Chapter 107 - A God Made by Receiving (2)

Duke Comalon's office.

"... It failed? And Marquis Pallatio took the Shadow Dragon's egg?"

"Yes."

At the dark elf's calm nod, Duke Comalon let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Why in the world was Marquis Pallatio where the Shadow Dragon's egg was?"

"We have yet to determine precisely why, but he appears to have come at someone's request."

"A request? Whose?"

The dark elf fell silent at the duke's question. Realizing that the information had yet to be gathered, Duke Comalon laughed hollowly.

"Marquis Pallatio... Marquis Pallatio, huh..."

After pondering something for a while, he set down the fountain pen in his hand and continued.

"What of the other preparations?"

"Aside from the Shadow Dragon's egg, preparations are progressing steadily. They likely won't take much longer. The same is true of the test subjects."

The duke exhaled a sigh.

"See that everything is properly prepared."

"Yes."

"And as for Marquis Pallatio..."

Duke Comalon fell silent again.

"... Shall we steal the Shadow Dragon's egg?"

The dark elf asked cautiously, but he shook his head.

"No. Now that the awakening has failed, the Shadow Dragon's egg is no longer needed for the plan."

"... What would you have us do?"

"Hmm. Send the test subjects."

"The test subjects?"

"Yes. We have no further use for them, so let's dispose of them. It would be good if we could also assess the marquis's abilities in the process."

"Understood."

"Say whatever you need to coax them into going."

He quietly watched the dark elf disappear with head bowed, a baffled look on his face.

'How in the world did he get the Shadow Dragon's egg...?'

Duke Comalon sighed deeply, calming the ripples beginning to stir in his heart. With the great cause now one step closer, he had to remain composed.

And so he silently repeated the words he had recited thousands upon thousands of times.

'Everything is for the great cause.'

####

'Am I mistaken?'

Reinhardt knew full well that he might be mistaken. No, he was clearly aware that the overwhelming likelihood was either a mistake or a coincidence.

It simply made no sense for the back of Marquis Pallatio, who lived in the Kingdom of Asteria, to look identical to the enormous statue Reinhardt had seen upon entering the Hundred Demons' territory.

'That has to be the case.'

Yet despite knowing it made no sense, that it surely had to be a coincidence, the figure he had seen back then kept superimposing itself over Alon's back.

The billowing ink-black coat. The two eyes to either side of him, one black and one blue. They were far too alike.

Having faced the terror of death that day, he remembered the sight all the more vividly: the Hundred Demons and the statue behind them.

As Reinhardt stared in an involuntary daze, a sudden shout from the Thunder Serpent tribe brought him to his senses.

"Slay the intruders!"

He immediately raised his sword and infused it with mana.

But he soon had no choice but to stop.

"...?"

The Thunder Serpent tribespeople, who had seemed ready to charge with weapons swinging only moments earlier, stood rooted to the spot, their bodies trembling.

Once he fully registered that, Reinhardt saw the violet threads spanning the entire forest. Ordinary people could not see them, but anyone with mana could tell that the threads had not merely spread throughout the area like a spiderweb—they had ensnared every tribesperson.

The only one putting up any resistance was the man who had thrust his blade at Marquis Pallatio.

"Damn—!"

Unfortunately for him, he could not move at all.

"... Uh."

Unlike the others, who had been bound only where necessary, the man standing right in front of Alon was wrapped in violet threads everywhere but his face. So thoroughly, in fact, that tightening those threads would reduce him to a mere handful of meat.

And the look Deus directed at the man who had drawn a blade on the marquis was not merely cold, but utterly icy.

'He's practically Marquis Pallatio's sword rather than the Sword of Callivan.'

With that thought, Reinhardt watched the battle end in an instant, making a mockery of his concerns, and looked a little deflated.

'Even I didn't properly perceive it... Just how much stronger is he going to get?'

As he felt a small pang of jealousy at seeing Deus take another step forward without his noticing, Alon looked at the masked tribesperson struggling to twist free.

'I'm glad I brought Deus... I am, but...'

He let out a faint sigh as he studied the particularly vivid glow of the violet threads.

Of course, the Bitter Cold he had unleashed in an instant would have been enough to restrain the tribesperson in front of him and have a conversation, but Deus had certainly made things much easier. Even so, a small worry lingered. The vivid violet threads Deus was showing Alon for the first time resembled the technique he used upon awakening as a Sin, if only their color were changed.

And so Alon glanced back at Deus.

'... Surely not?'

"My lord, shall I kill them?"

Deus asked just as he always did.

"No."

As Alon answered, he could not decide whether he ought to feel reassured or even more anxious.

'That ability might not come from awakening as one of the Five Great Sins. It could simply be an ability Deus normally gains when he becomes a Swordmaster. More importantly—'

Concluding that train of thought, he turned to the tribespeople with another question in mind.

'... Normally, they wouldn't come swarming out in a group like this when we've only just entered. What's going on?'

Alon briefly tilted his head at the Thunder Serpent tribespeople, who seemed to number more than several dozen, then shrugged.

"I believe we need to talk."

"... Do you think we'll take you to him?"

Alon sighed at the tribesperson, whose voice sounded like the growl of an animal despite being human.

"I, hidden beneath the low sky, shall come to you; you who greet the dawn, welcome me with joy."

Evan, Deus, and Reinhardt looked puzzled by the words that had suddenly left Alon's mouth. But the somewhat lengthy, almost poetic line made the tribesperson, who had been growling only moments earlier, start in shock.

"!"

Seeing the change in the eyes visible through the mask, Alon continued.

"Well? I believe that should qualify me to meet your chieftain."

Of course, he had no idea what those words meant himself. He had spoken with such confidence only because he vividly remembered encountering the Thunder Serpent tribe in the game. He recalled that when he accepted a quest involving the tribe, the accompanying NPC used that sentence to enter their village without any conflict.

Having uttered the sentence with at least some confidence, Alon looked at the tribesperson.

"How in the world do you know those words—"

The tribesperson stared at him in utter incomprehension and muttered.

"... Follow me."

But the tribesperson soon conceded. Alon smiled inwardly in satisfaction.

####

The first impression upon entering the Thunder Serpent village was one of mystique. Alon had seen it in illustrations many times, but the village was built amid collapsed ruins.

He turned to look around. There were houses built inside trees, much like elven homes, and others made by repairing the ruins. Thunder Serpent tribespeople stood outside them, watching Alon's party with intensely wary expressions.

Under the gazes of the tribespeople, who were extremely suspicious of outsiders, Alon's party soon reached a huge temple at the center of the ruins. With tree trunks climbing over it, the temple felt more like part of nature than a grand, imposing structure.

"Follow me."

At the words of the four-horned tribesperson who had entered first, Alon and his companions stepped inside. Soon they reached an enormous tent within the temple, where Alon saw an old man dressed in white furs like the other tribespeople.

'He's not the chieftain I saw in the game.'

As Alon regarded him with that thought, the old man spoke. Though fine wrinkles crowded the corners of his eyes, his gaze was bright and intelligent.

"... I heard that our honored guest wished to see me. Is that correct?"

For a moment, the old man's reference to him as an honored guest left Alon bewildered, but he soon realized it was because of the sentence he had recited earlier.

'That's right. They treated that NPC as an honored guest, too.'

Recalling the girl NPC who had suddenly joined him in the jungle and parted ways with him there as soon as the task was done, Alon nodded.

"It is."

"First, allow me to introduce myself. I lead the Thunder Serpents, and I am called Ashgul the Wise."

"I am Marquis Pallatio."

As the old man bowed politely, Alon introduced himself and bowed in return.

"Introduce yourself as well."

At Ashgul's words, the tribesperson who had been wearing the four-horned mask removed it.

'... A woman?'

Alon hid his surprise. The tribesperson he had been certain was a man was actually a rather youthful-looking woman.

And not just any woman.

'... Sircal the Swift?'

"I am Sircal the Swift."

Realizing she was the person who would become the Thunder Serpent tribe's chieftain in the future, Alon looked at her with newfound interest.

"Now, may I ask what brings you to see me?"

At Ashgul's next question, Alon began considering how he should phrase his answer.

"..."

He remained silent for a while. Then, as though he had finished deliberating, he gave a small nod.

"The reason I have come to the Thunder Serpent tribe—"

Looking at Ashgul the Wise, he stated his purpose for coming here.

"Is to subjugate the god the Thunder Serpent tribe worships: Basiliora the Receiver."

His final objective left everyone gaping.