Chapter 46: Four directions (1/2)
*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*
”Fuck *Cough* *Cough*”
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!