“Gasp, gasp, gasp.”
Yoo Junseo ran out of the tower, panting heavily.
Although he held the prestigious position of Director of the Awakened Management Bureau, he was well aware that it was purely due to luck.
He happened to be at the center of a sudden global change, which had allowed him to rise to such a position.
“Huff, huff! Huff!”
Breathing heavily, Yoo Jun-seo moved his feet swiftly.
Until recently, he had considered himself incredibly fortunate. The world’s system had seemed kind to him.
Unlike his past as a low-ranking public service worker in the mental health sector, he had believed that in this new world, he could become a central figure, part of the ruling class.
“Damn it!”
But that was a delusion.
Inside the dungeon he had boldly entered, Yoo Jun-seo had abandoned his comrades and fled.
In his desperate escape, he had tumbled down the stairs several times, leaving his body covered in bruises.
His hair, meticulously styled to look good on camera, was now disheveled.
“Damn it! Stupid bastard!”
Yoo Jun-seo hit his own head in self-reproach.
What kind of wealth and glory had he been chasing to agree to such a suicidal mission?
Inside the 5-star dungeon, the Tower of Reverse Heaven, it wasn’t just the storm of the North Sea, Mirien, that awaited them.
There was also the Charred Saintess Selene, a subordinate of the Actor.
That had been their downfall, their arrogance.
“…Hey! It’s the Flame King!”
“Oooh!”
The crowd still gathered near the tower cheered at the sudden appearance of Yoo Junseo, but upon seeing his disheveled state, they realized something was wrong.
One of the crowd, a visibly anxious B-rank Awakened named Kang Sena, approached him cautiously and asked, “…Director, what happened inside?”
“…Well, you see…”
Yoo Junseo hesitated, about to tell the truth, but then he flinched.
Could he really admit in front of everyone that he, the Director of the Awakened Management Bureau, had used an S-rank Awakened as bait and fled?
That would be social suicide.
“…Inside the tower… the Charred Saintess Selene appeared.”
Yoo Junseo was a man driven by ambition, and he knew that the dead tell no tales.
Moreover, in the current state of the world, neither epidemiological investigations nor forensic science held any value.
“…I barely managed to escape, but S-rank Awakened Nam Joo-yeon…”
Before Yoo Junseo could finish, Kang Sena’s expression turned to one of horror.
At the same time, he felt a intense guilt.
To sell out a comrade who had sacrificed their life for him…
Though Jeon Dongwook had said that S-rank Awakened Nam Jooyeon had something, Yoo Junseo now had to admit it.
Nam Jooyeon was a hero.
He had sacrificed his life for Yoo Junseo.
Even as Yoo Junseo fled in disgrace, Nam Jooyeon hadn’t uttered a single word of resentment.
The memory of that final moment was still vivid, and Yoo Jun-seo couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.
“Director! What on earth happened?”
“Well…”
As Kang Sena and other bureau employees pressed for answers, and the murmurs from the gathered crowd grew louder, a massive tremor shook the ground.
The earth quaked.
And the heavens quaked.
More precisely, the entire world seemed to tremble.
Ding.
[The dungeon ‘Tower of Reverse Heaven’ is erupting.]
Seeing the message on the status window before his eyes, Yoo Junseo couldn’t help but realize.
“Ah.”
Yoo Junseo came to his own conclusion.
The reason for the dungeon’s eruption was himself.
Even though he had fled, the dungeon wouldn’t let him go.
Having devoured S-rank Awakened Nam Jooyeon, they were still hungry.
Now, they wanted to devour Yoo Junseo, who had fled from the tower.
“…Ha, hahaha.”
Yoo Junseo clutched his head.
Whatever the case, his mistake had played a significant role in this eruption.
Now, countless citizens would die, and it would all be blamed on Yoo Jun-seo.
Perhaps it would be better to confess here.
“The truth is, I fled from the dungeon…”
Just as he was about to reveal the truth amidst the chaos, someone shouted, “Hey! Look at that!”
Everyone turned their attention to the tower.
At that moment, something massive emerged from the top of the tower.
It was none other than the Storm Dragon Tempest.
And riding on the back of the Storm Dragon was S-rank Awakened Nam Joo-yeon.
“Woooooah!”
“The Dragon King! The Dragon King is alive!”
Forgetting that the dungeon had erupted, the citizens cheered wildly.
Having successfully defended against the previous eruption, S-rank Awakened Nam Joo-yeon was seen as an invincible hero by the citizens of Seoul.
“So, what exactly happened?”
Meanwhile, Kang Sena, whose expression had noticeably softened, approached and asked.
Yoo Jun-seo quickly changed his expression.
“While we were smoothly progressing through the dungeon, we realized that it was about to erupt. So, I discussed it with Nam Jooyeon. I would go out and evacuate the citizens, while Nam Joo-yeon would stay behind to find and eliminate the cause of the eruption.”
“…Really?”
“Really. Don’t you believe me?”
“…”
Kang Sena’s eyes narrowed, but fortunately, she didn’t press further.
Yoo Junseo got into the car he had prepared for his escape.
It was time to return to being the Director of the Awakened Management Bureau.
*
Does anyone know what it feels like to fly through the sky without any protective gear?
Probably not. If they did, they’d likely be greeting the King of Hell by now.
In that sense, what I’m experiencing right now is quite rare.
[4★ Storm Dragon Tempest uses the skill ‘Flight’.]
Whoosh!
The sharp wind hits my face.
The pouring rain makes it difficult to breathe.
Of course, I don’t have any protective gear right now, but that doesn’t mean there’s no safety measure.
The Charred Saintess Selene is hidden within a barrier, ready to prevent any mishaps.
Still, the sensation of soaring through the sky, holding onto a single scale of Tempest as it shakes violently at such a dizzying height, isn’t exactly pleasant.
“Huff.”
At least Tempest, the Storm Dragon, was considerate enough to keep its head steady, making the ride somewhat bearable.
“Selene, are you listening?”
Selene was hidden within the barrier, so I couldn’t see her.
But communication was still possible.
“Yes. My lord, I am listening.”
“We need to find Mirien. Any idea where she might be?”
“I don’t know.”
In the end, to track down Mirien, I’d have to summon the Hellfire Hound.
“My lord, may I ask you something?”
“Make it quick. I’m pretty anxious about when I might fall, you know?”
“…What do you plan to do with Mirien?”
Selene’s calm question.
She seemed to be burning with determination.
“Given the current rainy weather, it’s not easy to unleash her full power… but if necessary, I will burn everything to kill that woman.”
“…”
If I ordered Selene to kill Mirien, she would fight to the death, even at the cost of her own life.
In fact, the ultimate skills of the 5-star calamities, especially Selene’s, were akin to self-destruction.
But that wasn’t the future I wanted.
“Selene, are you crazy? Who kills their subordinate over a misunderstanding?”
“…Then.”
“We need to talk it out. If it were you who misunderstood, I’d do the same.”
In fact, Mirien’s misunderstanding was sudden, but it wasn’t entirely unfounded.
I had declared the tower raid, and though it was an excuse, I had also said I would eliminate Mirien.
However, I hadn’t expected her to witness and hear everything.
My mistake was assuming that Mirien, like Selene, was oblivious to the ways of the world.
“…First, we need to find Mirien.”
“That’s right. But if Mirien is determined to hide, there’s no way to find her right now.”
“Selene, you don’t understand people’s hearts. After causing such a big scene and running away in front of me, do you really think she’d hide?”
“…Huh?”
By now, the barrier’s duration had ended, and Selene revealed herself.
The pouring rain had significantly weakened Selene’s flames.
“My lord, you must not think of Mirien as a simple person. She is destruction in human form.”
“…To my eyes, both you and her are human.”
Though, for humans, they lack consciousness!
“Anyway, she was my subordinate in the rift.”
They’re stubborn, but…
Now that reality has become a game, the game I played in the past is also reality.
Thus, the Rift Lord Actor and the four great calamities under his command.
The kindness I showed them, and the feelings they held for me.
All of it is real.
Then, shouldn’t I also show a bit of my true self as the Rift Lord Actor?
“Usually, in situations like this, the other party secretly hopes to be found.”
“…”
“Selene, in that sense, I’m going to give you an order now.”
“Yes. What is it?”
I grinned and pointed to the cityscape below.
“Go down there and destroy a few buildings. Or burn them, if you prefer. Just don’t kill anyone. Absolutely not. Ah, if any Awakened try to attack you, just eliminate the calamity…”
“…Are you sure that’s alright?”
“Right now, drawing attention is crucial. We need Seoul’s Awakened to gather in one place.”
“Then what will you do, my lord?”
Selene asked with a bewildered expression, and I summoned the Hellfire Hound from the status window.
“Obviously, I need to find Mirien.”
“…That, that’s…”
“If you’re going to say it’s dangerous, just follow my orders.”
At my words, Selene looked somewhat impressed, then leaped off Tempest’s back, holding her flaming spear.
“Ah.”
I should have asked her to stay with me until I landed.
[4★ Storm Dragon Tempest uses the skill ‘Flight’.]
“Ahhhhhhh!”
This time, it was truly a freefall with no safety measures.