Child of Destiny

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Ding!

Right after the sound of the system's signal fell, both Shin and Zero kicked the ground and launched themselves towards each other.

Zero covered one of his swords with a gusting wind before brandishing it down at Shin who was currently unsheathing his sword while also swinging it at the same time.

'Self-Created Skill (Personalized): (Empowered) Wind Splitter'

Whoosh!

'Self-Created Skill (Personalized): (Modified) Blazing Quick Draw'

Shing!

Boom!

The initial collision immediately created a massive explosion, causing havoc in the surrounding air.

Swoosh!

The two stared at each other's eyes as they maintained their postures, not willing to take a step back. Their cloaks were fluttering alongside the violent wind around them.

After enduring the pressure that their respective attacks had, the two of them put more strength on their arms before pushing each other away from them.

While Shin was in midair, he swiftly sheathed his sword with one smooth motion before quickly unsheathing it once again right after channeling the Power of the White Sun on it.

Shing!

'Self-Created Skill (Combined): (Modified) Solar Flare'

Swoosh!

A crescent sword wave was immediately sent chasing after Zero, trying to catch up at him as soon as possible while he was trying to stabilize his balance in the air.

Seeing the incoming sword wave, Zero forced his body to spin in the air while also swinging his swords in the process.

'Sword King Skill: (Modified) Tempest Blade'

Bang!

The incoming sword wave was immediately destroyed the moment it came in contact with Zero's swords.

But at the same time, Shin was already lunging back at Zero right after his feet touched the ground.

During his charge, his body suddenly turned illusionary before transforming into a streak of light was flying straight to his opponent.

'Clash Fighting Style (Combined): Moonlight Splitter'

Seeing the streak of light from the corner of his eyes, Zero quickly adjusted his center of gravity, letting himself float in the air for a brief moment.

Hu~!

With a deep breath, he gathered all of the surrounding wind elemental mana around him towards his swords before quickly releasing them with a simultaneous swing of those swords.

'Sword King Skill: (Modified): Storm Gust'

Swoosh!

Boom!

Seeing the incoming counterattack, Shin instantly realized that he would not be able to get away from it unscratched.

Given that, he decided to throw his attack at the incoming storm-like gale instead.

Shing!

With a swift sword draw, the powerful gale of wind was split in half as Shin passed through it. But right after he get through that gusting gale, he was immediately greeted by a pair of swords that were about to chop his head off.

Due to his previous actions, Shin was currently in an awkward position to swing his sword to deflect them away. But at the same time, the hand that was holding the sheath of his sword was currently free.

With a quick flick of his wrist, the sheath that he was holding with his other hand was suddenly flipped before turning into a longsword.

'Legacy Skill: Mondi's Style – Meteor Form'

Cling!

Shin was able to block the descending swords but he was still forced to land on the ground, halting his advance. He even almost kneeled on the ground because of how strong the force behind them was.

Fortunately, he was quick enough to respond and immediately used the pressure that was pressing on him to do a quick front flip while also swinging his other sword in the process.

With those actions, their roles instantly reversed as Zero was now in an awkward position to respond while Shin was the one who had the slight upper hand.

Not having a good position to defend himself, Zero was forced to take a step back instead, instantly putting him in the passive state in this duel.

Just like what Zero was expecting, Shin quickly took that opportunity to dictate the rhythm of this fight.

Right after his swing missed and his feet touched the ground, Shin quickly lunged forward while changing the form of his left-hand sword into a rapier and thrusting it forward.

'Legacy Skill: Mondi's Style – Conviction Form'

Swoosh!

'Extra Skill: Sword Rush – Thrusting Dash'

Shing!

Zero took a couple of hops backward, he was trying to get enough space for himself before swinging his sword downwards in a very powerful manner, perfectly timing it right before Shin's rapier get near him.

'Extra Skill: (Modified) Vertical Slash'

Cling!

Zero tried to redirect the course of Shin's charge by putting a lot of strength on that swing. But he still slightly underestimated the attack that Shin had.

Shin continued to move forward despite his rapier being slightly interrupted midway.

Zero slightly raised one of his eyebrows when he saw that before quickly jumping to the side to dodge the incoming charge.

At the same time, he was also planning to quickly strike Shin the moment when he was brushing past him.

But to his surprise, Shin immediately canceled the first charge of the 'Sword Rush' before quickly using the second one.

'Extra Skill: Sword Rush – Slashing Dash'

This time, he swung the [Yamato] during his charge while trying to hit Zero with it.

Unfortunately, Zero's reflexes were still very sharp as he was able to instantly respond with his surprise attack despite being caught off-guard.

'Extra Skill: Twin Blade Strike'

Bang!

Shin was forced to stop his charge as both of Zero's swords came in contact with the [Yamato] on his hand.

There was a brief moment of pause as both of them took a quick breath to stabilize their breathing. And right after they did that, they simultaneously disengaged from each other as they prepared for the next clash.

Shin changed the form of his left-hand sword once again, transforming it into a whip sword. And right after the transformation, he suddenly swung it forward, trying to wrap it to his opponent.

'Legacy Skill: Mondi's Style: Abyssal Form'

'Equipment Skill (Crippling Punisher): Dark Embrace'

In the meantime, Zero suddenly raised both of his swords in the air before channeling his mana on them. A moment later, the swords fused together before turning into a single word that was emitting with a pure holy aura.

'Legacy Skill: Knight of the Round of Table – Enid'

Holding the hilt of the holy sword with both of his hands, he suddenly threw a vertical slash in the air in front of him sending a powerful energy wave that warded off the incoming blades of Shin's whip sword.

The sword wave didn't stop at warding off Shin's attempt to restrain Zero's movements. It continued to move ahead, flying straight to where Shin was standing.

Seeing the incoming sword wave, Shin quickly channeled the powers of the Sun and Moon on one of his swords, fusing them together before quickly releasing their combined forces with a powerful swing forward.

'Slayer Skill: (Modified) Eclipse Slash'

Swoosh!

Boom!

The sword waves sent out by Zero's holy sword and Shin's attack immediately caused a massive explosion right after their collision.

That explosion was so strong that it destroyed the already ruined houses within the surroundings, turning them into rubbles.

But despite that being the case, the two seemed to not care as they were already charging at each other and ignoring the residual energy that was left behind from the previous collision of powers.

Cling!

Then the two were quickly engaged in a melee battle, exchanging blows with their swords that were causing a powerful shockwave for each collision.

Shin was showcasing his versatility every time he changed the form of his words whenever the situation called for it. He was also showing a great familiarity compared to his last battle against the Demon God Justine.

But at the same time, Zero was also doing a similar thing. He was constantly changing his sword to match Shin. The only difference was his swords were all in the form of a longsword, though they had different properties from one another.

Zero was able to regain his footing in the fight as he was no longer in a passive state. Their exchanges were so intense that they decided to change the location of their battle in the forest nearby.

The battle was currently in a stalemate as both of them were not willing to be on the back foot, especially when they knew that this battle was going to be decided with just a single mistake from either of them.

But at the same time, the two of them were currently holding back a little as they were not willing to show their full strengths. It was mostly due to the eyes that were trying to spy on them.

Given the senses of Shin and Zero, it was impossible to miss those people who were watching them from the dark. There was no hostility on their gazes which was why the two ignored them up until now.

Shin was even suspecting that they were people accompanying Shiella since he could sense a couple of familiar auras from them. They might be clearing the area to make sure that there were no outsiders who would be able to spy on them.

But despite thinking about that, he was still not willing to reveal all of his cards since there was no guarantee if this battle was going to be leaked on the outside.

The Hegemon Cup was already getting near and that was the real stage where they need to show their full capabilities.

Having a couple of hidden cards hidden under their sleeves was necessary to always have the element of surprise when the situation called for it.

Regardless of the thoughts that were running inside their heads, the battle still continued and slowly but surely approached its climax.

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