The Useless Prince Is A Gangster

'Elynn, are you there?' Leo's command echoed in the silence of his own skull. He sounded like a madman. He felt like one.

'Give me something. A status report. Anything.'

It had been two days since Celestia's final message, and his system—Elynn—hadn't responded.

A single notification hovered in his vision:

[System Offline.]

He sighed inwardly in annoyance. He almost—almost—missed her mechanical, teasing whirr.

'Thank fuck for small mercies,' he muttered internally. At least he could still pull weapons, potions, and gear from his item space. But purchases? Skill upgrades? Those were off-limits now.

He could summon his shadow familiars, too. Nimbus was already roaming nearby happily.

Still, he has doubts. Normally, if they took damage, they'd reform after three hours. But now? If he called them out and they got dusted... would they come back at all?

He couldn't risk it.

So he was flying blind. With a half-loaded gun.

Now he was truly on his own—no system cheats to lean on. From now on, everything would be his own, his skill, no fancy upgrades, stats, or items.

"What are you thinking about, brother-in-law?"

The soft voice pulled him back to reality. He blinked, focusing on Velmara across the table, her arms crossed under her chest.

Right—he was in Caulem's garden, surrounded by Lucian, Velmara, and Rin.

It's been two days since he'd woken up, and this was their first real chance to discuss it all.

"Me?" Leo replied, forcing a grin to hide his frustration. He rubbed his neck again, catching Rin and Lucian's worried glances. "Nothing. Just a headache."

Although it wasn't entirely a lie.

He leaned forward.

"Let's start our discussion about the rat in our academy then."

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

Far away from the Vanelwood kingdom.

In the distant land, surrounded by mountains, was the cult's hideout. It looks like a royal castle, maybe even better than that.

In the meeting room, it was dead silence. The three remaining Pillars sat at their usual places around the oval table. Draven's seat was empty.

They were still trying to swallow the impossible truth: the Pillar of Treachery, gutted by the Ruler's own hand.

Looks like they underestimated the Ruler.

But the empty chair was not the most pressing problem in the room.

Velkara, the Pillar of Decay, a hauntingly beautiful woman, glanced at calm Ashen, the cult leader. But her attention, like that of the other two Pillars, was pulled magnetically to what sat opposite their leader.

Two transparent figures: one was huge with fire cracks around his body, and another was like a living winter, his presence literally freezing the pillars present there.

Too cold.

The divine beings can't roam in the human realm so freely without a vessel. That's why they're here in astral form.

Ashen watched them. His chin rested on one knuckle, a single finger tapping a slow, bored rhythm on the polished onyx. His grey eyes held the flat disinterest of a man watching flies circle.

"I do not invite you two here. Why are you both here? " he asked flatly, not even giving a damn about the gods.

Okteus, the God of Fire, felt his flames surge. He forced the reaction down, sliding off the mortal's insult.

"We are here with an offer, Ashen," he said, his voice deep, like the rumble of a volcano. "A mutually beneficial arrangement."

A creepy smile formed on Ashen's face.

"How fascinating,"

"What, pray tell, could a humble mortal such as myself possibly offer to literal deities? " He paused, his grey eyes glancing between them slowly. "More importantly… what in this entire world could you possibly have… that I would ever want? "

"Enough," Korrath, god of winter, growled, getting up from his seat. The temperature plummeted by his aura. The three Pillars flinched as one, hands flying to weapons, bodies coiling to attack.

Ashen's smile didn't falter. It widened. It became something that made the Fire God's astral self feel chills.

"Yet you were belittled by a mortal once."

The sentence made him silent instantly. The winter god stood frozen, gulping with a nonexistent throat. His furious aura snuffed out, retreating into him. The mortal he mentioned, he really made every divinity get humiliated just for his love. The mortal made every god unite to send him far away.

"Now…" Ashen continued, flicking his hand, telling his pillars to stay seated no matter what, and Korrath sat down silently without uttering another word.

"Can I listen to your offer first? " The voice was dangerously soft. "I only offer something worth taking from the divinity."

Okteus exchanged a look with his chastised brother. He leaned forward, and the heat from his body made the frost on the table steam and sizzle.

"We offer divinity. Full godhood, for the entity you worship—Ashtarya. We will grant her the complete, uncontested Authority of Time."

A sharp intake of breath came from the Pillars.

Velkara's hand flew to her mouth. A choked sound escaped her. A gurgle of pure, ecstatic shock. Thick poison welled at the corners of her lips, sizzling as it dripped onto her own forearm. She didn't seem to feel it.

Erisval, the Pillar of Chaos, slammed his hands on the table, a wild, triumphant grin splitting his face. He could already taste the celebration party.

Nehzareth, the Pillar of Void, simply tilted his head in confusion. "Time? " he whispered; his childlike brain couldn't understand the concept.

But what he was offering was something they've been waiting for centuries. They're sure that their leader will accept it.

"No," Ashen answered flatly, crossing his hand casually. "I don't want that."

The chamber fell into silence of disbelief.

Of course, life doesn't go like what they imagined.

Velkara's mouth hung open, a perfect 'O.'. "My Lord? " The words were breathless. Then a shriek of wood on stone as she shot to her feet. "This is the purpose! For our goddess—! "

Erisval was also on his feet. "This is absurd! Why would you refuse—"

Ashen did not raise his voice. He merely looked at them. It wasn't anger in his serene grey eyes, but a quiet, absolute promise of consequence. The look was more terrifying than any rage.

Both Pillars fell silent, sinking back into their seats, sweat beading on their brows despite the winter god's chill.

"I will name my price after the work is done," he said, turning back to the gods with that same smile that even felt creepy. "Tell me what you gods want."

Okteus cleared his throat with a sound like a grinding stone. He glanced at Korrath, who gave a nod.

"We want the death of the mortal who defied us. The one you call the Ruler."

Ashen's posture shifted, a spark of genuine interest in his eyes.

"And," Okteus continued, his voice dropping to a resonant whisper, "we want the child. The half-breed abomination was born of that mortal and the Death Goddess. She possesses a power our Cosmos King desires."

Ashen leaned forward. He placed his hands flat on the frosted onyx table. The movement was deliberate. Final. Every Pillar leaned in with him, captivated. Even Nehzareth got interested.

"We will give you the gods' blessings. Power to crush any in your path. In return, you kill the Ruler. And you bring us the little half-breed. Alive."

The creepy smile on Ashen's face vanished.

For a moment, he was utterly silent.

Then, a sound escaped him.

It started low in his chest—a tremor. It wasn't quite a laugh. It was the sound of glass cracking under immense pressure. It was soft. It was broken.

He was utterly, horrifyingly delighted.