Chapter 337: The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Ally (3)

Prince Rakan, the second prince, had attempted to kill Keter countless times. After failing every time, he came to a realization.

“I thought it was all luck, but he always had a way to survive.”

To kill Keter, one must acknowledge and understand him.

“It’s not enough to strike when you think he’ll die. You must approach it with the resolve to kill him not once, but twice,” Rakan said in seriousness.

Rakan instructed Deyal, one of the Four Lords who was loyal to him, to kill Keter when the opportunity arose. At the same time, he gave a special mission to Dust. He was an elder of Luban, the Masters of Swordsmanship in the south.

“If Deyal spares Keter, you will finish him. And if you also spare him, Luban will be regarded as traitors, like Sefira.”

Deyal and Keter had no direct connection, yet for some reason, Rakan believed Deyal might let him live. That prediction proved exactly correct. Strictly speaking, he had not spared him but won their wager, but in any case, Keter survived.

However, as Dust, Rakan’s second plan, moved to finally cut off Keter’s life...

“...?!”

The Gale Sword suddenly slowed, then stopped altogether. Dust felt as though an invisible hand had seized his sword and refused to release it.

This isn’t the Divine Bow’s doing. A third party is here.

He didn’t know what was happening or the culprit, but Dust chose not to care.

I will protect Luban.

If he failed to kill Keter, Luban would fall. Unlike Deyal, Dust had an absolute reason to see Keter dead.

Dust’s hair and clothing began to flutter, even though there was no wind. It was his Authority manifesting.

United Wind Demon: Joined Palms.

A headwind blew before Dust, and a tailwind surged behind him. This was no ordinary wind. It was a gale powerful enough to uproot even a fortified mansion. A vortex formed around him, grinding everything upward into the sky.

And it did not end there. Dust infused the wind born of his Authority into his sword. It was a chained technique.

Wind and Demon as One: South Wind.

Dust was certain this would pierce the unseen barrier protecting Keter.

Then, a woman’s voice rang out.

“So you have no intention of holding back?”

Even through the raging wind, her voice was clear. Dust knew immediately who it belonged to. It was unmistakable.

“Kro...”

Before he could finish her name, he froze—not only his body but even the wind.

It was Krona, the Space-Time Wizard and Lord of the West. Eternity, her signature spell, had swallowed the surrounding area.

At Sefira’s party hall, she had trapped only one person, but if she wished, she could seal an entire city within an infinite time zone.

Zzzip!

Space split open like a zipper, and a woman stepped through. It was Krona, wearing a pointed wizard’s hat and a dress that left her bare legs exposed. Behind her stood Daat, inexplicably exhausted.

Krona looked toward Keter, who was frozen within Eternity.

“Hehe. There’s no need to pretend you’ve been caught in Eternity. My cute little elephant told me about your Authority.”

At her words, Keter stopped pretending and gave a slight nod of greeting.

* * *

Krona, the Lord of the West, had saved Keter. Dust could not understand the situation unfolding before him.

Why...?

Trapped within Eternity, he could do nothing but think.

Damn it... I, the Gale of Ruban, am unable to move even a finger.

It had been over twenty years since Dust became a Prime. Since reaching that rank, he had faced no equal, and he had thought that even against one of the Four Lords, he would not be defeated so easily.

But that had been a delusion. A single spell from Krona had subdued him. Worse, he had no excuse. It hadn’t been an ambush, and he himself had been using his Authority.

“Keter. Why do you think I saved you?” Krona asked.

Keter couldn’t answer, given his injuries, but he could move his eyes. He glanced toward Daat.

Krona covered her mouth and laughed.

“That’s right. It’s thanks to Daat. But that’s not all. The crown prince also wants you alive.”

Dust, hearing all this, was stunned.

Why would the crown prince want Keter alive?

However, Dust was making a mistaken assumption—that hearing Krona’s voice was natural. But in truth, those trapped in Eternity were cut off from the world. They should hear nothing at all, which meant Krona was deliberately allowing Dust to hear her voice.

Whether Keter reacted or not, she continued speaking on her own.

“Sefira is strong, especially after accepting outside forces, but you are their core. If you die, Sefira will waver. They’d be in a state where collapse could happen at any time. And if Sefira really collapses, the south will ultimately fall into Rakan’s hands...

“So, the crown prince doesn’t want that. He wants you and Sefira to survive a while longer to keep Prince Rakan in check. You’re grateful, right? You’re so grateful, right? You’re welcome to lick my toes to show your thanks.”

Keter ignored the last remark and sank into thought.

Rukan wants me alive? What kind of trick is that?

Krona was essentially saying Keter was spared to counter Rakan. At first glance, it sounded reasonable, but it was nonsense. Of course, Daat probably talked Krona into it, and Krona may have persuaded Rakan, but him agreeing so readily was suspicious.

Rukan... that bastard would never do something like that. He’s preparing something.

That was Keter’s conclusion.

Being so careful for no reason. He should just half-ass it.

Whatever Rukan was preparing, it would not be trivial. Keter could tell that a danger greater than Eslow—whom they had barely subdued with countless traps—was waiting ahead.

Well, even better.

Keter preferred easy victories, but he hated half-measures. He would rather have a formidable enemy than a mediocre one.

“I’ll take care of it from here, Big Brother.”

Daat stepped beside Keter. Krona puffed her cheeks.

“

Hmph

. So you’re done with me now? Men, honestly.”

“It’s not like that. You know Keter is on the brink of death right now.”

“I saved him from dying. That’s enough. I’m not obligated to worry about his wounds too.”

“Please... I’ll come see you again next week.”

“...Next week when?”

“Friday.”

“Come Thursday.”

Krona traced her finger downward, opening a portal. Only she could create a portal from within Eternity. Beyond the portal, Sefira’s estate could be seen. And so Keter safely returned to Sefira alive.

Not long afterward, news spread throughout the kingdom: Eslow, the traitor, had been executed.

* * *

Hissop paced in front of the private treatment chamber reserved for the head of the house. When the physician emerged, he hurried forward.

“How is he?”

The doctor shook his head silently. He was one of the foremost experts even within the Blood Cross Society, a renowned medical order.

“...There is no hope?”

“No. Lord Keter has entered a kind of vegetative state. He is neither dead nor truly alive.”

“When will he wake?”

“That is known only to the gods.”

The physician was carefully implying that he might never awaken.

Clenching his teeth, Hissop asked, “Is there a treatment?”

“A vegetative state is not an illness. The problem lies here—inside the head, in the brain. And with current medical knowledge, treatment of the brain is impossible. Watching and waiting is the best we can do.”

“...”

“You may see him, as there is no issue with physical contact. I will take my leave.”

As soon as the physician departed, Hissop entered the room. A sharp medicinal smell filled the air.

Daat, who had been reading beside Keter’s bed, closed the book the moment he saw him.

“Oh, you’re here.”

His expression was calm. Hissop couldn’t understand it. He sensed no sadness from Daat.

A quiet irritation rose within him. Ignoring the greeting, Hissop approached Keter, who was lying in bed like a corpse. He looked fine on the outside, except for the slightly different color of the skin on his right arm.

“Keter. You’re playing tricks on me again.”

Hissop forced a smile as he spoke, but Keter did not respond.

“When you went to the royal palace, you tried to joke about losing your sight. This isn’t another act of playing dead like that?”

“My lord, this isn’t an act. It’s real,” Daat said from the side, but Hissop did not believe him.

“Then why are you so calm?”

“Well... because I know he’ll wake up.”

“The doctor said it’s a vegetative state.”

“That may be true, but he’ll wake eventually.”

“So even you don’t know when.”

“That’s right.”

“...Step outside for a moment.”

Hissop found Daat’s attitude, acting like it was no big deal, increasingly unpleasant. He sent him out and sat beside Keter.

He reached out, hesitated, then pinched Keter’s cheek. He was cold, like a corpse. At a glance, he looked as though he wasn’t breathing at all, but placing a finger beneath his nose revealed the faintest breath.

“If you don’t wake up, I’m going to start playing tricks on you.”

Hissop had never joked around in his life before. As the eldest son, he bore responsibility for the family. From the moment he learned to speak, he had been trained to become the head of the house. The only tricks he knew were pulling cheeks or twisting hair.

“Haha... I don’t even know how to play tricks. I suppose I’ll have to learn from you.”

After that, he simply watched Keter. If he stayed perfectly still and quiet, perhaps Keter would think he’d left and open his eyes.

But ten minutes passed, then an hour. Keter did not move.

That was when the door opened, and Daat returned.

“You must come out now, my lord.”

“No. I will wait here until Keter opens his eyes.”

“That was a cool line, but waiting only has meaning if Sefira still stands, doesn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The princes have begun a second conscription. They’re forcibly drafting even boys who haven’t reached adulthood.”

“...!”

“That alone would be manageable. The real problem is the Masters of Swordsmanship in the south.”

There were two great sword families in the south: Garcia and Ruban.

“We don’t know if they know what happened to Big Brother or if they are just acting under the princes’ orders, but those two forces have now encamped along Sefira’s borders.”

Just as Deyal had said, Eslow had been a safeguard. The princes could not recklessly dispatch large armies into the south because Eslow defied royal orders and acted independently.

But now that Eslow had been eliminated, the princes no longer needed to restrain themselves. Eslow had not been an obstacle only for Sefira.

Hearing Daat, Hissop realized he had been gravely mistaken—he had believed that once Eslow died, the south could be pacified. However, the war was only beginning.