I Became the Patron of Villains

93. Artificial (4)

According to Alon, Chief Cardinal Anderede was a character that did not exist in the original work.

Even if he had existed, he was a character who had never shown his face in Psychedelia.

Therefore, despite his outwardly expressionless face, Alon’s mind was constantly racing.

‘Is this how the story originally progresses? Or has it changed?’

Of course, even if he thought that, there was no way to know.

What he knew was only up to a year from now, he couldn’t know what had happened before that.

He turned his gaze to Yuman.

He, who had the duty to save the world with Eliban in the future and ensure Alon’s comfortable life, used his divine power to block Anderede’s attack.

‘As expected of a saint, can he use divine power without any holy sign or prayer?’

Alon, recalling that Yuman’s skills in the game were all instant without consuming any turns, sighed in relief and thought.

‘That’s a relief.’

Naturally, the original purpose of Alon using the Thunder God form to rush out here was also to save Yuman, who would ensure his comfortable life in the future.

If this was originally supposed to happen, Yuman would naturally survive, but if it wasn’t, he could have died.

……Well, in the end, since he had blocked the attack well at the moment he used magic, instead of protecting Yuman, he made Anderede combat ineffective.

However,

Alon could instinctively feel it.

It wasn’t over yet.

“……Was it Marquis Palatio?”

Chief Cardinal Anderede, whose arm had been blown off by Alon’s Thunder God form and whose face was half blackened, struggled to speak.

A benevolent smile still hung on his lips.

Despite having sustained injuries severe enough to be fatal, the smile on his lips did not fade.

As if he did not feel pain—no.

“……”

As if it were painted on.

“Yes.”

As soon as Alon’s answer fell, the priests who had been watching the situation in a daze began to pray.

At the same time, swords were drawn from the waists of the paladins, and the sign of the cross was made.

The cardinals, who had barely survived, declared Anderede a clear heretic and invoked their holy power.

Yet, even in such a situation, he still looked down at Alon from the platform with a benevolent smile as if it were painted on.

“Good. Really good.”

Suddenly, he uttered those words.

“What……?”

By the time Alon asked back, the clergy had already finished their prayers and were launching attacks at Anderede.

Some shot arrows of light.

Some swung maces.

Some wielded swords.

Some cast lightning.

Some, the holy power itself.

They launched them at Anderede.

A tremendous roar.

Lightning created by holy power fell from the sky.

White holy magic, imbued with the blue moon, poured down all at once.

Like a shower.

Also like a meteor shower.

An enormous amount of holy magic rained down on the platform where Anderede stood.

Even Alon, unknowingly, felt a sense of awe at the tremendous holy violence unfolding before his eyes.

And, at the end of that explosive projection of holy power, as the platform collapsed, what was revealed was.

“…….”

Anderede, standing with his whole body shattered.

Both arms were gone.

There were several large holes in the torso.

The upper part of the head was blown off.

In fact, it was as good as a certain death sentence.

Yet, Anderede’s benevolent smile did not disappear, and the priests, cardinals, and Yuman gathered there were filled with astonishment.

“It was a pity. Your ‘class’ is quite excellent.”

Anderede still muttered those words with a calm face.

“I didn’t want to lose it.”

With that, it ended.

Creak-!

A very strange sound began to emanate from Anderede.

An unpleasant sound, as if something was forcibly pushing something out.

And with that, red branches began to sprout and grow from Anderede’s body, which had been smiling benevolently just a moment ago.

Rumble-!!

From that point, the grand square where the priests were gathered split in a straight line.

“Ah, ahhh-!!”

“Run, run! Quickly!!”

As soon as the ground split, the priests screamed and moved their bodies.

What emerged, smashing the square into chaos in an instant, was a giant tree trunk.

Dozens, hundreds of blood-red tree trunks burst out of the ground.

From the huge crack that extended beyond the square to the white city within the inner walls.

Crash-!

It began to reveal itself.

The first thing visible was the strange hands, writhing with red vines.

Next was the head of a giant statue, appearing as if it was born at the cost of devouring the white city.

Following that, the body of the giant statue emerged.

And at that moment.

Those present realized.

The fact that Anderede, who had been smiling benevolently in front of them just a moment ago, was merely a puppet.

Crash-!

Eventually, the body of Anderede, which had been smiling benevolently and now sprouted countless branches, was swiftly sucked into the statue.

Crash-!

At the same time, the face of the giant statue, which had taken on a human form, split into four parts and opened like petals, from which numerous red branches sprouted.

And finally, what appeared, devouring the entire eastern part of the white city.

[According to your will. I have descended.]

Looking at the place where the priests were, it opened its mouth-

[Everyone, worship.]

-It announced its birth to everyone.

[I, the god of humans, Machina]

The foreign god had descended.

####

The priests.

The holy knights.

The cardinals.

Everyone.

They stared blankly at the foreign god that had descended under the blue moon.

It crawled out, devouring the white city, spreading its branches as if to consume the white city.

Alon was equally bewildered.

‘Machina…?’

Alon felt confused.

He had never heard of the existence of this foreign god called Machina.

Of course, this was not the time period he was originally familiar with, but even considering that, the existence before his eyes was clearly alien.

‘What on earth…!’

In the midst of his confusion, as he watched Machina, Alon soon realized one thing.

The black smoke, so familiar, flowing from Machina’s entire body, up to his waist with tree vines.

‘Abyssal entity…?’

Unconsciously thinking of such a keyword, Alon recalled a piece of information he had heard before.

The information that an abyssal entity, which grants divinity to those with a certain level of skill, had entered the Holy Kingdom.

Along with that, he realized that the existence before him was made of an abyssal entity.

“…Artificial foreign god?”

Alon, unconsciously muttering the identity of that thing,

“Lo, look over there!”

“Pe, people!”

Following the voices of the priests who were bursting with astonishment, I looked under the giant foreign god.

There, there were people.

The subjects of the Holy Kingdom, hanging limp, caught in the red vines.

[Do not resist. I am doing this to care for you all equally.]

Holy.

And so, a voice that was rather bizarrely holy echoed, and the red vines began to crawl towards the priests.

“Stop it!”

The holy knights rushed towards the encroaching red vines, starting to cut down the undulating branches.

Soon, the holy magic of the priests pierced the blue night and was shot at the foreign god.

With the scene from earlier, which even Alon had felt awe-inspiring, being recreated.

Crack-! Boom-!

The once majestic arm of the Machina fell off.

The priests, whose eyes were filled with a glimmer of hope, burned with determination at the sight.

However, that determination did not last long.

“Re, regenerating…!?”

Because something unbelievable was happening.

The arm, which should have been shattered by the bombardment of holy power that fell like a meteor shower, was regenerating.

As if it was nothing.

At an incredibly fast speed.

Hundreds of branches intertwined as if veins were being formed, and the right arm was regenerated in an instant.

The priests were horrified by the bizarre sight.

“Ah, ahhh-!”

The holy knights, who were cutting down the red vines approaching the square, began to be subdued one by one.

Those caught by the red vines had red branches growing all over their bodies, turning into a handful of wood in an instant.

“!”

The fear spreading among the holy knights.

It spread to everyone there like a plague.

Soon, the vines that had devoured the holy knights in an instant finally reached the priests, trying to grab the remaining ones.

At that moment.

Whoosh-!

A massive barrier blocked the red vines.

“Ugh-!”

It was Yuman who blocked the vines.

Wrapped in an immense divine power that no one could imitate, he created a colossal wall of divine energy, earning the reverence of the priests.

Unfortunately, his expression was not bright.

The wall of divine power, which could be made absurdly large because he was a saint, was rapidly draining his stamina.

Moreover.

[You came down to preach equality and bestow equality. How ignorant you are.]

The moment the giant hand was raised high into the blue sky.

The priests saw it.

The hand, which was far too small to cover the blue moon, grew so large that it devoured the blue moon, entangled with hundreds of red tree branches.

“Shironia…”

The priests unconsciously called out to the goddess Shironia at the sight.

The cardinals sighed with despairing expressions.

Yuman, who was maintaining the massive wall, also.

‘What on earth is that?’

With eyes full of emptiness and despair, he looked at the giant hand.

[Accept me, for I am the god created by you humans-]

[-I will treat you all fairly]

The giant hand.

The moment it fell towards the divine wall Yuman had created, accompanied by Makina’s voice.

Crash-

“Phew-”

With a small sigh, there was the sound of something breaking.

Yuman turned around with difficulty.

There.

“Hold on a little longer.”

Stepping on the shattered potion bottle, drinking another potion.

Even in this desperate situation, there was the Marquis Palatio – no, the Silver Star – with an indifferent expression.

“Can you do it?”

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At his continued words.

“I will try.”

The Silver Star – no, Alon – who saw Yuman answer as if possessed.

“It would be good to open the ceiling part of the barrier.”

After checking the shining white necklace hanging around his neck once.

“Array of Thunder.”

He recited the phrase.

Crackle-!

The lightning, imbued with the blue moon, began to crackle along his body.