Child of Destiny

Chapter 1435: The Beginning (Part 9)

...

Pablo, the Arsonist – that was his name. He was a famous mercenary who was active within the Dark Continent. He was well-known for being a powerful Martial Artist who possessed the Ignition Superpowers, which also made him one of the top experts on the continent.

As a young mercenary at that time, he was quite hot-headed and too impulsive whenever he was doing something. Due to that, he offended quite a lot of people with trivial or influential backgrounds.

Since the Dark Continent was way too huge and known as the biggest continent, Pablo was not afraid and continued living with such a temperament. Even if he offended someone powerful from a city or region, he could just migrate to another, where no one knew him.

But aside from being the largest continent, the Dark Continent was also a home for underground organizations.

Pablo had provoked one of the largest organizations within the continent, making him live a life of a ʼfugitiveʼ.

Given his talent, he believed that he would be able to make a comeback once he reached a certain realm in his Martial Arts. At that time, vengeance would be served.

Not long after, Pablo had awakened more abilities of his Superpowers after developing them through continuous battle. He also almost lost his mind during that time, making him commit multiple arsons in different regions that he went through.

He might have offended more people and organizations during the process, but he had already become powerful at that point, reaching the ranks of peak Void Manifestation Stage Experts.

All the people that provoked him would always have the same outcome. They would be burned to death along with their family, organizations, or properties.

That was how he had earned his title as the ʼArsonistʼ.

Time passed and he became a famous criminal not only in the Dark Continent but also in the neighboring continents as well, especially when he reached the Domain Realm.

Along with his Ignition Superpowers that evolved to another level, he became one of the most notorious criminals along with Butcher, Coffin Maker, and others.

But later, he suddenly disappeared out of nowhere.

Rumors said that he had offended a powerful expert and got killed in the process. Some said that he got injured during the battle and barely escaped with his life, but still died in the end, unable to recuperate.

Just like everyone else, he was forgotten as if he never existed.

But who would have thought that he would be invited by the Black Serpent Mafia and become one of their core forces?

…

Right now, Pablo was one of the Domain Realm Experts that were sent to the Soaring Continent for their operation.

He was originally responsible for watching over Bernard while the rest were doing their jobs. However, due to certain circumstances, he was tasked with observing Shin while also looking over the mission concerning the inheritance tome that they had discovered.

On the other hand, Butcher, Coffin Maker, Boris, and Belladonna would be leading the operation concerning the World Research Center and the abduction of Professor Henry if possible.

They put a lot of importance on that operation as they had also sent all their Artificial Mutants and other lesser Domain Realm Experts that were yet to create their respective domains.

But acquiring the inheritance tome that Shin had just gotten was equally important, so they could not just overlook that matter. That was why they had sent Pablo, the Arsonist, to the location to be their ʼPlan Bʼ if something went wrong.

He was also responsible for bringing Shin back to their base, making sure that the young man would not be able to escape. Even if Bernard was in their hands, they still could not be sure that Shin would not do anything funny.

Speaking of Bernard, they had left him locked in the prison room with walls reinforced by powerful formations. Even if they risked not guarding that man, they would still at least take Shin as their hostage against that man if things went wrong.

They also believe that even if Bernard somehow managed to break free from his restraints the walls of the prison room would be strong enough to buy them enough time for Pablo to rush back to the base if something happened.

Unfortunately for them, they had miscalculated a little too much.

They would have not expected that Bernard practiced a forbidden berserk method that ignited his life force in exchange for immense power.

…

While making their way back to the base, the expression on Pabloʼs face suddenly turned grim as he received a report through a telepathic message from their Venerable Realm Mentalist.

That person, who had set up the defenses within the base, told him that all the defensive formations that he had set up were destroyed.

He was not sure what had happened since he was currently focusing on keeping on maintaining the barrier surrounding Ace City. It was already being attacked by multiple experts and he was barely holding on, so he could not look at what was happening in their base.

They were already reaching the critical point of their operation within Ace City and about to pull out, so he asked Pablo to handle the matters in the base until they came back.

Receiving the message, Pablo did not even hesitate as he swiftly grabbed Shin and held the young man with an arm before suddenly disappearing.

He might also have no idea what exactly had happened, but he could at least guess that it had something to do with Bernard, who was being held captive in that place.

He did know how Bernard managed to break free from those restraints and even destroyed the defensive formations, and this was giving him a terrible premonition given their current situation.

His experience throughout the years was telling that something ominous was about to descend.

Swoosh!

Shin was not sure what was happening, but he could at least tell that an emergency had occurred in the base, making his expert rush over there.

Then an idea flashed through his mind as he felt that could take advantage of this.

But reality was not always in his favor. Not everything could go according to his plan.

When they arrived at the base, it already turned into a ruin. The walls collapsed while all the equipment and apparatuses were littered around, destroyed.

The lifeless bodies of the agents guarding the place and the researchers working there were also scattered everywhere as all of them were slaughtered.

”F*ck!” cursed Pablo as he saw the scene. He did not care about these people or the things that were destroyed. What he was concerned about was the data of the research that they were doing here.

They had the backup data, but the test subjects and such had already been destroyed beyond salvation.

Their losses might not be that big, but it was not small either.

Scanning the surroundings with his sharp eyes, Pablo suddenly swung his free arm to the side and sprayed a fierce flame in the process.

Bang!

At the same time, he quickly retreated while carrying Shin with him.

”You came quite later than I expected. I have been waiting for you to come back.”

Raising his head, Shin saw Bernard currently standing a few distance away from him and Pablo. This uncle of his was barely wearing anything, showcasing his properly trained muscles and the power hidden behind them.

At the same time, he could also see the crimson aura that was surrounding Bernard, which resembled a violent flame that was dancing along the wind.

There was nothing strange in Bernardʼs outer appearance, but Shin could feel a strange energy shrouding the body of his uncle.

From his perspective, he was seeing nothing but a violent demonic beast standing in front of him with a cold and eerie pair of eyes.

Bernard was without a doubt more powerful than Nathan at this moment from Shinʼs perspective. He had witnessed the two had sparred before and he had seen how powerful they were. But at this very moment, he believed that Bernard far surpassed Nathan in terms of strength and momentum.

At least not until Nathan used his special method, particularly his ʼImperial Tacticsʼ, to increase his powers.

But even then, Bernard was still on par with Nathan in that state.

Upon closer inspection, Shin could not help but frown deeply. Given his powerful Spiritual Sense empowered by his Divinity Grade Mental Energy along with his True Sight Technique, Shin was able to perceive the life force that was being ignited from Bernardʼs body at an imaginable speed.

”Uncle Bernard! You-…!” Shin was unable to complete his words as the latter turned to him and smiled.

”Donʼt worry, kiddo. It is nothing,” he said, reassuring Shin. ”And I canʼt let anything happen to you in my presence.”

”Heh! Boastful words coming from someone who has a foot stepping on his grave!” mocked Pablo as he tossed Shin to the side and restrained him with special tools while also locking him with his flames.

”Donʼt worry. The kid possessed something that our organization needs, so he canʼt die yet,” he added while rolling his shoulders and glaring at Bernard. ”But as for you-… you can die for all I care!”

Bang!

Activating his Ignition Superpower to the fullest, violent flames surrounded his body before turning into a set of armor.

This was a special technique that he had created by combining his Superpowers and Qi Armor. It had a much tougher and more powerful defense compared to the regular Qi Armor Technique while also reinforcing his other abilities and enhancing his martial prowess by a great margin.

Seeing that, Bernard also aroused the powers within his body, summoning his special Qi Armor made from the Draconic Natural Force produced by his bloodline.

A layer of Qi that resembled the scales of the dragon appeared on the surface of his skin, covering his entire body while his eyes changed. His irises turned into vertical slits while his pupils turned crimson.

At the same time, his canine teeth also grew slightly longer and sharper.

Boom!

The momentum that Bernard was carrying became even stronger and made his body heavier. The ground underneath his feet suddenly sank, crushing the debris into dust while spreading huge cracks in every direction.

”Trying to show off your Flame Force in front of a direct member of the Springfield Family? You are overestimating yourself a little too much!” said Bernard as his blazing aura became even more violent, increasing the temperature of the place and even melting the nearby rocks and collapsing walls around him.

Bang!

In an instant, he suddenly disappeared, leaving a sonic boom that exploded in the air.

He instantly appeared in front of Pablo, who was already prepared for this attack. Benard pulled his arm back before launching it forward with a punch, resembling a javelin that could pierce through any defense.

Swoosh!

Pablo did not hesitate and dared to face the opposing force with raw power. He accepted the challenge and welcomed the incoming attack with a powerful punch of his own.

Swoosh!

Boom!

The two fists did not even touch each other when an explosion erupted.

Space seemed to have collapsed due to their overwhelming powers. Their fists stopped exactly a foot away from each other, trying to press forward.

Their powerful Natural Forces were clashing in the space between the two fists, creating blazing sparks in the air.

The flames surrounding their fists clashed against each other, sending a blazing storm into their surroundings. The crimson and orange flames intertwined with one another and formed a spinning tornado before exploding.

Boom!

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two fighters were sent flying in opposite directions before landing on their feet hundreds of meters away from each other.

Such a distance was nothing to them as they quickly leaped in the air and launched themselves toward each other once again.

But this time, their battle took place in the sky, producing a series of explosions in every collision.

Shin watched the battle from the cage that Pablo had created before sitting cross-legged while taking out the talismans that he had gotten from David and Grandmaster Benn. ”I am a burden here. Uncle Bernard will have no problem escaping this place if I manage to get out of here.”

He tried to channel his energy on two talismans but failed to activate them. ”As expected, the energies that this cage is releasing his interfering with my pitiful Mental Energy.”

”As someone at the Peak of the Core Formation Stage and a Grandmaster Realm Mentalist, my strength is nothing in front of a Domain Realm Expert.”

”The only way for me to activate these is when this prison is destroyed,” he mumbled before turning his gaze toward the sky.

”Then there is no other way,” a determined look appeared on his face while clutching the talismans with his hands.

...