I Became the Patron of Villains

82. Nod (2)

Alon, who had walked along the main road, soon realized that he had arrived at the east coast of Syphra and looked around.

The east coast was very quiet, unlike the village where he had first landed.

All that could be seen was sand and sea, and the distant cliffs. Nothing else.

‘I’ve really arrived…’

Alon, who had been wearing a peculiar expression while recalling the man who had suddenly changed his attitude and kindly showed him the way, began to walk along the shore.

He took out the necklace with the black wooden pattern given to him by ‘it’ whom he had met in the colony.

He hadn’t expected to see a species he had never seen even in Psychedelia openly on the shore.

So, holding the necklace, Alon walked on the empty sandy beach until he neared the cliffs.

“Hmm?”

He discovered a woman watching him from a rocky path leading over the cliffs.

No.

It wasn’t a woman.

‘A mermaid.’

Alon confirmed that her upper body was human, but her lower body was streamlined like a fish, and he approached her.

“…Who are you, holding that necklace?”

The beautiful mermaid asked in a voice that felt blatantly wary.

Leaving an impression that her voice was as beautiful as her appearance, Alon replied.

“…I came on the recommendation of the Dragon People.”

“The Dragon People?”

“I heard that if I brought this item, I could see the truth.”

As he showed the necklace to the mermaid, she muttered the word ‘Dragon People’ several times, as if thinking about something, and then asked.

“…Are you talking about the Dragon People with long tails?”

“Tails…? Well, I think they’re quite long.”

“How long?”

“…Long enough to make a question mark with their tails?”

Alon answered, even though he wore an expression that seemed to ask why she was asking this.

But whether it was the answer she wanted, the wary expression of the mermaid relaxed, and she said with a much more comfortable expression.

“…It seems you are indeed a guest. You came to see, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Please, come this way.”

As Alon nodded, the mermaid immediately climbed down the rocks and threw herself into the sea.

Wooong-

Soon, he created a massive sphere in front of him, like a drop of water.

The sphere glowed crimson, reflecting the light of the setting sun.

“Get in here.”

At the mermaid’s words, Alon hesitated for a moment but soon got into the sphere.

As soon as he got in, layers of magic began to envelop the sphere.

“Then, let’s depart now.”

The mermaid started to pull the sphere with Alon in it, descending into the sea.

In an instant, they passed through the crimson sea tinged with twilight and into the dark depths.

Alon descended into the deep sea.

She, who hadn’t even exchanged names with him, seemed to feel no particular fear in this situation, descending calmly into the deep sea.

However, Alon felt a chill as the surroundings grew darker and darker, with nothing visible.

It felt as if he were floating in endless emptiness.

For a moment, he felt a strange sense of unease and discomfort.

“…?”

At some point, he saw a ray of light emerging from the darkness.

As he recognized this, an aurora-like green light began to spread gently in the deep sea, easing his anxiety.

Alon couldn’t help but let out a low exclamation at the beautiful scenery.

The deeper the mermaid pulled the sphere, the more vividly the green aurora appeared in Alon’s eyes.

After a little more time had passed,

“We’ve arrived.”

Alon found himself in a cave.

“This place…”

As the sphere dissipated, Alon stepped into the cave and looked around with a very curious expression.

It seemed like an ordinary cave, but the fact that he could breathe normally was fascinating.

“Follow me.”

As he was exploring here and there, he turned his gaze to the mermaid’s voice and was surprised.

Her lower body, which had been streamlined, now had two legs growing from it.

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Except for the gills near her ears, she looked almost human, which surprised Alon. She then made a puzzled expression for a moment and said,

“This is only possible in this sanctuary.”

She chuckled as if she understood why Alon was surprised.

He soon led him into the cave.

And, how far did they go?

After what felt like about 10 minutes, he arrived at a massive cavern.

“…Oh.”

He couldn’t help but exclaim.

Although there was nothing in the place except for the central altar, the ceiling of the cave showed the ‘sky.’

Yes, it was the sky.

Despite being in the deep sea where the sky shouldn’t be visible, the ceiling of the cavern reflected a night sky full of stars.

As he stared blankly at the ceiling, letting out an exclamation he hadn’t even made when he saw the aurora earlier.

“…Does it look beautiful?”

Suddenly, the voice of the mermaid who had been guiding him came to his ears.

“Indeed.”

As Alon nodded, her expression became strangely bittersweet.

No, it was subtly different from bitterness.

Melancholy.

By the time Alon recognized the nature of that emotion.

“I see. Still… yes.”

She muttered softly, so even Alon couldn’t hear, and continued the conversation.

“This is the sky you always used to see.”

“…Wasn’t the sun still up before we came in here?”

“It took time to come down. It’s not too early for the stars to rise. Anyway-“

The mermaid changed the subject.

“Welcome to the Sanctuary of Observation. I am the ‘Observer.’ You probably came here to see the truth, right?”

“That’s right. They said I could see the truth if I came here.”

“You made a wise choice.”

“…Did I?”

“Yes. Once you see the truth, you will understand everything.”

With those words, she moved to the altar and soon brought a mirror, handing it to Alon.

“This is…?”

“Look into it. There, you will see what you have been searching for.”

At her words, Alon took the mirror and looked inside.

In the mirror’s reflection, his own expressionless face appeared, and in that moment of puzzlement.

“!”

He felt an extremely strange sensation.

As if the entire world was being sucked into the mirror, Alon realized that his gaze on the mirror had changed in an instant.

[The original god has been usurped from the divine seat.]

He could hear the voice.

####

A member of the organization working for the Blue Moon.

A man temporarily in charge of the Blue Moon, who was secretly active after the ‘Moons’ went to carry out the orders of the Great Moon.

Hidan was currently in Mulman, one of the territories of Asteria.

Mulman was a place where the influence of the underworld was more pronounced than in other territories, and it was a territory that the nobles could not properly manage.

There was only one reason he was here.

He had received information that the noble ringleaders of Asteria, who were secretly plotting to bring down the Great Moon, would gather here.

Following the orders of Jawol – that is, Deus Macalian, he was here to identify those who were trying to bring down the Great Moon.

He had arrived a little earlier than the time the ringleaders were supposed to gather, to prepare to hide himself in advance.

“……”

If it weren’t for the red bloodstains visible as soon as he arrived at the basement entrance.

Seeing the bloodstains dripping outside the building, he realized that there had been an attack here and opened the door.

Drip-drip.

A gruesome scene unfolded before Hidan.

“……”

The place was filled with corpses.

Corpses with faces seemingly split by something.

Corpses with bodies cut in half.

Corpses with limbs missing, still unable to close their eyes in fear.

……In addition to those, there were corpses that made one frown, scattered around, creating a terrifying atmosphere in the room.

Despite such a situation, Hidan’s mind did not feel panic.

‘Who could it be? A traitor? A follower of the Black Light? The Root? No – they wouldn’t do such a thing, then is it the Shadow? ……No, the Shadow wouldn’t leave such evidence.’

Rather, even in this situation, he was deducing who could have done such a thing.

Crash-!

At the sound coming from above, he immediately moved his body and headed upstairs.

And what Hidan witnessed upon reaching the second floor was.

Five people, who looked unmistakably like nobles of Asteria, sitting around a large round table, all with their necks twisted twice, dead in a bizarre manner.

“Huh?”

Standing in the middle of the round table, looking at him, was a person.

A man with black hair and blue eyes stared intently at Hidan, who had suddenly appeared in the moonlit, silent room.

There was no weapon in his hands.

Even looking at his waist, there was nothing that could be called a weapon.

It was the same no matter where he looked.

However, Hidan instinctively realized.

That the man in front of him was the one who created this horrific scene.

“……”

Hidan unconsciously suppressed his wildly pounding heart and put on a tense expression.

The other person took no action.

Yet, even so, he realized that the presence in front of him was extraordinarily strong.

There was no certainty or evidence.

Just as the black-haired, blue-eyed presence in front of him instinctively made him recognize that fact, he too naturally realized it.

However, he couldn’t just stand there and take it, so he quietly grabbed the sword at his waist.

At that moment.

“Ah-“

The man, who had been expressionless, smiled.

An innocent smile that could hardly be attributed to the person who created this situation.

With that, the suffocating pressure also disappeared in an instant, leaving Hidan bewildered.

Then.

Thud-! Thud, thud-

The man descended from the round table and began to walk towards him.

Seeing this, Hidan immediately tried to draw his sword.

Thud-

Before he knew it, the man had approached and pressed down on the end of the sword handle that Hidan was trying to draw.

Thud-!

Despite applying force, the sword slid into the scabbard so smoothly that there was no time to be surprised.

“The task is already done, so you may leave. Well, if I were to say one thing.”

The man glanced at Hidan.

Tap tap-

He patted his shoulder.

“Still, make sure to assist properly next time.”

With an innocent smile.

“This is a rather sensitive matter.”

With those words, he disappeared outside the building.

“……”

Left alone, Hidan could only stare blankly at the door the man had exited through for a while.