The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
Chapter 1031

Chapter 1031

"Why would you do this to me?”

No response.

"Tell me. Why would you do this to me?”

Woochi, his face gaunt and exhausted, looked at Davey in silence.

"You knew how important this was to me, and yet you ran off with it?"

If Woochi had been just some stranger, it wouldn’t have ended with mere questioning.

Davey would’ve personally gone after them with Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon.

"Why did you betray me?" Davey glanced down at the life essence orb in his palm.

He noticed that its power had halved. At that level, it was questionable whether it would even work properly for Perserque.

"Here, try this one too."

"Ooooh! Rinne evaluates the new taste data highly!”

Rinne happily munched away at her snacks, completely relaxed. Bi Yeon was next to her, smiling as if she were picturing a bright future with Woochi.

Compared to their serenity, the tension between Davey and Woochi was suffocating.

"Davey."

“Bro. Just be honest with me. The only reason I’m waiting like this is because I think there has to be a reason the heroes of the hall are being so uncooperative. So please, help me understand. This time, I really can't just let it go."

Noticing his chilling anger, Woochi looked him straight in the eyes. "Davey. First, let's get one thing straight."

"What is it?"

Woochi held his gaze for a moment before exhaling. "First, let’s clarify something."

"What?"

"You’re... No, never mind."

There was something he had wanted to say, but he swallowed it back.

Instead, he simply sighed.

"My bad, Davey."

"Older brother...”

"Here. I did use half of its power, but I refined the rest. That way, it’ll integrate smoothly now."

He handed the weakened life essence orb back to Davey without another word.

No excuses. No justifications.

"Are you just going to keep doing this?"

When Davey turned to leave, Woochi stopped him in his tracks.

"Davey." Woochi finally met his eyes. "Let me say one thing—you said you’d be different from your father."

"Pardon?"

"Are you really any different from him?"

A cold chill ran down Davey’s spine.

He didn’t know why Woochi was bringing it up now. Still, he could tell Woochi wasn’t saying it just to escape responsibility.

The thought that he had missed something—something he hadn’t seen—gnawed at him.

But that was all.

"I should be different...” he said with uncertainty.

Turning, he began walking away.

"Davey. I won’t make excuses, but everything I did... was for your sake."

There was no lie in his words. Davey could feel it instinctively.

Whatever his reasons, the other heroes had all agreed with him.

They had bought time so Davey could reconsider something—so he could make a different judgment.

He felt both angered and strangely grateful.

But still, he had to do what he had to do.

"Oh, by the way, Bi Yeon will be staying here. Don’t even think about going back up for a while. You almost got me this time.”

"Wait—What?! That’s not fair!"

"What do you mean, not fair? You went behind my back and screwed me over, and you thought I’d just let that go?"

As long as Woochi remained on Earth, his powers and authority were hard to handle. And so, Davey had forcefully sealed Woochi’s powers, making him manifest in a specific area while preventing him from escaping.

Such a restriction normally wouldn’t have worked on most heroes. But considering the situation was Woochi’s own fault, and with Jeo-Seung handling the River of Souls, Davey believed trapping him there for at least a year was fair.

"Hey! Thank you so much! We gumihos never forget a favor!"

Bi Yeon, tail swaying, cheerfully followed Davey as he turned to leave.

"Well, it’s not my place to meddle in your relationship, but—"

"Hm?" Bi Yeon tilted her head.

"Woochi—don’t drain him dry all at once. If you gut the golden goose, there won’t be any more eggs."

Bi Yeon made an oddly uncomfortable expression. "But... just a little—"

"If you drain Woochi’s soul completely, I’m not taking responsibility for what happens next."

She hesitated, clearly weighing her options, before finally nodding. "Alright. I’ll hold back a little."

Leaving her behind, he walked forward with his bandaged feet.

Rinne pressed against his side. Resting a hand on her shoulder, he casually activated a warp spell.

Davey had successfully reclaimed the life essence orb from Woochi.

If his words were to be trusted, he could use it on Perserque right away.

However, neither Woochi nor the other heroes of the hall had reacted particularly positively.

That alone made him hesitant.

And then, after hearing whatever Woochi had said—though rambled and disjointed—there was some strange feeling that he couldn’t ignore.

* * *

Munch, munch.

Rinne stared blankly at Davey with her usual expressionless face as she chewed on two skewers dripping with oil.

"Master Davey. Rinne requests an explanation for the deviation from immediate return."

"Trust is the core of any deal. I told Haitai I wouldn’t do it, but since it went out of its way to help me, I have to keep my word."

Haitai had placed its trust in Davey and provided him with Woochi’s location.

Never in a million years had he expected Woochi to be hiding on Earth, of all places.

In the end, he caught him, and that was all that mattered.

The problem then became repaying Haitai for its help.

Returning to the meeting spot where he had last spoken with Haitai, Davey found himself gazing at Kouna’s home from a distance.

It was a monstrosity of a mansion, practically screaming wealth and status.

Of course, it wasn’t as large as the castle in Heins Territory, but Earth and Tionis had vastly different architectural cultures.

"Hyun-Ah?”

- Yeah, Davey? I already sent you everything I could find.

"There's more information than I expected."

- Kouna isn’t just famous in Japan; she’s globally recognized as one of the strongest Awakened individuals. Our side has maintained pretty good relations with her, as well.

Kouna was an exceptional talent for her age. Her raw power was immense, but what made her stand out was how versatile her abilities were.

- She’s considered Japan’s pride and joy. You’ve heard of the Talent Development Program, right?”

The Talent Development Program was a system that had once gained widespread acclaim in Japan.

It was a national initiative to heavily invest in a single promising individual.

- Though, honestly? Kouna would’ve risen to the top with or without it.

Kouna didn’t talk about her personal situation. And since she had no intention of asking Haitai for help, she never summoned it anymore.

"Hm. So the company is on the verge of collapse, huh?"

Her grandfather had once led a massive corporation in the Awakened-related industry.

But that was a thing of the past.

He had recklessly competed with the Sacred Group, an international conglomerate that had expanded its influence through a partnership with the Church of Neltarid.

His actions led to repeated losses, leaving his company crippled and on the brink of ruin.

Desperate, he had come up with a solution—to use his own granddaughter as a bargaining chip.

To save his company, he arranged for Kouna to marry Kasato Yoshiki, the heir to the Yoshiki Corporation and an influential young man who was deemed to be the next leader.

Yoshiki Corporation, which also runs a major investment business, wanted a company of considerable size and expertise to round out their portfolio. Her grandfather’s company met their criteria, and so they accepted the political marriage proposal.

In other words, she was put in a position where she had to go through with the arranged marriage that her grandfather had set up.

Of course, arranged marriages weren't necessarily a bad thing.

Even if it meant marrying someone one had never even seen before, arranged marriages didn’t always end in disaster. In Tionis, there were actually quite a lot of couples who met through arranged marriages and ended up truly loving each other.

The real problem was Kasato Yoshiki’s personality and character.

He was a man that even Haitai, the divine beast that warded off evil, abhorred interacting with.

From the outside, Kasato seemed intelligent and respectable, but Haitai’s stance was clear—if Kouna ended up marrying him, a man whose inner nature was horrifically dark, her future was obvious.

Kasao likely accepted the political marriage proposal not just because of the company, but also because he clearly had plans to exploit the current Kouna in some way.

What Haitai wanted was simple: Stop Kouna from going through with a marriage that would clearly be a living hell.

The reason she ended up fighting Haitai was because it had tried to kill the man.

“Seriously, she’s so damn stubborn about stuff like this. What era does she think she lives in? One where you still just go along with whoever your family tells you to marry?”

“Rinne evaluates that Master Davey is not in the position to say such things.”

"Earth has its own cultural expectations, you fool. And—wait, did you just eat all of that?! That was for both of us!"

Rinne, completely unfazed, shoved the last piece of the skewer into her mouth. Her blank expression remained unchanged as she chewed.

"Give me some, you little—!"

"Mmph! Mmmph!!" She clamped her mouth shut and held firm. Her insatiable appetite never ceased to amaze him.

Even Amy had been horrified when she saw Rinne’s food expenses while reviewing the Heins Territory budget.

Kouna, much like her emotionless expression would suggest, hadn’t refused her grandfather’s decision.

She genuinely believed that it was her duty to repay the family that had raised her.

"This is ridiculous. If I get involved, I’ll just look like a total busybody."

To be frank, the solution was simple. All Davey had to do was give Yoshiki Corporation something valuable enough to make them abandon the arranged marriage with Kouna.

Yet he had neither the reason nor the desire to do so.

And her grandfather was clearly a man that had a spine. He was using his granddaughter as a bargaining chip.

Davey felt disgusted just thinking about him.

He had already decided to intervene, so he would. But that didn’t mean he liked losing out in a deal.

Vrrrooom...

A sleek, high-end car pulled into the estate.

Two figures stepped out—

Kouna, and the man Davey had seen before. Kasato Yoshiki.

"Thank you," Kouna said politely with a slight bow, her face blank as always.

Kasato smiled in return. "Not at all. I had a wonderful time."

He handed her a small package.

"Give this to your grandfather. It’s a gift."

"I will."

"Oh, and my father wants to see you soon."

"I’ll make some time."

"Good. That’s how you should be—obedient." Kasato smirked as he stepped closer, lifting her chin with his hand.

She didn’t resist. She simply gazed up at him, utterly indifferent.

Like someone who had already given up.

"This marriage will be good for both of us. You’ll rise even higher with the support of Yoshiki Group. Soon enough, you’ll be recognized as one of the world’s top ten Awakened individuals, like Prince Al Hajat of the Middle East."

She remained silent.

"And as for me? I’ll get to use your name to expand our family’s power. The Sacred Group may be an international conglomerate, but their CEO is still Korean. If Korea can do it, why shouldn’t we?"

“That’s...”

"I don’t really like Korea,” he smirked cynically. “A while back, I tried to establish a connection with the Sacred Group’s successor."

She didn’t know how to respond.

"It didn’t work out. That primitive peninsula-blooded trash."

Neighboring nations often had resentment that ran deep. For centuries, Korea and Japan had fostered factions that despised one another.

Yoshiki Corporation, along with Kasato himself, had never hidden their anti-Korean sentiments.

Kasato chuckled to himself as he looked down at Koona.

Then, suddenly, he tilted her chin up and leaned in.

He was going to kiss her.

But before he could, Kouna placed a hand on his chest and pushed him away.

"Please don’t. After we’re married... fine. But not before."

"Hah. Playing hard to get?"

"Forgive me."

"Fine. I suppose waiting makes it more exciting. However..." He suddenly pulled her into his chest before slowly sliding his hand down her back. "Kisses are off-limits, sure. But everything else is fine, isn't it?”

A flicker of discomfort crossed her face, but she didn’t resist.

It was as if she knew what would happen if she angered him.

Thump.

Davey grabbed his hand, which was about to slide down to her bottom.

"Isn’t she still a minor?"

"What the—?" Annoyed, Kasato turned to glare at the voice.

The moment he did, his entire body froze as his face went pale.

"Y-You!!! Gaaa!!!”

Seeing him and feeling his grip, Kasato let out a painful scream.

His legs gave out and he tumbled to the ground.

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