[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-became-the-patron-of-villains":3,"chapter-became-the-patron-of-villains-became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-124":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Became the Patron of Villains",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},759614,1006,"Chapter 124","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-124",124,"\u003Cp>Duke Komalon—■■■—found himself reminiscing about distant memories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Memories so old their colors had faded, becoming relics of the past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These fragments surfaced only when the Duke occasionally dreamed while sleeping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were glimpses of a time when he was still an apprentice under his master, a True Mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t leave any vegetables behind; eat them all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Never neglect your practice of manifestation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go for an outing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“■■ was far better than you! Why on earth did you bring this worthless husk here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The memories that trickled through his mind were unremarkable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They included moments of sharing meals with his master, being scolded about magic, going on outings, and his master defending him, despite being deemed inferior to other apprentices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were memories anyone might have, unassuming, mundane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, to Duke Komalon, these fragments were more precious than anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the Duke, ■■■, did not particularly cherish these memories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because at their end, these fragments always converged on a single moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scenes of memory would flip, and—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It can’t be helped. The moment the soul of this world overflowed, there was no turning back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His master’s voice would echo, as it did now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Startled by the familiar voice, the Duke snapped out of his reverie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing he had momentarily lost consciousness, he quickly assessed his physical state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His condition was dire. His right arm was gone, and his abdomen had a gaping hole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, the Duke’s focus was elsewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lifted his head to look forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing there was a man clad in a dust-covered, dark coat, gazing down at him with an expression devoid of emotion. It was Marquis Palatio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the Duke, this half-finished Mage stood blocking his path amidst the ashen world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How in the world did you use a Sentence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marquis Palatio’s tone betrayed no hint of emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Duke could not comprehend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no doubt the Marquis had used a Sentence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if it wasn’t through Formula or Manifestation, that was undoubtedly a Sentence. How could someone like you—another half-finished Mage—possibly achieve this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a mystery beyond understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Marquis had wielded a Sentence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he hadn’t mastered Formula or reached the level of Manifestation, he had nonetheless invoked its effects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this didn’t mean Palatio was a complete Mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how much he grasped the fundamentals of Sentences or achieved Manifestation, without mastery over Formula, he could never become a True Mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was, indisputably, a half-finished Mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A half-finished Mage, like the Duke himself, who had inherited Sentences from a Mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Ha.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, the Duke couldn’t understand it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>■■■ ■ let out a hollow laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You, who’ve inherited even a Sentence—why are you stopping me? Me, who carries the hopes of every Mage?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Surely, the Marquis had seen it too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The end of this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The inescapable apocalypse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And surely, he must have known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That the True Mages had sacrificed everything to protect this world from its demise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This thought elicited bitter laughter from the Duke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the half-finished Mage who sought to undo the world that all the True Mages had given their lives to preserve, he felt an unbearable sense of futility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when he began weaving the seal—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden and unconscious sense of danger forced him to defend himself with a shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he was slammed into the ground, what he saw was—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master~! You’re a little late!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—a blood-soaked figure who had shattered the very ideals the Duke had crafted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the Duke’s task did not change just because she joined the battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Convergence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Duke, ■■■, formed a seal to kill him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Point, dispersion, scattering, firmament.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Duke Komalon’s lips flowed an unending stream of incantations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were fragments of magic he had accumulated over centuries of living in silence, honing his craft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A magic unique to him, born from lack of innate talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dark, ashen world, a river of stars unfolded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had not inherited a Sentence, it was precisely for this reason that he could achieve such skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of orbs rose into the air, forming a meteor shower that descended toward the earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With them came a faded memory, one that could surface only in dreams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice emerged within his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“■■■, it’s fortunate you never became a True Mage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even as the memory and its voice surfaced, the magic rained down upon the beast-kin who had shattered his ideals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It descended upon the half-finished Mage who sought to undo the will of True Mages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you aren’t a Mage, it’s just a futile death. That’s why I’m entrusting this to you instead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice from the faint memory rang in his ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crackle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amidst golden flashes of lightning—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clear sky.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Marquis evaded the magic with ease, his expression as detached as if the situation posed no threat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stay alive. Protect this world. The world we Mages gave our lives to shield.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Duke recalled his master’s final words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A memory long buried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haah—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exhaling a shallow sigh, Duke Komalon gazed ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His speed in reciting incantations was far greater. The pace at which he manifested magic was equally unmatched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By all measures, he was stronger than the half-finished Mage before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, his magic could not reach his opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fragments of magic he had refined over centuries were ineffective against the half-finished Mage who was just like him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time was no different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duke Komalon stared at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Marquis bore noticeably more minor wounds than before. The ground was littered with countless shattered glass vials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Marquis’s expression remained stoic, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his dust-covered dark coat, standing resolute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By contrast, the Duke’s condition was dire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The injury to his right hand from a moment of carelessness was steadily draining his strength. The hole in his abdomen was clearly robbing him of life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even with death looming, no pain showed on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he chuckled faintly and spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know this, don’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How foolish your actions are.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He opened his mouth to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if you’ve inherited a Sentence… if you survived without receiving its essence, you must know. Soon, those things will rise, and the world will meet its end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no emotion in his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When the souls are full, there’s less than half a year left. If we don’t bring order to this world and humanity within that time, they’ll emerge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No trace of anger could be detected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know this. And yet, are you really going to render the sacrifices of the True Mages, who gave everything to protect this world, meaningless?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words were steady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unwavering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He simply asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even in the face of the Duke’s question, the Marquis’s face remained serene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if his words carried no weight, no resonance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Marquis, devoid of any trace of emotion, finally opened his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Am I the one making the sacrifices of the True Mages meaningless?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice was plain, questioning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Duke let out another bitter laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You must know. This world survives only because of the sacrifices of the True Mages.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Marquis, silent, continued to gaze at Duke Komalon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze was calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, paradoxically, it seemed to carry an undertone of anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon forced his sluggish mind to work in that fleeting moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was what the Duke had just said true?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, was it a lie?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t know that either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, Alon was not the half-finished Mage that the Duke mistakenly believed him to be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was simply an outsider—a foreign entity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone who encountered this world as a game called Psychedelia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone who knew none of this world’s hidden past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the strictest sense, he was merely an outsider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For this reason, he couldn’t make a judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words of the man before him—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words spoken by a half-finished Mage—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t discern whether they were truth or lies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Answer me. Do you have a way to avoid rendering the True Mages’s sacrifices meaningless?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon remained silent in response to Duke Komalon’s question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if everything the Duke said was true, Alon didn’t have the capacity to render judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t extraordinary enough to swiftly grasp the truth—or falsehood—of a world he had only just begun to understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was, after all, merely an outsider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there was one thing Alon was certain of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One judgment he could make.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man before him must be stopped here and now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Duke Komalon’s purpose lay in the annihilation of humanity—or some similar grand design.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Duke murmured quietly at Alon’s silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon, once again, didn’t reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two locked eyes and simultaneously began weaving their seals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both had come to the same realization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no point in continuing this conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alon checked his mana reserves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to the vials of potion he had downed earlier, his mana pool had already recovered significantly during their brief exchange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, both of them began reciting their incantations simultaneously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Diffraction.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Blossom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This battle was no longer about right or wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Point.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Flourish.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not a confrontation to discern who was virtuous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Condense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cultivate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nor to determine who was wicked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Annihilation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Disperse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was simply a clash of two opposing beliefs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the culmination of their respective magics—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I will kill you and achieve my purpose. The True Mages’ aspirations, my—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duke Komalon opened his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Conviction.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And manifested his magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The petals scattered around him suddenly spread outward, corroding the surrounding atmosphere and erasing everything as if wiped clean with an eraser.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the bloom of that overwhelming magical flower, Alon stood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a brief moment, he thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Refuse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a snap of his fingers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, with a searing white tinnitus that seemed to devour the ears of all who heard it—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two beliefs collided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The convictions of two half-finished Mages came crashing together.\u003C\u002Fp>",1678,"2026-06-02T12:43:45.412Z",1,"novelbin.me","20674399a65e98925882e30ec50fb2892d77056b3c08cb0d9ff400dec9e67e32","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-125","became-the-patron-of-villains-chapter-123",479,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbecame-the-patron-of-villains-cover.jpg"]