Tomb Raider King : End Line - Chapter 11

========== CHAPTER 11. CATASTROPHE (2) ==========

Majesty Yoo Jae-ha was dumbfounded.

He had never seen anyone dodge a disaster like this. But the impenetrable golden tower had truly collapsed.

‘There are so many timelines where artifacts became unusable because of those things.’

And.

Swaaaaaa!

Fragments of letters, memories, and language that had disappeared from people’s minds started falling like snow. A ray of light bloomed in the despair. And at the center stood Seo Ju-heon.

The book trembled as if extremely frustrated.

[…I don’t understand!]

[‘Records’ were lost, ‘language’ was lost, ‘tools’ were lost, yet these pathetic humans are still holding on….]

[Why, exactly?]

The book’s voice turned into a screeching sound.

[Fine. I’ll admit it. The Majesty here is quite impressive. It was worth trying to recruit you. And you all still have hope.]

And the tone changed.

[So, I’ll crush that hope now.]

A chilling voice echoed.

At that moment, Flash! The sky tore open like lightning. Pure white letters floated in the air.

Bagua (Eight Trigrams).

Heaven (Qian), Earth (Kun), Water (Kan), Fire (Li), Thunder (Zhen), Mountain (Gen), Wind (Xun), Lake (Dui).

A massive wheel of Bagua rose above the sky.

It was a curse related to Fu Xi from Chinese mythology.

Fu Xi taught humans letters and the Bagua, allowing them to divine the hope of the future. But this time, it was different.

As the Bagua wheel finally emitted light, the energy of the universe flipped upside down.

Soon, a status window appeared before their eyes.

[The ‘Curse of Fu Xi’ is activated.]

[Fourth Curse – Denial of Hope.]

[There is no existence to help you.]

[This world can no longer have hope.]

[Those whose future is blocked cannot evolve further.]

Ju-heon tilted his head.

Because for a curse, nothing had changed.

“Hope? That’s a very abstract curse.”

But Majesty Yoo Jae-ha’s complexion changed.

“No. This is genuinely dangerous….”

“Why.”

“How has the world changed right now?”

How indeed.

“Communications are cut off, smartphones, electricity, weapons, human tools are unusable, and it’s a situation on the verge of an apocalypse where only artifacts can be used.”

It’s a good thing time is currently stopped with an artifact. Otherwise, planes would be falling everywhere, leading to a massive accident. The moment time stop is released, this world will be in chaos.

He said as if that was correct.

“Right. A world where all communications are cut off, language doesn’t work, and all human tools are unusable. In short, a world where only artifacts can be used. And in this world where only artifacts can be handled, what do you think ‘hope’ is?”

“?”

Majesty Yoo Jae-ha looked at Ju-heon.

“It’s you. Without the Majesty, artifacts cannot be used. Because the Majesty is the existence that grants the authority to use artifacts.”

As if answering that, the book in the air let out a laugh.

[You guessed it right! The hope of this world right now is you, Majesty!]

[In other words, if you die, this world where only artifacts can be used will be able to do nothing. It’s the path to destruction. So, from now on, I will erase the ‘one who holds hope’.]

At the same time, a giant black hand rose from the book.

It was a massive arm stained with ink. The hand that had been writing down records now flew in to erase hope.

Ju-heon let out a dry laugh.

“Even so, you’re just a book-head.”

I can’t be sure of its identity, but that must be a type of artifact too. Then I just have to dominate it-

But.

[You are finished.]

What does that mean.

At the same time as those words, something black grabbed Ju-heon’s arm. Ju-heon’s movements froze.

“……?!”

[I will end the humanity extinction scenario by eliminating the ‘protagonist of hope’.]

[Extracting the ‘Majesty’s Heart’.]

The Rulebook reached out. And Ju-heon’s chest split open.

Crack! Puhak!

“Ju-heon!”

“Captain!”

The red heart floated in the air, slowly losing its light.

[Retrieving the heart of ‘hope’.]

[This world has lost its Majesty.]

[This world that has lost its Majesty can no longer use artifacts.]

The Rulebook laughed quietly.

[Rulebook System Notification]

[The extinction of the Majesty has been confirmed.]

The book started to shine in gold.

[Good, very good!]

[Phew, even if it was just one, the curse worked.]

The Rulebook wiggled playfully.

But the team members ran toward Ju-heon, whose chest was blown open.

“Captain!!!”

“Use a healing artifact!”

“Where’s Chloe?!”

The Rulebook laughed playfully at the team members’ reactions.

[You can’t live since I pulled out your heart.]

[With no Majesty, will you be able to protect this timeline?]

Protect, what do you mean-

[Did you think the disaster was already over?]

[From now on, trials will periodically strike this 187487 world♥]

[If you succeed in the mission, you get a reward, but if you fail, a penalty is added.]

The team members realized it then.

The disaster was just beginning.

“It’s not like some disaster game…!”

The Rulebook giggled at Ilya’s muttered words.

[Then am I the Game Master? I like it. You are my NPCs… Ack!!!]

The Rope seemed pissed off, tying the book up tightly and slamming it into the ground repeatedly.

[What are you doing! What are you doing!]

The book, which was screaming Kyaaaaak, stuttered.

[A-anyway, if you block even 1 of the 4 disasters, you get a special benefit.]

[This place is amazing! You blocked 3 disasters, so you get 2 special benefits…!]

The Rope got even angrier and slammed it Bang! Bang!

[What are you saying! What are you saying!]

The book screamed.

[O-okay, I got it! I’ll give you 3 special benefits!]

But that kind of thing didn’t matter to the team members.

“……Seo Ju-heon……!”

“……This is a lie, right…?”

“Captain!!”

[Then the reward will be paid. I look forward to the next story too!]

The book disappeared.

No one spoke.

Ilya clenched his fists. He had the ability to stop time, but this was different. Reversing what had already happened was beyond his authority.

Seol-ah couldn’t hold back her tears. Julian turned his head while adjusting his glasses.

It was obvious he was trying not to let his expression be seen.

The Rope curled up beside Ju-heon and patted his face vigorously.

[Master.]

[Master.]

[Master.]

There was no answer.

The fingertips of the dead Ju-heon were cold, and the hole in his chest did not close.

It was truly the moment when hope disappeared for humanity, no, for them.

But it was at that moment.

“What the hell are you doing, you bastard!”

Bang!

The team members all raised their heads at the familiar voice.

At the same time, the team members screamed.

It was no wonder, as Ju-heon was standing in front of them, looking perfectly fine.

“…Seo, Seo Ju-heon? Wh, what is this….”

“What do you mean what, you son of a bitch.”

“Is it really you? Are you not a ghost?”

“Are you kidding me?”

Julian opened his eyes wide in confusion.

“If you’re alive…… then what is that…?”

At that moment, Ju-heon’s corpse, which had been lying down, twitched, and its appearance distorted as if its skin was being shed. All the team members were surprised.

It was Yoo Jae-ha.

The Rope approached, asking if Master was okay, but Ju-heon grabbed Majesty Yoo Jae-ha by the collar.

Ju-heon had been grabbed by the arm by Majesty Yoo Jae-ha the moment he was about to be attacked by the book, and was trapped in a strange space. It was a wrapping cloth artifact. And when he tore through it and came out, this was the state of things.

“You bastard… You touched the Yoo Jae-ha of this world… my subordinate?!”

“?!”

That was it.

Majesty Yoo Jae-ha had swapped Ju-heon’s appearance with Yoo Jae-ha’s after spiriting Seo Ju-heon away. To a level that even god-level artifacts couldn’t notice.

Sure enough, Majesty Yoo Jae-ha shrugged his shoulders leisurely.

“Forgery. That’s my Majesty awakening ability. Don’t worry. They’ll think you’re dead too.”

Ju-heon’s eyes turned cold.

“So? To save just me, you offered my subordinate as a sacrifice…?”

Yoo Jae-ha sighed and brought something out.

“Don’t worry. He’s not dead. Not yet.”

“……What?”

“His soul is in here.”

What he pulled out of the wrapping cloth artifact was an ordinary cup noodle.

It was quite old, and there was a red warning label on the red lid that said ‘Caution: Hot’.

Ju-heon stared at it with a blank expression.

“…Are you kidding me?”

This is Yoo Jae-ha?

The moment he was about to tell him to stop talking bullshit,

[Aaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!]

The cup noodle screamed.

[Hey, you crazy bastard! What are you doing putting me in something like this!!! I’m a human! I’m not food!!!]

Ju-heon received the cup noodle with trembling hands.

“…What is this….”

“I told you. His soul is alive. Don’t pour water in. You could actually boil him.”

As Majesty Yoo Jae-ha smiled faintly, Ju-heon rubbed his temples.

“…Is that the problem right now!!!”

“!”

“How dare you turn my subordinate into this?”

When Ju-heon got angry, Yoo Jae-ha seemed touched.

[Captain….]

“Why did you make him into a ‘Mild’ flavor with no substance! ‘Spicy’ flavor is the fundamental!”

Yoo Jae-ha wailed.

Is that the problem!!!!

(To be continued in the next episode)