Chapter 48. Madness 100 (3)
“Cynthia!”
Jooheon hurriedly caught her.
But her body was already growing cold.
Having a Majesty Heart ripped out was practically a death sentence.
“Cynthia!”
“...Thank you...”
Cynthia gave him a faint smile.
The light was fading from the hole in her chest where Betrayne had torn out her heart.
Jooheon quickly slapped her cheek.
“Hey. Hey.”
“Don’t die.”
“I can’t be bothered listening to last words.”
Cynthia coughed blood and laughed weakly.
“Thanks to you...”
“For the first time...”
“I could imagine... what my real city might look like...”
Her eyes were about to close.
Jooheon’s voice turned ice-cold.
“Betrayne...”
“You fucking bastard.”
His teeth ground together in fury.
But at the same time, he pulled something from inside his clothes.
The Majesty Heart he had extracted from Delaira.
Then—
Jooheon shoved Delaira’s heart straight into the hole in Cynthia’s chest.
CRUNCH!
[Forcibly transplanting another Majesty’s Heart!]
[Warning: Compatibility check has been bypassed.]
[This is insane!]
Jooheon grinned.
“Insane is my specialty.”
[Buff 5: Bulldozer]
The more you are told, “This is impossible,” the stronger you become.
Jooheon exploded with Dominance and forcibly fixed the heart in place.
Cynthia’s stopped pulse suddenly—
THUMP!
—started beating again.
“...Haah?!”
Her eyes snapped open.
She gasped violently and grabbed her chest.
“Huh...?”
“I’m alive?”
Jooheon let go of her as though supporting her had become annoying.
“Your last words were pretty emotional.”
“Something about being grateful I helped you imagine your real city.”
“...!”
Cynthia’s face instantly turned bright red.
She had thought she was dying and spilled every sentimental thought in her heart.
And now he was mocking her for it?
“N-No, that was...!”
“I really thought I was going to die!”
“Glad I heard it.”
Jooheon snickered.
“Should’ve recorded it.”
Cynthia looked as though she wanted the ground to swallow her.
But behind Jooheon’s laughter...
His eyes remained cold.
Rulebook, meanwhile, sounded delighted.
[The ‘Madness’ of Majesty 187487, Seo Jooheon, has been registered into his narrative.]
[‘Permanent Madness 100’ has been applied to the Majesty’s narrative.]
Jooheon wondered why the bastard sounded so happy.
Then—
[Hostile target for Worldline 187487 registered: Designer Betrayne.]
[In simple terms, Lord Betrayne has officially marked you as an enemy.]
So that’s why.
[Special rewards and trials are granted when an invasion target is designated.]
[Good luck. ♥]
Then Cup-Ramen Yoo Jaeha cautiously spoke from inside Jooheon’s clothes.
[Um... Captain...]
“What?”
[Cynthia got a secondhand heart shoved into her...]
[What about my heart?]
[Where the hell is my heart right now?]
The pitiful voice made Jooheon pause.
Right.
Cup-Ramen Jaeha was still barely surviving in cup-ramen form after Rulebook had torn out his heart.
Majesty Yoo Jaeha turned toward Cynthia.
“Hey.”
“Have Betrayne or Rulebook ever given you something like a Majesty Heart as a reward?”
Cynthia, still clutching her chest and catching her breath, shook her head.
“No.”
“Never.”
Jaeha sighed and looked toward Jooheon.
“Well.”
“It’s not like this was a complete waste.”
He gave Jooheon a sideways glance.
A rookie Majesty awakened all at once, after all.
Jooheon noticed.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Anyway, Majesty Hearts are used as currency.”
“And that cup ramen destroyed Lethe’s Artifact.”
“So his value probably skyrocketed.”
Jaeha crossed his arms.
“They’ll definitely use his heart as a bargaining chip.”
“Other Majesties will want it too.”
Jooheon nodded in understanding.
Now he had an even better reason to hunt down Betrayne.
He needed to recover Jaeha’s missing part too.
Still, Jaeha smirked.
“Too bad you came up empty-handed otherwise, rookie.”
“I don’t think I did.”
“!”
Cynthia approached them.
“Give me the ring Delaira dropped when she died.”
Jooheon handed it over.
It was the Majesty Ring every Majesty possessed.
The moment Cynthia held it—
Something unexpected happened.
[Summoning Artifacts belonging to Majesty Delaira.]
Several Artifacts emerged from Delaira’s ring.
The most interesting one was a rugged black briefcase.
Jooheon looked intrigued.
“What’s that?”
“A product Betrayne gives to his subordinates.”
“An Absolute-Bound Artifact.”
Cynthia smiled bitterly.
“Normally, when the owner dies, the Artifact should be destroyed too.”
“But because you shoved Delaira’s heart into me...”
“The system seems to think the owner is still alive.”
She looked down at herself.
“Though it probably recognizes me as Delaira now.”
Jooheon nodded, satisfied.
“Oh.”
“Good thing I stuffed it into you, then.”
“I only did it because cleaning up afterward would’ve been annoying.”
Jaeha clicked his tongue.
Not honest at all.
He glanced at the case.
“Wouldn’t it be useless if it’s password-locked?”
“Something like that would self-destruct if you forced it open.”
“It’s fine.”
Cynthia reached for the dial.
“I know the password.”
“I used to be a candidate too.”
She turned the dial with practiced movements.
Click.
The case opened.
Inside was a ring box.
And inside that...
A thin ring.
[Administrator’s Secret Vault Guard Ring (Inventory)]
Special subspace granted by Designer Betrayne.
Stores Artifacts without damage.
Retains ‘carried Artifacts’ even when crossing worldlines.
Cynthia explained.
“Normally, a Majesty who leaves their own world becomes empty-handed.”
“The standard method is to obtain new Artifacts there or use a Summon Right.”
“But those people are different.”
“They receive special privileges from Rulebook.”
“So no matter what world they visit...”
“They can carry their weapons around as if they were still at home.”
Jooheon’s eyes lit up.
“Ah.”
“So they start from a different line.”
“Rich-kid exclusive gear.”
He snatched up the thin ring with interest.
Majesty Jaeha chuckled as if looking at an overexcited rookie.
“Perfect for you.”
“You love scraping together every piece of junk you can find.”
“I don’t need one.”
“I just make whatever I need on the spot.”
Cynthia spoke expectantly.
“Put it over the Majesty Ring every Majesty has.”
“That should evolve your Majesty Ring so it can store Artifacts.”
