I Became the Patron of Villains

Chapter 160

160. Why is he so strong? (4)

Alon had anticipated that Elivan might be stronger than he thought.

When Ultultus first appeared in the north, he met Elivan a few years earlier and provided him with various items to help him grow comfortably.

At that time, the things Alon handed over to Elivan were full of items that were not easily obtainable, so it was natural for his growth to be above average.

However-

‘……No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like level 10.’

His power far exceeded his imagination.

He glanced down at the crushed living armors in front of Elivan.

Living armors were quite troublesome monsters to deal with for warriors, even if they were not for wizards or priests.

Their characteristic was that they wouldn’t stop moving just because their armor was slightly dented.

One had to completely destroy the armor that formed their body.

Because of this, most players who raised Elivan as a warrior character would usually clear the battles in this Iron Blood Fortress by letting Yan handle the fights and using other characters as tanks.

Originally, the battle should have gone that way.

But Elivan had smashed all those living armors alone.

“Ah.”

Elivan let out a low exclamation, perhaps realizing it belatedly.

Alon naturally guessed his level.

‘……Level 30? No, if he can take down hundreds of them in one blow, then 40? ……Considering Elivan’s talent and the blessings he received, that level should be possible. He probably hasn’t reached Sword Master yet, so level 50…… would be difficult.’

While Alon was contemplating.

Elivan, who had darted out like an arrow, returned with his characteristic laugh, “Ahaha.”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

“…You’re strong. If it’s to this extent – wasn’t my support unnecessary?”

Pointing at the shattered living armors, Alon asked, and Eliban scratched his head.

“I heard it would be dangerous.”

“…Just in case, right?”

“Yes, yes, that’s it. Hmm-hmm – let’s move forward first…!”

Without giving him a chance to say more, Eliban immediately pushed through the living armors.

“…Hmm.”

Alon’s expression became peculiar.

There was something a bit unsettling.

‘…If he’s that strong, he wouldn’t have been so anxious.’

Unless Eliban was the type to be overly cautious, which he hadn’t shown until now.

After pondering for a moment, Alon decided to follow him.

After all, he had business at the Iron Blood Fortress.

Then he suddenly realized that Eliban’s companions were still rooted in place and turned his gaze.

“?”

He couldn’t help but be puzzled again.

All of Eliban’s party –

‘…They seem very surprised?’

Each one of them had their mouths agape as if their jaws would drop.

There are many things to gain inside the Strange Gate.

The setting merely explained that it was related to the five great sins, but in the game, the Strange Gate was the source of weapons and artifacts for the player – that is, Eliban’s party.

Especially in the Iron Blood Fortress they were currently in, there were many items that Eliban, who started as a warrior, could obtain, but it required a lot of grinding.

If you didn’t immediately go to Lartania for level grinding after starting the game, the protagonist would reach level 10 by the time they arrived at the Iron Blood Fortress.

At that level, it would be difficult to easily defeat the living armors.

So, you had to calmly lure each living armor into a room and defeat them one by one.

…Of course, that’s no longer necessary now.

“Hmm…”

Alon scanned the corridor of the Iron Blood Fortress, where he had been exploring for several hours.

In the hallway, there were remnants of what used to be living armors scattered around.

Not just cut with a sword, but smashed to pieces as if by a hammer, leaving behind gruesome corpses.

Alon, who was silently observing the scene, turned his gaze to Elivan.

A man who, once again, let out an awkward laugh, “Ahaha.”

Evan, who was standing beside him, whispered quietly.

“Marquis.”

“Speak.”

“…Honestly, doesn’t it seem like we don’t really need any help?”

“I think so too.”

Although Elivan had asked for help and they had come together, Alon had not used magic even once since entering the Iron Blood Fortress.

No, to be precise, he had tried to use magic.

But every time he tried to use magic-

“Marquis! Are you alright?”

“Marquis! Are you hurt anywhere!?”

“Marquis!”

-Elivan would rush out and destroy all the living armors.

As if overprotecting a child left by the water’s edge.

“……”

Naturally, this was a bit troublesome for Alon as well.

Since there were items to be obtained in the Iron Blood Fortress, he needed to contribute to the party to some extent.

Even though Elivan’s companions were tied to him, Alon had to do something to avoid being seen as a burden when asking for artifacts later.

‘…Does he want to monopolize them?’

He doubted for a moment, but soon shook his head.

Neither by setting nor by actual appearance did he have that kind of personality.

Rather, he had the typical personality of a royal road protagonist, not fitting for dark fantasy.

“Marquis, are you alright?”

Before he knew it, Elivan had approached Alon again.

Alon, who had finished his thoughts, replied.

“…You don’t need to worry too much. As you can see, I haven’t suffered any damage.”

“That’s true.”

“By the way, you don’t have to handle everything by yourself. I have enough strength to deal with that much.”

“Oh, yes. I understand. It’s just- it’s a bit of a habit, so it’s hard to restrain myself.”

“A habit?”

“Yes, I’m a bit worried.”

Only then did the situation become a little clearer.

‘Is it that he can’t stand seeing his comrades get hurt?’

Given Elivan’s personality, that seemed plausible, so Alon nodded-

Then suddenly, a thought struck him.

“For that, your comrades seem to be quite surprised when they look at you.”

Very much so.

Elivan hesitated for a moment, then scratched his cheek with a troubled expression.

“Actually- I’ve been pretending to be a bit weaker on purpose.”

“…Pretending to be weak?”

“Yes, the goddess advised me that my comrades also need to grow.”

“Ah.”

“So they were probably a bit surprised. It’s the first time I’ve shown my true strength.”

“I see.”

“Yes. In this case, because of that army at the beginning, I ended up-“

“Showing a lot of strength?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Alon nodded once again.

Now he understood why his comrades were so surprised earlier.

“So I’m always grateful to the Marquis. Thanks to the care you gave me back then, I was able to become this strong.”

“I’m glad to hear that it helped.”

Seeing that he had grown even more than expected, Alon felt quite proud.

“But you can take it a bit easier. I don’t need to be overly protected like that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

A spirited response.

‘…Well, there’s only the boss monster left anyway.’

The battle was nearing its end.

And as for the remaining boss monster-

‘I suppose I could try using magic.’

With that hope in mind, they began to wander through the citadel, subtly tinged with the purple sky.

Before long, the party reached the end.

What they faced then was,

Kugugugug-!

A dark knight.

Unlike the other living armors, which had only floating armor, shoulder guards, and swords, this one was entirely clad in jet-black armor, as if welcoming the intruders, it rose from its place-

Whooong-!

It swung its massive greatsword wide, heavy just to look at.

At the same time, its dark coat fluttered.

‘The Iron-Blooded Left Concan.’

As soon as Alon saw it, he formed a seal.

Due to the nature of living armor, it began to charge madly at the first target that attempted to attack.

In that tense moment.

“Marquis-!”

Kwajik!

Elivan darted out like a bullet and smashed its head.

“Ah.”

A low exclamation escaped simultaneously from Alon, who had lost his chance, and Elivan, who seemed to realize his mistake immediately.

####

The country of Fildagrin, built above the land of the elves, Greynif.

A report was brought to Queen Magrina, who ruled there.

“…The things rising from the roots are increasing, you say?”

“Yes. Recently, their momentum has been unusual.”

“Are there so many that Pagade is having trouble holding them back?”

“No, it’s not to that extent.”

The face of the knight from the secret organization Pagade, who was making the report, was clouded with worry.

“But as you know, it’s something that hasn’t changed for nearly a thousand years. It’s fine for now, but we don’t know what might happen in the future.”

A brief silence.

“Understood. For now, please continue to monitor the situation.”

“At your command.”

“I commend your efforts.”

As Magrina dismissed the knight and was deep in thought, a visitor arrived.

“Your Majesty, Perion and Filde have arrived.”

“…Let them in.”

She set aside her worries for a moment and greeted her guests.

“We greet the Queen.”

“…Welcome, Filde, Perion. However, you don’t look well. What happened?”

Could something have happened at the Marquis of Palatio’s estate?

Filde’s complexion was not good.