I’m the Madman of This Family

Chapter 365. If It’s Tangled, Just Cut It (3)

The heart of Ruquer.

The once bustling streets are now eerily silent. The streets that were once filled with curses and the sounds of fighting are now roamed by monsters.

Clatter.

These monsters were no mere beasts.

They searched the buildings with their snouts and arms, rolling their eyes and sniffing around to see if there were any surviving humans or hidden spaces.

Squeak!

Thud!

One of the monsters searching a tavern seemed to have failed, as it threw some debris aside and turned back.

Thud, thud, thud.

The monster’s footsteps were so loud that you could feel them fading away in real time.

Eventually, as the sound of those heavy footsteps faded into the distance—

Creak.

A hidden space in the ceiling opened, and a man poked his head out.

He was extremely thin. It was no wonder, as the monsters had devoured all the food and ingredients meant for humans. In other words, the surviving humans in Ruquer were now in a situation where they had to worry about food as well.

This man, who had hidden in the tavern, had risked his life to come here in search of food.

Perhaps he was the type of person who was used to such situations, as his stealth skills weren’t bad at all. He had managed to avoid the monsters’ keen sense of smell and perception.

But there was one thing he had overlooked.

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

A bat-like monster clinging to the ceiling grabbed the man’s head with its large claws. There wasn’t just one monster.

The monster with the loud footsteps had pretended to leave, while the bat monster, capable of hiding its presence, waited.

The man, caught in the coordination of the two monsters, sighed and didn’t fight back. His head was already caught, and resisting would only lead to being toyed with by the monsters.

‘At the very least, I won’t become your plaything.’

With that, the man tried to commit suicide by stabbing his chin with the dagger at his waist—

Swish!

The man’s vision suddenly spun. The bat holding his head had fallen from the ceiling.

The man thought the bat was trying to play with him, to prevent him from killing himself.

Crash!

But the bat didn’t land on the ground—it was slammed into it.

Not knowing what had happened, the man saw this as an opportunity and stabbed the bat’s head with his dagger.

Clang!

The dagger didn’t even leave a scratch on the bat’s head. It felt like he had stabbed a lump of steel, and only his hand hurt from the impact.

‘Even with aura applied, it didn’t work. Is this really the skin of a living being?’

He had expected it. That he couldn’t defeat the monster. But not even being able to leave a scratch? His will to live was completely shattered.

‘Running away would be pointless too.’

He had been freed from the restraint, and the bat monster was lying on the ground for some reason, but this was all just part of the game.

It was like a cat letting go of a mouse it had caught. A game of hunting the fleeing prey.

Just as the man was about to try killing himself again with the dagger—

Thud.

Feeling a touch on his shoulder, the man reflexively turned around and swung his dagger—

Snap!

The dagger, blocked by something, broke in half.

‘Huh?’

The man’s dagger was made of a rare mineral called black iron. In terms of hardness and flexibility, it was comparable to orichalcon.

Even though it had bounced off the bat monster’s skin, it had remained intact. But now it had broken as easily as a twig?

What on earth had happened? The man’s body froze as he saw the face before him.

There stood Keter.

“Don’t worry, I’m the Solver.”

Keter, with a friendly smile.

“Damn it.”

The man, who hadn’t shown any change in expression even at the brink of death, now wore a look of despair.

*

“I’m sorry…….”

The man, kneeling, bowed his head deeply as he spoke. His face was bruised and swollen.

Keter brushed off his hands and said,

“Calling your life’s savior ‘damn it’? I don’t take kindly to ungrateful bastards.”

“Now that I think about it, your face looks familiar.”

Keter, who had been scrutinizing the man’s face, flicked his finger.

“You’re Ragnel, the guy who worked at the butcher shop next to this alley, right? You’ve lost so much weight I didn’t recognize you.”

“Gasp!”

Ragnel, shocked that Keter even remembered the location, stepped back.

There was a reason for all this.

‘I’m dead.’

He had once tried to poison Keter. He had sold him meat laced with poison.

Of course, Keter didn’t die, and upon hearing the news, Ragnel went into hiding. It was only natural that Keter would want to kill him.

Given Keter’s personality, hiding for a day or two wouldn’t be enough. He’d have to live as if he were dead forever. Keter’s determination was on a whole other level.

And indeed, even in the ruined state of Ruquer, Keter had found him.

“You bastard…….”

Keter approached with a menacing expression, and Ragnel, sensing death, tightly closed his eyes.

“Why did you disappear without a word? The meat you cut for me was the most delicious in the world!”

“……?”

Could it be that he didn’t know about the poisoned meat?

“Don’t tell me you ran away because you were scared of poisoning my meat?”

…No. Keter knew everything.

Yet he spoke as if it were nothing.

“Hey, man. Do you think you’re the only one who’s tried to poison my food? That tangy flavor actually made me eat more meat.”

A man who enjoyed the tangy flavor of poison? He must be insane.

“Are you… forgiving me?”

Ragnel opened his eyes and cautiously asked, to which Keter raised his fist.

“Do you think I would? Of course, you’re going to get a good beating. And you’ll have to sell me delicious meat at a discount. But since you ran away, I’ve only suffered losses.”

“…….”

“Well, if you start selling me delicious meat at a discount from now on, I might forgive you.”

“Ha, Keter. Are you really saying that after seeing all this?”

The place where the two were calmly conversing was a wasteland. Not just here, but all of Ruquer was filled with collapsed buildings. There wasn’t a single intact place.

Moreover, there were several monsters watching the two. Keter, after looking around, said,

“I never really liked the city’s layout anyway. Let’s rebuild it.”

“Optimistic, aren’t you? Do you not know what’s happened to Ruquer?”

“I can see everything with my eyes. But I don’t know the rest. I can’t tell where everyone’s hiding. That’s why I’m looking for survivors, and you just happened to catch my eye.”

“Lucky me.”

Grumbling, Ragnel got up and dusted off his pants. Even though the monsters were watching, having Keter by his side made him feel no fear at all.

“I’ll tell you everything I know. But take me to a safe place.”

“Easy.”

Keter ran with Ragnel tucked under his arm. Strangely, none of the monsters attacked Keter. Even when they blocked the path, they would move aside upon seeing Keter.

The place they arrived at was Keter’s Solver office.

“Tsk. It’s completely wrecked. The elevator must be broken too.”

Keter’s Solver office was in the shape of a tower. In other words, it stood out like a sore thumb.

Of course, it hadn’t survived unscathed. Though protected by spells and magic, it couldn’t withstand the monsters’ onslaught.

But the tower’s ruins remained, and Keter pressed a section of the wall at regular intervals.

Rumble.

The wall made a rough noise as it slid open to the side, revealing a staircase leading underground.

“So there was a secret space like this.”

As Ragnel marveled, Keter spoke as if it were obvious.

“An underground secret space is a man’s romance, isn’t it?”

Keter, who had entered the underground via the staircase, pushed Ragnel back.

“Someone’s been here. Stay back.”

Keter’s tower basement was quite large. Designed for emergencies, it was well-stocked with dry food. This meant there was a high chance that an intruder was living here.

Originally, the basement was lit by sunstones, but now it was pitch dark. Of course, darkness wasn’t a problem for Keter, so he strode confidently. It was his home, after all.

Descending the stairs into the basement, the first thing you’d see was a study. Keter and a study. An unlikely combination. In fact, Keter didn’t like books.

The basement study was for Daat. At first glance, it seemed empty, but Keter could see everything.

“If you’ve read a book, put it back in its place. You can’t just shove it anywhere.”

There was no response.

Then Keter raised his hand.

“If you come out now, I’ll only hit you three times. For every second you delay, I’ll add one more hit.”

As he spoke, his thumb folded.

He was giving them exactly five seconds.

But contrary to his words, Keter’s time flowed abnormally. In just one second, his middle finger folded—

Swish.

The sound of a book’s pages turning was heard, and a blade appeared right in front of and behind Keter’s neck. Keter, seemingly unable to react, remained in the same position.

“This is unexpected. I never thought… I’d see you two here.”

Hidden in the darkness were two old men.

One dressed entirely in black, the other in white.

They were the old men who had once guarded Daat, and Keter had left the tower in their care when he left Ruquer.

But he never thought they’d actually still be guarding it.

They had made a contract, but it was only verbal, and since it wasn’t a magical contract, they could have ignored it and left without any consequences.

“Old men. Don’t you have any attachment to the outside world? I thought you’d have left by now.”

Keter asked amiably, but Black and White didn’t sheathe their swords.

“You think I’m a fake? I like your thoroughness. Hmm, how can I prove it?”

Among the monsters, there were many skilled in mimicry. Some could even mimic memories, so one could never let their guard down with underground monsters.

“Come to think of it, why should I prove it? You should be the ones looking for me.”

Keter grabbed the blades with his hands.

Black and White’s swords were imbued with sharp aura, but it was useless. Despite Keter being unarmed, the aura was pushed back and crushed.

A human’s skin overcoming and even pushing back aura? This was no human—it was definitely a monster.

But Black and White sheathed their swords and knelt on one knee.

“Welcome back.”

The two spoke as if they were one. Keter, for some reason, spoke with a hint of regret.

“How did you know?”

“Instinct.”

“Why didn’t you leave Ruquer?”

“We had to guard the tower.”

“I knew you were stubborn, but not to this extent. Fine. I’m back now, so you can leave.”

“……”

Black and White stared at Keter as if they didn’t understand what he was saying.

“Freedom, I mean, freedom.”

“Understood.”

Black and White disappeared from sight. Of course, they hadn’t left, but it wasn’t Keter’s concern.

Keter, who had brought Ragnel, first gave him something to eat. All they had was rock-hard bread and jerky tougher than cowhide, but the two ate it with relish.

“I don’t want to complain about the food, but can you stop eating for a moment and talk?”

The food Daat had stored was enough for ten years, but Ragnel had just eaten a year’s worth in one sitting.

“Ahem, what do you want to know?”

“The locations where the surviving factions are hiding. The whereabouts of the Mercenary Guild.”

“Of course. That’s what you’re curious about.”

Ragnel nodded confidently and said,

“I don’t know!”

Thud!

Keter’s punch mercilessly struck Ragnel’s solar plexus.

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