Chapter 361

C361. What Must Be Done (4)

“…What?”

Alon was stunned by Deus’s words. The news he had heard was just that shocking.

“Eliban… has become a Sin.”

But even if he asked again,

the words coming out of Deus’s mouth would not change.

“Can I ask you to explain the situation first?”

Alon let out a sigh, trying to calm his confused mind.

He had to understand the details first.

“According to the report we received—”

In that somewhat heavier atmosphere,

Alon calmly listened to Deus’s explanation.

When Deus finished his report, Alon’s head began to ache again.

“…So… he killed all the nobles who attended the ball in Tern, and thus awakened as a Sin. Is that it?”

“That is correct.”

Alon recalled Eliban’s face.

“This… was absolutely not within my expectations.”

Not knowing who might become a Sin…

was something Alon knew very well.

He had already witnessed several cases.

But even so… for the last Sin to be…

“Eliban.”

He would have never imagined it.

Eliban was a figure located on the opposite end of the Sins, and furthermore, he was the protagonist of Psychedelia.

“…”

Alon rubbed his eyes with a sigh.

He was trying to calm his overheated mind.

If Deus’s words were true,

then the deed had already been done,

and there was no way to reverse it.

Suddenly, he remembered Eliban’s figure at the recent ball.

Like that boy he had met the first time.

Smiling with joy.

“…Omnipotent?”

‘Well, that is an attribute of the gods. I was asking about when one becomes a god.’

“…When one becomes one?”

‘Do you want me to tell you?’

‘Tell me what?’

‘The mark.’

‘……The mark?’

‘It is about how one is recognized as an existence.’

The next thing he remembered was that final conversation with Eliban.

A somewhat sudden topic.

At first glance, it had no relation whatsoever to Eliban becoming a Sin.

But now that Eliban was a Sin,

those words returned to his mind.

Why did Eliban say something like that to him?

Why—

Just as Alon was sinking into deeper thoughts,

he finally managed to cut the thread of ideas and organized his mind.

“Deus.”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember when Eliban’s birthday party was in Tern?”

“I believe it was two days ago.”

“Two days…”

According to Alon, the time for the Sin of Wrath to fully manifest was two months.

That is, there were 58 days left.

But Alon knew he could not afford to take it easy.

He had already learned several times

that this world no longer moved like a game.

Furthermore, given that Eliban had become a Sin,

the Sin’s personality might have been altered compared to what he knew.

In conclusion:

the possibility of having time available was very low.

Alon then tried to estimate the Sin’s strength.

He knew a Sin was strong on its own,

but its power could be amplified depending on the body it possessed.

And now, being the last Sin

and occupying the body of the hero of Psychedelia—Eliban,

that Sin would undoubtedly be stronger than any of the previous ones.

‘If that is his level of strength…’

“Lord—!”

While Alon was threading his thoughts,

an urgent voice called out to him.

Looking up,

Evan, who had gone to meet with the people from the information guild,

came running into the camp.

His expression was clearly alarming.

Just as Alon was about to ask him what was happening—

“Ashtalon was destroyed…!”

Evan spoke first.

“…What?”

“Just like that. They say Ashtalon was destroyed…!! And by the hands of Eliban, now a Sin…!”

Alon could not repeat the question.

“Ha.”

He let out an empty laugh.

---

Three days had passed since the capital of Ashtalon disappeared at the hands of the Sin of Wrath.

The kings of the United Allied Kingdom gathered at the Magic Tower for an urgent meeting.

But of course,

not all the kings were physically present.

Three days were enough for the rumor to spread,

but too little for the kings to travel personally.

That is why they participated through “Mana Bodies”,

created by the Green Tower and the Brown Tower.

It was an incredible experience even for the mages,

and even more so for the kings seeing this magic for the first time.

The enormous magic circles resonating in the room

were so precise and grandiose

that they seemed impossible to describe.

But even so,

no one in the room made admiring comments.

Because the situation was too grave.

“Well, what do you plan to do?”

In the midst of the silence,

Karmaxes III spoke first.

“What do you mean?”

“What else could I be referring to but that monster that is in Ashtalon?”

“I know that. What I am asking is: what do you propose we do with him?”

At Palmarian IV’s comment,

Karmaxes responded as if it were obvious:

“Well, eliminate that monster, of course. Gather troops—”

“And do you think that monster is the type of creature that can be defeated by gathering troops?”

At the immediate retort,

Karmaxes III fell silent and looked toward the screen projected by the magic artifact.

The first thing visible was

the destroyed capital of Ashtalon.

Next,

a gigantic scar that crossed the city.

And then—

“…No matter how much I look at it, it is repugnant.”

Mountains of corpses inside the city.

Like slaughtered livestock,

bodies piled up everywhere,

and blood flowing until it dyed the ruins a dark red.

The kings frowned.

The mages maintaining the magic and the tower masters did as well.

The landscape was a hell.

But more than what the screen showed,

what oppressed the room was the information.

The only noble who miraculously survived:

Filian Merkilian.

And what he testified:

“…One single strike.”

That pushed the room into despair.

“…Is it not an exaggeration to say that a country fell in a single strike?”

The king of Laksas finally spoke.

Siyan, Queen of Asteria, responded:

“It does not seem like an exaggeration.”

“…Why?”

“Filian Merkilian is someone who has already reached a lofty realm. Such a noble would not distort his memories, even if terrified.”

“Besides, the proof is there, on the screen.”

Siyan pointed to the large scar crossing the destroyed capital.

Silence fell.

No one retorted.

Everyone knew she was telling the truth.

“But even if he is strong, we cannot leave him like that, can we?”

“….Agreed, but I do not think we can defeat him by gathering troops.”

“Then do you want us to stand by and do nothing? That monster could appear anywhere! Does Laksas think that because it is an island, it is safe?”

“…You had better measure your words.”

The voices of Karmaxes III and the king of Laksas rose.

But no one intervened:

both had valid points.

The monster that had destroyed Ashtalon —Eliban, the former “Hero”—

did not seem like something that could be defeated by gathering troops.

But they couldn’t stay still either.

That monster appeared in Ashtalon less than half a day after leaving Tern.

He could appear anywhere.

“If we gather all the troops and that monster attacks somewhere else, it will be a disaster!”

“That is why I say we gather troops quickly and attack him first! Staying here doing nothing solves nothing!”

Opinions were not unifying.

The atmosphere was turning hostile.

Finally, Yuman, the representative of Rosario, sighed deeply.

At that moment—

Creeeak—

The door opened.

The room went silent.

Everyone looked toward the entrance.

And there he was—

A man.

No,

“…Marquis Palatio?”

Marquis Palatio stood at the entrance.

With his characteristic imperturbable expression,

he looked at the room calmly.

Then—

step… step…

He entered without saying a single word.

Without greeting anyone.

As if he didn’t need to.

When he reached the interior of the room,

Alon shifted his gaze toward the screen of the magic artifact.

The hell projected there.

The kings tensed their faces, but Alon walked toward the screen without showing any reaction.

Voooom—

He placed his hand on the artifact and turned it off.

The kings stared at him.

“Marquis Palatio, what do you think you are doing?”

It was natural for them to show annoyance.

No matter how famous Alon was,

this was the meeting where kings decided matters of state.

And he had entered without permission

and acted at will.

Palmarian and the king of Laksas were about to reproach him—

“There is a method to eliminate that thing.”

And at those words,

the kings’ mouths snapped shut.

“—If this makes you uncomfortable, I will leave.”

With that sort of passive threat,

the two kings, who were already under the cold gazes of the others, hurried to correct themselves.

“A-ah, no, I did not mean that—”

“—I only wanted to say that Marquis Palatio has every right to act like this.”

And thus they saved the situation.

Alon opened his mouth:

“Then, I will begin to speak.”

And at that same instant, in the royal castle of Fildegreen—

“…The protective weapon of the Ilaneph Empire.”

Rine, who was studying ancient libraries, murmured with bewilderment:

“…Sin?”

It was the knowledge she had just found.