I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

Chapter 77: Ice Spirit (1)

TL/Editor: Rungir

Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun

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"Did that really work?"

Zion stood stunned as he watched the Ice Dragon, now halved and vanishing into thin air.

Truth be told, he hadn't expected such an attack when he had unlocked the final door. That's why he had quickly drawn the Eclaxia without even summoning a sword spirit.

"Is it because it's now three stars?"

He had a gut feeling that it wouldn't have worked when the Black Star was at two stars. Since he hadn't used a half-sword during his time as Emperor, he couldn't have known until now.

Nevertheless, it was a stroke of luck.

As Zion wrapped up his thoughts, he saw the green-haired man and the rest, frozen in place, staring at him.

Their mouths hung open slightly, as though they couldn't understand what they had just witnessed.

"H-how could this be…"

The man's trembling voice, finally breaking the silence, echoed around them.

The power of a legendary relic. Furthermore, it was one of the abilities of the 'Ice Queen'. It had a strength equivalent to mid-level 7th level magic.

It wasn't a force that could be easily vanquished with a single slash.

And the spectacle of it vanishing was even stranger.

It didn't look like it had been sliced by swordsmanship, but more like it had vanished the moment it touched the short sword's line.

"Can this really happen?"

Ignoring Clint's bewilderment, Zion strode toward him.

"B-block him!"

The other Ouroboros members around him dashed towards Zion.

From the get-go, it was futile trying to stop Zion, who had wiped out an entire branch of the group single-handedly.

Zion, holding only a half-sword, was ruthlessly taking down the members.

After all, everyone associated with Ouroboros were crazies who longed for the world to end.

Zion was not so generous as to show these monsters mercy.

"I wouldn't have spared them regardless."

To Zion, it didn't matter if his opponent was evil or good when it came to deciding their fate.

What mattered was if they could be of use to him.

"Aaaaaah!"

Then, Clint, who had gathered another blast of cold air with the same intensity as before, lunged at Zion with his dagger.

Or at least, he tried to.

But before he could.

Zion's sword appeared in front of him like a ghost, severing the right hand holding the dagger.

"Ah..."

Clint blankly stared at his severed wrist, now flung into the air.

The last thing he saw before his death was...

"You can't pull the same trick twice."

Accompanied by Zion's soft voice...

A jet-black sword light filled his view.

'That is...'

Having taken out the last branch head, Clint, Zion noticed a snow-white dagger resting on the ground as he scanned his surroundings.

His eyes lit up with curiosity.

He strolled over and picked up the dagger.

Just by holding it, an icy chill seeped out, threatening to freeze his whole body.

It was obvious.

It was one of the 'Breath of the Ice Queen' pieces he had scored at the Flinton auction.

"I figured it might be here..."

The 'Frozen Night' disaster was two months away.

Assuming that the event would only take place when all four Ice Queen powers were collected...

It was expected for Ouroboros to possess one or two pieces by this time.

He just hadn't thought it would be in this branch.

"Today's my lucky day."

Murmuring this, Zion started planning his next steps.

In fact, there was another reason he had secured the 'Breath of the Ice Queen', aside from preventing the 'Frozen Night' and undermining Ouroboros.

He needed it for an event that would happen in the near future.

Instead of saying it would 'happen', it would be more precise to say it would 'open'. The Ice Queen's powers were needed for Zion to secure what he desired from 'that event'.

They were like a key.

'Maybe the future will be a bit easier now.'

As he pondered this, Zion pocketed the dagger when...

Footsteps echoed towards him.

'Are they coming now?'

Though the number seemed to be in the dozens, Zion's face remained calm.

Because the ones approaching were not his foes.

"Your Highness, Zion!"

A group charged in, completely shattering the already damaged door.

Leading the group was Aileen, the branch head of the information guild, Moon's Eye.

"You appear... unscathed."

Upon seeing Zion standing untouched in the middle of the room, relief washed over her, quickly followed by surprise.

The room was filled with bodies.

The eyes of these bodies were brimming with fear, as though they hadn't had a chance to fight back.

At the same time, memories of other rooms she had rushed past without looking too closely flashed into her mind.

These rooms were no different from this one.

'He couldn't have done all this alone...'

Honestly, when Zion announced he would track the fleeing attacker to the enemy's base, she thought it was absurd.

Even though he had easily handled the ones who attacked the magical carriage, infiltrating the main base alone was an entirely different story.

That's why she had hurriedly rallied her forces and followed his trail.

However, she had severely underestimated him.

'I knew he was formidable, but...'

She hadn't predicted it would be to this degree.

No, it was more accurate to say that she hadn't truly grasped his capabilities until now.

'Could he be one of Agnes' monstrous entities?'

Oblivious to Aileen's silent contemplation, Zion nonchalantly turned towards the exit.

"How should we handle the aftermath?"

"Just leave it be. Another guy will take care of it."

At Aileen's words, Zion, dropping his gaze, let out a quiet chuckle.

In his mind, the image of Sharin May, who would soon visit this place and fly into a rage, materialized.

In a room on the uppermost floor of the secret base where Zion had been just a while ago...

"...."

Sharin May was gazing blankly at the chaos strewn across the room.

Her eyes were devoid of emotion.

However, the shadow that had faithfully followed Sharin for over a decade knew how furious she was right now.

"What happened?"

A soft question that emerged from Sharin's mouth.

"There was an intruder."

The shadow promptly answered.

"How many?"

"....A single individual."

"What?"

Sharin looked back at the shadow, as if asking for clarification.

The shadow averted its gaze, not daring to meet her eyes, and began to speak.

"I managed to extract fragments of memories from one of the deceased organization members. The intruder was a lone man with ash-colored hair and gray eyes."

"....!"

At the shadow's words, an image of a specific individual flashed through Sharin's mind.

'Don't you think he's more than a match for you?'

The masked man who had snatched away the 'Breath of the Ice Queen', which she intended to claim, and had the audacity to speak such words to her.

"What became of the cleanup team dispatched to retrieve the ring?"

Suddenly recalling something, Sharin questioned the shadow again.

"... We've lost all contact."

There was no doubt.

The moment she heard the shadow's response, she knew.

The gray-haired man, who had taken the Breath, had obliterated this secret base.

He must have learned of this place's location through the cleanup team.

Mockery.

That was the single word that dominated Sharin's thoughts now.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, from the auction house to now, she had been toyed with by the gray-haired man.

"How dare... he toy with me? This damned cur!!!"

With a soft roar that slipped from Sharin's twisted lips,

Owing to the immense energy erupting from her, the entire secret base began to shudder.

The building started to crumble bit by bit, unable to endure her power.

However, Sharin quickly reigned in her rage.

Understanding the adversary who had sabotaged their plan was more crucial than letting her anger explode.

'There aren't many with ash-colored hair symbolizing the Hwangga, such power and intellectual prowess, and substantial wealth, including the Ban-gye.'

No, it wasn't just 'not many', it was exceptionally rare.

Again, her face hardened, she directed her words to the shadow.

"How long do you think it will take?"

"Excuse me?"

"To identify the intruder."

"We should have him identified within a week."

"You have 4 days. Accomplish it within that period."

"…Understood."

As she felt the shadow's presence fade away with these words, Sharin's fist tightened.

"When we cross paths again...."

Murmuring quietly, she stared at the shattered glass box.

In her eyes, the restrained fury was simmering anew.

[BREAK]

"Did you really... acquire the auction house?"

That was the first question Thierry posed to Zion upon his return to the Chimseong Palace.

As Zion had anticipated, the hand accepting the black card back was shaking. It seemed that even he hadn't expected Zion to spend so much in a single night.

"Not quite, I just procured a few valuable items."

"Ha ha, Your Majesty thinks on a grand scale. It's no surprise, as you are the successor of the Eternal Emperor."

Zion smirked, observing Thierry who was earnestly trying to accommodate the situation with a laugh.

"If it can be resolved with money, that's the simplest solution."

And considering what he obtained, it was quite a good deal.

After all, he acquired two legendary artifacts, and one of them even had a unique name.

Naturally, one of them required its curse to be lifted before it could be used.

Upon hearing the brief rundown of events, Thierry also nodded, his face displaying comprehension.

"Certainly, I should view this as a gain. I'll try to find a skilled curse-lifter as soon as possible. However..."

Thierry's eyes were drawn to the blue ring and the pristine white dagger laid out on the table.

"Are these fragments of the Frost Queen's dominion?"

"Yes."

"It's incredible. Four legendary artifacts merge to form a mythic one..."

This was a fact unbeknownst even to Thierry, the head of the intelligence organization, and he marveled at it. Then he suddenly wore a confused expression.

"But why did you bring these out all of a sudden?"

Considering Zion's temperament, he wouldn't have unveiled them just to display to Thierry and the silent Fred standing nearby.

"You'll find out."

Zion, responding with a faint smile, gently stimulated the 'Breath of the Frost Queen' and the 'Frost Fang' placed before him using the Black Star.

Wooong!

Reacting to this, the energies of the two artifacts began to resonate together, producing a powerful echo.

The library was filled with blue light radiating from the resonance, and the temperature dropped swiftly.

"What, what is happening...!"

Fred and Thierry, who had been observing, exclaimed in shock at the escalating phenomenon.

However, unlike them, Zion, who was observing the resonance, was calm.

Because this was a natural occurrence.

Among mythic weapons or uniquely-named legendary artifacts, there were those that possessed a consciousness that could think and make judgments for themselves.

The mythic artifact, assembled by collecting the fragments of the Frost Queen's dominion, also happened to be an artifact possessing a consciousness.

Zion had suggested that such a consciousness would make itself known when two fragments of power were assembled.

"Ah, a unique spirit!"

Observing an entity gradually materializing within the blue light, Thierry gasped in awe.

A unique spirit.

Unlike typical spirits, it was a known entity that existed only once in the world and commanded immense power and wisdom, far surpassing humans.

At Thierry's astonished outcry, the spirit finally emerged from the light.

A bird with blue luminescent feathers the size of a full-grown man's fist.

Despite its spherical form, it somehow exuded an aura of chilliness and arrogance, as if signaling it was a spirit related to the cold.

"......."

The eyes of Zion, Thierry, and Fred were all riveted on the spirit, bringing a hush to the library.

What would be the first utterances of the unique spirit, known to whisper countless ingenious pieces of wisdom to its contractor with its transcendent knowledge?

Finally, in that silence,

The spirit's beak slowly parted.

Cheep!

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