After Mirien and Selene reluctantly withdrew, only I and Jeon Dongwook remained in the room.
I approached Jeon Dongwook and removed the gag from his mouth.
As soon as it was off, he glared at me and spat out his words.
“Huh… So, you were hiding among us, calmly commanding two 5-star calamities?”
I had expected him to beg for his life, but Jeon Dongwook’s resolve seemed stronger than I thought.
His gaze was sharper than when he had interrogated me before.
Of course, there was no reason to feel intimidated facing him while he was tied up.
“Well, Mr. Jeon Dongwook, I admit my subordinates went a bit overboard. I’m sorry. I didn’t tell them to treat you so harshly—it seems there was a misunderstanding. Anyway, it’s just the two of us now, so feel free to speak comfortably.”
I chattered casually as I untied the chains binding his body.
Mirien had tied them so tightly that his bare skin was covered in bright red bruises.
Despite the obvious pain, Jeon Dongwook only frowned, not letting out so much as a groan.
“So, I’m sure you have a lot to say. Shall we talk?”
At my question, Jeon Dongwook’s expression darkened.
“Alright. Nam Jooyeon, were you the Actor? How does it feel to have brought the world to this state?”
Even in this dire situation, Jeon Dongwook remained composed.
Even Yoo Junseo had fled the moment he faced Selene, the 5-star calamity.
But Jeon Dongwook, a former detective, was seasoned.
By bringing up the name “Actor,” he was subtly probing into my actions.
Jeon Dongwook was trying to gather information even in this bleak situation.
Of course, I had no intention of answering him directly.
“As you suspected, Mr. Jeon Dongwook, I am indeed the Actor. But I’m not the villain you think I am.”
“Nonsense. The hellhounds you command killed a thousand Seoul citizens. And what about those two calamities? Have you forgotten the video of them stabbing a public official in the stomach?”
Jeon Dongwook growled.
“And yet you mingled among us so casually? You used Tempest, the Storm Dragon, to kill Han Taegeon, and you killed Kang Doyoung, who was assigned to monitor you. It was all your doing, wasn’t it?”
“…”
“Using Tempest, the Storm Dragon, to become an S-rank Awakener was all part of your plan, wasn’t it? Capturing Awakeners to establish a religious group—was that just to avoid suspicion? I don’t know your exact goals, but one thing is clear: you made Seoul safe just to fatten up and devour the Awakeners there!”
Jeon Dongwook’s logic was wildly speculative.
“Wasn’t the recent Tower eruption all part of that plan too? Harvesting calamities by splitting open Awakeners—what are you planning? To dominate the world?”
“…Huh.”
Listening to Jeon Dongwook’s rapid-fire speculations made my head throb.
His suspicions weren’t entirely unfounded.
Hearing my actions described through someone else’s words made them sound truly heinous.
The fact that none of it was done by my own will made it all the more ironic.
“I won’t bother correcting your assumptions, Mr. Jeon Dongwook.”
I had no intention of explaining the details to him.
Jeon Dongwook had already labeled me as evil, and it didn’t seem like he would listen to any explanation I offered.
However, I couldn’t let him go either.
He knew I was the Actor, so I had to silence him.
The best-case scenario would be to persuade him and turn him into an informant within the Bureau, but based on our conversation, it was clear he would never cooperate with me.
What I needed now was time.
“Mr. Jeon Dongwook, I won’t kill you. I’m still human, and killing people gives me nightmares.”
“Now you’re playing the saint? Do you know how many people your calamities have killed?”
I shrugged.
“The world is in this state now. What’s the point of being a murderer? You can’t capture or kill me. You don’t have the ability. In fact, you should be grateful that I’m sparing your life.”
A few months ago, this would have been unimaginable.
Kidnapping a burly former detective, holding his life in my hands, and feeling no guilt about it—it was so surreal that a bitter laugh escaped me.
But what could I do?
The world now revolved around Awakeners, and I was at the top of that hierarchy.
“However, let me make one thing clear. I don’t intend to destroy the world, as you suspect.”
I stood up and continued.
“None of the things you’re worried about will happen in the process. I guarantee it.”
“…”
“I’ll prepare a comfortable room for you in the Tower. You can stay there for now. If you change your mind, let me know anytime.”
“Nonsense. Who would ever cooperate with the likes of you?”
“Then you’ll just live there for the rest of your life.”
I left the interrogation room without waiting for his response.
“Actor, did you get all the information? Can we kill him now?”
Outside, Mirien and Selene were waiting.
Their heightened senses might have heard the entire conversation between me and Jeon Dongwook.
Perhaps that was why.
Despite my declaration not to kill him, Mirien’s innocent expression as she casually mentioned murder was infuriating.
I sighed and shook my head.
“…Mirien, that man must not be killed. Prepare a room for him and treat him as hospitably as possible. Don’t we have that maid-like calamity somewhere?”
I glanced at Selene for confirmation, and she nodded.
“Yes. We took her from another Awakener a few days ago.”
“Good. Have that calamity attend to him.”
At my command, Mirien made a visibly uncomfortable face.
Selene did the same.
“But, my lord, why are you keeping him alive?”
“There’s no reason to kill him.”
“He knows your identity. It’s necessary to kill him to silence him.”
That was true.
But I’m not a psychopath who can stab someone I was on friendly terms with just moments ago and feel nothing.
At least, not like these two calamities.
“It’s an order. Don’t ask questions, just follow.”
“Yes.”
Selene bowed her head, while Mirien tilted hers in confusion.
Through this recent Tower eruption incident, I had realized something.
The calamities I had primarily used in the Disaster Order—especially the four 5-star calamities—were threats powerful enough to destroy a nation single-handedly.
Even Selene, who was injured, had effortlessly taken on nearly all the Awakeners in Seoul without allowing a single meaningful strike.
Mirien had altered the weather across the entire Korean peninsula with a single spell.
The other two calamities wouldn’t be much different in terms of power.
In fact, they might surpass Selene and Mirien in certain areas.
This reaffirmed that 5-star calamities were beyond standard measures.
They were more dangerous than nuclear weapons.
At least nuclear weapons didn’t move on their own or explode unpredictably.
This meant that, at least in front of Mirien and Selene, I had to embody the ideal leader they desired.
And it wasn’t just them.
All the calamities who remembered the previous world saw me as the player from the Disaster Order world.
In other words, I ultimately had to become the absolute ruler.
Strong, cold, commanding, yet kind.
The great ruler, the Actor.
“Selene, Mirien.”
At my call, the two calamities turned their attention to me.
Once I said what I was about to say, there would be no turning back.
But given the situation, there was no other choice.
I took a deep breath and spoke slowly.
“I intend to become the Absolute Ruler.”
Absolute Ruler.
The moment those words left my mouth, Selene’s eyes widened.
“…Absolute Ruler, you say?”
“Yes. Isn’t that what you want from me? The Absolute Ruler who commands all calamities and rules the world. The ruler of all dimensions.”
It was an absurd goal.
It felt like grasping at clouds.
But ironically, I was now the person closest to becoming the Absolute Ruler in this world.
The two powerful beings before me were proof of that.
“Will you follow me?”
I didn’t even need to hear their answers.
Selene looked moved, and Mirien’s cheeks flushed as if she thought this was some kind of love confession.
“Good. Then what do you think is the first step to becoming the Absolute Ruler?”
“World domination, right?”
“Ascension? Massacre?”
Terrifying suggestions came from each of them, but I shook my head.
Of course, to become the Absolute Ruler, I would eventually need to deal with the powerful Awakeners of the world, but that was for later.
What I needed most now was…
“Asteria, Carne.”
The two 5-star calamities not present here.
The Queen Who Devoured Stars, Asteria.
The Mother of Omens, Carne.
Locating those two calamities was the priority.
Their whereabouts and activities were still unknown, but like Selene and Mirien, they were likely acting in line with my goals.
If left unchecked, another incident like the Mirien situation could occur.
It was better to at least know where they were and what they were doing.
But before I could finish…
“Those two are vicious. It would be better to eliminate them.”
“Do we really need those bitches? They’re not much help anyway. I can handle their roles for you, Actor.”
Selene and Mirien each added their own comments.
Their words were so ruthless that it was hard to believe they were once comrades.
I was left speechless.
It seemed the concept of camaraderie didn’t exist among my calamities.
“…By the way, Mirien, Selene. Aren’t you two on bad terms?”
“We get along.”
“Maybe… not so much?”
Their immediate answers confirmed it.