The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1300

While Abel already had a look on his face like he hadn’t expected to be caught, there was also an unmistakable shit-eating grin he couldn’t hide.

“Let’s run for it!”

“W-What?!”

Caught off guard, Kouna was running alongside Abel before she knew it, pulled along by him as they dashed off somewhere.

“Hey! There’s a gate in that direction, so go that way! Don’t drag me into this!”

“Thanks, Evangeline!!”

‘Why does he look so happy after causing trouble? And why is Kouna going with him?’

Evangeline watched the two suspiciously when she suddenly noticed that the hem of his clothes looked faint.

Now that she thought about it, he was still wearing the same clothes he’d worn when he arrived.

Her eyes widened in an instant. “No way... It can’t be.”

A wave of unease swept through her mind. It felt like she’d regret it for sure if she let him go now.

“Evangeline, is Abel here?” Right then, Davey showed up with the shrunken Perserque perched on his shoulder.

Though he didn’t seem particularly angry, his expressions weren’t always reliable indicators.

Evangeline stared blankly at the two of them. “Dad...”

“Hm?”

“I’m going too.” Evangeline stood up, abandoning the stream she was about to start.

There was still some time left in the originally scheduled break period anyway, so it didn’t matter.

* * *

Kouna followed Abel in silence, wondering why she was even following him.

Still, the young man in front of her, Abel, was also the son of the man she liked. He looked so genuinely happy, too, so she thought maybe it didn’t really matter.

From the moment they first met, there had been something strange about him. He acted like he knew her well, yet she was sure she had never met him before.

Even so, she felt relieved. It comforted her to know she must’ve stayed by Davey until Abel grew up like this.

However, part of her couldn’t help but wonder if what Abel had told her was actually true. She had a hard time believing that she was truly destined to be with Davey.

Those thoughts tangled in her mind as she followed behind. Seeing Abel running ahead laughing so brightly, she couldn’t bring herself to ruin the mood.

If she really did end up with Davey, that would make Abel her son, after all.

Still, something about his earlier words kept bothering her. “Abel.”

“Hahaha!”

“Abel!” Crossing through the gate and reaching her home planet of Earth, Kouna finally called out to Abel, who was leading her forward.

“Huh? Why are you calling me?” After running for quite a while, he finally stopped and turned around with a satisfied look on his face. He smiled so brightly.

For a moment, she thought she saw Davey reflected in his expression. Perhaps that was only natural, as he was his son after all.

“Abel.”

“Before you say whatever it is, take a look at this.” When Abel pointed somewhere, Kouna finally realized where they were.

She involuntarily let out a soft gasp. Abel had brought her to a breathtaking viewpoint that looked over the nightscape of a vast city.

Thinking back, she hadn’t even noticed how many times Abel had crossed spaces under the excuse of running away, so she had no idea how far they had come.

Her face flushed as she gazed at the dazzling scenery. Whether it was her homeland of Japan or Korea where she’d suddenly found herself, night views were always beautiful beyond words.

It felt a bit strange that he knew how much she had loved nightscapes since she was little.

Abel sat down and held out a small glass to her. “How is it? Want a drink?”

“Umm. I...” she said, trailing off.

“Drink up! What’s the harm? Actually, you want to know something funny? You were the one who actually taught me how to drink. The first time I drank was when Yuria said she’d made a new kind of liquor and shared it with us.”

He chuckled softly. “I was so happy that day. Sometimes I wish I could go back to that moment, even if just in a dream.”

“Abel.” Something about his words gave Kouna deja vu, making her ask instinctively, “Do I really end up with the person I love?”

His smile faded. He looked down at his glass, then took a drink. “Ahh. That’s the stuff. I knew it from the moment Father let slip how carefully he hid it.”

“Abel.”

“Kouna, want to hear something interesting?” Sitting and gazing at the city lights, Abel gave a carefree laugh. “I came here from the future to change the past.”

“I heard about that.”

It was surprising, sure, but after everything she’d been through, it wasn’t exactly shocking anymore.

“Because the zenoen died here, the terrible disaster I experienced in the future probably won't ever come to pass.”

Kouna stared silently at the cup in her hand.

He continued, “So now I’m satisfied. In this world, I’m nothing more than an impurity.”

“Abel, what are you talking about? What would make you an impu—”

“I don’t want the future to change any more because of me.” He smiled faintly and downed another mouthful of liquor, letting out a pleased sigh. “Ahh. This tastes incredible! Honestly, being able to sit and talk with you like this feels like a dream.”

Abel looked to be at peace. “I wish I could talk more, but if I do, that future might never come.”

“Abel,” she softly said.

“I’ve had good liquor, and now I’ve said what I wanted to. I’ve got no regrets now.” As he spoke, his body began to blur slightly.

“Abel?!”

He gave her a peaceful smile. “It’s time.”

“W-What do you mean, time?”

“After traveling from the future and forcibly anchoring oneself here, it’s always necessary to eventually go back... to the future.” Surprisingly enough, the answer didn’t come from Abel.

When Kouna turned her head in surprise, she saw that quite a few people had gathered.

Davey stood at the front, with Perserque, Illyna, Aeria, and Evangeline beside him. Further back, Rinne and Reina were watching quietly. It seemed they had heard the news as well.

“Hey, punk! You were just gonna leave without saying anything? Are you out of your mind?”

“Haha. I can’t stay forever, Sis.” Abel smiled, though his lower body had already turned faint. “Father, think of the top half of this liquor as a gift from your son.”

“I’ll forgive you, just this once.”

At that, Perseque leapt lightly from Davey’s shoulder. Her body returned to normal as she strode forward and pulled Abel into her arms. “My beloved Abel, you must always stay healthy.”

“I know, Mother. You worry too much.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn’t hide her sadness at her son’s departure. Even if the Abel before her had come from the future, he was still her son.

“I love you, Mother.”

“I love you too, Abel.”

He gently patted her back, then turned his head. “Of course, that goes for you two as well.”

He smiled warmly at Illyna and Aeria. “You’re the people I respect most in the world.”

“Abel...” Aeria’s ears drooped as her expression turned sorrowful. “Make sure you eat properly, and don’t get hurt anywhere.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not the type to let someone beat me up.” Then he turned to Illyna. “Mom.”

“Yes, Son?”

“You’re struggling with something, aren’t you?”

“Huh?” Illyna tilted her head at the unexpected question, and Abel gave her a playful smile.

“Don’t worry. The thing you're worried about—it's completely meaningless.”

He spoke as if he already knew everything. Only Illyna understood what he meant. “Is that really true?”

“Yes, so don’t worry. You always said you regretted hesitating about it just because of useless worries.”

Hearing that, her expression softened with visible relief.

Then Abel turned to Davey. “Father.”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you.”

“You did everything yourself. I didn’t do anything.”

His curt reply made Abel chuckle. “Hahaha. Ah. Honestly, I wanted to talk with you a little more. I don’t know why I’m getting so emotional when it’s not like we’ll never meet again.”

His voice began to tremble. “Why does time go by so fast...”

Evangeline looked away as she saw Abel tear up. “You’re such an idiot. You’ll see us all again when you go back.”

Despite her blunt tone, the sudden farewell seemed to have caught her off guard. She had always assumed he’d return eventually, but it still felt too sudden. She would never see the Abel in front of her again.

There was another Abel asleep in Aeria’s arms, but that didn’t make it any less sad.

“Those... wounds. You said they’ll heal when you go back, right?”

“Yes, Sis.”

“Don’t go getting beat up somewhere!” she told him.

“You sound just like the others. Don’t worry, you’re the only one who’s ever hit me.”

Evangeline shouted at him, clearly annoyed, “Hey! That was for your own good!”

“Hahaha! It’s crazy how you say the same things in both the past and the future.”

He wore a look of satisfaction, then turned back to Davey. “Thank you so much, Father.”

“You taking the rest with you?”

“No, I’m leaving it behind. That drink... you held onto it for so long.”

His body’s fading had already extended up to his chest.

“If there’s anything you want to say, go ahead. I’ll listen to all of it.”

“To be honest... I just wanted to come back here with Kouna. That’s all. And...” He looked over at Rinne. “Hey, tone it down with those incidents in the Gourmet Research Society, will you? I mean, seriously, how can you justify creating loneliness just to produce good ingredients?”

Rinne flinched and quickly looked away.

Davey turned to her. “Hm? Rinne, what’s he talking about?”

“R-Rinne reports she has no idea what Abel is saying.”

“I’ll deal with you later.”

Rinne broke into a cold sweat and avoided everyone’s gaze.

After that, Reina slowly stepped forward and patted Abel’s head. “Stay healthy.”

“Make sure you say what’s on your mind. You always cause trouble by bottling things up.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.” Reina gave him a soft smile. Though her face resembled Illyna’s, the two had many distinguishing differences between them.

“Aaah. These goodbyes make me want to stay here, but I can’t.” He raised one hand and waved gently. “I’m heading off.”

“Good. Don’t come back,” Davey responded with a smirk.

“Let’s hope there’s no reason to. I’ll see you again in the future, Father.”

With those words, his fading body began to scatter into particles of light, starting from his toes.

Surrounded by the people he loved, he slowly disappeared without regrets, leaving behind the past where he had spent a few unforgettable days.

* * *

When Abel first arrived in their timeline, he’d used the authority of time.

Even so, he had stayed far too long within that gap, enduring constant pain. Yet, he no longer had that power.

Inside the rift of time, Abel could feel his body wasn’t the same as before. “At this rate, I’m really screwed.”

He had authority, so it wasn’t too surprising that he had some level of control and familiarity. Still, even that was just a feeling. In reality, he was essentially drifting through the gaps of time.

He knew that if things continued like this, he’d never make it back to his own timeline. Realizing that, cold sweat trickled down his face. “Father, I think I’m seriously in trouble.”

Floating alone in what felt like an endless void, panic spread across his face.

“W–Wait. No, this isn’t right,” he muttered with a desperate face.

He then let out a hollow laugh. Everything had been resolved. It seemed ridiculous for him to be stopped here.

He wondered if this was how he was going to die. If he’d known, he would’ve told Davey about this possibility and prepared for it better.

He smirked bitterly, mocking his own foolishness.

Soon, the rift began pressing in on him, trying to purge the impurity he had become after losing his authority.

“Wait, hold on! You’ve got to be kidding me!” He tried to resist, but the situation didn’t get any better. In fact, it worsened.

At first, he had some room to breathe, yet as the crushing force grew stronger, real fear started to set in.

“This can’t be happening... No way! Dying like this would be the lamest thing ever!” He screamed and struggled, but without his authority, the gap of time was too much for him to bear.

“Am I really going to die like this?”

His hands trembled in despair.

He’d finished off the zenoen; he’d made sure Kouna was safe; and he wanted to see her smile again.

Ending up like this, perishing on the purportedly easy way back, was so pathetic that even a passing goblin would laugh.

His lack of preparation was something his father, Davey, had always scolded him for. He’d thought he’d be fine this time, yet found himself caught in a disaster.

Time passed, and Abel eventually gave up resisting. He floated helplessly as the force crushed down on him.

No matter how much he struggled, he figured nothing would change.

The rift began to close in completely.

Crack!!

Then a sharp sound echoed.

“Huh?” Startled, Abel looked up toward the source. A large fracture had formed in the rift, and before long, the crack spread wider and wider until it burst open into a massive hole. Beyond the hole stood two silhouettes.

It was the same irritated-looking girl he’d seen not long ago, and beside her stood a boy with fox ears atop his head.

Though the boy looked younger than Abel, his beastfolk features and presence made it clear that he was older.

Abel called out with shock, “Brother... Sis!”

“He told us that the time axis stabilized, but you still hadn’t returned.”

“F-Father noticed?”

“Yeah. He was about to tear open the gap of time himself to get you, but we stopped him and came instead.”

The boy was none other than the older brother Abel respected the most—Darian. He reached out a hand. “Let’s go, Abel.”

Seeing his beloved sister and brother, whose faces showed both concern and annoyance, Abel grinned and pushed himself up. “Let’s go!”

“Hey—wait! What happened to your body?!”

“Oh, I rolled around for a long while in the gap before you guys showed up. My body’s a total wreck.”

“Unbelievable!” Darian smacked Abel on the back a few times, then gave him a shove forward. “Come on, let’s get going. I want ramyeon.”

“Want me to cook it for you? It’s been a minute since I have.”

“You’ll spit in it, won’t you?”

“Oh, come on. I’m not the type that messes with food.” Just moments ago, he’d thought he would never see his family again. Once back in his rightful timeline, Abel realized these were indeed the same people he had just said farewell to moments ago in the past.

“Let’s get going. I’m burnt out, so I’ll tell you everything that happened once we’re back.” He smiled brightly at his dependable brother and sister.

For the first time, Evangeline also smiled in relief. “Let’s go, idiot.”

“Yes, monkfish sister.”

“What was that, you slimy little worm?! Want me to bite your head off?”