Child of Destiny

Shin and Cloe were running side by side as they rushed towards the place where Arthur and the others met Shiella.

”Why is Big Sister Shiella attacking us?” asked Cloe with a deep frown as she couldn’t understand Shiella’s actions.

Shin shook his head a little when he heard those words before saying to her. ”I am not sure either. But my guess is she is plotting something to lure those people from the Corrupted Cult out.”

He then started smiling bitterly before continuing. ”Though, I am pretty sure that she is going to take this chance to beat the crap of us.”

Cloe was still frowning their brows when she heard those words before asking. ”Why is Big Sister Shiella want always beat the two of you?”

Urgh!

Shin couldn’t help but have a painful groan when he heard that and answered. ”There are too many reasons for that actually and it is pretty hard to count. But one of the reasons is probably during the events that she wants to take part in.”

”Me, for always refusing to be her escort since I really hate attending such events. On the other hand, Arthur is the complete opposite since Big Sis have no other choice but to settle with him as her escort.”

”And that is where disasters come from since that guy always causes a scene whenever they are attending such events. He is really a pain in the ass since he is so obsessed with getting in the center of the spotlight. He even created a mess during her birthday party last year,” he added with a bitter tone.

”I am unable to attend that party since I need to visit mom,” said Cloe with a quiet tone.

”It is fine. I am sure that Big Sis will understand. In fact, I think that she is thankful that you didn’t manage to attend because she will be embarrassed if you witness what happened during that time,” said Shin.

He was about to add something when he suddenly felt a presence that was aggressively rushing towards their direction.

His eyes suddenly turned sharp as he stared in the direction where he was sensing that powerful presence was coming from while tightening his grip over his sheathed sword.

Cloe was slightly behind to sense the incoming presence. But she immediately sensed that there was something wrong the moment when she saw the sudden change in Shin’s expression.

Swoosh!

Then they saw a streak of light that was traveling in the air and heading towards their direction with an insane speed.

Shing!

Without any hesitation, Shin swiftly positioned himself in front of Cloe to protect her before unsheathing his sword and swinging it at the incoming steak of light.

Cling!

The metallic sound immediately rang in the air as a pair of swords clashed against each other. Metal sparks were also flying in the air as the owners of those words looked straight into the eyes of their opponents.

Ding!

Shin pushed away Zero who just tried to attack them.

”What is the meaning of this? Did you come here with Guild Master Snow White?” asked Shin with a slight frown as he was not sure if Shiella did bring this guy here.

”Isn’t that a cold way of addressing your Big Sister?” said Zero as he stabilized his footing. He was quite surprised at the strength that Shin had shown. ’His STR stat is almost stronger than mine. Interesting!’

In the meantime, Shin was currently frowning his eyebrows when he heard those words. ’So, he really is with Big Sister.’

He just addressed Shiella that way since he was not sure that Zero and Shiella were together but he was still not expecting that it was actually true.

’This is going to be really troublesome,’ thought Shin to himself before turning his head to the side to look at Cloe over his shoulder. ”From the looks of it, this guy is here for me, so you can go ahead and help the others.”

”But-…!” Cloe wanted to say something to prevent Shin from fighting Zero. After all, the guy was still the current number one player in the Godlike Ranking List that was known to the public.

But before she could even voice out her concern, Shin gave her a confident smile alongside a slight nod to his head. ”You don’t have to worry that much since I am not that weak either.”

”I can at least guarantee you that I can run away from him without a problem if I am really not his match,” he added with a joking tone to ease Cloe.

Cloe hesitated for a moment before nodding her head and going ahead.

Zero didn’t bother to chase after her since his purpose of coming here was already standing in front of him. And with those actions, Shin became even more sure why this guy was after him.

”So you are the one who holds the largest piece of the broke [Excalibur], huh? Well, it is to be expected. Given your attainment in swordsmanship, it shouldn’t be strange for you to have that legacy,” said Shin as he put his sword back in its sheath.

”Are you here to take the piece that is currently in my possession?” he asked with a casual tone.

Zero slightly nodded his head when he heard those words before answering. ”Well, that is one of the reasons. But most importantly I am here to fulfill one of my promises with the War God.”

Shin slightly knitted his eyebrows when he heard those words. ’Leo? What did this guy promise him that it concerns me?’

Zero could already guess that since was quite confused with what he said Shin it was a personal favor that Leonard had asked him. That time, he thought that Shin was still looking for his own battle style within the game. And helping him in that state would only do him more harm than benefit.

But at this point in time, he was thinking that Shin was in a state where he could fully grasp the style that would be a perfect fit for him.

That was only his suspicion before he reached this place. But he became sure about it when he saw Shin personally. ’This guy is almost there.’

”I am here to help you find your path as well as to sharpen my sword,” said Zero as he unsheathed both of his swords and held them on each of his sides while pointing on the ground.

’A sword expert that is versatile with every sword type – that should be the path that he is currently taking. Against my honest swordsmanship, I wonder which one of us will best the other,’ he thought to himself as called up the wind elemental mana in the surroundings.

Swoosh!

A Swift but gentle gust of wind suddenly gathered around Zero and formed a tornado-like barrier around him. His cloak was fluttering alongside the wind as he stared at Shin straight into the eyes.

Seeing that Zero was seriously inviting him in a duel, Shin could only release a helpless sigh before saying. ”I thought we are going to do this in an official match which is actually a pain in the ass. But since you are clearly not planning to do that, then I guess I can accept your challenge.”

Hearing the last words from what Shin had said, Zero couldn’t help but knit his eyebrows quite deeply. But not long after that, he started smiling from ear to ear before nodding his head. ”I guess you are right about it. It is indeed a challenge.”

After that, he quickly sent an invitation for a duel to Shin. It had been a while since he last sent such an invitation, so he was currently feeling a little strange. But at the same time, there was also an unexplainable feeling that he didn’t felt for a long time.

On the other hand, Shin was a little surprised when he saw the invitation for a duel. He also didn’t see such notification since most of his battle was a straight PK (Player Killing) fight.

Regardless, he still hit the accept button while also wearing a huge grin at the same time. He was quite excited about this fight.

Zero was by far the ’strongest’ player within the game. Even if there were still a few players that were a little ahead of him in the so-called Secret List for the godlike players, he was still the current number one player.

”Sword God Zero. Let’s see how strong is the current ’peak’ of this game,” muttered Shin as he took a sword-drawing stance.

At the same time, he also summoned the mana that he was most affiliated with, mimicking what Zero was currently doing.

With that, his body was suddenly enfolded with an alternating black and white aura that was releasing a pair of opposing elemental properties. One of them was blazing hot while the other was freezing cold.

But despite the opposing properties that they had, there seemed to be a strange harmony between the two as they created a unique cycle where they were not clashing with each other.

Hu~!

Shin exhaled a mouthful of air as he regulated his breathing, making the atmosphere around him take a sudden change.

Seeing that, Zero couldn’t help but raise his brow before grinning even wider. ”Hoh~! This is going to be a really interesting duel.

The two of them stared at each other while waiting patiently for the countdown of the system to hit zero.

And when the signal for the start of the battle finally fell, both of them simultaneously kicked the ground and launched themselves at each other.

Bang!

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Boom!

With the initial clash alone, anyone could tell that this battle was going to be a clash between two titans.

....…