I Became the Patron of Villains

41. Seollang (3)

The desert nation of Colony.

The Colosseum, the central landmark of Colony, which shares its name with the capital, is always filled with the cheers and madness of the crowd due to the blood shed by the fighters.

Even if a fighter is stabbed or loses their life, everything that happens inside the Colosseum is mere entertainment for the crowd.

But now.

The Colosseum was silent.

It wasn’t that there were no people.

The Colosseum was so packed that it could be said to be full, with people even crowding the stairs they had to move on.

Had the match not started yet? No, that wasn’t it either.

Already, hundreds of fighters of various ranks were out in the arena, where the crowd’s gaze was fixed.

The only unusual thing was one.

While hundreds of fighters were gathered on the right side of the arena, there was only one fighter standing on the left side.

A fight that seemed unbalanced to anyone watching.

However, the man standing alone on the coliseum’s ground had a faint smile on his lips, as if he had no complaints about the situation.

The iron gauntlets on the man’s hands gleamed.

[Match – Start!!]

As the referee’s words echoed like a loudspeaker through magic, hundreds of fighters began to charge at the man.

Some wielded swords.

Some wielded fists.

Others wielded axes.

Among them, fighters of grades A to B, all armed with various weapons, rushed to claim a single head.

Yet, despite the fierce gazes of these fighters, the man’s eyes were filled with a deep smile, while the eyes of the charging fighters were filled with tension.

This was because everyone here knew who the man standing before them was.

One of the Baba Yagas of this colony.

The man who had held the position of Baba Yaga the longest.

Kalman Arentz.

As he smiled faintly, he took his stance.

Left foot behind the right. Right hand following the foot.

All the muscles in his body tightened in an instant.

And just before the fighters reached him, Kalman threw a punch.

Into the empty air, where no one could reach.

A punch that would reach anyone.

Boom-!!!!

As the shockwave erupted, the hundreds of fighters charging at him were instantly blown away in all directions, and with Kalman’s form disappearing.

Crash-!

The merciless slaughter began.

Each time the dark iron gauntlet extended, the bodies of the fighters who had barely regained their footing were shattered.

For five minutes.

The only things left in the silent arena were the fighters rolling on the ground and Kalman.

After a moment of silence-

““Waaa-!!!””

As if the previous calm had been a lie, the frenzied cheers of the crowd filled the coliseum.

The crowd, as if oblivious to the warriors whose heads were crushed and hearts destroyed by his hand, cheered madly for Kalman.

Slowly scanning the crowd with a deep smile, he turned and entered the Colosseum.

A luxurious waiting room that only the Babayagas could use.

Listening to the still unending cheers of the crowd, Kalman thought.

“There are still so many foolish people. To think that hundreds of them could defeat a Babayaga.”

Turning his gaze to the voice from behind, he found a man with a deep smile.

The man, like him, was called a Babayaga, the grotesque beast Malyam.

As Kalman, who was looking at the grotesquely distorted half of the bald man’s face, sat in a luxurious chair, Malyam continued.

“Do you know who annihilated the Blood Sand?”

“No. Did you find out?”

Without delay, Malyam answered Kalman’s question.

“It was the Snow Wolf.”

“…Really?”

A mouth opened after a moment of silence.

But there was no particular anger felt from Kalman.

It was as if he was just accepting it, thinking, “Was that so?”

“You don’t seem very angry?”

When the slightly puzzled Malyam asked, Kalman leaned back leisurely in his chair.

“Not really? I was just keeping them around because they brought in some pocket money. Besides, I was going to kill them anyway.”

He answered with a sly smile.

“Indeed, that’s true.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

As he continued, Malyam smiled slyly and showed his left hand in front of Kalman.

There was a black cubic substance.

“Oh- is this the Abyssal Core? The one that grants power to the worthy?”

Malyam nodded at Kalman, who twisted his mouth into a smile.

“Yes, with this, we can split that arrogant beast’s head.”

“That’s a welcome sound.”

Kalman lifted the cube from Malyam’s hand.

Gazing at the cube, which seemed to absorb all light like an abyss, he murmured with a satisfied expression.

“Finally, I can kill that b*stard who’s been tearing through the colony like it’s his own living room.”

“Agreed. I suffered some damage a few days ago too. And, you know-“

Nodding in agreement, Maliam let out a sigh, revealing a hint of emotion.

Seeing this, Kalman spoke up.

“So, when will the plan be executed?”

“In two days, at the ruins.”

“That’s quick.”

“Isn’t quick better? Once he’s dead, you can slowly devour the royal power you’ve been nibbling at-“

“-and you can devour the entire underworld?”

“Exactly.”

Confirming each other’s unchanged intentions, Maliam smiled.

“There’s probably no chance of failure.”

“Because of the Abyssal Entity?”

“That’s part of it, but we also have friends on that side who share our intentions.”

With those words.

“Oh, and if you see that noble who was next to the wolf, it would be good to take care of him too.”

“Why?”

“It’s a small favor. I heard that noble is the wolf’s mentor. Wouldn’t it be fun to kill him first before killing the wolf?”

“Well- that does sound quite amusing.”

With Kalman’s smiling response, they agreed to meet in two days and disappeared.

“Finally…”

Kalman, sitting on the most coveted throne, smiled deeply.

About two days later.

Having rested enough at the guild, Alon boarded the carriage heading to the ruins with the wolf.

As some time passed and they were nearing the ruins.

Alon watched the wolf, who was guarding outside the carriage, having a casual conversation with the Golden Mane tribe and thought.

‘He’s different from the rumors.’

It had only been about four days since Alon stayed in the colony, but he had already grasped the wolf’s reputation circulating in the colony.

‘A mad dog…’

Alon wore a peculiar expression.

Naturally, he was curious since most of the rumors described Seolang as a mad dog.

It was only natural because, except for their first meeting, Seolang had never shown such behavior in front of him.

For the past three days, Seolang had done nothing but wag her tail and smile sheepishly.

“Master?”

“Yes?”

Seolang, who had stopped talking to the beastman, was now looking at him.

Her call brought him out of his reverie.

“Master, you seem to be deep in thought? What’s on your mind?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Alon hesitated for a moment before answering, seeing Seolang’s head tilted so far to the left that it seemed it might snap.

“I was just thinking that you take good care of the guild members.”

“Of course! They’re all my family!”

“Family?”

“Yes! They’re all my kin! I have to take good care of my kin! I don’t need anyone else.”

“Is that so…?”

“But, Master, you’re different!”

Seolang said this and then began to stare at him with a serious expression.

She furrowed her brow as if she were contemplating something significant.

“Master… um… you’re after family… no, after Yutia…?”

“Is that so.”

“Yes, even though you’re not blood-related like Yutia…”

Seolang concluded with a slightly apologetic expression, as if she had been wrestling with a difficult problem.

But Alon shrugged lightly and thought.

‘Higher than I expected.’

Alon was secretly pleased behind his expressionless face.

He was quite satisfied with being the third most cared for, even though he had never properly conversed with Seolang, let alone exchanged letters.

‘Hmm… if I’m considered the third most important… does that mean I can use a contact chance in case of danger later?’

Just as Alon was finishing his thoughts with a sense of satisfaction.

“We’ve arrived!”

The carriage arrived at the ancient city of Kahara.

Now referred to as ruins.

As a player, he knew it as the entrance to the city called ‘the ancient city of Kahara.’

Alon, who got off the carriage, began to walk into the dark cave, organizing his thoughts.

‘Where should I look around?’

In Psychedelia, Alon had been here several times.

But that was only for a side quest to deal with the bandits hiding here, never to uncover any secrets.

‘I vaguely remember a place with a lot of writings.’

So, using his in-game knowledge, he first entered Kahara and then began to focus on exploring the few spaces that remained in his memory.

How long had he walked?

Just as Selang’s expression began to turn to boredom, Alon spotted a group walking ahead of his party.

It wasn’t long before he could identify them.

“Ah, Count Palatio?”

“Lian…?”

The woman approaching with light magic in the darkness was Lian Aguilus, the daughter of the Red Tower Lord, whom he had met not long ago when coming to the desert city of Colony, along with the wizards of the Red Tower.

Realizing that the bewildered eyes of the twenty or so wizards had turned to slightly surprised ones, Alon was momentarily taken aback.

“Are you here to explore the ruins too, Count?”

“Yes.”

He nodded at Lian’s question.

Naturally, he began to walk into the ruins with the wizards of the Red Tower.

After some more time had passed.

“It’s the exit.”

At Evan’s voice, who, like Selang, had a slightly bored expression, Alon turned his gaze to the exit.

Finally, the moment they stepped outside.

“Wow-“

Even the wizards, the beastmen, and even Selang couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight.

What they saw beyond the exit was a massive fortress within the underground cavity.

However, Alon had no reason to be particularly surprised by such a sight.

He had already seen this massive fortress several times.

However, the reason Alon’s usually expressionless eyes were slightly wider than usual was because of the voice that only he could hear, whispering in his ear, unheard by anyone else—

[You have finally arrived, wizard.]