Driving on a street devoid of any human presence could indeed feel lonely, but it wasn’t always the case if you had enough companions to fill a four-seater car.
For instance, the petite woman chattering away in the passenger seat was proof of that.
“Actor, what’s that?”
Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea, demanded explanations from me every time something interesting appeared on the street.
This time, she was pointing at a gas station.
The fuel had long been depleted, looted by scavengers.
“That’s called a gas station.”
“What’s a gas station?”
“Well… to put it simply, it’s a place where you can refill mana.”
“Ah, so it’s a place for human sacrifices.”
“…”
Experiencing modern civilization through the lens of catastrophe was quite a novel experience.
“Actor, what’s that?”
“It’s a water fountain.”
“Ah, like a leyline. We had something like that in the Mage Tower too.”
Of course, Mirien wasn’t the only one keeping me company.
“Child, there’s no need to use this wheeled cart. I could just carry you and fly.”
“I appreciate the offer, but people wouldn’t see a flying human as one of their own.”
“Haha. That’s a fair point.”
Karne also occasionally chimed in with kind words, so I never felt sleepy or lonely while driving.
However, there was one person who was unusually quiet.
“Selene?”
“…Yes?”
Selene flinched when her name was called.
An awkward smile hung on her lips.
“…Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong. In fact, thanks to the Elixir you gave me, I’m feeling much better.”
“Hmm…”
Though she claimed to be fine, her behavior suggested otherwise.
Unlike Mirien and Karne, who were chatting and looking out the window, Selene sat silently in the backseat, staring holes into the back of my head.
Normally, she would have been growling at Karne, but it seemed her mind was elsewhere.
“Mirien, did something happen to Selene?”
“If she says something happened, then it did… but I’m not going to tell you.”
Mirien flashed a mischievous smile and shook her head.
She was stubborn, so pressing her further would be pointless.
In any case, I couldn’t shake the strange feeling I had about Selene.
She had never shown such unease around me before.
“My lord, I’m fine. There’s no need to worry.”
Her voice was the same as always.
But it felt subtly unfamiliar.
Her overall demeanor felt off.
She seemed slightly more hesitant than usual, and her gaze lingered on me a bit longer than before.
The burns on her skin had completely healed thanks to the Elixir.
As they say, a woman’s transformation is her right.
Perhaps I just hadn’t adjusted to Selene’s changed appearance yet.
I decided to leave it at that.
There was no need to press her.
Selene maintained her usual loyal demeanor, and unless she brought it up herself, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to pry.
In the end, I turned my attention back to driving.
A quick glance in the rearview mirror showed Selene still staring intently at the back of my head.
“…Hmm.”
It sent a slight chill down my spine.
*
The streets of Busan were eerily quiet.
We hadn’t encountered any catastrophes on the way here, and there were hardly any vehicles on the road.
A few abandoned trucks blocked the way, but I summoned a Rock Crusher to clear them.
“It’s like a city of the dead.”
Thinking about the nickname Busan had before the world fell into chaos made it all the more ironic.
Still, as the second-largest city in Korea, there were quite a few people living here.
As our car passed by, some of them peeked out from their windows, whispering among themselves.
Their expressions were tense, mixed with fear.
By the way, Selene, Mirien, and Karne—the three catastrophes—were hidden using stealth skills.
[5★ Calamity Mother Karne activates the skill ‘Black Wing’s Veil’.]
Unlike Selene and Mirien’s stealth skills, Karne’s was classified as a unique skill.
It had no cooldown, lasted almost indefinitely, and was a team-wide buff, making it incredibly versatile in various situations.
As we entered the Dong-gu district, a group of Awakened blocked our path.
“Stop. Are you outsiders? If so, state your origin and affiliation.”
Outside of Seoul, Awakened identified themselves by their hometown.
After the rifts appeared, local governance had completely collapsed, and freedom of movement was no longer guaranteed.
Your hometown became your identity.
Of course, I was from the Seoul Republic.
I didn’t belong to any clan.
“I don’t have an affiliation, but if I had to say, I’m from Seoul.”
“Seoul? Are you with the Management Bureau?”
“Sorry, but it’s not the Management Bureau anymore—it’s the Association. Don’t you guys watch the news?”
The guard’s expression changed at my words.
A mix of confusion and wariness.
I rolled down the window a bit further.
“Tell your clan leader. A big shot from Seoul has arrived.”
It was embarrassing to call myself a “big shot,” but I had no choice.
If I didn’t say it, they wouldn’t recognize me.
“Huh? You look familiar…”
Suddenly, the guard’s eyes widened.
It was both flattering and uncomfortable to know my face was well-known.
“S-Rank Awakened, Nam Jooyeon!”
The guard shouted, drawing the attention of everyone around.
What followed was a whirlwind.
Awakened from the clan emerged from every corner of the street.
They surrounded me, their hostility toward a Seoul-born Awakened like me unmistakable.
Some even summoned their catastrophes.
I expected not to be welcomed, but I didn’t think it would be this intense.
The way they stared at me, as if I were some kind of monster, was unnerving.
If it were Yoo Junseo, he would have proudly declared himself the Flame Emperor, but I wasn’t that brazen.
After waiting in that uncomfortable atmosphere for a while, an Awakened approached me.
“…The clan leader has summoned you.”
He seemed uneasy as he guided me.
“No vehicles are allowed beyond this point. Get out.”
The Busan Clan had made their headquarters in a luxury apartment complex right in front of Haeundae Beach, unlike the Daejeon Clan, which had taken over a government building.
The interior of the headquarters was as quiet as the city outside, but as soon as I stepped inside, I felt the weight of numerous sharp gazes.
“Is the welcome always this rough here?”
“No idea.”
Regional conflict had reached its peak in Korea.
I hadn’t expected such hostility just for being from Seoul.
Daejeon hadn’t been this bad, but Busan’s atmosphere was surprisingly tense.
“The clan leader is inside.”
The Awakened spoke curtly and left.
I shrugged and entered the room.
A person was sitting on a small desk.
The moment I saw them, I couldn’t help but swallow hard.
“Uh…”
“Why so surprised? Not what you expected?”
Her black hair reached down to her chest, and her eyes were as dark as Karne’s feathers.
The Busan Clan leader was a woman.
The assumption I had naturally made in my head shattered.
Perhaps it was because I had met Jeon Taemin, the Daejeon Clan leader, a few hours earlier.
I had automatically assumed the leader of the Busan Clan would also be a man.
Especially in a city as rough as Busan.
I had imagined a man of similar build to me, or perhaps a muscular thug.
But contrary to my expectations, the person before me was a cold-looking woman.
“So, you’re the pride of Korea, huh?”
She crossed her arms lightly and looked at me.
Her gaze was sharp yet composed, with a hint of calculation in her smile.
Her demeanor was completely different from Jeon Taemin’s.
“Nam Jooyeon, was it? Nice to meet you. I’m Shin Dohee.”
The Busan Clan leader, Shin Dohee, offered a handshake.
Her hand was clad in a leather glove.
This alone told me how little she welcomed my visit.
“What brings the great S-Rank Awakened all the way to Busan?”
“To be honest, I heard something from the Daejeon Clan leader.”
“What did you hear?”
“That the Busan Clan is preparing for war.”
As I got straight to the point, her brow furrowed.
“Huh. The Daejeon guys have a sharper eye than I thought.”
“So, you’re saying you’re going to war?”
“Not entirely wrong. We’re just absorbing them because we’re stronger. Nothing new. That’s how the provinces live now. The world isn’t what it used to be.”
Shin Dohee affirmed my words.
“Oh, but don’t worry. You won’t be affected. We have no intention of touching Seoul. In fact, we considered absorbing Seoul for a moment, but then you brought in a bunch of Chinese Awakened. I don’t fight battles I can’t win.”
“…Hmm.”
“Don’t start preaching about ethics or how violence is bad. I won’t listen to that nonsense.”
“…”
After just a few exchanges, the aura Shin Dohee gave off was unsettling.
To put it simply…
‘She’s crazy.’
Though I was initially taken aback by her being a woman, her demeanor wasn’t much different from Jeon Taemin’s.
No, in fact, she was even more extreme.
“I think I’ve said all I needed to say. Anything else?”
“…Hmm.”
“No? Then we’re done. I’d like to give you the full Busan experience, but I’m not that generous. I have other matters to attend to. Well, since you’re here, why not do some sightseeing and relax? It might not be up to Seoul standards, but our headquarters’ accommodations are quite luxurious.”
Shin Dohee rambled on, then suddenly added as if she had just remembered.
“Oh, since you’re here, want to see something interesting?”
“What is it?”
“Follow me. It might be fun.”
Shin Dohee smirked and led me out of the room, walking down the hallway.
What I saw next was shocking.
In the central hall of the building, a man covered in bruises was hanging in his underwear.
“That’s…”
“The leader of the Gimhae Awakened Clan.”
“Why is he hanging there?”
“What do you think? He opposed our merger.”
Shin Dohee flashed a wide grin at me.
“Today’s his execution.”
“…”
Execution.
The sudden, grim word left me speechless.
At that moment, Karne, who had been following me silently using her stealth skill, whispered in my ear.
‘Actor, be careful. That woman has a fragment of Asteria’s Crown.’
A chill ran down my spine.