The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1215

The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1215

Chapter 1215
The sudden appearance of Executioner Shardran, along with Behemoth and the mermaid So-Ya, made the atmosphere noisy and tense.
Splash!!
So-Ya was splashing happily in a nearby lake, swimming with the fish as if she had no care in the world, while Behemoth stood nearby, silently keeping watch over her.
“So you’re saying those two came out of the guardian stone?”
Normally, Killer Rabbit could travel through shadows. Yet since shadows didn’t work there, the guardian stone acted as a medium. Somehow, instead of the rabbit, those two troublemakers had been summoned instead.
‘They thought it looked fun and just jumped in?’
Watching So-Ya thrash about carefreely, Davey had the sudden urge to slice her into sashimi.
At a distance stood Shardran, tending to a campfire. He was the man Davey had clashed with before, the same one from whom he had taken the special mask. Thanks to his precarious condition at the time, Davey hadn’t killed him, and yet the man had somehow followed him there.
From the way he carried himself, Shardran seemed to think Davey had spared him on purpose. Which, of course, was a delusion.
Regardless, Shardran showed no hostility for the moment. Davey himself had no reason to interfere further with the Nacha Empire other than its emperor, the true culprit.
Of course, in the eyes of the rebels who’d lost their homeland, the Empire as a whole was unforgivable and beyond redemption.
“He did help me,” Shuneria said, glancing briefly at Shardran. “But he can’t be trusted outright. We don’t know his intentions.”
He had helped, so she didn’t treat him as an enemy, though she still kept him in check as a possible threat.
“What do you think we should do about him, Reina?”
“He was the one who freed the detainees from the prison, right? He also almost got killed by another Executioner while doing so. If Behemoth hadn’t stepped in, he’d be dead.”
Davey nodded. “He probably let them live because he wants something in return.”
“You’ve heard his story?” Shuneria asked.
“I’ll hear him out. If his offer interests me, I’ll accept it. If not, negotiations end there. What matters more right now is your condition, Reina—are you really okay?”
Reina had gone berserk once again. Davey had expected it, since he himself had been drawn into the intensity of the situation.
The world they’d entered was really quite strange...
“I’m fine, I endured it better this time. Still... I never want to go through anything like that again. It felt like... like I wasn’t myself anymore. Such a disgusting feeling.”
Davey reached a hand toward her, then stopped short and sighed. “You should go back.”
“No! Let me stay. I’ll be with you until the end.” Her answer was resolute.
A voice cut through their conversation, “Are... Are you done talking yet?”
They all turned toward Shardran, who gave a faint, awkward smile. “No need to be so hostile. Right now, I’m on your side.”
“Did you betray them, then?”
“Betray? Never. I’ve always been loyal to His Majesty the Emperor. I may be the lowest-ranked, but I’ve served as an Executioner for a long time.” He casually sat down on a pile of stones. “The truth is, I just wanted a chance to speak with you. So, how about it? Will you listen?”
“No. But since you helped, I’ll spare your life.”
“
Haha.
Colder than I thought. But hasn’t the Nacha Empire already surrendered to you? Any further fighting would be meaningless.”
“That’s not for you to decide. Besides, how’d you even know about that?”
“I’ve got my own sources. The emperor abandoned the Nacha Empire. Princess Murin then took full authority and surrendered to you.”
“Don’t you find that humiliating? Your empire bowing to one man?”
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t, but there’s something more important.”
By that point, anyone else would’ve shrunk back, but he continued speaking seriously, “The emperor has several places believed to be his hideouts. There are also a few places rumored to hold the secret of his resurrection, if you’d like to call it that.”
“And?”
“I’ll lead you to them. In exchange, I want you to investigate one thing with me.”
His faint smile vanished.
“So now you’re betraying the emperor? Where’s all that talk of loyalty?”
“I’ve never abandoned my loyalty to His Majesty. Not once.”
“Yet you’re offering to sell him out?”
“If the current emperor isn’t the real emperor, then it doesn’t count as betrayal.”
After a pause, he pulled a small box from his cloak. “At first, it was only suspicion. But when I found this... the more I investigated, the less sense it made.”
“What is that?” Reina asked.
“Something I found in His Majesty’s chambers.”
He opened the box. Inside was a lump of flesh.
“I’m a mana-enhanced warrior. I’m sensitive to mana. At first, I just thought it strange that I could sense mana that wasn’t His Majesty’s.” His expression twisted. “That’s what I thought, at least. But then... Hey, you over there.”
“M-Me?” Shuneria flinched, startled, but he nodded.
“Yes. You. Do you remember the time your cross-dimensional resistance assassinated the emperor?”
“Yes... I remember, which is why I thought he couldn’t truly die.”
At her answer, he nodded again. “When His Majesty resurrected, we thought it was because the Divine Beast’s blessing still lingered with him. After all, the Black Slime Divine Beast never left his side. It wouldn’t have been strange if he’d received some blessing that revived him.”
His fist trembled. “But no. When I examined His Majesty’s body after the assassination, I found fragments like this inside him. There’s no way such a thing should be coming from a human body.”
He grimaced deeply. “This is... demon flesh.”
He took a deep breath, then looked Davey straight in the eye. “I don’t have enough proof yet, but this is what I think—a demon possessed him. That is who sits on the throne now.”
Whether it was possession or replacement, the truth that the emperor ruling the Nacha Empire was a fake remained.
“At first, I had no proof, and almost no allies. In such a situation, I couldn’t openly investigate His Majesty. That’s why, when Shuneria aided the resistance in assassinating him, I pretended not to notice.”
After that, he had gained some conviction that the sitting emperor was a fake.
“His Majesty was never like this. Even when he drove out those who threatened the Nacha Empire, he prayed for the souls of the dying. He even constantly opposed prolonging the war! He wasn’t the blood-crazed monarch of slaughter he’s become now.”
‘So he wasn’t the same case as me.’
It seemed Davey had only mistook him as such because the circumstances looked similar. A complicated feeling stirred within him.
“Fortunately, I uncovered several of His Majesty’s secrets. I’ll share them all, don’t worry. But if it turns out he really was possessed by a demon, and his body was twisted into something else...”
Grinding his teeth, Shardran declared, “Then I must avenge the true emperor! Still, I can’t do it alone. He has something more hidden in his pocket, surely.”
In short, he was offering to help Davey find the emperor, if he agreed to help with his investigation.
“Go on. Let’s hear the details,” Davey answered flatly.
If it shortened the process for Davey, letting the man go wasn’t a bad deal. Davey already had to keep his focus on his own changes. Letting that emperor linger as a nuisance didn’t sit well with him either.
“What exactly do you want me to do?”
At that, a smile appeared on Davey’s face. “First... Let me meet him.”
“The emperor?”
“Yes. Not as an enemy this time—as someone to negotiate with.”
Shardran rose to his feet.
* * *
Following the wake of the chaos, the Nacha Empire changed drastically, practically overnight.
More people had fallen under the emperor's control than was expected. As if they had made a pact, they all suddenly vanished from the Empire without a trace. With the sudden mass vacancies, Princess Myurin had no choice but to rack her brains for options.
“
Haah.
” Her head throbbed painfully. “Did Father really handle all of this alone? No... With things the way they are, he wasn’t Father at all.”
She pressed her temples, whispering to herself.
Most of the Executioners were incapacitated. The only ones still mobile were Ennis, the mage recovering from mana exhaustion, and Shardran, who had gone missing.
With the imperial administrators who upheld the imperial family largely gone, the emperor’s abandonment had left the Empire in chaos, and the people’s trust in it had plummeted.
Myurin knew full well how bad things had gotten. For some time now, the Empire had reeked of madness.
However, as a powerless princess, there was nothing she could have done.
Knock, knock.
“Who is it?”
“Your Highness, it’s Shardran.”
Her sharp gaze softened as she shouted desperately, “Shardran?! Come in, quickly!”
The door opened, and the sight of those who entered made her eyes widen. “Y-You are?!”
Her cheeks flushed red for an instant before her expression returned to normal. “Shardran! Have you betrayed the Empire?!”
“No, Princess. My loyalty to His Majesty has never wavered.”
“Then why?!”
“Because I need this man’s strength.” He knelt down. “Your Highness. Shardran, lowest-ranked of the Executioners, humbly petitions you: trust in the gods, and permit this investigation.”
Her expression twisted. She slowly turned to look around at the others who had entered the room.
There was Shuneria Recken, who had once sworn loyalty to the Empire but secretly aided the resistance. Aside from her was a woman she didn’t know. However, the man standing silently at the back, handsome yet intimidating, was someone she knew.
“Just as you said, the Empire no longer uses the dimensional passage. All hostile actions toward you from us have ceased.”
“I know. I’m not touching the Empire anymore,” Davey reassured her.
“Then why—”
“To see you.” At his words, her face flushed instantly.
Shuneria and Reina widened their eyes in surprise, glancing between Myurin and Davey.
“Y-You... came to see me?”
“Yeah. I need to find the emperor.”
“
Oh!
I see.” Disappointment flickered across her face, but she glared sharply at him all the same.
“I’ve felt it ever since we’ve met, but aren’t you showing your dislike a little too obviously?”
She flinched. “M-Me?”
“You’re glaring way too much.”
“T-That’s...”
“Her Highness Princess Myurin simply has sharp-shaped eyes,” Shardran said in a polite tone.
Davey’s eyes narrowed lazily. “If you say so.”
Feeling the odd tension, she let out a sigh and looked around. “Regardless of the fact that the fighting has stopped, you’re still a frightful figure in the Empire right now. You’re still viewed as an enemy, so barging in so openly, before this conflict has even been properly resolved...”
“Your Highness, what we need is the information you have on His Majesty.”
“My... father’s?”
“Yes. This incident has made it clear—the current emperor is no longer your father.”
At his words, her face grew troubled. “
Haah.
I also have to deal with restoring the nations we conquered...”
With the Empire’s power collapsing, they couldn’t just leave the subjugated kingdoms as they were.
Myurin herself hated the oppression of foreign lands. So, if the future of the Empire was to be secured, she knew things had to be set right.
“Very well. What about the others?”
“I’ve already sent word to Ennis and Captain Alvo. They won’t trust us easily, but... they will follow you.”
Myurin nodded slightly at that. Then, blushing, she darted more glances at Davey.
If he wasn’t an enemy anymore, she no longer had any reason to keep him in check.
Gathering her courage, she timidly offered, “
Ummm.
If you don’t mind... Would you like some tea?”

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Chapter 1215