Chapter 365: If It’s Tangled, Just Cut It (3)

The streets of the central district of Liqueur were always loud and chaotic, but now they were eerily silent. Where curses, shouting, and fistfights once filled the air every day, monsters now roamed freely.

Clatter.

These monsters were not mere animals. They searched through the buildings with their snouts and arms, sniffing and scanning carefully for surviving humans or hidden spaces.

Kiiiek!

Thud!

One monster searching a tavern seemed to come up empty and tossed aside a piece of debris before turning back.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The monster’s footsteps were so loud that one could feel them gradually fading in real time as it moved farther away. Eventually, when the heavy footsteps were no longer within earshot...

Creak...

...a hidden compartment in the ceiling opened, and a man poked his head out cautiously. He was extremely thin. That was only natural, as the monsters had devoured not only human food but even the raw ingredients. In other words, the surviving humans in Liqueur now had to worry about starvation as well.

The man hiding in the tavern had risked his life to come here in search of food. His hiding skills were quite good, perhaps because he was used to living like this. He had managed to evade the monsters’ sharp senses and keen sense of smell. However, there was one thing he had overlooked.

Kikikikiki...

A bat-like monster clinging to the ceiling suddenly grabbed the man’s head with its massive claws. The monster had not come here alone. The monster with the loud footsteps had pretended to leave, while the bat monster—capable of hiding its presence—waited in ambush.

Caught in their coordinated trap, the man simply sighed and did not fight back. His head was already caught. Resisting would only turn him into a toy for the monster.

At least I won’t become your entertainment.

With that thought, the man tried to stab himself under the jaw with the dagger at his waist, but...

Whoosh!

Suddenly, he spun. The bat holding his head had fallen from the ceiling. The man assumed the bat was simply trying to stop him from killing himself so it could play with him longer.

Crash!

However, the bat didn’t land; it slammed violently into the ground. He didn’t understand what had happened, but the man seized the opportunity and thrust his dagger toward the bat’s head.

Claaang.

The dagger didn’t even leave a scratch. It felt like stabbing a block of steel. Only the man’s hand trembled and throbbed from the impact.

I even infused it with aura, and it still doesn’t work? Is that really the skin of a living creature?

He had expected he wouldn’t be able to defeat the monster, but realizing he couldn’t even injure it completely drained his will to live.

Running away is also meaningless.

He was free from the monster’s grip, and the bat monster was somehow lying on the ground, but surely that was just part of the monster’s cruel game. It was like a cat releasing a captured mouse—letting it run just to hunt it again.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Just as the man raised his dagger again to kill himself, he felt something touch his shoulder.

Whoosh!

Reflexively, he turned and swung the dagger, but...

Crack.

The dagger struck something and snapped in half.

Huh?

The dagger was made from blackiron, a rare mineral that was as hard and flexible as orichalcum. Although it had bounced off the bat monster’s hide earlier, it hadn’t been damaged. Yet now, it had broken like a twig.

What the hell had happened?

The man looked up to see who it was, and he froze. Standing there was Keter.

Keter smiled kindly. “Don’t worry. I am the Solver.”

“D-damn it...”

The man, who hadn’t even changed his expression when facing death moments earlier, suddenly looked like he was about to cry.

* * *

“I'm sorry...”

The man knelt with his head lowered deeply. His face was bruised and swollen all over.

Keter brushed off his hands and said, “How can you say 'Damn it’ to the person who saved your life? I don’t go easy on ungrateful bastards.”

He tilted his head.

“Come to think of it, your face looks familiar,” he added.

Keter looked the man over carefully before snapping his fingers.

“You. You’re Rognel, the guy who worked at the butcher shop next to this alley, right? You’ve lost so much weight, I didn’t recognize you.”

“Gah!”

When Keter even remembered the exact place, Rognel recoiled, terrified. There was a very good reason for that.

I’m dead.

In the past, he had tried to kill Keter. He had sold him meat laced with poison. Of course, Keter hadn’t died. The moment Rognel heard that Keter survived, he went into hiding. It was only natural, as Keter would surely come to kill him.

Knowing Keter’s personality, hiding for a day or two wouldn’t be enough. He would have to live like a dead man forever as Keter’s persistence bordered on madness. Sure enough, even now—when Liqueur had already fallen into ruin—Keter had found him.

“You bastard...”

Keter approached with a menacing expression, and Rognel shut his eyes tightly, certain that death was coming.

“Why did you disappear without a word? The meat you cut was the best in the world!”

“...?”

Does he really not know that I poisoned the meat?

“Don’t tell me you ran away because you were scared about putting poison in my food?”

No. Keter knew everything, yet he acted as if it were nothing.

“Hey, idiot. Do you think you’re the only person who’s ever tried to poison my food? Honestly, that spicy kick from the poison just makes me want to eat more meat.”

Someone who enjoyed the sharp taste of poison was clearly insane.

“Y-you’re forgiving me?” asked Rognel cautiously, opening his eyes.

Keter raised his fist.

“No chance. You obviously deserved a good beating first. Plus, you had to sell me tasty meat at a discount, too. But you just ran off after that, so I was the one who ended up losing out.”

“...”

“Well, if you start selling me good meat cheap from now on, I’ll forgive you.”

“Hah... Keter. You’re saying that even after seeing this situation?”

The place where the two were casually talking was in ruins. Not just here, but all of Liqueur was filled with collapsed buildings. There wasn’t a single intact place left. There were even several monsters watching the two of them.

Keter glanced around and said, “Honestly, I never liked the layout of this city anyway. Might as well rebuild it while we’re at it.”

“You’re optimistic. Do you even know what happened to Liqueur?”

“I know everything I can see, but I don’t know the rest. Everyone’s hiding somewhere so well I can’t find them. I was looking for any survivors, and then I spotted you.”

“Lucky me,” grumbled Rognel sarcastically as he dusted off his backside and stood up.

Even with monsters watching them, he didn’t feel afraid as Keter was beside him.

“I’ll tell you everything I know. Just take me somewhere safe,” Rognel said.

“Easy.”

Keter tucked Rognel under his arm and started running. Strangely, not a single monster attacked him. Even those blocking the path stepped aside when they saw him. Eventually, they arrived at Keter’s office.

“

Tsk

. They really wrecked the place. The elevator’s probably broken too.”

Keter’s office was shaped like a tower, which meant it stood out dramatically. Naturally, it hadn’t survived intact. Though it had been protected by spells and sorcery, it couldn’t withstand the monsters’ assault. Still, the tower’s ruins remained. Keter pressed a section of the wall at regular intervals.

Rrrrrrr.

With a rough grinding noise, the wall slid open, revealing stairs leading underground.

“So there was a secret space like this,” Rognel admired.

“A secret underground base is every man’s dream,” Keter replied like it was nothing.

As they entered the underground through the stairs, Keter pushed Rognel back.

“Someone’s been here. Stay behind me.”

The basement of Keter’s tower was quite large. Since it was built as an emergency shelter, it contained plenty of preserved food. This meant there was a good chance someone was living here.

Normally, the basement was brightly lit with sun stones embedded in the walls, but now it was dark. Of course, darkness wasn’t a problem for Keter. He walked forward confidently; it was his own place, after all.

The first room after descending the stairs was a library. Keter and a library were an odd combination. In reality, Keter didn’t like books at all. The library had been built for Daat. At first glance, it looked empty, but to Keter’s eyes, everything was visible.

“If you read a book, you’re supposed to put it back where it belongs. You can’t just shove it anywhere.”

There was no reply. That was when Keter slowly raised his hand.

“If you come out now, I’ll only hit you three times and let you go. For every second you’re late, I’ll add another punch. Five...”

As he spoke, he folded his thumb, meaning he would give them five seconds. However, time seemed to flow faster for Keter, as his middle finger had already folded in just one second. That was when...

Shhk.

The sound of a page turning echoed, and suddenly two blades pressed against Keter’s neck, one in front and one behind. Keter remained perfectly still, as if he hadn’t reacted at all.

“Well, this is unexpected. I never thought I’d meet you here.”

Hiding in the darkness were two elderly men: one dressed entirely in black and the other dressed entirely in white. They were Black and White, the two old men who had once guarded Daat.

Before leaving Liqueur, Keter had entrusted them with the management of the tower, but he never expected them to actually stay and guard it. The agreement had only been verbal, not any kind of contract. They could have ignored it and left without any consequences.

“Grandpas, weren’t you attached to the outside world? I thought you’d definitely have left. Why are you still here?” Keter asked casually.

However, Black and White did not lower their swords.

“You think I’m a fake, don’t you? I like that thorough personality of yours. Hmm... how should I prove it?”

Among the underground monsters were many capable of perfect mimicry, even copying memories. One could never be careless.

“Come to think of it, why should I be the one proving it? If anyone should check, it’s you.”

Keter grabbed the blades with his bare hands. The swords of the two elders were wrapped in a sharp aura, but it was useless. Though Keter was bare-handed, the aura was crushed and pushed aside. Overpowering aura with human skin seemed like something only a monster could do, yet the two old men withdrew their swords and knelt on one knee.

“You have returned.”

The two spoke simultaneously, almost like a single voice. Keter sounded slightly disappointed.

“How did you know?”

“Instinct.”

“Why didn’t you leave Liqueur?”

“We must guard the tower.”

“I knew you were stubborn, but not this stubborn. Anyway, I’m back now, so you can leave.”

“...”

Black and White stared at him as if they didn’t understand.

“Freedom. I’m giving you freedom.”

“Understood.”

The two vanished from sight. They hadn’t truly left, but Keter didn’t care.

After bringing Rognel inside, Keter gave him food first. The bread was hard as stone, and the jerky tougher than cowhide, but the two ate it eagerly.

“I don’t like complaining about food, but stop stuffing your face and talk already.”

Daat had stocked ten years’ worth of supplies, yet Rognel had just eaten one year’s worth in a single sitting.

“Ahem. What do you want to know?” he asked.

“Where the surviving factions are hiding, and the whereabouts of the Mercenary Guild.”

“I see. That’s what you’re curious about.”

Rognel nodded confidently.

“I don’t know!”

Thud!

Keter’s fist mercilessly slammed into Rognel’s abdomen.