Chapter 32

After Mirien and Selene reluctantly backed off, only I and Jo Geon-wook were left in the room.

I approached Jo Geon-wook, removed the gag in his mouth, and he immediately lashed out at me as if he had been waiting for it.

“Hmph… So you were calmly hiding among us while commanding two 5-star Calamities?”

I had expected him to beg for his life first, but it seemed Jo Geon-wook’s resolve was stronger than I thought. His gaze was sharper than when he interrogated me before.

Of course, it’s not intimidating to face him while he’s bound.

“Well, Mr. Jo, I do admit my subordinates may have gone a bit too far. Sorry about that. I didn’t instruct them to treat you so harshly – seems there was a misunderstanding. Anyway, it’s just the two of us now, so feel free to speak your mind.”

I casually removed the chains tightly wrapped around Jo Geon-wook’s body by Mirien. His bare skin was covered with red bruises where the chains had dug in.

Despite the obvious pain, Jo Geon-wook only frowned, not uttering a single groan.

“So… You must have a lot to say, right? Let’s hear it.”

At my question, Jo Geon-wook frowned.

“Alright then. Nam Joo-yeon, you were the Actor, weren’t you? How does it feel to have made the world this chaotic?”

Even trapped in such a terrifying prison, Jo Geon-wook remained calm.

Even Yoo Jun-seo had fled at the sight of 5-star Calamity Selene. As a former detective, Jo Geon-wook certainly proved his experience.

By bringing up the name Actor and casually probing about my activities, he was clearly trying to gather information even in this grim situation.

Of course, I had no intention of answering his questions straightforwardly.

“Mr. Jo, you were right to suspect me. I am indeed the Actor. But I’m not the evil person you think I am.”

“Bullshit. The Hellfire Guardian you command killed a thousand citizens of Seoul. What about those two Calamities? And the one who stabbed a civil servant? Did you already forget about that video?”

Jo Geon-wook growled.

“So you just blended in with us like nothing happened? Using the Storm Dragon to k*ll Han Tae-geon, or killing Kang Do-young who was assigned as my guard – all your doing, right!”

“…”

“Using Storm Dragon Tempestra to become an S-Rank Awakened One was surely all part of your plan too. Setting up a religious group to capture Awakened Ones – was that to avoid suspicion? I don’t know your exact purpose, but one thing is clear. Everything you did to make Seoul safer was just to fatten up and consume the local Awakened Ones!”

Jo Geon-wook jumped to some pretty wild conclusions.

“Was this latest Tower incident also part of your plan? Cutting open Awakened Ones to harvest Calamities – what’s your endgame? Domination of the world?”

“…”

Listening to Jo Geon-wook’s rapid-fire speculation gave me a headache.

His suspicions did have some merit. Hearing my actions described by someone else, I did indeed sound quite ruthless. The irony is that none of this was done by my own will.

“I won’t bother correcting your assumptions, Mr. Jo.”

I had no intention of explaining the full details to him. Jo Geon-wook had already decided I was evil, and it seemed he wouldn’t listen to any defense I offered.

There was also no way I could let him go free. Knowing I was the Actor, he needed to be silenced.

The best scenario would be convincing him to cooperate, making him an ally within the Management Bureau. But from our current conversation, it was clear that would never happen.

All I needed was time.

“Mr. Jo, I’m not going to k*ll you. I’m human too, so I get nightmares from killing people.”

“Now you’re trying to play the good guy? Do you even know how many people the Calamities you command have killed?”

I shrugged.

“The world is in this state now. What use is a murderer? You can’t catch or k*ll me, Mr. Jo – you don’t have the ability. You should be grateful that I’m sparing your life.”

Months ago, I would have never imagined such a situation.

Kidnapping a former detective, holding his life in my hands, and feeling no significant guilt about it. It was so surreal that a bitter smile slipped out.

But what could I do?

The world revolved around Awakened Ones, and among them, I was the supreme one.

“Let me make one thing clear. Contrary to your suspicions, Mr. Jo, I don’t plan to destroy the world.”

I stood up and continued.

“Nothing you worry about will happen in the process. I promise.”

“…”

“I’ll offer you a comfortable room in the Tower. You can handle your meals and rest there. If you change your mind, let me know anytime.”

“Bullshit. Who in their right mind would cooperate with someone like you?”

“Then you’ll just live there forever.”

I left the interrogation room without listening to his further retorts.

“Actor, did we extract all the information? Can we k*ll him now?”

Outside, Mirien and Selene were waiting.

Their advanced senses might have caught every word spoken between me and Jo Geon-wook inside the room.

That must be why, though I had just declared I wouldn’t k*ll him, Mirien’s casual talk of m*rder was so annoying.

I sighed and shook my head.

“Mirien, you must not k*ll that man. Arrange for a room and treat him as hospitably as possible. Don’t we have that maid-like Calamity?”

Checking with Selene, she nodded.

“I do. We captured it from another Awakened One a few days ago.”

“Good. Have that Calamity attend to him.”

Mirien’s face darkened at my command.

Selene was the same.

“Forgive me, Lord, but why spare this man’s life?”

“We don’t need to k*ll him.”

“That man knows your true identity. For the sake of secrecy, he should be eliminated.”

She had a point.

But I wasn’t a complete psychopath who could casually stab someone I had been friendly with just months ago. Not compared to these two 4-Star Calamities, at least.

“It’s an order. Follow it without question.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Selene bowed her head. Mirien tilted hers.

Through this recent Tower eruption incident, I realized something.

The Calamities I primarily used from the Disaster Order, especially the four 5-star Calamities, were powerful enough to destroy a nation single-handedly.

Even Selene, despite being injured, didn’t allow any meaningful attack from almost all the Awakened Ones in Seoul. Mirien could completely change the weather across the entire Korean peninsula with a single spell. The other two Calamities would likely be similarly powerful, if not surpassing Selene and Mirien in specific areas.

This reconfirmed that 5-star Calamities were beyond standard measures. They were more dangerous than nuclear weapons. At least nuclear weapons didn’t have the unpredictable nature of potentially going off at random times.

Therefore, at least in front of Mirien and Selene, I needed to present the ideal leader figure they desired.

Not just them. All Calamities that remembered the previous world regarded me as a player from the Disaster Order’s world.

Ultimately, I needed to become an absolute ruler – stern, calm, authoritarian yet kind.

The great dominator Actor.

“Selene, Mirien.”

At my call, both Calamities turned their gazes toward me.

What I was about to say couldn’t be taken back once spoken.

But with the situation at this point, there was no choice.

I steadied my breath and spoke slowly.

“I intend to become an absolute ruler.”

Absolute ruler.

At the word, Selene’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Lord… Did you say Absolute Ruler?”

“Yes. It’s what you both desire from me – an absolute ruler over all Calamities and the world. A master over all dimensions.”

It was an absurd goal.

It felt like chasing clouds.

Ironically though, I was currently closer to being an absolute ruler than anyone else in this world.

The two mighty beings before me attested to that.

“Will you follow me?”

I didn’t even need to hear their reply.

Selene wore an expression of awe. Mirien’s cheeks had gone red as if mistaking this for some declaration of love.

“Good. So what do you think needs to be done first to become an absolute ruler?”

“World domination, right?”

“Ascending to godhood? Mass slaughter?”

Though terrifying suggestions came from them, I shook my head.

Certainly, to become an absolute ruler, I would need to deal with powerful Awakened Ones from various countries eventually. But that was for later.

What was needed most right now was…

“Asteria, Karne.”

The two absent 5-star Great Calamities.

The Queen Who Swallowed the Stars Asteria.

The Mother of Omens Karne.

We needed to locate these two Calamities.

Though their current whereabouts remained unknown, the likelihood was high that they would also act for my purposes like Selene and Mirien.

Leaving them unchecked like in the case of the Mirien incident could lead to unpredictable trouble. It would be wise to at least know what they were up to.

But before I could finish speaking…

“Those two are malevolent. It would be better to eliminate them.”

“Those bitches? They’re not necessary, right? I can just do their share for the sake of Actor.”

Selene and Mirien chimed in with their own words.

Their fierce statements made it clear they didn’t consider these as comrades at all.

I lost my words momentarily.

“Speaking of which, Mirien, Selene… weren’t you two not on good terms?”

“We get along well.”

“Perhaps, we do?”

The immediate response was clear.

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