Raising Villains the Right Way

A deafening roar shakes the entire root, vibrating the air.

Basiliora, summoned from the depths of the World Tree’s roots, opens its massive mouth and lets out a roar, as if proclaiming its descent to the world.

The overwhelming presence makes the Ashes shrink back.

Those who had been lunging toward the elves freeze in place, crushed by the divine being that has appeared before them.

“_!”

The elves, speechless at the unfolding situation, simply gape in astonishment.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-kak—!  

Basiliora begins to move, confronting tens of thousands of Ashes.

No, it wasn’t a confrontation.

It was a one-sided massacre.

With just the movement of Basiliora’s massive body pressing forward,

Hundreds of Ashes are crushed beneath its enormous frame,

Returning to the ‘true’ dust they were meant to be, disappearing.

The Ashes, viciously chewed and spat out by Basiliora,

Scatter in all directions, claiming the lives of other Ashes in their wake.

A literal, one-sided slaughter.

The elves are appalled by such overwhelming power.

‘How is this even possible…? Magic is supposed to be unusable here!’  

All blood rushes to Rim’s head, her brain overwhelmed with questions as confusion floods her mind.

At that moment—

“Rim.”

“!”

A voice calls out to her.

Still calm and composed.

Emanating a strong magical presence from the bracelet on his right arm.

Despite commanding that unfathomable ‘god,’ he shows no sign of struggle.

It’s the voice of the marquis.

“Are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine.”

She instinctively responds in honorifics.

The marquis tilts his head slightly before speaking.

“The one you called the ‘Ash Seeder’—is it deep inside?”

“Ah, probably.”

He then asks,

“How long can you hold out?”

“…What?”

“I’m asking how long you can last among the Ashes.”

“If it’s about five minutes, I can manage somehow—”

As Rim scans her surroundings with tense eyes, speaking—

“That’s enough.”

Without hesitation, Alon turns his body.

“Basiliora.”

He leaps and lands on Basiliora’s back.

‘Good. Just as I expected.’  

Despite being told that magic couldn’t be used here, Alon had no hesitation in descending below the roots.

That was because he knew that even in a place devoid of magic, artifacts—especially the ‘Salvation of the Wanderer’—could still be used.

‘There were magic-restricted areas in Psychedelia as well. But more importantly…’  

As he recalls his experiences from the game, a sudden realization unsettles him.

‘…Didn’t they say magic couldn’t be used?’  

Putting aside the fact that he had used an artifact to escape danger,

Alon realizes—he can use magic.

“…Hmm.”

As he feels the mana flowing through him with ease, his confusion lingers only for a moment.

He then shifts his gaze to survey his surroundings.

‘There are still a lot. Or… have their numbers increased?’  

Basiliora had already been sweeping away the Ashes from the moment it descended onto the roots.

Yet, the number of Ashes remained vast.

No, if anything, it felt like they had increased since the start.

Even in such a situation, Alon, rather than fleeing, heads deeper without hesitation—to kill the ‘Ash Seeder.’

Because he knows the nature of these Ashes—no, the ‘Creatures of Greed.’

Alon lowers his gaze.

Unlike earlier, when they had been scattering white ashes,

Now, they rush forward, emitting a crimson glow like the damned.

They were unmistakably the ‘Creatures of Greed’ that Alon knew.

‘But why…?’  

Creatures of Greed, true to their name, only appear when the Sin of Greed has fully awakened.

Which means—

By all logic, these creatures should not exist here.

In other words—

The Sin of Greed has awakened.

Before he can process his tangled thoughts—

!!!

A grotesque, indescribable noise assaults his ears, making him look up.

And Alon sees it.

Filling his vision is the ‘Ash Seeder’—

Or rather, the entity he knows as the ‘Mother of Greed’—a colossal worm.

“-”

Alon instinctively furrows his brows.

The moment Basiliora approaches, the creature, sensing the threat, emerges from the Ashes where it had been hiding.

Its appearance alone is enough to distort even Alon’s usually unshaken expression.

Its massive back is jagged like a volcanic peak, with countless holes continuously spewing out more Ashes.

Molten magma endlessly oozes from its face, like a living volcano.

And finally—

Alon confirmed the presence of the massive pincers that looked capable of even seizing Basiliora.

‘As expected, it really is the Mother of Greed.’  

He was certain.

Basiliora immediately lunged forward to deal with the Mother of Greed,

■■-!?

But before it could bite down, its body recoiled backward.

Puhwaaak—!  

It was because magma had begun to flow from the creature’s entire body.

Moreover, the Ashes that had been mercilessly trampled by Basiliora just moments ago began to frenzy the moment the Mother of Greed was attacked, desperately climbing onto Basiliora.

‘So even Basiliora’s body isn’t enough to withstand this.’  

However, Alon did not panic.

Not only did he know the weakness of the Creatures of Greed, but he also knew exactly how to deal with the Mother of Greed.

The only issue was—

‘Mana, huh.’  

Killing the Mother of Greed was simple.

If he used the Ice Sealing Technique he had developed with Fenia, The Mother of Greed before him would be reduced to nothing more than a scattering of ice petals.

The creature was excessively weak to water.

But the problem was the surrounding conditions.

For the Ice Sealing Technique to be effective, the entire space occupied by the enemy had to be within Alon’s control.

While his mana might remain stable internally, externally, it could easily be disrupted.

And this space—

Was far too vast for Alon to dominate with his mana alone.

Which meant the Ice Sealing Technique wouldn’t work here.

Yet, it was fine.

Because Alon had ‘another’ way to kill the Mother of Greed.

“Blackie.”

[Meow]

With a sigh, Alon called out,

And instantly, Blackie, who had remained hidden in his chest pocket, climbed onto his shoulder.

Then,

Without hesitation, Alon established a mana link with Blackie.

“Shadow Wood (木).”

He murmured softly.

At the same time, Blackie’s tail slithered down Alon’s arms and legs, disappearing into the shadows.

Dluk!  

Suddenly, red eyes began to appear all over Blackie’s body.

In an instant, shadows spread from Alon’s body onto Basiliora’s massive form.

Observing the scene, Alon formed a hand seal.

Tuduk!  

The surging shadows halted in unison.

Tuduk~! Tudududuk~!!  

At the same time, four shadowy hands emerged behind Alon’s back,

And the shadows began to enshroud Basiliora’s body.

This magic had originally been discovered by sheer coincidence.

Following Kylrus’s advice to maintain an uninterrupted link with Blackie while casting magic, Alon had realized that Blackie’s form changed in response to his own mana inscriptions, leading him to further study this phenomenon.

Thus, the magic was neither perfect nor complete.

He had only identified four compatible inscriptions, rather than six.

But that was enough.

That much was more than sufficient to bring down the Mother of Greed before him.

As the first Shadow Seal was completed, the shadows originating from Blackie cloaked Basiliora’s body.

With the second Shadow Seal, the shadows encasing Basiliora transformed into what looked like massive iron armor.

Then, as the third Shadow Seal was completed, the iron-like mana structure continued shifting, layering its molecular composition.

And then—

“Basiliora—”

At Alon’s call, Basiliora once again lunged forward, wrapping itself around the Mother of Greed, who was spewing magma in all directions.

The Mother of Greed, in a frenzy, spewed magma even more violently.

Yet, Basiliora’s body, now encased in multiple layers of thickened shadow armor, sustained only negligible damage from the magma that the creature had unleashed at full force.

Finally, as the fourth Shadow Seal was completed, the shadow armor covering Basiliora writhed.

And then—

Shadow Engraving (影印).

Thornwood (棘).

Black thorns sprouted all over the Mother of Greed’s body.

Spine-chilling, obsidian-black thorns.

***

-!!!!!

A terrifying shriek burst forth from the maw of the Ash Seeder.

At the same time, its massive body collapsed.

Ku-gu-gu-guk!  

The entire World Tree trembled, as if on the verge of collapse, threatening to swallow all life within.

Yet despite this, the elves’ eyes remained fixated on one thing.

The spot where the Mother of Greed’s massive body was falling.

They could not utter a single word.

Even among them, Rim, the elf who had been a Paggade for the longest time, had eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

Because she knew.

Even if all the Paggades gathered and attacked together,

No, even if every Shadow Leaves present here joined the fight,

‘That’ was a monstrous existence they could never hope to defeat.

And so, Rim stood there, staring blankly.

As the massive body collapsed onto the ground, scattering ashes in all directions.

As the Ashes vanished along with it.

And then—

She saw him.

Standing atop the great god’s head, his black coat billowing like a shadow.

In this place where no one could use mana except for the Great Ones,

He alone wielded magic as if it were nothing.

‘He is the Primordial Elf.’  

The Queen’s voice suddenly echoed in her ears.

She had never once taken those words seriously, the absurd notion of calling a mere human the Primordial Elf.

Yet, at this moment—

“…Ah.”

A soft gasp escaped Rim’s lips.

Like a sage reaching enlightenment at dawn, her eyes filled with awe.

***

Meanwhile—

[Meow-!]

“Well done. This time, you controlled it properly.”

[Meowwww~]

Blackie rubbed its cheek affectionately against Alon’s face.

As he praised the creature, Alon turned his gaze toward the scene of the Mother of Greed turning to dust along with countless other creatures.

The situation was resolved, yet one lingering question remained.

‘Why was the Mother of Greed even here?’  

It had no reason to be.

Which meant that somewhere in this place, the ‘Sin of Greed’ was being confined.

As his mind grew tangled with thoughts—

[There is something over there.]

Following Basiliora’s deep, resonant voice, Alon shifted his gaze.

At the very center of where the Mother of Greed had been lurking, he saw a mirror.

A large, worn-out mirror, about the size of a door.

Descending from Basiliora’s back, Alon stepped closer to it.

And then, he realized— Someone was standing inside the mirror.

It was not his own reflection.

But on closer inspection, the figure bore an uncanny resemblance to him.

Draped in a tattered coat, its face was indistinct, as if concealed by a hazy veil, akin to the dragonkin.

Then—

[First.]

[The technique is Reversal of Heaven (逆天).]

The figure suddenly spoke those words.