The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 991

“...”

She made a slightly soured expression, but she remained silent.

After all, she knew he wasn’t wrong.

"Even the great Odin is still human, eh? Hic!"

"If you're just here to get under my skin, you can leave."

Odin took a swig from the gourd and refocused on her fishing. Dokgo Jun plopped down beside her and spoke again.

"At least the Atrellia Continent won’t be able to chain you down anymore."

"I’ll just watch it as a spectator from now on. That land no longer has the power to interfere with me."

Despite being one of the strongest heroes, Odin had been shackled by her own overwhelming strength.

"So... are you just going to ignore what happened?”

After all, she had received help.

"That brat finally found his happiness and wanted to retire, and yet you just had to go and dump more work on him again. I doubt he’s fine just acting like nothing happened.”

Odin furrowed her brows in response.

"I never expected you to knock him out just because you became embarrassed, either. Daphne was absolutely horrified."

"Enough with the nonsense. What do you want?"

"Hic! Me? I don’t really want anything. But leaving a debt unpaid must be bothering you too, right?"

"What's your point?"

"Shouldn’t you do something about it? hic! That’s what I’m saying."

With a mischievous grin, he pulled out a small bundle from his robe.

"Take this to him."

"What... is this?"

"You’ll know when you open it."

Odin, now visibly wary, carefully unwrapped the bundle. The moment she saw what was inside, her expression hardened.

“...”

"Puhahaha!!"

Dokgo Jun roared in laughter as Odin shot up from her seat and lunged at him.

"Get lost! There’s no way in hell I’m doing this!!"

Her face burned bright red as she trembled with indignance.

"Why not? It’s not even anything obscene—it’s part of a wonderful culture."

"Even so, this is...!"

She was holding a red hat and a particular set of clothes.

* * *

Clink! Gurgle, gurgle!

In a nearly empty barbecue restaurant, a man poured soju into his glass with practiced familiarity.

"Ahh..."

He stared at his drink with a weary expression, then slowly lifted the glass to take a sip.

Thud!

But before he could, someone abruptly intervened, making him stop.

"Maybe you should slow down?"

"Minors aren't allowed in here."

"Who cares about that in a barbecue joint?"

The man frowned as he turned his gaze toward the unexpected guest—a striking blonde-haired girl.

"Nineteen..."

"What did you just say to me?"

"Nothing."

He downed the soju in his glass as the girl, Illyna, casually took a seat across from him. Then, without hesitation, she snatched the soju bottle from his hand and poured herself a drink.

Before she could take a sip, however, the man stopped her.

"Hey. Minors aren’t allowed to drink."

The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

"For your information, I’m an adult. And I’ve had stronger liquor than you’ve ever had, so mind your own business."

"Is that your usual attitude?"

He looked at her with half-lidded eyes.

"Are you always this rude?"

Illyna emptied her glass, then reached for the bottle again to pour him a drink.

Just as she was about to, he snatched the bottle away and poured himself another round instead.

"You’re completely addicted, huh?"

"None of your business, miss."

The man gulped down the soju, his expression dark and heavy.

"I'm not rude. I'm just angry."

"Angry, huh..."

"Someone I care about has been falsely accused because of this whole mess. The police are out there hunting her down right now. She’s such a gentle child that she wouldn’t even kill a bug.”

At her words, Detective Oh—the Team 1 Leader of the Seoul Metropolitan Police, Violent Crimes Unit—sighed deeply before responding.

"That's the problem with this rotten world. It's always the good ones who suffer."

“...”

“They get looked down on for their exceptional kindness."

His voice carried a bitter regret.

"Because they're too kind, they get used by others. Because they're too kind, they get silenced. And because they're too kind..."

His eyes flickered with anger.

"They end up murdered."

He lifted his head.

"Miss, that’s just how the world works. Back when the Saint of Tionis came, all those high-and-mighty bastards who ruled from behind with their tailored suits got wiped out in one go.”

Davey hadn't done so with the intent of saving Korea. But in the end, his actions had indeed led to that outcome.

"Things changed a lot—got better, even. But you know what? The scumbags who hid away after that incident... now that the weather’s warmed up, they're crawling out of the woodwork again,” he muttered bitterly.

"So why are you so obsessed with this case?"

“...”

"I mean, I know you have a reputation for being an uncompromising detective. But from what I hear, your methods are still extreme."

At her question, he responded in a quiet voice.

"Less talking, more drinking. We’re all doomed, anyway."

"Tell me."

"What, do you think you’re some hero of justice? Stop the nonsense and let’s just freakin’ drink, miss.”

"A hero of justice who can’t justify their actions is worthless. Listen, old man. I’ve lived my life following a code of fairness. Even for the most despicable murderers, I made sure they went through the proper legal process before sending them to the guillotine."

She clenched her fists in frustration.

"I don’t like it when people die, yet I do it nonetheless. But this time... it’s different."

Someone precious to her had been used.

"Anyone else, maybe I wouldn't have minded. But not her. I won’t let the bastards who did this get away with it."

Detective Oh remained silent. He took another deep swig, then closed his eyes.

He remembered the recent raid of an abandoned warehouse.

Illyna had taken down men much larger than herself—barehanded, no less.

She fought like someone who was intimately familiar with battle.

The Awakened possessed strength far beyond that of normal humans, sure. But the girl in front of him? She didn't care if her opponent was an ordinary person, an Awakened being, or even someone wielding a deadly weapon. She crushed them all the same.

At first, he had rejected her help.

But now, he had no choice but to count on her.

"Miss... aren’t you afraid of hurting people?"

"Of course I am. I hate it. It torments me."

"Then maybe you should step back n—"

"But you know... when I think about the bastard who did that to my precious sister, who was sleeping soundly without caring what they had done, I just can't let it go."

She was going to make them pay for what they’d done.

"The world is just... There’s a lot of cases where the bastards sleep peacefully while the victims suffer,” she added.

But this time, she planned to flip the script.

"You're relentless. I guess that dogged tenacity is why you haven't gone public with this."

They both knew that official punishment had its limits. If the system wouldn't deliver justice, then she’d do it herself—unofficially.

"So, what about you? Why are you doing this?"

"It was... about five years ago, I think."

Detective Oh muttered bitterly.

"My son was murdered."

“...”

"The murderer was caught—it was my son’s closest friend. But when we arrested him and questioned him... he said this."

- Mr. Oh!! It wasn’t me! I swear it wasn’t me! You’re a cop, right?! Please, find the bastard who really killed SeungWoo!!

His friend had sobbed as he pleaded.

At the time, he had become completely deaf out of rage.

But years later, a single piece of evidence surfaced—enough to reopen the case. A retrial was held, and thankfully, the boy was declared innocent.

"Someone was playing us from behind the scenes. Can you believe that? Even now, every time I close my eyes, I have the same dream."

He then continued in a low voice.

"Father... Father, the one who killed me isn’t my friend. Father... Father, the real killer is still out there, sleeping peacefully. Father... Father..."

His hand trembled.

"I searched for so damn long. And now, finally, I’ve got my chance."

A trail—a lead on the bastard who had killed his innocent son.

But the higher-ups had told him not to dig too deep.

"How the hell am I supposed to let it go?"

"I heard about this. You beat the shit out of your superior, huh?"

"Hehehe... You’ve got some impressive sources, miss."

He rose from his seat.

"A promise is a promise. Let’s move."

"Want me to sober you up?"

"No need. If I don’t drink, I might actually lose it and do something reckless."

“...”

"Come on. It’s time to end this. The bastard who killed my son... and the one who turned your precious friend into a victim... We’ll find them."

"And then?"

A chilling gleam flashed in his eyes.

"We’ll tear them apart."

* * *

The secluded mountain vacation house remained brightly lit despite the late hour.

Around the house, men and women in black suits moved busily, their affiliations unclear.

"Hey! You still haven’t caught them?!"

"My apologies, sir... We still haven’t been able to properly identify them...."

Smack!

"Find them! Now! I shouldn’t have come all the way here just to deal with this bullshit in the first place!!”

A furious voice rang out from within.

The guards stationed outside turned their heads toward the source of the commotion.

"Miss, are you ready?"

"I’ve been ready."

"There are twelve Awakened individuals among them. And they’re no ordinary ones, either—most of them are exceptionally skilled. They’re the shadowy figures pulling the strings behind this rotten country."

“...”

"Of course, the average citizen has no idea,” Detective Oh said as he reached inside his coat and pulled out a sword.

"I thought this country had strict weapon laws?"

"The Awakened ones carry weapons all the time, regardless. You think cops wouldn’t?"

"Impressive."

Illyna chuckled with a smirk.

"Then let’s get started."

He knelt down and dug into the ground, uncovering the hidden power lines of the vacation house.

"Time to tear them apart."

His eyes gleamed with a murderous glint as Illyna calmly put on a pair of leather gloves.

Then, with a single swift motion, Detective Oh slashed through the cables, severing the vacation house’s power source.

At the same time, Illyna took a step forward with her cold gaze locked on the house.

* * *

Thud! Thud! Boom!

A thunderous noise erupted outside the house.

Inside, a man flinched, his eyes widening in panic. He turned his gaze toward the now pitch-dark interior, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"H-Hey!! What the hell is going on?! Why did the power go out?!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

But there was no response.

The house had turned so silent that it almost seemed no one had ever been there to begin with.

He knew that couldn’t be possible. He had stationed several high-ranking Awakened individuals in the house. There was no way they could’ve been taken down so quietly.

As he thought of the possibilities, a voice emerged from the darkness.

"Hey, Congressman Park."

"W-Who’s there?!"

"Nice to finally meet you, you fucking bastard.”

“...”

"I’ve been hunting you down for a long time."

The figure stepped forward with a sword in their hand. Congressman Park instinctively stepped back, his face contorting in fear.

"P-Protect me! Now!!!"

At his command, the door behind him burst open.

Several figures surged forward, their faces expressionless, wielding a power different from Awakened beings.

Slash!

But before they could even react, the arc of a sword cut through them. They fell without the slightest chance of fighting back.

It was over before it had even begun.

"If you commit a crime, you should face the consequences. Isn’t that right, Congressman Park?"

"H-Hey! L-Look, I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding this is, but let’s calm down! If you just let me explain—"

"I don’t need an explanation."

Before he could finish his plea, Detective Oh lunged at him like a madman.

"Aaaah!! Stop! Please! Spare me! I-I swear, it wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!!!"

As the congressman shrieked in terror, Illyna watched with cold, indifferent eyes.

Then, her gaze shifted.

"A fish?"

What she saw was a living being slithering out of the fallen bodies she had just cut down.

A creature with a human torso and a fish-like head.

The moment its eyes met hers, it froze in place.

"D-Damn it. Most of my duplicates were just wiped out!"

Constellation Pisces let out a desperate cry.

Not long ago, its main body had been destroyed by a certain human.

And if it died there in the house, it would meet the same fate as Constellation Capricorn and Constellation Aquarius—fading into oblivion.

It turned to flee with all its might.

As Illyna watched it struggle, she tightened her grip on Caldeiras.

She tilted the blade at an angle. Then, with a smooth motion—

"Looks like Davey did his job well. And here... we’ve caught the bastard responsible for this whole mess, too."

Slash!!