The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1021

"Come to the station with us."

"What? Hey, I’m here for something really important!"

"Yeah, yeah. You can explain all that at the station."

Watching Woochi argue with the police, Davey sighed.

He was trying his best to convince them that he wasn’t some shady nobody, but the officers weren’t having it. For a moment, Davey considered using hypnosis to speed things along, but in the end, he held back—watching him struggle was just too entertaining.

Eventually, after much back-and-forth, Woochi finally lost his patience and pulled out a talisman.

"What’s that?" one of the officers asked.

"This? Oh, nothing. Something you use like this.” Woochi slapped the talisman onto the officer’s forehead.

The two policemen froze instantly.

"Go back. I’m here to cleanse this place of evil energy."

"Understood."

With hollow faces, the officers returned the talisman and wordlessly walked back to their patrol car.

"Phew. That was annoying."

"You told me not to use hypnosis, and yet you do this?"

"Hey, man, this is... let’s say... official duty."

Woochi nodded to himself, justifying what he had done.

"Anyway, now it’s time to get inside."

"How?"

Woochi thought for a moment before knocking on the door again.

Bang, bang, bang!!

"Hey! We know everything! Open up!"

‘Unbelievable.’

Davey knew there was no way the homeowner was going to open the door now.

He sighed and yanked Woochi back by the shoulder.

"Quit being an annoying little prick.”

"Then what? You wanna break the door down?"

"Should we?"

"Alright, leave it to me."

Woochi pulled out his shamanic rattle.

[True Fire Flame Whirl]

Flames gathered at the tip of the rattle, swirling violently as they spun.

"Using the cops would’ve been easier."

"Oh. Right. That was an option too." Woochi clapped his hands as if he had just made a groundbreaking discovery.

After about five minutes, the officers Woochi had sent away returned, still dazed.

"Alright, just follow the script," Woochi instructed.

They nodded blankly, then pressed the doorbell.

"This is the police. We received a report."

A brief silence followed.

Then, after a few moments, the door creaked open.

"O-Officer! What about those cult members?!"

"Well..."

The officers blinked, looking at her in confusion before slowly turning toward Davey and Woochi.

Just as Woochi was about to open his mouth, Davey cut in.

He knew that if he let him take over, he was going to screw it up again.

"My apologies for the sudden visit. We’ve asked the officers here to assist us."

"And who are you exactly?"

"We’d like your cooperation. You haven’t been able to sleep properly for a while, have you?"

The dark circles under her eyes spoke volumes.

"Haven’t you been getting disturbed at night? We’re here to help take care of it. We’re not here to push any religious beliefs or sell you some exorcism services. If you give us about thirty minutes, we’ll handle it and be out of your way."

She hesitated for a while before she eventually gave a small nod.

"If that’s really what this is about..."

As soon as they stepped inside the old apartment, an eerie chill filled the air.

An ordinary person wouldn’t have noticed it, but the entity inside definitely sensed Davey and Woochi and was already wary of them.

"Woochi, if this is the wraith you know, shouldn’t you have recognized it by now?"

"I thought I would, but the energy feels slightly different."

Once the woman returned with a tray of sliced apples, Davey asked, "When did it start?"

"Pardon?”

"When did your sleep problems begin?"

"About, let’s see, two months ago? I used to feel a bit uneasy before, but only from time to time. I even tried a shaman ritual, called in some monks, and even had Awakened individuals who specialized in mana to take a look, but...”

She sighed and began recounting all the troubles she had gone through. "Look, I’m not asking you to believe me, but this place originally functioned as a seal for a wraith. Unfortunately, that means this situation was kind of inevitable."

"Then you’re here to get rid of it?"

"For now, yes.”

She nodded, but her face said that she wasn’t convinced.

"A lot of people have come—shamans, monks, priests. But nothing worked."

"Don’t worry. We’re professionals." Davey spoke casually, then got up.

"Mind if we take a look around?"

"Go ahead."

He then headed straight for the master bedroom, where the yin energy was at its strongest.

Inside, he immediately spotted an elegant ceramic jar.

“Oh. That belonged to the previous owner. It was so pretty that I decided to keep it.”

“How brazen,” Woochi muttered, narrowing his eyes.

Without hesitation, Davey picked up the jar and placed it on the floor.

“What should we do? Should we drag it out right away?”

“Go for it.”

Woochi shrugged in response.

“W-Wait. What are you talking about?”

“There’s a wraith inside this jar. It's the reason why you keep experiencing sleep paralysis.”

Woochi casually slapped two talismans onto the jar, and it began trembling violently. The homeowner gasped and jumped to her feet with shock.

Bang!!

Suddenly, the door slammed shut, and a chilling wind rushed through the closed room.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Along with the eerie sound, a rhythm resembling a heartbeat spread through them.

It was just like a scene straight out of a horror movie.

- Saaah

“Kyaaahhh!!”

Hearing a ghostly wail usually reserved for horror films, the woman screamed and collapsed to the floor.

As Davey helped her up, he spoke calmly, “Take care of it.”

“On it.”

Woochi might not have been the most trustworthy person, but at the very least, he was a sorcerer that had the power to command spirits.

A wraith was no match for him.

"You really thought—”

Smack!

“Hiding would work?"

Woochi reached out into the air with a cold smile.

Black smoke began gathering at his fingertips, slowly forming into a strange, eerie shape.

It took the form of a man covered in horrific wounds.

- Kiiik!!

The wraith let out an agonized screech, blood-red tears streaming down its face as it cracked its fingers loudly.

But something was off.

For all the talk about it being a dangerous spirit, its power felt far weaker than expected.

“Hmmm.”

After observing the wraith for a moment, Woochi casually slapped a talisman onto its body.

- Kiiiaaa!!!

A gust of violent wind erupted, but with a simple wave of his hand, he dispersed it effortlessly.

Everything that had been shaking as if a poltergeist phenomenon had been occurring vanished instantly.

“All done. Now, we just need to squeeze some answers out of this thing.”

They obtained the third material ingredient far too easily.

But as life went, it was never that easy.

* * *

The oppressive yin energy that had filled the apartment was completely gone.

It had been almost too easy, but that was to be expected. Woochi wasn’t just any sorcerer—if he was serious, even a king of wraiths would flee in terror.

To Woochi, horror movies were nothing more than thrillers. Ghosts would just be screaming and running for their lives if he were in them.

“This is really good.”

After taking care of all the lingering spiritual energy, the homeowner bowed multiple times to express her gratitude. She even packed some steamed rice cakes for them to take on their way out.

"How are we supposed to survive in a world this cold? We offer to help, and people slam their doors in our faces."

"If I were her, I would’ve locked the door, too. Anyway, bring that thing out. Let’s get this over with and extract the Wraith Frost.”

To Davey and Woochi, ghosts weren’t terrifying entities—they were merely resources that went into their inventories.

Davey secured the area, slapping talismans onto the walls to prevent the wraith from escaping. Then, as soon as Woochi dispelled the seal on the wraith, he frowned.

"Something’s off. This thing wasn’t supposed to be this weak."

"Maybe you just got stronger?"

"No, dumbass. You think I wouldn’t notice if that were the case?"

- Kiaaak!!!

Freed from its bindings, the ghost let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Slap!!

Before it could do anything more, Woochi casually smacked it across the face.

"Shut up."

- Guuuuh. Guh.

The ghost writhed on the floor, clutching its cheek. Its hollow eyes were filled with terror as it stared at Davey and Woochi. Then, it turned and began crawling away to escape.

"I’ll give you three seconds. Get back here."

Ssss...

The ghost was as twisted as it could be. It immediately scurried back in front of Woochi.

"Hey, don’t you remember me?"

There was no way it didn’t. It had to. After all, Woochi was the one who had sealed it there.

Yet the ghost showed no sign of recognition. It only let out eerie noises.

Just as Woochi raised his hand to smack it again, Davey stopped him.

"Come on, bro. Just because it’s a wraith doesn’t mean you resort straight to violence. Let’s try a gentler approach, yeah?"

"Gentle? This is the best—no, never mind. You think you’re so great? Fine, you handle it."

Davey nodded with a smirk, then grabbed the ghost by the head.

"You have three seconds to talk, or things are going to get really fun. For me, at least.”

[8th Level Sorcery]

[Divine Flame Cannon]

Whummm.

A massive amount of holy power gathered in his palm, leading the ghost to flail in panic.

- F-Forgive me! Please, spare me!!

"See? I knew you could talk."

- I. I.

Once Davey dismissed the Divine Flame Cannon with a smile, Woochi clicked his tongue and scoffed, "You psychotic bastard. I swear, there’s no one crazier than you."

"There is someone. You.”

"You son of a bitch?!”

Ignoring his outburst, Davey turned back to the ghost.

"You’ve been living the good life, sucking up yin energy, huh? I don’t want to go all-out here, so just cooperate with me, alright? Give me your Wraith Frost and attain Buddhahood. I’ll make sure you go peacefully. How about it? Sounds easy enough, right?’

The ghost trembled violently.

- T-The thing is. My power... It was stolen.

"Stolen?"

- Y-Yes. A long time ago. I lost everything.

"Hmmm. Who took it? You were a massively powerful wraith, weren’t you?"

The wraith in front of them had been formed from the lingering grudges of countless war victims coming together as one.

For something that powerful to have been reduced to such a state meant that whoever that had taken its power had to be a big deal.

"Where is this guy, and what kind of bastard are we dealing with?"

- N-No! You don’t understand! That thing is incredibly dangerous!!

"Oh, come on. What do you care? You were literally just trying to kill people a few minutes ago, you bastard!"

Woochi smacked the back of the ghost’s head, causing part of it to purify instantly. Smoke scattered into the air.

- Gaaa!!!

"Hey, hey, why the unnecessary violence?" Davey chuckled as he grabbed the ghost’s head and twisted it slightly.

"Now. Where is it? Take the lead.”

- C-Can I... not? Seriously, that bitch is really dangerous...

"You think it’s more dangerous than the two of us standing right in front of you?"

With a smile, Davey opened his Pocket Plane and pulled out Divine Spear Longinus. "Think carefully before you answer."

- A-Alright! I’ll take you there!! I-It’s the abandoned Suran All-Girls High School. It’s not too far from here. That’s where that monstrous wraith resides. It stole all my power.

"Lead the way."

- Y-Yes, sir.

‘Yeah. That’s what I thought.’

* * *

"Huff. Huff. Huff!!!"

Far from the apartment that had been infested with yin energy, there was an abandoned school.

Once upon a time, the area around Suran All-Girls High School had been lively, full of busy roads and bustling shops. But ever since the school closed, rumors about ghosts started spreading, and the place had become completely deserted.

The school had been quite large, yet it became nothing more than a cursed land. No one dared to enter anymore.

Still, some people would always push boundaries and break norms.

The University of Korea Paranormal Club had been on a ghost-hunting expedition. One of the club members, acting as both the club videographer and vice president, was sprinting down the dimly lit hallway, drenched in cold sweat.

He was alone.

All the club members who had come with him had vanished.

At first, he thought it was just a prank. Surely they were hiding, just trying to mess with him.

Until he saw something horrifying on his camera.

He thought it was only natural for a haunted location to feel eerie. And despite its atmosphere, at the end of the day, ghosts weren’t even real.

And since their ghost hunts were both a club activity and content for their livestream, there was no way he could back out of this haunted school as the vice president.

But now, with every breath turning into white mist, and the unbearable chill seeping into his bones—he knew the place was the real deal and that he had to get out immediately.

"H-Hey! Stop messing around! This is enough, okay?!" he called out, his voice trembling.

Instead of an answer, he heard a huge crash somewhere behind him.

"Aaaagh!!!"

Outside, the sky had gone completely black.

He had no idea how long he had been running, but no matter where he turned, it felt like he was being pulled deeper into a labyrinth.

By that point, he didn’t care about ghost hunting—he just wanted to get out of there.

Bang!! Bang, bang, bang!!

The deafening noise in the distance was steadily drawing closer.

With his eyes wide open, he clutched his camera and ran like a madman.

He spotted a door that he would’ve never gone in normally. But out of desperation, he threw himself inside and slammed it shut behind him.

He found himself in a storage room. Panting heavily, he tried to collect himself.

The other club members were the least of his worries.

In that moment, the only thing that mattered was that there were real ghosts, and he was about to die.

To make things worse, there wasn’t just one ghost—there were many.

Meanwhile, the livestream had been left on, with thousands of viewers flooding the chat.

[Damn, the production quality is crazy...]

[Wait, are you sure this is staged? This is legit creeping me out.]

[Isn't this supposed to be in Korea? It’s way too dark outside for this time of day.]

[Hey, you’re right. That’s weird.]

[Pfft, you idiots. What’s so scary about this? ... I think I’m going to sleep with my parents tonight, though.]

Even as they claimed to be scared, none of the viewers fully grasped the severity of the situation. Meanwhile, the vice president trembled violently and scanned the room with wild eyes.

But then, through his camera and beyond the piles of topped desks, a pair of glowing, blood-red eyes appeared.

"Ah... Ahhhhhh!!!”

Letting out a desperate wail, he scrambled backward, trying his best to escape, but the door he had just come through wouldn’t budge.

The eyes then began to move toward him.

The chat exploded with reactions as the ghost with unnaturally long hair began crawling forward in a twisted motion, using both hands and feet.

Suddenly, there was a knock from the other side of the door he had his back against. He wondered if there was someone else trapped in this school.

Just as fear began to take over, the window shattered with a loud crash, and someone poked their head through the broken glass.

"Hey, is that her? She’s got long hair, and she matches your description."

"Nah. Davey, that’s just a low-level ghost."

"Kind of strong resentment to have for just a low-level one though, isn’t it?"

"If you're planning to use it for your life essence orb, something like that won’t cut it. You need a big one. Look for something stronger."

The vice president stared blankly at the two of them as they casually chatted.

They weren’t ghosts. They were people.

Just as he was about to shout and call out to them, one of the figures addressed him.

"Oh, sorry. Don’t mind us. Go ahead and finish what you were doing."

They then turned their backs without hesitation.

"Let’s just leave him. The ghosts are probably just doing what they need to do to get by.”

Even as the two walked off without a second thought, both the ghost and the vice president stayed frozen in place, completely stunned.