The Useless Prince Is A Gangster

[System Alert!]

[Admin one disconnected!]

[Emergency protocol activated!]

Elynn's words appeared in Leo's blank vision. Her voice is frantic and urgent.

Leo groaned, forcing his eyes open to stare at the familiar, ornate ceiling of his room. The soft sheets and lingering scent of medicinal herbs confirmed he was back at Caulem Manor.

Something warm and heavy was vibrating against his bandaged ribs.

"Meow."

Nimbus lifted his sleek black head, purple eyes glowing with relief. The moment he saw Leo's eyes open, the little beast practically flung himself upward, rubbing his cheek against Leo's jaw with a purr.

"Yeah… missed you too, you little playboy," Leo rasped, managing half a smile as he scratched behind its ear.

He pushed himself up to sit, his head throbbing in explosive ache. As his vision cleared, he saw Liana slumped in a chair beside his bed.

She's sleeping peacefully.

Her head rested at an uncomfortable angle, and a half-finished embroidery project lay in her lap. It was clear she had spent every moment at his side.

[System rebooting. Stabilizing…]

'Elynn. Report. What the hell happened?' he thought.

[All permanent and backup connections with Admin One have been forcibly terminated.]

Leo's eyes widened in panic. Admin One is the one who gave him this system—Celestia.

'What happened to her?' he demanded, clenching the sheets.

[Unknown.]

[All divine frequencies from her sector have been disconnected.]

[However, Madam Celestia initiated an emergency data dump just prior to the disconnection. She left a video message for you.

[Priority Level: Absolute.]

He looked at the sleeping Liana, then at the door, ensuring they were alone.

'Play it,' he commanded.

Then the system played the scenario in his mind.

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

Back in the Divine Realm.

Celestia slid down the fractured marble wall, leaving a blood trail behind her. One hand pressed to the wound in her side; blood seeped between her fingers.

But she's smiling. A smug, triumphant smile despite the pain.

She looked at the three gods sent by the cosmos king standing in front of her, radiating wrath and barely contained power.

The leader, Okteus, God of fire, took a single step forward, the ground blackening beneath his feet.

"Last chance, Celestia," he rumbled, his voice the sound of continents grinding together. "Where is the half-blood abomination?"

The beautiful goddess behind him, Serel, the goddess of secrets, gestured toward the mortal world far below.

"We felt the energy surge from the planet you guard so jealously. But now it is... veiled. What have you done with her?"

The third, Korrath, God of winter, knelt and grabbed Celestia's chin with his cold fingers, forcing her head up. "Do not test our patience. Where is the child?"

Celestia's smile only widened, a flash of genuine joy in her blue eyes.

"Go and find her," she whispered. "I'm done standing in your way."

A soft, wet laugh escaped her lips. "I just handed her to her father."

The three deities froze, confusion visible on their faces.

"Her... father?" The mist-goddess hissed. "What mortal fool would go against—"

"Dare to touch her while he breathes?" Celestia leaned forward, ignoring the hand on her throat. "Try it. Try taking one step toward that child while he is guarding her."

"Who?" the volcanic god roared.

"The Ruler."

The word silenced them in a second.

Korrath's hand dropped from her chin as if it had been burned. His pale face drained of color even further.

"The... the Ruler?" The winter god stammered in disbelief. "The mortal—you transferred that soul to the earth? He is her father? You promised the cosmos he would never return!"

SLAP.

Okteus's stony hand slapped across Celestia's soft, pale face, snapping her head to the side, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.

"Enough of your games," he snarled and turned to others. "Contain her. Bind her in the Eternal Seal. Let her power fade in solitude."

Chains that look made from starlight formed around her wrists, her throat, and her ankles. The marble beneath her began to reshape into a crystal sarcophagus.

He leaned down, his voice dropping to a cold whisper.

"You will sit in the dark," he whispered, "and you will watch. We will drag your precious mortal before the Cosmos King in pieces. We will unmake the child in front of him. We will show your defiance was a joke."

Celestia lifted her head. Her smile never wavered; blood painted her teeth red.

"Watch?" she replied softly. "Oh, I will."

She knew what Reo could do.

These gods think they're going to hunt that child in the presence of her father. But they were marching towards a nightmare.

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

The message ended with that. He couldn't hear what they're talking about.

But it's pure silence in his head.

The image of Celestia getting locked up played again and again, his hands clenched into fists tightly. The sheets twisted in his grip.

Frustration. He was alone.

The one infuriatingly powerful deity he'd always—secretly, reluctantly—relied on was gone.

He was all alone again.

He had to play political games with Cassian. There's a freaky cult going after him.

And now there's a war against the gods. And he was supposed to fight it with… what? With a system and a mortal body?

He had to protect Rin and a child who was apparently a cosmic lightning rod.

"Dammit," he whispered, the word scraping in his throat. He dropped his head into his hands, his shoulders slumping under the immense pressure. How could he possibly—

Click.

The sound snapped him from his spiraling thoughts.

He and Liana, who had jolted awake at the sound, looked at the door at the same time.

There in the doorway stood Rin. The teacup shattered at her feet.

Her violet hair was tousled, and she was wearing simple borrowed clothes. Bandages were wrapped around her neck. But it was her eyes that held him captive—her pink eyes, shining with tears, were fixed directly on him with a mixture of overwhelming relief and fear.

She was just standing there.

Liana from Rin's tearful expression to Leo's stunned face.

She was relieved that her young master woke up again. But a quiet understanding dawned on her.

With a soft, knowing smile, she silently rose from her chair, gathered her embroidery, and walked past Rin with a gentle, reassuring touch on her arm, pulling the door shut behind her and leaving them alone.

The room was silent once again.

All of his frustration was momentarily forgotten by her presence.

He was alone in the fights, yes.

But in this room, he was not alone at all.