I’m the Madman of This Family

Chapter 389. I’m the Crazy One in This Country (2)

What should you do when you meet someone who introduces themselves as crazy?

Normally, the best course of action is to avoid them. But if you can’t avoid them, everyone makes the same choice.

Strike first, win first.

Keter was leaning against the wall, supporting himself with one leg.

On the other hand, Marquis Mejai had assumed the optimal stance to thrust his sword. The difference in speed that came from this was beyond imagination.

From the very beginning, Marquis Mejai aimed for Keter’s neck. He didn’t even entertain the thought of subduing him. It was because he could feel just how strong Keter was.

However, his judgment was wrong.

Clang!

“……?”

Marquis Mejai doubted his own eyes.

What was imbued in his sword was an ‘Aura Laser.’ A 6-star Grandmaster’s masterpiece that could even slice through Orichalcon, said to be the hardest material in this world.

Yet, it couldn’t cut Keter’s neck.

The sensation transmitted through the sword to his hand was something he had never felt in his life.

“How is this possible…….”

Crackle.

The veins in Marquis Mejai’s arm bulged. The sword aura from his blade intensified, but Keter simply looked at him with eyes that said, ‘Keep going.’

Shatter!

Marquis Mejai’s sword aura crumbled. The shockwave traveled through the sword, shattering it into pieces that fell to the ground.

Marquis Mejai alternated his gaze between the shattered sword pieces and Keter, taking a step back.

Keter wasn’t just crazy. He was an insanely strong crazy person.

Keter, who had risked his life countless times fighting Transcendent Beings and even survived battles against gods.

Moreover, the cultivation method he had learned, Survival of the Fittest, made him stronger the more he survived. Now, Keter had an invincible body that could ignore sword auras just by standing still.

Unless it was divine power wielded by Transcendent Beings or something of the same level as Ain, not even a scratch could be made on Keter’s skin.

Keter bent down and picked up the shattered sword pieces. Marquis Mejai swallowed nervously, his throat dry-

Crunch, crunch.

Keter put the sword pieces in his mouth and chewed them. As if they were candy.

“……!”

Marquis Mejai was shocked. He thought he had taken a step back, but now he was backed against the wall.

Marquis Mejai’s mental fortitude wasn’t weak enough to retreat just because he met someone stronger than himself. If he died fighting, so be it.

But Keter’s grotesqueness was beyond his comprehension. Keter, who didn’t resort to any violence, was even more terrifying to Marquis Mejai.

The climax was the moment Keter chewed the shattered sword like candy. That was when Marquis Mejai was truly overwhelmed by fear.

“I’m Keter of Sephira.”

A normal self-introduction after abnormal behavior. Marquis Mejai was already so overwhelmed by Keter that his voice trembled.

“S-Sephira? Keter?”

Marquis Mejai had never seen Keter before, but he had heard the name.

Keter, the Divine Archer of Sephira.

His tales were so famous that no one didn’t know of him.

“I heard you died ten years ago…….”

The honorifics came out naturally.

Keter accepted them just as naturally.

“As you can see, I’ve returned alive.”

Keter had no intention of explaining his story, so he quickly closed the distance to Marquis Mejai.

With nowhere left to retreat, Marquis Mejai barely managed to calm his trembling body and waited for Keter’s next words.

“And you have two choices.”

Swish.

Keter raised his fist.

Marquis Mejai was forced to imagine. What would happen if he was hit by that bare fist that could shatter sword auras?

“Will you obediently agree to my terms, or will you take a few hits and then decide?”

“Wh-what terms are you referring to?”

“Will you give Rukan a beating, or not?”

The choice of words was crude, but Marquis Mejai at least understood the intent. That’s why it made even less sense.

The World Alliance had suffered a crushing defeat, and the Demon King’s momentum was rising. This wasn’t something that happened yesterday, but just a few hours ago.

They needed to treat the massive number of casualties and also prepare countermeasures against the Chimera.

Even this was urgent, yet Keter was talking as if he was planning a second attack.

‘That’s suicide.’

Though it bore the grandiose name of the World Alliance, not every country’s main forces had gathered. Other countries had only sent a battalion or two at most.

Though Keter was terrifying, Marquis Mejai still had something to say.

“That’s a meaningless tactic. It’s not even a gamble that might work—it’s a tactic that’s doomed to fail. It’ll just get all our allies killed.”

“I know. And Rukan probably knows too.”

“……?!”

“That’s why I’m doing it.”

“If you have another tactic, I’ll listen. If it’s truly viable, the Mejai family will gladly follow the Sephira family.”

“Tactic? There isn’t one.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“Yeah. But that’s beside the point. There really is no tactic.”

“Then what’s the point of this?”

“You don’t need to know. Just make a choice. Will you obediently provide troops, or will you take a beating and then provide them?”

“I acknowledge that you’re strong. I probably can’t even scratch you. But I’m not so incompetent as to send thousands of allies to their deaths out of fear of death.”

“Yeah. I can see that. But you know what? People who aren’t afraid of death are more common than you think.”

Keter’s agreement made Marquis Mejai’s momentarily forgotten fear rush back. It was like seeing dark clouds and expecting rain.

“But here’s the thing. Even if you’re not afraid of death, you’re still afraid of a fist in your face.”

“V-violence won’t change anything.”

“Everyone says that at first.”

Keter rolled up his sleeves and advised.

“Don’t scream too loudly. The guys who hear your screams will get hit too, and what did they do to deserve that?”

It was a truly terrifying threat, but Marquis Mejai remained composed.

‘I’m the head of a swordsmanship family. Do you think I’d send my allies to their deaths just because of some pain?’

He had trained in swordsmanship since he was two years old and had been on the battlefield fighting enemies since he was seven. He lived with injuries every day, had his bones crushed, muscles torn, and even fought until parts of his body were severed.

He had even undergone torture resistance training, so Marquis Mejai was confident. No matter how much Keter hit him, his convictions would never break.

And so, three minutes later—

Three thousand troops from the Mejai family joined Sephira’s army.

*

‘Sephira is gathering an army. And their commander is Keter, the Divine Archer who went missing ten years ago.’

This rumor spread naturally, without anyone deliberately spreading it.

No one believed the rumor. But there was one person who believed it as soon as they heard it.

“Keter… That bastard is alive and back.”

In the audience chamber of the royal capital.

Rukan sat on the throne where Queen Lilian used to sit. Though he was called the Demon King, his appearance was nothing like a demon king.

No horns, no evil aura. Just an incredibly handsome man who could sway women’s hearts.

Ten years ago, with the help of the Grand Duke, he had been in a very unstable state, but now he was the complete opposite.

“Alkione. This isn’t what we agreed on.”

At Rukan’s muttering, a voice came from the shadows of the throne.

“What do you mean, it’s not what we agreed on?”

Alkione, who emerged from the shadows, looked extremely frail.

An old man even ten years ago, he now had a completely hunched back and needed a cane just to stand. His eyelids drooped so much that it was hard to tell if his eyes were open or closed.

Alkione looked so old that it wouldn’t be strange if he fell asleep today and never woke up tomorrow. Rukan was furious with him.

“You promised to take care of Keter for sure!”

Rukan stood up abruptly, and a gray aura emanated from his body. Though his appearance was fine, he had accepted a power that was neither good nor evil—the Power of Chaos.

Alkione stroked his thin beard and said.

“Yes. I did. That’s why you’ve come this far without any major crises, Your Highness.”

“You deceived me.”

“There must have been a difference in perspective. But does this really matter? Ten years ago, Your Highness, everything was uncertain. The Power of Chaos, your forces. But now it’s different. You have the support of the Evil Gods and the Malevolent Gods, and you’re dominating the world. Are you afraid of someone like Keter?”

Rukan knew Alkione was provoking him, but he still gave the answer Alkione wanted, driven by the anger boiling inside him.

“Even if there were hundreds, thousands of that bastard, it wouldn’t matter. I’m just annoyed that you deceived me.”

“Hehe, my apologies. This old body is so decrepit that I sometimes forget to explain things. But as a consolation, I can still ensure Keter is permanently removed, even now.”

“…Death is too light a punishment for that bastard. I’ll make sure he lives and suffers eternally.”

Rukan felt an unfamiliar emotion. Even when he achieved a great victory against the main forces of the World Alliance, he didn’t feel like laughing. No joy, no sadness upon hearing of his allies’ deaths.

But for some reason, just hearing Keter’s name reignited the spark of emotion.

‘Keter and I haven’t even known each other that long.’

They had only met a couple of times at most. So why did just thinking about Keter make him so angry… Rukan was curious.

‘The biggest obstacle in my life was clearly Rakan. But the one who annoyed me the most was Keter, whom I only met briefly.’

After getting involved with Keter, nothing went right, and troublesome things kept happening.

Though he held the title of prince and could do anything, the fact that he couldn’t deal with Keter and Sephira—that also irritated Rukan.

‘Why didn’t I kill him myself and instead asked the Grand Duke for help?’

Rukan blamed his past self. Instead of sending the Lord, if he had taken action himself, he would have surely killed Keter.

“Grand Duke. Where is Keter now?”

Rukan asked Alkione again, using honorifics. Alkione understood his intent and answered.

“The Chimera Legion is still unstable. Can you wait two more days?”

“No. I won’t leave important matters to others like before.”

“Are you saying… surely not?”

Alkione grabbed Rukan’s collar slightly, looking troubled-

Snap.

Rukan forcefully shook off his hand and said.

“I don’t need an army. I’ll go myself and bring back Keter’s limbs.”