Became the Patron of Villains Novel MTL - Chapter 139

Chapter 139

As the conflict between Rikrakamur and Alon commenced.

“Our gratitude, Saint!”

“Do not thank me. It is all by Sironia’s blessing.”

Yet another wave of monsters had been driven back from the ramparts of the border fortress.

“Indeed…! By Sironia’s favor, we have suffered almost no losses!”
“That is good to hear.”

Yuman offered this reply while gazing down from the fortress walls.

His view was of soldiers removing monster carcasses below, under walls that had been hastily restored after being shattered days before, alongside sections of the defenses that remained unfinished.

“What is the estimated time of arrival for the mages?”
“They have been summoned with urgency and are en route, but it appears more time is required.”
“That is troubling.”

Yuman’s face clouded with concern.

‘For the present, it is not a critical problem…’

Since the expedition had departed to hunt Rikrakamur, Yuman had fought off two monster assaults and had done so with a fair degree of success.

His anxiety, however, stemmed from the unrepaired sections of the fortress walls.

‘Had the walls been whole, we might have sustained no casualties whatsoever…’

Even with Yuman integrated into the allied forces, people were still dying.

No matter how diligently the walls were mended, the monsters always found a way to breach them again.

Not even someone of Yuman’s power could resurrect a soldier slain in a moment.

‘I pray the mages come swiftly.’

To be sure, the casualty count was low.

To have repelled the assaults with such minimal loss was a considerable achievement.

But for Yuman, the number was less important than the fact that any life had been lost at all.

What was sacred was the fact of a human life.

The mere occurrence of casualties was a burden on his spirit.

He was, ultimately, the Saint.

He looked down, his eyes carefully tracing the forms of the soldiers amongst the monster dead.

Though the sight of the bodies was horrific, he did not look away. With a tranquil air, he offered his silent mourning.

Once the cleanup was largely finished.

While he was speaking with Kiriana’s aide about strategies for the next monster wave.

“…An appearance in the north, you say?”
“Well, it is not a confirmed report, merely…”

He was told a rather unusual piece of news.

“…Let me confirm. While on patrol along the border, soldiers believe they saw a person-like figure in the northern territories. Is that accurate?”
“Yes, but it is only a rumor circulating among the troops. Please do not trouble yourself over it. I only mentioned it as it came to mind.”
“…If it is no trouble, could you provide a more detailed account?”

Yuman’s demeanor became grave.

The aide, who had shared the story casually to break the tension, looked confused but elaborated.

A short time later.

“So, the rumor states that an individual with white hair was sighted in the canyon lands of the north?”
“Yes. However, as you are aware, it is improbable for anyone to be in the border zone. Both our forces and the Empire maintain strict control over it. While the report did reach Kiriana, most considered it a trick of the mind.”
“I see.”
“However, after Cardinal Yutia arrived—”

The aide hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“The soldiers who witnessed the figure stated the person bore a resemblance to Cardinal Yutia… that is the essence of it.”
“….”
“Ahem, hearing it aloud, it does sound like a foolish story. It is nonsensical that the Cardinal would be in such a place.”

The aide rubbed his head awkwardly, adding that the soldiers had seen the figure from a great distance, making the report unreliable.

But Yuman, upon hearing the tale, fell into silence.

…

He sank into deep thought, his eyes turning toward the north, where a violent battle was almost certainly underway.

***

An enormous crystal fell, spearing through Rikrakamur’s form and detonating, while ice blossomed under the cool blue glow of the moon.

!!!!!

Rikrakamur shrieked, a terrifying sound, and began to thrash violently.

A single lash of its tail flattened the nearby trees. From its razor-sharp maw, a hail of needle-like filaments erupted, spraying chaotically in every direction.

Its most minor motions made the earth tremble as if the whole land were seized by a quake.

Between the monster’s roars, its crimson eyes blazed.

Eyes empty of all rationality.

From the tail of its vast, streamlined body, a black slime began to gush.

This slime, like the substance Alon had previously found at the castle gates, devoured all magic.

It was a unique power belonging only to the monster Rikrakamur, one that neutralized the abilities of every mage.

Instantly, the massive ice construct Alon had formed dissolved into nothing.

The crystal, which had struck true into Rikrakamur’s flesh, was gone.

The magic Alon had woven from applied self-construction and spellcraft was erased by the irrational natural law the monster possessed.

It disappeared, like an illusion.

Even in the face of this irrationality, Alon was already preparing his next move.

Having predicted Rikrakamur’s actions from the outset, Alon’s confidence in his victory remained unshaken.

Alon took stock of his remaining mana.

Though he had manifested his magic for only a couple of seconds to preserve energy, his reserves were already halved.

It was enough for a number of minor spells.

But it was far from sufficient to craft magic powerful enough to significantly injure Rikrakamur.

Still, it made no difference.

Having already wounded Rikrakamur and provoked its rampage across the visible marsh, Alon’s strategy was proceeding exactly as intended.

“Unity of Shadows.”

As Alon uttered the quiet words, the small creature that had been nestled in his chest pocket moments before leaped out, its body now studded with blood-red eyes.

The creature’s tail streamed down Alon’s arm and seeped into the ground in a flash.

Raising his hand, Alon cast another spell, deploying a shield.

A moment later, a projectile from a phantom wood was launched directly at the shield in Alon’s grasp.

With a loud bang!, Alon’s body was hurled high into the air.

Now clear of the black slime’s area of effect, Alon looked ahead.

There, fixing him with a bone-chilling glare from its red eyes, was Rikrakamur—a creature twice the size of the fearsome golden dragon, Lainisius.

A fleeting question crossed Alon’s mind, but his hands moved on instinct, forming seals.

“Refraction, Repulsion, Azure Light.”

The incantation left his lips almost of its own accord.

The speed of his casting was markedly quicker than before.

Then.

“Linear Diffraction.”

As if flicking a stone.

Alon launched the azure light gathered at his fingertip.

Not at Rikrakamur.

But at the fractured, unstable ground under the monster’s frenzied movements.

Kwaaang!!!

The bolt from Alon’s hand connected with the earth.

Though the spell was minor and incapable of harming Rikrakamur directly,

That small application of force was enough for the already cracked and fragile marshland floor.

Boom-Kuugugugug!

The slight impact initiated a total collapse of the ground.

Kwaaaaang!!!

Rikrakamur’s colossal form began to be pulled down into the chasm.

***

Kiriana was staring vacantly in a single direction.

She was not alone.

The knights and the soldiers—every one of them was watching the same spot.

It was where Marquis Palatio stood.

Cloaked in a dark, undulating black coat, his left hand sheathed in a haze of ash-gray energy as he hovered in the air, his presence was so commanding that it was impossible to turn away.

Below the imposing, luminous figure of Marquis Palatio,

Even the knights and soldiers who had been petrified by the mere sight of Rikrakamur,… and even Kiriana, who felt a awe that eclipsed fear, watched as Rikrakamur was dragged down into the broken earth.

Kwaaaaaak—!

The thunderous roar was so intense it felt it would shatter eardrums.

The vibration was so powerful that soldiers and knights lost their footing and fell, unable to remain upright.

Yet their gazes remained locked on the spectacle.

As Rikrakamur disappeared into the bottomless abyss, the image of Marquis Palatio, standing in absolute contrast, filled them with a sense of overwhelming veneration.

At that precise moment, as everyone stared in awe at this single figure,

“…Ah…”

At the periphery of the marsh,

Within the thick woods,

In a place no one had yet noticed…

Yutia watched Marquis Palatio with a look of near ecstasy, adoring his form.

Behind her—

Crunch— Crack!

The sound of crushing bones mingled with dying screams echoed through the trees.

Annoyed by the noise interrupting her devotion, she quietly turned her head.

There, monsters lay scattered everywhere.

A goblin with its skeleton completely shattered, pressed into the dirt like a discarded puppet.

An orc with its skin torn away.

A gnoll with its body twisted at unnatural angles.

An owlbear that had driven its own arms through its throat.

The zone was filled with a perimeter of corpses, their forms grotesquely mangled as if they had passed through a meat grinder.

Dozens of bodies?

No.

Hundreds?

Still not enough.

A sufficient number of dead to encircle the entire edge of the marshland stood piled behind Yutia.

And—

“Grrrkk.”

Amid the slaughter, the only creature still capable of making sound was—

A troll, massive compared to the others, its body bent and distorted in impossible ways, yet clinging to life due to its monstrous regenerative ability.

Bound in black tendrils, it was reduced to pure instinct, its eyes brimming with primal terror as it stared at Yutia.

She gently raised a finger to her lips.

“Oh my, we must be silent now. We wouldn’t want to make a disruption, would we?”

Smiling as if to comfort a scared infant, Yutia drifted toward the monstrous troll.

Her crimson eyes shone under the pale moonlight.

“Now, don’t look at me. Look over there.”

Crunch— Crack!

The tendrils coiled around the troll’s neck wrenched its head around, forcing its gaze toward the distant figure of Marquis Palatio.

Grrraaaaah!

The troll screamed in pain.

But—

Snap!

The tendrils seized its jaw, ripping out its extended tongue.

Writhing in unbearable agony, the troll was again compelled by the tendrils to face Palatio’s direction.

Huff— Huff.

Gasping in sheer fright, it rolled its eyes back in an attempt to look at Yutia.

In the midst of the horrific tableau, Yutia’s lips remained curved in a gentle smile.

“Now, you will also offer your reverence and faith.”

She murmured softly.

“The reverence and faith that is his rightful due.”

Calmly,

“To my one and only god.”

She gave the command.