Geon-wook Jo arrived at the scene and scowled upon seeing the blood-soaked staircase.
Having worked as a police officer and seen many murder scenes in the past, he was no stranger to death. However, very few crimes were as grotesque as this one.
“Was he trying to create a work of art?”
“…I don’t know.”
The management bureau employee Kang Do-young, who had been assigned to monitor Joo-yeon Nam, now lay dead.
But that wasn’t all; the perpetrator had hung the body in the air. Its posture hauntingly resembled Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.
At a glance, it appeared as if the corpse’s body had been used to draw a hexagram – or a magic circle.
The signature of the artist behind this horrific masterpiece was also present.
A wall nearby was inscribed with words written in blood.
“Actor…”
Geon-wook felt a wave of dizziness.
“Actor.” That name was unforgettable to anyone living in this world today. The infamous calamity known as the Blackened Saint Selene’s master. How could he forget that name?
“…This is the worst.”
Geon-wook summoned a moss hunter to use the Skill of Detection, but learned nothing. Either it wasn’t the work of a calamity, or if it was, it was one so advanced that not even the moss hunter’s Skill of Detection could discern any clues. He judged the latter to be more likely.
“…What do you think? Should we assign more surveillance?”
“No… It might be better not to. Let’s just keep an eye on him for now. We’re sure to meet again soon anyway.”
The sudden disappearance of the Tianan nest.
The Storm Dragon Tempestra.
And now the Abyss Lord Actor as well.
“…This is strange.”
They were all somehow connected to Joo-yeon Nam.
[The Abyss Lord Actor Commits Another Murder?]
[The victim was a management bureau employee; the management bureau has yet to issue a statement… ]
As expected, the news outlets were in a frenzy to cover the story.
The media was always quick to report on such topics, even while ignoring the deaths caused by calamities and the devastating damage inflicted upon regional residents. That’s how much attention the two letters that make up the name ‘Actor’ garnered.
==
– What is Actor anyway? Killing people and manipulating 5-star calamities like that?
– I heard that the victim was a management bureau employee. Maybe it was a warning.
ㄴ A warning?
ㄴ Yeah, like how psychopathic serial killers send messages to the police. Something like ‘don’t interfere in this matter anymore.’
– Could it just be a copycat? I know a schizophrenic patient who praised Actor and smeared feces on the walls.
==
Arguments broke out online over the incident.
The two leading hypotheses were these: either the Abyss Lord Actor was sending a warning to the Awakened One Management Bureau, or it was the work of a lunatic who believed himself to be Actor.
The former seemed unlikely, at least.
After all, Actor was here, scratching their head.
“…”
It was me.
Before I knew it, I had become the mastermind behind the scenes, wrongfully accused of a murder I didn’t commit.
The fact it happened right in front of my house, and that the victim was a management bureau employee, made the situation even more dire.
I still couldn’t forget Geon-wook Jo’s meaningful gaze from a few days ago, when we met at the management bureau building.
“Selene.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think this could be Mirien’s doing?”
“Without having seen the scene, I cannot give a definitive answer. However, it is quite possible that Mirien, that woman, could have done this.”
Selene, who usually wasn’t this rational, provided an unexpected answer.
“However, Mirien wouldn’t just go around killing people for no reason. Unless, that is, the human had harbored ill intentions toward my Lord.”
“…That’s what you say…”
With the murder happening in front of my house, the perpetrator being someone I had fired, and this person’s crazed act of inscribing my name at the crime scene despite being dismissed— it left me in a state even more complicated than when Selene stabbed an official.
Identifying my troubled expression, Selene stiffened and placed her hand on the firebrand hooked sword at her waist.
“That magic-using woman must have done something foolish, it seems. My Lord, if you give the order, I shall bring her head to you immediately.”
“No, it’s fine.”
That woman’s head, always her head.
Why did she want to kill so badly?
Why couldn’t we just get along?
“There’s no clear evidence this was Mirien’s doing, right now.”
My statement made Selene reluctantly nod.
It could indeed be the work of a copycat pretending to be Actor, as suggested online. That was a plausible scenario.
There were evidently doomsday cultists who worshipped the Abyss Lord Actor; I even heard some referred to him as the “Second Coming.”
“Selene, it might be better if you stayed here instead of the Abyss for a while.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s so I don’t get suspicious.”
It was clear that Jo Geon-wook had his suspicions about me already.
Given that the event of a management bureau employee being killed in front of my house had taken place, those suspicions were on the verge of turning into certainties.
The Abyss is a separate dimension accessible only through Selene, so for now, it would be better to stay home and establish an alibi.
“Just endure until next week, when I participate in the Storm Dragon extermination.”
“…Then what am I to do?”
“Stay in the Abyss.”
“But what if someone tries to harm you while I’m gone?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine for the most part.”
I summoned the ashen ford deer I had recently acquired to show her.
With the 2-star calamity starlight dust golem I had obtained earlier, I was unlikely to be in danger unless under extraordinary circumstances.
“If it gets dangerous, I’ll call you.”
“Then… very well.”
Sighing, I accessed my status window.
I had accumulated a significant amount of experience points through synthesis, so I intended to upgrade my base.
With the barracks ready, the best course of action right now was to expand the synthesis slots so Selene could be commanded to execute calamity syntheses.
[Headquarters Upgrade: Synthesis Facility]
[ □□□□□□□□□□ ]
[Expansion of available synthesis slots. Increased probability of high-star calamities spawning.]
[Required Experience: 100Exp]
Without hesitation, I pressed the upgrade button three times.
Disaster Order was commonly known as the game that ruins lives.
A life-ruining game disguised as an idle collection game.
To collect high-grade characters, one had to invest insane amounts of time; even that might not yield results if one’s luck was bad.
To put it simply, back when I used to play, it took three months to obtain a 4-star calamity. As for obtaining Selene, it took over a year after that.
“…Haah.”
That’s why I’m saying this.
[5★ The Blackened Saint Selene has completed calamity synthesis.]
[Reward: 30Exp / 1★ Leaf Fairy]
[4★ Hellfire Guardian has completed calamity synthesis.]
[Reward: 30Exp / 1★ Leather Lanternfly]
[5★ The Blackened Saint Selene has completed calamity synthesis.]
[Reward: 30Exp / 1★ Forest Listener ]
[4★ Hellfire Guardian has completed calamity synthesis.]
[Reward: 50Exp / 2★ Ember Fox]
After investing over thirty calamities in an all-out synthesis show, I only received one 2-star calamity in return.
Even that was fire-attribute-based, making it useless since I already had superior versions in Selene and the Hellfire Guardian.
“…How can one’s luck be this bad?”
“I’m sorry.”
Selene was kneeling with her hands clasped meekly.
“All of this is my fault. Lord, please end my life.”
“…No, why would I kill you?”
I knew Selene’s synthesis affinity score was low. I wasn’t expecting much. But combining so many calamities and getting such meager results was beyond disappointing.
“…I was hoping to secure at least one solid 3-star calamity before participating in the Storm Dragon extermination.”
As I muttered, fiddling with the status window, Selene cautiously spoke.
“Lord, may I humbly offer a suggestion?”
“What is it?”
“This world operates on the principle of survival of the fittest. Those who falsely use Lord’s name should be eliminated, and their calamities claimed…”
“Denied.”
I felt a headache coming on.
Why did Mirien and Selene always think this way?
No, perhaps it was inappropriate of me to impose normal ethical thoughts on calamities.
“…Anyway, I need to boost our power before participating in the Tempestra Storm Dragon extermination in two days.”
After diligently attempting synthesis for five days, I had received a conscription order from the management bureau.
B-class Awakened One Nam Joo-yeon was to report to the management bureau building by noon in two days.
Even if Mirien was controlling Tempestra and wouldn’t harm me, I was still quite apprehensive.
“I want to strengthen our forces before then.”
At the very least, it would be reassuring to have one good quality 2-star calamity.
There was a significant performance gap among calamities of the same star rating in Disaster Order.
The distinction between named calamities and unnamed ones.
For instance, while both the Hellfire Guardian and the Storm Dragon Tempestra were categorized as 4-star calamities, the Hellfire Guardian was considered worthless because it wasn’t named, whereas the Storm Dragon Tempestra was regarded highly due to its named status.
In that sense, most of my current 2-star calamities were junk.
If I could obtain even one calamity with its own distinct name, it would make undercover missions much more convenient.
“Then, Lord, might I suggest raiding a nest? I’ve heard of a nest to the south that harbors stronger calamities.”
“…No, that might draw attention.”
At the management bureau building, Geon-wook Jo had inquired about the incident with the Tianan nest.
Although I had managed to evade his questions that time, if another nest were to disappear, Geon-wook wouldn’t remain idle.
Understanding this concern, Selene spoke up.
“…But wasn’t that only because you personally went there?”
“What?”
“Let me go alone. I’ll destroy the nest without anyone noticing.”
So, the suggestion was to send an expedition.
It sounded tempting.
Considering that last time, when Selene went on an expedition to obtain a Hellfire Guardian, she ended up skewering a person, I hadn’t considered this option before.
However, under the current circumstances, it might be worth trying.
After some contemplation, I nodded.
“…Alright. But you must not kill any people.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Selene smiled faintly, turning into particles and disappearing.
The next day, I learned that five regional nests had been wiped out overnight.
And that the one responsible for conquering all of them was a woman with ashen hair.
[The Abyss Lord Actor, Perhaps the Savior of Humanity?]
“…This is insane.”
Once again, I wished I could die.
