Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 544: Black Flesh (2)

Reber was feeling despair at the scene before him.

Of course, it was not that he had failed to foresee this sight.

The moment the world had already begun to be devoured by Al-Akulakka and the flesh masses appeared, he had predicted that the situation would become like this.

And by the time he arrived in Keremenia with Alon’s group’s help, he had known that fact clearly.

But even knowing it, facing the situation directly was far too different.

“Ah.”

A low sigh came from behind Reber.

It belonged to a noble who, when they had first marched out, had been raising the morale of the soldiers he led with the sole conviction of protecting this world.

His face was swallowed by fear.

So much so that the hand resting on the hilt of his sword to draw it could be seen trembling.

And it was not only that young noble.

The soldiers behind him.

The noble beside him.

Even the young men in the distance who had boasted that they would take even one more flesh mass down with them.

All of them were seized by fear.

“.......”

It was not a situation he could not understand.

The sight spread before them was more than enough to steal the soldiers’ will to fight.

The sky that had only been red had now turned blackish-red, as though announcing that the final moment had come.

At the center of the organs filling that sky, a gigantic cocoon pulsed as though something might be born from it at any second.

And below it was nothing but flesh masses.

This entire field of vision.

Beyond that, this entire plain.

And beyond even that, enough to swallow this entire continent, countless flesh masses tangled and twisted together, roaming in every direction.

“......Ha.”

Reber let out a helpless laugh.

‘......This was not on that level.’

Because he had already seen a cluster of flesh masses stretching all the way to the horizon before, Reber found it laughable that he had been quietly confident he would not be swallowed by fear.

Flesh masses on top of flesh masses.

And more flesh masses layered over those.

The ground could not be seen. All that was visible was flesh.

‘This is not a situation anyone can do anything about—’

Just as despair was pressing down on his entire body.

He saw it.

Something violet scattering through the air.

And then.

“......?”

A man walking forward past him.

Step. Step.

Even amid the grotesque sounds of the flesh masses, his footsteps sounded especially clear.

It was not a sound he made loudly on purpose to show off his presence.

Nor had he done anything flashy to draw everyone’s attention.

He was simply moving forward calmly.

Lightly, as if he had no worries at all.

Yet with enough weight that he did not look light.

He merely walked forward.

““.......””

Their gazes gathered.

Each time he passed the soldiers.

Each time he passed the nobles.

Each time he passed the sage.

Soundless gazes gathered on him without a word.

And at last, the man who reached the end quietly looked upon the same scene they had been watching.

The world now drawing close to its destruction.

Closer than anyone here.

More clearly than anyone here.

He took despair into his eyes.

And yet—

“.......”

They saw it.

There was no particular change in the man’s expression.

No, if anything, the man’s expression was—

‘......Weariness?’

He looked weary.

Without any expression, he simply looked down at the earth indifferently.

As though this was nothing at all.

As though he were looking at them the way the “gods” they had once served had looked at them.

......Yes, as though looking at insignificant creatures.

And.

“Manifestation.”

With the voice the man—Alon—murmured, the violet Divine power that had been faintly rippling began to burst out as though exploding.

And soon, they saw it.

Craaaack—!

A gigantic eye.

A black eye that looked indifferently upon the insignificant creatures of this world.

......A god.

Bearing a greatness they had never felt anywhere before.

“Ah—”

At that moment, Reber let out a gasp without realizing it.

Because he understood.

Why he looked different from them.

Why he had not shown a tense expression even once after coming to Keremenia.

Why the Sage of Mist had said he was the only being who could save this world.

“A god......?”

The voice of a soldier beside Reber let out a small murmur.

A very small murmur.

But those words spread in an instant and carved themselves into those filled with fear and despair.

“Ah—aaaah!!”

“The sage was right......!!”

Awe spread with them.

Yet even so, despite weak hope being carved into their eyes, the fear engraved in one corner did not disappear.

And at that moment.

The god that had been looking down upon the earth indifferently—

Craaaack—

Closed its eye.

And then—

They saw it.

The gigantic thing like organs that had been swallowing this world began to be covered in violet Divine power and disappear.

“Al-Akulakka is—”

“I-It’s being eaten—!”

Violet Divine power ran across the sky.

It ran and ran, covering the organs.

And what fell with it was—

Boooom—!

Violet lightning.

Booom— Kraaaash, boooom—!!

Violet lightning began to fall from the sky.

With it, the flesh masses began to be swept away in heaps.

And.

In the eyes of a soldier blankly watching hundreds of flesh masses burst and scatter into the sky from a single bolt of lightning—

“E-Everyone, raise your weapons—!”

“The Closed-Eyed One is with us!!”

—hope had, before anyone knew it, filled them.

“As expected—”

With the greatest smile.

“—you are good at this.”

Sia looked at the Closed-Eyed One.

And.

“Charge—!!!!”

“We are protecting this world!”

“God is with us!!!”

At last, the final war began.

####

The war began.

To be precise, this was closer to a breakthrough battle than a war.

A breakthrough battle to tear through the flesh masses piled up in a way that made the skin crawl and reach the castle where Al-Akulakka existed.

“Are you all right, Lord Alon!?”

“Didn’t you use too much?!”

While chasing after the soldiers who had gained courage from Alon’s action and were breaking through ahead with irresistible force, Alon heard Penia’s and Evan’s worried voices.

“I am fine.”

Running with the soldiers, he nodded.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Alon nodded at Evan’s question, which sounded as though he were confirming it.

In truth, his words were not a lie.

Because in the performance he had just shown, Alon had not used even the slightest amount of magic power, and had used Divine power instead.

Of course, Divine power was something he should also conserve as much as possible.

Not only was Divine power not infinite, it had now become something that absolutely could not be removed from Alon’s system.

Even so, there were two reasons Alon had used Divine power.

The first was that the soldiers needed hope and courage.

‘As expected, it is just as I thought.’

Alon looked forward.

The sight of the soldiers advancing while breaking through the flesh masses from the very front looked truly unstoppable.

There did not even seem to be that many wounded, so they were literally breaking through with irresistible force.

It was partly because the mages following behind the soldiers and Sia were working hard to heal them, but to put it coldly, it was closer to the flesh masses being unable to fight properly.

‘More precisely, they are in a state close to being uncontrolled.’

Alon looked at the flesh masses.

Though they clearly possessed enough speed and strength, the sight of them being crushed helplessly by the soldiers’ spears without much resistance meant they were not being properly controlled.

In other words, because he had predicted that the soldiers would be able to break through sufficiently no matter how many flesh masses there were, as long as they were not afraid, Alon had planted hope in them without hesitation.

If he tried to break through the flesh masses alone, he would inevitably have to use Reverse Heavens, but if all he needed was to give the soldiers hope, he judged Divine power would be enough.

And more than anything—

‘......It has almost fully recovered.’

—his Divine power had already almost fully recovered.

“.......”

Alon turned his gaze and looked behind him.

What he saw was the giant eye made of violet Divine power, and the sky covered in violet clouds.

And the lightning that continued to strike down endlessly.

But even while using that much Divine power, Alon’s Divine power had already recovered completely.

No, it was not merely recovering. It was accumulating even more than before.

That was partly because the army’s numbers were so great, but in truth, it was because Alon’s Divine power was not being used much.

‘......Because it is all fake.’

Of course, it was true that he had manifested with that at first.

But everything after that was nothing more and nothing less than a performance to plant hope in the soldiers.

The violet Divine power covered the sky, but it had no meaning beyond that.

The lightning falling down certainly poured like a thunderstorm, but in reality, its power was not especially high.

Even so, it did not matter.

It was only a performance meant to plant hope in the soldiers trembling with fear.

‘......Well, it is not as though there are no regrets.’

Alon looked at the ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) eye with its eyelid closed.

If not for the terrible feeling of his mind splitting apart whenever he manifested, he had considered trying to move in that form rather than sacrificing the soldiers, but unfortunately, that was impossible.

Because no method of moving it came to mind at all.

“The gate is just ahead—!”

As he was thinking that, a noble’s voice rang out.

When he looked forward, it was just as the noble said.

Alon’s group, which had been breaking through the endless flesh masses, realized that the castle wall, which had only been visible far in the distance, had drawn close before their eyes.

‘Can the soldiers break through it?’

For an instant, Alon considered it.

But he soon shook his head and reached a conclusion.

‘Impossible.’

The gate covered in flesh masses looked, at a glance, like something the soldiers could never break through.

The same went for the knights standing at the front, who seemed likely to have reached the level of Sword Masters.

The mages could break through it, but it would take a long time.

‘Do I have no choice but to use power this time—’

Just as Alon thought that and was about to use magic power.

Grip.

Someone caught Alon’s hand as he tried to raise it.

“Penia—?”

It was Penia.

She caught Alon’s hand as he tried to lift it, then shook her head.

“I will do it.”

She said that.

‘Penia will......?’

Of course, she was a strong mage.

But no matter how strong she was, she should not have enough firepower to pierce through that absurdly thick thing—even now layered with flesh masses until it had effectively become a thick cliff.

However.

“Please trust me.”

At Penia’s next words.

Alon had no choice but to nod quietly.

And at that moment, Penia smiled, then hardened her expression again and immediately raised her gaze forward.

“Diffraction.”

She recited a spell phrase.

“!”

Question flickered across Alon’s face for only a moment.

“One Point.”

He realized it.

She was using spell phrases just like Alon.

Without reaching countless deaths as Alon had.

Only with what she had learned from Alon.

It might be only a handful of phenomena.

But even so, she had reached it.

“Compression.”

The world Alon was looking at.

“Extinction.”

But it did not end there.

“Silent—”

A sentence flowed from Penia’s mouth.

A sentence that could not be used without laws.

Words that were not permitted to anyone except Alon.

Words that should have no meaning at all without an image—

Flowed from her mouth.

But despite the fact that those words should have had no meaning at all.

Her magic was changing.

As Alon had once used it.

As Alon had—

“—Single Line.”

Back when he had killed an Outer God for the first time.

“.......”

Alon stared blankly ahead.

There stood Penia.

At the same time, what he saw was a straight line of lightning.

A line as thin as a needle, identical to the one Alon had created.

And the moment he saw it, he understood.

It had not been created through a sentence.

There was no image inside it.

There had been no transformation of the sentence.

It was not a sentence.

It was something permitted only to an 8th-tier mage.

“Origin......?”

It was Origin.

Only then did Alon see it.

The countless bloodstained bandages wrapped around and between her fingers.

And Penia, smiling proudly at Alon as though she had finally reached this place.

The diagonal thread formed on her staff.

“I finally made it.”

Her voice rang out.

─────────────!!!!

And then, the red world regained its original appearance once again.