Tartaros Triple Calamity
"Director Ma Chingdong, I've come to report on the agenda we discussed."
"Director? My position is still deputy director."
"Ah, ah! My apologies."
The aide's deliberate slip of the tongue.
Ma Chingdong appeared calm on the surface, but inside, he couldn't hide his satisfied smile.
They said crises were opportunities, right?
Currently, he was performing the director's duties in place of Li Feng, who had become a vegetable, and official appointment was just a matter of time.
Former Management Bureau Director Li Feng.
A man he'd worked with for quite some time.
It would be a lie to say there were no feelings built up, but could anyone live on sentiment alone?
To ensure he never woke up and returned, Ma Chingdong planned to remove the life support and disguise it as an accident when the chance arose.
And after that, his own path?
Save China from national crisis, become a national hero, and eventually rise to the presidency—that was his grand life plan.
The cornerstone of that plan?
Swallow up Korea whole.
A sudden trial has occurred.
Randomly selecting target nations for the trial.
The corners of his mouth curled up in satisfaction.
'It's about time to use it.'
Japan using the Tartaros ticket.
Of course—a timid island nation like that couldn't defy the great Middle Kingdom.
"Is the fleet's sortie preparation complete?"
"Yes, Director. We've positioned them just outside Korea's territorial waters in the Yellow Sea. The artillery awakeners are all aboard."
"Start the media spin as well. Say it's the bare minimum measure to protect our fishing vessels in economic waters from flying monsters. World opinion will kick up a fuss again."
The Lycan that died in one second.
So they changed the plan.
If he couldn't kill the hitchhiker, target the country of Korea itself.
The advancing Chinese warships would instill tremendous pressure.
Tartaros on land.
Chinese warships at sea.
The plan was to exploit Korea's shaken vulnerabilities and shift the international landscape.
If he got a bit greedier here.
'If Japan's Tartaros spawns in Yokohama, it'd be killing two birds with one stone.'
Tsk, regrettable, but low odds.
Random nation? Wherever it landed wasn't his concern.
For amusement, Ma Chingdong checked the messages one by one.
Tartaros has been summoned to Japan's infested zone 'Yokohama'.
He rubbed his eyes, but the text remained the same.
"Uhahahahaha!"
Was the system on China's side after all?
Setting up the perfect board like this?
But the moment he saw the next message, his laughter vanished.
Tartaros has been summoned to Korea's infested zone 'Jeju Island'.
Jeju Island...?
Korea dodged the crisis...?
It didn't end there.
Tartaros has been summoned to China's infested zone 'Tianjin'.
Bam!
"D-Director! T-Tartaros! Tartaros has appeared in Tianjin City!"
Ma Chingdong's mind froze.
He couldn't comprehend the situation.
Random nation—China?
Out of all those countries?
And out of double-digit infested zones, it had to be Tianjin?
"T-Tartaros is advancing toward Beijing right now!"
"Director, give us orders!"
Tianjin bordered Beijing.
South direction. Former port city.
There were other infested zones touching Beijing.
But in the current situation, Tianjin was an irreversibly massive problem.
Why?
Because Tianjin's tower wasn't at the zone's center—it loomed at the border with Beijing.
In other words.
"Tartaros has reached Beijing's barrier!"
Beijing was under invasion.
Without even a moment to prepare.
Grooooar—!
The monster, hundreds of meters tall, let out a monstrous roar.
As if displeased with the obstacle before it, it whipped its head violently.
Rumble rumble rumble—!
Buildings crumbled in its wake.
Exactly along the path of its head.
It was the barrier built to block aggro-pulling monster invasions.
Encircling all of Beijing.
Made entirely of tower metal.
Astronomical budget poured in.
China's pride—the Iron Wall.
But all its strengths were utterly useless now.
Shattering like paper with every movement of Tartaros.
Craaaack! Craaaack!
After irritably destroying the nearby barriers, the monster entered Beijing's outskirts.
"M-Monster!"
"R-Run! Hurry!"
People fled in panic from the massive shadow blanketing the area.
Boom! Boooom!
Every stomping foot sent shockwaves that flattened factory complexes, while globs of shot lava set roads ablaze.
Lava poured from the volcano on its back, scorching the earth, leaving trails of intense heat in Tartaros's path.
A catastrophe, a disaster.
Worse than Japan.
Because there wasn't even a shred of preparation time before the invasion hit.
Screeech!
Far-right awakener groups appeared.
"Everyone to your positions!"
"Defend the motherland!"
They rode vehicles, trying desperately to slow Tartaros's advance.
What activated first?
A colossal joint barrier.
A blue net formed in the sky and descended on Tartaros.
The monster paused for a moment.
Cheers erupted.
"Success! It worked!"
"What can a beast like that do? It's the combined skill of nearly 200 A-rank barrier awakeners!"
But only for a moment.
Tartaros shuddered violently and tore the net apart in one go.
"Gah!"
"Urk!"
The massive backlash made all the awakeners involved in the barrier cough up blood and collapse.
Then, close-range awakeners leaping from buildings targeting its head.
Roooar—!
They vanished without a trace in the ferocious flame stream Tartaros spewed from its maw.
Did it just get agitated instead?
Its movement speed increased.
Boom! Boooom! Bang! Boom!
Tanks arriving along the roads fired in unison, but to no effect.
Fighter jet missiles.
Tank multiple rocket launchers.
Artillery howitzers.
All useless against the monster.
Not a single chunk of rock shell dislodged.
Craaack! Snap! Boom!
They merely shattered and exploded from shockwaves and lava globs.
Wheeee—! Wheeeee—!
Broadcasts echoed throughout Beijing.
Disaster alerts flew in too.
"Fucking lunatics! Tanks and everything's getting wiped out, and they want us to die?"
"Move! Get out of the way, asshole! Pull your car over quick!"
Honk! Hooonk! Honk!
Roads clogged with vehicles trying to flee Beijing.
Evacuation order? Unnecessary.
The distrust piled up against the state already.
In extreme situations, citizens sought their own paths to survival.
In the process, looting, robbery, arson—crimes erupted, plunging the city into chaos.
The government and Management Bureau that should handle it?
"Director Ma Chingdong! His Excellency has evacuated Beijing! We need to leave now too!"
"At Tartaros's current speed, reaching downtown is just a matter of time!"
The national leaders had already fled first.
The S-rank awakeners who should fight Tartaros were escorting them.
Ma Chingdong, however, remained in the Management Bureau situation room with his closest aides.
'Damn, damn! Do I have to abandon it like this?!'
Sense of responsibility as a high official?
To defend Beijing?
No way.
It was because of the massive stockpile of antidotes in the shop warehouse visible outside the window.
Cut off Korea's holy water supply, and they'd sell for a fortune.
Why ignore public opinion demanding distribution to citizens and hold on?
Because they could be the foundation for China's resurgence.
'I can't leave all that behind...!'
Then, an event cut through Ma Chingdong's deep anguish.
Boom!
A lava orb flying from afar.
It hit the warehouse and exploded.
Flames spread instantly, turning the antidotes to ash.
"......!"
Ma Chingdong's eyes bulged.
But no time to linger.
Booom!
Another lava orb straight at the Management Bureau.
Ma Chingdong started running to survive amid the collapsing building.
Spatial Manipulation - Teleport
Target: Jeju Island
The moment he used the skill, his whole body felt sucked somewhere.
Pop!
What appeared was a blue sky.
The top of Jeju Island's tower.
Whoa, this makes me dizzy.
Feels like riding a rollercoaster ten times.
Carmina staggered like a drunk vampire.
"Hweee! So dizzy!"
"Lady Carmina seems prone to motion sickness. Right, Your Holiness?"
You're talking to thin air.
Who are you even looking at?
Carmina collapsed and clung to my waist like a cicada. Yulia crossed her arms and leaned deeply into me.
Human leaning post evolution complete.
Dragging the two allies, he moved to the tower's edge.
"Whoa! Flying monsters! Sooo many!"
"Jeju Island's infamous for being a nest of flying monsters, right?"
True.
That's why aircraft couldn't pass properly.
—Kreeek! Kreaaak!
—Kreeeek!
Listen to those creepy cries.
Fortunately, with stealth active, no drawing eyes.
He looked down.
Jeju Island sprawled below at a glance.
Devastated land and writhing monsters—just like on the news.
But one difference.
"Ah! Master! There! That turtle!"
"By size, it's above a golem, huh?"
Tartaros hunkered on the northeast coast.
Whoa, look at that bulk.
Ferocious appearance.
Pulled out his phone and checked the internet.
Tartaros swimming? Doubt it.
From here, it stared toward the Korean Peninsula, unmoving.
"It has kind eyes!"
"Kinda cute the more I look."
Cute?
Other instances were wrecking Yokohama and Tianjin.
'Yokohama and Tianjin.'
Japan's Yokohama was expected.
Even China as a random nation.
For Japan, no worse scenario than ally China crumbling too.
Plus, the Causality Orb's option to analyze related malice was effective.
But Tianjin?
'Didn't see this coming.'
Advancing on Beijing, apparently.
Foreign communities had the world chanting together.
Go Turtle Go! Go Turtle Go!
Go Turtle Go! Go Turtle Go!
China really draws unmatched global schadenfreude.
"Karma from all their past deeds!"
"Yeah, probably. Anyway, we should start figuring out our angle."
"Ah! Can't we raise it?"
"How about Tata? Your Holiness? Short for Tartaros."
Raise it? It'll eat its owner when hungry.
Anyway, exclusive view ON.
Aimed Meteor Fall.
'As expected, not one-shot.'
With Yulia's buff on cooldown, it'd take four meteors now.
Remaining—use all to make it possible.
Or one per day over several days.
Tsk, both options suck?
Tickets are precious, and spacing shots delays Lumentia restoration.
Plus, exposing ace skills worldwide multiple times.
'Better to smash it in one go.'
Wait for buff cooldown.
Level up skills for one-shot.
...Do I have to kill it right now?
"Hmmmmm."
"Master! Your face is full of worry!"
"Such a greedy expression."
Who am I?
The nation of speed and efficiency.
But now, internal conflict.
Speed vs. efficiency grabbing each other's throats.
Quick and dirty?
Or ultimate efficiency?
After fierce struggle, efficiency's uppercut won.
Info from the decree was key.
·1st Place Nation: Steals 2 million points each from 2nd and 3rd place nations. National mana stone acquisition doubled for next round.
·2nd Place Nation: Steals 1 million points from 3rd place.
·3rd Place Nation: No reward.
*Point theft applies immediately upon subjugation.
America? Unaware. Unless China or Japan hands it over.
In other words.
400 million points ripe for surprise snatch.
Most efficient way?
Subjugate right before round end.
Of course, time penalty.
Nations failing to subjugate Tartaros within 1 month receive the following debuff.
National mana stone acquisition halved (1 year).
Lethal.
Shakes the nation's foundation.
But irrelevant to Korea.
5 days to round end.
Yulia's buff returns before then.
"We'll watch Tartaros a bit longer. But contact Cha Minhyuk—alert for any variables, especially US-China-Japan moves."
"Got it! Octopus—er, Uncle Cha Minhyuk! Tata! He says we can raise you!"
"As expected of our merciful Your Holiness."
We'll eat it later anyway.
Anyway, next task.
Long-held questions.
Can Earth's towers be purified?
Do dead Earthlings revive?
Never approached Earth's towers before.
Impossible to reach infested zone towers without eyes on you.
But yesterday's spatial magic.
Stealth and Teleport make it possible.
'Jeju's monsters still intact, though.'
Kneeled one knee, pressed palm to tower surface.
Cannot purify yet.
Restoration energy type mismatch.
Awakener level insufficient.
All monsters in Jeju Island not subjugated.
"Oh."
An exclamation escaped first.
Can't purify yet?
Means can later?
"Different restoration energy means energy from Earth's monsters, not other planets!"
"Awakener level rises naturally climbing the tower, so that'll resolve itself?"
Agreed with both.
Remaining issue: Can all Jeju monsters be subjugated?
'No problem at all.'
Aim a meteor?
Result as expected.
Covers whole Jeju, one-shots all monsters.
Even unbuffed.
"Master! Haven't hit today's dopamine quota!"
"Brought red wine perfect for watching meteors today."
The two allies' eyes gleamed dangerously.
He felt withdrawal too.
Craved to drop a meteor now.
"Hold it. Not for Jeju."
For ultimate efficiency.
Once buff cooldowns, one-shot Tartaros and all together.
"Head back first, check Japan-China, then to Lumentia. Meteor as usual there—"
As he spoke, Yulia's ring flashed.
Emergency signal from Lumentia's Archbishop Vinres.
Used spatial magic to return home.
Opened portal to Lumentia.
"T-Traveler! An anomaly in the Roas River!"
Vinres shouted urgently.
It was an anomaly, alright.
Mages expanding production lines.
Civilians sorting boxes.
People who usually bowed in praise upon seeing him stared fixedly one direction.
Roas River downstream.
———!
A pillar of light rose there.
Riding the carpet quickly, many already gathered before the pillar.
"What happened?"
"Ah, T-Traveler! Th-The holy relic seems to have awakened!"
The explanation was clear.
Long war with demons.
Holy relics lost to demonic corruption.
One buried in riverbed regained power.
"Never seen this before! The whole river holy-water-ified—Your Holiness!"
Yulia excited unlike her usual self.
Task clear.
Holy relic? Like a grail—rare stuff.
Only right to retrieve it now.
"S-Sorry, Traveler! We've tried everything, but failed. Roas's waters flow endlessly from upstream, don't dry up, rapids too fast, bottom too deep—"
"It's fine."
Need to dive?
Stepped forward before the crowd.
Quick aim and calc.
OK. Toward inside the river.
'Skill use: Black Hole.'
Absorption target: liquids only.