I'm the Crazy One in the Family-Chapter 299: Group Order (3)

Ailos the Lich, the one who sought to complete the Dark Tome. The Dark Tome was the source of dark magic, and given that most users of dark magic were villains, Keter found it very unexpected.

Keter openly muttered his thoughts aloud. “The Syndicate. Was it actually a den of villains this whole time?”

At that, Tuska laughed and replied, “Good and evil are relative, Lord Keter.”

“That’s only to a point. Anyone who destroys and kills everything without grievance or reason is a villain.”

Of course, Keter himself didn’t live his life weighing good and evil, but that didn’t mean he denied the existence of evil itself.

Ailos gripped his forehead and let out a deep sigh. “I heard someone appeared who could solve my problem, so I came thinking surely it couldn’t be you, but... I’m sick of how often we run into each other, Keter.”

“I’m glad to see you too, Ailos. Though you seem more fine than I expected, which is a bit disappointing.”

Even with the queen absent, Keter never imagined that Ailos, trapped in the basement of the royal palace, would not only be fine but would have gone so far as to steal the Dark Pages.

Hmm. Even with the power of the Dark Pages, he seems far too normal.

Keter’s gaze naturally shifted toward Ivan and Tuska. If Ailos had received the Syndicate’s help, then even the royal palace would have had no way to stop him.

Sensing Keter’s gaze, Ivan furrowed his brows. “I don’t have time to help a guy like him.”

Then Tuska explained, “It seems you have developed doubts about the Syndicate’s inclinations, Lord Keter. If I may say a word on that matter, I would say the Syndicate is closer to guardians than to villains. Even if one completes the Dark Tome, there is no rule that it must be used. There is also the option of completing it and sealing it, isn’t that true?”

Keter nodded. “Whether an arrow is used to shoot an animal or a human depends on the one holding the bow.”

Even if the Syndicate truly were a group of villains, it wouldn’t have changed Keter’s mind.

“What you want is the Dark Pages, right?” Keter asked Ailos.

Ailos had sworn that the next time he met Keter, he would beat him to death, but his thoughts leaned toward the more urgent matter.

“More precisely, the Screaming Dark Page.”

“Wow. Then that must mean you’ve already gathered the other four documents, right? That’s impressive.”

“Not compared to you, who disguised finding the Terra Ring of the Five Element Relics as a coincidence. So, do you know where the Screaming Dark Page is?”

Ailos didn’t expect much. Even with the Syndicate’s information network, they had failed to locate the Dark Pages, so how could Keter possibly know? Yet, he asked anyway, intending to use it as an excuse to provoke Keter.

“I might have a rough idea.”

“If you’re just trying to fool me again, stop.”

“Don’t you know that in Liqueur, the one who gets fooled is the idiot? Looks like you’ve picked up outside-world habits too.”

“Don’t bring up Liqueur. So, where is the Screaming Dark Page?”

“Has your head been completely ruled by the Dark Pages? Why would I tell you that for free?” Keter held out his hand. “Show me the artifact you have. If I like it, I’ll tell you.”

“I don’t even know if your information is real or fake, so why would I hand over an artifact? The information comes first.”

Keter and Ailos glared at each other. People often say sparks fly between two such people, but between these two, black flames literally ignited. It was the result of Keter’s energy colliding with Ailos’s dark mana. Having acquired four Dark Pages, Ailos’s dark mana had grown deeper and thicker, rivaling Keter’s, who possessed Ein.

At that moment, Keter clenched his fist. Then, the power of the Terra Ring began pushing back the dark mana.

Letting out a suppressed groan, Ailos bit down on his lower lip. “Argh...”

As he did so, his dark mana surged up from beneath his feet.

Right then, Tuska threw a tree branch toward Keter and Ailos. “Haha, have you forgotten where you are, Lord Ailos?”

Keter watched the branch flying toward him. It moved at an ordinary speed and carried no trace of energy. Thus, it wouldn’t have been strange for it to be crushed into dust by his energy, but the instant the branch touched Keter’s energy and Ailos’ dark mana, both forces dissipated.

“Since neither of you can trust the other, let’s do it this way. I will act as the intermediary.”

Keter scoffed at Tuska’s suggestion. “You’re mistaken about something. I’m not particularly desperate, so let’s just pretend this never happened.”

Keter stepped back as if he truly didn’t need it.

Tuska approached Ailos and said, “Lord Ailos, didn’t Keter just say he knows the whereabouts of the Dark Pages that even the Syndicate cannot find? If this continues, it could take years. Even if it involves some risk, why don’t you try to trust Lord Keter’s information?”

“I’d rather believe anyone else. Why does it have to be Keter who knows the location? This is bullshit.”

Ailos knew rationally that Tuska was right, but emotionally, he found it hard to accept.

To both Keter and Tuska, Ailos said, “If Keter gives false information, then it won’t just be me he’s deceiving, but the Syndicate as well.”

Both of them nodded in return.

“Whether it’s shit or truth, the one responsible is obviously the one who said it.”

“If you tell false information, I won’t need others to step in. I will personally take action.”

The victor of the war of nerves was Keter. After all, the one at a disadvantage was Ailos.

Ailos reached into his shadow and rummaged around, then pulled out a staff of gruesome shape. It was a staff with skulls hanging from it. A red gleam flickered from the hollow eye sockets of the skulls.

“It’s an artificial artifact made by willingly binding together the souls of mages of each attribute. It can freely wield all elemental magic up to six-circle.”

“Hm.”

Both its appearance and the process by which it was created were horrific and inhumane, but Keter only considered whether it held value equivalent to his information.

“Barely comparable, I suppose.”

Though it was an artificial artifact, it housed the souls of twelve six-circle mages. It was an artifact on par with the Demon Bow Amaranth. Of course, there would be a considerable penalty, but that didn’t really matter since he had no intention of using it himself.

After stowing the skull staff into the Dimensional Tunnel, Keter immediately handed over the information.

“The Screaming Dark Page is in Shade’s possession.”

“Shade?!”

Shade, the Great Thief. The legendary thief, said to have stolen even the emperor’s underwear.

Hearing that, Ailos’s expression remained nonchalant. Though he appeared to accept it, the dark mana boiling around him spoke in place of his emotions.

“Shade is dead. Even if he isn’t, he hasn’t shown himself for hundreds of years. Yet, you’re telling me the Screaming Dark Page is with him? What a worthless piece of information.”

It was nearly impossible to verify whether Keter’s information was false.

Keter shrugged. “I meant it was among the things he stole, rather than Shade having it himself. You know this too, don’t you? He hid the things he stole all over the world while he was alive, daring people to find them. And the Screaming Dark Page is among those, that’s all.”

“So then, where is the Screaming Dark Page?”

Ailos assumed Keter would naturally say he didn’t know and immediately prepared to attack. Even if Tuska or Ivan tried to stop him, he intended to strike. However, Keter named a location.

“It should be in the desert of the Kingdom of Adeus.”

Though he had vaguely said it was in the desert, the scope had narrowed far more than searching the entire continent.

“Where in the desert?”

“I would’ve found it myself if I knew that. That’s as far as I know.”

“How do you know information like that?”

“Because I have one of the Seven Tools of Shade.” Keter showed Shade’s Key.

Ivan’s eyes gleamed. “It’s real.”

“You have a good eye.”

“I have one too. And he definitely left clues about the treasures he hid within his tools, so I believe Shade’s Key would contain the same kind of clue.”

When Ivan spoke in Keter’s favor, Ailos was genuinely surprised. Although very brief, his experience with Ivan told him that Ivan wasn’t someone easy to reason with. He was a man with virtually no social skills at all.

“The desert of the Kingdom of Adeus... That really is an unexpected place.”

Ailos had searched all across the continent, but he certainly hadn’t looked in the desert in Adeus. It was, quite literally, nothing but sand, after all.

“I’ll trust you for now...”

The moment Ailos believed the information, he stepped straight into the shadows. Of course, he didn’t forget to leave Keter with a final remark before going.

“When the Dark Tome is completed, the first place I’ll visit will be Sefira, Keter.”

It was a warning mixed with killing intent, but Keter merely yawned as he replied, “Bring lots of mangos when you come. They’re a specialty of Adeus.”

***

In less than an hour, Keter had completed the commissions from three people: Alisa, Tuska, and even Ailos.

Thinking it was finally his turn, Ivan stepped forward. “Keter. It seems the other members are running late, so treat my body first with the Human Modification Technique. Tuska, I’d like you to watch from the side.”

Ivan wanted Tuska’s assistance because he didn’t completely trust Keter.

“A rare request from Lord Ivan. I shall gladly accept.”

The flow shifted toward Ivan getting treated.

However, Keter flopped down onto the sofa and said, “Short break time. Is there anything to eat here?”

“A break...? What did you even do that you need a break?”

From Ivan’s perspective as he watched, Keter had easily resolved everything. His stamina and mentality showed no sign of decrease at all.

Yet, Keter kicked the table with the top of his foot and angrily said, “Ugh, I’m starving. I get irritable when I’m hungry.”

Ivan’s face twisted as he let out a deep breath of anger, and his lips twitched back. Then, he reached into empty space and pulled something out. In his hand was a single piece of bread.

“Eat this.”

“Just one piece of bread?”

“It’s elven bread. One piece will keep you full all day. This amount could feed a hundred people.”

“This is that renowned elven bread?”

Keter took a huge bite out of the bread that was supposedly filling from a single piece.

“Oh? Mmmm!”

He chewed thoroughly, savoring it and exclaiming in admiration. Then he grabbed the liquor Alisa had left behind, the one called Angel’s Tears, and started chugging it.

“Dang, these actually go really well together. Was it intentional?”

Angel’s Tears, the liquor said to be made from elven tears, vanished in the blink of an eye.

As a mage, Ivan became curious and asked, “Do you have a gate in your stomach or something?”

Both elven bread and Angel’s Tears were extremely high in calories and rich in nutrients. However, having a lot didn’t mean it was beneficial. It could just as easily be poison. Even if Keter was a Transcendental, a human body shouldn’t have been able to handle that amount, and his body should have shown abnormalities long ago. However, Keter merely patted his stomach with a satisfied smile.

“I didn’t expect much, but that was pretty good.”

“Whew, then now for my treatment...”

In the middle of Ivan’s sentence, someone suddenly popped out of thin air and immediately collapsed onto the floor. Without saying a word, he even closed his eyes. His sprawled posture made him resemble seaweed.

“It’s just Ulter. Ignore that guy. He’s someone who has lost interest in this world.”

“Oh?”

Being told not to take interest only made Keter more interested. He walked up to Ulter and crouched down in front of him. Then, Keter poked him. Ulter didn’t react even when his cheek was poked. Looking closer, Ulter was quite a handsome man, no more than his mid-thirties at most. However, the energy contained within his body was like a boundless, endless ocean. Needless to say, Ulter was also a Transcendental.

And those clothes, what era are they even from?

Ulter’s clothing wasn’t of this era. It looked as though he had come from the distant past, or perhaps the future.

Ivan followed Keter and grabbed his shoulder as he said, “It’s useless. He didn’t even come here by choice. Killian sent him. He would still be lying there like that even if the world were ending, so just focus on me.”

“Well now, that really stirs my desire to take on a challenge.”

Rolling his wrist, Keter suddenly took an unexpected action. He slapped Ulter across the cheek with full force.