The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1118

The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1118

Chapter 1118
The authority of Predatory Assimilation, the true nature of which still remained unclear, ravenously consumed even the very pillars that made up the world.
After manifesting the form of the world’s laws as a massive gear system, it devoured the twisted cogs and purged them. It then rapidly recalibrated and restructured them before reapplying and releasing them.
The enhanced authority of Predatory Assimilation had reached a state where it could arbitrarily adjust and re-release power. Precisely speaking, it was only possible because it catered to the world’s laws specifically. Even so, the fact that it could officially interfere with the rules of the world was nothing short of astonishing.
Unfortunately, it seemed things were never destined to be so simple. The deeper Davey went, the less he was able to rely solely on brute force.
They may have looked like ordinary gears on the surface, but they were massive clusters of information far beyond the comprehension of any single sentient being. Even after attaining divinity, his mind couldn’t yet grasp such a realm.
Under such circumstances, trying to piece together broken information; infer the original; and rebuild it from scratch was nearly impossible.
The only reason Davey was able to manifest the original form—or at least something similar—was thanks to the characteristics of the power of the Origin Throne and the authority of Goddess Freyja within him.
Davey was certain that the reason people like Evangeline and Grand Duchess Kathryn had their minds twisted was due to malfunctioning gears leaking the power of Goddess Freyja. That made it extremely important that Davey reconstruct the gears into their original forms as quickly as possible.
However, there wasn’t enough information. Realizing as much, Davey turned his head. Even from the start, he’d been under no delusions of handling such a thing alone. When trying something alone doesn’t work, one has to quickly cut their losses and bring in a specialist.
If the authority of Goddess Freyja was the key, Davey wasn’t going to hesitate to use it.
Sensing his intent, Rho Aias used her unique magic Soul Link to create a connection between Davey, herself, and all the heroes waiting in the Hall. Each of them held a fragment of the authority of Goddess Freyja. If they all combined their abilities, they could overcome this trial. After all, with the power of friendship, all things are possible.
After all, the Goddess herself had said that this wasn’t something she could fix alone. She needed the help of Davey and the heroes. There was no way Davey could resolve it on his own simply by struggling through.
One by one, the twisted gears began their reconstruction.
Davey may have been the one conducting the operation, but the heroes he connected to provided him with the information and authority he needed. In other words, the information processing was handled by the heroes, who had gathered the scattered fragments of Goddess Freyja’s authority.
His job was to use that information and return the system to its original form.
Just then, a soft warmth pressed against his back.
“Rho Aias?”
“You did well.”
With those words, Davey briefly received her authority. Using it as foundation material, he restructured the last remaining gear and applied the changes.
He let out a long breath, having held it in for what felt like ages. “Somehow it worked. Honestly, the authorities really came in handy. If I’d been alone, I probably couldn’t have handled it.”
Rho Aias silently patted his head. “You did well.”
“But... is it really okay to leave it like this?”
“It may look like just a gear, but it’s actually a massive collection of information. Now that we’ve locked Miss Reina’s identity as a Celestial born in this world, not in the parallel world, it shouldn’t be a problem anymore.”
They had made the absolute outsider from the parallel world fully belong to their own.
After the change, anything spoken about Reina’s origins would simply be words. Unlike before, it wouldn’t create massive chaos. It was similar to how speaking the truth could create a ripple effect, but the ramblings of a drunk had no impact.
“
Oh
, and one more thing.” Rho Aias sighed as she gazed at the small gear that hadn’t fully disappeared, fallen within the world’s laws.
It was, in truth, the most important part of it all.
“This is a mathematical process. There’s no room for miracles here.”
The whole reason Davey began interfering with the world’s laws was because of the altered people and Evangeline. Discovering that Thanatos’s condition involved misaligned and twisted gears was actually an unexpected discovery.
In the end, it was resolved.
The cause of their altered personalities had been the result of the massive flow.
When a living being was born and gradually achieved self-awareness, its individuality was shaped by a complex interplay of its experiences, base personality, and soul tendencies in accordance with the intricately structured system. While the formation and freedom of that individuality were up to the being itself, the base structure came from the rules of the world.
Yet even if a soul’s tendencies or a being’s innate personality were intact, when the base structure provided by the world’s laws was warped, it twisted the personality itself.
It was like a bug in a program, or messing with System32.
Davey had exerted a significant amount of power to restore the foundation to its original state. Their individualities were enabled to gradually return to normal.
If anything, he was lucky. He didn’t need to fix each individual, just correct the base system. Of course, even that wasn’t enough. So he’d used backup data. All past events were recorded in the world’s laws. By overlaying the levels with the memories recorded within, he restored the original individualities.
In that sense, Grand Duchess Kathryn had been quite lucky. Other than losing about a year’s worth of memories, she wouldn’t suffer any major changes to her personality.
The same applied to the other people affected.
“The problem... is Evangeline.”
Ordinary beings could recover their individualities at the cost of memories, but Evangeline wasn’t an ordinary being.
Evangeline was the child of that damned Hercules wrapped in the power of taboo and the Ancient Dragon Princess Eclipse, who had reached the levels of divinity.
She was extraordinary from the very beginning and had since reached a level where remote control and manipulation were impossible. In other words, her mind had to be interfered with directly.
“Davey, there’s no way that’s going to be possible.”
Davey contradicted her, “No. There is a way—Odin is currently forcing her coming-of-age ceremony.”
Her body had grown, but her mind was still in its developmental stage. During that ceremony, there was a good chance her mental defenses would weaken and begin to change. That was the moment to intervene.
Of course, she likely had some built-in mental defenses. Even so, Davey wasn’t someone who would be overwhelmed by just that.
“To intervene, we’ll need the individuality information in the world’s laws.”
“The information’s right here.” Davey showed her the gem Goddess Freyja had handed him.
All the preparations were complete. It was finally time to go and rescue her.
“Is everything done now?” So-Ya asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
“Yeah, we’re heading out now. Go wake that guy up.”
She then started shaking Behemoth, who was sprawled out on the ground.
* * *
Preparations for Odin’s special grand spell were coming together one by one.
While the Heins Territory might have looked like an ordinary estate under the Rowane Kingdom on the surface, the identities of the individuals gathered inside suggested otherwise.
At the forefront were the elves led by Yuria, who had brought Yggdrasil’s Fruit with the full support of the World Tree Al. There were also the dwarves and engineers from Heins Workshop who had created wave regulators; the massive magic circle from the dragons who served Evangeline; and even the power that Vampire Monarch Lord Josiah had only begun to wield a short time prior.
They threw in everything and used everyone who could help.
Yet, the most helpful among them was none other than Rinne. Upon awakening as a Sephiroth, she had acquired knowledge related to ancient dragons. She passed that stored knowledge to Odin, eliminating all potential variables.
Each individual was of enormous influence and ability, and they had all gathered together to bring back just one girl. Evangeline.
Odin then laid Evangeline, who was still deep in slumber, onto the center of the massive magic circle.
She then took a look around the area.
The mana wave regulators, powered by mana stones, began to resonate with a hum as they were activated.
Odin called out, “Perserque.”
“Yes.”
“Give me that.”
When Odin held out her hand, Perserque handed over the staff she had been holding close to her chest, without further questioning her.
It was the Transcendence’s Demise, a staff that originally belonged to Odin.
Grasping the staff that was far taller than herself, Odin slowly walked into the magic circle, beginning to stir the mana around her.
“Even though this is called a coming-of-age ceremony, it won’t make her a full adult just yet. We’re splitting it into two stages.”
What they were conducting then was the first stage of growth.
“We’ll be purging impurities in the process.” With that, Odin lightly tapped the ground with the massive staff. “Grow.”
A stunning spectacle then began to unfold. Streams of pale green light began to ripple outward from where the staff touched, spreading and wrapping around Evangeline.
When the mana wave regulators emitted loud, vibrating hums, Yoshia and the dragons used their power to suppress the raging forces in the area.
Within the pressurized space resembling the inside of a giant pressure cooker, Odin moved the staff like she was dancing.
It may have looked like she was doing simple choreography, but each movement of her dance manifested dozens of small spells, which flared to life and faded in a constant cycle.
Eventually, she pulled off the eye patch covering her one eye before a mysterious glow burst forth from her gaze. At the same time, a heavier and more overwhelming flow of mana erupted like crashing waves. Using that exceptional power as the base, she continued amplifying and clashing powers using the Transcendence’s Demise. As if that still wasn’t enough, she also took a bite of the Yggdrasil’s Fruit, amplifying her strength even further.
Illyna and Aeria swallowed hard with tension as they stared at the barrier of light surrounding Evangeline.
It wasn’t long before a massive light cocoon had completely enclosed Evangeline. Like an artificial incubator, the magic circle began accelerating her growth, forcibly maturing her mind.
Since her memories hadn't been erased, there was a chance her personality could return to its original form. Still, it was only a gamble. At least it was better than doing nothing and letting her mind break.
“Please...” Aeria quietly pleaded.
Illyna pulled her into an embrace. “It’ll work. It’ll work.”
All they could do was hope that the foundation of growth would bring her individuality back to what it once was.
They waited with hearts racing until finally, the cocoon of light surrounding her began to crack and shine brightly.
Her form slowly became visible. Outwardly, she looked fine, but no one could know what was going on inside.
“
Tsk.
” Odin furrowed her brow, completely focused and tuning out everything else.
This was the only possibility she knew of. If it failed, there’d be no turning back.
She wondered if it might’ve been better not to try at all, yet realistically, the result wouldn’t have changed either way. She hoped for a small miracle, but it was something they couldn’t confirm until Evangeline completed her second stage of growth.
Soon, Evangeline’s hair began to whip around violently.
Boom!!
Her body suddenly jolted, and her eyes flew open wide. With an expression devoid of emotion, she stared directly at Odin and slowly parted her lips. “You’ve got to be kidding me...”
At those words, the atmosphere turned into ice.
Zzzzt. Boom!!!
Particles swiftly gathered around her slightly open mouth. She let out a tremendous breath attack, beam crashing directly into the barrier Odin had set up.
“Damn it, she really is just like her damned father.” Odin swung the Transcendence’s Demise with irritation. Chains of light surged forth, binding Evangeline once more.
The coming-of-age ceremony was a success. Evangeline had completed her second growth, becoming capable of using the breath of an ancient dragon. Unfortunately, it seemed her individuality had not returned to normal.
Even with all the thorough preparation, they had ultimately failed.
Aeria covered her mouth in shock and began to sob.
“W-What happened?!”
“Looks like... we failed.” Perserque bit down so hard on her lip it might tear, and Illyna wore a defeated expression.
They had known from the start that the chances weren't high. Odin had explained that if Evangeline’s mind began to change during the coming-of-age ceremony, she’d try to use a prepared method to reconstruct her individuality to be as close to the original as possible.
However, it wasn’t close at all. In fact, there had apparently been no change.
In the past, Evangeline had never bared her fangs unless she was alone with someone. Yet after undergoing her second growth, she had begun to change drastically. She had started attacking everything in sight.
Once a person who had loved everything around her, her twisted self now hated and resented it all.
Watching Evangeline emotionlessly prepare another breath attack, Odin clenched her fist so tightly it seemed on the verge of shattering.
“Close your eyes,” she said quietly. “I’ll take the blood on myself. You all don’t need to see this.”
There was no way to bring Evangeline back. So before she could spiral further out of control, Odin would be the one to end her.
Internally, Odin winced, overcome with guilt and sorrow toward Davey.
Even someone once hailed as the God of Mages had her limits. Some things could be fixed, and some couldn’t.
As the atmosphere around them grew heavy with tension, Odin began gathering particles of light on the Transcendence’s Demise.
Now that it had come to this, she’d take on all the blame and anger and give Evangeline peace. This had started with her, and she believed it was her responsibility to end it.
As a storm of mana began to whirl around her staff, Evangeline’s focus narrowed sharply onto her.
With empty eyes, she parted her lips again, gathering energy for another breath.
“I’m sorry... our little girl...” Odin muttered, her face full of grief.
[Extinction Ray]
At that moment, a colossal beam of light shot toward Evangeline.
However, it didn’t hit her.
In fact, it couldn’t hit her.
Someone had torn through the space between Odin and Evangeline and stopped the spell.
“This should be enough, right?”
“Hurry, before it’s too late!”
Odin’s eyes widened at the sight of Davey and Rho Aias stepping out of the ruptured space.
Since she’d come to Heins Territory, she hadn’t been directly linked to Davey, and thus had no idea what had happened on his end.
Without another word, Davey devoured her spell with one hand, with the other punching through the breath attack and shattering it on the spot.
The sheer force of his enhanced Predatory Assimilation was astonishing.
Odin staggered and leaned on her staff as she looked at him. “Davey...”
“You did great, Odin.”
“I-I’m sorry... In the end, I failed.”
“No. You did everything right.” Davey turned to see Evangeline. Clearly wary, she tried to back away from him.
However, he closed the distance in a flash, wrapped his arms around her, then raised one hand high and slammed the gem into her.
Crack!!!
Her body jolted violently, her head snapping back. An unimaginably vast amount of mana and authority collided and began mixing with Evangeline.
“Evangeline, Daddy’s here.”
It was a phrase without much meaning, but it was more than enough. In that moment, Davey replaced the warped personality base that had been influencing her tendencies and individuality with the backup of Evangeline’s true personality stored in the gem.
Her innate levels and the power of taboo tried to resist and interfere with the process. Fortunately his strength was greater, not weaker, than hers.
The method was only possible because they were in the moment where her personality was still being recalibrated. It would form based not on the fixed past personality, but the reforming one. Davey simply swapped the foundation of her individuality not with the twisted one, but with the original and untainted base Evangeline had once held.
As the foundation changed, her body convulsed again, and her personality began to fully stabilize.
Contained inside the burst of brilliant light, her limp body trembled.
Everyone around held their breath as Evangeline, shaking, lifted her arm.
She reached out to embrace Davey, who was still holding her. Yet at the last moment, she hesitated. “Daddy...”
His eyes widened with concern.
“You smell like sweat.”
Her cold remark left him frozen in place.
“W-Why are you hugging me like this in front of everyone?!”
“
Huh?!
”
With a flushed face, she pushed him away hard and shouted in embarrassment.
The onlookers all wore stunned expressions. Meanwhile, chaos rippled through the Hall where the other heroes had been watching.
“Wait, so it failed?”
“No way! Are you serious right now?!”
As the heroes muttered in disbelief, Ares suddenly felt a strange chill run down his spine.
“Goddess, this isn’t a failure... right?”
[That’s right. He succeeded.]
With that single reply, Ares broke out in a cold sweat.
He’d seen something like that once before... from his foster daughter.
[She did succeed in completing her second growth, so her personality was bound to change a bit.]
“Then that means...”
[Ancient dragons go through a rough rebellious phase.]

Chapter 1118