Chapter 59
CHAPTER 59
The God of Misfortune (2)
Ju-Heon picked up the check with a satisfied smile.
Rather than feeling disappointed, he looked as though he had just found the clue he had been searching for.
On the other hand, Rigam frowned as he examined the location.
"I only mentioned the District of Misfortune because I thought you'd avoid it... Don't tell me you're actually planning to go there?"
"Is there a problem?"
"That's also where Shao Meiling keeps her treasure vault."
Ju-Heon and Yu Jae-ha exchanged bewildered looks.
Why would anyone store treasure in the District of Misfortune instead of the District of Fortune?
"It's simple. Shao Meiling's luck is so overwhelming that nothing she personally carries can ever be stolen. But that only applies to the relics in her possession. The District of Fortune is filled with lucky people, so thieves are lucky too. Even treasures can get stolen there."
"But the District of Misfortune is different. Everyone there has unbelievably rotten luck. The chances of anyone successfully stealing anything are practically nonexistent. It's the perfect security system."
"So you're saying..."
"Exactly. People would never think she'd hide her treasures in the City of Misfortune."
Ju-Heon chuckled.
"Even better. If even the Wish-Granting Relic refuses to enter because the place is too filthy, then every other valuable relic will avoid it too."
His eyes gleamed.
Shao Meiling was one of the seventeen Coalition Leaders, just like Behemoth.
She undoubtedly knew everything about the relic.
'I'll settle things with her while I'm at it.'
Ju-Heon began walking toward the deepest part of the City of Murphy.
"Come on. Today's the day we dig through the garbage dump the gods abandoned."
Just then—
[Danger! Danger!]
The rope around his waist suddenly sprang to life, yanking Ju-Heon several meters away.
He was wondering what had gotten into it when—
BOOOOOOM!
With a deafening roar that seemed to split the heavens apart, a golden arrow slammed into the very spot where Ju-Heon had been standing.
It was unmistakably a Divine Relic.
And very few people in a Majesty's world could wield Divine Relics.
After all, no Majesty would ever hand such a relic over to an enemy.
Which meant...
"...That woman's doing!"
Ju-Heon gritted his teeth and looked up.
Standing atop the tallest spire beyond the city walls was the silhouette of Shao Meiling, calmly drawing her bowstring.
The relic in her hands was Artemis's Golden Arrow, the divine weapon once wielded by the goddess of the hunt.
But its destructive power wasn't the real problem.
[The Authority of Fortune has been imbued into the attack.]
It was, quite literally, an attack that could not miss.
Just as expected.
The Living Rope had barely managed to save him, but the golden arrows immediately curved through the air and chased after him again.
They even began targeting the relics in Ju-Heon's possession.
[Aaaah! Why is it still following us?! We dodged it!]
The arrow failed to strike Ju-Heon and vanished.
But the people standing around him instantly became its new targets.
Apparently, having failed to kill Ju-Heon, it had decided that killing everyone else nearby would suffice.
Realizing what it intended, Ju-Heon clicked his tongue.
"Hah. Who gave you permission to kill my civilians?"
Stepping in front of Yu Jae-ha and Rigam, Ju-Heon drew the Muramasa Sword and swung it toward the incoming arrows.
His objective was simple—
Destroy the very concept of 'certain hit.'
At last, his blade collided with the arrows.
Then something astonishing happened.
[Misfortune is spreading.]
The golden arrows instantly turned pitch black.
CRACK!
The blackened arrows trembled violently.
Then, as though seized by an invisible hand, every one of them abruptly changed course.
A moment later, they flew straight back to where they had come from—
And crashed directly into the tower where Shao Meiling stood.
Shao Meiling's eyes widened.
'What...?'
'The arrows came back?'
Impossible.
Arrows blessed with Fortune were guaranteed to hit their target.
That was the law.
It was a rule that had never once failed.
Yet instead of striking the enemy...
They had returned and threatened her.
Shao Meiling stared at the blackened arrow fragments smoldering at her feet.
This wasn't ordinary bad luck.
The arrows carried a curse so dreadful that it seemed capable of twisting the very laws of causality.
Which only made it stranger.
'Someone with that level of misfortune should already have been thrown into the District of Misfortune by me. Could it be... that Nicolai has brought him back?'
No.
Finding the source of this misfortune came first.
Shao Meiling immediately tried to locate Ju-Heon.
But—
[Unable to determine the target's location.]
Left with no choice, she immediately used a summoning ticket.
[Summoning Ticket]
[Deulbok]
Space split open.
Deulbok emerged.
The moment he appeared, he nearly threw himself face-first onto the ground, bowing so deeply his forehead almost touched the floor.
[Oh my! Who do we have here?! Isn't this our most brilliant Coalition Leader, the magnificent Lady Shao Meiling?!]
His voice was dripping with exaggerated flattery.
Every word practically oozed sycophancy.
[Thanks to you, this quarter's Coalition performance has reached an all-time high!]
[Every Coalition Leader will be receiving a bonus!]
[Your luck truly knows no bounds!]
Shao Meiling didn't even spare him a glance.
She simply folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.
Deulbok instantly fell silent.
"...Eek."
"The newly ascended Majesty."
"The one who eliminated the relic users in Behemoth's territory."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Did you deal with that properly?"
[Ah, of course! Absolutely! ]
Deulbok rubbed his hands together as he continued.
[By now, he must already be out of his mind. We personally prepared an exclusive Doomsday Curse just for him!]
"Doomsday Curse?"
[Yes! A 99% chance of tripping over his own feet and dying. A 98% chance of having the ceiling collapse on him while he's asleep. Ah, and stairs are especially dangerous—]
At that moment, Shao Meiling's brow furrowed ever so slightly.
"The Majesty of Misfortune."
Her voice turned cold.
"You didn't give that curse to Nikolai Morodov, did you?"
For an instant, Deulbok froze.
Then he burst into laughter.
[Goodness, of course not! Why would I entrust something like that to a failure like Nikolai? That brat was thrown into your world's District of Misfortune just to manage the place. Do you really think someone like him deserves a curse of that caliber?]
Then he casually added,
[We merely borrowed the misfortune he was managing. The source is reliable, and it's easy to control.]
Only then did the corner of Shao Meiling's mouth rise slightly.
"...Good."
Nikolai Morodov.
Once a genius who had rampaged across the world as though he would conquer it.
But after losing to Shao Meiling and being completely subdued, he had been banished to the garbage dump known as the City of Murphy.
If the curse merely originated from him, then there was nothing to worry about.
"Then retrieve that misfortune immediately."
[Pardon?]
Deulbok looked startled.
[B-But why? The curse hasn't even fully taken effect yet—]
"No arguments."
Shao Meiling's playful expression vanished, replaced by an icy glare.
[...Y-Yes!]
"When I say do it, you do it."
Deulbok hurriedly nodded.
[We'll begin the retrieval process immediately! Though... it may take a little time.]
Shao Meiling had already lost interest.
As long as the misfortune disappeared, everything else would eventually fall into her hands anyway.
The deeper they ventured into the District of Murphy, the more lifeless the world became.
Unlike the brilliant city filled with colorful neon lights, this place was buried beneath a gray mist that resembled the afterlife.
[This place seriously gives me the creeps... Look over there! That traffic light just collapsed all by itself!]
Even the road itself suddenly buckled upward, aiming straight for Ju-Heon's ankle.
Just as Yu Jae-ha had warned.
Perfectly intact buildings crumbled without warning, and the pavement beneath Ju-Heon's feet split apart.
[You have entered the 'District of Murphy.']
[Buff activated.]
[All actions are affected by the 'Probability of Misfortune.']
[Chance of choking to death while breathing: 15%.]
"Cough! C-Cough!"
Even Majesty Yu Jae-ha clutched his throat.
Ju-Heon, however, was different.
Every step he took caused the city's accumulated misfortune to recoil, as though identical magnetic poles had collided.
[The user's 'Doomsday Misfortune' overlaps with the city's misfortune.]
[Misfortune enhanced.]
[An overwhelmingly great disaster devours all lesser misfortunes.]
The falling boulder meant to crush Ju-Heon veered off and smashed into a nearby utility pole instead.
The sinkhole that had been about to swallow him disappeared before his foot even reached it.
"...Why are you the only one who's perfectly fine?"
Majesty Yu Jae-ha complained.
Ju-Heon simply grinned.
"That woman made one mistake."
"She was right to lend me bad luck."
"But she completely miscalculated the amount."
Before long, they arrived at the cemetery.
It also happened to be the location of Shao Meiling's treasure vault.
Ju-Heon smiled wickedly as he stepped inside.
His eyes glittered even within the darkness.
"What a jackpot."
Just then—
The air split apart.
A familiar, annoying voice appeared.
It was Deulbok.
His cough sounded far more cautious than usual.
Yu Jae-ha immediately reacted.
[That's Deulbok! Give me back my heart!]
Even Ju-Heon was surprised.
'Why is this guy here?'
He immediately grabbed for him.
"Give Jaeha's heart back!"
But Deulbok coughed once before floating into the air.
The Living Rope tried to grab him, but it passed straight through as though he were nothing more than a hologram.
Ju-Heon narrowed his eyes.
A projection?
Deulbok gave an awkward cough.
[Do you really think I'd be crazy enough to appear before you in person?]
[Honestly... I don't even want to see you... B-but...]
[Well... due to a mistake on our part... it seems we accidentally delivered some misfortune to you.]
[Such a terrible blunder! An assistant whose greatest wish is to provide perfect safety and convenience to every Majesty making such a mistake!]
[As the flawless Deulbok, this is deeply embarrassing.]
Ju-Heon's eyes flashed.
Ah...
So they're here to retrieve the curse.
But he kept a straight face and merely smiled.
"Oh? A mistake?"
Deulbok hurriedly continued.
[That's right! A mistake! We accidentally included it with your compensation! So we'll kindly retrieve the undesirable portion as part of our premium customer service!]
The instant those words left his mouth—
The entire cemetery shook.
A terrifying divine aura descended.
A storm of thick black mist erupted, and from its center emerged powerful women with their eyes covered.
[The Goddesses of Misfortune have appeared.]
[Atë]
[Alakshmi]
[The Goddess of Poverty]
[Nemesis]
"..."
Beside him, Yu Jae-ha and Rigam turned deathly pale.
Divine-grade relics.
Even Majesties rarely witnessed manifestations of beings possessing such overwhelming authority.
'Damn... No wonder the bad luck here felt so overwhelming.'
'It was the combined authority of multiple gods...'
The goddesses spoke in emotionless voices.
[We shall correct the mistaken causality.]
[Return our authority that has taken root within your body.]
Majesty Yu Jae-ha quickly looked around.
The very beings responsible for the Doomsday Curse had personally come to reclaim it.
'This is bad!'
Meanwhile, Deulbok was smiling smugly.
With this many divine beings present, surely Ju-Heon would finally surrender.
But at that very moment—
The person at the center of it all wore an inexplicably sinister smile.
"Hey, Deulbok."
[Y-Yes? What is it? Scared now? If you're willing to repent even now—]
"No."
"I'm grateful."
Ju-Heon's eyes gleamed like those of a starving predator.
Instead of retreating, he took a step forward.
"I was just wondering how I could permanently make this misfortune mine."
"And then you went ahead and delivered the original owners right to my doorstep."