The scene was gruesome.
Jeon Dongwook, standing at the blood-soaked staircase, furrowed his brow in distress.
As a former police officer who had witnessed numerous murder scenes, he was no stranger to death.
However, the level of grotesqueness this time was exceptionally rare.
“Did they think they were creating a piece of art?”
“…I don’t know.”
Kang Doyoung, an employee of the Management Bureau who had been tasked with monitoring Nam Jooyeon, was now a corpse.
Not only that, but the perpetrator had hung his body in mid-air. The sight eerily resembled Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.
At a glance, it seemed as though a human body had been used to draw a hexagram, a magical circle.
The signature of the artist who created this horrifying masterpiece was also inscribed.
On one side of the wall, written in blood, were the letters:
“OHE….”
Jeon Dongwook felt dizzy.
Actor.
That name was unforgettable to anyone living in this world.
It was infamous as the master of the Scorched Saint Selene, one of the most heinous calamities.
“…This is the worst.”
Condition-wook summoned a Moss Hunter and used its tracking skill, but he couldn’t uncover anything.
Either this wasn’t the work of a calamity, or it was the deed of a calamity so advanced that even the Moss Hunter’s tracking skill couldn’t detect it.
He judged the latter to be more likely.
“…What should we do? Should we increase surveillance?”
“No… that wouldn’t be wise. Just monitor the situation for now. We’ll meet again soon.”
The sudden disappearance of the Cheonan Nest.
The Tempest Dragon.
And now, the Master of the Abyss, Actor.
*
“…This is strange.”
Everything was connected to a man named Nam Jooyeon.
[Master of the Abyss, Actor, commits another murder?]
[The victim is an employee of the Management Bureau, which has yet to issue a statement…]
Unsurprisingly, the media was quick to cover the incident.
While stories of people dying from calamities and the catastrophic damage suffered by local residents went unreported, this kind of sensational news spread like wildfire.
The two letters “Actor” held significant attention.
=
– What exactly is Actor, killing people and commanding 5-star calamities?
– I heard the victim was an employee of the Management Bureau. Could this be a warning message?
– A warning?
– You know, like how psychopathic serial killers send messages to the police. “Don’t interfere with this case anymore,” or something like that.
– Maybe it’s just a copycat. I know a schizophrenic who worships Actor and smears feces on walls.
=
Online debates were raging.
The two most plausible hypotheses were:
Either the Master of the Abyss, Actor, was sending a warning to the Awakener Management Bureau, or it was the work of a mentally ill person who believed themselves to be Actor.
At the very least, it couldn’t be the former.
Because Actor was here, racking his brains over the situation.
“…Damn it.”
It was me.
Suddenly cast as the world’s shadowy mastermind, I was now falsely accused of a murder I didn’t commit.
To make matters worse, it happened right outside my house, and the victim being a Management Bureau employee was particularly damning.
I still hadn’t forgotten the meaningful look Jeon Dongwook gave me a few days ago at the Management Bureau building.
“Selene.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think it was Mirien’s doing?”
“Without seeing the scene, I can’t say for certain, but if it were that woman, Mirien, it’s entirely possible.”
Selene gave an unusually rational response.
“However, Mirien wouldn’t kill people without reason. Unless the deceased harbored ill intentions towards you, my lord.”
“…Even so…”
A person died right outside my house, and the perpetrator was someone I had fired.
Moreover, that person was still obsessed with me, going so far as to inscribe my name at the murder scene in a crazed act.
It was even more unsettling than when Selene stabbed a civil servant in the stomach a while ago.
Seeing my troubled expression, Selene stiffened her face and placed her hand on the dagger at her waist.
“It seems that magic-wielding wench has done something unnecessary. My lord, if you give the order, I will bring her head to you immediately.”
“No, it’s fine.”
That head, always talking about heads.
Why does she want to kill so badly?
Wouldn’t it be better to get along peacefully?
“There’s no concrete evidence that it was Mirien’s doing.”
At my words, Selene reluctantly nodded.
It could very well be the work of a copycat impersonating Actor, as the online hypothesis suggested.
It was entirely plausible. After all, there were apparently doomsday cultists who worshipped the Master of the Abyss, Actor.
I’ve even heard rumors comparing him to the Second Coming of Christ.
“Selene, I think we should stay at home instead of the Abyss for a while.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I don’t want to be suspected unnecessarily.”
It was clear that Jeon Dongwook suspected me.
With a Management Bureau employee killed right outside my house, his suspicion would soon turn into certainty.
The Abyss was a separate dimension accessible only through Selene.
For now, it was better to stay at home and establish an alibi.
“Just bear with it until the Tempest Dragon subjugation next week.”
“…Then what should I do?”
“Stay in the Abyss.”
“What if someone tries to harm you while I’m away?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t be easily harmed.”
I summoned the newly acquired Ash-colored Stream Deer to show her.
Along with the 2-star calamity, Stardust Golem, I had enough protection to handle most threats.
“If I’m in real danger, I’ll call you.”
“Then… understood.”
I sighed and manipulated the status window.
With the accumulated experience points from synthesis, I planned to upgrade the base.
The barracks were sufficient, so I intended to increase the synthesis slots to allow Selene to command calamity synthesis.
[Base Upgrade: Synthesis Lab]
[⃞⃞⃞⃞⃞⃞⃞⃞⃞⃞]
[Expands synthesis slots by one. Increases the probability of higher-star calamities appearing.]
[Required Experience: 100Exp]
Without hesitation, I pressed the upgrade button three times.
*
Disaster Order was what people commonly called a “dead game.”
A dead game disguised as an idle collection game.
To collect high-grade characters, one had to invest an insane amount of time, and even then, luck might not be on your side.
When I was actively playing the game, it took three months to obtain a 4-star calamity.
That should give you an idea.
It took over a year after that to get Selene.
“…Sigh.”
So, the reason I’m saying all this is simple.
[5★ Scorched Saint Selene has completed calamity synthesis.]
[Reward: 30Exp/1★ Leaf Fairies]
[4★ Hellfire Guard Dog has completed calamity synthesis.]
[Reward: 30Exp/1★ Leather Lantern Bug]
[5★ Scorched Saint Selene has completed calamity synthesis.]
[Reward: 30Exp/1★ Forest Goblin]
[4★ Hellfire Watchdog has completed calamity synthesis.]
[Reward: 50Exp/2★ Ember Fox]
A synthesis spree of over thirty calamities ended in a disastrous explosion.
All I got was one 2-star calamity.
And even that was a fire attribute.
With Selene and the Hellfire Guard Dog already as far superior options, it was useless.
“…Is it even possible to be this unlucky?”
“My apologies.”
Selene knelt with her hands clasped together meekly.
“It’s entirely my fault. My lord, please kill me.”
“…No, there’s no need to go that far.”
I knew Selene’s synthesis aptitude was low.
I didn’t have high expectations to begin with.
But considering the number of calamities I had fed into the synthesis, the results were disappointingly poor.
“…I wanted to catch at least one 3-star before the Tempest Dragon subjugation.”
As I clicked my tongue and manipulated the status window, Selene cautiously spoke up.
“My lord, may I humbly suggest something?”
“What is it?”
“This world operates on the principle of survival of the fittest. Let us kill those who dare impersonate your name and take their calamities…”
“Rejected.”
My head throbbed.
Mirien was like this, and now Selene too.
Why can’t they think in any other way?
No, perhaps the real issue is me imposing ordinary ethical thinking on calamities.
“…Anyway, we have to participate in the Tempest Dragon subjugation in two days.”
Five days had passed while I was busy with synthesis.
I had received a summons from the Management Bureau.
B-class Awakener Nam Jooyeon, assemble at the Management Bureau building by noon two days from now.
Since Mirien was controlling Tempest, she wouldn’t harm me, but I still felt uneasy.
“I want to strengthen my forces before then.”
Even just one powerful 2-star calamity would put my mind at ease.
In Disaster Order, even within the same star rating, there was a significant gap in performance.
The difference between named and unnamed entities.
For example, the Hellfire Guard Dog and Tempest Dragon are both classified as 4-star, but the Hellfire Guard Dog, being unnamed, is considered trash, while the Tempest Dragon, as a named calamity, is highly valued.
In that sense, most of the 2-star calamities I currently possess are mediocre.
Having at least one calamity with its own name would make it much easier to operate under a disguised identity.
“My lord, what about subjugating nests? I’ve heard there are stronger calamities in nests to the south.”
“…That would draw too much attention.”
At the Management Bureau building, Condition-wook had questioned me about the Cheonan Nest.
I managed to dodge the issue, but if another nest were to disappear, Condition-wook wouldn’t stay idle.
Understanding my concerns, Selene spoke.
“…That only happened because you personally went there, my lord.”
“Huh?”
“Send me alone. I will subjugate the nest without anyone noticing.”
In other words, she was suggesting an expedition.
It was tempting.
Given Selene’s previous expedition with the Hellfire Guard Dog, where she turned people into skewers, I hadn’t seriously considered this option.
But in the current situation, it seemed like a viable choice.
After some thought, I nodded.
“…Alright. Selene, but you must not kill anyone.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Selene smiled brightly and disappeared into particles.
The next day, I heard that five nests located in the provinces had all vanished overnight.
And that a woman with ash-colored hair had conquered all of them.
[Is the Master of the Abyss, Actor, actually humanity’s savior?]
“…This is insane.”
I really wanted to die.