I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 107 - The God Made by Offerings (2)
Chapter 107 – The God Made by Offerings (2)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Inside Duke Komalon’s office.
“…A failure, you say? And Marquis Palladio took the Shadow Dragon egg?”
“Yes.”
At the dark elf’s calm nod, Duke Komalon let out a hollow laugh.
“Why in the world was Marquis Palladio in a place like that?”
“We have not properly determined the reason yet, but it seems he came at someone’s request.”
“A request? Whose?”
At the duke’s question, the dark elf fell silent.
Realizing that the information had not yet been gathered, Duke Komalon laughed bitterly.
“Marquis Palladio… Marquis Palladio…”
He thought about something for a while.
Then he set down the fountain pen in his hand and continued.
“And the other preparations?”
“Other than the Shadow Dragon egg, preparations are proceeding steadily. It likely will not take long. The test subjects are the same.”
At those words, the duke let out a long sigh.
“Make sure everything is properly prepared.”
“Yes.”
“And as for Marquis Palladio…”
Then Duke Komalon fell silent again.
“…Shall we steal back the Shadow Dragon egg?”
At that, the dark elf asked carefully, but he shook his head.
“No. Since the awakening has already failed, the Shadow Dragon egg is no longer necessary to the plan.”
“…Then how would you like us to proceed?”
“Hm. Send the test subjects.”
“The test subjects?”
“Yes. They are no longer needed anyway, so let us clear them out. If we can confirm the marquis’s abilities in the process, all the better.”
“Understood.”
“Persuade them properly and send them.”
He watched the dark elf disappear with her head bowed.
Then.
‘Just how did he get the Shadow Dragon egg…?’
An expression of incomprehension crossed Duke Komalon’s face.
He let out a long sigh and calmed the stirring in his heart.
At this moment, when the great cause had drawn one step closer, he needed to remain composed.
Therefore.
‘Everything, for the great cause.’
He murmured inwardly the words he had recited thousands upon thousands of times.
####
‘Is it just my imagination?’
Reinhardt knew very well himself.
That it could all be his imagination.
No, more than that, he clearly knew that coincidence or misperception was overwhelmingly more likely.
Because it made no sense.
The back of Marquis Palladio of the Kingdom of Asteria, and the great statue he had seen when he entered the territory of the Hundred Ghosts, could not possibly be the same.
‘Obviously… it should not be.’
He knew it was impossible.
He knew it had to be coincidence.
And yet, the image he had seen back then kept overlaying itself on the back Alon was showing him now.
The dark coat fluttering behind him.
And the two eyes, black and blue, floating on either side of him.
They were too identical.
He remembered the scene he had seen then far too vividly, all the more because he had faced the fear of death at the time.
The Hundred Ghosts.
And the statue behind them.
That was why Reinhardt, staring at that sight with a blank expression.
“Kill the intruders.”
The moment he heard the words of the Thunder Serpent tribe, he came to his senses, raised his sword, and poured mana into it.
However.
“…?”
He soon had no choice but to stop.
The Thunder Serpent tribesmen, who had looked as though they were about to rush forward swinging their weapons only moments before, could not move from where they stood and were merely trembling violently.
And the moment he properly recognized that, Reinhardt saw it.
The violet threads stretched across the entire forest.
An ordinary person would not have been able to see them.
But those who possessed mana could tell that the violet threads had not only spread through the entire area like a spiderweb, but had already ensnared every single tribesman.
The only one resisting at all was.
“This is…!”
The man who had been thrusting his blade toward Marquis Palladio.
But regrettably, he could never move.
“…Ah.”
Unlike the others, who had only been bound around the necessary parts, the man standing right in front of Alon was wrapped in violet threads over practically his entire body except for his face.
To what extent?
If the threads tightened, the man would be reduced to little more than a handful of crushed meat.
And on top of that, the expression Deus wore while looking at the man who had dared to point a sword at the marquis was cold enough that anyone could see it.
‘He is less the sword of Caliburn and more the sword of Marquis Palladio.’
Thinking that, Reinhardt watched the fight end almost absurdly quickly, and could only wear a somewhat hollow expression.
‘I could not even properly perceive it. Just how much stronger is he still becoming?’
And as he felt a small flicker of jealousy while looking at Deus, who had once again moved a step ahead without Reinhardt even seeing how.
Alon, looking at the tribesman who was still twisting desperately.
‘It really was a good idea to bring Deus… It was a good idea, but…’
Let out a small sigh as he looked at the violet threads shining especially vividly.
Of course, even with the extreme cold he had spread in an instant, there would have been no real problem in restraining the tribesman before him and speaking with him.
Still, there was no denying that Deus had made the situation much easier.
Even as he thought that, Alon felt one small unease.
That was because the vivid violet threads Deus was displaying before him now resembled, aside from the color, the skill he would use after awakening as one of the Five Sins.
Which was why.
‘…No way, right?’
Alon glanced back toward Deus.
“Marquis, shall I kill them?”
Deus asked exactly as he always did.
“No.”
As he answered that question, Alon found himself unable to decide whether he should feel relieved or even more uneasy.
‘This ability may not be something he gained by awakening as one of the Five Sins. It might simply be the original power Deus acquires once he becomes a Swordmaster. More importantly…’
He ended that thought and then turned his attention to the tribesmen instead.
‘…Normally, this soon after entering, they would not come swarming in a group like this. What is going on?’
After staring for a moment at what looked like several dozen Thunder Serpent tribesmen, Alon soon shrugged.
“It seems we need to talk.”
“…Do you think we would bring you to him?”
Watching the tribesman whose voice sounded more like the cry of a beast than a human’s, Alon sighed.
“I, veiled beneath the low sky, will come to you. You who greet the dawn, receive me gladly.”
At the sudden sentence that came from Alon’s mouth, Evan, Deus, and Reinhardt all wore puzzled expressions.
However.
“!”
At the somewhat lengthy words, almost like a poem, the tribesman who had been growling up to that point recoiled in shock.
And after seeing the change in emotion in the eyes visible through the mask, Alon continued.
“Well? I would say that is enough to warrant seeing your chieftain.”
Of course, Alon himself had no idea what those words actually meant.
Still, the reason he was speaking with such confidence was simple.
He vividly remembered the time he encountered the Thunder Serpent tribe in the game.
When one took the relevant Thunder Serpent tribe quest, the accompanying NPC had used exactly that sentence to enter the tribe without any friction at all.
So, with half-confidence, Alon recited the words and stared at the tribesman.
“How in the world do you know that phrase…?”
The man muttered in utter disbelief.
But then.
“…Follow me.”
He relented.
At that sight, Alon smiled inwardly in satisfaction.
####
The first thing Alon felt when he entered the village of the Thunder Serpent tribe was mystery.
He had confirmed it many times in illustrations, but the Thunder Serpent village had been built upon ruined structures.
Alon turned his gaze and looked around.
There were houses built into the insides of trees like something from an elf settlement, and houses made by repairing the ruins.
The Thunder Serpent tribesmen emerging from those dwellings looked at Alon’s group with intense wariness.
Receiving those gazes from the Thunder Serpents, who were extremely wary of outsiders, Alon’s group soon arrived at the great temple at the center of the ruined settlement.
The temple, wound round with tree roots, felt less like a grand structure and more like a part of nature itself.
Watching that temple, Alon heard.
“Follow me.”
The tribesman with the four-horned mask, who had entered the temple first, spoke.
Alon moved inside with the others.
Before long, he reached a huge tent within the temple, and there he saw an old man.
Like the others, the old man wore white fur garments.
‘He is different from the chieftain I saw in the game.’
Thinking that, Alon looked at the old man.
Despite the deep wrinkles around his eyes, the old man had a gaze that still looked clear and intelligent.
Looking at Alon, he spoke.
“…I heard that the honored guest wished to see me. Is that correct?”
At the word honored guest, Alon briefly looked puzzled.
Then he realized at once that it was because of the sentence he had spoken earlier.
‘Right. That NPC was treated as an honored guest too.’
Recalling the girl NPC who had joined the party abruptly in the jungle and left just as abruptly once the matter was over, Alon nodded.
“That is right.”
“Very well. First, let me introduce myself. I am the one who leads the Thunder Serpents, Ashgul the Wise.”
“I am Marquis Palladio.”
At the old man, who bowed politely, Alon also bowed in return as he gave his introduction.
Then.
“You should greet him as well.”
As soon as Ashgul spoke, the tribesman who until just a moment ago had been wearing the four-horned mask removed it.
‘…A woman?’
Alon was secretly surprised.
The tribesman he had firmly assumed was a man turned out to be a somewhat youthful-looking woman.
And not just that.
‘…Swift Sirkal?’
“I am Swift Sirkal.”
Realizing that she was the woman who would become the chieftain of the Thunder Serpent tribe in the future, Alon looked at her with a newly curious expression.
“Then may I ask why you wished to see me?”
At Ashgul’s question, Alon began considering how best to phrase the answer.
“…”
He remained silent for a while.
Then, as if his decision had been made, he gave a small nod.
“The reason I came to the Thunder Serpent tribe is…”
Looking straight at Ashgul the Wise, he voiced the purpose that had brought him here.
“To subdue the god your Thunder Serpent tribe serves, Receiver Basiliora.”
It was the final objective.
And the kind of declaration that could do nothing except make everyone’s mouth fall open.