I Became the Patron of Villains

42. Seolang (4)

Upon arriving at the ancient city of Kahara, the wizard of the Red Tower, Rian, Seolang, and the Golden Mane tribe decided to wait at the entrance where the view of Kahara was the best.

Of course, Seolang and Evan tried to follow Alon, but Alon left them at the entrance and descended into the city alone.

There was only one reason.

[Hearing the voice means you have at least the minimum qualifications. Come alone to the central tower of Kahara.]

The voice that Alon heard as soon as he entered Kahara whispered this to him.

Of course, he had no idea whose voice it was that whispered in his ear.

He had been to this city dozens of times, but never had he heard a voice in his head like this.

However, instinctively, he realized that it was related to the words left by the supernatural being, and without hesitation, he moved his steps and finally reached the center of Kahara.

Alon, who was staring blankly at the tower, which was built so high that it looked more like a castle than a forgotten city, soon moved his steps into the tower.

What he saw upon entering was a circular staircase leading upwards.

“……”

Alon climbed the stairs silently.

Fwoosh-!

As he began to climb the stairs, lanterns started to light up one by one, as if to illuminate his path.

The situation, which he had never seen in the game, made him pause for a moment, but that was all.

Alon followed the lighting lanterns and moved his steps.

Finally, when he had climbed the rather long stairs, he could see a huge room.

Tatadadadak-!!!

“!”

With the activation of the magic circle, he saw the empty room, which had clearly been empty, filled with a huge bookshelf.

The bookshelf that rose from the bare floor quickly covered the entire tower, and at that moment, when it became impossible to distinguish front from back except for the ground and sky—

[You have arrived.]

In fact, not all Golden Mane tribes had an unusually strong affection for other bloodlines.

Of course, compared to other beastmen, they had a relatively high species-specific affinity for each other.

Though it held no meaning now, the Golden Mane Tribe had stood tall above the beastmen 500 years ago.

However, that affection was not deeper than what one would feel for family.

There was just a bit more mutual affection compared to other species, but that was all.

In the end, they were still strangers.

But despite that, the reason Seolang was so obsessed with her kin and family, and cherished the Golden Mane Tribe so dearly, was because of the past.

Her happiness lay in the past.

She was happy when she lived with her kin.

She felt fulfilled when she helped her father finish the day.

Sitting at the table and eating with her family in the evening was happiness.

The life where only the Golden Mane Tribe lived together, all bound within the framework of kin without dividing family, still remained as happiness for Seolang.

Therefore, Seolang intended to take revenge on the ‘Black Dragon’ who shattered that happiness, and gather her kin to reclaim ‘happiness.’

Her respect for the Great Moon also stemmed from that.

She believed that the essence of the Golden Mane Tribe, given by Alon, could grant her both revenge and happiness once more.

And for her, such a thing was…

Crash-!

“Huh?”

The death of a Golden Mane Tribe member was enough to boil her reason with intense anger.

The body of the kin who had been chatting just moments ago vanished so futilely before her eyes.

At the same time, what appeared before her was…

“Hmm- Is this all?”

It was none other than Malyam.

“Nothing special.”

Babayaga Malyam.

With a grotesque face twisted hideously, he seemed to enjoy the current situation as he tossed the corpse of the Golden Mane Tribe aside, and dozens of black-clad figures appeared behind him.

“Damn-“

“Prepare for battle!”

The wizards of the Red Tower and the mercenaries he had hired raised their staffs with tense expressions.

The faces of the Golden Mane Tribe, who had been wearing relaxed expressions just moments ago, were now filled with panic and a sense of crisis.

And then-

“What is this madness?”

Mariam, who was staring intently at Seolang’s eerie expression, twisted her lips and spoke.

“Are you stupid because you’re a beastman? Considering you’re asking me in this situation.”

A voice full of mockery, no matter who heard it.

At that, Seolang widened her eyes as if she no longer needed to listen.

Crackle-!

With that, the electricity that shot out in all directions enveloped her body, and the moment her brightly glowing golden eyes targeted Mariam.

“!”

Seolang twisted her body to avoid the attack, feeling a chilling sensation in an instant.

Boom-! The ground exploded with a sound, as if a giant meteor had fallen, creating a huge crater that echoed noisily.

“Wow, you dodged that? You’re not ordinary, are you?”

“……”

Soon, a man who had completely destroyed the entrance – Kalman Arentz – walked out leisurely through the dust with a deep smile.

Seeing Kalman standing next to Mariam as if he had been waiting, Seolang let out a hollow laugh.

She could understand what was going on from the previous situation.

Seolang clenched her fist tightly.

Crackle-!

Electricity burst out in accordance with her will.

She took a combat stance as if to say that further conversation was unnecessary from the beginning.

“Wait, what on earth are you doing! We are wizards of the Red Tower! And you are not Baba Yaga!?”

However, unlike her, one of the wizards of the Red Tower shouted, trying to somehow escape this situation without harm. Mariam, who turned her gaze to them, responded.

“Hmm, wizards of the Red Tower – it would indeed be problematic if we mess with you.”

He said such words.

“That’s right, if any harm comes to us here and now-“

“But.”

The wizard, who started to add more, had to shut his mouth at Mariam’s words that interrupted without allowing any gap.

“That’s only if you survive, isn’t it?”

At Mariam’s twisted smile, the wizard’s expression hardened infinitely.

Because the wizards were not stupid enough to not understand the meaning.

Thus.

“Tsk, if you hadn’t acted up like that, we wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble, would we? Why did you make things so difficult for everyone?”

“Now that I think about it, where’s that noble we were supposed to deal with? He should have come with us.”

“Well, let’s kill this guy first and then take our time finding him.”

Calman replied leisurely to Malyam’s words.

“Alright, then let’s see.”

With a sinister black aura emanating from him,

“Shall we experiment?”

BOOM-!

The battle began with a punch aimed at Seolang.

Alon, realizing that the voice that had echoed in his mind was now speaking in front of him, looked up to see a figure sitting at a desk.

Its appearance was indescribable.

To be precise, it seemed to constantly defy any attempt to define it.

It looked human, beast-like, and monstrous all at once.

As Alon stared blankly at the figure, whose shadow seemed to shift infinitely,

[Don’t stare too hard, you won’t be able to perceive my existence anyway.]

With those words, Alon snapped back to reality and, after a moment of silence, spoke.

“Who are you?”

[Do you think you can perceive my name when you can’t even perceive my form?]

“…Did you know I was coming?”

[How could I? Do you know how long I’ve been trapped here?]

“But you spoke as if you knew.”

[I never did. Were you mistaken?]

“……”

Alon, feeling an inexplicable urge to flick the figure’s head, restrained himself and spoke.

“…I came here following the words of Ultultus- or rather, the words of a powerful spirit.”

[Hmm. Well, I had a hunch about that.]

The figure, speaking in a slightly intrigued tone, continued.

[Did it tell you my true name? …Well, it seems you think it’s worth the risk.]

As the figure nodded as if it were quite reasonable, Alon remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

“……What do you mean by taking a chance?”

[It means taking a chance. For you.]

“A chance…?”

It spoke as it watched Alon mutter.

[You seem to have a lot of questions. But unfortunately, I can’t tell you anything right now. You don’t have the proper qualifications.]

“What does that mean?”

He asked, puzzled by the setting he had never heard of even in the game.

[Let me make it clear, it’s not that I judge your level. It’s that this world judges you.]

As it said that, it seemed to ponder something.

[You probably don’t understand and have many questions. So let me explain simply.]

It soon opened its mouth.

[Not long from now, another outsider will descend. Deal with him and return.]

“……Then?”

[You will meet the minimum conditions. The minimum conditions to see me and to solve your questions.]

“So, I can’t know anything right now.”

[Well- I can give you a hint.]

It smiled clearly at Alon, whose form was not even properly discernible.

[When you leave the tower, read the text at the eastern end of this castle. Then you will be able to roughly draw a picture of this situation.]

“……The text at the eastern end.”

As Alon muttered, it dragged the end of its words and spoke again.

[Alright, I’ve decided.]

[Actually, I’m done talking here, but since you’ve come all this way, I’ll share an interesting piece of knowledge with you.]

Without giving Alon a chance to ask, it continued.

[In this world, there is something called ‘order’ that is the next step after ‘phrases’ in magic. Do you know it?]

“Order…?”

[Yes, and after that, there is ‘self-manifestation’, but that’s still too early for you.]

After muttering for a moment, it continued to explain to Alon.

[Order is the foundation of the magic used by the fools who can’t even be called magicians in this world. From what I see, you’re better than them, but you’re still using it wrong.]

It continued to speak as if enjoying the current situation.

[There is order in the magic implemented with phrases. It’s not something you just throw in randomly. You have to develop the phrases and chant the names according to the order that fits perfectly.]

Soon, he extended his index finger.

And then.

[But even if I tell you this, you won’t understand, will you? So as a gift, I will reveal one truth to you.]

He said this.

[The truth of proper magic.]