SON OF THE HERO KING

Chapter 612: Negative Distance (2)

Lupus recoiled so hard one would think he was slapped in the face, and they would be right as that statement was nothing short of that. The worst part about it was that… Setsuna did not just stop there. Even with her broken arm, she gritted her teeth through the pain, lifted it, and… showed him the glorious middle finger.

Her face may have been a bloody mess, her body may have been completely broken, and her consciousness may be growing dimmer with each passing instant but her spirit never wavered. Not even for a single moment.

Even though Lupus held her neck in his hands, being able to twist and crush it with just a single movement, there was a fierce, almost savage smile on her lips as she gazed at him with a defiant look— her actions would make even the most daring of warriors whistle aloud in acknowledgment.

“You wench!”

Lupus shouted, fully intent on pummeling her face on the ground. However, his actions couldn’t pass through as Setsuna chose to spit blood on his face, marring his mane in a bloody hue.

Setsuna did not fear death, she was far from such baseless fears. As a warrior hell-bent on revenge, she knew that death was her constant companion, waiting patiently for the chance to take her in its embrace.

Yet she was not suicidal either and would not have provoked Lupus in this situation without any contingency put in place beforehand.

What she spat was not just any blood; mixed into it was her own innate lightning and divinity. Thanks to how close the two of them were and with his mind clouded by anger, Lupus should not have been able to respond to this sudden attack. However, as befitting a King-level being, his reaction time was beyond what they could even fathom.

Thankfully, they had even taken this possibility into account.

As if waiting for this exact moment, Isis spammed the curse of stagnation more than a few dozen times on Lupus without a single break. It did not matter how resistant Lupus was, the few curses that did take effect were enough for him to slow down for an instant and all Setsuna’s spit needed was an instant to reach and pierce his right eye, causing the Wolf king to let out a blood curling scream of pain and rage at the humiliation of losing his eye against a group of Duke he did not even initially pay attention to.

The attack forced him to loosen and even let go of his grip around Setsuna’s neck and the poor girl fell helplessly on the ground, too weak to even move a single inch.

However, things did not stop there. There was no way Setsuna would have waited for this moment only to take one eye from Lupus… as satisfying as that action was for her, it was not the end but only the beginning.

{Now!}

The ground shook as three large shadowy snakes burst forth from underneath Lupus’ feet and brought forth their relentless onslaught, ensnaring him in their venomous holds. Milia’s snakes were created with her power of Devouring and as befitting its name, the voracious snake immediately started draining the energy of the prey they ensnared.

Milia leaked a grunt as Lupus’ never-ending energy was transferred to her at the highest speed she was able to drain him. The difference in the reserves between a Duke and a King was as vast as the ocean itself and her mana veins were screaming under the relentless strain of a never-ending stream of power, almost making her feel that her body was about to explode this instant.

She did not relent, however, not even for a single moment. How could she even think about doing something like that when Setsuna sacrificed so much just for this very moment? As long as she could absorb even 10% of Lupus’s current reserves, she would consider it a win.

Lupus could feel his mana draining at rapid speeds, far faster than they ever did since the start of this battle, and ignored the throbbing pain in his eye as he started tearing apart the snakes restraining him from all sides. Even though new snakes were constantly generated to keep him restrained, there was no way Milia would be able to keep him at bay for long.

“You think such charlatan tricks can stop me!?”

He shouted, his roar causing the air to screech. however…

“Of course, we know this alone is not enough.”

Lupus stopped short as Isis, who had been staying at the very back of the group up until now appeared close enough to take his head between her hands, her eyes glowing with a mix of crimson and gold.

“Lupus Ira. It’s time for your sins to be judged. Show me your soul.”

Her voice seemed to come out of the very depths of the greatest abyss and violently permeated his whole spirit.

Past memories of his life right from the very day he was born flashed through his mind. His life as a child. His life as a teen. His first kill.

Everything about him was like an open book to Isis.

"Get out of my head!!"

He let out a roar of pain and anguish, as the world around him changed and a constant stream of memories manifested and wreaked havoc in his mind.

In the deepest part of his mind, he could see the phoenix girl sitting on a throne while on her right side, a wolf-like monster the size of a house was crouching down, looking at him with hunger evident in its eyes.

Behind her, a black scale was floating steadily while measuring two objects. On one side was a golden feather, and on the other side was a heart that was beating at a crawling pace.

Lupus was confused and for the first time very first time… started to feel true fear, as he looked at the ominous scene. This was a skill he had never even heard about, nor could he even fathom how a mere Duke was capable of using such power.

[You are being judged.]

An answer came to his mind while chains covered and restrained his spirit and soul. They tried to make him kneel but the pull of the chain was not strong enough for such action against a dignified King.

“You!? Judging me!? Don’t make me laugh!”

He ignored the image of his brother and sister-in-law dying at his hand. His own guilt may eat at him but his pride was too strong to let anyone other than himself judge him for his sins.

“You have no right to judge me!”

He rejected his past and ignored his sins, and then, a crack began to appear in the world that governed the mind and housed the soul.

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The Eyes of Judgment. One of Isis' deadliest skills and a skill she used on very rare occasions. The difference in power between her and the party she judged was extremely important as the Weak could never judge the Strong. But even so, it was not completely ineffective even against people stronger than her.

Everything depended on their sense of guilt and the magnitude of that guilt on their inner mind and if there was one thing she could perceive from Lupus’ soul, it was that he had a lot of guilt pent up inside him and locked away at the deepest depths of his being. This was the only reason she had accepted this crazy, nearly suicidal plan.

Isis felt a sour taste in her mouth as blood and bile rose at the same time. Trying to judge a King was hard. Trying to judge a Blessed King was nearly impossible. The backslash from her mind realm breaking was extreme but she could not stop here.

{Even if he gets judged I cannot give him the death penalty. Killing and taking the throne was a Divine Ordainment as he was given a Blessing. His act of fratricide does not surpass the Divine Law. As a King, he also has power of life and death over his subject so nothing he did is considered a crime by the law of this world. At best, we can seal a part of his strength by using his guilt.}

Isis had already explained this to them and they knew she could do nothing while Lupus was under judgment. However, the same applied to Lupus and now Milia was free to pump as much energy as she could.

However, this was still not the end, this was still not a decisive strike. They were not just stalling for time or hoping to weaken Lupus. All this time, they moved toward a singular goal— killing Lupus.

Isis was frozen in place as she judged Lupus’ soul. Setsuna could not even muster enough strength to move and Milia was facing the strain of a King’s mana threatening to destroy her whole existence.

But there was one person… one who had acted as if she was completely done for, waiting exactly for this instant.

Purple mana started swirling around Lilin as she pushed herself out of the ground, while her wounds healed at visible speed until only a faint scar was left. Her form changed as long leathery wings formed at her back and two curved horns formed on her forehead.

Lilin’s succubus blood may not be pure but it was extremely strong and the current transformation brought out all the strength she could muster and beyond.

『 Zone -:- Boundless Sword 』

The entire surrounding was covered by her sword aura, rendering distance meaningless as her strike would reach her target no matter where she stood as long as her target remained in her zone. However, Lilin knew it wasn’t enough to finish Lupus.

What she needed now was not a multitude of slashes but rather a single all-powerful sword attack that would end this entire fight once and for all.

Bending down slightly and spreading her feet apart, Lilin took hold of the hilt of a sword as it remained sheathed, entering a traditional Iai stance. It was not her sword but rather the sword that belonged to a woman who once swore vengeance on Lupus.

The sword of Setsuna’s servant, born from resentment and curse toward the one man who took everything away from her. Known as Neun for years, her true name was Ayame— the maidservant who once took care of Setsuna in her childhood.

Lilin focused inwardly, discarding all distractions; her sword intent flowed naturally and condensed under careful, delicate, and meticulous control.

Once again, she was one with the sword and one with the world as well. Her breathing steadied and heart beat calmed down to a crawl, almost coming to a stop.

Everything except her target vanished from her field of vision. Like a calm lake, her silence descended on the battlefield. She ignored the bleeding Isis and the shouting Milia. She did not pay attention to the destruction of the shadow snakes that were restraining Lupus down, nor did she see how Isis was already taking steps back while bringing Setsuna with her.

Her entire mind and soul were focused on this one single instance, even as a part of her remembered the first time she used this technique. Back when she fought against the dwarf gunslinger.

Lilin was not the young inexperienced warrior of then who needed Three Steps to attain her target and yet she knew that only by taking those three steps could she reach the maximum velocity and striking power.

All the ideal conditions were reunited.

Lupus was as weak as he would ever get. No divine weapon, no divinity, exhausted mana reserves, along with Isis’ judgement had culminated to seal more than 50% of his remaining powers.

Now all she needed to do was— take that first step.

{Lilin, now!}

“One step to go beyond the speed of sound…”

This would be the strongest strike she ever swung in her life. Already, her muscles screamed as she broke past all her limits.

“Two steps to go beyond the speed of light…”

Blood exploded all over, even her skin started to burn from the ferocity of her mana and the strain the world put on her to perform this attack. It was clear that she would be immobile after performing this attack.

“Three steps to reverse causality!”

Time and space were erased. The past and the Future fused into the present and Cause and effect were reversed.

『 God Slaying Sword Art -:- Negative distance 』

The very moment Lilin unsheathed her sword, Lupus’ eyes opened wide in disbelief as he saw the world spinning around him. His head had been cleanly separated from his body and blood splattered all over from his decapitated head as his body slumped on the ground.

When Lilin sheathed her sword again, she nearly screamed out loud as pain unlike anything she had ever experienced assailed her whole body. Falling on the ground, she remained immobile as she became unable to even support her own weight.

Even so, she did not mind her state. This pain was more than worth it. They did it! They had won! Without the help of Sol, the four of them converged their forces and took down a bonafide King.

Many things had to be put in place, like strings needing to align on a set course, for this moment to come to fruition.

If Sol did not take the divine weapon with him.

If Lupus had not been weakened when nourishing the divine weapon.

If he had not underestimated them or tried to play with them like the sadistic maniac that he was.

So many ifs, so many whats, and so many instances where even a single thing going out of place would lead to all of their deaths.

However, such thoughts didn’t matter anymore. “Setsuna we…” Lilin forced herself to look up even though her vision was momentarily blinded as blood covered her eyes. She wished to see her friend and share this moment of victory with her.

After all, Lupus had died from the sword of Ayame.

“Well, well, well… Now aren’t you happy you made a deal with me?”

She stopped short and not only her but even Isis, Setsuna, and Milia froze in place as they looked at a man who appeared seemingly out of nowhere and was standing right beside the bleeding head of Lupus.

It was an unassuming man. Even now, those who could see him would have difficulty describing what he looked like. The only thing they would be able to remember would be his monocle.

The man was not alone, on his side was a tall woman with two long horns on her forehead holding a large metallic bat filled with spikes.

“Hello everyone. Happy to meet you.”

“Who are you?” Milia asked, her hand trembling and veins bulging while her eyes were bloodshot. The side effects of housing far more mana than she could possibly contain were showing themselves already.

The man took off his top hat and placed it against his chest as he gave a theatrical bow.

“Through history, I had many lives and many names. But for now, you can simply call me Eins.”

Time seemed to go still. This name was not foreign to them. Eins, the second highest ranked of the Wings of Freedom and more importantly.

“A demigod.”

Isis murmured breathlessly. Things were definitely taking a turn for the worse. They had already given their all to barely match and win against an extremely weakened King. Even in their peak condition, and no matter how many things fell into place to push them forward, they stood no match for a demigod.

“Well then, young ladies. Would you be so kind as to follow me? I need some bargaining ship to recuperate the spear.”

Even though he spoke those words, directing at them, he didn’t even look at their general direction as he went past them and took Lupus’ head in his hand before walking toward the body. He was the epitome of confidence as he knew that absolutely no one could match him at this moment on the battlefield

Or at least that should have been the case in theory. The reality was vastly different, however.

“It seems like Sol was right. I still have my part to play.”

His smile slowly vanished as a feminine voice reached them from high up in the sky. There, a tall golden-haired woman clad in a white robe with streaks of blue manifested out of thin air,

“Camelia Castitas.”

He muttered the name with confusion, wondering what a supreme Daughter was doing so far from her Church.

However, he soon realized what was about to happen. After all, the Kings of the Seven Kingdoms were not the only ones who could use divine power. Sadly for him, the realization far came too late.

Placing her hands together, Camelia muttered a prayer,

“Dear goddess, come to me and help me purge those faithless traitors.”

『 Forbidden Technique -:- Goddess Descent 』

Radiant holy light came pouring down from the sky in a pillar of light, streaming down like a waterfall. And with that, six pairs of wings, all wielding eyes of varying sizes, all closed, manifested on Camelia’s back.