I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

TL/Editor: raei

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: none

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"Ugh!"

The hero's party gradually staggered to their feet at Zion's words, barely regaining consciousness.

Their eyes held both pain and shock at the current situation.

Yes, they had already known how strong the emperor before them was. They had clearly witnessed him destroying Pride the Archdemon at the border and overwhelmingly crushing Wolbyeokcheon, who had obtained the first Beast King's body, at the Beast Sea.

But facing Emperor Zion's power directly was something else entirely.

Every movement, every action contained a precision and accuracy far beyond their own.

'He doesn't seem human.'

How many others could make them, who already possessed world-class combat ability, think such thoughts mere seconds into battle?

Before the party could even properly regain their stance-

"I see you still have leisure for other thoughts."

WHOOSH!

Zion appeared right before Rain and threw a punch wrapped in pitch-black energy that seemed to have absorbed all surrounding darkness.

Rain barely managed to twist her body away.

CRASH!!

His fist that just grazed her cheek crumpled the entire space behind her.

A strike that would have instantly ended her life if it had properly connected.

As Rain tried to create distance while feeling blood seeping from her grazed cheek- BOOM!

Zion's opposite fist shot out much faster, beginning the second round.

CRACK! CRACK!

Lightning bolts powerful enough to dye the entire sky blue rained down to the ground.

The giant's fierce gaze flashed through gravity distorted by holy power and magic.

An alien darkness that covered and consumed all of it.

From afar it looked like an intense exchange, but- SCREECH!

"Ugh, urgh!"

The reality was completely different.

Just one person.

Zion alone was pushing back all four of them, leaving them unable to even breathe properly.

'We're going to die.'

The warning bells rang frantically in Rain and her companions' minds.

'We're really going to die.'

Though injuries and impacts accumulated on their bodies, Emperor Zion's attacks kept getting faster and stronger.

As if he truly intended to kill them here.

The party's resistance grew increasingly desperate as they tried to handle his attacks.

CRACK!

Forcibly twisting arm muscles to throw punches.

Squeezing out what little mana remained to deploy formations.

How long did they continue these desperate struggles to survive?

'What's this?'

At some point, a strange sensation began enveloping Rain's body.

As if viewing her own body from a third person perspective.

In fact, her spear had been moving on its own for a while now, regardless of her will.

The electric currents covering her spear were gradually fading, yet its power increased and trajectories grew more precise.

And then-

CRACK!

A seed within Rain slowly began to crack.

'Ah...!'

As Rain's consciousness instantly entered a trance-like state, the flow of battle began to change.

Her blocked breathing cleared and her disoriented limbs gradually found their rhythm.

Hope began rising in the party's eyes as momentum slowly shifted to their side.

'Perhaps like this...!'

Just as the word "victory" started forming in their minds-

"That's enough."

A low voice flowed from Zion's lips, and-

WHOOSH!

The party's vision was completely consumed by darkness.

When their sight returned-

BOOM!

"Urgh!"

All four of them, including Rain, were already embedded in the ground.

'Until now... he wasn't using his real power?'

As this realization dawned on the party and their eyes trembled-

"Remember this feeling well."

Zion spoke while watching them with the same indifferent eyes as before, seeming either unaware or unconcerned with their shock, then turned around.

"Good results should follow soon."

With those final words, Zion slowly walked away.

The hero's party blankly watched his back until he completely disappeared.

---

At the same time, at House Bamel, one of the capital's great noble families.

Though the Bamel estate should have been quiet with most residents asleep- CRASH!

It was engulfed in huge commotion.

KYAAAH!

"Stop them! Stop them!"

Monsters poured in while knights tried to block them.

An attack.

House Bamel was currently under attack by monsters.

And-

"Huff, huff!"

In the massive garden at the center of the Bamel estate.

There stood Priscilla, her wavy crimson hair fluttering as she glared at the demons surrounding her while catching her breath.

'How...'

How had it come to this?

As if she had been their target from the start.

The demons attacking House Bamel had immediately abandoned everything else upon spotting Priscilla and began pursuing her, ultimately cornering her here where she was holding out with all her might.

But-

'I'm at my limit.'

Her mana had long since bottomed out and her body was pushed to the point where she could barely take a step.

Additionally, her breath was running out.

If she hadn't trained and pushed herself to the point of coughing blood as Emperor Zion had advised, she would have already been caught or killed by these demons.

'Could he have known this situation was coming?'

As Priscilla caught her breath with that thought-

"Kekek! Why don't you stop resisting and come quietly?"

One of the surrounding demons, shaped like a goblin, spoke with a vile smile.

"We don't plan to kill you. We just want to help you find your true purpose."

That "true purpose" referred to Priscilla's demon blood.

When Zion had deployed the massive detection formation at the World Conference, the demon realm had discovered that Priscilla possessed high-grade demon blood and planned to capture her using their remaining forces in the empire.

This was the stage before Priscilla became the "Ill-fated Noble Lady" mentioned in the chronicle.

"It would be better for you too. So..."

"Could you shut that mouth?"

Priscilla cut off the demon's words, speaking with cold eyes.

"The disgusting smell coming out every time you open it makes me want to throw up."

She pinched her nose as if it were really true.

"If you won't come quietly, we have no choice."

The demon hardened his expression after blowing into his palm to smell his own breath.

"We'll just have to cut off your limbs and drag you."

FLASH!

With those words, all the surrounding demons shot forward simultaneously.

The demons reached right before her and swung their elongated claws.

Of course, Priscilla had no strength left to block their attacks in her current state where even standing was difficult.

'Like this...'

As Priscilla watched the demons' attacks rapidly expanding toward her, sensing her end-

SCREECH!

Along with a sound like a heavily rusted iron door opening by her ear- CRUNCH!

The charging demons began literally being torn apart.

Blood burst into the air.

As Priscilla blankly watched this incomprehensible scene- TAP!

A woman with red eyes landed before her.

That wasn't the end-

SWISH!

Masked swordsmen who appeared in the surroundings began indiscriminately slaughtering the monsters in House Bamel.

"No missing limbs... and mind seems intact too, I'd say this is fine?"

Liushina, who had examined various parts of Priscilla's body, spoke while nodding.

"How did you know to come here..."

"How? Master sent me."

Of course, there was only one person in the world she called master.

Emperor Zion Agnes of Agnes.

"He told me and Lucas over there to check on you, saying there'd be an attack today?"

"Ah...!"

Relief finally began spreading across Priscilla's face after showing brief surprise at Liushina's words.

'Your Majesty, just how do you...'

A small smile curved her lips as she gazed toward the imperial palace complex where Zion was.

---

'This should do it.'

As dawn slowly approached past midnight.

Zion recalled the recent battle while heading to Sinking Star Palace, which he still used as his residence.

The hero's party excluding Claire.

Though they hadn't achieved their final awakening in the battle with Orogirichi, they were sufficiently prepared through countless battles until now.

What they needed was just a catalyst to break through that wall.

Therefore, Zion had pushed them to the brink of death to plant that catalyst, causing cracks in their seeds of awakening.

Their final awakening was now just a matter of time.

'Normally this would be impossible with just one battle, but...'

It had been possible because all other preparations were already in place and the hero party's potential was tremendous.

Just then-

"You're back."

Someone greeted Zion as he entered Sinking Star Palace's outer gate.

It was Claire, who had been watching the moon from the palace garden.

"Did things go well?"

She asked as if already knowing what Zion had done.

"More or less."

"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty."

Claire knew.

Though Emperor Zion spoke as if it were nothing, she knew how incredible and difficult what he had just done was.

After bowing her head in gratitude-

"Do you know? They say the moon in the sky is red because the world is approaching destruction."

She spoke while turning back toward the moon she had been watching.

"That's why the moon I saw before regression was as red as if painted with blood. But the moon visible now seems much paler in color compared to then."

And Claire knew that the cause of this change was none other than Zion standing beside her.

A moment of silence followed.

"Aren't you anxious?"

A quiet question flowed from Claire's lips as she turned her gaze back to Zion.

"About carrying the world's fate on your shoulders."

The burden of knowing one mistake could lead to the world's destruction.

Having directly shouldered it herself in the past, Claire knew well how massive and maddening that burden was.

The feeling of your blood drying up day by day.

But the man beside her looked far too calm.

As if this were nothing at all.

"Is there any reason to be anxious at this point?"

Zion smiled slightly at the hero's question and spoke:

"The world's fate has been in my hands all along anyway."

Yes, ever since unifying the world and ascending to emperor in the past.

The world's fate had already existed within Zion's grasp.

Therefore, the level of burden Claire spoke of was as natural as breathing to Zion.

Moreover, what occupied Zion's mind now wasn't such burden.

'He was definitely much stronger than when I saw him in that past dream.'

It was anticipation.

That anticipation stemmed from the Demon King.

Even from that brief glimpse beyond the abyssal hole during the recent palace attack, Zion had felt a shiver run down his spine.

From his time as the Eternal Emperor until now.

A presence more powerful and malevolent than any opponent he had ever faced.

Therefore, the emperor who had devoured the world was anticipating.

The seed his past self had sown.

How much it had grown and how much enjoyment it would bring him.

'I hope it exceeds my expectations.'

Zion's eyes had curved like the crescent moon in the sky as he thought this.

And exactly three days later-

BOOM!

With a massive explosion that occurred far inside the border between empire and demon realm.

The final war to determine the world's fate finally began.

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