Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
Seo Ju-Heon from Another World (2)
Ju-Heon reached out and grabbed the scabbard of the female Seo Ju-Heon's sword.
The instant he touched it, a razor-sharp fury flashed through her eyes.
At that moment...
Gram made its own judgment.
Seo Ju-Heon.
Was the one before it someone to cut down...
Or someone worthy to wield it?
Had it been anyone else, merely touching the sword would have sliced them to the bone.
But his hand remained uncut.
"You dare touch my sword?"
Her blade let out a savage cry.
The sword vibrated like a living creature, roaring in harmony with its master's rage.
[Seo Ju-Heon]
[Majesty Ability Awakening]
[Steal Target's Ability]
Gram.
A sword that pledged loyalty only to the one who had drawn it.
A golden aura erupted from Seo Ju-Heon's body.
Sensing something, the female Seo Ju-Heon's brows twitched ever so slightly.
"...Don't tell me."
"You just awakened your Majesty ability?"
"It doesn't matter what ability you've awakened!"
"You still can't defeat Supreme Divine-Class relics!"
That was precisely what made this so bewildering.
An awakening shouldn't happen this quickly.
He was a novice Majesty.
So why...?
Gripping Gram's hilt, the female Seo Ju-Heon steadied her breathing and gathered her strength.
Even if someone tried to steal this sword, Gram was never a weapon that just anyone could wield.
Like Excalibur, it was a mythical demonic sword that only a truly great warrior could draw.
Yet—
The sword refused to move.
Don't tell me... because I met another version of myself?
"...?"
Then what ability did he awaken?
No...
That wasn't what mattered.
She tightened her grip.
The sword didn't budge in the slightest.
As though...
It no longer recognized her as its master.
I'll kill him before he can use it.
Why...?
A terrible premonition crawled up her spine.
Sure enough...
Gram's requirement was righteousness.
[Usage Requirement: Only a great warrior may draw this sword.]
[Contract Terminated]
"Someone as greedy as you should never have been able to draw it in the first place!"
The familiar sight made the female Seo Ju-Heon freeze.
Rage filled her eyes.
Yet before them...
The male Seo Ju-Heon effortlessly drew the sword from her grasp.
"Don't tell me..."
"You copied my Majesty ability?!"
"...What?"
At the same time, Ju-Heon pulled Gram free by its hilt.
Seeing that, she let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Even if you steal it, Gram still has requirements!!"
Then...
She froze.
Gram offered not the slightest resistance.
As though it had accepted him as its rightful master from the very beginning...
It slipped smoothly into his hand.
"This..."
"This is impossible."
The female Seo Ju-Heon's expression twisted.
Shock and fury churned together.
[Sword of Justice: Gram]
Usage Requirement: Only a great warrior may draw this sword.
↓
"...Wait."
"This is..."
[Sword of Justice: Gram]
Usage Requirement: Only a great villain may draw this sword. (Modified)
This isn't ordinary theft...!
Just as expected...
Her eyes widened.
[Mental Theft]
Ju-Heon's true ability had finally manifested.
The female Seo Ju-Heon stared in complete shock.
"You..."
"What did you just do...?"
Ju-Heon slowly curled the corner of his lips upward.
"I..."
"Stole it."
"...?!"
The female Seo Ju-Heon lost her footing and fell into the eroded ground beneath her.
Below lay a darkness whose depth couldn't even be measured.
There wasn't even time for surprise.
The next instant...
Ju-Heon swung Gram.
Watching the scene unfold, he casually rested the sword on his shoulder before speaking leisurely.
BOOOOOOM!!
"You've been hogging too many good things."
"Let's share."
A tremendous shockwave erupted from Gram, cleaving straight through the center of the city.
The devastated sky split apart.
The ground caved in.
A colossal sinkhole swallowed everything below.
From beneath came a roar that sounded almost like a scream.
"SEO JU-HEON!!!"
"Ghk!"
She reached out her hand.
Whether she meant to grab him...
Or something else...
Even she didn't know.
Ju-Heon casually gave the sword another light swing before speaking.
"Well then..."
"Goodbye."
"They say only one of two doppelgängers gets to survive."
"So let's make sure we never meet again."
This was on an entirely different level from fighting Majesty Yu Jae-ha.
Yu Jae-ha had been a Creator-type Majesty.
A relatively defensive one.
But this woman...
Ju-Heon hurried away from the battlefield.
Sweat poured down his face.
His breathing was ragged.
He hadn't defeated the female Seo Ju-Heon.
He knew perfectly well...
That he couldn't beat her.
Even now, he had only escaped by creating a brief opening instead of facing her head-on.
He had no choice but to admit it.
"A combat-type Majesty..."
"Her dominance is unbelievable."
The Divine-Class relics targeting their world were already terrifying enough.
Yet the Majesties themselves were monsters as well.
To face them...
He needed more power.
And the most useful relic nearby?
There is one.
His gaze turned in a particular direction.
Bang!
Not far away...
Majesty Yu Jae-ha was still there.
And beside him...
Julian.
Ju-Heon's eyes sharpened.
Remarkably, Majesty Yu Jae-ha was fighting Julian on equal footing.
"Perfect."
"My next target..."
"Is over there."
"Tch."
"Relic Creation—Aegis."
The violent pressure of the wind surged.
Julian was freely wielding power that was practically divine.
Earlier, he had merely intended to take Ju-Heon away.
Now it was different.
Now, he genuinely intended to eliminate Majesty Yu Jae-ha.
An attack like heavenly judgment descended upon Yu Jae-ha's head.
Majesty Yu Jae-ha made a graceful sweep with his hand.
Golden symbols flowed from his fingertips, forming an object.
In an instant, something materialized in midair—
The legendary shield of Zeus from Greek mythology.
Boom!
The shield blocked Julian's attack before shattering like glass and disappearing.
Yu Jae-ha merely flicked his fingers as if it were nothing.
"Tch, you're fast!"
Julian swung his sword to break through, but Yu Jae-ha didn't even give him a chance to find the timing.
As another attack came—
"Next."
"Relic Creation—King Arthur's Sword, Excalibur."
The mythical holy sword whose very name could split a battlefield.
Compressed light took shape, clinging perfectly to his hand.
A combat weapon almost indistinguishable from a genuine relic.
Yu Jae-ha swung the sword sideways.
"Relic Reference—Talos' Armor."
Light spread across Yu Jae-ha's body.
Walls erupted upward from the ground, forming a gigantic shell around him.
Its shape resembled a suit of armor.
Boom!
Crash!!
His attack shot toward Julian.
Julian immediately counterattacked.
A massive blast of pressure exploded outward.
He endured it better than before.
He could probably block several more attacks.
But he was still being overwhelmed.
The Majesty crest engraved on his palm flashed brilliantly.
Light and metallic constructs continued forming in his hand.
That should be enough.
"Sealing Device... Chains of Enkidu..."
Every treasure he had created was priceless.
But all of them had merely been buying time.
While the treasures delayed Julian...
His true objective had finally been completed.
A relic designed specifically to seal...
And kill...
Julian.
Holding the chains, Yu Jae-ha's eyes sharpened.
"Now..."
"Disappear."
"To deal with a full-fledged Divine-Class relic..."
"You need something on this level."
Runes of light floated around him.
"It's unstable..."
"But it's finished."
Just as he was about to activate the chains—
BOOM!!
Something exploded.
At the same time...
Someone crashed down from above.
Majesty Yu Jae-ha staggered backward.
"...!"
He instinctively looked up.
Someone was falling from the sky together with the Rope Relic.
"...What the hell are you doing?!"
"You crazy bastard!"
"If you use that thing, Julian will really die!"
"...What?"
"That's exactly why I made it!"
"He's my relic!!!"
Th-That's...!
Seo Ju-Heon?!
It wasn't the expression of someone worried about another person.
The man falling from the sky came down with a flying kick aimed directly at Yu Jae-ha.
Seo Ju-Heon glared at him as though he were about to punch him.
Yu Jae-ha was left speechless.
My relic?
What the hell is he talking about?
Crack!!!
"Julian is a valuable relic I'm going to use from now on!"
The relic was knocked away and tumbled across the ground.
Majesty Yu Jae-ha, who had taken the hit head-on, stared at him in disbelief.
...What the hell?
"It'd be a waste to throw him away after only a few uses."
"They say he's a relic that makes every other Majesty tremble."
"...Don't tell me..."
"You're serious?!"
"Of course I am."
"That body."
"That potential."
"Those specs."
"Do you have any idea how valuable a Majesty Killer like him is?"
"If he behaves, he'll make an excellent test subject."
"If he doesn't..."
"I'll tear him apart, remodel him, and keep using him."
"He's useful in so many ways."
Majesty Yu Jae-ha suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to kill him.
Meanwhile...
Julian stood some distance away, silently watching the two of them.
Ju-Heon let out a slow breath as he looked toward Julian.
What's he planning?
"And besides..."
"If he dies here, it'd be such a waste."
"Relics are meant to be worked until they're worn down."
"You keep using them even after they've turned to ashes."
Yu Jae-ha looked half dumbfounded...
Half exasperated.
He was reaching the limit of his patience.
"So?"
"Because he's valuable, you want to make him yours?"
Yu Jae-ha's lips twisted with anger.
"Fuck."
"You were just saying we'd turn him in for a reward."
Well...
Julian was a Majesty Killer.
He would certainly be useful.
And those relics had been personally scattered by that Majesty, meaning they were incredibly important.
Yu Jae-ha could understand that much.
Even so...
He wasn't about to play nice anymore.
The Majesty crest flared from his hand.
Within it dwelled the power to sever...
And steal.
The very ability possessed by the female Seo Ju-Heon—
That monstrous swordswoman.
"That thing has no intention of letting either of us live."
"You're mistaken."
"That's not the Julian from your world."
"You're far too soft."
"...That ability..."
"Don't tell me!"
"You awakened?!"
"Yeah."
"I borrowed a little something from my older sister."
Ju-Heon slowly raised one hand.
His fingers traced through empty air.
"I'm not being soft."
Yu Jae-ha's eyebrow twitched.
"...What?"
"I picked up a new ability."
At that very moment—
A thin invisible line appeared above Julian's head.
The line of contract connecting relic and human.
A bond that no one had ever been able to interfere with.
"Perfect."
"I can see it crystal clear."
Ju-Heon narrowed his eyes.
He dashed straight toward Julian.
Then—
He grabbed the space above Julian's head.
As though snapping a fishing line—
"I'll steal..."
"Your damn contract."