I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

TL/Editor: raei

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: none

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The scene was like a strike from a mythical hero.

A tiny sun floating in the air, a dark blade splitting precisely through its center.

A black line inscribed in the world following the blade's path.

Air, space, mana.

Everything in that line's path split apart.

FLASH!

Vision turned pure white.

How long did this world of pure white continue?

As the light gradually faded and vision finally returned, people could see:

"...!"

The massive snake, completely split from head to tail following the line and disappearing while scattering red ashes, the spear that had existed at its center.

And Ilias watching this scene with a blank expression from behind.

"...Everything in the world repeats endless death and rebirth through the cycle of reincarnation."

A voice filled with emptiness slowly flowed from Ilias's lips.

"Therefore, we simply wanted to bring death to this world to gift everyone with a new and equal beginning."

His body began slowly splitting apart.

"I know."

Zion smiled at Ilias as he spoke.

"I was just cleaning up too."

Cleaning up rats who dared try breaking his things without permission, and everything that would interfere with properly starting the war against the demon realm.

"..."

Ouroboros's leader couldn't answer Zion's words.

His breath had already stopped before then.

'Even with power amplified by Eclipse and Partial Eclipse, it's still too much, huh.'

While watching the cooling corpse, Zion returned Eclaxia to darkness.

The "Sun Severance" that had split Ilias's red snake was one of the techniques his past self had favored, being the next stage after Moon Severance.

Though he tried it since Black Star Force had reached six stars, it seemed he still couldn't use it perfectly.

If properly executed, everything targeted would have been annihilated the moment the sun split.

'Still, this level should be...'

Then-

"Master!!!"

A high voice called out to Zion from afar.

Turning toward the voice, Zion saw Liushina approaching while waving.

'Seems that side is finished too.'

Zion smiled slightly seeing the witch's face, looking refreshed as if she had finally rampaged to her satisfaction.

"Wh-what..."

Halegrion's eyes were still widened and trembling as he watched Zion from a slight distance.

"What's wrong?"

Diana quietly asked, noticing his state.

Though Zion's strike had been amazing enough to make even her jaw drop, it wasn't to this extent.

She had seen plenty of incredible things before.

Yet Halegrion seemed even more shocked than when demons suddenly appeared during the competition.

"...Your Highness Diana, do you remember what I told you earlier?"

"Which words?"

"About how the stories passed down from my predecessors included techniques the Eternal Emperor commonly used."

"Yes, I remember."

"That technique Prince Zion just used... it was one of the Eternal Emperor's techniques I'd heard about."

"!!!!!"

Diana's eyes widened just like Halegrion's at these words.

"Is that true?"

"Yes, the description matches perfectly."

The tiny sun appearing before him, darkness consuming the surroundings, space growing quiet and flow gradually slowing until stopping completely, then a single line drawn -

Every aspect except power matched so perfectly that finding differences would be difficult.

"It seems... as Your Highness suspected, Prince Zion inherited the Eternal Emperor's power."

"Ha..."

A sound like a sigh escaped Diana's lips at Halegrion's confident words.

Her mind felt somewhat clearer, as if emerging from wandering in fog.

But with this, another question arose:

'How?'

How could Zion use the Eternal Emperor's power, whose succession had been broken?

Moreover, her youngest brother who couldn't even handle normal mana, let alone Heaven Opposition Power.

No matter how much she thought, she couldn't even guess at the connection, let alone the method.

'Then I'll have to ask directly.'

With this thought, Diana walked toward Zion.

"That darkness you just used."

Her lips opened as soon as she reached Zion.

"Could it be the Eternal Emperor's power?"

A direct question.

"What do you think?"

Zion asked Diana in return.

An ambiguous answer, neither confirming nor denying.

But since the answer was already evident, Diana moved straight to her next question.

"How can you possibly use that power?"

Noticing this question came after much consideration, Zion smiled and answered.

"Try thinking about it yourself. Consider all possibilities. You might figure it out."

With these final words, Zion began walking past her.

"...All possibilities?"

The Fifth Princess quietly muttered while watching Zion's retreating back as he left with Liushina.

---

"Soon, a massive war unlike any this continent has seen will begin."

Evelyn slowly spoke while looking at the gray sky, which seemed darker than usual.

A huge crowd watched her.

This crowd included not just her direct unit, the Gray Lion Corps, but numerous legions and knight orders guarding the border.

"This expedition will lay the foundation for our empire to gain an advantageous position in that great war. Moreover, it will serve as retribution against the demon realm that has been eating away at our empire."

During her last regular patrol, Evelyn had detected large-scale movement of numerous high-ranking demons in the border's outer regions where none should exist, and sensing this movement was unusual, she had resolved to subjugate them this time.

This speech signaled the start of that subjugation.

"Those gathered here today..."

As her speech continued, the martial spirit in everyone's eyes grew stronger. Though they would have to enter deep into demon territory and face enemies incomparably stronger than before, no fear existed in their eyes.

Lion Princess Evelyn Agnes.

The undisputed strongest knight in the world was with them.

Finally-

"Let the subjugation begin."

As Evelyn's speech ended-

RUMBLE!

Like precise gears turning, all forces there began moving in perfect formation without the slightest misalignment.

-Second Princess departing.

And a demon watching from afar transmitted this fact somewhere.

---

After Ouroboros's headquarters fell and its leader Ilias died, the remaining branches and members naturally collapsed as well.

An organization that lost its core couldn't maintain itself.

Therefore, the cleanup proceeded smoothly.

All Zion had to do was eliminate the remaining demons in the capital along with these remnants.

Now in the Sinking Star Palace's study-

'The matters in Hubris seem mostly wrapped up.'

Setting down his teacup, Zion thought this while reading the progress report Thierry had presented.

In preparing for the great war, Zion considered two things most important.

First, completely eliminating the demons hidden in the imperial palace and capital.

Second, perfect subjugation of the Three External Worlds.

With the first task finished, he could consider one concern reduced.

Though chaos had emerged from the many vacant positions this created, it was inevitable chaos that could be suppressed sufficiently before the war.

Then-

"Ah, right Master! I have a present!"

Liushina, still showing off her friendship with the frost spirit despite their long separation, suddenly clapped and stood up.

The witch reached into a subspace like a beast's mouth and began pulling something out.

"The place I visited was near the Fairy Forest. So I was really lucky to get this."

With these words, Liushina held out small container of blue-green coffee beans to Zion.

"Ta-da! It's called mint coffee, and it's super rare - only grown in tiny amounts in the Fairy Forest. I heard it's more expensive than its weight in gold. I tried a bit and it really makes your mouth feel fresh..."

Before the witch could finish-

"I won't drink it."

Rejection flowed from Zion's lips faster than ever before.

"Why, when it's so expen... Huh?"

"I said I won't drink it."

Liushina's face turned bewildered at this lightning-fast rejection, but Zion rejected it again while pushing away the mint coffee container thrust before him with his finger.

His eyebrows slightly furrowed as if recalling that intense taste.

At times like this, Zion resented his perfect memory.

"B-but it's delicious..."

Though Liushina's expression turned gloomy, no meant no.

Deliberately ignoring the witch and the pitiful mint coffee container in her hands, Zion turned to Thierry.

"How are the separate instructions I gave before?"

"As you ordered, we've delivered to the hero party, the Five Great Demon Generals, and all other locations."

Thierry answered while bowing his head, then continued with a questioning face.

"Your Highness, given such instructions... may I assume you're heading to the border next?"

"Yes."

"May I ask why you intend to go there?"

Though he wouldn't normally ask such questions, Thierry wanted to ask his lord this time.

Zion's instructions had been more thorough and meticulous than ever before.

Moreover, their scale was tremendous.

Following this course would lead to battles far greater than even the war in the Giant Colony.

This was already comparable to a great war.

"There's someone I need to save. Plus someone I need to hunt."

Zion answered Thierry's question in a low voice.

"Just who..."

Though he wanted to ask who needed such preparations to save and what enemy needed hunting, Thierry stopped his question.

He would naturally learn with time anyway.

Instead, a completely different question flowed from his lips.

"I understand. When do you plan to depart?"

"This evening."

Zion answered as his eyes grew cold.

'It's about time.'

History flows according to predetermined fate.

This world's fate was already decided as destruction, so history strongly desired and continually rushed toward that destruction.

This incident would be both the most important catalyst accelerating history toward destruction in earnest and a massive crisis.

Zion planned to use this in reverse.

'I'll twist fate's great current here.'

The deeper the darkness, the brighter stars shine when they appear.

Stars slowly began rising in the eyes of the emperor who had once devoured the world.