The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

A few days later, a large number of soldiers, knights, and clerics stormed the small village.

The baron, lord of the territory, strode into the village with his imposing frame and declared, “I received a report that there's a demon in this village! Gather everyone.”

Willow silently observed the situation. Naturally, no one noticed her, even as she muttered to herself, “Who among them can I truly blame?”

The young man who lost his sister and harbored hatred? The woman who lost her son and buried the sorrow deeper than one could imagine? The priest who passed away before he could protect his daughter? Elysia, born a succubus, who lived among humans?

She couldn’t righteously blame any of them.

However.

“Personally, I do want to blame one bastard.”

Her gaze was fixed on a man in the village, one who started to emit a disgustingly vile and shadowy aura. It was the baron, who had rushed over as if he relished any excuse to show up.

He dismounted and immediately stroked his beard with an arrogant expression. He obnoxiously yelled, “Didn’t I tell you to gather everyone immediately?!”

Scared by his shout, the residents quickly gathered in the square.

The robust woman who had warmly comforted Elysia was there. Bode, her son, who had lost his sister in the war, was there as well. Elysia similarly arrived, still struggling after losing her father.

The baron’s eyes lit up once he spotted Elysia.

Lasciviously licking his lips, he muttered to himself, “Indeed... she looks just like the photo.”

The village elder trembled, bowing his head as he asked, “W-what brings you here, milord...?”

One of the attendants at the baron’s side announced, “A confidential letter arrived at the Baron’s castle. It was a report, asserting that a demon is hidden in this village.”

People flinched at his words. The most agitated among them were, of course, Elysia and Bode.

Elysia glanced at Bode with a shocked expression, but he stayed silent and kept looking around in confusion.

That was because he hadn’t reported her. Even in the throes of his grief, and even when she was one of those kinds who killed his sister, he’d suppressed his anger because he knew she hadn’t done anything wrong.

The sudden exposure and witch hunt weren’t what he expected.

The baron looked around before shouting, “If you confess now, I’ll be lenient!”

Despite his words, none of the villagers answered. Instead, they exchanged glances, looking confused.

“Milord... Humble as I am, I humbly state that no such wicked creature exists in this village.”

That was when it happened.

The Baron simply kicked the elder.

“Cough!”

“Yuck! You filthy wretch. My word is the law of this territory. How dare you talk back to me like this?!”

Even after being sent tumbling across the ground, the elder returned to latch onto the baron’s thigh and desperately cried, “P-please, milord, I beg your forgiveness!”

“Let go, you lowlife! Does nobody want to tell me who the demon is? Do I have to catch that lowlife demon myself before I hear an answer?!”

Intimidated by his shout, Elysia lowered her head, breaking into a cold sweat. She didn’t want to reveal that she was a demon. Yet, placed in such a situation, she felt the villagers might suffer if she didn’t come out and confess.

Then, her gaze fell on a woman who was fidgeting anxiously. Instinctively, she knew who had reported her.

‘A-Auntie?’

She looked at her with a face of disbelief. The feeling of incomprehension was even stronger than the sense of betrayal.

Bode’s mother, who met Elysia’s gaze, avoided her eyes with a guilt-ridden face, then slowly stood up.

The baron saw her stand, disgusted by her large figure. “Hmm? Is it you, you wench? You’re so fat that you seem more like a monster, not a human.”

It was a terrible insult, but she didn’t respond. She simply took a deep breath.

Just as she was about to accuse Elysia, Bode jumped up and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. He loudly responded, “I apologize, milord. My mother isn’t feeling well...”

“How dare you... make a mockery of me!”

Enraged, the baron drew his sword. He approached as if he were about to strike them down in one blow, so Bode immediately threw himself to the ground.

“Please, show mercy with your gracious generosity! My mother is weak-willed and seems to have been greatly frightened.”

“Bode!”

“Mother, hurry and run!”

She flinched, but was about to shout out loud. Instead, someone else drew attention to themselves.

“It’s me.” Elysia stood up with a look of resignation. “I made the report.”

“What?” The Baron’s eyes widened. “You’re... a cleric, right?”

“Yes. I’m just a simple cleric serving Goddess Freyja. I’m the one who reported the demon to you, milord.”

Bode and his mother looked at her in surprise.

Steeling herself with a resolute expression, she continued, “And the demon I reported... is also me.”

The murmuring in the crowd grew louder.

“Huh? What’s all this nonsense?”

Bode vehemently shouted, “Cleric Elysia!”

She instead firmly told him, “Bode, please take your ill mother and go home quickly. How long are you going to keep her standing here in the cold?”

Only then did Bode realize that Elysia had already figured out who reported her. It was the woman who had cared for her so much.

His own mother.

Elysia revealed everything herself and took the blame, just to keep his mother from being ostracized by the village.

She seemed to realize what Elysia had done, and her lips slowly parted.

Alas, Elysia beat her to the punch to say, “I surrender. Take me to prison.”

“Huh? So it really is you, you wench! Good. Looks like a lovely and thrilling interrogation is in order! It must be my lucky day!”

A wicked smile appeared on his face as we commanded his men, “Let’s take her to the castle, so I can give her special attention and squeeze the information out of her. This was easier than expected.”

The baron showed no additional interest in the matter, even though he must’ve noticed that her confession was suspicious from the start. His only goal was always to get his hands on Elysia, regardless of whether a demon was actually present or not.

“I’ll make sure to investigate you thoroughly myself. Hehehe...”

Elysia trembled with fear and shame at his chilling smile.

Bode’s mother, shocked that Elysia had covered for her despite knowing everything, tried to shout with a blank face, “W-Why... Mmph?!”

She was quickly silenced by Bode. He immediately forced her to the ground, making sure the baron didn’t notice. He pleaded, “Please, Mother. Stay quiet for now. I beg you. Are you going to let her sacrifice be in vain?”

Besides the two who were stunned by Elysia's self-sacrifice, the rest of the villagers recoiled at the revelation that she was a demon.

Some exploded in anger, while others stared in disbelief. Some still believed that even if she was a demon, she was different.

The years of goodwill she had built up in the village were just that important to everyone there. Given her sterling reputation, if Bode’s mother had publicly pointed out Elysia before them, she would’ve been heavily ostracized and perhaps even effectively exiled from the village.

She would’ve been seen as selling out a fellow villager, the kind cleric who had helped so many people.

Bode’s mother, who had been grieving her son’s death, finally realized the grave reality behind Elysia’s sacrifice and began to tremble. “Kyaaak!!!”

The clerics approached, put shackles on Elysia, and roughly dragged her away.

“Resist, and I’ll end your life right here,” the guard captain icily told her.

She had no intention to resist. “I won’t. I’ll submit to the investigation.”

The baron stood by to slyly say, “Good. That’s what I like to hear. However, this village must also be punished. They have harbored a demon for years, after all.”

Elysia was beside herself, stunned, and shouted, “W-what do you mean?! These people were only deceived! I’m the bad one! Only punish me, they had nothing to do with it!”

The Baron laughed sinisterly at her words. “It’s their fault that they were deceived at all.”

“What nonsense...”

Sling.

The soldiers drew their swords.

Only then did Elysia realize the baron’s true objective. His goal hadn’t just been Elysia—he also planned to kill every villager to make sure no word of what happened ever got out.

Regardless of the means, the baron planned to wipe out the entire village.

All just to get his hands on Elysia.

“I haven’t slept soundly since I saw your picture. Seeing you in person now, I feel an odd sense of peace. You’ve been playing tricks all this time.”

“You’re that ravenous for me, even if I’m a demon?”

“What does that matter? Well, I do hate demons, but what I do with a captured demon is up to me,” he said before licking his lips. He then turned to his men and shouted, “What are you all doing? Hurry up and finish this rabble, then bring the wench to my quarters.”

“N-no! Please... please don’t hurt these people! I’ll do whatever you ask! Please!”

Despite her frantic screams, the soldiers smiled menacingly and drew their swords.

Their actions were practiced, almost as if they'd predicted such a turn of events. Perhaps they'd even done it before.

She had thought that even the clerics in the baron's group, no matter how much they hated demons, would stop him from committing such a massacre.

Yet, they didn’t. In fact, she didn’t feel any divine power from them at all.

They were all fakes. Elysia finally realized that the knights and clerics were all in on it from the start.

The only thing left was despair.

Just days after her adoptive father was buried, this desperate situation had unfolded.

A soldier wielding a sword approached a terrified young girl, and she screamed, “Ugh. AHHH! P-please save us!”

However, following the baron’s command, all of the guards simply thrust their swords to strike the villagers dead.

Bode quickly stood up to look for anything that could be used as a weapon, but the sword was already coming down toward the girl. All he could do was shout, “N-no!”

The moment the blade was about to strike the young girl, the first victim of the situation, the sword was deflected in midair.

At the same time, a torrent of light spears poured down and pierced through the soldier.

On the surface, he looked like he was dead, impaled by the light, but the reality was different. He was alive, bound by the light.

“Gaaah?!”

As everyone was overcome with the feeling that time had stopped, a black-haired goddess in winged attire slowly set foot on the ground.

Her translucent wings, spread out behind her, gave a powerful flap, scattering feathers filled with holiness as they drifted away.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!