Long Live the Queen (5)
Is this what experiencing life as a cult leader feels like? I spread my arms wide while gazing at the sociopathic Shin Do-hee, whose face was filled with rapturous awe. Even though I wore nothing more than a shabby T-shirt and torn jeans, the figure reflected in her eyes resembled the second coming of Jesus that cult leaders always raved about.
5★ Storm of the North Sea Mirien casts the skill 「Manifestation Mirror」.
Mirien's disguise skill was magnificent. She had draped Actor's appearance from the days of Disaster Order over me. Truthfully, this was the first time I had ever seen the Ruler of the Rift Actor with my own eyes. The player's character model never appeared in the game.
So this is what I looked like? I had braced myself, yet seeing it directly left me rather flustered. The Ruler of the Rift Actor in Mirien's memories was practically a god. Wearing a mask shaped like a crying face, wrapped in a black cloak from head to toe, a crimson halo slowly rotating behind the head. And below the ankles, only ashen smoke flowed out—an appearance straight out of some Cthulhu mythos.
I suddenly understood why the disasters pledged their loyalty to me. If they remembered this form, even the great disasters would have no choice but to feel overwhelmed. And if even disasters feared it, how much more so would a mere human like Shin Do-hee?
“Y-you are…” At last, Shin Do-hee's lips parted. “The Executor?”
The Executor? I hesitated for a moment, but Karne, who had been clutching the hem of my cloak beside me, conveyed the meaning through telepathy.
The god she believes in. One tasked with destroying the world and rebuilding it anew. How absurd. Doesn't it sound just like this mother here?
I gave a slight nod. Since Shin Do-hee had offered the topic first, from now on I would have to become the Executor she imagined. The idea had come from my earlier conversation with Selene. In Selene's past, God had granted her, the saint, a revelation and a prophecy.
Instead of nodding, I made a bizarre hand gesture straight out of some ninja manga. That was the signal. A voice pierced into Shin Do-hee's mind.
Everything you think is correct.
“Executor!” Of course, I wasn't the one speaking. It was merely Mirien transmitting the words via telepathy, but the experience of a mysterious androgynous voice echoing inside an empty mind would surely seem miraculous. Incidentally, the script for this ridiculous third-rate play had been written by Karne, the Mother of Ill Omens. Having once been revered as a god herself, she was the perfect expert for the job.
Shin Do-hee dropped to her knees with a thud. “It was real! Father's words… really were…”
Fear not, child. You are destined to become my star, and the star of the world.
“So the Executor has manifested with the intent to destroy this world. As your servant, I have been diligently building the Executor's kingdom.” The fact that it was a kingdom of terror was problematic, but Shin Do-hee didn't seem to care. Still kneeling, she assumed a praying posture, and Mirien spoke.
I commend you. Now is the time to prove your faith.
“Prove it! Has the time of the holy war finally come?!” Whether she followed Buddhist doctrine, Catholic doctrine, or both, Shin Do-hee pressed her palms together toward the Executor—toward me.
A holy war, you say? There seems to be a misunderstanding.
As I gestured, Mirien's telepathy continued.
First, bring me the sacred relic.
“Yes!” Shin Do-hee offered up the gospel she had been clutching to her chest. After a brief hesitation, I struck her hand, causing the gospel to fall. The quick-witted Karne incinerated the entire book with magic. Before the dumbfounded Shin Do-hee, I bent my knees slightly.
How foolish.
“I-I'm sorry! This lowly one cannot comprehend the Executor's will!”
The sacred relic is my crown. It is the final piece that will complete my will.
“Ah!” Shin Do-hee hurriedly manipulated her status window and produced a fragment of the crown. A metal shard radiating crimson energy.
“So this was the sacred relic!”
A shard of the crown that once ruled over all.
That's definitely it. I reached out my hand. Since a system message might appear, Karne retrieved the fragment in my stead. Shin Do-hee held her breath.
Your faith is truly deep. However, there is one thing I must tell you.
The reason I hadn't chosen the simple option of killing Shin Do-hee.
Do not shed unnecessary blood. The kingdom you rule must be a sanctuary of God. Not war and destruction, but await the end that will soon arrive according to God's will.
Shin Do-hee's eyes wavered. Her bizarre actions stemmed more from her own temperament than from divine will. But if a divine being descended directly and revealed its will…
“Aah.” Shin Do-hee bowed her head deeply. “Yes! I will follow the Executor's will!”
Indeed, there was no better way to manipulate a fanatic at will. When Selene first heard the plan, she had worn a bitter smile. Yet even Selene acknowledged this was the best method. There was precedent. Wars sparked by a single word from God, and that damned revelation that had placed her on the stake. In terms of blasphemy, it was rather similar.
Well, that's one problem solved. I took the crown fragment from Karne and tucked it into my robe. That made three. Only four fragments remained.
I gave Karne a look. I planned to offer Shin Do-hee a few words of praise and then depart. However—
Child, listen well.
It wasn't only Shin Do-hee who had been moved by this play. Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea in charge of narration, seemed to have gotten carried away. She recited lines that hadn't been scripted.
My true name is Actor.
“Actor!”
Yes. The one who wears a mask and plays all things, possessing a thousand—no, ten thousand faces.
“A-ahhh!” Shin Do-hee's expression gradually filled with ecstasy. Before Selene could stop Mirien, she continued in an excited voice.
The end will soon arrive.
“The end! I have been waiting!”
When that time comes, I shall return. Build castles. Raise walls. Let us dream of rebellion together.
Hearing the telepathy that had burst forth against my will, Shin Do-hee nodded vigorously.
The next day, Shin Do-hee gathered all the Awakened belonging to the Busan Clan and displayed her boundless faith in Actor. A storm of change swept across the Korean Peninsula.
*
Mirien's impulsive action caused quite a ripple. The long-missing Lord of the Abyss, Actor, had once again become the talk of everyone.
For the media, which had lacked any noteworthy stories since the mass naturalization of Chinese alliance groups, this was delicious bait indeed. The comments on the articles were a spectacle as well. From those trembling in fear, to those saying it might be better to trust Actor than the government, to the both-sides-are-bad crowd.
“…Hah.” A new religious group worshiping Actor that Mirien had once created had now taken over all of Busan. All because of one impulsive act by Mirien.
Incidentally, the Association even called.
“…” I let out a deep sigh and hung up. Then I turned my head. Selene had already taken measures. There stood a petite troublemaker with a wronged expression, her arms and legs bound. Even if she was a great disaster, with two beings of equal standing present, even Mirien couldn't resist. I rubbed my face in exasperation.
“Mirien, do you want to be scolded?”
“U-uuu.” Mirien wore an expression like a child who had broken a plate. Why had the world granted such immense power to this seemingly innocent girl? I resented the world.
“Mirien, why on earth did you do that?”
“B-but… Everyone in the world needs to know how cool Actor looks.”
Her motive was so pure and childlike that I couldn't even get angry. Selene nodded as if she understood as well.
“Your thinking as the magic brat wasn't wrong.”
“R-right! Even Selene agrees…”
“It wasn't wrong from a general perspective. However, if it differs from my lord's perspective, then it is wrong.”
“Haha. Selene, you're finally saying something sensible for once.” Karne chimed in.
Anyway, with the next Rift Eruption approaching and the need to farm crown fragments at this point in time, it would do more harm than good if rumors spread that Actor ruled Busan. Selene drove the point home.
“My lord, please administer appropriate punishment to that vile and filthy magic brat.”
“Selene, let me ask you one thing.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you holding the sword hilt?”
“In case my lord orders me to behead that wench.”
“A-Actor? No, right?”
Somehow, Selene had become even more unrestrained after drinking the Elixir.
“I-I don't plan on killing her…” I pondered for a moment. How should I punish this troublemaker before me? Naturally, memories from my military days surfaced.
“…Let's send her to the brig.”
That day, Mirien was confined to the Tower of Rebellion. For the highly active Mirien, it was the worst possible punishment.