Chapter 230: You Haven’t Heard The Rumor? (1)

Demon Bow Amaranth, a shard of an evil god, and Decameron, the pinnacle of imperial bioengineering: both were inhuman presences the world ought to fear. Even the Demon Capital monsters were no weaklings, but...

Crack!

A two-headed wolf jumped out and crushed Decameron’s left arm.

Squelch squelch squelch!

Decameron stabbed his Aura Sword into the wolf’s abdomen multiple times, then threw it to the side.

“...Ice Wall.”

He formed a wall of sharp ice spikes to buy a moment and looked around the battlefield. His regeneration was slow, as the wolf’s saliva was highly acidic.

As I read, Demon Capital monsters are trouble.

They didn’t just look grotesque; each one had a bizarre ability.

And there are far too many of them.

Even though he wasn’t inside the Demon Capital, the monsters poured out. It was because the barrier had weakened during Hyperion and Keter’s clash. It seemed like Amaranth, who had been confident, was also exhausted, as its arrows were barely slowing the creatures.

Screech!

Amaranth, driven back by a rock-bodied brute called a Rockman, shouted to Decameron.

—Tin-can, take Keter’s corpse and run, now.

“You have no right to give me orders.”

—You idiot. If we leave him like this, Keter’s dead—no, he’s already dead. We should at least salvage the body!

“Mr. Keter is dead and yet not dead at the same time.”

—What kind of nonsense...

Crash!

The ice wall that had held back the monsters shattered. At the same moment, an enormous creature loomed into view: a cyclops, a one-eyed giant. However, it wasn’t an ordinary one; it had yellow horns on either side of its head. This was the Thunder Cyclops, the predator or the Demon Capital. The horns weren’t just for appearance, as pale-yellow currents began to run through them.

“Rooooar!”

When the Thunder Cyclops bellowed, lightning streamed from its horns and eyes. Seeing the Demon Capital monsters nearby sizzle where the bolts struck, Amaranth and Decameron scrambled to defend.

—Shepherd’s Blessing.

“Iron Column.”

A veil of corruption spread like a net, and pillars of steel shot up from the ground to block the lightning.

Crraaash!!!

They had blocked the first strike. The Thunder Cyclops readied a second lightning bolt, but Amaranth and Decameron weren’t going to stand by.

Whoosh...!

Whack!

Amaranth’s Demon Arrows and Decameron’s slashes struck the cyclops’ huge face.

“Hmm?”

The cyclops merely scratched its cheek as if nothing had happened. Even if Amaranth was drained, and Decameron’s output was halved by his injuries, they were still powerful, yet they hadn’t even left a mark.

Decameron murmured under his breath, “In this situation, the right thing to say would be, ‘we’re screwed.’”

“Rooooar!”

The Thunder Cyclops unleashed lightning again. Amaranth and Decameron tried the same defenses, but...

Crackle!!

Zzzzt!

This second bolt was twice as fierce as the first.

Fssshhhh.

Smoke rose from both of them. They survived because they weren’t human, but their movements slowed, clearly showing the damage they suffered.

—Damn. Another few hundred years asleep, then?

Amaranth despaired, thinking it was the end, but Decameron stood guard before Keter in silence.

Whirr, whirr...!

The Thunder Cyclops didn’t seem tired and prepared a third lightning strike. The current collected in its horns was now larger than its own torso.

But then...

“

Wa... Huh...?

”

The cyclops froze mid-charge, and Amaranth and Decameron flinched. Something odd had crept into the field. White Cloud was floating in the air, swaying side to side. The Thunder Cyclops looked puzzled at how the arrow was floating, then shook it off and tried to fire again. That was when White Cloud vanished, and at the same time, a hole appeared in the cyclops’ forehead.

“

Woa...”

The cyclops blinked, unable to understand what had happened.

Splatter!

The White Cloud suddenly flew from somewhere again and struck the cyclops in the eye.

“Rooooar!”

Only then did the cyclops realize it had been attacked. Despite a hole in its skull and an injured eye, it thrashed wildly, sending lightning flying in every direction.

“Kreeeeeek!”

The opportunistic Demon Capital monsters scattered at the sight of the spreading lightning. The cyclops tried to pull White Cloud from its eye, but the arrow drove deeper, burrowing inward and coming out through the back of its skull. Worse, the White Cloud began to create more holes across the cyclops’ body.

“

A... Ah...”

In seconds, hundreds of holes covered the Thunder Cyclops. It let out a mournful wail and collapsed.

Thud!

The Thunder Cyclops, a predator of the Demon Capital worthy of S-tier status, finally died. Silently, Keter’s corpse pushed itself up from the ground.

—...What the!? His heart clearly stopped!

Amaranth could not comprehend it. Keter was human, and humans died when their necks broke. It didn’t understand how Keter could still be alive.

Keter, now revived, stretched and, looking refreshed, called out cheerfully, “Ah, what a good sleep!”

* * *

Just before Hyperion’s spinning kick snapped Keter’s neck, Keter put himself into a comatose state. It was an instinctive move born of countless battles and medical knowledge. Above all, Keter had faith in his own regenerative power and his skin-breathing method. If given time to recover, he was certain he could come back.

And he was right. His broken cervical vertebrae and spinal cord regenerated. His stopped pulse and breathing returned. The will to live refused even death. When Keter rose again, he wore the freshest, most exhilarated face in the world. It was natural, as he had just survived death at the hands of an opponent two tiers above him.

Having died and been reborn, the Survival of the Fittest effect kicked in at maximum, and his aura and mana surged beyond belief. He had gained one hundred seventeen years-worth of aura, and one hundred eight years-worth of mana.

In an instant, Keter approached the threshold of a Grandmaster. More importantly, Survival of the Fittest was an art of adaptation and evolution. Having survived a clash with Hyperion, the apex of striking arts, Keter had gained a measure of resistance to impact-based attacks.

He once could only endure the Sudden Thunderfist from the Blue by the Oath of Death, but he could now withstand even without an artifact.

Keter spread his arms, inhaled deeply, and shouted, “Nice, nice! Refreshing, exhilarating, delightful! Ahahaha!”

The Demon Capital monsters watching him fled in terror at Keter’s wild laugh. His growth was so explosive and overwhelming that even belligerent demons turned tail. All of his wounds had healed, and his vigor had been fully restored. Survival of the Fittest was difficult to trigger, but when it did, it was a truly powerful cultivation method.

“But some of you are really slow.”

Not all the monsters fled; a handful of monsters that were as powerful as five-star knights lingered and circled Keter. They watched him, but their glances flicked to something else. Keter followed their gaze.

“Oh, that thing?”

The fully recovered Keter shrugged. He understood the monsters’ hunger and nodded. With a flick of his finger, Keter summoned White Cloud that had killed the Thunder Cyclops. It hovered above his fingertip—this was Limitless Archery, Seventh Form: Drone.

Drone was a technique that fired arrows by will alone, but it needed Ein to reach its full potential. It could be imitated with aura and mana, but it wasn’t used often in practice as the speed and force fell short. However, at over a hundred years of aura and mana, one could force it to work.

Keter whistled, and the White Cloud flew away, leaving an afterimage. The powerful Demon Capital monsters reacted, each trying to defend, dodge, or charge, yet it was all meaningless. Drone fired faster than any bow.

“Milky Way.”

And the projectile could use techniques in midflight. White Cloud, which was now among the monsters, detonated. The monsters with holes in their skulls were consumed by the blast before they could heal. In two shots, Keter wiped out dozens of five-star monsters. But instead of satisfaction, his face showed displeasure.

“I still need Ein.”

No matter how strong, without Ein, it was just child’s play. Even after his phenomenal growth, Keter wasn’t satisfied. His gaze slid back to Hyperion, and Amaranth approached.

—You monster. You lived though your neck was broken. I regret not claiming your body...

Amaranth’s form was crumbling from exhaustion. Then, it pointed at Hyperion.

—Per our bargain, that body is mine.

Keter had made Amaranth a promise: if Keter died, he would give his body to Amaranth; if he killed Hyperion, he would hand Hyperion’s body over. As Amaranth reached for Hyperion’s corpse...

“As promised, you get nothing.”

—What?!

“Maybe you forgot, but I said I would give you his body if I killed him.”

—Are you playing games?

“Don’t make me the villain. Look carefully—he’s not dead.”

Hearing Keter, Amaranth moved close to Hyperion, and his eyes widened. Hyperion’s finger twitched. It was only slightly, but he was moving. That was no rigor mortis; the hole Keter’s Big Bang had made was regenerating slowly—the wound that had been the size of an adult fist had shrunk to the size of a child’s hand.

—What the... There’s another monster like you?!

“I planned to give you the body if he died. But he didn’t, so I can’t.”

—Don’t be ridiculous! He’s a walking corpse; just stab him and it’s done!

Amaranth readied a Demon Arrow to drive into Hyperion’s heart, but he froze.

—...!

Though Keter hadn’t moved a finger, Amaranth was forced to stop.

—Keter... you bastard...!

“Do you think an object can move without its owner’s permission?”

Amaranth belonged to Keter, so it could not act against Keter’s will. That meant Keter didn’t want Hyperion dead.

—You deceived me! You’re worse than a demon! I’ll never cooperate with you again!

“Whoa, whoa. Amaranth. Deceived? It wasn’t that. I want to help you, really. But what can I do? I need that guy.”

Keter had planned to learn and ultimately steal Hyperion’s Ein as he fought. However, as Hyperion had been far stronger than he expected, he couldn’t steal Hyperion’s Ein while facing Sudden Thunderfist from the Blue, which would kill him instantly.

He’s not the only Ein user in the world, but he’s the only sucker who’ll teach me Ein.

There was no telling when Keter might meet another Ein user, or what strings they would attach. He wouldn’t be able to threaten the other person to learn Ein either. Ein users were all Transcendentals who would rather choose death than submit. But having spent nearly ten days around Hyperion, there was something he felt.

Hyperion is a sucker. Treat him right and he’ll even give you his liver and gallbladder. He’s hard to befriend, but once he becomes your ally, he will be loyal forever.

So Keter intended to spare Hyperion and leech Ein out of him later.

Even if we become enemies, I would have a chance against him now.

The worst that could happen was a rematch, so Keter wasn’t worried.

—I curse you, Keter! I will seize your body and destroy Sefira before your eyes!

“You’re excited. Good work, and thank you. Rest for now.”

Smack.

Keter smacked the Marksman of the Demon Arrow, and it folded back into a tattoo on his arm. It didn’t even bother putting up a fight and sulked.

“Good job, Decameron. Thanks for saving me.”

Keter stroked Decameron’s head. On the surface, he showed no emotion, but no one saw the tiny lift at Decameron’s mouth.

* * *

“Mom... I don’t want to go...”

Hyperion twisted in his sleep, tears running down his face. Whether he was dreaming of the past or suffering a nightmare, he looked utterly tormented.

“Ugh?!”

He shot up, arms flailing, immediately assuming a guarded stance and scanning his surroundings. It was in the middle of the night, yet everything before him looked warm and bright.

Crackle... crackle...

It was a campfire, and a familiar face was sitting in front of it.

“Did your mother abandon you?” Keter asked, poking the fire with his finger.

Hyperion’s face crumpled without mercy.

“You... you bastard... ugh.”

Hyperion raised his fist, but clutched at his belly instead. Then he realized that he had lost—he had felt the touch of death. Yet somehow he was alive, and the wound in his abdomen had been neatly treated and bandaged. The pain was intense, but it only made him feel more alive.

“You saved me?”

Keter just shrugged. Hyperion glared at him a moment longer, then dropped his fist and sat in front of Keter.

“...”

“...”

Crackle... Crackle...

They fell silent, watching the dancing flames.

Hyperion was the first to speak.

“My mom didn’t abandon me. I abandoned her.”

“That’s monstrous.”

“No!”

Hyperion sprang up, fists trembling

“If I stayed, my family... Never mind.”

Reluctant to talk about it further, Hyperion sank back into his seat and stared at the fire. A dented pot hung over the flames—it was the very pot he had kicked. Inside, a rich, savory chicken broth simmered.

Hyperion’s stomach growled. After three days and nights of nonstop fighting without food or rest, he was understandably ravenous. Keter ladled some of the soup into a bowl and handed it over. Hyperion didn’t refuse. He drank it down in one long swallow.

It tasted good. It was particularly warm, not just to the body, but comforting to the soul.

“...Why did you save me?” Hyperion asked with no hatred in his voice, only pure curiosity.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Keter took a sip of the soup beside him and said, “Because it would have been a waste.”

“...?”

“You’re too strong to die like that.”

“...!”

It wasn’t pity or a threat. It was respect for a strong opponent. Hyperion’s fist trembled at Keter’s words.

“Keter... you’re crazy, and weird, but... you’re good.”

Hyperion finished the soup in a gulp.

He stood up and, with a solemn expression, continued, “I withdraw my earlier offer that you deserve to be my subordinate. You’re the kind of person who deserves to be my friend. Will you accept?”

Hyperion was awkward with people. Even toward someone he wanted to befriend, he spoke as if he were doing them a favor. Keter didn’t care; he stood, held out his hand to Hyperion, signaling that he accepted.

Keter returned the smile and said gently, “You bear.”

“Wha... Bear?”

“You know friends share everything, right?”