I'm Trapped Inside a Prince as the Most Powerful Entity-Chapter 42: kill them all

The Baron, standing confidently on the steps of his mansion, actually looked surprised for a brief moment as he watched Eric lying on the grass, pinned down by soldiers. Eric had managed to land a blow, even if it was with a wooden sword, and had shown unexpected speed. The Baron hadn’t expected any fight from the supposedly ’useless’ Third Prince.

The initial surprise faded quickly, however, especially when his son, Lucas, stepped up beside him, wiping a speck of dust from his own fine tunic after effortlessly kicking Eric across the lawn.

"He has some strength, Father," Lucas commented calmly, though his eyes held a flicker of surprise as well. "More than the rumors suggested. But," he added with a confident smirk, looking down at Eric struggling on the ground, "it’s nothing significant. Not enough to overpower us."

Hearing his son’s assessment, the Baron’s cold smile returned. He looked down at Eric with amusement, like a cat playing with a cornered mouse. "You asked me why I committed such a crime, Third Prince," the Baron said, his voice dripping with mock pity. "Poor, naive boy. Did you really think kidnapping this girl’s family was my first crime? Or that it would be my last?"

He laughed, a short, ugly sound. "I haven’t just kidnapped her family," he declared, gesturing vaguely towards the sobbing Alina, who was still held captive nearby. "Over the years, I’ve arranged for the ’disappearance’ of many families. Families here in my lands, families in Crestport, even some troublesome individuals in the capital itself." His smile widened cruelly.

"They were all sold. Sold off to the Spider Syndicate, or to other criminal groups that operate freely within your father’s ’glorious’ kingdom." He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Your father, the King? He has no idea how deep the rot goes. No idea at all."

While the Baron was boasting, Alina, who had been held silent with a sword at her throat, suddenly cried out, her voice raw with desperation. "My family! Where are they?! What did you do with them?!"

The Baron turned his cold gaze towards her, annoyance flashing across his face at being interrupted. He looked her up and down dismissively. "Your family?" he repeated casually, as if discussing the weather. "Oh, them." He waved a hand carelessly. "They became... inconvenient. Unnecessary baggage once I had you." He smiled thinly. "So, I had them killed. A few days ago."

The words hit Alina like a physical blow. Killed. Her eyes went wide, filled with utter shock and disbelief. All the hope that had sustained her during her desperate journey, the belief that her family was still alive, that she could save them – it shattered in an instant. A choked sob escaped her lips.

Her body went limp, and she collapsed onto her knees on the marble pathway, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. The soldiers holding her let her fall, stepping back slightly, smirking down at her broken form. All the fight went out of her; she just knelt there, lost in overwhelming grief and despair.

Eric, lying on the grass with swords pointed at him, heard the Baron’s casual, cruel words. He saw Alina collapse, heard her heartbroken sobs. Something inside him snapped.

Seeing her pain, understanding the sheer evil of the man standing on the steps boasting about murder and kidnapping, realizing his own helplessness in the situation... it filled him with a rage he had never felt before. It was a cold, burning fury that consumed all his fear, all his self-doubt.

For the first time, Eric felt the true weight of his title, the responsibility he had towards the people his family was supposed to protect. And he felt the bitter sting of his own weakness, realizing how his inability to act, his reliance on others, had allowed people like the Baron to cause so much suffering.

He clenched his fists, digging his fingers into the soft grass beneath him so hard. His jaw tightened, and his eyes squeezed shut. A low growl rumbled in his chest.

The soldiers standing over him saw his reaction and just chuckled, thinking he was having a useless tantrum. "Giving up, little Prince?" one of them sneered.

But Eric wasn’t giving up. He was making a decision. He spoke, his voice dangerously low and quiet, barely a whisper, directed not at the soldiers, but inward. "System Window."

The familiar blue screen didn’t appear visually this time, but Eric felt its presence, waiting.

"Take control of my body," Eric commanded, his voice trembling with suppressed rage. "And kill them all."

It was the first time Eric had ever given such an order. He had always been hesitant, always relied on the System only for defense, for survival. He didn’t like violence, didn’t want to hurt anyone.

But the Baron’s cruelty, Alina’s suffering, his own frustrating weakness... it pushed him past his limits. The anger was so intense, so overwhelming, that the thought of unleashing the power within him, even if it meant killing, felt like the only possible response.

The System responded instantly, its usual assistant-like tone now feeling chillingly devoid of emotion given the command.

[System]: Acknowledging host directive, Eric. Lethal force protocol engaged. Assuming full control.

Inside Eric – Adam’s Domain

Adam felt the surge of Eric’s raw, unrestrained fury. He heard the desperate command: Kill them all. A slow, almost predatory smile spread across Adam’s face in his quiet domain.

Finally, he thought. No more holding back. No more hesitation. He felt the constraints around his own consciousness, the seals that limited his control over Eric’s body, begin to crack and loosen under the force of Eric’s emotional command.

"Now, Millennia," Adam projected, his own power surging. "Release the primary inhibitors!"

Light exploded within Adam’s domain. The ethereal chains binding him shattered. His consciousness surged forward, flooding into Eric’s body with overwhelming force.

Back in the Garden

Outside, Eric’s body suddenly went limp for a fraction of a second, his head lolling back as if he had fainted. The soldiers standing over him momentarily lowered their guard, confused by his sudden collapse.

Then, Eric’s eyes snapped open.

But they weren’t Eric’s eyes anymore. The warm, golden color was gone. Instead, his irises were now a chillingly empty white, like voids. And deep within those voids, tiny pinpricks of pure, bright white light pulsed with immense power. It was an unsettling, inhuman gaze.

The change was instantly noticeable. The Baron’s son, Lucas, standing on the steps, felt a sudden, terrifying wave of pressure wash over him, making his skin crawl. The mage beside him gasped, his eyes widening in alarm as his magical senses screamed danger.

"Father! Something’s wrong!" Lucas yelled, instinctively taking a defensive stance.

"What is it?" the Baron demanded, frowning as he too sensed a shift in the atmosphere, a sudden drop in temperature, a feeling of immense power radiating from the Prince lying on the grass.

Even Alina, lost in her grief, looked up towards Eric, feeling a strange, powerful energy unlike anything she had ever sensed before. It felt ancient, powerful, and incredibly dangerous.

The mage pointed a trembling finger at Eric, who was now slowly getting to his feet, his movements unnaturally smooth and precise. "My Lord Baron! Get back! That power... it’s not human!"

But it was too late.

The three soldiers who had been standing closest to Eric, the ones pinning him down, suddenly froze. Their eyes went wide with shock and terror. Then, in a blink, their heads detached cleanly from their bodies, arcing through the air before landing with soft thuds on the grass. Blood sprayed briefly before their bodies collapsed lifelessly.

Eric – or rather, Adam in control of Eric’s body – hadn’t visibly moved to attack them. He simply appeared standing where he had been lying, his white eyes glowing faintly.

Then, he vanished again in a blur too fast for the normal eye to follow. He reappeared instantly, hovering in the air right in front of Alina. Behind him, the four soldiers who had been guarding her, including the two who had held her arms, suddenly gasped. Bright red lines appeared across their necks. A split second later, their heads tumbled from their shoulders as well, their bodies slumping to the ground around the horrified, grief-stricken girl.

Adam landed lightly on the marble path in front of Alina, his back to her, facing the stunned Baron and his remaining soldiers.

Adam, inhabiting Eric’s body, glanced briefly over his shoulder at the kneeling, weeping Alina. His voice, when he spoke, was Eric’s, but the tone was completely different – cold, detached, ancient.

"Oi, girl," he said casually, ignoring the carnage around them. "Are you alright?"

Alina looked up, her tear-streaked face filled with confusion and a new kind of fear. She stared into those empty white eyes with the pinpricks of light. "You... you’re not him," she whispered, trembling. "You’re not the Third Prince. Who... who are you?"

Adam didn’t answer her question. He didn’t have time for explanations. "Just stay put," he commanded curtly, his voice leaving no room for argument. "I’ll be back."

He started walking calmly towards the steps where the Baron stood, flanked by his terrified son and the increasingly panicked mage.

Behind Adam, Lucas, the Baron’s son, recovered quickly from his initial shock. Seeing his father threatened, seeing the ’Prince’ slaughter their guards effortlessly, ignited his own fury.

He channeled energy into his sword, making the blade glow brightly. With a roar, he leaped high into the air from the steps, bringing his empowered sword down in a powerful overhead strike aimed directly at the back of Adam’s head. He intended to end this right here, right now. If this monster reached his father, they were doomed.

But just as the glowing sword was about to connect, Adam, without even turning around, casually lifted his left hand. He caught the descending blade mere inches from his head, stopping its momentum completely. The force of the blow should have shattered Eric’s arm, but Adam held the glowing sword easily, his fingers wrapped around the flat of the blade as if catching a feather.

Lucas stared in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock. How was this possible?

Adam didn’t give him time to think. With a flick of his wrist, still holding the sword, he spun Lucas around and, with seemingly effortless strength, flung him through the air like a discarded toy. Lucas slammed hard against the distant stone wall near the main gate, the impact knocking the wind out of him and likely breaking several bones. He crumpled to the ground, groaning in pain, his sword clattering beside him.

Alina gasped, watching the display of incredible power. ’No,’ she thought, her mind reeling. ’This definitely isn’t the Third Prince. I knew he seemed different, but this... this is something else entirely. That energy... the way he moves... it’s terrifying.’

The Baron watched his son get thrown aside like trash, his face paling in horror and disbelief. "Lucas!" he screamed, momentarily forgetting his own safety. He started to rush forward down the steps towards his injured son.

But several of his remaining loyal soldiers quickly grabbed his arms, holding him back. "My Lord, no! It’s too dangerous!" one of them yelled.

The mage, who had been frantically looking through his pockets, finally pulled out a rolled-up– a magic scroll. He threw it onto the marble path in front of the Baron and the remaining cluster of soldiers. As the scroll landed, the mage began chanting rapidly in an ancient language, pouring his own magical energy into the scroll.

Instantly, bright blue lines erupted from the scroll, racing outwards in all directions. They formed a large, shimmering dome of blue energy that completely enclosed the Baron, the mage, the remaining soldiers, and the front portion of the mansion itself. It was a powerful defensive barrier, crackling with protective magic.

Adam stopped walking, observing the sudden appearance of the blue energy dome with mild curiosity, his empty white eyes glowing faintly in the afternoon sun. He stood alone on the marble path, surrounded by the bodies of the fallen soldiers, facing the magical barrier that now protected his remaining enemies.