PS: This chapter is also known as: The Hero Becomes a Girl.
Hero Kaden was born to save the world. Alongside the first Queen of Kanterbury, he wielded the Champion's Sword and defeated countless enemies.
But unlike other heroes' tales, Kaden's story did not end with cheers and a peaceful world.
An endless cycle of destruction shattered his spirit. Despite his best efforts, he could not save the world.
Over his long life, Kaden abandoned everything: the Floating Castle, the Champion's Sword, even his former self and his companions.
He had become a man obsessed, yet he was no closer to breaking the cycle.
And now, he had been defeated by his own successor in the most humiliating way possible.
Some hero I am, he thought, despair washing over him. I can't even defeat my own successor. How can I possibly save the world?
He was like Beth, the 14th Corps Commander of the Invaders, who had invested all of the corps' funds to send the knight to the future, only to see him return a few days later. Utterly crushed, and filled with a despair born from wasted effort.
But as is often the case with characters who believe they have nothing left to lose, there is always something else to be sacrificed.
...
Sunlight streamed through the cracks of Mo Wang's hut, and Kaden slowly opened his eyes.
"Where... am I?"
A wave of weakness and a strange sense of wrongness washed over him.
"What... what's wrong with my body?"
He struggled to his feet, and then he saw it.
"What is this!!!"
The legendary hero, who had lived for a thousand years and thought himself beyond surprise, was utterly and completely horrified.
His rough, battle-scarred skin was now smooth and delicate. His muscular physique had been replaced with a slender, curvaceous one.
And to top it all off, there was a strange collar around his neck, constantly draining his power.
"Hehehe, you're finally awake, old man. Did you like my little gift?"
Mo Wang and the princess stepped into the hut.
"You bastard! What did you do to me?!" Kaden shrieked, his voice strangely high-pitched.
"Calm down, old man. I just took a little look at your body. There might have been a... slight mishap during the reassembly process. But don't you think you look great?"
And he—she—did. With her short blonde hair, melancholic aura, and pale skin, she was a perfect beauty, even bearing a slight resemblance to the Future Princess.
"A 'slight mishap' that changed my gender?!"
"Hey, it's not my fault your body was full of those weird viruses. You should be glad I was able to put you back together at all," Mo Wang said with a shrug.
The princess just rolled her eyes. She had watched the whole thing. It was just another one of his twisted hobbies. But since he had at least kept the blonde beauty aesthetic, she decided to let it slide.
"My, my, old man, you're so angry. You must have been single for a long time. A few thousand years without a friend will do that to a person, you know," Mo Wang said with a grin. "But now... with that face and that body... I'll post your picture on the forums, and you'll have suitors lining up from the Floating Castle to Kanterbury!"
"I'll kill you!!!"
She lunged at him, but he just pressed a button on a remote.
BZZZZT!
The collar sparked, and she collapsed to the ground, twitching and convulsing.
"Tsk, tsk, can't even handle that?" Mo Wang said, poking her cheek with a stick. "It's only thirty thousand volts. A lot weaker than the lightning you used to strike me with."
"You... you bastard!"
"Oh, I forgot to mention," he said, his smile turning sadistic. "This collar absorbs your power and can release it at my command. And whether that power is injected back into you, or converted into an electric current... well, that's up to me."
"Um, Mo Wang, don't you think this is a little... perverted?" the princess asked.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, I only use this on my enemies. You can't be soft on your enemies. You have to be cruel to make them fear you. See? I'm a good person, one hundred percent."
PS: Even though I use the Innkeeper's head as a torch and a power source, do the same with my own robots' heads, feed my enemies' corpses to wild beasts, and have no qualms about tricking my enemies to their deaths, I am still a good knight.
The princess choked. She knew his fighting style all too well. There was no point in arguing with him.
"J-just kill me," Kaden whimpered, like a captured knight at the mercy of a demon lord.
"Hey, don't be in such a hurry to die, old man. Aren't you curious why I'm keeping you alive?"
"I don't care," Kaden said, her voice like ice.
"Really? Even though I have a way to eliminate that virus? Well, if you don't care, I guess that's that," Mo Wang said with a sigh.
"Wait! What did you say?! You have a way to eliminate the virus?" Kaden's eyes, once dead and empty, now flickered with a desperate hope.
"Of course. I can get rid of the virus, and I can even help you break the cycle."
"Hah, impossible," she sneered. "If you think you can sway me with such empty words, you underestimate me." After centuries of studying the virus, she knew its horrors better than anyone.
"Then aren't you curious why, even though your body is riddled with the virus, it hasn't erupted? And why we're still standing here, perfectly fine?"
Kaden fell silent, her gaze fixed on him. "Your proof?"
Mo Wang's smile widened. "Your Highness," he said, turning to the princess, "could you please step outside for a moment? I have a few things to discuss with our... savior, here."
The princess hesitated, but his gaze was firm. "Don't worry, Your Highness. I would never betray you. Please, trust me."
Reluctantly, she left the room.
Mo Wang pulled up a stool and sat down in front of Kaden. "You, who have experienced countless cycles, must know that this one is different, don't you?"
"What are you referring to?"
"I'm referring to the fact that, in the original cycle, Queen Camilla was not supposed to have a younger sister."
Kaden nodded slowly. "That is true. The royal family was only supposed to produce one daughter. But now, Camilla has a sister."
"And you must have also noticed that my power is weaker than that of previous heroes. As if... incomplete."
"The Little Princess... she was created from the other half of my power."
Kaden's eyes widened in stunned silence.
"In the previous cycle," Mo Wang continued, "the Observers created an invincible hero, my predecessor, to solve the problem of the cycle. He succeeded in defeating the Invaders, but he could not solve the problem of the virus. So, at the beginning of this cycle, the world, in an attempt to save itself, split my power in two, creating the Little Princess. And the girl you just fought... she is the Little Princess from the future."
"So, you're saying... her power can solve the virus?" Kaden's voice trembled.
"Yes. And I'm the only one who knows this. Not even Queen Lili."
"Why... why are you telling me this?"
"Because, apart from wanting to know some of your secrets, I also want you to help me train the Little Princess."
"Train... her?"
"Yes. Even the Future Princess, despite all her battles, has not fully awakened her power. The Little Princess has incredible potential, but no one knows how to guide it. In the future, I will have many enemies to face, and I won't have time to guide her myself. So, I want you to do it for me."
"Hah, aren't you afraid that I'll just kidnap her now that I know this secret? I may have been a hero once, but I am no saint."
"I don't care. Your power is sealed. And besides, would you really be so quick to destroy the very key that could break the cycle? I don't think even you believe that. As for not being a good person... in this godforsaken world, are there any truly good people?"
Kaden closed her eyes and smiled. "I never thought the new hero would be so strong, and so eloquent."
"I've had a lot of practice."
"Very well. I will help you. But if the training proves ineffective, I will not hesitate to take her away." She held out her hand.
"As you wish. But if that time comes, I will stop you. And I will kill you, senior," Mo Wang said, and shook her hand.
And with that, Hero Kaden (female), one of the strongest bosses in the second arc, had joined the party.
Mo Wang breathed a sigh of relief. With the old man on his side, even if the future became completely unrecognizable, he would be ready for anything.