Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 200

200

<200>

Adol, Vernon, and Verok. The three knights bit their lips, a silent promise passing between them.

They knew it all too well.

They could barely withstand Charles’s erratic attacks. They would only be a hindrance to Evan’s fight.

If that was the case, it was best to do what they could.

“We won’t let a single rat escape!”

Starting with Adol, Vernon and Verok each spoke their resolve and departed.

Evan couldn’t respond. All his focus was on Charles. He didn’t know why Aurelius had done such a crazy thing, but it seemed he had entrusted the very essence of his power to Charles.

If luck had been on his side, Charles might have carefully refined that power and pioneered a new realm with a sound mind, but Evan didn’t believe Charles was capable of such restraint.

Evan’s mind raced.

‘If left unchecked, he’ll self-destruct.’

The problem was that it was happening now.

Evan even considered a strategic retreat to reassess the situation.

He quickly dismissed the thought.

Charles didn’t seem like he would let him go so easily. From the look on his face, as if he had finally found a long-lost friend, Evan sensed a madness bordering on obsession directed at him.

“Evan Lionel… If only you weren’t here!”

Suddenly, Charles’s face contorted.

An expression as if he had found an irreconcilable enemy after a long search. Evan gripped Michael’s sword tightly.

Kwaang!

Charles launched himself from the ground.

The shattered rocks and dust scattered in all directions, momentarily obscuring Evan’s vision.

Swish─

Charles’s spear aimed for the cockpit.

Clang!

Michael’s sword deflected the spear with lightning speed.

Swaek- Clang!

Swaek─ Clang!

Swaeeaeek─ Kkaga-gang!!

Charles’s attacks came in rapid succession.

In the blink of an eye, spear and sword clashed dozens of times.

A seemingly evenly matched battle.

‘Damn it.’

Evan’s expression was grim.

Michael was indeed the most advanced Titan in the world at this point. But it wasn’t designed to fight someone like Charles, who had absorbed Aurelius’s essence and transformed into something akin to a Dragonia [a being with dragon-like powers].

Kkigik- Clang!

Kkigigik- Clang!

Due to movements exceeding its design limitations, damage was rapidly accumulating on Michael.

‘It won’t last long.’

Ttudeuk, Ttudeudeuk.

The sound of joints tearing apart was like thunder. In particular, Michael’s right arm, which wielded the sword, was under immense strain.

A situation with no solution if he prolonged the fight.

‘Finish it with one decisive strike.’

All he needed was a moment to unleash that strike.

Evan’s eyes, having made a decision, followed Charles’s spear as it thrust towards the cockpit.

Swaeeaeek─

Michael slightly twisted its body, taking the spear on its shoulder.

Kwajijik!!

The spear embedded itself in Michael’s shoulder.

“You!!”

Charles’s eyes widened.

Madness surged through him, clouding his reason, but he wasn’t so far gone that he didn’t realize Evan had deliberately taken the hit.

Kkigik- Kkigigik-

Michael’s left arm, moving with rough metallic sounds, gripped the spear stuck in its shoulder tightly. At the same time, the nine stars Evan controlled exploded with light.

Gooooooo.

A storm of magic raged around Michael.

The ultimate expression of magic swordsmanship.

The most powerful technique in Evan’s arsenal.

Evan-style Lionel Emperor Swordsmanship, Secret Art: Opening Heaven.

Michael’s sword swung towards Charles, who hastily pulled his hand away from the spear.

Kwagwagwagwagwagwa──

A slash that tore through space.

A warning bell rang fiercely in Charles’s ears, signaling imminent danger.

He knew from experience. This was an unconventional secret technique. Even his current body, covered in dragon scales, would be torn to shreds along with space itself.

“Nooooooo!!”

The essence of Aurelius that Charles had swallowed, the Yeouiju [a mythical wish-fulfilling orb], emitted light, and the space around Charles began to distort.

Black Flame Spear Demon Prison.

During the Hamel Empire’s civil war, Charles’s mental domain meant death to the opposing army.

It should have been a meaningless act in front of Evan, who could negate mental domains.

Or so it seemed.

Evan’s expression hardened.

The current Black Flame Spear Demon Prison was different. It wasn’t being negated.

Kwagwagwagwagaga······.

The slash that tore through space was swallowed by the Black Flame Spear Demon Prison and vanished.

-Kaaaaaaa!!

-Kiiiiiii!!

The giant jailers of hell holding spears, the Chang Gui [demonic entities], rose one by one.

The mental domain of a high-level magic awakener, constructed to avoid the eyes of the world. It was akin to a physical illusion projected into reality.

But now, at this moment, the space that the Black Flame Spear Demon Prison had consumed was not an illusion. It was closer to an alternate world completely separated from reality.

Another world accessible to those who had begun to transcend earthly existence by wielding the nine stars.

A unique domain.

Charles, consumed by madness, had stumbled into a realm that beings who had begun to wield the nine stars would have to devote decades, even centuries, to reach.

It wasn’t Charles’s full power.

It was a miracle caused by the remnants of the curse imprinted on the Yeouiju left by Aurelius, a curse meant to protect the Hamel Empire.

“Evan Lionel────!!!”

Charles created a hell of Chang Gui.

In this space, he was akin to a creator god.

In Charles’s hand was a new spear, not the one that had pierced Michael. It was impossible, but in this unique domain, the impossible did not exist.

“Dieeee!!!”

As Charles thrust his spear, the Chang Gui raised their spears.

-Kagagagaga!!!

-Kiiiiiii─!!

The spears were hurled at Michael all at once.

Swish- Swish- Swaeeaeek─

Thousands of spears flew towards Michael.

There was nowhere for Evan to escape.

‘Charles Han Hamel······.’

Evan, who had reached the realm of the 9 stars, had not yet obtained a unique domain. He never imagined he would experience it like this.

So this is a unique domain.

The corners of Evan’s lips quirked upward almost imperceptibly.

He had heard an explanation from Barisada that it was an extension of the mental domain, but he couldn’t quite grasp it.

Now that he had experienced it directly, he understood.

The more effectively the mental domain hid from the eyes of the world, the stronger it became. The unique domain shouldn’t be like that.

It had to be equal.

It had to stand shoulder to shoulder, proudly declaring that his world was here.

Charles’s spear, which seemed poised to pierce the cockpit and end his life, and the spears thrown by the Chang Gui faded from Evan’s awareness.

Evan’s consciousness was already adrift in a vast universe.

He felt countless gazes.

Friendly, hostile, indifferent – a spectrum of perceptions.

The world? The gods?

Their identities were irrelevant.

Evan boldly revealed his inner world.

The battlefield of victory.

Here, a world created by the last king of a fallen kingdom, imbued with his deepest desires, existed.

Evan felt the eyes that had been watching him close, one by one. He instinctively knew that his inner world had been recognized.

The nine stars in Evan’s core emitted a blinding light.

Paat─!

-Uwaaaaaaaaaa!!

With a mighty roar, Evan returned to reality.

-Protect His Majesty the King!!

Giant knights materialized from thin air, raising their shields and surrounding Michael. They were his vassals, denizens of the battlefield of victory, Evan’s unique domain.

Pak, Pababak!

The Chang Gui’s spears struck the knights’ shields.

Swaeeaeek─ Puk!!

Charles’s spear was also blocked by a knight wielding a large shield.

-For His Majesty!!

However, the knight was not unscathed. His chest pierced by Charles’s spear, he began to dissolve into motes of light.

Evan frowned.

This was the battlefield of victory.

No one should perish here without his consent. The knight who had turned into light reformed, regaining his original form.

“No, this can’t be!! How could you!!”

The frenzied Charles tried to rush at Evan, but the knights of the kingdom stood firm, blocking his path.

Swaek- Puk!

Swaeeaeek- Puk!

His powerful spear was rendered useless against the immortal knights.

Evan, surrounded by his knights, watched Charles continue his futile attacks and gripped Michael’s sword.

In this place, he felt he could succeed in something he had only vaguely conceived, something he couldn’t achieve in reality: swordsmanship embodying his understanding of the past, present, and future.

The aura surrounding the sword vibrated intensely.

In the microscopic world, beyond the reach of current technology, the mana particles that comprised the aura spun at incredible speeds and began to split.

Mana core fission.

A physical law that should have been impossible to achieve with the common knowledge of this world was being realized by Evan.

“Nooooooom!! What are you trying to do!!”

Charles couldn’t comprehend that the attack Evan was preparing was powerful enough to destroy a planet, but he instinctively knew that he would be obliterated without a trace.

Evan didn’t respond.

He simply swung his sword with an expressionless face.

‘Creation Heaven Sword.’

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!!!

A terrifying explosion. A mushroom cloud billowed upwards, and gray dust blotted out the sky.

The entire unique domain was consumed by the aftermath.

And after a time.

Only Evan and his vassals remained.

***

『Evan Lionel, Subdues the Emperor』

『Charles Han Hamel, Dies Less Than a Week After Ascending the Throne!』

Charles was dead, but the war didn’t end immediately.

『The 23rd Prince Claims to Be the Next Emperor!』

『The 15th Princess Reveals Her Ambition』

『The Descendants of the Former Emperor Raise Their Voices』

The Hamel Empire once again descended into chaos.

And that wasn’t all.

『The Aden Allied Tribes Advance into the Hamel Empire!』

『Cantra Moves Its Troops Following Aden』

Starting with Aden and Cantra, countries that had long been at odds with the Hamel Empire launched invasions.

The misfortunes continued to pile up.

『The Citizens of Freeholoho Contact the Brissen Alliance』

『The Urd Autonomous Region of the Hamel Empire Rises Up!』

Minority ethnic groups, long oppressed by the Hamel Empire, seized the opportunity and rebelled.

『The Launch of the New People’s Assembly! Republicanism Spreads Rapidly in the Northern Hamel Empire』

In addition, the descendants of the People’s Assembly, thought to have been completely eradicated, resurfaced.

It was clear to everyone that the Hamel Empire would be torn apart by internal strife and external aggression. Even countries far from the Hamel Empire rushed in to claim their share of the spoils.

The Lionel Kingdom, having played the largest role in the Hamel Empire’s downfall, annexed a total of four provinces, including Jeokheung Province, Eunhwa Province, and Hwangwon Province, which had contributed to the invasion of the northwest, as well as Cheongun Province, one of the world’s largest granaries.

The kingdom halted its advance there.

Frankly, the Lionel Kingdom’s resources were only sufficient to manage Jeokheung Province and Eunhwa Province, including the Ellenbeira region.

But how could people’s greed be easily contained? They continued to seize territory until they were on the verge of collapse. When they finally came to their senses, they had acquired an area seven times the size of the Lionel mainland.

The kingdom’s ministers, who had been clamoring for expansion, turned pale after realizing the enormity of their actions. They couldn’t even begin to imagine the explosion of workload that awaited them.

And five years passed.

Without exaggeration, I was tormented by overwork, unable to sleep even an hour a day.

Some great powers, especially the Rabia Empire, which felt threatened by the Lionel Kingdom’s rapid expansion, might have started a war, but they didn’t.

It was because of the Titans.

Having witnessed the Titans’ performance, which had rendered existing strategies and tactics obsolete in the war with the Hamel Empire, they dared not risk a confrontation.

Only now, five years later, had the Rabia Empire and the Aimen Empire begun production of Hamel Empire’s Juggernaut-class Titans.

“Your Majesty, it’s time to depart.”

Alphonso urged me.

“Just a moment.”

I raised my hand to him and straightened my clothes while looking in the mirror.

Suddenly, I remembered the first time I looked in the mirror after realizing my past life.

The image of the boy with a broken head and a blood-stained bandage was gone. Now, a strong man wearing a splendid crown stood before me.

Today was the day to declare the Lionel Empire.

-Long live the Lionel Empire!

-Long live His Majesty the Emperor!

Even before I appeared, the cheers of the people outside were deafening.

I turned away from the mirror.

At the door, the two queens, my son, and my daughter were waiting for me. I slowly walked towards them.

From today onward, I was the emperor of the Lionel Empire.

***

August 10, Lionel Empire Year 200.

In five days, there was a lecture at the Imperial Academy to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Lionel and Arya becoming one.

The theme was about the guardian deities of Lionel.

At sunset, Roanna Haines, a teaching assistant in the Department of History at the Imperial Academy, was organizing related materials in the laboratory.

“This is the material for Danar-nim [a respectful suffix], this is about Evan Lionel the Great, and this side is for the goddess Barisada.”

The Lionel Empire has as many as three guardian deities.

Danar, the god of fate and time.

Evan, the god of wealth.

Barisada, the goddess of literature.

Lectures on existing guardian deities were mostly about the story of how Evan, who was human, and Barisada, who was half-demon, became the god of wealth and the goddess of literature.

But this time, it was going to be a slightly special lecture.

“······ And this is the ancient book about Arcana, the god of knowledge, discovered earlier this year.”

The mainstream of the Lionel Empire is the Four Ethnic Groups rooted in the Lionel mainland.

But recently, a professor deciphered an ancient book and discovered the possibility that the goddess Arcana may have been a forgotten god who protected the Four Ethnic Groups.

“Will it be okay······ I’ve only been able to interpret about half of it.”

Roanna was a little worried about the professor.

It was too common for the interpretation of ancient books to be overturned. If he argued in the lecture and the interpretation was overturned later, there would be no greater humiliation.

Ttok, Ttok.

“Roanna, may I come in?”

“Ah, yes!”

The door opened and a middle-aged man with a blank expression wearing glasses came in.

Edward White.

The third son of the White ducal family, who had given up on the succession battle early and became a professor at the Imperial Academy, was a historian who was among the best in the world in terms of textual studies and interpretation.

“Is the data organization going well?”

“Yes. But······ Is it really okay to have this as the topic?”

Edward asked, adjusting his glasses.

“Of course. Surely you don’t think there’s a problem with my interpretation?”

“No. It’s not that······ But it would be better to completely decipher it and announce it next year······.”

“There’s a reason for that.”

Roanna nodded.

She also roughly knew that the Arcana ancient book had been discovered and a deciphering competition had broken out among scholars.

“But what brings you here at this hour?”

“I succeeded in the interpretation that had been blocked. Thanks to that, I think I need to change the content of the lecture a little, so I came to find you.”

“Yes?!”

Roanna’s breath caught in her throat at the sound that everything she had organized while staying up for two nights might be in vain.

“What’s the newly interpreted content?”

“Arcana and Danar may have actually split off from one god.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“We divide the concept of time into three: past, present, and future. But if you think about Danar’s teachings and the miracles that his saints have performed, which of the three do you think Danar is in charge of?”

The story of Marie, the saint of Danar, who caused a miracle that seemed to rewind a child with a fatal wound to the past a few minutes ago, came to Roanna’s mind.

“······ The past?”

“Yes. It wouldn’t be strange to say that Danar is more of a god of the past than a god of time. But in the ancient book discovered this time, I found a phrase that described Arcana as the goddess of knowledge and time. Clearly, that’s the only way to interpret it.”

“Ah!”

Roanna let out a small exclamation.

She realized that the miracles caused by the goddess Arcana, as interpreted by Professor Edward, were all related to the ‘present’.

Then she tilted her head.

“Then there may be one more god of time in charge of the ‘future’?”

“That’s right. If my hypothesis is correct, an ancient book related to him will be discovered someday. Anyway, here’s the newly interpreted part, so please refer to it.”

“······ I understand.”

Roanna replied with a dejected look, looking at the thick document Edward handed her.

And five days later.

Professor Edward’s claim became a major controversy among scholars.

Some said it was credible, while others said it was absurd.

Roanna was still satisfied that at least half of the scholars nodded at Professor Edward’s claim, and she packed up her materials and left the lecture hall.

Then, as she was going down the stairs.

She missed her footing.

“Ah!”

She screamed.

In a situation that could have led to a major accident, someone quickly grabbed her.

“Thank you. Thank you!”

“I just did what I had to do. I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”

Roanna, who was bowing her head and expressing her gratitude, slightly raised her head at the gentle male voice.

He was a handsome man with blond, curly hair, warm blue eyes, and glasses. She blushed without realizing it.

Could he be a scholar?

“It looks like you came to listen to the lecture?”

“I personally enjoyed it quite a bit. I saw you handing Professor Edward documents earlier, so I think you’re a teaching assistant, is that right?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. I’m Roanna Haines, Professor Edward’s teaching assistant.”

“Could you possibly deliver this to Professor Edward? I think he’ll like it quite a bit.”

The man handed Roanna a notebook.

It was written in a script she had never seen before. Even though she was the teaching assistant of Professor Edward, who was considered the best in the world at interpreting ancient books.

“This is······.”

Roanna looked up after examining the notebook.

“!!”

She blinked her eyes greatly at the man who had disappeared without a trace. It was too short a time for the man to disappear.

Roanna carefully lowered her gaze.

The notebook she had received from the man was still in her hand.

‘······ A ghost?’

Roanna, who had begun to recall the famous ghost stories of the Imperial Academy, turned pale and hurried to Professor Edward’s laboratory.

Even in the midst of all this, she did not throw away the book with the script she had never seen before. Indeed, she was a scholar dreaming of becoming one.

“Professor! Professor! I received a strange notebook from a strange man!”

Edward, who was resting after the lecture, slightly frowned.

He gave his attention to the notebook Roanna was shaking. He stood up from his chair when he saw the letters on the cover.

“Roanna! Show me that notebook quickly.”

“Yes? Do you know what this notebook is?”

“I don’t know that notebook, but I know the letters written there.”

“Ah!”

Roanna handed the book to Edward and asked.

“I’ve never seen these letters before, what era are they from?”

“It’s a script created by one person 200 years ago.”

“An individual?”

“Yes, all of the few memos left by Evan Lionel the Great are made up of these letters. But this is the first time I’ve seen it remain in the form of a book. There’s so little data that it’s been impossible to decipher the letters left by the Great Emperor, where did this notebook come from······ Even this handwriting. It’s definitely written by the Great Emperor himself. Roanna, who on earth gave you this?”

“Well, it was a strange man, with blond curly hair, wearing glasses, and blue eyes······.”

Her words blurred in the middle.

It was because of Professor Edward’s words that the handwriting was that of Evan Lionel the Great.

She realized that the statue of Evan Lionel the Great, which she saw every day when passing the central fountain of the Imperial Academy, and the face of the strange man she had just encountered were strangely similar.

Roanna shook her head.

A century had passed since the Great Emperor ascended to heaven.

She carefully asked Edward, who was fiercely glaring at the title of the notebook.

“Professor, can you read the title?”

“I don’t know about the others, but I definitely know these two words here. There were a lot of these words in the memos left by the Great Emperor.”

Edward pointed to the words written in the book.

Those words were ‘future’ and ‘god’.

The notebook left by Evan Lionel the Great, the words future and god.

In Roanna’s mind, Professor Edward’s claim that Arcana and Danar came from one god came to mind.

Could the Great Emperor have been the last piece, a fragment of the god in charge of the future?

‘Eh, no way.’

She chuckled and shook her head.