I’m the Madman of This Family

Chapter 364. If It’s Twisted, Just Cut It (2)

From Sephira to Ruquer, it would take half a day even on horseback.

But for Keter, who could fly through the sky, 30 minutes was more than enough.

If he pushed himself, he could arrive in 5 minutes, but he didn’t. There was too much to think about.

Before leaving Sephira, the information about Ruquer he had heard from Inara was the reason.

“The rulers of the underground have come to the city. Because of that, most of the people of Ruquer have fled to avoid the monsters, and only fools remain.”

When he heard that, Keter felt a chill run down his spine.

Ruquer has an underground that is larger and deeper than the surface. And each level of the underground has its own environment. The first level is an endless desert, and the second level is a humid swamp where it rains all day.

Moreover, each level has a monster called a “Ruler”… and each one of them is a demi-god level monster.

The fortunate thing is that they can be reasoned with, and unless certain conditions are met, they won’t attack or even appear.

So, those who explored the underground could do so as long as they didn’t provoke the Rulers.

Of course, there were those who challenged the Rulers. While 7-Star Primes were rare on the surface of Ruquer, they weren’t so rare in the underground world.

For some reason, there were quite a few Primes in Ruquer’s underground. Why they didn’t come to the surface to rule is still a mystery to everyone.

In any case, all their challenges ended in failure. No one could defeat a Ruler.

In the underground world, the level number is a measure of strength. That is to say, the first level is the weakest, but even the weakest Ruler couldn’t be defeated by five 7-Star Primes.

Then, wouldn’t an 8-Star be able to win?

Everyone thought so, and someone actually tried it. Someone appeared who defeated the Ruler of the first level, the Sphinx.

But almost no one knows about that person. So, many believe it was the Grand Duke who challenged and won—

‘Actually, it was Master Cheonryeok who defeated him.’

No one knows his name, only calling him “Master Cheonryeok,” but he is truly a monster. He might even be able to go toe-to-toe with Kwonhwang in a fistfight.

Thus, Master Cheonryeok, who defeated Osiris, the Ruler of the first level, immediately challenged the Ruler of the second level.

And there has been no news since. Whether he won or lost.

Those who fought and died against Medusa, the Ruler of the second level, were all turned into stone statues and put on display, but there is no statue of Master Cheonryeok. That’s all.

‘Master Cheonryeok loves to boast, so if he had won, he definitely wouldn’t have stayed quiet.’

Even if he didn’t brag to others, it was Master Cheonryeok’s habit to display the bodies of the strong he defeated in a visible place as proof. That’s how everyone found out he had defeated the Sphinx.

‘I can’t even imagine Master Cheonryeok losing.’

Cheonryeok. A simple technique that unlocks and explodes human potential. Compared to the miraculous powers of the gods, it might seem insignificant, but it’s not.

With sheer strength, he can twist space. That’s what Master Cheonryeok can do. He can “grip space” and bend it, and with a single punch, shatter a meteor.

In the past, I thought it was all lies. That he had fought the Emperor of the Empire and survived.

But now, Keter, who has grown infinitely closer to 8-Stars, realized. Everything Master Cheonryeok said was true. His strength truly touched the realm of the gods.

That’s why it’s terrifying. Even Master Cheonryeok, estimated to be 8-Star, couldn’t definitively deal with the Ruler of the second level and disappeared.

Ruquer has seven levels. And that’s just the number of levels that have been “explored.” There are definitely more below.

‘No wonder the other races risked the Empire’s wrath to escape.’

In this world, the Empire is the strongest.

But the Rulers and monsters sleeping in Ruquer’s underground are just as strong.

The underground levels aren’t just home to the Rulers. There are monsters too, and they are almost on par with the monsters of the Demon Realm.

Inara said that now, there are more monsters than people on the streets of Ruquer. Almost everyone has left Ruquer to survive, but even those who remain aren’t banding together and are acting separately.

There were many things Keter was curious about, but he preferred to see and experience things for himself rather than hearing them from others. But even he couldn’t help but ask about one thing.

“Do you know what happened to the Mercenary Guild?”

“Sorry, the only factions I know are Stella’s ‘White Lotus Society,’ Marhan’s ‘Red Eye,’ and the ‘Infinite Bank.’”

Just because Inara didn’t know doesn’t mean they didn’t survive.

But if the only visible factions were those three, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the other factions were either nearly wiped out or had completely left Ruquer.

“…They’re probably alive. That damn old man.”

One-eyed Joyray. There’s no way he’s dead. He’s probably hiding somewhere, waiting for an opportunity.

The other mercenaries who fought alongside him may not be strong, but they’re experienced. They’re not the kind of people who can be killed just by a difference in strength.

There were also many people Keter wanted to meet.

Serena was dead. He had met Inara of the Fox Tribe, who was alive. He also wanted to meet High Elf Kadia. She had gone down to Ruquer’s underground too. All the way to the sixth level.

Ruquer’s underground is also called the Abyss. The deeper you go, the harder it is to come back up.

To put it metaphorically, it’s like a thorn embedded in the ceiling. Going down is easy because you don’t get caught on the thorn, but to go back up, you have to pierce through it.

The deeper you go, the more layers of thorns there are. For the first level, there’s one layer; for the second, five layers; and for the third, it suddenly jumps to twenty layers.

By the sixth level, there are a whopping 300 layers, so even a Prime can’t come back up unscathed.

But the fact that the monsters and Rulers of the underground have come to the surface means that those restrictions have disappeared—so those who went underground might have come back to the surface too.

‘Will I be able to meet them?’

Master Cheonryeok.

Chimera Physician Franken.

Bomber Ragnon.

High Elf Kadia…….

Keter, lost in thought, suddenly stopped mid-air.

“So that’s how it is.”

Keter didn’t stop because of his thoughts. It was because of the fog of Ruquer right in front of him. He was still “5 minutes” away from reaching Ruquer.

Was he mistaken? About the distance? Keter didn’t think so, but he still looked around. Then he shook his head.

“The fog has expanded.”

It wasn’t just a few meters. It had expanded by hundreds of meters. At this rate, it would reach Sephira within a year.

“They said the monsters of Ruquer can’t leave the fog of Ruquer.”

Another annoying thing to deal with. Keter rubbed his forehead.

“I don’t want to know, so why do you keep telling me?”

The only silver lining was that he had business in Ruquer anyway.

“Might as well take care of it.”

He wasn’t sure if it was possible. But if he left it like this, the fog would swallow Sephira.

“Do you know how much time and money I’ve invested in Sephira? I can’t let it go to waste.”

At the very least, I need to break even. Keter muttered to himself as he entered the fog of Ruquer.

*

The moment Keter entered Ruquer—

Someone immediately realized it.

An old man looking up at the starry night sky. Grand Duke Alkione stroked the head of the cat in his arms and muttered.

“I clearly warned him not to come back… but he didn’t listen, as expected.”

Swish.

Alkione took a ring out of his pocket. Surprisingly, it was exactly the same as the ring Keter was wearing.

The ring Akra had left for Keter. The ring that allowed free passage in and out of Ruquer.

He whispered to the ring.

“Akra. As you know, Keter has returned to Ruquer. According to the contract… and now, I have no obligation to protect him.”

Then, a woman’s voice flowed from the ring. It was Akra.

“According to the contract with Nipur, you cannot harm Keter.”

“Hahaha. When did I say I would attack Keter? I just said I can’t protect him. Keep that in mind.”

“Leave Keter alone. He’s still useful.”

“What use? As a reserve Pioneer, or as a candidate for Demon King?”

When the Grand Duke spoke as if he knew everything, Akra fell silent.

“Akra. You gave me the power and wisdom to devour this world. In return, you asked me to protect a few individuals, but did you think I wouldn’t realize it was a trick?”

“You knew, didn’t you? But at that time, you knew, and I didn’t force you.”

“I’m not blaming you. I just realized what your scheme was. But I wonder. Why would a god like you do such a thing.”

“…….”

“Perhaps you predicted this moment too. I can see the future, but you ‘experience’ it. Truly a god-like ability.”

Crack.

Alkione, who had been peacefully continuing the conversation, suddenly crushed the ring.

The communication was cut off. But Alkione still looked up at the sky and muttered.

“Did you see this far? Or will you turn back time like last time?”

There was no answer.

But Alkione smiled.

“You’ll use me as the villain to unify the world under the pretext of defeating me. I’ve reached that far, but I don’t know what it’s for. Even if you’re a god who loves humans… does it have meaning?”

Still, there was no answer.

Alkione shook his head.

“It’s the same for both sides. From the humans’ perspective, they wouldn’t understand me. That I would overturn this world for the sake of freedom.”

“That’s sophistry.”

Akra’s voice came through the cat he was holding.

Alkione, who had grabbed the cat’s head with both hands, gently stroked it and asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You can still be free now. Yet you say you want freedom.”

“Haha, I know. That I can gain freedom by ‘giving up’ everything. But I guess you don’t understand, being a god.”

Crunch. Grind.

Teeth sprouted from Alkione’s palms, and in the blink of an eye, he devoured the cat.

“True freedom is having power without responsibility.”

Swish.

Alkione looked to the side. It was a desolate plain with nothing, but in the direction of his gaze was Ruquer.

“Keter. You’ll understand me, won’t you?”

For some reason, Alkione had a sad expression.

“But Keter. You and I, one of us must die. That is our destiny.”

And Alkione was certain it wouldn’t be him.

---