The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1218
Chapter 1218
At the heart of Heins Territory stood Heins Academy. Its faculty enjoyed the benefits of a system using graduate students.
In truth, it was no different from disciples bound to a professor, essentially the same as graduate students on Earth.
For some reason, Assistant Professor Josiah Francos, one of the academy’s grad students, had been in a consistently terrible mood.
“
Baaa. Baaa!
” Darian, nestled tightly in her arms, babbled happily and clung to her like glue, refusing to let go.
Normally, she would’ve found him absolutely adorable. However, there was something about her today.
“Josiah, are you all right?” asked Aeonitia, who was practically Davey’s youngest sibling. She was the third child born to Lynesse Bariatta, and after the rebellion in the Kingdom of Rowane, the only remaining heir of the Bariatta line.
“
Ah!
Aeonitia...”
“Are you sure you’re okay? Should I ask Professor Gorneo to prescribe you some medicine?”
“I-I’m fine...” Her lifeless eyes drifted, her voice weak as though she were about to faint. “You brat—Darian, come here!”
“
Ahhhwawa!
”
Already past his first year, now nearly two, he could babble and run about quite well. Yet, in the eyes of Aeonitia, the boy seemed far too mischievous.
“
Kyaaah!
”
“Stop...”
“What are you doing?! Darian!” As Josiah begged in a weak voice, Darian pawed at her relentlessly until Aeonitia grabbed him and subdued him.
“Sorry. He’s just too spoiled...”
“At this rate, he’ll be a womanizer when he grows up.”
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about...”
“Well, if that happens, I’m sure Gracious Savior will break his legs before he goes too far.”
Davey, in some ways, was terribly straight-laced.
Before his marriage with Perserque, he had virtually zero scandals. Even afterwards, his marriages to Illyna and Aeria had been a grueling process of acceptance.
“That just means he’s a man with strong responsibility. Well, brother in my case.”
“You must really like Gracious Savior.”
“Like him?
Hmm.
He’s honestly kind of a psychopath, but... he’s still a good person.” Aeonitia chuckled softly.
Living with her half-brother made her feel more and more jaded by the world, but she couldn’t say she disliked it. “Anyways, Professor said you should rest, so you better go get some proper rest! As for you—Darian, settle down! Let’s go to your mother.”
“Mama!”
When he babbled the word
mama,
Aeonitia gave a wry smile. “Yes. Let’s go.”
“
Kyaaah!
”
Once the two left, Josiah let out a deep sigh. “
Haaaah.
”
She turned to the wall on her right with a tired face. She glared at the neat calendar for a moment, then picked up a sheet of paper and frowned. “How much longer am I supposed to wait...”
Her face twisted sharply.
“Bluh...” she muttered like a sulking child. “I want blood!!!”
Finally, she snapped.
She had once been the quiet problem child, a troubled genius at Shakuntala Academy. It was hard to see that former self now.
“Lord, no good could come from those words being overheard.”
At that moment, blood gathered in the air beside her, then condensed into the form of a woman in white.
“What? Milpieu!” She was none other than the half-vampire turned Josiah’s personal maid, Milpieu.
By rank, Milpieu technically stood higher. Yet in private, there was no way her rank could ever surpass her lord’s.
“When will Gracious Savior return?”
“Hard to say. But aren’t you indulging a bit too much? What if you go into withdrawal...”
“Do you even know how good his blood tastes?!”
The time for disgust at drinking blood had long since passed. Josiah had embraced her identity as a Vampire Lord with acceptance, and there was nothing to feel ashamed about anymore.
“Give me blood! Blood! BLOOOD!!”
Davey had left her without giving her blood—for far too long! She wouldn’t die without it, yet to her, his blood was like a rare delicacy, and she was addicted to the taste. Once when the craving struck, she had even snuck through his window and sunk her teeth into his arm.
Milpieu sighed as her monarch whined and clung to her. “Then why not form a contract?”
“A contract?”
“Yes. His world must have plenty of people. If vampires exist there, then surely there must be humans seeking to summon us.”
At that, her eyes gleamed. Like a treasure hunter catching wind of long-sought treasure, her gaze sparkled with excitement. “Go on.”
* * *
In the Imperial Palace of Nacha, one would find all kinds of baths and pools. Among them, there was one private swimming pool reserved solely for the royal family. Its temperature and water quality were adjusted in real-time through mana, making it even more luxurious than any pool back on Earth.
No one but royalty was ever allowed inside—not even attendants or handmaids.
“Think of it this way. Would you ever have gotten to enjoy this place in your whole life? Only the highest-ranking royal servants ever come here to clean. Even if you reincarnated a hundred times, you’d never have set foot inside,” Davey said while lounging on a wooden sunbed with black sunglasses on.
However, no reply came back. All that responded was the still, quiet surface of the pool.
Turning his head slightly, he caught sight of Princess Myurin, who looked on at the pool with a strangely conflicted expression.
Three minutes passed.
“So-Ya, how’s it look?”
Splash!!
So-Ya emerged from the water, shrugging casually. “Their faces are all puffed up! Looks like their soul’s about to slip right out of their body.”
“It’s fine. If they’re possessed by demons, their lung capacity should be better, right?”
“Is that true?”
“Dunno. You’d have to ask someone who’s dealt with the demon race.” He thought it was just a figure of speech, but realizing it wasn’t left him surprised. That wasn’t the important part, though.
“The demon race should’ve gone extinct.”
The one the Princess of the Abyss had pulled out through the murderer’s painting was supposed to have been the last. There shouldn’t have been any left to roam this dimension.
Maybe it was just another species sharing the name.
Davey snapped his fingers while still reclined on the sunbed.
Boom!!
Several figures trapped in globes of water quickly floated up into view.
“
Gahhh!!
Cough, cough!
”
“
Blegh!!
”
They wretched and coughed violently in agony.
Princess Myurin, sitting stiffly in her chair, spoke up hesitantly, “
Ummmm.
Isn’t this a little too cruel...?”
“If I hadn’t been here, who knows what they would’ve done to you, Princess.”
When it came to threats against his own, mercy had no place.
He could’ve used even crueler methods, yet Davey had deliberately restrained himself. He had no intention of letting his mind slip back into that dark place. Also, with Princess Myurin watching, he wasn’t about to show her anything too extreme.
“They’re tougher than I thought, to even be resisting holy power. How strange.” After a moment’s thought, he pushed divine power into one of them.
“
Gaaahhh!!!
”
Divine power imbued with the will of destruction burned the man to nothing in an instant. Not even ashes remained.
Princess Myurin covered her mouth, eyes wide with fear. Then, as if steeling herself, she forced her gaze back on the others.
‘Good. That’s the right mindset to have.’
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I’ve seen worse...” Despite her words, her face told a different story. It was only natural since some of those who had turned on her, who had attacked her, had once been her own knights.
However, lines had to be drawn clearly. Those things before her might look human, but they were monsters now.
“All right, let’s move on.” Davey shifted his gaze.
The next one in line glared at him with pure venom. “We will never bow to the likes of you!”
“You already bowed once, though. What’s so noble about that?”
Their stubbornness was impressive.
Princess Myurin carefully said, “They won’t talk easily. As knights, they’ve gone through rigorous training. They won’t break under ordinary means of interrogation.”
When exactly they had turned into something other than human, Davey still had no idea.
“
Hah!
No matter how much you torture me, you’ll never find out.”
Seeing their defiance, Davey closed his eyes for a moment. Then, a chambermaid slipped cautiously into the pool chamber and whispered urgently to the princess.
“What? Is that true?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Her face turned complicated, and she quickly rose to her feet. “You.”
“Yes?” Davey responded curiously.
“I’ll need to step out for a while. Can you watch them?”
“Go on, do your business.”
As soon as Davey gave his answer, Princess Myurin left with the maid at her side. Only the foolish mermaid So-Ya, the demon-blooded captives, and Davey himself remained.
“Well, this is a problem.” Davey let out a short laugh, and the captives sneered back at him.
“Go to hell! You’ll never learn what you want to know—”
“No, no. That’s not what you should be saying right now.”
“What?”
“The princess just left. You should’ve fought for your life to keep her here, if you knew what was good for you.”
Rising from the sunbed, Davey walked slowly toward them. He then dragged their bodies completely out of the water.
“W-What do you mean?”
“Nothing complicated. It’s just that I was only holding back because a kid was watching. Didn’t want her to see anything too ugly.”
Crunch!!
With those words, Davey stomped down on one of the man’s hands, shattering it.
“
Gyaaahhh!!!
”
Ssss.
However, his scream didn’t last. With a mere gesture from Davey, black devil mana poured out, sealing the sound from escaping.
“I’ll promise you this—” The smile vanished from Davey’s face.
Torture was undeniably cruel, but it was also undeniably effective.
“In ten minutes, you’ll all be begging for your lives.”
* * *
Reina returned from her investigation with a dark expression.
“What’s with the long face?”
“Well... an important item got broken.”
She pulled a shattered sword from her cloak. Davey took it immediately out of habit, his eyes narrowing in annoyance the moment he saw it. “What the hell is this trash?”
“It’s a holy sword.”
“Holy sword? Are you kidding me?” The pitiful state of the blade made him double-check, wondering if he had misjudged it.
“Can you fix it?”
At her question, Davey examined the sword more closely, then said, “Forget that for now. Did you find the emperor’s location?”
“Yes. What are you going to do?”
Turning the sword over in his hand, Davey muttered, “Well then, it’s time to wrap this up. I’ve already got enough problems with what’s going on inside me. Dragging things out over that stupid emperor would just be stupid.”
“Then...”
“You, me, and Behemoth. That’s it. So-Ya goes back first.”
“The Executioners will probably try to send at least one person with us.”
“Tell them to do whatever they want.”
The whole time, Princess Myurin had been looking at him like she wanted him to stay in the Empire. Alas, Davey had no intention of dumping everything on Reina.
As he always said, he had no interest in letting someone else steal the finishing blow.
.
!
Chapter 1218
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