SWNOVELXO Chapter 360
Chapter 361. What You See Is All There Is (4)
Pioneers inevitably leave a significant mark on history. And in the process, they inevitably provoke wars.
Daat understood everything, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t picture it. A war on the scale of the Dragon-God War or the Divine-Demon War, all because of Keter.
“If I exaggerate a bit, you could say Keter hyungnim led this war too.”
Of course, the starting point of the Lilian Kingdom’s civil war wasn’t Keter. It was the princes fighting for the throne. But Keter did have a significant influence.
Puga’s body leaned forward. Given his size, he was now close enough for his breath to reach Daat.
“Are you serious about Keter leading this war?”
The other beastmen also widened their eyes, staring at Daat. Daat gripped his chair and took a step back.
“Not leading, but he did have an influence.”
The beastmen began to murmur. Daat also felt something rising within him.
‘Hyungnim, because of his past life, was determined to settle things with Queen Lilian.’
In his past life, Queen Lilian not only destroyed Sephira but also tried to kill Keter to eliminate the threat.
But Keter returned, and to prevent history from repeating and to seek revenge, he decided to end things with Queen Lilian.
Was that the great war of the Pioneer?
On par with the Dragon-God War and the Divine-Demon War?
‘The scale seems too different.’
Daat decided to test his doubts.
“Keter hyungnim will kill Queen Lilian. If he doesn’t, Sephira will forever be in turmoil. Could this be the great war?”
His words were answered not by Puga, but by Inara.
“Daat. Listening to your story, I’m starting to understand the discomfort I felt in Ruquer. Maybe Keter isn’t the Pioneer.”
“Why?”
“I was looking for a way to leave Ruquer without going through the Grand Duke. That way, I could protect Keter from the Grand Duke. But Keter left Ruquer without the Grand Duke’s help. If Keter were the Pioneer, the Grand Duke would never have let him go.”
“The Grand Duke didn’t completely let go of Keter hyungnim. Ultima’s backing is the Grand Duke.”
“I know. But that level of interference can be seen as just keeping a troublesome entity in check. The Grand Duke isn’t careless.”
“That’s true… but should I be happy? That Keter hyungnim isn’t the Pioneer?”
“Hmm. But the Keter I know… might still start a great war.”
Daat didn’t want to agree, but his head nodded on its own.
“He’s the type to create events if there aren’t any. But even so, he wouldn’t do something on the scale of the Divine-Demon War.”
The Keter of Ruquer might have. But the Keter of Sephira wouldn’t.
Daat was sure of that. In Ruquer, it was ‘if things go wrong, I’ll just die alone,’ but now, Sephira would definitely be dragged into it.
Inara, still unsure, muttered with a wavering gaze.
“But Keter is definitely the Pioneer…”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Our Fox Tribe can tell by tasting.”
“Tasting what?”
“There’s something like that.”
Silence again.
Daat was also puzzled, his mind a mess, but one thing was clear.
“Let’s figure that out later. What I want to ask is this: Do you all want to live in Sephira?”
Somehow, the conversation had veered off track, but Daat had come to deal with the trouble they were causing in Sephira.
Inara nodded.
“Yes. I wish Sephira would accept us. Let us live here.”
“That’s a pretty unreasonable demand for Sephira, you know?”
The Seven Evil Tribes are still being hunted by the Emperor. To ordinary people, they’re like living treasures, a shortcut to rising in status.
Kai, the Special Operations Unit leader, tolerated Keter hiding one of the Seven Evil Tribes because there was a corresponding benefit.
But that was possible with just one. Now there are five. Maybe even more.
No one, not even Sephira, could protect five of the Seven Evil Tribes.
“We’re not asking Sephira to sacrifice. We’re proposing a deal.”
“No amount of money can protect you from the Empire.”
“We don’t need protection. We just need to not get caught.”
“Hiding in tunnels won’t escape the Empire’s eyes. There’s already an Empire Special Operations Unit in Sephira. You might already be caught.”
“Even if we’re caught, it doesn’t matter. Like I said earlier, they won’t be able to find us.”
“Why?”
“The fog of Ruquer. We can recreate it.”
The fog of Ruquer. A barrier that’s easy to enter but impossible to leave.
But such effects can be replicated with magic or spells. The key is making it so even Transcendent Beings can’t escape.
Daat gave a look asking if that was possible, and Inara confidently nodded.
“We failed to break through the fog of Ruquer. But through research, we succeeded in replicating it… and we can control it.”
As a mage, Daat was curious how they replicated the fog of Ruquer, but there was no time to digress.
“So you want to create a second Ruquer underground in Sephira and live there. What can you offer Sephira in return?”
“First, I’ll tell you how to create the fog of Ruquer. That’s the first thing. Second, our help. We’ll accept payment, but we won’t make unreasonable demands.”
“We’ll thoroughly verify if you’ve truly replicated the fog of Ruquer.”
“Of course.”
“Is that it?”
“What more do you need?”
“This is about making enemies with the Empire. Of course, it’s not enough.”
“That’s unexpected. Hold on.”
While Inara took time to strategize, Daat chewed his nails.
‘It’s not that it’s slow. I’m just getting impatient.’
With Keter’s condition so bad, Daat wanted to hurry and check on him as soon as possible.
“How much longer?”
At Daat’s urging, the Flame Dog Tribe, who had been arguing, grumbled.
“Short-lived species, always in a hurry.”
“You damn-”
Thwack!
Suddenly, a spark flew from the Flame Dog Tribe’s forehead, and he fell backward.
“-bastard.”
Someone finished Daat’s sentence.
Hearing that voice, Daat’s expression instantly relaxed, and as he turned around, a smile naturally formed on his lips.
“Hyungnim!”
At Keter’s appearance, the relaxed beastmen’s fur stood on end.
In Ruquer, showing weakness is taboo. It’s like advertising your own vulnerability.
So, you never ask things like “Are you okay?” Both the asker and the answerer are seen as weak.
“Hyungnim, are you okay?”
But Daat asked Keter’s condition without hesitation.
“The urgent fire is out.”
Keter’s hand rested not on Daat’s head, but on his shoulder.
Daat tactfully stepped back.
Even without expression, it was clear.
Keter was angry.
“Keter.”
Inara called Keter, swishing her tail. Just calling his name filled the room with an overwhelming charm. Hundreds of times stronger than when she had charmed Daat.
Moreover, this charm worked doubly on those she had directly interacted with.
Keter, who had once been so deeply entangled in Inara’s skirts, would be even more affected.
Glance.
But Keter looked at Inara with annoyance.
“You’re still at it.”
“Why? Do you know how long I’ve waited for you, how much I wanted to see you?”
Inara coquettishly twisted her body.
Even the other beastmen were struggling under her allure, but Keter subdued her with a single sentence.
“I’ll never touch your tail again?”
“…!”
Thud.
Hearing that, Inara quickly backed up against the wall and slumped down.
Seeing this, Puga asked in surprise.
“Was that a spell? What did you do to Inara?”
Though the question was directed at Keter, it was Inara who shouted.
“Stop it. Don’t drag me into this. K-Keter? I did as you said, right?”
“Ah, no, why is it like this?”
Despite Inara’s light demeanor, she was a nine-tailed fox, a divine being.
Even with seven tails, Inara was a semi-divine being. Her mental and combat strength were among the top five in the Beastman Tribe.
Yet, she showed weakness to Keter. No, she outright submitted.
Keter clicked his tongue, looking around at the gathered beastmen.
“Your necks are stiff. Judging by the atmosphere, it seems you came to Sephira to freeload.”
Not all beastmen interact with humans. Inara and Puga were somewhat sociable.
The others, however, were not. Unsurprisingly, Keter’s provocation made the rest bare their teeth and claws, showing displeasure.
“Really, wild animals, aren’t they? No manners.”
Puga quickly intervened as tensions rose.
“Lord Keter. Please hear us out.”
The Tian-ox Tribe, capable of arm-wrestling giants, spoke with force. Even the notoriously ill-tempered Flame Dog Tribe shrank back—but Keter was unfazed.
“Hear you out? No. You should beg. Please accept us. We’ll give everything we have. Even that might not be enough, so what’s with this attitude?”
Crack.
Keter grabbed the round table with one hand and lifted it.
Whoosh, crash!
“I don’t get why beast brats are pretending to be human.”
Beast. The word most insulting to beastmen. Even the gentle Puga warned.
“Lord Keter. Please stop calling us beasts and apologize.”
“Just because you can talk, does that make you human? No. Communication makes you human. I can’t communicate with you. Do you know what’s needed to talk to beasts?”
Keter reached behind him. Maknun naturally pulled a stick from subspace and handed it to him.
Whack!
As soon as he got the stick, Keter struck Puga’s jaw.
Puga noticed Keter’s attack and could have defended, but he chose not to dodge or block.
‘Human strength can’t hurt me.’
Keter attacked with pure strength, so Puga thought he’d show off the Tian-ox Tribe’s toughness and power.
But as Puga’s massive body slightly lifted—
Crash!
Puga’s legs gave out, and he fell backward, hitting his head. His eyes were open, but unfocused.
“Nice hit.”
Creak, creak.
Keter straightened the bent stick with sheer strength and looked at the remaining beastmen.
“Short and painful, or long and painful?”
As soon as Puga fell, the Flame Dog Tribe charged at Keter, flames covering his body.
Unlike Puga, the Flame Dog Tribe, already hostile to humans, was ready to kill Keter—
Bang!
“Yelp!”
A single blow to the head made him let out a beastly cry.
Thud, thud, thud!*
Followed by relentless beatings.
The other beastmen, for various reasons, charged at Keter. To protect the Flame Dog Tribe, out of competitiveness, or anger.
Keter smiled at their attacks.
“That’s right, beast brats settle hierarchy by fighting!”
A 5 vs. 1 melee.
All the beastmen were at least Grandmaster-level, some Prime-level, but Keter’s ruthless, unconventional attacks left them disoriented.
Headbutts, eye pokes, even groin strikes—nothing was off-limits. He even took hostages.
“Ah.”
Inara watched the scene with a fascinated expression.
Daat also sighed in relief. Finally, the Keter he knew had returned.