The ruins were shrouded in an icy silence.
Upon the dim light, a black feather of the harbinger descended gently.
Hovering above the city stained black, Mother of Omens Karne let out a small sigh.
The pervasive decay and stench of pestilence filled the air.
Crows cawed. They were her minions. She stared at the ground. At just that moment, a corpse entangled underfoot was positioned in a posture of prayer.
“…Prayer, to whom did you pray?”
Though she asked, naturally, no answer came from the dead body.
Karne moved her steps with a wry smile.
“I once prayed as well.”
How was it then?
A far-off memory of herself resurfaced.
Karne too had prayed. She yearned for the salvation of her children, seeking vast mercy and compassion.
But what had returned?
“…”
Karne slowly bent her knee and placed her hand on the pile of corpses.
A dark aura rose from her fingertips.
[5★ Mother of Omens Karne is casting the skill “Mother’s Call”.]
Spreading the black wings by her waist and muttering an incantation, the scattered corpses twisted together to birth new minions.
Though this creation was a blasphemy and sacrilege, it was also a new holiness.
[5★ Mother of Omens Karne has successfully synthesized 3★ Black Echo.]
The proprietary skill Mother’s Call.
A skill to create her own followers.
Its cost was countless calamities or lives.
A power she couldn’t wield in the peaceful world of the Actor’s Rift. But things were different now. Karne was in a new dimension filled with countless lives.
Harvesting them to create new followers wasn’t difficult.
She’d been doing this for a long time.
Thus, Karne’s army of harbingers had already grown large enough to fill a mountain.
“…Hm.”
As she finished creating her followers and rose to her feet, Karne’s heightened senses detected a gaze.
The sharp eyes of a storm.
[5★ Storm Mirien is observing 5★ Mother of Omens Karne.]
[5★ Mother of Omens Karne detects the skill “Eyes of the Storm.”]
“…You brat, you’re meddling unnecessarily.”
In terms of tracking and detection skills, Karne surpasses Mirien.
Karne stared directly east with a mocking smile. Storm Mirien hastily recalled her familiar.
However, it was already too late.
Karne had confirmed the presence of her former child, the Actor, in that direction.
Given the Actor’s characteristic nature, they would surely come to meet her.
In that case, all Karne had to do was wait.
With her newly created children.
And the impending destruction that would soon follow.
“Isn’t that right, Longyen?”
At Karne’s call, an animated corpse blinked.
Surrounding her were Awakened Ones who were once human.
Soon, a tsunami of harbingers would sweep in.
The position of the head of the Awakened One Management Bureau was inevitably bound to continuously clash with government officials.
In this sense, Director Yoo Jun-seo’s sole role and reason for existence was to smooth things over and deal with government officials, just like now.
“What the hell is going on here!”
The government minister and prime minister slammed the report down and shouted.
“There are two hundred civilian casualties! Two hundred! That constitutes a disaster!”
“…Well, there was nothing we could do about it.”
The fourth eruption was different from the last one in that it caused civilian casualties.
There was nothing anyone could do.
Part of it was due to the overwhelmingly larger number of calamities that erupted, and the dungeon incident in Yeouido that occurred a mere week ago was catastrophic.
“I already told you, Awakened Ones aren’t all heroes. They did their best, so why don’t you just leave it at that?”
Yoo Jun-seo complained about the grievance.
Regardless, the prime minister’s face turned crimson.
Truthfully, Yoo Jun-seo had many complaints too. They had done everything they could. It was just that the scale of the eruption was large. The damage among the Awakened Ones alone was not insignificant. The specialized ward was already full, and there was nowhere to transfer the critically injured.
“If you look at other countries, there’s no one like us. If hounding like this worked, the U.S. would’ve returned to normal already.”
Though Yoo Jun-seo’s statements were highly relevant, they were utterly useless in the political arena.
“What? You think you’re climbing higher just because you were conveniently given a high-ranking position?”
The prime minister was furious and spouted ab*se.
Incidentally, Yoo Jun-seo let it slide through one ear and out the other.
Summarized roughly, it was:
“A publicly funded organization… talking back?!”
Such an outburst was inevitable since their funding source was the government.
Yoo Jun-seo frowned. As he scratched the back of his head, his defense turned into a flimsy excuse.
“So, there was nothing we could do about it. Please understand our circumstances.”
Perhaps feeling disgruntled, his tone naturally turned to semiformal.
“If you’re upset, the president should come here himself. What’s the use of you sitting snugly in a shelter?”
“Why are you talking about the military? They’ve got enough on their hands monitoring North Korea at the front lines!”
“What’s the point of this divided country in a situation like this?”
Yoo Jun-seo sighed.
The conversation merely revolved endlessly.
The government side gave up first. Gripping his forehead, the prime minister muttered.
“This is why we shouldn’t appoint graduates from our alma mater as directors.”
“What? And your son, did he serve honorably? A quick search on the web brings it all up.”
Yoo Jun-seo was a commoner but wasn’t meek.
And he wasn’t overly patriotic either.
Certainly not a goody-two-shoes who would simply endure criticism and respond with respectful “Yes, sir.”
“Wasn’t this disaster caused by the government’s inability to properly control civilians?”
“What?”
“Don’t you see? It’s your job to control and evacuate civilians when the Awakened One Management Bureau has no resources left to stop the disasters erupting. Why are you coming here to yell at us?”
In reality, both Yoo Jun-seo and the government knew this was all a performance to justify their actions to citizens.
But what could be done?
The necessary words still had to be spoken.
“You.”
The prime minister, who had been quietly listening, pointed his finger.
“If things continue like this, the executive branch will have no choice but to reclaim the authority of the Management Bureau.”
“Seriously? Cutting budget and suspending duty now? This year, arguments are bountiful, huh?”
“Did you just call it an argument? Did you say argument just now?”
The voices grew louder.
Yoo Jun-seo was feeling increasingly frustrated and agitated.
Right as the argument was about to heat up even further—
“Uh, excuse me…”
One of the Management Bureau employees rushed into the conference room and began to speak.
“Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a conversation!”
“Ah, sorry. However, it’s quite urgent…”
“Speak.”
When Yoo Jun-seo gestured with his chin, the employee cautiously spoke up:
“S-Class Awakened One Nam Joo-yeon just met with a Chinese scout…”
“…”
Upon hearing the news, Yoo Jun-seo blinked a few times.
Then he locked eyes with the prime minister, with whom he was just arguing fiercely not long ago.
“d*mn, why aren’t you contacting people?”
“Tell them to come here immediately!”
It was a chorus.
“Actor, that woman Karne saw me.”
These were Mirien’s words after she reported back following her detailed reconnaissance with the Chinese scout and arrived at the base.
“That woman was creating followers. There are already hundreds of bodies.”
“…”
The doubt turned into certainty.
The exclusive skill of Mother of Omens Karne, “Mother’s Call.”
Much like Selene’s Incineration Brand and Mirien’s Brainstorm, this skill classified as a proprietary-level skill. Among these, it was one of the most peculiar skills in the Disaster Order—a skill that definitively synthesizes a 3-star calamity.
Of course, in the game, this skill was considered useless. Creating subpar 3-star disasters by consuming numerous calamities wasn’t very practical.
However, now, in the reality turned into a game, things were different. I understood why Karne established her base in China. A higher population meant more abundant raw material to create followers.
It was time to devise a countermeasure.
However…
“…But, Lord…”
“What is it?”
“There was a surveillant.”
“I know.”
I took out my phone.
Numerous missed calls.
Most were from the Management Bureau’s numbers, and among the others were some personal phone numbers. Many were unknown to me except for Yoo Jun-seo’s.
Appears there was surveillance, as Selene had said.
“…I need to head over to the Management Bureau if they’re calling.”
“If they dare harm Lord, then…”
“Selene, don’t worry.”
I looked at Selene and shrugged.
“In this messed-up world, I’ve finally figured out what stance I need to take.”
“…What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Hey, Selene, can you lend me something?”
Listening to my words, Selene tilted her head.
*
“This is a serious issue, Mr. Nam Joo-yeon. Even for an S-Rank Awakened One, you’ve definitely crossed the line this time.”
As soon as I entered the Management Bureau building, a suited government official approached and said something to me. He was likely in his fifties and his face seemed familiar from a bygone election before the world’s collapse.
I half-heartedly listened to his words as I walked on.
When I entered the conference room where Yoo Jun-seo and other top government officials were seated, they all rose from their seats the moment they saw me, each delivering a sharp comment.
“Mr. Nam Joo-yeon! What is going on?”
“You clearly know the domestic security regulations, yet you acted without any reporting in contacting foreign scouts. How are we supposed to interpret this action?”
“What exactly were you thinking when you had a private meeting with China’s scout? Do you genuinely believe in the naivety that you could exchange information with them? Do you think they would just meet with you for no reason?”
“Come on, tell us honestly—did China propose something to you? Is there some condition that we don’t know about?”
Most of their words were steeped in criticism.
It was absurd.
It was as if I had done something wrong.
“…Ah.”
Surprisingly, this current situation was not different from what I had expected, so I glanced at Yoo Jun-seo who was standing awkwardly beside me.
Our eyes met, and he quickly clasped his hands together in an apologetic gesture without attracting attention.
I didn’t react and looked ahead.
“S-Class Awakened One Nam Joo-yeon! Answer our questions immediately!”
I felt like I was at a hearing.
In fact, their intentions weren’t much different.
They would likely try to pressure me and grill me relentlessly.
Why would these meaningless ones be so frantic to devour me when I’m already troubled?
“First, allow me to say one thing…”
If I took a submissive stance here, I would surely plummet below a third-rate status.
And I must become a first-rate one.
“Shut up, all of you.”
Everyone paused momentarily upon my words.
There’s no reason to hold back.
Therefore, I planned to turn the tables.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“Huh?”
I grabbed the collar of the man I’d noticed at that moment—it was the congressman who had led me to here from the bureau entrance.
I’m confident in my strength. I’m a young, robust man in my twenties, and he was an elderly man in his fifties.
Even if I didn’t, wearing sturdy sneakers would suffice.
Thump!
I kicked his shin with all my might.
Thanks to my military training, I had expertise in pinpoint strikes. The congressman let out a groan as his leg bounced up and down.
I grabbed his hair and slammed his head against the table.
Clunk!
A dull sound echoed.
The congressman slipped and fell to the floor. A trail of red bloodstains and fragments of broken teeth were left on the table.
“…So.”
Silence filled the meeting room.
“If I do as I please, what’s it to you?”
Now things are getting better.
