The leader of the Daejeon Awakeners group, Jeon Taemin, still vividly remembered what had happened a month ago.
He couldn’t forget it.
The sudden appearance of the great calamity, Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea.
She had silently killed his subordinates, snapping their necks without anyone noticing.
Jeon Taemin hadn’t realized her presence until she was right in front of him, and he was subdued without even a chance to resist.
That day, for the first time in his life, Jeon Taemin saw his life flash before his eyes.
But, fortunately, he survived.
It wasn’t because he handled the situation well. Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea, had checked the phone he was holding, panicked, and retreated on her own.
He didn’t know why.
But he didn’t need to know.
‘Take it to the grave.’
Jeon Taemin had no intention of ever revealing this fact.
Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea, was a monster who could come and go from the heavily secured Daejeon Government Building as if it were her own home.
Even if he spread the word that he had encountered such a calamity, no one would believe him…
‘Never want to meet her again.’
…Above all, he feared her retaliation.
If Jeon Taemin were to reveal the secret, she would come to kill him, just as she had done before.
Jeon Taemin lived every day in fear of death.
He had only just begun to feel like he was escaping from that trauma a few days ago.
But today, suddenly, the S-rank Awakener Nam Jooyeon arrived, accompanied by a woman with dark blue hair who seemed to be part of her group.
Jeon Taemin thought that death had finally come for him.
But he was still alive at this very moment.
“…Huh, huh. Damn it.”
Jeon Taemin pinched his cheek.
It hurt. This wasn’t a dream.
He was alive.
Before he could even feel the joy of that realization, the door burst open.
“Boss!”
It was Hwang Jaeman, a key figure in the Daejeon clan.
With a flushed face, he shouted at Jeon Taemin.
“What the hell is going on! I heard that S-rank or whatever is heading to the nest! Did you issue them a pass?”
“…Yes.”
At Hwang Jaeman’s shout, Jeon Taemin finally regained his composure.
He took a deep breath and nodded.
“Boss! If that bastard destroys the nest, what are we supposed to do! We’re barely making ends meet by scavenging there!”
As Hwang Jaeman said, the nest was a lifeline for the Daejeon clan.
Maintaining such a large community required an enormous amount of resources.
The Daejeon clan occupied the nest and periodically dealt with the calamities that emerged, converting the experience into coins to trade with nearby cities.
Losing the nest meant losing their livelihood.
Hwang Jaeman naturally protested, but Jeon Taemin shook his head.
“I can’t explain. There’s a reason.”
“Boss! This is really not okay!”
“Jaeman, please. Just this once, save face for me.”
Jeon Taemin’s expression was so desperate that Hwang Jaeman blinked a few times.
Jeon Taemin didn’t want to die.
So he sent the S-rank Awakener Nam Jooyeon and the great calamity to the nest.
But to his loyal subordinate Hwang Jaeman, Jeon Taemin’s explanation was interpreted differently.
‘The boss has been threatened!’
He had heard that the S-rank Awakener Nam Jooyeon had a private meeting with him.
And just a few minutes later, permission to head to the nest was granted.
Clearly, in that short time, that bastard Nam Jooyeon must have pressured the boss.
‘How dare that bastard…?’
Hwang Jaeman grimaced and turned to leave the building.
“Hey, gather the guys. Tell them to bring their weapons.”
“Is something going on?”
“Don’t ask. Just gather them.”
Hwang Jaeman gathered his trusted subordinates.
No matter how powerful an Awakener was, they were still human.
Whether it was a crossbow or a gun, a shot to the back of the head would kill them, whether they were S-rank or D-rank.
“How dare they mess with our boss?”
Hwang Jaeman and his subordinates, armed with weapons, set off for the nest.
Unaware that they were heading to the gates of hell, or rather, the abyss.
*
“That guy, it would have been better to kill him and keep his mouth shut.”
We left the government building and headed straight for the nest to the north.
Selene seemed quite uneasy about leaving Jeon Taemin alive.
I also felt uncomfortable that he had seen me with Mirien…
“If we had killed Jeon Taemin on the spot, it would have drawn unnecessary attention. Besides, he kept quiet about the last incident, so I doubt he’ll leak the secret.”
“…I trust your judgment, my lord.”
In any case, thanks to Mirien’s not-so-subtle threats, we easily obtained passage to the nest.
“By the way, Mirien, why did you come all the way to Daejeon to kill Awakeners?”
“But they said bad things about Actor.”
“…That’s quite a commendable response, magic girl. I’ll give you that.”
“Heh. You have a good eye too.”
“…”
Are they getting along or not?
While I was pondering this, we arrived at the arboretum.
There were guards at the entrance, but they let us through after we showed the pass we received from Jeon Taemin.
[Entering the dungeon ‘Arboretum Nest’.]
The nest in Daejeon was located in the heart of the city, similar to the Storm Dragon’s nest from before.
Moreover, the nest had grown significantly after several eruptions, making it the largest dungeon I had encountered so far in terms of scale.
“…This is strange.”
As soon as we entered the nest, I frowned.
Even though I had been through several nests, including 5-star dungeons, this one felt off.
It was eerily quiet.
As if the air had stopped moving.
Dozens of 1-star and 2-star calamities noticed the intruders and approached, but they seemed intimidated by Mirien and Selene’s presence and didn’t attack recklessly.
“…The nest’s boss isn’t showing up.”
Usually, when intruders appear, the nest’s boss would reveal itself.
“Is it hiding? Since it’s an arboretum, maybe it’s in the water or something?”
“…No, it’s in the sky.”
Mirien frowned and looked up.
She seemed to have already used her detection skill, as her gaze was fixed on the sky above.
There, a giant beetle with massive horns was hovering.
[3★ Descendant of the Meteor, Belganoth, is casting the skill 「Falling Star」.]
“So it was a named calamity.”
Now I understand why this nest was so large.
The Daejeon nest was home to Belganoth, a 3-star calamity.
A meteor the size of a house fell from the sky.
Fortunately, Mirien blocked it with a single gesture, but her expression remained dark.
“Actor, something’s wrong with that guy.”
“Wrong how?”
“It’s stronger than it should be.”
[5★ Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea, is casting the skill ‘Eye of the Storm’.]
Ding!
[5★ Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea, has discerned the skill ‘Erosion of Color’.]
Mirien’s expression turned to shock.
I felt the same.
“…Actor, it seems like that calamity… is under Asteria’s protection.”
“Yeah. I saw it too.”
The unique skill, Erosion of Color.
Just from the keyword “color,” it was easy to guess who the skill’s owner was.
Asteria, the Queen Who Swallowed the Stars.
Unexpectedly, we had found a clue about Asteria in Daejeon.
“My lord, please stay back. We will handle this.”
“Don’t kill it, just subdue it. We need to examine its condition more closely.”
“Yes.”
No matter how much a 3-star named calamity was buffed by Asteria, it couldn’t withstand the combined assault of two 5-star calamities.
Selene cut off the horn of Belganoth, who was flying in the sky.
The struggling Belganoth was surrounded by a sphere of lightning.
Coincidentally, the sky attribute was weak against Mirien’s lightning.
[3★ Descendant of the Meteor, Belganoth, is afflicted with the status ailment ‘Paralysis’!]
Soon, Belganoth fell from the sky and was tightly bound by chains created by Mirien’s magic.
Selene used her flaming dagger as a lever to pry open its mouth, and we found something unexpected inside its body.
“…This is…”
[4☆ Fragment of the Shattered Crown has been acquired.]
A small piece of metal, the size of a palm.
Despite being just a fragment, it was a 4-star equipment.
Moreover, it had an overpowered effect of boosting the stats of sky attribute calamities.
“…This is the crown I gave as a gift.”
In Disaster Order, all 5-star characters had quests.
Just as Selene required an elixir and Mirien needed an artificial heart, Asteria, the Queen Who Swallowed the Stars, demanded the crown that symbolized the kingdom she once ruled.
Especially since Asteria was a character added in an update, her quest was notoriously difficult.
You had to collect seven fragments through expeditions, synthesize them, and restore the crown to unlock all her skills.
But now, the crown was in my hands, shattered.
The meaning was simple.
“It seems that Asteria, that damn woman, dared to destroy the crown you restored for her.”
Selene voiced my thoughts.
“One of the fragments fell here in Daejeon, and Belganoth must have swallowed it.”
I agreed and asked,
“…Selene, why do you think Asteria destroyed the crown?”
“There could be many reasons, but here, it seems like she intended to sever the master-servant relationship.”
“…”
I thought the same.
If that’s the case, then like Karne, the Mother of Calamities, who is still gathering her followers, Asteria, the Queen Who Swallowed the Stars, might also resent me.
“Let’s go back.”
My expression naturally hardened.
Asteria, the Queen Who Swallowed the Stars, was a calamity on a different scale compared to the other 5-star characters.
If she were to come after me, could we stop her as we are now?
No matter the conclusion, the situation was grim.
We needed to reassess our strategy.
“Actor, wait a moment.”
But Mirien frowned as she looked at the entrance of the arboretum we had just entered.
“What’s wrong?”
“There are people who entered the nest. They’re armed, and they’ve released their calamities.”
“Aren’t they Awakeners here to inspect the nest? Just a routine—”
“…No. I sense hostility. Actor, it seems like they’re after us.”
Mirien doesn’t lie.
It must be true.
“…What should we do?”
Selene asked with a calm gaze.
I thought for a moment.
Until now, I had avoided killing directly.
I spared Jeon Taemin because I had a strong aversion to taking a life.
But in a situation like this, where Karne and Asteria are spreading destruction, is there any need to spare those who want to kill me?
“…No.”
There isn’t.
I’m not a saint.
No matter who they are, it’s better to eliminate them before they harm me.
“We should kill them.”
I was startled by the ominous words that came out of my mouth.
Perhaps, after spending time with Selene and Mirien, my way of thinking had become more like that of a calamity.
“Selene.”
“Yes.”
What does it matter?
The current me is not Nam Jooyeon, a high school graduate working part-time at a convenience store, but Actor, an S-rank Awakener and the Ruler of the Rift.
“Kill them.”
“Yes, my lord. I will carry out your command without fail.”
At my command, Selene smiled brighter than ever before.