I Became the Patron of Villains

56. The King of the Abyss (1)

Alon knew Myaon better than most mercenaries did.

In Psychedelia, she was a character who could be recruited into the protagonist’s party after clearing a certain level of the labyrinth.

Moreover, during the early days of playing the game, he often recruited Myaon, who joined at a high level even in the low-level segments, and had witnessed various personal events with her, making it impossible for him to not know her.

“…….”

Yet, even so, this was an utterly unexpected statement, and he fell silent.

“Are you considering it?”

Myaon sent him a teasing smile.

“Suddenly…?”

As Alon slowly responded, his gaze lingering on her face, marred yet unblemished by scars.

“Suddenly? This is already our third meeting.”

Myaon, with her cat-like ears perked up, continued.

“By now, I think we’ve grasped everything we need to know about each other. I’ve figured out that you’re strong, too.”

“Ah.”

Alon let out a soft exclamation at her words, finally breaking free from the paralysis of his thoughts.

He began to understand why she was making such a proposal.

‘…Now that I think about it, Myaon’s tribe did have a reverence for the strong.’

Of course, it was a very distant memory, one that hadn’t lingered in his mind until now, but her tribe had a custom of worshipping the powerful.

‘Worship of the strong… It seemed to be something that felt an immense attraction to someone stronger than oneself.’

Alon opened his mouth as he gazed at the numerous scars scattered all over Myaon’s body, which were practically evidence of the tribe she belonged to.

“Sorry, but I have to decline your offer.”

“Huh?”

Myaon looked a bit disappointed at Alon’s words.

However.

She soon let out a sigh, as if it was unbelievable that she had just been making such a face a moment ago.

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Ah- I was really thrilled to be overpowered in one blow…”

Despite her extremely disappointed tone, Myaon looked like a salesperson who had just failed a sale, and Alon thought anew.

‘Surely, I knew that the mindset of beastmen and humans was clearly different, but this part is definitely more… unique.’

As Alon was thinking that.

“Hmm, but just in case, let me know if you change your mind? I’m quite attractive, you know?”

Like a salesperson promising the next time, Myaon said her piece and left.

“…Shall I deal with her, godfather?”

As Alon stared blankly at her, the voice of Rine, who had been silent until a moment ago, was heard.

“…Uh, no need?”

“She spoke rudely to you, godfather.”

Alon kept his mouth shut at the sight of Rine, who uttered cold words without taking her eyes off Myaon, who was already far away.

‘No… Just for saying such things, you want to kill her?’

He realized anew that there was someone more unique than Myaon around him and immediately responded.

“There’s no need for that. She didn’t really cause any harm.”

“Yes.”

Rine nodded immediately at Alon’s words and turned her gaze away.

‘…Something feels strange.’

For some reason, Alon tilted his head at the feeling that the treatment he received from Rine was a bit more excessive than what he received from Deus or Seolang,

“Rest is over. Everyone, move!”

At the cry of Argonia, who announced the end of the break like a knife, he stopped thinking and got up, starting to walk down into the darkness again.

About a day later.

After spending a night in the abyss-like labyrinth and continuing their journey, the foreign subjugation squad was navigating through the 4th layer.

‘……I expected it, but it’s definitely different from the game.’

Alon clicked his tongue softly at the current situation, where he had only descended to the 4th layer despite more than a day having passed.

Of course, considering the large number of people moving and the fact that they couldn’t use shortcuts, the movement between layers was a bit slower, but the difference between the game and reality was significant.

In the game, you naturally moved to the next layer after dealing with certain monsters, but here, monsters appeared incessantly from the abyss, and it took more than a day just to deal with them.

‘……I must never enter the labyrinth again.’

With that thought, Alon looked around once more.

The mercenaries who had traversed the labyrinth several times were casually joking as if they were familiar with the abyss-like darkness, but for Alon, it had become a place he never wanted to return to.

‘……There are good items for wizards around the 40th layer of the labyrinth.’

He briefly recalled information from the old game, but soon shook his head, deciding to give up on the items.

It took more than a day just to descend to the 5th layer, so going to the 40th layer?

It was easy to realize that it would take an incredibly long time.

How much time had passed?

“We’re almost at the 5th layer.”

As he was walking absentmindedly, Alon turned his gaze to the mercenary’s words from the front and saw a door shining like the exit of the labyrinth in the distance.

Soon after, they finally reached the 5th layer.

“……The 5th layer, huh.”

Alon muttered expressionlessly.

But that was only on the surface; behind that expressionless face, he was quite surprised.

Because here, unlike the inside of the labyrinth, he could see the sky.

And it was a very clear sky.

“…….”

Even more, looking at the scene below, where a green meadow and old, worn-out ruins were left abandoned, Alon thought.

‘……This is completely different from what I saw in the game.’

It was similar to the scenery he saw in the game, but the feeling he got upon reaching this place was somehow different.

If the 5th layer in the game was just a save point for resting, this place was truly peaceful.

Feeling his previously troubled heart ease for a moment.

“Alright, let’s take a short break and then start preparing immediately.”

At Argonia’s words, Alon slowly reviewed the plan, recalling the purpose he had momentarily forgotten.

……Hoping that the operation would go as originally planned.

####

Shortly after the foreign subjugation squad arrived at the fifth layer, the mercenaries, who had been taking a brief rest, got up and began to prepare in earnest as Alon had mentioned.

And then.

“……Tsk.”

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Watching their orderly movements, Maverick clicked his tongue briefly and turned his gaze away.

Where he looked, there was Alon.

“……”

To be honest, Maverick still didn’t quite like him.

No matter how he looked at it, Alon didn’t seem that strong.

‘Seriously, what’s so great about a guy who gets out of breath just from walking through the labyrinth?’

Maverick recalled the words Argonia and Heman had said a few days ago as he looked at Alon.

No, to be precise, he recalled their state at that time.

Each one of them, breaking out in cold sweat, quietly holding their breath.

‘What on earth do they see?’

Maverick looked at Alon several times, but still couldn’t find anything special, so he turned his gaze away with a look of incomprehension.

“……Huh?”

At the same time, he felt a strange sense of doubt.

So trivial.

Yet mixed with a sense of déjà vu.

As Maverick pondered what it could be, he soon turned his gaze and realized the source of the déjà vu.

“……”

It was the noise.

The noise his subordinates had been making as they busily prepared Alon’s plan was completely gone.

As if time had stopped.

Only then did Maverick, sensing something strange, look at the mercenaries and confirm the additional source of the déjà vu.

It was the mercenaries.

Just moments ago, they had been exchanging various jokes and continuing their conversations, but now, they were all frozen.

Like dolls.

In the exact state they had been in while preparing the plan.

Frozen.

As Maverick felt an inexplicable, unpleasant doubt and was about to open his mouth.

The mercenaries’ bodies, fell.

As if in slow motion.

Starting from the lower body as a pillar, the bodies of the mercenaries, slanted and fell to the ground.

Sssshhh-!

Red bloodstains soaked the ruins and the green meadow.

And then.

“!”

Maverick, with his eyes wide open, saw it.

In front of the fallen mercenaries, a goblin standing so nonchalantly.

He, feeling an irresistible force, blankly met the gaze of the goblin staring at him indifferently, and simultaneously realized a few facts.

That the goblin in front of him had killed his subordinates.

That the goblin in front of him was the outsider this subjugation squad was supposed to deal with.

That he needed to draw his sword right now.

However, despite knowing all these facts.

He couldn’t do anything.

Not even shout in anger.

Not even draw his sword.

Not even call for support.

He couldn’t do anything.

The opponent in front of him was a goblin he had killed thousands of times.

Paradoxically, he instinctively felt that ‘this’ was not a goblin.

The goblin’s – no, its intelligent gaze met Maverick’s.

He instantly recognized the emotions contained in its gaze.

It was endless ennui and arrogance.

It was ennui as if it felt no sentiment in this situation.

And arrogance as if looking down on everything from above.

At the end of glimpsing that fragment of emotion.

“Who said you could meet my gaze without permission?”

It, pronounced the sentence.

A finger, was raised.

Slowly.

But surely.

It points to Maverick, as if to specify the approaching death precisely.

And.

The moment Maverick, unable to bear the fear, closed his eyes upon seeing its finger lightly twitch.

“Extreme Cold-“

A voice devoid of emotion was heard.

Crack-!!!

The ground froze.

Like greedy ice crystals reaching out to engulf everything in this world, they flowed over the grass like waves, freezing everything around.

“Crystal.”

Crunch-!

With a chilling sound, as if something was being squeezed.

“Wake up.”

Hearing that voice, Maverick opened his eyes to see.

A man, with a black coat fluttering in the frost wind and grayish-white magic flowing from his left hand like smoke.

Facing a goblin, no, ‘it’, frozen in the shape of a crescent moon, with its eyebrows twitching, was the back of Count Palatio.

“……”

……Maverick, as if entranced, could only stare blankly at that back.