Raising Villains the Right Way Novel - Chapter 204

Chapter 204

A violent shockwave, triggered by the descent of the purple celestial body, engulfed the remnants of the buildings and the wooded area.

As the dust cloud dispersed, the sight that was revealed was—

“-!”

It was Deus closing the distance instantly and driving his blade into the core of the Apostle of Sloth.

‘Success.’

Witnessing this, Alon breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Deus had perfectly executed the strategy Alon had communicated, exactly as intended.

The technique Alon had taught Deus was a method utilized in the second stage of the game when players were facing the Sin of Sloth.

It was the ability to contain ‘mana’ using imperceptible strands.

‘…As I anticipated, instructing the Sin of Sloth on the use of threads proved to be the right decision.’

With that notion, Alon directed his gaze toward the Apostle of Sloth.

The Apostle was in a dire state.

Both of his arms were gone, and his right rear skull had been fractured, making his continued standing an absolute marvel.

Deus‘s sword was lodged directly through the Apostle’s heart.

“Keuhk—!”

With a sickening sputter, dark ichor sprayed out.

The Apostle choked, blood surging from his mouth.

To any observer, the victory appeared sealed.

As Deus prepared to twist his blade deeper to finish the Apostle—

“Haha—”

The Apostle suddenly let out a burst of laughter.

“Hahaha—”

A hollow, yet strangely tranquil laugh, unlike any previous display of emotion.

Deus stared intently at the Apostle, whose face was stretched in a profound, disturbing grin.

Shiiing—!

Without hesitation, Deus altered his action, yanking his sword upwards.

A torrent of blood spewed forth.

And yet—

Even with the body split cleanly from the heart to the top of the head—

“Fine, I concede. I was careless. I never imagined you could wield your power to this extent without relying on His strength.”

The Apostle of Sloth released a strained chuckle and spoke.

“But do you truly believe this is the end?”

He grinned—a hideous, revolting smile.

A laugh so unsettling it sent a chill down the spine of all who witnessed it.

In response, Deus acted immediately.

He bound the Apostle’s remaining limbs with purple fibers and ripped them apart.

However—

The pulverized body instantly transformed into black strands and was absorbed into the dark, network of veins.

Puhaaaak—!

Eggs ruptured, and from within, arachnids began to emerge.

Kreeeek!

The spiders, each the size of a full-grown man, were monstrous.

Every one bore a human visage imprinted on its abdomen like a sigil.

They crawled out of the shattered egg casings with gruesome, disjointed movements.

A sight so sickening it could induce immediate nausea.

Nonetheless—

That was not the final surprise.

Soon after—

The spiders that had spilled forth began to—

Pop!

—take their own lives.

“…?”

“W-what in the world?”

Syrkal was aghast, while Reinhardt involuntarily cried out in shock.

The mass self-destruction of the spiders did not cease.

As if manipulated by an unseen control, they tore at their own throats or shredded their bodies, ending their lives.

Their lifeless husks then dropped onto the earth, dissolving into the veins beneath.

“_!”

At that instant, Alon finally grasped it.

The purpose behind the spiders’ actions.

Then—

Boom!

The ground started to give way.

Rumble—!!!!

A deafening noise assaulted everyone’s hearing.

The tremors were so powerful that maintaining a stance was nearly impossible.

“This is madness—!”

Reinhardt, having caught sight of something, cursed vehemently.

Something immense was surfacing, overturning the entire landscape.

It was—

“What is that?”

Something large enough to obliterate the entire ruined area.

A grotesque entity.

A beast embodying the Abomination of Sloth—Krakscha.

—!!!!!

Like a beast emerging from its shell,

Krakscha burst through the earth with an agonizing screech.

At the sight of its appearance, the eyes of the knights were instantly filled with dread.

“This is insane—”

Reinhardt, unable to resist, uttered another curse and tightened his grip on his sword.

His face was etched with absolute despair.

Even if they managed to wipe out all the spiders,

Krakscha, just like the Apostle, was radiating dark mana.

A situation of utter catastrophe.

Retreat was impossible.

And engaging in combat offered no certainty of victory.

Amidst this no-win scenario, Alon let out a soft sigh.

‘I hadn’t intended to deploy it here, but—it seems there is no alternative.’

As he reached inside his cloak—

“—”

The view before him suddenly shifted.

What he saw was a starlit, sapphire night sky.

The moment he recognized it, Alon instinctively knew his location.

[I am pleased you arrived sooner than expected.]

A young woman’s voice—

No,

[But given the circumstances, I will explain briefly.]

The voice of Kalannon, the lightning conductor, resonated.

[The method for manifesting your genuine form.]

Dark atmospheric masses began to gather over the previously clear expanse.

---

The direst scenario.

Literally, the absolute worst possibility.

Alon‘s habitually impassive expression became even more serious.

Seeing this, Reinhardt clenched his teeth.

‘Blast it…!’

A monstrous being towered over them.

A spider of unimaginable scale, its mere presence suffocating the air.

For Reinhardt, the size of an enemy was usually irrelevant unless it was something like the Rain Altar.

Yet, he felt overwhelmed.

Because instinctively, he knew—

That thing was a disaster.

The dark mana radiating from the creature—

It was identical to the dark mana the Apostle had dispersed earlier.

‘This situation is highly unfavorable.’

Reinhardt calmly evaluated the current state of affairs.

A feeling of extreme urgency pervaded his whole body.

The colossal spider exuded such a crushing aura that even he felt his muscles tense.

To compound the problem, the smaller spiders had completely encircled the ruins, creating a siege-like barrier.

But the most disheartening factor—was the existence of the knights who had accompanied them into this area.

They had been brought along to prevent the Apostle of Sloth from utilizing the remaining mana in the atmosphere.

Yet now, they had become a burden instead.

If the temporary suppression of the dark mana, enforced by Marquis Palatio and Deus, were to fail—

And the dark mana regained its strength—

Most of the knights present would inevitably be transformed into mere puppets.

‘What course of action should I take?’

Reinhardt scanned his surroundings with a troubled look.

Syrkal, like him, could not conceal her anxiety.

And at this precise moment—

Deus was relentlessly using his purple strands to repel the returning dark mana.

As if mocking their efforts—

[Hah— I truly did not anticipate being pushed this far. It is fortunate I made preparations.]

A voice descended from above.

At the horribly distorted sound, Reinhardt instinctively looked up—

“You have to be kidding me. You’re still operational?”

There, suspended above his head—

The Apostle of Sloth, his upper torso exposed, looked down on them.

The monstrous-looking Apostle smirked maliciously.

Then, he spoke.

[Did you honestly assume I would not prepare for the worst, after everything? Well, I suppose that assumption was plausible. Under normal circumstances, my own power would have been more than sufficient to handle all of you.]

Crack—!

[But regrettably for you, I am one who plans meticulously for every contingency.]

Crack, crackle—!

The Apostle began tearing through the purple strands Deus had woven.

“Tch—!”

Deus hastily reinforced the fibers.

But despite his attempts—

He had already depleted far more energy than expected during the previous assault, weakening his command.

As a result, the strands were being severed at an accelerating rate.

Ultimately, the purple strands restraining the dark mana—were completely cut.

“Ah—”

A faint gasp escaped someone’s lips.

The Apostle standing atop Krakscha broadened his grin even further.

And just as the dark mana was about to flood the space Deus had been desperately maintaining—

Rumble!

“…?”

Reinhardt suddenly realized something.

The sky, which had been perfectly clear moments before—was now shrouded in heavy clouds.

And that was not the extent of it.

Drip—! Drip, dribble—!

As if deliberately manufactured—within seconds, precipitation began to fall from the overcast sky.

“What in the—?”

Just as the Apostle of Sloth, who had been gloating over his impending victory, furrowed his brow in confusion—

Step. Step.

Marquis Palatio, who had remained silent until this moment, slowly began to advance.

One stride.

Then another.

He moved toward the front of Krakscha, where the black mist was leaching out.

He formed no hand seals.

He recited no chants.

He spoke no sacred verses.

Nor did he manipulate his mana in any way.

He simply—walked forward.

Toward Krakscha.

Toward the origin point of the dark mana.

Like an insect drawn to a light source.

And without hesitation—

Marquis Palatio continued his pace, easily moving past the purple strands that Deus was struggling to reinforce.

[Hah, have you admitted defeat?]

“Marquis, what are you doing—!”

The Apostle of Sloth emitted another derisive laugh.

Deus yelled out in panic.

But then—

Crackle!

For a split second, everything flashed brightly.

And Deus saw it.

In that brief instant—

A surge of electricity flickered at Alon‘s fingertips.

A weak static charge.

So tiny—

Yet in this dim, ash-colored environment, it shone brilliantly.

In a flash, the blue energy made contact with the dark mana.

The moment they connected—

Crackle, sizzle, ssshhhhh—!

The dark mana—began to transform into blue electricity.

[Wha—?!]

The Apostle let out a sound of astonishment.

But the static flowing from Alon‘s fingertips did not cease.

It surged through the dark mana, converting all of it into lightning.

As he observed the impossible spectacle unfolding— Alon recalled the words Kalannon had once spoken to him.

‘Handling divine power is not particularly difficult. You merely need to draw out the divinity within you. But to manipulate the power freely—simply drawing it out is insufficient.’

He looked ahead.

The dark mana that had previously permeated the air—was gone.

Replaced entirely by blinding blue lightning.

Kalannon‘s voice echoed in his memory.

‘That is why what you must do is not merely summon the divinity—You must accept it.’

[Perish!!!]

—!!!!

As if sensing an imminent, irreversible event—

Krakscha raised one of its massive limbs.

Simultaneously, the surrounding spiders emitted horrific shrieks and launched themselves forward.

‘Accepting divinity is challenging. It requires far more practice than you may think. But this time, I will assist you. So, you must only focus on activating the trigger. The trigger is—’

As the cascading rain surged upwards, Krakscha‘s leg came slamming down.

A tide of spiders hurtled toward Marquis Palatio.

But even in that fleeting moment—

Alon did nothing more than raise his left hand.

‘Lightning—’

“Grasp it.”

He simply seized—the electrical energy crackling around him.

And in that moment—

Snap—!

Everything came to a dead stop.

The rain that had been pouring down—

Halted.

The spiders that had been leaping at Alon—

Froze.

Krakscha‘s massive leg—

Stood still.

And the lightning in Alon‘s grip—

Vanished.

As if the very current of time had been arrested.

And then—

“…!”

The first to perceive the unsettling abnormality—was Syrkal.

‘They are vanishing…?’

She realized that the countless spiders that had been charging toward Alon just moments ago—had frozen midair, turning into particles.

Starting from the tips of their appendages, slowly, as if dissolving back into the earth, the spiders crumbled into dust.

“Manifestation.”

A quiet declaration resonated—

And from Marquis Palatio‘s body, an explosion of electricity erupted.

As if intending to consume the entire world.

With an earth-shaking roar, the brilliant blue lightning burst forth.

At that moment—

A pair of sapphire horns began to emerge from Marquis Palatio‘s head.

And as the storm intensified, raging even more fiercely than before—

A deity—had appeared.

Crackle—!

Kalannon, the lightning conductor.