I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

Chapter 103: King of Signs (2)

TL/Editor: Rungir

Schedule: none

Illustrations: none

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"Something seems off."

In a secluded garden near Chimseong Palace, a woman clad in monastic robes murmured as she gazed at the shadow-enshrouded palace. Though the palace appeared as tranquil as always, she knew the stillness was due to the barrier set by Hanosral.

Inside that barrier, a massacre was undoubtedly unfolding.

"Why is it taking so long?"

Three of the Omareung directly mobilized their troops, and even Hanosral himself had entered. With such a power difference, it would not have been surprising if the task had been completed by now. Moreover, Zion Agnes was already in a critical condition.

"Could something have gone wrong?"

Though it seemed improbable, nothing involving Zion Agnes had gone according to plan so far, so she couldn't shake off her unease.

"Perhaps I should check on it."

She hadn't intended to interfere directly in this plan, but she felt it was better to be proactive than to risk any unforeseen setbacks.

As she was about to make her move towards Chimseong Palace, a soft voice echoed from behind her.

"It's rare to see a priestess of light in such a place."

She hadn't noticed anyone approaching and, taken by surprise, she turned to see a man walking towards her.

Golden hair and golden eyes, paired with a strikingly handsome appearance, she recognized him immediately.

'Why is that fanatic here?!'

Rubrious Agnes.

The 'Fanatic Prince', known as the First Prince, was approaching her, and he was alone.

"It must be a blessing from the gods," he said, a genuinely pleased smile on his face.

"I am honored to meet the First Prince!"

"Haha, raise your head. After all, don't we both serve the same god? Such formality is only needed in the presence of the divine."

"Understood."

"Are you the priestess from the church's branch within the Imperial City?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

She replied to Rubrious, her disguise as a priestess of the Light Church was genuine and she saw no reason to deflect.

"You must have faced many challenges. It's difficult to serve the light here. If you ever face any troubles, tell me. I'll assist where I can."

"No need, Your Highness. I'm content just being able to spread the teachings of light within the Imperial City."

"Ah, what a devout response."

Pleased with her reply, Rubrious blessed the woman with a nod of his head.

“......May the divine light guide you in all your future endeavors.”

With a few parting courtesies, the First Prince took his leave.

‘That went smoother than expected.’

The woman let out a soft sigh as she gazed at his departing figure.

There had been a slight delay, but all was still well.

If she were to head to Chimseong Palace now...

That thought was interrupted.

“Hold on, before I leave, there's something I want to ask.”

As if recalling something, the First Prince turned back to face the woman.

“......?”

She looked at him, eyes filled with curiosity.

Addressing her, he asked,

“Why is it that, even though you're a priestess, I don't sense the divine touch from you?”

Rubrious posed the question with an undeniably gentle smile on his lips.

---

---

"Argh!"

Utilizing this technique at the precise moment, Hanosral, whose arm had been severed by Zion, unleashed a mixed scream of pain and confusion. Almost instantly, he spread out dozens of spell sequences.

Whirrr!

Like interlocking gears, these spell sequences began to amplify each other, rapidly taking control of the surrounding space.

However,

"Heh!"

Crash!

The spell sequences, no matter how advanced, shattered immediately under Liushina's Blood-eye technique.

Slash!

Zion exploited the gaps created by the collapsing spell sequences, delivering an exceedingly precise sword strike. Their coordination was as if they'd been fighting together for decades.

'At this rate...!'

Desperation flashed in Hanosral's eyes.

Though it seemed like a simple combined strike—with the red-eyed woman backing from behind and Zion Agnes leading the assault—its precision and completion were beyond imagination.

'On top of that, her magic.'

Zion Agnes' combat prowess was formidable, but the magic displayed by the red-eyed woman exceeded all his predictions. Alone, she had enough power to rival Hanosral.

Which means her power was almost 'heavenly.'

'How has such a being remained unknown?'

Someone this powerful should be renowned throughout the empire, if not the entire demon realm. But as far as Hanosral could recall, no 'heavenly' tiered power wielder like her existed.

Except for one.

'Could she be... the one sealed in the north centuries ago?'

Hanosral shook off the thought. Now wasn't the time.

Swoosh!

Wounds began to manifest all over his body. Even as these thoughts ran through his mind, the tides of the battle quickly turned against him.

'I need to find a way before it's too late.'

His mind raced, searching for a strategy.

'This disadvantage is due to their combined assault.'

If he could separate the two, he'd stand a chance at turning the tables. The woman's power felt on par with his own, and while Zion Agnes was strong, he was still a notch below Hanosral.

'If I can't completely separate them, but can at least engage one while holding off the other...'

Of course, the other monsters couldn't help. They were preoccupied with Liam Rainer and the Destroyer Squad.

In this situation, there was only one ace up his sleeve.

A last resort, only to be used when he was certain of victory.

Roar!

Hanosral's entire body radiated an intense magical aura, one that hadn't been felt before.

Almost instantly, this immense magic transformed into hundreds of spears, indiscriminately shooting out in all directions.

“Is this your final struggle?”

Liushina, with a smirk as if amused, seemed to gather even more power. Simultaneously, she summoned eyes and the heads of beasts, beginning to shatter the approaching spears.

BOOM!

Due to their collision, the Chimseong Palace began to crumble bit by bit.

“Argh!”

That wasn't the end. From around Hanosral, thousands of demonic hands appeared, each tracing eerie shapes in the air and simultaneously forming thousands of spells.

Once completed, this forbidden spell had the immense power not only to obliterate Chimseong Palace but also to blow away half of Huangcheng.josei

However, Zion wasn't going to just stand and watch.

SWISH!

The larger the spell, the bigger the gap it revealed. Zion destroyed all the defensive barriers around the Demon King and plunged straight into Hanosral's grasp.

The scene looked as if a line of dark light stretched straight forward.

Before Hanosral could react,

Zion's Eclaxia, concentrating all its power at the tip of the blade...

Pierced straight through the Demon King’s chest.

Zion's dark power began to whirl within Hanosral, undoubtedly a blow fatal enough to claim a life.

However,

“You’ve been caught!”

Surprisingly, the expression on Hanosral's face was not of distortion, but of laughter.

Along with that,

From where the Sword of Destruction had penetrated, instead of blood, an endless surge of evil energy burst out.

Before Zion could react, this energy spread out like a curtain, enveloping their entire forms.

“Ha… Hahaha!”

Inside the same Chimseong Palace hall.

Yet, where there once were numerous presences, now only Hanosral's boisterous laughter echoed.

"Foolish. To think you'd fall into my trap so easily."

This was the space within a barrier set up by Hanosral.

The Shadow Barrier.

Just as light casts a shadow, there are hidden facets to the world.

The Shadow Barrier was a unique spell of the Demon King, using these hidden facets.

A transcendental spell that isolates only the caster and the designated target from the original world.

Having been activated by the trigger of a heart shattering just moments ago, it was now perfectly set.

"Within this space, it will just be the two of us."

Uncharacteristically, Hanosral’s eyes filled with deep emotion as he spoke to Zion.

Those emotions were none other than ecstasy and rage.

Contrasting yet oddly harmonious feelings.

"Don’t even think that someone outside will break this barrier. They’ll be too busy dealing with my other self."

The reason the Shadow Barrier was called a transcendental spell, even surpassing the top-ranking spells, was simple.

It allowed two versions of Hanosral to exist simultaneously.

One in the original world and one in the shadow world.

It wasn’t a mere clone.

Literally, another Hanosral pulled from a parallel world.

Truly a spell that twists even the fundamental laws of the world.

"Now that we're here, I'll take my time killing you."

Hanosral’s sinister smile deepened.

"Starting with your limbs..."

Just as he was about to reach out towards Zion,

"Been waiting for this moment."

Zion’s faint voice stopped Hanosral in his tracks.

Slowly, Zion lifted his head.

And on his face was a radiant smile that seemed to say he was genuinely enjoying this predicament.

“I know all about you.”

Zion was aware.

That Hanosral, known as the Demon King, was notoriously cunning.

And that he always had part of his life force hidden, allowing him to resurrect anytime.

That’s why the heroes in the chronicles had to kill Hanosral several times.

‘But in this Shadow Barrier state, that ability is nullified.’

The reason was simple.

The place where the Demon King hid his life force was within this very Shadow Barrier. That's why, the moment Zion realized he was the bait to the Demon King's trap, he began to play along.

Pretending he had the upper hand, hoping to lure Hanosral into activating the Shadow Barrier.

Because that was the only way to truly eliminate Hanosral here and now.

"…What? Hahaha!"

For a moment, Hanosral stared blankly at Zion, then burst into manic laughter.

His laughter alone seemed powerful enough to shatter the very space around them.

"You expected me to cast the barrier?”

As he spoke, the immense magical force originating from him rapidly spread, devouring the surroundings.

A power so vast, none of the demons he had ever encountered could even compare!

With the area fully under his control, Hanosral began slowly advancing towards Zion.

"Could it be... you truly believed you could defeat me all on your own?”

As the Death King approached, the pressure intensified, bearing down on every fiber of Zion.

Thud thud thud thud-

Under its weight, Zion’s legs started sinking into the ground.

"You're certainly overstepping your bounds.”

A palpable difference in their strengths was evident.

Yet, in the midst of it all, Zion’s smile grew even deeper.

“I’d like to ask the same.”

Zion, with his ever-serene eyes, gazed straight at Hanosral.

“Did you genuinely think you could defeat me alone?”

His icy voice posed the question, and,

"...What?"

The moment Hanosral’s eyes filled with doubt from Zion’s unexpected words, Crunch!

From Zion’s hand, the gem representing the second question of Chronos broke apart.