Chapter 363 : On Sin (1)

It had been five days since Alon joined the council and presented his plan to deal with the Sin of Wrath.

“Brother.”

“Saint.”

“As you said, the priests will be arriving soon.”

“The number—?”

“These are most of the priests available for deployment from Rosario.”

“Thank you. May I ask when they’re expected to arrive?”

“Considering the distance, I’d say within two weeks.”

At Yuman’s words, Alon paused to think.

Two weeks.

If the Sin of Wrath moved to destroy a nation, that was an absurdly generous amount of time.

Enough time to annihilate one or two more kingdoms.

…No, perhaps even enough to consume the entire Allied Kingdom.

Yet even so, Alon did not press Yuman.

Being impatient wouldn’t shorten the distance the priests had to travel.

Besides, the priests weren’t the only ones who needed time to gather.

There were also the warriors and knights of each kingdom.

And the naval forces of Raksas would take time as well.

‘So it’ll take about a month for all forces to assemble.’

A month.

Long if long, short if short.

But there was no way to know whether that time was truly long or short.

In the end, the standard of measure would depend on when the Sin decided to move.

“Thank you, Saint.”

When Alon bowed his head in gratitude, Yuman shook his own and smiled.

“No need for that, Brother. I know you’re doing everything you can to save the world.”

“Saint…”

Alon felt a twinge of emotion.

Of course, those close to him, like Evan, had trusted him without question.

But it wasn’t easy for an outsider to show such complete faith.

Though they did believe him.

Still, the suspicious glances hadn’t gone away.

And Alon understood that sentiment well—especially from the kings.

No matter how great one’s achievements were, claiming to know how to deal with a monster that defied reason naturally invited suspicion.

So while Alon was quietly moved, the Saint continued with a gentle smile.

“More than that, I didn’t expect you to have seen this far ahead.”

He spoke slowly.

“…Pardon?”

Alon blinked in confusion, unsure what the Saint meant.

But Yuman went on.

“At first, I couldn’t understand why the Marquis suddenly established Divine Land.”

Alon let out a soft sigh.

He instantly realized what kind of misunderstanding the Saint was under.

“Well—”

He opened his mouth to explain, but before he could—

“When I learned that even the Duchy of Luxibl was secretly gathering troops, I felt ashamed that my faith in you had wavered even slightly.”

Before he could get a word in, Yuman’s words followed naturally.

Was it really worth correcting that misunderstanding?

That thought flickered through Alon’s mind for a moment.

Then he recalled every conversation he’d had with Yuman so far.

No matter how many times Alon told him the truth, Yuman always chose to believe what he wanted to believe.

So Alon decided—

“In any case, I believe in you, Brother.”

He didn’t bother to stop Yuman, who smiled kindly and left the room.

Moments later—

“Master!”

“Brother!”

“…Seolrang and Radan?”

“We met in front of the Magic Tower.”

Seolrang and Radan entered the room together.

“Master, hug!”

Seolrang jumped at Alon energetically, while Radan smiled and stood by his side.

Radan looked healthier than when they last met.

“Looks like you’ve worked through what was troubling you.”

“Troubling… me?”

“Yes.”

“Did it show?”

Alon didn’t answer directly.

But the faint smile tugging at Radan’s lips said enough.

“…You really do notice everything, Brother.”

“Do I?”

“Yes. But don’t worry. As you predicted, most of it’s been resolved.”

Alon nodded.

“For now, get some rest. Once the others arrive, we’ll begin our discussion.”

“Okay!”

“Understood.”

Seolrang answered cheerfully, sitting naturally on Alon’s lap.

Radan nodded peacefully beside them.

After a short while—

“Ah!”

Seolrang, still humming happily as Alon rubbed her ears, suddenly gasped as if she’d remembered something important and lifted her head.

“Master! Give me your hand!”

“My hand?”

“Yeah!”

Though puzzled, Alon held out his hand.

Seolrang smiled brightly and dropped something into it.

“What’s this…?”

“You said you were looking for it!”

It was the Crying Blessing from the colony—the artifact Alon had been searching for.

“…You went to fetch this yourself?”

“Uh-huh!”

Her expression clearly said, Aren’t I amazing? Go on, praise me!

Smiling, Alon reached out and gently patted her head.

“Thank you.”

“Hehehe~!”

Thanks to Seolrang, he now possessed two of the artifacts.

Only one remained.

Jewel of the Closed-Eyed One.

‘Where in the world could that be…’

As Alon continued to stroke Seolrang’s hair, enjoying the moment—

“Marquis!”

Evan burst in, looking more urgent than usual.

“What’s wrong?”

At Alon’s question, Evan hurriedly replied.

“The Hero’s party—no, Eliban’s party—has come to see you!”

He reported the news with even greater urgency.

***

The fifth basement floor of the Mage Society.

A magical prison where only those who had disgraced the Tower’s name and tarnished the reputation of mages were confined, waiting for their execution by fellow sorcerers.

“…It’s been a while, Yan.”

Alon was meeting the Hero’s party.

“You still remember my name.”

Yan answered, her face gaunt and weary, her tone tinged with faint surprise.

Alon turned his gaze to the others beside her—just as emaciated and drained.

“Of course. I remember Vina and Ralph too.”

He listed their names and shrugged lightly.

‘Whether you liked them or not, they were characters you’d keep running into once you became a player.’

After a brief exchange of greetings, Alon continued.

“You’ll likely have to stay here for a while.”

“I see.”

Yan’s expression darkened slightly.

Truthfully, Alon felt sorry for them.

It wasn’t the Hero’s party that had done wrong—it was Eliban.

But since they had worked alongside him as comrades, suspicion naturally fell upon them, and upon arriving at the Tower, they were imprisoned underground.

It was deeply unjust.

“But don’t worry. Nothing will happen to you.”

He wouldn’t let them suffer any further for this.

After all, Alon knew better than anyone that they were innocent.

“Thank you.”

Hearing the sincerity in her voice, Alon remained quiet for a while before cautiously moving to the main point.

“I heard Eliban knocked you unconscious, and that after waking up, you immediately came here to assess the situation. Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Can you describe in more detail what happened then?”

In truth, Alon didn’t need to hear more of Eliban’s story.

Eliban had already become the Sin of Wrath, intent on humanity’s destruction.

Whatever had happened to him wouldn’t change what lay ahead.

Even so, Alon couldn’t help but ask.

Because he didn’t understand.

Why had Eliban, who once sought to save the world, become a Sin?

“I’d like to tell you, but I don’t think I can.”

“Why not?”

“The last thing my comrades and I saw was Eliban’s smile and the words, ‘Thank you.’ After that…”

“He struck you down right after?”

“Yes. By the time we woke up…”

“I see.”

Alon nodded quietly at Yan’s subdued voice.

“But before that—there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Yes. In fact, coming to the Tower was mainly so I could tell you this, my lord.”

At those words, Alon’s attention sharpened again.

After a moment of silence, Yan finally spoke.

“Eliban… was acting strange.”

“Strange?”

“He’d always hidden something from us. For example, he always had power far beyond ours.”

“I see.”

“But we never questioned it. Eliban always acted like the hero in every story—always righteous, always selfless.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Exactly that. He never rested, constantly hunted down the evils that plagued humanity, and showed kindness equally to all, no matter how small the matter.”

Alon nodded quietly.

A player could behave however they wished—but a playable character like Eliban was, by default, aligned with absolute good unless deliberately corrupted.

In that sense, such behavior was to be expected.

“Even until the very end, that part of him never changed. He was still hiding something, but he still worked tirelessly for everyone.”

“That doesn’t sound like much of a problem to me.”

“You’re right—on the surface.”

Yan sighed faintly, then continued.

“At some point, Eliban became obsessed with fame.”

“Fame?”

“Yes. He never cared for such things before, but suddenly, he didn’t hesitate to spread his name far and wide. He didn’t exaggerate his deeds… but still, it felt strange.”

She added quietly, “He never used to care about that sort of thing.”

“And when there was even the slightest delay in dealing with an anomaly or an outer threat, he’d grow anxious—almost as if he’d committed a crime.”

“Couldn’t that be because people might suffer from the delay?”

“No, it was different. Eliban would deal with most anomalies before they even became dangerous. And after each one, he’d…”

“Publicize his achievement?”

“Yes. Ever since a certain point.”

Alon fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

“…Perhaps his personality just changed. The accomplishments he achieved were worthy of praise, after all.”

“I agree. Even when we rested, he’d go out alone to hunt anomalies. But no—his nature didn’t change. Everything else about him stayed the same, except that he started spreading word of his deeds.”

“…Was there anything else unusual?”

At Alon’s question, Yan nodded.

“He often looked at the sky.”

“The sky?”

“Yes. At first, I thought it was just a habit—he’d always stare up at the night sky. But after living with him for years, I realized something. Eliban didn’t actually like the night sky.”

“Did he say that himself?”

“No. He’d just smile whenever I mentioned it.”

“Then maybe you misunderstood—”

“No.”

Yan’s answer was firm.

“Even I can read the emotions of someone I care about. That was…”

She trailed off, her voice fading. Then she looked straight at Alon.

“Honestly, I came here because I thought you knew something.”

“Why would you think that?”

“When Eliban spoke about you, my lord… he was always completely sincere.”

At her words, Alon said nothing.

No—he couldn’t.

Because he truly didn’t know.

He had no idea why Eliban’s behavior had changed.

No idea why he’d begun publicizing his achievements.

No idea why he’d grown restless over anomalies.

No idea why he’d spent so many nights gazing at a sky he didn’t even like.

And so—

‘What in the world happened to him?’

Alon could do nothing but ponder in silence.