I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

TL/Editor: raei

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: none

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Episode 173, Chapter 45: The Tower of Causality (13)

The Frost Queen.

In a past so distant it defied comprehension, she was an absolute ruler of the entire northern continent, a transcendent being closer to a spirit than a human, more immortal than mortal.

When the Frost Queen broke free from the 'shackles' and fate to ascend above demigods, she left behind a shell.

A shell filled with all the negativity within her, including evil.

'This thing, huh.'

The final trial's boss, the 'Remnant of the Frost Queen Tainted by Evil', now standing before Zion's eyes.

Though called a remnant, it contained most of the authority the Frost Queen wielded just before ascending to demigod status, so its strength was naturally beyond imagination.

No matter how much gods and ancient dragons had created it, this was a being that should never have appeared as a dungeon boss.

'Still, it's good they're alive.'

Zion thought this as he glanced at the hero and her companions who had held out against the remnant until now.

Screech!

The Frost Remnant, having observed the suddenly vanished cold wave and the flames engulfing the entire cavern, let out an eerie howl.

Along with this, a cold wave condensed in front of the remnant's chest, far faster than before, transforming into a needle shape and shooting towards Zion.

Though much smaller than the previous omnidirectional wave, its power remained the same.

No, it was even stronger due to being condensed.

This was the Frost Queen's strike, sensing a great threat from the newly appeared Zion.

"Watch out...!"

Just as the silver-haired woman was about to shout a warning to Zion, who stood motionless despite the needle approaching at a speed far surpassing sound, ＲᴀＮОΒʧ

Whoosh!

The flames burning around Zion were sucked into his lightly extended hand, condensing, then colliding with the cold needle.

Boom!

An enormous shockwave spread from the collision, filling the entire cavern with an incredible amount of steam.

As the onlookers' eyes wavered uneasily at this sight, whoosh!

Bright red flames exploded from the collision point, burning through the surrounding steam and drawing a straight line to where the Frost Queen's remnant stood.

Zion extended his fist, which had gathered all these flames, towards the remnant.

In response, the remnant created dozens of layers of ice walls in front of itself, just as it had done to block the silver-haired woman's strike earlier.

The Wall of Lament that no one had been able to penetrate until now.

But, crack!

It was no match for Zion.

Zion's fist, shattering all the ice walls as if tearing through paper, struck the remnant's body.

At the same time, the remnant's form vanished from that spot.

As the remnant's figure reappeared, embedded in the cavern wall, boom!

A belated thunderous noise erupted, and a red line was drawn from where Zion stood to where the remnant was.

Crack!

The remnant's body began to crack and crumble from the terrifying impact that spread throughout the entire cavern.

Before the remnant could even recover, whoosh!

Zion glided along the red line, appearing right in front of it, his fist already drawn back to its maximum.

Flames from the surroundings were sucked into Zion's fist as he threw it.

Crack!

Once again, the remnant hurriedly deployed defensive barriers, but Zion's fist shattered through these authority barriers, instantly pulverizing the remnant's left shoulder.

Screech!

Though screaming in pain from its shattered shoulder, the Frost Queen's remnant counterattacked by creating hundreds of ice spears around it.

Just as these spears, each powerful enough to erase a small castle, were about to pierce Zion's entire body,

Whoosh!

The soft flames of Muspelheim enveloping Zion's body turned pitch black, then spread through space, beginning to annihilate all the approaching spears.

This was Muspelheim's unique authority, Flame Heaven, imbued with Zion's Black Star Force that negated everything.

Originally, this shouldn't have been possible, but Zion, having not only gained the qualifications to use Muspelheim but also dominated the divine artifact itself, made it possible.

Screech?

Perhaps some emotions remained even in the remnant?

It let out a questioning sound at this scene that defied common sense.

Zion dove into the remnant's embrace, lowering his body, then used the momentum of rising to extend his fist upward.

Whoosh!

The remnant's two arms blocking the front were sent flying to either side from this strike, exposing its chest.

Flame King Drill.

Simultaneously, Zion's other fist shot towards the exposed heart.

Boom!

It was as if dozens of flame spells had struck a single point.

With an explosion even greater than before, the remnant's form was sent flying once again, crashing mercilessly into the cavern wall.

But Zion inwardly clicked his tongue as he watched the remnant.

'I tried to shatter its heart this time, but...'

As expected of the shell of a transcendent being who had reached demigod status, the remnant had frozen a fraction of time to avoid the fatal blow.

'I need to end this quickly.'

Zion thought, intensifying Muspelheim's flames even more.

In truth, it was unreasonable for the current Zion, whose power was comparable to the upper ranks of the 'Seven Heavens', to face this 'Remnant of the Frost Queen Tainted by Evil' alone.

Yet he was able to gain the upper hand and land effective blows for one simple reason.

It was because of Muspelheim's existence.

This divine artifact of Loki, also called the Heat Heaven Armor, had absolute superiority over all types of cold energy.

A kind of unique authority.

Thanks to this, Zion was completely unaffected by the cold and could fight like this despite the massive power difference.

Moreover,

'These flames.'

The flames flowing from Muspelheim and covering the cavern weren't ordinary flames.

They were another authority of Muspelheim called 'Flame World', which, like the Black Star Force's 'Dark Domain', had the effect of making the space where the flames burned the user's own.

In other words, it could activate spatial domination, which normally required reaching 'Heaven' to use perfectly, just by wearing Muspelheim.

It was truly an ability befitting a divine artifact.

Nevertheless, there was a reason why Zion thought he needed to end the battle quickly.

'Muspelheim's Flame World can't be activated continuously.'

The power consumed was as unimaginable as this incredible effect.

Moreover, while the Frost Queen's remnant was currently flustered by this unfamiliar power and unable to exert its full strength, if given time to adapt, the situation could easily be reversed.

That's how great the difference in power was between Zion and the remnant.

'In that case...'

Whoosh!

As Zion finished his thought and shot towards the remnant again, dark red flames gathered behind him, forming a shape like wings.

Screech!

The remnant, bewildered by Zion's rapidly expanding form, let out a confused howl and waved its hands, creating a massive cold mist large enough to cover the entire cavern.

The 'King of Fire' dove into this mist without hesitation, and a breathtaking close combat began.

"What in the world is that..."

Rain, who had retreated to a corner of the cavern to recover, muttered in a daze as she watched this battle.

It was hard to believe what she was seeing with her own eyes.

Was this what a mythical battle, only found in records, looked like?

And the silver-haired woman watching the scene beside her felt the same way.

"......"

The Remnant of the Frost Queen had been impossible to handle even for the woman herself, Turzan of the 'Seven Heavens', and hundreds of others, each with considerable strength.

'Yet he's facing that remnant alone?'

And if that wasn't enough, boom!

He was even pushing it back, maintaining the upper hand.

It was a scene that sent chills down one's spine, almost impossible to believe they were of the same species.

But despite this, the woman believed that this newly appeared 'King of Fire' was human.

There was one person she could guess at.

'Zion Harness.'

The mysterious figure who had annihilated the Murder Legion in the third floor's trial and fulfilled the conditions for the 'secret trial' in her place.

Only those participating in the trials could enter the Eternal Tower, except for the transcendent beings who created it.

Therefore, this 'King of Fire' was likely a participant, which meant there was a high possibility it was 'Zion Harness', the only person who hadn't shown himself until the final trial.

And most certainly...

'That armor.'

The armor worn by this 'King of Fire' looked very similar to the first hero's armor that the woman herself had tried to obtain.

'I have no idea what's going on...'

She couldn't guess at his identity or intentions at all.

As the woman looked back at the battle with confused eyes,

"Huh?"

Suddenly, someone's voice echoed in her mind.

* * *

Crack!

Countless ice shards burst from the frozen lake's surface, all imbued with the authority of freezing, shooting upwards.

In contrast, a sky of flames fell from the top of the cavern.

-------------!

Amidst the explosions created by these two completely different powers colliding, Zion and the Remnant of the Frost Queen continued their fierce exchange.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The contrast between Zion, who bore no particular wounds, and the remnant, cracked and broken in various places, showed which way the battle was leaning.

However, despite this, a smile that hadn't been there at the start now played on the remnant's lips.

Though it was still at a disadvantage, it could feel the gap narrowing.

Crack!

The leeway growing in its exchanges and the reviving cold energy.

In contrast, the flames emitted by its enemy were noticeably weakening.

Screech!

Having fully realized this fact, the remnant let out a chilling cry and changed its movements.

Unlike before, when it had been mostly defensive, the remnant now actively went on the offense.

As if these movements were working, crackle!

Zion's form, blocking the pouring attacks, gradually began to be pushed back, and the tide of battle quickly turned in the remnant's favor.

The cold energy swelled instantly, devouring Muspelheim's flames, and Zion's momentum rapidly shrank.

Along with this, wounds began to appear one by one on Zion's body.

Seeing this, a longing gleamed in the remnant's eyes.

Just a little more.

If it could push just a little more, it might be able to end this opponent's life.

With this thought, the remnant's senses became extremely focused solely on Zion.

And at that moment, whoosh!

Zion's form, which had been continuously pushed back but had barely avoided allowing critical or fatal wounds, wavered for an instant, swept up in the surging cold energy.

The remnant didn't miss this opening.

Screech!

With a cry mixed with joy, a freezing authority of a completely different caliber from before gathered in the remnant's right hand.

A transparent sword made from this authority shot without delay towards the gap revealed in Zion.

Even then, Zion stared blankly at the approaching sword, unable to properly defend.

The longing in the remnant's eyes watching this scene turned to ecstasy.

Finally, as the Queen's authority sword was about to pierce Zion's heart,

Crack!

A chilling sound reached their ears.

It wasn't the sound of Zion's heart being shattered by the ice sword.

It was the sound made by two weapons that had suddenly pierced through both sides of the remnant.

Screech?

A dumb cry escaped the remnant's mouth at this incomprehensible situation.

It had surely been aware of all its opponent's movements right in front of it, so how could this happen?

But those weapons weren't Zion's either.

The owners of the weapons came into the remnant's view as it turned its head.

"You should've paid attention to your surroundings too."

It was the silver-haired woman and Turzan.

They had secretly approached while the remnant's attention was entirely focused on Zion, following his instructions from earlier.

"There's no need for me to face you alone, is there?"

With those words, Zion grinned at the remnant and pulled back his fist.

As the dark red flames burning ominously in Zion's fist explosively grew, forming the shape of something massive,

......!

The remnant finally realized.

That everything Zion had shown until now was aimed at this moment.

And, crack!

At last, the King's fist pierced through the Queen's heart.

---

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