Chapter 335

C335. Strangeness (1)

After the constellation fell and the white light devoured everything.

In the world that returned once more, the soldiers—

“—This is….”

They witnessed a massive crater.

No, rather, it felt as if a gigantic lake had dried up and shriveled all at once.

The panorama before their eyes was just that unreal.

“What… is this—?”

“Is… something like this possible?”

The reactions of the mages were no different.

“…….Is this… magic created by a human?”

“Ha….”

“This is the prototype of primordial magic—”

Selaim, Parkline, and Sharan —who was preparing the plan that failed to execute on the wall— also murmured in astonishment, with reverence in their gazes.

While everyone exhaled admiration, Alon—

“…Are you okay, brother?”

“I’m fine.”

Exhaling a dry sigh, he calmed himself by placing his hand on his chest.

‘I didn’t think it would be to this extent.’

He had poured all of Reverse Heaven’s magic power without reservation, so he expected it to be strong…

But he didn’t imagine the magic would have a destructive power capable of dragging even him into it.

‘…If it weren’t for Radan, it would have been dangerous.’

That is why, the instant his magic manifested and fell, he thanked Radan, who had arrived as if he had been waiting for him to block the magic.

“Thanks. I could have died.”

“Eeeh, just for this, brother?”

Radan smiled cheerfully.

“Do you know what happened to the others?”

“Ah, are you talking about Seolrang and the Hero? Seolrang got out quickly in time, so she shouldn’t have any problems. And the ‘Hero’, well… I don’t think you have to worry too much about him.”

Murmuring “that guy by now…” and scratching his chin, Radan was left behind as Alon turned his gaze toward a dense magical energy he felt to the side.

There, leaning on a half-destroyed “Ram Skull,” lay Sloth.

Sloth was not in normal condition.

Perhaps because of failing the Aberration, the lower half of his body had disappeared somewhere, and the Ram Skull serving as the medium for the aberration was almost completely broken.

In short, he had received colossal damage to the point he could no longer keep fighting.

“……So it ended.”

Sloth’s murmur floated in the air. His eyes had returned to how they were at the beginning.

That apathetic look that appeared amidst everyone’s fear. Even facing death, it remained the same.

Different from the other Sins—

No, different even from Alon‘s memories of them, he silently observed the Sin and suddenly spoke.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Sloth did not answer. Just looked at him.

Even so, Alon asked:

“What did you mean by ‘wanted to protect’ something?”

Sloth did mention it the first time he appeared. That he wanted to protect something.

That was something that kept lingering in Alon‘s mind.

The Sins he knew, and those he had seen with his own eyes, were just as he knew.

Beings that appear feeding on human despair; that move to destroy humans; that exist to harm, not to protect.

However, such a being—

A Sin that even he didn’t fully understand, one that destroyed the world at unknown intervals… what the hell did it want to protect?

To that question, Sloth, who looked silently at Alon, answered—

“You all.”

Suddenly, he answered like that.

“…What?”

Alon‘s immutable expression cracked immediately.

He couldn’t understand it.

With a deep frown, he asked again, but Sloth —who was already starting to slowly turn into ash—

“What I wanted to protect was—”

With those last words—

“—Humans.”

That vanished completely,

And Alon, looking at the place where even the ashes disappeared—

“…What?”

He couldn’t help but frown even more.

But only for an instant.

Alon couldn’t stay trapped in his question.

“Brother.”

“…Ah, Radan?”

“Eh, sorry to interrupt you while you’re thinking, but I think it’s time to say goodbye.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Alon come to his senses at Radan‘s words.

Soon the Beast of Possibility would dissipate.

And remembering that Radan would return to his original form, Alon—

“I wanted to ask you something…”

He opened his mouth to pose a belated doubt.

“Impossible, brother.”

As if he already knew what he was going to ask, Radan smiled widely.

“Butterfly effect, you know.”

“I think the right thing is to help you only up to this point and then go.”

“Aah— if I could use the artifact, I’d show off to you a bit more.” He murmured in a joking tone, and Alon commented:

“…I think I can ask this.”

“What thing? You have to be prudent, brother.”

“Do you come from the future?”

“The future, huh. Well—”

Radan thought for a moment and then nodded.

“In essence… yes.”

“And you also know me… although asking that makes no sense.”

“Sure. A—”

While nodding, he remembered something and handed something to Alon.

“Brother, when I return to being myself, could you give me this?”

“……This?”

“Mm— when you give it to ‘that guy’, he’ll understand.”

Alon received a blue gem.

“…Didn’t you say you couldn’t speak because of the butterfly effect?”

“Ah, this that I’m giving you falls into another category.”

In what category? Alon was thinking when Radan closed his hand with the gem inside.

“Please. The ‘me’ of this time is quite useless, you know.”

Then he raised his hand and waved it as a farewell.

“Well, I’m off. I have to tell Seolrang and the Hero something.”

“…The Hero?”

“Yes, the Hero… Ah, is he called Eliban here?”

“You were worried about the butterfly effect and you’re already saying too many things.”

“Aah, well, this shouldn’t be a problem.”

Shrugging, Radan turned to leave, but stopped for an instant.

“Ah, I also had something else to tell you.”

“Mm?”

“Yes.”

He returned toward Alon.

Whish—

He placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Brother, trust your own decisions. They have never been wrong, not even once.”

He said it with determination.

“What—?”

Alon was going to ask him about the sudden serious tone.

“Then now for real! There’s nothing left, I’m going brother!”

And Radan, returning to his cheerful smile, disappeared.

Alon could only look, absorbed, at the empty space where he had been.

In conclusion, Alon won the battle against the Sin of Sloth.

With Sloth’s defeat, the Black Territory also disappeared as if it had never existed, and the related incidents ended.

But even having eliminated Sloth, the Kingdom of Ashtalon couldn’t say it was in good condition.

The Sin had spread so much Black Territory that more than half of the kingdom disappeared.

The castle and the fiefs were still there, but it made no sense.

Without inhabitants, a fief has no meaning whatsoever.

And the crisis of the Ashtalon domain also weighed on Alon.

The reason? The “Empire”.

In the game, Psychedelia (which deals with the story of the Allied United Kingdom) and Calipsophobia (which deals with the story of the Empire) had no relation whatsoever.

Except in one case.

When the existence of the Allied United Kingdom was threatened.

At that moment, the Empire always invaded the Allied United Kingdom according to the system.

And once the Empire began the invasion, the Allied United Kingdom collapsed in an instant.

Alon was slightly worried about that part.

‘In the original story, I never reached the collapse, so maybe I shouldn’t worry so much.’

But a background that was already known was not so easy to ignore.

‘Even so, there is something more important now.’

Alon changed the course of his thoughts and remembered what the Sin said.

…That it wanted to protect humans… huh.

Even after organizing the situation a bit, he kept thinking about it.

But he still didn’t understand.

The Sins sought to kill humans, and Sloth also tried to destroy the world.

Why did that thing say something like that?

‘Sure, if it were Sloth’s opinion solely and not the others’… it wouldn’t be so weird.’

Alon clicked his tongue and got lost in his thoughts.

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

“My lord.”

“Evan.”

“Were you here? I looked for you quite a bit.”

Alon was observing the attendees at the ball celebrating the resolution of the incidents with drinks when Evan found him.

“Was someone looking for me?”

“Many people, but I didn’t come for that. It’s just that I thought you weren’t in good shape and you disappeared suddenly.”

“I had things to think about.”

“And you can’t think lying in your bed?”

“Well, yes.”

Alon answered almost murmuring while looking at the floor below.

“Ohhhh—! This spiritual being is the one that tore apart those masses of flesh before—!

[Ahem~!]

“Ooooh—!”

Basiliora, surrounded by mages, was lifting his head with pride, delighted with the attention.

And at another table, Blackie was watching that scene as if feeling second-hand embarrassment while eating… although he was also surrounded by mages praising him.

Finally, Alon saw the nobles gathered around Eliban.

“They are having fun.”

“Basiliora is unbearable. He’s been like that for almost two hours. He was really hungry for attention.”

Evan clicked his tongue.

“Well, he was a god before.”

“Do gods want attention like that…?”

“Well—”

Not all, Alon was going to say, but he remembered Kalanon.

The goddess turned into a kitten running through Divine Land trying to recover her divine power.

“—It’s a matter of survival.”

“…But that isn’t a god anymore. He’s just a pet, isn’t he?”

“True.”

Evan sighed deeply.

Then Alon remembered something and asked:

“Evan, is there news of the Gem of The One with Closed Eyes?”

“Ah— not yet.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But they found clues, so they only ask for a little more time.”

After confirming the progress status—

“Let’s go down.”

With questions still unresolved, they headed to their accommodation.

On the stairs:

“Marquis Palatio?”

“…Yes, who are you?”

A mage in a red robe, clearly much older than Alon.

Suddenly he bowed his head deeply.

“I am Gunan Kroatz, professor of the Red Tower.”

“Ah, yes—”

“You see, I am quite good at simple calculations, and I participated a lot in the study of the Red Tower called ‘The Intermediate Paradox of Artia’—”

“I see.”

“And I also created a spell based on simple calculation called ‘Ateus Mage’, which—”

He started making a report about himself to him.

Alon, confused, looked at Evan.

“??”

Evan also tilted his head without understanding anything.

“Cough, sorry, I spoke too much. That was all.”

The professor disappeared after saying his piece.

‘…What was that?’

Confused and with new doubts, Alon kept advancing toward his room.

But—

“Ah, Marquis Palatio, here you were!”

“…And you are?”

“Sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I am Uyarne Palbin, tenured professor of the Blue Tower.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Cough— you see, perhaps you have heard of my works: ‘Inverse of Kroizt’ and ‘Average Operation of Zalman’ in the field of simple calculation…”

And again, another mage starting an endless report.

“Hello! Marquis, I am from the Purple Tower—!”

“I am from the Blue Tower—!”

Like that, while they moved, he heard two more rounds of mages bragging about “basic calculation”.

Without understanding anything, Alon finally arrived at his room.

The next morning—

“Good morning, Marquis, I am from the Red Tower—”

“Me from the Green Tower—”

Mages entering his room naturally as soon as he woke up.

He started to feel that something was very wrong.

And two hours later—

“Good morning, Marquis! Interview number 19! Torin from the Green Tower! I am excellent at basic calculations! If you choose me—!”

Without him knowing it, they were shouting interview numbers.

Presenting themselves as if it were the most normal thing in the world, mages full of passion to show themselves before him—

……And Alon, among them, interlaced his fingers resting both hands on his head, while his mind filled with unanswered questions.