The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1015

Woochi had entered survival mode, sealing himself inside a cave made of divine steel. However, after about ten years had passed within the cave, he was left with no choice but to come out.

Since divine steel was an incredibly unique material, maintaining its integrity required a continuous supply of energy. If all the necessary preparations had been made beforehand, the metal could’ve been sustained almost indefinitely by formations. But because Bi Yeon had suddenly appeared, he had been left with no available time.

“Damn it! If I’d just had a little more time, I wouldn’t have to take this risk...”

Ten years.

His eyes gleamed with resolution after having endured hiding away for such a long period.

“Surely, they must’ve given up by now.”

Creak!

Once he pushed open the tightly shut door and stepped outside, he was engulfed by light, something he hadn’t seen in years.

“Phew. Never again.”

Despite his relief, if faced with similar circumstances, he was fully prepared to lock himself away for another ten or even twenty years without hesitation.

After ten years, even mountains and rivers can change!! He knew there was no way Davey, who treasured every second, would’ve willingly stayed put for so long.

“Heh. Hehehe. Hahaha! Davey, life is all about endurance! If you endure, salvation will come!”

Spreading his arms wide to embrace the fresh air, the hem of his robe fluttered in the breeze.

“Those who give up first because they lack patience pay the price—in blood!! Hehe. Hehehe!! Hahahaha!!”

His wild laughter made him look like a manic citizen of a newly liberated colony.

Until a voice coldly cut through his excitement.

“Like you, right?”

He couldn’t even muster a response.

[1st Grade Great Sorcery]

[Binding Technique]

[Heavenly Annihilation]

Boom!

An immense amount of qi surged as black pillars began materializing midair one after the other. Close to a thousand of them formed, descending to seal not just the cave but the entire surrounding area.

Since it was a product of sorcery, he could theoretically dispel it himself—but that wasn’t the problem.

Woochi froze in place and slowly turned his head.

Standing there was the petite Odin, calmly adjusting her eyepatch, alongside his devilish disciple who was lounging casually with a smirk.

“D-Davey?!”

“Yepp. Long time no see. Though for me, it’s only been ten hours, so I wouldn’t really call it a long time.”

“What?!”

He knew that couldn’t be right. His device that measured time had clearly shown that nearly ten years had passed.

“Wait, don’t tell me?!”

Once realization dawned on him, he turned to Odin in disbelief.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance and shot back at him, “If you were gonna crawl out anyway, why the hell did you waste ten years in there? Such a pain in the ass. Thanks to you, I feel like I’ve aged a thousand years waiting for you.”

Faced with the presence of his enemy’s unexpected ally, Woochi turned pale.

* * *

Boom!!

A deafening explosion tore through the air, twisting the very atmosphere.

Even as Woochi screamed, he never stopped hurling the many talismans held between his fingers.

Whoosh! Boom!!!

Blinding flashes streaked toward him from afar, colliding with his talismans and shaking the entire area.

Sure enough, no member of the Saint Sanctuary was a pushover.

But no matter what he did, Woochi had no way to handle the monstrous little mage.

With Hercules gone and Odin having unsealed her Dark Eye, the strongest being in the Saint Sanctuary had become Rho Aias, with Odin right beneath her.

It wasn’t that the others were weak, of course. It was just that Odin had long since surpassed any reasonable scale for comparison.

And to make matters worse...

Boom!!!

"Argh! Damn it!"

The air itself was ripped apart as a massive earthen fist hurtled his way, trying to snatch him up.

Even his damned disciple Davey was on his ass.

The Saint Sanctuary was vast, but it was still a finite space. There were only so many places Woochi could escape to.

The real issue was that those two maniacs were dead set on cornering him, forcing him to exhaust himself until he had no choice but to descend to middle earth.

‘Like hell that’s happening!’

He wasn’t stupid, knowing exactly what Davey was trying to do.

If he fled to middle earth to escape those two psychos, Davey would ask Rho Aias to block his way back to the Saint Sanctuary for the foreseeable future. Once that happened, he’d be between a rock and a hard place—right in the middle of Bi Yeon’s crosshairs.

His only options were to either keep running within the Saint Sanctuary or defeat the two in front of him.

[Grand Sorcery]

[Heavenly Canopy]

He dodged Davey’s attack and avoided Odin’s terrifying barrage. She had stood perfectly still as she unleashed it, almost taunting him.

Tossing twenty talismans into the air, he clapped his hands together.

“Are Cowherd and Weaver Girl really supposed to have this much trouble meeting?” Davey chuckled.

“Cowherd and Weaver Girl, my ass!”

Woochi locked eyes with Davey, who was relentlessly pursuing him.

He narrowed his eyes and completed his sorcery.

Immediately, the sky split open, and an overwhelming number of zhu gui—spiritual entities under his command—poured out like a tidal wave.

The ghostly creatures swarmed toward Davey.

"You bastard!! You evil little shit!"

"What’s with the name-calling?"

"You betrayed your master! Who the hell taught you to rebel like this?!"

While Woochi shouted in frustration, Davey simply smiled and snapped his fingers.

The Divine Spear Longinus was retrieved, taking the form of a cross.

"You did, bro.”

"You little shit!!!"

[8th Level Holy Magic]

[Grand Divine Flame Cannon]

Fwish!!

A massive flash of divine light swept through the zhu gui, instantly incinerating them.

Clicking his tongue, Woochi quickly tossed out more talismans and flapped open his paper fan.

Boom!!!

Following his movements, a swarm of enchanted ropes—each wrapped with talismans covered in sacred symbols—lashed out, binding the Divine Flame Cannon itself and extending toward Davey.

[Binding Technique]

[Grand Restriction]

Thud!!!

He manifested another sorcery, sending colossal pillars crashing down on either side of Davey.

The moment they struck the ground, they released massive sparks, intertwining with the ropes to seal Davey in place.

"Are you seriously using a binding spell meant for sealing boss-class devils on me? Where’s your conscience?" Davey muttered in irritation.

Woochi simply raised his middle finger.

"You little punk! I learned all this from watching you, you wild colt of a bastard!"

Flipping Davey off properly this time, Woochi widened the distance between them, planting his feet firmly on the ground. Then, pressing his hands against the earth, he pulled as if dragging something out of the depths.

[Grand Sorcery]

[Manifestation Type]

[Crimson Thunder Dragon God]

Normally, the use of sorcery required talismans as a medium. Yet, Woochi had long surpassed such limitations—he was capable of wielding calamity-level sorcery purely through willpower.

After freezing all the surrounding energy, a crimson dragon suddenly emerged, its glowing eyes flickering as it coiled midair.

"I don’t want to hurt you. Just quietly go back to middle earth.”

"Using Grand Sorcery without a medium like it’s nothing—isn’t that a little too broken?"

"Says the guy who wields otherworldly powers without batting an eye. While I can tell you've gotten stronger, this whole area is already my domain."

He had instantly taken full control of the space.

"There are things in life you can compromise on, and things you can’t. Just tell Bi Yeon I’m dead."

"I mean, I get why you’d use the binding technique Grand Restriction on me, but Crimson Dragon? That thing’s strong enough to wipe an entire kingdom off the map if it falls to middle earth—”

"Davey."

Woochi cut him off, his hands trembling with a mix of fear and madness.

"You think I don’t know how you summon meteors just to add weight to your threats?!"

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

"You don’t get to talk, you little shit."

Boom!!!

The crimson lightning coalesced, forming a massive, Eastern-style dragon.

Letting out a deep breath, Davey flicked his fingers, pulling out three talismans and scattering them into the air.

However, due to Woochi’s overwhelming dominance over the area, the talismans were instantly torn apart.

[Dragontongue]

Thud!!

"You little...!"

[Perish.]

He activated the defensive power of the constellation Capricorn, instilling overwhelming fear into all approaching entities.

It wasn’t enough to completely nullify Woochi’s sorcery, but it slowed his dragon sorcery just enough for Davey to complete his own spell.

Crackle!!!

The dragon, infused with Woochi’s qi, froze before crumbling apart.

"You son of a—Arghhh!!”

Caught off guard, Woochi barely managed to dodge a pitch-black fireball that had come his way.

"Shit! I forgot about Odin!"

Panicking, he clapped his hands together, then laced his fingers to perform another bit of sorcery that normally required a talisman to execute.

[Grand General of Heaven!!]

Thud!!!

The air twisted violently as a colossal figure emerged behind Woochi—a giant god clad in deep indigo armor.

Unlike Davey’s Grand General of Heaven, the one Woochi summoned was completely obedient. Without hesitation, it raised its gigantic dokkaebi club high into the air.

"Ugh, just give up already. I'm taking you down, one way or another. You’re losing face and wasting time, master.”

"Shut up, you bastard! Why the hell are you so determined to drag me to Bi Yeon?!"

"What’s wrong with helping a wife reunite with her husband?"

"You don’t know what kind of a woman she is!!”

"Do I need to?"

Woochi faltered.

"Well, I really don’t, you know?”

The man had to respond.

"And one more thing, bro.” Davey flashed a sly grin. "I owe someone a favor, so regardless of what happens to you, I have to complete my end of the deal."

"Those other bastards made you into a complete devil!!”

"Whoa, whoa! Let’s be clear here—I learned all of this from you!”

Already boiling with rage, Woochi swung his hand fan, and his summoned Grand General of Heaven followed suit.

It slammed its massive club into the ground, obliterating everything in its path. Shockwaves were sent through the earth, twisting the ground and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

Flap, flap, flap!!

In the form of a dodo, Woochi shot away at a rate dozens of time the speed of sound, escaping far beyond the range of both Davey and Odin.

In the end, he just couldn’t bring himself to use lethal sorcery against Davey.

The other heroes were ruthless, but he held back.

He fled to an unfamiliar area, but that wasn’t important. As long as he could avoid getting caught and dragged down to middle earth, he’d be fine.

All he had to do was keep running until Davey gave up.

Odin’s involvement had been a bit unexpected, but she wasn’t one to act too aggressively.

But he was internally celebrating too early.

"You’re running pretty far," a voice called out to him.

Woochi turned his head, only to find Daphne and Dokgo Jun the Heavenly Destroyer sitting nearby, casually drinking.

"What the hell? Why are you two here?"

"Oh, nothing much. The view here is incredible, so I figured I’d have a drink with this old man here.”

Dokgo Jun, the biggest drunkard in the hall; and Saintess Daphne, who, while not quite at his level, could still drink most people under the table.

It wasn't unusual to see the two of them together, yet Woochi felt uneasy nonetheless.

"Anyway, where are you headed?"

"Where do you think?! That bastard Davey backstabbed me, so I’m running for my life! To add insult to injury, he even brought in Odin as backup!!"

"Hmm...”

Dokgo Jun downed a jug of Nirvana Blew as Daphne nodded along.

"Huh. It’s definitely a little unexpected for Odin to help Davey."

"Listen, you two need to help me out here! Bi Yeon—she’s a crazy bitch! I can’t see her! I absolutely must not see her!”

Hearing the desperation in Woochi’s rant, Daphne casually stretched her arms and stood up.

"You know... I actually agree with you."

"Wait, really?"

"Of course not, you dumbass. I’d much rather pluck your eyeballs out and suck ‘em dry."

With her usual crude tone, Daphne flashed a radiant smile.

[9th Level Ultimate Holy Magic]

[Chains of the Gods]

Clatter!!!

Clang!!

Golden chains suddenly shot out to bind Woochi tightly.

But he didn’t panic. He was grinning—he had already expected it.

He pulled out a talisman in response.

"Hah! As if I wouldn’t prepare for—"

Slice!!

Before he could finish, a blinding flash cut through the air, shredding all of his talismans to pieces.

"You’ve got to be kidding me! You too?!"

He could no longer move his hands, and his talismans had been cut in half. Woochi was left with only raw sorcery. But with the two new enemies dog piling, there was no way they’d let him complete any sorcery.

"Honestly, I don’t really care whether I help Davey or not," Daphne said, scratching the back of her head with a lazy grin.

"But I’d hate to miss out on such an entertaining sight." Smiling like a saint, she whispered sweetly, “So just give up and let yourself get dragged down."

"Damn it!!”

Woochi screamed and thrashed at the injustice. Nothing was working in his favor!

Space itself was soon torn apart before Davey and Odin reappeared in front of him.

This time, it wasn’t just the two of them. Trailing behind them was Rho Aias, sniffling and looking apologetic.

"I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t mean to cause you trouble. I just... It looked like so much fun.”

Hearing her terrible attempt at a completely innocent apology, Woochi let out a dry laugh.

"When the hell did you bribe all of them with?"

"Bribe? That’s such an ugly way to put it." Davey smirked. "These folks just wanted front-row seats to the disaster that’s about to unfold when you and that Gumiho reunite. Come on now; you’ve been around the hall long enough—you should know how these people work.”

Woochi hung his head in despair.

"Ha...”

So, everything had been part of Davey’s damned scheme.

Not that it was surprising—his fellow heroes’ betrayal was something he had already accounted for.

Even if he could resist being dragged down to middle earth, there didn’t seem to be any point. He was already subdued.

Even as history’s greatest sorcerer, he had no way to take on every hero of the hall.

"Haaah. Hey, Davey." Lowering his head in resignation, Woochi made a final attempt at fishing for information.

"Yes?"

"You really got all the heroes gathered here, right?”

"Of course. They all dropped what they were doing to come and watch the show," Davey said in a mocking tone.

Woochi gritted his teeth in frustration. "Alright. Good job."

"Huh?"

"You really think I’d spend ten years rotting away in that cave while doing nothing?"

"Don’t tell me—?!”

Davey’s eyes widened.

But by the time he realized something was a miss, a uniquely patterned talisman glowing with a swirling tai chi design was already shimmering in Woochi’s grasp.

"Peace out, you little shit! If everyone who can interfere with the spiritual realm has run over here, then that means I hold all the cards now!"

He activated his sorcery, and his form began to blur.

If both the Saint Sanctuary and middle earth were dangerous, then the solution was simple—escape somewhere else. It had to be somewhere neither Davey nor the other heroes could easily chase him to.

Normally, heroes took turns overseeing the various spaces. But since they had all gathered there, one particular space was left completely unguarded.

If Woochi got there first and locked it down, no one—not even the heroes—would be able to get to him.

Unlike his indestructible divine steel bunker with a shoddy power source, there would be no way for Davey to get him out.

Body fading, Woochi smirked and shot a final sneer at Davey, who stood frozen in disbelief.

"See you later, you bastard. Once Bi Yeon’s mess is sorted out, we’re gonna have a little talk.”

With that, he vanished.

Or at least, he thought he did.

"Bro, you’re smart. Too smart, actually. So smart that you’re predictable."

The moment Woochi disappeared, Davey’s seemingly panicked expression went away as his grin returned.

"Cowherd and Weaver Girl meet on a bridge. Too bad he doesn’t seem to know that.”

There was only one space Woochi could’ve fled to. novelbuddy.cσ๓

And unlike the Saint Sanctuary, Davey had full authority over who could be inside that space.

"Alright. Let’s block off the River of Souls. No more exits for him.”

Even if Woochi realized he’d been tricked later on, there was no longer any turning back for him.