Fired Characters from an Idle Game

27. Tower Assault – (3)

Mirien possessed a memory more precious than anything else.

The memory of embracing a new life within the crack’s embrace, for the first time.

Before her stood the ruler, Actor – an omnipotent being, nearly divine.

Though a mask obscured his face, the azure glow emanating from within hinted at his gaze.

*He desires me,* she realized.

Actor’s gaze differed from that of the mage who sought to cleave Mirien’s limbs, implanting mana stones for use as a test subject.

His was a gaze of utmost gentleness.

Ruler Actor extended a hand.

Though intangible, Mirien could feel a warmth through the frigid gauntlet.

[Ruler of the Crack ‘Actor’ gifts the 5★ North Sea Tempest Mirien with a 5☆ Thrumming Moon’s Heart.]

An artificial heart, a gift from Actor.

Mirien was granted a new reprieve from her fleeting life.

Life within the crack was agreeable. Here, no one oppressed Mirien. No one betrayed her. No one blamed her sins.

Thus, Mirien found new solace beneath Ruler Actor’s wing.

Then, one day, an indefinable emotion sprouted within a corner of Mirien’s heart.

She possessed a keen intellect.

It did not take long to define this feeling as *love.*

For Mirien, born and raised as a soulless machine, the emotion of love was infinitely precious.

Yet, she could reveal this feeling to no one.

It was something Ruler Actor would not desire, and would ultimately throw the dimension within the crack into chaos.

But even if unrevealed, she wanted to protect it.

This feeling of love.

The young maiden Mirien’s unwavering devotion toward Ruler Actor.

And that conviction remained even after Mirien was exiled from the crack and cast into a new dimension.

She built a tower.

A stairway to heaven, for when Actor would newly reign.

She tamed a storm dragon.

To save Actor, fallen to human status, from danger.

She killed people.

All of them were dangerous elements who sought to harm Actor.

She formed an organization for ascension.

To be a great driving force when Actor held the world beneath his feet.

But Mirienne’s efforts were thoroughly betrayed.

Actor chose the sun-scorched Saint Celine.

She was indignant, but not despairing.

Celine would be a better vassal to attend to Actor than she, burdened by her own petty emotions.

And so, Mirienne endured.

However, for Actor, she was nothing more than an obstacle.

[S-Rank Awakened Protagonist, Actor, Declares Raid on Yeouido Tower]

Not long ago, when she killed the group that sought to harm Actor in Daejeon, she had seen it.

The Overlord Actor planned to conquer her tower.

Planned to kill her.

‘No, that can’t be.’

It couldn’t be.

Why would Actor want to kill her?

She was accustomed to being discarded, having experienced it before, but being treated as a hindrance in his life…that she couldn’t stand.

He could be cruel. He could ignore her. He could be angry or violent, she wouldn’t care.

But a death sentence from Actor was something she could not bear, not even in death.

‘A mistake, there must be some mistake.’

Mirienne chose denial.

But moments ago, she had heard.

She had heard him.

‘It will be too late after that Tower erupts. Countless citizens will die. There will be a great disaster in the heart of Seoul, and I cannot stand by and watch it happen. At any cost, I will eliminate this potential threat.’

Beneath the Tower, Actor had declared his campaign to the entire world.

From Actor’s lips, she had heard the words “potential threat.”

She had even heard the declaration of elimination.

Mirienne could no longer run from reality.

[Intruder detected in Dungeon “Tower of Reversal”.]

[Activate defense systems.]

The system, in its dry, emotionless tone, strongly urged Mirienne to eliminate the intruder.

But she did not heed its recommendation.

How could she, with her own hands, kill Actor, the ruler who had gifted her with a new life?

She waited for him, seated in the chair.

“…”

At long last, Ruler Actor—no, Nam Jooyeon—arrived at the tower’s summit.

Mirien lifted her head, drinking in his appearance.

The bare face behind the mask, the one she had longed to see, was before her.

But instead of elation, despair surged through her.

“—Actor.”

Actor was there, before her.

The being she had yearned for so deeply.

The name she had whispered in her dreams, as if gathering blood-soaked hands in prayer.

But the moment that name left her lips, her heart ached.

Fear and rage rose within her, hand in hand.

“…Why?”

Mirien managed to speak, her voice trembling.

“Are you… trying to kill me?”

Actor did not answer her question.

She wanted to hear his voice.

To hear him call her name.

Yet, at the same time, she was utterly terrified.

That he would say he came to kill her.

That she was nothing but an obstacle.

That vision of Actor rose unbidden in her mind.

“…Hngh.”

She told herself it couldn’t be.

And yet, Actor had arrived at this place, and just moments before, had declared his intent to kill her.

No matter how hard she shook her head to deny it, her body reacted first.

The lightning bolts that danced around her began to churn wildly.

With each beat of her heart, the electricity within her pulsed, and her blood felt as though it was boiling, rushing in reverse.

Mirien’s chaotic thoughts naturally formed a conclusion of their own.

“Was it Selene, who spoke?”

Mirien knew it in her gut.

The cause of all this unease, this torment, was that woman beside Actor.

That sun-kissed saint, Selene, was pulling her away from Actor.

Whispering lies, using his hand to try and kill her.

“That witch…she’s trying to separate us?”

If so, the task was simple.

Her lips felt parched, a tingling sensation spreading from her fingertips.

Before Actor could eliminate her.

First—

“Mirien, hear me out. It’s a misunderstanding.”

Actor said something, but she couldn’t hear it anymore.

He was even speaking so warmly with Selene, right there beside him. The entire tower was Mirien’s eye. Nothing here could escape her gaze.

“…”

In the end, Mirien could no longer observe herself objectively.

Slowly, she rose from her seat.

A natural manifestation of mana.

Her feet floated gently above the floor.

“Actor, why did you…”

Mirien opened her mouth.

Inside, she wanted to plead and beg.

But the words that came out were different.

“Why do you… hate me so much?”

Her voice trembled.

A piercing sense of deprivation gripped her heart.

“…I…I didn’t want this.”

If Actor truly intended to kill her—

[5★ Mirien, Storm of the Northern Sea, activates 「Grace of Thunderstrike」.]

Then why, tell me why.

Why had she deluded herself into thinking Actor needed her, until now?

*

“Lord, fall back!”

Before I could even speak, Selene had already taken the lead.

“No, if we just clear up the misunderstanding…”

“That’s pointless. Mirien is no longer listening to reason. That wench is currently a force of nature. A walking calamity in human form.”

“What?”

“The same skill we used on the Storm Dragon.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Selene swung the Emberforged Wedgeblade.

This wasn’t a preemptive strike.

Already a sphere of lightning had appeared in the sky, plummeting toward the ground.

Selene skillfully manipulated flames, disintegrating the sphere. Electricity rippled outwards, a searing heat assaulting my face.

“…Ugh.”

“Lord, withdraw. We need to sever one of her limbs, at the very least, to calm that addle-brained mage.”

“…No, even if you say that!”

This is simply a misunderstanding.

Of course, I did declare my intention to conquer the Tower, but that was merely a show to divert the public’s attention.

I’ve been desperately trying to explain the truth since a while ago, but Mirien wasn’t listening.

No, it would be more accurate to say she *couldn’t* hear me.

“…The Blessing of Mad Lightning.”

I saw the black lightning coursing through Mirien’s body.

The same buff skill we used on the Storm Dragon, Tempestra, during the Ilsan Nest subjugation.

The effect, as I’d witnessed before, was an explosive increase in stats.

But the penalty was also severe.

Berserk.

Meaning Mirien was currently in a state of irrationality, just like during the Storm Dragon subjugation.

“…Ha.”

Why is it that everyone around me is so utterly unhinged?

Is it my fault for expecting reasonable judgment from calamities who have brought worlds to ruin?

[5★ Scorched Saint Selene is casting Skill 「Inferno Caldera」.]

[5★ North Sea Tempest Mirien is casting Skill 「Black Lightning Spear」.]

At long last, Celine’s crimson flames and Mirien’s pitch-black lightning collided.

A shockwave, immense and brutal, erupted.

Even from a distance, both feet were lifted from the floor.

I was sent flying, helpless, tumbling across the ground…

*Thud!*

“Ugh!”

Slamming my head against a tower pillar, I lost consciousness immediately.

*

The first thing I felt upon regaining awareness was searing pain.

Followed by a scorching heat.

“…Hngh.”

I fought back the throbbing ache that coursed through the back of my head and raised my head.

My entire body felt like it was on fire.

It wasn’t a delusion. A woman with ash-grey hair, engulfed in flames, stood before me.

“Celine?”

“Yes. Celine, your lord’s loyal vassal. Are you alright?”

“Well, not too bad.”

Celine breathed a sigh of relief at my words. It seemed she had been watching over me this entire time.

I collected myself and asked,

“What happened?”

“As you witnessed, there was a slight… disagreement with Mirien.”

“Don’t tell me you killed her?”

“I could not bring myself to it. This is the magi-weaver’s territory, and my strength appears insufficient. Though, I did not lose.”

Celine placed particular emphasis on that final phrase.

One had to acknowledge her competitive spirit, I suppose.

I rubbed the back of my head and assessed Celine’s condition, frowning deeply.

“Um…you’re sure you’re alright?”

“I am fine.”

Celine nodded as if it were nothing. However, I couldn’t help but notice that her nun’s habit was even more tattered than before.

And that was not all. I realized that lightning-shaped scars, worse than burns, remained etched upon her body.

“No, you don’t seem alright. Wouldn’t it be better to recover? Let’s return to the base, for now…”

“That will not be necessary, my Lord.”

Selene cut him off mid-sentence.

It was unprecedented, her interrupting him like that.

“…While I concede that my current state is not precisely…optimal, as you worry, it is, nevertheless, superior to the situation outside.”

“Outside situation?”

Selene took a single step to the side.

Thanks to that, the view from the tower’s highest floor came into focus.

Blackened scorch marks and traces of lightning-like energy were etched everywhere. But even more captivating was the panorama beyond the tower walls.

“…Madness.”

Across the entire expanse of Seoul, storm clouds had gathered, unleashing a deluge of rain that threatened to drown the city.

Only then did his gaze flick to the status window hovering before him.

[The Dungeon ‘Tower of Reversed Heaven’ is Erupting.]

“…This is utterly screwed.”

“Precisely as you say.”

Selene offered a wry smile.