Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Three months had gone by since Alon saved Yutia Bludia, the girl destined to become a machine of human extermination in a decade. In that period, Alon lived diligently and succeeded in finding the second Sin who required rescue.

Roughly a month after that.

“Following your orders, I retrieved the child from the unlawful slave market and delivered him to the orphanage under Yutia’s care.”

Alon, occupied with some work in the study, listened to Evan’s account.

“You made sure he was cared for, as I instructed?”

“Yes.”

“There was no trouble?”

“None at all.”

Having grown familiar with Evan’s reports over the past half-year, Alon gave a satisfied nod. Yet again, Evan posed a question with some hesitation.

“…Might I ask something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why send the child you worked so hard to find to an orphanage…? Forgive me for saying so, but the one you saved this time also possesses a remarkable gift.”

Grasping Evan’s implication at once, Alon nodded slowly.

‘Not just remarkable—it’s a talent capable of ending the world.’

The person Alon had this time rescued from the illegal slave market in the Kingdom of Kalian, the central state of the allied kingdoms, was none other than Deus.

Deus Macallian.

A future boss in Psychedelia, the one who would become the “Sin of Sloth,” a member of the Five Great Sins in ten years, and who, like the Sin of Wrath, would wipe out multiple allied kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Asteria, from the continent the moment he emerged.

And he would do it in the most gruesome manner possible.

Even as a player, Alon had been disturbed by the bloody visuals, and there were cases in Psychedelia forums where players felt physically ill just from reading about Sloth’s depiction.

‘And for someone called Sloth, he certainly knows how to hold a grudge.’

Alon recalled why he had instructed Evan to ensure Deus was treated kindly after his rescue. Noticing Evan still awaited a response, Alon offered a casual explanation.

“It’s the same as last time. The right moment hasn’t arrived.”

“The right moment, you say.”

Observing Evan ponder his excuse, Alon reflected internally.

‘He asks a lot of questions.’

Truthfully, Alon would have favored a knight who obeyed commands without question over Evan, who inquired about every order. Regrettably, that was not an option.

Or more accurately, he had already made his choice with Evan six months prior.

Evan was a figure in Psychedelia who, while not a central hero, appeared multiple times in certain storylines as a secondary character.

Furthermore, he was a high-caliber ally who, once a sufficient bond of trust was formed, would remain unwaveringly loyal until the very end. In a fantasy realm where betrayal and treachery were everyday occurrences, Alon understood the immense value of having someone who would not turn on him. Luckily, he had met Evan while traveling through the region and had promptly enlisted him as a knight.

“…I see.”

While Alon was deep in thought, Evan gave a firm nod, as if everything now made sense, and then asked another question.

“So, when do you intend to meet those you’ve saved?”

“I have no specific plans to.”

“…But wouldn’t it be advantageous to meet them at least once?”

“Hmm.”

Alon was conscious of the fact.

In an ideal scenario, staying closely connected with the Five Great Sins would be helpful, and the most effective method to foster that bond would be through face-to-face contact.

Nevertheless, despite this knowledge, the rationale behind Alon’s decision to avoid direct meetings and instead support them from a distance lay in their personalities—specifically, their deep-seated flaws.

Based on his knowledge, the dispositions of the Five Great Sins were terrible even before their transformation into the Sins.

One only had to watch the recollection scenes that unlocked after defeating the Five Great Sins bosses in Psychedelia to comprehend.

Their natures were so foul that Satan and Lucifer would applaud in admiration from the pits of hell.

‘Naturally, the events that mold them into the Five Great Sins are even more horrifying.’

Alon paused briefly in his thoughts before continuing.

‘…Well, I did save them before their personalities could completely rot, so it shouldn’t be that severe… Still, I only rescued them partway through the process.’

In summary, the characters of the Five Great Sins were inevitably warped in some fashion, which made him reluctant.

“…Perhaps in five years or so.”

By that time, Evan would have collected sufficient information to properly evaluate the typical personalities of the Sins.

When Alon provided this somewhat hopeful estimate, Evan nodded in agreement, just as the door to the study abruptly swung open.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Alon!”

Hearing the familiar voice call his name, Alon frowned slightly and released a soft sigh.

He knew the owner of that voice all too well.

“What is my uneducated little brother doing in here, hmm?”

Turning toward the voice, he saw a man approaching with a cunning smirk.

Or more precisely,

“When your older brother addresses you, shouldn’t you answer?”

It was Tonio, the second son of the Palatio Count’s family, renowned as one of the Count’s rogue siblings. He wore a smirk that was disagreeable from the first glance and casually draped his arm over Alon’s head as he sat.

A clearly disrespectful gesture.

“I just came by to find something.”

Even as Tonio deliberately leaned on his head, causing a dull ache, Alon answered calmly as if unaffected, thinking to himself.

‘This again.’

This was not the first time either the first or second son had treated Alon this way.

In fact, they had openly tormented him from the instant he had been reborn into this world.

Even before he had taken over Alon’s body, the original Alon must have endured this kind of mistreatment constantly.

However, the reason Alon chose not to retaliate and let it slide, despite the irritation, was that his wish to preserve a tranquil noble life was stronger.

‘If I confront these fools, my entire plan will be sabotaged from the outset.’

If his adversaries were merely on the level of the Count’s two good-for-nothing sons, Alon would have gladly crushed them completely. But the issue was that their standing was not so simple.

‘Handling a drug lord and a prostitution king is complicated.’

Alon looked up briefly.

There, the second son of the Count’s family, who operated a drug ring with the grandiose title “Avalon” in the criminal underworld, stared down at him with an open sneer.

Of course, the cartel was not a massive organization, only somewhat known within the kingdom. But unfortunately, the present Alon was in no position to handle a worthless man who could, with a single command, dispatch scores of underworld assassins to erase him without a trace.

Even if he succeeded in eliminating him, he would then confront the eldest son, who was locked in a power struggle with the second son and managed brothels instead. Considering the eldest’s intense focus on the inheritance, he would never allow Alon, who had taken down the second son, to escape unscathed.

In other words, Alon understood that if he reacted, there would be no going back.

“It seems my elder brother wishes to use the study, so I will take my leave.”

“At least you know your position.”

Alon offered a respectful bow to Tonio, whose face was full of contempt, and exited the study with Evan to head back to his room.

Shortly after, Evan handed him a letter from Yutia.

“This time, I brought it myself.”

“Did you?”

Since saving Yutia, Alon had been corresponding with her monthly. The letters typically contained simple greetings and news about their everyday lives. It had been Alon’s idea to start the letter exchange in the first place.

‘She might form a stronger bond with a pen pal than through in-person meetings.’

Remembering friends from online chat rooms he had once felt closer to than real-life acquaintances, Alon opened the letter and started to read.

“Hmm…”

The letter held nothing out of the ordinary. As always, Yutia wrote a short greeting and shared anecdotes about some of the orphans.

To sum it up, it said a boy named Hidan was very skilled at playing “war games” and a girl named Yuna was exceptionally good at “hide and seek.”

Reading these commonplace stories, Alon considered what to write in his response and resolved to faithfully recount the day’s events.

He thought that sharing some of his concerns, rather than only pleasantries, might help them grow emotionally closer.

With that intention, Alon wrote about the day’s occurrences and sent the letter to Yutia at the orphanage.

It was just a routine day.

***

Around the same time.

“Hmm~”

Yutia was studying Deus Macallian, a boy with unsettling, vacant, violet eyes.

Outwardly, he seemed fine.

His arms and legs were whole, and though his body showed many marks of mistreatment, he did not appear physically disabled.

But that was only on the surface. Anyone else seeing Deus Macallian would be certain he was shattered.

His body might have been whole, but his eyes, which should have held some feeling, were hollow, gazing blankly into nothing.

He resembled a man whose mind had been destroyed by psychic magic, devoid of expression or movement, staring vacantly at one spot.

He was the perfect picture of a broken individual.

Yet, Yutia smiled deeply as she observed him.

‘The marks left by that entity… Allowing him to exact direct vengeance, you are truly thoughtful.’

More than just smiling, Yutia clearly perceived the intention behind why he had sent Deus here and spoke.

“Black Goat.”

“!”

A single word.

But that one word was sufficient to provoke a reaction from Deus, who had been little more than a broken man until that moment.

What flooded his previously empty eyes was not intellect or consciousness, but pure hatred, rage, and terror.

Confirming this, Yutia smiled and spoke.

“Don’t you want revenge?”

At Yutia’s words, Deus’s blank stare moved to her.

His eyes were now filled with hatred, lethal intent, and curiosity.

Noticing this easily, Yutia said nothing more.

She simply released a faint amount of mana.

A mana that he had bestowed, intended only for facing the black ones.

“Congratulations, he has selected you. Therefore, you will gain power.”

She offered no further explanation about the mana she had emitted.

No, there was no need.

The second one he had chosen had a talent so extraordinary that a single demonstration was explanation enough.

Thus,

“So all you must do is remain loyal to him. Then you will have your revenge.”

Yutia smiled as she watched Deus.

And so, a week after Deus arrived at the orphanage, Yutia received another letter from Alon, as was customary.

“I see.”

After reading the letter, she smiled.

***

A year passed since Deus had been placed in the orphanage and Yutia and Alon had continued their routine correspondence, and Alon was beginning to feel frustrated over his inability to locate the third boss in need of saving.

It was then that news reached him.

“…The scoundrel is dead?”

The second son of the Palatio Count’s family was dead.