Child of Destiny

…

Roar!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of explosions consecutively erupted throughout the place as Leonard and Edmund flashed against one another repeatedly.

The two were showcasing their overwhelming and unparalleled physical prowess in every exchange that they had. Each clash was so powerful that it destroyed everything in its surroundings.

Edmund seemed to have recovered from the poison that had invaded his system earlier. He was now unafraid of clashing against Leonard head-on, who interrupted him from his ’meal’.

Due to this interruption, he was unable to consume enough nutrients to evolve and reach the next realm.

Regardless, he remained at the peak of the Void Manifestation Stage. Along with his extremely tough defensive prowess that was further elevated to the next stage, he became somewhat unrivalled in this realm.

Unfortunately, he encountered someone from a warrior’s tribe – and from the Asad Tribe at that.

Leonard, who had consumed the Berserk Pill, was continuously growing stronger during the battle as well. This was because of the continuous increase in strength that came from unlocking his potential.

Crackle! Crackle!

Clad with crimson lightning, Leonard continued to press forward, never thinking about taking a step back at all.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom!

Each strike he threw was packed with explosiveness and destructiveness. Even with the extremely tough and powerful defense that Edmund possessed, he was still barely able to withstand such attacks.

Edmund could tell that such a state from Leonard had some time limit in it, especially with that much explosiveness. Unfortunately, he did not have the luxury to take on a prolonged battle, especially when it was getting harder to stop Leonard the more time passed.

Aside from this, there were also Shin and Arthur, who were already preparing their respective killer moves and patiently waiting for the opportunity to throw them.

There was still Voss, who could change the situation, especially when he was greedily absorbing all the evil cores of the rest of the Unforgiven Ones.

He would most likely break through to the next realm as well and evolve once he had devoured everything and digested their powers.

It might be a pity to sacrifice all those Unforgiven Ones, especially when the organization had poured quite a lot of time and effort into nurturing them. All the resources had been used during the process, so it would hurt them quite a lot with this sacrifice.

Fortunately, the talent that Voss possessed was perfect for this situation. The Devouring Talent that they had gotten from a certain mentalism genius they captured long ago was transferred to him.

They had even converted it to a Martial Arts Talent, which was why Voss was quite important to the organization.

Shin was fully aware of the gravity of their situation. He understood that they had to deal with Voss before the situation could get worse for them.

Leonard was supposed to keep the two busy with their earlier plan. Unfortunately, Edmund had dragged him away with his aggressive attacks earlier. He had even threatened to attack Shin and Arthur previously, forcing Leonard to engage him with more intensity and saving the two from the threat that he had for them.

This left Voss unattended. He was now free to do whatever he wanted. He could obstruct Shin and Arthur from what they were planning while also continuing to devour the rest of the Unforgiven Ones.

However, he did not do the latter since he wanted to put all his focus on devouring the others and hastening his evolution.

His personal greed was also getting into him. Aside from the ongoing operation, he also wanted to reach the next realm as soon as possible so that he could be promoted within the organization.

He would wield a much stronger power as well, which would place him among the most important figures not only within the organization, but possibly throughout the world as well.

The more he thought about it, the crazier he became, unaware that his situation was getting a bit out of hand.

He was losing control of his mind, which was slowly being consumed by evil thoughts.

To make it even worse, these evil thoughts were slowly being influenced by the evil powers that the cores innately possessed.

“Huh!?”

Shin, who not only possessed a Seed of Hatred but also a very powerful one at that, could sense the little disturbances that were coming from the opposing party.

He was quite sensitive to these occasions now, especially when Uno was fully awake. He could also feel that the seed was getting restless due to the overwhelming presence that the Voss was currently releasing.

[You’d better stop your thoughts there.]

Shin was suddenly awakened by Uno’s voice, snapping him out of his thoughts.

[I know what you are thinking, but I suggest you clear your mind. You are more likely to get influenced by this big guy if you linger your thoughts there any longer.]

[You are also most likely been influenced by the lingering evil energy in the air, which somewhat makes your thoughts fall into such depths.]

[You must be careful not to fall into that abyss.]

[And don’t even think of trying to use your Devouring Talent on that guy. You will only corrupt yourself beyond salvation with that much evil energy he has consumed.]

Due to those words, Shin finally figured out what was happening to him. He had also realized how dangerous his current situation was, especially when Demonic Partitioners and Evil Cultivators were involved.

’Is our condition that bad?’ asked Shin, realizing that the situation with the Seed of Hatred was getting worse.

[If it is before our breakthrough, then we will be in a much worse position. It has become much better right after, especially when we have perfected our respective disciplines.]

[That is why those things that you have gotten are important to us.]

Shin solemnly nodded, understanding their situation.

After that, he turned to Arthur and said. “You focus on Leo’s side. I’ll try to deal other guy or at least find a way to stop him.”

“We have to stop him from reaching the next realm, or else we will be in danger,” he added before taking out a teleportation talisman and giving it to Arthur after channeling his Mental Energy and sealing it into it. “Take this. It is a dimensional talisman that can bring you back directly to our household. Use it after killing that guy and escaping from here.”

Hearing those words, Arthur could not he but frown deeply. “What are you thinking? We are going back together!”

“Idiot,” scolded Shin before continuing. “I still have the forbidden talisman that I got from my mother. I will be fine.”

“Actually, you two have messed up by plan by jumping in like that. I am supposed to use it right after being dragged here by that expert, but because of your presence, I can no longer use it.”

From what his mother had told him previously, the forbidden talismans were only meant to be used in the most desperate situations and when he was the only one trapped in it.

Apparently, the spell sealed in it could not distinguish between friends and foes, which was why he could not use it.

He was thankful for the thoughts of these brothers, but he had to admit that they were quite reckless for what they had done.

However, he could not blame them either, especially given the situations during that time.

“You still have the other things given by Uncle Nathan, right?” he asked.

Arthur nodded. “Of course! As if you need to remind me about that.”

“Just trust me on this one,” said Shin before swiftly charging at Voss, without even waiting for Arthur’s response.

“Tsk! This idiot!” cursed Arthur before turning his attention back to the battle between Leonard and Edmund.

He understood the concerns that Shin had. If their situation were a bit better, then they would not have to go with such a decision. Unfortunately, Leonard was forced to use that Berserk Pill, so they had to cover for this stubborn brother later when the effects of the pill had ended.

He also understood how serious Leonard’s current situation was. After all, he had also undergone a similar ceremony during his Bloodline Awakening.

However, the current situation was much different from the ideal one. They were currently in a life-and-death situation, where no elders would oversee them.

His Bloodline Awakening was a bit more dangerous than what they were currently facing, but he knew that the Elders of his family were there to protect him once the situation had gone astray.

On the other hand, Leonard’s ritual had no elders to protect him, so the difference was quite obvious.

Focusing his mind, Arthur put all his attention on the ongoing battle. He only had a single chance, and he could not afford to miss it.

Any mistake could put all of them in greater danger, so he had to make sure that he would be able to seize that opportunity once it came.

Crackle! Crackle!

Alongside his Imperial Flame, the Divine Mark also appeared at the center of his forehead, summoning the Divine Lightning.

Roar!

Merging this power with his Divine Dragon Force, the energy flowing through his spear became more violent and domineering, casting an image of the Divine Golden Dragon on him.

This could put a lot of strain on his body. After all, he was still far from fully mastering this power. But he did not have the choice given their current predicament.

“A single strike – that’s all I need,” he mumbled as his Dragon Eyes glowed intensely.

…