The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Crunch...!

His muscles looked close to bursting, flushed red with reinforcing divine power and mana.

The fact that the two were engaging in arm wrestling seemed laughable, at a glance. And his opponent was a Zodiac constellation believed to have been sealed by Goddess Freyja in the past.

Taurus.

Whether it was its true form or not didn’t matter.

His opponent was a Zodiac—a being imbued with the very power of the constellations.

"Why not give up already?” Davey teased with a smirk.

He then applied more force, causing his opponent to falter slightly.

Crack!! Crunch!!

However, its resistance was nonetheless immense, the aftermath of their clash spreading throughout their surroundings. While the bespoke pedestal supporting their elbows remained intact, the ground surrounding it splintered with loud cracks ringing out.

"You look like you're struggling a bit, eh there pal?"

Crack!

The sound of twisting muscles and squeezing grips grew louder. At the same time, the light of the constellation that sustained it intensified. The aftermath began to form a swirl in the clouds above, eventually creating a mystifying aurora phenomenon.

They were at the southern tip of South America— a place where auroras naturally didn’t occur. In other words, all of these bizarre phenomena stemmed entirely from its power.

Crumble!!

The earth began to split open once again. The overwhelming physical force not only tore through the land but twisted the seas and skies as well.

“Seriously? You've got to be kidding me!”

Davey quickly noticed a renewed resistance generated from his opponent’s wrist, realizing that its strength was being replenished by the blazing stars in the night sky.

"Fine, let’s see this through to the end."

‘Phew, here we go…’

Sssss…

With the clash turning into a full-blown battle of pride, a prior conversation pushed to the front of his mind—

- Don’t lose. This is a matter of pride. Don't let anyone walk over you like a pushover.

- Like you did?

- ...

Victory was non-negotiable.

Crackle!!

Blood accelerated through his arms, giving him an extraordinary surge of strength.

“Alright, let’s see the end of this. If you want more, I’ll give you more.”

Crackle!!

Platinum-colored rifts rippled through the air.

The sheer force of their clash—a collective force beyond mere demigods—was beginning to tear apart the space around them.

* * *

[You fool! What are you doing? Get over here!]

"Wait a second, Protector. Oh, here it is.”

With a grunt, So-Ya retrieved the box she had stowed in the forest.

Despite having a mermaid tail, she was still able to jump short distances over the ground.

"Protector, transform. Transform."

[What? Have you lost your mind?]

"Just do it!"

Hearing her urgent plea, Behemoth silently stared at her before closing its eyes. Moments later, its body glowed with light as it took on the appearance of a young boy.

"Here, take this!"

What she handed him was a pair of dark glasses—no, sunglasses. To be specific, they resembled the modern 3D glasses given out at movie theaters.

Sitting side by side, So-Ya and Behemoth watched the chaotic battle between two crazed demigods.

Crackle! Crack! Boom!!

Their clash wreaked absolute havoc on the surroundings. Yet, without a clear victor and loser with their wrist down on the pedestal, the two apparently came to an implicit agreement. They quit with their arm-wrestling and interlocked their hands in a new grip, resuming another battle of sheer power and blasting another round of shockwaves.

Crunch! Crunch!!

Meanwhile, So-Ya and Behemoth munched on popcorn with solemn expressions as they watched the bizarre spectacle unfold.

"This is delicious! So cinema! The perfect combination of entertainment and snacks!”

[Where on earth did you get something like this?]

“I recently befriended a human. They gave them to me, saying they would come in handy someday. Apparently, these glasses can let you see mana.”

Crunch. Crunch!

[Utterly ridiculous.]

“Wow…”

Crunch. Crunch!

[My bucket is empty. Give me more.]

“Here you go.”

Crunch. Crunch!

[These are quite good. But anyway, weren’t they arm wrestling before? What are they doing now?]

“I’m not sure. Let’s just keep watching.”

Boom!!

A massive gust of wind erupted as the back-and-forth struggle of strength continued. It would seem for a moment that Davey was being pushed back, but then Taurus would be overwhelmed in a sudden turn.

Pow!!

Then they once again silently coordinated, Davey and Taurus letting go of each other’s hands and stepping back. Without missing a beat, they drove their fists into the ground with tremendous force.

Boom!!!

The collision generated such a colossal shockwave that it would make a sonic boom look like a slight breeze.

Whoosh. Boom!!

Behemoth reflexively used its tentacle-like whiskers to block the gusts heading toward So-Ya. He then adopted a serious demeanor and gravely stood up—still munching on the popcorn she had handed him.

[We need to leave soon.]

“Huh?”

[This entire area is about to disappear.]

Boom!!

The clash wasn’t going to end with a bunch of shockwaves.

“Hmph!”

Boom!!

Recognizing their power struggle wasn’t settled yet, Davey and Taurus unleashed a flurry of outright physical blows on each other. For the first time, they exchanged direct hits. Each collision shook the earth and threw the surrounding sea into a storm, but even that wasn’t enough to satisfy their competition.

Davey, swinging his fists like a madman, landed a powerful blow to Taurus’s abdomen. Taurus retaliated by lifting one of its massive legs and kicking Davey, sending him flying.

While Taurus maintained a serious demeanor, Davey made a chilling smile.

[Oh no! We need to leave now!]

Before Behemoth could even finish speaking, Davey pulled his fist back.

“This is the last stop—end of the line for you, pal.”

[Equipping title, Destroyer.]

It was the title Davey had earned after defeating Antares, a being of ridiculous strength hailing from Atlantis. The title continuously amplified one’s physical abilities, pushing them to outrageous limits.

‘Nobody said I would limit myself to only one buff.’

Given his opponent’s sheer strength, Davey figured that he wouldn’t really be cheating if he just bent the rules a little.

Soon, Davey let out an overwhelming surge of power, far surpassing anything from before.

Gleam!!

Dark crimson energy gathered in an instant, swirling violently like a vortex.

Boom!!

The attack was not only powerful enough to obliterate the island—it warped the space above it, all the way to the heavens. Taurus, seemingly worn out from the constant barrage, failed to block the attack. It took his blow entirely on the chin, causing it to stagger violently.

Crack!!

Of course, Davey wasn’t finished yet.

Without hesitation, he charged forward to wrap his arms around its massive leg.

Wham!! Wham!!

Taurus tried to shake him off, swinging counterattacks powerful enough to twist the atmosphere and shatter the surrounding space, but Davey nullified each of its strikes.

Then—

Hunkering down to use his leverage to lift the bull, Davey flipped Taurus over and slammed it into the ground with tremendous force. At the same time, Behemoth wrapped So-Ya in its tentacles and dove into the ocean, fleeing at an incredible speed.

Boom!!

The shockwave that erupted was beyond a normal person could imagine from a person only two meters tall. The earth quaked violently as all physical laws in the area twisted and bent out of place. Fragments of the shattered island shot upward, seemingly defying gravity. The aftermath of the sinking island generated shockwaves that even made the most catastrophic events near Hawaii seemed like nothing.

If left unchecked, the spreading effects would expose South America to monumental tidal waves and storms.

Fortunately, a massive white light arrived to forcibly press down on the explosive aftermath, gradually calming it.

It was the power of Behemoth, the Tyrant of the Undersea who wielded dominion over water, including tidal waves.

Even so, his strength could only calm the shockwaves. The fact that he couldn’t stop power beyond shockwaves as a Mythical Beast King scratched his pride, but considering the opponent, there wasn’t much to feel bitter about.

Taurus, who had drawn and utilized celestial-level power in terms of sheer physical force, stood silently on the water’s surface, gazing blankly at the hole in its body.

Splash. Splash.

Davey emerged lightly from the thick mist of spray, rolling his shoulders as he approached Taurus.

The tense standoff between them suggested a life-or-death situation, but in truth, Davey and Taurus had never truly fought with any malice. It had only ever been a contest of strength—there was never any intent to kill.

As the light of the Zodiac constellation Taurus in the sky dimmed, its manifested form began to disintegrate into particles of light, scattering until it completely vanished[1].

It wasn’t dead, which left Davey truly baffled.

‘What the hell was the point of all this?’

* * *

[You lunatic! One misstep, and the entire continent could’ve descended into chaos!]

“I didn’t realize you cared so much about human lives, Behemoth.”

[That’s—!]

Behemoth growled in frustration but soon fell silent, seemingly giving up.

“What was that guy even trying to accomplish?”

When Davey first encountered the Zodiac constellation Cancer, Taurus had been unable to fully manifest in the world.

More precisely, it could manifest, but every action it took came with conditions. Constellations could only exert their power by paying a certain cost.

Cancer was cunning, choosing to minimize its costs while carefully interfering on Earth.

But Taurus was different.

‘It’s the constellation connected to the month of April, right?’

The insane bull recklessly manifested part of its true form in this world without looking back. Davey figured the cost of such a move must’ve been astronomical. Yet, despite paying that steep price, it did nothing but challenge Davey to arm wrestle.

It hadn’t made any attempts to kill; it just had a pure, unadulterated obsession with testing its strength.

And now it was gone.

The cost it had paid couldn’t be taken back, leaving Davey to question what drove Taurus to come all the way there, challenge him, and then vanish in a burst of light.

On a surface level—

“Could it really be… that it came here purely to test its strength?”

‘That can’t be it.’

Even for a being that could thoughtlessly rip through space with its raw power, he knew no demigod would act so recklessly. Davey figured that Taurus must’ve come to clash with him, and in doing so gain… something in the process.

[Contractor, is it so hard to believe that it just thoughtlessly manifested, wanting to arm wrestle with you?]

“It’s a demigod, Behemoth. Even it wouldn't be that crazy.”

‘At least… But then… Could it really be? Surely not…’

Davey shook his head, rejecting the thought, and turned his gaze toward the sea where the island had once been.

“Sorry, but you’ll need to find a new vacation spot. Ugh. Every time I come to Earth, I just end up blowing up another island.”

This most recent one made it two islands that he’d destroyed with his hands. The thought of potentially shaking up an entire continent was beginning to weigh on him.

The golden light of the star constellation Taurus had long since faded from the blue sky. Dealing with constellations of such immense power turned out to be both surprisingly straightforward and complicated at the same time.

“Whatever. Someone else can deal with it.”

After all, Davey was retired. He wasn’t particularly eager to get involved unless he had no other choice.

1. Unlike the previous knight servant of Cancer, what Davey just fought was a direct manifestation of Taurus and not just a delegate borrowing its power ☜

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Editorb’s Thoughts

Him and the bull shared a battle of pride, but others would just call that a pissing contest.

Our boi is fighting stars, which is like whatever, but I guess we just go with the flow lol. I really like this bull.

Side note: Again, it was difficult to find a fitting gif. I couldn't find a satisfactory anime bull gif, so I decided to search "anime cow," but uh. I got probably about what you'd expect. So here's a generic cartoon bull and cow.