Chapter 48
CHAPTER 48
Madness 100 (3)
Ju-Heon slapped her cheek a few times.
"Hey. Hey. Don't die. I can't be bothered listening to last words."
"Cynthia!"
But Cynthia only smiled as blood spilled from her lips.
Ju-Heon hurriedly supported her.
However, her body was already growing cold.
Having a Majester's Heart ripped out was no different from receiving a death sentence.
"Because of you... for the first time... I was able to imagine... my real city..."
"Cynthia!"
"...Thank you..."
Just as her eyes were about to close...
Ju-Heon muttered coldly,
"Vitrain... you bastard."
Cynthia smiled faintly.
The light within the hole in her chest, where Vitrain had stolen her heart, was fading away.
Ju-Heon gently tapped her cheek.
His teeth ground together in rage.
Then, at the same time, he reached into his coat and pulled out the object he had kept earlier.
It was...
The Majester's Heart he had extracted from Delreira.
At that very moment—
Ju-Heon brutally shoved Delreira's heart straight into the hole in Cynthia's chest.
"The more you are told 'That's impossible,' the stronger you become."
As Ju-Heon exploded with Dominance and forcibly fixed the heart in place—
THUMP!!
Cynthia's stopped heartbeat violently started again.
"H-Huh?!"
Crunch!
[Forcibly transplanting another person's Majester Heart!]
[Warning: Compatibility testing has been skipped. This is absolute insanity!]
Cynthia's closed eyes snapped open.
She gasped violently for air as she frantically touched her chest.
"Huh...?"
"I... I'm alive?"
"Doing insane things is my specialty."
[Buff 5: Bulldozer]
Looking thoroughly annoyed, Ju-Heon let go of the hand supporting her and casually said,
"Your dying speech just now was pretty emotional."
"You were thanking me for letting you imagine your real city and everything."
"...!"
[The Madness of the 187,487th Majester, Seo Ju-Heon, has been recorded into the Narrative.]
['Permanent Madness Level 100' has been applied to the Majester's Narrative.]
Cynthia's face instantly turned as red as a tomato.
She had genuinely believed she was dying.
She had poured out every heartfelt emotion she had...
And this jerk had listened just to laugh at her?!
She couldn't understand why he looked so pleased.
"N-No, that was...!"
"I really thought I was dying...!"
"Thanks. It was nice to hear."
"I should've recorded it."
[Hostile Target of the 187,487th Majester World Line has been officially registered: Architect Vitrain.]
[In simple terms, Lord Vitrain has personally marked you as his enemy.]
So that's how it is.
As Ju-Heon stood up chuckling,
Cynthia wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole from sheer embarrassment.
Behind that carefree smile, however...
Ju-Heon's eyes were ice-cold.
The Rulebook cheerfully announced,
[Once an invasion target has been designated, special rewards and trials will be granted. Do your best! ♥]
Just then...
Cup Noodles Yu Jae-ha cautiously spoke from inside Ju-Heon's coat.
Still clutching her chest and catching her breath, Cynthia shook her head.
"No."
[Commander...]
"What?"
[You at least gave Cynthia a secondhand heart... but what about mine?]
[Where exactly is my heart right now?]
Hearing Cynthia's firm answer, Yu Jae-ha sighed and looked toward Ju-Heon.
"Well... at least it wasn't a complete waste."
Hearing the pitiful voice coming from the Cup Noodles,
Ju-Heon suddenly froze.
Right.
Cup Noodles Yu Jae-ha was still barely surviving after the Rulebook had ripped out his heart.
Majester Yu Jae-ha turned toward Cynthia.
He glanced sideways at Ju-Heon.
She awakened as a rookie Majester in a single leap...
"Hey."
"Did Vitrain or the Rulebook ever reward you with something like a Majester's Heart?"
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing."
"Forget it."
"Anyway, Majester Hearts are used as currency."
"And that Cup Noodles destroyed Lethe's relic, so his value has probably gone up."
"They'll definitely use him as bargaining material when negotiating with other Majesters."
"The Majesters will want him too."
Cynthia picked up Delreira's Majester Ring, something every Majester possessed.
The moment she held it...
Something unexpected happened.
Ju-Heon nodded in understanding.
Good.
While I'm hunting Vitrain... I'll have a proper excuse to recover Yu Jae-ha's missing parts too.
[Summoning Majester Delreira's relics.]
"Anyway..."
"Tough luck, rookie Majester."
"It won't be a wasted trip."
"...!"
One relic after another emerged from Delreira's ring.
Among them, one object immediately caught Ju-Heon's attention.
A rather shabby-looking 007 briefcase.
Ju-Heon's eyes lit up.
Cynthia walked over.
"What's that?"
"It's a reward Vitrain gives his subordinates."
"It's an absolutely bound relic."
She added with a bitter smile,
"Give me the ring Delreira dropped when she died."
Ju-Heon handed over the ring he had picked up.
"Normally, when the owner dies, their relics should all be destroyed."
"But because you transplanted Delreira's heart into me..."
"The system still thinks the original owner is alive."
"It seems to recognize me as Delreira now."
"Oh."
"Guess shoving it in there was the right choice."
"I only did it because cleaning up afterward would've been a hassle."
Inside the case...
...was a silver ring.
[Administrator's Secret Vault Guarding (Inventory)]
• A special subspace granted by Architect Vitrain.
• Safely stores relics without damaging them.
• Allows the owner to retain their equipped relics even when traveling between world lines.
Hearing Ju-Heon's indifferent answer,
Yu Jae-ha clicked his tongue.
You really can't be honest with yourself.
"So what?"
"If it's password-protected, it's useless."
"Things like that self-destruct if you force them open."
"It's fine."
"I know the password."
"I was once a candidate myself."
"Normally, when a Majester leaves their own world, they become practically penniless."
"They either have to obtain new relics or summon their old ones with Summoning Tickets."
"But those guys are different."
"Thanks to privileges granted by the Rulebook..."
"They can carry all their own weapons into any world as if they were still at home."
"Oh."
"So they start from a completely different line."
"A silver-spoon exclusive item."
Cynthia skillfully turned the combination dial.
Click.
The briefcase opened.
Inside...
...was a ring case.
When they opened it—
Ju-Heon immediately snatched up the silver ring with great interest.
Yu Jae-ha laughed like he was watching an inexperienced rookie.
"Perfect."
"It suits someone like you who collects every random piece of junk."
"As for me..."
"I just make whatever I need on the spot."
"So I don't need it."
Cynthia suddenly stopped speaking.
When Ju-Heon extended his hand, the subspace opened and Delreira's belongings poured out.
The contents were rather unexpected.
Cynthia blinked.
"Gold bars..."
"...and keys?"
"Wear it over the Majester Ring that every Majester has."
"Then your Majester Ring will evolve into one that can store relics."
"It can only hold twelve relics in total, so use the slots carefully—"
[Architect's Master Key (S-Rank)]
• A key that opens the back doors of every city designed by Vitrain.
• Entering a world line with this key will not be judged as an unauthorized intrusion (invasion).
Majester Yu Jae-ha and Ju-Heon both stared at her as though she had just said something ridiculous.
Yu Jae-ha's eyes widened.
"Wouldn't it be easier to just steal the other Majesters' rings too?"
"..."
"Oh, lucky."
"I like this key."
"A key?"
"With this, you can infiltrate a city while pretending to be one of the locals."
Normally, Majesters entered other worlds using invasion rights.
Naturally, there were countermeasures against them—expulsion, detection by surveillance systems, tracking abilities, and the like.
But with this key...
One could disguise themselves as a legitimate resident and enjoy all the benefits without raising suspicion.
"So Delreira's biggest contribution was secretly sneaking into this city."
Ju-Heon spun the Master Key around his finger before looking at Cynthia.
"Good."
"Wine girl."
"That heart I put into you..."
"It's not just some secondhand part."
"I know."
"I'll repay the favor."
"If you want, I'll even brew a poison here that can kill Vitrain."
Ju-Heon chuckled.
"No."
"I'll personally feed him the poison."
He looked around the city for a moment.
The ruined streets.
The dead vineyards.
The buildings blackened by fire.
"You..."
"Use this city to create a vaccine capable of resisting the Rulebook."
"...What?"
Cynthia looked at him in surprise.
"This city..."
"It was a place that made diseases, wasn't it?"
It was only a short sentence.
But those words pierced straight into Cynthia's heart.
Ju-Heon smirked.
"If you know how to make diseases..."
"You should know how to cure them too."
Cynthia remained silent.
Oppressed by Vitrain.
Used by the Rulebook.
A city that had sacrificed people just to protect its citizens.
For the first time...
Someone had told her—
"Use it for yourself."
Cynthia bit her lip for a long time.
Her eyes reddened.
But she didn't cry.
"If you do it right..."
"This city will become the greatest vaccine stronghold in existence."
As he turned away, he added quietly,
"...You're a hopelessly stubborn man."
Then he spoke once more.
"This city was stolen from you."
"So now..."
"Make it yours."
"Thank you."
"I truly mean it."
Ju-Heon didn't answer.
Instead, he hurried Yu Jae-ha along.
"Enough of that."
"Where did he run off to?"
"He probably went to sell your subordinate's heart."
"Now that its value has skyrocketed."
"Damn it."
"He can't be allowed to sell it."
"Where is he?"
"And what about that Rulebook bastard?"
"He ran away."
"What?!"
"I told you not to waste time!"
While sensing the lingering traces of energy, Yu Jae-ha clicked his tongue.
Then the Majester who had created the Rulebook spoke.
"Of all places..."
"It just had to be somewhere you'd love."
"What kind of place?"
"The Rulebook can't freely jump between dimensions either."
"Every time it moves, it has to remain in one place for three days to gather enough energy."
"So..."
"You figured we could catch it."
Yu Jae-ha pointed toward Ju-Heon's chest.
It was...
Fortuna's Coin.
Meanwhile...
Back in Ju-Heon's original world—
World B-187487.
Above the city still shrouded in the plague's shadow...
The sky suddenly split apart.
A radiant relic descended from the heavens.
Someone swallowed hard.
The problem wasn't the seed itself.
It was the sentence engraved across its surface.
"...What is that?"
"A seed?"
"No..."
"It's a gigantic seed!"
[Use it together with your newly acquired Authority.]
The words were scribbled across it like careless graffiti.
Anyone could recognize the familiar handwriting.
A colossal seed, several times taller than a human being, had landed in the center of the city.
It was magnificent.
Some people genuinely believed that a god had descended.
As chaos broke out,
Julian immediately flew over together with Ilya to inspect it.
"...This is..."
"...Seo Ju-Heon."
"It's the Commander."
Before anyone could say another word...
The seed began to bloom.
Then—
Swoooooosh—
The plague blanketing the city receded as though it had never existed.
The foul air surrounding the patients vanished.
The breathing of those who had been groaning in pain became lighter.
Watching the scene,
Julian couldn't help but smile.
"...Ha..."
"Seo Ju-Heon..."
"...That bastard actually did it."
Then...
The moment he saw the next message,
Julian's expression froze.
[New Authority Acquired]
There was no explanation.
No letter.
No message.
But this strange seed alone was enough.
It proved that Ju-Heon had crossed dimensions, destroyed the source of the plague...
...and sent back the solution.
Accepting the Seed of Healing, Julian opened the Rulebook.
Name: SPAM Mail
• Forcefully shoves an unavoidable amount of power into the target, whether they want it or not.
• Cannot be blocked.
• Cannot unsubscribe.
"More importantly..."
"'Use it together with your newly acquired Authority'..."
"What kind of holy power did he gain this time...?"
Julian silently looked again.
And looked again.
Nothing changed.
"...Spam?"
Not Noble Salvation.
Not Sacred Blessing.
Not the Grace of Life.
None of those.
The Authority destined to save humanity...
...was called Spam.
A vein bulged on Julian's forehead.
"...That bastard..."
"...What in the world did he even obtain over there?"