I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

178 - The Six Claws (4)

TL/Editor: raei

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: none

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Episode 178, Chapter 46: The Six Claws (4)

Tirian's presence here was no coincidence.

Ever since the incident at the Grand Magic Tower, the reincarnated archmage had been eager to meet Zion and prove his worth.

So, before launching the Plant assault operation, Zion summoned Tirian to the imperial palace and made a proposal.

If he participated in this operation and successfully completed his mission, Zion would acknowledge his qualifications.

'I need to hold out against this guy until Prince Zion arrives.'

The moment Tirian saw his demonic opponent, he understood why Zion had instructed him to hold out rather than defeat him, and why he'd paired him with the war hero Liam Rainer.

The demonic energy emanating from this being was overwhelmingly superior to the high-ranking demon he'd encountered at the magic tower.

Even with his magical skills recently improved from level 6 to just below level 9, Tirian knew he was no match for this opponent.

As Tirian's mind raced to find a way to counter, Hiseller spoke.

"Well, it seems you've at least made some basic preparations to face me."

Hiseller's face, initially surprised, began to show signs of anticipation.

Unlike most who would be intimidated or displeased by a strong opponent, Hiseller was different.

He was the type who only felt alive in life-or-death battles.

Hiss!

With that, the demonic energy flowing from Hiseller's body began to writhe like a living thing, starting to dye the Plant's interior black again, overcoming Muspelheim's flames.

"Here he comes," Liam said in a low voice, watching the scene with hardened eyes.

In that instant, whoosh!

Without any warning, Hiseller's form vanished.

Simultaneously, Liam threw a punch at the seemingly empty space right in front of him.

But the result was unexpected.

Screech!

With a collision sound powerful enough to shake the entire atmosphere inside the Plant, the resulting shockwave tore through the air.

Belatedly, Hiseller appeared in the center of the aftermath, his fist matched against Liam's.

"Well, at least your fist is decent. Or is it that armor that's impressive?" Hiseller said with a grin.

As he spoke, snake-like demonic energy flowed from the demon's hand, about to climb up Liam's arm where their fists met.

At that moment, Ignis's Wrath Breath.

Crack!

The space beside Hiseller split open, and a massive red dragon's head emerged, unleashing a fiery breath.

It was a flame so intensely hot it could melt even the eternal snow at the northern extremity.

But,

"Ouch, hot!" Hiseller exclaimed playfully.

As he casually waved his other hand, boom!

The breath attack and the dragon's head that unleashed it shattered completely.

The magic had no effect.

However, Tirian's spell wasn't entirely meaningless.

Whoosh!

It bought time for Liam, who was right in front of him, to prepare his next attack.

Liam's tightly clenched fist absorbed the surrounding flames as it shot towards Hiseller's head.

Simultaneously, Liam twisted his fist, adding rotational force.

Perhaps deciding it would be disadvantageous to block Liam's punch, Hiseller acted.

"Kuh!"

Tilting his head at an angle impossible for humans, Hiseller dodged the punch and used the momentum to drive his left leg into Liam's side.

In response, Muspelheim's flames concentrated on the impact point, meeting the demon's leg.

Boom!

With an explosion like dozens of spells detonating at once, Liam's form was sent flying.

The impact must have been significant, as Liam staggered greatly. Before he could regain his balance, crack!

Hiseller, determined not to give any breathing room, tore through space and appeared right in front of Liam, swinging down his five fingernails that had grown like snake fangs.

But, Ahina's Seven Walls.

Seven defensive barriers appeared right in front of Liam, following Tirian's spell completed just in time.

Crackle!

The barriers shattered instantly, but they bought enough time for Liam to dodge.

"How annoying. Like a fly," Hiseller muttered irritably.

His form disappeared again, and whoosh!

He reappeared right in front of Tirian, who was quite far away.

Using his authority over space, Hiseller had reduced the distance between them to zero.

But it seemed Tirian had anticipated this move.

Gravity Lightning.

Zap zap zap!

A pre-prepared spell transformed into transparent lightning, striking down at Hiseller.

Though it didn't land an effective hit, the demon's form paused momentarily due to the suddenly increased gravity.

And, boom!

In that gap, Liam, who had reached right behind him, unleashed a strike like a siege weapon, initiating a relentless close-quarters battle.

Boom!

Though Hiseller held a slight advantage, the battle was so fierce that victory wasn't easily determined.

This was partly due to Liam and Tirian's excellent teamwork, but the main reason was the Heat Heaven Armor that Zion had lent to Liam.

Muspelheim allowed Liam to block attacks that would normally be unstoppable and break through defenses that should be impenetrable.

It was a divine artifact of perfect offense and defense.

As a result, the battle continued to drag on, but Hiseller's eyes were gleaming.

Not from the thrill of battle itself.

He had already identified his opponents' weakness.

Then,

"You," Hiseller said.

Boom!

As he blocked Liam's flame-wrapped fist with condensed demonic energy and space,

"You're not very good at handling that, are you?" he said, grinning chillingly at Liam.

---

"What's going on here?" Rain Dranir exclaimed as she arrived in the capital, Hubris.

Her surprise was understandable.

"We're under attack! The capital is under attack!"

"The buildings are collapsing!"

As soon as they entered the city, they saw buildings crumbling and emitting acrid smoke in various places, with people in a state of confusion.

Knights and soldiers were rushing towards these buildings urgently.

"It doesn't really seem like we're under attack though..."

There were several strange aspects to the situation.

"I wonder what's happening... Hey, what's wrong?" Rain asked, turning to the silver-haired woman beside her, her eyes filled with confusion.

The woman's expression had turned grave.

"Those places are..." the woman muttered in a daze.

She knew immediately.

All the collapsing buildings were the demon realm's 'Plants'.

'What's going on here?'

It was unlikely that the demon realm would destroy their own Plants, so it had to be someone in the capital behind this.

How did they know the locations of all the Plants?

Had they regressed like her?

But there was something even more concerning.

'If the Plants are destroyed, the demon realm will hasten their war preparations.'

This meant the war might break out earlier than expected.

It wasn't good news, as neither she and her companions nor the empire had gathered enough strength yet.

But the situation had already unfolded.

'I should at least find out who's behind this.'

With that thought, the woman's pace quickened.

"Are we going?" Turzan asked.

"Yes," the woman replied briefly, her eyes fixed on the Plant in the western outskirts of the capital.

---

Dark Current Concealment.

In the Plant's interior, completely consumed by the 'Dark Realm', Zion's form, shrouded in even deeper darkness, glided towards Keria like a ghost.

Despite being surprised by Zion's presence, which he couldn't sense even at close range, the demon stretched out one hand to counter.

Whoosh!

As expected of the demon known as the 'Lord of Poison and Decay'.

The bandages released from his hand shot out, dissolving all the air they touched.

Just as Keria's bandages, moving as if alive, were about to envelop Zion's entire body, grind!

Dozens of fine lines appeared on the surface of the bandages, which then split apart.

Black Sword Stage 3 Light Slash.

Zion, emerging from the scattered bandages, immediately launched a slash.

'How can he so easily...'

Keria, with a bewildered expression, used all his strength to propel himself backward.

He had realized from their previous clash that it would be disadvantageous to receive that slash head-on.

The tip of Zion's sword barely grazed the demon's nose as it passed by.

As Keria created distance, an unprecedented amount of bandages unfurled from his body, then crack!

They split into thousands of strands, all shooting towards Zion.

Each strand had enough power to obliterate a small hill in a single strike.

However, Dark Current Remnant Form.

Zion's form split into countless images, simultaneously advancing while evading all the incoming bandages.

Despite this, Zion's speed didn't decrease at all.

As he finally reached right in front of Keria, the darkness enveloping Zion's sword instantly formed two layers and fell.

At the same time, the Black Star Force and Partial Eclipse caused an insane amplification!

Sensing the chilling energy from this, Keria decided not to counter and moved at an almost invisible speed to avoid Zion's sword strike.

But, crunch!

Eclaxia, its trajectory sharply altered, had already reached Keria's destination.

"...!"

Though expressing shock at this sword strike that defied common sense, Keria hastily corrupted the surrounding space to restrain Zion's sword.

However, that wasn't enough, and ultimately, slash!

Zion's sword left a long gash across Keria's abdomen.

The Black Star Force began to seep through this wound, causing secondary damage to the demon's body.

"Kugh!" Keria groaned.

Without giving him time to breathe, Zion's attacks continued relentlessly.

Dark Thunder.

Just as the black lightning bolts erupting from the darkness surrounding them were about to strike the demon, swish!

Demonic poison of a completely different level flowed from Keria's entire body, melting away the lightning.

'So this is one of the Six Claws, huh?'

Zion's eyes gleamed as he watched this.

It seemed Keria's poison could dissolve not just physical objects but 'power' itself.

Realizing this, Zion activated Dark Thunder once more.

Zap!

But unlike before, this Dark Thunder didn't shoot directly at Keria, instead gathering around Zion's sword.

"It's useless. My authority-infused poison dissolves all 'supernatural powers'," Keria said coldly, observing this and spreading a curtain of demonic poison.

Just as the tip of Zion's sword was about to touch this curtain,

"I know," Zion said in a low voice.

At that moment, swish-

The curtain of demonic poison Keria had created vanished as if it had never existed.

The Black Star Force's authority, maximally amplified by Eclipse and Partial Eclipse, had negated the curtain itself.

'If it dissolves all supernatural powers, I just need to erase it before that happens.'

"!!!!"

As Keria's eyes filled with shock, Zion's sword rapidly expanded in his vision.

Boom!

With an explosion that seemed to tear eardrums, the demon's form was sent flying back, crashing into the Plant's wall.

"Kuh..."

Before the scream erupting from Keria's mouth could finish, whoosh!

Zion reached right in front of him, unleashing a series of attacks that began an exchange beyond imagination.

Zap zap zap!

How long did this fierce exchange continue?

'This won't do.'

Zion's eyes sank as he continued to thrust his sword attacks at Keria.

The situation wasn't unfavorable.

No, in fact, the battle was gradually tipping in his favor.

The problem was the slow pace.

Of course, if things continued like this, victory was assured, but it would take far too long.

If he wasn't careful, he might not make it to the Plant in the eastern outskirts in time.

Knowing this, Keria was also fighting more defensively, trying to drag out the time.

'I need to end this battle quickly somehow.'

As Zion pondered this, one method suddenly came to mind.

'I was planning to hold off on this until everything was over, but I have no choice.'

With that thought, Zion immediately pulled out a blue orb emitting intense cold from his pocket.

It was the fourth fragment of the Frost Queen's authority he had recently obtained.

"What are you...!"

Though he didn't know the orb's true nature, Keria rushed to stop Zion, sensing an inexplicably chilling and ominous feeling.

But Zion's movement was faster.

"Eat," Zion said in a calm, almost languid voice.

At that moment, chomp!

The frost spirit, which had revealed itself, swallowed the last authority fragment without hesitation.

---

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