Became the Patron of Villains Novel MTL - Chapter 153

Chapter 153
Alon was entirely unfamiliar with the Essence of the Golden Mane Tribe.

This was to be expected.

Within the game ‘Psychedelia’, the Essence of the Golden Mane Tribe served a different purpose—it was simply a relic that increased a player’s chance of landing a critical strike.

Nevertheless, he could counsel Seolrang because…

He had witnessed it.

The mana pattern within the essence Seolrang held started to contort wildly, quickly assembling into a complex, nonlinear formation that flooded through her physique.

Under ordinary circumstances, Alon would have been incapable of detecting that pattern.

The same applied to any other sorcerer.

Not even a Tower Master who had attained the 8th Circle would have perceived it.

While sensing another’s mana might be feasible, comprehending its precise circulation was a different challenge altogether.

But presently, Alon could.

This likely began after his fight with Duke Komalon.

He had acquired a subtle capacity to observe the mana patterns of others.

Still, he had not completely acknowledged this reality until lately.

Or rather, he had not paid it much mind.

Although he could vaguely see the patterns, they lacked the definition to be truly valuable for magical study or fighting.

Yet, right now, Seolrang’s mana pattern was perfectly distinct.

He did not understand the reason, but it was as if she had undergone an awakening.

That is why Alon was capable of guiding her.

And Seolrang…

Had broken through to the 6th Stage.

Crackle!

Alon watched her, utterly amazed.

Seolrang, now enveloped in a golden radiance, looked down upon the Apostle of Pride.

Her aura was so immense that Alon could not suppress a soft exhalation of wonder.

Just as she prepared to attack once more—

“Ha—!”

Seolgak sprang into motion.

Crack-crack-crackle!

Dark lightning erupted around him as he staggered back, his features twisted in agony.

He had been too slow to respond when Seolrang awakened, and the consequence was the total destruction of his right arm.

“Ghh…!”

Seolgak desperately clutched the bleeding stump.

Grit!

But instead of screaming in pain, his face warped with fury.

“…Fine, I’ll concede. You caught me off guard, little sister.”

Crackle!

“But the outcome remains the same.”

Wrapped in a shroud of black lightning, he hurled himself at Seolrang again.

And the dark thunder crashed down.

Rumble!

Seolgak, a torrent of black thunder, closed the distance to Seolrang with a velocity she could not counter.

The impossible speed, surpassing human capacity, caught Seolrang unprepared, letting his blow connect.

Yet, against all expectation, it was Seolgak’s face that tightened.

In that split second, he understood—

Seolrang had lifted her hand, deflecting the impact’s force.

Seolgak ground his teeth, a spark of alarm flashing through his thoughts.

‘My sole opportunity is now.’

He was aware.

He knew what Thunder Deification signified for the Golden Mane Tribe.

Even with the power bestowed by ‘Him’, Seolgak had never attained that state.

The knowledge festered inside him.

What rose within was not merely a sense of inadequacy—

But terror.

He had desired that realm above all else.

He had sacrificed his whole family without a second thought, even planning to offer his own sister as a vessel for ‘His’ will.

And so, he already understood—

Now that Seolrang had entered that realm, victory was beyond his reach.

That is why…

‘I must eliminate her before she fully masters the Thunder Deification…!’

Seolgak’s eyes flushed crimson as he unleashed his mana.

The prodigious power granted by ‘Him’ consumed his physical form, granting him strength unattainable on his own.

But such aimless power demands a toll.

The excessive force, exceeding his limits, started to not just consume but disintegrate his very body.

Still, he wielded it without restraint.

The power provided by the Great Sin of Pride had enabled him to dominate nearly all of the world’s most powerful entities—

But it fell hopelessly short of reaching that golden deity.

It merely purchased him a few more moments.

‘No matter the cost, I will kill her before she adapts!’

Devoured by prideful mana, Seolgak became a being of pure black mana, rocketing toward Seolrang.

And with that—

Black thunder and golden lightning poured over the entire colony.

Obsidian lightning fractured the world.

Golden lightning carved its mark across the sky and land.

Amid the turmoil—

“…It’s ready.”

Alon murmured under his breath, his eyes fixed on the heavens.

***

In reality, Alon should have had no place in this conflict.

Seolgak was recklessly burning his power, destroying his own body to kill Seolrang, while Seolrang was defending against his assault.

Alon possessed no means to match their speed.

That’s right.

To him, this fight was merely a cataclysm, a maelstrom of roaring thunder, golden lightning, and black tempests.

He simply did not have the capacity to enter their domain.

However, Alon could still analytically observe the circumstances.

This was due to the residual mana traces their clash left behind.

The lingering mana from their battle offered him crucial understanding.

His recent dedication to magical research, particularly into mana patterns derived from ‘seals’, had proven immensely useful.

While he could not reconstruct the entire situation from the fading mana alone, he could still deduce vital intelligence.

The two most important pieces were:

‘The Apostle of Pride is pushing himself beyond his limits to handle Seolrang, and Seolrang has not yet fully acclimated to her awakening.’

Alon stared into empty space.

His vision remained unclear.

He could only detect mana fluctuations flickering in and out, from which he could deduce patterns.

After drawing a steady breath—

“Hoo—”

Alon formed a seal with his hands.

As stated, Alon could not take part in this battle.

It was unfeasible.

At least, it would have been for the Alon of the past.

He lifted his gaze to the sky once more.

Amid the dispersed mana residues of the two Golden Mane Tribe members, his own mana had silently unfurled.

Though not yet materialized, his mana drifted unseen through the atmosphere.

Mana usually requires ‘manifestation’ to assume a visible form.

But Alon had defied this principle.

Drawing nearly all his mana from his mana hall, leaving only the essential minimum, was possible thanks to his recent studies with Penia.

By investigating transformations of mana patterns based on seal constructs, he had identified new configurations of mana molecules.

This enabled him to control his mana in its molecular state without manifesting it, fixing it in the very air.

And with plenty of time to prepare, Alon had succeeded in spreading his mana throughout the entire battleground.

‘Of course, due to my limited mana reserves, its density was unavoidably thin.’

But that was sufficient for his purpose.

After all, Alon’s aim was not to defeat Seolgak—

“Expansion.”

—but simply to create a momentary opening for Seolrang.

Rumble!

As Alon spoke, the mana molecules he had dispersed began to swell simultaneously.

In that brief instant—

“1.”

Alon saw it.

Seolrang, pulled from the fray by the abruptly expanding mana in the air.

“What the—?!”

And Seolgak, striking at her in that exact moment.

Without a second to lose, Alon uttered the next command.

“Point.”

The expanding mana instantly contracted, focusing entirely on Seolgak.

However—

Boom!

The spell Alon had prepared for minutes, holding his breath, was utterly demolished by nothing more than an annoyed kick from Seolgak.

A single burst of black thunder eradicated all the mana Alon had expanded.

A devastatingly insignificant outcome for Alon, all transpiring in less than two seconds.

Yet, a twisted smile formed behind his impassive expression.

Two seconds.

For him, two seconds was insufficient to properly execute a spell.

But for Seolrang—

“1.”

Two seconds was ample time to finish Seolgak.

Alon kept his eyes on the sky.

There, wearing a look of pure horror, Seolgak stared upward.

“Rangchangrangchang (槍狼槍)—”

And falling from above—

Thunder Dragon’s Descent.

A golden dragon.

Roooooaaaaar!!!

The world dissolved into whiteness.

***

A short time later.

An impossibly vast and deep crater marked the spot.

And at its heart stood Seolrang.

Her Thunder Deification had receded, and she gazed silently down.

Beneath her feet lay the Apostle of Pride, Seolgak.

A massive hole pierced his heart.

“Foolish… absolutely foolish.”

Despite the fatal wound to his heart, leaving no possibility of survival, Seolgak glared up at Seolrang with wide, hate-filled eyes.

“You will live to regret this, little sister. You will certainly regret the day you cast aside the power I secured for you… You will regret it!”

Seolgak’s desperate shouts.

But Seolrang’s face remained emotionless as she raised her foot.

“I have no use for any of that.”

Crack!

She crushed his skull as if she had no desire to hear another word.

“I already possess everything I need.”

Watching Seolgak’s body crumble into dust, as if he had never been, Seolrang turned her head.

“Ah, Master!”

She spotted Alon and tried to dash toward him—

Thud!

But collapsed instantly.

Alon hurried over to assess her state.

“Huh? My body won’t obey me at all.”

Seolrang’s lighthearted comment, despite having just fallen, drew a soft sigh of relief from Alon.

“It’s probably because you pushed yourself too hard.”

“Is that it, Master?”

“Yes.”

Seolrang gave a brief nod as if this explanation sufficed, then whispered gently.

“Thank you, Master.”

“…What for, suddenly?”

“Yes. You showed me how to wield Thunder Deification. Because of you, I was able to kill him.”

Thank you, is it.

Alon was quiet for a moment before he spoke.

“Seolrang.”

“Yes, Master?”

“…Are you alright?”

“Hm? About what?”

“…You hold your family in high regard.”

Seolrang smiled at his question.

A sorrowful smile Alon had never seen from her before.

But—

“…Yes, Master. I do value my family.”

“…”

“But you know something?”

This time, a radiant smile spread across her face.

“I would never do anything that causes me to lose something even more precious. I am not an idiot.”

“…”

Hearing her firm words, Alon realized something without intending to.

He had been perceiving her in the same way Seolgak had—through his own preconceptions.

Just as Seolgak still viewed Seolrang as the innocent, fragile child from a decade ago,

Alon had been regarding her as one of the Five Great Sins from ‘Psychedelia’.

Despite the memories and experiences they had shared, he had still clung to that bias.

Not as Seolrang, who now showed him a bright smile and had become the colony’s first Baba Yaga—

But as a character who could always turn into one of the Five Great Sins from the game.

But now he comprehended.

Seolrang was no longer just a video game antagonist or someone Alon needed to monitor warily.

She was an individual who cherished her family with her life but could still make the necessary decisions without faltering.

In certain respects, she had become more resilient and discerning than Alon himself.

“…I understand.”

Alon let out a soft, inadvertent chuckle, a feeling of lightness filling him as he looked at her.

“Master… you can smile?”

“…?”

Seolrang peered up at him with a look of greater surprise than ever before.

It was faint, but it was a smile that reached his eyes.

***

Some time afterward.

Having learned that Rine had handled the Scorpion, Seolrang leaned against a ruined wall to recuperate.

“Master.”

“Hm?”

“Do that thing again.”

“What thing?”

“The ear thing.”

“…Why?”

“It felt pleasant.”

Seolrang laughed softly, and Alon, without objection, gently pressed her ear.

Closing her eyes slowly, Seolrang spoke.

“Master.”

“What is it?”

“Thank you for being concerned about me.”

“…Naturally, I would be.”

“Truly?”

“Truly.”

At his reply—

“…I see.”

A slight smile touched Seolrang’s lips.

It was an afternoon where the setting sun was visible beyond the colony’s shattered walls, slowly fading on the horizon.