The Scorched Saint Selene
5. First Eruption — (2) The Scorched Saint Selene. The one and only flame-attribute 5★ disaster in Disaster Order. Since Selene was the first 5★ character I had obtained, I held a certain fondness for her. In truth, after acquiring Selene, my base had undergone explosive growth. The combat power of a 5★ disaster was immense, so I had swept through expeditions I would never have dared attempt before, amassing wealth. It would not have been strange to call the Scorched Saint Selene the breadwinner who had pulled my once-impoverished base out of hardship.
But that was only a story within the game. Now that reality had become the world of Disaster Order, it seemed Selene still retained her memories from the game.
“My Lord…”
And I had fired her only a week ago. Perhaps she harbored resentment over that fact. Though Selene appeared to be a frail girl, her background setting was nothing short of terrifying.
[5★ Scorched Saint Selene is the great witch who set the world ablaze. Her hellfire reduced every continent to ash in a mere seven days and nights, and in the end she turned her back on the world itself and headed for the Rift. She is a living flame demon and a sinner who falsely claimed the name of God.]
That was the message that appeared every time I opened the base management window. Selene’s tooltip still lingered in my memory. A great calamity that had burned an entire world to nothing. Simply by her appearance, everything around her was melting into a vivid red.
If Selene bore a grudge against me and sought to harm me, it would not be strange at all.
“…”
Silence hung between Selene and me. Just as I was wondering whether I should speak first, Selene suddenly walked forward and knelt on both knees before me. Still kneeling, she bowed her head deeply.
“…I am relieved that you are safe.”
“…”
One thing seemed certain. The Scorched Saint Selene still regarded me as her master. In the game, the player was meant to become a dignified and powerful ruler of the world. If I showed any half-hearted attitude here, the flames swirling around her might turn on me.
I steadied my voice as much as possible and spoke.
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
“…Eut.”
The moment she heard my voice, Selene let out a small sound. Her voice was hoarse, as though her vocal cords had been scorched by fire. Yet she possessed a beautiful tone that anyone would admire. Selene’s shoulders trembled slightly as she carefully raised her head.
‘She really is beautiful.’
In the game she had only been crude dot graphics, but now that she had become reality, Selene’s face was truly that of a peerless beauty. It was a loveliness worthy of being called a saint.
“My Lord. I have been waiting.”
I nodded, doing my best not to show my fluster. Selene then offered an even more desperate smile and extended one hand.
“My Lord, please grant me the honor of escorting you to my abode. This place is far too dangerous.”
The most dangerous thing here is you. The words rose all the way to the tip of my throat. But this woman still thought of me as her master. If that was the case, then I too had to display the dignity that befitted it. I lowered my voice as much as possible and answered.
“I permit it.”
Selene’s tightly pressed lips trembled. Unable to control her expression, she bowed her head deeply. Along the ash-gray hair that spilled onto the floor, transparent droplets fell with soft sounds.
“…”
Was she crying? Why?
“…Then, p-please take my hand.”
Selene held out her hand. The skin was blistered and rotting from burns. I had clearly given her an expensive Elixir the moment I pulled her in the game, so why had she reverted to her initial state? Whatever the reason, it did not matter. Right now, I had no choice but to follow Selene’s words. I took her hand, and with a floating sensation that made me feel like I would vomit, my vision flipped.
“…This place.”
It was all vivid red. A crimson cave. That thought lasted only a moment. A message appeared before my eyes as I looked around.
“Abyss.”
I had heard of it before. It was the message that had appeared when the world of Disaster Order became reality a week ago.
In other words, this was the dungeon of the Scorched Saint Selene. As soon as the thought reached me, the status window urgently displayed a message.
Dungeon 「Abyss」 is a 5☆ dungeon!
It does not match the level of Ruler ‘Actor’!
Immediate evacuation is recommended!
Reading the message, I understood naturally. Since the Abyss was Selene’s residence, its difficulty was naturally 5★. In other words, I had walked straight into the maw of a disaster.
“…Hah.”
The Abyss. Fittingly, its landscape was an entirely crimson cave where flames rippled. A place that seemed like hell brought into reality. Could I escape? Would Selene even let me go? While I was worrying about such things, Selene, who had been holding my hand, knelt once more.
“Huh?”
“Crazy…”
That was not all.
[Achievement Unlocked: Scorched Saint Selene]
[Achievement Unlocked: The Hottest Disaster]
[Expedition Challenge Achievement completed. Additional rewards granted.]
[Reward: 300 Exp / 4☆ Synthesis Stone]
Overwhelmed by the messages scrolling up one after another, I covered my mouth. And I looked at the ash-haired disaster still kneeling before me. At this moment, the Scorched Saint Selene was unmistakably my subordinate.
‘No way…’
Did I just become the master of this dungeon?
*
Selene’s life existed solely for her ruler. The moment she entered the Rift she had sworn as much, and even after being abandoned, Selene’s oath had never wavered.
“The Ruler is in this world. He still wants me… He still desires me.”
Selene had once again found the place to which she must offer her worthless life.
During the Rift Eruption, Selene had also slipped out of the abode she had briefly stayed in. While roaming outside, Selene discovered insolent groups claiming to be rulers. They too were competitors of her Lord, seeking to collect disasters and rise to a higher existence. Such a thing could not be allowed.
“Aaaagh! Save me!”
So she killed them. She burned them to death, leaving only ashes behind. Reducing the number of competitors. She believed this was the only way Selene could atone to her Lord.
While spreading destruction in this manner, Selene was finally able to encounter the ruler of the Rift.
“Selene.”
She was startled without meaning to. The appearance of the Lord before her eyes was completely different from what she had always known.
“My Lord.”
In Selene’s memories, the ruler wore a wide robe inscribed with runes and had his face hidden behind a veil. That was why Selene did not know the face of the Lord she had served so loyally, the ruler of the Rift. She had never been curious. Of course she had not. The ruler was a divine existence living on a far higher plane than someone like Selene. A mere insect should not harbor questions about such a being.
Yet Selene was now looking upon her ruler’s bare face. He was human. Selene’s keen senses confirmed that the human before her was the Lord to whom she had devoted her entire life.
‘Why have you taken on a human appearance?’
Why had he cast off the veil of divinity and lowered himself to the level of a mere human? The question rose to the very tip of Selene’s throat, burned raw by fire. But she asked no more. It was her Lord’s will. There was no need for someone as lowly as herself to be curious. There must surely be a greater purpose. Therefore, instead of asking further, Selene knelt on both knees and spoke.
“…I am relieved that you are safe.”
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
For the first time, her ruler conveyed his will to Selene through the medium of words. Moreover, he was praising her. Though the voice of the ruler she heard for the first time was extremely ordinary, it was warm. Tears welled up in Selene’s eyes.
“…Eut.”
Ah, I have not been abandoned. In this new world, I have obtained the qualification to remain by my Lord’s side.
“My Lord, I have been waiting.”
And the fact that the ruler had taken on a human appearance must also have been for this purpose. He had arranged an expedition into a new world. Becoming human was a grand foundation to place this entire higher dimension beneath his feet and ascend to a seat beyond divinity. And Selene wished to become the firewood for her Lord’s purpose. For the Scorched Saint, that was the only value she possessed.
“My Lord, please grant me the honor of escorting you to my abode. This place is far too dangerous.”
If that was the case, then Selene had to serve her Lord so that he would never be abandoned again. Even if it meant whittling away and burning her own body, she had to protect her Lord who had become human. This dimension was dangerous. Many enemies lurked within. Just imagining how many dangers her Lord, now in human form, would face made Selene’s heart feel as though it were being torn apart.
“I permit it.”
The ruler spoke in a solemn voice and took Selene’s hand. Thus, as she always had, she resolved to serve her Lord.
This world is dangerous. Using this one body as firewood, she would burn away everything that stood in the way and open a path. Even if that path led to old comrades from the Rift, even if it led to the entire world. Selene quietly reaffirmed her duty.
“…”
However, because her head was bowed, she did not realize that the expression of the ruler looking down at her was filled with complicated emotions.