Fired Characters from an Idle Game

8. I Gave You Everything – (1)

[5★ Scourged Saint Selene has returned from the expedition.]

[Reward: 20 Exp / 4★ Hellfire Warhound]

The status window recited the rewards in a dry, emotionless tone.

I received a 4-star Disaster, the Hellfire Warhound, but I felt no joy.

Of course, it was a good thing to have another valuable asset to defend my stronghold.

The problem lay in the process.

‘Just… why did she have to kill him…?’

Firstly, Selene dispatched the Hellfire Warhound with a single blow.

Disaster Orders have inherent attributes assigned to each Disaster, and attacks between Disasters of the same attribute are halved in damage. Typically, to capture a fire-attribute Disaster like the Hellfire Warhound, it’s best to deploy a Disaster with a favorable elemental advantage.

However, Scourged Saint Selene’s attacks, due to a unique property, inflict damage at 1x effectiveness regardless of elemental advantage. Moreover, she was decked out in gear of the highest caliber. There was no way she’d struggle against a 4-star Disaster considered a dud, like the Hellfire Warhound.

Therefore, I hadn’t anticipated that this expedition would end in failure.

And it hadn’t.

The problem arose after the Hellfire Warhound was vanquished.

“Damn it.”

How did things end up like this?

News reports, as one, were obsessed, fixated on those two syllables: ‘Actor,’ relentlessly pursuing the story.

It all started a few hours ago, with a video leaked by someone.

It was footage from the action cameras worn by Awakened soldiers accompanying the Hellfire Warhound subjugation, and it clearly captured a woman.

None other than Selene.

She killed the Hellfire Warhound with a flick of her wrist, a creature dozens of Awakened couldn’t fell.

Then, she plunged a wedge-shaped sword into the chest of a Level 5 civil servant. Even with the mosaic, it was so brutal that the video was taken down as soon as it appeared online.

“…Selene.”

“Yes.”

When I called her name, she kneeled before me, lifting her head slightly.

A clear look of anticipation shone in her eyes.

She looked like a pet dog eager for praise.

If I let this pass without a word of commendation, something disastrous might happen, so I quickly added,

“Um… first of all, good work.”

“It was nothing. It was all for the sake of my Lord.”

She spoke those words, but Selene’s narrow shoulders were trembling with elation.

I cleared my throat, cutting to the chase.

“Selene, I need to ask you something. Why did you… kill him?”

“I am sorry, Master. I sullied the precious sword you gifted me with filthy blood.”

“That’s not the point…”

I looked at Selene.

There wasn’t a hint of guilt in her eyes. In fact, Selene in the recording hadn’t hesitated in the slightest to kill.

She seemed to think it was the right thing to do.

“That man tried to sway me. It was a vile enticement. As one who serves Master, I had to sever his wicked hand in one swift stroke.”

“Okay, fine. All well and good. But you could have just refused, why did you have to kill him?”

“Refusal leaves open the possibility of further persuasion. But the dead have no voice. That is all. Also, they were all potential enemies of Master. I have a duty to eliminate all threats for Master’s sake.”

“Selene, we don’t usually consider civilians to be threats.”

“I apologize, Master. But what is a civilian?”

“…”

I gave up on explaining to Selene how bad killing was.

In truth, in this world where the game had become reality, ethics might be meaningless.

Wasn’t it commonplace to carry around calamities capable of killing many people, with the government’s blessing?

“…”

Meanwhile, Selene was looking at me with guileless eyes.

She had definitely asked for a chance to atone with her life, hadn’t she?

I didn’t know why Selene was so loyal to me, or why she clung to me so desperately.

In some ways, it was frightening.

But one thing was certain, if I rejected her again, it wouldn’t end well.

Loyalty can turn into hatred easily enough.

I didn’t want to end up like that man in the video, skewered on a wedge sword, becoming a human tanghulu.

‘This is awkward.’

Honestly, that man who died this time? A complete stranger. I might feel a twinge of guilt, but I wouldn’t have nightmares.

The only problem here was this.

“Alright. Let’s move past this too. But Selene, just one question.”

“Speak, Master.”

“Why did you say my name?”

“….”

The problem was, Selene had brazenly spoken the name ‘Actor,’ the Dominator, before the cameras.

And the government, along with the media and the public, magnified her declaration.

That Actor, the master of the fifth-tier Abyss dungeon, was sending Hellfire Hounds to wreak havoc upon the world.

‘Come to think of it, she’s not entirely wrong?’

Firstly, it’s true I am the master of the Abyss, and the Hellfire Hounds were a calamity contained within it. Furthermore, it was I who tasked Selene with retrieving them.

The sight of Selene subduing the Hellfire Hounds was as effortless as calling back a runaway dog, so it’s understandable that an outsider might draw such a conclusion.

However, because of Selene’s statement, I’ve become trapped in this awkward position.

‘It’s not like I can just walk into the district office and announce I’m Actor.’

I heard the voluntary Awakened registration period is coming to an end.

They’ve even created a special investigations unit to hunt down unregistered Awakened ones; if things continue like this, I won’t be able to set foot outside.

Letting out a deep sigh, Selene hesitantly replied.

“The reason I dared to speak the name of our Lord… well… there is a reason for it.”

“And what is that reason?”

“…A message.”

“A message?”

“For them.”

“…For them?”

“The Dominator has nothing to worry about.”

Selene abruptly lowered her head, as if she couldn’t say anymore.

I’ve ascertained, through her past actions and words, that she is willing to lay down her life for me. She’d probably commit suicide if I ordered her to.

If someone like her is saying this, then there must be a valid reason.

“Alright. I won’t ask further.”

“Thank you. My Lord, I pledge my life…”

Selene rattled on, but frankly, it was making me uncomfortable, so I pulled up my status window and started tinkering.

＜Stronghold of the Dominator ‘Actor’＞

[ Calamities Held 2/10 ]

[ Experience Points Held: 3395 Exp ]

[ Equipment Held 3/20 ]

Now that the Hellfire Hounds had been gathered, I could issue commands for general stronghold management, including expeditions.

I set the hellhound as a guardian for the stronghold, and Selene I assigned to the adjutant slot.

Even if calamities spewed from the rifts should invade the Abyss, with these two, I should be relatively safe.

‘Relatively, that is.’

Currently, four five-star Calamities held sway in this world.

One was Selene, standing before my very eyes. Another, Mirien, had made her abode in Yeouido. The remaining two were of unknown whereabouts, but likely they had established their own dungeons somewhere in the world.

And Mirien, like Selene, was a five-star Calamity. Equipped with gear of the highest tier, if they invaded the Abyss, even Selene would have to brace herself for death.

“The most immediate threat right now… is still Mirien, I suppose.”

Mirien of the Northern Sea Storms.

A five-star Calamity of the lightning attribute.

A fiendish sorceress who sought to ascend to the heavens through magic, using millions of innocent humans as components.

There was no guarantee that Mirien, having been dismissed by me, would maintain the same loyalty as Selene.

However, if I could manage to bring even Mirien into our stronghold, following Selene, no one in this nation would dare to lay a hand on me.

“Selene.”

“Yes.”

“What are your thoughts on Mirien?”

“…Why, do you ask such a question?”

“Well, I was thinking, if you two got along, perhaps a visit to the Tower to have a chat might be possible…”

“That is not possible.”

“… .”

Selene expressed a firm refusal for the first time.

Within her crimson eyes, crimson-tinged flames flickered.

Selene launched into an impassioned speech.

“Mirien, that woman is wicked, violent, and ungrateful.”

“…Was she really that bad?”

“The other two are the same. Their natures are all terribly wicked. Moreover, the fact that they remain silent despite knowing that Master is alive and well is, in itself, betrayal. They deserve to be torn limb from limb.”

“… .”

Weren’t you all…comrades?

In the game, I seem to recall you interacting amicably at the cabins in front of the stronghold.

I realized here and now that the relationships between my characters in the game were not so good.

A red truth I didn’t want to know.

“Then, putting aside the subjugation of Mirienne for now….”

Selené lifted one corner of her mouth at my musing.

It was a subtly twisted smile, but I forced myself to ignore it.

“We’ll need to harvest some Calamities first, wouldn’t you say.”

[Calamity Inventory: 2/10]

Only two Calamities in my possession at the moment.

To Synthesize or Enhance them, I’d need at least five. That’s why I was planning an expedition to bring back some new ones.

‘I’ll have to explore some Dungeons.’

The Calamities that survived the initial Outbreak had each nested in a safe place.

When a strong Calamity made its nest, it attracted others, eventually forming what was known as a Dungeon. Just like this Abyss where I resided.

“Seoul has mostly been cleared, but there must still be Dungeons remaining outside the city.”

Seoul, being a densely populated city, had a large number of Awakeners, but the provinces weren’t so fortunate.

A vast area, but few people to defend it.

Just looking at the news, you could see countless stories of the devastating damage inflicted in the provinces.

In any case, even if they were only 1-Star level, I needed to harvest Calamities to develop our base.

“Selené, prepare to leave.”

“Where are we going?”

“Hmm…. A trip.”

“A t-trip, just the two of us?”

“…Wouldn’t you think so?”

“Ugh.”

At my words, Selené let out a small moan.

I ignored that as well.

*

Following the emergence of Selené, the Scorched Saint, the strongest Calamity I’d ever encountered, the establishment of the Awakener Management Bureau accelerated considerably.

The Awakener Management Bureau, or the Bureau for short, was primarily composed of Awakeners who had voluntarily registered and showed particularly strong growth potential. The soldiers who had participated in the previous Hellhound subjugation were also transferred to the Bureau.

Finally, Yoo Junseo was appointed as the Director, and as the inaugural Director, he received a considerable amount of perks. He was granted complete control over this enormous site.

“Anyway, as this is our first meeting, I hope you will all take it seriously.”

Thus began the first meeting of the newly established Bureau.

The Prime Minister, acting as the chair, wore a troubled expression as he turned on the projector.

There, Selene was depicted, vividly, in the act of killing.

Every face tightened.

“Actor, the Ruler of the Abyss. What are your thoughts?”

The Prime Minister’s question drew individual responses.

“Isn’t he likely the one who brought the world to this state?”

A reasonable conjecture.

“Is there perhaps a chance he’s an Awakened?”

“An Awakened?”

Yu Junseo frowned at the soldier’s words.

Everyone gathered here, save for the Prime Minister, was an Awakened, a Ruler, someone who had experienced the Fracture’s eruption firsthand.

“If there’s already someone with a Rank 5 Calamity, that’s using cheat codes. No different from the guy who’s already trashed the world.”

“…Is it that severe?”

“Yes. That’s how severe it is.”

Yu Junseo answered the Prime Minister’s query.

He had seen it clearly.

The incomprehensible power of the Rank 5 Calamity, the Scorched Saintess.

It was something that could be called authority without exaggeration.

“And if he was Awakened, he would have self-reported. Is there an Awakened named Actor on the list?”

“I already looked, but he wasn’t there. Though he could be one of the ones who hasn’t reported yet…”

“That’s unlikely. Why would someone with that much power become the government’s lapdog? He’s someone who can face the world alone.”

“…Hmm.”

The Prime Minister, his face darkening, stared at Selene in the projector and spoke.

“Then what must we do?”

Mobilizing national defense would not kill a Calamity.

Grim news was circulating that in China, three Rank 4 Calamities had burned down an entire city.

Merely three Rank 4 Calamities killed hundreds of thousands. How powerful, then, must a Rank 5 be? If that Calamity turned Seoul into a sea of fire…

“We must cultivate the Awakened as much as possible.”

Breaking the silence, Jo Geonwook, one of the Awakened, spoke.

He was an Awakened who had succeeded in capturing the Rank 2 Calamity, the Moss Hunter.

“I hear that outside of Seoul, they’re still unable to handle the erupted Calamities. We must have the Awakened subdue them to increase their strength. Enough to face that witch.”

“…That makes sense. Then let us proceed as such. I shall cooperate with my local government to somehow carve out a path.”

The meeting came to a close.

However, a few days later, they were forced to hear shocking news from a local municipality.

“…What? The Calamities? Someone killed them all?”

“…Huh?”

Who in the world?