The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
Chapter 1029

Chapter 1029

Kouna stared at Davey, suspicion clear in her expression.

"Eat up. It’s on me."

‘After causing all that chaos, this is what he wanted to do?’

She glanced down at the slice of cake in front of her, her expression growing even more perplexed.

"I heard this place is famous for their desserts."

"That’s... really not the issue here." She couldn’t hide her unease.

It wasn’t like she knew Davey all that well, but the fact that he had sought her out so deliberately made his intentions obvious.

"Do you need my help with something?"

"Aren’t you going to eat? I bought it just for you.”

Kouna studied him for a moment, her cheeks flushing slightly. Shortly after, she finally picked up her fork and took a bite of the cake. "It’s good."

The situation was confusing, and a little awkward, but since he was offering, she wasn’t going to turn it down.

As the sweetest sensation filled her mouth, the uneasy feeling she had eased a little.

"The guild has been contacting me non-stop, trying to set up a meeting with you.”

"Oh? That sounds annoying."

She let out a frustrated sigh. "Don't talk about it like it’s not your problem. I didn’t become an Awakened individual just to deal with politics."

Her past had been filled with complications, but what she truly wanted after all that time was a normal life.

Of course, as a first-generation Awakened—and still an active one—living an ordinary life was probably out of reach for the time being.

Even as she grumbled, she kept nibbling away at the cake.

Davey nodded in agreement. "Alright. I’ll make sure they stop bothering you."

"What do I need to do?" she asked cautiously.

"I need to meet Haitai."

Kouna tilted her head in confusion. "Haitai? I have a contract with it, but I’ve never actually seen it in person."

"That’s fine. I’ll handle it."

His firm tone implied that there was no room for negotiation—even if she refused, he was going to meet Haitai one way or another.

Kouna sighed. "Sorry, but I haven’t been using Haitai’s power recently."

"What?"

"I... had a bit of an argument with it."

Davey frowned deeply. "You fought with Haitai? What are you, a kid?"

"I am still underage."

Her response only deepened his irritation.

* * *

The Haitai was the only divine beast that existed in the world without a contract with Davey.

The reason why Haitai could track down Davey, while he in turn was unable to find it, was because of its abilities and the sheer length of its existence.

It was the only remaining divine beast that had existed since Woochi’s time.

All the other divine beasts Woochi had made contracts with had long since perished, their life cycles coming to an end.

But Haitai had never made a fully bonded contract with Woochi. Instead, it had secretly swapped contractors over time, ensuring its own survival.

In other words, it was a creature that had once carried Woochi’s traces, while never being fully committed.

On the other hand, the Vermillion Bird Fire Chicken, Azure Dragon Rumble, and White Tiger Whitey were divine beasts that Davey had awakened on his down.

Since they had never been tied to Woochi, expecting them to track down traces of Woochi was pointless.

But Haitai, who was helping Kouna, was a divine beast from Woochi’s time, one that had direct connections to him.

As such, it held the authority to ignore Kouna’s commands if it so desired.

“So, you haven’t been able to contact Haitai for a while now?”

“It’s been... about two weeks. It’s been like reaching out to a brick wall.”

Without Haitai’s power, Kouna was limited to using only a fragment of her celestial maiden powers and the power Arbit had left behind for her.

That was still formidable, but her true strength only fully manifested when Haitai was there to support her from the shadows.

Hearing this, Davey gave her an unimpressed look.

Her lips twitched. “W-Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m just wondering... What you did to piss off Haitai that badly?”

Haitai was obsessive about protecting young girls.

It wasn’t just a silly joke that some people had labeled it a pedophile bastard.

Davey thought it was absolutely absurd for Haitai to be so angry at Kouna—the very contractor it personally chose—that it cut off communication.

“I don’t know... I just told it ‘no’ about something. Then it suddenly got mad and cut me off.”

Their contract was still intact, but it was clear they weren’t on speaking terms.

"You told him no?"

"Umm. Yeah, about that..." She hesitated, then let out a deep sigh. “It’s nothing.”

"Kouna."

"Yes?"

It was clear to Davey that she needed serious advice.

He quietly spoke up, "There are two things that piss people off the most."

"Two things...?"

"Yeah. The first is when someone starts talking but doesn’t finish."

"And the second?" Kouna blinked, waiting for his answer.

Davey simply said nothing.

For a while, she just stared at him.

“The second is...”

After the silence continued, her eyes twitched.

“This is infuriating.”

She abruptly stood up.

"I’m going ba—"

Boom!!

A massive explosion suddenly shook the area.

“What the?!”

Rumble!!

Multiple flying monsters came soaring down from the sky, shrieking as reached the ground.

"What the hell is up with the security around here?"

"This doesn’t make sense... This isn’t a rift, and monsters aren’t supposed to appear in broad daylight on a main street."

"Well, they did,” Davey said matter-of-factly.

"It must be a containment breach from a nearby rift-cleanup operation."

Kouna quickly surveyed the surroundings, then reached into her bag and pulled out a short sword.

Shing!!

Her usual weapon was a longsword, but that was an impractical daily carry option, so she instead kept a smaller backup on her just in case.

Zzzttt!!

Aura Blade-like energy surged at the tip of the blade. Then, without hesitation, she charged straight at the monsters.

Slash!

The flying monsters weren’t particularly strong—Kouna could handle them without issue.

The civilians who had been screaming moments before stopped running, completely engrossed in watching Kouna cut down the monsters one by one.

“Kiaaa!!!”

"Demi-gargoyles. Extremely low combat capability. Rinne rates these unimpressive enemies lowly.”

Davey turned his head at the unexpected voice. Standing there, looking up at him with an expressionless face, was none other than Rinne.

“What are you doing here?"

"Master Illyna has sent Rinne to assist Master Davey.”

‘Ah. I forgot that Illyna could tear through dimensions.’

"How’d you know where I was?"

"Rinne has been linked to Master Davey since the early prototype phase. Rinne analyzes tracking locations as well within her capability."

"I see. Anyone else with you?"

"Rinne states that she came here alone.”

She casually picked up a plate of cake and continued eating, eyes shining with satisfaction.

"Rinne evaluates this cake’s softness highly!!" Her eyes shimmered, a vivid contrast to her dull face.

"Ah, that one’s getting away."

A demi-gargoyle that Kouna failed to finish off had turned its sights on a nearby civilian.

Without hesitation, Rinne pulled out her ink-black crowbar.

"Hmph?!”

Kouna noticed as well.

She quickly slashed through the gargoyle in front of her with her energy sword and rushed to take down the other.

But she was far weaker than Davey had expected.

“Kyaaa!!!”

"Nooo!!"

"Rinne. Take care of it.”

Boom!!

It happened in an instant.

Before anyone could process what was happening, the demi-gargoyle's body exploded into pieces, as if it had been struck by a massive missile.

No one had even seen Rinne move—she had moved that fast.

"I wouldn’t expect any less from the Savior of Humanity."

"Rinne rates that hit's impact highly."

At this point, her strength had reached a level where she could comfortably fight against six master-level combatants at once—even without entering her Sephiroth state.

All that growth in just two years.

"Ah. Aah."

The onlookers could only stare blankly, struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

“Hm.”

He cast a face blindness spell over himself and Rinne before turning to Kouna.

[Strength]

[Agility]

[Vitality Boost]

He cast a set of buffs on her.

Her eyes widened as she immediately felt the difference.

Then, without hesitation, she moved much, much faster than before.

Using her newfound speed, she slaughtered the remaining demi-gargoyles, reducing them to dust.

After catching her breath, she picked up the mana stones they left behind and pulled out her smartphone.

Her expression hardened. "Looks like there was an accident during an A-class rift subjugation nearby. These gargoyles must have leaked out from inside."

So it was just bad luck. Of course, surviving bad luck also meant they weren’t entirely unlucky.

"Thanks.”

"Just thanks?" Kouna gave him a brief glare, then sighed and nodded. "Fine. I’ll try reconnecting with Haitai."

Their connection wasn’t completely severed, after all.

When the attention of the surrounding crowd began weighing on her, Kouna suddenly grabbed his hand and dragged him away.

She quickly brought him to a small, secluded Japanese-style shrine tucked away from the bustling city.

"This is a place I set up for Haitai after inheriting the celestial maiden’s power. It’s where it resides when it visits. I also offer tributes here from time to time."

"Hmmm." Davey observed the shrine carefully.

It turned out that the small, secluded shrine had been built specifically for Haitai so that Kouna could properly offer her devotion to the divine beast.

Taking a deep breath, she glanced at Davey. “Don’t blame me if this doesn’t work.”

"Don’t worry. If this fails, I’ll just drag it out myself."

Her face paled slightly.

[I humbly pray.]

She began chanting the mantra to summon her divine beast.

Under normal circumstances, it would’ve answered her immediately.

But Haitai had been ignoring her completely ever since their fight—something Davey still had no clue on the details of.

But since she had already promised Davey she’d try, she lifted her hands and began a flowing, ethereal dance.

[I humbly pray. I humbly pray. I humbly pray to you. I offer my body and my soul to you. Cleanse the land, erase all evil. Your celestial maiden calls to you. I humbly pray. I humbly pray.]

Despite her prior doubts, changes indeed began to appear. A brilliant white light surged from her chest, twisting into a massive form.

Unlike the White Tiger, the beast resembled legendary depictions seen in ancient paintings. A colossal divine beast gazed down at Kouna and let out a low growl.

Unlike the other divine beasts Davey had contracts with, this one actually directly spoke.

[I told you, didn’t I? Without my power, you’re nothing but a weakling. Perhaps now you finally understand how much you rely on me.]

Judging by the look in its eyes, it had clearly watched as Kouna struggled earlier, letting one of the gargoyles escape from her.

“You ignored me all this time, and now you finally answer?”

[Hmph! I only descended now to see if you’ve learned your lesson!]

When Haitai appeared, Rinne observed with sparkling eyes, while Kouna let out a tired sigh.

[Let me make this clear; I won’t back down this time.]

"Not this again. That’s so unfair!!”

[Hah! It’s surely fair for me! As long as I live, I will never approve of your marriage to that bastard!]

"That’s not something I can control!”

Right in front of Davey, the two suddenly erupted into a full-blown argument.

[Don’t be ridiculous! That’s why I offered to kill them all for you!!]

"Those people raised me! How could I let you do that?! And besides, you’re a guardian that eradicates evil—if you let yourself be consumed by evil, then what’s the point?!"

[Hmph!!]

When they continued to snarl at each other, Davey clapped his hands together.

Both of them turned to him.

"So, the summoning went well, huh?"

Kouna sighed and nodded.

Meanwhile, Haitai turned its judgmental gaze toward Davey.

[And who is this pathetic fool? At least he doesn’t seem evil.]

Davey didn’t bother responding to its obvious hostility. He already knew that Haitai had an awful attitude and wasn’t particularly fond of men.

"Didn’t you have something you wanted to say to it? Well, it’s here now. My job’s done."

"Yeah."

Now that he had Haitai’s attention, Davey cut straight to the point. "Haitai. I need your help finding someone. Your spiritual tracking ability—"

[Get lost, you idiot. Don’t test my patience. You’re pissing me off.]

‘What’s this bastard saying to me...?’

Davey squinted as he heard the divine beast fluently trash talk.

"At least hear me out. This benefits both of us—"

[I don’t care! You look like some rotten seaweed creature that crawled up from the depths—how dare you issue demands to me?!]

Davey’s eye twitched. ‘Huh. I see.’

He had known this divine beast would be difficult. He had purposely prepared himself for rudeness.

Still...

"Nice choice of words. If you just listen, you’ll realize—"

[Ptooey!! Where does a mere child get the gall to command me around?!]

Bam!!

Davey shattered space itself and reached into the rift. He then pulled out a massive iron cauldron from his Pocket Plane.

At the same time, Rinne suddenly produced a fork and knife, tying a napkin around her neck.

Her eyes sparkled.

Both Kouna and Haitai froze, staring at them in utter confusion.

Davey muttered under his breath, "Goddamned divine beasts. Always so damn stubborn."

Ssss!!!

Steam hissed as the cauldron heated up.

He quickly heated the pot, poured oil into it, and grabbed a kitchen knife.

Then, taking out a standing cutting board from the Pocket Plane, he slammed the knife forcefully into it.

Bang!!

Startled, Haitai and Kouna flinched and looked at Davey nervously.

“Today’s menu is divine beast stew. You fucking divine beast—I still can't tell if you're a tiger or just some bastard mutt.”

Seeing his sinister smile, Rinne spoke calmly without changing her expression, “Rinne strongly prefers her meat rare.”

“Fine, then. I'll fry it medium-rare, just for you.”

Glancing at the rapidly boiling pot of oil, he reached his hand toward Haitai.

The moment it sneered and tried dodging, Davey swiftly grabbed its mane.

Its eyes filled with shock.

[W-What strength?!]

“Relax. It’ll be quick—just a brief dip in hot oil.”

[K-Kouna! Stop this madman!]

Ignoring Haitai’s desperate cries, Kouna covered her ears and turned around.

[W-Wait! You can’t possibly be serious?!]

Now that it finally recognized Davey clearly for who he was, it frantically struggled and attempted to negotiate.

[Calm down, let's at least talk this through!]

“Negotiate? Sure, negotiation sounds great. See that pot over there? The brand that made the oil inside is called ‘Negotiation.’ And this knife here? Its name is ‘Agreement.’”

‘Negotiation concluded, buddy.’