I Became the Patron of Villains

30. What is the purpose of the duel? (2)

All eyes focused on Count Palatio.

The soldiers in fear.

The knights in despair.

Penia and Deus.

And the giant standing before him.

[…….]

The giant’s expressionless eyes looked at Alon.

Alon’s emotionless eyes looked at the giant.

And then.

[Huh-]

A smile crept across the giant’s lips.

[Hahahahaha-!]

The maniacal laughter that burst from his mouth reverberated through the entire space, as if to crush it.

The ground trembled, and the laughter was so intense that even the dead, who sang of despair, fell silent.

Most of the living thought that the giant’s sudden laughter was filled with mockery and disdain, but contrary to their thoughts…

[Good. Very good! Noble one!]

The giant’s laughter was filled with utmost sincerity, joy, and ecstasy.

The atmosphere emanating from the giant’s body began to change.

From contempt to joy, from joy to exhilaration.

And then…

[I, Ultultus, accept your duel under the great covenant!]

At the giant’s cry, the dead, who sang of despair, began to move in unison, forming a massive circle around Ultultus and Alon.

Drip-drip-

The blood that flowed from the dead stained the ground and formed a boundary.

Thus, the blood-red colosseum was created.

In the ashen arena of blood-drawn boundaries and blood-painted decorations…

[According to the great covenant, no one shall interfere with the sacred duel until it is over!]

As he declared this, the bodies of the dead burst apart, creating a blood-red wall, and a deep smile spread across Ultultus’s face.

It was a clear expression of ecstasy.

However, in stark contrast, Alon’s expression remained utterly impassive.

But-

‘…I want to go home.’

Behind that impassive face, Alon was trembling pitifully.

No matter how many times he reminded himself, the reason Alon had come to the north was to kill the foreign god Ultultus standing before him.

To do so, Alon had prepared all the necessary items to face the foreign god since he heard of its awakening, and now it was just a matter of execution.

However, despite having prepared everything, Alon’s mind was currently filled with fear due to the overwhelming pressure the foreign god exuded, far beyond his imagination.

‘…Stay calm.’

Even though he had taken the ‘Elixir of Composure’ to maintain a steady psychological state, Alon struggled to calm his heart, which began to pound wildly, unlike his impassive face.

It was partly due to the instinctive pressure exuded by the foreign god, but there was also one unexpected factor.

“Why has the incarnation process progressed so much already?”

All outer gods gradually adapt to reality and complete the process of becoming a sage god from the moment they descend. This was certainly the case for Ultultus as well.

However, despite this, the speed of Ultultus’s incarnation process was faster than he had anticipated.

Even though there was still about a month left, it was clear that the foreign god before him would soon become a complete sage god.

And such a rapid incarnation process was an unexpected variable for Alon.

The closer a god gets to becoming a sage god, the stronger they become.

[By the way, it’s curious. Noble one who has bloomed amidst barbarism, how do you know our covenant despite not being from the same era?]

Ultultus asked as Alon swallowed dryly, recalling that point.

But he no longer had the leisure to leisurely respond to his words.

“Can I do it?”

Countless doubts and confusions arose in his mind.

Ultultus, who had become excessively strong beyond his expectations, forcibly shook the heart he had been sustaining with potions, but he soon shook off the denial.

He clearly understood that from the moment he reached this point, there was only one path he could walk.

Even in the silence that followed as he sorted out such confusion, Ultultus, with a deep smile, spoke as if he was in a good mood.

[If you don’t want to talk, then so be it. You have the right to do so. Then shall we start the sacred duel?]

As the giant’s laughter deepened, his arm was raised.

[The duel of Babylon.]

Ultultus walked towards Alon.

With each step he took, leaving noise and footprints on the ashen and blood-stained ground, Alon did nothing.

He just stood still, waiting for the being before him.

And then,

Boom-!

Even when Ultultus reached him with a great sound and raised his fist, Alon still kept silent and just watched.

From afar, the voices of the living began to be heard, but he still maintained his silence, watching the giant’s actions.

The reason was.

“Rules.”

Because running away or moving in this situation would violate the rules of the great Babylonian duel that existed in the forgotten age of gods.

There were only two rules for the Babylonian duel.

1. The attacker and defender take turns, and the defender cannot move.

2. The side that requests the duel yields the first attack.

This duel, akin to a turn-based game, would lose its meaning if Alon were to take even a single step.

Moreover, doing so would mean losing the chance to deal with the foreign god before him.

Without the constraints of a duel, there was no way he could kill the foreign god, who could instantly kill even the superhuman Master Knights.

In other words, this duel was the only way for Alon to impose restrictions on him and win.

“Fixation.”

Thus, the only thing Alon could do here was defend.

A sphere formed before Alon’s murmuring eyes.

“Condensation.”

The condensed sphere focused on his left arm.

“Enhancement.”

As the phrase was murmured, the condensed energy in Alon’s left arm emitted a deep light.

“Intensification.”

With his final words, the seal was completed.

Ultultus’s fist, displaying a deep smile, was drawn back.

Muscles pulled back like a ballista.

With the drawn-back fist, a massive force began to gather.

Alon knew that technique well.

Because he had seen it.

With one second, it could shatter the earth.

With five seconds, it could rend the sky.

With ten seconds, it could overturn the world.

It was the Song of Destruction.

And then.

[Indeed, you are magnificent…!]

With Ultultus’s smile, feeling deep joy at adhering to the rules of Babylonia, everyone present wore expressions of astonishment.

Even without fully understanding, they instinctively realized.

The force contained in that foreign god’s hand was anything but ordinary.

At that moment, as all eyes were focused.

[Honorable one who knows the nobility of duels!]

The fist swung.

────────!!!!

With a deafening roar, everything was swept away.

The earth burst open as if its shell was cracking.

The atmosphere vibrated, producing a rough explosion sound.

The world within the range of his outstretched fist became a vacuum in an instant.

And then.

KWA-aaaNG-!!!

After the ear-splitting explosion that came belatedly, gray dust spread in all directions.

“This is… impossible…”

They could see it.

The world, left with nothing, centered around Ultultus’s outstretched fist.

A massive conical crater formed on the ground.

The sky, covered in gray, split open, and through it, a purple sunset shone upon the earth.

Overwhelming power.

As the living beings, who were staring blankly at Ultultus standing against the sunset, began to feel a mix of despair and awe.

“The, the Count is, still alive?”

“What? What do you mean-“

Due to a knight’s muttering, everyone’s gaze turned towards the conical space.

And then.

“Crazy…”

Along with the knight’s low curse, everyone saw it.

The figure of Count Palatio, standing up, bleeding from his entire body.

The Count’s condition was already far from normal.

His right arm hung limp, as if it had lost all strength, and the blood pouring from his body seemed to signal that his death was imminent.

Yet, despite such a situation, Alon, who was staring straight at the giant without a shred of emotion, finally stood in place.

The lotus-patterned pendant on the Count’s neck turned to a handful of ashes and disappeared.

“All conditions have been met.”

The Count’s voice.

“I invoke the Restriction.”

Resonated.

‘The Ring of the Arrogant One’ is an item that grants power in exchange for a price, just like the ‘Restrictions’ he originally obtained.

The difference in the game is that the item obtained varies depending on whether the protagonist’s profession is a wizard or something else.

There are two other differences.

One is that, unlike the ‘Restrictions’ he originally used, it provides four restrictions at once.

The other is that, unlike the restrictions he originally used, the activation condition of the ring is that the wearer must be in a near-death state.

Therefore, all conditions were met.

Including deliberately drawing the foreign god into a duel with restrictions.

Blocking the pain that would be felt beyond a certain level with Remiteon’s potion.

Receiving the foreign god’s attack with the one-time artifact, the Pendant of Reincarnation, which he obtained before visiting Caliban, that would never lead to death no matter what attack he received.

Strengthening only the left hand that held the recovery potion so that it wouldn’t break and forcibly pushing the recovery potion into his mouth.

Even meeting the conditions of the ‘Restrictions’ because of that.

“……I shall act.”

In the time when everything had stopped, Alon, who had completed the ‘Restrictions’, looked ahead.

There stood a giant filled with deep joy, arms spread wide, not moving a single step.

As if waiting for his attack, Alon, who was looking at the unmoving giant, staggered and extended his intact left hand forward.

‘It took too long to pack Remiteon’s potion, if I hadn’t brought it, I wouldn’t have been able to get up.’

A reflection uttered in the midst of subtle pain.

Even though he took Remiteon’s potion to block the pain and pushed the top-grade recovery potion into his mouth, Alon’s body was still broken, as expected.

Unless it was an elixir, Alon’s body couldn’t be healed immediately.

But, at least for now, it was enough to be able to lift his left hand.

The giant, who sanctified duels and gained honor by reaching the pinnacle of barbarism, would neither interfere with nor avoid his attack.

No matter how long it took to prepare that attack.

“Hoo-”

Seeing the magical haze rising from his raised hand and beginning to twist into a spiral shape, Alon recalled the restrictions he had just performed and a crooked smile appeared behind his expressionless face.

Due to the nature of gaining greater rewards by offering greater restrictions, the restrictions he performed became excessively limited compared to the original plan.

The strength gained from the rapid manifestation of Ultultus was beyond what he had anticipated.

But.

Finally, he could be sure.

This strike would reach the foreign god.

Kkigigik-!

As the eerie sound echoed and the current began to spiral, Alon murmured softly, recalling the four constraints.

“Diffraction.”

The first constraint. May the use of magic twist the laws of the world when performed on the frozen land.

“Singularity.”

The second constraint. May the use of magic twist the laws of the world when in a near-death state.

“Condensation.”

The third constraint. May the use of magic twist the laws of the world when confronting a god.

“Annihilation.”

The fourth constraint.

When facing the great duel god Ultultus with magic.

May the laws of the world be twisted.

Alon looked ahead.

Before his hand, a massive line of lightning had formed.

Thin and long.

A red line of lightning, glowing purple in the light of the setting sun.

From the bracelet on his left hand, as if flowing like smoke, the ashen magic enveloped the red line of lightning.

In the eyes of the knights and soldiers, the figure of Alon standing against the sunset was revealed.

In the eyes of Deus and Fenia, along with the sunset light, two ‘pupils’ appeared behind Alon.

With that.

“Line of Silence.”

With Alon’s murmur, a white flash shot towards the giant who was grinning broadly.

Kwaa────────!!!

– The ashen land briefly regained the appearance of a white snowy field.