Fired Characters from an Idle Game

50. 5★ The Mother of Ill Omens, Karne – (1)

Before sunrise the next day, the League summoned us.

We hurried to League Headquarters and found the place swarming with Awakened and staff, a stark contrast to the tranquility of yesterday. Even those off-duty seemed to be present. They were busily moving supplies, and their faces were etched with deep anxiety.

I approached Lei Hu, the League’s leader, who was issuing orders with military precision from the center of the activity.

“What’s going on?”

“The Second Camp fell in the early hours of this morning.”

“A camp?”

“…A refugee camp, it is.”

I, too, had gleaned most of the details from Mirien last night. Only Yu Junseo remained, his brow furrowed in confusion, head tilted.

“A refugee camp has fallen… to whom?”

“Who else? The Calamities, of course.”

“…Isn’t that dangerous?”

Of course it was dangerous.

The Second Refugee Camp – in simpler terms, a human bait tower – collapsing meant the Calamities had begun a proper migration.

Calamities never moved of their own volition. Unless deliberately provoked, they nestled down where they were, growing their power and creating dungeons. After a dungeon was formed, the Calamities would occasionally spill out, but never in great numbers.

Which meant instances like today, a mass migration of countless Calamities, were incredibly rare.

Yes.

Almost never, but still, it happened.

[5★ Mirien, Storm of the Northern Sea, casts Skill 「Eye of the Storm」!]

*Ding!*

[5★ Mirien, Storm of the Northern Sea, focuses on 5★ Karne, Mother of Omens!]

[5★ Mirien, Storm of the Northern Sea, discerns Skill 「Mother’s Call」!]

Status windows cascaded through my vision, one after another.

Just as I suspected, Karne, Mother of Omens, had launched a full-scale invasion.

Selene had said Karne could, if she wished, bring Beijing to its knees. Yet she’d chosen to act the day after I arrived in China.

Which meant…

*She was waiting for me, most likely.*

I refused to believe it was coincidence.

Karne possessed a tracking skill aptitude even greater than Mirien’s.

From the moment my feet touched Chinese soil, she’d been following my trail.

*Unintentionally, I seem to have ignited the fuse of China’s destruction.*

From what I’d heard, it was a nation destined to fall to the Calamities regardless, but my actions had undoubtedly hastened its demise. There was no escaping that responsibility.

A pang of conscience gnawed at me.

But this was no time for remorse.

Forcibly pushing those thoughts aside, I clapped Lao Ying on the back.

“Ask Lei Hu. Ask him what we do now.”

Lao Ying put the question to Lei Hu, who, instead of answering, turned his head west with a resolute expression. Lao Ying shrugged.

“That’s the gist of it.”

A declaration of fighting back with everything they had.

“From this moment on, all Awakened affiliated with the Alliance will head to the First Refugee Camp. The Calamities will invariably be drawn to the Camp. Establishing a defensive line there will be far more effective than attempting a defense here in Beijing.”

Lao Ying followed by outlining the operational plan.

Lei Hu glanced at Yu Junseo and me, a flicker of expectation in his eyes.

Different nationalities, yes, but fellow Awakened, S-Class even.

Lei Hu seemed to need our assistance.

“…No other choice, then.”

Truth be told, whether Lei Hu extended the invitation or not, I intended to head west with the Alliance.

Karne, Mother of Ill Omens. The Great Calamity I myself unleashed, so it was my responsibility to contain.

“I will accompany you.”

“Excuse me?”

Lao Ying’s eyes widened at my abrupt declaration. He’d evidently assumed I would abandon the pursuit of Actor and return home.

Of course, Yu Junseo was equally surprised.

“Nam Ju-yeon, this… this isn’t right. What do we care if the Chinks die? The Calamities aren’t going to cross the sea. And even if they do, our country’s small; it’ll be easier to defend….”

“…Well, you’re not wrong.”

Except the problem is, their deaths wouldn’t be entirely unrelated to me.

Karne had begun to move, searching for me, and by unfortunate coincidence, her location was here in Beijing.

But the truth was not an option. I offered a convenient excuse.

“I can’t simply turn a blind eye to the imminent deaths of so many. Let’s do what we can.”

Every Awakened within the Alliance headquarters turned their gaze toward me simultaneously.

Even those who, until yesterday, had regarded me with suspicion as a Korean Awakened, now looked at me with admiring expressions, as if beholding a hero.

“….”

I wish they wouldn’t look at me like that.

It makes me feel like a bad kid.

*

‘Shit, shiiiiit.’

Slumped in the van’s rear seat, Yoo Jun-seo cursed inwardly.

How had things come to this?

Nothing was going according to plan.

This whole trip to China had been Nam Joo-yeon’s decision from the start. Yoo Jun-seo, thinking he was finally being treated as an equal S-Class Awakened, had followed along, thrilled.

But what in the world was happening now?

“We’ll be arriving soon. The Raven armies are approximately 70 kilometers from the detention center.”

An Awakened, seemingly of Chinese descent, briefed Yoo Jun-seo.

He didn’t want to hear it.

The reality crashing down upon him.

Defending against outbreaks in South Korea wasn’t difficult. But the situation in China was on a completely different level than Seoul. The tallied number of calamities alone was in the tens of thousands. Even worse, three of them were ranked as 4-Star disasters.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Awakened Federation, after scraping everyone together, barely numbered a thousand. That meant each person had to handle at least ten calamities, practically a suicide mission.

‘Nam Joo-yeon, that son of a b*tch…’

Yoo Jun-seo scowled, mentally chewing out Nam Joo-yeon, who was probably riding in the vehicle right behind them.

He couldn’t understand Nam Joo-yeon as a human being at all.

During the tower raid, he’d acted heroically. But a few weeks later, he started blackmailing the government, manipulating them as he pleased.

One moment he seemed like a hero, the next a villain. In Yoo Jun-seo’s eyes, Nam Joo-yeon was someone you could never figure out which tune to dance to.

But one thing was certain.

‘Still, the results were always good.’

What Nam Joo-yeon did might seem reckless at first glance, but ultimately it always led to the best possible outcome.

Could it be that his offer to assist the Chinese Federation wasn’t just pointless meddling, but an action with its own hidden agenda?

‘I don’t know. I just need to stick to that guy like glue.’

There was only one way. Yoo Jun-seo intended to leech off Nam Joo-yeon.

Better a well-fed mosquito than a starving butterfly.

Just as Yoo Jun-seo was steeling his resolve…

Kugugugu.

The road vibrated. The Awakened in the passenger seat spoke into his radio, then his face filled with surprise.

“Um, what’s the situation?”

“Well… the S-Class Awakened who came with us suddenly got out of the moving car and flew away on a dragon….”

“…What?”

At those words, Yoo Jun-seo frantically leaned out the car window.

Tempestra, the Storm Dragon, soared effortlessly, immense wings spread wide.

“…That, that son of a… is he…”

Deserting?

Leaving me behind?

“….”

Yoo Junseo felt his old ailment flare.

*

[4★ Storm Dragon Tempestra is casting Skill「Flight」.]

The sensation of flying through smog-choked skies wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Fortunate thing, though, that I’d ridden the Storm Dragon’s back during Mirien’s rampage last time. Instead of panicking, I gripped Tempestra’s scales tightly with my left hand and manipulated the status window with the other.

[5★ Scorched Saintess Selene is summoned.]

“Master, you called?”

“You can see the situation, right? We’re heading to Karne at full speed from here on out. If those Calamities consider us hostile and come charging, I need you to intercept them.”

“…Isn’t it rather dangerous, Master, to penetrate the enemy lines alone?”

“Dangerous? Of course, it’s dangerous.”

But I don’t have the luxury of leisurely drives with the Awakened of the Alliance.

Even now, Karne’s cohorts are advancing on the human bait tower, every second.

I need to get there first and sort things out, to minimize unnecessary sacrifices.

Though my altruistic actions didn’t seem to sit well with Selene.

“This lowly one cannot fathom why Master cherishes such base creatures. But… it is Master’s command, and so, instead of questioning it, I shall follow with my life on the line.”

Selene raised her Ember Wedge Sword. The flames clinging to the sword, bound to the Sacred Flame Imprint, blazed with a golden light.

Soon, the hordes of ominous birds, blackening the sky, came into view.

[5★ Mirien, Tempest of the Northern Sea, is watching you.]

Kilometers away, high above, Mirien was observing the situation through magic.

Even if those ominous birds attacked, as long as Karne herself didn’t come, we wouldn’t be in danger.

[2★ Remnants of the Ominous Bird Swarm disperse.]

But, making all the preparations pale in comparison, Karne’s forces didn’t attack us.

Instead, the Calamities parted to the sides, following Tempestra’s path, clearing a way for us.

A sight reminiscent of the parting of the Red Sea. Like a black ocean splitting asunder.

“Looks like Karne wants to meet me, too.”

“…Lord, you mustn’t stray from my side.”

The storm dragon, Tempest, slowed its pace even further, while Selene, still gripping her wedge sword, remained poised for any engagement.

How long had we traversed this path paved with crows?

[5★ Mother of Ill Omens, Karne, is watching you!]

“Actor.”

“….”

“You’ve come a long way, it seems.”

Finally, I stood face to face with the third 5-star Calamity I had abandoned: Karne, Mother of Ill Omens.

Soundlessly, she hovered, her lips curled into a faintly acrid smile.

“…Child. This humble, wretched mother has so much she wishes to say to you.”

At the very least, the emotion Karne held for me now was far from goodwill.

[5★ Mother of Ill Omens, Karne, casts Skill: “Ebony Swarm.”]

The pair of wings attached to her waist began to gleam with an even deeper black.