Chapter 130: For True Love (4)

Keter flipped over the silver disc in his hand.

“I can tell from a mile away that this is one of Ragnon’s.”

He was referring to Ragnon the Bomber, one of Liqueur’s Five Lunatics. His signature “R” wasn’t engraved, but...

Sniff.

Even without dismantling it, the scent alone told him everything.

“Definitely smells like Ragnon’s bombs.”

Normal explosives used sulfur or uric acid, but Ragnon’s signature gunpowder was made with synthetic compounds more commonly seen in arcane engineering. This custom mix gave off a distinctive odor, which was on this silver disc.

“Smells like mercury.”

Did Ragnon leave Liqueur as well?

As far as Keter knew, he hadn’t.

“But...

sniff sniff.

This is an older model, probably from three to five years ago.”

It was suspicious but fascinating to find Ragnon’s bombs beneath Eslow’s capital in Lillian Kingdom, a place where gunpowder was regulated even more tightly than magic.

“And there are a lot of them, too,” Keter muttered as he walked toward Feathers Hotel.

Then, he noticed the silver discs spaced evenly along the ceiling.

“I thought it was a festival. Guess it’s a funeral.”

He scratched the back of his head with one of the discs.

“If all of these go off at once, the city will collapse completely.”

The explosives weren’t isolated to one section; they were attached across all the sewer tunnels. Never mind how long and meticulous this was...

“An entire city collapsing... That would be a huge incident. There’s no way I wouldn’t have heard about it.”

As someone who had lived through the future, the only major event Keter remembered from this Sword of the South Tournament was that Sefira had been disgraced, and that the participants returned with permanent injuries.

“Can’t say my actions changed the future that much, right?” muttered Keter, tossing the disc in the air and catching it again.

“The fact that someone planted all these bombs underground has nothing to do with me. But these didn’t detonate.”

He stopped walking and looked up. Sure enough, more silver discs were attached to the ceiling.

Jumping up, Keter began collecting them.

“I was gonna use the Milky Way to blow up the hotel, but with these here, I can save my aura.”

He stopped right under the Feathers Hotel.

Holding a disc in both hands, he poured mana into it, analyzing its inner structure.

“Mana-activated. Smart. Hmm... Even has a rune circuit that sends a signal if tampered with.”

Using Ragnon’s bombs, which were part of someone else’s plan... How could Keter not do something so fun?

But because the bomb was mana-triggered, it couldn’t be operated by anyone other than the original owner. Scanning its structure with mana alone wasn’t enough—he had to open it up to see the inner workings.

To dismantle it without alerting the original user, either a seven-circle mage or a top-tier rune artisan would be required, but...

Crack.

Keter just ripped the connection out with brute force. He didn’t have to worry about the bomb exploding, as Ragnon’s explosives were highly stable and wouldn’t detonate without the proper signal. There were ultra-sensitive versions, which would go off with even the slightest gust of wind, but this wasn’t one of them. Keter knew this because Ragnon had once been his teacher.

Technically, he worked as an assistant helping Ragnon create gunpowder, and in return, he learned a bit of Ragnon’s crafting methods.

The person who attached them got the signal, but...

Keter shrugged.

“Well, what are they going to do? If they want to come find me, let them.”

The inside of the disc was densely packed like a well-fed crab. Half was gunpowder, and the other half was a rune circuit built from minuscule mana stones.

Keter’s eyes gleamed.

“So that’s why it didn’t go off.”

He pulled out a needle made of amantir, a mana-conductive metal, and poked at the circuit.

“The signal’s there, but the detonation sequence is disabled.”

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

He could already imagine what happened. Someone had spent years preparing a massive bombing in this city, and they didn’t do it alone. There had to be collaborators on the inside. But at some point, Eslow probably caught wind of it. Rather than disarm the bombs, he tampered with them to lure the masterminds out and wipe them all out at once.

So, who are the culprits, and were they captured?

“Well, I don’t know that much.”

Either way, the terrorists failed.

“And that’s not my problem.”

Keter began modifying the circuit so that it only responded to his mana and could actually detonate. It took time since he had to do it all manually, but he didn’t need many.

“Eight should do.”

The underground sewers were deep, and the city sat on a thick rock bed. Eight regular bombs wouldn’t be enough to reach the surface, but it was possible for Ragnon’s bombs. A single one of Rose, his third masterpiece, had the power of a six-circle spell and could even kill a Master.

After finishing the modifications, Keter reattached the discs to the ceiling and climbed back to the surface. Now, with a single mana signal, Feathers Hotel would fall.

But just blowing up the hotel would be too boring.

“Explosion isn’t the outcome, it’s the process. It’s just like you said, Master.”

The explosion wasn’t the main event; the main event was what Keter had tucked into his belt pouch.

He had sold classified intel to Golden Fragrance, then bought a massive stack of palm-sized flyers from their manager. It was one thousand seven hundred forty-two copies. The first was written by hand, and the rest was duplicated with magic.

—Fabian, Lord Eslow’s eldest son, plagiarized art. He copied the works of Demonicar for his sculptures.

Originally, this would’ve been exposed five years from now, but Keter decided it was going to leak now.

“Well, that’s fame for you. You should have known when to stop.”

Fabian had been too arrogant. He truly believed no one would notice he was copying Demonicar’s work. Even if Keter didn’t expose it now, someone else would have done it in five years. And no one would ever pity a plagiarist, regardless of timing.

After exiting the sewers, Keter arrived at a cafe terrace overlooking Feathers Hotel.

Leaning against the railing, he casually scanned the view. Normally, even people who weren’t guests would gather here to admire the scenery, but today, for some reason, it was strangely... quiet.

Is this the causality the Godfather was talking about? Of all times, there’s no one around right when I’m about to blow up the hotel.

Of course, Keter felt no guilt about the possibility of innocent people getting caught in the explosion. He didn’t care even if someone were to die from it.

“Dying unfairly is just part of fate. Death is a part of life, after all.”

If someone was meant to die, they would be struck by a flying shard of debris even from far away. If they were meant to live, they would survive even with a bomb going off beneath their feet.

Ignite.

He sent a detonation signal to the bombs set up in the underground sewer. In ten seconds, the foundation of the Feathers Hotel would collapse. Keter wrapped the bag full of leaflets in mana. It blended into its surroundings and became transparent.

Five, four, three...

When he reached three, Keter hurled the now-invisible bag toward the Feathers Hotel with all his strength. Right before the bag, flying in total silence, hit the hotel wall...

BOOOOOM!!!

A deafening explosion erupted as the ground beneath the Feathers Hotel collapsed. The once-majestic hotel sank with a thunderous roar. At the same time, a rose-shaped plume of dust bloomed up from underground.

“Ahh!!!

“It’s a bomb!”

Screams echoed as the citizens descended into chaos. Those who had seen the rose-shaped cloud from afar began rushing toward the hotel, wondering what had happened. At that moment, Keter’s real aim began to fall slowly from the sky.

“What... what is this?”

Scattered fragments of paper drifted down. Some were burned or damaged in the blast, but many remained intact.

“

Gasp?!

”

“Oh my...”

Citizens and nobles who read the leaflets covered their mouths in shock and glanced around nervously. But it was already too late. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of people had already seen the contents.

“Heh heh heh...”

Keter burst into laughter as he looked down at the half-collapsed hotel and the stunned citizens.

“Now this finally feels like a place where people live.”

Eslow’s fief had been too peaceful. That irked Keter. Where there was chaos, he brought peace. Where there was peace, he brought chaos. He enjoyed creating the opposite of the current state.

“Eslow. Think you can ignore this now?”

The Sword Saint Magenta, a bombed hotel, and Lord of the South’s son accused of demon worship: each one was an explosive headline on its own—enough to shake a nation— but now, three had exploded at once.

As Keter swept his gaze over the ground, he happened to spot Henya and Wid. Henya had changed clothes and now looked like a proper noble lady, while Wid resembled her attendant.

Were they planning to visit the hotel? Bold of them.

At that moment, Wid grabbed Henya’s hand and pulled her along. Intrigued, Keter enhanced his hearing to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“This place is dangerous. Let’s go somewhere safe!”

“O-okay.”

Despite being pulled along, Henya looked oddly happy.

Keter waved at them and said, “Enjoy yourselves. That firework show was for you two.”

And if even after all this, Eslow still tried to chase after Henya?

“Then I’ll have no choice but to slap him across the face.”

Keter was serious.

* * *

Keter never ended up slapping Eslow in the face. Knights accompanied by soldiers began to take control of the city. It was a natural response, but their goal was obvious: to retrieve the scattered papers. They were trying desperately to cover up Fabian’s disgrace.

Heh... of course, Eslow. You act above worldly matters, but your reputation? You’re very sensitive about that.

Keter stretched. A delightful sense of satisfaction spread from his toes, up his spine, and filled him to the tips of his hair.

Amidst the chaos in the city, Keter shouted energetically, “One more job, resolved!”

A good deed deserved a reward, and that applied to him as well. To treat himself, Keter headed to a cafe he had marked beforehand.

“A dessert that’s trending in the Samael Empire, huh?”

Before the explosion, the cafe had been packed. Now, everyone had fled.

As soon as Keter walked in, the cafe owner flailed his arms.

“We’re closed! You should get out of here too, sir. Didn’t you see the explosion just now?!”

“I saw it. I can leave if you want, but just hand over the food first. The mint chocolate one.”

“Y-you’re insane. What are you saying?! There might be another explosion!”

Keter pulled out a single gold coin and was about to speak again when...

Ding.

The cafe door opened, and someone else walked in. It was a handsome man in a blue uniform. He gave Keter a charming smile before turning to the owner.

“I would like that mint chocolate too. Mind bringing me one as well, boss?”

“You’re both mad! The cake is in the kitchen. Get it yourselves if you must!”

Choosing life over money, the owner stormed out, leaving Keter and the blue-uniformed man behind.

Unbothered by social norms, Keter calmly walked into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of cake, and returned. The blue-uniformed man followed him and, without hesitation, sat beside Keter with his own cake.

Keter, unfazed by the man beside him, tasted the mint chocolate cake. Almost simultaneously, the man took a bite.

“It’s strangely refreshing and sweet. I like it.”

“It’s strangely refreshing and sweet. I hate it.”

Keter turned his head, and so did the man. Their eyes met.

“Hey there, Keter. We meet again. Hehe.”

The man called out Keter’s name with a greasy voice and a grin.

Keter stared at him sharply.

Who is this?

Keter had an excellent memory. He never forgot anything important, and even forgotten memories could be recalled with effort. But the man before him was a complete stranger—sleazy face, slick tone, bangs covering one eye... Keter had no memory of him.

“Who are you?”

If you don’t know, you don’t know.

At Keter’s blunt question, the man pouted.

“Aww. you already forgot me? I’m your one and only rival, Keter!”

“Anyone who’s ever claimed to be my rival is probably waiting for me in hell.”

“Oh, so you forget anyone you’ve killed once? That’s so you, Keter. I’m hurt, but I guess I’ll have to tell you. It’s me, Ailos!”

The man revealed his name. And finally, something clicked in Keter’s mind.

“Ailos? You’re Ailos? That can’t be right,” Keter muttered as he took another bite of his mint chocolate cake. “I killed that guy. Ripped out his heart.”

“Ohoho! I remember that well too. You jammed your big strong hand into my chest. It was thrilling.”

“What is this, not only did you escape from Liqueur, you came back from the dead too?”

“I think it’s fate, Keter. Sure, I revived myself with the Godfather’s help, but meeting you here? You messing with my precious bombs? Who would've guessed!”

Ailos casually revealed he had been revived by the Godfather. And on top of that, he was the one who planted the bombs.

Keter scoffed.

In my past life, Ailos never showed up. Then again... I never came to Eslow’s fief either.

Changing the future meant creating new branches.

So it’s not just Sefira that’s changing.

He had just momentarily forgotten since he had been so focused on saving Sefira, but he knew that something like this could happen. If he wanted, he could go the route he knew, but that wouldn’t be changing the future—that would be surrendering to it.

Keter had chosen to change it. So even if the altered future brought new hardships, he would face them with open arms.

This world isn’t about survival of the fittest. It’s about survival of the most adaptable.

And even if the future changed, his past knowledge and experience weren’t going anywhere.

“Our dear Godfather. I thought he was enjoying a quiet retirement, but he’s quite busy, huh.”

“Mm, just to be clear, honey, he did resurrect me, but I’m no puppet. I’m doing this because I want to.”

“Are you saying this was all you? You made hundreds of Ragnon’s bombs yourself?”

“Well, I got a little help from the Godfather, ahaha.”

Whoosh!

A fork pierced Ailos in the palm. Keter had aimed for his eye, but he had blocked it with his hand.

Staring at how no blood was coming from his hand, Keter said, “Are you an Undead?”

“Close, but a little more sophisticated, I would say. And look, now you’re paying attention to me!”

“Kind of curious what killing the same guy twice feels like.”

Amaranth appeared in Keter’s hand. When he summoned his Demon Arrows...

“Keter, don’t be hasty. I’m not the same Ailos you killed in Liqueur.”

Snap!

With a snap of his fingers, the world seemed to shift into different colors. At the same time, a spotlight shone from empty space onto Ailos. That’s when Keter fully remembered who he was.

“Still doing that stupid crap even after coming back from the dead.”

Realizing this, he dismissed Amaranth.

Ailos was the madman who sang. He could sing anywhere, anytime, and as long as he was singing, he was immune to all attacks. It wasn’t a power granted after resurrection—it was a power he had gained in life by trading his soul to an ancient demon.

♬♩♪♩ ♪♬

A cheerful piano tune began to play.

Keter sat down. Annoying as he was, Ailos had been the best singer in all of Liqueur.

Might as well listen for a bit.