The leader of the Daejeon Awakened Ones group, Jeon Tae-min, still vividly remembered an incident from a month ago.
He couldn’t forget it.
The sudden appearance of the Great Calamity, Storm Mirien of the North Sea.
She silently and without anyone noticing, broke the necks of the subordinates who were with him.
Jeon Tae-min didn’t realize she had come right in front of him until the very last moment, and he was subdued without even a single attempt at resistance.
That day, for the first time in his life, Jeon Tae-min saw his life flash before his eyes.
However, luckily, he survived.
It wasn’t because Jeon Tae-min had handled the situation well. Storm Mirien of the North Sea had checked his phone, seemed confused, and then withdrew on her own.
The reason was unknown.
However, there was no need to know the reason.
‘I’ll take this secret to my grave.’
Jeon Tae-min had no intention of revealing this fact.
Storm Mirien of the North Sea was a monster who had infiltrated the heavily secured Daejeon Government Office as easily as visiting her own home. Talking about having encountered such a Great Calamity would have made no one believe Jeon Tae-min…
Moreover, he feared her retaliation.
If Jeon Tae-min revealed the secret, she would surely come to kill him as she had done before.
Jeon Tae-min lived every day in the fear of death. A few days ago, he had started to feel he was finally free from the trauma.
However, today, an S-Rank Awakened One, Nam Joo-yeon, suddenly arrived alongside a woman with dark-blue hair who appeared to be with him.
Jeon Tae-min thought this was certainly the end for him.
But, strangely enough, he was still alive as of this moment.
“Fuuuck.”
Jeon Tae-min pinched his cheek.
It hurts. It’s not a dream.
He’s alive.
Before he could revel in that fact, the door burst open forcefully.
“Brother!”
It was Hwang Jae-man from Daejeon Clan’s top echelon.
With a flushed face, he yelled at Jeon Tae-min.
“What is the meaning of this?! I heard some S-Rank whatever heading towards the nest! You didn’t issue a pass, did you?”
“…Yes.”
At Hwang Jae-man’s shout, Jeon Tae-min finally regained his composure. He calmed his breathing and nodded.
“What?! Brother, if this guy wipes out the nest, what will we do?! We get our essential supplies from it, don’t we!?”
Hwang Jae-man was right—the nest was the Daejeon Clan’s means of livelihood. Maintaining such a large community required a massive amount of resources. The Daejeon Clan occupied the nest, dealt with the Calamities that periodically emerged, converted experience into coins, and traded with nearby cities.
Losing the nest meant losing their source of life.
Naturally, Hwang Jae-man protested, but Jeon Tae-min shook his head.
“It’s none of your concern. There’s a reason.”
“Brother, this isn’t right!”
“Jae-man, please. Help me save face this one time.”
Jeon Tae-min’s expression was dire, so Hwang Jae-man blinked a few times.
Jeon Tae-min didn’t want to die.
Because of this, he sent the S-Rank Awakened One, Nam Joo-yeon, and the Great Calamity towards the nest.
However, to the loyal underling, Hwang Jae-man, Jeon Tae-min’s explanation seemed to be interpreted differently.
‘Brother has been harmed!’
He had heard that Nam Joo-yeon had met with Jeon Tae-min privately.
And shortly after, the permission to head towards the nest was granted.
There’s no doubt that nam Joo-yeon had intimidated Brother within that short time span.
‘That son of a…’
Hwang Jae-man scowled and left the government office.
“Hey, gather the guys. Tell them to grab their tools.”
“Is something happening?”
“Don’t know. Just gather them and shut up.”
Hwang Jae-man gathered his loyal subordinates.
No matter how great an Awakened One might be, they’re still human. Whether it’s a crossbow or a gun, if you shoot them in the back, they will die—be it an S-Rank or a D-Rank, it’s all the same.
“Dare to mess with our Brother?”
Hwang Jae-man and his loyalists armed themselves and set out towards the nest.
Unaware that this was the entrance to Hell, no—a chasm even.
*
“Shouldn’t we have killed that man and silenced him?”
We left the government office heading straight to the nest located to the north.
Selene seemed to feel a considerable amount of unease about sparing Jeon Tae-min. I, too, was rather uncomfortable knowing he had seen me with Mirien…
“But if I had killed Jeon Tae-min right then and there, it would have drawn unnecessary attention. Besides, he’s the one who kept quiet about the incident last time, so I believe the secret won’t leak.”
“…I trust Lord’s keen insight.”
In any case, thanks to Mirien’s not-so-subtle threat, we smoothly obtained passage to the nest.
“Still, Mirien, why did you come all the way to Daejeon to kill Awakened Ones?”
“But they were saying bad things about Actor.”
“…That was a rather good response, magic geek. I commend you.”
“Hmph. Guess you do have some insight after all.”
Are they friendly, or are they not?
While pondering this, we arrived at the arboretum. The sentry at the entrance was there, but upon showing the pass we received from Jeon Tae-min, they opened the way.
[Dungeon 「Arboretum Nest」 entered.]
Daejeon’s nest was similarly located in the center of the city like the previous Storm Dragon’s nest. Moreover, the nest appeared to have grown in size after several eruptions, and in terms of scale, it was the largest dungeon I’d encountered so far.
“…Something’s off.”
Right upon entering the nest I frowned.
Even with my vast experience of entering 5-star dungeons and numerous nests, I felt a strange discomfort.
It was too quiet. It was as if the air had stopped moving. Although dozens of 1-star and 2-star Calamities detected our intrusion and approached, they hesitated to attack, seemingly intimidated by the presence of Mirien and Selene.
“…The leader of the nest isn’t visible.”
Generally, when there’s an intrusion, the leader of the nest shows up.
“Is it hiding somewhere? Perhaps beneath the surface since it’s an arboretum?”
“…No, in the sky.”
Mirien frowned and tilted her head upwards. She must have already used her skill, as her gaze was directed skyward.
A large beetle with huge horns hovered there.
[3★ Progeny of the Meteor, Belganote, has cast the skill 「Falling Star」.]
“Could it be a Named Calamity?”
I now understood why this nest was so large.
The Daejeon nest had a Named 3-star Calamity, Belganote.
A meteor the size of a house fell from the sky. Luckily, Mirien easily stopped the attack with a flick of her hand, but she still wore a dark expression.
“Actor, something’s off.”
“What’s off?”
“It’s stronger than it should be.”
[5★ North Sea Storm Mirien has cast the skill 「Eye of the Storm」.]
Ding!
[5★ North Sea Storm Mirien has detected the skill 「Erosion of Colors」.]
Mirien’s expression was one of shock.
And so was mine.
The proprietary skill Erosion of Colors.
The keyword “Colors” alone made it easy to guess who the master was.
Queen Who Swallowed the Stars, Asteria.
Unexpectedly, we had uncovered a clue about Asteria in Daejeon.
“Actor, it seems this Calamity… is under the protection of Asteria.”
“Yeah, I saw it too.”
The proprietary skill, Erosion of Colors.
Even the keyword of “Colors” made it easy to speculate the identity.
The Queen Who Swallowed the Stars, Asteria.
It seemed we had accidentally stumbled on a clue about Asteria in Daejeon.
“Lord, perhaps you should step back. We’ll handle the extermination.”
“Try disabling it, not killing. We need to observe it more closely.”
“Understood.”
Even if a 3-star Named Calamity blessed by Asteria, it couldn’t withstand the combined assault of two 5-star Calamities.
Selene severed the horn of Belganote, who was flying through the air. Globes of lightning surrounded the thrashing Belganote. Coincidentally, the Sky attribute was weak against Mirien’s lightning.
[3★ Progeny of the Meteor Belganote is affected by the status 「Paralyzed」!]
Eventually, Belganote fell from the sky and was firmly bound by magical chains created by Mirien.
Selene used a fiery spear as a lever to pry open the creature’s jaw, and inside its body, we found something unexpected.
“…Could it be…?”
[4☆ Fragment of the Broken Crown acquired.]
A small piece of metal, about the size of a palm.
Though it was just a fragment, it was a 4-star equipment item.
Even more astonishingly, it had an OP effect that inflated the stats of Sky attribute Calamities.
“…It seems this is the crown I once gifted.”
Every 5-star character in the Disaster Order has their own quest. Selene required elixirs, Mirien needed artificial hearts, and Queen Who Swallowed the Stars Asteria needed the crown, which symbolized the kingdom she once ruled.
Particularly, Asteria was a newly added character, so she was notoriously difficult.
It required assembling seven expedition-obtained fragments to recreate the intact crown for all her skills to unlock.
However, the broken crown pieces were already in my possession.
This meant one thing.
“It seems… the Queen Who Swallowed the Stars has dared to shatter the crown which Lord retrieved.”
Selene voiced my certainty.
“This fragment fell here in Daejeon, and Belganote must have swallowed it.”
I agreed and asked.
“Selene, why do you think Asteria broke the crown?”
“The breaking of the crown… There are several possibilities, but here it seems to signify rejecting the Lord’s relationship.”
“…”
I agreed.
Could Mother of Omens Karne, who continues to gather forces, and the Queen Who Swallowed the Stars Asteria both be resenting me?
“Let’s go back.”
My expression naturally hardened.
The Queen Who Swallowed the Stars Asteria is a Catastrophe on a different scale compared to the other three 5-stars. If she were to come after me, could we stop her in our current state?
At any rate, it was a gloomy situation.
We needed to revisit our plan.
“Actor, wait a moment.”
However, Mirien furrowed her eyebrows while looking at the entrance we had used to enter the arboretum.
“What’s wrong?”
“There are intruders in the nest. They all have weapons, and they’ve summoned Calamities.”
“Are they Awakened Ones just here to investigate the nest?”
“…No. I sense hostility. Actor, it seems they intend to target us.”
Mirien never lies.
Thus, it was probably a fact.
“…What do you intend to do?”
Selene asked with her calm gaze.
I contemplated for a bit.
I’ve always avoided outright killings. The reason I spared Jo Geon-wook was due to my strong aversion to the act of taking a human life.
However, in the current situation, where Karne and Asteria are spreading destruction, does it really matter if I spare those who attempt to kill me?
“…No.”
No.
I’m not a perfect saint.
It’s better to eliminate anyone who may harm me before they get a chance.
“I guess we must kill then.”
The ominous words I spoke made me flinch.
Perhaps, being around Selene and Mirien has made my way of thinking more like a disaster.
“Selene.”
“Yes.”
Whatever.
Right now, I’m not just some high school grad working part-time at a convenience store—Nam Joo-yeon. I’m an S-Rank Awakened One and, more importantly, the Lord of the Rift, Actor.
“Kill them.”
“Yes, Lord. I shall certainly fulfill your command.”
At my order, Selene smiled brightly, something I’ve never seen from her before.
