The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
Chapter 1028

Chapter 1028

By creating Jeo-Seung, Woochi had secured himself a perfect escape route.

Meanwhile, he lay on a wooden bench in Mount Mureung, hands folded behind his head with a satisfied smile.

"Everyone’s so stupid. Working so hard—does anyone even appreciate it? Ha. This is the life of Mount Mureung at its finest. So relaxing.”

He had retained full control over his power, while shoving all responsibilities onto Jeo-Seung.

At the same time, he had successfully escaped from the terrifying Gumiho, Bi Yeon.

Ideally, he would’ve waited longer before betraying her—it would’ve been far more satisfying to stab her in the back at the perfect moment.

But desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Hmm. But what should I do with this?"

Lazily opening one eye, Woochi stared at the life essence orb in his hand—its power reduced to half.

* * *

Woochi had really run.

Having heard Jeo-Seung’s complaints, Davey closed his eyes and fell into thought. ‘How dare he betray his own disciple?’

The moment he heard Woochi had vanished, he headed straight to the Saint Sanctuary to track him down.

"Ah! Davey! Just in time!"

Waving him over enthusiastically was King of Martial Arts Ylgr, holding a wine jar with an intricate design.

"Khh. This stuff is incredible!"

"Pour it! Drink up!"

The atmosphere was lively, and the heroes were having too much fun.

"What is that?"

"Ah, the Heavenly Destroyer whipped up another insane brew," Ylgr explained, motioning for him to grab a drink.

"I’ll pass. But more importantly, where the hell is Woochi?"

"Woochi? Why? Did he disappear again?"

"If I catch him, I swear I’m not letting him go this time.”

The gathered heroes exchanged glances—before bursting into laughter.

"Told you! I called it from miles away. Did you really think Woochi would just sit there and take it?"

Their reactions were infuriatingly casual, as if it were nothing more than a mild inconvenience.

Davey furrowed his brows.

‘Right. These guys love a good show. As long as Woochi’s antics don’t cross their bottom line, they won’t interfere.’

Though their line was rather ambiguous, Woochi taking the life essence orb and bolting off was still within their yield.

But Davey had trouble believing they all felt that way. He knew Sword God Ares would’ve had a problem with it.

"Where’s Ares?"

"Over there, passed out sleeping."

‘Even him?!’

Not that their lack of cooperation was surprising.

"Fine. I’ll find him myself. But if I do, you guys will help me, right?"

"Hm. Depends,” Ylgr replied, scratching his chin.

"Davey, you didn’t see how wrecked Woochi was after that Gumiho drained him," Hypocria chimed in.

Ignoring her input, Davey tore space and was about to leave. "You’re dead once I catch you, bastard. If the life essence orb isn’t intact when I find you, I’ll personally make sure you’re stuck with Bi Yeon for three hundred and sixty four days a year."

"Oh? So he gets a holiday now?"

They all snickered, making it obvious they had no intention of helping.

"Davey. We’re not going to interfere,” Dokgo Jun the Heavenly Destroyer chimed in.

He had been quietly plucking at the strings of his instrument.

Davey casually gave a small nod of acceptance.

“But we won’t stop you from finding him.”

"As long as you don’t stop me, that’s enough."

If they wouldn’t tell him where Woochi was hiding, he had no other choice but to find the man himself.

"Davey, that bastard went into full hiding mode. Are you sure you can track him down?"

The others, clearly around him for entertainment, continued to smirk and tease.

Davey let out a dry chuckle and turned away. "You have no idea how much experience I have tracking him down under my belt.”

* * *

At a Japanese high school, Kouna—an Awakened individual and former minister of the ancient dragon of the Red Void, Arbit—was sitting with her friends, engaging in club activities.

"And guess what Sato said this time?"

"I told you that guy’s bad news."

Her friends giggled as they chattered excitedly. On the other hand, she let out a quiet sigh as she saw a message pop up on her phone.

"Something wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just a Line from the guild."

"The guild? Ah, you’re still busy with that?"

"Not as much lately, but... there’s been some annoying stuff going on."

She wasn’t someone who usually showed much emotion. But at some point, ever since receiving Arbit’s gift and inheriting the power of the Haitai, she had begun to experience changes unbeknownst to her.

"Annoying stuff? What do you mean?"

"Ah. It’s just... about Korea—" Kouna abruptly cut herself off.

Her friends tilted their heads in confusion.

"Korea? What about Korea?"

"Well... you know how they’ve been dealing with the whole nuclear waste issue lately?"

"Oh! I heard about that! You’re talking about that nuclear waste purification facility, right? It’s been all over the news lately."

Japan had a painful history with nuclear disasters—the Fukushima area had been obliterated due to a nuclear plant explosion in the past. And on top of that, a monster attack had once led to another nuclear plant explosion, causing a second major catastrophe.

Even with mana having spread across the world, radiation still remained a tricky thing to deal with.

With massive financial losses and countless casualties, Japan was right to be sensitive to nuclear related issues.

It was to the point that even high school students were keeping up with the related news.

"About that...” while Kouna continued to explain with a tired face, her friends listened curiously.

“What does that have to do with the guild?’

"Well... it’s because the company providing the technology and resources for it is the Sacred Group."

The Sacred Group was a company founded by a Korean—now one of the largest international corporations in the world.

Pretty much everyone on Earth knew what the Sacred Group was.

"Yeah, and?"

"Since I have connections with the Saint of Tionis...” Kouna hesitated before shaking her head. "Never mind. Forget it. I shouldn’t be talking about this."

Leaking out information was wrong to begin with. Her friends, however, quickly pieced things together.

The bottom line was that the government was trying to use the guild to reach her because she had personal connections to the Saint of Tionis, Davey O’Rowane.

Her friends quickly caught on and got the gist of what she’d left unspoken.

"Wait, but is that stuff even real?" one of her friends asked skeptically. "I saw online that Korea’s just lying about the whole thing."

"Yeah! Some say that kind of technology doesn’t even exist, and they’re just dragging us into it for no reason."

Politics between China, Korea, and Japan had always been a mess. Misinformation, propaganda, and public opinion manipulation were all common tactics.

Kouna simply shrugged.

"They say it’s real. And it’s already showing results."

Of course, knowing the full truth, she found such a debate kind of amusing.

The conversation regarding nuclear issues continued for a bit, but eventually, her friends lost interest and changed the subject.

"By the way, I heard the Saint of Tionis is insanely handsome in real life."

"Oh yeah! Kouna, you’ve met him before, right?"

It was typical teenage girl talk.

They turned to her eagerly, pressing for details.

"I don’t really know much about him."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I’ve never had a long conversation with him."

She wasn’t lying.

Despite being involved with him on multiple occasions, she had rarely exchanged personal words with Davey. To her, he had always been an odd and difficult person to interact with.

"Hahhh. I’ve watched all his streams. He's seriously amazing."

"Right?! He has a unique face; like he’s half Asian and half European. And that effortless smile of his... Oh! Isn’t he around our age?"

"Yeah, he’s not even in his twenties yet! Can you believe it?! He’s only our age, and yet everyone in the world knows him! Hahh. I wish I could date someone like that."

"Snap out of it, you idiot. He’s married already."

Davey had many different reputations, but his overall public image was positive.

After all, he had directly solved several major global crises.

He was practically a modern-day American superhero, but for the entire world.

"Come on. I’m only imagining. Just think about it! A super-hot, super-polite guy taking you out on a date—"

"With that face of yours?”

"Hey!!!"

Kouna sipped her cocoa, quietly watching as her two friends bickered and playfully smacked each other.

"Kouna!"

"Huh?"

"Tell us! What’s he really like in person?"

This time, the line of questioning was slightly different.

"Is he really as polite and well-mannered as they say?"

"Mm. He can be a bit reckless, but actually..."

Her two friends exchanged looks, concluding that everything they heard was from how the media had branded him.

"He’s straightforward and down-to-earth. I don’t know him well, but I can say for sure that he’s not a bad person."

Her friends squealed excitedly.

"Then, Kouna... do you like him?"

"Right! Kouna, you’re cute, yet you never date anyone! You keep rejecting people by telling them you have someone else you like!”

Kouna received dozens of love letters at school. She had also been confessed to countless times.

As a powerful Awakened, with the looks of an idol and elegant charm, she was incredibly popular among her male peers.

She was pretty much the school idol.

"I still remember when idol Murasaki confessed to you publicly on television. You turned him down, saying you liked someone else!"

"That was..."

"Do you know how shocked his fans were?! So tell us, is Davey O’Rowane the person you like?”

Seeing her two friends let their imaginations run wild, Kouna shook her head firmly.

"No. I mean, sure, he’s a good person, but why would someone like him ever take an interest in me?"

"What’s that supposed to mean? You’re gorgeous, and you rank number one in every Awakened popularity poll! You have fans all over the world!"

Kouna let out a dry chuckle. "Even so... he’s probably not interested in me.”

She wasn’t sure why she was coming up with excuses.

If she didn’t like him, she could’ve just said no outright.

And yet, something about doing so made her uneasy.

"You never know," her friend teased. "It’s not like he ever said he doesn’t like you."

"Absolutely not." Kouna waved both hands. "There’s no way.”

Seeing her bitter face, her friends sighed in disappointment.

The conversation naturally shifted to other romantic topics, filling the clubroom with laughter.

Until a commotion erupted outside.

"Huh? What’s going on?"

Hearing the murmurs coming from outside the clubroom, her friend Mika got up and walked to the window.

"Someone important must’ve arrived. Why are there so many people gathered...?”

A crowd had formed, all eyes fixated on one person. Then, the crowd scattered, and the individual began walking their way.

"Wait. Am I seeing things?"

"Mika, what is it?"

"I... I must be imagining things. There’s no way he’d be here."

Now curious, Kouna and Hatoko joined her at the window.

"Wait,” Kouna said, rubbing her eyes. “Is that the Saint of Tionis?"

Black hair.

Crimson eyes.

At first, they thought it was just someone who looked similar. But as he stepped closer, they realized it truly was none other than Davey O’Rowane, the Saint of Tionis himself.

A student was guiding him through the courtyard. He, in turn, was scanning his surroundings, until his gaze locked onto their window.

"Oh my goodness. He looked this way! Did he just see me?!"

"Don’t be ridiculous. He’s just looking in our dir—"

Hatoko’s words were cut off as Davey suddenly took off into the air.

Tap!

In the blink of an eye, he soared toward them like a bird landing on a branch. By the time their brains caught up, he was standing at their clubroom window.

Mika and Hatoko could only stare.

"T-T-T-T-The Saint of Tionis...”

"H-Holy crap."

Davey smiled at the two who had frozen in place.

Mika’s face instantly flushed red, while Hatoko simply stared in awe.

They had no clue why he was there, or why he had just casually entered through the window.

Before they could even process what was happening, he broke the silence.

"Kouna."

She stiffened. "W-Why... Why are you here...?"

"Do you have some time?"

"T-Time?"

Kouna hesitated.

"Yeah. Time."

"Uh. The guild called me earlier, so—"

"She’s free!"

The moment Kouna was about to refuse, Mika and Hatoko shouted in unison.

"Right, Kouna? You were literally just sitting here with nothing to do!"

"Exactly! No plans at all!"

"Wait, what—"

Flustered, Kouna tried to argue, but before she could, Davey—who was casually perched on the window ledge—reached out to grab her wrist.

"Ah?!” she shrieked.

"Then, spare me a moment of it."

"W-Wait! What is this about?!"

"A date. I’ll be waiting downstairs. You can come find me when you’re ready."

Davey lightly dropped back to the ground. He then gave a casual wave.

Her two friends clapped and shrieked while looking at Kouna with beaming eyes.

"Kyaaa!!! Did you hear that?! He said date!"

"You sly vixen!! Kouna, you!!!"

"Kyaa!! S-Stop it!!!"

Her two friends grabbed her in an instant and mercilessly tickled her.

It took Kouna a while to process the situation. She could only wave her hands frantically with a reddened face.

‘No way. He’s just messing with me, right? But if Mika and Hatoko spread this...’

And just as she thought about calming her friends down, the two exchanged a single glance before bolting out of the clubroom.

“M-My goodness!!! The Saint of Tionis just asked Kouna out on a date!!”

“Oh goodness, I might faint!!”

Hearing their voices echo across the school, Kouna felt a sharp headache forming.

She knew the rumors were going to spiral completely out of control at this rate.

She should be angry at him for playing around like this, really.

Judging by the situation, he had probably come to her to utilize either her foresight abilities or her Haitai powers.

She clearly knew he had been joking. Yet, she was the one left to deal with the mess.

Instead of chasing after the two, she took a deep breath and marched outside to confront Davey.

"Ready?”

But when he greeted her with the same relaxed smile, looking down at her with complete ease, her mind went blank.

She had so much to say, but her mouth didn’t move.

And just like that, the rumors successfully spread across the entire school thanks to her two friends.

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