Chapter 506 - 506: The Void Walker

Elsewhere, atop a ruin of bones, Aatrox and the other Darkin slowly descended, one after another suppressing their auras.

A serpentine Voidborn was slammed heavily onto the ground, already barely clinging to life.

This creature was skilled at concealing its presence. It had attempted to ambush Aatrox, only to be discovered.

Now, surrounded by a group of Darkin, the Voidborn knew there was no chance it would survive. Without the slightest hesitation, it tried to end its own life.

But as the aura of blood magic surged forth, its body instantly froze in place. It couldn't move, couldn't even kill itself.

"Have you seen a human carrying a sword in that damned place of yours? With his strength, I imagine he's already killed quite a few of your kind."

Aatrox landed on the ground and asked the question calmly.

"Plenty of humans fall into the Void. How am I supposed to know which one you're talking about?" the serpentine Voidborn replied with a cold laugh, showing no fear whatsoever.

A chill entered Aatrox's eyes. Losing interest in interrogating it himself, he said directly, "Baalkux, this is your specialty. Get the answer out of him. This concerns my new body."

He could still dream about the human he'd fought that day even in his sleep.

That man was quite literally the body of his dreams.

If Aatrox could possess that human's body, his strength would surely recover to its former peak.

"Understood."

Baalkux stepped forward. His body resembled a tree, and he carried an enormous staff in his hand. He raised it slightly, and a point of red light appeared at its tip. Magic surged forth before abruptly pouring into the serpentine Voidborn.

The next second, the creature found its mouth opening against its will.

"Some time ago, we forcibly dragged a human into the Void. He had something we needed, but we couldn't locate him after that, so we changed the plan. The Prophet... the Prophet..."

The moment it uttered the word "Prophet," its voice suddenly seemed to jam. Driven by two conflicting forces, it began mumbling incoherently until its words became impossible to understand.

The light in its eyes gradually dimmed, then disappeared completely.

It was dead.

Baalkux's magic lost its effect.

"The Prophet must have planted a spell inside them beforehand," Baalkux said. "Mentioning him triggers it."

"The Void..." Aatrox looked down at the corpse and sneered. "What kind of scheme are these insects planning now?"

He couldn't care less about whatever conspiracy the Void might be plotting.

There was only one thing he wanted, that human's body.

"I knew he wouldn't die so easily in the Void."

Aatrox lifted his greatsword. Remembering their battle that day, he could hardly wait to meet that human again.

Within the Void, the Prophet calmly lowered his hand as the traces of magic lingering around his fingertips gradually faded.

A squad of Void warriors followed behind him, while a purple-haired Voidborn and Steelshell walked on either side.

"Prophet, we've already secured the planetary core. What's the next step?"

The purple-haired Voidborn, Sosu, spoke with obvious curiosity.

Steelshell answered in a deep voice, "Sosu, don't ask questions you don't need answered. Whatever the Prophet intends to do, all we need to do is follow him."

"I know what you mean. I'm just curious." Sosu raised a hand and scratched his hair.

Steelshell's voice remained solemn. "We were created to assist the Prophet. Your curiosity serves no purpose. Thoughts like that shouldn't even exist."

"It's fine," the Prophet said indifferently before continuing. "I've already told you. Our foremost objective is to help free the Watchers. Now that the planetary core is in our hands and the key has almost finished accumulating energy, it's time to return to the Void Hive and attempt to break the seal."

At those words, light flickered in the eyes of Sosu and Steelshell, while the Void warriors behind them visibly stirred with excitement.

The Watchers, gods of the Void!

For some indescribable reason, they had been sealed within a cramped prison, unable to escape through their own power.

Their will, however, could still spread beyond that prison, and even a fraction of their tremendous power could seep through its confines.

And so, these creatures had been born.

Ever since their creation, their purpose had been to help the Void devour everything and make the Void the only thing that remained!

If they could truly free the Watchers from their prison, that day would arrive far sooner!

Under the leadership of the great Watchers, they would bring about Runeterra's end!

Yet as everyone reveled in excitement, none of them noticed the pair of eyes quietly observing everything from afar.

"Well, that's great. I can't understand a single damn word."

Luke had activated Stealth Arts, suppressing his presence until it was almost indistinguishable from the surrounding air.

Using Aura Lock, he had precisely tracked down the warriors who had fled back into the Void. He had been following them for quite some time now and was certain he hadn't been discovered.

With his current hearing, he could easily make out voices from a great distance.

The problem was that he couldn't understand the Void's language at all.

Still, judging by how excited all these Void warriors were, Luke figured the Void was definitely planning something huge.

And according to what Bel'Veth had told him, there was a good chance it involved the Watchers.

"If they can use the key to find me, then couldn't I use my key to find the second key?"

The thought occurred to Luke as he continued following them from the shadows.

The Void had used the resonance between the keys to forcibly drag him into the Void.

If that was possible, couldn't he exploit the same connection to locate the other key?

After thinking for a moment, Luke took out the Void Riftblade. With Stealth Arts, he could conceal the weapon's aura as well.

He then channeled part of his spiritual sense into the Void Riftblade. As he established a resonance with it, he began searching.

Ding.

Within an impossibly dark space, it was as though a single drop of water had fallen, sending ripples spreading outward.

Luke actually sensed the second key Bel'Veth had mentioned.

"Except..."

Luke looked into the distance.

The second key was on the person whose aura was remarkably close to that of a human, yet who was treated with overwhelming reverence by the Voidborn.

Luke remembered this man.

The Prophet of the Void, Malzahar.

He had once been a seer from Shurima. Later, he ventured into Icathia, where he was seduced by the voices of the Void and became one of its devoted followers.

The increasingly frequent Void rifts throughout Shurima, which had swallowed town after town along with countless people, as well as the Voidborn that had entered Shurima through those rifts, were basically all his handiwork.

Malzahar was different from the ancient Icathians who had first summoned the Void.

At first, Icathia hadn't understood the Void's true danger. They had failed to realize just how catastrophic it would be for Runeterra and ultimately opened the rift, leading to a massive Void invasion.

And on the very day the Void descended, Icathia suffered the catastrophe that destroyed the entire nation.

Malzahar was different.

He fully understood what the consequences would be, yet he still helped the Void, actively seeking to bring it completely into Runeterra.

Calling him the greatest traitor in all of Runeterra wouldn't even be an exaggeration.

Worse, he wasn't weak.

Judging from the situation now, forcibly taking the second key from him would probably be extremely difficult.

Even stealing it would have a very low chance of success.

Luke still couldn't determine exactly what the Void was planning, but he had a bad feeling about it. If he didn't interfere somehow, the consequences could be unimaginable.

But if he simply charged in headfirst, there was an eighty percent chance he'd be the one lying dead on the ground.

What even Luke hadn't expected was that someone reckless enough to do exactly that would suddenly appear.

Atop a towering rock formation, space abruptly distorted.

A figure appeared.

He wore a set of purple robes that tightly covered his entire body. Mechanical tubes and magical energy coursed through the equipment, while the breathing apparatus built into his helmet was connected to an intricate mechanism on his back.

The Nether Blade was mounted over his right wrist, radiating formidable power. Purple arcs of electricity crackled across his entire body, carrying a bone-chilling aura.

In his left hand, meanwhile, he held a blue-violet stone radiating intense magical light.

It was a shard of a World Rune!

The newcomer's aura was immensely powerful and exceptionally cold. His helmet concealed his face, but his eyes were as frigid as a frozen wasteland.

The instant Luke saw him, information flashed through his mind.

The Void Walker, Kassadin!

He was another champion Luke knew fairly well.

And this man had another identity.

He was Kai'Sa's father!

He was also the second human Bel'Veth had mentioned who had managed to survive within the Void.

His appearance completely exceeded Luke's expectations, and every Void warrior present immediately turned toward him.

After appearing, Kassadin didn't waste even a single second on words.

His icy gaze locked onto Malzahar.

His figure flickered.

Space distorted.

In an instant, Kassadin appeared directly above Malzahar!

The Nether Blade, which had already claimed the lives of countless Voidborn, came crashing down with tremendous force. Purple energy crackled violently around it as Kassadin seemingly aimed to kill Malzahar in a single strike.

But the next second, Steelshell reacted.

He stepped in front of Malzahar and raised the sturdy shield in his hand.

BOOM!

The tremendous impact forced him one step backward, but he successfully blocked the attack.

At the same moment, Sosu flashed forward, drew his weapon, and attacked Kassadin.

Kassadin immediately raised the Nether Blade and blocked his strike. Then he swung his left hand.

BZZZT!

Powerful energy erupted outward like a tremendous pulse, surging toward Sosu and Steelshell.

Only by joining forces did the two barely manage to withstand it.

Malzahar's voice rang out.

"Void Walker. What sort of hatred leaves you unwilling to waste even a single useless word?"

"I can talk after I've killed you."

Kassadin's voice was hoarse and cold, filled with murderous intent.

"So you're the Void Walker?" Sosu sneered. "You certainly underestimate us. If we let you kill the Prophet that easily, we might as well die ourselves."

With that, he violently lunged at Kassadin.

BOOM!

Kassadin was blasted backward.

He wasn't injured, however. He stabilized himself in midair, immediately crossed through space once more, and closed the distance. Powerful magic and slashing attacks surged toward Malzahar.

For a time, powerful Voidborn like Sosu and Steelshell, despite their strength, found themselves constantly constrained by Kassadin's relentless assaults as they protected Malzahar.

Malzahar's attention shifted toward the rune in Kassadin's hand.

"He possesses a World Rune. It contains some of Runeterra's most primordial magical power and can grant him tremendous strength. Be careful."

"Got it, Prophet."

Sosu looked toward the stone as well and chuckled.

"So all we have to do is take that rock from him, right?"

With that, he shot forward like a projectile, releasing even more of the power within his body.

If the Prophet hadn't been beside him, forcing Sosu to constantly hold back and protect him, this fight never would have been so difficult.

Kassadin, meanwhile, faced the combined attacks of Sosu and Steelshell, defending with incredible precision and refusing to expose even the slightest opening.

But ultimately, he was facing two Voidborn whose strength was no weaker than that of Ascended.

He could no longer approach Malzahar so easily.

At that moment, the weaker Voidborn joined the battle as well.

Kassadin's situation deteriorated instantly, and in the blink of an eye, he was completely surrounded.

Even so, the determination in his eyes never changed.

Not once did he hesitate.

Not once did he show fear.

His gaze remained as cold as a machine.

The Void had taken everything from him.

Now nothing remained within him except hatred.

Even if he died, he would die while killing Voidborn.

Even if he died, he would kill Malzahar!

Facing the swarm of Void warriors, Kassadin chose to attack first.

His figure continuously crossed through space as the power of the Nether Blade suddenly erupted. Even while surrounded, he managed to kill two Void warriors.

But continuously drawing upon the World Rune's power was damaging his body as well.

He couldn't maintain this state of combat for much longer.

Kassadin glanced at the rune in his hand and tightened his grip slightly, preparing to release all of its energy at once.

With his body in its current condition, he probably wouldn't survive it.

But he hadn't come here intending to leave alive.

His only regret was that he might not be able to kill Malzahar.

His only regret was that he might never avenge his wife and daughter.

Just then, a figure suddenly shot in from the distance like a bolt of lightning, radiating an immense aura.

Malzahar immediately noticed him.

"That aura..."

He looked up.

And there he was, the wielder of the second key they had been searching for all this time.

Luke!

Luke was naturally incredibly fast. Almost the instant his aura was exposed, he had already entered the battlefield with a sword in each hand.

Both swords slashed simultaneously.

Terrifying sword intent clung to the blades, forming two enormous waves of sword energy that tore toward several Void warriors who had failed to react in time.

Luke's attack was simply too fast.

They had no time to dodge.

By the time they tried to turn and defend themselves, they were already too late.

Razor-sharp sword light flashed through the air, howling like a raging gale and crashing down with the violence of thunder. Countless streaks of light carved through the darkness, unstoppable and impossible to evade.

It looked like only a few sword strikes.

It also looked like countless strikes.

Too fast.

Far too fast for the naked eye to follow.

Throughout those strikes, the Void warriors couldn't even see Luke himself.

He was nothing more than a streak of green light racing through their ranks, sweeping through them like an autumn gale stripping leaves from the trees before already rushing toward his next target.

Wuju Swordsmanship!

Alpha Strike!

At the same moment, thunderous explosions erupted in his wake.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Terrifying magical energy raged within towering flames as the bodies of the decapitated Void warriors were swallowed by fire and burned to ash in the blink of an eye.

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