The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 747: Older Brother

“The Absolute Gem is a very sensitive divine object. Therefore, to perform a ritual to activate it, the soil, temperature, wind direction, air concentration, and several other conditions of the location must be fully met.”

“What? Are you kidding me? Does a place like that even exist?” Davey asked in an incredulous tone.

Frelia sighed at his question. “Don’t look down on my kind, human. The Valkyrie race was constantly looking for a place for the ritual while preparing for the humans’ Alf Online here.”

“So you found a place?” Davey pressed.

“Yes, we found exactly one place. It’s a place that exists only here on Earth; nowhere else in the universe. But there isn’t much time. We need to get it done in one try,” Frelia replied.

“Then where is it?”

She quietly turned her head in response to his question.

“Korea. You’ve been to the exact spot before, too.”

Davey\'s eyes widened at her words. “I’ve been there?”

“Yes, it’s the place with the charnel house Shin Hyun-Ah goes to. That’s the best location.”

Davey sighed deeply at her words. “Let me ask you something.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“In order to proceed with the ritual, we need to completely clear out the space, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Kain answered.

This made Davey feel bitter. He knew Hyun-Ah was planning to build his charnel house again, even though his remains had disappeared. She said she would do so because she believed his soul would still linger, even without his corpse.

Of course, Davey had told her that his soul was caught in the cycle of reincarnation, but she didn’t back down, saying it was her only remaining connection to her brother.

‘Let’s just say it’s happening for the better,” Davey thought.

He knew Hyun-Ah was sort of aware of the current situation, so he decided to go with the others to get her cooperation about the place.

***

“Nope. No way,” Hyun-Ah said firmly.

To be honest, Davey had sort of expected Hyun-Ah to refuse. After all, she was long known to be quite stubborn.

Hyun-Ah was, in a way, like a left-handed person. Although this doesn\'t seem to have any direct relation to her stubbornness, there used to be stories that adults with stereotypes would make left-handed people become right-handed, except for those who were particularly stubborn.

In reality, she was never forced to do such things, but her stubbornness stood out—particularly amongst the three siblings. Unlike Yeon-Hee, who always gave in, she never did anything to compromise or take losses.

Hyun-Ah had been and still was extremely busy. Her uncle, the chairman who originally led the Sacred Group, had lost consciousness and still hadn’t woken up. Yeon-Hee, who helped her regularly, wasn’t in a situation to do anything at the moment.

With all of this happening, she had to face many complicated matters, and with each country knocking on the group’s door to establish a connection with Davey, it was too much for her to handle given her lack of experience.

The Sacred Group contributed significantly, helping countless people suffering from the damage of the war. They produced supplies for the Awakened and sold them at low prices right after the war broke out. In fact, they had even received appreciation plaques from many countries during the war, earning recognition as an international company that had done a lot of work for the people.

Therefore, it was only natural for the Sacred Group to be mentioned frequently as the situation was slowly coming to an end. Since she alone decided the huge company’s next move, Davey knew that the psychological pressure she must be feeling was beyond one’s imagination.

Given all of this, he understood her annoyance at his sudden request.

“No, how in the world does that make any sense? Out of all the places, why is it here?!” Hyun-Ah said.

“How would I know, you octopus?”

“Huh?

You ugly squid!”

Perserque smiled bitterly as she watched them growl and bicker with each other. Kain eventually came forward to interrupt.

“If we fail to perform the ritual, it will only cause even more problems in the future. If we aren’t careful, we may even lose the humans we’ve worked so hard to protect.”

“Ugh...”

Hyun-Ah knew this herself, but she couldn\'t give up so easily.

“How about changing locations instead?” Davey suggested.

“My brother’s ashes have been here for such a long time. What good would a new place be…”

“You fool, I told you that your brother’s soul has entered the cycle of reincarnation and no longer exists.”

“What do you know, when you’re not even the Grim Reaper?!” Hyun-Ah screamed furiously. Davey could tell she was quite tired, likely from worrying about things like this when she couldn\'t make good decisions due to stress.

“You’re only human too... What do you know? Have you ever died?!”

Kain opened his mouth to say something. But before he could, Davey pressed his head down without hesitation.

‘Watch it.’

‘What’s the point in hiding things about you now?’ Kain said, unable to understand Davey’s decision. Even so, he tried his best to ignore him and spoke to Hyun-Ah.

“Anyways, the ritual will be held in three days. If you don’t get things organized by then, I’ll take care of this place myself.”

“You can’t do that! That\'s my land! Mine!”

Hyun-Ah was baffled at the situation. She felt like some construction company suddenly showed up to her door and told her to vacate her place within a few days because something needed to be done. For her, the whole situation made no sense.

“Just one of them has to give in, then there won’t be any problems,” Perserque lamented.

“You’re right. They\'re fighting over something so trivial, it’s not a big deal. They should be focusing on the bigger picture and saving their energy instead,” Kain replied.

“You be quiet!”

“Don’t be spitting out gibberish just because you can!”

Davey and Hyun-Ah shouted toward Kain at the same time, making him pout.

“Why are you just shouting at me?” he said while turning away, looking very sulky.

“Human, the current situation isn’t good. If we can’t close the Abyss with the Absolute Gem, not only this place but Tionis and other worlds may be destroyed,” Frelia said while stepping forward.

“That’s why you should back off…”

“Human, do you think you can handle the consequences? The Earth alone has billions. If you include other dimensions, it’ll be well over tens of billions! Are you going to sacrifice that many people for a place that may or may not have just the soul of one individual!?” she shouted in fury. She then continued.

“Are you saying that you will abandon the damned human species that our people sacrificed their lives to protect for mere personal satisfaction?”

Davey was surprised at her getting this angry, as it was rare for her to get angry in the first place. He wondered if it was because of the tense atmosphere with him and Hyun-Ah screaming in each other’s faces.

The Oxygen siblings and Maga rushed in and quickly tried to de-escalate the situation.

“Hyun-Ah, wait a minute!”

“Please… Don’t fight!”

She chewed her lip as they tried to stop her.

“Why… Why does it have to be there…” she muttered in a tearful voice and looked at Davey.

As he looked into her eyes, he couldn’t help but think, ‘I\'m your brother

.’ He knew he just had to say those three words, but he didn’t know why he was so afraid of saying them.

“All right… I will let you use the place.”

In the end, Hyun-Ah gave in. She then cried out of sorrow as Perserque comforted her. But for some reason, Davey couldn’t stop feeling so bitter and painful.

"Good."

But then, Davey did something crazy.

“Your brother. I will let you meet him.”

She stopped crying at his words, staring at him.

“Talk to him as much as you like.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“I lied about him entering the cycle of reincarnation. Your brother hasn’t reincarnated yet.”

“You told me he’s reincarnated and is having a good life!”

“Well, I’m an Imperfect Death Lord. I can tell how the spirits of the dead move even without opening my eyes.”

‘‘Then shall we go?’’ No, that doesn’t seem like the right thing to say next…’ Davey thought.

“Can I really… meet my brother…”

“Do you want to meet him or not?”

“Let me see him!”

Hyuna shed tears as she desperately clung to Davey. “My brother... Please let me meet my brother, that’s all I’ve been wanting.”

***

“Davey, why did you make that promise?” someone who knew the truth asked him later on.

"That’s right. Of course, it doesn\'t matter as long as I can perform the ritual… But is it okay for you to lie like that?” Kain asked.

Facing the questioning, Davey pulled out a few strands of hair.

‘Oh, my precious hair…’ he thought as he looked at his hair bitterly. He then placed it on his palm, and blew on it.

[Sorcery]

[Clone]

Poof!

Then another Davey appeared in front of him.

"Is that…?"

“It’s my clone. Alright, left hand.”

At his words, the clone raised its left hand. “Very obedient, just as I expected.”

“Hmm...

”

“Now talk.”

“You talk, you bastard.”

Davey kicked the shins of the clone that made sarcastic remarks before dispelling it. He caught the hair that it had returned to.

“I almost wasted my hair. Recycling is essential, you know?

He had made a promise to Hyun-Ah, and he had no intention of breaking it. Others asked why he was so stubborn about not revealing himself, but in the end, he still couldn’t reveal himself to her.

Instead, he ended up using his clone to facilitate his lie that he would let her meet the soul of Shin Hyun-Soo. After reforming the clone and making it sit silently in the magic circle, Davey called Hyun-Ah in.

"Really... Is he really coming?” Hyun-Ah asked.

"Y-Yes…” Kain answered awkwardly while sweating coldly on Davey’s casual behalf. “He will soon summon his spirit.”

Davey was watching the situation from afar but then looked away when Perserque tugged on the collar of his shirt.

“I don’t think this was the best way to handle it, but I will believe in you and support you.”

"Thanks."

He then quietly closed his eyes and cast magic.

[Image]

It was a simple image magic, and Davey knew the only way Hyun-Ah would be able to notice was if she was somehow Awakened. He knew just a few moments would be enough for his purposes. Perserque slightly stuck out her tongue at the sight of the clone changing into Davey’s past life, something that hadn’t happened in a long time.

“Cute.”

"Huh?”

“Davey, I like how you are right now, but I also like your delicate look from back in the day.”

Her faint smile made Davey sigh. Unlike Davey, Shin Hyun-Soo looked like a typical Asian young man who could hardly be called handsome with his small physique and tired expression. Instead of attractive, people would say he looked sick and unwell.

Afterward, Davey prepared an effect that would appear when summoning a soul and then activated the magic circle. The clone imitated him and spewed out mana as if activating a magic circle, creating a blue energy flow in the air.

“I’ll be back.”

Then Davey activated the effect and appeared in front of Hyun-Ah as if manifested from countless particles combining. She made a surprised face, gaping for a bit before managing to speak.

"Hyun-Soo?”

She then shed tears, making Davey emotional as well. But he knew better than to carelessly reveal his emotions.

“What is this three-legged octopus doing calling me! You interrupted my rest!”

She laughed at his words. Then, without hesitation, she ran toward him and hugged him.

"Wow, that annoying way you talk… Are you really my brother? Hyun-Soo… Are you truly Hyun-Soo…?”

As her voice adopted an unusual tone, Davey held back the feeling of crying inside and reached his hand toward her head. When she didn’t avoid his touch, he slowly stroked her hair with a trembling hand.

“I wanted you to live your life, but you ended up living foolishly like this… Tsk…” Davey said.

Then, without hesitation, he tapped her forehead.

“Get back, you octopus. Why are you crying like this?”

This was the type of person Shin Hyun-Soo was.

***

Whoosh!!

The space opened up. Verdandi was on her way to Davey to report her sister\'s situation, her thoughts solely concerning the activation of the Absolute Gem.

She hurriedly arrived at the place where she could feel Davey\'s waves, frowning when she saw that Davey’s figure had strangely changed forms.

“What on earth is that idiot doing? I don\'t have time for this.” Verdandi muttered.

She didn\'t know what he was up to right now, but that wasn\'t what was important. Verdandi, feeling that she had to stop this foolish waste of time, rushed in and spoke up.