Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 353 : The Ball (2)

The crowd clamoring, “I’m really good at basic calculations!”

Upon closer examination, they were essentially declaring, “I’m really skilled at enduring a slave-like existence!”

As Alon forced his way past them and entered the room—

“Deputy Tower Master, do you recognize this? It’s the renowned Mana-Sensing Herb—”

“Oh~”

“If it’s not too bold, may I offer it to you as a gift~?”

“Hmph, declining a gift would be impolite, wouldn’t it?”

“Thank you so much............! I am Professor Penberil of the Green Tower.”

Penia was extracting valuables from the mages.

“Next.”

She cleared her throat dramatically, inflating her posture as if it fit her perfectly.

As Penia snapped her fingers leisurely while talking.

“So, what do you—eh.”

Upon noticing Alon, she hastily lowered her legs from the desk where they’d been crossed.

“Hehe, you’ve arrived, Marquis?”

“That’s precisely what they mean by opening your eyes with feigned innocence.”

Evan tsked in astonishment.

“Be quiet.”

Penia glared sharply at Evan, silencing him, then fidgeted with her hands as if pondering a serious justification.

Her gaze flitted around restlessly.

“Th-this isn’t me deliberately trying to take anything........”

Her tone dropped to a murmur.

Alon released a soft exhale.

“I’m not intending to lose my temper, so just provide a straightforward account of the circumstances.”

“......!”

Penia’s expression lit up at once, and she nodded eagerly before launching into her account.

A brief interval of time elapsed.

Alon recapped the events.

“So, all the positions for calculations are already taken, yet some mages remain who couldn’t sign up.”

“That’s correct.”

“And those overlooked mages sought an additional meeting with me.”

“Precisely.”

“And you took advantage of those mages?”

“Quiet, would you.”

Evan butted in, yet Penia fixed him with a stern glare to hush him, then faced Alon with an aggrieved look.

“No, I didn’t do a thing! I was merely stationed here, and they continuously offered items to me!”

“Is that the case?”

“They persisted—like, even after I refused them, they demanded I keep them. What choice did I have............. And when folks plead for you to take it, rejecting them feels impolite as well. It was tough for me, really.............”

Not bothering to conceal the heap of reagents and artifacts piled up behind her, Penia drooped her shoulders and let out a sigh.

Evan appeared irritated, but Alon remained quiet for some time before inquiring,

“What led to this predicament originally?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, why is such a large number of people assembling for this study?”

He genuinely failed to comprehend it.

They labeled it basic calculation, yet in truth, it resembled menial toil.

The nearest comparison from his previous life might be programming drudges.

Nevertheless, so many mages volunteering for such servitude struck Alon as ridiculous.

Penia responded promptly.

“It’s likely due to the research findings.”

“Research findings?”

“Indeed. Though the tasks are monotonous, joining in allows you to witness the study’s achievements.”

Alon nodded, though his questions weren’t entirely resolved.

He grasped that mages yearned to engage with his magic and participate.

However, even viewing his research outcomes, they couldn’t duplicate Alon’s spells.

Regardless of how they pursued the research further, no real benefits awaited them.

“But wouldn’t those outcomes prove useless to the other mages?”

“Hmm~”

As Alon probed, Penia pondered briefly before replying,

“Why not consult with Lord Heinkel, Marquis?”

“Hm?”

“One of the topics Lord Heinkel wished to address with you covers this very answer.”

She brought up Heinkel.

With that, Alon nodded deliberately.

“Very well.”

***

“You’ve arrived.”

“Yes.”

Shortly after, Alon encountered Heinkel.

“You’re delayed beyond what I anticipated.”

“Some matters detained me. Did I make you wait excessively?”

“Not in the least; there’s no urgency regardless. It concerns magic. Take a seat. This could extend somewhat.”

“......That extensive?”

Heinkel paused momentarily.

“Well, it varies by circumstances. Hmm.”

With those words, she settled opposite him.

“What’s the topic?”

“Hold on a second before that.”

Heinkel started whispering incantations right away.

Consequently, magical arrays unfurled throughout the library.

A casual tally revealed dozens of them.

They ignited in sync with Heinkel’s recitation.

The instant they blazed intensely—

“—!”

Alon perceived the surrounding environment had transformed.

Into a setting he recognized intimately.

“This location is.......”

It was the devastated realm.

The identical devastated realm he encountered each time with Kylrus.

As he stood there in a daze,

“Avoid overreacting. This is your inner realm.”

At Heinkel’s voice, he pivoted.

And there she appeared.

Differing from reality, she possessed a tangible form.

“......Even so, for an inner realm, it’s remarkably barren.”

Heinkel’s observation.

Alon questioned,

“Weren’t you incapable of casting magic?”

“Correct.”

“Then how......?”

“Patience. I entered here specifically to clarify that. For now, have a seat.”

Guided by Heinkel’s indication, Alon noticed a desk and chairs had materialized amid the devastated realm.

He took a chair at the desk and queried,

“Precisely why did you access my inner realm?”

“Hm?”

“If it’s merely discussion, couldn’t we converse in the library? For security, this seems overly elaborate.”

In response, Heinkel gazed at Alon for an extended period.

As if considering whether to disclose it.

Yet only briefly.

“Well, here’s the situation—”

She halted mid-sentence and exhaled gently.

“Penia mentioned your curiosity about why mages fixate so on basic calculations?”

“Yes.”

“It’s straightforward. This study unveiled a fresh avenue for mages.”

“......Pardon?”

“More accurately, it’s a novel computation technique. Or put differently, a side effect emerging from decoding magic. Curiously, it proves highly effective.”

“......What sort of thing?”

“I’ll detail it shortly. It requires more time than expected. In essence, it resembles uncovering multiplication and division after knowing only addition and subtraction.”

Heinkel offered that overview, then shifted to the core issue.

“Fine, now onto the actual concern.”

“Is there an issue with the magical study?”

Alon inquired, prompting her to shake her head.

“No, nothing of the sort. If anything, the magic is being decoded at an remarkably swift rate. Before long, four second-tier spells will be completely unraveled.”

“Then what’s the matter?”

Heinkel hesitated.

She appeared to deliberate on starting points.

Then gradually parted her lips.

“Truthfully, no issue exists.”

“......What?”

“Merely, I encountered something mildly disturbing.”

“What sort?”

She spoke in hushed tones.

“Alon, recall what I mentioned earlier? That all current spells, once decoded, become the incantations of the True Mage?”

“How could I not?”

“And that spells from first to eighth tier, upon decoding, hold equal potency—the distinction lying in their functions, not their levels?”

“I recall that too.”

Alon replied promptly, leading Heinkel to amend swiftly.

“Apologies, Alon. I erred.”

“......? Erred in what?”

“Lately, I attempted to decode an eighth-tier spell.”

With assistants managing the repetitive second-tier drudgery, she had ventured to tackle the eighth-tier, curious about its impossibility.

Cautiously, Alon asked,

“So, what resulted?”

“It consumed nearly a month. Frankly, I obtained scant progress. Yet oddly, I grasped the spell’s fundamental nature.”

Heinkel creased her forehead remembering it.

“......That spell, based on my assessment, was all-encompassing.”

“All-encompassing?”

“Naturally, without full decoding, certainty eludes me. But even Sparrow confirmed no one had mastered it, not in the forgotten era. Thus, this eighth-tier spell—”

“—You’re implying it predates the Age of Forgotten Gods?”

“Exactly.”

Heinkel drew a deep breath.

“Sparrow was stunned yet concurred. Some believe the terms and structures originated in an era even gods have forgotten.”

At her statement, Alon nodded.

He’d encountered such tales previously.

“Then isn’t that positive?”

“Regarding wielding such magic post-decoding, yes. But in historical terms, it’s adverse.”

“Why so?”

Alon felt momentary confusion.

But Heinkel pressed on.

“Consider it, Alon. This world has collapsed repeatedly, never persisting. Despite such all-encompassing magic existing eons ago.”

“!”

A cold epiphany struck Alon.

***

A dismal sky.

Earth bound by myriad roots.

And inside a colossal, fractured temple erected on that terrain—

Two silhouettes lingered.

On one flank, the Apostle of Wrath occupied the loftiest throne, shrouded in a dark cowl.

On the opposing flank—

“Heh. Astonished I persist?”

The Apostle of Jealousy sneered, his tone laced with scorn.

A prolonged hush.

Breaking that hush first was—

“You endured.”

The Apostle of Wrath.

In a monotone, devoid of inflection, Wrath addressed.

The Apostle of Jealousy’s smirk broadened.

“Yes, I endured. I’d arranged ample safeguards.”

“Even after I eradicated every concealed cluster of your cells, more remained hidden?”

“Indeed. I stashed them where discovery was impossible for you.”

Wrath regarded his contorted smile and replied evenly once more.

“Thus, did you visit to perish anew? Or for vengeance?”

“Hardly. I’m well aware—I cannot overcome you.”

“Yet you approached?”

“Affirmative. For I grasp your vulnerability.”

At that declaration, Wrath lifted his cowled visage and eyed Jealousy.

“Vulnerability?”

“Precisely. Your vulnerability.”

“My vulnerability—”

“Your authentic identity.”

Wrath fixed a frigid stare on Jealousy’s loathsome grin and responded unyieldingly, tone rasping like grinding metal.

“I fail to see. How does that constitute my vulnerability, one halting me from slaying you?”

Yet despite Wrath’s poise, Jealousy grew smugger.

“True. If your identity were merely a demon of excessive longevity, it wouldn’t qualify.”

His mouth twisted higher.

“But a vulnerability exists for you, doesn’t it, Apostle of Wrath? Or perhaps—”

He articulated deliberately.

“Yutia Bloodia. That fits better, no?”

Silence descended quietly.

Then—

The immobile Apostle of Wrath gradually withdrew the cowl.

What emerged—

“Heh~”

Was snowy white hair, and a voice crystalline as tumbling jade.

The Apostle of Wrath—

Or more aptly.

“I hadn’t anticipated discovery.”

Yutia Bloodia curved her lips in a subtle smile and spoke.

“You’ve ensnared me, haven’t you?”

Her scarlet eyes sparkled.