Chapter 58

CHAPTER 58

The God of Misfortune (1)

"...Just what kind of relic are you planning to have me find?"

At Yu Jae-ha's question, Ju-Heon answered without a moment's hesitation.

"A relic that makes you unlucky."

"...What?"

Yu Jae-ha was speechless.

Every calculation running through his head collapsed like a line of dominoes.

A relic... that causes misfortune?

"That's right."

"I'm going to make myself unlucky."

Is this bastard insane?

"I'm going to spread it around with my Spam Authority anyway."

That summed it up perfectly.

He was already a man who spread misfortune.

Now he was saying he'd pile even more on top of it.

"...Isn't what you have already enough?"

Yu Jae-ha sounded genuinely worried.

"You've already wrecked an entire casino."

"If you amplify it any further—"

Ju-Heon laughed.

"No."

"If we're doing this, then merely being called the 'Majesty of Misfortune' isn't enough."

His way of thinking was truly extraordinary.

No—

Not merely extraordinary.

It was completely insane.

...More importantly, does a relic like that even exist?

Reading Yu Jae-ha's thoughts, Ju-Heon replied,

"It should."

"...Why are you so sure?"

"If there's a place overflowing with fortune..."

Ju-Heon's eyes swept across the ruined casino.

"...then someone, somewhere, must have wished to steal everyone else's luck."

It made sense.

This was a city where those blessed with luck prospered.

Naturally, there would also be people who wished to rob others of their fortune—or destroy it entirely.

"Besides."

"It's insurance before meeting the Queen."

"Insurance?"

"Yeah."

"I'm hedging my bets."

"If I'm going to face the Queen of Fortune, then the only way is to become the King of Misfortune."

Ju-Heon paused before glancing sideways at the elderly Majesty, Rigam.

"But before I become the King of Misfortune..."

"There's something I need to confirm with this old man."

"Confirm?"

Ju-Heon looked directly at Rigam.

"...You."

His eyes gleamed.

"How are you still alive?"

The atmosphere instantly froze.

"I heard Majesties fight each other."

"I heard you even clashed head-on with Shamo Meirim herself."

"So how do you still have your Heart?"

"That doesn't make any sense."

A Majesty's Heart was the single most valuable asset a Majesty possessed.

The moment someone was defeated, it was always the first thing to be taken.

"What?"

"A Majesty with no interest in Hearts?"

"That's impossible."

Ju-Heon glanced at Majesty Yu Jae-ha and stated flatly,

"Just looking at this guy gives you the answer."

Yu Jae-ha's obsessive fixation on Hearts was proof enough.

Even Yu Jae-ha himself nodded.

A Majesty's Heart wasn't just another asset.

It was an extra life.

The greatest treasure a Majesty could possess.

A predator like Shamo Meirim would never leave something like that behind.

"...Unless..."

Ju-Heon frowned.

"...she deliberately spared it just to keep you alive as her racehorse."

At that, Rigam slowly shook his head.

"...No."

"She couldn't take it."

Ju-Heon's eyes sparkled.

Just as I thought.

Ever since learning Rigam had once been a Majesty, Ju-Heon had suspected there had to be some kind of secret.

Yu Jae-ha swallowed hard as well.

A Heart that couldn't be stolen?

That was unbelievable.

"...Couldn't?"

"How?"

Rigam fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"I carved a Contract of Boundaries..."

"...using the Relic of the River Styx."

"The Styx?"

"That's right."

"It was the very last thing I did before my defeat."

He placed a hand over his chest.

"I engraved these words."

Rigam spoke solemnly.

'Without my permission, not even a god may take what belongs to me.'

"Not even that arrogant Queen could break a contract engraved upon the River Styx."

"Because of that..."

"She took all my other relics..."

"...but she could never take my Majesty's Heart."

"So that's how you protected your life."

Those around them smiled with interest.

Rigam, however, looked bitter.

"But there was a reason I saved that relic for last."

"Its drawback is fatal."

"A drawback?"

"Yes."

"Simply put..."

"While the contract remains active, the user cannot directly touch or use any relic."

To use a relic, someone else had to wield it on the user's behalf.

For a relic collector like Ju-Heon, it was practically the same as having both his hands and feet cut off.

"That's one hell of a restriction."

"Figures."

"A broken relic always comes with a price."

Ju-Heon looked somewhat disappointed.

Rigam continued,

"Of course..."

"You can pay that price with relics instead."

"I had subordinates, so they used relics on my behalf..."

"...but that's not the biggest problem."

"The second drawback is far worse."

"And what is it?"

"The River Styx is the River of Immortality. True to its origin, the longer its authority is maintained, the more its owner gradually becomes an 'immortal' existence.

In other words, they cease to be human and transform into the authority itself."

For the people of Beaumont, those words would have been shocking, but Ju-Heon barely reacted.

'The only reason I can still throw my weight around in this world is because of the Curse of Misfortune that Deulbok placed on me.'

But what if Deulbok realized the situation had gone wrong?

Or worse, what if Deulbok met Shao Meiling, one of the leaders of the Anti-Majesty Coalition, before then?

'He'd immediately try to reclaim the curse.'

And if that happened, Ju-Heon would die here regardless.

Which meant there was only one answer.

'I have to make sure he can never reclaim it.'

And if it was the authority of the River Styx...

Then not even this Curse of Misfortune could be taken away.

Yes—even Deulbok wouldn't be able to interfere with its absolute ownership.

"The drawbacks can be fixed later. The conditions work perfectly for me."

Ju-Heon stood up.

"So where is the authority of the River Styx now?"

"The cemetery."

"The cemetery?"

Rigam pointed toward a dark district where even the city's dazzling lights failed to reach.

"The fortune this city enjoys isn't free. Whenever someone enjoys good fortune, someone else must shoulder an equal amount of misfortune. The Queen gathered the authorities and powers of the Majesties she destroyed and dumped them beneath the cemetery in the district of misfortune known as the City of Murphy."

It was, in a word, a landfill for bad luck.

A place where every imaginable accident and every conceivable misfortune had accumulated.

"My authority should be there as well. The Queen even used the victims' final words as epitaphs, erecting gravestones made from Majesties' relics and relic fragments."

"Hah. That's one hell of a hobby."

Ju-Heon gave a crooked grin.

"Let's go. We'd have to head there eventually if we're after the Authority of Misfortune anyway. We might as well stop by on the way."

Beside him, Yu Jae-ha had already gone pale.

'The City of Murphy...? That damned place...'

He had heard of it before.

The original Pizza Majesty had turned his entire world into a gigantic laboratory for misfortune, and Shao Meiling had liked what she saw enough to recruit him.

And now Ju-Heon wanted to go to a place where someone could have their nose cut off just by breathing, or trip over their own feet and snap their neck?

"You're seriously planning to walk into that place?"

Ju-Heon merely smirked as he pulled out the Wish-Granting Check.

There was no need to painstakingly search for the relic himself.

He possessed a fraudulent payment relic capable of exchanging itself for virtually anything.

Ju-Heon uncapped his pen and wrote across the check.

Desired Item: Authority of the River Styx

Normally, the check would have burned away with golden flames as it produced the requested item.

Instead, there was no reaction.

Only a cold mechanical voice echoed.

[Unable to process the requested item.]

"...Huh?"

Ju-Heon frowned.

Watching beside him, Yu Jae-ha couldn't resist commenting.

"So even that amazing check has limits? I guess even the Wish-Granting Relic can't do absolutely everything."

"No way. This thing can buy anything that exists in this world."

Ju-Heon shook the check again.

This time the response came back even more coldly.

[Payment request denied.]

[Reason 1: The area containing the requested authority is excessively contaminated.]

"...So I don't actually need to go there?"

"What?"

Ju-Heon's eyes narrowed.

"...Wait. Are you saying it's refusing the payment because it's afraid it'll get contaminated?"

Rigam nodded bitterly.

"Only natural. Wish-Granting Relics handle nothing but the finest treasures under heaven. But the Authority of Styx lies inside a district overflowing with misfortune. It's like an elite banker who's only ever handled spotless bills screaming because he has to accept mud-covered cash."

Ju-Heon burst out laughing.

Then his eyes gleamed.

"Hey, you little relic."

"So you're refusing because you're afraid of getting dirty?"

The check remained silent.

But the golden surface trembled slightly, clearly expressing its displeasure.

Ju-Heon smiled viciously and began folding the check in half.

"You know, money's supposed to circulate. It gets dirty. It gets stained with blood."

"So who gave you permission to pick and choose your customers?"

As Ju-Heon continued folding it, the relic panicked.

[Doing that will reduce this relic's durability! Excessive force may damage the relic—]

"Scared?"

[I am a Divine-grade relic. If you continue—]

"So what? Think I won't?"

Veins bulged across Ju-Heon's forehead.

[Relic destruction detected!]

Ju-Heon began crushing the relic using the one thing relics feared more than anything else—

brute force.

He wasn't merely squeezing it.

Thanks to his overwhelming bad luck, the relic couldn't even resist.

"What do you think would happen if I ripped you apart and threw you into that district of misfortune?"

"That refined sensitivity you're so proud of would rot away in filth."

The relic answered frantically.

[Reason 2: Limit exceeded. The contamination threshold of the Wish-Granting Check will be surpassed! Completing the transaction carries a high probability that the check itself will become contaminated and be destroyed!]

Ju-Heon ignored it.

Crack!

The relic looked ready to shatter at any moment.

Even Yu Jae-ha panicked.

[H-Hey! Captain! Are you crazy?! How can you destroy such a precious Wish-Granting Relic?! Even I know something that valuable is practically priceless!]

"Quiet."

"Sometimes a beating is the best medicine for a worthless punk."

Ju-Heon glared coldly at the check and gave it one final warning.

"Last chance."

"Do your job like a proper check."

"If you do, I'll let you live."

The check trembled violently.

Relics usually looked down on relic users.

The more valuable the relic, the greater its pride.

But before true madness, a relic's arrogance meant absolutely nothing.

A moment later, new words reluctantly appeared across the check.

[Yielding to the owner's threats... no, strong request, beginning search.]

[The coordinates of the location containing the assigned authority have been identified.]

The check couldn't produce the item directly.

But it was willing to risk contamination to reveal its location.

Ju-Heon grinned.

"See?"

"I told you it'd work."