Child of Destiny

BOOOOOM!!!

The split world roared as powerful gales of mana rushed toward the rift where the firmament had been sliced apart, desperately trying to mend the damaged space.

Donato, who had been standing directly in the path of Shin’s attack, had been cut down alongside the very world behind him.

However, the Fortress Master did not simply collapse.

A strange power suddenly surged through his body, attempting to repair the damage inflicted by Ragnarök.

The fibers of his flesh stretched and twisted as they desperately tried to reconnect, seemingly stitching themselves back together.

The eerie sight immediately caught the attention of Owen, who had already recovered with Samael’s assistance.

He couldn’t help but raise his brows. ”What the heck? Are all Enlightened Beings this eerie?”

”Why do I feel like he looks even more like a monster now that he’s successfully stepped into the Tier 4 Realm?” he muttered as he walked closer.

Even though the Fortress Master was still alive, the battle should have essentially been over by now.

After all, Donato had been cut apart by Shin’s previous attack and was currently struggling to resist the overwhelming elemental mana raging within his body.

And this elemental mana was anything but ordinary.

It was composed of multiple high-grade forms of mana, each possessing extraordinary destructive properties.

There was the Void Power from Hanzo, the Blood Energy from Vladimir, the Eternal Flame from Solus, the Primordial Water from Ronan, the Natural Wood from Silvana, the Sacred Light from Whitie, and the Metallic Earth and the Earthen Metal from Astaroth.

Even Nythera and Grimrace responded with the Ultimate Elemental Skill, despite both of them still being in their slumbering states, contributing their Abyssal Darkness and Psychic Shadow to the attack.

All of these higher forms of elemental mana were currently wreaking havoc inside Donato’s body, forcing the newly promoted Tier 4 existence to desperately struggle against them.

The Ragnarök was one of the strongest trump cards Shin possessed—one he had already used against multiple opponents in the past.

The members of the Empyrean Talons were naturally familiar with the Skill.

However, this was their first time seeing what happened after Shin used Ragnarök without immediately ending the battle.

Usually, the fight was already over by the time the Skill was unleashed, leaving them little opportunity to observe its effects against the target.

Diablo, who had recovered much of his strength, also approached the others and stared at Donato with a puzzled expression. ”He looks more like a Tier 4 Demonic Creature than an Enlightened Being, don’t you guys think?”

Alucard gently descended from the sky before nodding. ”That’s right. His Healing Factor is strangely similar to the regeneration abilities of Demonic Creatures.”

Owen stroked his chin while supporting his right elbow with his left hand. ”Now that you mention it... it really is.”

As a veteran who had spent most of his time fighting Demonic Players and Demonic Creatures in the Dark Cloud Kingdom, Owen was naturally familiar with their abilities.

And what he was witnessing now was eerily similar to the way Demonic Creatures regenerated themselves when recovering from severe injuries, especially when they were attempting to restore severed limbs or repair deep wounds.

Samael, who had accompanied Owen through many of those battles, also noticed the similarities.

”So...” Owen looked around before turning his attention back toward the struggling Donato. ”What are we supposed to do with this guy now?”

He paused for a moment before adding, ”He’s not going to enter another Berserk Mode and go through another phase, right?”

Smack!

Alucard, who was standing beside him, immediately smacked Owen on the back of the head. ”Don’t jinx it!”

Fortunately, nothing happened after that aside from Donato continuing to struggle.

Shin frowned as he watched the Fortress Master’s body continue to regenerate.

After a while, he finally swung the [Yamato] several times, slicing Donato’s body into countless pieces before engulfing the remains in the Eternal Flame.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

The sizzling sounds of burning flesh continued for several seconds before the last trace of Donato’s lifeforce finally disappeared.

The raid had officially come to an end.

Watching this, Owen couldn’t help but click his tongue. ”This is a bit too anticlimactic, don’t you guys think? And here I thought we were finally going to experience the full strength of a fully promoted Tier 4 Enlightened Being.”

Shin, who had just released his Metamorphosis, shook his head. ”We’re still not strong enough for that.”

”Yeah. If not for the special circumstances we had, and the fact that he had only barely crossed the boundary into the Tier 4 Realm, we would’ve most likely been crushed by an opponent of that level,” Alucard added.

They had only managed to win because Donato had barely broken through to Tier 4 and was still unfamiliar with his newly acquired strength.

If this had been a true battle against a fully established Tier 4 existence, then their situation would have been far more than a mere struggle.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The moment Donato’s final remains were destroyed, a series of System notifications suddenly bombarded everyone’s ears, announcing the successful completion of the raid.

They had even gained several levels directly, especially after defeating an opponent as powerful as Donato.

Shin had also received the delayed rewards from Ribbit’s special quests.

Unfortunately, aside from the direct level increase, those rewards were no longer particularly tempting to him.

”Sheesh! The Experience Points aren’t bad at all! I’ve leveled up three times!” Owen exclaimed after checking his System notifications.

Even Felix and Felicia, who had just joined the group, couldn’t help but nod.

Given their current levels, gaining even a single level was already a rare occurrence.

Grinding for experience became a hellish process once players reached their current stage, especially after surpassing Level 200.

”So... what’s next?” Owen asked, still seemingly eager for more action.

Shin, on the other hand, looked around the battlefield before sighing. ”It looks like we’ve completely wrecked the fortress.”

He couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the place.

After all, he had been planning to annex this fortress as a potential headquarters for the Hand of Midas’ branch in the Green Marbly Kingdom.

The region was an excellent location for their future base.

With the oasis nearby, they could potentially monopolize the local water source while also securing control over an important strategic area.

The fortress itself had already been constructed to a high standard, satisfying most of the requirements they would need for a long-term base.

Unfortunately, the damage they had inflicted throughout the raid was... devastating.

A huge portion of the fortress that had served as the main battlefield during their fight with Donato had been thoroughly destroyed.

Aside from the massive crater at the center left behind by Owen’s powerful attack, a gigantic canyon also cleaved through a large portion of the area, courtesy of Donato’s earlier attack.

Beyond the main battlefield, countless structures throughout the fortress had also been destroyed by the earlier artillery bombardment.

Looking around at the devastation, Shin couldn’t help but mutter, ”I wonder how much money it’s going to cost to rebuild this place.”

He paused for a moment before sighing again. ”Big Sis won’t scold me for giving her another ’project,’ right?”

After a while, Shin finally issued his orders. ”Let the Deicide members take over the entire fortress and finish off the stragglers.”

”We don’t have to kill every NPC still present in the area...” He paused for a moment before continuing. ”Just those who remain loyal to Donato and the other leading figures.”

”As for the rest, try recruiting them into our possible NPC forces stationed in this kingdom. They’ll make our job of establishing a base here much easier.”

He then turned toward Alucard and Diablo, who were conveniently avoiding his gaze. ”You two... lead the rest of the operation.”

I knew it!

The two had already expected this to happen, especially after Shin started arranging the cleanup work.

They were far too familiar with the modus operandi of their Vice Commander, who loved causing trouble wherever he went and leaving everyone else to handle the troublesome aftermath.

They could only curse Shin inwardly before preparing to carry out his orders.

However, before they could leave, Owen suddenly spoke. ”Now that we’re done here... are we going to cause some trouble for the Pandemonium Descendants next?”

”Isn’t one of their territories right next to the Green Marbly Kingdom? Let’s go! We should give them a surprise this time!” he added, clearly eager to cause some trouble for their old enemies.

His words immediately piqued the interest of the others as well.

Shin thought for a moment before glancing at the digital clock in the corner of his vision.

He then nodded. ”If we have enough free time, then why not give them a ’visit’ while we’re here?”

He turned toward Alucard and Diablo before chuckling. ”That is... if you two can finish the cleanup duty by then.”

The two couldn’t help but curse Shin under their breath once again.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have much of a choice.

They could only carry out their orders as quickly as possible if they wanted to join the next ’activity’ in time.

......