Child of Destiny

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Shriek!

With a loud cry, the Grand Centipedeus suddenly slammed into the ground, sending a huge shockwave that moved forward. The impact of its actions seemed to have trampled the land, making the ground have multiple cracks before the surface flipped and moved toward the trio like a tidal wave.

Shin and Diablo suddenly disappeared as they moved away while Leonard bravely took a step forward. He inhaled deeply, expanding his chest with the air filling his lungs. He raised his head along with his actions while crossing his arms in front of him.

Then he stomped forward with a force that made the ground explode, sending shockwaves in every direction. Along with that, he uncrossed his arms and lowered his head while releasing a deafening shout that sent a strong force that moved forward.

Roar!

That shout sounded like the roar of a lion that reverberated in the entire island. It shook the land while the incoming wave from the opposing side clashed against his.

Boom!

As an explosion erupted due to the collision of the two sides, a thick and tall cloud of dust and dirt was formed at the center of the collision. Dirt and rock fragments flew in the air before starting to fall like rain.

Swoosh!

The thick cloud of dust was suddenly separated as the Grand Centipedeus charged through it. The veil that the dust and dirt had created moved away as the giant centipede charged toward Leonard.

Rumble!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of its hundred feet felt like huge pillars that were slamming to the ground due to how heavy and strong each of its steps was. There seemed to be an earthquake as it ran forward, making the ground shake intensely.

Shriek!

It then opened its mouth wide, revealing its sharp teeth, seemingly wanting to devour everything on its path.

Leonard did not hesitate and jumped in the air, avoiding the charging centipede.

As he was about to fall back to the ground, the Grand Centipedeus suddenly took a turn. Its long and large body followed, making a curve that looked like a giant whip that was flying straight to Leonard, who was about to land.

Swoosh!

At that moment, Shin suddenly appeared in front of the head of the giant centipede with his signature sword-drawing stance.

The black and white aura covering his body burned more wildly as the sheathed [Yamato] was filled with the dense Power of Primordial Eclipse.

Shing!

As he unsheathed the sword, and the blade of the sword was slowly revealed, a blinding light illuminated the whole place. Then Shin swung the sword forward, sending a powerful energy that turned into a huge tiger that was charging toward the Grand Centipedeus.

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw – Eclipse Tiger Draw'

Roar!

Given the current size of this giant centipede, the huge tiger was still dwarfed by it, making it look like a small cub charging toward a huge boulder.

Regardless, the tiger that was formed from the Power of the Primordial Eclipse still bravely charged forward and opened its mouth wide while it slammed at the giant centipede. It bit one of the antennae of the Grand Centipedeus and swiped its claws at it.

Boom!

It was a direct hit but the damage that it dealt barely moved the huge health bar that the centipede had. It was so pitiful that the damage that this attack dealt was barely noticeable.

But at the very least, it slowed down the movements of the centipede, giving Leonard enough space to maneuver around and escape his predicament.

"Tsk! What a tough defense. This is not going to be easy," mumbled Shin as he saw how little his attack dealt.

He then quickly sheathed his sword and jumped high up in the air, avoiding the incoming centipede.

When he was in midair, he suddenly adjusted his posture, making it more comfortable and relaxed. He curled his body a little and assumed another stance before using 'Mondi's Jump' to kick the air behind him.

Pa!

He then flew straight to the passing body of the giant centipede that looked like a moving train from above. He turned into a streak of light that fell from the sky.

Swoosh!

The mana within him moved as he channeled it toward his sword for another time. But instead of pouring all the Power of the Primordial Eclipse, he tweaked it a little, making the darker mana which was a form of the Abyssal Moon Powers.

The streak of light then turned into a black line that fell from above as he unsheathed the sword once again and swung it forward.

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw – Moonlight Splitter'

Shing!

Clang!

Unfortunately, despite how powerful his attack was, the sword only produced some blazing sparks before its blade bounced off from the exoskeleton of the giant centipede.

Shin quickly adjusted just body as the sword bounced off. He then spun rapidly in the air before he tapped his foot on the moving body of the Grand Centipedeus and flew toward the distance.

When his foot touched the ground, he suddenly sensed the intense vibration that was coming underneath and quickly hopped away.

Bang!

Right after he got out from that spot, sharp and thick earth spikes suddenly sprouted out from the ground.

Shin continued to move backward, repeatedly dodging the spikes one after another until it could no longer reach him.

In the distance, he saw Leonard engaged with a Giant Centipedeus once again while using a pair of gauntlets that seemed to be made from a higher form of mana like the Power of Primordial Eclipse.

Leonard repeatedly punched the claws and pincer-like jaws of the giant centipede while continuously moving backward. It was clear that despite how strong Leonard had become, there was still a huge disparity between his stats and their opponent.

He also saw Diablo, who became a shadowy figure, dashed in different places, and circled the giant centipede. He also saw that the daggers that the latter had were enfolded with dark mana that was different from demonic and corrupted mana but possessed a similar feeling.

Diablo tried to cut the legs of the giant centipede by attacking the joints, but he discovered that even those places were much tougher than he had expected.

Shin felt like the assist boosts that they had gotten from the system were barely able to help them. "If this is how strong an incomplete larva is, then how strong is a true member of the Bug Tribe."

While Shin was slightly troubled by those thoughts, he suddenly realized the problem after a few more attempts that they had thrown. He noticed that their attacks were inefficient because of their unfamiliarity when harnessing the new powers that they currently had.

They were treating it as a form of mana similar to the ones that they originally had when the truth was it was far from that. They were supposed to use these new powers in a slightly different way to bring out their full potential.

"It seems like the system is not lending us these powers for free," Shin mumbled as he quickly joined the battle. But this time, he was planning to experiment with his powers a little, trying to find the right way to harness the Power of the Primordial Eclipse.

Shin found that this was a good opportunity to learn how to control such powers. Even though he was supposed to polish his 'Myriad Manifestation Swordsmanship' and explore more about his innate attributes, he would want to experience how to wield this kind of power.

This experience would give him enough inspiration when he was going to form his 'Spiritual Force' in the future. Even though he was still lacking two of the attributes that he was supposed to have, he was confident that it would not take that long before he fully awakened them given his current progress.

Experiencing how to properly wield a higher form of mana, which was comparable to the 'Natural Force' and 'Spiritual Force' in the real world, Shin felt that he would be able to form his version of 'force' after learning more about the Power of Primordial Eclipse.

Even though it was more similar to the 'Yin-Yang Force' that Professor Plum had told him about, Shin still felt that this would be helpful for him when forming his 'Spiritual Force'.

As Shin was doing his experiments, Leonard and Diablo noticed similar things. They also realized that they were using their respective powers in the wrong way, making them unable to utilize the full potential that it supposed to have.

Realizing that they would not be able to defeat this Demon without discovering the right way to wield their powers, why not try to find the answer during the battle?

Even though they were not Battle Genuis like Shin, who could learn and grow during the battle, the two were not that bad either as they had their respective edges.

Leonard was naturally gifted for battle and had experienced the cruelty of the streets, which made him a streetfighter. He had unique inspiration whenever he was fighting that he picked up from the streets, which was completely unorthodox.

Diablo, on the other hand, was in a completely different situation. Unlike Shin and Leonard, he was not a Martial Artist or a Mentalist. He was also neither a Streetfighter nor a true Assassin in the real world. He was even below the average fighters. He was nothing but an ordinary person in the real world.

But he was a true gamer. A professional player, who played a lot of games and an expert in the virtual world.

It had been a while since he started playing like this; searching for a way to solve difficult problems and finding the right way to fight. Figuring out how to defeat an opponent while utilizing the limited set of skills that he had under his arsenal was one of the thrills that he missed.

"It has been a while since I feel excited like this," mumbled Diablo as he distanced himself away from the Grand Centipedeus, avoiding the powerful slam that it did.

Pausing briefly, he glanced at Shin and Leonard, who were currently engaging with the giant centipede as they tried to experiment with their skills and newly acquired powers.

Despite them not saying anything to each other, they seemed to be able to read what the other party was thinking. They kept on swapping positions whenever one of them needed to switch. They beautifully juggled the aggro in perfect coordination as if it were nothing.

Diablo also saw how the two threw a series of combinations that linked with each other. Despite the pitiful damage that the two had dealt, their synchronized attacks were gorgeously executed as if they had rehearsed them thousands of times.

The two completely understood each other and knew when they needed to act and when they had to switch positions with each other.

It was not his first time to see perfect teamwork. As someone who played the game since young, Diablo had witnessed and experienced quite a lot in the virtual world. He had seen enough pairs or teams with similar levels of teamwork or combined attacks. Even the Pandemonium Troupe, which he used to be part of, had such duo or teams.

But for some unknown reason, Diablo felt that there was something different from these two. There was this unconditional trust and unexplainable bond from each of their moves.

Diablo did not know how he felt, but he knew that this kind of trust with each other was something that could only be born between people who truly believed in each other without any hint of doubt.

Diablo felt envious by watching the two fight the Grand Centipedeus. He did not know if he would be able to find someone with whom he could put his trust this way. After what he had experienced before, he was not sure if he would be able to do it anymore.

When that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly remembered the invitation that Shin had offered him. He then took out the Martial Manual that Shin had given him and stared at it for a couple of moments before tightening his grip.

"Empyrean Talons, huh? I hope that you guys are different," he mumbled as the expression on his face suddenly became determined.

"Let's try it out," he added as he used the manual in his hand. It then became particles of light that flew in the air while slowly dissipating.

At the same time, sets after sets of information flooded his head, filling it with all the knowledge about the techniques recovered in that book. He also seemed to have experienced the personal experiences of the experts, who used those techniques, along with the inspirations that they had when training them.

When he opened his eyes again, there was a different light that was not there before.

...…