Child of Destiny

……

Bang!

Shin and Diablo pushed themselves from each other with a powerful strike. They borrowed the forces behind each other’s attacks to create enough distance away from one another.

This duel was already been extended for much longer than they had expected, but neither of them minded it.

Both of them already gained something from this battle, especially Diablo who finally attained the state that he was aiming for.

Shin, on the other hand, already tested his limits when using the Reality Manifestation and saw how it would work against a top-class player. Though, he was also curious about the state that Diablo was in. It was the same as the Reality Manifestation yet also different at the same time.

He knew that Diablo also achieved a lot of things in this battle. And the greatest one of them was most likely that special state. He could clearly see the growth of his opponent during this battle, especially when using those foot and combat techniques to their peak potential and made it look like they were a real form of Martial Arts.

Shin couldn’t help but admire this particular player.

He could now understand why Zero said that Diablo was being feared by the Pandemonium Descendants.

With this kind of power, he would give the organization a lot of headaches if he started assassinating their core moments, especially when his class was perfect with the job. They would also have a hard time catching up with him due to the same reason.

On top of that, he was also very familiar with the Pandemonium Descendants and their methods.

The scariest opponent that anyone would be always like Diablo – someone who had understand his enemies very well and could also hide in the dark while picking them out one by one.

He was really tempted to invite Diablo to join the Empyrean Talons. “I loved to ask him to join us, but unfortunately, this is not the right time for it.”

Just like he was exhausting himself after using the ‘Reality Manifestation’ while keeping the ‘Eclipse Wielding’ and ‘Elemental Spirit Possession’ up all this time, Diablo should also be doing the same.

He was not sure what method his opponent was using but he could at least tell them that the opposing side was almost hitting the limit.

Diablo should also be reaching the point where he could no longer endure the mental burden, so he should need to log out of the game after this battle. It was for him to make sure that his body in the real world was able to handle the mental exhaustion.

Shin definitely had the advantage in this area. He would never have to worry about that problem since his monstrous mental strength could still handle this much mental burden.

Knowing that it was time to end this duel, Shin took a deep breath and assumed a stance for the final exchange.

The air surrounding him immediately changed as the opposing energies enfolding each of his sabers became even more powerful.

The power of the Brilliant Sun became more violent and released a heat that melted all of the snow in the area that it was facing and left the ground scorched. On the other hand, the power of the Abyssal Moon turned even darker and colder, transforming the area on its side into a frozen land.

There was an inferno on one side and an ice age on the other.

Seeing that seen, Diablo immediately understood what Shin was planning to do. He was also reaching the limit, so this was the perfect time to end this duel.

He flipped his shortsword and stiletto, holding them in a reverse-grip manner before crossing his arms in front of him. Then the purple aura that was surrounding his body became violent and created a violent storm surrounding him.

A few seconds later, his shadow seemed to move out of the ground and slowly climbed on his body. It then became shadow armor that protected his body as a shadowy cape with tattered edges extended from his back.

That cape made of shadows grew larger with every second, spreading widely before dancing alongside the violent wind.

The two refused to move an inch as they waited for their respective powers to reach their peaks while watching the opposing side respectively.

Bang! Bang!

And when the accumulated powers reached their peaks, the two suddenly kicked the ground at the same time and launched themselves forward with a speed that surpassed their previous performance.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

After reaching the perfect distance to attack, the two swung their weapons at the same time and released all of their accumulated powers during the process, exhausting their remaining strengths just for these final strikes.

‘Yin-Yang Swordsmanship: Advance Form – Firmament Chaos’

‘Shadow Dancer Pinnacle Skill: (Taboo) Ruling of the Shadows’

Boom!!!

This explosion surpassed all of the previous ones as it created a series of fissures in the space surrounding the two.

Crackle! Crackle!

Black lightning continued to crackle as the collision between the two powers grew to a larger degree.

The Health Bars of the two were also dropping slowly after being exposed to the clashing energies and violent mana surrounding them.

A small briefly appeared in between the colliding powers, devouring the surrounding energies before disappearing once again and immediately creating another explosion after.

Boom!

The explosion created a dome-shaped violent energy that devoured everything on its path while expanding.

This explosion also shook the whole area and send a violent gust of wind in every direction, making the other people sense it despite them being too far from it.

Even the resident beast monsters within the are the region turned their heads towards the direction of that explosion as they could sense how powerful it was.

Going back to the place where it occurred, Shin stood at the center of a gigantic crater, looking completely exhausted.

He looked at the man kneeling on one knee a meter away from him, clearly showing the outcome of the battle.

But despite winning the duel, Shin was wearing a deep frown on his face. He was quite displeased at what happened.

He might have won but the way achieved it was not convincing.

At the very end of the battle, where their Heath Bars took the final stroke, one of the skills attached to his armor was suddenly activated at the final moment.

—————————-

Equipment Skill: Death Exemption (Passive): You can defy death after receiving a fatal hit that could kill you.

Became invulnerable for 5 seconds upon the activation.

During the 2-second timeframe after the skill duration ended, you can convert some of your MP to HP.

MP to HP conversion: 1% MP = 2%HP

Maximum Conversion: 25% MP

Cooldown: 4 Hours.

—————————-

Because of this skill, the system recognized him as the winner of the duel even if both of their Health Bars hit zero at the same time.

He knew that this skill was a part of his strength, but he still couldn’t feel a little empty at the result of the battle.

For him, this battle should at least be judged as a draw.

Regardless, a win was still a win at the end of the day, no matter how he achieved it.

He sheathed his sabers and walked towards Diablo and extended his hand, offering help for the latter. “That was a good fight.”

Diablo could feel the sincerity from those words. He could see how genuine Shin felt about the duel, making him accept the help. He grabbed the offered hand and stood up. “Yeah, it is indeed satisfying.” 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝑛𝘦𝑡

Ugh!

He was about to continue the conversation when he suddenly felt an unbearable headache. He deeply creased his brow as he felt a little dizzy. ‘I can no longer endure the mental fatigue.’

He then turned to Shin and spoke. “As much as I want to stay and listen to your proposal, my mind and body are completely exhausted.”

He knew that Shin was the central figure of the expedition group earlier and he was also aware of the purpose of why the latter had approached him. After all, he was also thinking the same.

Unfortunately, that discussion needed to wait until he took a proper rest and recover his peak form.

After all, he didn’t have the same monstrous willpower as Shin nor possessed a body that was properly trained by a powerful Martial Arts.

Shin understood Diablo and could only nod his head. “I understand.”

But before they really wrapped this up, they still needed to clarify a few things, so Shin quickly added. “Then let me at least hear if you are interested in working with us for the time being.”

“We are aware of your conflict with the Pandemonium Descendants. We also suspect that you are here to stop them from completing their task in this place, so we want to extend possible cooperation.”

Diablo already figured that out. He also had more detailed information about the said operation of the Pandemonium Descendants and also knew that his individual strength would not be enough to stop them. This was the reason why he changed his mind and was also considering working with Shin and the others earlier.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough time to discuss the details since he was really at his limit. He could only give his brief answer. “We still can’t fully trust each other, but given the current situation, I can at least say that I will not be a threat to you all.”

“That is more than enough for us,” answered Shin as he understood Diablo’s point of view.

He then hesitated for a moment before sending a friend request to the latter. “Even if our situation is still not the greatest, we can still exchange some insights from time to time and also spar if the opportunity presented itself.”

Diablo was slightly taken aback by it and stared at Shin with an odd look on his face. But he immediately shook his head and smile bitterly as he accepted the friend request. “I guess that is also a good idea.”

He then started walking away to look for a safe spot to log out. But he suddenly paused his steps when he remembered something and quickly turned around. “Those guys are definitely going to approach you and propose cooperation.”

“The decision is still up to you, but I suggest not working with them since the quest that they are doing is impactful enough that it can affect the entire world negatively.”

Shin raised his brows when he heard those words. He briefly fell into deep thought before replying with a smirking tone. “Is that so? Then it will work perfectly for us since we can use it to our advantage.”

Diablo was surprised by Shin’s words once again as he could read the meaning of those words. He then started laughing loudly. “You really are an interesting fellow.”

He then turned around and waved his hand before disappearing like a ghost.

On the other hand, Shin continued to stand in his place a bit longer before also disappearing in the same manner. “Well, at least, everything went well.”

……