SON OF THE HERO KING

Cursing for the last time, Sol kneeled down with a haggard expression.

Two days. It has been exactly two days since the start of this excruciating transformation.

Pain, pain, and even more pain.

During those two days, Sol couldn't count the number of times he wished to simply fall unconscious and wake up once everything ended. But he knew he couldn't.

During all this time, sometimes his will would waver.

He would ask himself.

Why am I doing this?

Why shouldn't I give up?

Do they even need me to protect them?

He would ask himself those questions and began to give up, but each time it happened. He would wake up by repeating one truth.

A man who couldn't protect his loved one was lame.

Nothing more, nothing less.

It didn't matter how powerful they were.

It didn't matter how independent they were.

It didn't matter that they stood near the pinnacle both in terms of influence and personal power.

They were his women.

And it was his duty to give them a sense of security.

Some people might call it sexism or something of the like.

But it wasn't so. He recognized their worth and their power. He respected their personality and their wishes.

But, no matter how cringy or naive to think so, he wished to become their rock. He wished to be the one they relied on and not the one who relied on them.

So–

No matter how painful, how tiring, how excruciating it was, he had to hold on.

For them, he was willing to kneel down and beg.

For them, he was willing to stand up and fight.

----

"*Cough* Edea *Cough* *Cough* come untie, please. Hehe, I really need to take a bath. *Cough*"

Throwing a joke, as lame as it was, in order to sooth Edea's worries, Sol grinned cheekily.

Edea on the other hand winced when she saw his smile.

It couldn't be helped. Sol's face was entirely covered in blood and the same went for his teeth and the rest of his body.

What more his current teeth were new, as the old ones were currently laying on the ground in a puddle of blood. Some bits of organs could also be seen in that puddle so it was honestly rather disgusting.

Still, Edea didn't care about all that. She had seen way worse when she was still a street urchin a few hundred years ago.

Stepping on the blood in an uncaring way, she reached the bloodied Sol and took him in a tight hug.

"It must have been hard right?"

Sol's who was about to shake her off since he didn't want to stain her further, stopped once he heard those words.

'It is the first time. She hugged me on her own.'

It wasn't like the curse prohibited human contact. But Edea was particularly traumatized about it and always did her best to avoid most direct contact with him.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

"This is extremely moving and all, though a little disgusting and disturbing. So, could you perhaps untie him first like he asked? I feel like I am witnessing a BDSM play that went wrong."

The peaceful moment was disturbed by a voice Sol did not recognize. Finally paying attention to the presence that stood next to Edea, Sol immediately closed his eyes.

'Fuck! I feel like I was blinded!'

It was the first time he had seen such a high concentration of pink on one person.

Edea, a little embarrassed, separated herself from Sol, before waving her hand and dispersing the chains of mana that were binding Sol.

Finally free of all restraint, Sol did his best to not slump, and slowly, very slowly, began to stand up.

*Crack* *Crack* *Crack*

His bones seemed to cry in protest from the movements, but he ignored them and finally stood up in his full glory.

The first thing Sol remarked was that his vision seemed to have shifted a little. Looking down on Edea, he finally understood the reason for this shift.

'I have grown?'

Looking at his bloodied hands, that were a little larger than usual, Sol frowned a little.

Seems like I will have many things to re-adapt to.

Clenching his fist in wonder and feeling the power coursing through his muscles, he activated his mana and threw a punch on the side.

Boom!

A mini Shockwave burst surprised him and the other two.

'I am really stronger now.'

*Thump* *Thump*

And he would continue to increase his power.

*Sigh*

Taking a grip on his emotions, he let out a sigh and once again focused on the blindingly pink young woman in front of him.

Her clothes made him remember the magical girls style. A short skirt that seemed to show a hint of her equally pink panties as well as a tight top, that clung to her curves. Though she wasn't particularly curvy, she wasn't that slender either. He would tentatively give her a B cup.

He wanted to smile, but from the previous reaction of Edea, he knew that he wasn't particularly presentable.

"Hello, I am sorry to meet an acquiescence of Edea in such situations. Still, I am Sol Luxuria. Happy to meet you…?"

Edea, catching the question in his words gave the identity of the woman.

"She is my big sister, Freya. In your history book, she should be known as the witch of space!"

Edea clothes were already pristine clean thanks to using time magic to reverse the state of her clothes.

Sol though didn't pay attention to this rather impressive and, wasteful, usage of magic.

He was doing his best to not squeal in excitement like a fangirl.

The four Ouroboros. The Four directions. They had many names but they were all known by their titles.

The witch of the West, Edea the witch of time.

The witch of the North, Kali the witch of destruction.

The witch of the south, Persephone the witch of creation.

And finally,

The witch of the East, Freya the witch of space.

Each of the four witches and their master were legends in this world. Even more so in Lustburg. They had created an organization that was nearly equal in power with the church.

Walpurgisnacht.

Barely concealing his excitement and cursing his currently uncouth appearance, Sol turned toward Edea.

"I really need a bath right now. I feel bad talking to a new acquaintance like that."

----

Looking at Sol walking towards Edea's cottage while being helped by her, Freya couldn't help but feel a little weird.

With her experience, how could Sol's emotions be hidden from her eyes?

She was just rather surprised. After all, the four directions were more infamous than famous.

Seeing such a pure excitement at the mention of her name was rather rare. Then again, Sol was near Edea since he was young, so he was most likely aware that most of those tales were heresy weaved to make the witches seem worse than they were.

A small smile etched on her face. She was still suspicious and would do her all to understand this young boy, but at least the first impression he gave her was rather good.

----

"Ohhh~!"

Sol echoed like an old grandpa full of rheumatism as the hot water gushed over his head.

He had never felt so alive. What's more, now that the pain was subsiding, he could feel more deeply the different changes he went through.

All his senses were enhanced, all his capacities were boosted. It wouldn't be a mistake to call his current situation a complete makeover.

'Let's enjoy the shower then the bath first. I can observe all of my changes better in the future.'

Discarding the thoughts about his change, he focused on the place he was currently in.

Edea's bathroom.

It was somewhat exciting. It wasn't the first time he entered her house, since he sometimes took his lessons in her living room. But it was the first time he entered her bathroom.

Her bathroom was pristine white. The bathtub itself being equally white gave a Victorian feeling. Very noble like and rather large, large enough to hold two or more people.

'Hum.'

As less than orthodox ideas flashed through his mind, Sol could feel his little friend rise at the occasion.

'Sigh. I should stop behaving like a creep.'

Getting a hard-on in the bathroom of his future woman was rather weird. Though it would be less so if she was officially his.

'Well, I shouldn't be in a hurry.'

Thinking so, and after washing off all the blood from his body, he began to walk toward the sole mirror in the far end of the bathroom.

It was a large body mirror that allowed Sol to admire himself in all his naked glory.

His hardened shaft aside, he could feel the change in his appearance more clearly. He was taller and his frame a little larger. He didn't become some hulking mass of muscles but he did become a little more rugged.

Ignoring the black lace panties and her small bra placed on the side, Sol finally entered his much-awaited bath.

"Ooh~! This is heaven!"

Soon, in a few days, it would be his birthday as well as his first true public appearance. This will be followed by the annual event of the Astral realm opening.

This would be perhaps the last time for him to truly rest.

Closing his eyes, Sol slowly fell into slumber. He didn't have to fear drowning in his bath. So, free of all worry, he began to rest.