Chapter 15

Chapter 15. Majesty From Another World (4)

Ten minutes before the lightning swept across the city...

The team members were glaring at one another.

BOOOOM!

The instant Ares's Helmet embedded itself in the city, crimson energy exploded in every direction.

The aura smelled almost like blood.

It was a phantom of a battlefield remembering countless deaths.

[Divine-Grade Artifact activated: Helmet of Ares.]

[Effect: Distinction between ally and enemy disappears.]

The team members' eyes turned red.

The teammate standing beside them no longer looked like a friend.

Not someone they needed to protect.

But an enemy they needed to kill.

SHING!

And the first blades were aimed at...

“Kill it!!”

“That bastard's the source of everything!!”

“BOIL HIM AND EAT HIM!!!”

Dozens of weapons simultaneously pointed at Cup-Ramen Jaeha.

[AAAAAAAAAAARGH!!]

[YOU CRAZY BASTARDS!]

[IT'S ME! YOO JAEHA!!!]

[STOP CALLING ME CUP RAMEN!!!]

Cup-Ramen Jaeha screamed wildly.

But no one could hear him.

The moment they were about to attack...

“STOP!!!”

Jooheon's voice thundered across the area.

Rope shot out like lightning.

It grabbed every weapon and slammed them into the ground.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The floor shattered.

Stone fragments flew.

Then Jooheon's special privilege activated.

[The current world belongs to the territory of 'Chief God Zeus.']

[Within a Chief God's territory, Artifacts of equal or lower divinity cannot activate normally.]

[Divine-Grade Artifact <Helmet of Ares> has been disabled.]

[Effect canceled: Loss of ally/enemy distinction.]

[Status effects Madness and Rage have been removed.]

The crimson madness covering the city vanished as if it had never existed.

The team's red eyes returned to normal.

The killing intent between them instantly disappeared.

They froze.

Their faces went pale when they realized what they had almost done.

“We... We almost attacked the cup ramen...”

“No!”

“Yoo Jaeha!”

Cup-Ramen Jaeha screamed in despair.

[YOU CRAZY BASTARDS!!]

[STOP TREATING ME LIKE RAMEN!!!]

[I'M HUMAN!!]

[I'M A PERSON!!!]

Jooheon soon arrived after searching for Jaeha and the others.

He gave them a cold look.

Everyone cautiously stepped backward.

Cup-Ramen Jaeha immediately tattled.

[CAPTAIN!!]

[PUNISH THEM!!!]

[I ALMOST DIED!!!]

Jooheon turned toward the cup ramen.

Then casually said:

“Shut up.”

He frowned.

“You're splashing broth.”

[......?!]

The lid of the cup shook violently.

[THERE'S NO WATER IN ME YET!!!]

[I DON'T HAVE ANY BROTH!!!]

A strange silence fell over the team.

No one knew whether they were supposed to remain serious or laugh.

But apparently...

Jaeha's despair wasn't the most important thing on their minds.

“...So do you put the water in first or the seasoning?”

“Obviously the seasoning!”

“No, you add the water first!”

Jooheon's eyebrow twitched.

Rope slammed into the ground.

BAM!

“Shut up, all of you.”

“Sorry.”

“That was thoughtless.”

“We'll stop talking about ramen.”

Jooheon spoke coldly.

“Forget seasoning.”

Everyone looked at him.

“You boil the water first.”

[ I'M A PERSONNNNNNN!!! ]

Yoo Jaeha's scream erupted from inside the cup.

It contained fury.

Despair.

Humiliation.

Then...

[Majesty Mars O'Connell from another worldline has been shocked.]

[The Helmet of Ares has been destroyed due to a collision with a 'Chief God Territory.']

[Authority of Majesty Mars O'Connell -20%.]

Jooheon quietly sneered.

“A lesser god trying to step into a Chief God's territory?”

He looked toward Mars.

“You're the sacrifice here.”

Mars O'Connell became furious when he realized a Chief God-level Artifact had been used.

“MAJESTY WAS ALIVE?!”

[Coordinates of the Invasion Artifact are being recalculated.]

[Heart reaction detected from Majesty Seo Jooheon.]

[Immediate recovery attempt beginning.]

[Absolute Target Artifact aimed at the opponent's heart has been activated.]

The team gasped.

This time...

The attack was aimed directly at Jooheon's heart.

Jooheon instinctively searched for a defensive Artifact.

But can I dodge an attack from another Majesty?

The opponent seemed entirely specialized in offense.

Without a powerful defensive Artifact...

Then...

Fssssss...

Golden steam began rising from Cup-Ramen Jaeha.

It was faint.

Jooheon's eyes narrowed.

“...Steam?”

He frowned.

“Who poured water in him?”

Cup-Ramen Jaeha screamed.

[I TOLD YOU NOT TO COOK MEEEEEE!!!]

But the golden steam contained a strange force comparable to a Divine-Grade Artifact.

Then...

Ding!

[Yoo Jaeha's Trait 'Survival Instinct' activated.]

[Blessing of Emergency Rations - Defensive and Concealment Functions activated.]

BOOOOOOM!

Golden steam exploded throughout the city.

The entire area instantly disappeared beneath fog.

An invisible 'recovery chain' heading toward Jooheon's heart lost its direction.

It scattered inside the mist.

[Coordinates of Majesty Seo Jooheon have been concealed.]

[Heart recovery attempt has failed.]

“...!”

Everyone looked around in shock.

They couldn't see Jooheon.

“Concealment...?”

Someone muttered.

Jooheon immediately understood.

“A survival ability.”

“Survival?”

Jooheon looked at the cup ramen.

“Emergency rations.”

He nodded.

“A pathetic ability that suits Yoo Jaeha perfectly.”

Cup-Ramen Jaeha screamed as though he were dying.

Jooheon burst out laughing and lifted the cup ramen into the air.

“Still...”

“The result isn't bad.”

He grinned.

“Let's see what we can do with ramen that doesn't even have broth.”

Cup-Ramen Jaeha screamed.

[I'M HUMAN!!!]

Mars O'Connell ground his teeth.

“Some insignificant emergency ration blocked my authority?!”

Jooheon lifted the cup ramen high and laughed.

“Then let's kick you out.”

He reached into his pocket.

What he pulled out...

Was Isis's Poison Fang.

Dark blue poison surrounded it.

Mars O'Connell scoffed.

“You think some pathetic blade can defeat a 'Conqueror'?”

His voice boomed.

“My name itself is victory!”

Jooheon smirked and raised the dagger.

“Are you stupid?”

“A conqueror's power comes from his name.”

His eyes sharpened.

“Conquest exists because you're called 'Mars.'”

Blue poisonous energy flowed from the fang like a crawling snake.

The serpent-like energy climbed the triumphal arch.

It wrapped around the records engraved across its surface.

[Isis's Poison Fang has activated.]

[Target: Conqueror Mars O'Connell.]

[Effect: Delete Majesty's True Name → Authority Loss.]

CRACK!

The words engraved on the triumphal arch shattered.

One after another.

"Mars O'Connell won!"

"Mars O'Connell conquered!"

Crack! Crack!

"Mars O'Connell..."

"Conquered..."

"Con..."

Every record shattered.

Finally...

The name Mars itself ceased to exist.

Cracks spread across Mars's body.

He screamed in panic.

“No!!”

“My name...!”

“My authority!!”

A status window appeared.

[The Conqueror's True Name has been deleted.]

[Majesty Authority belonging to 'Mars O'Connell' has disappeared.]

The red helmet and triumphal arch shattered into sparks.

Mars and his Artifacts fell to the ground.

Jooheon casually walked toward him.

The massive triumphal arch had returned to the form of a postcard depicting an arch.

The red helmet was now nothing more than a red baseball cap.

Jooheon smiled.

“A conqueror without a name is just a thief.”

He searched Mars's clothes.

Then paused.

His lips curled upward.

“Well, well.”

He pulled something out.

“You've got some pretty nice stuff for a thief.”

What he found was a keychain shaped like a celestial sphere.

Inside the pitch-black orb...

Stars sparkled.

Continents and oceans shimmered.

They rotated like a miniature celestial globe.

“That...!!”

Mars O'Connell's eyes widened in terror.

Jooheon examined it.

“You had this and didn't use it?”

He smiled.

“Looks like you didn't have enough Dominance or authority.”

[Divine-Grade Artifact activated: Atlas's Globe.]

[Effect: Forcefully transfers the weight of the world.]

“But...”

Jooheon grinned.

“Someone who can control Zeus's Artifact might be able to use it.”

He activated the keychain.

A beautiful sphere appeared.

At the same moment...

The air became impossibly heavy.

The battlefield was crushed under suffocating pressure.

It felt as though the sky itself were falling.

The weight of an entire world descended into reality.

Jooheon stared at Mars.

“You tried to steal a world.”

His smile disappeared.

“Then carry its weight.”

[Punishment Artifact activated.]

BOOM!

Mars dropped to his knees.

The gravity was so immense that he couldn't stand.

CRACK!

His bones screamed.

His knees smashed into the ground.

Blood splattered.

What pressed down on his shoulders wasn't mere physical weight.

Countless ages.

Wars.

Records.

Human screams.

Everything that had existed throughout the world poured onto him at once.

His bones broke.

The pressure pushed against his eyes as if they would burst from their sockets.

Pinned beneath the heavens, Mars gritted his teeth.

“Impossible!”

“I couldn't even use that Artifact because I didn't meet the conditions!”

Jooheon laughed.

“You didn't meet the conditions?”

His smile turned mocking.

“So you weren't even at that level?”

[Atlas's Globe]

[Requirements for Use]

• To bring the punishment of the heavens upon another, the user must possess equivalent qualifications.

• One who can endure the weight of an entire world.

• Or one who is already carrying it.

Jooheon looked down at him.

“A Majesty should already be someone capable of carrying the weight of a world.”

BOOOOM!

The pressure intensified.

“Guh!”

Mars coughed blood.

“You're just a rookie Majesty...!”

“How can you possibly meet those conditions?!”

Jooheon sneered.

“Why?”

He tilted his head.

“Isn't that obvious for a Majesty?”

“!”

Jooheon's eyes became cold.

“If you're such a great conqueror...”

He increased the pressure.

“Then try carrying the weight of the world.”

Mars's body finally collapsed beneath the heavens.

BOOM!

His arms and spine tore apart beneath the pressure.

(To be continued.)