I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

160 - Ambush (3)

TL/Editor: raei

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: none

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Episode 160, Chapter 44: Ambush (3)

On a hill far from where Zion and Rubrious were fighting,

"He's gotten even stronger in the meantime..."

Serkia, one of the Five Great Demon Generals and the Half-Demon General, muttered as she watched the battle with a pale expression.

The demon unit currently battling Zion Agnes was called the 'Purple Death'.

It was a unit composed solely of numerous high-ranking demons and mid-ranking demons who had nearly reached the high rank, widely renowned even in the demon realm for their elite status.

Yet seeing such an elite unit being so helplessly overwhelmed was truly surreal.

'How on earth can someone grow so quickly?'

It was an incomprehensible scene.

But what Serkia found even more incomprehensible was something else.

'Why are they wasting the Purple Death like this?'

Although she hadn't expected the gap to be this large, she had known from the start that they alone couldn't handle Zion Agnes.

Yet sending them without any special preparation was something she just couldn't understand.

However, there was nothing Serkia could do about it.

The command for this operation wasn't hers, but someone else's.

"Wow~ He's really strong, isn't he? At this rate, he might be on par with the 'Seven Heavens', said to be the strongest among humans?"

Next to Serkia, a man with slit eyes and two horns exclaimed playfully.

He was the mastermind behind this situation.

Though Serkia desperately wanted to question him about this operation, her mouth wouldn't open.

Or rather, she couldn't.

Because the man's position was even higher than hers, one of the Five Great Demon Generals.

The man's name was Hiseller.

He was one of the 'Six Claws', existing just below the Four Great Demons in the demon realm, and had been newly dispatched to eliminate Zion Agnes.

"Is that Zion Agnes?"

Hiseller asked Serkia without taking his eyes off the battle.

"...Yes, it is."

"This is going to be fun. Really, really fun."

The demon's eyes gleamed with expectation and excitement.

Hiseller was genuinely delighted by Zion Agnes's power, which seemed even stronger than he had anticipated.

He was the type who felt deeper pleasure the stronger his opponent was, and the more thoroughly he could trample such an opponent.

Just then,

"But... what's with that expression? It's clearly a face dissatisfied with what I'm doing."

Hiseller asked, turning his gaze briefly towards Serkia.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing? Come on. Honestly, you're not happy about sacrificing demons who've made quite a name for themselves in the demon realm for what's not even a proper ambush, right?"

Perhaps because he had already read her mind completely?

"......"

Serkia remained silent, no longer making excuses.

"Well, I understand. To be honest, I find it a bit of a waste too. But you know what? You guys said it yourselves. This Zion Agnes isn't someone to be taken lightly.

After all, two of the Five Great Demon Generals were defeated by him."

Hiseller continued, smiling like a snake at Serkia.

"Throwing in half-baked forces against someone like that would just result in total annihilation without learning anything. Isn't it better to deploy elites and gather solid information?"

There were some political reasons mixed in as well, but Hiseller didn't bother to mention them.

He had no need to explain every detail to Serkia, his subordinate.

"......"

A chilled light flickered deep in Serkia's eyes at Hiseller's words, which seemed to treat not just humans but even fellow demons as expendable.

Though she acknowledged his skills, he was someone whose nature completely clashed with hers.

'Why on earth did the demon realm send someone like this...'

Shaking her head inwardly, Serkia shifted her gaze back to where Zion Agnes was, following Hiseller who had already turned his head.

The battle was nearing its end.

BOOM!

Flashing light, surging demonic energy, and darkness enveloping it all.

Amidst this, the number of demons was rapidly decreasing, now down to single digits.

Just then,

"...Huh?"

Suddenly, a question flickered in Serkia's eyes as she watched the battle.

The eyes of Zion Agnes, who was ruthlessly slaughtering demons while wrapped in darkness.

For a moment, those characteristically languid eyes met Serkia's own.

It should have been impossible.

First, they were so far away that they appeared as mere dots, and they were hidden behind multiple layers of barriers with their presence completely concealed.

'Was it my imagination?'

As Serkia tilted her head in confusion,

"Did he actually detect us?"

Hiseller's voice, tinged with slight surprise, reached her ears.

"Looks like we need to prepare."

"Huh? What preparations all of a sudden..."

"Preparations to run away. I don't intend to fight today."

"!!!!!!!"

Serkia's eyes, which had been filled with confusion at his incomprehensible words, began to shake violently as she saw something.

The battlefield where all demons had been annihilated and the fight had ended.

But that wasn't why Serkia's eyes were shaking.

SWOOSH!

Zion Agnes.

His form was shooting directly towards them.

Darkness scattered behind him, and the air tore apart from his insane speed.

"H-How...!"

A voice filled with bewilderment burst from Serkia's mouth.

Even though he was still far away, the terrifying pressure emanating from him began to heavily weigh down on her entire body.

As if telling her to stay put and wait.

Though she had never faced him directly, was it because they had been defeated countless times before?

Serkia stepped back, losing her will to fight, her eyes filled with fear.

"What a shame, not being able to taste that power today."

But unlike Serkia, Hiseller grinned as if enjoying the pressure and slashed his hand downward through the air.

CRACK!

Following his hand, the split space transformed into a passage leading elsewhere.

"Well then, let's meet again next time."

With those final words, looking at Zion, Hiseller stepped into the passage.

Serkia hurriedly pushed herself into the passage after him.

'It's already too late.'

Zion's eyes grew cold as he watched this scene.

Though he was moving almost as if folding space, the distance was too great.

It would probably be impossible to reach there in time.

If so...

'I should at least give them a grand farewell.'

Having made up his mind, Zion pulled his right arm back like a bow without slowing down.

CRUNCH!

Darkness from the surroundings gathered in Zion's hand, beginning to form a shape.

Space contracted and the air trembled.

Finally, the darkness took the complete form of a spear.

The moment the vibrations of space and air reached their peak,

---------------!

As Zion's spear shot forward, a single line was drawn in the world along its trajectory.

The spear forced open the already completely closed passage, burrowing into the gap between spaces.

CRACKLE!

Belatedly, a shockwave generated where Zion's spear had passed tore through the surrounding air and spread out.

The ground shook and rainwater burst apart as a result.

How long did the aftereffects continue?

"Sneaky little rats."

Rubrious, who had approached Zion's side as the vibrations gradually subsided, spoke.

"Will it be difficult to track them?"

Even as he asked Zion this, he knew it was impossible.

The enemies had disappeared through space from a distance so far that their faces couldn't even be recognized.

There was no way they could be tracked.

But the words that flowed from Zion's mouth were slightly different from Rubrious's expectations.

"We'll see."

Words filled with possibility.

Zion's eyes were fixed on the thread of dark chaos connected beyond the closed space, clinging to the spear he had just launched.

* * *

In an empty lot on the outskirts of Hubris, opposite to where Zion was.

CRACK!

The air in the empty lot split open, and two demons jumped out.

It was Hiseller and Serkia.

"Ugh...!"

Unlike Serkia, who took a deep breath and tried to calm herself as soon as she emerged, what burst from Hiseller's mouth was an exclamation.

His skin stood up in goosebumps, as if chicken skin had formed.

This was caused by Zion Agnes.

The terrifying presence felt from the approaching Zion Agnes.

That presence and ominousness were so immense that even Hiseller, who had seen numerous powerful beings in the demon realm, had rarely experienced anything like it.

'To think there was someone with such an aura among humans.'

That's why he felt even more regretful.

For retreating without properly engaging today.

"I should have stayed and fought a bit..."

Before Hiseller could finish his words,

There was no warning.

CRACKLE!

A black spear tore through the completely closed passage in an instant, simultaneously piercing Serkia's chest and Hiseller's right arm.

It happened at a speed that the two demons could barely even perceive.

Had her heart been completely shattered?

"Kugh... Kuugh!"

Serkia collapsed, spewing bloody foam.

"......"

Hiseller stared blankly at her, his completely shattered right arm, and the spear that caused it, as if trying to grasp the situation.

After a moment of silence,

"Kihi... Kyahahahaha!"

Suddenly, a great burst of laughter erupted from his mouth.

Hiseller laughed endlessly, as if he couldn't contain his joy.

"Now this is one hell of a guy!"

How long did he laugh like that?

"Zion Agnes."

Finally, Hiseller stopped laughing and Zion's name flowed from his mouth.

As if trying to engrave that name in his mind.

The demon's eyes gleamed with ecstasy and killing intent.

* * *

The Tower of Causality.

Zion's prediction about it was spot on.

A week after the Tower of Causality first appeared, news that the tower's doors had opened hit the entire empire.

As a result, the Tower of Causality was now one of the hottest topics in the empire, and countless people were flocking to it.

Of course, nothing was known for certain about the tower's true nature.

But the fact that it was the world's greatest dungeon was enough to excite people.

Dungeons always contained treasures, and their value increased with size and danger level.

At midnight on the day the tower opened,

"Are you really going alone this time too?"

Tierrie asked Zion with a worried face in the outskirts of the imperial palace, bathed in soft moonlight.

"Yes."

Zion nodded briefly in response.

This task also required him to hide his identity, so there was no one he could particularly bring along.

While Liushina could change her appearance, the uniqueness of her power was too strong, and there was little point in bringing Lucas and the Twilight Sword Squad.

'They'll all scatter the moment we enter the tower anyway.'

According to the chronicles Zion remembered, the test on the first floor of the Tower of Causality was conducted individually.

"Wouldn't it be better to at least take some attendants?"

Tierrie again suggested taking people along, unlike his usual self who would acquiesce after a single word.

Zion knew why Tierrie was acting this way.

'It must be because of the demon attack last time.'

Although it had ended in failure and Zion had come out unscathed, Tierrie had been putting even more effort into securing the surroundings since then.

An attack that happened once could happen again at any time.

Moreover, they still hadn't found the demons who led that attack.

'Although those guys are connected by the thread of dark chaos...'

Was it because it was connected across space?

The thread had been strangely deformed in the process, making it difficult to track in the short term.

It seemed he would have to finish that after returning from the Tower of Causality.

This was more important for now.

"No, I'll go alone. If I really need help, I can use the Eye of the Moon there."

"...I understand. Please be careful."

Tierrie bowed his head without further suggestion.

"Return safely, Prince Zion."

Sir Fredo, the old knight standing next to Tierrie, also bowed his head to see Zion off.

Liushina and Lucas weren't there.

Zion had left without telling them, knowing they would strongly object if he said he was leaving them behind again.

With their farewells behind him, Zion slowly left the imperial palace.

SWISH-

The darkness around Zion began to ripple quietly in sync with his steps.

The Light-Extinguishing Sword Eclaksia.

Following Chronos's five questions, it was the third divine artifact Zion himself needed to obtain.

That divine artifact was in the Tower of Causality.