I’m the Madman of This Family

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

Amon thought Keter would give up on his journey underground. After all, if the underground collapsed, it would be the same as being sealed away forever.

Just as Keter saw Amon as a kindred spirit, Amon also felt a deep connection with Keter.

Death wasn’t scary. But being left alone in a world of nothingness was more terrifying than death.

Yet, Keter chewed on some dried meat and said, “Is that all you have to say?”

His butt was already halfway off the seat. Amon couldn’t understand Keter, who looked ready to leave at any moment.

“I don’t know what you’re looking for underground, but even if you find it, you won’t be able to come back out. Besides, isn’t this your homeland? You 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 perilous arena, faced its ruler, and even gambled his soul to rescue the mercenaries.

In other words, Keter was ‘selfless.’ That was Amon’s judgment.

So, how could this selfless Keter abandon his people and head straight for the underground, which could become his grave? It was clearly foolish, beyond just being amusing.

Keter stood up and said, “There’s a risk of collapse, but it’s not certain. If it’s a 50-50 gamble, of course, I’ll go all in. And yes, Ruquer is my homeland, but so what? I saved the mercenaries because I’m their leader. The rest isn’t my concern.”

“Hoho. You’re truly an enigma. I thought you were playing the hero by saving weak humans who’d be left behind, but it seems that’s not the case.”

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

“By your logic, there are still many mercenaries seeking help. Shouldn’t you help them?”

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

Keter’s face showed no hesitation or guilt. He was solely focused on getting underground as quickly as possible.

Amon also stood up and said, “The more I learn about you, the more fascinating you become. It’s a shame we only just met.”

“I won’t thank you for saying that.”

“I’ll sponsor you. I’ll grant you the power you need to go underground.”

“That’s appreciated. But I doubt it’s free.”

“If I lend you power without a price, neither of us will come out unscathed. You must pay a fair price.”

In human society, ‘money’ facilitates fair transactions. But what price must one pay for power?

If it could be bought with money, hundreds, thousands would pay any amount.

But since ancient times, transactions have been about the exchange of ‘value.’ The value of water sold by a river is different from that sold in a desert.

Amon leaned forward, pointing to his lips, and said, “Kiss me. Then I’ll grant you the ‘Power of Adaptation.’”

“No thanks.”

Keter responded without a second of hesitation.

Amon was stunned. Keter had turned his back as if he meant it. It was clearly different from testing the waters.

Amon, unable to comprehend Keter, raised his voice. “You’d give up power just because you don’t want to kiss me? Are you underestimating my power, or do you not trust it? With the Power of Adaptation, you’ll be able to survive in any extreme environment without even trying to protect yourself. And you’d throw away such a divine power over a single kiss? Is it because I’m in a male form?”

Thinking his male form might be the issue, Amon snapped his fingers.

His body transformed. His hair grew long, reaching his waist, and his chest and hips took on alluring curves.

In just one second, the world’s most handsome man became the world’s most beautiful woman.

“Now, I’m a woman. Kiss me.”

Her voice became irresistibly seductive, enough to send shivers down one’s spine.

But Keter shook his head. “No. I can’t.”

“You can’t?”

“I made a promise. No more lovers.”

“It’s just you and me here. I’ll erase their memories. No one will know.”

“What are you talking about? Promises are meant to be kept, not secretly broken.”

“You’re truly insane.”

“If you understand, propose another condition.”

Clearly, Amon was the one granting power, but Keter had become the judge.

But Amon was of the same breed as Keter. His stubbornness was unmatched.

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

“Okay. Deal.”

Keter readily agreed.

Amon was taken aback, but a deal was a deal, so he transferred the power to Keter.

A wisp of smoke extended from Amon’s finger, swirling around Keter before disappearing. A brief and simple process.

For some reason, Amon smiled with relief.

“The power ‘Logistic’ has been transferred to you.”

“Then, I’m off!”

With the power transferred, Keter left without looking back.

He was incredibly fast, but if Amon wished, he could follow him to the ends of the world. Yet, Amon just smiled.

Joyray, emboldened by the moment, boldly asked, “Why are you helping Keter, even granting him power?”

Amon shrugged, much like Keter, and said, “Because it’s fun. I’m curious what Keter, who believes he’s human, will do next… I’m looking forward to it.”

*

There wasn’t just one path to Ruquer’s underground. Keter searched for the easiest entrance, but all were collapsed.

However, this wasn’t a natural collapse. Clearly, someone had intentionally destroyed them.

“The possibility that they collapsed them out of goodwill to warn against danger… is nonexistent.”

In any other place, perhaps, but Ruquer wasn’t such a place.

“If I wanted to monopolize Ruquer’s underground, I’d leave one easy-to-guard entrance and collapse the rest.”

When one becomes a Transcendent Being, they stop caring about others’ thoughts. Only their own thoughts matter in this world.

But even as a Transcendent Being, Keter considered others’ feelings. That’s why, even in this situation, he could deduce where an open entrance might be.

“Excluding all known entrances and the spacious ones that are hard to guard… bingo.”

Keter arrived at a church that looked like it could collapse at any moment. A church that didn’t even seem to worship any god.

But here, there was a passage to Ruquer’s underground.

“It looks empty from the outside.”

Neither by sight nor by sensing could he detect anything. No monsters, no people.

But Keter, for that very reason, carefully surveyed his surroundings.

‘There’s a guardian here whose strength I can’t even perceive.’

A Transcendent Being would be confident they could handle anything their opponent throws at them.

But Keter wasn’t like that. He believed that whether you’re a Transcendent Being or a god, carelessness leads to death.

And that meticulousness saved Keter’s life.

Swish.

A chunk of Keter’s hair was cut off.

Despite being on high alert and bending backward the moment he sensed the attack, he still couldn’t completely avoid it.

‘To get this close without me sensing anything until the attack…’

Keter couldn’t see his enemy, but he knew. A unique weapon like a scythe, stealth techniques that could deceive even a Transcendent Being’s senses. Only one person in Ruquer could do this.

“Jenny, you’re alive!”

Though he spoke as if delighted, Keter created a whirlwind of arrows around him.

Whoosh.

Hundreds of arrows spun around Keter, forming an impenetrable barrier 10 meters out. Each arrow was a Tusk, making it impossible to force through.

Slash!

Jenny did the impossible. Her chain scythe cut through the whirlwind and grazed Keter’s collar.

But Keter had anticipated this, firing an arrow from the ground to send the chain scythe skyward.

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

“You’ve been fooling around all your life, and now you’ve got a job as a gatekeeper. Congratulations.”

Keter punched the ground as if offering a gift. The ground shattered like a cookie, shooting upward.

Simultaneously, Keter’s eyes rapidly scanned the surroundings. No matter how well hidden, one’s existence doesn’t just disappear.

“Let’s talk face to face!”

Keter finally found it. The point where the fragments bouncing in mid-air were deflected.

Whoosh!

He shot an arrow toward that spot, and sure enough, the chain scythe appeared out of thin air, splitting the arrow.

Slash.

Jenny, who had been invisible, revealed herself. She looked sulky.

“You still don’t understand a woman’s heart, Keter.”

Despite holding a menacing chain scythe, Jenny was an incredibly cute girl. She couldn’t have been more than 17.

But she was a Transcendent Being. In Ruquer, it was common knowledge that she was at least 100 years old.

Keter brushed the dirt off his hands and said, “I understand, I just ignore it.”

“Don’t lie. If I wanted, I could’ve cut your throat. I only cut your hair as a warning to leave.”

“You don’t know me. Do you think I’d say ‘thank you for the warning’ and just leave?”

“You never listen to others, even if it kills you.”

“I don’t listen to others, but I do listen to family and friends.”

“Am I not your friend?”

Jenny made a face like an abandoned cat.

“You’re my friend, so I spared you. Step aside. I need to go underground.”

“We are friends, aren’t we? But why couldn’t we be more than that?”

Jenny, one of Ruquer’s Five Great Lunatics and wielder of the chain scythe, was one of the persistent women who pursued Keter. Keter spoke with clear annoyance.

“I’ve told you this at least 500 times. You’re not my type.”

“Don’t lie. Are you saying I’m ugly?”

“It’s not about being ugly or pretty. It’s just a difference in taste. This is the same old conversation.”

Keter and Jenny had repeated this conversation hundreds of times. In the past, Keter would’ve run away, but now he couldn’t.

Jenny spun her chain scythe and warned, “Keter. Even if you hate me, I still like you. So, I’m begging you. Leave this place, no, leave Ruquer. Go far away.”

“Even if the Grand Duke orders it?”

“……”

She didn’t answer, but that in itself was an answer. After all, the only person in Ruquer who could command Jenny was Grand Duke Alkione.

“I don’t want to kill you either, Jenny. You’re annoying when you’re obsessed, but otherwise, you’re fine. But I must go underground.”

“Ruquer’s underground is collapsing right now. Everyone who was there, even the monsters, have come to the surface. There’s nothing to gain, so there’s no need to go—”

“Then why are you guarding it?”

The pointed question made Jenny press her lips together. Keter shrugged.

“The Grand Duke didn’t tell you the reason, did he? But listen. There must be a reason why the Grand Duke, out of kindness, collapsed all the entrances and left only one for you to guard. I’m not interested in that reason, but it only makes me more certain.”

Keter pointed to the church entrance blocked by Jenny.

“I must go to Ruquer’s underground.”

Faced with Keter’s resolute attitude, Jenny looked like she might cry but tightened her grip on the chain scythe and said, “Even if it means killing me?”

Jenny knew Keter would say ‘yes.’ But she asked anyway, to show she wouldn’t back down either.

One of them would surely die. Jenny was deeply saddened by this fate.

But Keter’s answer surprised her.

“I don’t want to.”

Keter had changed.

“But I must pass through, so tell me what deal you made with the Grand Duke. Let’s find a way around it.”

At Keter’s proposal, Jenny’s body went limp.

‘This is why… how could I not love you?’

He never gives up, no matter the situation. That was the biggest reason Jenny loved Keter.

“Keter. I appreciate your offer. But give up. The Grand Duke ordered that no living thing pass through this gate.”

“What? That’s an easy condition.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll just go in dead.”

Is that easy?

Jenny was genuinely confused.

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