Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
The Mad Majesty (2)
"Hahaha! Invading and looting is the best!"
Damn it, he's not listening at all!
"Uwahahaha! Artifacts are the best!"
In the middle of the wine-colored plaza, Ju-Heon threw his head back and roared with laughter.
Yu Jae-ha pressed a hand to his forehead at Seo Ju-Heon's madness. He had never seen anyone so obsessed with artifacts.
"Come on. In my world, because of the Artifact Laws I created, stealing artifacts is something no one can even dream of."
No matter the world, Seo Ju-Heon is still Seo Ju-Heon.
Flustered, he looked at Ju-Heon.
If he keeps causing trouble like this, there'll really be hell to pay.
Stop living out your fantasies through him!
Ignoring him completely, Ju-Heon kicked an artifact lying on the ground into the air.
"Hey, calm down for a second. The Majesty might be watching!"
[Pan's Flute (A-Rank)]
"Pan's Flute... It says blowing it drives beasts and people insane."
He glanced around.
"But everyone here is already crazy. How much crazier can they get?"
"And Icarus's Feather... So this lets you fly for a while?"
[You'll just crash.]
As Ju-Heon raised the flute to his lips, Majesty Yu Jae-ha hurriedly stopped him.
"Don't go blowing something you haven't identified yet, idiot."
"Scared?"
In the end, Ju-Heon stuffed the flute into his pocket.
Nearby, a single white feather drifted through the wind. Its tip was blackened, as though it had been scorched by fire.
Cup Noodles Yu Jae-ha grumbled again, but Ju-Heon merely whistled as he pocketed the feather.
Just as he was about to leave, the rope artifact came over carrying something in its mouth.
It was a gold coin.
One side was gold.
The other was black.
"...What's this? It looks like an artifact."
Cup Noodles Yu Jae-ha scoffed.
[...Isn't that just a piece of trash?]
Ju-Heon shoved it into his pocket anyway.
By now, the inside of his coat was practically overflowing with artifacts.
Majesty Yu Jae-ha looked utterly horrified.
The moment Ju-Heon pocketed the coin, Majesty Yu Jae-ha flinched.
"Are you really a Majesty? Why are you even collecting trash?"
"Throw that away!"
"Why? What is it?"
"I've seen it in another world. Other Majesties were carrying those."
"Then doesn't that mean it's valuable?"
"No. It's used for gambling. The ones who lost with it were ruined. The ones who won became filthy rich."
"Oh? Then I definitely have to keep it."
"I just told you it'll ruin you!"
Ju-Heon snorted.
"Listen. Real tomb raiders start by collecting the junk. The idiots who only chase premium treasures never live long."
Among everything he had picked up, the coin seemed to interest him the most as he rolled it across his fingertips.
Ignoring everyone, Ju-Heon even carefully pocketed broken artifact fragments.
"Anyway, judging from the goddess of fortune engraved on it, this is Fortuna's Coin, right? The one that brings good luck."
"...That's true, but..."
"Then anything I obtain should be used immediately. That's my philosophy."
"What? Don't tell me you're throwing it now?!"
"Heads or tails? I'm calling tails."
"Wait! Don't actually throw it!"
As he flopped down beside the wine fountain, a heavy explosion echoed from the center of the city, almost as though it had been waiting for that exact moment.
BOOM!
BANG!
Fwish!
Before anyone could stop him, the coin shot into the air.
Pink neon light flashed brilliantly.
The coin landed with a sharp clink...
Heads.
The holograms covering the skyscrapers shattered into pieces.
Crimson letters appeared across the sky.
"...Heads?"
Ju-Heon froze briefly before casually shrugging.
[The Artifact of Dionysus has been destroyed.]
[Beginning conquest of another Majesty's territory.]
[Durability: 83,998,908 / 93,998,908]
"Tch. Guess I called it wrong. So bad luck starts now?"
Reading the message, Ju-Heon tilted his head before breaking into a grin.
"...A conquest battle? Oh, this looks fun."
"...Your double standards are unbelievable."
"It's not double standards. It's patriotism."
"Once you cross the border, tomb raiding becomes foreign revenue."
Yu Jae-ha's face turned pale.
This bastard really is insane.
"You lunatic, don't get any stupid ideas. Before you left, didn't your teammates specifically warn you to uphold the dignity of a Majesty?"
Ju-Heon chuckled.
The dignity of a Majesty?
Oh...
That thing about not freely robbing tombs and causing disasters?
"Don't touch anything. Destroying city property is something Majesties only do during conquest wars against each other."
"Really? So you're saying I should destroy it?"
"Are you crazy?! The instant you do, the Majesty protecting this city will personally come out!"
"Hah, listen."
"In our world, we're told not to monopolize artifacts."
"But this is somebody else's world."
"So looting it however I want is completely innocent."
Ju-Heon grinned.
"Even better."
"When you're robbing someone else's house, the first thing you do is tie up the homeowner."
"...You're not fighting a Majesty War."
"You're just committing organized crime!"
"Coward."
"I'm being cautious."
"Our objective isn't fighting—it's getting the Rulebook."
"The Rulebook is with the Majesty here."
"So we just need to lure the Majesty out..."
"Even the biggest shut-in will come running if we tempt him."
"And hand him a fake artifact?"
"Exactly."
Yu Jae-ha accessed the Majesty's social media account.
Suppressing his irritation, he typed:
@SDionysos234
"I am the Majesty of B-148 . I have no intention of fighting. I merely wish to trade a Divine Artifact."
As he sent the message, he snatched smartphones from unconscious citizens and logged into social media.
He included a signal that only another Majesty would recognize.
A reply came almost immediately.
I have no intention of dealing with a con artist Majesty.
Ju-Heon peeked over and burst out laughing.
"Wow. Your reputation as a scammer really is famous."
"Damn it...!"
It was being broadcast live across the city.
Citizens everywhere looked up at the giant displays.
It was rare for a Majesty to reveal himself directly.
[To think someone would cause this much chaos in my city.]
Holding a wine glass, the man smiled leisurely.
At that moment...
Every holographic billboard in the city went dark.
Then they all displayed the same face.
A man holding a wine glass, smiling lazily.
[What an interesting guest has arrived—]
[Greetings. I must say, you've surprised me.]
Before the arrogant smile on the screen had even fully formed—
THUD!
A deafening impact echoed throughout the city.
The man's smile froze grotesquely.
Slowly, he looked down at his chest.
Embedded straight through his heart was the Divine Spear—
Gungnir.
While the plaza instantly descended into chaos, Ju-Heon stared at the all-too-familiar spear before turning toward Majesty Yu Jae-ha with a look of disbelief.
"..."
"Hey."
"If I'm guilty of double standards..."
"Then you're just a serial killer."
"Isn't murder way worse than robbery?"
Unable to even scream, the man rolled back his eyes and collapsed.
Citizens watching the Majesty's appearance through the giant screens all screamed at once.
The one who had thrown Gungnir...
Was Majesty Yu Jae-ha.
He had exploited Gungnir's ability to track and kill anyone once it had seen their face.
Majesty Yu Jae-ha grinned proudly.
"W-What?!"
"The Majesty is dead?!"
"How?! He had defensive barriers!"
"W-Where did that spear even come from?!"
"I'm just being efficient."
"Killing one person causes less damage than destroying an entire city."
"...Listen to this crazy bastard."
But then—
Flash!
The screen changed.
A different face appeared.
The man on the screen spoke.
[How dare you harass the Rulebook. I shall deal with you myself in this world.]
[It's useless. The one you killed just now was a death-row inmate.]
"Tch."
"So that wasn't the real body."
The display immediately returned to ordinary advertisements.
Yu Jae-ha frowned, having realized something.
Ju-Heon looked equally disgusted.
One side used death-row prisoners as body doubles.
The other instantly assassinated anyone whose face appeared.
"These Majesties really are all rotten to the core."
[Says the Captain.]
"Tch. This is becoming troublesome."
"The Majesty of this world has sided with the Rulebook."
"Sided with the Rulebook?"
"It's common among Majesties."
"They don't have loyalty or principles."
"If they accept the Rulebook's requests, they receive rewards."
At those words...
Ju-Heon's eyes turned ice-cold.
"At the same time? What are you talking about? The Rulebook should be hidden by the Majesty, so how could—"
The Rulebook.
The thing that had taken Yu Jae-ha's heart.
The key to reaching the place where his daughter was.
Yu Jae-ha spoke.
Ju-Heon suddenly slammed his fist into the fountain that had been corrupting artifact users earlier.
BOOM!
A clear message appeared in the air.
"The Majesty here isn't going to hand over the Rulebook. They'll want the reward for it. No—in fact, they'll probably try to kill us first. That's the bigger concern."
[The Artifact of Dionysus has been destroyed.]
[Durability: 83,945,212 / 93,998,908]
"If the environment protecting it disappears, the Rulebook won't have any choice but to come out!"
The corners of Ju-Heon's lips curled upward.
"Then we'll take them both down at the same time."
As the durability dropped, the entire city trembled.
The people, who looked as though they were intoxicated by drugs, all turned toward Ju-Heon simultaneously.
It was the effect of his <Public Nuisance Majesty>.
"Who the hell are you to ruin our sacred festival?"
Ju-Heon casually swung his sword, scattering the wine, and sneered.
"What a stupid question."
"Festivals exist to be ruined."
He grinned crookedly.
"Report!"
"The City Artifact's gauge is decreasing in the southern district!"
"Who is it? Another Majesty?"
"No. An unidentified outsider who isn't even registered. It looks like he's using some kind of rope artifact..."
The commander of the city guard snorted.
"If he's asking for it, hit him first!"
"The nerve of turning even the civilians into soldiers!"
His men immediately charged out.
At the same time, on top of a skyscraper, security forces busily exchanged radio reports.
"Hah. Starting a conquest war with a rope? What a lunatic."
"Ignore him and focus on maintaining the Wine Chalice."
"But the gauge is still dropping!"
"Relax."
"This district is the Majesty's domain."
"What can one wandering nobody possibly do?"
They all laughed.
After all...
Seo Ju-Heon's name appeared in neither the city guard records nor any guild registry.
But then—
"Wait..."
"What do you mean he's hanging civilians?"
"...Literally."
"We can't hold them back! Even the civilians are being attacked!"
"What?!"
"He's massacring civilians?"
Slaughtering civilians to threaten the ruler during a conquest war was hardly unusual.
Was this outsider doing the same?
However...
When the surveillance screen finally showed the scene—
Everyone was stunned.
"...No..."
"He's hanging civilians out to dry."
"...What?"
Majesty Yu Jae-ha rubbed his forehead.
The civilians were literally hanging from the rope artifact like laundry.
Meanwhile, Majesty Yu Jae-ha was using an umbrella artifact to wash them clean.
At the same time, he glared at Ju-Heon as though looking at a complete psychopath.
Ju-Heon burst into laughter.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm treating them."
"You alcoholics!"
"The treatment fee is whatever valuables you're carrying!"
"..."
"Surround him!"
Within moments, a complete encirclement formed.
Yu Jae-ha stared at Ju-Heon in disbelief.
Charging treatment fees by stealing people's wallets...
What kind of lunatic does that?
Just then—
"Oh, you're here?"
"I was detoxing them."
"Took you long enough."
Ju-Heon shrugged.
BOOM! BOOM!
"I was treating these people."
"You should be thanking me."
"We all saw you emptying their wallets!"
An elite security unit wearing full equipment arrived.
Each carried an artifact.
Like professionals restoring order to the streets, they simultaneously aimed their weapons at Ju-Heon.
Ju-Heon merely smirked before taking out Pan's Flute.
[Artifact Activated: Pan's Flute]
"Confirmed."
"He's responsible for the property damage."
The moment the flute echoed...
The elite guards' eyes glowed crimson.
Losing all reason, they immediately turned their weapons on one another.
The security force descended into utter chaos—
Except for one woman.
She remained perfectly unaffected.
[Sanity Gauge: 100 / 100]
Seeing this, Majesty Yu Jae-ha commented,
"There's always going to be someone strong among the elites."
"A Sanity Gauge that high..."
"She's definitely one of the Majesty's direct subordinates."
The woman coldly glared at Ju-Heon.
"Your flute doesn't work on me."
Yu Jae-ha sighed as he took out some money.
Ju-Heon grinned wickedly.
"Oh?"
"You're strong."
No wonder.
A clearly visible gauge was engraved onto the woman's wrist.
"If she's a direct subordinate, then the artifacts we have won't be enough."
"This is their home ground."
"It'd be better to bribe her and avoid fighting."
"...Planning to pay her with counterfeit money?"
"!"
The woman smiled coldly.
"Our Majesty warned us in advance."
"That the Majesty of Creation is a fraud."
"Our little con artist is pretty famous."
...He's still a Majesty, though.
"If you hand over the heart of the man beside you..."
"I'll let you leave."
"!"
At her proposal, Ju-Heon mocked her while Yu Jae-ha let out a helpless sigh and rested a hand on his waist.
"Hah."
"So you know who I am."
"Quite the intelligence network."
"I didn't think I was that famous."
"How'd you find out?"
Ju-Heon glanced sideways at Yu Jae-ha.
Yu Jae-ha instinctively stiffened.
Majesties were beings who acted entirely according to profit.
They weren't even friends.
Yet Ju-Heon merely smiled casually.
Instead of answering, the elite guard smiled at Ju-Heon.
"So..."
"You're the lackey standing next to the Majesty of Creation?"
Majesty Yu Jae-ha's eyes widened.
Then he turned toward Ju-Heon.
"I'm grateful they're not targeting my heart..."
"But these people aren't ordinary."
"What?"
"If they know about me..."
"They're probably connected to the Executors."
"The Executors?"
"In this world, defeating that woman won't be easy."
"The higher someone's Sanity, the more damage they deal to enemies driven mad."
"Since your Madness is so high, she's your natural enemy."
"Her Sanity is 100."
"That means she can deal up to ten times the normal damage to you."
"Hm."
"So that's how it works."
"Then we just need about a tenfold buff on our side too."
"Yeah..."
"A buff..."
The Twelve Executors.
Weren't they supposed to be the lackeys of the Four Great Civilization Artifacts?
Yu Jae-ha suddenly looked at Ju-Heon with growing unease.
"That's right."
"So Dionysus is one of the bastards who took your daughter."
"Oh?"
What's this lunatic planning now?
Ignoring Yu Jae-ha's warning, Ju-Heon pulled out the dangerous coin he had been told never to use.
He flicked it high into the air.
Whoosh.
"Good."
"Then let's leave it to luck."
"Heads?"
"Or tails?"
The elite guard watched the spinning coin carefully.
Suddenly, her pupils shook violently.
Because...
"That..."
"It can't be...!"
Her lips trembled.
"That's the... Death Match Coin..."
"...used by the Majesties!"
At that instant—
The atmosphere completely changed.