The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1142

The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1142

Chapter 1142
[It’s been quiet since Eva left.]
[Yeah. Feels like she cut off in the middle of something important.]
After the stream ended, her viewers continued to talk about her on the streamer discussion forums. Of course, some of them still complained about her suddenly ending the stream and abandoning the content partway through.
However, most didn’t share that sentiment. No matter how important a stream was, it couldn’t be worth more than a human life. Besides, she wasn’t from Korea or even Earth as a whole. She was an outsider from Tionis visiting Earth.
The fact that someone like her had rushed out to save Awakened strangers was more than enough to win support from the majority.
[Breaking news just dropped! A huge disaster happened inside a B-class permanent gate. Pretty sure that’s where Evangeline went.]
[A photo was posted by someone who was filming near the gate just a while ago.]
The photo showed something plummeting from the sky, flapping its massive wings.
[Can’t really tell what it is from just the photo. Are there any videos?]
[The residual waves looked so intense, it’s a miracle someone even got a photo.]
[Tru.]
[Seriously, what the hell is happening inside there?]
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[No one's made it back out yet, so no one really knows.]
That last comment cast a dark cloud over the community’s mood.
[Damn it. Why is it always our country that’s dealing with this crap?]
[True dat.]
[No, screw that true dat.]
[So, Evangeline actually went in there?]
[They say the American Awakened Chris Marten went in with her.]
[Where do you even get this info from?]
[Doesn’t matter.]
[From leaked sources, obviously. But you gotta watch out—if they find out what you’re doing, they’ll cut you off without hesitation.]
Everyone was desperate to know what Evangeline was doing in there. Rather, they were dying to find out what was really going on behind that government-controlled barrier.
[Hey, guys! Evangeline’s stream is back up!!]
Just that one message was enough to even attract those who weren’t regular viewers of her stream. Naturally, as soon as she started the stream, her viewers flooded in. Yet, unlike usual, the screen was filled with what looked like dust.
[???]
[The Princess started the stream again!!]
[But why a stream out of the blue?]
[Why’s the screen like this?]
[Open the door, Boss!!]
[What’s going on here?]
The chat exploded. Tens of thousands more viewers had shown up than usual, since word that her stream was live had spread like wildfire.
It wasn’t long before the dust began to clear.
“
Cough, cough. Ugh,
I am the one dying here.”
The Korean was a little clumsy. Hearing a man’s voice, people’s first reaction was confusion. Then a hand waved through the air, brushing the dust away.
“
Hah. Haah.
So much dust—
ah,
can you all hear me clearly?”
[Who’s this dude?]
[Who dis?]
[??? For a sec I thought this wasn’t Eva’s stream.]
Chris, noticing the confused reactions to his voice, honestly didn’t understand what they were saying. He had started studying Korean out of feelings he had for Hyun-Ah, but Korean was notoriously difficult for foreigners to pick up.
“
Uhhh. Um,
okay. Stop! Stop!” Staring at the tiny chat window with a frustrated look, Chris suddenly shouted, “Hey! Kouna! You read Korean better than I do, right?! Can you handle this for me?!”
Despite him blurting out in English, Kouna nodded without hesitation. She quickly stepped forward and took the phone from him.
[Whoa.
Who’s this lady now?]
[She’s pretty.]
[Wait, is she hurt?]
[Oh, I’ve seen her before! She’s that S-class Awakened from Japan. Her name’s Kouna, and the Saint of Tionis is her legal guardian.]
The moment the viewers recognized who she was, the chat went wild. For a second, it even felt like the stream might crash. Kouna knew she had to calm them down first before any explanations.
“Please calm down, everyone.”
A donation alert rang out.
[FriedOrbamu has donated 69,420 Won]
- Wtf is even happening rn? (O-O)
It was no surprise, considering everyone was confused by the surreal situation unfolding. After taking a short breath, Kouna answered, “What you're watching right now really is Eva’s stream.”
[Then where’s the Boss?]
Just as that question popped up, a shockwave echoed through the air.
Boom!!
Someone with black hair came crashing down from far away to land in a nearby pile of debris.
“
Ugh!
”
The chat window froze in an instant.
“Guess I don’t say things myself anymore. Eva, are you okay?!”
“
Haah.
Yeah, I’m okay.”
[Wait? Is that her?]
[Is that really her?]
Once Evangeline groaned and slowly pushed herself up, her eyes landed on the phone.
[Hey! Boss! Blood!! You're bleeding!]
Startled by the flood of messages, Evangeline roughly wiped away the blood running down her forehead with the back of her hand.
On one hand, the enemy had grown stronger, while on the other hand, she had grown weaker from pushing herself in the earlier fight. Put in a situation where even manifesting her full power was difficult, she had very few options left.
Gasping for breath, she reached out slowly. She then picked up the phone and let out a dry, tired chuckle. “Nice to see you again. I said I was ending the stream for the day, but, well... circumstances changed.”
She spat out the blood trickling from her lips.
It was the first time she’d officially revealed that she was Evangline.
[Oh... those injuries are pretty bad.]
[What in the world is happening?]
“I don’t have much time to explain. You’re probably angry that I lied and hid the fact that I’m Evangeline O’Rowane.”
Everyone in the chat knew who she was, but Evangeline herself hadn’t acknowledged that fact.
“I was planning to keep it a secret until the end, but...”
“Incoming attack!!”
Evangeline instantly hurled the smartphone into the air. She then gripped the divine dragon sword Twilight planted in the ground with both hands and braced herself. With a swift downward slash, she blocked the enormous hand flying up at her from below.
Clang!!
A shrill, ear-piercing clang rang out as her entire body was pushed back from the sheer force.
“
Ugh! Ngh.
” She let out a pained groan, staggering back. The dark priest pressed forward, intent to crush her completely.
“You—!”
Boom!!
A burst of destructive energy from the longsword erupted into the air. A blast of crimson dark blade energy instantly appeared in the once-empty sky surging with fierce winds, then vanished just as suddenly.
“Huff. Huff.”
The surreal, overwhelming visual left everyone watching speechless. Even for the stream of an Awakened individual, something so intense could easily get taken down if it wasn't properly moderated and censored.
Evangeline gave a faint, bitter smile. “Sorry, everyone. This might end up being my last stream.”
Her words fired up the chat. There were 14,825 viewers watching her, which was way more than usual. Many had simply tuned in out of curiosity after hearing about what was going on inside the gate.
Technically, the connection line was still open, but the gate was cut off from the outside world. At that moment, Evangeline was the only crazy one trying to bridge that gap through a live stream.
She had lost a massive amount of her mana in doing so, but she knew better than anyone that it wasn’t the time to be picky about resources.
“I looked into this stuff a lot, you know? If I stream something like this, the content gets flagged and I get a permanent ban—
ugh!
”
Boom!!
The monster launched black tendrils and relentlessly assaulted her. Despite being significantly weakened, Evangeline used every technique she knew to deflect or dodge the incoming attacks.
Slash!!
Some of the tendrils still managed to wound her arm. However, as the viewers continued watching, she managed to counterattack fiercely, utilizing the energy gained from her viewers.
Boom!!
She gathered mana in her mouth before a small but concentrated breath attack burst forth, incinerating the tendrils in a blast of light.
“
Hehe.
First, I just said I’d be turning on my camera... and now it’s turning into my final stream.”
She gave a weak smile and raised her sword. “I didn’t get it at first, but now I really love streaming. Laughing and chatting with you all—it’s fun. I felt like if I ever revealed who I really was, I’d never be able to stream again...” Ignoring the chat, she kept speaking, “I know there are people who hate and fear Evangeline O’Rowane.”
[Who said that?! Which scum said that?]
[Don’t be hurt, Boss (T-T) it breaks my heart watching you suffer like this.]
[Nobody hates you. Please don’t say that D: ]
Even as she staggered, she fired off another attack. “I gave a lot of thought about what I could possibly do, but it seems like there’s only one way. So... I need your help.”
She finally said it.
She asked for help.
The viewer count had already reached 18,254 as the number kept climbing. For some reason, even though the stream had long since passed the content limits of the platform, it still hadn’t been forcibly shut down.
“The truth is... I have the blood of an ancient dragon in my veins. A psychic type, to be specific. That means that if a living being has any emotion toward me, I can absorb it and grow stronger.”
Meanwhile, Kouna and Chris were deftly dealing with the new monsters that the dark priest was summoning.
Evangeline placed her smartphone atop some nearby rubble, angled perfectly to show the battlefield. “Right now, I need that power. So even if you hate me or curse me—anything’s fine. Just don’t leave.”
Whatever emotion it was, it would all become her strength.
[No, Princess, please... Let's just run, okay? That thing’s way too much...]
[True.]
[Yeah,hy are you fighting alone? If we gathered all the Awakened...]
“NO!” she shouted in a conflicted voice. “That thing doesn’t follow the physical laws. It’s not even a living being, ordinary Awakened individuals can't hurt it!”
She was the only one on Earth capable of even making contact, let alone dealing damage. Only her psychic type powers could stand up to it.
“I have a complementary kind of power versus the monster, so I’m the one who can and must take care of it. If I don’t, that thing will escape this place, and we couldn’t possibly predict how many people will die.”
It wasn’t just about power levels. There was a fundamental incompatibility between that monster and everyone else.
Gripping Twilight in both hands, she launched herself at the creature like a flash of light. She was definitely in better shape than before the stream began, but still not strong enough to land a decisive blow.
[Why are you going this far? You’re seriously injured already!]
“It’s sad when people die, and my dad told me to never let myself live with regrets.”
Her words made the chat freeze. Instead of a lag issue, they were simply speechless.
“
Guooo!!
”
The creature lunged at her again with a grotesque cry, and Evangeline met it head-on. Their battle was continuously streamed through the smartphone she had placed down before. While there was some degree of delay, everyone could still see what was happening.
[Someone has to stop her, right?]
[She’s clearly getting overwhelmed...]
[And she’s still asking us to help her, even if it’s hate. I didn’t think much before, but damn... I actually feel bad now. That Wherry son of a bihh... I’m sorry...]
[She says even hatred can power her? Damn.
She’s asking us to hate her because she doesn’t have the confidence that we like her... Brutal.]
[But isn’t she still not strong enough? There are already 20,000 people watching. Can we really just sit here? Is there something more we can do? I’ve got plenty of donation cash locked and loaded.]
[What’s this got to do with donations, though?]
The chat kept flowing in a frenzy.
[She’s definitely stronger than she was at the start, but it’s not enough yet. Can’t we gather more people somehow?]
[The internet’s already exploding because of this stream.]
[But is this even allowed? It’s not tagged as an Awakened stream, so there’s no age restriction on it. This is way past the limit. If the site’s goofy ahh admins shut this down right now, I don’t know what I’ll do]
[Apparently they’re in an emergency meeting trying to decide whether or not to shut it down. They know the situation, so there’s no way they’d cut this off now... right?]
[If they do, I’m never using this site again.]
[Same.]
Some felt fear. Others, helpless frustration. As the view count soared out of control, a message from the stream manager popped up as a pinned announcement in chat.
[Manager - Everyone, please. Too many people are joining, and the server can’t take much more. At the very least, ease up on the chat to lessen the load.]
The platform Evangeline streamed on worked by allocating server bandwidth based on tier levels. She was still a relatively new streamer, though her high performance meant she’d been designated as Rank 7 on a scale of 10 to 1, in the bottom 30% of streams. Handling such a sudden influx was pushing the server to its limits.
Viewers who understood the situation tried to follow the platform manager’s request and ease up on the chat. Alas, with the sheer number of people flooding in, to keep that up was easier said than done.
[Holy crap... I live near that gate! If she doesn’t stop that thing, it’s gonna break out into the city, right?]
[Wait, can a monster even leave a rift on its own like that?]
[Who knows, but by the way she’s saying it, it doesn’t sound like a lie.]
[Hold up. Isn’t that one of those silence gates? Didn’t people die in one of those before?]
[Ugh,
the stream’s lagging so hard I can’t see clearly! Either the feed’s too fast, or my computer can’t keep up.]
[It’s both. Oftentimes you can’t even track Chris Marten’s movements with the naked eye, and she’s moving even faster.]
[Whatever. I came from the community forum and was gonna stir the pot by ragebaiting, but yeah... not anymore. Can’t troll when there are literally millions of lives at stake.]
[Boss... seriously, no one hates you or thinks you’re scary...]
As the number of viewers kept increasing, her strength also steadily grew. She was deflecting attacks that she hadn’t been able to block earlier, and all the viewers could clearly recognize the difference.
Once she regained a certain level of power while fending off the creature’s relentless attacks, her approach started to shift. Until then, she’d relied mostly on her longsword techniques using Twilight and magic. She suddenly began partial manifestation again, just like her birth mother, Eclipse.
Boom!!
The air tore open, and a colossal dragon’s claw emerged, ripping into the monster with sheer force.
“
Kiiiiah!!!
”
Black blood splattered across the air as the monster let out a scream of agony, but that wouldn’t stop Evangeline. Magic circles began appearing one by one, reaching a total of twenty before they conjured massive stone spears that pierced and pinned the creature in place.
Evangeline finally started to gain the upper hand, but ended up facing an unexpected bottleneck.
The viewer count had reached 35,123 total, and the more people joined, the harder it became for her stream to keep up. The small server she’d been assigned as a rookie streamer couldn’t handle the sudden load.
Eventually, finally succumbing to the overload, her stream froze completely.
The viewers, glued to the screen, could only sit in stunned silence as everything stopped without warning.
[No way. Don’t tell me the server just crashed?!]
[This is BS! What the hell, admins?!]
Even as the video froze, the chat continued. The panicked viewers relentlessly sent messages on the chat.
More and more people kept trying to join. At the rate it kept growing, it wouldn't have been surprising if the entire streaming site’s server exploded.
Just as everyone started bracing for a total shutdown, the stream manager sent out another message.
[Manager - Streamer Eva (Rank 7) will temporarily be upgraded to Rank 1 by deploying emergency backup servers. Please note that there may be brief overloads and interruptions of service during this process. We kindly request that chatting is kept to a minimum.]
[Whoa!
They finally got approval from support.]
[As they should. Screw content guidelines, we can all deal with punishments later. Stopping that thing comes first.]
[Seriously, if they’d waited even a minute longer, this could’ve been catastrophic.]
The moment the server upgraded, it started absorbing the incoming traffic like a floodgate opening wide.
The viewer count was now 62,123.
The number had nearly doubled as the effects of her emotional energy absorption grew exponentially stronger. That surge of strength flowed directly into Evangeline. Power erupted from her body, twice what it had been just moments before.
She hadn’t meant for it to happen, but it had become the largest, most explosive facecam debut for a streamer imaginable.

.
!
Chapter 1142