The Prince Wants to Retire

At the sudden sound of the voice, Kariel’s expression stiffened slightly. He looked around at the strange rigidity that was starting to set in his body.

“Is this a curse?” he thought, feeling an eerie sense of unease in the voice.

“Even if they’re sealed, their presence is still this strong….” Kariel looked gravely at the cursed artifacts around him.

These were cursed artifacts that had been sealed by the wizards. Among them, the most dangerous ones were double-sealed, with both self-sealing and a spell-bound box for safekeeping.

Despite this, the curses that seeped out were enough to threaten Kariel.

“Make a contract! Make a contract! Contract! Make a contract with me! With me!” The voice kept ringing in his ears, causing his mind to become increasingly groggy. However, he quickly regained his senses.

He had eaten countless tough meals in his previous life, so he could not allow himself to lose his mind so easily.

As Kariel regained his composure and began to walk forward, other curses approached him. There were those who threatened him by stiffening his body, those who openly cursed him, those who approached him slyly under the guise of pity, and those who simply whined.

Countless cursed artifacts flew at Kariel, making it difficult to handle the sheer number of curses he faced.

[Due to the curse, some of your bloodline abilities have been awakened.]

[The awakened bloodline abilities react to the fragments of the annihilating demon.]

[The first trial that God has hidden is about to begin.]

“…What?”

Kariel’s expression stiffened at the sudden appearance of a translucent spear. And at that moment, the suppressed flames that had been subdued by drugs began to roam around his body.

“This is insane…” Kariel muttered, unknowingly dropping to one knee. The amount of flames that were now escaping his body was too much for his fragile physique to bear, and they were starting to crystallize outside of his body.

As the flames suddenly began to rage, Kariel was wracked with intense pain. However, it wasn’t all bad.

“The curse… is gone?”

Pure flames that even burned away curses.

Kariel was momentarily surprised by the cleansing flames that purified everything unclean, but he quickly gathered himself and stood up.

He had come here for this very reason. All the filthy curses had been cleansed, leaving only the dangerously powerful ones.

“Seems like I’m doing pretty well.” A voice echoed in his head. “Make a contract with me, and I’ll make you the greatest mage!”

“No, make a contract with me,” another voice interjected. “I, the Flame Witch, will make you the best with the power of fire!”

A witch’s hat sealed with various magical tools. A black sword that looked dangerous just to look at. Two cursed artifacts were tempting Kariel. But Kariel only furrowed his brow and kept walking forward. Then, cursed artifacts that could talk began to approach him.

“Get lost,” Kariel said as he walked past them.

As a former emperor, why would he bother making deals with such creatures? Master? Mage? Even without such titles, he was still the highest authority. Their temptations were insignificant. Above all, they couldn’t give him what he wanted most.

“You’re all garbage,” he muttered, knowing from his past life that even making deals with cursed artifacts couldn’t cure his congenital disease caused by the flames within him. Thus, despite the many temptations, he was able to walk towards his goal.

[Fragment of Surt]

A necklace that contains a portion of the power of Surt, the owner of Muspell. Just getting close to it gives off a dreadful feeling. The curse was so powerful that it could purify almost any curse that came its way, leaving the cursed artifacts in the room contaminated with darkness.

“…Is this worth the risk?”

Among the cursed artifacts stored in this room for their danger was one that contained a fragment of Surt. It emitted an extremely powerful curse, even among the cursed artifacts that were kept inside the room.

Despite being pushed away by the strength of the artifact, Kariel still reached out to touch the necklace. As he did, he suddenly felt dizzy and stumbled, almost losing consciousness.

“Ugh!”

Feeling as if he might collapse at any moment, Kariel was confused and knelt down on one knee. At that moment, a blue flame shot out from the necklace and gathered in front of Kariel.

“It’s the primordial fire….”

The flame suddenly transformed into the form of a human and stared at Kariel without moving. It was a weak and feeble flame, but one could sense the primordial fire that was hidden within it, even if only as a speck of dust. However, the quantity was not important. What mattered was the fact that the primordial fire could be sensed, even if only as a speck of dust.

“Is it connected to ‘his’ fire through his bloodline ability? That’s quite remarkable.”

The primordial fire that was barely connected still existed in the form of a spark. Despite being only a tiny amount, it was too precious to exist within such a worthless body, so Kariel bit his tongue to contain his excitement.

“Tsk, what a waste, what a pity.”

Despite being only a tiny amount, the primordial fire couldn’t be handled by Kariel and made him tremble with its power.

Surt looked pitifully at Kariel, who was unable to handle even a small amount of his power. Seeing Surt looking pitifully at him, Kariel’s expression twisted.

“Don’t you think you’re in the same situation? Who would evaluate someone who can’t even gather a fragment?” Kariel endured the pain and spoke to Surt.

At that, Surt fell silent. 

“…You’re right. I’m in no position to evaluate anyone.”

Surt, who acknowledged his defeat without a fight, was once a formidable entity capable of destroying even the world itself. But now, he was nothing more than a pathetic existence that relied on the fragments of his power to survive. Even as they spoke, the very essence of his being was being worn away in real time.