I Became the Patron of Villains

186. Grainif (2)

In the southern part of the continent, there is a small duchy called Barnos with a total of five territories.

Although its area is larger than the Duchy of Luxible, most of it is mountainous, so no industry has developed.

It barely survives with various coal mines.

The 7th king of Barnos, ‘Barnos Kinoor,’ stared blankly ahead.

What unfolded before his eyes.

The scene of a massacre.

Soldiers and knights alike were all torn apart and left in a mess.

Outside the broken inner wall, the capital city was engulfed in flames.

The corpse of an old man burning.

The corpse of a child who fell bleeding.

The corpse of a young man who had half of his upper body torn off while trying to resist caught his eye.

Corpses torn apart as if attacked by a monster, not a human.

But Kinoor knew.

The one who caused this disaster was not a monster-

“See- it would have been better if you had listened, right?”

The fact that it was an intelligent being.

Kinoor turned his trembling head to the side.

Before he knew it, a man had approached right in front of him.

A man with endlessly cheerful-looking, dark gray hair and gray eyes.

“……”

Kinoor involuntarily swallowed his breath.

It wasn’t because of the man’s appearance.

It was because of the man’s eyes.

Eyes that seemed to hold nothing.

Eyes that were entirely dark gray, without pupils.

They seemed to be telling him that this man was not an ordinary person.

No – the being in front of him was not human.

Though it had the form of a human.

This being was not human.

“Are you telling me to listen to what you have to say?”

“Yes. If you had gone out quietly, this wouldn’t have happened to you.”

“…You said you would kill them all…!”

Kinoor gritted his teeth and shouted.

He knew it too.

The man in front of him was someone who could easily trample on his life.

Yet, Kinoor did not bend his pride.

No matter how small his principality was, he was still a king.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t pride.

It was just the desperate struggle of someone who had lost everything.

Because he had nothing more to lose.

Because he had already fallen off the cliff, he could struggle.

The fierce gaze of someone who had transcended fear.

But even with such a gaze.

The man still let out a playful chuckle.

“But I said I would let you live, didn’t I?”

“Do you call that speaking now…!”

“Isn’t it obvious? One’s own life is more precious than others’. Ah – but in your case, it’s different, isn’t it?”

He smirked.

“Without the title of king, you are nothing.”

“……!”

A blatant insult.

Kinoor tried to retort, eyes wide open.

Crunch-!

Unfortunately.

He couldn’t.

The moment he parted his lips.

His head was already devoured by the bizarre monster that emerged from the man’s chest.

Chomp- Chomp-! Crack!

A chilling sound.

The monster that devoured Kinoor’s upper body in an instant.

The man, who calmly watched the scene, then sat on the debris of the shattered kingdom and looked ahead.

And then.

“A magnificent view.”

With a twisted smile.

“Well then, shall we begin?”

He raised his index finger.

Along with it, a black droplet slowly formed at the tip of his finger.

Like blood, the droplet gradually grew larger and at some point.

Drip-

It fell to the ground.

Whoosh-!

With it, the black energy began to spread in all directions.

Soon, the capital of the kingdom, filled with flames and corpses, darkened as if it had lost its light.

At the same time, things that had not been visible until now began to appear.

Monsters, pitch-black all over.

They were feasting on the corpses, holding a banquet.

Some monsters danced as if they were enjoying themselves.

Some monsters focused solely on devouring the corpses.

Some monsters coveted the corpses that other monsters were eating.

They were holding a banquet.

And.

He, one of the four major powers of Psychedelia and the master of the Hungry Ghosts.

“Well then, how should we move next?”

He murmured softly, twisting the corners of his mouth.

####

About three weeks had passed since Alon left the Marquis of Lartania.

“Will we arrive in Nail in about a week?”

“Hmm- Yes, that’s right? If we move for about three more days from there, we’ll enter the Greynif area. According to the information the Marquis gave us.”

“I see.”

While Alon nodded briefly.

[Squeak-]

“No.”

[Squeak…….]

Alon gently stopped Kkamangi, who was sitting on his thigh and slowly trying to burrow into his coat.

Kkamangi, who looked disappointed and drooped his ears, almost disappearing.

Thanks to that, he became a strange creature rather than a cat. Alon patted his head and took out the item inside his coat.

“That, Kkamangi seems to really like it?”

“It seems so.”

The reason Kkamangi was trying to burrow into the coat.

It was because of an item Alon had obtained from a labyrinth he visited while heading south a week ago.

‘The Jewel of Forgetfulness,’

It emitted a red light like the eyes of Utia.

In terms of practicality, it seemed to have no value, but it was extremely important to Alon.

Because it had the power to reset the usage time of the artifact ‘Salvation of the Wandering One,’ which could summon Basiliora.

‘……Of course, even if you go to ‘that guy’ who hasn’t appeared yet, as long as you pay the price, you can use the Salvation of the Wanderer.’

The Jewel of Forgetfulness, although it is a one-time use, allows you to use the Salvation of the Wanderer without any special cost.

That’s why Alon had deliberately visited the labyrinth to prepare for any unforeseen events.

“But Marquis, you said last time that you would use that to, what was it – ah, to re-manifest Basiliora?”

“That’s right.”

“But what is the principle of that jewel?”

Evan, suddenly curious.

Alon explained simply.

“It’s probably based on the principle of accelerating the time of the used item.”

“……Time acceleration?”

“Yes.”

Alon nodded, rummaging through his past memories.

‘It was definitely about accelerating time. Ten years… and three months, I think.’

Alon remembered the exact numbers.

‘If you collect 100 of them, you could reset the restrictions.’

The ring Alon first obtained to impose restrictions had a setting that made you wonder why it existed, stating that it took a thousand years to reuse.

However, naturally, no matter how much you drag out the game, the in-game time of Psychedelia does not exceed ten years.

In other words, the thousand-year reuse waiting time was a setting that was meaningless since it couldn’t be used anyway.

However, after the fact that you could reset the restrictions by collecting the Jewel of Forgetfulness spread through the community.

People finally understood why such a useless setting was attached to the restrictions and started looking for the jewels.

But soon, the popularity quickly waned.

More than the merit of resetting the restrictions.

The demerit of having to find pieces scattered across the continent like Dragon Balls was greater.

Moreover, the number was overwhelmingly large.

Because of that, it became content for BJs or YouTubers to attract attention rather than for regular users.

Alon also rarely farmed the Jewel of Forgetfulness.

Even now, thanks to Basiliora, he had many opportunities to use it.

Originally, using the jewel to accelerate artifacts was something he did less than five times throughout playing Psychedelia.

“Then if you give that to Kamang, won’t it grow big?”

In the midst of his thoughts, Evan’s voice could be heard.

“…Well, it might work on living creatures, but if it’s possible, then maybe it could.”

[Squeak-!]

In response to Alon’s affirmation, Kkamangi let out a determined cry as if to say, “I can do it!”

[No! You think I’ll give up my chance to manifest again just for a snack? No way-!!!]

Reacting to that cry, Basiliora burst out and started screeching.

[Wait- Wait! Kraaah! Stop it! I said stop!!!]

As soon as Basiliora shouted, Kkamangi shot out and started wildly swinging his paws.

“Yes, that’s it!”

Evan was thrilled as Kkamangi disciplined Basiliora.

Whenever Basiliora was in pain, Evan seemed to feel better, raising both hands in delight.

Watching the chaos of the three, Alon quietly slipped the Jewel of Forgetfulness back into his pocket.

‘At least until ‘that guy’ appears on the continent, I should gather a bit more.’

####

A little over a week later.

A few days ago, Alon had stopped by Nail for the final maintenance, and then continued down for about three more days by carriage.

“From here on, we have to walk.”

“That seems to be the case.”

Soon, they arrived at a densely forested area.

“…Is this the territory of the elves?”

“Yes, it seems so. Just look at the color of the grass.”

“…This is quite fascinating.”

The color of the grass where Alon was standing and the grass inside what appeared to be the elven territory was distinctly different.

‘It’s dark here, but bright over there.’

Even though they were in the forest and there were shadows, the plants emitted a strong turquoise glow as if they were radiating life.

Looking at the scene with a curious expression, Alon said,

“Well then, let’s head inside.”

“Yes.”

As he began to walk with Evan, he thought of Recon.

‘So far, the information seems to be correct… It doesn’t seem like he lied. So, from now on, should I be careful not to get caught by the elves?’

Alon calmly recalled the sentence he had been advised.

‘Elves are very hostile to humans, so express that you have no intention of attacking and leave Greynif.’

He repeatedly emphasized that elves are fundamentally very hostile to humans.

Recalling this, Alon moved towards the forest with a slightly tense expression.

After walking for about two hours,

“It seems like we’re almost out.”

The end of the forest, which seemed endless, came into view.

Confirming this, Alon and Evan walked towards the outside of the forest without hesitation.

And then.

“Ah-!”

“…!”

The moment they stepped out of the forest,

Evan let out a surprised exclamation.

Alon also involuntarily opened his eyes wide.

The sight that filled their view.

About a hundred elves were standing towards them.

As if they had known Alon and Evan would come here.

‘This is bad-‘

With a sensation as if all the hairs on his body were standing on end,

Countless thoughts began to flood Alon’s mind.

‘He definitely said it was a shortcut, didn’t he?’

Did Recon deceive Alon?

Or was it purely a coincidence?

Or did he take the wrong path?

However, he soon forcibly suppressed the numerous thoughts and tried to raise his hands.

First, he needed to show that he was not hostile.

Therefore.

“Wait- we came to Grayniff to fight-“

As Alon said that and raised his hand.

Grab-!

The elf, who had been far away just a moment ago.

Suddenly approached Alon and grabbed his hand.

And then.

“Welcome. We have been expecting you.”

Bowing politely.

With a slight joy on the elf’s face, as if welcoming a long-awaited guest.

“……Yes?”

Alon couldn’t help but open his mouth in surprise.