The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Goddess Freyja’s values had taught Willow to observe those under her purview, not interfere. Objectivity was meant to be key, determining the outcome of decisions before emotions could complicate things. However, it wasn't easy for a young goddess like her to completely ignore something heartbreaking.

She suddenly remembered the old priest’s final words before he passed away. He had always protected Elysia without her knowing, yet also feared for the future. He dreaded the possibility that after he died, and she lost that protection, she would end up in a dangerous situation.

So, he had asked the Goddess of Harmony for a favor.

After spending his entire life offering faithful prayers, he prayed for his own selfish desires for the first time. Of course, whether that prayer would be answered was a completely different matter, but Willow wanted to help him.

The chance for her to make that happen came sooner than she expected.

It wasn’t even only Bode’s mother who brought things to a head. There were other villagers who had also realized Elysia was a succubus and couldn’t hold back their sudden anger, reporting her.

The baron, who had already heard rumors about Elysia’s great beauty, seized the opportunity to show up and claim her for himself.

As Willow silently watched, she glanced at the old priest's soul resting inside the soul stone. She quietly asked, “Do you resent me? Do you think none of this would've happened if I'd paid just a little more attention?”

The soul stone gave off a faint indistinct glow, but she seemed to understand what was communicated.

She felt the need to remind, “I'm not like Goddess Freyja. I'm only a transcendent spiritual being. I'm probably not as incredible as you think.”

Nonetheless, it felt rewarding to be in a position to step in at such a crucial time and save the day.

A pair of pure white wings spread from her back, and she stopped the soldiers who were about to kill the villagers.

A goddess had descended on the mortal world.

* * *

Willow’s motivation for approaching and watching over Elysia was anything but pure. Even if she had plenty of ways to justify and rationalize it, from Elysia's perspective, Willow essentially showed up out of nowhere to ambush Elysia with talks of marriage, making a completely unexpected offer.

‘Let’s look on the bright side! No matter how unusual it is for a goddess to directly interfere in mortal matters, the longer Elysia stays here, the worse it'll be for her. I'm doing the right thing.’

If no one helped her, she'd meet a terrible end, her life falling apart overnight just like the priest always feared.

On the other hand, even if Willow had stepped in from the very beginning, Elysia still would've eventually fallen to the influence of her succubus instincts, and that wouldn't have been good for her either.

She wasn't a high-level succubus, and neither did she possess transcendent power. It'd be better to use the chance to bring her along, teach her how to control her instincts, and naturally connect her with Si-Woo. He could even help her practice along the way, making for the ideal partnership!

‘What a perfect plan.’

Of course, everything depended on what Elysia wanted, but Willow still had to step in first to initiate the scenario and create possibilities.

Upon revealing herself, Willow slowly walked toward Elysia.

The woman couldn't believe it. “Y-you're... the one who came by... a little while ago.”

Recognizing Willow, her confusion and shock only grew. But

Willow carefully steadied her voice to give it more gravitas, and spoke with a completely different presence than she had before to lament, “How tragic... to raise a blade against the kindness that protected them...”

Anyone who knew how Willow usually was would've been stunned by how solemn and divine her voice sounded, almost like a heavenly rebuke.

Elysia’s legs gave out and she collapsed, cautiously asking, “A-are you... an angel?”

“Do I look like an angel?”

Her eyes widened as if she'd never imagined the possibility of Willow’s identity being even higher in status than an angel. “Then... are you... Goddess Freyja?”

She wasn't, of course, but that didn't really matter.

Willow slowly walked over and rested a pure white hand on Elysia’s shoulder. At the same time, her power suppressed the instincts that had tormented Elysia without end.

“What?!”

It was as if the invisible weight that had crushed her for so long suddenly disappeared, and the relief instantly spread across her face.

“Every race has its instincts,” Willow solemnly said, turning to face the crowd, “Just as birds die for food and humans die for greed. Now, would everyone please lower their weapons?”

The soldiers went stiff, then threw their swords to the ground as if they were hypnotized. They then recoiled as though they'd been holding something burning hot.

Like children desperately trying to hide their mistake, they acted without the slightest hesitation to ingratiate themselves with the arriving divinity.

“G-Goddess! Y-your humble servant dares not stand before your divine presence...”

Whether noble or commoner, a king was the highest authority they knew in reality. Yet, compared to the Goddess Freyja they believed stood before them, even a king couldn't compare.

Willow paused to organize her thoughts before walking toward the baron, who trembled and bowed his head, overwhelmed by the majesty before him.

Unbeknownst to him, the inner monologue of the divinity was far from solemn and dignified.

‘As smooth and natural as possible. I can do this.’

Just as she thought that, a new power settled over her entire body, and her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

It wasn’t her own divinity. Instead, it was somehow something greater.

The baron probably hadn't felt so terrified even when standing before his king at a royal banquet.

As he looked up at her with a trembling face, Willow silently took his trembling hand.

Then a voice, slightly different from the one she'd used before, echoed out. “Was this... really your best behavior?”

“G-Goddess?”

“There might’ve been a better path for you. If you came to an understanding sooner, this could have all been prevented. What I just witnessed... Was this truly the best you could do?”

Willow's words of disappointment, like a parent lamenting over a child who'd gone astray, made his entire body shake uncontrollably.

Though she directly addressed the baron, her words weren't meant for him alone. The villagers who had treated Elysia like family until they learned she was a demon were deliberately included in her words.

Willow had never intended to say any of it, but the words had already left her mouth before she could rethink it.

Something astonishing happened next.

Just as a child couldn’t help but cry after seeing their parents grieve, the cruel baron suddenly broke down sobbing and slammed his forehead into the ground. “I'm sorry... I'm sorry! Sob. I'm so sorry...”

Following his example, caught up in the energy, several villagers also began to cry.

The greatest change, however, came from Bode’s mother. She muttered to herself, “What... what have I done?”

Seeing the villagers grieve their own actions left Elysia completely at a loss. Well, in actuality, she was in more of a sustained shock than anything else.

What were the chances that the priest from the church who'd made such a strange proposal was actually Goddess Freyja?

“Goddess...”

“I respect the will of every one of you. That's why... even if it led to death... I intended to respect your choice.” Willow slowly walked over and embraced Elysia. “Your father's prayer finally reached me.”

Once the hug finished, Elysia’s body slowly began to rise as Willow took her hand.

At the same time, the pure white feathers drifting behind the young goddess sank into the ground all at once, imbuing the land beneath with overwhelming vitality.

“Have you realized? Is it time?”

Speaking far more carefully than usual, Willow deliberately used vague wording. In fact, it was the frustratingly vague way of speaking she'd picked up from talking with the goddess.

Of course, the goddess usually spoke vaguely because every sentence carried countless meanings at once. It was up to the listener to discern whichever meaning they found to be most relevant. Willow, on the other hand, was just saying whatever came to mind without any deeper meaning.

However, the ones listening to her took them in differently. After all, no one who believed she was Goddess Freyja would assume her words were meaningless.

Elysia finally drummed up the courage to say, “If I stay here... I'll only become a burden to everyone.”

The crowd was silent.

“Even if nothing can go back to the way it was... there's something I have to say.” Elysia slowly straightened her back and bowed to the villagers. “Thank you all... for loving me all this time.”

The village chief called out to her with a sorrowful expression, “E-Elysia...”

“I will never forget you all, like Chief, who always brought me little treats; Milia, who brought me makeup because she said it'd make me even prettier; and Timmy, who always came by just to tell me I was his favorite.”

She called each person by their name and talked about the memories they had shared.

“Bode, who quietly came by to help with the hard work... And Bella, who cared for me like my own mother.”

The people she called out flinched in guilt at her heartfelt affection.

Before long, she began to tremble, and tears filled her voice. She cried, “You were my family! No matter how much time passes, I'll never forget the warmth you gave me.”

“Elysia!”

“Sister Elysia!”

Even though everyone had come to know she was a demon, the memories they’d shared over the years persisted nonetheless.

Finished saying her piece, she finally turned back to Willow and declared, “Goddess... I'll follow your will.”

“This isn't my will.” Willow smiled softly at her before continuing, “I'm only showing you the path you'll walk.”

Leaving behind those final words to echo through the village square, Willow's power transformed the entire area into a sanctuary, and in a flash of pure white light, the two of them disappeared from everyone's sight.

* * *

Willow wondered if the people who'd received her first message as a goddess would truly change. She doubted the baron would, even if some of the villagers might.

Still, since the words had apparently come from their sacred Goddess Freyja, and thus carried the according weight, she didn't see it as anything worth worrying about. She put it to the back of her mind.

Under normal circumstances, after completing a task in the mortal world, she would have returned to her own sanctuary. However, Elysia’s presence was a special case, so Willow headed to Evangeline's lair instead. Fortunately, she'd already prepared it to be a sort of base camp.

Evangeline had converted the large central portion of the lair into her personal space, so Willow and Neltarid had deliberately built a small residence elsewhere on the island.

Of course, she knew Evangeline would complain if she built it on the ground and messed with the island’s aesthetics, so she'd quietly borrowed a small piece of the sky instead. It was free real estate, after all. And yes, Evangeline had no idea she'd done it.

The overwhelming pressure Elysia had felt from Willow the first time was gone, so she was able to settle in and comfortably remark to her, “Ummm. Is this your heavenly sanctuary? It's beautiful! It feels like... if heaven really existed, it'd probably look like this. I'm honored to have been chosen by you, Goddess Freyja.”

Willow immediately clarified, “By the way, I'm not Goddess Freyja.”

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