Storm Dragon Subjugation (1)
Whether by fortune or misfortune, the shocking news that five nests had been subjugated overnight was buried the next day beneath reports of the impending subjugation of the Storm Dragon Tempest. Compared to the latent threats posed by provincial nests or the Lord of the Abyss, Actor, the Storm Dragon Tempest was a very real, witnessed catastrophe that most of Seoul’s residents had seen with their own eyes. Naturally, it commanded far greater attention—including the identities of the Awakened participating in the raid.
That was likely why a crowd had gathered in front of the Management Bureau building. In this changed world, Awakened commanded greater star power than any celebrity. “Ah, you’ve arrived.”
After pushing through the sea of envious gazes, I reached the building entrance, where a staff member greeted me. She checked my ID and led me inside. “Nam Juyeon-ssi, you’ve been assigned to Team 2. Please wait here.”
“Team 2?”
“Team 1 will engage the Storm Dragon Tempest directly, while Team 2 supports them by driving off other disasters. Teams 3 and 4 exist as well, but they won’t enter the nest itself.”
Apparently, I’d been given a fairly important role within the subjugation force. “Can’t I just join Team 3 or 4 instead?”
“A B-class Awakened slacking off wouldn’t be acceptable. This is a duty, after all.”
That damned duty. From national defense onward, this country seemed obsessed with obligations—yet it never gave much in return. While I was grumbling to myself, a man with a short-cropped haircut approached from across the room and offered his hand. Coincidentally, we’d met before.
“Nam Juyeon-ssi. It’s been a while.”
Jo Geon-uk had, at some point, started speaking to me informally again. “Somehow I ended up as Team 2’s representative. Never thought we’d meet like this again. Anyway, I’m counting on you.”
“Ah…”
He was someone I had no desire to see. Not after a Bureau employee was murdered by someone impersonating Actor right in front of my house.
“Why the stiff face? Nervous?”
Jo Geon-uk patted my back. Behind him stood his 3★ disaster, the Knight Errant Albert. “Oh, this? I got it from synthesis. I heard it’s stronger than your average 3★ disaster. Lucky break.”
“Impressive. Congratulations.”
“Nah, no need to hype it up that much.”
In truth, the Knight Errant Albert was a rock-attribute named disaster—one of the stronger performers among 3★ disasters. “Looks like you’re pretty lucky yourself.”
Jo Geon-uk gestured toward my side. As it happened, I’d already summoned a disaster under the pretext of the Bureau’s power assessment.
[3★ Faded Wraith Luciven is on alert.]
A sky-attribute 3★ disaster. It was the spoils Selene had brought back after subjugating the southern nest the previous day. As its name suggested, it was a named disaster, and its performance was excellent. Since the Storm Dragon possessed sky-attribute powers, Luciven’s role in halving incoming attacks would be crucial.
“With a 3★ disaster on your side, you might get reclassified as A-rank if this subjugation succeeds.”
“Hmm… I’m not particularly interested in becoming A-rank.”
“What? You don’t know A-rank Awakened receive monthly stipends? You’ve seen the refugees without ration tickets crying on the streets lately, right? In times like these, you’ve got to secure whatever you can.”
Fortunately, Jo Geon-uk didn’t seem to suspect my involvement in the nest’s destruction last night. After all, I’d been at home directing syntheses that day. Besides, no one else currently possessed a high-grade disaster capable of independent action and long-range expeditions like the Scorched Saint Selene.
“Anyway, Team 2’s role is simple: support Team 1. Though in practice, that means we’ll probably have to face the dragon ourselves.”
Jo Geon-uk pointed toward the Team 1 Awakened checking their numbers in the distance. Their leader appeared to be Yu Junseo, the Bureau Director, who frequently appeared on the news. Two 3★ disasters stood imposingly beside him.
“That guy’s something else too. He was just doing public service, but the moment everything went to hell he snatched up disasters and shot straight to stardom. Personality’s trash, though.”
Jo Geon-uk gave a bitter smile and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Point is, there are people like that—ones who adapt quickly to the new world and succeed. In a way, aren’t you one of them too? We’re blessed, you know? Most Awakened can’t even dream of reaching A-rank.”
“…”
Considering I’d been living off the small house my parents left me, unemployed and scraping by, my current treatment was indeed quite generous. The problem was that the world had ended up like this because I’d deleted the game.
While I was lost in those pointless thoughts, Jo Geon-uk spoke again. “…By the way, that was unfortunate.”
“What do you mean?”
“One of our employees died near your house, remember? I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but things got messy. I had someone posted there just in case, so I hope you don’t take it the wrong way. Protecting Awakened is the Bureau’s duty, after all.”
So that employee really had been there to monitor me. I nodded, keeping my expression as neutral as possible. “It’s fine. I had no idea.”
Honestly, I had nothing to feel guilty about. It was true I hadn’t noticed the surveillance, and I hadn’t been directly involved in the murder. Jo Geon-uk studied my face, then relaxed his expression and removed his hand from my shoulder.
“Anyway, we’re heading out to subjugate the Storm Dragon soon. Think we can handle it? You’ve seen the thing up close before.”
“Hmm.”
In Disaster Order, the Storm Dragon Tempest was a versatile disaster with decent stats across the board. It was stronger than the Hellfire Watchdog, but the overall quality of the Awakened forces had improved since the last attempt. “…With the soldiers here too, I think we should be able to subjugate it somehow.”
“Yeah?”
Jo Geon-uk gave a dry laugh and shrugged, glancing westward toward the nest. “Hope you’re right.”
At the very least, Jo Geon-uk didn’t believe this subjugation would be easy. On that point, I agreed completely. The one commanding the Storm Dragon Tempest was none other than the master of the tower that had risen in Yeouido.
[5★ Storm of the North Sea Mirien is watching you.]
“…”
It was a memory from the distant past. A fragment of a previous life now lost to oblivion.
‘Eat. It’s the highest-grade magic stone. Keep eating and prove your worthless value to me.’
The girl was an experimental subject. A possession of a mage who once dreamed of defying the heavens. A disposable vessel to be used and discarded for that purpose.
‘You will become my nourishment. That is why you were born.’
Mages were infamous for using any means necessary to achieve their ends. In that regard, the mage who owned the girl was no different. She was fed just enough to stay alive, while being forced to consume far more magic stones than food. Her heart, deemed worthless as a vessel, was replaced with a magic stone, and her limbs were exchanged for crystal. The girl was closer to a doll than a human. She had no reason to complain. From birth she had been the mage’s slave, and she was fated to be used as a vessel until death.
There was no particular reason she drove a ceremonial dagger into her master’s heart. It was pure survival instinct. The girl’s master, the mage, had overlooked one crucial fact: through repeated experiments, she had grown closer to an omnipotent divinity than a mere doll. Imperfect beings naturally converge toward perfection. The girl killed her former master and inherited her name.
‘Mirien.’
From a nameless experimental subject, the girl became the mage named Mirien and resolved to pursue omnipotence and perfection. There was no grand motive—only survival instinct. It was the natural manifestation of logic in pursuit of perfection.
‘…I need a heart.’
Mirien’s first priority was extending her lifespan. Her current body was on borrowed time. Without a heart, she couldn’t live long. Only by extending her life could she advance toward omnipotence and defying the heavens. Just like her previous master, she laid waste to the continent. She captured vessels from every region and used them as experimental subjects. She slaughtered every human in sight to gather even the smallest traces of mana, fueling herself with the collected fragments.
It was around this time that she earned the titles Storm of the North Sea and the Heaven-Defying Mage. Mirien was an untamed colt, a natural disaster. More than half the continent’s population was sacrificed for her lifespan. With each act of slaughter, mana seeped into the magic stone embedded in her chest, and Mirien felt satisfaction. For a natural disaster incapable of emotion, that was her only pleasure.
Yet Mirien’s goal remained unfulfilled. The heroes of the continent had gathered to subjugate the ruthless mage.
‘Kill the witch!’
Left on the brink of death by countless blades, Mirien leapt from the top of the tower.
[Entering the Crack.]
Mirien’s final gamble was entrusting her body to another dimension. Thus she arrived in the new dimension within the Crack. There, the monster in human form obtained a new emotion.
[The Ruler of the Crack, ‘Actor,’ gifts 5★ Storm of the North Sea Mirien the 5☆ Pulsing Moon Heart.]
‘…Ah.’
It was the emotion called love.