Chapter 29
CHAPTER 29
The Hand of Redefinition (1)
At that very moment—
"...!"
"I'm stealing that contract."
Julian clutched his head.
Like a flood breaking through a dam, memories that had long been sealed came rushing back.
Bang!!
A violent shock echoed through him.
His vision blurred.
At the same time, he felt something snap inside himself.
And then—
The memories were simple.
Beyond the laboratory's observation window stood countless people.
He had merely been one of the test subjects.
[The bound contract with Majesty Cynthia has been terminated.]
"B-03. Ability levels are stable."
"C-17. Scheduled for disposal."
"A-01... It looks like this one will survive."
Then...
That being spoke to him.
"You..."
"If I remember correctly, your name was Julian Miller?"
"Interesting."
"Primitive. Savage."
"But interesting."
"So they selected their Majesties through combat instead of the Colosseum."
"I suppose they must lack intelligence."
He spoke with the detached curiosity of a scientist observing an experiment.
Julian knew.
This was the Majesty who had created him.
The masked man's voice echoed through the empty laboratory.
Soon, the masked Majesty continued.
"For now, go to the City of Dionysus."
"Assist Dionysus while procuring materials for me."
"You should be pleased."
"Among the prototypes we sent to Gaia's world..."
"Your base model produced excellent results."
Materials...?
An assistant standing nearby smiled.
"You'll work for us, won't you?"
"My lovely relic."
"Gaia?"
"The world Prometheus was responsible for?"
"That's right."
"In the end, someone named Seo Ju-Heon became a Majesty there."
"It was an amusing system."
"They gathered King-Class candidates and made them fight to determine who would become a Majesty."
The memories abruptly ended.
Julian collapsed to his knees.
Covering his face with both hands, he let out a shaky breath.
"...Originally..."
"I wasn't a relic..."
"I was a human?"
His vacant eyes trembled.
The recovered memories had shaken him to his very core.
Ju-Heon walked over.
"Hey, hey."
"Pull yourself together."
"If you're like this, we can't make a contract."
"...Is there..."
"Any point to my existence?"
"Everything..."
"Was only part of someone's predetermined paradigm..."
"Hey, hey, hey."
"This isn't the time to dive into Plato's Cave."
"You're supposed to sign a contract with me now."
"How am I supposed to do that when you're completely out of it?"
"...A contract?"
"I'm nothing more than some unidentified monster."
"I'm not even worthy of something like that..."
"Hey."
"Get a grip."
Ju-Heon bent down until they were eye level.
Julian, however, continued covering his face.
His lips trembled.
"...Test subject..."
"...Prototype..."
"...Base model..."
"What... am I?"
Ju-Heon lightly slapped both of Julian's cheeks.
"Come on."
"Wake up."
"It doesn't matter either way."
"I don't make contracts with ordinary humans anyway."
"...What?"
"You're an excellent slave."
Ju-Heon shrugged.
A slave...?
Majesty Yu Jae-ha stared at him as though asking,
"Do slaves not count as people to you?"
Ju-Heon simply laughed.
"This is exactly when you should pull yourself together and come over to my side."
Julian looked at him as though staring at a criminal.
"...You really are..."
"Yep."
"I'm ridiculously handsome."
"If you don't know why you're living..."
"Then stay alive until you figure it out."
"Or forget all that."
"Just become my slave."
"Your master will feed you and give you a place to live."
"Why overthink it?"
"...I don't trust..."
"A swindler like you..."
"Then don't."
"I never asked you to trust me."
"..."
"But if you come with me..."
"At the very least, I can beat the bastards who know what you really are."
"...Those Majesties?"
"Yeah."
"I'll give you a new life."
"So from this moment on..."
Julian stared at Ju-Heon in complete disbelief.
But then—
Whoooooosh!
The sky trembled.
The status windows blared.
They're attacking from afar because they think I'm about to steal Julian away.
[Danger detected.]
[The authority of Majesty 'Dionysus' is attacking.]
Ju-Heon grinned.
"Activate Satyr Relic!"
Dionysus?
Ju-Heon looked toward the heavens with open disdain.
In the next instant—
The aura of the Satyr burst from his body.
The madness of a half-man, half-beast.
The scent of one who served Dionysus.
The sky turned crimson.
Wine-colored.
A sweet yet intoxicating aroma filled the air.
It was madness.
Compressed insanity condensed into a single massive sphere as it descended.
If it struck, no trace of reason would remain.
Crunch!
The descending mass of madness stopped directly in front of Ju-Heon.
As though it had collided with an invisible wall.
[Cannot attack a subordinate relic.]
[Dionysus' power has been nullified.]
"This is..."
"A Majesty's authority?"
Fragments of madness scattered throughout the surroundings.
Ju-Heon casually brushed them off with his hand.
Then he raised the Satyr relic once more.
"Good."
"Success."
"So in the end..."
"Can't I just solve everything by smacking it with the Satyr relic?"
But then—
[The Majesty is enraged.]
[The Majesty is using their authority.]
Majesty Yu Jae-ha's face immediately stiffened.
The atmosphere changed.
This pressure was completely different from before.
Earlier, it had merely been the power of a relic.
Now—
"You can't block a Majesty's authority with that!"
"...?"
"Just like my Creation ability..."
"A Majesty's authority is unique to each Majesty."
"It's completely different from a relic's power."
Yu Jae-ha clenched his teeth.
"A Majesty's authority can only be blocked by another Majesty's authority."
"That's why Majesties have ranks."
"Hah."
Right.
His first tomb raid had failed.
He remembered rolling in frustration during the days when he had been poor.
If he couldn't fight...
And he couldn't run...
For an instant, Ju-Heon's vision blurred.
His body, which had felt so light only moments ago, suddenly became heavy.
It felt as though every combat instinct engraved into his body was disappearing.
So... my body is regressing into the past...
"Let's see what this Majesty's authority actually is."
[Your body is regressing by 10 years.]
BOOOOM!!
The earth shook violently.
At last, an overwhelming force flooded into Ju-Heon's mind.
Then memories poured back like a tidal wave.
The memories felt strangely familiar.
So the Majesty ruling this place possesses the Authority of Regression.
Come to think of it...
Everyone who became an NPC in this city shared something in common.
That drug-like state.
Their reasoning became simple.
Like children pursuing nothing but pleasure.
Was that actually the effect of Regression mixed in?
Perhaps the Majesty of this city had combined that Authority with Dionysus' relic to create the city's rules.
[Majesty Authority Activated.]
[Theft — Hand of Redefinition]
BOOM!!
At the same time...
Ju-Heon felt the strength draining from his body.
It was as though time itself were rewinding by ten years.
His memories slipped away between his fingers like sand.
Ju-Heon placed a hand on his own body.
The moment he did—
Something unbelievable happened.
['Regression' has been stolen.]
[Stolen Concept: 'Regression']
[Redefining...]
At this rate...
Forget making a contract—we're finished.
Ju-Heon curled his lips in annoyance.
"'Regression'..."
"That's an ugly name."
Then—
His ability activated.
"I've decided..."
"To call it Rejuvenation instead."
[The power of Dionysus' relic has been detected.]
[Warning: Wind mixed with intoxication.]
[Concept Redefined: 'Regression' → 'Rejuvenation' (The body recovers in proportion to how far it has regressed.)]
Instead...
His body suddenly felt lighter.
His exhausted muscles recovered.
His wounds healed.
Rather than weakening him...
The ability strengthened him under its new definition.
Intoxication?
So because they couldn't regress me, they switched to trying to disable me instead?
Ju-Heon clicked his tongue.
"Hey, Kongming."
"The older you are, the more you'll benefit from rejuvenation."
Julian, however...
Couldn't avoid the attack.
The drunken wind wrapped around him.
[The enemy is attempting to retrieve Julian Miller.]
But it was already too late.
Thud.
Julian collapsed.
His flushed face made it obvious he wouldn't be waking anytime soon.
Ju-Heon sighed.
I haven't even made a contract with him yet.
I can't exactly leave him behind.
"Seriously..."
"No matter what I do, I can't cure this status effect."
"It doesn't solve the actual problem."
"And how the hell am I supposed to carry this giant?"
The Rope Relic eagerly stepped forward.
[I'll carry him! I'll carry him!]
Ju-Heon slowly raised a hand.
"There's an easier way."
The moment his fingertips brushed Julian's forehead—
"...Do you want people to think I'm a kidnapper?"
[The relic returns to its original form.]
Majesty Yu Jae-ha immediately interrupted.
Ju-Heon laughed.
"Then I'll just make a wagon relic."
"That'd look even more suspicious, idiot."
"Then..."
"A wrapping cloth relic?"
"If he becomes an object, the status effect should disappear."
"Only living things can get drunk."
[Lex Dictum — Julian Miller (SS-Rank / Special Relic)]
Immediately...
His body began transforming.
Into...
A law book.
The noble and dignified existence known as Julian...
Returned to the form of a relic.
At last...
His body unfolded like the pages of a magnificent tome.
"Huh."
"So that's why they call him the Majesty Killer."
"His rank really is impressive."
Flip.
His own immutable precedents.
Absolute laws that could never be overturned.
The absolute law that had formed his very body...
Had become a single volume.
And finally—
Well...
Considering Julian had once subdued and ruled Divine-Class relics himself...
Perhaps it made sense.
At that very instant—
Ju-Heon kicked off the ground.
Whoosh!
He deftly snatched the law book out of the air.
But becoming a relic didn't mean the Dionysus Majesty would simply leave it alone.
Instead...
The book that was Julian began emitting a violent aura.
Seeing this, Majesty Yu Jae-ha shouted,
His eyes gleamed ominously.
Then—
[Relic Destruction]
"This is Dionysus' domain!"
"He can dominate every relic here!"
"How are you planning to carry that thing around?!"
"It's fine."
"I'll just make sure he can't use it."
"...What?"
"How?"
Thud!
The air trembled.
Ju-Heon's fist punched straight through Julian's relic body.
[A...AAAGH!!!]
Ju-Heon slowly raised a finger.
"Hold on."
"I've never tried this in this world before."
"So I don't know if it'll work."
"...?"
A horrifying scream echoed.
It was the anguished cry unique to relics.
Beautiful, intricate decorations decorating the law book began cracking under Ju-Heon's power.
Ju-Heon didn't care in the slightest.
Instead...
He burst into loud laughter while continuing to use his ability on Julian.
Watching it happen, Ju-Heon laughed like a madman.
"If the relic gets destroyed..."
"Then even a Majesty can't use it!"
"Die, Julian!"
"Ahh, this is it!"
"I've missed this feeling!"
"..."
[Relic Destruction]
[Durability reduced by 11%.]
Without mercy...
He smashed Julian apart.
The law book rolled helplessly across the ground.
No longer the embodiment of justice—
It was now nothing more than a damaged relic struggling to survive.
The cracked tome trembled violently across the floor.
Its shaking resembled a creature groaning in agony.
Its cries echoed louder and louder.
[Relic Destruction]
[Durability below 3% — Status: Near Destruction]
[AAAAAAAGH!!!]
The Dionysus Majesty attempted to use Julian's power...
But—
"No wonder the Divine-Class relics hate him..."
"I'll leave him hanging on by a thread so he can't even think about acting up!"
(To Be Continued)
Ju-Heon casually tossed the law book into the air.
Then...
He slammed it down with another punch.
[Relic Destruction]
[Durability is being consumed.]
[Relic Destruction]
[Durability is...]
"You'd better behave!"
"You're just a relic!!"
Majesty Yu Jae-ha watched in utter disgust.
"No wonder the Divine-Class relics hate that guy..."