Chapter 153

Alon knew nothing about the Essence of the Golden Mane Tribe.

That was only natural.

In the game ‘Psychedelia’, the Essence of the Golden Mane Tribe wasn’t an item used in such a way—it was merely an artifact that boosted a player’s critical hit rate.

And yet, he was able to give Seolrang advice because…

He had seen it.

The mana pattern of the essence Seolrang possessed began to twist abnormally, soon forming a nonlinear array that surged through her body.

Normally, it would’ve been impossible for Alon to perceive that pattern.

The same went for other mages.

Even a Tower Master who had reached the 8th Circle couldn’t have seen it.

While it might be possible to sense someone’s mana, discerning how it flowed was another matter entirely.

But now, Alon could.

It must’ve started after his battle with Duke Komalon.

He had gained the faint ability to see the mana patterns of others.

Yet, he hadn’t fully recognized this fact until recently.

No, he hadn’t thought much of it.

Though he could faintly perceive the patterns, they weren’t detailed enough to be of significant use in magic research or combat.

But at this very moment, Seolrang’s mana pattern was crystal clear.

He didn’t know why, but it was as if she had awakened.

That’s why Alon was able to advise her.

And Seolrang…

Had ascended to the 6th Stage.

Crackle!

Alon stared at her in awe.

Seolrang, now bathed in golden light, looked down upon the Apostle of Pride.

Her presence was so overwhelming that even Alon couldn’t help but let out a breath of admiration.

Just as she was about to strike again—

“Ha—!”

Seolgak moved.

Crack-crack-crackle!

Black lightning surged around him as he recoiled, his face contorted with pain.

He hadn’t been able to react when Seolrang awakened, and as a result, his right arm had been completely obliterated.

“Ghh…!”

Seolgak barely managed to clutch at the bleeding stump.

Grit!

But instead of crying out in pain, his face twisted with rage.

“…Fine, I’ll admit it. You got me, little sister.”

Crackle!

“But nothing’s going to change.”

Shrouded in black lightning like a cloak, he charged at Seolrang once more.

And the black thunder roared down.

Rumble!

Seolgak, surging toward Seolrang with black thunder crashing around him, struck her with such speed that even she couldn’t react.

The sheer velocity, far beyond human limits, caught Seolrang off guard, allowing his attack to land.

However, contrary to expectations, it was Seolgak’s expression that hardened.

In that fleeting moment, he realized—

Seolrang had raised her hand, dispersing the force of the blow.

Seolgak clenched his teeth, panic flickering in his mind.

‘My only chance is now.’

He knew it.

He knew what the Thunder Deification meant for the Golden Mane Tribe.

Even after receiving power from ‘Him’, Seolgak had never been able to reach that realm.

It made his insides churn.

What surged within him was not just inferiority—

But fear.

He had craved that realm more than anything.

He had sacrificed his entire family without hesitation, even intending to offer his own sister as ‘His’ vessel.

And so, he already knew—

Now that Seolrang had reached that realm, he could never win.

That’s why…

‘I have to kill her before she fully adapts to the Thunder Deification…!’

Seolgak’s eyes turned bloodshot as he unleashed his mana.

The overwhelming power granted by ‘Him’ devoured his body, granting him strength he could never have achieved on his own.

But power without purpose comes at a price.

The excessive strength, beyond his limits, began to not only consume but collapse his very flesh.

Yet, he wielded it without hesitation.

The power bestowed by the Great Sin of Pride had allowed him to overwhelm most of the world’s strongest beings—

But it was nowhere near enough to reach that golden god.

All it did was buy him a little more time.

‘No matter what, I’ll kill her before she adapts!’

Consumed by prideful mana, Seolgak became black mana incarnate, shooting forward toward Seolrang.

And with that—

Black thunder and golden lightning rained down across the entire colony.

Obsidian lightning shattered the world.

Golden lightning etched itself into the heavens and earth.

Amidst the chaos—

“…It’s ready.”

Alon muttered quietly, gazing up at the sky.

***

In truth, Alon shouldn’t have been able to participate in this battle.

Seolgak was recklessly overclocking his power, even at the cost of his body, to kill Seolrang, while Seolrang was fending off his onslaught.

There was no way Alon could keep up with their speed.

That’s right.

To him, this battle was nothing more than a natural disaster, filled with deafening thunder, golden lightning, and black storms.

He simply lacked the ability to step into their world.

However, Alon could still calmly observe the situation.

Thanks to the lingering traces of mana left behind by their clash.

The mana residue from their battle provided him with valuable insights.

His recent focus on magical research, especially on mana patterns based on ‘seals’, had been a great help.

While he couldn’t fully grasp the entire situation from the lingering mana alone, he could still gather key information.

The two most crucial facts were:

‘The Apostle of Pride is overexerting himself to deal with Seolrang, and Seolrang hasn’t fully adapted to her awakening yet.’

Alon stared into the void.

He still couldn’t see clearly.

Only mana fluctuations appearing and dissipating, allowing him to infer patterns.

After taking a steady breath—

“Hoo—”

Alon formed a seal.

As mentioned, Alon couldn’t participate in this battle.

It was impossible.

At least, it would’ve been for the Alon of the past.

He looked up at the sky again.

Amidst the scattered mana residues of the two Golden Mane Tribe members, his own mana had quietly spread.

Though not yet fully manifested, his mana drifted invisibly through the air.

Mana typically required ‘manifestation’ to take form.

But Alon had broken that convention.

Drawing out almost all of his mana from his mana hall, leaving only the bare minimum, was thanks to his recent research with Penia.

Through exploring mana pattern transformations based on seal structures, he had discovered new forms of mana molecules.

This allowed him to control his mana in its molecular state without manifesting it, anchoring it in the air.

And with ample preparation time, Alon had managed to scatter his mana across the entire battlefield.

‘Of course, due to the lack of abundant mana, its density was inevitably low.’

But that was enough for now.

After all, Alon’s goal wasn’t to deal with Seolgak—

“Expansion (膨脹).”

—but simply to create a brief opening for Seolrang.

Rumble!

As Alon muttered, the mana molecules he had scattered began to expand all at once.

In that fleeting moment—

“1.”

Alon could see it.

Seolrang, dragged out of the battle by the suddenly expanding mana in the air.

“What the—?!”

And Seolgak, striking at her in that very instant.

Without a moment to spare, Alon spoke the next incantation.

“Point (點).”

The expanding mana instantly converged onto Seolgak.

However—

Boom!

The magic Alon had prepared for minutes, holding his breath, was completely shattered with nothing more than an irritated kick from Seolgak.

A single blast of black thunder erased all the mana Alon had expanded.

A crushingly futile situation for Alon, unfolding in less than two seconds.

Yet, a crooked smile crept behind his expressionless face.

Two seconds.

For him, two seconds wasn’t even enough time to properly cast a spell.

But for Seolrang—

“1.”

Two seconds was more than enough to deal with Seolgak.

Alon didn’t take his eyes off the sky.

There, with an expression of horror, Seolgak looked upward.

“Rangchangrangchang (槍狼槍)—”

And descending from above—

Thunder Dragon’s Descent (龍降臨).

A golden dragon.

Roooooaaaaar!!!

The world turned white.

***

Shortly after.

A crater, impossibly wide and deep, had formed there.

And at its center stood Seolrang.

Her Thunder Deification had faded, and she gazed silently downward.

At her feet lay the Apostle of Pride, Seolgak.

With a massive hole in his heart.

“Stupid… really.”

Despite having his heart pierced, leaving no chance of survival, Seolgak glared at Seolrang with wide, furious eyes.

“You’ll regret this, little sister. You’ll definitely regret the day you discarded the powers I arranged for you… You’ll regret it!”

Seolgak’s desperate screams.

But Seolrang remained expressionless as she lifted her leg.

“I don’t need any of that.”

Crack!

She crushed his head as if she no longer needed to hear another word.

“I’ve already gotten what I wanted.”

Watching as Seolgak’s body crumbled to dust, as if he had never existed, Seolrang turned her gaze.

“Ah, Master!”

She spotted Alon and tried to run toward him—

Thud!

But collapsed immediately.

Alon rushed over to check her condition.

“Huh? My body won’t move at all.”

Seolrang’s carefree remark, despite having just fallen, made Alon let out a small sigh of relief.

“It’s probably because you overexerted yourself a bit.”

“Is that it, Master?”

“Yes.”

Seolrang nodded briefly as if that made sense, then softly whispered.

“Thank you, Master.”

“…All of a sudden?”

“Yeah. You taught me how to use Thunder Deification. Thanks to you, I was able to kill him.”

Thank you, huh.

Alon was silent for a moment before speaking.

“Seolrang.”

“Yes, Master?”

“…Are you okay?”

“Hm? About what?”

“…You care deeply about your family.”

Seolrang smiled at his question.

A bitter smile Alon had never seen before.

But—

“…Yes, Master. I do cherish my family.”

“…”

“But you know what?”

This time, a bright smile appeared on her face.

“I’ll never do something that makes me lose something even more precious. I’m not a fool.”

“…”

Hearing her resolute words, Alon realized something without even meaning to.

He had been perceiving her just like Seolgak had—through his own assumptions.

Just as Seolgak still saw Seolrang as the naive, weak child from ten years ago,

Alon had been viewing her as one of the Five Great Sins from ‘Psychedelia’.

Even though they’d shared memories and experiences, he had still clung to that bias.

Not as Seolrang, who now showed him a bright smile and had become the first Baba Yaga of the colony—

But as a character who could always become one of the Five Great Sins in the game.

But now he understood.

Seolrang was no longer a mere in-game villain or someone Alon needed to cautiously watch over.

She was someone who valued her family with her life but could still make necessary choices without hesitation.

In some ways, she had grown stronger and wiser than Alon himself.

“…I see.”

Alon chuckled softly without realizing it, feeling lighter inside as he looked at her.

“Master… you can smile?”

“…?”

Seolrang looked up at him with a face more surprised than ever before.

It was faint, but it was a smile that touched the heart.

***

Some time later.

After hearing that Rine had dealt with the Scorpion, Seolrang rested against a ruined wall to recover.

“Master.”

“Hm?”

“Do that thing again.”

“What thing?”

“The ear thing.”

“…Why?”

“It felt nice.”

Seolrang giggled, and Alon gently pressed her ear without question.

Closing her eyes slowly, Seolrang spoke.

“Master.”

“What is it?”

“Thanks for worrying about me.”

“…Of course I’d worry.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

At his answer—

“…I see.”

A small smile crept onto Seolrang’s lips.

It was an afternoon where the setting sun could be seen beyond the broken walls of the colony, fading over the horizon.