Fired Characters from an Idle Game

48. The Continent’s Spirit – (1)

“Absolutely not! You’re telling me two S-class awakeners are abandoning Korea in one fell swoop?”

Predictably, the government was in an uproar.

Two awakeners, essentially the linchpin of Seoul’s defense, leaving for a foreign land – China, of all places, a country currently steeped in unsettling rumors – it was understandable they’d object.

However.

“Does the government even have the authority to control awakeners? Isn’t that all under the Association’s purview?”

The groundwork had already been laid in secret.

With the Awakener Special Act abolished, the government no longer had any means to bind us.

In the end, their solution was appeasement.

“No, even so, if anything were to happen to the two of you, the pride of the Republic of Korea, in China, the nation would be imperiled! Please, for the sake of the country, make the right choice…”

“Nothing will happen. Don’t worry your head. We’ll be back before the next Outbreak begins, without fail.”

I’d roughly estimated this venture would take about a week.

With Mirien’s tracing magic, finding Karine herself shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Besides, if the country is going to crumble just because two people disappear, then is it even worthy of being called a country? Moreover, what did the state offer to the awakeners in the last Outbreak? You saw us fend it off independently, without any casualties, didn’t you?”

“U-uh, well…”

My pointed retort left the government official scrambling for words.

Yoo Junseo glanced back and forth between me and the man, offering a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head.

“Nam Jooyeon-ssi, but that was supposed to be *my* line…”

“It hardly matters.”

I picked up the receiver.

Before leaving for China with Yoo Junseo, there was one more person we needed to bring. Locating him wasn’t a challenge. Kang Sena had already pinpointed his whereabouts.

A short while later, I grinned as I watched the man being forcibly dragged in, looking for all the world like a common criminal.

“W-why are you taking me!?”

“Because you know China better than anyone else.”

Chinese scout, codename Lao Ying.

“We needed someone familiar with the situation in China. You know it best, don’t you? Isn’t that right?”

“W-well…”

Lao Ying reluctantly nodded.

And so, the three of us boarded the chartered flight.

If it were up to me, I would have brought Selene and Mirien along as well, but there were eyes watching. I planned to summon them once we reached the Chinese mainland, when the need arose.

“But, Ms. Joo-yeon Nam, do you really think the government will just sit by? What if they use something like a surface-to-air missile to shoot down the plane…?”

Yoo Joon-seo seemed uneasy.

“That won’t happen.”

There’s no way the government would pull off something so reckless.

It’s not like I’m flying alone. I brought a safety net, Yoo Joon-seo. Like I said earlier, the government isn’t foolish enough to kill two S-Class Awakened, the core of Seoul’s defense, just for the sake of power.

Besides, I’m wearing a Five-Star Defense Gear right now, and just in case, Mire-in and Selene have their eyes wide open. There’s no way I’m going to die.

“You know, I’ve actually never flown before?”

“Didn’t know, and didn’t exactly need to.”

“Oh, uh… Sorry.”

Soon, the plane took off, and while making small talk with Yoo Joon-seo, I turned my gaze to Lao Ying.

With two S-Classes right in front of him, he was shrinking like a mouse before a cat.

“So, Mr. Scout.”

“Yes! Y-yes!”

“What’s the current situation in China? Is it much different from what I heard a few weeks ago?”

At my question, Lao Ying scratched the back of his head with a troubled look before opening his mouth.

“Actually, the thing is, it’s impossible to even collect detailed data on the situation itself.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“An order came down from the Party a week ago. Each of the twenty-two provinces were told to find their own way to survive…”

“…A Warring States period, huh.”

“Yes. Something like that. The Awakened Federation that manages China’s Awakened has also become half-defunct, and the Awakened who belonged to it have fled to the provinces, with the exception of a few loyal individuals. Some have even fled to India, Russia, or Mongolia.”

“Is the situation in China really that bad?”

“With such a large population, there seem to be many calamities erupting from the Rifts. The Crow Calamities have also increased, and half of Hebei Province has fallen into their hands. It’s no longer a situation that a single nation can handle.”

“Heh.”

The Grand Calamity, the Omen Mother Carne, who I released, was wreaking havoc in China quite spectacularly.

One could call it the Taiping Rebellion of the 21st century.

“Ms. Joo-yeon Nam, we’re going to China to chase after Actor, the Master of the Abyss, right? Then does that mean all the chaos happening in China is Actor’s doing?”

Yoo Joon-seo, who had been listening to the conversation, added a word.

I gave a wry smile and replied.

“Yeah, well. It’s not an inaccurate guess.”

Rather, it was a sharp one.

*

Where black wings passed, no living thing remained.

Such was always the way where Karne, Mother of Ill Omens, laid her hand.

The ground swam with the stench of death, and rivers of blood flowed together, coalescing into Karne’s brood.

“My children. Let us stain the world with our feathers.”

Karne, Mother of Ill Omens, offered a faint smile, caressing the lips hidden beneath her veil.

Long ago, she had abandoned all lingering attachments.

Karne was not so strong as to cling to severed ties. The titles of Mother of Life, Mother of All, had long since become objects of scorn.

Forsaken even by Actor, her last refuge, Karne was left with only the instinct for ruin.

“….”

—That was the moment.

From somewhere, a feeling both unfamiliar and familiar flickered.

It was small, faint, but a sensation she could never miss.

Karne possessed the most developed senses of all great calamities.

Her bright yellow eyes narrowed with an unsettling sharpness. Her vertically slit pupils turned eastward.

“Actor, my child, you have finally come to your mother.”

Her voice was low, gentle, yet laced with an emotion that could not be concealed.

She had anticipated his arrival.

But not now.

“Intriguing.”

This place was utterly steeped in death.

A place none dared approach.

The very reason Karne had unleashed the curse of ill omens was to keep Actor away.

And yet, that man, her tiresome child, had come to find her.

“…Actor.”

Not yet fully within reach, but a presence she would soon confront.

Her former master, now merely a mortal.

The corners of Karne’s lips slowly turned upward.

Licking her lips, she raised a hand, and the flock of crows, her brood, that had been huddled around her, took flight.

Feeling no small measure of amusement, Karne murmured quietly.

“Alright. Let’s hear this story of yours.”

A dark crimson energy began to simmer, to bloom at her fingertips.

Karne had no intention of waiting.

She would simply go there herself.

And, her bare feet began to move lightly, towards the east.

*

The flight itself didn’t take long.

Arriving at Shoudu International Airport, stepping down from the private plane, we couldn’t help but be met with a disconcerting atmosphere.

“Has China always been this deserted?”

“The airport has been closed for two months now. In truth, besides cargo planes, you two are the only customers.”

“Let’s get the facts straight. There are three of us, including you.”

Lao Ying’s face crumpled.

Pathetic, the way he was trying to worm his way out. I grabbed the scruff of his thick neck and steered him toward the crowd waiting at the airport.

Before I could even open my mouth, a man stepped forward from the group.

I could tell, as he was also an Awakened.

That man was an Awakened.

“…That guy, is he seriously an S-class?”

“Yes… he’s an Awakened who recently became an S-class. His code name is Lei Hu.”

“Lei Hu, huh? I don’t like the looks of him.”

I frowned.

Lei Hu had the look of a common thug, to put it mildly.

A closely shaved head, a square jaw, and a thick, unkempt beard.

Appearances have meaning. I had experience with this.

Nailgun, who I met during the first Outbreak, Han Tae-gun during the second, and then Jeon Tae-min, whom I met in Daejeon.

I manipulated my Status Window, preparing to summon the Rock Crusher. Yu Jun-seo tensed up as well.

Finally, the Awakened, Lei Hu, reached us and began to speak. I couldn’t understand it, the cursed language that was Chinese, but from his heated tone and forceful pronunciation, I could tell that he was expressing hostility towards us.

“Hey, what’s that numbskull babbling about with his mala spice breath?”

Lao Ying glanced warily at us, then asked cautiously,

“Ah, ahaha.”

Lao Ying, with an awkward smile, conveyed what he’d heard to us, verbatim.

“You have worked hard to travel so far. My Awakened name is Lei Hu. As the representative of the China Awakened Alliance, I’ve come to welcome you both. May this meeting lead to a good *yuanfen*.”

“I told you not to interpret, didn’t I.”

“Ah, no! That’s really what he said, truly!”

Lao Ying pleaded desperately, and I, frowning, observed the Awakened, Lei Hu, before me. He offered a handshake with a faint smile, saying something.

“It is an honor to meet the heroes of Korea in person. I hope you will graciously accept my inadequate guidance.”

Lei Hu’s eyes were filled with respect for us.

“…Huh.”

He was a *dage*.