I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

TL/Editor: Rungir

Schedule: none

Illustrations: none

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“I never thought it would end with a single blow…”

Zion muttered as he looked down at Kaindal’s body, which had burst open from the torso and fallen to the ground.

Even though he had clearly become stronger compared to his visit to the Angeloshi estate, he hadn’t expected to be able to kill so easily.

The recent strike had blown apart the head, heart, and even the core, eliminating any possibility of regeneration.

‘That guy resurrected before, not just regenerated.’

“…Is he dead?”

Olivia approached from behind and spoke as if casting a resurrection spell.

Could her words have somehow contributed?

At that moment, crunch!

With a grotesque sound, the bodies of other creatures nearby began to decompose, gathering towards Kaindal’s lower-half-only corpse and starting to form a new body.

An old technique used by Kezarus.

This time, Kaindal was the one using it.

“Cough!”

Was it because he had faced death too suddenly and had to use the resurrection technique in haste?

Immediately after regenerating, Kaindal spat out a bowl of blood and rapidly retreated, increasing the distance between him and Zion.

‘Damn, damn!’

Huge fear was evident in his eyes.

He couldn’t even fully perceive it.

All he remembered a moment ago was his attack connecting with that man’s fist, and then his consciousness had vanished.

When he regained consciousness, the resurrection technique, which could only be used once, had already been activated.

‘He’s strong. Incomprehensibly strong, even to me.’

He had thought the man formidable, having come this far alone through the train, but he had never imagined he would be this powerful.

To think he could be struck down with a single blow.

He might as well have been just below the Seventh Heaven.

‘He’s beyond my ability to handle.’

Kaindal was quick and clear-headed in his judgments.

Therefore, he also knew that he had no chance of winning in this situation.

‘Then…’

Snap!

With that thought, Kaindal snapped his fingers.

At that instant, clatter!

A hole burst through the train's roof, and creatures waiting above poured into the carriage.

They were his subordinates, pre-positioned above the train in case the target tried to escape.

Screech!

Originally, Kaindal had planned to attack with these subordinates, but his plan had completely changed after the recent exchange.

‘Just escape.’

Kaindal saw his subordinates rushing towards the target, a platinum-haired woman, then immediately leapt towards the hole in the roof.

Presumably, the target alone wouldn't be able to handle all the creatures, buying him some time.

Seizing the moment, he could have jumped off the train...

But just then, ssshh!

With a sound like a snake slithering, thud!

Kaindal, attempting to jump from the train, found himself frozen in place.

Suddenly, dark blue chains were wrapped around his ankles.

Soon after,

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Zion, holding the other end of the chains, spoke in a voice so low it was chilling as he appeared on the train roof.

“What about that woman…!”

Kaindal's voice was full of panic.

“Your target is stronger than you think.”

Zion smirked and replied, and at that moment, whoosh!

-Why so strong… Argh!

With a burst of immense holy power from the hole, the creatures' screams echoed.

“Ugh!”

Realizing something had gone wrong, Kaindal groaned in despair and cut off his own chained ankle.

Then, like a dart, he fired hundreds of magic energies at Zion and desperately threw himself out of the train.

He hadn’t given up on escaping yet.

But Zion was much faster.

“I haven’t even gotten an answer yet.”

Zion appeared like a shadow next to Kaindal and punched him in the ribs.

Boom!

With a sound like a cannon firing, the creature was flung across and slammed back onto the train roof.

‘…I can’t escape!’

Desperation filled Kaindal’s eyes.

He was really facing death now.

“Aaaahhh!”

Transforming his instinct to survive into a loud shout, he stretched both hands towards Zion.

Crack!

From Kaindal’s hands, a surge of energy drew in all the surrounding energy and swelled madly, transforming into a giant snake shape and shooting towards Zion.

It was a desperate last stand, using up even his life force.

Roar!

Stronger than any last strike previously shown by Kezarus, the red snake targeted only Zion’s neck.

The surrounding mana screamed and burned unable to withstand that force.

Thud!

In comparison, Zion’s punch thrown at the approaching snake seemed pitifully weak.

A punch so ordinary, it didn’t even seem to harness any power, not even the Black Star.

It looked so perilous that if Olivia had seen it, she would have screamed and run to intervene.

However, when Zion’s punch made contact with the snake, crackle crackle!

An unexpected scene unfolded.

Starting from where Zion's punch met, cracks spread instantly across the entire snake, shattering it into hundreds of pieces.

Not stopping there, crack!

Zion’s strike, stretching through space, obliterated Kaindal’s lower half.

“Arghhh!”

At that scream from the creature, Zion forcefully stomped on its chest, suddenly appearing right in front of it.

Ignoring Kaindal’s further screams, Zion slowly began to speak.

“I have a question.”

He could have completely obliterated him with that last strike, but he had spared him specifically because a question had arisen in his mind.

“Why were you targeting Olivia Bright?”

According to the chronicles, Olivia wasn’t supposed to be attacked at this time.

In fact, she had not been attacked by magic until just before the great war broke out.

This change implied that the movements of the creatures involved had also completely shifted.

“…”

Kaindal, glaring at Zion, chose not to respond.

Nonetheless, Zion continued with another question, unfazed.

“The Order of Light based in Lezero. Does this incident have anything to do with them?”

These creatures could have killed Olivia in Hubris but specifically waited until she was en route to Lezero.

This implies a high likelihood that the creatures hiding within the Order of Light had planned this attack.

“Moreover, it seems like this attack wasn’t the end goal in itself.”

If it had been, they would have taken care of Olivia in a much simpler way.

Then,

“Hahaha!”

Kaindal burst into maniacal laughter while being stepped on by Zion.

“Did you really think I would answer your questions? How utterly foolish.”

Blood began to flow from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

“I have only one thing to tell you.”

Kaindal’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Try floundering in destruction, human.”

With those ominous words and a loss of light in his eyes, Kaindal destroyed his own core, ending his life.

“Destruction…”

Zion muttered, watching Kaindal’s body fade away.

Kaindal had not answered during their exchange, but Zion had gained what he wanted to some extent.

The subtle reactions Kaindal showed each time Zion spoke.

Through these reactions, Zion was able to confirm his suspicions.

The entire exchange had been started not to hear Kaindal’s answers but to observe his reactions.

‘Something smells fishy.’

What had begun as a light-hearted journey to learn the contents of an oracle seemed likely to escalate into something much larger.

‘I’ll need to make contact with the Eye of the Moon as soon as I arrive in Lezero.’

Zion thought this as he watched Olivia climbing onto the train roof through the broken hole, his eyes deepening in contemplation.

---

At the top floor office of the Blue Castle.

“Sigh…”

A heavy sigh escaped from Princess Diana, who sat there.

Her demeanor appeared profoundly troubled.

"Utekan is dead…"

It's been over a week since Diana heard the news, but she still hasn't gotten over it.

Of course, it wasn't about mourning her deceased brother. There had never been any affection between them.

"Killed by Zion, no less."

How Zion, who went to handle the Monster Legion, ended up killing Utekan was a complete mystery. What was even more baffling was how he did it.

"How did he kill him?"

The Giant Stronghold.

This place was Utekan’s domain, filled with forces loyal to him.

How did Zion, entering the stronghold with only his personal guard, manage to kill Utekan?

Moreover, within just a week after that, Zion had managed to bring most of the stronghold's major tribes under his control.

An unbelievable fact.

"I heard that right after entering the stronghold, he rallied the giants opposed to the Fourth Prince and even got help from monsters during the war with the Fourth Prince’s giant allies."

Lloyd spoke to Diana.

"Could those monsters be part of the Monster Legion?"

"We haven’t confirmed that, but it’s likely. Of course, Zion’s side claims that the Monster Legion was destroyed at the Steel Fortress and that the monsters that appeared at the stronghold were different."

"That could be disputed…!"

Diana’s response trailed off.

Her eyes began to shake as if realizing something.

If.

Really, if.

'What if all this was orchestrated by Zion?'

If he had chosen the Monster Legion, taken control, and deliberately sent them to the stronghold to lure and kill Utekan?

And if he had planned the subsequent takeover of the Giant Stronghold from the start?

'No, that can't be.'

Diana shook her head, dismissing the thought.

It was too far-fetched, and planning and executing all that was virtually impossible.

Whether right or wrong, Zion had now gained control of the giants of the stronghold and secured a definitive advantage in future competitions.

If things continued this way and the 'World Conference' was held, Zion would clearly win the throne.

'This can't continue.'

With that thought, Diana frowned as if pondering something and spoke again to Lloyd.

"We need to hurry our visit to the Fairy Forest."

---

In La Mordre, the largest train station in the City of Light, Lezero, named after one of the historical saints.

Knights and priests dispatched from the Order of Light were bustling about.

Their faces looked urgent.

"They were supposed to receive a lady from the Harrison family, what happened?"

"No news yet."

One of the knights, looking grim, shook his head in response to the words of Findri, a third-class knight who was directing them.

"Damn, where did they go…"

Findri's voice came out, filled with confusion.

The trouble started yesterday evening when one of the Saintess Contest participants from the Cross family went missing.

She hadn't shown up even after the scheduled time, prompting the Order of Light to start an immediate search, but no trace of her was found despite thoroughly checking her route.

Soon, it was revealed that other participants of the Saintess Contest had also begun to disappear one by one.

The trains they were reported to have boarded were empty, and those known to have traveled by foot, carriage, or horse also had their traces mysteriously cut off.

The simultaneous disappearance of the Saintess Contest participants.

This unprecedented situation prompted the Order of Light to declare an emergency, which was why Findri and other knights were here.

"What about the participants who just arrived, other than the Harrison family?"

"None. The only participants currently in the city are either residents here or those who arrived before last evening."

Findri's frown deepened at the knight's response.

Even if the contest could not proceed, the disappearance of the participants was a serious matter.

Among the participants were daughters of high nobility, and they could potentially bear the full responsibility if something had gone wrong with those missing.

"We must find the missing people at all costs. Keep some personnel on standby here, and have the rest retrace their routes in reverse..."

Findri was about to issue this instruction with determination when suddenly,

"Look there! Over there!"

A priest next to him pointed somewhere urgently, his face filled with surprise.

People turned to follow where his finger pointed.

"…!"

Soon, something slowly approaching from the end of the tracks came into view of those looking.

Clunk! Clunk!

A train.

It was a train.

The Sun Train, traveling from the capital Hubris to here.

But the train was in a dire state.

One side was missing, the roof was completely torn off, and many wheels were gone.

It was a wonder it was still moving.

In fact, the train seemed to be slowing down as if it was reaching the end of its life.

And,

"There, there it is…!"

As the train drew closer, the eyes of the people widened further.

"Participants… It's the participants. The participants of the Saintess Contest have arrived!"

Two figures were sitting side by side on the roof of the wrecked train's engine.

It was Zion and Olivia, who was looking exhausted next to him.

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