Chapter 329 : In the Name of Sloth (2)

“How much farther now?”

“At this pace, we’ll be there soon.”

It had been a week since Alon departed for Ashtalon.

The reason he didn’t realize that the incidents happening in Ashtalon were caused by the birth of the Sin of Sloth was due to three factors.

The first was the monsters.

Although things had already deviated from the original story in many ways, as far as Alon knew, the Sins’ appearances hadn’t changed significantly, nor had their objectives.

In other words.

Even if the story twisted wildly like a butterfly effect, their fundamental goals remained as Alon understood them.

According to him, the Sin of Sloth did not kill monsters.

Their targets were always humans and other intelligent races; they did not kill beings classified as monsters by the Allied Kingdoms.

And crucially, there was the Black Territory.

From the moment the Sin of Sloth was born, the Black Territory began to corrode the surface.

So, the moment rumors spread that the Black Territory had begun encroaching on the surface, it was certain that the Sin of Sloth had appeared, but otherwise, it was difficult to predict.

The Sin of Sloth and the Black Territory were inseparable, the alpha and omega of that Sin’s power.

“Evan, what’s the current situation?”

“People have been gathering ever since Ashtalon requested aid.”

“Faster than expected.”

“Normally, as you predicted, they would have hesitated, but it seems King Shtalian V offered a really good reward.”

“A good reward?”

“Yes. From what I heard... I can’t remember the exact name, but they say it’s something like an abyssal core without side effects.”

“An abyssal core without side effects...?”

“Yes.”

“Just hearing that sounds suspicious.”

“They say the effects are real, so everyone is on the move. And the Mage Tower too, of course.”

Evan shrugged, and Alon naturally shifted his gaze.

There were the group of mages traveling with Alon to Ashtalon, and among them, Sharan and Celaime were passionately speaking.

“With this many people, it should be easier to handle the Sin than before, right? Or maybe it’s already been resolved?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Two other strong ones joined, and I heard that two of Caliban’s swords have already arrived in Ashtalon. Maybe they already took care of it. They supposedly went in a huge group.”

While Alon was watching the mages, Evan continued to report.

After a while, Alon finally spoke.

“They won’t be able to stop it just by numbers.”

“Well, I think so too. Even three strong ones already fell... but, there are still the soldiers.”

Evan, about to add something like “in battle, quantity matters—”, suddenly stopped mid-sentence as if recalling a past experience.

“...No, it might be hard.”

That was true. Even last time, if it hadn’t been for Rine, it would have been impossible to defeat the Sin.

‘And this time...’

While Alon was deep in thought, some time passed.

“We’ve arrived.”

At last, Alon and his party set foot in the Kingdom of Ashtalon.

And then.

“Ah—”

Before long, Alon let out a soft sigh without realizing it.

He wasn’t the only one.

Everyone standing on the cliff overlooking the Kingdom of Ashtalon did the same.

It was only natural.

The view of Ashtalon they saw was—

“...This situation isn’t just serious, it’s catastrophic.”

“It really is.”

It was so horrific that their expressions twisted in shock.

Alon stared blankly at the sight.

The Black Territory was now close enough that it could engulf Ashtalon in just a few days.

The forests and fields already submerged in it were completely dyed red with blood.

The stench of blood constantly filled the air, and lumps of flesh, which couldn’t even be called zombies, moved listlessly, killing each other.

Just a single swarm.

But calling it “just” a swarm...

The uniformity of their movements and what could be seen through their eyes.

All of it revealed what had happened in that Black Territory.

For a while, Alon and the others could do nothing but stand there blankly, unable to move.

***

In the Kingdom of Ashtalon, Alon encountered familiar faces.

“Oh! Master!”

“Brother!”

First were Seolrang and Radan.

“Brother—!”

“Marquis—!”

“Saint, and Filian.”

Next were Yuman and Filian.

And finally.

“Marquis~!”

“Eliban, you’re here too.”

“Well, considering the situation! I’m so glad to see you again...!”

Eliban’s bright face didn’t match the current crisis.

In contrast to his cheerful demeanor, the party members had serious expressions.

‘We’re in the second half now.’

That thought briefly passed Alon’s mind as he looked at their armor, then he spoke to Eliban.

“When did you arrive?”

“Two days ago.”

“By any chance, the situation—”

As he started to ask, he soon realized he didn’t even need to.

“We’re leaving.”

“Are you serious right now?!”

“What did you say? What part doesn’t make sense?”

“The aid request from the Allied Kingdoms!”

He already saw the chaotic state of the strategy meeting.

“An aid request! Of course I know! I, Count Minmanmar of the Colony Kingdom, came here with soldiers and Baba Yaga in response to that request!”

“Then why are you saying that!”

“Because the aid is meaningless!”

Count Minmanmar glared at Duke Bemanta of the Ashtalon Kingdom, with whom he was arguing, then immediately pointed outside toward the Black Territory.

“Look at that! It’s already near the kingdom! How on earth do you plan to handle that?!”

“As I said, according to our investigation, to stop the Black Territory, we must reach its core beyond—”

“It’s not like we haven’t tried! Don’t you see over there?”

The count slammed the table as if he might break it, then pointed.

Over there, lumps of flesh were tearing each other apart mechanically.

“Those horrifying things... they’re our warriors! We tried to check the center just like you said, and look what happened! They went in wearing anti-magic artifacts, just as you advised!! And that’s how they ended up—!”

“I didn’t lie!”

“Ha! Right! But you didn’t say the artifacts wouldn’t even last ten minutes!”

“That’s because the investigation hadn’t finished yet—!”

“In any case, I’m leaving! This is an obvious death trap! I won’t let my soldiers die for nothing!”

“That goes for me as well.”

“Sir Kerma! You too—!”

At Duke Bemanta’s exclamation, Kerma, the fourth sword of Caliban, shook his head.

“Count Minmanmar is absolutely right. There’s nothing we can do. Unless the kingdom can somehow deal with the Black Territory—”

Otherwise, it all seems utterly meaningless.

Muttering as if to himself, Kerma added, and Duke Bemanta’s forehead furrowed even more.

That’s how dire the situation was.

Those who had already investigated the Black Territory to some extent were now trying to withdraw their support.

Amidst all this, Yuman fell deep into thought.

His face was darker than ever.

Alon looked away from the Saint and turned his gaze to the Black Territory.

‘The situation really isn’t good.’

It was the same even compared to the original story and the game he knew.

‘The Black Territory has already expanded too much.’

The Sin of Sloth grows stronger the larger the Black Territory becomes.

In the original work as well, the longer the players took to prepare, the stronger the Sin grew, to the point that many players chose to rush into battle unprepared.

But in this current situation, it wasn’t the early or mid-game — it was the late stage.

Moreover, it was the phase when the Sin was at its strongest.

In other words, the Sin that Alon had to face now was likely to be as strong as, or even stronger than, the Sin of Sloth he had originally envisioned.

That was why.

“May I speak for a moment?”

If internal conflict broke out now, their chances of winning would become virtually nonexistent, so he spoke up while subtly moving his mana.

The atmosphere had turned so tense.

He didn’t expect a single comment to change the mood easily, so he planned to use mana to amplify his voice slightly.

However.

“Ahem, if Marquis Palatio wishes to speak—”

Before he could even release his mana—

“We shall listen.”

“Ahem—”

Those gathered quickly lowered their voices and cleared their throats.

“......?”

Alon was momentarily flustered but soon awkwardly canceled his mana.

“Hmm—”

In the now-silent conference room, he pondered what to say first.

“To begin with, I do have a plan.”

That’s how he started, and his mind began racing.

Of course, from their perspective, it would be hard to trust Alon’s words so easily.

These people arguing here had already arrived at the kingdom days ago and had fully realized how unreasonable the Black Territory was.

So, it was only natural for them to react with skepticism or displeasure to Alon’s statement.

Although he was in a position to persuade them, he didn’t feel much pressure.

Even if he didn’t know how to eliminate the Black Territory outright, he knew the clue to resolving this crisis.

Just as Alon was about to carefully organize his words to persuade them—

“If Marquis Palatio has a plan, it’s certainly worth hearing out.”

Count Minmanmar, who had been shouting so fiercely just a moment ago, stepped forward.

“......?”

Alon was once again taken aback.

However.

“It’s true, if it’s Marquis Palatio, he’s worth trusting.”

“??”

“I was actually thinking he might have a solution, and indeed he does.”

“???”

Yet again, they responded with pure (?) acceptance.

In a situation completely different from what he had expected, Alon glanced at the nobles’ faces.

They were filled with nothing but trust.

And then.

“Of course, I knew Master would have a plan.”

“With Brother, of course—”

“As expected of Brother!”

“Marquis, you’re truly amazing...!”

“As I thought~”

All those present at the conference sent unwavering trust instead of questions.

As if to say, ‘Oh come on, we believed in you all along!’

Thanks to that, Alon was able to easily take control of the conference room without having to say much.

‘Something... no, what is this...?’

Ironically, the atmosphere was so solidly supportive that it actually made him feel a bit sick to his stomach.

‘As always, he doesn’t understand his own position at all.’

Of course, the only one who noticed Alon’s inner discomfort was Evan.

***

The next day.

“So that’s the ship of the legendary Pirate King.”

Outside the walls of Ashtalon.

Count Minmanmar looked up in amazement at the massive ship floating in the sky.

And he wasn’t the only one.

“That’s—”

“Incredible.”

“What kind of principle is it using?”

“With current magic, that should be impossible—”

The soldiers and mages who had come outside the walls of Ashtalon at Alon’s request were also staring in awe at the ship in the sky.

However, while the mages marveled, the soldiers' expressions weren’t very bright.

The countless soldiers gathered here fully understood how terrifying the Black Territory, which had now almost reached their doorstep, really was.

A single floating ship wasn’t enough to dispel their fear of the Black Territory.

That’s how deeply the horror and dread of the Black Territory had been etched into their minds.

Which is why.

‘Will this really work...?’

Count Minmanmar also looked up at the sky with a slightly conflicted expression as he recalled the plan Marquis Palatio had mentioned yesterday.

At that moment.

“......Brother, this is the maximum altitude Rebo can reach. Do we need to go higher?”

“No, this is enough.”

“Understood.”

Aboard the ship with Radan, Alon took a deep breath and stepped toward the bow.

—Hoo—

As he reached the bow, a chillingly strong wind blew across his back.

He silently looked down at the world below, which now looked like a miniature model, everything appearing small as if it belonged in another world.

Then Alon slowly opened his mouth.

“Basiliora.”

[Speak.]

“Are you ready?”

[Anytime.]

“And Blackie?”

[Meow-!]

Hearing the confident responses of Basiliora and Blackie, Alon looked out toward the Black Territory.

‘The situation really isn’t good.’

Alon acknowledged this calmly.

The crisis had already exceeded the level he had experienced in the game.

Unlike last time with the Apostle who invaded from above, with the Sin of Sloth now this powerful, even if they entered the territory from the air aboard Rebo, problems could arise.

If this were a game, the “Game Over” screen would have already popped up.

Yes, if it were a game.

But the world Alon saw was not a game.

And so, there was still a way.

Normally, there would be no way to lure out the Sin of Sloth, who should now be in the safest place untouched by any attack.

Alon formed a hand seal.

His left hand stretched forward with the index and middle fingers extended.

Then, recalling his conversations with Heinkel.

—This is fundamentally different from Light magic in its development structure. Most of the words and sentences found in Light magic are crafted to complete that spell. But this one is different. Strictly speaking, this is less of a magic and more of a—

“Transformation.”

He recited the word.

—The element itself endlessly feeds on light, transforming molecular structures, and even absorbs heat continuously to create a sun, right? But this is different. This is, strictly speaking—

The mana shaped into a rod began to thin out like a needle.

“Condensation.”

—A method of converting mana into physical force.

The needle, now honed to the point that it was barely visible to Alon’s eyes, was condensed down.

“Rotation.”

—Allowing the caster to transform every magic into pure physical force and launch it as a blow.

It began to spin rapidly in place.

The spell was not yet complete.

He still had two more words to speak.

This was the moment to pour mana into the manifested magic.

“......”

Alon looked at the magic he had formed.

It looked so frail and weak that it seemed like it might be scattered at any moment by the strong wind.

Even considering that he hadn’t yet infused it with mana, the form of his magic wasn’t going to change much.

It was inevitable.

Alon’s mana core was incomparably small compared to other mages.

In other words, this spell that consumed an absurd amount of mana was a poor match for Alon.

Even so, Alon gave a small smile.

Magic Bolt was a spell that had never suited the original Alon at all.

That was a fact.

Yet, paradoxically, this magic was—

“Defy the Heavens.”

Perfectly suited to Alon.

Crack-crack-crack—!!!!

The sky began to twist.