Child of Destiny

Felicia and Crimson Soul stared at each other, seemingly attempting to gauge their opponent’s strength through the auras they emitted.

Crimson Soul’s presence resembled an incredibly sharp blade, one that seemed capable of cutting through everything in its path—even without him lifting his weapons.

Felicia, on the other hand, gave off an entirely different feeling.

She was mysterious, almost as though she had never existed in the first place. Her presence was so elusive that it felt as if she were nothing more than the surrounding air.

The contrast between their auras might not have been particularly noticeable at first. However, the longer they stood facing each other, the more apparent the difference became.

Shing! Shing!

Crimson Soul’s razor-sharp aura spread throughout the surroundings, leaving visible scars across the ground and the nearby boulders.

Yet despite the ferocity of his presence, it seemed incapable of harming Felicia, who stood fearlessly in place without showing the slightest intention of retreating.

It was as though Crimson Soul’s sharp aura could only cut through the air around her, unable to touch someone who seemed to be no different from the air itself.

The standoff continued for several more moments before Crimson Soul finally appeared to lose his patience and decided to make the first move.

Swoosh!

His figure suddenly vanished from its original position before reappearing a few meters away from Felicia.

He crossed his sabers before him, channeling his mana into both weapons before suddenly unleashing a rapid succession of slashes.

’Twin Saber Slayer Art: Hundred Slayer Cuts’

Shing! Shing! Shing!

Crimson flashes immediately filled the space before Felicia, converging upon her from every direction.

Each saber flash carried a terrifying killing intent that threatened to overwhelm its target’s mind, clouding their judgment and disrupting their ability to respond.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

From the spectators’ perspective, Felicia appeared to have been completely immobilized by the overwhelming killing intent accompanying Crimson Soul’s attack, leaving her seemingly unable to evade the incoming barrage.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

However, when the crimson flashes finally shredded her body into countless pieces, everyone immediately realized that something was wrong.

The figure standing before Crimson Soul had been nothing more than an illusion.

Several spectators couldn’t help but raise their brows in surprise. None of them had even noticed when Felicia’s real body had been replaced by the illusion.

”It’s not even an afterimage created through sheer speed...” Crimson Soul muttered as he watched the fading figure disintegrate beneath his attacks.

Whoosh!

He was still trying to determine what had happened when he suddenly sensed an incoming attack rushing toward him from his blind spot.

Swoosh!

Without hesitation, Crimson Soul swiftly retreated, narrowly avoiding the unexpected ambush before it could reach him.

He immediately turned around. And to his surprise, Felicia was already standing nearby, gracefully returning her Kris Sword to its previous position after her ambush failed to connect.

Crimson Soul wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, but he could sense that something about this girl was deeply unusual.

Still on guard, he watched as Felicia casually swung her sword toward him.

The movement was strange.

She was still standing some distance away, and her swing looked like nothing more than an ordinary sword strike. There were no obvious signs of a mysterious Skill or elaborate martial technique accompanying the motion.

Yet, despite its unremarkable appearance, Crimson Soul sensed an immense threat coming from it.

Shiver!

An intense chill suddenly ran down his spine.

The danger he sensed was real.

Swoosh!

Without further hesitation, Crimson Soul retreated again, putting as much distance as possible between himself and Felicia.

Shing!

That was when he finally realized that the seemingly casual strike had somehow locked onto his very existence.

The attack was pursuing him!

Left with no other choice, Crimson Soul immediately swung both sabers repeatedly, unleashing a barrage of slashes that covered the entire area around him.

Since he couldn’t determine the direction from which the strange attack was approaching, he had no choice but to defend against every possible angle.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

Clang!

A sudden metallic clash rang out.

Crimson Soul immediately turned toward the source of the sound, only to find Felicia standing there as though she had appeared out of nowhere.

”This girl...” Crimson Soul muttered, his expression growing increasingly grim as he stared at her. ”...She’s strange.”

Crimson Soul was becoming increasingly confused, especially after experiencing the eerie attacks Felicia had unleashed against him.

Swoosh!

He then immediately took the initiative and launched another assault, intending to rely on his overwhelming attack speed to suppress Felicia before she could use any more of her mysterious techniques.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

Unfortunately, the same sequence of events unfolded once again.

His sabers tore through nothing but illusions while he was subjected to another series of inexplicable attacks.

Crimson Soul still couldn’t figure out what kind of trick Felicia was using against him. However, after several more exchanges produced similar results, he finally began to notice a pattern.

Something was interfering with his senses.

His perception seemed to be growing duller, while his judgment was becoming increasingly unreliable. Even his ability to assess the situation and react accordingly seemed to be deteriorating.

He wasn’t entirely certain what was causing these effects, but he suspected that Felicia was using some kind of special Skill or martial technique to influence him.

”What exactly is this?” Crimson Soul muttered, his expression growing increasingly grim.

The succession of strange encounters had forced him to become more cautious, and his growing hesitation was beginning to affect his mindset.

What he didn’t realize was that another invisible force had already begun working on him.

While the strange phenomena continued to erode his confidence, an even more insidious influence was slowly corroding his mind.

...

Meanwhile, Heartless Dream and the others couldn’t help but frown as they watched the battle unfold.

Since they weren’t directly involved in the fight, they couldn’t clearly perceive everything happening between the two combatants.

From their perspective, Crimson Soul was behaving rather strangely.

He was no longer acting like his usual calm and collected self, who could coldly assess an opponent and respond with the appropriate countermeasures.

Neither was he using his familiar fighting style, in which he aggressively pressured his opponents with his overwhelming attack speed and relentless offensive combinations.

After all, Crimson Soul was renowned as one of the most ruthless fighters within the Mirage Soul Guild.

Yet, throughout the exchanges, they repeatedly saw him retreating even before his attacks could reach Felicia.

It was almost as though he were afraid of something.

”What is going on? Why is Big Brother acting like that?” Black Soul couldn’t help but voice his confusion.

Fleeting Dream, who was standing beside him, nodded slightly. ”It’s almost as though... he’s acting like a coward.”

Black Soul immediately shot his partner a sharp glare after hearing those words.

However, even he had to admit that their captain was behaving far more cautiously than usual, to the point that it almost seemed as though he were frightened of his opponent.

In the end, the two could only turn toward Heartless Dream, hoping that someone with his combat experience might be able to explain what was happening.

Unfortunately, even Heartless Dream couldn’t make sense of the situation.

He couldn’t identify what Felicia was doing, much less explain why Crimson Soul was reacting so strangely.

However, one thing was clear to him.

Felicia had done something to Crimson Soul, and whatever it was, it had turned their normally fearless captain into someone who seemed afraid to engage his opponent.

...

At the same time, Shin and the others were equally puzzled by the strange events unfolding before them.

However, unlike their opponents, who had no idea what was happening, they had someone who could shed some light on the situation.

Shin and Owen turned toward Felix, expecting him to explain what his twin sister was doing.

Felix hesitated for a moment before scratching his head and answering, ”My sister is using one of the most troublesome combinations of Divine Sound Arts against that guy.”

He paused briefly before continuing. ”You should already be familiar with our sect’s signature art, which combines sound manipulation with swordsmanship—the Divine Sound Art.”

Felix pointed toward himself. ”My fighting style revolves around vibrations and swordsmanship.”

He then gestured toward Felicia, who was still facing Crimson Soul on the battlefield. ”My sister, on the other hand, follows the path of the sword and music.”

”Rather than relying on vibrations generated through her sword, she primarily uses her voice to perform her Sound Arts, with her swordsmanship serving as a supplementary method of attack.”

Felix paused for a moment before continuing, his expression gradually becoming more serious.

”Her path is a little more complicated than mine. Our sect has hundreds of songs that can be used in conjunction with our Sound Arts, and all of them have been preserved in the historical records of the world.”

”Whether performed through singing or musical instruments, these songs can become some of our deadliest weapons against our enemies when combined with our unique swordsmanship.”

He paused briefly before revealing something even more significant. ”Among those songs, there is a collection known as the Thirteen Divine Melodies. They’re considered the greatest arts our sect has ever produced.”

Felix looked toward Shin and Owen before adding, ”You can think of them as being on the same level as the high-level and Ancient Martial Arts or Mentalism Techniques you’ve learned.”

He took another moment to glance at his twin sister before continuing. ”Our sect has produced countless prodigies throughout its history, but only a handful have ever possessed the talent required to master these melodies.”

A proud grin gradually spread across his face.

”As for my sister... she’s one of the few who has mastered all thirteen and successfully incorporated them into her own swordsmanship.”

He then turned toward the ongoing battle, his grin growing even wider. ”It looks like she’s planning to perform a few of them in this match.”

......