The ruins were enveloped in a cold silence.
Black feathers of ominous birds gently descended over the ashen twilight.
Above the darkened city, Karne, the Mother of Ominous Birds, took a small breath.
The stench of decay and plague filled the air.
The scent of death.
Crows cawed.
They were her minions.
She looked down.
At her feet lay a corpse, frozen in a posture of prayer.
“…Prayer, huh. To whom did you pray?”
She asked, but of course, no answer came from the lifeless body.
Karne smirked bitterly and took a step forward.
“I, too, prayed once.”
How was it back then?
A distant memory of herself surfaced.
Karne had also prayed.
She had prayed for the salvation of her children, for boundless mercy and grace.
But what had she received in return?
“…”
Karne slowly knelt and placed her hand on the pile of corpses.
A dark energy began to rise from her fingertips.
[5★ Mother of Ominous Birds, Karne, activates the skill ‘Mother’s Call’.]
Spreading the black wings at her waist and chanting an incantation, the scattered corpses began to merge, giving birth to new minions.
These creations were both blasphemous and sacrilegious, yet at the same time, a new form of divinity.
[5★ Mother of Ominous Birds, Karne, successfully synthesizes a 3★ Black Resonance.]
Unique Skill: Mother’s Call.
A skill that creates her own minions.
The cost?
Countless calamities, or lives.
It was a power she couldn’t wield in the peaceful rift of Actor, but now things were different.
Karne was in a new dimension, and here, there were countless lives.
Harvesting them to create new minions was no difficult task.
She had been doing it for a long time.
Thus, Karne’s army of ominous birds had already grown large enough to fill an entire mountain.
“…Hmm.”
As she finished creating her minions and rose to her feet, Karne’s heightened senses caught a gaze.
A sharp, stormy gaze.
[5★ Storm of the North Sea, Mirien, is watching 5★ Mother of Ominous Birds, Karne.]
[5★ Mother of Ominous Birds, Karne, discerns the skill ‘Eye of the Storm’.]
“…That brat is up to no good.”
In terms of tracking and detection skills, Karne was ahead of Mirien.
Karne looked directly east, a bitter smile on her lips.
Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea, hastily recalled her familiars.
But it was already too late.
Karne had confirmed that her child, Actor, was in that direction.
Knowing Actor’s nature, he would surely come to meet her.
All Karne had to do was wait.
With her newly created children.
And the destruction that would follow.
“Isn’t that right, Long Yan?”
At Karne’s call, the animated corpse blinks its eyes.
Surrounding her were the Awakened, who were once human.
Soon, the tide of ominous birds would surge.
*
The position of Director of the Awakened Management Bureau inevitably led to constant friction with government officials.
In that sense, Yoo Junseo, the face of the Bureau, had one role and one reason for existence: to stand firm and face the government head-on.
Just like now.
“What the hell is going on!”
The government official, the Prime Minister, slammed the report on the table and shouted.
“Civilian casualties have reached two hundred! Two hundred! This is a disaster!”
“…It was unavoidable.”
The fourth outbreak was different from the previous ones, resulting in casualties.
It was unavoidable.
The number of calamities that erupted was incomparably larger, and the dungeon outbreak in Yeouido just two weeks ago had been devastating.
“I told you. The Awakened aren’t all heroes. We did our best, but it was unavoidable. Can’t we just spin it that way?”
Yoo Junseo expressed his frustration.
Regardless, the Prime Minister’s face turned red with anger.
Yoo Junseo also had many grievances.
They had done everything they could.
The scale of the outbreak was simply too large.
Even among the Awakened, the casualties were significant.
The specialized wards were already full, and there was no place to transport the critically injured.
“Look at other countries. None are doing as well as we are. If this were a problem that could be solved by pressure, the U.S. would have been back to normal by now.”
Yoo Junseo’s words were valid, but in the political arena, they were utterly useless.
“What the hell are you talking about? We put you in a cushy position, and now you’re getting cocky?!”
The Prime Minister was furious, spewing harsh words.
Yoo Junseo listened with one ear and let it go out the other.
To summarize, it went something like this:
‘A government-funded organization… talking back?!’
Since the funding came from the government, it was an inevitable sequence.
Yoo Junseo grimaced.
He scratched the back of his head and offered an explanation that was more of an excuse.
“So, it was unavoidable. Please understand our situation.”
Perhaps because he was in a foul mood, his tone naturally became less respectful.
“If you’re unhappy, have the President come himself. While he’s feasting in the bunker. The budget is a pittance, and they barely mobilize the military. What more do you expect?”
“…What? The military? It’s already tough enough monitoring North Korea’s movements at the front lines. Do you even know what you’re talking about?”
“What’s the point of a divided nation in this mess?”
Yoo Junseo sighed.
The conversation continued to go in circles.
The government side gave up first.
The Prime Minister frowned and muttered.
“This is why we shouldn’t have put a private sector person in charge of the Bureau, tsk.”
“What? And your son just finished his mandatory service, right? Even a quick search on Namu Wiki would tell you that.”
Yoo Junseo was an ordinary citizen, but he wasn’t weak-willed.
Moreover, he wasn’t particularly patriotic.
He wasn’t the type of saint who would just nod and agree after being scolded.
“Wasn’t it the government’s failure to properly control civilians that led to the casualties?”
“What?”
“Exactly. The Awakened Management Bureau is already stretched thin dealing with the calamities from the outbreaks. Evacuating and controlling civilians is your job. Why are you yelling at us?”
Yoo Junseo knew that this whole farce was just a show to create an excuse for the public.
But what could he do?
He had to say his piece.
“You.”
The Prime Minister, who had been silently listening, pointed at him.
“If this continues, the administration will have no choice but to reclaim full authority over the Bureau.”
“Ha, now you’re talking about budget cuts and suspension of duties? What a load of crap, really.”
“Crap? Did you just say crap?”
The voices grew louder.
Yoo Junseo was on the verge of losing his mind from frustration.
Just as the argument was about to escalate further.
“…Uh, excuse me…”
A Bureau employee hurriedly entered the conference room and spoke up.
“Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a discussion!”
“Ah, no… I’m sorry. But there’s something urgent…”
“Go ahead.”
Unable to bear it any longer, Yoo Junseo gestured for the employee to speak.
The employee cautiously opened his mouth.
“…S-class Awakened Nam Jooyeon just met with a Chinese scout…”
“….”
Yoo Junseo blinked a few times after hearing the news.
Then he locked eyes with the Prime Minister, with whom he had just been arguing.
“Fuck, why didn’t you call!”
“…Get him here immediately!”
They spoke in unison.
*
“Actor, Karne saw me.”
Those were Mirien’s first words upon returning to the base after hearing the details from the Chinese scout.
“That bitch was creating minions. Already hundreds of them.”
“…”
The suspicion had become reality.
The Mother of Ominous Birds, Karne’s unique skill, ‘Mother’s Call’.
Like Selene’s Holy Flame or Mirien’s Thunderstorm, this skill was classified as a unique-grade skill, capable of synthesizing 3-star calamities, making it one of the most peculiar skills in the Disaster Order.
Of course, in the game, it was considered a useless skill.
What good was creating a bunch of 3-star trash by consuming an enormous number of calamities?
But now that reality had become a game, things were different.
I finally understood why Karne had settled in China.
A large population meant an abundance of materials to create minions.
We needed a plan.
But…
“…By the way, my lord…”
“What?”
“There was a watcher.”
“I know.”
I took out my phone.
Countless missed calls.
Most were from the Bureau, with a few personal numbers mixed in, but aside from Yoo Junseo, I didn’t recognize any of them.
As Selene had said, there had been surveillance.
“…Since the Bureau is calling, I should probably show up.”
“If they dare harm you, my lord…”
“Selene, don’t worry.”
I shrugged at Selene.
“I’ve got a pretty good idea of what stance I need to take in this fucked-up world.”
“…What do you mean…”
“Hey Selene, lend me something.”
At my words, Selene tilted her head in confusion.
*
“This is a serious issue, Mr. Nam Jooyeon. No matter how much of an S-class Awakened you are, this time you’ve crossed a line.”
As soon as I entered the Bureau building, a suited government official approached me and started talking.
He looked to be in his fifties, and I vaguely remembered seeing his face during the last election before the world went to hell.
I listened to him with one ear as I walked.
Soon, I entered the conference room where Yoo Junseo and other high-ranking government officials were seated.
They all stood up as soon as I appeared and started firing questions at me.
“Mr. Nam Jooyeon! What the hell is going on!”
“You know the domestic security regulations, yet you moved without reporting after contacting a foreign scout? How are we supposed to understand this?”
“What were you thinking, meeting with a Chinese scout alone? Did you honestly believe they would just ‘exchange information’ with you? Do you think they would meet you without ulterior motives?”
“Let’s be honest here. Did they offer you something? Some condition we don’t know about?”
Most of it was accusatory.
It was absurd.
As if I were the one at fault.
“…Huh.”
Facing this expected situation, I glanced at Yoo Junseo, who was standing awkwardly to the side.
When our eyes met, he quickly clasped his hands in a gesture of apology, careful not to be noticed.
I didn’t react and looked straight ahead.
“S-class Awakened Nam Jooyeon! Answer the questions!”
It felt like a hearing.
In reality, their intentions weren’t much different.
They wanted to pressure me into submission.
I was already stressed, and now these clowns were acting like they couldn’t live without tearing into me.
“First of all, let me say this…”
If I backed down here, I’d be worse than third-rate.
And I needed to be first-rate.
“Shut the hell up.”
My words made everyone freeze.
There was no need to hold back.
I decided to go on the offensive.
“Excuse me.”
“Huh?”
I grabbed the collar of the person who had caught my eye.
It was the congressman who had escorted me from the entrance to here.
I was confident in my strength.
I was a young, healthy man in my twenties, and he was a fifty-something old man.
Even if I weren’t confident, it wouldn’t matter.
I was wearing sturdy sneakers.
Thud!
I kicked his shin as hard as I could.
Thanks to my military service, I had some skill in joint locks, and the congressman groaned as he hopped on one foot.
I grabbed his hair and slammed his head into the table.
Crack!
A dull sound echoed.
The congressman slid down, leaving a trail of blood and broken teeth on the table.
“…So.”
Silence filled the conference room.
“I’ll do as I please. What’s it to you?”
Now this feels better.