Became the Patron of Villains Novel MTL - Chapter 230

Chapter 230

In that grey, ashen world, Alon was the first to take action.

“!”

Moving with such velocity that even Agu’s reaction was delayed, Alon slammed a kick directly into his opponent’s stomach.

Kwaaaang!!!!

Agu was launched through the air with the force of a fired cannonball.

Simultaneously, the lightning wreathing Alon exploded outward, scorching the surroundings before coalescing into the shape of wings. The impact was far too immense to be the result of a simple physical movement. The surviving merchants and soldiers watched with jaws unhinged, their mouths gaping wide as a flicker of hope ignited in their eyes.

After sending Agu flying, Alon immediately grasped at the empty air.

Pazzzzzzt-!!!!!

Titanic arcs of lightning spanning the ashen world radiated outward, then converged into a singular, colossal bolt within Alon’s hand. The energy was absorbed with terrifying voracity, as if it intended to devour Alon himself, swelling instantly to cleave the grey sky and earth asunder.

Divine Punishment (天伐).

The thunderbolt crashed down toward where Agu rolled across the ground.

!

The ashen world was bleached stark white. It was a brilliance that stripped away the senses of the merchants and mercenaries. The earth shuddered violently.

When their vision finally returned, what lay before them was—

A deep, conical fissure tearing through the ashen land.

The observers, who had viewed this overwhelming power with awe rather than hope, had only a split second to process the scene.

“That’s insane—”

“He’s still alive.”

Their astonishment shifted rapidly to horror. Inside the massive conical crater Alon had carved out—

“Hah—This is better than I expected.”

Agu (鬼), who had just been on the receiving end of a completely one-sided assault, looked up at Alon with a grim smirk. Agu’s body was riddled with wounds. However, none were critical enough to hinder his combat prowess.

Rine, who had been staring blankly, furrowed her brows.

“……”

Yet, Alon displayed no ripple of emotion.

‘As expected, it’s not working.’

Agu radiated a relaxed composure. Alon wasn’t surprised by this; he had anticipated it to some degree.

‘To begin with, Agu isn’t an opponent I can handle at my current level.’

The leader of one of the four great factions. In Psychedelia, these were characters that appeared in the latter half of the game, manageable only when the protagonist and their allies were near maximum level.

However, something had gone terribly wrong, as Agu now appeared to wield the power of Greed. The creatures from the inner world under Agu’s control were twisted and grotesque—far removed from their original singular forms. Furthermore, the humanoid scar on his chest was a new development.

In short, no matter what Alon attempted right now, he could not defeat Agu.

“I was slightly surprised, and this is quite amusing, so I’ll play along a bit longer. Heh.”

Fully aware of the reality of the situation, Agu waved his hand dismissively in a taunt. Yet, despite recognizing the despair of the circumstances, Alon felt no hopelessness.

He already had a plan. A method to deal with the entity standing before him.

Alon subtly shifted his gaze toward Rine, noting that Penia was whispering something to her.

Pazzzzzzt!!

Without a moment’s hesitation, Alon flared his lightning and charged straight at Agu.

This time, although Agu tracked Alon’s approach, he simply stood his ground, smirking as if daring him to try. His confidence was understandable to Alon. After all, Alon’s divine energy was steadily leaking away, whereas Agu—despite numerous superficial injuries—remained fundamentally intact.

At this juncture, considering Agu’s personality within Psychedelia, Alon was nothing more than an entertaining toy to him.

But,

“Hoo—!”

It was precisely because of that arrogance that Alon’s plan could succeed.

The instant Alon reached Agu, he channeled every ounce of his strength into his legs. Responding to his will, the surrounding electricity concentrated at his feet.

Pazzzzzzt!!

He struck Agu with a driving kick.

Kwaaaang~!

With a deafening boom, Agu was once again blasted away like a cannonball. Yet, even as he flew, he continued to smirk at Alon, his expression mocking—asking if this was all he had.

In response to that mockery, Alon, beneath his stony facade, smiled.

With this, the objective was achieved.

Agu’s vision warped. The empty ashen world vanished, replaced by a vividly colored, violet-hued reality. The moment Agu realized he had been knocked into the Forbidden Gate and saw Alon following him inside with a puzzled look—

Crackkk!

Until a split second ago, Alon had been broadcasting lightning wildly. But now, he instantly dissipated it and formed a seal with his hands.

At that instant—

“……”

Agu sensed something was terribly wrong.

‘What—!’

A sudden transformation seized the space. For the first time, a shadow of panic crossed Agu’s face. The world of the Forbidden Gate, which had been perfectly stable—

Crunch—Craaaack!!!

—began to collapse.

The momentary confusion over this abrupt development was short-lived.

‘……This is dangerous…………!’

Realizing the collapse was Alon’s doing, Agu immediately attempted to rush him.

“!”

Unfortunately for him, he failed.

The moment Agu tried to dash forward, a massive gate materialized above Alon’s head.

“Pluto: Limited Deployment.”

And then—

Rine’s voice echoed in Agu’s ears.

“Divine Punishment.”

A titanic mechanical hand surged toward Agu. Immediately twisting his body to evade, Agu unleashed countless monstrous entities, using them as footholds in an attempt to escape Pluto’s grasp.

But—

“!”

For just a fleeting second.

Penia’s magic ensnared his legs. Agu shattered the binding spell instantly with a mere shake of his body, but that split-second delay created by the magic—

Kwaaaang~!!

—was enough for Pluto’s hand to make contact.

Simultaneously, six spectral hands manifested behind Alon’s back.

Hand Seals. Six Bindings.

As he completed the binding seal, the world of the Forbidden Gate shattered like glass, giving way to the abyss.

Snowflake (雪花).

The moment Alon finalized the seal—

The broken world,

“!!!!!”

Cast Agu into the abyss.

“Wait, wait, Marquis! Stop! You have to stop! Aaaaaah! Falling, falling, falling, falling—aaaaack~!!!!”

Penia flailed in a panic as she confirmed Agu’s fall into the abyss, while Alon severed the magic he had been channeling.

And then.

Thud!

The shattered Forbidden Gate began to revert to its original state. The world, which had cracked like broken glass, restored itself as if time were rewinding.

Tududududuk~!

Finally, after verifying that the void where Agu had been cast was completely filled in—

“…..Hah.”

Alon exhaled a short sigh and collapsed onto the ground.

“……I thought I was going to die.”

“Hohohoho~ So, Marquis, how was it? My flawless plan?”

As the Forbidden Gate restored itself without a scratch, Alon muttered under his breath. Penia, now bursting with pride, asked as if she hadn’t been screaming in panic just moments prior.

Alon let out a small chuckle.

“I had my doubts, but it was perfect.”

“Right? I mean, I analyzed your magic and calculated everything myself while we were searching for the Forbidden Gate, so failure was honestly never an option.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes. Remember when you were away for a bit? I went then.”

“You saved us all.”

“Heh.”

Penia puffed out her chest and exhaled sharply, seemingly demanding more praise. Under normal circumstances, she would have appeared arrogant, but right now, Alon was more than willing to praise her repeatedly.

“Even though you warned me that space-time would distort due to the Forbidden Gate phenomenon, I didn’t expect it to be this extreme.”

“Well, to be honest, even I didn’t anticipate this much. Based on the magic level I observed from you before, the collapse should have been weaker…… Maybe I miscalculated?”

Penia muttered to herself, lost in thought. Alon then shifted his gaze to Rine, who was still staring blankly at the spot where Agu had been thrown.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah—”

Rine snapped back to reality and nodded.

“Yes, Godfather, thank you for your concern.”

“I’m glad, but you don’t look well.”

Rine hesitated before offering an awkward smile.

“……Sorry to worry you. It’s just—something is bothering me.”

“Agu?”

“Yes. I just wonder… if this is truly the end.”

At her words, Penia shrugged and interjected.

“If that’s what you’re worried about, don’t be. No matter how strong that Agu guy is, he was thrown into the abyss. We won’t be seeing him again.”

“……Can we really be sure?”

“Hoho, of course! Beyond the abyss, there is no mana, nothing at all, and space-time is completely tangled. Survival is practically impossible. At most, we might find some traces of him?”

She quickly added—

“Though, with the space-time distortions, his body would probably be shredded into a thousand pieces, so at best, we might find a scrap of flesh.”

Clearing her throat, Penia turned her attention to Alon.

“Ahem, so, Marquis.”

“Yes?”

“I worked really hard, you know? I feel like I was super helpful this time too, and well—”

She glanced sideways at Alon with expectation. Alon watched her for a moment before laughing.

“When we return, I’ll give you one of my artifacts.”

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

“Kyaaa!! I knew I could count on you!”

Penia jumped up and down, wearing a bright, triumphant expression. She then spun around quickly and declared—

“Let’s go! We need to finish our journey!”

With sparkling eyes, she stepped through the exit of the Forbidden Gate.

“Let’s go too.”

“Yes, Godfather.”

Alon followed her, accompanied by Rine.

But then—

Swoosh~!

Penia suddenly backstepped, returning inside the Forbidden Gate.

“?”

Ignoring Alon’s puzzled look, she stepped out of the gate again—

Swoosh~!

Only to immediately backpedal and re-enter.

“……What are you doing?”

After she repeated this odd behavior several times, Alon finally asked.

Then Penia—

“Marquis…….”

“…?”

“Ahaha— I feel like my eyes might be playing tricks on me… Something feels… really off.”

She forced out a laugh that was obviously mechanical and awkward. Hearing that, Alon stepped out of the Forbidden Gate himself—

And was met with—

“?”

Nothing but barren land.

No, to be precise—

“…!”

A ruined world.

The same devastated world he had witnessed every time he went to meet Kylrus.

A world where nothing existed.

“What the……?”

Amidst the absolute void, Alon could only murmur blankly.