Chapter 263: You Wanna Fight Dirty? That’s Fine By Me (3)

“Big Brother, we’ve successfully kidnapped every last one of them,” reported Daat, holding a transparent glass panel—an Archacic Board.

“Send the remaining payment, then let’s get going,” Keter replied with a nod.

“You all heard him, right? Pack your things. We’re heading back to Sefira,” Daat addressed the group in Keter’s stead.

Katherine and Halibo, startled, turned to Keter.

“Are we going back without the patriarch?” Halibo asked.

“But the palace is a complete maze... They say you can’t leave without a guide, my lord,” Katherine added.

“I don’t expect Halibo to understand, but Katherine, you slave. How can you still doubt me? Your master always has a plan. If you don’t believe me, feel free to stay here.”

She’s been treated like a normal person for so long that she’s forgotten that she’s a slave.

Keter left her to figure it out and opened the door leading into the corridor.

Ching!

Two knights stood guard at the entrance, crossing their swords to block Keter’s path.

“Lord Keter. With your eyes in such a condition, you cannot go anywhere. The interior of the palace is a maze. Without a guide, you will get lost. If you wish to go somewhere, please make a formal request. We will assign a guide.”

“I’m fine. I can go alone.”

“If anything were to happen to you, the blame would fall entirely on us. For your safety, please return. Whatever you require, we will provide it.”

Their voices were polite, but their swords were glowing with a sharp aura.

Keter was speechless. He couldn’t believe the palace actually stationed two five-star Masters as door guards. Even for a royal palace overflowing with Masters, this was excessive. Clearly, they intended to trap not only Hissop but all of them inside the palace.

Keter placed both hands lightly on the knights’ shoulders.

“You two trying to pick a fight with me?” he whispered.

“Even if you are a member of a master family, this is the royal palace. If you refuse to follow palace protocols, we have no choice.”

“Then I’ll just beat you both unconscious and go.”

Then, Keter pressed down with force. Immediately, they swung at his arm. It wasn’t to kill him, but they definitely weren’t hesitant to cut his arm off.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

“Kugh!”

“Ghh!”

The Flying Thunder Swords Dork had thrown under Keter’s arm pierced the guards in the chest. Their attention was completely focused on Keter, and their vision was partially blocked, so they could never have seen it coming.

“Dork, you’re not very good at knocking people out.”

“How am I supposed to knock someone out with swords? It’s hard enough not killing them.”

“Just do this.”

Keter grabbed the hilts of the swords lodged in their chests and twisted them violently. The knights writhed in agony before fainting with a choking sound.

“Most humans pass out if you push them past their pain threshold.”

“Ugh, too much blood... Maybe I should learn that acupuncture thing instead.”

“Oh? So you’ve got time to spare for training? How lucky.”

“One must find leisure even on the battlefield.”

Keter and Daat chatted casually while walking down the corridor. Katherine and Halibo were still shaken, but they followed them anyway.

After walking for quite some time, they arrived at an open garden beneath the sky.

“Six. Open a portal to Sefira.”

“Yes.”

A portal was far more stable and convenient than a teleport gate, but it was much more difficult. Even Decameron couldn’t use such high-level magic, and Keter definitely couldn’t—he wasn’t a mage.

But Dork is different. He learned space-time magic.

Daat had studied space-time magic under Krona, the Lord of the West, and then taught those concepts to Decameron. Using that knowledge, they modified the spell so Decameron could create a portal to Sefira anytime and anywhere.

Thanks to that, with just a moment of focus and a wide sweep of his arms, Decameron could open a portal large enough for a person to walk through.

Zwoosh...!

On the other side, Sefira’s landscape appeared clearly. This was the difference from teleport gates—a portal showed the landing location, so it was safer than regular teleportation.

“Alright, you two first.”

Daat shoved Katherine and Halibo gently but firmly into the portal, then he stepped in as well. Only Decameron and Keter remained, but they were not going to Sefira.

As the portal began to close, Katherine was surprised that they weren’t getting in.

“My lord?! You’re not coming with us?!”

“I have someplace else to be. Daat, take good care of them.”

“Yes, Big Brother. Safe travels.”

The portal shut completely.

Now, it’s my turn.

Rrrrrrumble!!!

The palace shook hard, like an earthquake. It was nothing serious; it was just because he had used magic. Since Keter had just ignored the palace’s divine barrier and used magic anyway, the palace guards would assume an intrusion and come rushing in within a minute. He already knew that.

“Just like I told Dork, I’m not going to Sefira. If I went there, all I’d get is a long lecture on Family Wars and a bunch of old men yelling. That’s not entertaining in the slightest. Dork could handle that mess. I have better entertainment waiting. Six, this time, let’s go to...”

Keter leaped into the newly formed portal, turning back just in time to give the arriving guards a farewell middle finger.

* * *

“Keter has disappeared.”

Whoosh!

Second Prince Rakan, who had been practicing swordsmanship, froze at his aide’s report.

“Phillipe. Did I give you a difficult order? Was bringing me Keter such an impossible task?”

“No, Your Highness.”

“Then why am I hearing this ridiculous report about Keter disappearing? Oh? Keter vanished? How fascinating. Is that how you expected me to respond?”

“No, Your Highness.”

“Or do you think this royal palace is some country baron’s keep? A place where one can hide at will, come and go freely?”

“No, Your Highness.”

“If that’s not what you think!”

Whoosh!

Rakan’s black sword stopped right in front of Phillipe’s face. A few strands of his hair were sliced off, even though the sword didn’t touch him, yet he didn’t even blink.

“Why did you fail to bring me Keter?” Rakan asked.

“...My apologies.”

It wasn’t actually Phillipe’s fault that he failed to bring Keter, but he still knelt and threw his head back.

“I shall atone for the fact that I disrespected you with death, Your Highness.”

Just as Phillipe was about to smash his forehead into the floor, Rakan clicked his tongue irritably.

“Cut it out. You think I yelled to test your loyalty? Explain to me: how is it possible that Keter vanished? Make me understand!”

With his forehead hovering just above the ground, Phillipe began to speak in that same position.

“Based on the evidence, it seems he escaped the palace through a portal.”

“A portal? A portal, you say?”

Rakan couldn’t comprehend it. A portal was a seven-circle magic spell. The idea that Sefira, a group of archers, could cast such magic was absurd enough. But even if they could, this palace was protected by the divine barrier.

“Even if Sefira’s group had a seven-circle mage, breaking through the divine barrier to cast magic should’ve taken significant time. And the palace knights simply watched?”

“We arrived at the site of the magical disturbance in forty-seven seconds, but the portal had already closed. According to the knights who arrived first...” Phillipe trailed off.

As Rakan pressed, he finally confessed.

“...they said they saw only a middle finger.”

“A middle finger?”

“Like this.”

The disciplined Phillipe raised his middle finger in demonstration. It was an insult even Rakan, who was shielded from most things as royalty, recognized instantly.

“Keter!!!!!”

Rakan kicked Phillipe aside, a vein bulging on his forehead.

“So the rumors of him being a lunatic were an understatement. That bastard—no, that traitor. How dare he mock and insult a royal?! I should...!”

He wanted to immediately declare Sefira guilty of treason and destroy them on the spot, but he couldn’t—not yet. A plan was already in motion.

“Haa...” Rakan exhaled slowly, calming himself as he resumed his proper stance with the sword. “How ridiculous. When was the last time I became this agitated? Keter... you truly are terrifying.”

Despite his careless demeanor, Rakan was not the type to lose control. Anger meant emotional instability, and unstable emotion clouded judgment. But thinking of Keter made him explode in uncontrollable rage.

It’s because of Riri. I lost her because of him.

Regardless, Sefira would fall, and Sefira’s downfall meant Keter’s downfall.

“Keter escaping is a variable... but it’s already too late,” Rakan murmured.

Rakan placed his faith in Bydent, who had been preparing for the Family War for an entire year. Sefira, on the other hand, didn’t even know what that was until today. Bydent had already submitted their challenge to Sefira, and soon the official notice would be sent out that Bydent was challenging Sefira to a Family War.

“Hehehe... Keter. No matter how much you struggle, you can’t win a Family War.”

Keter was a six-star Grandmaster at most, and Rakan was being generous with his judgment. It was an absurd achievement for his age, but he was just one person. Sefira had no other Grandmasters, so Keter was most likely the strongest one there.

However, Bydent had three Grandmasters. It was unfortunate that they didn’t have a Prime, but it didn’t matter. Sefira would be fighting a family with five times their population.

“You will pay the price for defying the royal family.”

Rakan estimated it would take no more than a week—a week until Hissop begged for mercy, and Keter’s arrogance crumbled into despair.

* * *

“Lord Jordic! This is a portrait drawn by the first patriarch of Bydent. Are we selling this as well?”

“I don’t care. I don’t care if it’s a keepsake of the first patriarch’s great-great-grandfather; sell everything that counts as art!”

Jordic was running around frantically. This was not because he was preparing a strategy for the upcoming Family War against Sefira, but because he needed to rescue the kidnapped vassals and defend against the Infinite Bank’s collector who was enforcing the repayment. He was desperately trying to gather as much money as possible.

“This item’s assessed value is four thousand seven hundred thirty gold.”

“What?! This is an artwork of immense archaeological value! This is a priceless portrait, practically considered a Bydent family treasure, and you want to buy it for not even five thousand gold?!” Jordic shouted.

“If you dislike my valuation, you may refuse to sell. But remember: you still owe 1.81 million gold, and your deadline is tomorrow. If payment is not made by then, forced collection will begin.”

The Infinite Bank had already forcibly withdrawn nine hundred twenty thousand gold from Bydent’s account, and somehow, nearly double that amount still remained.

“Damn it!”

The Infinite Bank’s collector showed no mercy. Even the diamonds Jordic bought for one thousand gold were appraised at half price. Once forced collection began, the value would drop even further, so Jordic had no choice but to sell everything in the house that was worth money.

“Damn it, damn it all! How does a debt of less than one hundred thousand gold turn into 2.73 million gold?! That clause wasn’t in the contract! This is fraud! Keter must have tricked me somehow!”

Forced to run around like a street peddler at a time when he should be preparing for a Family War, Jordic felt like he was losing his mind.

“And you’re realizing that only now?”

“That voice sounds like Keter. Hah! I really must be going insane. Now I’m hearing things.”

Hearing Keter’s voice from behind him, Jordic thought he had finally lost his sanity. Then, something poked him in the back.

“Who is the lunatic behind...”

Already irritated, Jordic spun around with killing intent, ready to strike the fool who dared poke the patriarch of Bydent. Then, he felt Keter’s finger poke him right in the cheek.

“K-Keter?!”

The person he thought was a hallucination was standing right in front of him and was casually poking his cheek with a finger.

Keter gave him a casual wave and greeted him.

“Yo. It’s me.”

The place Keter had come after escaping the palace was Bydent, the enemy’s base.