Chapter 42. Winter Season (6)
Jaeha fell silent for a moment.
Most Majesties, when they thought of using a Summon Right, naturally thought of Artifacts.
Something powerful.
Something rare.
Something advantageous to themselves.
But this bastard...
He thought of his daughter first.
Jaeha looked as though he was considering something.
Then he slowly spoke.
“No.”
“...Right.”
“A Summon Right can only bring over a target that already exists.”
“An unborn existence has no coordinates.”
Jooheon said nothing.
Jaeha glanced at him.
“...You already knew that when you asked, didn’t you?”
“Of course I figured that would be the case.”
Jaeha watched him for a moment, then added:
“Well, if she becomes an Artifact, then maybe you could summon—”
Jooheon cut him off immediately.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I’m saving her before that happens.”
Jaeha looked at his expression, then glanced up toward the sky.
After a moment—
“For reference...”
His tone was casual, but there was a hint of pride in it.
“I used my Invasion Right to bring you here.”
Jooheon narrowed his eyes.
“Invasion Right?”
“The authority that lets a Majesty cross into another worldline.”
“If you’ve visited a world before, its coordinates remain.”
“Then you can simply open a gate.”
“I’ve been to multiple worlds.”
At last, the reason Jaeha had been able to bring Jooheon here became clear.
Majesty Jaeha crossed his arms.
“Anyway, I’m putting that on your tab.”
“Pay me back later.”
“What nonsense.”
“It’s a rare reward.”
“I’m saying I’ll keep using things like that for you.”
“You should be grateful.”
Was this bastard...
Trying to comfort him?
Jooheon made a subtle face.
Apparently, he really hated owing people.
“How do you get more of those three rights?”
“The Invasion Right and the other two.”
“Beat another Majesty.”
“Or clear Rulebook missions.”
Cynthia joined in.
“If you kill another Majesty and win, that counts as a Conquest Victory.”
“If you force them to surrender through a deal or alliance, that also counts as victory.”
“You can even achieve a Cultural Victory by using the other side’s Artifacts to benefit humanity.”
Jaeha added:
“Depending on the victory type, the winner receives one additional basic right.”
Jooheon nodded.
“Good.”
“So every Majesty starts with one of each.”
“Then I’ll summon Hades—”
Jooheon pulled out the newly revealed Summon Right from Rulebook and was about to use it.
Cynthia immediately reached out and stopped him.
“Wait!”
“You can’t do it like that!”
“Why?”
“A summon is treated as an invasion.”
“This city automatically switches into combat mode when it detects an invasion.”
“To protect this world.”
“So if your Hades Artifact gets summoned into this city right now...”
Jooheon immediately understood.
“My Hades gets attacked?”
“Yes.”
“That’s why we need to disable the city’s defense system first.”
Cynthia spoke as though trying to calm him down.
“Come with me to my building.”
“I’ll shut it off there.”
They were just about to move when—
Rustle.
Someone who had been eavesdropping on their conversation slipped away.
Jaeha’s expression changed.
“...A watcher!”
The moment their eyes met, the watcher turned and sprinted away at full speed.
Jooheon scoffed.
“He ran.”
Cynthia’s face went pale.
“No...”
“That watcher might be connected to Delaira.”
“If word reaches her—”
Then—
Ding.
[An abnormal event has occurred in Worldline: <Jooheon’s World>.]
Jooheon stiffened.
Another message appeared.
[Stage 2 of the Plague Trial has begun.]
Stage 2.
In the end, Jooheon used one of his three basic rights.
The Contact Right.
The right dissolved into light.
A blue ring appeared in front of him.
“Connect me to my world.”
The blue ring moved.
The worldline connection opened.
A familiar voice immediately burst through.
[...Jooheon!]
He recognized it from the voice alone.
Julian.
Out of breath.
He sounded as though he had completely lost his usual composure.
Jooheon spoke first.
“Julian.”
“What happened?”
“Are you safe?”
A short silence.
That silence carried plenty of meaning.
Then the report came bursting out.
[We’re fine.]
[Everyone’s alive.]
[But the plague is spreading.]
[It looks like Demeter’s Artifact.]
Irene’s voice followed.
She was clearly trying to remain calm.
[We’re containing it little by little, but there’s a limit.]
[Everything we’re doing is only temporary...]
The chaos on the other side of the connection was obvious.
Then Jooheon’s voice smoothly pressed it all down.
“Calm down.”
Jooheon took a slow breath.
Even with his own world in danger...
There wasn’t the slightest tremor in his voice.
“That bastard is probably targeting the Greek Artifacts I own.”
The air on the other side seemed to freeze.
Julian spoke in disbelief.
[Greek Artifacts?]
“Yeah.”
“There’s a Majesty named Delaira.”
“She uses Demeter’s Artifact.”
“So she’s probably trying to gather Artifacts connected to Demeter.”
The connection remained open.
Jooheon continued.
“Anyway, that’s not the main reason I called.”
Irene and Julian responded at almost the same time.
[Then what is it?]
Jooheon went straight to the point.
“Is my Hades Artifact still intact?”
A strange silence followed.
[What do you mean?]
“I heard there’s a Majesty named Betrayne who’s been stealing Artifacts from different worlds.”
“He leaves the shell behind and extracts only the ability.”
Everyone on the other side stopped breathing.
“So some of my Artifacts might just be empty shells now.”
The instant he finished speaking, Jooheon heard Julian shoot to his feet.
[Wait.]
[I’ll check.]
He heard the rush of wind.
Someone running.
Julian kept the communication open as he reached the Artifact storage area and opened it.
Meanwhile, Jooheon headed toward Cynthia’s Majesty building.
That was where they had decided it would be safe to use the Summon Right.
By the time he arrived, Julian’s voice came through again.
[You were right.]
[There are several Artifacts whose abilities have been stripped.]
A sharp breath.
[For example, Dionysus’s Artifact.]
[Demeter’s Artifact too.]
[A few others are empty shells.]
[But the abilities disappeared a long time ago.]
Jooheon frowned.
“A long time ago?”
[Yeah.]
[They were already empty shells before you obtained them.]
Jooheon understood immediately.
The Greek Artifacts had resisted him so fiercely that he had mostly sealed them away.
Quite a few of the Artifacts he had acquired that way were probably already empty.
And Prometheus, who had possessed those Artifacts at the time, had likely known and kept quiet about it.
Once the report ended, Jooheon spoke lightly.
No disappointment.
No anxiety.
“At first, I didn’t understand.”
“But now I get it.”
His voice had become completely certain.
“Delaira invaded my world because she wants to make Demeter’s Artifact completely hers.”
Cynthia froze.
“What... do you mean?”
Jooheon explained precisely.
“Even they know the thing they have is an inferior product.”
“So now they want the main body.”
“The shell too.”
Julian exhaled over the connection.
A breath filled with realization, fear, and anger.
But Jooheon’s lips slowly curled upward.
Those Artifacts were already strong even as empty shells.
“If I steal back the abilities that were taken...”
“They’ll become even stronger.”
Jooheon immediately asked the next question.
“So what about Hades?”
A moment later, Julian answered.
[Hades is fine.]
[Just like Zeus.]
[The shell is intact, and there’s no loss of ability.]
[Looks like they couldn’t steal from this one.]
Jooheon’s eyes curved into a smile.
“Perfect.”
“Then I’ll just bring it over.”
Jooheon raised one hand and activated his <Summon Right>.
But nothing happened.
“...Blocked?”
As though answering his question, a voice came from the air.
[Summon Right activation failed.]
[Reason: The owner of this worldline is blocking the <Invader’s> Summon Right.]
[To force the summon, your rank must exceed that of the opposing authority.]
Jooheon frowned.
“...Invader?”
He looked at Cynthia.
“Didn’t you turn off Defense Mode?”
Cynthia bit her lip.
“Delaira did this.”
Jooheon blinked.
“Why is her name coming up?”
His expression clearly said:
Isn’t this your world?
Cynthia gritted her teeth.
“Delaira is allied with Betrayne.”
“And Rulebook probably granted her a ‘privilege.’”
“With that privilege...”
Jooheon finished the thought.
“So even with Defense Mode off, I’m still being recognized as an invader.”
Sure enough—
[Use of Summon Rights by Invaders is prohibited.]
Jooheon read the message.
But his expression didn’t change at all.
If anything...
He looked slightly more amused.
“I see.”
“Then there’s only one conclusion.”
He casually scratched his ear.
“This restriction only applies if I’m an <Invader>, right?”
Cynthia’s eyes widened.
“...What?”
“I’m being blocked because I’m currently classified as an invader.”
Jooheon rolled his shoulders naturally.
“Then I just stop being an invader.”
“Simple.”
That smile completely froze Cynthia.
“Wh-What are you planning to do?”
(To be continued.)
