I Became the Patron of Villains

29. What is the Duel for? (1)

Most of the members of the Solar Eclipse, the knight order led by Deus Macallian, revered Alon, but naturally, they only acted that way because he was Deus’s benefactor.

In reality, most of their feelings towards Alon were close to indifference.

At least from the perspective of the knights of the Solar Eclipse, Alon was not a particularly special person except for being Deus’s benefactor.

Even if they had any feelings, it was only some childish knights who felt jealous seeing how Deus treated Alon.

Other than that, there were no emotions at all.

In other words, the feelings the knights had towards Alon were not very positive.

But at least at this moment.

“Deputy Tower Master, may I ask a favor?”

“Yes, yes… What favor…?”

The knights could only gape in astonishment.

“Can you make a potion of Remiteon?”

“A potion of Remiteon?”

“Yes. Is it not possible?”

“Oh, no, it is! Absolutely…!”

The knights of the Eclipse, and even the knights of Silver Shadow who had been cursing Penia just moments ago, looked surprised.

They knew that the Deputy Tower Master in front of them had a personality as broken as his genius magical skills.

No, it wasn’t just them.

At least any knight who had ever been on an expedition to the north couldn’t help but hear the stories of ‘Hysteric Penia’.

First of all, when you go on an expedition to the north, the wizards of the Blue Tower who are conscripted at the same time always lament about Penia’s broken personality, so it was impossible not to know.

So, the knights who knew that Penia had an incredible personality.

“Hmm, just in case, do you have or can you make an Elixir of Uncommonness?”

“Uh, uh… I don’t have it, but I think I can make it…”

“Then can you make that too?”

“Uh, but it takes a lot of time, and I have things to do…”

“I really need it.”

“I-I’ll do it. I’ll definitely do it…!”

They couldn’t believe the scene in front of them.

Penia, the Deputy Tower Master of the Blue Tower and a 6th rank wizard.

Following the words of Count Palatio so obediently.

No, more than just obediently, twisting his body to avoid offending him, the knights couldn’t believe it.

And of course.

“Crazy…”

The wizards who had been dispatched with Penia from the Blue Tower and were being tormented in real-time, shedding tears of blood, felt the same.

“What… is that?”

“Am I seeing things?”

“Has the Vice Tower Master really gone mad?”

The wizards, as if witnessing the end of the world, gasped and stared at the scene.

“No, he said it was too hard to make last time and complained for weeks… and now he’s making it again?”

“No, I’m not seeing things wrong, am I? Is someone playing a trick with illusion magic?”

“You fool, if someone had time to cast illusion magic, they’d have to cast Silence magic on the Vice Tower Master too. Do you think they have that much mana left?”

They were beyond the knights’ surprise, subtly trying to dispel the remaining mana, suspecting that another wizard might be playing a prank.

And then.

“Thank you.”

“No, it’s only natural.”

“How much do you need for the payment?”

“Payment?”

“It’s only natural to pay for a favor. If you tell me, I’ll send it to the Magic Tower later.”

“Ah, that-“

“But if the payment is a bit expensive, it might be delayed. The finances aren’t great these days.”

“Just… one gold coin.”

“…One gold coin? Isn’t that too cheap?”

“No, it’s fine…! Yes, it’s fine…”

“…Then I won’t refuse your kindness.”

Seeing Fenia laughing even after being haggled down to one gold coin for two potions that cost hundreds of gold coins to make, the knights and wizards wore blank expressions and soon turned their gazes to Alon.

By then, the knights’ faces were filled with astonishment.

The wizards’ faces showed a kind of reverence.

‘…I think there’s some misunderstanding, but thanks to that, I got the potions easily.’

With that thought, Alon returned to Evan.

“…Count, since when did you start speaking informally with the Vice Tower Master?”

“Huh? I speak informally because I’m a noble.”

“…? No… I thought it was basic etiquette to address the Vice Tower Master with respect since he’s treated as a quasi-noble?”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Realizing he had been a bit rude to Fenia.

“Ah.”

A low exclamation escaped.

‘With this, I’ve gathered all the cards I need to play right now.’

Not long after, Alon, who had obtained the ‘Potion of Leviteon’ and the ‘Elixir of Uncommonness’ he had requested from Fenia, heard Deus’s words a few hours later.

“Retreat?”

“Yes.”

Deus began to explain the current situation.

Alon, listening to him, nodded slightly.

‘…Indeed, it did seem like they were in no condition to fight.’

Alon recalled the expressions of the numerous injured and the soldiers steeped in deep fear he had seen when he arrived at the outpost earlier.

‘The knights seemed relatively intact, but their expressions weren’t good either.’

He remembered that the only ones walking around with relatively intact expressions were the wizards who had come to investigate the ritual, not to fight.

‘The wizards… had already fled.’

Alon glanced around.

Unlike earlier when the wizards were busily moving around, after Fenia handed over the potions, no wizards were in sight.

Alon, recalling the wizards who had pressed the escape button knowing the outpost was in danger, heard Deus’s question.

“What do you plan to do?”

Without hesitation, he replied.

“I will stay here.”

The reason Alon had come to the north, bringing numerous items and even borrowing the Ring of the Arrogant One from the royal family of Caliban, was to deal with the outer gods.

Unless he dealt with the outer gods before becoming a sage, the future he saw was nothing but disastrous.

Thus, while checking the plan in his mind, Alon…

aaah-!!

Suddenly, at the sound of a terrible scream from afar, he quickly got up and rushed out of the tent.

“!”

Soon, he saw wizards screaming madly and fleeing towards the forward base.

And then…

──■■■■■■■■■■!!

The undead were walking behind them.

“Ma, it’s the undead!”

“Ugh, aaah-!”

The soldiers screamed as if recalling a recent nightmare at the sight of the undead, while the knights gathered towards the door, drawing their swords.

In the sudden turn of events, fear began to show in the soldiers’ eyes, and confusion and panic painted the knights’ faces. However, Alon could easily guess the general direction of the situation.

‘…Ambush…!’

Realizing that the situation had arisen due to an ambush by the foreign forces moving faster than the escaped wizards had anticipated, Alon’s thoughts came to an end.

“Everyone, draw your swords!”

With Fiola’s urgent shout from the barracks, the battle began.

The undead, who fought blindly without tactics or strategy, were not as formidable in combat as a well-trained army.

Therefore, even if the dark wizards of this continent awakened the undead through necromancy, they could never defeat well-trained soldiers.

However.

“Sa, save me!”

“Ugh, aaah!”

This undead army was fundamentally different from those of the dark wizards.

“Die! Just die! Please!”

The soldiers thrust their spears into the bodies of the undead.

Some into the heart.

Some into the head.

Some into the legs.

The soldiers’ spears pierced numerous parts.

If they were corpses raised by dark wizards, the damage to their bodies would have been so severe that it wouldn’t be surprising if they had already ceased functioning.

However.

“Gr-grrk-“

Even though their bodies were clearly impaled by spears, the sight of the undead walking forward with spears still lodged in them was enough to plant seeds of fear in the soldiers.

Thud-!

“Gah-!”

As a soldier was instantly killed by a sword swung by an undead that pierced his neck-

“Ugh, aaah!”

The immediate attack on the soldier next to him was enough to make the seeds of fear planted in the soldiers’ instincts bloom.

The ranks of soldiers scattered, and in an instant, the battlefield turned into chaos.

As a result, the naturally increased number of deaths became the worst vicious cycle, with the dead rising from their places.

Yet, despite such a dire situation, the soldiers fought with bloodshot eyes, gritting their teeth.

The reason was hope.

The knights imbued with aura were already rapidly reducing the number of the dead, which had easily surpassed thousands.

The wizards who joined the battle later were reducing the number of the dead even faster than the knights.

And among them, the magic cast by Fenia was…

“Icicle.”

Crack-! Crackle!

It was so overwhelming that the word “overwhelming” was insufficient.

The sight of hundreds of the dead, who had been advancing towards the soldiers, freezing in an instant and shattering into pieces was truly spectacular.

However, the beings that gave the soldiers even more hope than Fenia were the two master knights, Fiola and Deus, who were present here.

And among them, the presence of Deus was…

Tch-!

Truly overwhelming.

Dozens of the dead swarmed around.

Some were soldiers with massive head wounds. Some were knights with holes in their chests.

Yet.

At some point, the hundreds of the dead around Deus all stopped in their tracks.

As if time had stopped.

But.

Swish-

With a single light horizontal swing of the sword Deus had drawn, the dead, who had been frozen as if time had stopped, were precisely split in half.

With a single strike, hundreds fell.

When the soldiers and knights began to see hope in the overwhelming killing power that befitted the term “superhuman”…

It was-

Boom-!

The Outer God descended into the middle of the battlefield with a massive explosion.

For a moment, the movements of the dead and the gazes of the soldiers shifted.

The overwhelming presence felt just by existing caused an undeniable tension to rise in the eyes of Deus and Fiola.

And when the ashen dust cleared, everyone gasped at the sight of the man.

He was clearly wearing the clothes of a barbarian, but he had taken on a form that could no longer be called a barbarian.

The oversized body and blue skin suggested that the being before them was no longer confined within the bounds of humanity.

And then.

[Barbarian, do not recklessly tarnish the sins of those who know no honor.]

With the voice of Ultultus, the dead began to rise.

The corpses that had been shattered into pieces by Fenia started to reassemble their bodies like slime, and the corpses severed by Deus’s sword regenerated.

At that moment.

Tch-!

Piola, who had been silent until just a moment ago, reached the front of the foreigner in an instant.

A sharp decision made instinctively, realizing that they could no longer gain the upper hand in the battle the moment the dead came back to life.

He, the fastest among Caliban’s knights and a master knight with the ability of divine speed, swung his sword in that fleeting moment when Ultultus couldn’t react.

Puk-!

The sword, thrust in a surprise attack, pierced Ultultus’s heart.

“!”

Only the tip of the sword.

[Ha.]

Ultultus’s gaze moved to Piola.

His face was full of contempt.

[Barbarians have no honor. Those who do not uphold honor abandon their own existence. And-]

Pseok-!

[They even forsake the nobility of their souls.]

Thud.

Piola’s body, which had been holding the sword just a moment ago, fell to the ground.

The body no longer had a head.

However.

[One cannot bestow an honorable death upon those who disregard all values.]

With those words, Piola’s headless body convulsed and staggered to its feet.

Everyone present realized the end of this battle.

Fear twisted the faces of the soldiers, and despair writhed on the faces of the knights and wizards.

It was clear that Penia and Deus, who transcended the realm of humans, were no different.

No, from the beginning, they had felt the despair of knights and wizards a little earlier.

Because they, who had opened their eyes, knew.

They knew that the being before them possessed power far beyond their expectations.

Thus, amidst the perfectly crafted screams and lamentations of the dead, they felt despair.

Except for one person.

“Oh great god of duels, Ultultus.”

When everyone was plunged into despair, a man began to walk towards the giant, passing between the living and the dead.

Step- step-

One step, another step.

Neither slow nor fast.

“In accordance with the great covenant of Kalgunius.”

Moreover, the man’s face, walking towards the giant, was infinitely calm even in this hellish despair.

As if he had experienced this many times before.

And he-

“I, Alon Palatio, to uphold the great covenant-“

Count Palatio.

“-demand a duel of Babylon.”

Waving a bracelet shining in deep gray, he stood before the giant.