Chapter 102: Chapter 102
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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The True Prince
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The Sword of Heavenly Slaughter.
The Sword of Mok Hwa.
The Sword of Wish.
Renowned swords from across the world were shattered one after another.
With each destruction, Ergo's face grew even sterner.
It was only natural.
Expensive, famous swords were being smashed to smithereens like this; his face couldn't help but stiffen.
The sheer value of the broken swords alone was enough to buy a mansion.
This was a blow, even for Ergo.
CLANG!
I shattered yet another renowned sword and tossed its fragments to the ground.
Trampling over the broken blades, I rushed towards Ergo in a flash.
With every sword that broke, the distance between Ergo and me narrowed.
Ergo gritted his teeth.
He, too, was constantly expending energy, continuously wielding his Sky-Vault Swordsmanship.
"You infuriating bastard."
Again, swords filled my vision.
My outstretched hand-blade incessantly batted away the swords.
A curtain of swords followed one after another.
It was as if I were trapped in a rain of blades.
But even if the rain soaked me, my steps did not falter.
Only the thunderous roar of clashing steel filled the forest.
Yet, I broke through again.
The moment I burst through the rain of swords.
Dozens of swords gathered before me, forming one colossal blade that flew at me.
It was like small fish gathering to form the shape of a colossal predator.
My fist clenched.
At the same time, my body twisted sharply around my right hand, my waist coiling with elasticity.
It was a punch I had thrown countless times long ago.
With the ingrained, precise movement, my full weight transferred powerfully into my fist.
My back foot and pivot foot rotated.
Simultaneously, the Explosive Magic Engraving etched on my elbow activated.
KABOOOOOM!
My steel-hard body-powered fist shattered the swords all at once.
Through the scattered fragments of blades, my eyes met Ergo's directly.
Red lines flickered in my eyes as I lowered my stance.
All my might poured into my foot as I stomped the ground.
THUD—
My body launched like a cannonball, along with the stomped ground.
The distance Ergo had declared continued to shrink.
I saw him hastily gathering his swords to block me.
A shield formed by converging swords once again blocked my path.
If he blocked, I'd simply shatter it.
A magic engraving imbued my clenched fist.
My outstretched fist shattered the sword shield once more.
Then.
Through the shattered sword shield, a single blade flew towards me.
It was a sword no different from the other renowned blades.
But the moment I faced it, my instincts sensed something off.
This.
This will cut me.
Making an immediate decision, I abandoned my attack and sharply twisted my neck.
WHIZ!
At that instant, a red line appeared on my face, and blood splattered.
Along with it, I spotted the golden aura lingering on the sword.
'Finally, he's imbued his sword with sword energy.'
What was needed to cut a steel-hard body was sword energy.
Only a handful of people in the world could use sword energy.
Even at Jerion Academy, aside from Ban and Iris, perhaps Hania was the only other.
But my opponent was one of the Six Stars.
And Ergo, at that—the genius of Sky-Vault Swordsmanship.
Even if he couldn't match Ban or Iris, he knew how to wield sword energy.
"I told you."
Two more swords hovered around Ergo.
Both swords were imbued with the same golden sword energy.
Currently, Ergo could control a total of three sword energy-imbued swords.
More than that was impossible.
But those three swords could deliver the most fatal blow to me.
"There is an unbridgeable difference between this body and you."
The presence or absence of sword energy was the difference between heaven and earth.
I was well aware of this fact.
Moreover, Ergo didn't just have sword energy.
RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE—
High up in the distant sky.
I sensed a colossal presence descending towards this place.
The Sword of the Colossus.
'He's playing his final hand.'
Three swords imbued with aura.
The Sword of the Colossus, which even I couldn't handle.
Ergo had made his decisive move before all his swords were destroyed.
Would I be pierced by the Sword of the Colossus and the aura-imbued swords first?
Or would I reach Ergo first?
However, there was one thing Ergo hadn't considered.
I raised my right hand above my head.
The moment Ergo looked at my action with a questioning gaze.
RUMBLE—
Dark clouds gathered above the Sword of the Colossus descending from the sky.
"Your Highness Ergo Parazon. We need to correct something."
CRACKLE—
For some reason, blue streaks of lightning shot from the ring on my index finger.
"From the beginning until now."
RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE—
The storm clouds in the sky began to emit an even fiercer roar.
"It is I who is attacking, and Your Highness Ergo Parazon who is defending."
"What?"
Before Ergo could even ask again.
A blinding white light opened its wicked maw through the storm clouds.
Above the clearing created by the fallen lightning.
I declared again.
Come.
Lightning Caller.
——————————!
A storm of electric current, devouring even sound, descended upon the ground.
The blinding white light, arriving even before the Sword of the Colossus, engulfed both Ergo and me simultaneously.
Ergo let out a silent scream before the overwhelming output of electric current.
But Ergo was not one of the Six Stars for nothing.
He forcibly protected his body by drawing out aura from within.
Imbuing aura directly into his body, rather than a sword, put an immense strain on him.
However, that allowed him to at least avoid losing consciousness from the lightning strike.
Ergo's eyes stared at me as if I were a madman.
His face showed he hadn't expected me to self-destruct with lightning.
So, I decided to inform him again.
This was not self-destruction.
CRACKLE, CRACKLE, CRACKLE—
Electric current surged in the hand extended towards the sky.
The current that had permeated my steel-hard body gathered around my right hand.
Accordingly, a spear of electric current, dyed blue, was formed.
Magic Engraving: Lightning Catcher.
I wield the Goddess's blue lightning in my hand.
Ergo's eyes widened.
He, too, realized the meaning of the spear I now held.
I could feel the alarm bells of danger ringing in Ergo's mind.
Ergo was the sole prince.
A genius born of Parazon.
Before such a genius.
A paltry, third-rate villain declared.
"Try to block this."
I bared my teeth and laughed with all my might.
I put strength into my waist and simultaneously activated the magic engraving.
With the explosion of the magic engraving activated at my elbow, my arm swung with full power.
A blue flash devoured the air and streaked forward.
Just before my vision was swallowed by light.
RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE!
The Sword of the Colossus had finally pierced through the blinding light and arrived.
The Sword of the Colossus and the Goddess's Spear intersected.
KABOOOOOOOM!
A roar loud enough to shatter eardrums swept through.
Even the overwhelmingly heavy Sword of the Colossus couldn't withstand the power imbued in the Goddess's Spear and was pushed back.
Ergo, as if spitting blood, gathered all other swords.
Countless swords arrayed themselves behind the Sword of the Colossus.
If he couldn't block it, he would be finished, pierced by the Goddess's Spear.
Knowing this, he used all his desperate might to block the Goddess's Spear.
HISSSSS—
White smoke rose before the Sword of the Colossus.
Sky-Vault Swordsmanship consumed a considerable amount of mental strength and energy.
DRIP—
Perhaps because of this, Ergo had reached his limit and was exhausted, blood dripping from his nose.
He gasped for breath.
His lungs inflated and deflated repeatedly.
Yet, he had finally managed to block it.
He confirmed his victory and raised his head.
And Ergo's eyes widened.
I had arrived before him.
The moment I unleashed the Goddess's Spear, I was already running through the lightning.
Because I never thought he would be defeated by just that.
My red eyes, gleaming, reflected in his dimming gaze.
My body, too, was a mess from the lightning.
But unlike him, I had already been hit by lightning twice.
Lightning Resistance.
The resistance imbued in my steel-hard body allowed me to move even within the Goddess's lightning.
"You… bastard."
Ergo muttered a curse, exhaling white smoke.
The distance he had declared between us had finally converged to zero.
My outstretched fist landed squarely on Ergo's jaw.
With the full force of my fist hitting his jaw, his head snapped back, and he was sent flying.
THUD!
Ergo tumbled weakly to the ground.
He rolled for a long time before collapsing, unmoving.
I gasped for breath, looking at the fallen Ergo.
"A pro-promise made by roy-royalty, I trust you'll keep it."
Apologize to Se-ron.
Soon after, I, too, fell backward.
THUMP—
Just before I hit the ground, I felt a soft touch on my back and raised my head.
Iris was there.
"Feel better?"
I nodded with difficulty.
Iris then threw Parazon's Sword, which she held in her hand, towards Ergo.
Parazon's Sword spun lightly in the air and embedded itself right next to Ergo.
Then, holding me in her arms, she walked over and pulled Baekmong's Sword from behind the Sword of the Colossus.
"It's a historic moment, my cousin defeating one of the Six Stars. It's a shame."
Today's fight between Ergo and me was not to be revealed to anyone.
So, when Iris sighed regretfully, I gave a bitter smile.
"If it gets out that I beat up the Prince of Parazon, I'll be in trouble too."
"That's true. It's our secret, Hanon."
That included Ergo.
He was a proud man.
He wouldn't go around blabbing about this, would he?
"Besides, you had one more trick hidden, didn't you?"
Iris asked sharply.
Did she know?
As Iris said, there was one more trick.
But it wasn't something I intended to use against Ergo.
"You have to save your trump card, you know."
Meanwhile, I felt my eyes keep closing.
"Just sleep for a bit."
Iris said, holding me close.
"So-sorry. Just a little."
Entrusting my body to Iris, my eyes slowly drifted shut.
***
Se-ron Parmia.
She rose from her sickbed and was discharged.
She had eaten Hanon's lunchbox heartily, so her stomach was full and she felt exceptionally good.
'It's full of what Prince Sweet Potato gave me.'
As she walked, thinking that thought, Se-ron saw someone walking towards her.
Just as she tilted her head in thought, recognizing the figure.
Se-ron's face stiffened.
There stood a blond man covered in bandages.
His name was Ergo Parazon.
One of the Six Stars, who had faced Se-ron in the preliminaries.
Surely Ergo hadn't been injured in the preliminaries.
Why was he in such a state?
Se-ron felt a sense of unease begin to creep over her.
"Se-ron Parmia, correct?"
As Ergo spoke her name, Se-ron's body flinched.
At that moment, Ergo bowed his head.
"I apologize for what this body did."
"Huh?"
Se-ron revealed a bewildered reaction.
She never imagined he would apologize.
Se-ron noticed a pendant around his neck.
It was the pendant Hanon had been wearing for a while.
At the same time, a phrase flashed through Se-ron's mind.
It was something Hanon had said when she was in the hospital room.
"I'll just make him apologize, truly."
Se-ron's eyes slowly widened.
Meanwhile, Ergo exhaled.
He shed the overbearing demeanor that usually clung to him.
"To challenge me for a lover… I never thought such a man existed in this world."
Ergo had lived his entire life revered as the Prince of Parazon.
Hanon's actions were unprecedented for him.
Perhaps because of this, Ergo felt as if his horizons had broadened.
Not every human in this world looked up to him.
That one realization alone had brought about many changes for Ergo.
"You were right. That guy… he truly is a prince."
A man who could do such a thing for his lover could indeed be called a prince without question.
In truth, Se-ron and Hanon were not lovers.
But seeing Se-ron's face, he couldn't help but be certain they were lovers again.
"He was a splendid man. Date him well."
He turned and left, as if his task was complete.
After Ergo left.
Se-ron stood there alone, in a daze.
Unconsciously, she placed a hand over her chest.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Her heart hurt.
Her heart was pounding too wildly.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Se-ron, her face beet-red, parted her lips.
With her hair standing on end, she realized one truth.
That her heart had been thoroughly stolen by him.
Ah, this…
I'll never be cured of this.
The love she had clung to, unable to escape the memories of her childhood.
It had finally, today, bloomed completely.
And it was a flower that could never wither.
"...That fool."
But it was alright.
Even if she could never be cured, this unparalleled elation was the most beautiful thing in her life.
"I'm really going to just kiss him."
And Se-ron's smile was also incomparably beautiful.