Chapter 269: Mysophobia and Jealousy (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 269: Mysophobia and Jealousy (2)
Alon frowned as he stared at the entity with hundreds of pairs of wings.
Why is that here—?
Alon knew what it was.
It was impossible for him not to.
It was a boss he had faced countless times while playing Psychedelia.
‘The Angel of Mysophobia.’
That was its name when it first appeared in the game.
Later, as the boss battle progressed, its true name would be revealed.
The Seraphim of Jealousy... Why in the world is it here?
Indeed, it was the Seraphim of Jealousy.
An entity that hid its name and gathered jealousy and awe from everyone in order to perfectly manifest the Sin of Jealousy.
It was the most difficult opponent to deal with in Psychedelia.
Fragments of information flashed through his mind.
He was well aware that the main branch of the story had already changed significantly due to the butterfly effect.
Even so, Alon felt a sense of wrongness at the Seraphim’s appearance.
As far as he knew, the place where the Seraphim was supposed to appear was not here.
It should have been in Laxas, where Ladan was.
However, Alon soon pushed that question aside.
Unfortunately, now was not the time for such thoughts.
“Te-Teacher? What did you mean by that just now—?”
Alon turned his gaze to Yutia.
Unlike her usual self, she looked somewhat anxious.
Feeling a sense of doubt, Alon asked back.
“What do you mean?”
“That I didn’t need to step in—”
Her reaction was cautious, as if she were walking on eggshells.
Just as Alon was reflecting on whether that statement was strange, a voice interrupted.
“Brother—!”
Yuman called out to Alon urgently.
Deciding to postpone that conversation as well, Alon spoke.
“Yutia, there’s something you need to do.”
He brought up the matter of immediate importance.
* * *
The moment Yuman saw Alon, he felt a surge of hope.
He wasn't the only one.
Every priest and paladin present felt a sense of anticipation at Alon’s arrival.
Though some had not seen Alon’s power with their own eyes, they had heard the rumors.
There were so many rumors that it was hard to believe they all concerned a single person.
Each one was like an epic of a hero from myth.
And as if to reward that hope.
[Kyu—]
The moment the black cat perched on Alon’s shoulder let out a low murmur.
“Assimilation.”
The Phrase escaped Alon’s lips.
At the same time.
Grin—!
Eyes began to form on the abyss-like body that, until a moment ago, had been nothingness.
One pair, then two.
Two pairs, then four.
Four pairs, then eight.
The eyeballs that appeared without warning instantly slid down its tail and began to spread through the shadows.
■■■■■■■■■■■—!!!
The moment the pure white entities sensed the anomaly and turned their gaze toward Alon.
“Shadow Tree.”
Thwack—!
Black thorns pierced through the pure white entities all at once.
““…….””
Silence descended upon the space that had been filled with chaos.
The paladins who had been shouting Sironia’s name to overcome their fear.
The priests who had been wielding divine power to protect the people.
All of them watched the scene in stunned silence.
As if the massacre from moments ago had been a lie.
The pure white entities hung limply from the black tree, stripped of their freedom.
“Ah—”
Someone let out a gasp of admiration.
A ripple stirred in the silence.
A single word crossed everyone’s mind.
Overwhelming.
No other word would suffice.
Purely and cleanly.
That single thought struck their minds like a physical shock.
And when everyone’s gaze turned toward a single point as if synchronized.
They saw him.
The man who had dealt with the pure white entities in an instant with a detached expression while forming a seal.
Alon Palatio.
Soon after.
As the Shadow Tree vanished, the dangling white entities began to plummet to the ground one by one.
Blood flowers bloomed alongside a gruesome sound.
The beings that had caused such turmoil on this cliff were completely annihilated.
With that, only one entity remained.
[…….]
It was only the Seraphim of Jealousy, looking down at Alon with its massive eyeball in a haughty manner.
Hope filled everyone’s eyes.
“Attack—”
The moment a paladin opened his mouth to speak.
“Stop.”
Alon, who had been silent, blocked them.
A single word.
Yet, it was a word delivered clearly to everyone’s ears.
Doubt rose in their eyes.
“……Why is that, Brother?”
Yuman’s voice was laced with bewilderment.
Everyone looked at Alon as if in agreement.
To them, Alon calmly delivered his verdict.
“We cannot kill that thing.”
“……What do you mean by that?”
Yuman spoke as if he couldn't understand.
But his question could not continue.
[You are one with uncanny insight.]
The Seraphim’s holy voice rang out.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the Seraphim once more.
[It is true. I am not a being you can harm simply because you wish to, nor can you erase me just because you desire it—so simply watch as I am born.]
It finished its arrogant statement and turned its massive body—
“Th-That monster is heading for the capital—!”
—and began to move toward Rosario.
At that, the priests hurriedly summoned their divine power.
However.
“It’s useless.”
Once again, the priests’ faces were washed with dismay at Alon’s interference.
“Brother, are you saying we should just let that monster go to Rosario...!?”
Yuman protested fiercely, but Alon remained silent.
He, too, wanted to drag that thing down right this instant.
Having played Psychedelia, Alon knew all too well what the Seraphim of Jealousy was about to do.
If the Sin of Sloth was known within Psychedelia as the epitome of the grotesque and cruel.
The Sin of Jealousy was famous as the ‘epitome of mass massacre.’
“Whew—”
Alon caught his breath.
He forced himself to dredge up fragments of memory that had become quite faint.
The Seraphim of Jealousy.
This was, in fact, the stage just before becoming the ‘Sin of Jealousy.’
The moment it headed toward a crowded area to feast on fear, awe, and jealousy.
The Seraphim of Jealousy would pupate and be born as a Sin.
One might wonder.
How could anyone feel ‘awe and jealousy’ looking at that thing?
But that wasn't a major problem.
Even if its appearance was that of a bizarre monster.
Its ability was focused solely on planting ‘awe and jealousy’ in those who felt ‘fear’—
Entirely centered on bringing the Sin of Jealousy into this world.
If that were the Seraphim’s only ability.
Alon wouldn't have stood by like this.
He would have simply dealt with it before it could do anything.
However, the fundamental reason Alon did not dare to do so.
It was because of ‘Nullification,’ one of the other abilities the Seraphim of Jealousy possessed.
An ability that neutralized any and all attacks until it transformed into a Sin.
That was why, in Psychedelia, only the pure white mobs would appear for nearly twenty turns.
It was a boss with a gimmick that allowed the player to fully prepare for the battle against the Sin that would eventually be born.
Which meant.
They were currently in a situation where they had no choice but to watch the mass massacre unfold.
“Brother—!”
Yuman cried out desperately.
He could see priests ignoring Alon’s words and hurling divine power at the Seraphim.
But as expected, their attacks didn't reach it at all.
The paladins’ swords.
The priests’ spears.
The Cardinals’ brute divine power.
Even Yuman’s will to somehow stop the Seraphim from reaching Rosario did not work.
And then.
[Do not be afraid—]
When the Seraphim of Jealousy finally reached the skies above Rosario, lamentation filled everyone’s faces.
[My children.]
The hope that had dwelled in their eyes flickered like a candle in the wind.
[For I am the one who shall grant you enlightenment.]
A terrible despair swallowed their hearts.
[All of you, look up at me.]
A sin-like helplessness coiled around their limbs like a hungry ghost.
In that briefest of moments.
The Seraphim’s hundreds of pairs of grotesque wings twisted and snapped simultaneously, signaling the birth of a new entity.
—The birth of a Sin.
And then.
Slide—
Alon, who had been waiting for this exact moment, moved.
“……Brother?”
Yuman, who had lost his soul to despondency, murmured blankly.
But Alon, with his back to everyone, quietly formed a hand seal.
Simultaneously—
Hand Thunder Seal.
Six Knots.
Flash Thunder God.
He shot forward.
Alon looked ahead.
Hundreds of pairs of wings were being sucked into its massive eye.
Below it were the divine people, looking up at the sky in terror.
What would happen next was obvious.
The moment the Sin of Jealousy was born, everyone who felt fear and awe would turn into pure white entities.
And they would hunt humans as if it were their given mission.
Yes, in just a few dozen seconds.
“…….”
That was why Alon.
Had aimed for this very moment.
When everyone offered their awe.
When the Seraphim of Jealousy was preparing to be born as a Sin.
This moment, when it was no longer the ‘Seraphim of Jealousy’ but not yet a complete Sin—
“Defying Heaven.”
He had waited for this.
Whoosh—!!!
His body was enveloped in a brilliant white light, and stars began to form above his head.
One star became a point.
Two stars became a line.
Four lines became a shape.
Eight, sixteen—
Countless stars created a milky way beneath the setting sun.
“Ugh—”
Alon’s head, instantly overloaded, grew hot as if it were melting, and his eyes became bloodshot.
His mana hole, far too narrow to handle the constantly generated mana, relentlessly tortured his brain.
Yet, even in the midst of that.
Alon finished his analysis coldly.
My magic until now won't be enough.
Alon admitted it cleanly.
Even with Defying Heaven active.
Magic that simply crammed mana in through brute force could not deal significant damage to a Sin.
Even if that Sin was in an incomplete state.
A Sin was an entity that was inherently irrational.
And Alon’s magic, no matter how much mana he crammed into it, only increased in range, not in strength.
That was why he remembered.
Something that had started from Penia’s suggestion—
‘So the point is, Marquis, you can't control the mana, so you just float all that overflowing mana up into the sky, right?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Then simply, why don't you use that for "preparation"?’
‘Preparation……?’
‘Yes. Of course, difficult magic would be hard. But wouldn't simple magic, around the 2nd Tier, be possible? You win with quantity. For example, instead of just releasing mana randomly and urgently, you keep it in a fixed form, and then link those created mana clumps all at once in a line—’
A single inquiry.
‘Hmm, it certainly looks decent for something implemented while unfinished…… Marquis, you mustn't use this recklessly, okay?’
‘Do you think there will be a problem after all?’
‘In many ways. First of all, it works, but it’s unfinished, isn't it? It’s not the feeling we wanted in the first place. And more than anything, it’s too unstable. Especially, you must never use it in a crowded place!’
‘I am aware of that much.’
Just as she had feared in his memory, what Alon was about to use was unfinished.
He couldn't produce the full effect.
He couldn't control it perfectly.
The formulas and Phrases were only roughly put together.
But even so.
The reason Alon had even asked Yutia to be prepared the moment he saw the Seraphim of Jealousy and used this magic.
Was because he believed that even if it was unfinished.
Right now, this was all he had.
And then.
Linked Calculation.
Four Knots.
Beneath the setting sun.
Meteor Shower.
The milky way came crashing down.