The Usual WWE - (1)
After finishing my conversation with Yu Junseo, I headed to the Tower of Rebellion instead of my usual hotel room. Once a day, or maybe once every two days. It was to keep my promise with Mirien.
“Ah, Actor!”
Mirien, who had been sitting cross-legged casting a tracking spell, broke into a bright smile and came running barefoot the moment I reached the top floor.
“Going smoothly?”
“Yep! At this rate, I think I can find it within three days!”
“Good.”
I nodded, and Mirien stuck her head out. While I was wondering what the gesture meant, I realized it was the classic head-patting request unique to puppies.
“Umm…”
I rolled my eyes and studied Mirien’s face. It was the excited expression of a child eagerly waiting for praise. Because of her small stature, it felt like dealing with a niece, but I corrected myself. The petite woman in front of me was the great mage of the Tower of Rebellion who could summon storms across the entire Korean peninsula with a single gesture. Right now she was cooperating and acting friendly, but as Selene warned, she could turn into a disaster at any moment. I had to keep Mirien in a good mood as much as possible.
“R-right. Good job.”
Pat pat. When I stroked her two-toned black-and-blue hair, Mirien smiled so widely that her eyes curved into crescents. How should I put it? It felt like handling a pet dog. Who would ever guess that this heavenly girl was a great calamity feared by everyone?
“Ahem, anyway.”
I cleared my throat and got to the point.
“There’s something I need you to do, Mirien. Thunderstorm. Is it hard to use it at the same time as your tracking skill?”
Mirien’s unique skill, Thunderstorm, was classified as a concentration skill. Since it put her in a focused state while casting, she could only maintain one concentration skill at a time. On the other hand, her tracking skill wasn’t a concentration type. If her in-game knowledge was the same as mine, Mirien should be able to use both spells simultaneously.
Sure enough, Mirien nodded.
“As long as I have enough mana, it’s possible.”
“How do you recover mana?”
“By eating people, or…”
I swallowed without thinking at Mirien’s words. Fortunately, she didn’t notice my momentary agitation and continued.
“By absorbing disasters.”
“Disasters?”
“About five 1-star disasters would let me maintain the storm for a day.”
Come to think of it, in the game we used to melt useless disasters to make recovery potions for high-grade disasters. So that’s what this was. Either way, five 1-star disasters was an absurdly good deal. Still, I asked just in case.
“Just out of curiosity, how many humans would you need to eat to maintain the spell for a day?”
“Hmm… three hundred? If they’re Awakened, maybe a hundred.”
“…”
This was a miracle of cost-effectiveness in a completely different sense. I was once again reminded that to disasters, humans were nothing more than insignificant insects.
“Alright, Mirien. While you’re using the tracking magic, can you also drop Thunderstorm only over Seoul? I’ll send up some disasters for you to absorb and recover mana. And one more thing.”
I pointed downward.
“Can you knock out Jo Geon-uk for a bit? About one or two hours, make sure he absolutely can’t wake up.”
“…That wouldn’t be hard, but what exactly are you planning?”
“The grand debut of the Ruler Actor.”
“Debut?”
Mirien tilted her head, apparently hearing the word for the first time.
“Something like that.”
I replied with a bitter smile.
“Heh.”
Association Director Yu Junseo curled his lips upward as he read the comments on the news article. Whenever he saw comments praising him, his body trembled with pleasure. Yu Junseo kept scrolling down. Then his expression hardened.
“Not my problem.”
Yu Junseo frowned and clicked the downvote button on the comments. These talentless bastards sure had long tongues. Did they think anyone could be Association Director? Yu Junseo grumbled and tossed his phone onto the desk.
“Those bastards.”
“Looking at hate comments again?”
Kang Se-na, his secretary, let out a deep sigh and scolded him.
“If you have time to leisurely read news comments, I wish you’d actually do some work.”
“I’m a public servant. You know there’s nothing I can do.”
Yu Junseo had no abilities. All he had was his reputation as the Flame King, his personal friendship with the S-class Awakened Nam Juyeon, and his position as Association Director. And coincidentally, South Korea was a country that could somehow keep running even if the head was incompetent, as long as the parts were decent. Even now, while the world was collapsing in real time.
“The experts with thick skulls are everywhere anyway. Me trying to help would just get in the way. Have you ever seen a commander charging with a gun in the military?”
Of course, Yu Junseo had never held a gun because he was a public service worker.
“Your solid self-awareness is reassuring and worrying at the same time.”
Kang Se-na sighed heavily and picked up the phone Yu Junseo had thrown, checking the screen.
“Still, the overall reaction is favorable. The provincial people can’t be helped, but…”
“That’s outside our jurisdiction anyway. From what I’ve heard, they’ve formed their own Awakened communities and are governing themselves just fine.”
“…Well, that’s the government’s job, I suppose.”
The militarization of Awakened in the provinces and the loss of control by local governments. The central government was keeping an eye on it, but they were already overwhelmed trying to handle the situation in Seoul, where great disasters appeared every day and refugees were wailing. If the capital region, which was barely maintaining the national system, was like this, there was no way the provinces were in better shape. South Korea was steadily descending into anarchy. Some countries had already gone through this process. Soon, a society might emerge where Awakened wielding the monstrous power of disasters became the ruling class, and non-Awakened became their limbs. When that time came, what stance to take was the biggest concern for both domestic and foreign Awakened.
Kang Se-na sighed and placed both hands on her hips.
“Is it okay for you to be so relaxed when one of your investigators has gone missing, Director?”
“Jo Geon-uk? Don’t worry. Nam Juyeon said he’d find him.”
“…Aren’t you overworking the S-class Awakened?”
“You told me to use him as much as possible someday, so why are you suddenly defending him?”
When he frowned and asked back, Kang Se-na averted her gaze. Yu Junseo lacked perceptiveness, so he couldn’t read any clues from her behavior.
“Anyway, I’ve done everything I could for that guy Nam Juyeon. I even offered him the Association Director position, but he refused.”
“…”
‘Of course, he’s the only one who would want that position.’
Kang Se-na somehow swallowed the words that had risen to the back of her throat. Anyway, if an S-class Awakened was on the case, she could rest easy. Thinking that, she picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
“…Huh?”
Kang Se-na blinked several times. But the bright red text was no illusion.
“Director?”
“…”
Yu Junseo was already staring at his phone screen.
“Move aside! Coming through!”
By the time Yu Junseo and the other Awakened rushed to the scene, the area was already swarming with people. The narrow alley was completely chaotic, packed with Awakened and citizens.
“Damn it! Everyone move! Do you want to die?!”
When several police officers were struggling, Yu Junseo shouted. Only then did the citizens recognize his face and hurriedly parted. This was why fame mattered. Yu Junseo let out a ragged breath and walked past the alley.
In the middle of the plaza stood a descended disaster.
“The Singed Saint…”
The same 5-star disaster he had seen at the tower before. The subordinate of the Lord of the Abyss, Actor. If there was one being that every person in Seoul—or rather, the entire Korean peninsula—feared the most, it was undoubtedly this woman with ash-gray hair. The Singed Saint Selene had appeared in the middle of the city. If that were all, people would have trembled in fear, but this time, in her grasp was a man with his limbs bound. A familiar face.
“Jo Geon-uk…”
The Singed Saint Selene had captured the Awakened Jo Geon-uk and was holding a hostage situation. Jo Geon-uk appeared to be unconscious. Even if he had been awake, he wouldn’t have been able to speak. There was a vicious gag shaped like thorns in his mouth.
“Today, I have come to deliver my Lord’s words to you uncivilized people.”
While Yu Junseo and the other Awakened hesitated, the Singed Saint Selene spoke.
“My Lord, the Lord of the Abyss and the true Ruler of Dimensions, Actor, believes this world has been designed far too narrowly.”
“…”
“Therefore, my Lord wishes to spread the apocalypse across this world. However, in some incomprehensible act of blasphemy, there are those who do not desire my Lord’s blessing or the sacred flames of the Abyss.”
Selene grabbed Jo Geon-uk by the hair and pulled him forward.
“This man is one who failed to recognize my Lord’s wisdom and persistently pursued his whereabouts. You all know him well.”
“…What do you plan to do with Jo Geon-uk?”
“I shall gladly execute him before everyone’s eyes. This is a warning. Those who resist the Ruler of the Abyss, Actor, shall never survive…”
Someone screamed at the horrifying declaration. Even so, no one could run. They didn’t know what the great disaster would do the moment they turned their backs. Thus, Selene drew the wedge sword at her waist. No one could stop her. The last time they encountered her, Selene had single-handedly harvested nearly a hundred disasters. Who could possibly stand against such a calamity?
Whoosh.
There was one. Just one Awakened.
Skill 「Roar of the Heavens」 activated.
“Kuh!”
For the first time, a crack appeared in the Singed Saint Selene’s expression. She raised her sword and deflected the beam of light pouring down from the sky. The breath embedded with flames split into several branches and scattered toward the heavens.
Whoosh—
Was that the trigger? Sudden heavy rain blurred the vision. Through the downpour, someone descended. The man who lightly stepped down from the massive body of the Storm Dragon was someone Yu Junseo knew well.
“Nam Juyeon…”
The S-class Awakened had arrived.