Child of Destiny

...

Nathan knitted his brows deeply as he read through the reports that were given to him. He was keeping an eye on everything that was happening in the Eastern Sea Region. Things seemed to be getting chaotic recently, especially when the recent incident with the inheritance of the Thunder Lord spread in different organizations.

But the thing that troubled him was the news about the arrival of one of their greatest enemies. The person, who could at least contend against their friend. The 'Great Demon' Jan Mateo.

Click!

The door of his room suddenly opened when he was in deep thought. Hearing the sound, Nathan turned his head and saw that three of his friends entered the room.

Elias Stuart, Joaquin Geovanni, and Eugene White entered the room one after another before taking their respective seats on the sofas at the center of the room, not even greeting Nathan.

They felt completely at home. Joaquin even put his hands behind his head and raised his legs, putting them on the table in front of him to get a more comfortable position.

Elias glared at Joaquin for being unclassy, but the latter ignored him and closed his eyes while whistling. Eugene, on the other hand, remained quiet and crossed his arms while hugging his sword.

Nathan sighed helplessly before standing up and walking over to them. "How is it? Did you find any traces of him?"

"I am afraid that we won't find anything. It seems like he sneaks in the continent through unusual means," Elias was the one to answer first while shaking his head.

"You should know that he also has a top-notched disguising ability. Given his achievements in both Martial Arts and Mentalism, it will not be strange to take up a disguise that even the elders can't see through," commented Eugene.

Joaquin nodded in agreement. "His disguise is better than mine in certain areas. I even heard that he used some Demonic Techniques to read the memories of his victims when stealing their identity. I doubt that we will be able to find him unless he shows himself."

"The Elder's Council is already making preparations to face him. But due to the fractures appearing more frequently, I'm afraid that not all of them will be present when Jan Mateo appears," said Nathan as he joined them.

"But I heard that the Top Military Schools and Magic Ace Academy will also be sending their people," asked Joaquin with a deep frown.

"Those guys are to guard the ruins and keep an eye on the other organizations that come from the other continents," said Eugene.

"Meanwhile, the government will be focusing more on that place since they know that it is more important than the other issues," added Nathan. "They are also obsessed with acquiring the inheritances or any form of information related to the ancient era, which is why they will focus on guarding the ruins rather than doing anything else."

"But Jan Mateo is also the same. From the information that we have on him, he is using it as a reference to break through the higher realm," said Elias with a frown.

"Breakthrough? Just setting foot on either the Transcendent Realm or Exalted Realm is already hard enough, yet that guy wants to break through on both disciplines? That guy is still delusional as ever," scoffed Joaquin.

Everyone in this room was half-step away from breaking through the peak of their respective disciplines, so they fully understood how hard it was to reach those realms.

They were geniuses in their respective disciplines and one of the top experts of this era. Even their elders would have to look highly at them given their respective achievements, yet they were still far from reaching the pinnacle of everything.

The fact that even their elders had yet to reach the peak of their respective disciplines already proved how hard it was to break through.

Nathan and Joaquin were only a few of the experts of their generation who were close to reaching the Transcendent Realm in the path of Martial Arts. Elias was one of the Mentalists closest to becoming an Exalted Realm Expert while Eugene was the swordsman to achieving the Saint Realm in the path of sword.

Yet the four of them were still expected to break through only after the next dozens of years.

"That is not impossible for him. You should have known that he is not an ordinary person. He is a True Demon, who already let his inner demon consume himself," said Nathan.

"We have also confirmed that he has the gift that gives him the ability to consume the other seeds of hatred. Thus, his growth is much faster than everyone else," added Elias with a serious tone.

"Tsk! This will be much easier if Adam is around. No matter how strong Jan Mateo has become, he will still be scared out of his wits when faced with the 'real' demon," said Joaquin as he recalled some incidents of the past.

At this moment, Eugene suddenly said to Nathan. "I suggest you keep an eye on people who have unusually strong seeds of hatred."

Hearing those words, Nathan smiled as he understood that Eugene was talking about his nephew, Shin. "We have already thought about it and asked the kid to be excluded in the exploration of the ruin."

He then paused for a moment before adding. "But since we don't know if any accidents will happen. I will ask the elders to at least put a few people to watch over him."

"We will be in serious trouble when something happens to that kid," commented Joaquin as he knew that Evangeline would beat the crap out of them when she learned that something bad happened to her son.

Elias, on the other hand, wore a strange expression on his face as he recalled how his dear daughter acted recently. He was keeping an eye on her, and he discovered that his girl seemed to have been acting strange recently. He guessed that it had something to do with Shin – or at least that was his biased thinking.

"Are you sure that it will be enough? You should know that even with the four of us fighting together, there is still a high chance that we will be defeated by that guy alone, much less if he brings a few of his people," Eugene could not help but raise his concern about this matter.

He could tell that his son somewhat saw Shin as a friend or sort, which was quite rare. He did not want his son to lose a friend this soon, especially when the latter could also be a good rival who could drive the inner potential of his son.

"I also am concerned about it, but Senior Lin Huang reassured me not to worry. He said that he has made the necessary arrangements, so I can trust his words," said Nathan. Although, he was still quite concerned himself.

After that, Nathan proceeded to another topic for the time being. "Let's talk about the Hextech Laboratory and the Black Serpent Mafia."

"How is the investigation going on that side?" he asked as he turned to Joaquin.

"Don't worry about them. I make sure to squeeze all the information from the people that we have captured. Those guys will not be able to do anything for the time being due to the losses they have suffered," reassured Joaquin as he understood that they had to keep an eye on these underworld organizations.

"And with Jan Mateo's involvement, I highly doubt that they are willing to risk sending their top agents. They will only be a nutrient to that guy," he added.

The four continued to discuss the other related matters to their current jobs and started making their respective preparations for the upcoming opening of the ruins.

However, during the entire meeting, Nathan and Eugene could not fully focus on the discussion as they felt that they were missing something.

They were not sure what it was, but they could sense that it was also a very important matter. It was at least equally important, if not more, with the current issues that they were facing.

The more these two experts thought about it, the more uncomfortable they became. They knew that they were overlooking something, but they could not tell what it was.

****

Somewhere in Ace City, Jean Camus just returned to the academy and was about to head to his dorm. But as he walked through the secluded path toward his destination, he suddenly sensed a gaze directed at him.

He suddenly paused and focused his senses. A moment later, he suddenly disappeared from his current position while also completely erasing his presence.

In the distance, behind a tree, someone was observing the lone student walking through the path when the latter suddenly disappeared.

A moment later, this person suddenly sensed something sharp heading straight to the back of his head and about to reach him.

Swoosh!

Jean Camus suddenly appeared behind that person and was stabbing his hand as his Demonic Qi covered it.

But to his surprise, his target seemed to disappear before materializing in the distance.

"I knew it! You are not a simple student. That kind of awareness, speed, and strength are not supposed to be something that a kid of your age and handle," said the person as he looked at Jean Camus warily.

"You must be an agent, I suppose. Which organization are you from? Is that how you greet your seniors?" he added as Jean Camus silently stared at him.

Jean Camus observed the other party for quite a while before finally opening his mouth. "You. You are not a student here-… or should I say that you are currently disguising as someone-… you have stolen the identity of the real student that you are using."

"Let me guess-… You must be… Coffin Maker?" he added.

Having his identity guessed correctly within an instant, Coffin Maker suddenly turned serious. His eyes turned cold as a dangerous glint appeared in them. He could not afford to have loose ends now that he had successfully infiltrated the academy.

But at the same time, he also could not help but become warier about this student standing in front of him.

"Where does this guy come from? Is he from one of those hidden organizations?" mumbled Coffin Maker to himself as he was getting ready to finish off the other party.

Even though he was quite curious how this guy had guessed his identity right in their first meeting, he could not afford to risk anyone being aware of his presence.

Seemingly able to read the latter's intention, Jean Camus remained calm. He knew that the opposing side was a Domain Realm Expert, which was way beyond his current realm. But he did not have to be scared as he knew the weakness of the famous Coffin Maker.

"I suggest you think twice before making a move. I know that you are strong, and I am not your match, but you can't kill me in that form," he said smirkingly.

"I know your disguise is one of the best out there – even my master has acknowledged it. But it has a fatal weakness-…"

He trailed his words for a moment as he let Coffin Maker slowly digest his words. "…-I heard that you can't fully unleash your power when you just taken over the body of your target. I heard you need an entire month or so before you can fully control it."

"And from what I can see, you are still far from fully taking over this body. Am I right? Or else, you will not be sneaking like this in the academy," he asked with a mixture of provoking and mocking tones.

The expression of Coffin Maker suddenly turned dark when he heard that and asked. "Who are you!?"

Jean Camus smirked when he saw Coffin Maker was getting ready to attack. "You can't take me on with that vessel. Unless you reveal yourself, you will not be able to get rid of me."

"But if you reveal yourself, the old monsters of the academy will instantly sense you. I wonder how you are going to escape when it happens."

Coffin Maker had become completely silent when he heard those words. He fully understood his current situation. He was also aware of what was going to happen to him once his identity was exposed.

"I don't know what your business is here, but I suggest that we don't bother each other. You do your thing while I continue with my own," he said before retreating.

His figure faded away as he entered the shades of the tree. He was not afraid of Coffin Maker exposing him since the latter knew that his identity would also be exposed to the academy once tried to do that.

Coffin Maker also did not know if this kid was the only member of their organization. Or if they were also aware of his existence in the academy. But given how informed the kid was, he could only guess that they came from an extraordinary background in the underworld.

If something happened to him and the other members of his organization exposed his identity, then he would be captured without being able to fight back.

"Tsk! This is going to be troublesome. Let's just hope that their job is not the same as mine," he mumbled before disappearing into the woods.

...…