Chapter 154

Chapter 155. What the Hell Is This Guy? (1)

In his past life, when Keter lived in Ruquer, he looked down on the “weak.”

Groups of weaklings were no different. In fact, he despised them even more. No matter how many thousands of weaklings gathered, they couldn’t defeat a single 5-Star Master.

However, after fighting against the Lilian Kingdom, Keter admitted he was wrong.

The weaklings of the Lilian Kingdom didn’t fight with weapons. They fought with their words. And that made things quite troublesome for Keter.

“For the unjustly fallen Sephira, let’s capture and kill Keter!”

“This trash murderer, Keter! The most despicable villain in the world!”

Even though Sephira’s downfall was due to a preemptive strike by the royal family, Keter became the scapegoat for everything.

Millions of hatred and anger weighed down on Keter. No matter where he went in the kingdom, there was no place for him to stand.

This phenomenon wasn’t limited to the kingdom. Even abroad, Keter was known as a villain and murderer. Famous bounty hunters and knights who cried out for justice came to the Lilian Kingdom to kill him.

That’s when Keter realized. The power of the majority wasn’t something that could be wielded simply by holding a weapon.

It was willpower. Even without holding a blade, even without attacking, even if it wasn’t the truth—it didn’t matter. No, the truth wasn’t important.

“Is this… the flow?”

The majority could control the “flow” of the world. They could manipulate the truth.

Of course, a 7-Star Prime could cut through even the flow created by millions.

That’s why Keter could endure. He could fight. Because he was a 7-Star Prime. He could fight against an entire nation, against the will of millions.

Although he ultimately lost to Dayal, the regressed Keter vowed in the carriage heading to Sephira.

“In this life, I won’t fight alone.”

It wasn’t because he thought he couldn’t defeat a nation alone. He believed it was possible if he became even more ruthless than in his past life, without caring about anything.

But that would be fun, yet unrewarding. After revenge, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his life. So—

“I’ll return the favor just as I was treated in my past life!”

That would be much more satisfying, and his life afterward would be richer and more enjoyable.

So in this life, I’ll also build a faction. Equal to Lilian, no, even greater!

The beginning of that was Sephira. In my past life, I severed ties, but this life is different. I’ll make it prosperous.

“Sephira is just the beginning.”

To Keter, Sephira is the soil, and he is the seed. The beginning may be a humble sprout, but it will spread its roots relentlessly.

He awakened Anis, rehabilitated Taragon, and nurtured Vulkanus.

He also saved Catherine and embraced Ultima, who was destined to be his enemy. He brought countless others to his side.

It didn’t matter who they were. Human or not, even if they were enemies, it was fine.

Hostile Nobility was no different. Keter gave them equal opportunities. A chance to talk with him.

Of course, he didn’t plan to meet just anyone.

“Mediocre people, step aside.”

Like an interview, he lined up the nobles and had them enter one by one.

Even commoners would fight if their pride was hurt. Nobles would even kill or die for their pride.

As Keter expected, the nobles were in an uproar.

“To line us up like commoners, this is absurd! I’m out.”

“I never thought the Hartos Count family would be treated like this. Prince Keter is unbearably arrogant.”

“I didn’t want to meet him this badly, even if it meant bending my pride.”

The representatives who had waited to see Keter turned their backs, complaining and cursing. It seemed like everyone had left, but—

“More stayed than I thought.”

By rough estimate, over 20 remained.

Then, a middle-aged butler raised his hand.

“I serve the Marquis Grace of the north. Does anyone object to me going in first?”

If they were to enter in order, it was natural for a high-ranking noble to go first. As expected, the count families and below quietly stepped back.

But one young butler didn’t back down.

“Sorry, but I must go in first.”

He didn’t introduce which family he was from. The young butler adjusted his collar, as if to show the badge on his chest.

“That six-pointed star badge?!”

“The Oxford Marquis family!”

“Could it be that Oxford is interested in Sephira?”

“Not ‘could it be.’ Oxford is known as the magical family of the west. It’s only natural they’d be interested in Prince Keter, who showed divine power akin to magic.”

It’s said that most of the kingdom’s national mages come from the Oxford Marquis family. That’s how famous the Oxford Marquis family is in the kingdom for magic.

“Hmm…”

The butler from the Marquis Grace family, who had confidently raised his hand, stepped back. Even though they were both marquis families, Oxford had the influence of a prestigious family.

The Grace family, the weakest among the marquis families, couldn’t compete.

“Hmph.”

The young butler from Oxford, with his nose in the air, was about to enter first when a young man emerged from the alley and grabbed the restaurant door. The young butler from Oxford flared up and grabbed the young man’s shoulder to turn him around.

“How dare you block Oxford’s path, step aside. You can line up with the nobles over there—”

Whoosh.

The young man turned his head. The young butler’s face turned pale upon seeing his face.

“W-why are you here?”

“Prince Baiga?!”

“The scoundrel from the Mejai family, why is he here?!”

The nobles exclaimed in shock.

Baiga, the third prince of the Mejai family, known for his swordsmanship and as a scoundrel, had been waiting to see Keter!

“Will you remove your hand from my shoulder?”

Baiga spoke quietly to the young butler.

“Gasp! S-sorry!”

“The one who called me a scoundrel to my face, I remember your face.”

“Gasp!”

The noble who had uttered the insult clutched his chest in agony just from Baiga’s glance.

In the end, Baiga was the first to enter the restaurant to meet Keter, and the remaining nobles were left stunned.

“The nickname ‘Soul Reaper’ wasn’t just a metaphor.”

“Just his presence alone felt like it drained my energy.”

“Is the Mejai family also interested in the Sephira family? Or is Prince Baiga acting alone to see Prince Keter…?”

Sneakily.

The remaining nobles and representatives lined up in order of rank, eagerly waiting for their turn.

* * *

Keter ate meals provided by the nobles until the day before the C-group matches began. Not just meals, but desserts too.

He didn’t discriminate by status. Nobles, knights, mercenaries, merchants, craftsmen, even assassins. If someone came humbly, he met them.

What they talked about wasn’t a secret. It was very straightforward and trivial.

“Our family admires Prince Keter’s divine power. May I ask which faction you belong to?”

“I heard you’re from the Lawless City. I also have an acquaintance in Absinthe…”

“I thought you might like alcohol, so I brought a small gift.”

There were two types.

Those who tried to extract information through conversation with Keter.

Or those who came to befriend him.

Keter didn’t refuse bribes. He accepted them all. He never hinted for them to bring anything, but somehow, word got out, and those who came to see Keter always brought something.

Of course, not everyone showed goodwill towards Keter.

“If you keep flaunting that measly divine power, you’ll get into big trouble!”

“The one in big trouble is you.”

Whack!

Keter smashed the nose of the representative who had been sternly scolding him—

“Instead of being a bastard of Sephira, how about becoming the son-in-law of our Elrun Count family? My youngest daughter is seven this year, very obedient. If you want, we can even consummate tonight…”

Crash! Whack! Whack! Whack!

Keter flipped the table and pounded Elrun Count like dough. His escort knights rushed in, but they only got beaten up too.

Crunch!

“Gaaaah!”

Finally, Keter stomped on Elrun Count’s groin. Keter didn’t mind making new enemies. No matter who they were.

“Brother, what have you been doing for the past three days?”

On the day of the C-group match, Keter, who had reunited with his brothers, got an earful from Mail.

“Building connections.”

Anis chimed in on Keter’s words.

“More like building a faction.”

“Ah, brother. Why are you like this? Thanks to Keter, we’ve received so many gifts. We couldn’t even fit them all in the carriage.”

Taragon was just grinning. He had never received gifts from family, but getting expensive gifts from strangers made him unable to stop smiling.

“Taragon. Those aren’t gifts, they’re bribes. What Keter received is his business, but we shouldn’t accept bribes. We’ll return them all.”

“Huh? All of them? Brother Mail, you’re joking, right?”

“If you really want to keep bribes, do it personally like Keter. Don’t accept them in the name of Sephira.”

“…Sob.”

Then, fireworks exploded on the screen. Finally, it was the last match of the first round, the C-group’s turn.

Catherine, who had brought drinks, handed one to Keter and was surprised when she saw his screen.

“Huh? Young master, are you keeping an eye on a particular participant?”

“Really?”

“Who is it?”

Catherine’s words piqued the interest of the other brothers.

There were no Masters in the C-group Battle Royale. Whether by coincidence or manipulation, all the Masters were concentrated in the A and B groups.

Because of that, the strongest participants in the C-group were only two 4-Star Knights.

The Indomitable Knight, Maxid Ereal.

The eldest son of the Blitz Count family, Gillion.

Aside from these two, there were no particularly notable participants.

However, the participant Keter was keeping an eye on wasn’t either of them. It was someone completely unexpected.

“Who is this guy?”

“It’s not Ereal or Gillion, right?”

The magic screen also had a function to view the participants’ basic information, so the three brothers quickly checked his name and affiliation.

“Dophema?”

“Never heard of him.”

“A 2-Star Knight and the second son of the Dustar Baron family… No offense to him, but there’s nothing special.”

“But there must be something, right?”

Keter was staring intently at Dophema, and the three brothers also watched his performance, but—

“…He’s average?”

“I’ll be honest. Below average.”

Dophema was indeed average or below. Average looks, and he had learned the standard swordsmanship that any noble could learn.

He didn’t have outstanding wisdom or strategic skills. In many ways, he was a participant with nothing noteworthy.

That’s how they saw it.

“Ah, he lost his badge.”

Dophema, who had encountered another participant, exchanged a few dull blows before being struck down due to a flaw.

Seeing this, Keter stroked his chin.

Dophema. To others, he was a below-average knight, but to Keter, who had experienced a past life, he saw something different. Dophema was the person who would become the 9th Southern Sword.

But why…

“Why is he so weak?”

It wasn’t an act. Dophema was genuinely weak. Not even close to winning the tournament, not even in the top 10.

It was strange and unsettling. Even if his intervention had changed fate, it shouldn’t have made Dophema, the past life’s champion, weaker.

‘Why on earth?’

There were no clues.

Keter’s brow furrowed.

‘Assuming the worst, it’s possible that this life isn’t exactly the same as the past life.’

Keter had checked for such issues as soon as he arrived in Sephira. He went to Anis to confirm if he was the same Anis from his past life.

At that time, Anis was Anis, and everything else was exactly the same as in his past life.

But now, someone who showed a completely different appearance from the past life had appeared?

‘It’s very unsettling… but well, in a situation where regression is possible, it could happen.’

Keter had a long-standing habit of setting aside questions without answers.

He had brushed aside questions like how he had regressed and what his mother’s identity was. He intended to do the same this time.

Then.

“Before we begin, I have one thing to say.”

A familiar voice came through the screen.

“Who is this guy copying Keter’s lines?”

“Does he think he’s as strong as our Keter?”

“Let me check. It’s Sir Norman from the Shadabon Baron family. He’s a 2-Star Knight.”

At Catherine’s words, the Sephira brothers reacted as if they had expected it.

“He probably wants to gain fame by imitating Keter.”

“Hasn’t he heard that an orc imitating an ogre gets its head smashed?”

The audience’s reaction was no different. The participants also sneered.

“That guy must be crazy.”

“Did he drink alcohol instead of an elixir?”

Unlike Keter, Norman, who had been cursed at all his life, finished his words with a very relaxed face.

“Keter, I’m stronger than you.”

The audience immediately booed upon hearing that.

“Boo! Crazy guy! Know your place!”

“A mere 2-Star thinks he can beat Keter, a 5-Star Master?”

“Someone, please teach this lunatic a lesson!”

As if hearing the audience’s jeers, two people approached Norman.

The strongest in the C-group, Ereal and Gillion. These two had formed an alliance and had come to deal with Norman first.

Norman spoke to them.

“Sorry, but could you wait a moment? I haven’t finished what I wanted to say.”

At Norman’s words, the two 4-Star Knights sneered.

“It’s too late to apologize now. Even if it weren’t for your statement, this is a competition.”

“You haven’t even drawn your sword yet. At least raise your fists. I’ll use my fists too.”

As Gillion approached Norman, Norman suddenly placed his left hand behind his back and extended his right index finger forward.

Ereal and Gillion were puzzled by Norman’s strange behavior.

“I don’t have flashy techniques like Keter, but instead, I’ll do this.”

Whoosh!

A small Aura Sword formed at Norman’s fingertip.

“I’ll face all of you in the C-group with just this finger.”

Norman smiled brightly. A creepy smile where his teeth weren’t visible.