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 like this—it was just an artifact that increased a player’s critical hit rate.

And yet he could give Seolrang advice because...

He had seen it.

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

Normally, it would’ve been impossible for Alon ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) to perceive that pattern.

The same was true for other mages.

Even a Tower Master who had reached the 8th Circle wouldn’t have been able to see it.

Sensing someone’s mana might be possible, but discerning exactly how it flowed was a completely different matter.

But now, Alon could.

It must have started after his battle with Duke Komalon.

He had gained a faint ability to see other people’s mana patterns.

And yet he hadn’t fully recognized it until recently.

No—he hadn’t thought much of it.

Even though he could faintly perceive patterns, they weren’t detailed enough to be truly useful for research or combat.

But right now, Seolrang’s mana pattern was crystal clear.

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

That was why Alon could advise her.

And Seolrang...

Had ascended to the 6th Stage.

Crackle!

Alon stared at her in awe.

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

Her presence was so overwhelming that even Alon couldn’t help letting 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 contorting in 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 the bleeding stump.

Grit!

But instead of crying out, 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 again.

And black thunder roared down.

Rumble!

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

The sheer velocity—far beyond human limits—caught Seolrang off guard, and the blow landed.

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

In that split second, he realized—

Seolrang had raised her hand and dispersed the force of the attack.

Seolgak clenched his teeth, panic flickering through him.

My only chance is now.

He knew it.

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

Even after receiving power from “Him,” Seolgak had never reached that realm.

It made his insides churn.

What rose in him wasn’t just inferiority—

But fear.

He had wanted that realm more than anything.

He had sacrificed his entire family without hesitation, even planning to offer his own sister as “His” vessel.

So he already understood—

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

That was why...

I have to kill her before she fully adapts to Thunder Deification...!

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

The overwhelming power granted by “Him” devoured his body, giving him strength he could never have reached on his own.

But power without purpose has a price.

That excessive strength—beyond his limits—didn’t just consume him. It began to collapse his flesh.

Even so, he wielded it without hesitation.

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

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 toward Seolrang.

And with that—

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

Obsidian lightning shattered the world.

Golden lightning carved itself into heaven and earth.

Amid the chaos—

“...It’s ready.”

Alon muttered quietly, his eyes on the sky.

*****

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

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

There was no way Alon could match their speed.

That’s right.

To him, this fight was nothing but a natural disaster—deafening thunder, golden lightning, and black storms.

He simply didn’t have the ability to step into their world.

And yet Alon could still observe the situation calmly.

Because of the lingering traces of mana their clash left behind.

The mana residue gave him something to work with.

His recent focus on research—especially mana patterns based on “seals”—helped here.

He couldn’t read everything from the residual mana alone, but he could still extract the essentials.

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 fluctuations of mana that appeared and vanished, letting him infer patterns.

After a steady breath—

“Hoo—”

Alon formed a seal.

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

It was impossible.

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

He lifted his gaze again.

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

It hadn’t fully manifested, but it drifted invisibly through the air.

Normally, mana needed “manifestation” to take form.

But Alon had broken that convention.

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

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

That let him control his mana in its molecular state without manifesting it, anchoring it in the air.

And with enough preparation time, Alon had scattered his mana across the entire battlefield.

Of course, without abundant mana, its density was inevitably low.

But for now, that was enough.

Because Alon’s goal wasn’t to deal with Seolgak—

“Expansion.”

—but simply to create a brief opening for Seolrang.

Rumble!

As Alon spoke, the mana molecules he’d scattered expanded all at once.

In that instant—

“1.”

Alon saw it.

Seolrang, yanked off balance as the suddenly expanding mana caught her mid-fight.

“What the—?!”

And Seolgak, striking at her in that same moment.

Without pause, Alon spoke the next incantation.

“Point .”

The expanding mana instantly converged on Seolgak.

However—

Boom!

The magic Alon had prepared for minutes—holding his breath the whole time—was shattered by nothing more than an irritated kick from Seolgak.

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

A crushingly futile scene, finished in less than two seconds.

Yet a crooked smile tugged at the corner of Alon’s mouth behind his blank expression.

Two seconds.

For him, two seconds wasn’t even enough 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.

Up there, Seolgak looked upward with an expression of horror.

“Rang chang rang chang —”

And descending from above—

Thunder Dragon’s Descent .

A golden dragon.

Roooooaaaaar!!!

The world turned white.

*****

Shortly after.

An impossibly wide, deep crater had formed there.

And at its center stood Seolrang.

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

At her feet lay the Apostle of Pride, Seolgak.

A massive hole gaped in his heart.

“Stupid... really.”

Even with his heart pierced and 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 screamed in desperation.

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.”

Seolgak’s body crumbled to dust, as if he’d never existed.

Seolrang turned her gaze.

“Ah, Master!”

She spotted Alon and tried to run to him—

Thud!

But she collapsed immediately.

Alon rushed over and checked her.

“Huh? My body won’t move at all.”

Seolrang’s carefree comment, even after collapsing, made Alon let out a small sigh of relief.

“It’s probably because you overexerted yourself.”

“Is that it, Master?”

“Yes.”

Seolrang nodded like that answered everything, then whispered softly.

“Thank you, Master.”

“...Out of nowhere?”

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

Thank you, huh.

Alon was quiet for a moment, then spoke.

“Seolrang.”

“Yes, Master?”

“...Are you okay?”

“Hm? About what?”

“...You care deeply about your family.”

Seolrang smiled at the question.

It was a bitter smile Alon had never seen from her before.

But—

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

“...”

“But you know what?”

This time, a bright smile spread across her face.

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

“...”

Hearing those firm words, Alon realized something without meaning to.

He’d been seeing her the way Seolgak had—through his own assumptions.

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

Alon had been seeing her as one of the Five Great Sins from Psychedelia.

Even after sharing memories and experiences, he’d still clung to that bias.

Not as Seolrang—who was smiling brightly at him now, 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 just an in-game villain, or someone Alon had to keep a careful eye on.

She was someone who valued her family more than anything, yet 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 something lighten inside him as he looked at her.

“Master... you can smile?”

“...?”

Seolrang looked up at him, more shocked than ever.

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

*****

Some time later.

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

“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 said,

“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, sinking over the horizon.