Chapter 70: Night of Annihilation (8)

Chapter 70: Night of Annihilation (8)

TL/Editor: Rungir

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It seemed as if someone had drawn a line of ink on a white sheet of paper. But instead of paper, it was the world itself that served as the backdrop.

There was no fight, no struggle.

It felt as if this outcome had been predestined.

Enoch's sun, woven from heavenly bodies, disappeared the moment it met the black line. No traces left behind, as if it was never there.

But that was not all.

Everything trapped in the vast path of the black line shattered, disappearing into nothingness.

"How can this be..."

Enoch murmured, shocked and puzzled by the unimaginable scene before him.

He was stunned.

The attack he had just delivered was a fusion of his most potent magic, nearly level 8, and a celestial body, the largest creation within his power.

And it just vanished?

Was it because of this shock?

He was so astonished he didn't even notice the blood seeping from his grazed abdomen.

Zion advanced, extending his sword toward the flabbergasted third prince.

Zion's darkness-imbued mantle danced, its flaming shadow deepening the darkness of the night.

"Ah..."

Did the third prince see his own end in Zion's advancing figure?

Fear and despair filled his eyes as he took a step back.

'Am I going to die here... by the hands of such a disgrace to the royal family?'

It was inconceivable.

No, it was unacceptable.

Enoch, whose sole pursuit had been the throne.

He could not come to terms with meeting his end here, his journey to the throne not even properly started, especially not to Zion, who he had always considered insignificant.

"No... This can't be..."

A shout of frustration, a near rage, burst from Enoch's lips.

Just then.

Drip.

A black substance began to well up in Enoch's star-filled eyes, like a droplet of ink falling into clear water.

Simultaneously, the stars of the Milky Way started to lose their light and darken.

Soon, a magical energy began to surge from the stars, intense enough to cause dizziness just by observing.

"I'll kill you. I'll wipe you out from this world, leaving not even a speck of dust behind!"

Enoch's words were directed at Zion, his eyes fully engulfed in darkness.

Just as when Lergan Urschler was convinced that Zion had formed a pact with the demon tribe.

Magic grafting.

This was Enoch's final resort, having hit a wall in his pursuit of power through conventional means.

To survive, he had established a human testing site in the Stellar Palace's underground and joined forces with the demon, Diral.

Even though it was unfinished and forbidden, it was better than losing his life here.

Enoch's magical energy exploded, tainting everything in its path.

The intensity of the magic far exceeded any power Enoch had ever displayed.

His face turned red as if he was struggling to control it, he stretched his hand towards Zion.

Enoch's focused magic was about to turn into hundreds of blades aimed at Zion.

But then.

Zion appeared before him, moving so swiftly that it far outpaced Enoch's reaction time, and gave a slight smile.

"I've been waiting a long time for you to use this."

Before Enoch's surprise could fully register.

Zion's Eclaxia, having demolished all the magical blades Enoch had created, severed Enoch's left arm as well.

"Arghh...!"

Just as Enoch was about to scream from the shock and pain.

Zion's sword swing, tearing apart the space around it, silenced him.

Enoch was thrown back, as if his borrowed magic had no effect, perhaps even less than before.

Enoch's eyes were a whirlwind of confusion and surprise, but it was a predictable outcome.

From the start, Zion had been waiting for Enoch to use his magic.

In truth, Zion could have killed Enoch the moment he used Chronos' first question.

But there was one reason he didn't.

'It's not enough to justify killing a royal in the heart of the royal city, just based on his human experimentation in the Stellar Palace's underground.'

The thing to fill this justification gap was Enoch's magic.

Not just any dark magic, but magic grafted directly from the demon tribe - a perfect addition.

Both in terms of power and spirit.

"Who... are you?"

Struggling to lift his head, Enoch directed the question to Zion, whose gaze was calm, bordering on lethargic.

"You're not Zion. You can't be."

It wasn't mere pride preventing him from accepting his defeat to Zion, deemed the disgrace of the royal family.

Enoch truly believed that the figure before him was not Zion.

A white light flared in Zion's eyes.

Deep within them, Enoch glimpsed Zion's essence.

An abyss so profound, its depths were unfathomable.

He had no clue what resided at the very bottom.

Merely gazing into it sent shivers through his body, and a paralyzing dread that left him dizzy.

"The Zion Agnes I know, no... No human could possibly possess such eyes."

Enoch's voice was filled with certainty.

"Perhaps."

Zion slowly shook his head in response to Enoch's question.

He couldn't definitively answer that question.

The question wasn't simply about whether he was Zion Agnes or Emperor Aurelion Khan Agnes.

From the time he was an emperor in the original world, not this chronicle.

No, even prior to that, Zion had been ceaselessly contemplating his own essence.

Why he was so different from ordinary beings.

Why only he could command the black star.

He might discover the answer once he reached the end of the black star's path, but for now, it remained an enigma.

"...I see."

The Third Prince, wearing an empty smile, bowed his head slowly without posing any further questions, perhaps sensing honesty in Zion's response.

"You've won."

With these final words,

"Zion."

His breath stopped completely.

He was one of the five royal descendants nearest to the impending imperial throne, a direct bloodline of the Agnes family.

So, it was a hollow end for the Third Prince, Enoch. He had been on the verge of ultimate power and had the support of every mage in the Empire.

"......"

After watching Enoch's body crumble to the ground, Zion deactivated one of Chronos's Five Riddles, 'Time Freeze'.

As such, the lunar eclipse naturally dissipated.

Although the power in one of Chronos's Riddles could be wielded only once, Zion had no regrets.

'From the start, I had planned to deploy Chronos's Five Riddles against Enoch and his phantom army.'

Missing this opportunity would have made slaying Enoch an exponentially more arduous task.

This was the best course of action Zion could execute at this moment.

'Given the need to synchronize the divine machine and the wave of existence, I couldn't wield it from the outset.'

Chronos's Five Riddles required an adjustment period unlike typical tools, and right on cue for the encounter with Enoch, this adaptation phase concluded, enabling Zion to utilize it proficiently.

Just then,

"You really did... slay Enoch..."

When did she appear?

The Fifth Princess, Diana, approached Zion with her entourage, whispering as if in disbelief.

The destruction of her lingering concerns should have brought relief, yet her eyes reflected more bewilderment than happiness.

She couldn't fathom that Zion could topple Enoch single-handedly.

'Even when he declared his intent to confront him, I assumed it would be alongside Egrasia.'

The truth defied belief, yet she had witnessed it, leaving her with no choice but to accept.

While Enoch's strength was somewhat inferior to the other royals, he was nonetheless a formidable adversary, like her.

What sort of power did Zion, who had defeated such a foe, possess?

Just as her mind was grappling with this drastically altered perception of his strength,

"Postpone your amazement."

The voice emanating from Zion interrupted Diana's train of thought.

"First, let's finish the cleanup."

Zion, not glancing her way but gazing towards the royal city's main gate in the distance, was observing Enoch's forces approaching at a fearsome pace.

Having decapitated the enemy, it was now time to claim the spoils of war.

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