The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 849. A Brilliant Star Over the Realm

Chapter 849. A Brilliant Star Over the Realm

"I guess it’s too much to ask?" Davey said with a wry grin.

Perserque couldn’t hold back her tears as she looked at him. No matter how much he resembled Davey, she knew he was ultimately a different being. But the nagging question of him being too different haunted her; it never fully went away.

Realizing what the fake Davey was trying to do, Perserque stepped forward, intending to stop him.

“Don’t come any closer,” the fake Davey said instead, halting her in her tracks.

“I guess no matter how much you think about it, this isn't right. Neither the real me nor the original Davey would be happy if you gave me a hug under such circumstances.”

Perserque broke down, tears streaming down her face.

* * *

The extreme survival environment.

The Mind Remnants created in this space fought back.

Davey continued to expand his dominance. The concept of time grew distant, and his mental strength was beginning to hit rock bottom.

‘So, this is what Hercules had endured all along.’

He dragged his heavy, waterlogged body forward slowly.

The infinite possibilities.

He was finally starting to grasp what Arbit had meant by those words.

Everything was possible here, yet it was impossible to predict anything in this space. He had to be cautious of everything. For example, fires could seem like ordinary flames at first, but some harbored freezing coldness while others carried hidden dangers beyond what met the eye.

While these extreme situations didn’t directly threaten his life, the endless chaotic repetition was a different story. He knew that it would wear anyone down if it happened not just once or twice but tens, hundreds, even thousands—countless times.

To make things worse, the infinite possibilities viewed Davey as a threat and resisted his control in every way imaginable. The Red Void was so vast it could be described as the boundless universe itself; an endless realm where new worlds constantly formed and collapsed, over and over again—a living hell.

Davey had survived in this space for a long time, gradually losing sense of the concept of time. But even he was beginning to reach his limits. He knew that the moment he faltered, it’d all be over for him.

He couldn’t afford to fall back. He could tell he was so close.

Though he couldn’t see the end, his instincts were telling him that he’d be able to see the end of the Red Void once he merged the space Hercules controlled with his own.

Of course, the void, sensing danger, fought back with everything it had, making his chances of survival significantly lower.

Clash!!!

The duplicates of Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon blocked his path.

The void itself replicated Davey. While it couldn’t copy his individuality or characteristic, it had no trouble mimicking his existence and powers.

Even though they were weaker versions, they were still versions of him.

“I wondered who you copied... You sure are annoying!!”

Boom!!

Davey raised his left foot and stomped down hard, unleashing a powerful shockwave that twisted the ground beneath him.

[Longsword Last Chapter]

[No-Name King]

Crack!

No matter how close the copies were, they had their limits.

Davey knew that if he didn’t possess divinity or the characteristic of Predatory Assimilation, the copies would have succeeded in perfectly imitating him. But fortunately, he had already stepped into a realm even the Red Void couldn’t easily replicate long ago.

He had already cut down dozens, if not hundreds, of these copies.

“Just copying my appearance doesn’t make you me.”

Despite spitting up blood from the strain, he didn’t stop expanding his control over the space.

There didn’t seem to be an end to the flood of fake Davey O’Rowanes.

“You’re all just trash poised to be discarded.”

With those words, Davey let out immense power from his body. The very ground beneath him crumbled, and the space of nothingness swept over him like a wave. Even though every essential element for human survival had vanished, he kept pressing forward, seizing control of the space bit by bit.

“Stop resisting already!”

Crack!!

The space around him began to shatter and distort, shifting colors wildly. Despite the chaos, endless shockwaves and bursts of light crashing around him, he held on with all his might.

He reminded himself that he hadn’t come this far just to collapse now so close to the end.

Fueled by sheer determination, he completely dominated the space around him. He panted heavily and coughed as he continued forward.

[My Lord! Any more of this and you’ll be in serious danger!]

“Shut up, Arbit.”

[Please, think of your body! I can’t let you die!]

“I told you to shut up,” Davey barked coldly and stumbled forward.

When he stepped into the section of space that was not yet under his control, he was met by hundreds—no, thousands—of beings surrounding him.

“God... damn it. It just never ends, does it?”

His half-open eyes were heavy with exhaustion. His lungs felt like they were going to be torn apart, and his body no longer listened to him.

Every muscle screamed in agony.

He wondered if this was where it ended for him.

He also knew it’d be over for good if he retreated now.

Arbit begged him to prioritize his survival, but coming this far had made one thing crystal clear to him.

‘If I fall back now, there’s no second chance.’

Davey couldn’t believe how hard simply surviving was.

The fake Davey O’Rowanes charged again, and poison spread throughout the air. The ground shook as if groaning in pain, and the solid rocks melted into sludge, trying to drown and swallow him whole.

Another devastating wave swept over him.

He then sat down breathless, barely holding himself up with Super Ribbon. But soon, something enormous gathered around him—sowething of something of a size far greater than anything he had faced before.

“Damn... Can’t I get a break?”

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to stand once more.

The egos of Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon were fast asleep, exhausted from overuse. His power was the only thing keeping their authorities moving.

“Hang in there a little longer, girls,” Davey muttered with an exhausted voice, taking weary steps.

Then, the opposite side of the space distorted, and a dark version of Davey O’Rowane appeared, silently pointing Super Ribbon at him.

Davey could sense the new threat throughout his body, sharper than anything he’d faced before. But regardless, he kept moving forward.

After a grueling battle, he managed to hold his ground, though he couldn’t defeat the fake.

“That fucking bastard.”

This copy was leagues above the others. Davey knew he'd have a chance against him if he was in perfect condition. But under the extreme circumstances he was in right now, that seemed unlikely.

He forced his exhausted body, which fought to collapse, to keep moving.

The copy was in rough shape too, but the situation wasn’t on his side.

One, two, and three.

Three more enhanced Davey O’Rowanes appeared, each created from the boundless vitality and infinite possibilities of the space.

At that moment, Davey understood why Hercules had failed.

He had focused too much on one path, which inevitably led to his downfall. In contrast, Davey strengthened himself in multiple areas, which the void had trouble handling despite having so many possibilities.

This damned void had transformed into the something that was most threatening to him. And the most dangerous enemy to him... was none other than himself, which was why the void created another version of him.

“If only... I could’ve rested, even for a moment,” Davey said with a cold voice while panting heavily and raising Super Ribbon. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of dying until I crush every one of you and take complete control of this cursed space.”

Despite his bold words, he knew he was in a dire situation. Just as the enhanced Davey O’Rowanes charged toward him, his body wavered.

“Ah... Damn it.”

At last, his body had reached its limit.

This space was filled with countless threats to his survival, but the most dangerous of all was him getting weak. It was an inevitable outcome considering he didn’t have complete divinity, instead only the amount of a demigod.

And now, all that was left for him was to wait for this death.

But in the midst of it all, Davey noticed that the charging copies were suddenly slowing down.

‘Wait, what?’

Boom!!

A massive surge of divine power—different from his own—began pouring out from within him.

[Be grateful, original.]

With a voice eerily similar to his, a pure white feather emerged from his chest. The feather resonated, connecting with something beyond this space.

In that slowed flow of time, Davey saw something he shouldn’t have been able to see from his place in the Red Void: Heins Territory.

There, in the private garden, stood a young man casting an enormous magic circle—Davey O’Rowane.

Beside him was Perserque, the woman he so longed to see, crying and desperately trying to stop him.

‘What’s going on?’

Davey then frowned as he looked at the other version of Davey O’Rowane.

“Don’t tell me... A copy has made its way to Tionis?”

It wouldn’t be the first time a mutant escaped from the void. If even a single copy that only knew destruction managed to get out, he knew Tionis would be doomed in an instant.

One would’ve expected the copy to act against Davey’s best interests, but it actually chose to help him. The Davey in the garden raised his sword after slowing down time and manifesting the magic circle.

He was wielding Super Ribbon as well.

‘As if I didn’t have enough problems already. ‘

The guy in front of Davey wasn’t comparable to the enhanced Davey O’Rowane copies he’d been fighting up until now.

“What are you, the final boss or something? The Red Void isn’t supposed to work that way.”

The fake didn’t answer. Instead, he simply raised his sword, radiating a powerful aura.

“Come on, you bastard,” he taunted Davey with a smirk.

Davey then took a slow breath, gathering his strength as he stood up.

“I don’t care who you are. I’m going back. No matter what, I’m going back.”

Hearing his words, he smiled brightly.

“That’s the spirit.”

Davey could tell this one was different. It not only had more strength than the enhanced copies, but something more.

He had his individuality that the Red Void, with all its infinite possibilities, couldn’t recreate.

Cold sweat ran down his back. In his current state, he wasn’t sure if he could take him on. But he stood his ground, fueled by sheer will, and met his sword head-on.

Both of their Super Ribbons clashed, neither of them being pushed back a single inch. He fought with an unyielding, honest style of swordsmanship—no tricks, no feints. It was like he was challenging Davey to a contest of pure strength.

Clang! Clang!!

The Davey with half-shut eyes against the expressionless Davey.

Neither of them spoke. There was no need to.

Soon, due to the fatigue he’d accumulated over time, Davey’s strength gave out. His sword slipped from his hand, and he staggered back.

“Disappointing.”

He spoke calmly, raising Super Ribbon to pierce his heart.

“If this is all you’ve got, I guess I’ll have to be the real one.”

His words made the real Davey become expressionless.

Without a word, he forced himself to stand and locked eyes with him.

“Stop the bullshit. I’m going back. I’ll devour this whole damned place and fill Tionis with the vitality it lacks.”

“Then beat me, you bastard,” he said with a sly grin.

Their swords clashed once more. They were neither fast nor slow, but their movements were perfectly synchronized.

Clang! Clang!

As they repeatedly clashed, Davey felt the fake’s Super Ribbon graze his body.

“With that weakened body of yours, it doesn’t seem like you’ll beat me.”

“Can’t you just shut the hell up?” Davey growled.

“Honestly, even though I’m basically you, I have to say—your personality sucks.”

“If you don’t like it, stop using my body, idiot.”

Clang!

“This is it. No second chances.”

The fake then raised his sword, a crushing weight gathering around him.

The ultimate sword technique, [No-Named King].

Watching him channel overwhelming power into his blade, Davey staggered to his feet, closing his eyes for a brief moment to steady his breath.

“Huff...”

A dark, snake-like energy began to ripple across his body.

[So, who’ll win if the two of you do sword sparring?]

[Grr! You little brat! That’s not something you should ask!]

[No, seriously, who’ll win?]

[Get lost before I kill you! Damn it!]

[In terms of swordsmanship, he’s one step ahead of me, Davey.]

[Even the Sword God can’t beat him?]

[That’s because our approaches are different.]

Sword techniques for dueling humans and fighting monsters each had different approaches.

[For someone swinging a monster-slaying longsword, you sure talk big even though you can’t even beat me.]

Facing the overwhelming weight of No-Named King, Davey braced himself and took a step forward.

[Demonic [Spirit] Sword 88th Form]

[Final Chapter]

[49 Steps]

Though it carried the simplest name among the pinnacle 80th series sword techniques of the Demonic [Spirit] Sword, the entire series had returned to simplicity once it reached the ultimate barrier of power.

As the fake lowered his stance, swinging his sword in a sweeping horizontal slash, Davey tightened his grip on Super Ribbon with his right hand. He then spread his left hand to brace the bottom of the hilt.

Then—

Clang!!

In that brief moment, their swords collided. In the silence that followed, Davey staggered slightly and asked, “Hey. What are you?”

Davey watched the fake begin to dissolve, his body scattering into particles of light.

At the last moment, the fake had stopped his attack. Though it seemed like he was going to finish him off, something made him hesitate.

“Promise me one thing, original,” he said.

Davey paused for a bit then said, “Say it.”

“For just a moment—just a fleeting moment—I felt like I was truly Davey, back in Heins Territory. I had people I cherished, people I loved. For that brief moment... I wanted to believe that I was the real Davey.”

He turned away, his expression calm and resigned.

“But it wasn’t my place. It was wrong, even though I had your memories, your experiences, and your personality,” he said with a bitter smile. “That one small, one-percent difference kept me from becoming the real one. And I won’t last much longer anyway. If you disappearing early will make Perserque be in more pain...”

He would rather abandon the approach.

“...”

“Just promise me... don’t die. Survive, no matter what.”

As his body disintegrated, the immense power within him began to flow into Davey. It was the vitality of the Red Void itself.

‘What... What is he, really?’

“Survive... for Perserque and Illyna.”

“...”

“And stay by Aeria’s side.”

Davey couldn’t help but think how annoyingly sentimental the fake was.

“That’s for me to decide, idiot.”

“Even if I’m just a fake...”

“...”

“In the end, my purpose and desires are no different from yours.”

With those words, he vanished. The enormous vitality he left behind began to transform him from within.

Time that had been flowing slowly picked up speed. As the enhanced Davey copies lunged at him, he adjusted his grip on Super Ribbon and slowly rose to his feet.

Swoosh!!

They struck with the intent to kill, but instead of wiping him out, the enhanced Daveys were the ones to disappear.

“Phew...”

Davey didn’t question the process and result. But he couldn’t help but think about how awful it felt.

“Huh... Not too many left.”

His eyes sharpened.

“Sorry, but I’m really not in the mood to play around right now.”

He gripped Super Ribbon with trembling hands and took a step toward the remaining copies.

“Let’s end this. I’ve got things to do after this.”

Even though that escaped copy had been a fake, the memories he’d accrued—memories of his time in Heins Territory—had become a part of the real Davey.

‘You may have been a fake, but at the same time... you weren’t.’

Now, he was one with Davey.

* * *

The fake Davey had disappeared.

In his final moments, he left a smile and whispered his profession of love toward Perserque before fading away.

Perserque knew the truth in his words—she understood exactly how he had felt as he disappeared. As he resonated with his eyes closed, he had told her that she should wait, that the real Davey O’Rowane was still alive and he’d return no matter what.

As he vanished entirely, only the fake covenant ring Yosiah had mentioned remained where he had stood.

“Ah... ahhh...”

She approached slowly, cradling the ring to her chest. Tears streamed down her face. Even though she knew the real Davey would return, the sadness didn’t go away. Because, fake or not... he had still been Davey.

“Perserque! What’s going on?! What just happened?!”

Illyna ran over, only to see her sobbing while clutching the ring tightly in her hands. All she could do was embrace her and offer comfort as Perserque wept uncontrollably. As Illyna held her, she couldn’t stop her own tears from welling up, overwhelmed by the sorrow she felt from Perserque.

* * *

At the same time, in the Saint Sanctuary a young girl with vast wings curled into herself, wailing a silent scream into the storm.

The rain poured down relentlessly. She trembled under the emotions she wasn’t supposed to feel as a god: compassion, guilt, sorrow... and love.

Though everything had unfolded exactly as intended, she couldn’t bear the crushing sadness. The violent downpour formed a still pool in the air around her.

Then—

Amid her overwhelming sorrow, she widened her eyes and lifted her head.

The dark, cloud-filled sky above her began to change. The black clouds parted, revealing a vast expanse filled with countless stars—thousands, or perhaps even millions, lit up the night sky.

A powerful gust of wind swept past her, sending her glowing blue hair fluttering wildly. With a face full of awe, sorrow, and wonder, she stared at the sky in a daze.

The resolution of the trial with an almost impossible chance of success, the miracle, was beginning to unfold.