Child of Destiny

…

Boom!

A tall cloud of dust immediately rose right after Kallavan crushed into the ground. The impact also affected the surrounding buildings, making the nearest ones around the epicenter instantly collapse.

Swoosh!

Amid the scattering and spreading cloud of dust, a figure suddenly flew out, leaving a noticeable trail behind him.

He could not help but frown a little, confused how Kallavan managed to find him despite the great distance between them, especially when he was still in stealth.

His cloaking stats might not be as high as those with the thief and assassin professions, but his cloaking ability shouldn’t be that low. After all, he still had both Blackie and Grimrace, who could provide him with extra assistance to cover what he was missing.

His ability to control the darkness and shadow element shouldn’t be that low either, especially when he could also use the Demonic Telekinesis to further enhance all his cloaking abilities and mimic his skills in the real world.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A moment later, the cloud of dust started to settle, revealing Kallavan. He was still standing at the center of the impact, which was now a huge crater that extended for dozens of meters.

Kallavan’s current form was a bit different from the previous encounters that Shin and the others had with him.

He was currently wearing a full-body armor that was filled with glowing runes, particularly his arms and legs, which were constantly emitting a series of energy currents flowing upwards.

His helmet was also in the same state. It covered his entire head, only revealing enough gap for his eyes and little holes for him to breathe.

The glowing runes covering the helmet were also emitting the same energy current, making his head look blazing with blue fire.

There was also a glowing horn sticking out from the center of his forehead. It was curving upwards, resembling a rhinoceros’ horn.

“Tsk! I want to avoid as much fighting as possible before getting a clear picture of what they are planning, but I guess I can’t avoid it now,” said Shin after seeing the current form of the opponent before him.

He could just retreat as well since the initial plan already failed. But after sensing his surroundings and realizing that the opposing party was currently alone, Shin felt that there was something more to their plan than what he originally thought.

’They must be protecting something behind them!’ thought Shin after thinking about it for a moment.

He was supposedly heading toward the center of the city, where a huge castle was located. The dangerous threat that he was sensing was coming from that direction, which was why he wanted to check that area first.

Since the paths heading toward that direction needed him to pass by the bell tower, Shin somewhat guessed how Kallavan saw through his stealth, especially after sensing that Kallavan seemed to have somewhat merged with the surroundings.

Activating his True Sight, he was able to see some invisible threads connecting the different parts of his opponent’s body.

There was also a vague mana signature coming from the ground that seemed to connect with Kallavan’s body. It was as if the entire city was supplying Kallavan a vast amount of mana.

This at least gave Shin an idea of what was hiding underneath this city.

“It must be a massive magic formation,” he mumbled before focusing his gaze on his opponent.

From the look of it, Kallavan seemed to have accumulated enough mana supply and was fully ready for battle.

Even Shin could sense an overwhelming power coming from the opposing party, which could somewhat threaten him to a certain degree.

Shin thought about what would happen if he retreated now, wasting all the energy that Kallavan had just accumulated.

Boom! Boom!

Unfortunately, these thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a series of explosions coming from the other part of the city.

“It seems like even Diablo is caught sneaking inside,” he mumbled before asking the status of the other side. [What’s the situation on that side?]

It took some time before Diablo could even respond to him, signifying how hectic it was on the other side. [It is still manageable, but it seems like passing through this guy is going to be a bit more troublesome. He seems to be getting an infinite amount of energy from the city itself.]

This somewhat confirmed some of the suspicions Shin had inside his head.

Bang!

While he was still lost in his thoughts and considering whether to continue scouting ahead or retreat, Kallavan suddenly kicked the ground and launched himself forward.

Swoosh!

He almost reached Shin in an instant, which showcased the huge boosts that he had gotten from all the buffs that he currently possessed.

Despite how fast he moved, Shin still kept his calm and raised his sheathed sword to block the incoming fist.

Boom!

The impact caught Shin a bit off guard since the strength behind that attack was a bit stronger than what he had expected, but he was still able to regain his footing within an instant.

He adjusted his stance and only took a step back to stabilize his footing before forcing a deadlock with his opponent.

’I want to see what they are hiding inside, but it will take quite a lot of effort to pass through this guy,’ he thought for a moment while staring at Kallavan. ’Moreover, there are also those traps that they had prepared.’

He pushed forward, forcing the latter to retreat a little before continuing his thoughts. ’Moreover, retreating will also give them more time to organize their plans.’

“Tsk! Whatever we choose will lead to another problem. I guess the competitive scene is much more complicated than what I had expected,” he mumbled before leaning back to dodge the incoming kick from Kallavan.

Swoosh!

Boom!

The air exploded as the armored leg flew past over his head, signifying how powerful the kick was. It even produced a powerful wind current that swept through the streets and made the streetlamps fall one after another.

“Since either choice is going to be troublesome-…” he mumbled as he continued to dodge the series of attacks from Kallavan through a series of mysterious foot techniques. “…-I guess it will not hurt to accept such a challenge.”

Swoosh!

Right after dodging yet another destructive punch, Shin suddenly kicked the ground and pushed himself sliding back, distancing himself away from his opponent.

Bang!

Kallavan gave chase while dragging his right arm behind him and leaving a long trail of light produced by his glowing fist.

But he could not help but slow down a little when he saw Shin assuming his signature sword-drawing stance right after creating enough distance and channeling a huge amount of cold energy toward the sheathed sword.

Click!

Right after hearing the familiar sound of the sword separating from its sheath, Kallavan swiftly stomped his foot before him and pivoted before throwing a powerful punch forward.

Boom!

He released a huge amount of mana accumulated in his fist, sending a huge beam of light that covered the entire street.

Shing!

At the same time, Shin had fully unsheathed the [Yamato] and swung it forward, releasing a cold flash of light that flew forward.

’Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw (Freezing) – Lunar Flash’

Swoosh!

This sharp flash of light cut through the incoming beam sent by his opponent while also freezing even the mana filling the air, along with the space itself.

Shing!

The cold flash continued flying toward Kallavan, making his expression hidden under his battle helmet grim.

Swoosh!

Swiftly raising his arms forward, he covered his entire body with a blazing flow of mana to block the incoming attack.

Boom!

He was neither blasted away by that sharp energy nor forced to break his stance. Instead, the surface of his arm started showing some signs of freeze, particularly his arms that blocked the previous attack.

He could also feel that his body was starting to get affected by the intense freezing effect of that attack, making his movements a bit stiff.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

It did not even end there as Shin suddenly swung his sword multiple times, releasing huge vertical waves that moved forward and fanned out to cover a large area.

’Myriad Transformation Swordsmanship: Crescent Cleaver’

Kallavan tightened his muscles and made them budge to release his body from the freezing effects of the previous attack.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The frost spreading throughout his body shattered in an instant, freeing him from the freezing effect.

Swoosh!

With the blazing mana covering his body, he suddenly punched forward multiple times.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each punch released a series of explosions that clashed against the incoming vertical waves, annihilating them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Kallavan was preparing for a big move when he suddenly sensed a chill coming from the back of his neck.

Swoosh!

Without any hesitation, he swiftly clapped his hands. He joined his palms together, releasing a strong shockwave that spread in every direction along with a series of mana ripples that created chaos around him.

Boom!

Shin, who just materialized behind Kallavan, was suddenly pushed back by that shockwave.

He slid back while trying to nullify those overlapping shockwaves before colliding with multiple streetlamps behind.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom!

Not long after, Kallavan suddenly chased after him, initiating another intense melee battle.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two clashed multiple times, exchanging a variety of moves that destroyed all the surrounding buildings and other structures in their wake.

But since Shin was ’quite’ a crafty person, he purposely led their battle toward the castle located at the heart of the city.

He might have forcefully chosen to engage in a battle, but he still did not forget his real purpose in coming here. He would do his best to find what these guys from God’s Paradise were hiding in that place.

…