Son of the Hero King

While Sol was busy going through the final preparations for his ascension to the King realm, Lilith was gazing at the new portal in front of her with a vacant gaze.

Utter exhaustion would be the best way to express the state of her body and mind. The last sword strike she enacted was performed by putting everything she had in her, all her being and soul. And now, she could barely move with all the exhaustion that was plaguing her whole existence. Her energy was rapidly filling up, however, and she could only thank her special constitution for this replenishing effect.

Sol had been clear and concise about his plan. If he asked her to come back despite having fought Wukong then it could only mean the situation was about to take a turn for the worse and could go down a route that they didn’t even want to imagine at any given time.

“You are still alive, right? Why don’t you get up?”

Lilith shifted her gaze towards Wukong, a dejected glint in her eyes. For her, who bragged endlessly about being able to cut anything and everything, the fact that she had been unable to completely cut down Wukong was quite the blow to her pride. At the very last moment of her strike, just as he was about to die, Wukong managed to gain enlightenment and thus strengthened his defenses by a great margin which allowed him to survive her full-powered strike.

Well, at least she could console herself with the knowledge that the arm the warrior lost would never heal in this life, even if the wounds in his torso may heal somewhat. Her attack was simply that powerful.

“Why should the loser move? I am just waiting for you to deal the final blow.”

Wukong’s voice was calm even in the face of defeat. What he had just lost in this duel wasn’t just his arm or a part of his soul. The name he received when he advanced to the King realm, Victorious Fighting Buddha was based on the principle of continuous victory.

It would have been one thing to lose to someone in a realm higher than him or someone far older, wiser, and experienced, but since he lost against Lilith who was both younger and objectively weaker than him, his name had officially become meaningless, desecrating the power that came along with it.

The current state of his powers was not unlike that of the Queen of Elves after she had fought and was subsequently defeated by the Witch of Life, thus effectively losing her path towards the demigod realm forever.

Now, unless he discarded his King name and even his Zone and started everything from scratch, he would never manage to become a true Demigod as he was.

“You seem quite calm for someone who has lost so much.” Lilith sheathed her sword and took a deep breath, calming down her aura. She needed to focus every second available to her on recovering more and more of her mana if she wanted to be of any help to whatever precarious scenario that she was about to face on the other side of the portal.

As if to help her get a grasp on what she was about to involve herself in, the Mirror dimension – or the Inverted Dimension as Sol now called it – changed form and now, they were able to see what was happening on the other side of the portal.

Her eyes immediately locked on Zwei and all thoughts about taking a break vanished from her mind.

Zwei, was once known throughout the Mortal Realm as Ibuki Doji. A short-term companion in their adventurer group and the ultimate cause behind Mars and Blaze’s demise.

Lilith may have lost the excessive infatuation she had for Mars, but that did not mean she would ever forget the sole person who was responsible for his untimely demise on that accursed day.

As if responding to her ever-soaring killing intent, innumerable swords of all shapes and forms manifested in her surroundings and whirled to form a veritable storm.

“It seems like you have a bone to pick with that woman.”

Lilith nodded wordlessly to the fallen warrior’s words.

“I will help you.”

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Wukong stood up, his wounds still bleeding and his arm missing that would never recover. However, his expression showed no particular worry about his critical condition.

“You want to help me?” confusion laced Lilith’s voice as she asked the question with a frown on her face. It had not even been a few minutes since the two were literally trying their utmost to annihilate the other, and now, she had even destroyed his path to further power and effectively crippled him for life.

For people with mindsets similar to the fallen warrior, the current situation was even worse than death itself. And yet… Sun Wukong was wearing a serene expression as if he was free from all worldly shackles and desires.

“You might not be able to understand it, however, I needed this loss. Losing against you was probably the best thing that happened to me as I am now.” Wukong's remaining hand moved and caught Ruyi Jingu Bang.

“In the past, my Zone and Name were based on my own pride and desire for battle. This was also my folly. After all, who can be ever-victorious in life? My path may have seemed bright, but it was limited— a path filled with endless danger and transient glory. The path that I was walking would never allow me to become truly strong or even become a False God. That was my fate.”

He grinned and twirled the Ruyi in his hand while his skin started to shine in a golden hue. The wounds on his body started to heal at a visible rate and even the stump of his arm stopped bleeding altogether.

“When you meet Buddha, kill him. This was what I learned from Lady Tiamat once when I was younger. However, I could not understand her words… until now, that is. After this fight, I will kill the Buddha in my heart and walk on a new road that belongs only to me and me alone.”

“You… You are going to do everything from scratch?”

Wukong nodded as if it was a given, “Indeed. Is it not what you have done, as well? Your power is very different from what was known in the annals.”

Lilith nodded her head with a sigh. When Sol saved her, Lilith made the bold decision of destroying her name and zone and threaded on a new path.

However, things were far different for her than what was for Wukong. When she had essentially changed her whole identity and trode on the new path, she was backed up by an unsurmountable level of energy and was essentially able to speed-run through the ranks like it was nothing.

If Wukong broke his path, he would have to start from scratch, and it would take him months or years to even regain his former powers and attain the King realm. Worse, there was a 9 out of 10 chance that Wukong would not be able to succeed in attaining the path he sought.

“I will succeed.”

Wukong words were filled with assurance and unequivocal confidence. Not even the slightest bit of fear reflected in his eyes as he boldly started to advance toward the portal Sol created.

Lilith could only leak out a deep sigh as she looked in the distance. While it was faint, thanks to her connection to the dimension, she could feel faint tremors travelling all over the place. The dimension was changing, strengthening, and broadening far beyond its initial capacity.

She knew nothing about dimensional mages, but she knew that such changes could only happen when the wielder was undergoing a metamorphosis in their powers, and it was not hard for her to guess what Sol was about to do right now.

“Be careful please.”

Lilith felt uneasy, more than she ever did. She may not be a Blessed but as a singularity, she was also sensitive to Fate and her heart was telling her that whatever was about to happen now might change Sol forever.

She hesitated a moment before giving a small cough, her face turning red as she muttered those words at a volume so low not even Sun Wukong would be able to catch them with all his powers.

“When all this ends, I will give you a reward. Anything you want and by that, I mean… Anything.”

Giving one last very suggestive emphasis on the anythingin her words, she immediately bolted out of the dimension alongside Sun Wukong.

Meanwhile, further in the dimension, Sol couldn’t help but chuckle as he heard his aunt’s promise. He may have been feeling a little stressed out about what he was about to do, but thanks to Lilith’s bold encouragement, his heart calmed down as he realized that he was not doing all this for himself or by himself.

“Are you guys ready?”

He spoke without turning around as the sound of heels reached him.

“Always are. After all, we are about to be part of a story like no other.” Persephone, the Witch of Life, gave an elegant laugh as she stopped in a very specific direction.

“You are always so reckless.” Medea, the Witch of Time, gave a worried glance as she looked at the spear he had thrown away but still obediently stood in her position.

“I hope you have not forgotten your promise.” Freya, the Witch of Space, clad in her usual pink witch’s clothes, giggled as she stood opposite Medea.

“Ugh. I didn’t think we would have to do another super complicated ritual so soon.” Kali, the Witch of Destruction, adjusted her witch’s hat as she stood opposite Persephone.

The four witches of Salem, the Four Directions were all gathered once more with Sol sitting cross-legged at their very center.

Finally, directly right above him, “I hope you will succeed in your endeavor.”

There was Ambrosia, the All-Knowing.

Sol grinned as he looked up, “Trust me one more time. Soon, all your investments will be paid back in full and then some.”

He was about to start what would perhaps be the greatest ritual in all the history of the Mortal realm.

All so that he could become a King. Truly, things always tended to reach a whole other level when he was involved. For a short instant, he couldn’t help but wonder what he would have to do to become a Demigod.

Well, he let the future him deal with that headache as he focused on becoming a King for now.