“It’s tiring to mingle with old folks.”
The prince chuckled as he looked down at the remains of Lantia and Shuttenberg.
Twitch. The two corpses, missing both head and heart, occasionally spasmed, spurting blood intermittently.
<Ancient beings don’t die easily.>
Halkion squinted his eyes.
Phryos turned to face us.
“I thought I’d die of annoyance. Liberation, revenge—there’s a limit to how much they can chatter into my ears.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the prince attacked his own allies.
‘What is this guy’s… goal?’
Other monsters had clear objectives.
They borrowed the prince’s power to escape the shackles of sacrifice and achieve revenge or liberation.
But this one moved in a completely opposite direction. While his subordinates were slaughtered, he didn’t use his power properly. Even when the imperial capital fell, he remained in the palace in silence. Now, he had even dealt with the two ancient beings that lent him strength.
Was it the destruction of Townia he desired?
Or revenge against Tel for making him like this?
If neither, then…
“It’s finally quiet,” Phryos said, extending his right hand backward.
The space twisted, forming a vortex of dimensions.
“I’m tired,” he murmured.
In his golden eyes was an overwhelming sense of ennui.
“Of killing, and of being killed.”
He reached into the vortex, and with a blinding flash of light, he drew forth a sword devoid of any distinctive traits.
“Ah, before that…”
The prince turned around, looking back.
There lay the regenerating remains of the two corpses. Even without head and heart, they hadn’t died.
“I’d better finish the cleanup.”
Before the ancient beings could fully regenerate, the prince moved first.
In a flash, he grabbed them by the collars and swung his arm.
Boom!
The two bodies were launched like cannonballs.
Their target: the black hole in the sky.
The two ancient beings became mere dots, sucked into the hole.
「You wretched…」
Halkion bared his fangs.
[⚠ Warning!]
[‘Despair’ begins to descend!]
Boom!
The sky trembled violently.
‘…’
The second descent began immediately.
Having repelled the first incursion, there should have been some respite.
Only one reason came to mind.
‘He offered them as sacrifices.’
Pria stepped forward.
“Your Highness…! What have you done?”
“As you can see, I’ve summoned the second Fragment.”
“….”
“No matter how powerful I am, I’m no god. A thousand-to-one odds are unfair, don’t you think? I’ve merely evened the scales, Pria.”
“For something so trivial…”
“It’s not trivial.”
Pria’s eyes darkened.
“Do you want to die?”
“…”
“If you want to stop me, take my head.”
Pria turned to look at me.
Though she said nothing, I understood her meaning.
I slowly started moving.
Crash!
The transparent barrier that had been blocking the prince and me shattered into pieces.
Simultaneously—
Aaaaargh.
From beyond the hole, screams echoed once more.
I pressed my hand to my ear.
“Are you listening?”
<I hear you.>
“We’ll handle the prince. Hold them off. The Master will help.”
From afar, Roderick nodded.
Soon, fragments began to fall again from the hole.
[Shards of Despair Lv. 108] X 931
One of the Shard series.
They resembled sharp crystals.
As they fell to the ground, they gradually transformed into monstrous shapes.
[Random Traits Activated!]
[‘Despair’ begins hyper-evolution!]
[Traits – Hardening, Corruption]
The random traits were Hardening and Corruption.
Hardening, which physically reinforced their skin, could be countered by imbuing weapons with magical properties. But Corruption was the real problem—it resurrected fallen heroes as monsters, like zombies.
[Corrupted Goblin Lv. 53] X 1028
I murmured once more.
“If any fallen heroes exist among them, burn their corpses.”
<…>
“At all costs.”
<…Fine.>
Click.
The communication cut off.
I took a deep breath and gripped the hilt of Bifrost.
[Danger!]
[Black Prince]
[Phryos Al Ragnar Lv. ???]
A name tag floated above him.
Even the system now recognized him as an enemy.
I stepped forward slowly.
“Oppa, what should we…?”
“You take Pria and find a safe place.”
“….”
“Step in when the time is right.”
“Got it.”
“Just wait a little.”
The two of them carried Pria and moved away.
Once I confirmed they were out of sight, I turned my head to face forward.
Standing right in front of me was a young man wrapped in crimson bandages.
“Han Israt.”
“What?”
“This is the end.”
“I suppose it is.”
Halkion’s form dissolved into mist.
And then—
Zap!
Dark crimson lightning erupted from my entire body.
[‘Han (★★★★★★)’ enters Demonization state!]
Ssssh.
The fragile human flesh was replaced by dragon scales.
Hot blood surged through my veins like a tidal wave.
‘Now, at last…’
I could feel it.
The overwhelming power coursing within me.
I pointed Bifrost at him.
[Skill: ‘Black Sword of Defiance’ activated!]
The blade was shrouded in an obsidian mist.
An immense gravitational energy capable of distorting even space-time. If I forgot to adjust its weight, the ground beneath me would collapse in an instant.
“Do you know what I desire?”
The prince smirked slyly.
“Not interested.”
I kicked off the ground and swung my sword.
I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!