I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

181 - The Six Claws (7)

TL/Editor: raei

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: none

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Episode 181, Chapter 46: The Six Claws (7)

'...Am I still alive?'

This was Tirian's first thought as consciousness and vision returned to him.

The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was the demon piercing his abdomen.

The reason Tirian was still alive was simple.

A mage is always prepared.

Before the battle, he had cast a spell on himself as a last resort, which had saved him from death.

Just then,

"You've come to? It's best if you stay still. You're being treated right now," Liam said gruffly from beside Tirian.

As Tirian's vision cleared, he saw a priest pouring holy magic into his wounds.

"Luckily, there was a priest among the survivors," Liam added.

"Ugh... What happened? That demon..." Tirian asked.

Liam silently jerked his chin in a direction.

As the mage turned his head to look,

"...!"

His eyes widened in shock.

Zap zap zap!

The snake-eyed demon, who Tirian and the legendary hero Liam couldn't even scratch, was now,

"Aaargh!"

Screaming in pain and being overwhelmed.

The demon was constantly being sent flying or driven into the ground, unable to even counterattack.

Anyone could see the look of utter defeat in the demon's eyes.

"Then the person facing the demon is..."

"Who do you think?" Liam replied, as if Tirian had asked something obvious.

In truth, Tirian already knew.

Though the face was hidden by the burning flame armor, there was only one person who could appear in this situation and face the demon.

'Prince Zion Agnes.'

Even after realizing this, the surprise didn't fade from Tirian's eyes.

He had known Prince Zion's power was extraordinary since seeing him face a high-ranking demon at the Grand Magic Tower, but he never imagined it would be to this extent.

'At least on par with the Seven Heavens, if not beyond...'

The reason for Tirian's thought was simple.

The snake-eyed demon Zion was facing was comparable to the 'Seven Heavens' in power.

No, since Tirian hadn't seen all of the 'Seven Heavens' yet, he couldn't be certain, but he believed this demon would rank among the upper echelons of 'Heaven'.

Even with the power of divine artifacts, for Prince Zion to overwhelm such a demon alone was simply unbelievable.

This sight defied all logic.

If this scene were to become public, it would surely overturn the hierarchy of the empire's strongest beings.

'Perhaps I still haven't met Prince Zion's qualifications...'

As this bitter thought crossed Tirian's mind,

"Looks like we have new guests," Liam muttered, looking towards the Plant's entrance.

Tirian naturally turned his head in the same direction.

His eyes then,

'Those people are definitely from before...'

Began to show a strange light.

---

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Aaargh!"

Relentless attacks rained down, accompanied by Hiseller's screams.

'I need to end this quickly.'

Despite the situation having completely turned in his favor after landing that last slash, this was what Zion was thinking.

The Heat Heaven Armor Muspelheim and the Frost Queen's Authority.

The reason Zion, whose original power was similar to Hiseller's, could now overwhelmingly dominate was because he was simultaneously activating these two divine artifacts.

Even possessing just one of these artifacts was said to elevate the user's power to 'Heaven'.

Activating two such artifacts at once naturally resulted in power beyond imagination.

However,

'The power consumption is too severe.'

It felt like activating multiple eclipses at once.

No, subjectively, it felt like these two artifacts were consuming even more power than that.

As a result, Zion could barely use his original Black Star Force.

At this rate, his power would be exhausted in less than a minute.

He had to end this before then, no matter what.

Boom!

"Why... Why?!" Hiseller screamed in desperation as Zion's relentless attacks continued to land effective blows.

The demon's face was contorted with a complex mix of anger, bewilderment, and fear.

'How can I be pushed back this much by a mere human?'

He simply couldn't comprehend the current situation.

Sure, he could accept being at a disadvantage.

But he never imagined being so thoroughly beaten that he couldn't even put up a proper fight.

All his attacks were blocked, while every single one of his opponent's strikes landed as a critical hit.

This feeling of powerlessness was something Hiseller had never experienced in nearly a century, not since becoming one of the Six Claws.

Moreover, even his space-related powers, considered among the highest of authorities, were completely ineffective.

'This can't go on! I'll really die!'

The thrill and anticipation of battle had completely vanished from Hiseller's eyes.

All that remained was the desire to survive.

At that moment, crunch!

The space around the demon began to change.

Compressed space adhered to his body like armor, following Hiseller's will.

Space Compression.

One of his ultimate authority techniques, which he had been saving, finally revealed itself.

Rumble!

With his demonic energy amplifying crazily, Hiseller's form began to move at a speed incomparable to before.

It almost looked like he was continuously leaping through space.

Space and time are interconnected.

Therefore, Hiseller's time was now flowing three times faster than others' due to his 'Space Compression'.

It was truly a technique worthy of being called a reversal skill.

Of course, the backlash was terrifying, shortening his lifespan, but he had no luxury to worry about that now.

"......"

Was Zion unable to adapt to the suddenly increased speed?

He stood still, seemingly unable to keep up with Hiseller's movements.

'This should do it...!'

Hiseller's form, his eyes gleaming, moved right next to Zion.

He immediately launched a strike, concentrating his demonic energy to the extreme.

'I'll crush your head.'

Just as Hiseller grinned, thinking Zion still hadn't perceived his movement as he stood facing forward,

Suddenly, something filled the demon's vision.

'...A fist?'

A fist burning with bright red holy flames.

And in the next moment, boom!

With a thunderous noise like dozens of lightning bolts striking simultaneously, Hiseller's form was sent flying at a speed twice as fast as his approach.

Before Hiseller's body could reach the Plant's wall, whoosh!

Zion, who had vanished in a streak of flame, appeared right in front of him.

Simultaneously, the world around Zion's ice-blue sword began to warp.

'I can't let that hit me!'

Hiseller, his consciousness briefly lost and then regained, desperately unleashed a technique as he saw this sight.

Space Barrier.

A technique that endlessly expands the distance within a certain range of space.

It was arguably the best defensive technique, not just blocking attacks but preventing them from reaching the user at all.

The moment Hiseller's defensive technique met Zion's sword, crack!

With an incredibly simple impact sound, the Space Barrier Hiseller had deployed, along with his entire left arm, flew off.

Eclaxia now occupied the space where Hiseller's left arm had been.

"Kugh!"

With a terrible groan erupting from deep within his lungs, Hiseller instantly stopped the bleeding and swung a blade of compressed space in his remaining hand, but thud-

At that moment, Zion's fist had already connected with the demon's stomach.

A moment of silence.

Then, boom!

Hiseller's form vanished from that spot, crashing through the Plant and the buildings behind it in the outskirts before finally embedding in the city wall.

The delayed shockwave erupted, along with the Flame World's flames burning along the path.

Nearby buildings began to collapse as a result.

Step, step.

Zion approached the embedded Hiseller, emanating cold energy and flames.

At that moment,

"Aaargh! You cursed Agnes bloodline!" Hiseller screamed, his voice filled with extreme hatred and anger as he pulled himself from the wall and gathered his remaining hand in front of his pierced abdomen.

Crunch!

All the energy from not just the surroundings, but the entire nearby area, began to be sucked into the demon's hand.

Hiseller already knew.

No matter what he did, he couldn't defeat this man.

It was a hopeless situation.

But,

"That's right!"

He, a top executive of the demon realm, couldn't accept dying without doing anything.

No, he refused to accept it.

"If you can withstand even this!"

The gathered energy, condensed to its limit, was completely converted into demonic energy.

Rumble!

The surrounding space screamed from the ominous power emanating from it.

And,

"Then I'll acknowledge you."

With these words that sounded like a vow, Hiseller finally unleashed his ultimate technique.

Space Annihilation.

Hiseller's strongest technique, a power beyond the heavens that could erase space itself, one of the world's fundamental components.

Rumble!

A sea.

It was a sea.

A massive sea of demonic energy, so vast its end couldn't be seen, advanced forward, annihilating all space it touched.

Perhaps because they were now outside the Plant,

"Th-that...!"

"Ah..."

The imperial citizens nearby who witnessed this sea of demonic energy cried out in despair and shock.

Destruction.

It looked like the very embodiment of the city's annihilation.

And,

"......"

Zion stood alone before this sea of demonic energy, like a small sailboat before a tidal wave.

'I'll cut it down in one go.'

After briefly observing the approaching destruction with his ever-languid eyes, Zion raised Eclaxia above his head with both hands.

At that moment, whoosh!

A bright red wing of flame sprouted from Zion's left back.

As if that wasn't enough, a wing of ice-blue followed on the opposite side.

Then, swish!

The flames and cold energy flowing from these wings gathered on Zion's raised sword, beginning to emit a transparent light.

It was a light so intense it could blind just by looking at it!

Was it difficult for the sword to receive the root power of two divine artifacts at once?

Grind!

Eclaxia shook as if screaming, and the surrounding world vibrated in response.

Soon, this light and vibration reached their peak.

Finally, just as the sea of destruction was about to engulf Zion,

Slowly.

As Zion's sword fell,

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

The world turned incandescent white.

---

There was no sound.

All that could be seen was the pure white light covering the entire field of vision.

How long did this last?

As the light finally began to fade and vision returned, people could see.

The sea of demonic energy had completely vanished.

And,

"Zion Agnes, you are..."

Zion stood still in his slash posture, calmly watching Hiseller as the demon began to dissolve.

"Just what..."

A voice filled with shock involuntarily escaped the silver-haired woman's lips as she watched this scene from behind with the others.

Her eyes were wide open.

The woman, who had arrived at the Plant with her companions just moments ago, had witnessed the battle between Zion and Hiseller.

It had been an incredible fight, beyond even her ability to fully follow.

Moreover, for Zion to single-handedly defeat Hiseller, known as the Slaughterer of Space, who would later cause unimaginable damage to the empire in the great war, was astounding. But this wasn't the reason for the woman's shock.

'Those flames.'

The bright red flames still faintly burning all over Prince Zion's body.

Those flames were undoubtedly from Muspelheim.

How on earth did Prince Zion Agnes come to wear the Heat Heaven Armor?

In truth, the woman knew the answer.

There was only one possibility.

That Zion Harness and Prince Zion Agnes were the same person.

'...Zion Agnes! It was Zion Agnes all along!'

From the beginning, there had been only one variable.

The woman's eyes shook uncontrollably as she stared at Zion, feeling as if she had been struck by dozens of hammers on her head.

And at that moment, swish-

Zion, having sheathed his sword, turned his gaze towards the woman.

---

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