SON OF THE HERO KING

Chapter 622: I am Here

In the mortal realm, the battle between Camellia and Hypnos was slowly coming to an end. Camelia was able to put up a great fight, but the ephemeral nature of her power made it so that she would only become weaker as time went by. This fatigue of hers was exacerbated by her need to protect the girls while they continued the ritual to assist Sol in his ordeal. And her opponent, Hypnos, understood this fact perfectly as he continuously attacked the girls instead of targeting Camelia herself, making her waste even more energy than she normally would fighting against him head-to-head.

Did Sol succeed?

[….]

Silence was all she received as an answer from Castitas, the goddess she served. The connection between them was so weak right now that she was unable to receive any more words from the divine being.

Camelia understood that her powers were slowly waning and with it, so was her Blessing. Her chest heaved up and down, the burden of the powers of a demigod weighing in on her. Her sight grew blurrier and the golden luster of her hair slowly receded, now showing a dull brown. She had reached and, in truth, even went beyond her limits long ago. Now, all the powers she showed resulted from her burning her divinity and life force, just to maintain this temporary state.

It seems like Sol was right about triggering a flag.

She could feel her life force trickling away and with that the remaining time she had remaining in this world, however, she did not feel even a shred of fear. Her heart was calm and her mind serene. She had already prepared for death long ago, far before even Sol came to this world.

Still,

So, this is how it ends, huh?

Dying was quite a shame but at the same time, she was about to go down, fighting a demigod while protecting her lover and those he cared for. It was definitely a worthy death by all means— a death not too different from Mars and Blaze’s death even.

Fufufu! I wonder if Blaze will chew me up for seducing her son or for joining her so soon.

Another stray thought overcame her as her wings of light vanished one after another. Crack after crack slowly formed on the barrier she had created as her powers continued to trickle away. Even without Hypnos acting, the barriers would vanish soon on their own it seemed.

“Camelia Castitas, you should give up now. Your chances of victory are non-existent as you are now.” Hypnos' voice sounded from afar, far away than what should be for a bonafide demigod. Despite Camelia looking like she was at death's door and only had a single golden wing left, he still did not dare to approach her.

The last struggle of a dying beast was when it was at its most dangerous state and Hypnos was not about to let overconfidence be his downfall.

If I show more than this, they will definitely become suspicious.

Hypnos clicked his tongue as he gazed at the four girls who were steadily losing their energy for an unknown reason.

Hypnos did not like the unknown and as such did not like the current situation he was in. If only Camelia could let him kill those girls or die faster then…

Should I just pull out of this operation?

He had been feeling jittery for a while now, and all those unknown variables were not helping him feel any better. The original operation was just about getting Lupus under their control and recuperating the Divine Weapon while they were at it.

While it was a shame that they could not get their hands on the weapon, at least one of their goals had been accomplished successfully.

His eyes once again landed on the four girls, the only reason he was still loitering around here while constantly fearing the unknown. His instincts were screaming at him that if he did not kill them now, he would certainly regret it.

“Very well. Let’s unlock the first seal for now.”

Hypnos’ power set was not geared toward combat, and yet that fact did not matter at this point. At his current level, even if he couldn’t use the power of laws to increase his destructive potential, he still had enough energy to put Camelia down for good in her weakened state.

Lifting his hand, a golden spear of light started manifesting above his palm, easily reaching a length of more than ten meters before compressing until it was only about 3 meters in length. The height decreased but the destructive power only grew stronger than ever— the application of power compression.

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“It was an enjoyable fight, but, it’s time to end this.”

———

When Camelia felt Hypnos’ power level increase rapidly, she understood that there was nothing more she could do at this juncture.

“Sol…” Camelia muttered, her gray empty eyes looking ahead of her in the direction she thought Sol should be. Her hair now had only a strand of gold and was brown for the most part. Her sight was completely gone, and even staying in the air was proving to be a challenge for her.

Camelia was born blind, and it was only normal for her to sink back into the darkness once again as she was about to lose the Blessing that healed her disability.

In this near darkness that felt oh so familiar yet oh so distant at the same time, the only thought she had was that she needed to block the incoming attack with all her remaining strength. In the distance, Lilith and Wukong were still fighting against their opponent. No one could save the girls outside of her and there was no way she would let things end with their death, not when she was still breathing.

“You were a worthy enemy. Now die in peace.”

Camelia ignored the Hypnos’ parting words. She had no care for the praise of an enemy, focusing her all on standing in front of the girls, her arms opened wide, ready to block the incoming spear with her body if necessary.

She could feel intense heat and light coming at her at an incredible speed and at that moment of levity, she understood that she would not be able to block the spear, her body would be helplessly torn apart by the spear of light and compressed energy.

Yet a smile formed on her face for she knew she had accomplished nearly everything she wished. She could feel that the flow of energy from the ritual had stopped and even though she could not see the results, she was sure that Sol would succeed in his endeavors. She could now die in peace.

If there was only one regret left in her heart, it was that she was unable to see Sol one last time. “If I ever get reincarnated, I hope you will be there for me and finally take me on a date.” She muttered as the light finally reached her, light so bright that even with her diminishing sight, she could clearly see it.

“Why wait for reincarnation?”

Space rippled, a pale hand with no callus stretching out of it, and the spear of light was stopped dead in its tracks as it came in contact with the frail-looking hand. There was no explosion of power or any reaction in particular. It simply looked like the spear was blocked by an immovable wall.

Then Crack~ the palm clenched into a fist and with that simple action, the spear of light was destroyed. This time, a large explosion occurred as all the energy compressed inside the spear was released, and yet Camelia felt none of the heat from the explosion. It was as if an infinite distance stood between her and the spear.

“This is quite the cliché entrance, don’t you think so?”

“Sol?”

Warmth enveloped her as she felt someone embracing her body from behind. Though she could see nearly nothing at the moment, she had never needed her eyes to see and recognize the souls of people around her.

For Camelia, Sol’s soul had always been the same. A beautiful and radiant sun that bathed her in its warmth. She should have been able to immediately recognize him and yet at this moment, his soul was completely different from what she knew it to be.

It was more radiant than ever, so much that if she wasn’t already on the verge of becoming blind, she would have surely lost her sight now, but more importantly, his soul was not just a sun anymore. It was so much more than that.

What stood in front of her was a giant— a colossal being of radiant light. Its form shimmered and glowed, a beacon in the midst of darkness that enveloped her world.

Covering its immense body were a thousand eyes, each one a swirling galaxy of colors and secrets, constantly shifting and blinking in unison. Atop its head rested a magnificent crown, forged from starlight and adorned with jewels that twinkled like distant suns. The giant exuded an aura of ancient wisdom and overwhelming power, a divine presence that both awed and humbled her, making her feel as insignificant as an ant, everything significant about her stripped away at the divine being’s mere presence.

She should have been afraid, her body and soul were screaming at her that she was facing something far beyond this world, and yet,

“Welcome back, my love.”

She showed a hearty smile, radiant and unwavering, even as her life force dwindled to its final flicker. Her spirit shone through her eyes, defiant and full of warmth, a stark contrast to the cold inevitability of her fate.

She may have started liking Sol because of his soul, but she started loving him because of who he was and the man he had become along his journey. Even a thousand-eyed monster would not change the affection she held for him.

She was simply happy that in her final moment, she was able to see him.

Sol seemed momentarily surprised by her words but soon, a smile also appeared on his face, “I am back.”

He floated down gracefully, an ethereal presence descending from the heavens. As he gently placed Camelia on the ground, a bed of flowers bloomed beneath her, vibrant petals unfurling in a symphony of colors and fragrances. The earth seemed to cradle her, embracing her with a softness and beauty that mirrored the tenderness of his touch. “You can rest now. When you open your eyes, everything will be resolved.”

Sol looked at the wounded and bleeding Setsuna, the smiling Milia, the tired Isis, and the cheerfully laughing Lilin. His gaze lingered on each of them, absorbing the diverse emotions etched on their faces. Setsuna’s pain, Milia’s serene joy, Isis’s weary determination, and Lilin’s mirth— all these scenes painted a poignant tableau of their enduring spirit and unwavering camaraderie amidst the chaos and dangers they went through.

Sol had demanded much of them, and they did not hesitate in risking his life for him. Yet he did not apologize, for such words would only belittle the risks they took for him.

Instead, he said,

“Leave everything to me. It will end before you wake up.”

It was now time to put an end to this war, once and for all…