Son of the Hero King

Chapter 433 CH 398:END OF THE ACT *5 In 1*

(AN: https://youtu.be/0oB2bH0PZjg —> Fate/stay night Heaven's Feel III spring song OST - They Rule the battle field -Suite-. I think it)

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『 Mana Burst 』

BOOOMM!!!~

With that chant, the golden blade of mana descended from above. Everything that shining blade of mana collided with turned into nothingness as the pure blast of mana decimated everything and anything in its path.

The kaleidoscopic blade shot through the air and collided with Lilith’s own. A pure shockwave of unadulterated and concentrated power hit everything in its radius as a pillar of ominous light shot out from the collision point. A deafening roar shook the very foundation of the dimension they occupied.

Sol was right... Before overwhelming power, everything was meaningless. The current change in the landscape was proof of that statement.

But, there was one thing that was to be noted in that statement. In the first place, Sol was not the one with overwhelming power in this fight.

Shooosh~

An all-encompassing line of sword light. For an instant, it felt like the entire world had been cleanly severed into two equal parts.

All it took was just a single slash. Following the vertical flash of light, the attack created by the Mana Burst Sol launched at Lilith was completely divided and disintegrated with so much ease that it was utterly ridiculous.

When the dust slowly scattered, all the people occupying the space could only glance at the great divide that had completely split the ground and the edges of the realm into two, distorting the fabric of space that this place was standing upon.

‘Incredible.’

Sol looked down at his body and his eyes narrowed when he saw the fine line going from his torso to his stomach. Even though he wasn’t in his War Mode, his scales were still more durable than even the most solid armor in the Mortal World. Even after having equipped such hard armor, a delicate wound colored his midriff with trickles of blood oozing out of the crevice that was created by the wound.

What if this fight had been a fight to the death?

‘I would have lost then and there.’

The worst thing was that such a wound should have usually healed immediately. Even before even a drop of blood could ooze out of such a wound. But, in this case, the healing became incredibly slow. To the point that one could not even tell if he had a healing factor or not.

The Immortal Slaying Sword Art. A sword technique specially created by Lilith to deal with creatures who had a strong healing power and who never knew the meaning of death.

Sol nodded his head in acknowledgment of Lilith’s prowess. Indeed, his beloved aunt was truly a monster of the highest order.

Lilin, who had used her powers to move away from the trajectory of the explosion sighed with despondency. Even though she had acted in perfect sync with Sol, they had still been unable to even put a scratch on her mother.

No... Worse than that even... She had yet to move a single step from her spot.

“I would be quite disappointed if this is all you can show.”

Lilith spoke gently while hiding the trembling of her hand and the few cracks that were already spreading along it.

“Very well, far from us to disappoint you. Lilin, let’s continue.”

Whoosh~

The two appeared next to Lilith in an instant as though they had teleported from their previous spot. Sol by using the properties of his dimension and Lilin by moving through space with the use of her Boundless zone.

The two attacked at the same time, but two floating swords manifested in the air and blocked those attacks for Lilith without her even having to will it.

What followed after was a true battle between monsters, that went beyond the limits of anything that the Mortal Realm could hold...

Lilith knew that she did not have enough mana in her to last an entire fight. She knew that after this, her time remaining in this world would be close to nothing and it would be impossible for her to face the Wolf King or even being able to witness the fight with her own eyes.

But she was not worried anymore. Be it Sol or Lilin, they were showing her that the Kingdom was in good hands. She would be able to die in peace even if she were to meet her demise at the end of this fight.

“Then, let me give you a good lesson then.”

‘Perhaps final lesson, if you will.’

Firstly—

“Was it called Mana Burst?”

Lilith grinned with a maniacal glint in her eyes. People seemed to believe that she had no big moves or finishing moves set aside outside of her innate powers as a King-rank. But they could not be more wrong about that piece of information.

She stepped on one of her swords, which materialized beneath her feet, and slowly levitated in the air until she was standing high above in the night sky.

“Sol... what do you think of this?”

Sol, at first, was confused by his aunt’s sudden declaration. Even though she had said those lines he wasn’t able to spot anything to block. That was until he picked up the crazy turmoil of mana in the air and looked up.

“!!!”

The sky itself seemed to have torn apart as a gigantic blade of unfathomable size slowly materialized from the void above and swiftly descended down the night sky.

Lilith’s hand formed a sign, and the materialized blade was concentrated with all her intent and mana. The descending blade, with the heaviness to crush the world into pieces and the sharpness to rip the fabric of space asunder was directed toward Sol and Lilin’s destination. This was it. She was showing them just what a prime King like Lilith was capable of even in her extremely weakened state.

“What the....”

Sol looked up, wondering just what the hell he was looking at right now. The feeling of being dwarfed by that monstrosity made him feel like the sword was bigger than even the biggest mountain on his previous planet. The sword intent mixed into the sword was so sharp that it simply crushed and annihilated everything that stood in its path without discrimination.

“I need to stop this.”

Sol's main role in this fight was to be both a tank and support for Lilin. And he was not about to shirk away from that role just because of one deadly attack.

Wings sprouted from his back as he shot into the sky with the speed that easily surpassed that of sound. The closer he came to the descending heavenly blade, the more lacerations and cuts formed on his body, even with his scales on, but Sol simply muscled through the residual intent of the blade with no care for his body.

Not yet. It wasn’t the time yet for this fight of theirs to end. He needed to move in the most natural way possible to make everything flawless. To make their plan a success.

Finally when Sol reached the descending blade with the heaviness and sharpness to even ostensibly split the world in half...

『 Ignition: Overdrive 』

Sol immediately went all out and delivered a punch with all the power he could gather in a short instant.

Crack~

The sound of something breaking resonated in the air as the gigantic sword was surprisingly more fragile than he had intuited it to be.

“See, Sol, my dear, you are certainly powerful. But see, overwhelming power simply bred habits that can be easily exploited.”

The sword shattered in an instant— creating thousands of shards that were all under Lilith's control as they pounced on Sol like starved beasts ready to tear their prey asunder at any moment.

Sol covered his body with his overwhelming quantity of mana, hardening his body to withstand the infinite barrage of razor-sharp intent, as the explosion of the gigantic blade propelled him back to the ground and the subsequent barrage of broken blades whittled away at his protection and made a bloodied mess out of his body.

Lilith, still standing on her sword and levitating in the air, looked at the bloodied and battered Sol lying on the ground while keeping a part of her attention on her daughter.

Lilin could not fly. This was a fatal flaw of her Zone as it only covered her surroundings and not the realm above and below her.

‘What will you do now?’

The answer was more surprising than she thought it to be.

Even standing beneath her, far from the distant sky she now stood on, Lilin simply swung her sword.

Clang~

Lilith instinctively moved and blocked the blow and the metallic sound of the sword clashing made her eyes widen in disbelief.

She had felt no mana or intent coming at her at that moment. If she had not acted by following her years of experience, then this sword might have been the decisive move that would’ve beheaded her at this moment.

“I don’t need to move.”

Lilin smiled at this sight. Her zone was pretty simple. She could erase all distance between her and her target.

This did not simply apply to her body. But to all her attacks.

She didn’t have to extend her mana like Lilith when she attacked.

No matter how far the enemy was, as long as she could see them, any of her attacks would immediately reach her target if she so wished. That was the power she had earned through her will to surpass her mother.

In an instant, the mother and daughter pair exchanged hundreds of intangible blows that ripped and smashed the kaleidoscopic fabric of space in their wake.

Both parrying and retaliating even while standing miles apart from each other.

The means were different but the results were so similar that they gave a strange beauty to the fight between the pair.

But as time passed, it became clear that Lilith was gaining the advantage in their bout.

For every strike Lilith sent her way, Lilin needed 3 or four to block them.

Furthermore, Lilith would always attack using tricky angles that deviated the sight and senses with her infinite number of swords.

"This is your problem, my dear daughter. You are just too straightforward."

Lilin had no time to respond to her mother’s quip as her left side was slashed by an attack she was not able to block.

Blood oozed out of the freshly drawn wound while Lilin groaned to suppress the pain that was emanating out of her mother’s Immortal Slaying Art.

Looking at her bloody daughter with no signs of the wound closing anytime soon, Lilith could only sigh bitterly, "You have certainly grown more powerful since the last time we fought, my child. But your mindset has yet to change and adapt to your powers."

This was the simple truth. Lilith did not wish to give more information or hints to her daughter as she thought it was enough. She had already given enough hints to her daughter for her to realize the weakness in her current state and powers. She hoped that her daughter would realize this simple truth of her weaknesses sooner than she did.

—In a fight, there was no such thing as being cheap.

Everything was allowed, there was such thing as a chivalrous spirit, and no method that allowed victory was to be discarded.

"Your strikes are monotonous and predictable.

"You pursued speed and space but forgot that the basis of your power should be the sword— causing a lack of variation in your techniques."

Lilith smiled as she saw the frustration that emanated on Lilin's face.

Frustration was good. This frustration meant that she would work even harder from now on and perfect her sword even more than what she wielded currently.

How could a sword be boundless if it was limited by just your sight?

To truly be unbound meant... Being free of any and all limitations...

One day... Her daughter would without a doubt stand at the summit of the world as a swordsman and— she would not be there to witness that glorious moment.

Lilith's heart missed a beat as sadness colored her eyes at that harrowing thought. She once again realized that her time was coming ever closer to its end.

For the first time, in a long long while, she began to seriously wonder... Was it really alright for her to die?

Would she truly be satisfied to vanish right now even though there was so much she had yet to witness? So much she had yet to live?

Lilith shook her head to break out of those thoughts, she had more pressing matters on her hands...

Boom!

She looked to her side, only to see a literally blazing Sol grinning at her while his sword strike was blocked by the tens of swords she had manifested in place to block his strike.

His entire body was covered in blood and small wounds marred his visage from head to toe. Her sword intent should be burrowing in his blood and making him feel an inconceivable amount of pain as it even slowed down his healing factor to a crawl.

When facing Lilith, any and all beings always felt the same thing when they realized that the body they were so proud of offered no defense against her merciless attacks.

It was fear. Pure and unbridled fear. The most primitive and pure emotion in existence that every being felt at least once in their life.

But all she could see in Sol’s eyes right now was absolute enjoyment and satisfaction of their current clash. Like a beast that was finally released from its restraints and could afford to go all out.

“Sword.”

With that one word, thousands upon thousands of swords manifested into reality, in all shapes and sizes, and surrounded the duo. What followed after was a realm-shaking clash in the air as Lilith moved with thousands upon thousands of her manifested swords following her command and attacking Sol continuously from all directions while he chased after her.

“Hahaha!”

Lilith looked at Sol. And Sol gazed at her enchanting eyes...

“Haha... I like the look in your eyes. I guess even you can have your pride wounded, huh?”

“Have you reached the supreme state?”

“I honestly don’t know what the supreme state you are talking about is... This technique doesn’t even need the use of a sword... I am just using it to piss you off in all honesty. After all, wouldn’t it be funny if the best sword user in the universe lost a sword fight against someone who isn’t even a swordsman?”

With those taunting words, the fight between the two of them resumed once more.

Unlike earlier, there were no big explosions. No powerful sword intent that could reach the heavens and tear down the earth. It was just a clash between two swords.

Clang~

Swords clashed.

Blood flowed.

—And Lilith was gradually getting cornered.

Sol moved leisurely as he moved his head to dodge another one of her sword strikes with utmost ease.

“You have reached your limits.”

His words were cold, harsh, and blunt. Uncaring of what the one they were directed towards may feel...

“All your movements are now apparent in my eyes.”

His lips trudged to form an arrogant smile as his sword pierced her shoulder.

“You thought you could beat me as a Duke?”

He laughed at her words as he blocked her sword without even breaking a sweat.

“Don’t make me laugh.”

He laughed when he saw the frustration that gradually marred the entirety of her face,

“Admit it, Lilith.”

He looked down on her with a condescending smile on his lips.

“You know it too, right? That you can never go further than this. That the path of the sword you so cherish can never truly slay an immortal.”

Lilith’s eyes grew cold at those words.

“Sol.”

"Are you feeling angry?"

He grinned maliciously...

"Do you refuse to accept the simple truth?"

He taunted her to no end...

"Then show it to me. The strongest attack you are so proud of."

"Do not force me, Sol..."

Lilith growled out each and every syllable. She could not use her true name. Could not rely on her avatar to attack her nephew.

In all her life, she had never been able to control a sword strike while using her full power. Using her accursed avatar.

"My sword can cut down anything."

Space and time. There was nothing her sword could not cut and she knew it more than anyone else.

This was why, during the fight in Lustburg, she had been unable to bring out her powers before Camelia activated the Holy Territory to protect the land.

Had she gone all out without any precautions, the entirety of the capital would have been erased from reality.

"You say that you can cut everything."

This time there was no mocking expression left on his face.

Only a pitiful smile, the kind you would give to a kid who could not understand the reality they lived upon.

"But you cannot even sever the strings of Fate that bind you to your misery."

His sword stopped short of plunging into her stomach.

"Use it, Lilith. Show me your power, the entirety of your powers, and let me show you how I break it into pieces."

Lilith's face became expressionless at that instant.

She knew Sol was taunting her. But...

No one. Absolutely no one could mock her sword.

『 Avatar — Tyrfing 』

Crack~

Her body broke further, almost shattering into pieces then and there. Unable to support the devastating power flowing through her after the activation of her True Name.

Tyrfing...

Sol’s lips finally relaxed to form a peaceful smile.

A cursed sword... That could cut absolutely anything on its path. In the myths, every time this sword was used, someone had to die and the user would be followed by misery.

Facing this power, Sol knew immediately...

He could not avoid this sword by any normal means in his arsenal...

No matter how he looked at the strings of Fate. No matter which path he took, this sword would absolutely reach him beyond a shadow of a doubt if he stood in her path.

But he did not care...

This had been his goal all along.

He had been playing the director, the actor, and the producer of a long play and the first act was finally coming to an end with the climax that Lilith enacted.

'Did you watch this, all of you goddesses?’

Sol immediately entered his dimension. A place that should be untouchable by anyone else. But he knew—

『 Immortal Slaying Sword Art: Zero 』

A sword that could cut anything.

A sword that could destroy anything in its path.

A sword that would even destroy its user to slay the one that it was used against.

To such a sword, even the limits of dimensions were as flimsy as paper. Easily cut and destroyed.

Crack~

Standing in the monochrome Inverse World, Sol smiled as he observed the long ominous gash of kaleidoscopic light forming and breaking apart the gap between dimensions...

The void between the gap of dimensions was torn open into a horizontal gash as the sword strike of kaleidoscopic light swiftly approached his destination with the full intention of erasing him from reality.

The horizontal sword approached to tear him apart, but before it could touch him...

Shriek~

Another dimensional wall was erected between them as Sol literally erected another whole dimension between them using the power of mirrors of his Inverse World. The sword violently cut through the might of a whole dimension. It shrieked and screeched and finally... It dissipated into nothingness and he was left intact...

Sol heaved a strained sigh, his body was covered in blood and sweat and his mind was a little faint. Had he received this sword head-on, he would have died.

No ifs. No buts.

It was a sword of absolute destruction and demise. That would have erased every trace of him if he hadn’t used the might of his dimension to hold it back. He looked up into the dimensional gap in the shape of a half-shattered mirror...

Watching Lilith stepping in his dimension out of her own free will, Sol smiled as he closed the dimensional gap behind her.

Her body had reached beyond the limits of her breaking point.

Her mana veins had gone completely dry and she could not even summon the slightest intent or will from inside her.

Sol flew and carefully hugged her in a princess carry to stop her from falling.

Her body was so fragile and brittle that he feared that she might break and shatter if he put too much strength in his arms.

"I told you... I can cut everything."

Sol smiled at the feeble words coming from her Lilith,

"I have never doubted it."

“Hehe...”

Lilith smiled feebly like a child happy to have been praised for her efforts.

She looked up and gazed at his face with a loose smile...

“I...am...glad...that you are alright...”

Lilith had gone beyond her limits with that attack. Beyond the powers of her accursed sword. She had used all her might and finally was able to control her powers to a certain extent and stop attack. Her depleted mana and body had also helped.

Sol knew that he could have not avoided that attack if she had been at her peak and if she had truly intended to kill him. Though he had been ready to use Nirvana on himself.

After all, for a short fleeting instant—Lilith power had reached that of a demigod.

Looking at the feebly smiling Lilith, he couldn’t help but sigh...

'I am sorry for all the harsh things I said.'

But this was the most optimal path he could follow.

Everything had gone seamlessly and according to his predictions.

From now on, there would be no unwanted observers. The Goddesses could not gaze into his dimension.

Now that the first arc finally ended. It was time to continue on Arc two.

It was time for the second biggest con in the history of this world after Anubis stole a part of the afterlife to take place.

No matter what happened, no matter how it ended — There would be no proof of his crime of denying the order of the goddess.

——

(EN:

Though the skies are dark with roiling storms,

I shall set the heavens ablaze with my iron drawn,

For I've vowed on my life to bring you home.

You can still end this story the way you want.

I would like to tribute the editing of this chapter to one of my favorite characters in the game industry— Himeko Murata. Lilith, for me, emanates the same energy as her, perhaps the reason I like her so much among all the characters of SHK. May Himeko’s immortal soul rest in peace, wherever she is. Aameen.)

(AN: Welp. Chapter is super big. This is the single longest chapter in all my 3 years as an author. 6000+ fucking words without the EN and AN. Until now, my longest chapter was 2.6K. My average is 1.2K-1.5K. I have been writing this from 2 am to 4 am. Woke up at 9 and still wrote from 10 am to 1 pm. This is the equivalent of 4-5 chapters all in one. I wanted to divide this into two or three chapters, But my Editor literally threatened me. So yeah, I complied.

Worst is. The Bastard wants all the remaining chapters of VOL 11 to be as big as this one or more and I am like. Damn bro wants my death. I am sure after this even if I post 3K words, some readers will say something like ‘Chapters are getting shorter’ XD)