The Hidden Extra: The Lazy Prince Refuses to Ascend The Throne

The middle-aged man was the Demon Emperor Zerathos, and the body he inhabited belonged to the Holy Apostle of the Underworld Gate.

Before heading to the capital to create chaos, he had placed part of his soul into the Holy Apostle’s body as a precaution, in case he died unexpectedly.

Who would have thought that he would actually die—at the hands of someone he never expected, Malverna?

His master, who had been dead for thousands of years, had somehow resurrected. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find a reasonable explanation.

After all, he had already confirmed that Malverna was completely dead.

”But it’s okay,” he muttered as he straightened his posture. ”I’m still alive. All I need to do is hide and wait for the right moment.”

He realized how foolish his previous actions had been. He should have stayed hidden from the outside world and waited until his strength fully recovered.

As a result, the perfect body of Cassian that he had worked so hard to obtain was wasted.

However, he knew that regret was meaningless. In the future, he could find a new body of even higher quality.

Demon Emperor Zerathos stood up, but a sharp pain suddenly shot through his waist.

”Internal injury?” His eyes widened. He rubbed his waist and discovered that his kidneys were in poor condition.

”What bad luck! Did this man play around with too many women in the past?” he grumbled angrily.

Not only was this body’s physical quality extremely low, but it also suffered from various illnesses that were difficult to cure.

To make matters worse, Demon Emperor Zerathos’s own strength had been reduced to only ten percent.

Most of his soul had been destroyed by Malverna.

’Although it’s annoying to start from zero—no, calling it minus is more accurate—I still have to get back up and not give up,’ he muttered angrily.

He swore in his heart to kill Malverna and destroy the Great Velmora Empire in the future.

It was his oath—the oath of a Demon Emperor.

...

”What do you mean? Ignis is still alive?” Malverna was stunned.

Nolan nodded. ”Yes, he’s still alive. And it seems he has hidden himself somewhere undetectable to the outside world.”

Malverna frowned. Nolan’s words were hard to believe, as she was certain that Ignis was completely dead.

However, Nolan was not the type of person to speak such nonsense.

”Then can you find his location?” she asked.

She had no idea how. The world was vast—finding Ignis would be like searching for a single ring in the middle of the desert.

”I can. And it’s surprisingly simple,” Nolan said, a mysterious smile curling on his lips.

He opened his right palm, and a ring-shaped light hovered above it.

With a swift motion, he flung it into the sky, where it soared upward and erupted into a breathtaking aurora.

Malverna was mesmerized by the sight. However, in the next moment, something even more astonishing happened.

The aurora shifted and then merged into a giant green eye.

The gaze of that eye made Malverna’s heart pound. It felt as though nothing could be hidden from it.

The eye turned toward the east, and a green beam shot out from the center of its pupil.

Soon after, a thin green thread of light appeared, as if pointing toward a distant location.

”We’ve found his location. Let’s go,” Nolan said, tightly clasping Malverna’s hand.

Malverna was surprised. However, before she could react, Nolan sliced the air in front of them with his finger.

In an instant, space split apart. He pulled Malverna inside, and the two vanished.

The torn space slowly returned to normal.

...

The Demon Emperor Zerathos sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. Having lost most of his power made him uneasy.

He had good reason to feel that way. A great mage could kill him right now.

That was why he was so concerned about being discovered in his weakened state.

”I need to get as far away as possible,” he muttered as he opened his eyes. ”Perhaps the western region, where the demon race once lived, would be the most suitable.”

In the past, the demon race had lived on the western continent alongside the dragon race and other races.

Back then, he had managed to conquer every race there except the dragon race.

Unfortunately, he later fell into the hands of two Transcendents summoned from another world, leading to the demon race’s destruction and dispersal.

Currently, the western region was under the control of human forces and the dragon race.

Nevertheless, there was a specific area known only to him and a few high-ranking members of the demon race from the past.

Because he was in too much of a hurry to regain his power, he hadn’t had time to go there.

Sighing deeply, he stood up and was about to leave when a woman dressed in a black cloak appeared from behind the door.

Demon Emperor Zerathos became alert at once but quickly calmed down when he saw who it was.

”What is it, Gehena?” he asked indifferently.

The woman was Gehena, one of the Holy Apostle’s right-hand women.

Gehena stepped closer and stopped beside him. She lowered her head and reported, ”Holy Apostle, the forces we sent... have perished. The whereabouts of Demon Emperor Zerathos are also unknown. What should we do?”

Demon Emperor Zerathos’s expression darkened. In a cold voice, he said, ”How is that possible? And why am I only hearing about this now?”

”I... just learned of it now, Holy Apostle,” she stammered.

Zerathos fell silent for a moment, then regained his composure.

”I understand. Stay on guard outside. I’ll handle this. Now go.”

Gehena blinked in surprise. She had expected a scolding—after all, that was the Holy Apostle’s usual response.

Who would have thought she’d be let off so easily?

”Why are you still standing there? Go!” Zerathos snapped, his voice sharp.

Gehena shook off her disbelief and left the room immediately.

She didn’t understand the sudden shift in his attitude—but somehow, that made it all the better.

Watching her go, Demon Emperor Zerathos gritted his teeth and muttered, ’This place is no longer safe. I’m sure the Great Velmora Empire’s army will launch a purge after what just happened.’

The empire hadn’t struck yet, but he and the forces of the Underworld Gate had already carried out a follow-up attack.

He was certain a massive assault would come very soon.

Just as he was about to vanish, a mysterious green light shot down from the sky, piercing the window to his right.

It struck him, spreading a pulsating energy throughout his body.

Zerathos’ eyes went wide, fear clawing at him.

”Damn... they’ve found me!”