"......What did you say?"

Alon blanked out for a moment at Deus’s words.

The news he’d just heard was that shocking.

"Elivan has become a sin."

But even if he asked again.

The words coming out of Deus’s mouth wouldn’t change.

"First, could you explain the situation?"

Alon let out a sigh and calmed his confused mind.

First, he needed to grasp the details.

"According to what we’ve received so far—"

In an atmosphere that had grown a bit heavier, Alon listened calmly to Deus’s explanation.

When Deus’s report ended, Alon’s head started to hurt again.

"......So you’re saying he awakened as a sin while killing all the nobles who attended the ball held in Tern?"

"That’s correct."

"......"

Alon pictured Elivan’s face.

'This wasn’t something I expected at all.'

That anyone could become a sin—

Alon knew that already.

He’d seen cases like that more than once.

But even so.

That the one to become the last sin would be—

'Elivan, of all people.'

He hadn’t even imagined it.

Elivan stood at the opposite pole of sin, and was the protagonist of Psychedelia.

"......Hoo—"

Alon rubbed at the corner of his eyes after letting out a sigh.

He forced himself to calm his overheated mind.

If what Deus said was really true,

Then it had already happened, and there was no way to reverse it anymore.

"......"

All of a sudden, Elivan’s appearance from the ball not long ago came to mind.

Like the Elivan from childhood when he’d first met him,

Elivan wearing a bright, cheerful smile.

'......Omnipotent?'

'Hm, that’s a virtue a god has, right? What I asked was for when I become a god.'

'......When you become one.'

'Should I tell you?'

'What is it?'

'It’s imprinting.'

'......Imprinting?'

'How you’re recognized as what kind of existence. That’s what it is.'

What came to mind next

Was exactly what they’d said in their last conversation.

Now that he thought about it, it had been a somewhat out-of-nowhere topic.

On the surface, it didn’t seem to have much to do with Elivan becoming a sin.

And yet, maybe because Elivan had become a sin—

Strangely, Alon remembered what Elivan had said.

Why had Elivan said that?

Why—

The moment that line of thought snagged, Alon, belatedly pulling himself out of it, calmly sorted out his thoughts again and opened his mouth.

"Deus."

"Yes."

"Do you remember when Elivan’s birthday party in Tern was?"

"It was probably two days ago."

"Two days ago......"

As far as Alon knew, the time it took for the Sin of Wrath to fully manifest was two months.

In other words, Alon had 58 days left.

But Alon knew he couldn’t afford to think of it that leisurely.

Through several processes already,

He’d realized that this place no longer ran like a game.

And since Elivan had become a sin, he also had to fully recognize that it might differ in disposition from the sin Alon had known.

Meaning, when he considered everything, there was a high chance the time he had left wasn’t that long at all.

Having judged that, Alon now tried to estimate the sin’s martial strength.

As far as Alon knew, a sin was strong in and of itself, but could also receive a correction depending on the body of the manifested vessel.

In other words, as the last sin, and at the same time occupying Elivan’s body—the hero of Psychedelia—

that sin was clearly going to be stronger than any other.

'Then that strength would be......'

"Marquis—!"

Right as Alon continued that thought, he heard someone calling him urgently. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

When he lifted his gaze, Evan—who had left saying he’d go meet the ones who had come from the information guild—came rushing into the tent, panting.

Even at a glance, the expression was extremely urgent.

Just as Alon was about to ask what was going on—

"Ashtalon has fallen......!"

Evan spoke first.

"......What?"

"I mean it literally. They say Ashtalon has fallen......!! And it was by Elivan’s hand, after he became a sin......!"

Alon couldn’t even ask again, and just—

"Ha."

Let out a low, hollow chuckle.

####

Three days after Ashtalon’s capital vanished at the hands of the Sin of Wrath, the kings of the Allied Kingdoms held an emergency meeting in the mage towers where the academy of all mages convened.

But of course, it wasn’t as if all the kings had truly gathered at the mage towers.

Three days was enough time for rumors to spread, but it was nowhere near enough time for kings to physically move and assemble in one place.

So instead of gathering in person, the kings received the help of the mage towers, which felt the same sense of crisis about this urgent matter, and participated in the meeting through ‘mana spirit bodies’ created by the Green Mage Tower and the Brown Mage Tower.

It was an incredibly fascinating experience, both for the mages and for the kings encountering this technique for the first time.

The dozens of magic circles resonating to power the magic unfolding in this limited space—

They were so precise and awe-inspiring that “magnificent” wasn’t even enough to describe them.

And yet even so, no one gathered here let out an exclamation of admiration.

That was how serious the current situation was.

"So, what are you going to do?"

In the silence, the first to speak was

Karmakses III.

"What do you mean?"

"What else could it be, at a time like this, besides the monster in Ashtalon?"

"I know that as well. What I’m asking is what you plan to do about it—your opinion on that."

At Palmarian’s words, Karmakses spoke as if it were obvious.

"Obviously, we have to deal with that monster. We’ll draft soldiers and—"

"Does that monster look like the sort that can be hunted just because you send a hunting force?"

At the immediate rebuttal, Karmakses III shut his mouth and shifted his gaze to one place.

He stared at the screen being broadcast from the magic orb in the middle of the meeting room.

"......"

The first scene to catch the eye was Ashtalon’s capital, smashed to pieces.

And the next thing visible was a single line of scar carved across that ruined, enormous capital.

And then the next thing that could be seen was—

"Tsk—"

"......No matter how many times I see it, it’s disgusting."

The mountain of corpses formed inside the capital.

As if butchered livestock had been gathered up and piled,

corpse mountains had formed all over the capital, and from them red bloodstains poured endlessly, dyeing the ruins a dark crimson.

The kings who had turned their eyes to the magic orb all frowned.

The mages maintaining this spirit-body magic, and the tower masters quietly observing the meeting, were the same.

That was how much the ruins on the screen made one think of a hellscape.

But more than the horrific, gruesome sight itself, what pressed down on everyone in this meeting room even more was the information.

One noble who had miraculously survived amid that horrific devastation—

the one thing Fillian Merkillan had conveyed.

"......In a single strike."

That fact was driving the atmosphere of this room into despair.

"......No matter how you think about it, isn’t it an exaggeration to say a whole country fell to a mere single strike?"

At that, the monarch of Raksas, who had been silent until just now, opened their mouth, and Asteria’s monarch, Kritenia Siyan, said calmly.

"It doesn’t look like an exaggeration."

"......Why?"

"An ordinary soldier might be one thing, but Ashtalon’s noble, Fillian Merkillan, is someone who has already reached a realm. Even if that noble was gripped by fear, there’s no reason to twist the memory."

"......"

"And besides—there’s the evidence, plain as day, in the magic orb, isn’t there."

That enormous scar, running from left to right.

When Siyan added that in a calm tone, the meeting room fell quiet.

No one answered Siyan.

Everyone, deep down, recognized that her words were as close to the truth as they could be.

"But no matter how strong the opponent is, we can’t just leave it like this, can we?"

"......I agree with that, but I doubt that even if we gather forces, we can actually win."

"So you’re saying we should just sit here and watch? We don’t even know where that thing might jump next! Do you think Raksas will be spared because it’s an island?"

"......It would be better to watch your words."

The voices of Karmakses III and the monarch of Raksas began to grow louder.

But even with those two in a standoff, no one else spoke rashly.

Because everyone here thought neither of their opinions was entirely wrong.

In truth, that thing that had destroyed Ashtalon overnight—something that looked like Elivan, who had likely been called a “hero”—

didn’t seem like a kind of monster that could be hunted just because you gathered troops and sent them.

At the same time, it was also true that this wasn’t a situation where they could do nothing and sit still.

If they stayed like this, that monster that had appeared in Ashtalon in less than half a day from Tern might appear somewhere else again at any moment.

"In the first place! If we scrape together every force we have and send a subjugation force, and then that thing moves and hits somewhere else, won’t it be a disaster?!"

"That’s why, before it does! We’re saying we should gather forces quickly and strike!! Nothing gets solved by just sitting here with our hands tied!"

Opinions that still wouldn’t merge, no matter how much time passed.

The atmosphere in the meeting room began to grow harsher—

"......"

And then, just as Yuman, Rosario’s representative who had remained silent, let out a deep sigh—

Creeeak.

The meeting room door opened abruptly.

In an instant, the noise died down.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the sound.

And there—

"......"

A man—

No.

"......Marquis Palatio?"

Marquis Palatio was standing there.

"......"

Holding the meeting room door open, standing still, with that face that never seemed to show any particular emotion, he calmly swept his eyes over the room.

And then.

Step—step—

Without saying a single word.

Without any change in expression.

Without offering any greeting.

Calmly, as if there was no need for that.

When Alon finally entered the meeting room completely, he coolly turned his gaze to the screen reflected in the magic orb.

A scene where a hellscape was spread out.

The faces of those who followed Alon and looked back ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) at the screen stiffened, but even as he looked at that miserable hellscape, as if he couldn’t feel a thing, Alon walked unhurriedly toward the magic orb.

Wuuuuung—!

He placed a hand on the magic orb, and ended the magic orb that had been showing the hellscape.

"......?"

The kings, who had been staring blankly at Alon’s sudden action after his sudden appearance,

"Marquis Palatio, what do you think you’re doing right now?"

Showed open hostility toward Alon.

That was only natural.

No matter how outstanding Alon was, this was a place where the kings of the Allied Kingdoms gathered to discuss matters of state.

Yet he hadn’t appeared after asking permission, and someone who was still, for now, nothing more than a single noble had barged into the meeting like this.

And that alone wasn’t enough—he was acting however he pleased.

In practice, it was no different from looking down on them.

"No matter how your fame might be enough to pierce the sky, right now you’ve clearly crossed the line—"

"Trusting your own power and rampaging like this—"

Palmarian and the monarch of Raksas were about to rebuke him, but—

"There is a way to deal with that."

At the words that followed, the kings’ mouths had no choice but to shut at once.

"If that makes you uncomfortable, I’ll leave."

And with Alon’s added passive threat, the two monarchs, who began to receive the other kings’ glares, hurriedly tried to patch up what they’d been saying.

"Ah, no—what I meant was—"

"—I was trying to say that Marquis Palatio is someone worthy of acting that way."

And then.

At the sight of the two monarchs abruptly drifting into praise,

"Then I’ll begin."

Alon formally opened the discussion.

And at that same moment, in the royal palace of Fildagreen—

"......The Ilanef Empire’s guardian weapon."

Rine, who had been absorbed in reading the Library of Ten Thousand Ages until just a moment ago, murmured as if she couldn’t understand.

"......A sin?"

The knowledge she’d found in the library was spilling quietly from her lips.