Storm Dragon's Demise
“Shoot! Keep shooting!”
“Bullets aren’t even sticking in it, how the hell are we supposed to?!”
Jo Geon-uk couldn’t make sense of the situation unfolding before him. The Storm Dragon he’d thought was nearly dead had wrapped itself in lightning and begun rampaging like a mad beast. Its power was on an entirely different level from before.
3★ Knight Errant Albert casts 「Iron Wall」.
Jo Geon-uk’s disasters darted about, shielding the soldiers from every angle, but it wasn’t enough. Tempest ra’s claws bisected men in a single stroke, and the lightning cloaking its body no longer permitted any disaster’s attack to land. In short, the creature was effectively invincible.
“Tch.”
Jo Geon-uk made his decision in an instant. This was unwinnable.
“…Director! We have to retreat!”
Jo Geon-uk shouted toward Yu Junseo of Team 1, but the man only scowled.
“Are you insane? If we pull out now, what then? Gonna announce that Seoul’s screwed because we failed? Who’s going to take responsibility? I sure as hell won’t!”
“Then how the hell are we supposed to kill that thing?!”
“We’ll figure it out somehow!”
Yu Junseo’s eyes burned with madness. He was no longer capable of rational, self-interested judgment. Jo Geon-uk sighed inwardly. This was exactly why they shouldn’t have put someone with a history of mental illness in charge of the Association.
Cursing the absent government officials, Jo Geon-uk turned away. Amid the chaos inside the nest, he issued orders to the Awakened.
“Spread out! Minimize casualties as much as possible! Buy time and—”
“No.”
The one who cut him off was the Awakened Nam Juyeon.
3★ Faded Wraith Luciven uses 「Shadow Shaker」.
Nam Juyeon skillfully directed his 3-star disaster to draw Tempest ra’s attention. A brief opening appeared. He glanced around and spoke.
“…We came into the nest. If we don’t kill it, it’ll erupt anyway.”
“…Erupt?”
“You don’t know what the Enraged status effect does? That thing’s already incapable of normal judgment. Even if we run, it’ll chase us to the other side of the planet and tear us apart.”
Jo Geon-uk frowned. He wasn’t much of a gamer, so the explanation meant little to him, but the other Awakened in the team nodded in understanding.
Nam Juyeon remained eerily calm despite the pandemonium. He gestured toward the Storm Dragon with his chin.
“Try luring that dragon inside the building. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Handle it how?”
“I have a plan. Anyway.”
Nam Juyeon spoke with absolute confidence. Jo Geon-uk studied his face, lost in thought. Nam Juyeon was a suspicious man. Honestly, there were so many red flags that keeping him close felt dangerous. But in a situation like this, they had to use whatever tools they could reach—whether it was a desperate measure or a last resort. Nam Juyeon was no exception.
Jo Geon-uk nodded and gave orders to Team 2.
“Everyone, gather your disasters and draw the Storm Dragon’s attention. Head toward Exhibition Hall 1.”
Fortunately, the place Tempest ra had nested was the Ilsan Convention Center—KINTEX. Its scale was more than large enough to contain a dragon. Once the orders were given, the Awakened moved in perfect coordination.
Jo Geon-uk turned to Nam Juyeon.
“So, Nam Juyeon-ssi, what exactly do you plan to do once we get that thing inside?”
“Well, I’ll just go with my gamer instincts.”
“Gamer instincts?”
When Jo Geon-uk tilted his head, Nam Juyeon grinned.
“In games like this, you have to know elemental matchups.”
“Match…ups?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Nam Juyeon shrugged with a wry smile.
“I’m kind of a game addict, after all.”
It wasn’t exactly reassuring.
*
Following Jo Geon-uk’s instructions, Team 2’s Awakened used their various disasters’ skills to pull Tempest ra’s focus. I left Faded Wraith Luciven hovering in front of the dragon’s face before slipping deeper into the building. The place once known as KINTEX. The exhibition hall was enormous. I checked the ceiling.
‘Good. Everything we need is here.’
BOOM!
Right on cue, Tempest ra—drawn by Luciven—smashed through the wall and charged inside. Violet lightning crackled around its body. One touch from those claws and you’d be electrocuted before you were even torn apart. The thought made tension unavoidable. I wasn’t exactly the type to throw myself into this kind of danger.
“It’s Mirien’s fault anyway.”
But regardless of the reason, these were disasters I had released. So I bore some responsibility for cleaning up the mess. Smiling bitterly, I looked around. Only Tempest ra and I remained inside the building. Once I confirmed we were alone, I opened the status window. After dismissing Luciven, I tapped the gray-haired woman listed as my adjutant in the party menu. The great disaster feared by all humanity. The pinnacle of flame that had even burned the gods.
Summoning 5★ Scorched Saint Selene.
With a flash of light, the Scorched Saint Selene descended before my eyes. Her ash-gray hair billowing, she drew the Wedge Sword of Hellfire instead of offering a greeting and pointed it straight ahead.
“…My Lord, the situation appears quite urgent.”
“You were watching, weren’t you?”
“Yes. I was debating whether to intervene immediately. I held back only because of your orders.”
“Good. You did well.”
“…Heh.”
Selene’s lips curved upward at the praise. But remembering the urgency, she tilted her sword and continued.
“My Lord, shall I simply slay that ungrateful wyrm that charges without knowing its master?”
“No. If your involvement becomes obvious, it’ll cause too many problems.”
Jo Geon-uk had already been eyeing me with suspicion moments ago.
“Then what would you have me do?”
“Just breathe fire. It’s what you’re best at.”
Selene tilted her head.
“Fire?”
“…Aim for the ceiling if you can.”
I looked up at the fire detectors and sprinklers densely packed across the exhibition hall ceiling and smiled. If this world followed the same rules as the game, then elemental affinities would still apply. Tempest ra was originally a sky-attribute disaster, but with the blessing of raging lightning, it was now vulnerable to water. More importantly, it had already taken massive damage. In game terms, it was on its last legs—red health bar territory.
“My Lord, you truly wish for me to simply shoot fire toward the ceiling?”
Selene still looked half-convinced.
“Selene, who do you think I am?”
“Why, the perfect and flawless Ruler—my Lord, Actor.”
Blushing at her own words, Selene raised the Wedge Sword of Hellfire.
5★ Scorched Saint Selene casts 「Hellfire Crater」.
With a single swing of the sword, a massive pillar of flame erupted before us. Whether it was the scorching heat or something else, I found myself spreading my arms in a gesture that didn’t suit me at all.
“Let there be light. No—let there be rain.”
The fire detectors triggered, and water poured down like a torrential downpour. Moments later, the lightning cloaking Tempest ra’s body detonated.
*
Association Director Yu Junseo couldn’t comprehend what he was witnessing. It had been barely five minutes since Tempest ra, cloaked in lightning, had charged into the exhibition hall.
4★ Storm Dragon Tempest ra has been defeated.
Reward: 20 Exp
Ding!
Dungeon 「Storm Dragon’s Nest」 cleared!
Reward: 150 Exp
In those five minutes, what on earth had happened? Why had the creature been defeated and the dungeon cleared? The answer became clear the moment a man staggered out of the exhibition hall. B-class Awakened Nam Juyeon. His hair was singed, and his sleeves were completely burned away—likely from a direct lightning strike. Yet he was alive, walking out on his own two feet. Yu Junseo couldn’t understand it.
“…Impossible.”
How had he dealt with a disaster that dozens of Awakened couldn’t even slow down? Someone tapped Yu Junseo’s shoulder as he stood there with his mouth hanging open.
“Director, that’s what they mean by a monster.”
It was Jo Geon-uk, leader of Team 2. He wore a wry smile, clearly amused by Yu Junseo’s dumbfounded expression.
“When we introduced the Awakened ranking system, did we ever set criteria for S-class?”
“We didn’t.”
“Really? Perfect timing, then.”
Jo Geon-uk pointed at Nam Juyeon, brow furrowed.
“That guy right there is about to become the new standard for S-class.”
Jo Geon-uk’s face was filled with certainty, and Yu Junseo could only nod reluctantly.