I Became the Younges 230 - Archdemon of Jealousy (2)

TL/Editor: raei

Status: ongoing

Illustrations: none

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"This can't be..."

A blank voice flowed from Diana's lips.

Her eyes were fixed on the battle unfolding before the Cradle, particularly on Zion.

It was impossible to believe.

Archdemon of Jealousy Zeloth.

Even the combined assault of the Fairy Forest's highest forces including herself and that red-eyed woman she'd assessed as among the highest of 'Heaven' hadn't left a scratch on this being.

A truly transcendent existence.

Yet now Zion completely held the upper hand against such a being.

'Is this the real power that woman ntioned?'

Had he really eliminated Pride alone?

The difference in dinsions.

The battle before her eyes made that phrase's aning crystal clear.

Even with Heaven Opposition at six stars, she could barely perceive, let alone properly understand what was happening.

She only knew Zion held the advantage from Zeloth's occasional anguished cries.

Was this how mythological transcendents had clashed?

'It's like watching the Eternal Emperor himself fight rather than his descendant.'

Then-

"Princess Diana! Are you unhard!"

Spirena, having belatedly erged from the Cradle, called out while approaching Diana.

"Yes, as you can see."

After this brief reply, the Fifth Princess, focused on the battle before her, suddenly rembered sothing and asked Spirena:

"Did Zion obtain the Eternal Emperor's proof inside the Cradle?"

"What? Ah yes, he did."

Spirena answered with an expression wondering how Diana knew, then continued in a questioning voice as if recalling what had happened:

"But sothing strange occurred."

"Sothing strange?"

"Yes, the Eternal Emperor's ring that we'd failed to remove despite all attempts suddenly ca loose by itself and slipped onto Prince Zion's finger. As if returning to its original owner..."

"...What did you say?"

Diana's head whirled toward Spirena before she could finish.

What could that possibly an?

Yes, she could understand him obtaining the ring after inheriting the Eternal Emperor's power.

'But the ring moving onto his finger by itself?'

However, Diana couldn't think further about this.

"...Huh?"

Her eyes caught sight of sothing behind the battlefield.

Krevis of the Five Great Demon Generals and his subordinate demons were moving there.

'How could this happen...'

Krevis, who had begun moving stealthily, watched Zion and Zeloth's battle with an expression of disbelief.

He had an extrely ticulous and cold personality.

Because of this, during his nearly century-long stay in the Fairy Forest, he had never stepped forward, instead coordinating everything from behind the curtain.

The reason this person now stepped to the front was simple.

It was because of Zeloth's power.

One of the Four Great Demons whose power ranked among the demon realm's top five, who had escaped fate and reached demigod status.

Zeloth possessed enough power to single-handedly destroy Elbrium.

'That's why I brought all remaining demons without hesitation, and yet...'

The scene unfolding now completely defied Krevis's expectations.

The Archdemon of Jealousy, pushed entirely on the defensive and desperately unleashing power.

'Even for Zion Agnes, to think he possessed this much power...'

No, had there ever been a human in history with such power?

If any existed, it would only be Magnus Flare, the first hero.

'Either way, I must help Lady Zeloth.'

With this thought, Krevis increased his speed further.

Not simply out of loyalty.

If Zeloth fell now, their own lives couldn't be guaranteed either.

'Fortunately, Zion Agnes destroyed the Cradle's entrance barrier. If we can enter there and seize the World Tree, we can restore Lady Zeloth's power...'

But Krevis's movent soon stopped.

Not by his own will.

Soone blocking his path had forcibly stopped him.

Ebony black hair and chilling red eyes.

It was Liushina.

"I'll be your opponent."

With these words, demon eyes appeared around her.

As if she had no intention of showing rcy from the start, these demon eyes numbered in the tens of thousands.

"You are..."

"I'm in quite a bad mood right now. So please don't die too quickly. Let

enjoy this more."

The mont these words finished, all the demon eyes the witch had summoned began glowing red.

BOOM!

An explosion incomparably more massive than before erupted from where Zion and Zeloth were fighting.

Everyone's vision turned white from the flash.

After so ti passed like this-

As people's vision returned-

"AAAAARGH!"

They saw Zeloth letting out a horrible scream from deep in her lungs.

The Archdemon's form was devastating - half her upper body gone while blood poured from wounds across her entire body.

Though her condition seed fatal at any mont, dissatisfaction filled Zion's eyes despite causing this state.

'I precisely denied the existence of her heart.'

He had aid to end her life with that strike.

'Was that not her core?'

The chronicle hadn't revealed this, so even Zion didn't know Zeloth's core location exactly.

Then-

"Kuhuck, huck! You bastard!"

After coughing blood for a while, Zeloth glared at Zion with hatred-filled eyes while using all her remaining authority to create distance.

She had realized she had no chance in close combat or direct confrontation.

Moreover, that last impact had left her unable to continue fighting.

"Yes, I should have done this from the start!"

After creating enough distance that even Zion's Distance Denial from earlier couldn't reach, Zeloth spoke through gritted teeth while gathering her remaining power.

She no longer had the luxury of worrying about damaging the World Tree.

No, that luxury had disappeared long ago.

Now she needed to focus on whether she could survive here or not.

CRUNCH!

Along with endless discordant sounds, the purple authority surrounding her began growing exponentially.

Simultaneously-

"L-Lady Zeloth? AAARGH...!"

SPLAT!

Hundreds of nearby demons instantly turned to blood, then transford into demonic energy that began being absorbed toward the Archdemon.

'I must pour out everything, even life itself.'

All this demonic energy and Zeloth's authority gathered at her already pierced chest.

RUMBLE!

Along with this, not just around Zeloth but all of Elbrium began shaking madly.

This wasn't simply the earth trembling.

World.

Due to Zeloth's authority of jealousy, the world itself within a certain range was distorting and shaking.

Moreover, this phenonon transcending human understanding began drawing attention from countless lives near the city and other transcendent beings.

"Th-this is...!"

As Diana and all beings before the Cradle widened their eyes watching the Archdemon of Jealousy-

"I'll crush everything."

CRACK!

Along with a discordant sound reaching everyone's ears in the city, Zeloth's final technique activated as her concentrated authority burst forth.

Just as light and darkness existed from the beginning, the rifts occurring between them had existed for nearly eternal ages.

What Zeloth now wielded was the strongest and purest distortion among such rifts.

Chaotic World.

All laws of the world within Elbrium began distorting.

Vision twisted until perceiving brains broke.

Distance perception warped.

Balance sense beca so ambiguous one couldn't tell if they stood on sky or ground.

"Urgh, urrrgh!"

So died struggling for increasingly difficult breath.

So instantly aged to dust and scattered.

"Ah..."

People's eyes filled with deep despair at the approaching touch of doom before them.

But actually-

'Tch, so it ca to this after all?'

Zion's eyes, receiving the most influence from this Chaotic World, maintained their coldest, most sunken state yet.

Zeloth's authority technique now affecting all of Elbrium.

This was a quasi-transcendent technique that even Zion, having just reached seven stars, would struggle to handle.

'Normally completely breaking through this state would be impossible, but...'

It might be possible now.

The pitch-black ring on his finger.

The Dark Spirit Ring still contained so Black Star Force left by his past self.

WOONG!

As if reading Zion's will, the ring resonated and slipped off his finger, floating above his palm.

Black stars began circling around the ring one by one.

Pitch-black darkness flowed from it, spreading while devouring surrounding space.

As the world began screaming as if afraid of what would happen next, slowly.

Very slowly.

Zion's hand began to clench.

Mystery.

Magic, ki, authority, sorcery and so on.

The word encompassing all phenona transcending physical laws in this continent, no, this world and-

One of the absolute elents composing this world.

Without mystery, this world would never have existed from the start.

Then what if.

What would happen if such mystery vanished in an instant?

Mystery Denial.

One of the highest authority techniques Zion now unleashed, albeit imperfectly, borrowing the ring's power.

"What are you doing...!"

As Zeloth urgently cried out and reached forward, feeling indescribable anxiety at this movent approaching beyond myth- CRUNCH!

Zion's hand finally gripped the ring completely.

In a dark space existing in the demon realm's deepest part-

"How exactly did he kill him?"

A questioning voice flowed from Wrath's lips, one of the beings there.

Though lacking subject and object, Archdemon of Madness Acrimosia sitting opposite seed to understand his aning and imdiately spoke:

"I don't know either. Is it possible for a mortal being to kill one who's reached immortality, even imperfectly? And not even being the hero."

"Zion Agnes... Is there no possibility he escaped the cycle of reincarnation?"

"Normally I'd say definitely not, but... now I'm not sure. Actually, until I saw him in the floating city, he seed far from immortality."

"Then he gained demigod status in that brief ti between the floating city and the border..."

Wrath muttered this but imdiately erased the thought.

That was impossible.

No, beyond impossible - the world itself didn't allow such things.

"More likely he was hiding his power originally... or so other variable intervened when he killed Pride."

"I think so too. And among those, the latter probability is higher. He showed no signs of this when I t him before."

"...This is giving

a headache."

Zion Agnes.

This single human kept complicating matters.

Moreover, Pride's death was an enormous loss of fighting power for them.

"Tch, should we just forget the gas and kill him right away?"

"Don't act rashly. Pride is already dead. There's no guarantee you won't die too."

"I know. That's why I'm here now instead of moving imdiately."

Wrath quietly watched the girl who shrugged with these words.

Though she listened to him now, Madness was soone who could act independently anyti.

Feeling his headache worsen at this, Wrath changed the subject.

"Has Zeloth's location been found?"

Madness shook her head at these words.

"Not at all. I can feel she's alive but finding her has been almost impossible since she left the demon realm. She's probably recovering from the wounds we gave her."

"...We must find and kill her sohow. Having such a large variable while waging war with the empire is too dangerous...!"

Before Wrath could finish-

"...!"

Their bodies suddenly stiffened as both Archdemons' heads turned toward the sa spot simultaneously.

Their eyes began trembling, expanded as far as possible.

Then from Madness's lips-

"Jealousy... is dead?"

A voice of disbelief flowed out.