SON OF THE HERO KING

The discussion with Lilith and the others ended in bitter yet relatively acceptable notes.

They had their dissatisfaction with the situation, yes, but with the compromise Sol had allowed they were able to come to terms with the results.

Now alone with Echidna in his dimension, Sol gave her a quiet look. She seemed calm for the most part. A little too calm even. For someone who was sentenced to become a cripple and even a slave, that was not the kind of reaction anyone would expect.

“You seem confused,” Echidna smirked. She could see the confusion in his eyes.

“I am. I guess you have some kind of backup plan for everything?” He asked as the two started walking together.

“I have no backup plan and I do not need one either way. Their childish demands are nothing in the face of eternity and it's not like this is the first time something like this happened to me.” She shook her head.

“Eternity, huh.” Sol's sense of time had already distorted somewhat. But it was still hard for him to understand the concept. Still, he was curious about the latter part of her statement, “Not the first time?”

Echidna scoffed. “I have no desire to share this story. Ask your dear mother-in-law. This is a story we all share together. Be it me, her, or Anubis.”

She smiled, “Slavery? Haha, the idea of slavery in Lustburg is almost cute. A cripple? No matter. I am sure I can create a better set of veins and core in a hundred years. Five hundred if Fate was not kind to me. It doesn't matter really. Nothing matters except that I am alive.”

Echidna had seen many things and went through even more. She was one of the first Mortal Demigods in this realm. How could it be possible to reach such a level without going through her fair share of struggles?

“Anyway, if you are finished, I am going to sleep. It's a shame I will soon lose this body. But being a vampire is not bad. They have interesting skills.”

She already had many ideas about how she could modify her future body to her liking.

In fact, she now found this to be quite an interesting challenge. Creating a body that relies purely on physical strength and resistance and no mana whatsoever. How far could she go with these limitations?

“Ohoh…” This was a new interesting avenue. One she had never really tried to walk. After all, even the Seven Chakras Opening was based on mana veins and core.

Could this be the start of a new road? Or just an impasse? Echidna could not stop herself from thinking along those lines.

The more she delved into the possibilities, the more excited she became.

“Give my gratitude to those young ladies. I must say, they helped me get quite an interesting idea.”

Sol could only nod helplessly. If the promise with Gula and her sister did not bind him, he would have seriously considered just killing Echidna here and now.

This woman was definitely crazy in more ways than one.

Still, her words were intriguing. Ambrosia had already explained a little about the era of the Demon King, Anubis’ father. But he had never invested enough time into understanding the happenings of that era.

Perhaps one day he would.

Now though… he needed to prepare for his trip to Southern Pride.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

He was starting to miss Nefertiti.

***

After Sol left, the women who had discussed Echidna’s Fate gazed at each other in still silence.

It had been quite some time since they all reunited like this in the same place. But it was hard to feel happy when they remembered the cause.

“Arachne. Are any of those super old and super expensive wines of yours available? I think we might need some.” Theresa, as always, was the mood-maker of the group. ṟ

Arachne gave a dirty look at her small friend but in the end, did not argue and snapped her finger.

“My butler will bring one…”

“Four.” Theresa interrupted her.

“... Two bottles. Non-negotiable.” Arachne did not want to argue too much and Theresa shrugged in defeat when she sensed that.

Soon the wine was served and everyone had a glass filled with the good stuff.

“Should we make a toast?” Persephone asked.

“About?” Pandora was curious. The situation was not exactly happy.

“A toast to life. A toast to friendship. The fact that we can all be together like this is already something I am happy about. Even if most of you will die in around two or three hundred years.”

Lilith laughed at Persephone’s words, “The way things are going. I think the first one to die of old age will be Arachne.”

Arachne gave a bitter smile, “I would have never thought that Theresa would enter the King realm.”

“Hehehe. This is the difference between you and me.” Theresa laughed and raised her glass high. “To friendship! May we all still be here 80 years later to drink with the old and decrepit Arachne.”

They all laughed and shared the toast. Even Arachne, despite complaining outwardly, shared the toast with her friends.

She could feel her heart become lighter. For years she had been living like a widow. Constantly mourning Mars and wishing to see him again.

But now, even though she was not able to kill one of the most important culprits in his demise, she was at least able to dish out some punishment to her.

A sad smile covered her face as she looked at her reflection in the red wine.

Perhaps it was truly time to let go?

“Theresa, could you help me order appropriate clothes for the current season? I have been out of touch with fashion for years now.” Her words were abrupt but they caused everyone to pause.

They all knew that for two decades now, Arachne only wore black robes and clothes. This was her way of silently mourning for Mars’ death.

For her to change now could only mean one thing.

A wide smile that threatened to split her face bloomed on Theresa’s lips. “You can count on me. I have many merchants who specialize in clothes.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Milaris themselves were such a clan. But Theresa did not point out that Arachne could use her resources here. This was a request from a friend.

After this episode, the atmosphere became even warmer.

Finally, Pandora asked one question that had been burning her lips.

“Sooo… Poison Princess?” She eyed Persephone. “How did you get that title?”

From the way everyone suddenly looked at Persephone, it was clear that she wasn't the only curious one in the group.

“Well…” Persephone gave a mysterious smile before finishing the wine in her cup. “I did many bad things after becoming a witch. Let's leave it at that.”

This only made them more curious. But they all knew better than to ask deeper questions. They had a feeling the answer would only cool the atmosphere.

Persephone understood that clearly. So, she directed her gaze towards Arachne. “Speaking of. Later you should come to the Tower with me and take a look at Medea.”

“What happened?” Arachne had a bad feeling. She had been working on this wedding dress for some time now.

“Hahaha. Let's just say, my dear sister decided to grow up in more ways than one.”

Persephone laughed. She had been surprised by the changes her sister was going through. But she was happy for her.

The wedding will definitely be a fun experience for her. But at the moment, she was more interested in meeting Satella.

Perhaps she would be able to atone for one of the many evils she did in the past.