Became the Patron of Villains Novel MTL - Chapter 203

Chapter 203
The Apostle of Sloth was caught off guard by **Alon**’s sudden arrival.

Nevertheless, he swiftly tried to restrain him.

“!”

His eyes dilated.

The dark energy, which ought to obey his will, remained utterly unresponsive.

And that wasn’t the only issue.

‘The power is fading?’

The dark energy was dissipating under the luminous golden bursts.

He couldn’t fathom the sight unfolding before him.

But quickly, a realization dawned on him.

He immediately spun around.

‘The source!’

But his action was too late.

The obsidian crystal, the nexus of power that connected and maintained all the clutches and countless black filaments, was being pulverized by crackling electricity.

The **Apostle of Sloth** pivoted back to confront **Alon**.

His countenance was contorted with intense rage.

**Alon**, who had been regarding him with an impassive expression, sighed internally.

‘Was the plan successful?’

**Alon** quickly checked on **Sili**.

Anyone could see the signs of brutal torture upon her, but she was still drawing breath.

‘Thank the heavens.’

He felt a genuine surge of relief.

Her death would have triggered an unimaginable disaster.

At that instant,

“You… How did you manage that…?”

The apostle’s voice resonated.

**Alon** shifted his focus back to him.

The apostle was still fixated on the scattering dark energy, his face a mask of shock and disbelief.

It defied logic.

Every area touched by dark energy, regardless of location, was subject to his dominion.

In other words, if it existed within his perceptual range, he was aware of it.

This implied that no matter what or who encroached upon the dark energy, the **Apostle of Sloth** would instantly ‘perceive’ it.

‘Yet I sensed absolutely nothing.’

Despite this, the individual standing before him— **Marquis Palatio**, who had vanquished the **Apostle of Greed**— had effortlessly achieved the impossible and manifested directly in his presence.

And that wasn’t all.

‘…How could he have known?’

The obsidian crystal.

So completely outside his awareness, it had been the first thing obliterated— the relic that served as the core of the **barrier**.

All accomplished in a single move.

As if he had repeatedly faced this exact scenario.

Without any hesitation or mistake.

The apostle’s features twisted further in confusion.

‘Good. Everything proceeded as intended.’

Observing that reaction, **Alon** exhaled a breath of satisfaction.

In normal circumstances, he should never have ventured into the dark energy.

His compatibility with dark energy was the worst possible pairing.

He couldn’t have endured even ten minutes inside it.

However, he had not only bypassed the dark energy’s influence but also eluded the apostle’s awareness and materialized right before him.

The explanation was simple—**Alon** understood the vulnerability of this particular dark energy.

More precisely, he knew the fundamental flaw in the setup itself.

The dark energy was spread out extensively from this central point.

Its expanse was enormous.

However, it was strictly anchored to the ground.

It did not extend into the sky.

In short, as long as one could traverse the air, they could entirely avoid the effects of the dark energy.

Even with this knowledge, very few could actually exploit this weakness.

Even within **Psychedelia**, it was merely discussed as a theoretical flaw, but no one had actually utilized it to combat the **Sins**.

This was because the ground-level spread of the dark energy was too vast.

Unless a person could maintain flight indefinitely, they would eventually have to land within its grasp and be detected by the apostle.

Fortunately for **Alon**, this did not present an obstacle.

He possessed both the prerequisite conditions and the necessary ally to leverage the flaw.

The immense **Rain Altar**, so vast that even the manifested **Basiliora** had to ascend it, and **Reinhardt**, who held the power to manipulate gravity.

Simply put, **Alon** ascended the **Rain Altar**, utilized **Reinhardt**’s power to propel himself as high into the air as possible, then employed his **Thunder God** form to descend in a single, devastating strike directly into the apostle’s focal point.

‘Though thanks to that, I’ve depleted all my magical reserves and messed up my landing…’

**Alon** subtly shifted his leg.

His shin pulsed with pain, indicating that while it wasn’t broken, the discomfort was severe enough to almost force a gasp from him.

Furthermore, although he had rescued **Sili**, he had completely drained his magic, leaving him susceptible to capture by the dark energy.

Of course, by disrupting the very framework of the **barrier**, he had temporarily neutralized the dark energy.

But that was not enough to put his mind at ease.

Even if he obliterated the dark energy’s core, unless he eliminated the caster, the **barrier** would eventually reconstitute itself over time.

‘Though I’m uncertain if the power will recover in the same manner, since this wasn’t generated through **Sloth**’s **Sin** ability but rather via an artifact…’

As **Alon** contemplated, he looked at the **Apostle of Sloth**.

The apostle let out a short, disbelieving chuckle and raised his gaze skyward.

“Astounding, **Marquis Palatio**. I never conceived of you using such a method.”

“……”

“It is also surprising how accurately you identified this **barrier**’s vulnerability, as though someone had informed you. However…”

A sneer stretched across his lips.

“It appears you are aware of one thing but ignorant of another.”

The instant the **Apostle of Sloth** curled his lip in patent derision, the dark energy began to re-form from the previously vacant air, as if time were reversing.

Simultaneously, the relic that had served as the dark energy’s core was also regenerating.

Witnessing this, **Sili** let out a sharp intake of breath.

“Ah…”

A soft sound of utter despair escaped her.

As if in response, the apostle’s sneer became even more malicious.

“No matter how many times you destroy the sphere, it will continue to restore itself. As long as I remain alive, that is the truth.”

“……”

“What a pity. Had you managed to take me down in a single blow, the situation might have been different. Well, even if you had aimed for me, I wouldn’t have perished from one hit anyway.”

—The apostle mocked, adding the final clause.

However.

“I know.”

**Alon** remained completely unperturbed.

“What?”

“I said, I know.”

He spoke with composure.

“I knew you wouldn’t be killed in a single strike, and I knew that the sphere I destroyed would quickly regenerate.”

As though he felt no regret about the state of affairs.

“Ha, then are you suggesting you came here merely to die?”

The apostle, momentarily taken aback, scoffed again.

“No. I have already accomplished what I came here to do.”

**Alon** shrugged casually and looked toward **Sili**.

“What are you—”

The **Apostle of Sloth**, scowling as he tried to speak, abruptly grasped a realization.

The black crystal forming the core of the **barrier** had fully reformed.

It should have been functioning normally.

Yet, the dark energy was not expanding.

Sensing that something was deeply amiss, the apostle quickly turned around.

And then he saw it.

A mesh of violet strands tightly entwined around the entire relic from which the dark energy was emanating.

Beyond that, lines cutting through the very fabric of this space.

And in front of them,

Step— Step—

A man was advancing.

In one hand, he held a blade.

In the other, he gripped the myriad threads that appeared to cleave this world itself.

His eyes blazed with fury and resentment.

A bone-chilling aura, as if he intended to saturate the entire world in violet, poured forth from him.

“I will murder you—”

**Deus Macallian**.

***

Creaaaak—!

A noise like tearing wire echoed piercingly in everyone’s ears.

At the same moment—

Snap!

Black threads and violet threads tore apart, signaling the commencement of the fight.

**Alon** could barely track the confrontation—it unfolded with impossible speed.

With just a single exchange of attacks, the surrounding trees were annihilated.

The air itself quivered, rippling with the residual effects of devastating magical power.

CRACKLE— CRACKLE—!!

Hundreds, thousands of cutting threads materialized and vanished repeatedly, tearing through the air and the earth, leaving behind deep, razor-sharp gouges.

It was a battle exceeding anything a mere mortal could ever achieve.

It was nothing short of terrifyingly sublime.

“Holy—”

**Reinhardt**, who had led the **knights** inside once the dark energy dispersed, couldn’t help but utter an oath at the spectacle of the superhuman conflict before him.

The multitude of **knights** following him were similarly struck with awe, unable to follow the movements with their sight.

However.

‘**Deus** is losing ground.’

**Alon** analyzed the situation dispassionately.

He couldn’t discern the finer points of the fight, but through the shifting energies, he could tell who held the advantage.

The current state was inevitable.

Even if their capabilities seemed similar, the apostle wielded the power of **sin**, unlike **Deus**.

And more crucially—

‘He’s far too emotional.’

BOOOOM—!!

**Alon** watched **Deus** be flung backward, ricocheting between the entangled black threads.

Only a few minutes had passed since the fight began, yet his body was already in tatters.

His dark **armor** was shattered, with sections of it entirely absent.

His body was crisscrossed with deep lacerations from the threads.

In contrast, the **Apostle of Sloth** had recovered his composure, his initial panic entirely gone.

With a relaxed smirk, he bound dozens of trees together with black threads, suspending them high in the air.

A glaring disparity.

If **Deus** wished to turn the tide, he needed to do more than simply calm himself.

And so—

“**Deus**.”

**Alon** called out to him.

***

Thump— Thump— Thump—

His heart hammered uncontrollably.

Feeling its furious rhythm, **Deus** glared at the figure before him with bloodshot eyes.

The apostle, still supremely at ease, had effortlessly suspended the ruined surroundings in the air with his black threads.

Clench.

**Deus** tightened his grip on his sword once more and prepared to assault.

He understood perfectly how reckless it was to yield to anger in combat.

Even so, he could not suppress his fury.

**Sili**, his younger sister.

When he arrived at this location, the image that had dominated his vision—

…was hauntingly reminiscent of that moment.

“Hah—”

**Deus**’s vision momentarily turned monochrome.

What he saw was a memory he desperately wished to erase.

Under the silent night, a man repeatedly smashing a woman’s head into the ground, screaming.

A woman, half her skull fractured, plunging a knife into the man’s abdomen.

And behind his mother and father—grinning wickedly,

[The **Black Lamb** has selected you.]

The **Apostle of Sloth**.

Clench—!

A potent aura surged from **Deus**’s body.

His bloodshot eyes burned with rage as he stared at the apostle.

The violet magic explosively erupting from him transformed into countless slicing threads, dividing the world once again.

And just as he was about to launch forward—

“**Deus**.”

A voice reached his ears.

A voice utterly distinct from the boiling fury within him—so cool and collected.

A voice he recognized intimately.

And then.

“For the sake of retribution, regain your calm.”

As if seeing directly into his soul, the words struck deep.

**Deus** felt as if he had been drenched in icy water, his mind clearing in an instant.

The frantic pounding of his heart slowly subsided.

Only then did things he had missed come into sharp focus.

And then.

“Take note of this.”

“What you perceive is not the sole means of detection.”

“……!”

At **Alon**’s remark,

**Deus**’s eyes slowly widened.

‘This situation isn’t so bad after all.’

The **Apostle of Sloth** wore a relaxed smile.

Unlike his initial panic, the state of affairs was not as desperate as it seemed.

‘I simply need to neutralize **Deus** first, then eliminate them one by one. First, the **knights**. Then **Marquis Palatio**. Then his little sister— No.’

A smirk.

‘Killing the marquis first wouldn’t be a terrible idea. Shattering his spirit somewhat and then concluding with his sister… That might create a satisfying sequence. Initially…’

He conceptualized, refined, and finalized his strategy.

All for the single aim of deepening their despair.

‘Right after I demonstrate the overwhelming gap in our power.’

Having made up his mind, the **Apostle of Sloth** made a move, pulling taut the black threads.

Boom! Crackle—!!!

In that precise moment—

The trees and boulders bound by black threads above him began to crumble and splinter, forming a colossal sphere.

The sphere rapidly expanded in dimension.

Soon, it had grown vast enough to conceal the enormous sky.

“What in the world is that…?”

A meteorite.

The **knights** standing below could only gape blankly up at the heavens.

A massive, black-thread-wrapped sphere had overtaken the sky.

And then.

“You may have become stronger, but ultimately, you are no different from when you were a child, **Deus Macallian**.”

The **Apostle of Sloth** sneered at **Deus**, who stood panting, gripping his sword.

His gaze then drifted toward the remaining violet threads.

The outcome of the struggle was already decided.

Thinking this, he smirked with smug amusement.

“You still cannot protect a thing.”

With a simple twitch of his fingers—

“…?”

The **Apostle of Sloth** felt an odd sense of discord.

Something that should have been self-evident—yet was now just beyond his reach.

The inexplicable loss of something fundamental caused him unease.

Stunned for a brief moment,

“What…?”

He belatedly recognized the problem.

‘Why… isn’t my magic responding?’

The very dark energy he controlled—was not obeying at all.

As if it had been bound by some force.

And then.

‘It can’t be!’

Realizing the terrifying truth, the **Apostle of Sloth**’s eyes widened.

And at that instant—

“I only need one moment.”

As though he had been anticipating this precise second, **Deus** unleashed a torrent of violet magic.

Slash—!

The violet threads began to carve through the black ones without hesitation.

Dozens.

Hundreds.

No—thousands of threads.

Cut down without mercy.

Concurrently, the massive meteor overhead—collapsed.

But.

Instead of allowing it to fall unchecked, the violet threads completely enveloped it.

Scrape—!

Grinding against its surface.

The fragments that broke off rained down upon the forest and the ruins, laying waste to everything beneath.

And from that destruction—a colossal, violet-hued conical spear emerged.

“But for the present—”

The towering, oppressive violet spear—

“This should suffice.”

Rip—!

With a violent rending noise, it plunged toward the earth.

And then.

**Macallian Eclipse**.

**Violet Nebula**.

A violet star.

Fell toward the ground.