The Storm of the North Sea (1)
“Huff, huff, huff!” Yu Junseo gasped for air as he sprinted out of the tower. Though he held the lofty position of Director of the Awakened Management Bureau, he knew full well that it was nothing more than a stroke of luck. He had simply been in the right place at the right time when the world changed.
“Hah, hah, ugh! Hah!” Panting heavily, Yu Junseo kept his legs moving as fast as he could. Until recently, he had been little more than an ordinary citizen, and he had genuinely believed himself fortunate. The world’s new system had seemed kind to him. Unlike his past as a mentally ill public-service worker at the very bottom of society, he thought he could now become one of the central figures, part of the ruling class.
“Shit!”
But that had been an illusion. After boldly entering the dungeon, Yu Junseo had abandoned his companion and fled. His clumsy escape had sent him tumbling down the stairs several times, leaving his entire body covered in bruises. The carefully styled hair he had prepared for the cameras now stuck out in every direction.
“Damn it! You stupid bastard!”
Yu Junseo struck his own head in self-reproach. What kind of wealth and glory had he been chasing that he agreed to a suicide pact? Inside the 5-star dungeon, the Tower of Rebellion, it wasn’t only Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea, who waited. Selene, the Scorched Saint and subordinate of Actor, was there as well. That had been his fatal mistake, his reckless overreach.
“…Ah! It’s the Flame King!”
“Ooooh!”
The crowd still gathered near the tower cheered at the sudden appearance of Yu Junseo, but their excitement quickly turned to unease once they saw his disheveled state. Kang Se-na, a B-class Awakened who had been visibly anxious, approached him and asked cautiously.
“…Director, what happened inside?”
“…W-well, that is…”
Yu Junseo nearly told the truth, then flinched. Could the Director of the Management Bureau really admit in front of everyone that he had used an S-class Awakened under his command as bait and then run away? That would be social suicide.
“…Inside the tower… the Scorched Saint Selene appeared.”
Yu Junseo was a man driven by ambition, and he knew the dead could not speak. He also understood that in the current state of the world, neither investigations nor forensic science held any meaning.
“…I barely managed to escape, but… the S-class Awakened Nam Juyeon…”
Before Yu Junseo could even finish, Kang Se-na’s face twisted in shock. At the same time, Yu Junseo felt a sharp pang of guilt. He was selling out a colleague who had sacrificed his life for him. Jo Geon-uk had once said Nam Juyeon was hiding something, but now Yu Junseo had no choice but to admit the truth. Nam Juyeon was a hero. He had given his life for Yu Junseo. He hadn’t even uttered a single word of resentment as Yu Junseo fled in disgrace. That final image was still vivid in his mind, so Yu Junseo couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
“Director! What exactly happened in there?”
“That’s…”
Kang Se-na and the other bureau staff pressed him with questions, and murmurs began to spread through the gathered crowd. Then—
Rumble…
A massive tremor shook the ground behind Yu Junseo. The earth quaked. The sky quaked. More precisely, heaven and earth trembled together.
The dungeon 「Tower of Rebellion」 is erupting.
Seeing the message that appeared before his eyes, Yu Junseo could only come to one conclusion.
“Ah.”
He realized the cause of the eruption was himself. Even though he had fled, the dungeon refused to let him go. Even after devouring the S-class Awakened Nam Juyeon, they were still hungry. Now they were coming for Yu Junseo, who had escaped the tower.
“…Ha, haha.”
Yu Junseo clutched his head. Whatever the case, his actions had played a major role in this eruption. Countless citizens would die, and the blame would fall on him. Wouldn’t it be better to confess here and now?
“A-actually, I ran away from that dungeon…”
Just as he was about to speak the truth amid the chaos—
“Ah! Look over there!”
Everyone turned their eyes to the tower at the sudden shout. Something enormous was rising from the very top. It was none other than Tempest, the Storm Dragon. Riding on its back was the S-class Awakened Nam Juyeon.
“Woooooo!”
“The Dragon King! The Dragon King is alive!”
Forgetting that the dungeon had erupted, the citizens erupted into cheers. Having been the greatest contributor to successfully defending against the previous eruption, Nam Juyeon was nothing less than an invincible hero in the eyes of Seoul’s citizens.
“So, what exactly happened in there?”
Meanwhile, Kang Se-na, her expression noticeably softer, approached and asked. Yu Junseo quickly changed his demeanor.
“While we were smoothly clearing the dungeon, we realized it was about to erupt. So Nam Juyeon and I discussed it. I would go outside to evacuate the citizens, and he would find and eliminate the source of the eruption.”
“…Really?”
“Of course. Don’t you believe me?”
“…”
Kang Se-na’s eyes narrowed, but fortunately she didn’t press further. Yu Junseo hurried into the car that had been waiting on standby. It was time to return to being the Director of the Management Bureau once more.
*
Is there anyone who knows what it feels like to fly through the sky without any protective gear? Probably not. Even if someone did, they’d likely be exchanging greetings with the King of Hell in the next moment. In that sense, what I’m experiencing right now is quite a rare case.
4★ Storm Dragon Tempest casts the skill 「Flight」.
Whoosh!
A fierce wind slammed into my face. The torrential rain pouring down made it difficult to even breathe. Of course, I had no protective gear at the moment, but that didn’t mean I had no safety measures at all. Selene, the Scorched Saint, remained hidden within her veil, ready to intervene should anything go wrong. Even so, the sensation of gliding through the sky while gripping one of Tempest’s scales at such a dizzying height was far from pleasant.
“Huu.”
At least the Storm Dragon Tempest seemed to be considerate of its master, keeping its head raised as it flew, so the ride wasn’t too bad.
“Selene, are you listening?”
Selene was hidden inside the veil, so I couldn’t see her. But communication was still possible.
“Yes, My Lord. I am listening.”
“We need to find Mirien. Any idea where she might be?”
“I do not know.”
In the end, to track Mirien, I would have to summon something like a Hellfire Hound. Just then—
“My Lord, may I ask you something?”
“I don’t mind, but I’m pretty anxious about when I might fall right now. Can you keep it short?”
“…What do you intend to do with Mirien?”
Selene’s calm question. She seemed to be burning with fighting spirit.
“The weather is rainy, so it won’t be easy for me to use my full power… but if necessary, I will burn everything to kill that woman.”
“…”
If I ordered her to kill Mirien, Selene would likely fight even at the cost of her own lifespan. After all, among the ultimate skills of the 5-star disasters, Selene’s was essentially a self-destruct technique, the worst of the worst. But that was not the future I wanted at all.
“Selene, have you lost your mind? Who kills their own subordinate over a single misunderstanding?”
“…Then…”
“We’ll go and resolve it through conversation. Even if you were the one who misunderstood, I would do the same.”
In truth, Mirien’s misunderstanding was sudden, but it wasn’t incomprehensible. I had been the one to declare the tower raid, and though it was an excuse, I had also been the one to say I would eliminate Mirien. I simply hadn’t expected her to see and hear everything. It had been my mistake to assume that because Selene was ignorant of worldly affairs, Mirien would be the same.
“…First, we need to find Mirien.”
“Yes. That is correct. However, if Mirien is deliberately hiding, there is currently no way to locate her.”
“Selene, you don’t understand people very well. After causing such a huge incident and running away right in front of me, do you really think she’d hide away?”
“…Pardon?”
It seemed the veil’s duration had ended, as Selene revealed herself. Her flames looked noticeably weakened from the pouring rain.
“My Lord, you must not think of Mirien as an ordinary person. She is destruction in human form.”
“…In my eyes, you’re both human.”
Of course, neither of them had much in the way of ethics, and both were the type to go all out without any middle ground…
“Anyway, she’s a former subordinate who was in my rift.”
Now that reality had become the game, the game I played in the past was also reality. That was why the Ruler of the Rift, Actor, and the four great disasters under his command, the favors I had shown them, and the feelings they held for me—all of it was real. In that case, shouldn’t I show at least a little of my appearance as the Ruler of the Rift, Actor?
“In situations like this, there’s always a part of you that hopes the other person will come find you.”
“…”
“Selene, in that sense, I’m going to give you an order starting now.”
“Yes. What is it?”
I grinned and pointed at the forest of buildings visible far below.
“Down there, smash a few buildings. Or burn them, if you prefer. Just don’t kill anyone. Absolutely not. Ah, and if any Awakened come attacking, only get rid of the disasters.”
“…Are you truly permitting this?”
“Drawing attention is what matters here. We need all of Seoul’s Awakened gathered in one place.”
“Then what do you intend to do, My Lord?”
Selene asked with a bewildered expression. I opened my status window and summoned the Hellfire Hound.
“It’s obvious. I’m going to find that guy Mirien.”
“…T-that is…”
“Selene. If you’re going to say it’s dangerous, just follow my orders already.”
At my words, Selene wore a somewhat moved expression, then leapt off the Storm Dragon’s back while gripping the Wedge Sword of Hellfire.
“Ah.”
I should’ve asked her to stay until we landed.
4★ Storm Dragon Tempest casts the skill 「Flight」.
“Uwaaaaaaaaah!”
This time, it really was gliding with no safety measures at all.