Child of Destiny

...…

Swoosh! Swoosh!

A group of hooded individuals arrived at the Frozen Kingdom through a special magic circle. From the patterns and rune arrangement that the magic circle had, it was a teleportation channel made by Demonic Churches, especially with the symbols that were unique to their organization.

It was a small group composed of seven members. But despite their small number, no one would dare to face them head-on due to the dangerous aura that they were releasing.

The man standing at the forefront of the group swept his gaze at the surroundings before turning to the others. "Don't get distracted and focus on our mission. Our main job is to locate the traitor of the organization and retreat as soon as possible."

Hearing that, one of the members behind him seemed to become disappointed and muttered with an unwilling tone. "Why do we have to retreat when we can just take down the target on our own? I doubt that he is as strong as the current Sinful Devils."

"After all, he left the organization a long them ago, so he shouldn't have a lot of resources to groom his strength. His shouldn't be as powerful as them since he is lagging behind them."

The leader of the group threw a sharp glare at that member and said with a sharp tone. "This is why you can't raise your rank despite your skills. You are always underestimating your targets."

After that, he swept his gaze at the rest of the group and continued. "Remember this, no matter how insignificant our target is, we are going to use all of our strength to take them down."

"We are going to do anything to clear up the path for our leaders. That is our job, the Sweepers."

He paused for a moment as he remembered something before adding. "What's more, our current target is a former member of the Troupe, so we can't underestimate his strength even if he left the organization for a long time."

"And given that he is close to our Great Leader previously, we can assume that his skills are not ordinary," he added with a warning tone.

"Roger, Squad Leader!" responded every member of the group.

He was about to turn around and lead the group to go deeper into the frozen land when he suddenly felt an extreme sense of death.

"Careful!"

He shouted as fast and as loud as he could so that the rest could respond in time. But unfortunately, the members of his squad were a little too slow compared to him, so they failed to move their bodies at the right moment.

Sha! Sha!

The heads of the two members of their group were severed from their bodies and flew in the air.

Everything happened a little too fast, which was why the group to were caught completely off-guard.

Fortunately, their squad leader was already making his move so that he could save the remaining members of his group.

He pounced in the middle of their formation when a mysterious man suddenly appeared. The headless bodies of the two members of their group were still standing in front of that man, creating a natural barrier that blocked the leader's path.

"Drin, Squad Leader of the 1st unit Sweepers under the Greed Devil. Have a strong sense of responsibility and a very cautious nature. Skilled at tracking a designated target and well-versed at gathering information."

"Threat level, average. Combat Skills, average," the mysterious man muttered a series of information after seeing the squad leader as if he was reading the latter's profile.

After that, he quickly kicked the headless bodies in front of him and sent them flying toward the opponent pouncing at him.

He then disappeared from his current location and appeared behind another member of the group who was still in the middle of processing the scene in front of him.

And just like his previous victims, he cleanly cut the head of this target with a single stroke of his stiletto.

It was only at that time that the remaining members of the group broke out of their daze. They quickly jumped away from their assailant while also pulling out their respective weapons at the same time.

Thud!

And when the bodies of their fallen colleagues fell on the ground, the group already formed a new formation, surrounding the mysterious person.

It was also at that time when they could have a clear look at him.

That guy was wearing a set of armor made of leather and light metal. The falling snowflakes were covering his grey cloak, making him less noticeable despite him standing in a snowy field.

His right hand was holding a stiletto with a pitch-black blade. Blood was dripping down from it, indicating that it just took the lives of their comrades. The left hand of that person, on the other hand, was holding a dagger with a curved blade in a reverse grip manner.

The group couldn't help but shudder when they saw the cold eyes of that person sweeping through them. His hair was slightly covering those eyes but the group could get a glimpse of them every time the wind blows.

Those eyes had black sclera while his pupils were dyed in gold, such cold and inhuman eyes could send chills down the bodies of those who ever tried to look at them.

Drin, the leader of the group, had a dark expression on his face as he was not expecting that their target would come after them right off the bat. "Diablo, the former second-in-command of the Pandemonium Troupe."

"I heard that you lost your demonic powers when you left the organization, but it doesn't seem the case," he muttered as he recalled the profile of Diablo that he got from the headquarters.

Diablo immediately understood what Drin was trying to say, so he immediately replied with a casual tone. "Oh! Are you talking about these 'Demon Eyes'?"

"It is true that I've lost all of my previous skills alongside my profession in exchange for leaving the organization. But it doesn't mean that I can't reclaim them back after my departure."

He then paused for a moment and looked sharply at Drin. "As one of the top sweepers of the organization, I am sure that you are aware of the difference in our strengths. This makes me wonder why you chose this job despite knowing that fact?"

Diablo was closely watching Drin, so he was able to immediately noticed the slight change in the latter's expression the moment he asked that question.

It was more than enough for him to know what was going on. "Heh! I guess those guys are busy preparing for the large-scale expansion quest."

Drin suddenly felt a dangerous feeling right after hearing those words. He then started to recall all of the series of events happening on their side, this included the matter of tracking down Diablo.

The Great Leader put a lot of importance on tracking Diablo, saying that the guy would definitely do something to sabotage their plans. This was the reason why the best Sweepers of the organization were coming after him.

It was fine not to catch him since achieving that feat was nigh impossible unless they send at least two of the Pandemonium Troupe members. This was the reason why the higher-ups were contended on just monitoring his movements.

But that didn't mean their job became easier. Diablo was a very skilled assassin, and even if he lost his previous class after leaving the organization, he still managed to get his hands on a special race and another hidden class based on the reports that they received.

With the abilities of that hidden class, he should have no problem shaking off his pursuers as long as they were not a troupe member. He could even dispose of them if he wanted to.

Drin was trying to recall the series of events when he suddenly taught that there was something strange going on. "If that is the case, then it is really strange why we keep on catching up with him in the previous pursuits. Taking another look at it, it is because of the well-hidden trails that he left behind-…"

His pupils suddenly shrunk when he realized that they were actually being led by Diablo. Then a sudden chill ran through his spine when he remembered the conversations and reports that they had these past few days. "He is purposely letting us catch up on him to get updated information about the movements of the organization!"

Seeing that Drin finally caught up on his scheme, Diablo couldn't help but shook his head and sigh in disappointment. "This is why it is troublesome to deal with the sharp people, they realize what is going on as soon as they notice something strange."

Drin looked at Diablo in disbelief and stated. "That is impossible! How can you know our movements if we are having a secret meeting? We are also sending private messages most of the time!"

"We are even securing the perimeter all the time!" he couldn't believe what was going on.

Diablo smiled bitterly before replying. "Lip Reading is an ancient and outdated skill, especially with the current technologies that we have. But it always came in handy on certain occasions."

He paused for a moment and looked at the rest of the group with a mocking face before continuing. "As for you, securing the perimeter, do you guys honestly believe that such a lousy defense will stop me from infiltrating?"

"Don't make me laugh! I used to be the second-in-command for a reason!"

As he said those words, Drip quickly shouted at the other members of the group to launch a simultaneous attack. "Go!"

While they were charging ahead, their appearance transformed into a demon that was releasing evil and wicked aura.

Diablo slightly squinted his eyes when he saw that scene but remained to be calm. After that, he took a light step forward, making his figure flicker a little.

Swoosh!

He then appeared behind the group, maintaining his previous stance as if he teleported. He didn't bother to turn around as he walked ahead and spoke. "Please tell this to my old friend. If he wants to catch me, then he needs to come personally or at least send Wrath or Pride."

"Aside from them, the rest are just a bunch of trash. None of them can face me, especially since my new class is a Shadow Dancer."

As his words faded alongside the wind, the headless bodies of the sweepers fell on the ground with a soft and silent sound.

Drin's consciousness still hadn't disappeared despite his head flying in the air, so he could still hear the words that Diablo had said.

Thud!

Then that head fell on the ground facing the direction where he could see the fading silhouette of Diablo. It was at that moment that he realized how strong a founding member of the Pandemonium Troupe was.

"A Shadow Dancer."

He could only mutter those words as his field of vision suddenly turned dark.

...