Fired Characters from an Idle Game

16. Storm Dragon Subjugation – (2)

The North Sea Tempest, Mirien, observed the situation from atop the tower.

Through a sophisticated device called a mobile phone, she confirmed that a group claiming to be Rulers had set out to subjugate the Storm Dragon, Tempestra.

“How pathetic.”

Myrrien found this newly entered dimension rather tedious.

Though more advanced and with more diversions than the dimension before, that was merely its surface value.

Compared to the dominion of the ruler within the rifts where Myrrien once resided, this world was a paltry thing.

Even more, they dared use the name of “ruler” at their whim, seeking to disrupt the world’s order.

Wielding calamity was solely the power of a ruler. To clumsily imitate it was intolerable.

Myrrien felt the urge to simply wave her hand and slaughter these insignificant beings, but with the ruler, Actor, mingled amongst them, that was impossible.

“…Actor. Why do you forsake me? You only need to come here.”

Myrrien’s face twisted in frustration.

When she first arrived in this world, Myrrien had trembled with joy.

A ruler would surely look upon her.

Being banished from the stronghold was all for this purpose.

[5★ North Sea Storm Myrrien has been dismissed.]

[Y / N]

– ‘N-No, right? Actor, you aren’t like that, are you?’

Myrrien refused to accept that she had been abandoned by the ruler she so loved and yearned for.

She had given emotion, so it was only right that it be returned.

And so, Myrrien denied reality.

Instead, she built a tower reaching to the heavens, so that the ruler could find her at any moment.

In this newly entered dimension, she created a home for the two of them, awaiting the return of the ruler, Actor, who would soon come back.

But he ignored Myrrien.

Some fox-like woman had stolen the ruler away.

“…That b*tch.”

Myrrien bit her lip, suppressing her anger.

If she had her way, she would immediately seek out Selene and tear that loathsome body to pieces, but the current ruler, Actor, was relying on Selene.

Myrrien knew that Actor disliked internal strife.

But she had no intention of idly standing by.

She was a mage to her very bones.

A person who sought analysis over narratives, practicality over justification.

“I must prove my worth. That I am more, much more, magnificent than that woman.”

Thankfully, Mirien possessed a mind of exceptional sharpness.

She could grasp, more or less, why the Dominator, Actor, had liberated them. And why he had mingled amongst their kind, inhabiting a human form in this new dimension.

Mirien placed a hand over her heart.

Actor’s gift, her new life.

“He desires ascension, Actor does. He is like me.”

Mirien concluded thus.

The purpose for Dominator Actor to abandon his divinity and don the veil of humanity was not so different from the Reverse Ascent she herself had once dreamt of.

To ascend from this lower plane, in a human body, and become the god of gods.

To ultimately reign as the dominator of all dimensions.

Mirien standing as the Dominator’s consort was inevitable.

Therefore, she needed to offer her support from within.

[Awakened Ones Management Bureau ‘Storm Dragon Tempest’s Subjugation Force Dispatched’… Fate of Ilsan Nest Liberation to Be Decided?]

As fate would have it, Mirien had a fine tool at her disposal.

The group called the Awakened Ones sought to subjugate Storm Dragon Tempest, and Actor was among them.

Coincidentally, Storm Dragon Tempest was currently Mirien’s appendage. A puppet dancing to her tune.

“…Excellent.”

Mirien flashed a knowing smile.

*

Above Ilsan.

“We’re starting to see the nest.”

I lifted my head at Jo Geon-wook’s words.

We were moving via helicopter, and in the distance was the nest I had seen on the news.

One-star calamities were rampant near the nest, and at its center, Storm Dragon Tempest lay coiled, glaring at us.

“…It certainly looks fierce.”

Its size was easily over three meters.

Thankfully, it wasn’t enormously large, despite bearing the name Storm Dragon. Even so, the overwhelming pressure it exuded was undeniable.

Jo Geon-wook wiped the cold sweat from his brow and looked at me.

“Ms. Nam Joo-yeon, our role is support for Squad One. Let’s just keep that in mind.”

“Yes.”

The helicopter slowly descended.

The ground swarmed with Awakened and soldiers, a frenetic hive of activity. Squads 3 and 4, already transported, appeared to be clearing out the calamities near the nest.

No sooner had the helicopter landed than Bureau Chief Yoo Junseo leaped out, full of pep, and yelled,

“Alright! Let’s do this!”

“…That guy, look at that glint in his eye. He’s ready to off someone just to get the last hit. Juyeon, don’t get on his bad side. He’ll ride you hard.”

Jo Geonwook shook his head, looking utterly fed up.

Bureau Chief Yoo Junseo seemed like a man consumed by ambition.

“Anyway, let’s move out.”

Jo Geonwook, along with the other Awakened of Squad 2, including myself, reviewed the operation one last time before entering the dungeon entrance.

[Entering Dungeon: “Storm Dragon’s Nest.”]

A nauseating sensation, like my insides were twisting, accompanied the shift to a sky stained blue.

When Selene had subjugated the nest, I’d only watched from afar at her insistence. This was the first time I’d actually entered the dungeon itself.

Not exactly a pleasant experience.

“…That’s the Storm Dragon?”

The Storm Dragon, Tempestura, had made its nest in a large convention center, which meant the entirety of the nest was visible at a glance.

We found ourselves in the middle of a plaza, facing Tempestura perched atop an office building.

It was a Four-Star Calamity, alright. The sheer size of it, the way it unfurled its wings, created the illusion that its body had doubled in volume.

I wondered how we were supposed to take that down, but thankfully, it was one against many.

“Encircle it!”

The Awakened summoned their respective Calamities, while the soldiers provided supporting fire.

Crystal Spiders spun webs to bind Tempestura’s feet, and Golems with earth-based attributes – a perfect counter – charged towards it.

*Kwaang!*

A deafening roar echoed, and Tempestura’s massive form shuddered.

But instead of falling, it spread its wings wide and gaped its jaws.

[4★ Storm Dragon Tempestura Roars Forward.]

*Kugugugu!*

The ground vibrated beneath our feet.

I scrambled to get out of the way as Tempestura leapt into the air, wreaking havoc on everything around it.

Several soldiers, unable to escape in time, were crushed beneath Tempestura’s wings, instantly becoming corpses.

It had happened so many times now, watching people die right in front of me, but I still couldn’t get used to it.

“…Damn it.”

Truly, a disaster of extraordinary caliber.

Though, we Awakened Ones were no different in summoning calamity.

Especially Unit 1, led by Yoo Jun-seo, with those two 3-Star Disasters at the vanguard, they were remarkably effective.

I, too, raised the faded Wraith, Luciven, to negate Tempestra’s attacks. When the support from Unit 2, including Jo Geon-wook and myself, was added, the Storm Dragon’s movements began to noticeably slow.

“Just a little more!”

Even the faces of the supporting soldiers brightened with color.

Hope that we might subdue the Storm Dragon like this.

Expectations that we might succeed in eliminating a 4-Star Disaster with minimal casualties.

But, as if mocking such aspirations, violet lightning began to coalesce around Tempestra’s form.

“…What?”

The Storm Dragon, Tempestra, was of the celestial attribute.

Simply put, a wind attribute.

Yet, what now clung to Tempestra’s body was unmistakably lightning.

And lightning was also Mirien’s attribute.

[4★ Storm Dragon Tempestra is enraged.]

[4★ Storm Dragon Tempestra is under the effect of “Grace of Mad Lightning”.]

[4★ Storm Dragon Tempestra is afflicted with the state “Rampage”.]

“…You’ve got to be kidding me, for real.”

Grace of Mad Lightning.

I was well acquainted with the skill, as Disaster Order used it often.

A skill that only a handful of Disasters, even among lightning attributes, could learn. The effect was a buff that drastically increased attack power and durability in exchange for sending the target into a violent rampage.

In other words, Tempestra, now imbued with the Grace of Mad Lightning, possessed a level of power utterly beyond what it had displayed just moments before.

‘…How are we supposed to take that down?’

The Storm of the Northern Seas, Mirien, must have meddled with the Storm Dragon, Tempestra.

Moreover, Tempestra didn’t seem to differentiate between friend or foe.

Perhaps I should summon Celene after all.

It was then, as I hesitated, that…

[4★ Storm Dragon Tempestra uses the skill “Howl of the Heavens!”]

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Howl of the Heavens.

Commonly known as Breath.

Just then, Tempestora turned her head in my direction. Instinctively, I yanked the neck of an unknown Awakened beside me, pulling him back and ducking low.

“Ugh!”

Simultaneously, a chilling sensation swept over my head.

A beam of light scoured the area.

Every Calamity in its path was annihilated, and several caught Awakened perished instantly.

“…Ah, ah…”

The Awakened whose life I saved by pulling him back, paled considerably at the devastation Tempestora’s Breath wrought.

He was surely thinking this:

That is not a being human power can overcome.

He wasn’t the only one who thought so.

“aaagh!”

When one person runs, others are bound to follow.

In an instant, the subjugation force began to crumble.