Chapter 55
CHAPTER 55
The Majesty's Pride (1)
Ju-heon pressed the button again.
[Proxy Guarantee Activated]
[Lifespan -1 year]
"...Aaaagh!"
Yu Jae-ha's scream echoed across the racetrack, but Ju-heon paid it no attention.
His eyes remained fixed on the track.
Soon, a change occurred around Horse No. 5.
For a brief instant, the countdown timer above the old man's shackles stopped ticking.
...
The old man looked down at the shackles around his ankles in surprise.
Then he slowly raised his head.
His eyes met Ju-heon's.
There was neither fear nor gratitude in them.
Instead...
They held the look of someone who had recognized an equal.
Yu Jae-ha let out a dry laugh.
"He figured out you're the one who picked him?"
"No."
Ju-heon shook his head.
"I think he just recognized another Majesty."
At that moment, Basil frowned at Ju-heon.
Something about the situation bothered him.
Of course, the horse Ju-heon had chosen had terrible stats.
His own horse was unquestionably superior.
Yet...
Something felt off.
Basil raised another relic.
"I suppose I'll have to improve my horse's specs."
He activated two relics.
The first was—
[Tyche's Coin (Grade 5 / Consumable Relic) (31/100)]
A blessed coin of Tyche, the Greek Goddess of Fortune.
Normally, heads meant success while tails meant failure.
Inside this city, however...
It could never land on tails.
The coin spun into the air.
It landed—
Heads.
The second relic was—
[Hermes' Sandals (Grade 5 / Consumable Relic) (595/100)]
A relic that granted acceleration and agility to its user.
For a race, it was among the best possible relics.
But then—
The relic failed to activate.
"...What?"
Basil's expression stiffened.
Ju-heon chuckled.
"Looks like it isn't working."
"I told you."
"I'm not going to let relics be used fairly."
Is that another one of that Majesty's abilities?
Then I have no choice...
Basil immediately pressed the button again.
This time, he poured twice as much Luck into Horse No. 4.
A brilliant aura erupted around the horse as it surged forward.
"Excellent."
Basil smiled in satisfaction.
"At this rate—"
Before he could finish speaking—
A gigantic iron ball crashed down in front of the track.
Boom!!
Horse No. 4 barely avoided it.
Only thanks to its luck.
But—
Its shackle timer sped up another level.
"...What?"
For the first time, confusion appeared on Basil's face.
He had increased its luck.
So why was the danger becoming even greater?
Meanwhile, Horse No. 5 continued running at the same slow pace.
Plodding along.
Breathing heavily.
Yet strangely...
Every disaster seemed to pass him by.
Or rather...
Even when calamities struck him, they somehow felt... delayed.
Watching that, Majesty Yu Jae-ha frowned.
"That's not luck..."
"...I don't think that's luck."
Ju-heon smiled as though he had expected this all along.
"Right."
"That's that Majesty's unique ability."
The corners of Ju-heon's mouth slowly rose.
"He isn't avoiding disasters."
"He's postponing them."
As an experiment, Ju-heon activated the Inspector's Hand.
The system immediately revealed the opponent's ability.
[Majesty's Unique Passive]
Deferred Fate
Classification: Majesty Exclusive / Passive
- All curses, disasters, accidents, sudden deaths, and every other calamity take effect at the latest possible moment.
- As long as the target remains alive, every catastrophe is postponed to the latest possible timing.
- Deferred calamities activate after the target leaves the current location.
Ju-heon let out a quiet chuckle.
I figured he'd survived in this city with stats like those because he had some special way of staying alive...
So that's what it was.
He nodded.
"That old man isn't lucky."
"He's just delaying everything."
Yu Jae-ha's expression changed.
"...Then that means..."
"Yeah."
Ju-heon grinned.
"He's the type who survives now..."
"...and dies later."
At that moment—
Ju-heon's finger slammed onto the button.
No.
Calling it "pressing" wasn't enough.
Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click! Click!
He hammered it relentlessly.
Without the slightest hesitation.
[Proxy Guarantee Activated]
[Lifespan -1 year]
[Lifespan -1 year]
[Lifespan -1 year]
[Lifespan -1 year]
[Lifespan -1 year]
Warning messages piled up one after another.
Every single year deducted...
Came from Majesty Yu Jae-ha's lifespan.
"You... insane bastard!"
Yu Jae-ha cursed, but Ju-heon was already watching the track.
Above Horse No. 5—
A completely different level of fortune than before began gathering.
Pure Luck.
The old man's footsteps changed.
The old man still ran with a limp.
He was still slow.
But every step—
Every single step—
Was steady.
He never sprinted.
He never overtook anyone.
Yet...
He never stopped.
Meanwhile—
Crash!!
The ground caved in beneath Horse No. 3.
It tried to dodge, but it was already too late.
Horse No. 2 suddenly found gravity twisting around it in empty air.
Frozen in midair, it couldn't move so much as a single hoof.
Horse No. 4 stumbled and fell as well.
"...What?"
Basil muttered unconsciously.
"What in the world is happening?"
The relic Return of Moniseus was certainly designed to create countless hazards.
But he had never seen anything like this.
What was causing all these bizarre phenomena?
Every horse had stopped.
Except one.
Only Horse No. 5 continued moving forward.
Slowly...
But steadily...
He continued approaching the finish line.
Only then did Basil truly look at him.
"...That..."
"...Wasn't he the Majesty who lost everything and was reduced to a racehorse after absorbing every misfortune?"
Basil remembered him.
That old man...
He had once been a Majesty who gambled his entire world against the Queen of Fortune.
He had lost.
After taking every calamity upon himself, the Queen of Fortune had turned him into nothing more than one of her racehorses.
That's right.
He wasn't even worth paying attention to...
A broken piece of livestock.
In truth, even after becoming a racehorse, the old man had shown no ambition.
He had merely waited to die.
Then why...
Why is he so determined now?
Why isn't he stopping halfway like always?
Why hasn't he given up this time?
At that moment, Horse No. 5 neared the finish line.
The blood drained from Basil's face.
The old man slowly turned his head.
Not toward Basil.
Toward Ju-heon.
For the briefest moment...
A long-forgotten emotion flickered in his eyes.
What a ridiculous race.
He had participated in it countless times.
To him, this race was nothing more than one of the Queen of Fortune's amusements.
A cruel gambling game that bankrupted Majesties and turned them into racehorses.
It stripped them not only of their worlds...
But also of their pride.
That was why he had never taken it seriously from the very beginning.
Whether he reached the finish line or was eliminated halfway...
His unique ability ensured he wouldn't die immediately.
So every race, he would intentionally stop halfway.
Mocking the players.
That had been the last shred of dignity he possessed as a Majesty.
I refuse to dance to your amusement.
But...
This time was different.
The old man looked at Ju-heon once more.
The man who had chosen him.
Not because of his Luck.
Not because of his physical abilities.
But because he believed in his potential.
He saw me as a Majesty.
The old man understood.
That choice had not been made by coincidence.
So this time...
He ran with everything he had.
Not to win the wager.
Not to prove any principle.
He simply ran.
To repay the one who chose me.
And there was something else.
They're all still alive.
Except for the horse Basil had deliberately sacrificed at the very beginning...
Every horse that should have died...
Was still alive.
The old man realized why.
That young man...
He had shared lifespan—
In other words, luck—
Even with horses that weren't his own.
That was why they had survived.
That was why they had endured.
Normally, gamblers only care about their own horse.
Everyone calculated.
Who should live.
Who should be discarded.
Especially someone with power like that.
You eliminate the unnecessary pieces.
That was common sense in this city.
That was how Majesties behaved.
But...
He's trying to save everyone.
The old man's expression shifted ever so slightly.
Just this once...
I'll run like this.
He raised his head.
As a Majesty.
As someone whose story had not yet ended.
Finally—
He crossed the finish line.
The instant he did, his position changed.
The old man standing on the track was instantly transferred outside the course.
Ju-heon understood immediately.
"I see."
"So crossing the finish line counts as leaving the arena."
It was just like the promise made to slaves in a colosseum—
Win, and you'll be granted your freedom.
But for the old man...
Leaving the arena meant leaving the location where his ability had been postponing every disaster.
The very next moment—
All the calamities that had been deferred awakened.
Falls.
Explosions.
Instant-death effects.
Incineration.
Every disaster declared in unison,
"Your turn has come."
The old man looked at his own body.
So...
This is the end.
There was no fear on his face.
No regret.
Only acceptance.
He had known from the beginning that this would happen if he won.
Normally, champions survived because companions, defensive relics, and healing relics protected them from the accumulated disasters.
But now...
He was a penniless Majesty with nothing.
He was certain to die.
Knowing that...
He had still crossed the finish line.
He did not regret it.
He had never been a worthy Majesty.
Never a ruler deserving of an entire world.
Only after losing his world...
His family...
His comrades...
Everything...
To the Queen of Fortune...
Had he realized what truly mattered.
Pathetically late.
But if it was for a black-hearted Majesty who refused to treat people as disposable tools...
Then perhaps...
This ending wasn't so bad.
The old man quietly closed his eyes.
But Ju-heon was already moving.
Ignoring Yu Jae-ha's frantic shouting.
"Hey! Where are you going?!"
"That old man's finished!"
"If you go over there, you'll get caught in the disasters too! Get back here!"
"It's fine."
Ju-heon answered simply.
"That's why I'm going over there."
He walked straight toward the old man.
The old man slowly opened his eyes again.
This time...
They were filled with surprise.
"...Why?"
Ju-heon didn't answer.
Instead, he extended his hand.
"Old man."
"Don't you think the water's still too cold to be crossing the River Styx?"
Then—
Thud.
He grabbed the old man's wrist.
[Authority Activated]