I Became the Patron of Villains

190. Clash (1)

■■■■■■-!!!!

A deafening roar that shook the entire root reverberated through the air.

Basiliora, summoned from the depths of the World Tree’s roots, roared as if to announce his descent to the world.

The overwhelming presence made the ashes shrink back.

Those who had been charging at the elves were paralyzed by the presence of the god that had descended before their eyes.

“-!”

The elves, lost for words at the series of events, could only gape in astonishment.

Crack-!

Basiliora began to thrash, confronting tens of thousands of ashes.

No, it wasn’t a confrontation.

It was a one-sided massacre.

Just by moving forward,

Hundreds of ashes were crushed by the massive body.

They disappeared, becoming the ‘true’ ashes they were meant to be from the beginning.

The ashes, cruelly chewed and spat out by Basiliora,

Scattered in all directions, taking the lives of other ashes.

It was literally a one-sided slaughter.

The elves were horrified by the overwhelming force.

‘How on earth…? Magic shouldn’t be possible here-!’

As all the blood rushed to Lim’s head, and questions swarmed his mind to the point of overload.

“Lim.”

“!”

Suddenly, a voice.

Still calm and composed.

Emanating a deep magic from the bracelet on his right arm.

Despite wielding that absurd ‘god’, showing no sign of strain, the marquis called out.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yes, I’m alright.”

She answered unconsciously in honorifics.

The marquis, tilting his head slightly, spoke.

“The one you mentioned, the one who scattered the ashes, is he deep within this place?”

“Ah, probably.”

Then he asked.

“How long can you hold out?”

“…What?”

“I’m asking how long you can hold out among the ashes.”

“If it’s about five minutes, somehow-“

As Lim spoke, nervously glancing around.

“That should be enough.”

Without hesitation, Alon turned his body.

“Basiliora.”

He jumped down and mounted Basiliora’s back.

‘It’s a relief it went as expected.’

Despite hearing that Alon couldn’t use magic, the reason he could descend beneath the roots.

It was because he knew that even in places without magic, artifacts, especially ‘The Savior of the Wandering’, could be used.

‘In Psychedelia, there are also spaces where magic can’t be used. But more than that-‘

While recalling his experiences in the game.

He was inwardly flustered.

‘…Didn’t they say magic couldn’t be used?’

Apart from escaping the crisis using the artifact.

It was because Alon could use magic.

“……Hmm.”

Feeling the magic moving so well at his will, he briefly questioned it.

Alon soon turned his gaze and looked around.

‘There are still many. No, have they decreased?’

Certainly, from the moment Basiliora descended, he had swept away the ashes gathered at the root floor.

Nevertheless, the number of ashes was still many.

No, it felt like they had rather increased compared to the beginning.

Even in such a situation, the reason Alon headed deeper without hesitation to kill the ‘Ash Spreader’ instead of running away.

The characteristic of the ashes here- no, the ‘Creatures of Greed’.

It was because he knew them.

Alon lowered his gaze.

Unlike earlier when the white ashes were fluttering.

The ones running towards him, creating red soot like the dead, were definitely the ‘Creatures of Greed’ that Alon knew.

‘Why on earth are these guys?’

The Creatures of Greed, as their name suggests, are monsters that appear when the sin of greed fully awakens.

In other words, according to Alon’s common sense.

The Creatures of Greed should not appear here.

This meant.

It was no different from saying that the sin of greed had awakened.

Without even having time to organize his complicated thoughts.

────!!!

The moment he lifted his head at the indescribably bizarre noise that struck his eardrums.

Alon saw it.

The ‘Ash Spreader’ that filled his sight- no, the giant worm known by the name he knew, ‘Mother of Greed’.

“Krr-“

Alon involuntarily frowned.

The Mother of Greed, which revealed its huge body hidden among the ashes as soon as Basiliora approached, recognizing the threat.

Its appearance was so horrific that it distorted even Alon’s usually unshaken face.

His back jutted out sharply, as if bearing a massive volcano.

From that hole, ashes were constantly being produced.

Even from his face, magma flowed endlessly like an active volcano.

Finally.

Alon, who confirmed the enormous pincers that seemed capable of snatching even Basiliora, thought,

‘As expected, it is indeed the Mother of Greed.’

He was convinced.

Basiliora immediately rushed to deal with the Mother of Greed, but

■■-!?

He couldn’t bite into it and bent his body backward.

Puhwaaa-!

Because magma began to flow from his entire body.

Moreover, the ashes that had been crushed mercilessly by Basiliora just moments ago,

started to climb up Basiliora frantically as soon as the Mother of Greed was attacked.

‘Surely, even Basiliora’s body can’t handle it.’

However, he was not flustered.

Alon knew well not only the weaknesses of the creatures of Greed,

but also how to deal with the Mother of Greed.

The only problem was,

‘Magic power, is it?’

The method to kill the Mother of Greed was simple.

If he used the Ice Seal he researched with Fenia, the Mother of Greed before his eyes would scatter into a handful of snowflakes.

The Mother of Greed was exceedingly vulnerable to water.

But the problem was the circumstances.

The entire space where the enemy was had to be within Alon’s range for the Ice Seal to exert its power.

Alon’s magic power could be easily destroyed externally, even if it was strong internally.

And this space was

so vast that it was impossible for Alon’s magic power to dominate it.

It meant that using the Ice Seal was difficult.

However, it was still fine.

Alon had yet another way to kill the broodmother.

“Kamanga.”

[Kyuu]

As soon as Alon sighed and called out.

Kamanga, who had never left the pocket on his chest, swiftly climbed onto Alon’s shoulder.

And then.

Without hesitation, Alon established a magical link with Kamanga.

“Shadow Tree.”

He murmured quietly.

At the same time, Kamanga’s tail flowed along Alon’s arms and legs, then slipped into the shadows.

Thud-!

Soon, red eyes began to appear all over Kamanga’s body.

The shadow, which had quickly spread from Alon’s body to Basiliora’s body.

Watching this, Alon formed a hand seal.

Thud-!

The shadows that were about to shoot out all stopped at once.

Thud-! Thud-thud-thud-!!

At the moment when four shadow hands appeared behind Alon.

The shadows began to overlay on Basiliora.

In fact, this was a magic that started from a mere accidental discovery.

Following Kylas’ words, after using magic while maintaining an unbroken link with Kamanga.

He discovered that Kamanga’s form changed under Alon’s influence and began to study the magic.

Therefore, it is neither perfect nor complete.

Only four of the six seals corresponding to Kamanga were found.

But that was enough.

Even that much was enough to bring down the greedy broodmother in front of him.

As the first spirit formed a hand seal, the shadow that started from Kamanga covered Basiliora’s body.

When the second spirit formed a seal, the shadow covering Basiliora’s body changed its form all at once, like a giant armor.

Finally, at the moment when the third spirit formed a seal.

The magical structure, which had changed like armor, moved again, and the molecular structure changed layer by layer.

And then.

“Basiliora-“

At Alon’s call, Basiliora once again wrapped around the Greed Mother, spewing magma in all directions.

The Greed Mother, frenzied, spewed even more magma.

However, Basiliora’s body, already covered in several layers of thick shadow armor,

suffered only minimal damage from the magma that the Greed Mother scattered with all her might.

At the moment the fourth shadow seal was formed,

the black armor covering Basiliora wriggled.

And then.

Shadow Seal.

Thorn Tree.

Black thorns grew all over the Greed Mother’s body.

Chilling black thorns.

####

────────-!!!!!

A chilling scream burst from the mouth of the Ash Spreader.

And with it,

a massive body descended.

Kugugugug-!

Even that alone threatened to bring down the entire World Tree, shaking it as if it would collapse.

““…….””

Nevertheless, the elves’ gazes remained fixed on one spot.

Right where the massive body of the Greed Mother was collapsing.

They could not say a word.

Even Rim, the elf who had been active in Pagade the longest, had her eyes widened to the fullest.

Because she knew.

Even if all of Pagade gathered and attacked,

no, even if all the Dark Leaves here joined in,

‘That’ was an existence so dreadful that it could never be dealt with.

Therefore, Rim stared blankly.

The massive body collapsed to the ground, scattering ashen powder in all directions.

The ashen powder that disappeared along with it.

And.

Fluttering a coat like a black shadow.

Riding atop the head of a giant god—

In this root where no one but the great ones could use magic.

The man who used magic without a care.

‘He is the primordial elf.’

Suddenly, the queen’s voice brushed past his ears.

Calling a mere human the primordial elf,

A statement so absurd that he had never truly believed it until now.

But at this moment.

“…Ah.”

Rim involuntarily let out a gasp.

Like a sage who had gained enlightenment at dawn, his eyes were now filled with reverence.

####

Meanwhile.

[Kyuu-!]

“Well done. You controlled it properly this time.”

[Kyuu-Kyuu-]

Kkamang, who was rubbing its cheek against Alon’s cheek with enthusiasm.

Alon, who was praising the creature, turned his gaze to watch the scene of the Mother of Greed turning to ash along with countless creatures.

The situation was resolved, but the question remained.

‘Why is the Mother of Greed here?’

The Mother of Greed should not have been here.

That meant that the ‘Sin of Greed’ was trapped here.

As his mind grew more complicated.

[There is something over there.]

Following the solemn voice of Basiliora, Alon shifted his gaze.

He discovered a mirror placed in the center of the deep place where the Mother of Greed had settled.

A worn-out, door-sized mirror.

Alon, who had dismounted from Basiliora’s back, stood before the mirror.

“!”

He soon realized that someone was standing inside the mirror.

It wasn’t his own reflection.

Upon closer inspection, it bore a striking resemblance to him.

Wearing a very tattered coat.

The face was indistinguishable, as if it were a blurred figure similar to a dragonkin.

[First.]

[The technique is against the heavens.]

Suddenly, it uttered those words.