Chapter 27. Seo Jooheon From Another World (1)
BOOOOM!
Jooheon realized something was wrong.
And in that instant, the sky split apart.
[Warning: A reaction identical to yours has been detected.]
“...What?”
An identical reaction?
Then someone appeared in the sky.
A woman wearing a white coat.
Long hair.
A beautiful, cold, cat-like face.
She resembled his twin sister Joy somehow, but the feeling was different.
The silhouette was strangely familiar.
Almost like looking into a mirror.
Me?
No.
There was one obvious problem with calling her that.
“...A woman?”
Only then did Jooheon narrow his eyes.
The 'woman' looked at him and frowned in exactly the same way.
Then she swept her long black hair back and spoke.
“So they're the ones.”
Her eyes locked directly onto Jooheon.
“Weak.”
She sounded completely indifferent.
“Targets for disposal.”
“...Huh?”
Jooheon was dumbfounded.
He had escaped Julian only to run into something even stranger.
Cup-Ramen Jaeha sounded equally shocked.
[What the fuck... An ant-woman.]
[An ant-woman, but she's not Joy...]
[Why does she look like Captain?]
The woman looked down from the sky.
“What's your name?”
Her voice was cold.
A long sword hung behind her, swaying in the wind.
A red scabbard.
A handle engraved with Artifact symbols.
Her stance was flawless.
A perfect combat posture.
A perfect Majesty.
“...Me?”
Jooheon brushed dust from his pants as he stood.
“Seo Jooheon.”
At that answer...
One of the woman's eyebrows slowly rose.
“Ha.”
“You're 'Seo Jooheon' too?”
She seemed to finally understand.
“Then I see why they hired me.”
She slowly drew her sword.
Sunlight flashed across its edge.
Cup-Ramen Jaeha immediately shouted.
[What the hell?]
[Who is she?!]
“Who else?”
Jooheon stared at her.
“She's probably the other version of me Majesty Yoo Jaeha mentioned.”
Cup-Ramen Jaeha froze.
[WHAT?!]
[Captain's female version?!]
The female Seo Jooheon's eyes hardened as though warning them not to compare her to him.
“You're controlled by lowly emotions.”
She looked him over.
“You can't even properly wield a weapon.”
“And yet you survive through petty theft?”
BOOM!
Her sword swept through the air without hesitation.
Was that strike only meant as a warning?
A thin line of blood appeared across Jooheon's cheek.
His eyebrow twitched.
“You just—”
“Shut up.”
Her expression didn't change.
“I don't need conversation to erase you.”
Then—
SWISH!
Her long sword tore through the air.
Fast!
[Evasion failed.]
[Danger.]
[Recommended Defensive Artifact... None.]
[Collect more Artifacts.]
What the hell?!
Crow! What do you think your owner is?!
“Guh... you little—!”
Jooheon instinctively jumped backward and drew Muramasa.
CLANG!
He deflected her next strike.
The impact sent him rolling backward.
Before he could even regain his stance...
She had already spun once and prepared another attack.
“Die.”
A flame-like Artifact effect ignited along her blade.
The air around its edge sharpened.
Jooheon gritted his teeth.
“Damn it.”
“They really weren't joking when they said meeting your doppelgänger gets you killed!”
Her speed was absurd.
So was the distance she could close.
A black figure descended like lightning and struck directly in front of him.
BOOOOM!
Concrete exploded.
“Guh!”
The blade passed inches from his face.
Rope kicked it aside.
Using that opening...
Jooheon quickly pulled Cup-Ramen Jaeha from his bag and activated him.
[Concealment activated.]
The concealment effect was excellent.
The female Seo Jooheon, who had been swinging her sword relentlessly, lost sight of him.
But only for a moment.
Her lips curled coldly.
Then she pulled out another Artifact.
[Gram (SS-Grade Artifact)]
Gram.
A sword Odin had embedded into a tree.
Like Excalibur, it could only be drawn by a true warrior.
It was also the sword that slew Fafnir, the dragon corrupted by greed.
That made it especially effective against greed.
And because of that...
It could do something like this.
“...Activate <Heart Tracker>.”
A chill ran down Jooheon's spine.
His concealment was perfect.
And yet—
“Found you.”
She smashed apart the wall Jooheon had hidden behind.
Debris exploded outward.
Her sword stabbed straight through Cup-Ramen Jaeha.
[AAAAH!]
The instant Jooheon lost his grip on the cup...
His silhouette reappeared.
The female Seo Jooheon chuckled.
“There you are.”
“Guh!”
Jooheon rolled aside.
Cup-Ramen Jaeha screamed.
[Shit! It can detect through this too?!]
“Gram tracks hearts.”
Her smile sharpened.
“Especially the hearts of greedy people.”
Cup-Ramen Jaeha immediately shouted.
[Then this is Captain's fault!]
[You brought this on yourself!]
Then he panicked.
[She's stronger than you!]
[How are you supposed to beat her?!]
[Captain, run!]
[Let's cross into another worldline!]
“Shut up.”
BOOM!
Her Artifact ability was dangerous enough.
But her movements were something else entirely.
She wielded the sword like her entire body had been built around it.
Completely different from him.
Her base combat ability was extraordinarily high.
She slowly swung the long sword again, almost as if enjoying cornering a rat.
Jooheon barely dodged.
A thin line of blood appeared across his cheek.
This was extremely troublesome.
Ha.
So meeting another version of yourself really does mean awakening or death.
She was strong.
The female Seo Jooheon curled one corner of her mouth.
“For someone calling himself Majesty...”
She looked down at him.
“Watching you roll around like a rat is pathetic.”
“...Hey.”
Jooheon's eye twitched.
“Did you just look down on me?”
Then Jooheon suddenly threw something.
PFFFT!
Sand.
Cup-Ramen Jaeha screamed.
[Wow! Cheap!]
[Pathetic!]
[No wonder she looks down on you!]
Shut up!
Jooheon cursed under his breath.
Then drew Muramasa from his coat.
The blade grazed the female Seo Jooheon's arm.
A shallow cut appeared.
Jooheon smiled.
“Got you.”
“Fake.”
“Now you can't attack me either.”
“...What?”
“If Muramasa cuts you, Madness spreads through your body.”
Jooheon grinned.
“The bleeding won't stop.”
“The moment you try fighting again, your body will burst first.”
Cup-Ramen Jaeha whispered.
[It doesn't have that ability—]
Shut up, Cup Ramen.
Still...
The female Seo Jooheon did look slightly cautious.
Jooheon created some distance and caught his breath.
“Were you the one who brought Julian here too?”
She looked down at the tiny wound on her wrist with little interest.
“Oh, him?”
“This world's Majesty asked me to handle it.”
She shrugged.
“Remove her Artifact and eliminate the intruder.”
“I didn't know the intruder would be you.”
“This world's Majesty?”
Jooheon frowned.
“The one who turned the city into a drug den?”
“Exactly.”
“She was probably furious that the Dionysus Artifact sustaining this world got damaged too.”
The female Seo Jooheon started approaching.
Jooheon tightened his grip around Muramasa and stepped backward.
“Try fighting and you'll bleed to death.”
She stopped in front of him.
Then smiled coldly.
“Yes.”
“That was one of your weapons.”
“Muramasa.”
“And Rope.”
Her gaze settled on the Artifacts in his hands.
“They don't suit you.”
She spoke without hesitation.
“Those children are too kind.”
Shing.
Her long sword rose through the air.
“Hey.”
Jooheon frowned.
“If you attack, you'll—”
The woman smirked.
Then swung.
CRACK!
With that single slash...
Jooheon felt something inside him snap.
At the same time...
Rope reverted into the form of a thread bracelet.
Muramasa became an old, rusted sword and dropped to the ground.
“...!”
What the hell was that?
The contracts were severed.
The female Seo Jooheon smiled.
“This is my <Severing Theft> skill.”
“!”
She continued.
“I sever and steal at the same time.”
“That's my Majesty ability.”
That was an ability?
“For Bound Artifacts, I cut the contract between Artifact and owner.”
“For Consumable Artifacts, I sever their ability to be used.”
She raised her sword.
“That's how I've stolen until now.”
“For other people.”
Jooheon's eyes narrowed.
“For other people?”
“Yes.”
She spoke as though it were obvious.
“I'm a distributor who takes Artifacts and gives them to people better suited to possess them.”
“So you're saying you're going to steal my Artifacts and give them to someone else?”
The female Seo Jooheon smiled, pleased by how quickly he'd understood.
“Muramasa and Rope both appear to be excellent Artifacts.”
“I'll find them better owners.”
Jooheon scoffed.
“So you're still a thief.”
“I'm different from you.”
Her voice became cold.
“I seek justice through the blade.”
“A petty thief like you should be ashamed you were ever called Majesty.”
“This is where you end.”
“...Petty thief?”
That single phrase tore through Jooheon's buried pride.
Faces flashed through his mind.
The people he'd trampled to survive.
The beliefs he'd abandoned.
The enemies he'd hated.
Everything passed before him like a panorama.
Then—
Crackle.
An unknown light erupted from Jooheon's body.
As though the anger he'd restrained until now...
And the power that had been waiting to awaken...
Were finally stirring.
Sure enough...
Jooheon's eyes became vicious as he stared at the female Seo Jooheon.
“Then answer me.”
“Do you think what's happening in this city is justified?”
The female Seo Jooheon laughed softly.
“Every Majesty has their own method of ruling.”
She dismissed him with a glance.
“It's none of a thief's concern.”
Jooheon's expression chilled.
“Would you say that if your daughter were kidnapped?”
“Inefficient.”
As she said it...
The female Seo Jooheon remembered her own world.
A city of replaceable parts.
The cowardly previous Majesty had chosen [Submission] when the Artifacts invaded.
Every morning, the System distributed Artifacts.
Citizens performed only their assigned work.
If their efficiency dropped by even one percent...
Their Artifact was taken away.
And anyone without an Artifact was designated a useless human.
Then executed.
She had survived in that city.
By cutting away emotion.
Discarding attachment.
Because as king...
She had chosen to protect her citizens over her family.
And this man?
His daughter had been kidnapped...
So he was wandering through other worlds looking for her.
The very definition of inefficiency.
“That's what losers do.”
Her voice was cold.
“They let emotion control them.”
“A king should think of his citizens before his family.”
Jooheon smiled slowly.
“If you can't even protect your family, what citizens are you protecting?”
“Throwing something away isn't responsibility.”
“It's just giving up.”
He continued leisurely.
“You think peace bought by kneeling to Artifacts is legitimate?”
“Do you even realize the Artifacts are carving the world into whatever shape suits them?”
“Humans can never defeat disasters.”
Jooheon laughed.
“So your answer was to beg the disaster to spare you?”
He shook his head.
“Your worldview is stuck in the damn Middle Ages.”
“Spend the rest of your life praying to natural disasters because you can't understand them.”
His eyes sharpened.
“I'll do things my way.”
The woman scoffed.
“You're nothing more than a thief who snuck into someone else's city.”
“What could you possibly know?”
Jooheon smiled.
“You keep calling me a thief like it's supposed to shame me.”
He shrugged.
“I actually like the word.”
“Because history has always been the story of people taking things from one another.”
“...What?”
Before she could ask...
Jooheon moved like lightning.
Straight into her arms.
There was a reason.
[Power identical to 'Seo Jooheon' has been detected within the target.]
[Approaching the target may allow you to seize that power.]
CRACKLE!
Following the Three-Legged Crow's advice...
Jooheon wrapped his arms around her.
At that instant...
Something extraordinary happened.
[Majesty Ability has awakened.]
[Majesty Ability manifested.]
[Theft: Hand of Redefinition]
Jooheon grinned.
“Hey.”
“You said you steal Artifacts with your sword, right?”
“!”
Jooheon's eyes flashed.
“I rewrite the rules to mean whatever I want.”
“That's how I steal.”
“...What?”
Jooheon placed his hand on the hilt of her sword.
(To be continued.)
