I Became the Patron of Villains

108. The God Created by Acceptance. (3)

Everyone’s mouths gaped at Alon’s words.

Even Wise Ashgul, whose wrinkled eyes were covered.

The quick-witted Sircal, still eyeing him with a wary expression.

Evan, who had been curiously examining one of the giant monster masks on one side of the tent.

Even Reinhardt, who had been looking around disinterestedly like Evan, all stood agape.

The words that came out of Alon’s mouth were something that no one here could ever understand.

Among them, Reinhardt, in particular, was staring with an expression that clearly showed he couldn’t comprehend.

‘What did he just… say?’

Though he currently looked like a beggar, he had spent a long time training in the jungle and traveling between camps, so he knew what Alon was referring to.

The receiver, Basiliora.

That ferocious and gigantic being in the form of a giant snake was the ruler of this eastern region and also the god worshipped by the Thunder Serpent tribe.

The reason most exploration teams tried to avoid fighting the Thunder Serpent tribe was because Basiliora was behind them.

But Marquis Palatio had declared in front of the tribe that worshipped Basiliora as a god that he would subjugate it.

‘…Is he out of his mind?’

Reinhardt genuinely thought so as he looked at Alon.

Of course, he knew that Alon was not ordinary.

He had heard the rumors and had even witnessed the situation firsthand, so he couldn’t help but recognize Alon’s uniqueness.

However, no matter how extraordinary ‘that marquis’ was, attempting to subjugate Basiliora seemed like an exaggeration beyond the realm of boasting.

‘That monster…?’

Reinhardt recalled the time he had seen Basiliora.

The overwhelming sight of dozens of trees snapping like twigs with just a single movement of its tail and the massive body of Basiliora that could be seen above the trees.

It was an unforgettable memory, even though he had only witnessed it once.

That’s why he…

When he saw Deus calmly nodding with a hum beside Marquis Palatio, he couldn’t help but make a dumbfounded expression.

“…What did you just say?”

The wise Ashgul frowned for the first time instead of his usual gentle smile.

“Those words, no matter how noble you are, are difficult to overlook.”

The blatant hostility felt along with those words.

But Alon was not flustered.

He had expected Ashgul’s reaction.

Alon spoke the words he had prepared in advance.

“Then will you continue to live like this?”

“……What are you talking about?”

“I’m asking if you will continue to offer the tribesmen to the god.”

“How did you…?”

Ashgul closed his mouth with a surprised expression.

It was as if he had admitted it without realizing it.

Alon continued speaking without paying attention.

“Remember this, Ashgul. The god you serve will not stop demanding human sacrifices until the Thunder Serpent tribe is destroyed.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Alon answered Ashgul’s question without hesitation.

“It’s not about certainty, you should know it yourself, right? That it won’t stop.”

“……”

“If the Thunder Serpent tribe helps me, I will deal with it.”

Ashgul remained silent.

Alon said no more.

To be precise, there was no need to say more.

What he had to do here was to make the chief of the Thunder Serpent tribe realize the truth he was deliberately ignoring.

And to let him know that there was an opportunity.

After a moment of silence passed.

“……Can you give me a day to think about it?”

“I’ll wait.”

Their first meeting ended with a promise for tomorrow.

As Alon and his party were leaving the tent.

“?”

He left the temple, leaving behind the sight of Sircal’s pupils trembling violently.

####

Shortly after.

“Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“……Are you really going to catch that god or whatever it is?”

As soon as they returned to the accommodation designated by the Thunder Serpent tribe, Alon nodded at Evan who asked.

“Yes.”

“…No, really?”

“Indeed.”

“…I really can’t understand you, Marquis. But anyway, is it okay not to talk any more about it? Judging by the reaction, it didn’t seem very favorable.”

Alon replied calmly.

“They will probably accept it.”

“Why?”

“Because they don’t want to perform human sacrifices that they don’t even desire anymore.”

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“I thought so, and it turns out I was right.”

Evan clicked his tongue in frustration.

“Yes.”

“But even so, I don’t think they will easily accept the Marquis’s words. Honestly, even though it’s a lowly culture, in a place where human sacrifice is taken for granted, they might not even realize it’s wrong, right?”

Evan’s words weren’t entirely wrong.

To those here, human sacrifice was an absurd act, but that was only because they had a basic moral sense ingrained in them.

However, in a tribe that avoids contact with the outside world to an extreme degree, it was also true that they couldn’t judge by those moral standards.

But there was one thing Evan was mistaken about.

“The Thunder Serpent tribe was not originally a tribe that offered human sacrifices. They are only doing it now because they are being forced to.”

“Forced…?”

Alon didn’t know much about them, but he knew two things for sure.

The Thunder Serpent tribe was not originally a tribe that offered human sacrifices.

And, the one forcing them to offer human sacrifices was the one who was supposed to protect them, Basiliora.

“…Then, there’s no reason for them to refuse the Marquis’s proposal, is there?”

Evan looked puzzled.

“You ask the obvious.”

But it was not Alon who answered that question, but Reinhardt.

“Of course, they are afraid of failing. Can’t you see the picture? If the tribe members are really being forced to offer human sacrifices, it’s obvious they don’t want to be exterminated, right?”

“That’s true, but can’t they just run away to a place where Basiliora isn’t?”

“Of course, there must be something preventing them from escaping, which is why they are enduring such humiliation.”

Alon looked at Reinhardt anew.

Despite his bandit-like appearance, he had accurately inferred the current situation.

“That’s right. The Thunder Serpent tribe cannot leave this place. More precisely, it would be correct to say they are trapped. Basiliora is watching over them to ensure they don’t leave.”

“Oh.”

Evan let out a small exclamation.

As Deus’s gaze turned towards him, he briefly showed a proud expression, but soon frowned as if something was off.

“Wait, why are you all looking so surprised?”

“Uh…”

“Because, contrary to appearances, you think quickly?”

“Oh, that- right- ahem…”

Evan nodded vigorously in agreement with Deus’s words, then cleared his throat and glanced at Reinhardt.

Seeing Reinhardt glaring at him, he urgently changed the subject.

“Uh, but- why is that guy preventing the Thunder Serpent tribe from leaving to another area?”

At the slightly urgent question, Alon thought.

‘It must be because of faith.’

Basiliora was receiving the faith of the Thunder Serpent tribe, and he was well aware that it further strengthened him.

In other words, to Basiliora, the Thunder Serpent tribe was an extremely precious source of faith.

The problem was that Basiliora, who had become obsessed with faith, realized that he could receive even more faith through fear and human sacrifice rather than by protecting the tribe.

‘And the chieftain must be well aware of that fact too.’

Alon recalled the bitter truth about human sacrifice that the quick-witted Sirkal had revealed, saying he had heard it from the former chieftain in the game.

“I don’t really know the reason.”

However, since the story was too long to explain in detail, he glossed over it.

“Anyway, let’s wait and see.”

With those words, he sat down.

About three hours later.

“Really, can we really capture Lord Basiliora?”

Contrary to the expectation that it would take a day or two to hold a tribal meeting and make a decision, the quick-witted Sirkal returned in just three hours.

“Yes.”

Alon nodded calmly.

“…My younger sibling is the sacrifice this time.”

It didn’t take long to understand the reason.

Why the result of the tribal meeting came out so quickly.

“So, you ended the meeting quickly.”

“Yes. If we move now, we can still save my sister.”

“It must not have been easy to persuade the others.”

“The chief and I decided to take full responsibility.”

“……”

For a moment, Alon wondered if she could bear the risk alone if they failed, but soon nodded.

Indeed, given the nature of the recipient Basiliora, the Thunder Serpent tribe was indispensable, and it seemed that the lives of her and the chief would be enough to pass.

For Alon, that wasn’t much of a consideration.

From the beginning, he hadn’t considered the possibility of failure.

Therefore.

“Then let me tell you what needs to be done from now on.”

Alon began to explain to Sircal, who had a resolute expression, what needed to be done.

####

Jenira.

The younger sister of the swift Sircal, the strongest warrior of the Thunder Serpent tribe.

Having just turned sixteen, she was supposed to undergo the coming-of-age ceremony with the other tribesmen and receive her title this year. She was standing alone on the roof of the giant temple, watching the rain fall.

As the darkness slowly began to creep in, she looked down at her hand, which was holding an apple.

“……”

There was an apple.

The last supper given by her beloved sister, the apple that Sircal, who had never shed a tear before, had handed over while crying.

She stared blankly at the red apple, which had lost its color like the ashen sky.

Her sister had given it to her to eat, but Jenira did not eat it.

No, she couldn’t eat it.

Even though it was an apple she liked.

Even though she was so hungry.

She couldn’t eat it.

The fear that she would be alone the moment she ate it.

The fear that the end would come, she couldn’t eat it.

Because she knew this was the last supper.

……It was a futile act.

Even Jenira knew.

That holding onto this without eating it meant she wasn’t with her sister who had always protected her.

She was all too aware that the impending end would not stop.

She wanted to run away.

Suddenly, a strong impulse flashed through her mind, but she did not act on it.

Because she knew that the moment she ran away, the next sacrifice would be her sister, not her.

So, Jenira blankly watched the ashen sky slowly darken.

“!”

Rumble-!

At some point, she saw it.

Something truly gigantic was gliding towards her.

The great god she served.

The god she never wanted to face.

…Death. It approached her.

A snake that crushed trees just by moving-

No, the Receiver, Basilio, leisurely coiled around the massive altar and soon looked at her.

The moment the enormous reptilian pupil stared at Jenira.

“Ah-“

She was engulfed in fear.

Her body trembled.

At the same time, the apple Sircal had handed her fell and got drenched in the rain.

The desire to survive blazed in her mind.

‘I want to live I want to live I want to live I want to live I want to live I want to live I want to live I want to live I want to live I want to live’

Mad thoughts surged.

But still, she knew.

No matter how much she screamed and begged for her life, there was no one here to save her.

Her death was already certain.

So,

All she could do was cry silently.

As the Receiver leisurely watched the terrified Jenira, it opened its gigantic mouth, large enough to easily swallow a house, to devour her.

“Extreme Cold (酷寒).”

Suddenly, a voice was heard.

Crack-crack-crack-!

Everything on the altar froze.

The floor too.

The rainwater pooled on the floor.

The apple she dropped.

Even the rain falling from the sky, everything froze.

And then.

From the end of the altar.

Step-step-

A man with an indifferent expression walked out, drenched in the relentless rain.

“──”

In one arm, a grayish-white magic.

Next to him floated a rectangular iron block, about half the size of the man.

As he climbed the stairs, he muttered softly.

A voice so small she couldn’t hear.

But right after that.

Crash-crash-crash-!!!

The iron rectangle twisted bizarrely, forming a giant spear.

The god, instinctively feeling threatened, tried to close the mouth it had opened.

But the mouth did not close.

Inside that large, ashen mouth, bright purple lines intertwined chaotically, forcibly keeping the god’s mouth open.

The moment it realized this, the god’s body, which had been coiled around the altar, trembled.

Rumble-!

With just one twist of its body, the altar shook as if an earthquake had struck.

Yet, despite the situation, the man, who had climbed all the stairs as if nothing had happened, stood before the god, passing by Zenira.

Once again, with a small murmur, he stood before the open-mouthed serpent, extending his index and middle fingers like a gun.

“Pierce (貫通).”

He recited the final phrase.

KWAANG-!

A massive lightning bolt struck down.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■-!!!!!!!!!!!

And, the god with a pierced palate fell into the giant iron cage-

“Ah───────”

-That ‘god’ was brought low by a ‘human’, named Jenira.

She stared blankly.