Child of Destiny

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The section of the fortress where the massive battle between Donato and the four monsters of the Empyrean Talons was taking place had already been reduced to ruins.

Although the battle remained confined within the overlapping Domains summoned by Shin, Diablo, and Alucard, everything within their range had already been destroyed.

Not a single building remained standing.

Some had been reduced to piles of rubble, while others had been completely pulverized into fine dust by the relentless exchanges between the combatants.

Aside from the frozen NPC Commanders, who had been restrained by the members of Deicide, every other NPC soldier in the area had already been annihilated.

Even the members of Deicide had been forced to retreat while bringing the two NPC Commanders with them.

Samael was the only one left behind to support Shin and the other three, using his buffs and healing abilities to assist them.

Although the rookie Paladin was unable to participate directly in the confrontation against the Fortress Master, his class abilities and skills were more than enough to make him an indispensable presence on the battlefield.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

BOOM!

Meanwhile, Felix and Felicia, who had spent quite some time observing the battle, couldn’t help but shake their heads as they watched the monstrous members of the Empyrean Talons hold their own against a Peak Tier 3 existence who was also a Named King-Class NPC.

”Tsk! Tsk! I was quite confident in myself, believing that I could fight any of the top-ranking god-level players out there...” Felix clicked his tongue as he watched the battle. ”But I guess I overestimated myself a little.”

”It seems the Senior Brothers and Sisters from the sect weren’t exaggerating when they said that this game is hiding far more than the so-called legacies...”

”...It’s also hiding all kinds of monstrous geniuses and freaks of nature from every corner of the world,” he added with a sigh.

Felicia didn’t say anything, but the expression on her face clearly showed that she was feeling the same pressure from these extraordinary geniuses.

After a while, however, she suddenly smiled. ”It looks like I made the right decision in choosing them as the protagonists of my ’story.’”

”Are you seriously planning to use that one chance of yours to choose them as your protagonists?” Felix asked, seemingly unconvinced by her decision.

”Our Divine Sound Sect is one of the recorders of history...” Felicia replied in a low voice before continuing. ”...Just as the Supreme Elder mentioned, the wheels of destiny are already turning.”

”This is why the sect has allowed all of us to venture out and experience the world with our own eyes.”

”It is also why those with ulterior motives are keeping an eye on our sect because of the records we possess and the history we are destined to write.”

She paused for a moment as she watched the intense battle before her. ”They want us to choose them as the protagonists of our ’stories’ so that they can be remembered as the heroes of this era.”

Felicia then focused her gaze on the members of the Empyrean Talons, particularly Shin. ”However... our Supreme Elder and Sect Leader refused them and let us make such a decision ourselves.”

”They had also asked us to experience the world and find the protagonists of our own stories.”

She pointed toward the group before continuing. ”I think we’ve found some good ’characters,’ don’t you?”

She chuckled before looking at Felix. ”Are you not interested in finding out what their futures hold?”

Felicia then gestured toward the battlefield. ”Come on. We can’t just let them hog all the fun.”

...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Despite being attacked from all directions, Donato continued to hold his ground against the four monstrous individuals without losing his footing.

Bang!

Donato forced Owen backward once again, knocking him away before suddenly spinning and swinging his battle axe behind him.

Shing!

Diablo, who had been preparing to launch another deadly ambush, was suddenly met with a vicious counterattack from his target.

Swoosh!

However, before the battle axe could cleave him in half, a thick layer of ice suddenly erupted from the ground and blocked the incoming attack.

Bang!

Although the wall of ice was unable to completely stop the attack, the brief delay gave Diablo enough time to retreat.

Swoosh!

”Tsk!” Donato couldn’t help but click his tongue after being obstructed once again.

He was about to turn and search for Shin when a series of gunshots suddenly roared from the distance.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crimson bullets flew through the air, attacking Donato from multiple directions.

”Annoying pests!” he cursed as he swung his battle axe, effortlessly deflecting each incoming bullet.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The crimson bullets posed little direct threat to him, but their trajectories were extremely tricky to deal with, especially since they always arrived at the most inconvenient moments.

Sometimes, they distracted him whenever he found a good opportunity to strike, giving Shin, Owen, or Diablo the perfect opening to exploit.

At other times, the bullets deliberately struck his battle axe with enough force to redirect his attacks, saving Diablo or Owen from dangerous situations.

More importantly, they provided valuable cover whenever the three needed to retreat.

At first, Donato thought he had already figured out how the four of them worked together.

It was obvious that the knight was their primary frontline fighter, responsible for absorbing most of his attacks while engaging him in direct confrontation.

The vampire in the distance provided ranged support, assisting the others at extremely opportune moments.

The annoying Elven Thief was responsible for launching deadly ambushes whenever either of the other two created an opening.

Then there was that terrifying winged fighter, who possessed the strongest destructive power among the four.

From Donato’s perspective, Shin was essentially the finisher of their coordinated attacks.

However, the longer the battle continued, the more Donato realized how wrong his initial assessment had been.

None of those roles were fixed.

The four were capable of switching positions and responsibilities whenever they wanted, adapting instantly to whatever the situation demanded.

Owen could even become the one launching an ambush from time to time, while Shin or Diablo would engage him directly, relying on their speed and evasive abilities to avoid his attacks rather than blocking them head-on like Owen.

At other times, Alucard would take the initiative and lead the assault, firing a barrage of powerful shots capable of injuring him.

There had even been several bullets that Donato had been forced to treat as genuine threats, preventing him from ignoring the sniper’s presence.

Because of the variety of their formations and the relentless nature of their attacks, Donato was gradually finding it more difficult to keep track of everything happening around him.

The three overlapping Domains were constantly suppressing his overall capabilities, while the freezing effects of Shin’s [Permafrost] continued to erode his mobility whenever he remained within its range.

Donato could feel the pressure mounting.

A single mistake was enough to leave him with a serious injury.

If not for the overwhelming advantage he possessed in Stats, he would most likely have already been suppressed by these four.

If there was one weakness Donato could identify in their formation, it had to be the little Paladin.

Samael could do little more than support the other four with his healing abilities and occasional buffs.

Crushing such a seemingly weak target wouldn’t be difficult.

However, Donato wasn’t in a position to divert his attention toward Samael because of the overwhelming pressure constantly being exerted by the four opposing monsters.

Moreover, Samael was well aware of his own weakness.

That was why he remained at a safe distance, ready to retreat instantly whenever anything unexpected happened on the battlefield.

Donato had even begun to treat the little Paladin as bait.

Whenever he tried to target Samael, the other four would immediately launch an even more dangerous combination attack, making it feel as though the Paladin had been deliberately placed there to lure him into a trap.

However, that wasn’t the end of Donato’s troubles.

Ding~! Ling~! Ling~!

While Donato was engaged in an intense melee with Owen and Diablo, a strange ringing suddenly echoed throughout the battlefield.

”Argh!”

Donato immediately felt an intense wave of dizziness.

His senses became temporarily dulled, while his movements slowed as though his body had suddenly become much heavier.

Swoosh!

Almost at the same moment, Owen charged forward.

He raised both arms and positioned his tower shields in front of him before launching himself forward like a cannonball.

Bang!

The massive shields slammed into Donato, jolting him back to his senses.

However, before he could make another move, another sound began assaulting his mind.

La~! Lala! La~! Lala! La~!

This time, it was a soothing voice.

A gentle melody seemed to wash over his senses, forcibly drawing him into a state of relaxation.

Shing! Shing!

Before Donato could even realize something was wrong, several flashes of dark light suddenly assaulted him from every direction.

The attacks tore through his flesh, leaving behind a strange black substance that slowly seeped into his body.

ROAR!

Only then did Donato finally regain full awareness, violently breaking free from the strange effects that had suddenly taken control of his mind and body.

”What was that?” he muttered.

He immediately swept his gaze across the battlefield, searching for the source of those strange sounds.

Only then did he notice two additional figures standing within the battlefield.

Felix was rhythmically tapping the blades of his two-pronged sword with his fingers, producing strange vibrations that resonated throughout the surrounding area.

Felicia, meanwhile, was singing an unfamiliar song.

Her voice was gentle and soothing, yet somehow seemed capable of reaching beyond the body and directly touching the soul.

Donato couldn’t explain why, but an inexplicable sense of danger emerged from that seemingly harmless melody.

Shin, meanwhile, glanced toward the twins before chuckling.

”These two sure are interesting~!”

......