Child of Destiny

...…

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Multiple silhouettes could be seen dashing across the forest of one of the maps of the Sacred Light Kingdom. Their figures were like a shadow ghost that flew through the trees and bushes of the forest, running like a gust of wind.

One of them was at the forefront of the group while the rest were chasing after that person to the best of their abilities.

These were Diablo, Amon, and the rest of the Sweepers of the Pandemonium Descendants. Despite doing everything they could to entrap Diablo in a tight formation, the group still failed the confine the former commander of the Sweepers.

Forced to make his move, Amon had to step in, but still holding his strength back.

Whoosh!

Accelerating forward, Amon suddenly dashed through the forest and caught up to Diablo within a few seconds. He then ran toward a nearby tree, leaped in the air, and kicked it to propel himself toward his former friend.

Swoosh!

Dragging his sword in the air, Amon swung it at Diablo, who was forced to halt his advance to defend himself.

Clang!

Burning sparks flew in the air as the two sides clashed briefly before separating from each other once again.

Diablo used the force of the impact to fly away and disengage from the battle while Amon quickly stomped onto the ground and lunged forward.

In terms of speed and mobility, Diablo had the advantage over the opposing side, but Amon used an unconventional method to have a sudden burst of speed.

Bang!

Swoosh!

There was an explosion behind Amon that sent him forward. There was also a pair of flame tongues that were ignited on his back, resembling the exhaust flames of a rocket. They were pushing him forward as he caught up to Diablo.

Diablo was still able to avoid the incoming attack by a simple sidestep to the side, but such action delayed him from running away.

Left without a choice, he was forced to continue exchanging blows with Amon.

Diablo knew that it would be impossible to run away from Amon when the guy decided to join the pursuit. Having his back facing such a dangerous opponent would only put him at risk, so Diablo had to turn around and fight.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Clang! Clang!

The two exchanged a couple of strikes as they talked.

"What's the problem, Amon? This is not how I know you. I thought you hated relying on cheap tricks like this. How about having a proper fight against me?" said Diablo, trying to provoke Amon. He knew how bad the temper of this guy was, so agitating him should be easy.

But to his surprise, Amon remained calm despite the ugly and enraged look that he was making. "Don't try, Diablo. I know what you are trying to do, but it will no longer work for me. The mission always comes first."

"Tsk! Tsk! It looks like Paimon had trained you very well. The previous hunting hound has become an obedient dog in a short time," commented Diablo with a mocking tone.

The corner of Amon's mouth twitched as his sword was suddenly ignited with a blazing fire. He then swung it at Diablo with a strength that could crush mountains.

Diablo skillfully avoided the strike and nimbly distanced himself, making the attack land on the ground in his previous location instead.

Boom!

The explosion formed a tall pillar of flames in his previous location, towering along with the tall trees of the forest.

Swoosh!

Amon quickly broke through that pillar of fire and lunged at Diablo once again while swinging his blazing sword.

Despite achieving his desired outcome, Diablo could not help but knit his brows as he could tell that Amon was just randomly attacking instead of using his signature skills and techniques. It was clear that the latter remained rational despite exploding with his temper.

The latter was still trying to hide his real battle style despite facing the current situation.

Diablo was forced to retreat multiple times during the exchanges since he knew that it would be foolish to face a strength-type and explosive swordsman like Amon in a frontal confrontation. Moreover, he also had to keep an eye on the sneak attacks of the Sweepers that caught up to them and tried to surround him for another time.

Swoosh!

During the intense melee against Amon, Diablo suddenly kicked the latter and used the momentum of his actions to propel back, creating a considerable distance away from the opposing side.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

It was at that moment when a series of arrow bolts flew past his previous location and hit the nearby trees instead.

Somersaulting in the air, Diablo landed on his feet before dashing straight to the deeper parts of the woods. Since he could not gather any data from Amon, there was no point in continuing these exchanges. His focus right now was to escape from them while luring the Dragon Centipede away from the Maze Forest as far as possible.

The effects of the [Soul-Luring Whistle] were already about to run out since was already approaching the one-hour limit. He had to cast it again if he wanted the giant centipede to continue chasing after him.

But he decided to use it yet since he had to shake off Amon and the rest of the Sweepers from his tail. He also knew that Amon would not be willing to continue fighting him if the burden of the giant centipede was no longer on his shoulders.

This was why Amon had to deal with Diablo when the effects of the [Soul-Luring Whistle] were still in effect since it was only his chance. Once the effects reached their maximum duration, he had to fight Diablo normally, which would only lead him to expose his cards to the latter.

Troubled, Amon had to think of a way to completely lock Diablo within their encirclement. Or at least prevent him from running away repeatedly.

"Do I have to use one of my styles just like Belial said?" mumbled Amon as he tried to recall the warning that his colleague had given him.

– "If you want to take down Diablo, then you must sacrifice at least one of your swordsmanship styles. And if you want to capture him, then you must be ready to reveal most of your cards." –

– "He is no longer the same as before. He even completed his research in 'Demon's Eyes' based on the reports that we have received. If I am not mistaken, then he most likely achieved the perfect 'Hyperactive Immersion' that he is looking for." –

– "Take it as a serious warning. If you let your guard down, you will pay dearly for it." –

Amon looked down at his sword before finally deciding. He turned to his subordinates and ordered. "Use your Demonic Powers and execute the Spider Net Formation. We no longer rely on the Dragon Centipede. Once the [Soul-Luring Whistle] loses its effects, we will take him on, and you guys must make sure that he will not escape the Demonic Field."

"Yes, Sir!" responded the Sweepers running along with him before scattering in different directions.

Diablo immediately sensed the movements behind him and instantly realized what they were up to. "Are they planning to set up the entrapment formation? Is it the Mist Formation or the Spider Web Formation?"

Diablo did not dwell that long on those thoughts as he knew that Amon had finally decided to take this matter seriously. He had to make his preparations this time.

Amon might not know that Diablo could not use his 'Demon's Eyes' in the fourth and fifth phases while the third phase was currently his limit. Professor Henry had repeatedly warned him not to use those later stages quite often, at least not until his body in the real world fully caught up with the growth of his brain.

He had to hold back as much as he could to make sure that there would be no accidents in the future. After all, the professor had said that he could die due to exhaustion of his lifeforce if he repeatedly used those two stages, especially when they were together with 'Hyperactive Immersion'.

If he were planning to use the 'Hyperactive Immersion', Professor Henry also said that it would be best if he also did not use the third phase either if possible.

Diablo had already learned about a few of the secret methods to enter the special states similar to 'Hyperactive Immersion' from the professor and Benedict. Professor Henry even said that they wanted to gather some data from him and Shin later when they had the time.

From Diablo's understanding, only 'Lucifer' was the one who could enter those special states from all the commanders of the Pandemonium Descendants.

This meant that he still had a slight edge against Amon in this battle even if he could not use the latter two stages of his 'Demon's Eyes', and the third phase would be his trump card.

Formulating a plan inside his head, Diablo took out his signature weapons from his inventory, a shortsword and a stiletto dagger. He played with them for a couple of moments, trying to familiarize himself with the current state of his virtual avatar.

It has been a while since he had undergone the treatment from Professor Henry. He had also discovered quite a lot of improvements in his body and mind. He could also tell that he had not only become strong in the real world, but his improvements inside the game were also quite great.

This would be his 'proper' battle since achieving those improvements, so he was quite excited. He wanted to test his current capabilities against a proper opponent like the game's top experts, especially the Godlike Players.

Amon was just a perfect candidate to test his current skills and techniques. He was quite eager to test everything right now. He felt that he would explode in excitement when he thought about it.

One of his intentions of coming to Shin was to ask for a quick spar. But after learning the movements of the Pandemonium Descendants, he decided to change his plan and look for whoever was in charge of the events here or the ones that would be targeting their greatest threat at the moment.

While keeping at the timer of the effects of the [Soul-Luring Whistle], Diablo adjusted the gears within his body. He became silent as he relaxed his muscles and loosened his joints while sprinting across the woods.

Along with these changes, the aura surrounding him also took a sudden turn. From light and sharp, the air around him became heavy and suffocating.

There was also a threatening aura that his body was emitting. It was as if a hungry beast was about to be unleashed at any given moment.

No one could sense these changes, but Amon, who was paying close attention to Diablo, quickly noticed it.

He squinted his eyes as he focused on Diablo in the distance a little closer. He even activated his ocular skills to see what was happening in extreme detail. It was at that moment that he realized that a monstrous beast was about to come out of its cage.

While Amon was observing Diablo, the latter suddenly turned his head slightly and looked over his shoulder.

That was when Amon felt a sudden shiver that ran through his spine, especially when he saw those cold and emotionless Diablo that seemed to be looking straight at his soul.

It did not last long and was very brief before quickly disappearing as Diablo turned his eyes back in front of him.

Amon thought that it was just imagination, but after putting more thought into it, he knew that it was not the case. The Diablo that they were trying to catch was completely different from the one that he remembered.

He did not know what exactly changed, but he knew that it was not good news for him. He could not help but mutter to himself. "One or two styles may not be enough."

...