I Became the Patron of Villains

107. The God Made by Acceptance. (2)

Duke Komalon’s office.

“…Failure, you say? And the Marquis of Palatio took the dragon egg?”

“Yes.”

At the dark elf’s calm nod, Duke Komalon let out a hollow laugh.

“Why on earth was Marquis Palatio at the place where the dragon egg is?”

“I haven’t fully grasped the reason, but it seems he came at someone’s request.”

“A request? Whose?”

At the duke’s question, the dark elf closed his mouth.

Knowing that the information had not yet been gathered, Duke Komalon let out a bitter laugh.

“Marquis Palatio… Marquis Palatio…”

After pondering for a while, he put down the fountain pen he was holding and continued speaking.

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“What about the other preparations?”

“Everything is being prepared step by step, except for the dragon egg. It shouldn’t take long. The same goes for the test subjects.”

At those words, the duke let out a long sigh.

“Make sure everything is properly prepared.”

“Yes.”

“And, Marquis Palatio…”

Duke Komalon fell silent again.

“…Shall we steal the dragon egg?”

The dark elf cautiously asked, but he shook his head.

“No, since the awakening has already failed, the dragon egg is no longer needed for the plan.”

“…What should we do then?”

“Hmm, send the test subjects.”

“The test subjects, you say?”

“Yes, they are no longer needed, so get rid of them. It would be good to verify the marquis’s abilities in the process.”

“Understood.”

“Send them off with some persuasive words.”

As he watched the dark elf disappear with his head bowed,

‘How on earth did that guy get the dragon egg…?’

He had an expression of incomprehension.

Duke Komalon took a deep breath, calming the ripples in his heart.

At this moment, when the cause was one step closer, he had to remain calm.

Therefore.

‘Everything is for the greater good.’

He muttered the words he had recited thousands of times to himself.

####

‘Is it an illusion?’

Reinhardt knew well.

That he might be mistaken.

No, he was clearly aware that the probability of it being a mistake or coincidence was overwhelmingly high.

Because it didn’t make sense logically.

That the back of Marquis Palatio in the Kingdom of Asteria and the giant statue he saw when he entered the realm of the Hundred Ghosts were identical.

‘Surely, it must be.’

Even though he knew it didn’t make sense, that it must be a coincidence.

The image he saw back then kept overlapping with the back that Alon was showing now.

The black coat fluttering.

And the two eyes, one black and one blue, on either side of his face.

They were so identical.

Because he remembered the scene so vividly, having faced the fear of death at that time.

The appearance of the Hundred Ghosts and the statue behind them.

So, Reinhardt, who was staring blankly at the place without realizing it, was.

“Dispose of the intruder!”

Suddenly, hearing the words of the Thunder Serpent tribe, he immediately came to his senses, raised his sword, and infused it with magic.

But.

“……?”

He had to stop his actions immediately.

Because the Thunder Serpent tribe, who seemed about to rush in with their weapons, couldn’t move from their spot and were just trembling.

And at the moment he properly recognized it, Reinhardt saw it.

The threads of Za’an visible throughout the entire forest.

Ordinary people couldn’t see it, but those with magic could already notice that the threads of Za’an not only spread like a spider web throughout this place but also captured all the tribe members.

The only one resisting was.

“Damn it-!”

The man who was pointing his sword at Marquis Palatio, but unfortunately, he couldn’t move at all.

“……Ah.”

Unlike the others who were merely bound by the necessary parts, the man standing right in front of Alon was practically entwined with the threads of Zaan, except for his face.

To the extent that, the moment the threads tightened, the man would just turn into a lump of meat.

Moreover, Deus’s expression as he looked at the man who had pointed a sword at the Marquis was so cold that anyone would find it chilling.

‘……It’s not Caliburn’s sword, but the Marquis Palatio’s sword.’

Reinhardt, who was thinking such thoughts, witnessed the fight that ended in an instant, making his worries seem unfounded, and showed a slightly dejected expression.

‘I didn’t even realize it properly……. Just how strong is that guy going to get?’

As he was feeling a small pang of jealousy while watching Deus, who had taken another step forward in the time he hadn’t seen him.

Alon, who saw the tribesman wearing a mask and twisting his body somehow.

‘It was a good idea to bring Deus……. It was a good idea, but……’

He let out a small sigh as he looked at the particularly bright threads of Zaan.

Of course, even with the sudden cold he had unleashed, there would have been no problem capturing the tribesman in front of him and having a conversation, but thanks to Deus, things had become much easier.

Even while thinking that, he had a small sense of unease.

The reason being, the bright threads of Zaan that Deus was showing in front of Alon for the first time, if their color changed, they would resemble the technique he used when he awakened to sin.

Therefore.

‘……No, right?’

Alon glanced back at Deus.

“Marquis, should I kill him?”

Deus asked as usual.

“No.”

Alon couldn’t decide whether he should feel relieved or more anxious as he answered that question.

‘That ability might not be the one he gained from awakening to the five great sins, but the original ability Deus could obtain as a Sword Master. But more importantly-‘

As he finished thinking that, he looked at the tribesman and had a moment of doubt.

‘……If it was a situation where they had just arrived, they wouldn’t be swarming like this. What is this?’

Alon, who was tilting his head while looking at the dozens of Thunder Serpent tribesmen, soon shrugged his shoulders.

“It seems we need to have a conversation.”

“……Do you think we will go with you?”

Alon sighed as he looked at the tribesman who, despite being human, was making a voice that sounded like a beast.

“I will come to you, hidden under the sky at dawn, so welcome the dawn with joy.”

Suddenly, words burst out of Alon’s mouth, causing Evan, Deus, and Reinhardt to look puzzled.

However.

“!”

The tribe member, who had been growling just moments ago, was startled by the somewhat long, almost poetic words.

Seeing the change in the eyes visible through the mask, Alon continued to speak.

“How about this? This should be enough to meet the chieftain.”

Of course, he had no idea what these words meant.

But Alon spoke with such confidence because he vividly remembered meeting the Thunder Serpent tribe in the game.

When he received the Thunder Serpent tribe-related quest while accompanying an NPC in the game, he remembered entering the tribe without any friction through that sentence.

So, half-confident, Alon uttered the sentence and looked at the tribe member.

“How on earth do you know those words-”

The tribe member muttered, looking as if he couldn’t understand.

“……Follow me.”

He soon agreed.

Seeing this, Alon smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

####

The first thing Alon felt upon entering the Thunder Serpent tribe’s village was ‘mystery.’

He had checked it several times through illustrations, but the Thunder Serpent tribe’s village was built on the ruins of a collapsed site.

Alon turned his gaze and looked around.

Around him were houses built inside trees, like elves, and houses made by repairing the ruins.

The Thunder Serpent tribe members, who were out and about, were watching Alon’s party with very wary expressions.

Receiving the wary gazes of the Thunder Serpent tribe members, who were extremely cautious of outsiders, Alon’s party soon arrived at the large temple in the center of the ruins.

Climbing up the tree trunk, Alon felt more like the temple was part of nature rather than being grand.

“Follow me.”

As soon as the four-horned tribe member, who had entered the temple first, spoke, they walked inside together.

Soon, they reached a large tent inside the temple, where they saw an old man.

The old man, like the other tribe members, was wearing a white fur coat.

‘He’s different from the chieftain I saw in the game.’

Alon thought as he looked at the old man.

Despite the wrinkles around his eyes, the old man had bright, intelligent eyes and spoke to Alon.

“……I heard that the noble wanted to see me, is that correct?”

The old man’s words.

At that, Alon momentarily looked puzzled at the word “noble,” but soon realized it was because of the sentence he had mentioned earlier.

‘Indeed, that NPC was also treated as a noble.’

Alon, recalling the girl NPC who had suddenly joined him in the jungle and parted ways as soon as the task was over, nodded.

“That’s right.”

“First, let me introduce myself. I am the one who leads the Thunder Serpent, ‘Wise Ashgul.'”

“I am Marquis Palatio.”

As the old man bowed politely, Alon also introduced himself and bowed.

“You should greet as well.”

As Ashgul spoke, the tribe member who had been wearing a mask with four horns until a moment ago took off the mask.

‘……A woman?’

Alon was secretly surprised.

The tribe member he had thought was a man was actually a somewhat youthful-looking woman.

Moreover.

‘……Swift Sirkal?’

“Swift Sirkal.”

Realizing that she would become the chief of the Thunder Serpent tribe in the future, Alon looked at her with a renewed expression.

“So, may I ask why you sought me out?”

And with Ashgul’s ensuing question, Alon began to ponder how to respond.

“……”

Alon remained silent for a while.

But after a moment, as if he had finished contemplating, he nodded slightly.

“The reason I came to the Thunder Serpent tribe is-“

Looking at Wise Ashgul, he stated his purpose for coming here.

“To subjugate the god worshipped by the Thunder Serpent tribe, ‘Basiliora the Receiver.'”

Everyone’s mouths naturally fell open at the final purpose.