After finishing the walk with Selene and returning to the lodging, Mirien’s expression was filled with nothing but displeasure.
As soon as she saw my face, she furrowed her brow and twisted her lips.
“Actor.”
“What?”
“I want to be by your side too.”
“I never said you couldn’t.”
“That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about that girl who was flirting with you earlier.”
Mirien pointed her finger.
The only person she could be referring to was Selene, who, coincidentally, didn’t have a tail.
“Um… Mirien, what do you mean?”
“I want to be closer to you than that girl. Allow me. Actor, you like me more than that cold-hearted girl, don’t you?”
“…”
As expected from a disaster known for her tracking magic, Mirien seemed to have eavesdropped on all the conversations Selene and I had while walking around Busan.
Karne, who was smiling mysteriously beside us, was likely the same.
I sighed and pushed Selene back.
“Mirien, let’s talk about that later. We have plenty of time. Right now, the urgent matter is the fragment of Asteria’s crown.”
No matter how much of a disaster Mirien was, she couldn’t defy my will.
She buried her face in her knees and whined.
“But promise me one thing. You’ll go on a date with me too.”
“I told you, it wasn’t a date.”
I denied it and glanced at Selene’s expression.
For some reason, her triumphant smile seemed to irritate Mirien.
Crackle.
Mirien’s hair stood on end, and static electricity sparked, but that was all.
She turned her head sharply and fell silent.
I sighed in relief and turned my gaze to Karne.
“Anyway, Mother, did you manage to gather any information?”
“Yes. I was able to extract information from a few collaborators I encountered in the city.”
“Collaborators?”
I felt a chill run down my spine.
“Just to be clear, are these collaborators human?”
“You could say that.”
“Uh… did they cooperate willingly?”
There’s no way any awakened would willingly cooperate with a 5-star disaster.
But in response to my question, Karne simply placed her index finger on her lips and smiled.
“I didn’t use violence. Of course, those children won’t remember anything.”
Her movements reminded me of a corporate executive.
‘So, she brainwashed them.’
I should be grateful it wasn’t torture.
Either way, it’s beyond my jurisdiction.
Telling her not to use extreme methods would be pointless; she wouldn’t listen anyway.
“So, Mother, what information did you gather about Shin Dohee?”
“Ah, that was quite interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“Shin Dohee… it seems she didn’t become a tyrant because of the crown fragment. She was inherently cruel.”
“…What?”
I frowned at the unexpected revelation.
Karne seemed amused by my reaction and smiled.
“The queen of this city was once part of a cult that worshipped a false god.”
“A cult that worshipped a false god?”
I quietly repeated the words.
Karne had a habit of twisting her words, so I had to pay close attention.
Soon, I understood Karne’s implication.
“A pseudo-religious cult?”
The madness and cruelty Shin Dohee displayed, along with the environment that fostered it, began to make sense.
*
After that, the information Karne provided could be summarized as follows:
Shin Dohee grew up under parents who were leaders of a pseudo-religious cult.
The cult, like most pseudo-religions, blindly believed in an apocalyptic prophecy, and Shin Dohee, their daughter, was raised immersed in this belief.
…If that were all, she could have been seen as just an unfortunate child raised under the influence of a foolish group.
But ironically, the apocalypse that cultists often prophesied actually came to pass.
[The disasters of the Disaster Order are coming for you.]
Yes.
Because of me.
[Defeat the disasters and subjugate them to become the absolute ruler of the world.]
Reality became the game known as the Disaster Order, and all systems in the world became meaningless from this point onward.
The first rift eruption followed, and countless people died.
This was also the reason why religious circles in South Korea and around the world were in an uproar.
Cult leaders who had predicted the apocalypse became instant celebrities.
Of course, they had no idea the apocalypse would actually happen, so most met gruesome ends at the hands of the disasters.
Shin Dohee’s father was no exception.
During the first eruption, he was captured by the tiny hands of 1-star imps and torn apart alive, becoming a human string cheese.
Thus, the religious group Shin Dohee belonged to collapsed, and the world entered the era of the awakened.
The problem here was that she wasn’t just an unfortunate but kind girl raised under a misguided father, but a sociopath devoid of humanity.
“She didn’t hesitate to use any means necessary.”
Shin Dohee chose to become an awakened without hesitation and rose to the position of clan leader in Busan, unleashing her cruelty without restraint.
The methods she used were brutally straightforward.
She used her beauty to infiltrate parties and then betrayed everyone, or promised a night to the leader of an awakened group only to strangle him to death in bed.
She was a more meticulous and thorough version of Han Taegeon, who had tried to kill me during the second eruption.
In this way, Shin Dohee took control of Busan without hesitation.
Like father, like daughter.
She inherited her father’s talent for gathering followers.
Once she became the ruler of Busan, Shin Dohee used her followers to gather disasters.
After successfully synthesizing a 4-star disaster, she began attacking and annexing nearby small cities, and it was around this time that conflicts with the Daejeon clan arose.
“Tricky.”
After hearing the whole story, I sighed.
Unlike the straightforwardly powerful Yoo Junseo, the thug-like Jeon Taemin, or the ambiguously just Lei Fu, the queen of Busan, Shin Dohee, was a pure, 100% lunatic.
The execution methods she enjoyed were likely rooted in the environment she grew up in.
Hanging corpses in the streets probably had some religious significance.
“…It’s the perfect environment for a madwoman to wield power.”
“Truly a brilliant analysis, my lord. I am moved by your insight.”
Ignoring Selene’s flattery, I organized my thoughts.
Ultimately, Shin Dohee’s problem wasn’t the crown fragment but the fact that she was a sociopath.
‘Should I let her live?’
I pondered.
If I wanted to, killing her would be easy.
I have an assassination specialist.
No matter how many high-performance 4-star named disasters Shin Dohee has, Karne could kill her without a sound with just a flick of her finger.
But the problem lies in what happens after her death.
Is there anyone in Busan who can replace her?
Is there a figure capable of leading the defense against the sixth eruption?
“There isn’t.”
She probably killed all the awakened who opposed her.
The faces of the awakened at the execution were unimpressive.
They were already accustomed to Shin Dohee’s rule.
Moreover, no matter how tyrannical she is, Shin Dohee’s power undoubtedly contributed to Busan’s relatively smooth defense against the rifts.
“Hmm…”
In the end, the most ideal solution is to somehow manipulate Shin Dohee, like the Daejeon clan, and make her willingly hand over the crown fragment.
But how do you manipulate a fanatic?
Only one method comes to mind.
“Mirien, can you use brainwashing magic…”
“It’s a concentration spell. I can’t use it with other magic.”
“Right.”
That’s why I went through the trouble of imprisoning Inspector Kwon Yak in the tower.
Then I need to come up with another plan.
I thought deeply.
“Ah.”
And then I came up with a solution.
Shin Dohee also has a weakness.
Having been raised under a pseudo-religious cult leader, she holds a fanatical belief in religion.
And I can use this to my advantage.
“There’s a way.”
It was thanks to the story I heard from Selene earlier.
A divine revelation.
“Mother, could you search Shin Dohee’s residence?”
“That’s simple. So, what should I look for?”
I pondered for a moment before answering.
“Hmm… a gospel, perhaps?”
“What’s that for?”
Karne asked.
I followed the script.
“Mother, I intend to become the god of the new world.”
“Ooh! Ascension!”
Mirien cheered, while Karne and Selene tilted their heads slightly.
It seemed no one took my words as a joke.
But considering what I’m about to do, it’s not that different.
“Mirien, can you create an illusion?”
“What kind of illusion? A hallucination spell is easy.”
“Recreate the image of me from your memory. Yes, the image of Actor as a god.”
Finally, Mirien seemed to realize what I was planning.
“Hehe. I really like you, Actor.”
She smiled brightly and said that.
*
The building where Shin Dohee resided offered a view of two landscapes.
First, the empty beach of the South Sea.
And second.
“Hehe.”
Shin Dohee, the clan leader of Busan, hummed a tune as she looked at the corpses she had displayed on the streets.
The golden tower of faith she had built by consistently carrying out executions over the past few months.
As her father had said, they were both offerings and messages.
Holy symbols and warnings to the unbelievers around her.
Thus, the kingdom of Shin Dohee, the empress and pope, would gradually expand its holy territory.
The world was simpler than complex, and even more so for the awakened.
The transformation of this world, which seemed almost kind at times, pleased Shin Dohee greatly.
The apocalypse that had come was not destruction.
As her father had said, it was a new beginning.
“Hmm. Should I tell that Seoul guy too?”
Shin Dohee muttered to herself as she pulled out her father’s old gospel from the drawer.
The leather cover was stained with old blood and worn from handling.
She brushed it with one hand.
“They’ll realize it soon, everyone.”
Like the unbelievers in this city, everyone will kneel once they see the truth with their own eyes.
Even those who initially resisted eventually accepted it.
The instinct to seek salvation in despair is inherent in all creatures.
Shin Dohee intended to make Busan a holy land, and she believed it would naturally become one.
She smiled as she brushed the hardcover of the gospel.
“Should I cover it with human skin this time?”
That’s when it happened.
Something changed in front of Shin Dohee.
A woman with black wings and an expressionless face.
A small whirlwind swirled around her.
“…Huh?”
How did she break in, and who was she?
As Shin Dohee hurriedly tried to summon a disaster, her thoughts came to a halt.
The reason was simple.
She saw the man in a mask walking out from behind the wings.
“…”
The man looked down at Shin Dohee from behind his mask.
The moment their eyes met, Shin Dohee felt a tingling sensation throughout her body.
It was as if she had received a divine revelation.
Like a divine messenger, the man, surrounded by a halo, conveyed his will not with words but with gestures.
A neutral voice echoed in Shin Dohee’s mind.
[You who serve the will of God.]
Shin Dohee’s heart raced. The masked man walked forward, cutting through the air. Beneath his feet, traces of the world’s order yielding were left.
Shin Dohee swallowed hard.
A euphoric sensation as if all her nerves were on edge.
It was too intense.
An aura unlike any being she had ever encountered.
Not even her father.
Which meant…
“The Rapture? A divine messenger?”
A look of ecstasy appeared on Shin Dohee’s face.
Unaware that the divine being before her was the result of a meticulously crafted script.