SWNOVELXO Chapter 336
Chapter 337. The Enemy of My Enemy is My Ally (3)
The Second Prince, Rakan, tried countless times to kill Keter, but all attempts failed, and he realized:
“I thought it was all luck, but that guy always leaves himself a way out.”
To kill Keter, one must acknowledge and understand Keter.
Rakan gave a serious order.
“Just enough to kill him won’t work. You must approach with the mindset of killing him not once, but twice.”
Rakan ordered Dayal, a lord who followed him, to kill Keter when the opportunity arose.
At the same time, he gave a special mission to Dust, an elder of the Marquis Ruvan family, a renowned swordsmanship family in the Southern Region.
“If Dayal spares Keter, you must finish him. If you also spare Keter, the Marquis Ruvan family will be considered traitors like Sephira.”
Though Dayal and Keter had no connection, Rakan somehow felt that Dayal would spare Keter.
And that prediction turned out to be accurate. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t sparing but winning a bet, but Keter survived nonetheless.
However, just as Rakan’s second plan was about to decisively cut off Keter’s breath—
Whoosh.
“…?!”
The sword of the gale suddenly slowed down and then stopped completely. Dust felt as if an invisible hand had tightly gripped his sword and wouldn’t let go.
‘This isn’t the work of the Divine Archer. There’s a third party.’
He didn’t know the principle or who was behind it, but Dust decided not to worry about it.
‘I will protect the Marquis Ruvan family.’
If Keter isn’t killed, the Marquis Ruvan family will fall. Unlike Dayal, Dust had an absolute reason to kill Keter.
Dust’s hair and clothes began to flutter. Even though there was no wind.
Authority manifestation.
Wind Demon Unity ? Palms Together.
A headwind blew in front of Dust, while a tailwind blew behind him.
This wasn’t just wind. It was a gale strong enough to uproot even a sturdy mansion.
A whirlwind formed around Dust’s body, where the headwind and tailwind met, sweeping everything into the sky.
This wasn’t the end. Dust infused the wind manifested by his authority into his sword.
Linked technique.
Wind Demon Unity ? Demon Wind.
The fusion of authority and swordsmanship.
Dust was confident that this would pierce through the silent barrier protecting Keter.
Then, a woman’s voice was heard.
“Don’t you think you should take it easy?”
Her voice was clear even amidst the roaring wind. Dust knew whose voice it was. It was unmistakable.
“Kro—”
But before he could finish calling her name, his entire body froze. Not just his body, even the wind froze.
The Mage of Time and Lord of the West, Krona.
Her signature magic, ‘Eternal,’ had engulfed the surrounding area.
At Sephira’s party venue, only one person was trapped in Eternal, but if she wished, she could trap an entire city in an ‘infinite time zone.’
Sizzle.
A spatial zipper opened, and a woman walked out. It was Krona, wearing a witch’s hat symbolizing a mage and a dress that revealed her bare legs.
And behind Krona, for some reason, was an exhausted Daat.
Krona spoke to Keter, who was frozen in Eternal.
“Huhu. No need to pretend to be caught in Eternal. My cute elephant told me about your authority.”
At her words, Keter stopped pretending and nodded slightly in greeting.
The Lord of the West, Krona, had saved Keter.
Dust couldn’t understand the current situation.
‘Why on earth?’
Trapped in Eternal, he could only think, unable to move his body.
‘Damn it… Me, the Marquis Ruvan’s gale, unable to move a single finger.’
Dust had been a Prime for over 20 years. Since becoming a Prime, he had no rivals, and he had even thought to himself:
– Even if I fought a Lord, I wouldn’t lose pathetically.
But that was a delusion. He had been subdued by a single spell from Krona.
There wasn’t even an excuse. He hadn’t been ambushed, and he had also used his ‘authority.’
“Keter. Why do you think I saved you?”
Krona asked Keter. Keter couldn’t answer, but he could make eye gestures.
Keter glanced at Maknun.
Krona covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.
“Yes, that’s right. Thanks to Daat. But that’s not all. Because the Crown Prince also wants you alive.”
Dust, who was listening to all this, was shocked. Why would the Crown Prince want Keter alive?
At this point, Dust was mistaken. He thought it was ‘natural’ to hear Krona’s voice.
But in reality, being trapped in Eternal means being cut off from the world. No sound should be heard at all.
This meant that Krona was deliberately letting Dust hear her voice.
Krona continued speaking, whether Keter responded or not.
“Sephira, who accepted external forces, is strong. But their focal point is you, right? If you die, Sephira will falter. It will become a situation where it could collapse at any moment. If Sephira actually collapses, ultimately, Rakan will take over the Southern Region…”
“Crown Prince Rukan doesn’t want that. He wants you and Sephira to survive a bit longer to keep Rakan in check…”
“Thankful? So thankful you could die? You can lick my toes to show your gratitude.”
Keter ignored the last remark and fell into thought.
‘Rukan, that guy wants me alive? What kind of trick is this?’
He was saved to keep Rakan in check.
At first glance, it seems logical, but it’s nonsense.
Of course, Maknun spilled the beans and persuaded Krona, and Krona persuaded the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince’s intentions in allowing it are strange.
‘Rukan, that bastard would never do that.’
He’s preparing something. That was Keter’s conclusion.
‘Unnecessarily earnest. Just take it easy.’
Rakan is preparing something, and it’s not to be taken lightly. Keter knew. A greater danger than Eslow, who could only be subdued after setting countless traps, awaited.
‘Well, I actually like it.’
Keter likes easy wins, but he hates half-hearted victories.
Rather than a mediocre opponent, a strong enemy is better.
“Brother. I’ll take responsibility from here.”
Maknun stood by Keter’s side.
Krona puffed her cheeks and said.
“Hmph. So, you’re done with me now, huh? Men, I swear.”
“That’s not it. You know Brother Keter is on the verge of death, right?”
“If I saved him from being killed by that guy, that’s the end of it. I don’t have to care about his injuries.”
“Don’t say that… I’ll come see you again next week.”
“…Next week when?”
“Friday.”
“Come on Thursday.”
Krona drew a line downward with her finger, creating a portal. Only she could create a portal inside Eternal.
Through the portal, Sephira’s mansion was visible. And so, Keter safely returned to Sephira.
Not long after, news spread throughout the kingdom that the traitor Eslow had been executed.
The Lord’s private treatment room.
Hisop paced in front of the door, and when a doctor came out, he quickly asked.
“How is he?”
The doctor shook his head silently.
He was one of the top talents in the medical group, the Cross Association.
“Is there no hope?”
“No. Prince Keter has fallen into a kind of coma. He’s neither dead nor alive.”
“When will he wake up?”
“Only God knows.”
The doctor indirectly hinted that he might never wake up.
Hisop clenched his teeth and asked.
“Is there a treatment?”
“A coma isn’t a disease. It’s a problem inside the head, the brain. And brain treatment is impossible with current medical techniques. So, watching over him is the best we can do.”
“…”
“There’s no problem with contact. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
As soon as the doctor left, Hisop entered the room. The strong smell of medicinal herbs hit his nose.
Maknun, who had been reading a book by Keter’s side, closed the book upon seeing Hisop.
“Ah, you’re here?”
His face was calm.
Hisop couldn’t understand. There was no trace of sadness in Daat.
Feeling secretly angry, Hisop ignored Daat’s greeting and approached Keter.
Keter lay as if dead. His body seemed fine, except for the slightly different skin color on his right arm.
“Keter. You’re messing with me again, aren’t you?”
Hisop forced a smile, but Keter remained silent.
“When you went to the royal palace, I know you tried to pull a prank about going blind. Are you pretending to be dead again like that time?”
“Lord. This time, it’s not an act. It’s real.”
Daat spoke from the side, but Hisop didn’t believe it.
“Then why are you so calm?”
“Well, I know he’ll wake up.”
“The doctor said it’s a coma.”
“That’s true, but he’ll wake up eventually.”
“So, you don’t know when he’ll wake up either.”
“That’s right?”
“…Leave me alone for a while.”
Hisop was annoyed by Daat’s nonchalant attitude. So, he sent Daat out and sat by Keter’s side.
Hisop reached out his hand, hesitated for a moment, then pinched Keter’s cheek.
It was cold. Like a corpse.
If you didn’t look closely, it seemed like he wasn’t even breathing, but if you put your finger under his nose, you could feel a very faint breath.
“If you don’t wake up, I’ll play a prank on you too.”
Hisop had never played a prank in his life. As the eldest son, he had to take responsibility for the family. He started receiving Lord’s training as soon as he could speak.
The only pranks he knew were pulling cheeks or twisting hair.
“Haha, I don’t even know how to play pranks. I should learn from you.”
Hisop just sat there, quietly watching Keter. If he stayed still and quiet, maybe Keter would open his eyes, thinking he had left.
But after 10 minutes, an hour, Keter didn’t move.
Then, the door opened, and Daat entered.
“Lord. You should come out now.”
“No. I’ll wait here until Keter opens his eyes.”
“That’s a cool line, but waiting only makes sense if the Sephira family remains intact, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“News has come that the princes have started a second conscription. They’re forcibly conscripting even boys who aren’t adults.”
“…!”
“If that were all, it would be fine. The real problem is the Southern swordsmanship families.”
There are two renowned swordsmanship families in the South.
Garcia and the Marquis Ruvan family.
“Whether they know about Brother Keter’s condition or it’s the princes’ orders, those two are now stationed at Sephira’s border.”
As Daat said, Eslow was a safety measure.
The princes couldn’t recklessly send a large army to the South because Eslow acted independently, defying their orders.
But with Eslow gone, the princes no longer held back. Eslow wasn’t just a stumbling block for Sephira.
Hearing Daat’s words, Hisop realized he had made a big mistake. The mistake of thinking that just killing Eslow would pacify the South.
The war was just beginning.