Chapter 354: Who’s Crazier? (7)

Extracting information from the Demon Capital tamer only took ten minutes. In the end, however, Keter obtained nothing satisfactory. It wasn’t that the tamer knew nothing; the problem was that he knew too much.

“When you wake each morning, you must bow toward the north, where Crown Prince Rukan resides, and shout ‘Long live the Crown Prince!’ seven times. Only with such loyalty will the monsters obey.”

“This flute is made from my finger bones. Unless it is fed fresh blood every day, the monsters cannot be controlled.”

“It is only considered complete after feeding pregnant women, children, and one’s own family to the monsters.”

There were nearly a hundred such requirements for taming monsters, and the tamer believed every one of them. But to Keter, none of those methods had anything to do with controlling monsters.

Demon Capital creatures weren’t beasts. Some were more intelligent than humans. If such lunatic cult rituals could control them, a monster cult would have flourished long ago.

In short, capturing more tamers and extracting information from them was meaningless. That was Keter’s conclusion.

As expected of the Godfather. If captured tamers spread this misinformation, it creates confusion, and if people attempt these methods, it damages public trust. Two birds with one stone.

As such, he didn’t know how Rukan was controlling the monsters. That was when Keter realized the premise itself was wrong.

“It’s probably a contract, not control.”

Once he shifted perspective, the answer was easy to infer.

“This means there’s no real way to stop them.”

If the monsters were bound through contracts, there was no clever countermeasure. They simply had to fight them.

At that moment, Keter placed his palm against the ground. A faint vibration traveled through.

“They should be coming back about now.”

The four monsters the tamer had brought were returning.

In this situation, the logical choice would be to leave, but Keter did something else entirely.

Rustle.

He changed clothes with the tamer and used disguise-shaping techniques to alter the man’s face into his own. Up close, the difference was obvious, but from a distance, it would pass. He had also learned that Rukan would come from the tamer.

“If he refuses to meet me, fine. But if he does, I’ll gladly play along.”

Soon, the monsters arrived.

“No matter how often I see them, they’re nauseating to look at.”

Communication was impossible. The moment they saw him, the monsters attacked. Bizarre, unpredictable assaults came from every direction, but Keter evaded them as if he already knew every move and began to toy with them.

* * *

Wherever Rukan went, he was always accompanied by at least a hundred guards. His protection was so strict that even a seven-star Prime was always assigned to escort him. But now, he arrived at the villa where Keter was said to be, with only Darian, his aide, at his side.

Darian frowned when he saw the scene.

“We clearly ordered Keter to be captured alive...”

The villa was in ruins. Six corpses were scattered across the site. Four belonged to monsters, and the other two were human.

One human corpse wore the tamer’s outfit, making identification easy. The other’s identity seemed obvious. Keter, who had come seeking an audience with Rukan, was apparently dead.

“Impressive. To slay four Demon Capital monsters without even the advantage of a bow... I can see why he was called the Divine Bow.”

Rukan said nothing and stepped closer to the scene, but Darian stopped him.

“Your Highness. It’s unlikely, but to be safe, allow me to inspect first.”

The loyal Darian bravely approached and examined the bodies.

“...Ugh.”

Their condition was horrific. The stench was overwhelming. Even so, he inspected the corpse, which was believed to be Keter. The face was crushed beyond recognition, but he thought it was Keter since he looked handsome. There were no handsome demon tamers; they were all notoriously ugly.

There was no need to check for life, as Keter’s chest was wide open with the heart missing. Monsters liked human hearts, and Keter must have died after his was devoured. There was also no need to check the tamer. The pool of blood beneath him was obviously fatal.

“Your Highness, there are no survivors.”

“...Step aside.”

Rukan extended a finger toward Keter’s body. From the shadow of his hand, a tendril shot forth and wrapped around the corpse.

“This is not Keter.”

Shhhk!

Before Darian could react, Rukan lashed another tendril toward the body lying in the blood.

Whoosh. Crash!

The supposed corpse rolled aside, evading the strike.

As if expecting it, Rukan muttered, “I knew you wouldn’t die so easily, Keter.”

Keter, who was playing dead while wearing the tamer’s robe, wiped the blood from his face.

“This is why fame is exhausting,” he said.

Then, Keter vanished so fast that even an afterimage failed to remain. Rukan wrapped himself in tendrils, but Keter wasn’t aiming for him.

“Ghk!”

Keter seized Darian, who was trying to flee, by the throat and subdued him. Licking his lips, he chuckled wickedly.

“Kekeke...”

Darian immediately tried to bite down on the poison hidden in his mouth, but Keter shoved a finger between his teeth.

“Can’t let such a valuable hostage die.”

“...”

“Your Highness, if you keep someone at your side while becoming a monster, he must be someone you cherish. Right?”

Shaking Darian by the neck, Keter’s face was pure malice.

Despite his trusted aide being taken hostage, Rukan calmly answered, “Darian grew up with me. He has always stood at my side. I am grateful to him.”

“Then what should be done to keep such a loyal man alive? Let’s start simple. Kneel.”

Darian struggled and shouted, “You coward! And you call yourself the Divine Bow of the South? Have you no shame before Sefira?!”

“I do feel ashamed, so I won’t drag this out...”

Whoosh!

Mid-sentence, Keter suddenly hurled Darian backward. It wasn’t exactly hard to capture Darian, but there was no reason for Keter to throw away a precious hostage.

Drip...

Blood ran down Keter’s cheek. A tendril from Rukan had grazed him. It wasn’t aimed at Keter; it was aimed at Darian. Rukan had tried to kill him, and Keter had thrown him aside to save him.

“Your Highness, was your aim off? You almost killed your loyal aide,” Keter said jokingly, but he knew that Rukan had not missed.

“Even if I had made a mistake, why did you save him?”

“Because he’s my hostage. He doesn’t get to die without my permission.”

“Then try saving him.”

Shhhhkk!!

A mass of tendrils burst from Rukan’s shadow. They resembled octopus limbs, yet were harder, lighter, and faster than anything in the world.

Seeing them surge toward him, Darian felt his life flash before his eyes. He had endured countless trials beside Rukan. Rukan had thanked him for staying at his side, but now, that same man was trying to kill him.

“Not happening!”

Crash!!!

The man who had taken him hostage fired arrows to save him, and when that wasn’t enough, he blocked the tendrils with his own body.

Thud! Squelch!

Rukan’s tendrils were powerful. Even Keter’s tough body was torn and pierced. He avoided fatal blows, but sweat beaded on his forehead as he fought.

This is dangerous.

Keter had assumed that handling monsters had turned Rukan into something monstrous himself. Even seeing him stand normally hadn’t surprised him. When Rukan first revealed the tendrils, Keter wasn’t alarmed, as he had already suspected it. However, facing them directly changed everything.

Each strike hits heavier than the Fist Emperor’s Sudden Thunderfist From The Blue, yet they’re as fast as my arrows.

One mistake would cost his life.

Godfather, you’ve created a terrifying monster.

This couldn’t be Rukan’s natural potential. It had to be the Godfather’s doing.

But I’m no pushover either.

Keter had summoned Rukan under the pretense of talking, but Rukan clearly preferred a fight. And in moments like this, what mattered was strength, not logic.

Limitless Archery, Fifth Form: Kaleidoscope: Extreme.

Over fifty crystalline prisms were scattered into the air. Though Kaleidoscope was often used to support attacks, it also excelled in defense. It was the best at deflecting projectiles.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Tendrils struck the prisms and veered off course, but each prism cracked after a single impact.

Tatatatatata!

The number of tendrils increased. It wasn’t just one or two, but hundreds more. It was now beyond the Kaleidoscope’s reflective limit, but Keter had never intended to rely on it alone. He only used it to buy time.

Limitless Archery, Eighth Form: Tachyon, Chain.

An incredibly fast arrow shot toward Rukan’s forehead, but it was nullified in the air, as if an invisible barrier surrounded Rukan. It didn’t matter though, as it wasn’t meant to take his life.

Keter, who was linked to the arrow by a thread, pierced through the tendrils and arrived directly before Rukan. He drew back his right arm and drove it forward—a punch.

Rukan found this ridiculous.

A mere fist at a moment demanding Authority?

“Die,” Rukan said without emotion.

There was no need to block. The invisible barrier protecting him could not be pierced without Authority. Yet Keter’s fist passed through it. It didn’t break the barrier, but just passed through as though it didn’t exist. This was Authority Nullification, the power within Eslow’s prosthetic arm.

“...!”

“Get ready.”

Thud!!!

Keter’s solid fist smashed cleanly into Rukan’s face.