Child of Destiny

...…

As the battle progressed, Zero noticed that there was something strange on Shin. It was different from the threat that he sensed earlier but due to the current state that the latter was in.

"He is still focused on the battle but his eyes are clearly telling me that his mind is somewhere else. Don't tell me he falls in a trace?" muttered Zero with squinting eyes as he looked closely at Shin.

With that thought in mind, he purposely put himself on the defensive to have a clear look at what was going on. And not long after, he immediately discovered that Shin was currently undergoing enlightenment during their battle.

"Hah! Entering a state of enlightenment in midst of battle? This guy sure is something!" muttered Zero as he looked at Shin with a strange expression on his face.

After that, he started clicking his tongue repeatedly before mumbling. "I guess I need to spar within the real world when we are done with here since his body would need to synchronize with his mind later."

"It is a pity that our duel ended up like this. But at the same time, I guess this is also for the better since we will be on an equal footing the next time we fight," he added before focusing on defending himself and helping Shin at his state of enlightenment.

While he was doing that, he suddenly moved his eyes in a certain direction before saying. "You are late."

Not long after, Seven suddenly walked out from behind a tree with a helpless expression on his face before replying. "And whose fault do you think it was? I need to clean up the mess you just did!"

"You should be thankful to the Frost Goddess that she handles everything well," he added while glaring at Zero.

After that, he turned his attention toward Shin before asking. "But what is wrong with that guy? He seems to be not himself."

"He is currently in a state of enlightenment," answered Zero with a casual tone while blocking yet another attack from Shin.

"What!?" Seven was taken aback by what he just heard and asked in confusion. "A state of enlightenment? And against someone like you? This guy-… he is really something else."

Zero then gave him another sidelong glance before saying. "Now that you understand the situation, make sure that no one will disturb us."

"Even if we are currently within a virtual world, it will still affect his foundation in the real world of something some accident happened here," he added with full seriousness.

With a deep sigh, Seve shook his head before replying. "You want me to clear the vicinity alone? Despite my name, you know that I am but just a single person, right?"

"You can't do it?" asked Zero sharply which made the corner of Seven's mouth twitch.

With a deep sigh, Seven nodded his head helplessly before saying. "Alright, alright, I'll do it. But don't expect me to completely block everything by myself."

After that, he started walking away and headed to scout the surrounding area.

In the meantime, Zero continued to defend himself against Shin's attacks and helped the latter to finish the state of enlightenment.

*********

While those two were busy with their own thing, there was another clash of the titans on a different battlefield. That was where a particular goddess was fighting against a pair of gods.

Bang!

Simba was sent flying and collided with a couple of trees before being able to stop himself. "D*mn! I get that she has a plan, but is it really necessary to go all-out like this?"

Bang!

Not long after, Arthur also landed on the spot beside him in a sorry state. "I already told you, she may 'adore' us, but she also hates me as much."

"And whose fault do you think it is?" replied Leonard with a sneering tone while picking himself up from the ground.

After that, he turned his head ahead of them where he could see Shiella walking towards them while being donned with crystal-like armor that was made of ice and wielding an ice spear.

"Hey, what is the plan now? Are we going to continue fighting her? I really think that it is not a good idea," asked Leonard as he adjusted his grip over his battle axes.

In the meantime, Arthur also stood up and stretched his waist left and right before replying. "Do we have a choice? Unless those bastards from Corrupted Cult finally show themselves."

Then he started gritting his teeth before saying with full anger. "Those guys better be ready when they meet me later. I will surely crack open their skulls one by one."

"Don't you think that may be the reason why they are so scared to come out," said Leonard jokingly before quickly raising one of his battle axes and swinging it at the incoming ice spears that were flying towards their way.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"You guys sure have a lot of guts to dare to chat while facing me? Looks like I am good way too easy on the both of you," said Shiella as a pair of wings made of ice appeared behind her.

Seeing that, the expression on their faces suddenly turned stiff as the same thoughts entered their mind. – "F*ck! We are screwed!" –

After that, they quickly strengthened their stances and got ready for a much more troublesome battle that was about to come.

Shiella flew to their locations while also sending a barrage of ice spears at the same time.

Right at that moment, Arthur quickly positioned himself in front of Leonard before blocking and deflecting the incoming ice spears with his shield and spear. And when he was done defending against all of them, he suddenly changed his grip over his spear and held it in a throwing position.

He took a deep breath for a moment before quickly throwing the spear at Shiella who was flying straight to them.

Swoosh!

A steak of golden light was left behind right after he threw the spear, greeting Shiella.

But despite how powerful it looked, it was easily deflected by Shiella with a casual swing of her ice spear and sent it back to Arthur.

Swoosh!

But right at that moment, Simba suddenly appeared above Shiella while swinging both of his battle axes down at her back.

Cling!

Unfortunately, Shiella nimbly changed her position in the air and used her previous actions to guide her spear to collide with Leonard's axes.

Bang!

Leonard was sent flying in the air due to how powerful the force behind Shiella's swing was. But at the same time, he was also able to force the latter to land on the ground.

Arthur took that opportunity to also make his move.

He first leaped forward and caught his spear midair before descending towards the direction where Shiella landed.

Like a comet, he flew at her while leaving a trail of light behind.

'Dragon Knight Skill (Tier 2): Golden Dragon's Descent'

Roar!

The golden aura that was surrounding Arthur suddenly turned into a golden dragon that was opening its mouth, seemingly trying to devour Shiella who was calmly waiting for its descent.

The temperature around Shiella greatly decrease as snowflakes started to form in the air. And after a moment, the cold air suddenly gathered at the tip of her spear while she was pointing it at the incoming dragon.

'Winter Goddess Skill (Tier 2): Grand Glazer'

Boom!

Then a beam of light was released from the tip of the ice spear that she was holding and flew straight at Arthur who was descending alongside the golden dragon.

A cloud of smoke blocked Shiella's line of sight right after the collision.

Swoosh!

And after a brief moment, a hole was suddenly created as Leonard flew straight through the cloud of smoke while being covered by a crimson aura.

While he was descending from the air, he raised both of his arms and swung his battle axes downwards.

Roar!

The aura that was covering his body also took a sudden transformation and became the head of an angry lion, opening its jaws wide.

'Destroyer Skill (Tier 2): Crimson Destruction'

Shiella stared at the crimson lion's head with an indifferent look on her faces before raising her left hand in the air and chanting a couple of elvish words.

Humm!

And with a soft sound, the ground beneath her slightly trembled as a glowing magic circle appeared on its surface.

'Winter Goddess Skill (Tier 2): Frozen Serenade'

Swoosh!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Then a group of frost dragons suddenly flew out from the glowing magic circle and flew up in the air, greeting the descending lion.

Their individual powers were clearly weaker compared to the giant head of the lion since they immediately melted the moment when they came in contact with it. But at the same time, the force behind Leonard's descent was clearly weakening each time a frost dragon melted.

With a slight calculation, Leonard immediately concluded that he would not be able to get near Shiella even if he continued all the way.

"Tsk!" he slightly clicked his tongue and decided to retreat, regrouping with Arthur.

"This is much harder than what I expected," he muttered as a dark expression appeared on both of their faces.

.......