The Useless Prince Is A Gangster

The rifle's sharp crack echoed through the tomb, blasting apart Draven's head in a spray of blood and bone. His huge, monstrous body hit the ground with a heavy thud. The once-feared Pillar of Treachery lay dead patheticly, worse than his lover's death.

The masked cult soldiers across the swirling portal froze. They flinched back at the sight, fear breaking through their blank emotionless masks.

Velkara's eyes burned with fury and her fists clenched as she stared at Draven's broken body. Loyal to the Order above all else, her blood boiled at seeing her comrade fall. She took a step forward, ready to storm through the portal and tear Leo apart. But Ashen raised a single hand calmly, commanding to stand back. She stopped mid-step, her jaw tight as her pride at war with her loyalty.

Ashen's gaze rested on Draven's corpse. His face didn't show any remorse for the orphan he took hundreds of years ago. To him, he is a disposable piece like others. His eyes flickered with something—respect? amusement?—as they returned to the killer.

Leo staggered backward from the rifle's recoil, his body nearly spent. Exhaustion weighed on every limb. The world spun around him and he could barely stand.

"Leonhardt!" Rin screamed as she rushed, her pink eyes wide with worry, ignoring the cult on the other side. Lucian followed while still carrying Velmera, his own face tight with concern for his brother.

Rin caught Leo just as his knees gave out. Her arms wrapped around his bare chest, steadying him. His breath came rough and ragged, but her touch kept him upright. He leaned on her with his arm hooked tightly over her shoulder.

Erin stepped closer to the portal, standing right by Draven's corpse. Her violet eyes locked onto the cult. Her cocky grin showed teeth, but underneath burned a fierce protectiveness. She was the wall between Leo's group and the enemy.

"Well," she said playfully, jabbing a thumb toward Leo, "your ruler's not really in a talking mood. So I'll translate for him."

Ashen's head tilted slightly. His lips curved into a small smile, but his eyes stayed sharp, cold. "So, you are the one cutting down my disciples," he said smoothly, his voice like honey hiding poison.

Leo met Ashen's gaze through the portal. He didn't speak—he couldn't. But his glare said it all: he wasn't finished.

Erin looked at Leo and smirked. "You're the cult's big boss, right?" she said, turning back to the portal.

Ashen let out a soft chuckle. "I am Ashen, High Priest of the Order of Ashtarya," he said, his tone smooth and commanding, like a preacher. "Her will guides us. Her silence is our salvation."

Leo's lips curled into a sharp grin despite his pain. His grip on Rin tightened, drawing strength from her as he stood taller.

Erin caught his look and laughed mockingly. "Ashtarya? Your order? Your goddess?" She chuckled, trying to hold laughter to talk. "Fuck all of it. And especially fuck you."

Velkara snapped, her face twisted with rage at the insult. "You blasphemous cur—!" she screamed, hurling herself at the portal with fists glowing in black fire.

But as she crossed the threshold—boom—an invisible wall slammed her back like a doll. She crashed to the floor with her pride shattered and eyes burning with rage.

The barrier is made by Erin. She stood with one arm out, her shield of light buzzing between places. Her violet eyes shone bright, her smirk sharp. "Not now," she said calmly, more chilling than Ashen's words. "Theres so much time for our play to finish."

Ashen's gaze slid to her in curiosity. "And you," he said softly, "are you the bright star that leads the ruler?"

Erin's smirk widened. "Bingo."

"I'll concede," he said with an amused smooth tone. "Killing my weakest Pillar is no small feat." His lips curved into a mocking smile. "Yet it changes nothing. I will return—again and again—until Ashtarya is restored to me. And I will carve through every one of you to see it done."

Leo's head snapped up, his crimson eyes blazing with anger that burned brighter than his exhaustion. Ashen's words lit a fire in him, feeding the rage he had carried since the cult first came into his life. Ashen and his fukcing witch were what stood between him and Chloe.

He wanted nothing more than to leap through the portal and crush Ashen's skull with his bare hands continuously until he was satisfied. But his body was weak, his legs shaking and his strength almost gone. Elynn's healing could close his wounds, but it couldn't heal the bone-deep exhaustion. His fists clenched with frustration.

A sudden, wild laugh split the silence, echoing off the tomb. Erin doubled over, clutching her stomach as she laughed loudly, bold, and fearless. Her violet eyes shone with tears of amusement.

Leo blinked with his anger faltering for a moment. A small smirk tugged at his lips.

Rin, still holding him upright, shot Erin a wary look. Her pink eyes narrowed with annoyance mixing in her expression.

"Have you lost it?" she asked sharply.

"Or she was born mad." Leo added.

Erin straightened and wiped tears from her face. Her grin was fierce as she pointed at Ashen, her voice dripping with scorn.

"You? Kill us? You obsessive creep."

For the first time, Ashen's calm wavered. His eyes narrowed with irritation flashing in his cool control.

"You think I don't see through your pathetic devotion?" Erin continued. "Chasing Ashtarya like a lovesick fool, even if it means stuffing her and you into two poor girl's bodies and you planned to marry, right? Vessel or not."

Lucian's grip on Velmera tightened with his face twisting with disgust. The thought of that witch possessing Velmera's body, of Ashen's perverse devotion, made his stomach churn.

"Creepy," he muttered. "I wish I'd never heard that."

Rin shivered, her skin crawling as if a thousand insects skittered down her spine. "I feel like bugs are creeping all over me now," she said, her voice trembling with a mix of nausea and dread, her hand instinctively tightening around Leo's arm.

Nehzareth, the towering Pillar of Void standing behind Ashen, tilted his head, his voice a guttural rumble.

"Can I eat her?" he asked as he gestured toward Erin. Velkara nodded eagerly, her rage still simmering from her earlier humiliation. "She's irritating," she hissed with her fists clenched.

Erin's grin didn't falter. "Eat me?" she asked mocking sweetly as she tilted her head.

"I'm speaking now—not as the ruler's translator, but as the Bright Star."

Then, to everyone's shock, she switched to an ancient language. "You think I'm merely the Bright Star?" she said, her voice resonant and commanding, a language didn't used for centuries.

Leo's breath caught, his exhausted mind struggling to process the words. Only the pillars and Ashen have recognized the ancient language. But Leo couldn't understand as Elynn remained silent.

Lucian frowned with his voice low with confusion. "What's she saying?" he asked, glancing at Leo.

Leo exhaled shakily, his crimson eyes narrowing. "I don't know," he said with a fatigue tone. "Maybe she wants it to be a secret." Rin and Lucian exchanged stunned glances.

Erin's smirk grew wicked, her eyes locked on Ashen as she continued. "My name is Aria, the new Goddess of Death and Time," she declared, her voice ringing with authority.

Ashen's eyes widened with shock, as did those of Velkara and Nehzareth, who took an instinctive step back. "Or perhaps I should introduce myself as… the daughter of Goddess Amelia."