The Prince Wants to Retire

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Chapter 59: The Crown Prince Wants to Retire

“Block the Hell Gate!”

To fulfill the Great Plan, countless people have made sacrifices, and even more will do so in the future.

But their sacrifices were not in vain.

Compared to the endless days of suffering they must endure due to their ‘original sin,’ the pain of this life was something they could accept.

“The Paradise of the Afterlife”

It was an old book containing information about the Palace of Hell discovered by the Roman Emperor after the death of his mother when he was young.

One day, he had a dream about the people suffering in Hell and his mother trapped among them.

At first, he thought it was just a nightmare.

But the dreams continued, and with each one, he noticed more faces of people he knew appearing in them.

Then one day, one of the tribal chiefs from Sandria secretly visited him as a child.

“Most people from the East Continent carry original sin.”

At first, he thought it was nonsense.

Yet, the tribes of Sandria visited him regularly to share the information they possessed.

The more they came, the clearer his dreams became.

Countless souls suffering in the horrifying landscape of Hell.

What was curious was that none of the souls were from the West Continent.

“Why is that?”

He began to question this and looked into the old book.

Finally, he uncovered the reason.

Thanks to the exploits of the First Emperor of Ignit, the people of the West Continent escaped the shackles of Hell.

On the other hand, they did not.

Why had the Roman Emperor tormented the West Continent so?

As a child, he knew not the reason.

But after becoming Emperor and peeking into secrets, he finally grasped the truth.

“The past Emperors were unable to suppress their envy and jealousy towards the people of the West Continent.”

An old book recorded the private secrets of past Emperors. It was written like this.

Jealousy towards the people of the West Continent.

Even the Emperors were not exempt from this.

If only they could achieve freedom after death, they would do anything. But in the end, they couldn’t find a way and unleashed their anger upon the West Continent.

When he learned all the secrets, he felt ashamed.

“Is this really my Empire?”

The ugly truth of the Emperors at the pinnacle of their long history and tradition.

What was more horrifying was that such feelings had quietly sprouted in his own heart.

The suffering of Roman and the states of the East Continent was solely due to their own mistakes.

They had bowed to Hell to survive, and thus continued to suffer.

The Ancient People thoroughly concealed this fact. Unlike the people of the West Continent, they wished to hide their submission to Hell.

But this made the situation even worse.

Information about Hell began to vanish, and ultimately, stories about Hell were treated as mere rumors.

“Hell has vanished with the fall of the Mythical Era.”

This was the main opinion of the archaeologists of the continent, so there was no need to say more.

Of course, not all people of the East Continent were suffering.

By connecting with the people of the West Continent, they could find freedom from their pain. But they learned this too late.

Now, Roman and the West Continent had become irreparably estranged.

To break the curse that caused the souls of East Continent people to fall into the horrific Hell known as Nasthron, the only choice was to awaken the once-benevolent Goddess of Death.

When he understood all the truths, he realized why the chiefs of Sandria had sought him out.

The Priest of Hell.

Only one could exist after the Mythical Era.

This was because Roman had dormant talent within him that could let him become the Priest of Hell.

With their help, the Roman Emperor could become the Priest, and finally, he had come this far.

“Nearly… complete.”

Since so many people had already sacrificed, he could no longer postpone it.

Although many lives were lost in the war with Ignit, they would surely be satisfied if they could escape their eternal suffering.

“Paradise…”

He looked at the people sweating for the sake of Paradise.

The pain of the moment.

But they were enduring and working for the peace they would achieve after enduring years of suffering after death.

As the Emperor and Priest of Hell, Roman could do nothing but pray to the Goddess.

‘May Paradise be completed soon…’

With a heartfelt desire, he looked at the traces of the Goddess he had accumulated up to now.

As soon as he found an artifact that appeared to be one of Hell’s adornments, the next ruins appeared before his eyes.

Just like Kariel found the next fragment through Garum’s piece, the Roman Emperor could do the same.

Just as the First Emperor of Ignit had stood against the ancestor, who was the ancient Priest of Hell, a god was once again trying to thwart his plans through Kariel.

“This time, I will surely…”

With a firm determination to cut the chains of original sin, the Emperor clenched his fist.

Due to the Hell Gates opened by the artifacts of Hell, the Emperor of the Ignit Empire had no choice but to be one step behind him.

While he was busy blocking the Hell Gates, he would find a few more artifacts to lay the foundation for Paradise.

*

While Roman’s thoughts unfolded, Kariel was busy blocking the Maw and burning Wraiths coming through the Hell Gate.

Even though he formed waves of fire, and the Red Ghost and Fire Priests annihilated numerous Maws, the Army of Hell continued to flood in relentlessly.

The Army of Hell was endless, so it was impossible to keep blocking them forever.

Thus, Kariel had no choice but to issue a risky order.

“Tell everyone to fall back.”

With Kariel’s orders, all the forces blocking the Army of Hell retreated.

And at that moment, the huge body of Surth and the summoned beings transformed into small fireballs.

“Clear them out.”

Thinking of a tsunami, at the moment he poured all his strength forward, the fireballs that created a barrier of fire grew larger and charged toward the endlessly incoming Army of Hell.

Smash…

As soon as they made contact, the monsters from Hell who once walked this land turned to ash, announcing their presence here.

Maws, burning soldiers, Wraiths—all became mere handfuls of ash scattered into the sky.

At once, the path was cleared, and Kariel, with a weary expression, gave the command.

“Break through.”

“Yes!”

Under Kariel’s command, the Red Ghosts started to break a path forward.

Following this, Kariel, protected by the Imperial Palace Knights, arrived at the Hell Gate.

“Is it the floor again?”

Muttering to himself, Kariel moved the knights back and instructed Surth to strike the ground. As a result, strange symbols appeared on the floor, revealing a hidden ruin.

With a flash!

As the green flame of Garum emitted light, a secret door opened smoothly.

[You have found the Second Soul Fragment of Garum.]

A jewel wrapped in green flame floated alongside a translucent window.

As Kariel absorbed the Soul Fragment of Garum, just like at the first ruins, the Fire Priests created a sealing circle around the Hell Gate.

Although Kariel had directly closed the Hell Gate at the first ruins and couldn’t demonstrate his achievements, things were different now.

To prove that they had not been idly sitting by, they suppressed the monsters emerging from Hell through the sealing circles they created.

Simultaneously, the Red Ghosts dealt with the Army of Hell.

Finally, after absorbing the Soul Fragment much faster than the first one, Kariel personally closed the Hell Gate.

“Another closed Hell Gate. Is the Emperor of Ignit humanity’s hope?”

The only human capable of closing the Hell Gate.

Moreover, someone who could demonstrate overwhelming power against the Army of Hell.

Thus, the rumor spread across the entire continent that this was the Emperor of Ignit.

“Clear them out, Surth.”

Now, a symbol of Kariel, the Fire Giant had become a legend of victory so much so that people believed they could win against the Army of Hell as long as he appeared.

In the Mythical Era, he had been called the God of Fire, the Devil of Muspel, and even the Giant of Destruction after the Mythical Era.

And now he had transformed into a symbol of victory.

“Feeling good, huh?”

– Well…

Watching Surth pretend to be indifferent while struggling to hide his smile, Kariel couldn’t help but chuckle.

Just as he had been recognized by the First Soul Fragment of Garum, the second and third fragments also acknowledged him, causing Kariel’s halted growth to soar.

The more this happened, the more Kariel sought out the most dangerous areas, the most urgent situations.

“The battlefield the Emperor of Ignit visits always ends in victory. So hold on. The Emperor will come and grant you victory.”

It could have been an exaggerated way of boosting morale due to the poor situation of the Allied Forces.

But what mattered was that all the battlefields where Kariel was present ended in victory for humanity.

As the occurrences of closing Hell Gates increased, the value of Kariel in the eyes of humanity skyrocketed, and now, his image of commanding summoned creatures had become the very definition of ‘hero.’

Even the two Masters standing beside Kariel, protecting him, shone compared to his presence, showcasing power beyond that of any Master when it came to dealing with the Army of Hell.

And this appearance left a profound impression on the people of the East Continent.

“No leader of the continent could ever show such a sight!”

As news spread that a famous scholar, known for never praising the rulers of the East Continent, was extolling Kariel, it filled the people of the West Continent with pride.

“Our Majesty!”

“The Only Emperor of the West Continent!”

“The Hero of the West Continent!”

The term ‘hero of humanity’ was specialized to apply only to the West Continent.

And even more delighted than them were the citizens originally from the Ignit Empire.

They sent endless praises to the one who had eradicated their terrible past and turned their nation into the greatest on the continent.

Though times were tough due to the continuous war, nearly all people rallied behind Kariel’s name and offered boundless support.

Not to disappoint them, Kariel advanced.

Boom!

“Is this the ninth one?”

Once again, Kariel absorbed the Soul Fragment of Garum and looked at his arm.

Intricate patterns had grown even larger than before.

“Isn’t this going to cover my whole body later?”

The patterns already covered his back and chest, gradually creeping down his arms.

– Perhaps. More importantly… the tenth fragment might be a bit challenging.

At Surth’s words, Kariel nodded.

He had already received information regarding the tenth fragment from the Allied Forces, revealing that the Hell Gate concealing the tenth piece was of a completely different scale than before.

Because of this, the majority of the forces freed by Kariel had been directed toward that area.

“Is the tenth fragment the last one?”

– Who knows? One thing is certain: it won’t be as easy to be recognized as before.

Kariel sighed softly at Surth’s warning and nodded.

“Still, we must try.”

Saying that, Kariel stared at the Hell Gate after fully absorbing the powder of the ninth fragment.

Before long, the Hell Gate was rapidly shrinking under the green flames.

The speed was incomparable to when he absorbed the first fragment, and he was able to recognize his growth once again.

Boom!

As the opened space was restored and the traces of the Hell Gate completely vanished, Talion rushed in urgently.

“Your Majesty!”

“What is it?”

“The front lines of the Allied Forces blocking the tenth Hell Gate have collapsed.”

“What?”

As Kariel looked at Talion in confusion, he spoke in a serious tone.

“A new Hell monster has appeared.”