Child of Destiny

Under the barrage of attacks coming from Black Soul, Samael was starting to have trouble keeping up with the pace of the battle, especially as his opponent continued revealing more of his abilities.

Black Soul was no longer relying solely on the enhanced Stats provided by his Berserk Skill.

Instead, he had swapped his weapon for a pair of curved daggers designed for speed and rapid attacks, attempting to overwhelm the rookie Paladin with a continuous and relentless barrage.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

Flashes of black light suddenly dominated the space before Samael, making it difficult for him to fully track the incoming attacks with his limited experience.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

All he could do was repeatedly block the attacks he could perceive with his sword while relying on his defensive Skills to deal with the rest.

However, regardless of how successfully he protected himself, Samael could still feel the pressure mounting.

Black Soul was constantly forcing him to burn through his defensive Skills and other abilities, gradually depleting the resources he needed to maintain his defense.

Even though he had learned a great deal from the other members of the Empyrean Talons, Samael was still far from becoming a true expert.

He had learned plenty of techniques and tricks under their guidance, but there were still many things he had yet to understand.

For example, he had already learned how to make full use of his Skills, yet he still couldn’t properly cycle through them during an intense battle.

He knew where and when to use his Skills and Spells, but he had yet to understand the deeper principle behind their usage—when to maximize their effectiveness and when using them would simply be a waste.

More importantly, he had yet to understand the importance of preserving his Skills for later stages of a battle, especially during a one-on-one duel.

Because of this lack of understanding in combat, Samael was encountering one problem after another despite doing his best to keep up with Black Soul’s pace.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Samael suddenly swung his sword with greater force, pushing Black Soul backward and forcing him to retreat.

Unfortunately, Black Soul barely moved back before launching himself forward once again.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

Flashes of black light once again dominated the space before Samael, giving him the illusion that Black Soul had transformed into some kind of monster with multiple arms.

The assassin seemed to have become a gigantic spider, its spear-like limbs stabbing and slicing through the air as they attacked Samael from every direction.

Despite his trained senses, Samael was unable to track every attack. He had no choice but to use yet another defensive Skill from his arsenal.

Swoosh!

”Oh, Light that protects the weak... bless me with your grace!” Samael chanted another prayer as a dome of radiant energy suddenly rose from the ground and engulfed him.

’Paladin of the Sun and Moon Skill (Tier 2): Light Curtain’

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The moment the dome manifested, the barrage of black flashes immediately bombarded its surface.

Ripples spread across the barrier with every impact, while cracks appeared under the relentless assault.

Yet despite the violent trembling and growing fractures, the barrier remained firm.

It had fulfilled its purpose and had bought Samael the time he needed.

Bang!

Samael suddenly stepped forward.

He gripped his sword tightly with both hands while channeling his unique mana into the weapon.

Swoosh!

Golden and silver light suddenly erupted from the blade.

The sword rapidly expanded, its enlarged edge radiating a powerful aura as Samael swung it with all his might.

BANG!

The blazing light swept through everything in its path as it expanded outward, covering a huge area.

However, despite sweeping across such a wide range, the target Samael was looking for was nowhere to be found.

”Tsk!” Samael couldn’t help but click his tongue after realizing what had happened. ”So all those attacks were just meant to distract me and keep me from tracking the duration of the Glimmer Mark.”

Samael finally realized that Black Soul had deliberately used his relentless barrage to overwhelm him and divert his attention.

His true objective had been to keep Samael occupied until the duration of the Glimmer Mark expired.

And now that the mark had disappeared, Black Soul had successfully regained his greatest advantage in this matchup.

Stealth.

For someone as experienced as Black Soul, regaining the ability to move freely through the shadows was almost equivalent to regaining control of the entire battlefield.

Fighting Samael would become much easier from this point onward.

Samael, on the other hand, was now in an even more dangerous position.

Black Soul would never again allow himself to be caught by any Skill or Spell capable of exposing him while he was in stealth.

The assassin had simply been caught off guard by Samael’s earlier Skill combinations, accidentally allowing himself to become an easy target for abilities that could reveal his position.

Now that he had experienced those tricks once, Black Soul would naturally be far more cautious.

He wouldn’t allow himself to fall for the same trick twice.

...

Seeing this, Shin and the others couldn’t help but shake their heads, especially after watching Samael fall into such an obvious trap.

”Tsk! Tsk! Still too green,” Owen clicked his tongue repeatedly after seeing Black Soul disappear.

”It can’t be helped,” Shin shook his head as well. ”The kid has been exchanging blows with such a strong opponent for quite a while now, so it’s only natural for him to get swept up in the rhythm.”

He paused before looking at Samael, who was currently sweeping his gaze across the surroundings with extreme vigilance. ”He still hasn’t learned how to control the tempo of the battle.”

”He’s basically riding the current and reacting to whatever happens instead of deciding how the battle should flow.”

Owen nodded in agreement. ”He’s still in the middle of learning that stage of combat.”

He paused for a moment before adding, ”I guess I’ll have to adjust his training plan once we get back.”

He was already beginning to recognize just how much Samael’s battle awareness still needed to improve.

”The kid’s overall senses need some work as well,” Shin commented after seeing Samael desperately trying to locate Black Soul through conventional means.

The twins, who had also been watching the battle alongside the others, couldn’t help but offer their own observations.

”Honestly... that young Paladin is quite impressive,” Felix commented after seeing how calmly Samael handled the situation.

Even after allowing his opponent to ’escape,’ the rookie Paladin showed no signs of panic.

Instead, he remained composed and focused on analyzing the battlefield rather than blindly chasing after Black Soul.

Felix was genuinely impressed by that.

Felicia didn’t respond to her twin, but she also found Samael’s composure admirable.

Despite being pushed into such a disadvantageous situation, the rookie Paladin had managed to maintain a steady state of mind.

She had to admit that the kid possessed considerable potential.

Shin, however, couldn’t help but purse his lips beneath his mask. ”I originally thought this would be a good opportunity for him to find his Unique Combat State.”

”But I guess I was a little too hasty with that,” he added, realizing that he might have been too optimistic about Samael’s current stage.

Shin continued. ”But it wasn’t for nothing.”

He paused for a moment as he looked toward Samael, who was still carefully moving through the battlefield while searching for traces of his opponent. ”The kid learned something that could benefit his future fighting style.”

Hearing this, Owen couldn’t help but nod as he fully understood what Shin meant.

This battle might not give Samael the breakthrough they had initially hoped for. However, it was forcing him to recognize the weaknesses in his current way of fighting.

And sometimes, understanding what he lacked was the first step toward discovering what he needed.

...

Meanwhile, the opposing side was also feeling somewhat conflicted despite Black Soul having regained the upper hand.

”It is clear that Black Soul has regained control of the tempo...” Fleeting Dream frowned slightly as he watched the battlefield. ”...but why do I feel like we’re the ones losing momentum instead?”

Crimson Soul and Heartless Dream exchanged a glance after hearing this before sighing helplessly.

Heartless Dream then took the initiative to explain. ”Because that Paladin is growing.”

”Growing?” Fleeting Dream repeated in confusion as he turned his attention back toward the battlefield.

Samael was still struggling to track Black Soul, who remained hidden in the shadows and patiently waited for the right opportunity to strike.

No matter how closely Fleeting Dream observed the rookie Paladin, he couldn’t see the kind of ’growth’ the two captains were talking about.

From his perspective, Samael was simply acting like any other rookie confronted by a true god-level expert—doing everything he could to survive.

Seemingly realizing what Fleeting Dream was thinking, Crimson Soul calmly added, ”That rookie may not be in a dominant position right now, but his mentality is becoming stronger and more stable with every passing second.”

He paused for a moment before casting his gaze toward the battlefield once again. ”That kid is most likely going to experience a completely different kind of breakthrough once this match is over.”

...