Chapter 97: A Double Trap (2)
TL/Editor: Rungir
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In the ruins of the once-majestic Angelosh Lordship castle grounds, a lone man stood amid the barely recognizable remnants of a recent battle.
"..."
With an unremarkably average appearance and an emotionless face, he was none other than the man often seen alongside a woman in a monk's robe within the Imperial Palace. His na was Hanosral, known as the Death King and one of the Oma-Ryeong who commanded all monsters within the empire.
"Did they all fall into the trap?"
His voice, devoid of any emotion like his face, murmured as he approached the altar at the center of the grounds. The altar, now half-shattered and devoid of its once radiant glow, was supposed to hold the blood of an angel.
"What went wrong?"
The plan was supposed to be foolproof. Only a handful, including Hanosral and so malevolent beings, knew of the sacred blood's presence here. He even dispatched his direct subordinate Kezarus, understanding the gravity of the mission. But how did it fail?
"Guess I'll see for myself."
With those words and a flick of his fingers, an ethereal projection began. It displayed the events that transpired here days ago. Within this playback, Kezarus could be seen fiercely battling soone. And the mont he saw the face of that adversary,
"…!"
Hanosral's eyes quivered. Though the adversary had black hair and eyes, there was an undeniable familiarity in those calm eyes and the alien darkness that surrounded him. There was only one person in the world who possessed such a darkness.
"Zion Agnes."
The na escaped Hanosral's lips in a whisper. The projection in front of him began to waver and distort, as if interfered with, and soon cut off. He couldn't witness the exact mont of Kezarus' demise, but that didn't matter. He had identified the culprit.
A terrifying aura surged from Hanosral, shaking not only the castle grounds but the entire Lordship.
His eyes, cold before, now burned with rage.
"He's crossed the line."
After casting a final glance at the altar, Hanosral's form vanished without a trace.
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Raei Translations
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An indeterminate ti passed.
"He's gone, right? Must have."
From the rubble at the far end of the grounds, a fiery red-haired woman erged, her hair tied back and her eyes fierce. She was Rain Dranir, a successor to the city of Ruin and a forr mber of the Northern Exiles.
"Whew, I genuinely thought we got caught. We would've lost if we clashed, right? For now?"
She turned her gaze to another woman erging from the debris, her eyes subdued. However, the second woman offered no response to Rain's question.
"No, I couldn't respond."
Her mind was already clouded with countless questions.
'Why is one of the Omareung here...'
At this ti, the Angelrosh territory should have been living in peace, unaware of the existence of the holy blood.
That's why she believed she could obtain the holy blood without any confrontation.
However, when she and Rain Dranir arrived, the Angelrosh territory was already a desolate place, devoid of any inhabitants.
All that could be seen were the remnants of a large-scale battle.
Among those remnants, they discovered King Hanosral, whom they had seen just a mont ago.
'This is the third ti.'
She already knew the future was changing, but she didn't expect it to shift this drastically.
Thanks to this, the plans she had been making were falling apart.
'He definitely ntioned Zion Agnes a while ago.'
The woman recalled the na mumbled by Hanosral.
Lately, that na had beco the one most irkso to her.
Because before coming here, Tirian Prihardan, whom she visited, had also ntioned that na.
'It was surprising that he was still at the grand magic tower, untouched by any sches.'
But hearing the na Zion Agnes from his mouth was even more unexpected.
'I owe Prince Zion. And there are answers I need. I won't leave the capital until I settle both matters.'
That's what Tirian Prihardan had said when she suggested they move together.
She had never dread he'd refuse, and at the ti, she was quite taken aback.
Prince Zion Agnes, the Sixth Prince.
The most enigmatic figure, standing at the center of all these changes.
"I might have to et him soon."
Murmuring to herself, she began to move forward.
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Raei Translations
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In the woods near the capital, where the mysterious hut stands, Lagil, a demon with a wolf's head, hides among the trees and shrubs, eyeing the mountain path that Zion has taken.
"Has he entered? It seems he has."
His eyes shimred with barely concealed anticipation.
"Just a little patience."
Beside him, a woman with snake-like writhing hair tried to calm Lagil. Her na was Kerna, a high-ranking demon and one of the direct subordinates of a powerful being called Omareung.
"We need to be certain before we strike."
The reason both Kerna and Lagil were hiding here was singular: to assassinate Prince Zion Agnes, who had ventured up the mountain a short while ago. Two of the Omareungs had simultaneously issued this assassination instruction. Therefore, Kerna had surrounded the entire mountain with her special demon battalion, comprised only of mid-tier and higher demons. Similarly, Lagil brought his entire Beast Demon unit.
Both groups specialized in covert and swift operations.
"To be honest, with this level of power, I feel we could strike him down right now," Lagil growled impatiently, "I only saw one female escort with him."
"Don't be complacent. Rember, Zion Agnes has killed up to the Third Prince."
There were certainly peculiarities regarding that battle. At the ti, Prince Zion Agnes displayed a power far surpassing what they had gauged him to possess. Sothing else might have been at play.
"But that doesn’t an Prince Zion Agnes isn't a threat," Kerna added thoughtfully. Regardless of the ans, it was a fact that he had exterminated nurous demons, including the Third Prince.
"I know, which is why I'm waiting," Lagil replied, shrugging.
Considering the situation, this was indeed quite patient of him. He was well aware that failure in this mission was not an option.
"We have to strike the mont Zion Agnes starts his treatnt," Kerna reminded.
"Yes, yes, I know…" Lagil began, but then suddenly, a faint magical energy surged and vanished around the hut, so minute that only a fellow demon could detect it.
At that mont, Lagil exclaid, "Finally!" Following his signal, all the demons began to move at once.
As they maintained their encirclent, they converged on the hut. Given that all were mid-tier or higher demons, their speed was astonishing. In a blink, they were close to the hut.
And as the hut ca into view, Lagil, laughing maniacally, sprinted forward, leading the charge towards the mysterious dwelling.
“…….”
Kerna didn't try to stop him.
She knew he had already held back for long, and there was no need to restrain him any further.
‘But where is the woman who ca up with him?’
As she looked around while heading towards the cabin, the thought suddenly crossed her mind,
“I’ll be the first one in!”
Finally, with a loud shout, Lagil figure vanished inside the cabin.
Then, an unsettling silence followed.
“……?”
In the unexpected stillness, confusion clouded the eyes of Kerna and the other demons,
Whooooom!
Suddenly, a sound as if dozens of cannons had been fired at once resonated. Ragil was thrown out of the cabin, his head and heart nowhere to be seen.
“What just….”
As Kerna muttered in surprise,
Soft footsteps began echoing from inside the cabin.
While the footsteps were barely audible, they sent chilling shivers down the spine of those who heard them.
Then, erging slowly was the figure of Zion.
“I tried to greet you with all due respect…… but I’m not sure if it was to your liking.”
Zion smirked, addressing the stunned demons.
Darkness began to emanate from Zion, enveloping the surroundings.
‘Was he prepared for our arrival? No, there was no sign of preparation. He must've just realized. In that case, this is….’
Kerna, coming to a swift conclusion, shouted to the other demons,
“It's just a bluff! Attack him all at once!”
Although it was best to strike when he was distracted, they still had a chance.
Because they knew the current state of Prince Zion was far from normal.
“Well, you're not wrong.”
Watching the demons rushing towards him, Zion murmured.
To be honest, he hadn’t fully recovered from the backlash of using the Moon Eclipse in his battle against Kezarus.
And the little strength he had was exhausted when he ambushed the wolf-headed demon just monts ago.
However…
“That doesn't an you can kill .”
As he said this, Zion's eyes began to glow nacingly.
And just as the attacking demons almost reached him,
Whoosh!
Suddenly, dozens of monstrous mouths appeared out of nowhere, swallowing a dozen of the leading demons whole.
“……!”
The sudden event left the remaining demons in shock,
“My Lord, shall I take care of all of them? No holding back?”
The figure responsible for the horrifying sight erged from behind.
A woman with red eyes.
It was Liushina.
Her smile, while reminiscent of Zion's, was more eerie and nacing.
“Do as you wish.”
Upon Zion’s command, the powerful witch, with a swift wave of her hand, set forth her magic.
AAAHHH!
With that scream, the newly revealed monsters charged towards the remaining demons.
Then,
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The massacre began.
"St-Stop them!"
"What are these... AAARGH!"
The ranks of the demons diminished at a terrifying speed. The demons desperately retaliated, unleashing their mightiest attacks, but to no avail.
CLASH!
Their strikes couldn’t penetrate the crimson barrier surrounding Liushina, not even a single blow. In contrast, each of the witch’s attacks wreaked havoc, devastating like calamities.
"What on Earth is this..."
Kerna, who hadn’t intended to join the fight, watched the scene from the back, disbelief evident in her voice. To be honest, she hadn’t paid much attention to the red-eyed woman. Even if she had once defeated Prince Zion and Icarus, compared to them, she seed insignificant.
Hence, she thought it wouldn't matter if she missed spotting her earlier. But she was wrong.
'I... I can’t decimate mid-tier demons with such ease.'
It was an overwhelming display of power. Kerna couldn't understand why such a being remained unknown until now.
'I need to inform the others.'
Though she hated to admit it, Prince Zion’s ambush had failed. It would be best to retreat now and report on the woman’s strength.
But as Kerna subtly began to shift away...
FREEZE!
Without warning, her legs turned icy cold, immobilized.
Then,
"Where do you think you're going?"
A languid voice whispered in Kerna's ear.
"…!"
Turning her head, she caught sight of Zion, grinning at her.
"No, this can't be..."
Despair clouded her eyes as she stared at her frozen legs.
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Raei Translations
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"Hmm~"
Soon after, Liushina, having dealt with all the demons, approached Kerna, humming a tune.
‘Weaker than anticipated.’
Zion observed the slowly vanishing bodies of the demons.
Among the demons who had ambushed him this ti, two were of a higher rank.
Yet, neither were as formidable or morable as Kezarus, whom he had confronted in Angelrosh.
Their strength was comparable or perhaps even lesser than Hiduk, a foe he had once battled at the magic tower during his university days.
Perhaps that initial surprise attack was effective because of this.
‘Are there varying levels even among the high-ranked?’
As Zion was lost in this thought, Liushina approached his side.
“What's our next move, Master?”
She asked with a hopeful smile.
Liushina was well-aware.
She knew her master wouldn’t settle for just this level of accomplishnt.
After all, his nature was such that if anything threatened him, he'd eradicate not just the threat but its entire surroundings.
“Asking even when you already know.”
Zion responded with a light chuckle.
True to Liushina’s assumption, Zion had no intention of letting it end here.
His nature wasn't one to be appeased unless he repaid a transgression manifold.
‘With this, I might even manage to lure out their leader.’
A strategy rapidly began to take form in Zion's mind as he looked at the demon corpses.
Shortly after, Zion remarked,
“We should change our location first.”
He said this directing his gaze at a creature and its aide inside the shack, both of whom were staring back at him, mouths agape.
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