I Became the Patron of Villains - Chapter 173



173. The Sin of Greed (2)

Dozens of golden tubes shot out from Line’s pupils, drawing a complex circuit diagram as they spread in all directions.

Unlike the previous attack, which was driven by emotion, the golden tubes moved much more stably and shot towards Emil in an instant.

Crunch-!

Once again, Line’s attack was blocked by the tree scattering black energy.

“Hmm- It’s no fun if you just keep defending, right?”

The Apostle of Greed let out a nasty smile.

Rumble-!

The black branches growing from her back began to expand explosively.

As if to take over this huge cavern, the tree trunks grew rapidly and soon intertwined behind Emil, creating a grotesque tree.

A tree with no leaves, exuding a very ominous energy.

Line’s instincts warned her.

This is, ‘dangerous.’

She hurriedly tried to crush the tree with the golden tubes.

“No, Line, you can’t do that.”

The aggressive tree trunks blocked all the golden tubes.

And with that.

Crunch-!

Fruits began to form on the tree that had previously borne nothing.

Black fruits.

Crunch-!

Dozens of fruits swelled in an instant and soon spewed out various monsters along with thick fluid.

Monsters that even Rine, who possessed a library, could not fully comprehend.

■■■■■■■-!!!!

Rine hastily moved the golden crown towards the creatures that charged with a chilling scream.

Crunch-!

With a horrifying sound, the golden crown pierced through the monsters’ bodies.

They trembled and lost their lives shortly after being born.

However, despite dealing with nearly ten at a time, the monsters continued to increase.

As if Rine’s attacks posed no threat at all.

‘There must be a weakness somewhere-‘

A type of anxiety that Rine had never felt before filled her mind.

The sensation of walking through fog with the enemy right in front of her was unfamiliar.

Rine always structured her plans with victory in mind.

The library in her mind made that possible.

It provided responses even for unpredictable situations.

Even if there was no perfect solution, it found an infinitely close answer and informed Rine.

In other words, Rine had never fought without an answer sheet before.

However, the power that the Apostle of Greed was using now was of a kind that the vast library in her mind could not comprehend at all.

Rine couldn’t help but feel even more anxious in this unfamiliar situation.

…………

……No.

No.

It wasn’t just because of that.

Emil’s appearance did cause anxiety, but there was a more fundamental reason.

It was gnawing at Rine’s mind.

“Confusing, isn’t it? Because it’s not in the library.”

As if he could see right through her, Emil curled up the corners of his mouth.

Rine tried to compose her expression, but her brow furrowed as Emil, with a smiling face, approached closer.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak-!!

The golden crown rushed towards the apostle without hesitation, but it couldn’t pierce through the black branches protecting her.

The apostle of greed, Emil, who reached Rine’s front so easily, pushed his grinning face right up to Rine’s nose.

Eyes as blue as Rine’s.

But the whites of his eyes were stained black, giving off a chilling aura.

“So, should I tell you?”

His once cold eyes curved into a crescent shape.

“No, I don’t even need to tell you. You just have to choose. A smart person like you already knows, right? That your library has many more hidden spaces.”

With a voice laced with mockery, Rine could easily understand what the apostle was saying.

Forbidden Domain.

The moment you enter, you can learn all the secrets of this world, but as a side effect, it drives the user’s mind insane—a Pandora’s box.

“Get lost.”

There was no need to hesitate.

To be honest, Rine couldn’t even guess what Emil’s exact purpose was.

From the beginning, all she knew about Emil was that she was related to something black.

But because of that, there was no reason to listen to her words.

“Hmm- well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do.”

Emil shrugged her shoulders as if disappointed, then scanned Rine’s entire body.

“Then, shall we start lightly with your arm?”

She smiled.

At that moment, Rine witnessed it.

The black branches starting to form behind Emil, as if to show off.

She tried to swing the golden crown to block the growing branches without delay, but it was futile.

Rine had already summoned the crown to almost its limit.

As if she had figured it all out, Emil leisurely created the branches.

[No, I don’t even need to tell you. You just have to choose. A smart person like you already knows, right? That your library has many more hidden spaces.]

In the face of the approaching helplessness, Emil’s voice brushed past Rine’s ears.

That voice, filled with temptation.

‘Forbidden zone…’

A momentary conflict.

Rine’s mind spins rapidly.

Even now, if she steps into the forbidden zone, can she kill that woman?

No-

Before the godfather escapes, can she kill that woman?

The most important issue for her.

More than anything else.

Solely.

An important issue.

Therefore.

The moment she was about to make a choice, staring at the black branches shooting towards her.

Rine suddenly realized one peculiar fact.

That cold air settled on her irregular breaths due to tension.

At the same time.

“……!”

Into Rine’s sight, confirming the frozen branches, came a familiar back.

A man wearing a coat scattering cold ice crystals in response to the manifested magic-

“……A bit late.”

The back of Marquis Palatio.

####

In conclusion, Alon left without finishing his conversation with Kylus.

The reason was that Kylus informed him of the external situation.

‘I don’t know how you managed to summon me here, but this place seems to be your mental image while simultaneously sensing the external situation to some extent. However, it doesn’t seem like we have good visitors outside.’

Thus, hastily ending the conversation and revealing himself in reality, Alon discovered a woman with a strange smile.

And then, he realized.

‘Apostle.’

That the being in front of him was an apostle of the five great sins.

“An entrance like a prince.”

Emil, who already commanded monsters so terrible that they filled this vast cavity to the brim.

As if she was enjoying herself, she swayed her body, and Alon calmly assessed the situation and looked back.

“……!”

There stood Rine, who was clearly terrified.

A look he had never seen before.

For a moment, Alon was flustered, but he could easily guess the reason.

‘Is it a case like Seolang?’

Of course, Alon didn’t know what had happened between the apostle in front of him and Rine.

However, through his previous encounters with apostles, he had a rough idea of how things were going-

‘Handle it quickly.’

Alon made his decision and looked around.

The situation was far from good.

The massive underground cavity was already filled with monsters.

Ceiling, floor, side walls, pillars.

Everywhere Alon’s eyes could reach.

Moreover, even in a state of panic, the golden crown that Rine had somehow been wielding was already completely caught by the apostle’s tree branches.

In other words, it was difficult to expect any help from Rine at this point.

“Our prince, shall we see your skills?”

With that mocking voice as a signal, the monsters rushed at Alon, ready to devour him.

■■■■■■■-!!!

A headless monster flew through the air.

A monster that looked like a maw leaped from a pillar.

A creature that seemed like an unfinished creation of God, with its intestines dragging, rushed at Alon in an instant.

But.

Just as the monsters were about to touch Alon’s hand.

“Expansion.”

Snap-!

Everything stopped.

The monster that had been flying through the air.

The maw that had been baring its sharp teeth.

The creature that had been rushing with its intestines dragging.

Everything, stopped.

“!”

The Apostle also frowned as if bewildered by the sudden situation, but only for a moment.

“I had a rough idea that you were a sorcerer from the information, but you use an interesting method?”

Her expression relaxed again.

The Apostle, realizing that this ‘stoppage’ was due to the expansion of magical power, leisurely tried to pull out the tree trunk-

“…Ah?”

-but couldn’t.

The Apostle’s face was colored with puzzlement.

“…!?”

Then it slowly twisted, and clear bewilderment settled in.

“Hoo-”

Seeing that, Alon let out a big sigh and began to unfold his magic.

From noble mtl dot com

In fact, the Apostle’s choice was not wrong.

The expansion of magical power created an imaginary volume that crushed the monsters and restricted their movements, but that was all.

Those who could use physical or magical power beyond a certain standard could easily escape its influence.

Yes, if what Alon had scattered was ‘original’ magical power.

“What is this-”

Basically, the structure of magical power is easily destroyed unless some form is added.

That’s why Alon could only hold the Apostle for less than a second in their previous battle.

Because of the characteristic of magical power that is easily broken even by slight physical force.

But if you add one more seal to it and make the molecular structure of the magical power itself dense-

‘Magical power will no longer be in a state that can be easily broken by ordinary physical or magical force.’

Especially for those within the range of the magical power deployed by the caster.

 

This was the first definitive success of the linked water seal that Alon achieved by mixing two seals.

It was the fruit of his research and training to compensate for the sorcerer’s weakness of taking time to form seals and phrases.

Here, Alon ‘accidentally’ took one step further.

Through the journal that Fenia had written rigorously, misunderstanding Alon’s intention, he learned that more than six seals could interact and respond appropriately.

However, it was naturally impossible for a human to form six seals.

Because humans only have two hands.

But Alon eventually solved that blind spot.

If there are no hands to form the seal.

Then just create those hands.

Crack-crack-crack-!

Ice began to form behind Alon’s back.

The ice, which formed crystals, quickly split into six branches, and as soon as it took the shape of hands and fingers-

Snap-snap-snap-!

The seal was formed.

The first ice hand that was grasped firmly fixed the structure of the expanding magic.

The second ice hand that was grasped combined the transformed molecular structure.

The third ice hand that was grasped stabilized the combined magic.

Thus,

The fourth ice hand twisted and amplified the stabilized molecular structure of the magic.

The fifth ice hand created a switch in the spread magic.

What was completed by this was.

A huge prison and magic that could be transformed and manifested into any attribute.

“!”

As the apostle’s eyes filled with astonishment, what came out of the last ice hand created by Alon was.

A ‘small snowflake.’

A very small snowflake that would melt into a handful of water the moment it fell gently and delicately onto a finger.

It slid down powerlessly from the last ice hand’s finger.

And then.

Hand Ice Seal (手氷印).

Six Seals (六結).

The moment that small snowflake touched the magic Alon had spread,

Snowflake (雪花).

The monsters scattered, turning into snowflakes.

Gracefully.

…And beautifully.

“`