Child of Destiny

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Lodhir had his eyes wide open as he watched Shin swing the [Yamato] at his neck. Then his vision suddenly spun rapidly as if his world was being rolled like a ball.

Thud!

Not long after, he heard a soft sound, indicating that 'he' fell on the cold floor of the throne room, bouncing and rolling on it.

When 'he' finally stabilized, he found his headless body standing in the distance, telling him what had just happened. He then realized that his head was beheaded by Shin, resulting in his current situation.

Shin exhaled softly after severing the head of his opponent. Now that he had taken care of the Necromancer, Fallen Elven King Yulis would be able to break free from the latter's control and become an independent undead monster.

At least that was what was supposed to happen. After all, King Yulis was a King Class Humanoid Monster. But he realized that there was something wrong with the situation later.

He found that he did not receive the notification that informed him about the death of Lodhir. The system did not tell him that his opponent died.

Swoosh!

It was at that moment when Shin heard the wind being split apart. It was an indication that someone was approaching him at extreme speed.

Without any hesitation, Shin squatted his hips and lowered his stance while crossing his swords beside him as his shoulder supported them.

Bang!

(-205,620)

The impact exploded as he was sent skidding away.

Frowning his brows deeply, he raised his head and looked ahead. In his previous location, he saw King Yulis standing there haughtily.

At the same time, he glanced at the health bar that was chunked by that previous attack despite him blocking it properly.

"Hehe… He… Hehe-…"

It was at that moment when he heard someone laughing in the distance. Knitting his brow, he saw the head of Lodhir slowly floating in the air while laughing manically.

"I heard that you are strong, but I did not expect that I would 'die' that fast before I could even react when you decided to eliminate me. I guess I still have underestimated you despite putting my guard up."

"That ambush is not only perfectly timed but it is also executed perfectly," he commented as his body floated in the air and approached the fallen elven king.

Shin frowned deeper as he watched what was happening. He wanted to move when he sensed that King Yulis was watching him sharply and fiercely.

He then watched the head of Lodhir reach the fallen elven king's side before a black smoke came out from its mouth which entered the latter's body through eyes, nose, and mouth.

The entire process lasted for just a couple of seconds before the head fell back on the ground for another time.

Shin had his brows clashing hard until he saw King Yulis open his eyes and look at him. He immediately realized that the latter was no longer the same mindless undead puppet that was being controlled by Lodhir. He could see that this 'King Yulis' now had some conscience after seeing the intelligent eyes that the latter had.

"Oh~! This feels good. So, this is how it feels to have a powerful body," 'King Yulis' opened his moment as he commented about his body. But the voice that he had was the same as the voice that the head that Shin had severed earlier.

It was Lodhir's consciousness that entered the body of the fallen elven king.

Lodhir looked down on his hand, opening and closing them, before mumbling. "I feel like I can do anything with this vessel."

"Oh! It has a lot of skills! It even has a Sword Heart. This is interesting!" he continued to talk to himself, seemingly forgetting about Shin.

Shin squinted his eyes a little when he watched from the distance before preparing to attack. But before he could even make his move, the opposing side suddenly raised his head and looked at him with a smirk.

"You are too impatient. Let me appreciate this vessel a little more since I will have to dispose of it later. It is a pity that I will be losing a perfect undead puppet because of you," said Lodhir.

Shin scoffed when he heard that before preparing himself. He might be wary of this King Yulis if this undead puppet maintained itself. But since the vessel was not taken over by a player, he did not have to be that worried.

It was because earlier, when King Yulis was still 'controlling' himself, Shin had to treat the battle as a fight between two swordsmen. But this time, it was not the same case since he could feel that Lodhir was not a natural swordsman or at least a sword partitioner in the real world.

That would be his grave mistake.

The only concern Shin currently had right now was whether he still had the chance to get the Sword Heart Skill later when he extracted the core from King Yulis' body since the 'soul' of the latter had most likely been extinguished when Lodhir transferred his consciousness.

Seemingly understanding what Shin was thinking, Lodhir chuckled briefly before saying. "I know that you may underestimate me because the 'compatibility' with this vessel is not that great. I can more or less perform 70% to 80% of this body can do before the 'soul transfer'."

"But I think that is more than enough since my current goal is no longer to defeat you," he added which confused Shin a little.

BOOM!

It was at that moment when a very loud explosion could be heard from the outside of the throne room.

Rumble!

Shin could also feel the intense tremors of the whole castle due to that explosion.

Since there were no windows in the throne room aside from the ones that were high up on the walls and adjacent to the ceiling, Shin could not see what was happening on the outside.

That was when Lodhir suddenly commented. "It seems like the other rat sneaking in the castle finally awakened my little pet."

He then 'generously' opened a virtual screen and showed it to Shin. "Let's see what is happening over there."

Casting his gaze on the virtual screen, Shin saw a thick cloud of dust enveloping the huge part of the castle as it spread in every direction. He squinted his eyes a little to focus his gaze as he could see a massive silhouette hiding behind that dust cloud.

From what he could see, it was coiling around the structures of the castle and destroying everything around it.

A few seconds passed and the cloud of dust settled a little, giving Shin a clear look at the creature behind that silhouette. His expression suddenly turned grave as he saw what it was.

"A centipede?"

It was a massive centipede that seemed to have extended for hundreds of meters long. It had a smooth and sturdy exoskeleton that covered its entire body. A single look at it was more than enough for Shin to realize how hard that armor-like skin protecting its body.

The hundreds of limbs that the centipede had were also so sharp and threatening just by looking at them. They looked like sharp spears that could pierce through anything.

Shin saw the centipede camped a few of its legs on the structures of the castle and crushed them into dust a little later. He could tell from the video that the strength of those limbs was not a laugher matter.

"An Emperor Class," mumbled Shin gravely as he watched the centipede create havoc within the castle.

"This is an infant Dragon Centipede. I have acquired it due to an interesting encounter," introduced Lodhir to Shin before muttering softly. "I wonder how long the defenses of the Maze Forest will last when this little pet of mine assaults them."

Then, as if following his command, the giant centipede suddenly turned and started heading toward a certain direction. From what Shin had seen, he could tell that it was heading straight to the base that Owen, Ithilien, and the rest of the survivors of the main region of the Sacred Light Kingdom had built.

The situation was getting serious, and Shin was currently occupied which was why he would not be able to lend them a hand.

All he could do was send a serious warning to others about the threat that was about to befall them. But his expression turned much graver when he saw Ithilien reply solemnly.

Ithilien: The Big Three have abandoned the Sacred Light Kingdom. Their whole guild has converted into an evil faction and declared war on the kingdom.

Ithilien: They are now attacking the footholds and smaller towns along with the rest of the Corrupted Monsters and Demonic Creatures.

Ithilien: They are spreading the 'Withering' at a faster rate and slowly approaching the cities.

Lodhir could not see the expression that Shin currently had due to the [Nephilim's Gemini Mask], but he could still feel his mood. "I wonder what you will do now?"

He just finished his words when he sensed the sudden change in the atmosphere. The temperature of the throne suddenly dropped for a moment before the raging flames around Shin made it rise once again.

Then Lodhir saw Shin raising his head.

"Sigh~! This will be a huge waste, but I guess I can't help it," said Shin as he took a step forward.

Then an intense pressure comes out from his body, suppressing even the air around him. It felt that his body had grown hundreds of meters tall from the eyes of his opponent.

He emitted a majestic air that filled the entire throne room while anyone who opposed him in his presence weakened greatly.

'Equipment Special Skill (Apocalypse Set): King's Authority'

As if it was not enough, Shin activated yet another Domain Skill.

With a step forward, the entire world seemed to have turned black and white. Anyone or anything within it seemed to be under Shin's control and could not escape his authority as his strength greatly increased once again.

'Grim Reaper Skill (Tier 2): Monochrome Field'

Since he had been promoted to the third tier of his class, the effects of this Domain Skills were greatly enhanced. They had affected the environment greatly while reinforcing his strength by a larger margin than before.

"This is going to be a very unpleasant experience for you. It has been a while since I activated this skill, so I can't control my strength very well in this state," said Shin.

The face of Lodhir grew solemn before saying smirkingly. "It will be fine since my Dragon Centipede will still destroy the maze forest even if I die here and I will still achieve my goal."

At the same time, he activated his version of Domain Skill from the skillset that King Yulis had.

'Ultimate Skill: Overgrowth'

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Right upon activation, huge and thick roots of trees started growing from the floor of the throne room. They grew rapidly and spread in the entire room within a couple of breaths. The throne room was now filled with these overgrown roots, which granted Lodhir an immense boost in his strength.

"But that is if you can me!" he added as he stood on the highest root within the room, looking down at Shin.

Shin smirked before four wings grew on his back.

'Equipment Skill (Yamato): Nephilim's Wings'

After that, he stepped forward before leaping into the air. The wings on his back then flapped strongly and propelled him upwards, flying straight to his opponent.

Swoosh!

Lodhir laughed maniacally when he saw Shin charging straight at him while swinging his swords left and right.

As if following his orders, the thick roots within the room moved and shot toward Shin like a swarm of snakes. They extended themselves, wrapped together, and set up a blockade while forming a wave that seemingly planning to crush him.

Shing!

Shin held the sheathed [Yamato] before pulling it out and swinging it around. Multiple sword flashes could be seen in the 'Monochrome World' that they were in as his sword left blazing arcs in the air.

'Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw (Fire Form): Blazing Ultimate'

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

In the very next instant, the space around him seemed to have been split into multiple pieces before crumbling like shattered glass along with the burning roots that charged at him.

It was at that moment when Lodhir was revealed behind the blockade of thick roots before jumping at Shin while swinging his sword.

Shin responded and swung the [Yamato] at the same time.

Boom!

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