I’m the Madman of This Family

Episode 376. A Future Without Me (4)

Keter and Walt.

The two men facing each other stared at one another in silence.

In the Land of Death, where even Master-level strongmen suffered, they were unfazed.

Keter, wielding the Power of Adaptation and the Power of Logistics received from Amon—Walt was holding a red umbrella created by the power of the Blood Sword Dracula.

“I must have told you. If you don’t follow me, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.”

Walt wasn’t threatening. It was more like an older brother scolding his younger brother for not listening to him.

Keter retorted as if he were the younger brother.

“You were the one who betrayed my trust first, weren’t you? Until then, I really thought I could trust and rely on you.”

“Are you calling it betrayal just because I left my post for a day?”

“Do you still call it ‘just a day’ when you know what happened in that one day? Seven people died, and five were crippled.”

“I didn’t know. I didn’t think they would attack you while I was away. So when I returned, I killed them all to avenge you. Isn’t that enough? What more do you want?”

“Of course, revenge is satisfying. But that doesn’t bring the dead back to life.”

“I left my post that day to negotiate with the Grand Duke. The negotiations were successful, and Ruquer became a better place to live. And the reason I serve the Grand Duke to this day is to make not just Ruquer, but this entire world a better place to live.”

“Being alive doesn’t mean everyone has a good life, Walt.”

“Don’t twist my words. I know that too. What the Grand Duke wants, and what I want, is a world of equality. A world where no one knows poverty or suffering, a fair world. It won’t take long.”

Walt extended his right hand to Keter.

“It’s not too late, you foolish younger brother. Take my hand now. Even if the Grand Duke won’t forgive you, I will.”

“Even a disease can become art if it’s excessive. Anyone watching would think I’m the villain and you’re the good older brother.”

“I just want to correct what’s gone wrong.”

Keter was about to retort but closed his mouth. He wanted to say, ‘It’s truly foolish to live bound by the past’—but in reality, Keter was the same.

The fall of Sephira in his past life. Taking revenge on Queen Lilian, who led it… That too was ultimately a matter of the past.

He couldn’t blame Walt. The idea of forgetting the past and living faithfully in the present was not something Keter could say.

“I agree. Everyone has a world they want. But in the end, it comes down to a choice. Who to kill, who to save.”

Slap!

Keter slapped away Walt’s extended hand.

“And in my opinion, a fair world would be hell. I’d rather have a world where everyone is free.”

“Murder, rape, inequality, discrimination, fraud… Do you want a world where the weak are tormented and honest people suffer?”

“You only cherish warmth when you know cold, and you only understand the value of happiness after experiencing misery. If everyone is happy, then everyone is unhappy.”

Walt silently withdrew his outstretched hand and closed his eyes.

“What a waste of time. There’s no way I can reason with you.”

“Speak clearly. I understood you, but you didn’t understand me.”

“If you understood me, you would have taken my hand.”

“Understanding and agreeing are different. If you wanted to create your ideal equal society in some remote mountain without harming others, who would stop you? But you’re trying to change this world according to your own whims.”

“……”

“I even understand that. A strong and wise person represents everyone’s opinions. That might be the right answer. But from what I see, you’re just strong. You’re not wise. That’s why you try to subjugate everyone with force alone, right?”

“I don’t have time to convince selfish fools one by one. A madman like you is impossible to convince, so killing is the only option.”

“Right. It’s much easier to kill someone with a different opinion than to convince them.”

Boom!

It happened in the blink of an eye.

The two men, who had been standing still and talking, trembled slightly, and in an instant, their positions changed.

The moment Walt’s Blood Sword touched Keter’s neck, Keter’s kick struck Walt’s solar plexus, pushing him back. But the moment he thought he had pushed him back, the Blood Sword was already aimed at the back of Keter’s neck.

Arrows formed around Keter and shot toward Walt. In response, Blood Swords summoned on either side of Walt began deflecting the arrows.

The Blood Sword still hovered at Keter’s neck. And Keter kept moving to avoid being decapitated.

This pattern continued. Keter used every means to push Walt back, while Walt clung to Keter like a magnet, trying to behead him.

After dozens of exchanges in the blink of an eye—

Swiish.

Walt’s sword finally grazed the back of Keter’s neck.

His sword, imbued with the soul of Dracula, the God of Life. The moment Keter was cut by the Blood Sword, which controlled blood infused with life force, his entire body stiffened.

Normally, even the slightest cut would make one a slave to the Blood Sword, but Keter’s body was different. Combined with his own resistance, he only froze for a brief moment.

But that ‘moment’—

Was an eternity to Transcendent Beings.

Thud!

The Blood Sword dug deep into flesh.

But it wasn’t Keter’s neck.

Keter had thrust his arm between his neck and the sword, preventing his neck from being severed. However, his arm was nearly cut in half.

“Amaranth!”

At Keter’s shout, Amaranth, who had been dormant in his arm, materialized.

“Dracula.”

In response, Walt also called out the name of the Blood Sword, and Dracula instantly materialized.

Amaranth was very annoyed. He had appeared because Keter called him, but he had no intention of fighting.

Knowing Amaranth’s feelings, Keter made an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“Help me one last time. When this fight is over, I’ll grant you your freedom. I swear on my name.”

“Tch. That’s only if you’re still alive.”

“That’s why you need to fight harder.”

“If we win, Dracula is mine. Promise me that too.”

“I promise.”

Unlike Amaranth, who joined the battle through a contract, Dracula immediately extended his hand.

A crimson flash erupted from his hand.

The moment the flash appeared, Keter rolled to the side, but the crimson flash still tore through his clothes.

Amaranth also responded by reaching his hand toward the sky. A rain of Mana Arrows poured down.

The Mana Arrows, infused with the power of decay, were powerful enough to corrupt even the Land of Death. But since they didn’t distinguish between friend and foe, they attacked both Keter and Walt.

But this was Keter’s intended attack. Only then could he create distance from Walt.

Anticipating that Keter would retreat, Walt leaped back—

Thud!

Keter, instead of retreating, lunged forward and punched Walt’s head.

*

Keter, who had closed the distance instead of creating it.

It seemed like he had exploited Walt’s weakness, but that wasn’t the case. Walt had also anticipated that Keter would come forward instead of retreating.

But if his prediction was wrong, the distance between him and Keter would increase significantly. So Walt adopted a strategy that didn’t care whether Keter moved forward or backward.

If Keter charged forward, he would block and counterattack. That was the plan.

And as expected, Keter charged forward instead of retreating, and Walt was ready to counterattack—

“……?!”

Keter’s attack defied Walt’s expectations.

Walt had expected Keter to attack his vitals with arrows. If not arrows, then with the sword he often used in the past. But Keter’s attack was neither.

Not arrows or a sword, but a crude fist. And it wasn’t even a fist imbued with divine power. Just the raw strength of a human fist.

And he wasn’t even aiming for the face, but instead struck the top of the head. Like a light tap.

It wasn’t fatal at all. It didn’t even cause a hint of pain.

It was a very foolish move.

Keter had gambled on closing the distance. If he didn’t kill Walt in one strike, he would be the one to die. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If he missed this chance, Keter would never be able to defeat Walt.

But Keter’s attack was too sloppy. The damage to Walt’s body was practically zero.

Thanks to that, Walt’s Blood Sword had a choice. Whether to decapitate Keter or cut him in half.

But Walt’s Blood Sword didn’t move. No, Walt’s entire body froze.

The act of ‘punching the top of the head’ made him recall the past.

It was something Walt often did to Keter, the younger brother he cared for.

“Fools need to be hit.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to act recklessly?”

When disciplining his younger brothers, he often hit their heads. To make them think again. Keter had also been hit by Walt many times. Each time, Keter would whine and say:

“Don’t hit my head! It’ll make me stupid!”

Then Walt would chuckle and reply:

“I don’t see a head that could get any stupider.”

Despite their bickering, Walt and Keter were brothers who trusted and relied on each other.

“You fool!”

Thud!

Walt’s fist struck Keter’s abdomen hard.

“You should’ve killed me when I hesitated!”

Thud! Thud!

Walt, who had planted his Blood Sword in the ground, struck Keter’s face dozens of times. Keter didn’t defend himself and struck back, saying:

“And you’re the one throwing punches and acting crazy?”

It was a bit too violent to be called a brotherly fistfight. The ground cracked under their feet, and the shockwaves from their punches made the air tremble.

Crack!

The two men, who had been pummeling each other, simultaneously grabbed each other’s collars.

“It’s because you’re so weak-willed that I couldn’t trust you.”

Hearing the harsh words, Walt tripped Keter and pinned him down.

“Being weak isn’t a crime. Relying on someone stronger isn’t a crime!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Keter blocked Walt’s punches with both arms. Even though he blocked them, his entire body felt like it was breaking apart, but Keter stubbornly kept talking.

“Then you should’ve relied on me, not the Grand Duke.”

“……!”

Keter didn’t miss the moment Walt’s punches hesitated. He grabbed Walt’s wrist, twisted his body, and reversed their positions, then headbutted him.

Boom!

Though it was just two human heads colliding, it sounded like a drum exploding. A single headbutt left both their foreheads drenched in blood.

But Keter wasn’t satisfied with just one headbutt.

“I’m!”

Boom!

“Stronger than!”

Boom!

“The Grand Duke, damn it!”

Boom!

Keter’s headbutt, with his back fully arched, drove Walt’s head deep into the ground.

Twitch. Twitch.

Walt’s body trembled as his head remained buried in the ground. Keter stood up, gasping for breath.

Amaranth and Dracula were still fighting. But Dracula was gaining the upper hand. Of course. Amaranth was sealed, while Dracula had unleashed his full power.

It looked like Amaranth was struggling just to hold on. Keter, intending to help, reached out to Dracula but staggered, clutching his forehead.

His head was spinning.

His legs felt weak, as if they would give out.

His lungs felt like they were being stabbed by a knife…….

This wasn’t because of the fight with Walt.

“This is…….”

He hadn’t noticed it while fighting Walt, but by the time he sensed something was wrong, it was too late.

The acid rain falling from the sky grew heavier, and the poisonous gas rising from the ground became more toxic. The poison was so strong that it bypassed Keter’s natural poison resistance and even the Power of Adaptation, Logistics, affecting him.

And this was definitely not a ‘natural phenomenon.’

Thud. Thud.

In an environment worse than hell, the sound of footsteps quietly echoed. Amaranth and Dracula, who had been fighting fiercely, stopped.

Keter turned around.

There stood a woman. A woman in nun’s robes, with closed eyes. Her benevolent face looked like it could forgive any sin, but…….

“……!”

Keter’s entire body and soul warned him. The being before him was far more terrifying than he could imagine.

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