I Became the Youngest Prince in the Novel

148 - The Shaking Seal (1)

TL/Editor: raei

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: none

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"A little while ago, humans believed to be from the information guild were scouting around the sealed area and then left. They seem to have caught on to something."

"Is that so?"

A man, who was spreading a dominating magical energy in all directions as if he wasn't bothered by the subordinate's report, chuckled in response. This man appeared to be a demon and his name was Gulrihur. He was a special demonic spirit of the city of Lezero, a city opposing the divine, controlling all the demons within this city of light.

Like all religious orders in the world, the Church of Luminous, the god of light, posed a great threat to demons. Therefore, although not included among the highest ranks of demonic spirits, one of equivalent power was dispatched to Lezero, and that was Gulrihur.

"What will you do?"

Joy was evident on Gulrihur's face as he responded.

70 years.

For a disgusting 70 years filled with holy power in this city of light, he had been preparing his plan, and the time to execute it was nearing.

"Whatever they do, it will just be a meaningless struggle."

In fact, preparations to awaken a fallen angel sealed in this city had been completed over a decade ago.

The six key sealing sites suppressing the power of the fallen angel.

Over decades, every person from the Church of Light managing those six sites was replaced with demons, and the seals were almost completely released.

Now, it was just a matter of time before they were freed.

Actually, not even a day was left for that time to come.

Even if the Church of Light discovered this fact now and tried to respond, the demonic forces currently in the city were strong enough to hold out.

"We should have done this much earlier."

The original plan was to release the seals right before a great war to maximize chaos, but Gulrihur preferred the plan being expedited to now.

He wanted to destroy this city as soon as possible and was eager to leave, considering now the best time to execute the plan.

Had they delayed any longer, the Church or someone else might have noticed.

"It's almost time. The moment this damned city of the god disappears from the world."

Gulrihur muttered, looking at Lezero with anticipation.

In his eyes, the city of light was burning bright red.

---

"I was the one who suggested it first?"

Zion's eyes filled with doubt at the words of Luminous.

It was inevitable.

Zion had no recollection of ever meeting the god before him, let alone making any suggestions.

"That's right. To be precise, it was a suggestion made by a future version of you to 'us', after you entered into the chronicles."

Although the timeline was a bit complicated, Zion quickly understood and nodded before asking his next question.

"So why did I make that suggestion to you?"

Was it expected that this question would arise?

The god of light immediately shook his head in response.

"I cannot tell you because of causality."

Causality.

It was the only mechanism that allowed immortals, namely gods, who had escaped the cycle of reincarnation, to intervene in this world.

The god of light mentioned that explaining the reason would consume too much causality.

This meant that the matter was of great importance and was key to understanding the entire situation.

"What I can tell you now is that your suggestion was a contract and a wager you made with us gods and is related to a special power you possess."

"A special power... Are you talking about the Black Star?"

As one question led to another, Zion asked again.

"That's right. The power you possess is one that negates all else and should not exist in this world. How such a power came to exist here..."

Luminous stopped speaking abruptly at that point.

Zion chuckled at this.

"Is it because of causality again that you can't say more? You said you'd answer all my questions, but it seems that's not entirely true."

"Originally, it wasn't to this extent, but it's because of you that we are now lacking in causality."

After saying this, the god of light paused, as if organizing his thoughts, before speaking again in a neutral voice.

"There were two things that the gods, including myself, did to save this world. One was the hero's return."

"The hero's return?"

"The current hero in this world is the same individual as the hero from the chronicles you've read, but he has already experienced the world's destruction once and has returned."

It was an endeavor undertaken by other gods, not our side. Therefore, like you, he knows the future.

Upon hearing Luminous's words, a light of understanding appeared in Zion's eyes.

It had been strange all along.

Even though Zion himself had changed the future, the hero's actions were far too different from what was written in the Frosimar Chronicles.

But if he knew the future, his actions were entirely understandable.

"So, the task you undertook was to put me into this body?"

"That's correct. Due to that task, most of the causality possessed by me and other gods was consumed. Despite that, placing you in that dying body was all we could do."

In fact, reincarnation consumed far less causality than a return.

However, the soul and fate of Zion Agnes, no, the first Emperor, Aurellion Agnes, were so tremendously overwhelming that they surpassed what even gods could handle, incomparable to the hero.

Therefore, we could only succeed by transmitting future knowledge in the form of chronicles and choosing the already doomed body of Zion Agnes, without any memory of the contract with the emperor whose destiny had ended.

"So that's what happened."

With that thought, Zion reorganized the newly acquired information and his future plans in his mind and then posed another question to Luminous.

"Then let me ask something else. What was the relationship between me in the past and the demonic forces?"

Certainly, when Zion himself was emperor, there was no existence of demonic forces.

Yet, the demons of this era knew him as the Eternal Emperor and even despised him, calling him 'the cursed lineage of Agnes.'

This means something must have happened in the original world after he entered into the chronicles.

However,

"I cannot tell you because of causality. All I can say is that it's related to the previous contract."

These were the only words that came from the mouth of the god of light.

Zion squinted his eyes and glared, but Luminous avoided his gaze and did not open his mouth again, pretending to be distracted.

It seemed that the divine beings were severely restricted by causality.

"Should I be satisfied with this?"

Although the Q&A session provided much information, there were still unanswered questions.

But since all of them were about core issues like the contract, asking more would only lead to "I cannot tell you because of causality."

It was as if there was nothing more to gain.

Furthermore, it seemed Luminous's time to descend was nearly up, as his form was gradually fading.

"Just one last thing."

After organizing his thoughts, Zion took out the extinction sword, Eclaxia, and held it towards the god of light.

"Where did the other half of this go?"

"We do have it as a symbol of the contract. We can return it if needed, but giving it directly here would consume too much causality..."

Luminous's gaze drifted over the guild building to the city of light beyond as he spoke.

"Yes, giving it to you as a reward for resolving this issue seems appropriate."

"If by 'this issue' you mean..."

"I entrust this city to you, Emperor."

The god of light's form, now not just fading but starting to flicker.

"And if you ever get the chance, I hope you come to the end of the world."

A faint smile appeared on Luminous's lips as he said this,

"For there, we can share many more stories."

The form of the god completely vanished, and time began to flow once again.

---

"Descend!!"

The priests, now able to move again, looked back and forth between the statue of the god of light and Zion, their faces filled with shock.

Then,

"Huh?"

Their shock turned to confusion.

The statue that had been emitting a blinding light just moments ago suddenly went dark.

Not only that, the profound divinity that had filled the room had completely disappeared as well.

As if everything had come to an end.

Had they missed something?

No, that couldn't be.

It was the moment to witness the greatest miracle of the church and an opportunity to directly receive the pure light, so they hadn't even blinked.

"What happened..."

Archbishop Verdio murmured this, bewildered, when,

"The sealing site."

Zion, who had been looking at the spot where Luminous disappeared, turned to him and spoke.

"Yes?"

Verdio looked at Zion as if asking what he meant by that.

"Where are those in charge of the fallen angel's sealing site?"

Zion asked with a cold voice, directing it at the archbishop.

The passage leading to the inner sanctum of the Church of Light.

"We don't have time for this! We must act quickly!"

Narie, who had become the head of the Moon's Eye in Lezero, was arguing with some priests who appeared to be bishops.

There was one reason she was here.

It was to inform the church about the report she had just heard and to formulate a response.

"No, there's no time to plan."

The seal of the fallen angel was on the verge of being broken.

Even those who were not well-informed about the seal could tell just by approaching the vicinity.

Moreover, a massive magical energy was reported to be felt in the area.

It was impossible not to have noticed it before now, even if the location was remote and scarcely populated.

'Even if the angel of rebellion appears right now, it wouldn't be strange at all.'

Normally, Narie would have first informed Prince Zion of this fact, but currently, there was no way to contact him as he had entered the deep parts of the Church of Light. Therefore, Narie, who usually knew and interacted with high-ranking officials of the church, contacted one of them.

But,

"What are you talking about all of a sudden, what is this?"

The bishops could only look confused upon hearing her words.

They had no choice but to be.

The sealing site of the fallen angel.

The church was well aware of its importance.

That's why they always managed it meticulously, to the point of perfection.

But now, to say that such a seal was in danger.

It was nonsensical.

Especially since they had received a regular report on the sealing site just yesterday, Narie's words seemed all the more absurd.

"The seal of the fallen angel is in danger!"

"I won't ask how you know about the seal, but since it's confidential, please stop discussing it in such a public place."

Despite their words, as Narie continued to shout loudly, the bishops' expressions started to harden.

Continuing like this, despite their denials, was tantamount to negating their words and implying that the church was neglecting the management of the sealing site.

'Why is she acting like this all of a sudden... she's usually calm and rational.'

Moreover, the church was currently in turmoil due to the disappearance of participants in the saintess competition, caused by demonic forces.

They were already overwhelmed.

Hearing such claims amidst this chaos was irritating.

"No, really! Now is not the time to investigate the disappearance of the saintess candidates. If you don't believe me, at least send someone to check the sealing site..."

"Enough!"

One of the bishops finally exploded, cutting off Narie's persistent pleas in frustration.

"If you continue to speak about this, we will have no choice but to forcibly remove you from the church."

Just as he was about to signal the nearby paladins with a raise of his hand,

"No need for that."

A low voice reached his ear.

The sense of ominous pressure from that voice made not just the bishop but everyone around turn their heads as if compelled.

Their eyes widened at the same time.

"Ve, Verdio!"

Archbishop Verdio, one of the highest-ranking officials of the church, was approaching with dozens of other bishops.

However, the reason people's eyes widened was not because of Archbishop Verdio.

It was the man with black hair who seemed to be followed by the archbishop as if he were serving a superior.

Not just Archbishop Verdio but all the newly appeared high-ranking officials were quietly following behind this man.

Excluding the Pope, apostles, and the saintess, why was an archbishop, who holds one of the highest positions in the church, following this mysterious man?

In the silence filled with surprise and questions,

"It's because what she said is true."

The man, Zion, who had by now approached close to the front, looked at the people with a calm gaze and continued speaking.

---

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