CHAPTER 203: CROWN PRINCE

For a moment, the world held its breath.

And then—

BOOOOOM!!!

Maximus, the Royal Knight Commander, brandished his sword, which was far larger than any double-edged blade but still couldn’t compare to a greatsword.

After receiving confirmation from the king for the order given by the queen, he dashed toward the boy who had caused so much chaos and had even killed the duke’s eldest son. The boy looked quite strong—maybe as strong as Maximus himself—so teaming up with William Arselin had seemed like a great idea. He was sure they would kill the boy and end everything once and for all.

He was moving at full speed, sword in a firm grip, just as he reached only a meter away from William.

BOOOM!

A strong force struck him. He didn’t understand for a while. His body was flying. A terrified look formed on his face.

Not because he was being thrown back by a force he hadn’t expected, but because the piece of mangled flesh that hit his body didn’t hurt him—it just stopped his breath through sheer realization.

The warmth of the blood splatter touched his cheek, sticky and steaming against the sudden cold sweat down his spine.

The blood floating in the air like mist. The body of William Arselin—his upper half was gone, and his lower body landed on the ground right in front of Maximus’s eyes.

Thud.

Trembling and with a heart beating so fast it might burst any second, Maximus stopped himself as his sword slid down across the surface.

The hairs on his neck stood up, his skin crawling with the primal certainty of death.

He barely kept himself standing, breathing haggardly.

What is this monstrosity!

Maximus didn’t dare move forward and attack, because he knew that while he may have been slightly stronger than William, this level of strength was something he couldn’t compete with. He knew he would die within seconds, and he didn’t want that.

—

[24,700 causality has been earned]

Leon looked at the message that came from the cosmic system. The amount of causality he got from this man was triple the amount he got from Malverick. Still, these numbers were low—especially when he had causality in the hundreds of millions.

"Arrgghhh! I will kill you!!!" With a thumping sound from below, it seemed someone was climbing up in a fit of rage.

He knew it was Duke Arselin. Leon was about to finish him off, just as he had wanted, but a voice made him turn his focus on the Royal Knight Commander once again.

"My love, I will handle this. You focus on those in front of you."

After saying these words, Seraphine jumped down and kicked the blue-haired man directly to the ground. He brought his hand forward to block the attack.

Yet the Duke couldn’t stop the fall.

Bam!

He glided through the air and landed on the ground safely, glaring at Seraphine, who just landed next to him and was coming toward him with a sword in her hands.

He barely had time to react when his sword, covered in a light bluish aura, met with her weird-looking single-edged blade.

The Duke didn’t understand how that slim sword hadn’t broken from the impact. It looked too thin.

He was upset that he wasn’t able to face the murderer of his son directly. However, in his mind, he felt delighted.

Once I kill her, that boy will also know how I feel! Yes, I just have to kill her.

He would enjoy the desperate look on the boy’s face once he saw his dead lover.

Duke Arselin was unaware of the fact that the old patriarch of his house—his father—who was the strongest in their lineage, had also died. Otherwise, his thought process would have been quite different right now.

Leon looked down for a moment and then turned away. He had full confidence in Seraphine taking care of Duke Arselin, so he would leave him to her.

The man donned in golden-silver armor wasn’t coming at him at all. He just stood at a distance. His four knights had also finished off the Duke’s knights after Kaela finished two and helped the rest take care of the remaining three.

Leon waited for a second, but the Royal Knight Commander still didn’t come to attack. The way he was trembling, Leon could tell he must be scared.

But he remembered that the man had come quite bravely earlier, trying to join the old men.

"If you won’t come, I will come to you."

A faint scent of ozone and blood followed his movement, lingering like a bad omen.

Maximus heard the monstrous boy’s words. His pride as the Royal Knight Commander and everything else was thrown out the window as he started running away from Leon. His survival instinct was working at full force.

After witnessing the end of William Arselin, he had lost all hope of winning this battle. He didn’t even want to fight anymore.

"Nooo! Leave me alone! I don’t want to fight you! I’m sorry!!!" He ran while shouting, because he didn’t want to die.

His life had been good. He and the queen were planning to overthrow the kingdom soon, and he was about to become the king. But now—

Why did I have to meet this monster... I don’t want to die.

He ran, face horrified, using his mana at full throttle, his steps making the stone surface tremble.

Yet it was all for nothing. Leon’s figure flashed, and he arrived beside him in no time. He gave a spinning 360-degree kick at Maximus’s side.

Bam!

The sound of impact echoed like a hammer striking an anvil, reverberating through the bones of everyone nearby.

His protective armor, which had looked tough and unbreakable before due to its appearance, crumbled before Leon’s insane physical strength.

Fwoosh!

Maximus’s body hurtled through the air, sent flying by the unstoppable force.

"Urrrgh..."

The pain hit him. He felt the entire upper left side of his body was broken. Blood leaked from his mouth.

Yet he had a shocked expression on his face.

Why am I not dead?

He didn’t think he would be able to fight anymore, but he was nonetheless alive. It wasn’t a coincidence. The monster had definitely done it intentionally—or else his fate would have been like William’s.

Boom!

"Arrrgghh!"

When his body hit the ground at such speed, a few more bones were broken. He wasn’t even in a condition to stand.

Maximus didn’t want to try either, because there had to be a reason the devil was sparing him. If he tried to escape, he didn’t know what would happen—but he had no intention of finding that out.

Every breath came with a wheeze and the metallic taste of blood on his tongue.

He lay on the ground like a broken doll, unmoving, feeling lucky that he wasn’t killed. Yet horror also assaulted his mind constantly, wondering what might happen to him in the future.

—

Leon focused ahead. He hadn’t killed the Royal Knight Commander because the amount of causality he would get from him wasn’t worth it. He would rather use him as a strong laborer and mentor for the people inside his dimensional realm.

He was weaker than Seraphine, however he would make an excellent teacher for those who weren’t Awakeners.

He looked at Crown Prince Alric, who was shaking in his seat right next to the king—who still didn’t show any reaction, unlike the crown prince or the man from before.

Does he have some trump card or something?

Leon wasn’t sure about that, but one thing he knew was that he had been holding back quite a lot. He still hadn’t used his full physical strength—just a tiny portion of it until now. Forget about mana and his elements.

The boost I’ve gotten after my race changed is too much. There is no one present here who can harm me—not even the platinum-blonde-haired woman from before, who is still watching me.

Previously, she had terrified him. But now, she didn’t even seem like a threat. His instincts were calm, as still as an ocean.

Not a single inkling of danger came from her anymore.

He could feel the atmosphere had frozen around him like ice. No one made a move.

Even the sounds of footsteps or whispers had vanished, swallowed by a pressure that made the lungs tighten.

Not a single bit of noise could be heard. Leon’s mystic gaze locked onto Alric.

He was next. Leon still remembered the threat Alric had given him at the start—and the fact that he had been backing Malverick from the very beginning. He couldn’t forget that.

Leon, with leisurely steps, started making his way toward him. Alric stood up from his seat quickly and started running—it seemed he had felt his impending doom.

Just as he had taken one step ahead, his entire body froze in place. He couldn’t move an inch. Only his thoughts remained—and they were filled with dread.

He couldn’t even look at his father—the King—for help. Even his eyes couldn’t move. They were frozen. He could only look at the stairs.

Alric was horrified. He wanted to shout, but he couldn’t. He wanted to beg, but he couldn’t.

How was he going to survive if he couldn’t even talk, couldn’t even try to persuade him?

T-This can’t be happening!!!