SHK CH 579 (Patreon)

Whether or not those goddesses were on his side was extremely important for his incoming contract. Sol knew that one of the reasons he was still alive, more than his own merits, was the protection of Luxuria and their desire to not hurt their relationship because of him.

In short — They were still underestimating him.

Some like Invidia may see him as a future threat but at the very most, in their opinion, he would be lesser or equal to Anubis. Someone powerful but who, ultimately, could not really hurt them nor affect their rules.

His stunts with Lilith may have made them warier, but this was all.

If I succeed by getting the Name I want though…Things could get ugly.

This was something his intuition was screaming at him and this was why he would make sure that his ascension as a King happened in his own dimension far from prying eyes. He would also make sure to get Aurora's help to hide things.

Thankfully, while the potential of things getting ugly could be high, the true problem would be if they realized that he had for goal to steal the Mortal Realm.

This would definitely not fly well at all and he would most likely be besieged by the goddesses if he was not careful.

He needed to advance step by step, build his own force, exchange with his own allies, and make sure that all would be well.

There was also the prophecy Lucifer had given him. By now, Sol was starting to have some inklings about what this could have meant, and for this reason, he needed even more urgent allies.

This was why —-

“Sheherazade, move away please, we need to enter my dimension and I still cannot stop the emotion manipulation effects from affecting you.”

“Oh! Sure! Don’t take too long! I will go steal some cake from Lilin!”

Sheherazade chirped and flew off in the distance, causing Sol to chuckle. This little fairy was a true little ball of pure joy and delight. She always illuminated his day when she was near.

“Should I go too?” Isis asked and Sol waved his hand, “You are the only Duke who can enter my Dimension without worrying. Let’s go, we have been wasting too much time on this.”

“Very well.” She was interested in witnessing the discussion that would happen next. After all, in a way, the one they were about to face could have been one of her stepmothers.

This was going to be a very interesting discussion.

***

The moment they entered Sol’s dimension, while Isis was able to fend off the rules that were trying to invert her feelings, Nuwa was not so lucky but the changes that happened to her were different.

Her previous dull and somewhat absent-minded eyes were filled with intelligent and alert light. Her lazy demeanor switched to one that was full of authority and the feeling of facing a friend and someone of the same age vanished as it was replaced with the impression of standing in front of a very old being.

“My. I did not think you would try to speak to me again so soon.” Even though the voice was the same, one did not need to be a genius to see the stark difference between the usual Nuwa and the current one.

“For someone who is forced to live like a parasite in the body of her daughter, you have quite the haughty tone.” Sol grinned meanly and ignored the deadly glare she threw at him before causing three made out of ice to appear. “Do not worry. I have considerably increased the temperature and altered the surface.”

He sat on his chair and Isis did the same on the chair close to him. Observing this, a twinkle danced in Echidna’s eyes before she sat as well.

“I initially thought your plan was to erase me. But it seems like you are much more ambitious than this.” Once she was comfortable, she spoke her mind without a veil.

“What makes you think this?” He asked quietly.

“The fact that you did not kill the main cause of the death of your parents is already telling enough. Then again, I suppose this is not wrong. After all, from your point of view…They are not really your parents, right? Foreigner.” Echidna snickered as she gazed at Sol and Isis. She was also quite surprised to see that Isis was still calm.

So she knew already? Interested. Those foreigners generally hide their identity.

“So you know about reincarnation.” Sol mused to which Echidna shrugged, “Why do you think I was so interested in attacking Lustburg repeatedly? Each of the rulers of Lustburg were precious research material. It was imperative for me to get some of their blood and genetic information.”

In her long life, Echidna had obviously observed many reincarnated individual and their very existence was fascinating,

“A foreign Soul in a new body. The concept itself of reincarnation is nothing extraordinary even if extremely complicated but it’s something marvelous in essence. All Foreigners show tremendous talents that cannot simply be explained by their being Blessed or not. Their very existence should be impossible but the sturdiness of their soul gave me many ideas.” The more she spoke, the more hurried her breathing became, “I have studied this principle for years and was able to create my own version of reincarnation by skipping the process of the cycle of reincarnation and entering a new body, thus keeping my memories intact. Had it not been for that damned thieving dwarf! Ugh!”

Echidna felt like pulling her hair when she thought how the results of thousands of years of research and careful planning were foiled because of some lowly dwarf that was not even at the Duke level. This was a level of humiliation of the like she could never accept.

“Pfft!...Sorry, sorry.”

Isis fought to contain her laughter and waved her hand in apology. She had met Theresa a few times and she had indeed noticed that the diminutive woman was quite the maverick.

“I guess Theresa is once again the MVP without even trying.” Sol smiled nonchalantly. At this point, he wondered if he should name Theresa as the mascot of Lustburg. She was the one who captured the vampire that escaped. She was the one who created his Divine weapon and the one who created his nascent mech army. She was dealing backstage to help him conquer the dwarves and she also foiled Echidna's plan.

All this without being a Duke.

This was a level of impressiveness that made even the legendary luck of Blessed seem quite mundane if he had to say.

“Well. To come back to our discussion. I indeed do not feel much rage for you. It would be hypocritical of me to act differently. I am indeed also keeping you alive because I need your help. But — Make no mistake. Your importance is certainly not even nearly equal to the happiness of those I care for. Once I reveal your existence, I will leave your fate in their hands.”

Sol showed his two hands, “On one hand, If they decide to keep you alive. You will live. On the other hand, should they decide you need to die, I will immediately destroy you without the slightest hesitation.”

His smile grew as he looked down at her, “So tell me, Queen Echidna, Mother of Thousands monsters, what does it feel like to know your very existence is at the mercy of the mortals you always despised and disregarded ?”

Echidna had to admit. It felt quite shitty.