The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1216

The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1216

Chapter 1216
Myurin Prasias Nacha. She was the Princess of the Nacha Empire, and the current imperial proxy entrusted with full authority. All found her to be an intelligent, bright, and capable woman. Even from a young age, she had excelled in her studies, proving her sharpness and intelligence in many fields.
When she was born, the emperor of Nacha had yet to become a war-obsessed monster. The Black Slime, the Empire’s guardian deity, had also still remained within the Empire. Perhaps because of that, there was talk that the Black Slime had bestowed a blessing upon the newborn princess.
Indeed, Myurin had been that bright.
She followed her father’s philosophy to love people, to live with gratitude, and to fulfill her duties. There had been no doubt that she’d one day take the throne. She threw herself into learning statecraft with desperate determination. While perhaps lacking common sense in other areas, when it came to governance, her talent was undeniable.
However, her brilliance had yet to truly bloom because years ago, a certain incident had shattered her spirit.
- Why... Why won’t you kill them?! Do you think I enjoy staining my hands with blood?!
Those were the words her father, the emperor, had spoken in a dark, damp prison. He’d shoved a bloodstained sword into her trembling hands and demanded she execute the man and woman bound before her.
The emperor, once her gentle and loving father, had become unrecognizable, terrifying and alien to her. She hadn’t even had time to wonder why he had changed so suddenly. All she could do was sob and scream that she couldn’t do it. If they had been heinous criminals, it might’ve been easier to bear, yet their only crime had been insulting the emperor.
They were a young couple, engaged and soon to be married. Their wedding had unfortunately been delayed by the emperor’s war declaration. In their frustration, they had muttered complaints during a nighttime walk. Unfortunately, the emperor overheard them and ordered their arrest.
The couple wept and begged for mercy despite not having done anything wrong. Myurin knew this as well. She tried desperately to plead with her father, but he wouldn’t listen. Like a madman, he flew into a rage. At one point, he even seemed ready to strike her down.
Terrified of him and terrified of losing his love, Myurin broke down. In her anguish, she ended up executing the couple herself.
‘That day will remain a stain on my life forever. My eternal karma.’
By imperial law, insulting the royal family was punishable by death. However, what they had said wasn’t even an insult. It was only natural frustration, clearly different from an actual insult. Her father had never before executed citizens for such things.
She fell into despair at the realization that the father she loved and respected had turned into such a monster. She shut her heart away.
From then on, she moved like a puppet, obeying the emperor’s every command. Yet even that emperor was gone now. In the end, he abandoned them all the same.
Then, Shardran, her informant, delivered the most shocking news of all—that the current emperor might not even be the same man she had once known.
Myurin accepted the tea a servant handed her, her face complicated.
“Excuse me.” Davey jolted her out of her thoughts.
“Y-Yes?”
“You’ve been staring at me with a look that suggests you’re not happy with something.”
Her face twisted at his question. “W-Why do you say that?”
“You’ve been glaring at me from the start.”
She quickly lowered her head.
‘You’re mad that a pretty girl is staring at you?’
In truth, she herself had no clue why she was acting the way she was.
She had never understood people who said their hearts fluttered when they saw someone attractive. To her, handsome men all looked the same, and she had scoffed at others for swooning.
‘Then why is my heart racing right now?’
“P-Please, drink this. It’s the finest tea from the Imperial House.”
Davey sipped the tea while she silently studied his wrist, the line of his neck, and the build of his body.
“Your Highness.”
“
Hhh...
”
“Your Highness?”
Shardran’s voice snapped her out of her trance, and she started, quickly wiping at her lips. “
Ahem!
W-What is it, Shardran?”
“They’ve arrived.”
Almost on cue, there was a knock at the door.
“Your Highness, Executioner Alvo of the Knights and Ennis of the Mage Corps request an audience.”
Myurin quickly composed herself, taking on a stern voice. “C-Come in.”
The doors opened, and a man and woman stepped inside, dropping to one knee.
“Executioner Albo, ing.”
“Executioner Ennis of the Mage Corps, ing to Your Highness.”
“Raise your heads.”
They obeyed, and as soon as their eyes fell on Davey, their faces froze in shock.
“H-He’s...?!”
* * *
“Absolutely not, Your Highness! That man tried to take down the Empire and assassinate His Majesty—!”
“Enough!!”
The one shouting was Ennis, the Executioner of the Mage Corps, the same woman Davey had utterly crushed by dispelling all her magic and forcing her mana to backfire.
She was a capable mage, somewhere in the upper 6th Circle. That put her among the top 0.1% of magicians, a remarkable achievement. Still, that was all she was.
Not long before, they had been enemies trying to kill one another. Yet there that man was, joining them in a secret meeting. It was only natural for her to feel repulsed.
However, Knight Commander Alvo was different. Davey had clashed with him twice already.
On the surface, he was a bull head and straightforward. However, there was a sharpness in his eyes.
“Not another word, Ennis.”
“But!!”
“Do you intend to ruin everything?!”
His roar made Ennis flinch into silence.
‘Perhaps he’s good at reading the air.’
“You think this would ruin things. Why?” Davey asked.
The Knight Commander met his gaze. “A day ago, you were clashing with the Empire. Now, you sit in on our secret council.”
“And?”
“Putting together what Shardran told me, you must’ve made some kind of arrangement with him. Is that right?”
‘So he’s not just a knight commander swinging a sword.’
Davey smiled in satisfaction. “You’re not wrong.”
“But unlike a typical deal, we have little to offer you in return. Picking a fight and throwing away this lucky chance would be idiocy.”
Ennis closed her mouth, biting back her anger. She hadn’t thought that far.
“I’ll give that a seven out of ten. Not bad.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” There was no hostility in his face.
“You don’t resent me? I killed your emperor twice, right in front of everyone.”
“If Her Highness, Princess Myurin, who holds full authority over the Empire, wishes to join hands with you, then I will follow.” Unlike Shardran, whose loyalty was to the emperor himself, Alvo seemed loyal to the Empire as a whole.
At last, Princess Myurin spoke, “Everyone, sit. Shardran, give the briefing.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” He took a short breath, then pulled documents out from his breast pocket and set them on the table. “These are the results of my personal investigation. It is a background inquiry into the royal family... Forgive the impertinence.”
“You are forgiven. Continue.”
“It’s clear to all of us that His Majesty has changed. But until now, we’ve all followed his orders. We had sworn our loyalty as knights, after all.”
“Knights don’t question orders,” Alvo said firmly.
“Exactly. That’s why we’ve never had any issues with him.”
Though stubborn, that was the reason why they were able to keep their positions up until today.
“But I was different—I questioned everything. His sudden change, his strange actions, they never added up.”
“And what was your conclusion?” Myurin pressed.
“My conclusion, Your Highness, is that His Majesty does not sustain his power through the Divine Beast. This man here can explain further.” Shardran gestured to Davey.
“The Black Slime doesn’t grant immortality.”
Before coming there, Shardran had asked Davey to confirm his theory. He had no way of knowing if Davey really knew the answer, but it seemed his instincts had told him that was the case. Instincts could be frighteningly accurate at times.
Even if the Black Slime was mysterious, Davey—who had attained divinity, commanded vitality, and even grasped the world’s laws—could easily discern the line between possible and impossible. Though black slimes were interesting, he knew that such a thing was impossible.
“Come to think of it,” Shardran added, “the Divine Beast visited you, didn’t it?”
“Yes. I don’t know why, but it settled in my daughter’s lair.”
Bang!!!
“Y-Your daughter?!” Princess Myurin shot to her feet, startled.
“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”
“N-Nothing!” Her face flushed bright red, then quickly paled as she sank back into her seat, head lowered. “If the Divine Beast lacks such power...”
“Yes. I believe the current emperor is an impostor. Someone abducted the real emperor and is pretending to be him.”
Who that someone actually was remained unknown.
“Some say the emperor has been possessed by a demon. I don’t think it’s just a rumor.”
“But is there a way to prove it?
“And if it is true...”
“We’ll begin by searching the places I found suspicious. And for that, we’ll need strength. The number one Executioner, Stovel Barsha, currently guards at His Majesty’s side.”
Reaching into his robes, Shardran took out a rotten scrap of flesh and laid it on the table.
“When I was nearly killed by Stovel Barsha, a blue-haired boy appeared and subdued him. This fragment fell from Barsha back then. It looks almost identical to what dropped that time the emperor was assassinated. Clearly, we’re not dealing with just one enemy.”
“
Hmmm.
So even Stovel Barsha, in addition to His Majesty.”
At that, Reina raised her hand. “Excuse me. Just how strong is this Stovel Barsha?”
“He’s extremely powerful,” Alvo explained. “Strong enough that not even all of us Executioners combined could defeat him. Even on the day of his appointment, his strength was overwhelming.”
Reina’s eyes narrowed. “Then he’s probably still alive. In any case, the most important task is to find where His Majesty has been imprisoned, then expose the identity of the impostor who’s pretending to be him. These two are cooperating with us under the condition that we’ll tell them once we learn the false emperor’s location.”
Reina rose to her feet. “I’ll handle the investigation.”
“Are you sure about that?” Davey asked.
“You’re the one who can’t control yourself right now,” she shot back sharply. “And besides, if I go with Behemoth, there shouldn’t be an issue. But the mermaid’s a little...”
“I’ll keep the sashimi with me, then. Go on.”
As soon as Davey declared he wouldn’t take part, Ennis shot up. “W-Wait! If you don’t go, then—!”
Stovel Barsha was in fact strong, but certainly not on Davey’s level. That was what made the plan feasible. Without Davey, however, it seemed pointless.
Ennis tried to argue further, but Reina cut her off, “It’ll be enough. And...”
Davey finished for her, “I should stay here.”
It was more than just his instinct. Since the impostor emperor, while playing his role, had shown an odd obsession with Princess Myurin, one thing was made clear.
“He’ll target Princess Myurin.”
“T-The Princess?!”
“Yeah. I’ll explain the reason later.”
It might be a cruel truth for them, but Davey had felt that the fake emperor didn’t have long left to live. He was likely seeking out the Black Slime to survive. If that were to fail, his last resort would be to seize Myurin’s body.
“Reina, go let off some stress. When you get back, I’ll buy you some ultra-violent spicy skewers.”
“I told you, I never want to eat spicy stuff again.” Sticking her tongue out, she stood up to leave. “Let’s start right away.”
“But Stovel isn’t the only Executioner missing! If the number two Executioner shows up too, unless
he’s
there—”
Since they didn’t know much about Reina, their doubt was understandable.
Davey only shrugged. “So what? Behemoth will be with her. You don’t think Reina could handle all of you at once?”
“T-That’s...”
“Anyway, there’s more than one place we need to go, isn’t there?”
“About three locations, yes...”
“How long do you need?” Davey asked Reina.
“For a preliminary sweep? Two hours will do. In the meantime, you just focus on keeping yourself under control.”
That was enough for Davey.
‘Underestimating a Celestial? Foolish.’
Despite their unease, Ennis, Alvo, and Shardran departed together with Reina.
They had hoped to leave one more protector behind for Princess Myurin, but there were no Executioners free to move. Ennis and Shadran were determined to see the truth with their own eyes, and Alvo was no different. Davey made a light contract, guaranteeing he would protect Myurin, and sent them off.
“Working with me is really going to stir up the Empire,” he muttered.
Turning his head, he suddenly noticed something strange about Princess Myurin. Her face was bright red.
“Princess? What’s wrong?”
“J-Just the two of us... in this tiny room...” Murmuring nonsense, her eyes suddenly widened before she collapsed into her seat.
“Princess?” Davey approached her to find that her condition looked bad. He wondered if the emperor had done something bad to her. He slowly placed a hand on her shoulder.
She flinched. “S-Stop acting smug just because you’re handsome!!”
‘What the hell is she babbling about?’
Frowning, Davey pressed his palm to her forehead. “Excuse me for a moment.”
She slurred as she shouted, “T-Touching the body of a royal—!”
Davey ignored her and muttered seriously, “Your fever’s worse than I thought. Heart rate’s too high as well. Not hypertension... Maybe an arrhythmia? You should get checked. I know a bit of medicine, so—”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she screamed, “S-Stop it!!”
* * *
Inside the Imperial Palace where the Princess, the temporary ruler of the Empire, resided. Multiple figures moved swiftly through its halls.
“By His Majesty’s command, secure the Princess immediately!”
“Are you certain she’s unguarded?”
“Yes. Just earlier, Commander Alvo, Commander Ennis, and Commander Shardran brought in an outsider, but we already confirmed they left. The rest of the knights have already been brought under our control.”
They moved further in silence, closing in on the princess. When they finally reached the door to her private office, someone immediately caught their eyes.
“
La, la, la, la...
”
There was a mermaid perched on the windowsill, singing as she gazed outside. Her voice was so beautiful, her presence so captivating, that they almost wondered if they were hallucinating. They stood mesmerized, listening for some time and completely forgetting themselves. They didn’t even notice their concealment had broken.
That was when she noticed them. She abruptly stopped singing, and silence filled the hallway.
Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she collapsed onto the floor with a thud. “
Kyaaah!
There’s no water here! I’m drying out, I’m gonna die!!!”
‘But you were just singing like nothing was wrong a moment ago...’
The men stared at her bizarre antics, speechless.
After her shrill cry, the office door swung open. From within stepped a figure so dreadful, they froze in place.
“
Oho!
I was just starting to get bored, and now some samples have walked straight into my hands.”
To them, who were themselves servants of demons, the being that emerged looked like a true devil incarnate.

Chapter 1216