Chapter 372: If It’s Tangled, Just Cut It (10)

Amon thought Keter would give up on his journey into the underground. After all, if the underground collapsed, it was no different from being sealed away forever.

Just as Keter had seen Amon as someone like himself, Amon also believed they shared common ground. Death wasn’t frightening, but being left alone in a world of nothingness—that was far more terrifying than death.

Yet Keter simply chewed on his jerky and said, “That's all you’ve got to say?”

He was already basically standing up, as if ready to leave at any moment. Amon couldn’t understand.

“I don’t know what you’re looking for down there, but even if you find it, you won’t be able to come back. And isn’t this your hometown? You may have saved the mercenaries, but there are still many who need your help. If you leave them behind and go underground, they’ll all die.”

What Amon couldn’t understand was Keter’s humanity. Keter had willingly entered the deadly arena, faced its Ruler, and even wagered his soul to save the mercenaries. In other words, he was selfless. That was Amon’s conclusion. As such, he couldn’t understand how someone like that could abandon his hometown and head straight into what might become his grave. It made no sense.

Keter stood up.

“It’s not guaranteed to collapse, just a risk. If it’s a fifty-fifty gamble, then of course I’m all in. And yeah, Liqueur’s my hometown, but so what? I saved the mercenaries because I’m responsible for them. The rest? Not my problem.”

“Heh... the more I learn about you, the harder you are to figure out. I thought you were playing the hero, saving weak humans destined to fall, but I guess not.”

“It’s not the weak who fall behind. It’s those who make the wrong choices.”

“Then by your logic, shouldn’t you help the mercenaries who still need you?”

“I gave them a chance before I came here. I searched the entire city. If anyone had asked for help, I would’ve helped, but no one did. So, it’s one of two things: they’re either dead or they made the wrong choice.”

There was no hesitation or guilt on Keter’s face, only the desire to head underground as soon as possible.

Amon got up as well.

“The more I see, the more interesting you become. It’s almost a shame we only just met,” Amon said to him.

“Flattery won’t get you a thank-you,” Keter replied.

“I’ll support you. I’ll grant you an Authority you’ll need for the descent.”

“That I appreciate, but it’s not free, is it?”

“If I gave you an Authority for nothing, neither of us would remain unharmed. A proper price must be paid.”

In human society, fair trade was done with money. But what price could match an Authority? If it could be bought with wealth, there would be hundreds and thousands willing to pay anything. However, all exchanges were about value. Water sold by a river and water sold in a desert did not hold the same worth.

Amon leaned in and pointed at his lips.

“Kiss me. Do that, and I’ll grant you the Authority of adaptation.”

“No thanks,” Keter answered instantly.

Amon was stunned as Keter turned away without hesitation. He wasn’t trying to bargain; he meant it.

“Just a kiss, and you’d give up an Authority? Are you underestimating me, or do you not believe me? With Adaptation, you could survive any extreme environment without effort. And you’d throw that away over a kiss? Or is it because I’m male?”

With a snap of his fingers, Amon’s body changed. His hair grew longer, falling to his waist. His form curved into that of a beautiful woman. Amon had become a beauty in the blink of an eye.

“Now I’m female. Go ahead and kiss me.”

Even his voice became so alluring that others would be begging for a kiss already, but Keter shook his head.

“I don’t want to. No, I can’t.”

“Can’t?”

“I made a promise not to make any more lovers.”

“There’s no one here but us. I can erase their memories. No one will know.”

“What are you even saying? A promise is something you keep, not something you secretly break.”

“You really are insane.”

“Then give me a different condition.”

Amon was the one offering the Authority, yet somehow, Keter was setting the terms. However, Amon was no different; he was just as stubborn.

“Fine. If you ever have children, one of them must marry me.”

“Deal.”

Keter agreed immediately. Amon blinked, caught off guard, but a deal was a deal. He transferred the Authority.

A faint stream of smoke extended from Amon’s fingers, swirling briefly around Keter before fading. It was a simple, effortless process. Amon smiled in satisfaction for some reason.

“The Authority Logistic has been transferred to you.”

“Then I’m off!”

Keter didn’t even look back as he left for the surface. He moved quickly, but if Amon wished, he could have followed him to the ends of the world. Instead, he simply smiled.

Joyray, emboldened by alcohol, asked, “Why go so far as to give him an Authority?”

Amon shrugged, just like Keter.

“Because it’s interesting. Keter believes himself to be human... I’m curious to see what he does next.”

* * *

There wasn’t just one, but many paths leading underground in Liqueur. Keter first searched for the easiest entrances, but all of them had collapsed. However, this was no natural collapse. It was clear that someone had deliberately destroyed them.

“Breaking them out of goodwill, to keep people from entering... that’s not it.”

Maybe elsewhere, but not in Liqueur.

“If I wanted to monopolize the underground, I would destroy every entrance except one that’s easy to guard.”

Transcendentals typically ignored others’ thoughts since their own would define the world. However, even after becoming a Transcendental, Keter still considered the intentions of others. Because of that, he could deduce which entrance might still be open.

“Eliminate the known entrances... eliminate the wide ones that are hard to guard... Bingo.”

The place he arrived at was a church that looked like it could collapse at any moment. No one even knew which god it worshipped. There was a passage here leading underground.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s here.”

He saw nothing and sensed nothing. There were no monsters or humans. And yet, that made him even more cautious.

Someone skilled enough to evade even his perception is guarding this place.

Most Transcendentals grew overconfident, believing they could counter anything, but Keter didn’t. He knew that, whether a Transcendental or a god, carelessness meant death, and that caution saved him.

Whoosh.

A lock of Keter’s hair was sliced clean off. Even though he had been on high alert and had leaned back the instant he sensed the attack, he couldn’t fully avoid it.

They were this close, and I still couldn’t feel their presence until the attack itself.

He couldn’t see the enemy, but he knew who it was. There was only one person in Liqueur who used a scythe as their weapon and had stealth skills that deceived even a Transcendental’s senses.

“Jenny, you’re alive!” he said warmly, but at the same time created a vortex of arrows around himself.

Whoosh!!

Hundreds of arrows spun in a ten-meter radius. It was dense enough that not even a thread could pass through. Each one was a Tusk, so it was impossible to break through by force. And yet...

Crash!!

Jenny did the impossible. Her chain scythe tore through the vortex, grazing Keter’s collar. But as if he had expected it, Keter fired arrows from the ground, knocking the scythe skyward.

Strangely, Jenny herself was nowhere to be seen. The chain scythe moved as if connected to space itself.

“You acted like you would laze around forever, and now you’re working as a gatekeeper. Congrats.”

Keter slammed his fist into the ground like it was a gift. The ground shattered like brittle glass, rising into the air. At the same time, his eyes scanned rapidly. No matter how well hidden, existence itself couldn’t vanish.

“Let’s talk face-to-face!”

He found it—the point where fragments ricocheted midair. He fired an arrow there. Sure enough, a chain scythe appeared out of space, splitting the arrow. Then, the invisible Jenny revealed herself. She pouted.

“You still don’t understand a girl’s heart, do you, Keter?”

Despite wielding a deadly weapon, she looked like a girl barely seventeen. However, she was a Transcendental over a hundred years old, according to Liqueur’s rumors.

Keter dusted off his hands.

“I do. I just ignore it.”

“Don’t lie. If I wanted, I could’ve taken your head. I only cut your hair as a warning to go back.”

“You don’t know me either. You think I would thank you for the warning and leave?”

“You never listen.”

“I don’t listen to just anyone. I do listen to family and friends, though.”

“So I’m not your friend?”

Jenny looked at Keter like an abandoned kitten.

“I spared you because you’re a friend. Now move—I’m going underground,” Keter said.

“So I am your friend. Then why can’t I be more?”

Jenny, one of Liqueur’s Five Lunatics, had persistently pursued Keter.

Keter sighed like he was tired of Jenny.

“I feel like I’ve said it over five hundred times. Again, you’re not my type.”

“Don’t lie. Are you saying I’m ugly?”

“It’s not about looks. It’s just a preference. I’ve said this before, too.”

They had repeated this conversation countless times. In the past, Keter would’ve run away, but now, he couldn’t.

Jenny spun her chain scythe and warned him. “Keter. Even if you hate me, I still like you. So please leave this place—leave Liqueur.”

“Did the Godfather tell you to say that?”

“...”

She didn’t answer, but the silence was enough. There was only one person in Liqueur who could command her was Alkione, the Godfather.

“I don’t want to kill you either, Jenny. You’re annoying when you get obsessive, but otherwise, you’re fine. Still, I have to go down.”

“The underground is collapsing. Everyone down there—even the monsters—has already come up. There’s nothing to gain...”

“Then why guard it?”

The question struck the mark, and Jenny stayed silent. Keter simply shrugged.

“He probably didn’t tell you why. But think about it—there must be a reason he went as far as collapsing all the entrances and even ordered you to guard the one that remains. I don’t care what that reason is, but if anything, this just makes it clearer.”

He pointed at the church entrance, blocked by Jenny.

“I’m going down.”

His resolve was firm. Jenny looked like she might cry, but tightened her grip on the chain.

“Even if you have to kill me?”

She already knew his answer. Still, she asked because she couldn’t back down either. One of them would die here, and that fate made her incredibly sad.

But Keter’s answer surprised her.

“I’d rather not.”

Keter had changed.

“Still, I have to pass. So tell me: what kind of contract did you make with the Godfather? Let’s find a loophole.”

At his suggestion, Jenny’s strength drained.

This is who you are... How could I not love you?

No matter the situation, Keter never gave up. That was what she loved most.

“Keter, I appreciate the offer, but give up. The Godfather said no living thing is allowed to pass.”

“That’s it? That’s a pretty easy condition.”

“What?”

“I just have to go in dead.”

Is that supposed to be easy?

Jenny was genuinely confused.