Chapter 304: The Secret Behind His Birth (5)

Keter left out the story of his previous life and what had happened in Liqueur and told Kron only about what had occurred in Sefira.

After hearing everything, Kron stared at Keter with a grave gaze.

“From what I hear, Keter, you want to save Sefira.”

“Stopping at saving them would be boring. Since I’ve started anyway, I plan to make my family the strongest on the continent.”

“Is that your dream?”

“No. It’s just one of the things I want to try. I don’t have one single dream that I’m willing to stake my entire life on. If I had to name one, it’d be living freely, but I’m already living freely, so there’s no need to dream about it.”

“Heh. You’re living the easiest thing and the hardest at the same time.”

Freedom: it was given to everyone. Even life and death could, in a sense, be chosen by humans. And yet, no human could truly enjoy freedom, as freedom inevitably collided with freedom.

Kron closed his eyes briefly. Nobody would reject or hate freedom. Yet, Kron and everyone else knew the truth: freedom did not last forever, and being free wasn’t all good.

“Keter. Do you know why, among all races, humans became the most prosperous? They have no inherent abilities like the beastfolk, nor the survival and reproductive power of goblins or orcs. Elves and dwarves are blessed from birth by nature and magic, but even they live in hiding. Meanwhile, humans have nothing. So how did humans become the rulers of this world?”

It was a philosophical question, which didn’t fit Kron’s rough appearance. He didn’t expect Keter to answer seriously, but once again, Keter surprised him.

“Because they were born with nothing.”

“...?!”

“Those born with something—those born complete—feel no need to grow. They’re fine just as they are. Does a fish want to fly? Does a bird want to breathe underwater? However, humans have nothing, so they want to have something. Because they’re imperfect, they want to become perfect. But perfection means the end of growth.”

“...”

“And there’s one more reason. This world isn’t governed solely by the survival of the strongest. There are far more dogs and rabbits than lions. But that doesn’t mean weakness itself leads to prosperity. No matter how many there are, if they live as livestock, that isn’t truly living.”

Keter had grown up as an orphan in the criminal undercity of Liqueur, the very bottom of the food chain. With his family annihilated, every last one of them dead and fighting a nation alone, this was the world Keter had experienced and come to understand.

Kron fell silent. The answer to the question he had asked to teach Keter instead pulled him into deep contemplation.

He’s lived through hell.

Everything Keter experienced in Sefira had been exciting and fun. He hadn’t spoken a word about the hell in Liqueur. Yet even so, Kron could feel that Keter had lived a brutally harsh life, as he could feel all the different human emotions in Keter’s words.

After contemplation, Kron opened his eyes. His gaze had changed.

“Keter, I was hoping you wouldn’t cross the line. You seemed to have no safeguards, no plans, no caution.”

“I’m not that stupid.”

“Enough backtalk and listen. They say that even becoming a Transcendental places you far beyond humanity, but a Transcendental is still human. Especially you. You’re only close to that realm, not there yet. You can stop at any time, even now.”

Kron placed a hand on Keter’s shoulder. Regret was plainly written across his face.

“But you won’t stop, Keter. To claim your freedom, you must continue growing stronger. And yet, the highest realm permitted to humans ends at seven-star Prime.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve prepared Ein.”

The reason a seven-star Prime could not become an eight-star Irregular was the absence of Ein.

However, Kron shook his head.

“I know you possess Ein. And yes, without Ein, reaching eight-star is impossible, but that alone isn’t enough. You must prove the meaning of your existence to the world. You must make a vow. And once you do, you will never again remain human.”

One required Ein to become an eight-star Irregular, but even Keter didn’t know how one crossed that boundary. Now, Kron was telling him that secret.

“Look at me. Do you know why I stand here, guarding the abyss as its gatekeeper? It’s because that is my reason for existence. I swore to guard the seals of the Malignant Gods, and because of that vow, I became more than human: a demigod. Because I guard the seals—because I have proven my existence, I can exist without consuming causality for actions related to the Malignant Gods and their seals.”

Keter felt like he understood, and yet didn’t. Kron hid nothing and told him everything.

“The moment we become Absolutes—the moment we can interfere with the laws and truths of the world—we become beings who cannot die even if we wish to. We become bound by rules, and that is the constraint imposed upon gods. An Absolute can never be free, not even in trivial matters. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you? To protect your freedom, you must become an Absolute, but the moment you do, your freedom ends.”

It was a contradiction: to preserve freedom, one must become an Absolute, but becoming an Absolute destroyed freedom. However, Keter understood what Kron was saying.

He grasped the hand resting on his shoulder and replied, “I’ll think about that when the time comes.”

“...”

“You can’t cancel a picnic just because it might rain.”

“You’ll regret it.”

“That’s fine too.”

Keter’s resolve to move forward even if it meant regret warmed Kron’s cold, glass-like heart. Kron placed a hand on Keter’s head.

“What a disobedient son you are.”

Originally, Kron had planned to confine Keter here in the abyss for fifty years. He was planning to forge Keter into a complete seven-star Prime before releasing him into the world, since everything outside would have settled after fifty years. The world would have forgotten Keter, and the Sefira family, whom Kron saw as Keter’s burden, would be gone. Then, Keter could enjoy a far longer span of freedom.

But Kron abandoned that plan because Keter didn’t want it.

And more importantly, he’s ready.

Keter was reckless, but not foolish. He was already prepared to grieve, rage, rejoice, and regret.

Kron drew a cross in the air with his finger, and a door opened within the abyss. Kron shoved Keter forward. Keter tried to resist, but it was pointless.

“You bastard! You have to give me the reward you promised!”

This wasn’t disappointment; it was frustration at not receiving the promised gift and information about Akrah.

Kron waved at his departing son and muttered, “I already did.”

* * *

Crash!

Keter crashed down onto a table inside the Syndicate headquarters. Ivan and Tuska, who had been playing chess atop the table, sprang to their feet.

“I won that one.”

“What are you talking about? I was two moves ahead.”

“Your queen got taken. How is that two moves ahead? Can you even see straight with that bucket on your head?”

Rather than reacting to Keter’s sudden appearance, the two argued over the game’s outcome.

Keter lay sprawled across the table and muttered, “So what exactly did he give me?”

He had been kicked out of the abyss without receiving the promised information about Akrah, or even the gift, and it wasn’t like he could just go back. Since he had at least managed to bring the Creation Tome, he let go of his lingering frustration and stood up.

“Just call it a draw and play another round later. More importantly, how many days has it been since I left?” Keter asked.

At Keter’s question, Ivan finally looked at him and replied, “Four days. You came back sooner than I expected.”

“I thought you were dead, Lord Keter. Yet somehow, you seem to have grown even stronger than before you left,” Tuska added.

Faint divine power emanated from Keter, thanks to the power he had absorbed from the Creation Tome.

Keter had plenty to say himself, but hearing that four days had passed irritated him. This wasn’t something he could let slide.

“Where is that bastard Killian?”

Killian had warned him it was dangerous, but this went beyond danger and was basically a trap. If Kron hadn’t treated him as a son, the outcome would have been obvious.

At that moment, Keter abruptly turned and reached behind him. His hand closed around Killian’s throat.

“...!”

Killian had always appeared while carefully avoiding Keter’s senses, but now he had been detected. Even Keter was surprised by it.

Wow, I can sense him now.

Between the divine power absorbed from the Creation Tome and his growth through surviving death itself, Keter could now perceive even Killian’s presence.

Killian, his throat caught, said nothing. The shock was too great; Keter detected his presence, and Keter also survived the Mad Saint King. Moreover, Keter returned not just unscathed but even stronger than before. All of this was far beyond Killian’s expectations.

“You’ve returned,” Killian said.

“You didn’t think I would, right?”

Keter tightened his grip, and Killian didn’t resist.

“Um, I don’t know what happened, but I would like to say this was a misunderstanding. Still, I apologize,” Killian replied.

“You think an apology settles this? I’ll kill you first, then apologize to your corpse.”

“Of course. I had no intention of settling this with words alone.”

Snap.

Killian snapped his fingers. Then, he vanished from Keter’s grasp and reappeared right beside him.

“Originally, the offer I proposed to you was to complete seven requests. However, we’ll consider the final one completed as well. As such, I will give you the reward I promised.”

Snap.

With another finger snap, a sword appeared before Keter’s eyes. It was a purple sword with an eye embedded in it, and the hilt was made out of human bone. It was an artifact, but it was cursed. It radiated strong energy that was malicious and sinister, and yet, at the same time, it felt strangely familiar.

Before he realized it, the thought nearly slipped from Keter’s lips.

Aporphis?

Aporphis was the Demon Sword he had once borrowed from Godfather Alkione in his previous life. Now, it had come into his possession.