Familiar Faces

Jeon Tae-min, leader of the Daejeon Awakened group, still remembered the events of a month ago with perfect clarity. He could never forget them. The sudden appearance of the great calamity, the Storm of the North Sea, Mirien. She had snapped the necks of his subordinates without anyone noticing. Jeon Tae-min hadn't realized she was right in front of him until it was too late, and he was subdued without even a single attempt at resistance. That day, Jeon Tae-min saw his life flash before his eyes for the first time. Fortunately, he survived. It wasn't because he had handled the situation well. The Storm of the North Sea, Mirien, had checked the phone he was holding, panicked, and withdrawn on her own. He didn't know why. But he didn't need to know. "I'll take this secret to my grave."

Jeon Tae-min had no intention of ever speaking about what had happened. The Storm of the North Sea, Mirien, was a monster who had treated the heavily guarded Daejeon government complex like her own home. Even if he shouted that he had encountered such a calamity, no one would believe him. "I never want to see her again." More than anything, he feared her retaliation. If Jeon Tae-min revealed the secret, she would come to kill him just as she had before. Jeon Tae-min lived every day in terror of death. He had only just begun to feel like he was escaping that trauma a few days ago. But today, out of nowhere, the S-class Awakened Nam Juyeon had appeared with a woman who had dark blue hair and seemed to be traveling with him. Jeon Tae-min thought death had finally come for him. Yet he was still alive in this moment.

"...Hah, hahaha. Shit."

Jeon Tae-min pinched his cheek. It hurt. This wasn't a dream. He was alive. Before he could even feel relief at that fact, the door burst open roughly.

"Boss!"

It was Hwang Jae-man, a high-ranking member of the Daejeon Clan. His face flushed red as he shouted at Jeon Tae-min.

"What the hell is going on?! I heard that S-class bastard went to the nest! Don't tell me you gave him a pass, Boss?!"

"...Yeah."

Only after hearing Hwang Jae-man's outburst did Jeon Tae-min regain his composure. He nodded, catching his breath.

"No, Boss! If that guy clears the nest, what are we supposed to do?! We're getting our supplies from there!"

As Hwang Jae-man said, the nest was a lifeline for the Daejeon Clan. Maintaining such a large community required an enormous amount of supplies. The Daejeon Clan had occupied the nest and periodically dealt with the disasters that emerged from it, converting the experience points into coins to trade with nearby cities. Losing the nest meant losing their livelihood. Hwang Jae-man protested as expected, but Jeon Tae-min shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. There must be a reason."

"Boss! This isn't right!"

"Jae-man, I'm begging you. Just let me save face this once."

Jeon Tae-min's expression was so desperate that Hwang Jae-man blinked several times. Jeon Tae-min didn't want to die. That was why he had allowed the S-class Awakened Nam Juyeon and that calamity to enter the nest. But to his loyal subordinate Hwang Jae-man, Jeon Tae-min's explanation sounded different.

"The boss was threatened!"

He had heard that Jeon Tae-min had a private meeting with the S-class Awakened Nam Juyeon. And not long after, permission to enter the nest had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been granted. That bastard Nam Juyeon must have coerced the boss in that short time. "That son of a bitch..."

Hwang Jae-man scowled and turned to leave the government complex.

"Hey, gather the guys. Tell them to bring weapons."

"Is something wrong?"

"Don't ask questions. Just gather them."

Hwang Jae-man assembled his trusted men. No matter how powerful an Awakened was, they were still human. Whether it was a crossbow, a gun, or a blow to the back of the head, S-class or D-class, they all died the same way.

"How dare he touch our boss?"

Hwang Jae-man and his men set off for the nest, weapons in hand, unaware that it was the entrance to hell—or rather, the Abyss.

"That man... It would have been better to kill him and silence him."

We left the government complex and headed straight for the nest to the north. Selene seemed quite displeased that we had left Jeon Tae-min alive. I also found it uncomfortable that he had seen me with Mirien, but...

"Killing Jeon Tae-min on the spot would have drawn unnecessary attention. Besides, he kept quiet about the last incident, so I don't think the secret will leak."

"...I trust in My Lord's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wisdom."

Anyway, thanks to Mirien's not-so-subtle threat, we had easily obtained passage to the nest.

"By the way, Mirien, why did you come all the way to Daejeon and start killing Awakened?"

"But they were saying bad things about Actor."

"...That was quite the excellent response, magic brat. I commend you."

"Hehe. You have a good eye too, I see."

"..."

Were these two on good terms or bad terms? While I was pondering that, we arrived at the arboretum. There were guards at the entrance, but when we showed them the pass from Jeon Tae-min, they let us through.

The Daejeon nest was similar to the Storm Dragon's Nest we had visited before, located right in the middle of the city. Moreover, the nest had grown repeatedly through several Rift Eruptions, making it the largest dungeon I had encountered so far.

"...Something's off."

The moment we entered the nest, I frowned. Even I, who had entered quite a few dungeons including 5-star ones, felt something was wrong. It was far too quiet. It was as if the air itself had stopped. Dozens of 1-star and 2-star disasters had detected the intruders and approached, but they didn't attack rashly, perhaps overwhelmed by the presence of Mirien and Selene.

"...The dungeon boss is nowhere to be seen."

Usually, when intruders appeared, the dungeon boss would show itself.

"Is it hiding somewhere? Since it's an arboretum, maybe it's underwater?"

"...No, it's in the sky."

Mirien furrowed her brow and looked up. She must have already been using a detection skill, as her gaze was fixed on the sky above. There, a massive beetle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with enormous horns hovered.

"So it really was a Named disaster."

I finally understood why this nest was so large. The Daejeon nest contained the Named 3-star disaster, Belganot. A meteor the size of a house fell from the sky. Fortunately, Mirien blocked the attack with a single wave of her hand, but her expression remained dark.

"Actor, something's wrong with that thing."

"Wrong how?"

"It's way stronger than it should be."

Mirien's face filled with shock. Mine did too.

"...Actor, that disaster... It seems to have received Asteria's blessing."

"Yeah. I saw it too."

The unique skill Color Erosion. Just from the keyword "color," it was easy to guess who the skill's owner was. The Queen Who Devoured the Stars, Asteria. Unexpectedly, we had found a clue about Asteria in Daejeon.

"My Lord, please step back. We will handle the subjugation."

"Don't kill it. Just subdue it. I need to examine its condition more closely."

"Yes."

No matter how much of a buff a 3-star Named received from Asteria, it couldn't withstand the combined assault of two 5-star disasters. Selene severed the horn of Belganot as it flew through the sky. Orbs of lightning surrounded the struggling Belganot. Ironically, the celestial attribute was weak against Mirien's lightning.

Eventually, Belganot fell from the sky and was tightly bound by chains Mirien had created with magic. Selene used the Wedge Sword of Hellfire as a lever to pry open its jaws, and we found something unexpected inside its body.

"...This can't be..."

A small piece of metal the size of a palm. Despite being just a fragment, it was 4-star equipment. It even had the cheat-level effect of inflating the stats of celestial attribute disasters.

"...This is the crown I gave as a gift."

Every 5-star character in Disaster Order had a quest. Just as Selene required an Elixir and Mirien required an artificial heart, the Queen Who Devoured the Stars, Asteria, required the crown that symbolized the kingdom she once ruled. Especially since Asteria was a character added in an update, her quest difficulty was absurd. You had to collect seven fragments through expeditions, synthesize them into a complete crown, and only then would all her skills be unlocked. But now the crown was in my hands in a shattered state. What this meant was simple.

"It seems... that bitch Asteria dared to destroy the crown My Lord retrieved for her."

Selene voiced my certainty.

"One of those fragments fell here in Daejeon, and Belganot must have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swallowed it."

I agreed and asked,

"...Selene, why do you think Asteria broke the crown?"

"There are several possibilities for why she broke it, but in this case... I suspect it was to sever the master-servant relationship."

"..."

I thought the same. If so, like the Mother of Ill Omens, Karne, who was currently gathering her followers, perhaps the Queen Who Devoured the Stars, Asteria, was also resentful toward me.

"Let's head back."

My expression hardened naturally. Unlike the other three 5-stars, the Queen Who Devoured the Stars, Asteria, was a calamity on an entirely different scale. If she came to kill me, would we be able to stop her with our current strength? Regardless of the outcome, the situation was grim. We needed to reassess our plans.

"Actor, wait a moment."

But Mirien frowned as she looked toward the entrance of the arboretum we had come through.

"What's wrong?"

"There are people who entered the nest. They're carrying weapons and have their disasters out."

"Aren't they just Awakened here to scout the nest?"

"...No. I can feel hostility. Actor, it seems like they're targeting us."

Mirien didn't lie, at least not about things like this. It had to be the truth.

"...What will you do?"

Selene asked with a calm gaze. I hesitated for a moment. Until now, I had been reluctant to commit direct killing. I had spared Jo Geon-uk because of my strong aversion to killing people with my own hands. But in a situation like this, where Karne and Asteria were spreading destruction, was there any need to spare people who were trying to kill me?

"...No."

There wasn't. I wasn't a saint. No matter who they were, it was better to eliminate them before they could harm me.

"We'll have to kill them."

I flinched at the ominous words that had come out of my own mouth. Perhaps spending time with Selene and Mirien had made my way of thinking closer to that of a calamity.

"Selene."

"Yes."

What did it matter? Right now, I wasn't Nam Juyeon, the high school graduate convenience store part-timer. I was the S-class Awakened and Ruler of the Rift, Actor.

"Kill them."

"Yes, My Lord. I will carry out your command without fail."

At my command, Selene smiled brighter than I had ever seen her smile before.