I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

265 - Assault on the Demon Temples (2)

TL/Editor: raei

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: none

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"Well, looks like we can breathe a bit easier now."

A low voice emerged from the suffocating depths of the Abyss. It belonged to Wrath, one of only two remaining Four Great Demons.

"Indeed. His timing in cutting off the Beast Sea was perfect. The empire's forces won't be able to move for a while either," Madness Acrimosia replied, thinking of the Proxy Ahmad Leviathan.

He had suddenly appeared before their King and switched sides to the demon realm, yet he didn't exactly follow their orders. They had no way to control him since he wielded power equal to their own.

'It's impossible to know what he's thinking.'

For now, they were simply letting him be since he was proving useful.

"We need to use this to push back the other two fronts before imperial forces penetrate deeper into the demon realm," Wrath said.

"I know. But shouldn't we completely finish off the Beast Sea first? Now's the perfect time - they're trapped against the ocean with nowhere to run."

"Hmm... you may be right. In that case, we should concentrate our forces on the eastern outskirts..."

Just as Wrath was nodding in agreement with Madness's words, a subordinate burst in.

"Message from Future Sight! They said it must be delivered immediately!"

"What's the message?" Madness asked with questioning eyes. Future Sight hadn't made any prophecies or even contacted them for months.

"The Shadow of Eternity shrouds the source of demons - that's what Future Sight said."

"What? What does that..."

Before Acrimosia could finish questioning the subordinate, another demon rushed in with even more urgency.

"Great Demons! Something's happened!"

"What is it now?"

"The Demon God Temples - something's happening at the temples!"

Both Great Demons' faces hardened simultaneously at those words.

---

In the past, people believed the world was flat with an endless abyss at its edges. Even now, with advanced magic and technology, many still held this view - including Mileion Jeffrey, commander of the Agnes Knights. ???ô??s?

But now...

"My word..."

He realized how wrong that belief had been. Looking down at the world from beyond the atmosphere, its shape was undeniably spherical.

An infinite sea of darkness stretched around them.

The reason Mileion and the Agnes Knights were here with Evelyn was simple - it was the starting point for the raid on the Demon God Temples that had been decided at the recent supreme council meeting.

'To think this is actually possible...'

He marveled at the operation his emperor had devised. Strike teams would ascend beyond the demon realm's detection range, position themselves above the three temples, then descend simultaneously with the main battle at the inland borders.

It should have been impossible. Even ignoring the impact from the fall, just getting strike teams into the upper atmosphere seemed unfeasible.

Yet Emperor Zion had accomplished it with remarkable simplicity - by utilizing the floating city Adegrifa and Light Dragon Obergia.

The small artificial island they stood on contained the pinnacle of floating magic engineering developed by the dragon and floating city, perfectly protecting them from gravity and the harsh environment of space.

'Not only devising such a method, but immediately implementing it with such drive. Truly remarkable.'

As Mileion contemplated this while looking at his emperor, Zion himself was gazing not at the blue sphere below but at the vast expanse of stars above.

'This world we live in is just one of those countless stars.'

If that was true, an infinite number of worlds stretched before him. While most would be overwhelmed by this realization, Zion felt only intense desire - the desire to hold all these worlds in his grasp.

'Perhaps after this war ends and the contract with the gods is fulfilled...'

That desire might be satisfied.

Just then-

"It's about time," Evelyn murmured, watching the inland borders of the demon realm with transcendent vision. She could see imperial forces beginning their advance against the demon hordes.

"Then let's begin here as well."

As Zion smiled and looked downward, the artificial island crumbled to dust and the strike team plummeted toward the surface below.

The four Demon God Temples in the demon realm housed demons of special power and status. Called High Priests, they spent their entire lives within the temple grounds, dedicating themselves completely to maintaining the temples.

While usually quiet, one of these temples was now in chaos.

"What... what is that?"

Every High Priest and demon in the temple stared skyward at what appeared to be a meteor plummeting straight toward them.

"Attack... we're under attack!"

As several High Priests finally realized what was happening, they raised an enormous hemispheric barrier around the entire temple.

Though strong enough to block even 9th-level magic, the barrier shattered like glass the instant the meteor struck.

The impact created a blinding explosion against the temple grounds. When the light faded, there stood Evelyn with her radiant sword raised high, the Agnes Knights arrayed behind her emanating fearsome pressure.

"All forces," she commanded. "Clear a path to the central temple."

Her forces shot forward in perfect formation.

"Stop them! Stop all of them!"

High Priests rushed out to intercept them. A fierce battle erupted - countless sword flashes that cut through air and space itself clashed against grotesque manifestations of demonic energy.

Whether due to Evelyn's status as "Heaven beyond Heaven" among the Seven Heavens or the Agnes Knights' reputation as the empire's strongest, even the High Priests who could wield power rivaling top-tier demons within temple grounds found themselves being pushed back.

Yet their eyes showed no fear. Some even smiled confidently.

"Is this all? Then you'll never reach the central temple."

There was good reason for their confidence.

"The moment you attacked, word reached the Abyss. The Great Demons must be moving already."

They just needed to hold out until a Great Demon arrived to completely reverse the situation.

"In other words, you have no chance of victory."

But Evelyn's eyes remained perfectly calm at these words. None of the knights pushing back the High Priests showed any concern either, as if they had expected this.

"Is that so?" Evelyn replied. "But I never said this was all we had."

"What?"

As confusion filled the High Priests' eyes, another earth-shattering sound split the sky.

They looked up to see another meteor falling toward the temple - smaller than the first, but radiating an even more ominous and alien presence.

"It can't be..."

The High Priests' eyes trembled violently as they watched.

"Well, playing decoy isn't so bad sometimes," Evelyn remarked with a slight smile.

The meteor crashed into the now-empty central temple as the High Priests had rushed out to stop Evelyn's forces.

"No, not there... Stop them! Everyone fall back!"

The leader of the High Priests shouted, but Evelyn and Mileion had no intention of letting them retreat.

"Turning your backs on us? How insulting."

Hundreds of silver sword flashes burst from Mileion, cutting down over a dozen High Priests simultaneously. Space itself cracked in the wake of his strikes.

"Raaaaargh! You bastards!"

Forced to turn back, the High Priests let out bestial roars as the second phase of battle between the strike team and demons began.

Among the temple ruins created by the meteor impact, Zion slowly stood and surveyed his surroundings.

'Landed right in the center? Lucky.'

His eyes fell on an enormous crimson sphere pulsing like a heart some distance ahead.

'The Demon Core.'

This was the true heart of not just this temple but the entire demon realm - the source that spread and maintained demonic energy throughout their territory.

Destroying it would convert a significant portion of demon realm territory into land where normal life could exist.

Just then-

"How dare you enter this place!"

Two figures emerged from a tear in space - demons resembling elderly humans with two large horns on their foreheads. These were the High Priests who oversaw the entire temple.

"You dare defile this sacred place of the Demon God! Death is the only price for such sin!"

As their shout ended, the Core's pulse quickened and dozens of crimson lines connected it to the High Priests.

Space within the temple distorted as the world's laws twisted and reformed. The air screamed as the High Priests' demonic energy surged to unfathomable levels.

"The Demon God's blessing descends!"

Their power instantly rose to rival even the previous Four Great Demons, but Zion's attention was elsewhere.

The resonance occurring between them and the Core - or more precisely, the phenomenon it was causing.

Time itself was becoming irregular as the world's laws reformed.

Zion had experienced something similar before, when Chronos's Five Questions activated.

'Could the Core's authority be related to time?'

As this thought occurred to him, a deep smile curved his lips.

'I might be able to reach 8 stars much faster than expected.'

At that moment, darkness began rapidly descending over the temple.

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