I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

Chapter 104: King of Signs (3)

TL/Editor: Rungir josei

Schedule: none

Illustrations: none

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"Prince Zion!"

During the battle with the horde of beasts, Commander Girard, spotting Prince Zion and Hanosral being engulfed by a crimson barrier, cried out in urgency.

He tried to rush to where Zion was, but,

"Hehe! Where do you think you're going?"

The surrounding demons hindered his movement.

In the midst of this, Zion, trapped within the barrier, slowly disappeared from sight.

Immediately after,

"Muahahaha!"

From the place where the barrier had been, another Hanosral revealed himself, bursting into loud laughter. His eyes sparkled with elation.

Along with him, an overwhelming magical energy began to consume the entire hall.

Due to this, the battle momentarily stopped.

Amidst the silent battlefield, the Demon King looked at Liushina and spoke slowly,

"Your lord will soon meet his end."

Given that Zion Agnes was taken by the barrier, he was probably confronting another version of Hanosral. Judging calmly, Zion, with his current power, would not only be unable to challenge him but also might not even withstand him.

He might have already met his doom.

"Now, what will you do, nameless witch?"

Hanosral, a smirk playing on his lips, asked Liushina. To be honest, the witch before him was a formidable opponent, but Hanosral perceived himself to have a slight edge over her.

If that weren't the case, he wouldn't have been able to resist her power until now.

As Hanosral leisurely reached out to Liushina,

"It's truly fascinating."

Liushina, who had been silent until then, opened her mouth slowly.

"How everything transpires exactly as my master predicted."

A profound smirk adorned her face.

Hanosral's eyes, filled with doubt at her unexpected reaction, questioned,

"...What?"

"I wonder if he truly knows the future?"

As Liushina responded with another question, suddenly, an unimaginable surge of energy exploded from her, instantly overpowering Hanosral’s magic, and began to dominate the entirety of Chimseong Palace.

In an instant, thousands of red eyes began to light up in the world that was now painted in red.

"This is..."

Witnessing the sheer might of the transformed witch, the elation in Hanosral's eyes began to wane.

"I no longer need to restrain my power. I'll finish you off quickly."

Liushina's voice, filled with delight, hummed.

In her eyes, there was no trace of concern for Zion.

After all, her master was an even greater monster than she was.

The second question of Kronos.

Though it was yet another question about time, its nature was slightly different.

Does the time of all beings possess equal value?

The answer to this has not been passed down.

However, the gods inferred the answer from the power stemming from this question.

Time Theft.

The second power of the 'Five Questions of Kronos.'

It allowed its user to borrow the time of the being they perceived as having the highest value.

Tick!

With a sound resembling a clock’s hand moving, the laws of the world began to twist around Zion.

‘Time Theft’ took all the moments the target had experienced in their life.

Zion had designated strength as the foremost value.

Thus, Zion could borrow all the powers and abilities of a being that possessed the highest strength.

Of course, he could only choose beings he had directly witnessed.

But that was enough.

Because Zion already knew of an entity who had almost reached the pinnacle of strength in the world.

Roar!

Princess Evelyn Agnes.

Undoubtedly, one of the strongest in the Chronicles of Frosimar and the guardian of the 'Second Heaven.'

The epitome of all knights, a being who had already surpassed humanity.

“What on Earth are you doing?!”

Seeing Zion enveloped in a blinding light, Hanostral, overtaken by an eerie sensation, clenched his fist.

Boom!

Space around Zion ruptured, and dozens of colossal demonic hands lunged at him.

In an instant, Zion's figure was lost amidst these hands.

‘I’ll crush him now.’

Driven by an ominous hunch that he couldn't delay any longer, Hanostral channeled all his might into the demonic hands enclosing Zion.

Crack!

The hands, causing even the surrounding space to warp, tightened their grasp.

Feeling it wasn’t enough, Hanostral embedded dozens more magic seals onto them.

Boom!

A massive explosion emanated, momentarily shaking the protective barrier he had formed.

‘With this magnitude…’

A force so great, even he couldn't survive if faced head-on.

Just as a glimmer of hope appeared in Hanostral's eyes while staring at the dust settling,

Growl!

A sound like a lion's roar echoed.

A chilling predatory cry that weighed down on the very soul.

As goosebumps formed on Hanostral upon hearing that roar, suddenly,

Whoosh!

With the dust clearing as if the sky was parting, Zion appeared right in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere.

“...!”

Caught off guard by Zion’s otherworldly speed, Hanostral couldn’t react in time, and then –

Snap!

By Prince Zion's lightly swung Eclaxia, half of his upper body disappeared.

Yet, the divine figure of Hanosral, unable to withstand that power, vanished from his spot. It appeared beyond Chimseong Palace, followed by several other buildings in the background.

A split second later, a resounding Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!

A massive shockwave burst forth, tracing the path from which he had been flung. Due to that shockwave, a secondary explosion ignited the surrounding air entirely.

Step by step, Zion walked through the world behind Chimseong Palace, approaching Hanosral. By then, six brilliantly shining stars were swirling in his eyes.

"Kwaaaa!"

Was it a momentary loss of consciousness?

The Death King, who had been immobile for a while, gasped for air and lifted his body. His upper body and left arm regenerated quickly.

"How irritating," Zion mused to himself, seeing that astonishing regenerative power.

"What is that power...?!" Hanosral exclaimed, having fully regenerated, looking at Zion in disbelief.

Fear clouded his eyes.

Although it was a single clash, it was evident. The Prince Zion Agnes from a moment ago and the current one were entirely different beings.

"How could he change so drastically in an instant?"

"What would you do with that knowledge?" Zion smirked, looking at Hanosral, "You're going to die soon anyway."

"You damned brat!"

With a whoosh, an infuriated Hanosral created countless barriers around him.

Truth be told, he wasn't confident he could block another strike like the one he just received. So, he set up preemptive barriers to block any incoming attack.

'I must not let him get close.'

After setting up all defenses, Hanosral formed a strange seal with both hands.

Whirl-whirl-whirl!

Thousands of ghostly flames revealed themselves around him. These flames, imbued with the power of confinement, were shot towards Zion.

Perhaps it was because Hanosral had unleashed power beyond his limits. The ghostly flames set the alternate world ablaze with a bluish hue.

Zion calmly watched the approaching wave of ghostly flames, his space seemingly burning.

Then, Zion's Eclaxia, now emitting a pure white light, slowly extended forward and began to split into countless fragments.

First two, then four, next eight...

Thus, it exponentially multiplied, filling the entire world with the sword spirits of the extinction blade.

Zzzzrrr-zrrr-zrrr!

By that transcendent swordsmanship, the pouring ghostly flames were split and obliterated. Not just that, but all the numerous barriers that surrounded Hanosral were also completely eradicated.

“!!!!!”

The shock in the eyes of King Hanosral grew even more pronounced, almost tearing apart with sheer disbelief.

Was that a Celestial Blade?

The radiant starlight emanating from Zion Agnes's sword was unmistakably the power of the Celestial Blade. Moreover, it was a Celestial Blade of a refinement he had never seen before.

How on Earth could Zion Agnes wield such a power?

But before Hanosral could contemplate further,

Whoosh!

In a single stride, the distance between them vanished as Zion swiftly slashed down with his sword, Eclaxia.

Thunk!

Recognizing it was too late to evade, Hanosral hastily conjured a protective barrier. He was well aware that an ordinary shield would be insufficient against this attack. Thus, he employed the Barrier of Isolation, a supreme shield that severs the very concept of harm from its surroundings – his most powerful defensive spell.

However,

“It's futile,” Zion murmured.

Swish!

Eclaxia easily tore through the barrier and sliced from Hanosral’s right shoulder to a important point in a single swipe.

The Celestial Blade: a power that reigns supreme over all other forces. What's more, this was the Celestial Blade of Evelyn Agnes.

Against Zion’s sword, which had channeled and intensified this borrowed Celestial power to its limits, Hanosral's powers were virtually useless.

“Arghhhhhhh!”

Despite the excruciating pain, Hanosral, drawing from both his physical and magical energies, retaliated against Zion. An array quickly enveloped him, forming a barrier that nullified any anomalies, but, Swoosh!

Zion effortlessly cut through, launching a flurry of consecutive attacks.

Slash after slash!

Without a chance to resist, Hanosral's form crumbled under the assault.

He never stood a chance from the start.

After all, the strength of Evelyn Agnes was unparalleled, even among the Agnes lineage, known as monsters.

Rubrious wielded both the Celestial Blade and divine power. Diana employed the Celestial Blade and elemental arts. Enoch combined the Celestial Blade with magic. While other royals honed supplementary powers to enhance their Celestial Blades, Evelyn had no need. Her Celestial Blade was already perfection incarnate, so impeccable that it required no augmentation.

A pinnacle of humanity, so powerful that the term 'monster' would be an understatement – that was Evelyn Agnes.

Facing Zion now, imbued with all of Evelyn's formidable power, how could a relatively weaker mage like Hanosral possibly contend?

"Why... How is this possible?!”

While regenerating his gravely injured body, King Hanosral roared in disbelief and agony.

He couldn't fathom how Zion Agnes could wield the Celestial Blade.

Why on earth was he so outclassed by Zion Agnes?

Even in this parallel world of his own creation!

A slew of questions overwhelmed his mind.

And those doubts quickly transformed into seething rage.

Having sacrificed half his body, Hanosral narrowly escaped Zion's assault and soared into the sky.

He ascended rapidly, soon becoming a mere speck in the distance.

"Cursed Agnes lineage!"

With eyes blazing like fire, Hanosral glared at Zion standing on the ground. From the space around him, hundreds of demonic hands emerged.

"Yes, I'll obliterate this place along with you!"

With his cry, the demonic hands started moving frantically, drawing a vast and intricate spell formation.

KOOGOOOGOOO!

Could this prove that it's on an entirely different level?

Merely the shockwaves from the forming spell were enough to send tremors through the parallel world, making it wail in agony.

In the midst of a world that seemed ready to crumble any moment,

Hanosral, without hesitation, released the completed spell, aiming directly at Zion.

It was another transcendental spell of Hanosral, made by gathering the negative emotions of humans who committed those sins over hundreds of years.

A sea of pure crimson, representing the sins, began to cover the sky, descending upon the earth.

The parallel world couldn't withstand the sheer power of it and began to shatter. It looked as if it was witnessing the end of times.

‘Is this one of his ultimate spells?’

Zion looked up at the descending crimson sea.

There was nowhere to evade.

After all, that sea was a spell Hanosral conjured to strike the entire parallel world.

‘There's no need to dodge anyway.’

With that thought, a sly smile formed on Zion's face, and he stretched out his sword diagonally.

Stars from the Celestial Sea began to converge on his sword.

As if that wasn’t enough, all the light within Zion's sight was being drawn into his sword, Eclaxia.

DRRRRRRRRR!

The Eclaxia, overloaded with starlight, started to shake violently.

Meanwhile, the transcendental spell conjured by the demon king had reached right above Zion.

"Die."

That word, filled with sheer desperation, spilled from Hanosral's lips.

Just as the sea of sins was about to engulf Zion, slowly,

Zion lifted his sword.

In the past, Evelyn Agnes pondered.

The prowess of the Celestial Sea that reigns over all power.

Could it be condensed into a single line?

And if so, could it be further condensed into a single point?

It was the only answer Evelyn found after agonizing over the question.

From that answer, a radiant starlight...

Breached the hidden barrier, rising to the very edges of the heavens.