded, the truth was that wars often began over the smallest of things. No matter how strongly the International Federation discouraged conflict, even the slightest misstep in the situation could render all those efforts meaningless.
The very peace that the International Federation had pursued was now starting to crumble at its foundation.
Nations that caught wind of the escalating tension between Alberta and Vatan began making preparations of their own, fearing that war would break out at any moment.
The only one who could still prevent the war was Tsuna, yet as far as anyone knew, she was dead.
And so, the stench and tension of war began to thicken in the air.
* * *
At the same time, within the walls of the Murgent ducal house, preparations were underway to anchor Tsuna’s soul back to her body.
[Guide my memory.]
The late Chancellor hoped that, if Tsuna had to lose a precious memory, it’d be the memory of him. Tsuna naturally resisted, but he was firm about it.
[No! How could you ask me to forget my own father?!]
[Will you live your life drowning in guilt instead?! It’s better to forget a painful memory like this! If you erase everything about me from your heart...]
[No! I said no!!]
It was already painful enough to face erasure. Forgetting him entirely would be unbearably cruel. Though she sobbed bitterly, Tsuna couldn’t sway her father's decision.
His regrets still haunted him, constant reminders of things he hadn’t done before dying. As such, the late Chancellor did everything he could before the ritual began, trying to attain his own final peace.
[I love you, o’ sweet daughter of mine. You were my only pride, a treasure more valuable than anything else in this world.]
No more words were needed.
Seeing the Chancellor beaming at her, Tsuna sat weeping in the center of the magic circle, clutching her mouth with both hands to hold back more sobs.
“We’re starting.”
The magic circle finally manifested. A burst of intense light flared, and her soul began to shrink like a tiny firefly. Her body, already prepared in advance, began to slowly change, gradually reviving under the massive influx of vitality.
A faint breeze blew, making her pink hair gently flutter across the floor.
Perserque and Davey exchanged glances and nodded at each other.
As the magic progressed, her firefly-sized soul began to seep into her body.
The ritual itself wasn’t terribly complex. Well, it was actually quite difficult, but it was nothing Davey couldn’t manage.
With a slightly weary look, Davey carefully adjusted the divine power around them, guiding it into her body. Meanwhile, the late Chancellor kept his eyes fixed on his daughter, almost as if determined to imprint her image onto his soul before he vanished.
[
Kuh!!
]
Once his soul lost the power to maintain itself, he staggered and fell, even vomiting blood despite being in spirit form. Even so, he resolved to endure the backlash to the very end.
Tsuna’s soul was surely suffering just as much, but the only visible toll was on the late Chancellor.
Her soul, swirling around like a storm, was fully fused into her body. Warmth returned to her once-stiff and cold form, her pale skin slowly flushed with a peachy glow.
At the same time, the Chancellor’s soul began to crumble away from the feet up, blown away like scattered ash.
[Is... it done?]
“Yes. It worked.”
[Thank you, Prince Davey. I will never forget this debt.]
“Aren’t you afraid?”
[How could I not be? Even now, I can't stop trembling.]
With a forced smile and visibly shaking hands, he placed his hand on her cheek. Despite the overwhelming fear, he still managed to touch her one last time.
[I don’t care if you take on the position as Chancellor. Live the life you want. I love you, my precious Tsuna.]
With those last words, the Chancellor’s soul was finally scattered into nothing. His soul had been completely erased. It was rare for a human soul to vanish so completely.
Davey stared at the spot where the late Chancellor had disappeared and sighed, “So unfortunate.”
Though Perserque had shouted at her before and made her angry, she shook her head, overcome with the bitterness of having to lose the memories of her father.
It wasn't long before her heart began to beat once more and her eyelids trembled faintly. Fortunately, Davey couldn't find any physical side effects. Her body had recovered to the point where she could get up and start running around immediately.
Not only had Davey restored her physical form using his divinity, he had even administered a diluted elixir. With such assurances, he was confident there’d be no complications.
However, one thing had definitely been erased. Gone were a few keywords connected to one of her most emotionally impactful recent memories.
“
Mmm.
”
As Tsuna slowly opened her eyes, Davey’s expression grew sharp. “W-Who are you?!”
She jolted upright in surprise. “Don’t play around!”
She clamped her mouth shut, then glared at Davey. “I don’t like your tone, sir. You’re talking so casually; are we even that close?”
After a moment of looking around, she shouted with her eyes wide open, “My dad... Where’s my dad?!”
‘Wait, did she not lose her memory?’
Memories were an awfully complicated thing, all being interconnected. Even if someone erased only a single memory, the surrounding memories could vanish with it or become distorted, leaving gaps behind like missing puzzle pieces.
Just like what they saw in Tsuna after she woke up. While was showing her natural self with no hesitation, she was clearly drawing a line between her and the others in the room.
Perserque assumed she hadn’t lost her memories, but both she and Davey realized that something was off.
‘No way... Don’t tell me the memory she lost, one of the most emotionally charged ones she recently had was...’
She had lost all the feelings of affection she once held for Davey. While it had only been a few days, her feelings toward him had been deep enough to qualify.
Davey figured things were better than way. Unlike with Aeria, he wasn’t in a position where he could take care of her. He had no reason to, either.
“Chancellor Tsuna, I understand you’re confused, but I suggest you get ready and head straight for the capital.”
Still, perhaps she retained the memory of calling him Instructor, because she looked at Davey and asked, “Why?”
“Because your death was a spark that might trigger a world war.”
If a continent-wide war broke out, he knew things would get annoyingly complicated for him as well. If it came to that, he’d have no choice but to take more forceful measures to suppress it.

.
!
Chapter 1097