Child of Destiny

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The mountain shook continuously as violent shockwaves spread across the battlefield.

Black flashes constantly darted between the jagged cliffs while countless distorted silhouettes chased after them from every direction. Every collision between the two sides sent fragments of rocks flying through the air before they were immediately swallowed by the overwhelming corruption permeating the surroundings.

The battle had long since entered another stage.

Shin and the Elemental Anomalies continued clashing relentlessly, each exchange becoming more dangerous than the last.

At first, the creatures had relied solely on their overwhelming instincts and numbers to pressure him. But now, every attack carried purpose. Every ambush had become more coordinated than before, forcing Shin to continuously adjust his rhythm just to avoid being cornered.

Fortunately, he possessed one of the rarest combat talents in the world.

A Battle Genius.

A talent that allowed him to continuously improve in the middle of combat.

Every experience that he had throughout the battle was gradually being incorporated into the next movements he had. His body adapted to every exchange he had, which in turn gradually refined his techniques with every passing second.

Unfortunately, this time, the opponent standing before him was unlike any Player or NPC he had ever fought.

The Elemental Anomalies were doing exactly the same thing.

Every phantom that managed to deceive them would become less effective during the next exchange.

Every sword trajectory that successfully killed one of them became increasingly difficult to land.

Every successful breakthrough was immediately answered by an even tighter encirclement moments later.

It was as though the entire pack shared a single battlefield instinct.

”...”

Shin silently cut down another charging anomaly before retreating several meters with the help of Phantom Dance.

The emerald particles had yet to scatter completely when another grotesque figure silently crawled out from the surrounding darkness to fill the empty space.

”Tsk! Tsk! They’re evolving...” His voice unconsciously became heavier. ”No... they’re evolving much faster than Solus and Hanzo have described them to be.”

That realization immediately sent a chill down his spine.

Even his Battle Genius Talent had its limits. It required experience to improve.

It was not an omniscient ability that could instantly understand every technique or predict every movement. Instead, it was an instinctive combat talent.

He would have to be in battle before his body would gradually adapt throughout the process. He would then naturally accumulate those experiences and instinctively refine himself throughout the battle.

The more he fought, the more naturally his movements became, just like how footwork gradually discarded unnecessary motions or his swordsmanship became cleaner and more efficient.

Even newly learned techniques slowly integrated themselves into his battle style, as if they had always been a part of his body.

The Battle Genius Talent continuously polished everything he possessed.

The longer the battle lasted, the stronger he became.

Unfortunately, these creatures seemed to have completely skipped even that process.

The instant one Elemental Anomaly experienced something new, the entire pack instinctively reacted as though every one of them had personally gone through the same experience.

It was an evolution that bordered on the unreasonable.

What made Shin’s expression gradually darken, however, was the fact that their collective growth did not stop there.

Somewhere along the battle, the pack had unknowingly begun assigning roles to themselves.

Some of them had become ’chasers.’

They no longer bothered attacking recklessly, choosing instead to relentlessly pursue Shin’s every movement while constantly pressuring his footwork.

They rarely posed any direct threat on their own, but their endless pursuit prevented him from fully focusing on the stronger anomalies, forcing him to constantly divide part of his attention to guard against sudden ambushes from his blind spots.

The others had transformed into ’frontline fighters.’

Unlike the chasers, these anomalies never retreated once they engaged him. They continuously assaulted him head-on, paying no regard to whether their attacks succeeded or failed.

Even when they clearly had an opening to strike Shin’s body, they would deliberately redirect their claws toward [Yamato], attempting to knock the legendary blade from his grasp or even snatch it away altogether.

And another group had become what Shin mentally labeled as devourers.

These creatures rarely approached him directly. Instead, they lingered around the battlefield, waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity before unleashing terrifying psychic assaults or activating their horrifying devouring authority.

Their true objective was no longer Shin himself, but [Death’s Shadow], repeatedly attempting to consume the shadowy cloak despite failing every single time against Grimrace’s Ancient Blessing.

Then there were the ones that unsettled him the most, the observers.

From the beginning until now, they had barely participated in the battle. They simply remained hidden throughout the battlefield, silently watching every exchange between Shin and the rest of the pack.

Their countless crimson eyes never left either him or the countless phantoms scattered across the mountain, quietly studying every movement, every sword swing, every swap, and every minute fluctuation in space.

They had done almost nothing throughout the entire fight, but they were the ones that made Shin feel the greatest sense of danger.

It was because he knew that every adjustment made by the other anomalies most likely originated from those silent observers.

Together, the Elemental Anomalies had unconsciously formed a terrifying hunting formation.

Each group fulfilled a different purpose, perfectly complementing one another until they became something far more dangerous than a mere gathering of monsters.

They had become an army of predators that hunted as one.

”This can’t continue.” Shin’s expression gradually turned extremely solemn.

If the battle dragged on any longer, the advantage he had painstakingly built would slowly disappear.

The more he fought, the more dangerous the entire pack became.

His eyes instinctively shifted toward the distant object continuously absorbing the endless rivers of slaughter energy.

The crimson currents still surged through the air like countless blood-red rivers before disappearing into the strange object resting before the gigantic, chained gate.

”I have to destroy that first.” His gaze sharpened. ”As long as that thing remains... these anomalies will never stop appearing.”

He had attempted to force his way toward it several times earlier.

But each attempt had ended in failure. It was not because he lacked speed, nor because his phantoms had failed to sneak there.

But because the closer he approached the object, the denser the concentration of Elemental Anomalies became.

It was as though the battlefield itself had been divided into invisible layers.

The outer perimeter merely hunted him, while the inner perimeter prevented anyone from approaching.

Even his phantoms were intercepted before they could reach the core, making swapping places with them no different from asking himself to get killed.

”They’re deliberately blocking this route...” Shin muttered while casually bisecting another anomaly that attempted to ambush him from behind.

The grotesque creature immediately dissolved into countless emerald particles before disappearing into the wind.

His brows slowly knitted together. ”I thought they were predators...”

”So why...” His eyes never left the distant object. ”...are they protecting that place now?”

For a brief moment, the entire battlefield seemed to become strangely quiet.

It was not because the fighting had stopped, but also because a possibility had quietly formed inside Shin’s mind.

One that even he found difficult to believe.

”No…” He slowly narrowed his eyes. ”That doesn’t make sense.”

From the very beginning, these Elemental Anomalies had behaved exactly like apex predators.

They hunted, devoured, and adapted—everything they had done until now revolved around those instincts alone.

Protecting something… should have never been part of their nature.

Unless…

His pupils suddenly contracted. ”They aren’t protecting it...”

His gaze remained fixed on the distant object as countless rivers of slaughter energy continued pouring toward it. ”...They’re protecting themselves.”

The words escaped almost unconsciously.

The more he thought about it, the more every strange action throughout the battle suddenly made sense.

Their relentless attempts to wrench the [Yamato] from his grasp and repeated efforts to devour the [Death’s Shadow] had never been random acts of aggression. Those instincts had been warning them from the very beginning, compelling them to eliminate the two greatest obstacles preventing them from hunting their prey.

Given this, their willingness to sacrifice themselves just to delay his advance must have come from the same instincts as well.

Their purpose throughout the battle had evolved once again.

At first, they hunted him.

Then, they instinctively recognized the true threats and shifted their attention toward [Yamato] and [Death’s Shadow].

And now...

Their entire existence revolved around preventing him from reaching that object.

Shin’s expression gradually became solemn. ”They sensed something.”

He didn’t know what, nor did he know why, but he could tell that their instincts had clearly concluded one thing.

If that object was destroyed, something far more terrifying than himself would descend upon them.

That was why the creatures born as predators had instinctively become guardians.

It was not out of loyalty, nor because they wished to protect it, but because every instinct within their existence screamed that allowing it to be destroyed meant death.

Boom!

As if responding to Shin’s conclusion, the entire battlefield suddenly trembled.

The remaining Elemental Anomalies let out an ear-piercing shriek. Then, instead of charging toward him once again, they all turned toward the distant object.

Layer after layer, they formed an impenetrable wall before it.

They were no longer hunting, nor pursuing, but guarding.

Guarding their very existence.

”So...” Shin slowly tightened his grip around the [Yamato]. ”I finally became the prey they fear the most, not because I threaten their lives.”

”...but because I threaten the reason that they still exist.”

...