I’m the Madman of This Family

Chapter 354. Who’s the Crazier One? (7)

It only took 10 minutes to extract information from the Demon Realm Tamer.

But in the end, Keter didn’t get any satisfactory information. It wasn’t that the Demon Realm Tamer didn’t know anything—it was that he knew too much, which was the problem.

“When I wake up in the morning, I bow toward the northern region where Crown Prince Rukan resides and shout ‘Long live the Crown Prince’ seven times. Only with such loyalty can the monsters obey.”

“This is a flute made from my finger bones. If I don’t supply it with fresh blood every day, I can’t control the monsters.”

“Pregnant women, children, and families must be fed to the monsters for it to work.”

There were nearly 100 conditions required to tame monsters. And this tamer genuinely believed in them.

But to Keter, those methods had absolutely nothing to do with taming monsters.

‘The monsters of the Demon Realm aren’t beasts. Some are even smarter than humans. If such insane, cult-like methods could control them, the Monster Cult would’ve flourished long ago.’

In the end, capturing a monster tamer and extracting information was pointless. That was Keter’s conclusion.

‘As expected of the Grand Duke. If captured monster tamers spread such false information, it could cause confusion, and following these methods could damage public sentiment. Two birds with one stone.’

Then how on earth does Rukan control the monsters?

Keter believed the mistake started there.

“It’s not control—it’s a contract.”

Changing his perspective made it easy to deduce the answer.

“In the end, there’s no way to stop the monsters.”

If he’s commanding the monsters of the Demon Realm through a ‘contract,’ there’s no specific countermeasure. You just have to fight them.

At that moment, Keter placed his palm on the ground. He felt a faint vibration through the earth.

“It’s about time they return.”

The four monsters the Demon Realm Tamer had brought with him were returning.

In this situation, it would be common sense to leave, but Keter did something strange.

Fumbling around.

He swapped clothes with the Demon Realm Tamer and used a transformation technique to make his face resemble the tamer’s.

Of course, up close, it looked absurdly different, but from a distance, it was convincing.

This was because, aside from information about the monsters, he had also heard from the tamer that Rukan was coming.

“If he doesn’t show up, fine, but if he does, I’ll gladly play along.”

Soon, the monsters arrived.

“No matter how many times I see them, their appearance is just appetite-killing.”

Communication with the monsters was impossible. The moment they saw Keter, they attacked. Unpredictable, grotesque assaults came from all directions—but Keter dodged as if he knew everything and began to dominate the monsters.

*

Crown Prince Rukan always had at least 100 guards wherever he went. His security was so tight that even a 7-Star Prime was always assigned as a guard.

But now, he arrived at the villa where Keter was, accompanied only by his advisor, Darian.

Darian frowned as he surveyed the scene.

“I clearly ordered them to capture him alive…”

The villa was in ruins, with six corpses lying around.

Four of them were monster corpses, and the other two were human. One of the humans was easily identifiable by his Demon Realm Tamer outfit, and the other was obvious.

Keter, who had come to meet Rukan, was dead.

“What an incredible man. To take down four Demon Realm monsters without even the advantage of a bow… Now I understand why he’s called the Divine Archer.”

“…….”

Rukan tried to approach the scene without a word, but Darian stopped him.

“Your Highness. It’s unlikely, but just in case, let me check first.”

The loyal Darian bravely stepped forward to inspect the corpses.

“Ugh…”

The state of the corpses was horrifying. The stench was overwhelming, but amidst it, Darian confirmed the corpse presumed to be Keter.

The face was too mangled to identify, but he believed it was Keter because of the handsome features. There were no handsome men among the Demon Realm Tamers—they were all ugly.

There was no need to confirm Keter’s survival. His chest was wide open, and his heart was missing. Monsters particularly loved human hearts, so Keter must have been killed by having his heart eaten.

There was also no need to confirm the Demon Realm Tamer’s survival. The pool of blood beneath his corpse alone indicated a fatal amount of blood loss.

“Your Highness. There are no survivors here.”

“…Step aside.”

Rukan extended his finger toward Keter’s corpse. Then, tentacles sprouted from his shadow and wrapped around the corpse.

“This isn’t Keter.”

Squelch!

Before Darian could react, Rukan fired a tentacle at the corpse lying in the pool of blood—

Whoosh, bang!

The presumed-dead Demon Realm Tamer rolled away, dodging the tentacle. Rukan muttered with a knowing expression.

“You wouldn’t die so easily, Keter.”

Keter, who had been pretending to be dead in the Demon Realm Tamer’s outfit, wiped the blood off his face and replied.

“This is why fame is such a hassle.”

Keter’s figure vanished. A movement so fast it left no afterimage. Rukan wrapped himself in tentacles—but Keter wasn’t aiming for Rukan.

“Guh!”

Keter grabbed Darian’s neck as he tried to escape and pinned him down, licking his lips.

“Kukuku.”

Keter only laughed wickedly without saying a word.

Darian immediately tried to swallow the poison hidden in his mouth to commit suicide, but Keter shoved his fingers into Darian’s mouth.

“Can’t let a valuable hostage die.”

“…….”

“Your Highness. If this is someone you’ve chosen to walk the path of monsters with, he must be someone you care deeply about, right?”

Keter’s face, holding Darian by the neck, was utterly wicked.

Rukan, despite his trusted subordinate being taken hostage, replied with an indifferent expression.

“Darian is a loyal servant who grew up with me. He’s always been by my side, a grateful presence.”

“What should you do if you don’t want such a grateful presence to die? Let’s start simple. Get on your knees.”

Keter delivered the villain’s line without hesitation. Darian struggled and shouted.

“You despicable scum! How can you call yourself the Divine Archer of the Southern Region? Aren’t you ashamed of Sephira’s name?”

“I’m ashamed, so let’s not drag this out—”

Whoosh!

Keter, mid-sentence, hastily threw Darian backward.

Even if he hadn’t struggled much, why would he throw away a hostage he had luckily captured?

Drip.

Blood flowed from Keter’s cheek. Rukan’s tentacle had grazed him.

But the tentacle wasn’t aimed at Keter. It was aimed at Darian, the hostage. In other words, Rukan had tried to kill Darian, and Keter had thrown him back to save him.

“Your Highness. Did you miss your aim? You almost killed your loyal servant.”

Though he said that, Keter knew. Rukan hadn’t missed. He had aimed precisely at Darian.

“Even if I made a mistake, why did you save Darian?”

“Because he’s my hostage. You can’t kill him without my permission.”

“Then try keeping him alive.”

Squelch!

A barrage of tentacles erupted from Rukan’s shadow. The tentacles were like octopus arms, but harder, lighter, and faster than anything in this world.

As the tentacles closed in on him, Darian saw his life flash before his eyes.

He had shared countless life-and-death moments with Rukan. He had heard words of gratitude from him. For being by his side.

And yet, that same person was now doing his utmost to kill him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Crash!

Keter, who had taken him hostage, fired arrows with all his might to save him and even used his body to block the tentacles.

Thud, squelch!

Rukan’s tentacles were strong. No matter how tough Keter was, his body was easily torn apart.

He avoided fatal injuries, but sweat beaded on Keter’s forehead as he faced the tentacles.

‘This is dangerous.’

Keter had guessed that Rukan, while controlling monsters, had become a monster himself. So even seeing him standing on two legs, he thought it made sense.

When the tentacles appeared, he thought, ‘As I expected,’ and didn’t feel any sense of danger.

But after taking a direct hit from the tentacles, his perspective changed.

‘Each strike is heavier than Kwonhwang’s Clear Sky Thunder Fist. And yet, they’re as fast as my arrows.’

Rukan’s tentacles were so dangerous that a single mistake could cost him his life.

‘Grand Duke. You’ve created a terrifying monster.’

This couldn’t possibly be Rukan’s latent potential. It had to be the Grand Duke’s doing.

‘But I’m no pushover either.’

He had called Rukan under the pretext of a conversation.

But Rukan seemed more interested in fighting than talking. In this situation, logic wasn’t needed—strength was.

Celestial Infinity Technique, 5th Form: Kaleidoscope ? Extreme.

He scattered about 50 kaleidoscope crystals. The kaleidoscope was mainly used to assist attacks, but it was also excellent for defense. When it came to ‘deflecting’ projectiles, it was second to none.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The trajectory of the tentacles was altered by the kaleidoscope.

But the kaleidoscope crystals cracked after just one hit.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The number of Rukan’s tentacles increased. Not just one or two, but over 100 at once.

It surpassed the kaleidoscope’s limit of reflection. But Keter hadn’t planned to block the tentacles with just the kaleidoscope. He had only used it to buy time.

Celestial Infinity Technique, 8th Form: Tachyon ? Chain.

He fired Tachyon, an arrow boasting extreme speed, toward Rukan’s forehead.

But an invisible barrier around Rukan’s body caused the arrow to dissipate in mid-air without touching his skin.

But Keter wasn’t aiming for Rukan’s life. Connected to Tachyon by a thread, Keter pierced through the tentacles and reached right in front of Rukan—

Whoosh.

He pulled his right arm back and thrust it forward. This is what the world calls a punch.

Rukan was dumbfounded. Even with his Authority, a mere punch?

“Die.”

He indifferently sentenced Keter to death.

There was no need to block Keter’s punch. The ‘unknown barrier’ protecting his body was so sturdy that nothing short of Authority-level power could break through.

But the unknown barrier he trusted couldn’t stop Keter’s punch. It didn’t break. It was as if it didn’t exist at all.

The power of Eslow’s Prosthetic Arm—Authority Nullification.

“……!”

“Bite down hard.”

Crash!

Keter’s solid fist landed squarely on Rukan’s face.

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