Chapter 505 - 505: Back into the Void (EC)

In the distance, the battle grew even fiercer with the arrival of several Aspects.

Under pressure from both the Aspects and the Darkin, the Voidborn were gradually forced back into the deep pit they had excavated around the planetary core.

As soon as Kayle and the other Aspects descended, they immediately saw that the power of the planetary core was still being drained, and the process was already nearing completion.

"We have to protect the planetary core first. Otherwise, this entire place will collapse."

Mihira made her decision immediately. Her wings flashed with golden radiance, and in the next instant she streaked through the air like a blazing flame, carving an arc across the sky as she charged toward the planetary core.

Her overwhelming divine power erupted, seemingly impossible for anyone to stop.

However, a purple barrier suddenly rose before her and forcibly blocked Mihira's path.

She brought her sword down with all her strength. The moment it struck the barrier, an enormous recoil erupted, turning the force of her attack into a rippling wave of flame that swept outward in every direction.

Mihira herself was knocked several yards backward.

Yet the barrier remained solid.

"Damn it."

Mihira's eyes darkened as she realized that some kind of extremely powerful magic was sustaining the barrier.

But she had no time to keep attacking it, because all the nearby Voidborn were already swarming toward her.

To make matters worse, the Darkin attacked anyone they came across, leaving the other Aspects unable to break free.

Because of the Darkin's interference, the Aspects had to fight the Voidborn while simultaneously guarding against attacks from the Darkin.

The Darkin were even more dangerous by comparison. Close combat, ranged attacks, magic, they unleashed one technique after another. Even the Aspects would suffer badly if they let their guard down for even a moment.

Aatrox rampaged across the battlefield, venting his brutal power everywhere he went. His commanders were formidable as well, with nearly every one of them capable of contending with an Aspect.

The situation was not particularly favorable for the Aspects.

"Let me."

Leona knew they could not afford any more delays. She slammed her Shield of Daybreak heavily into the ground, unleashing a tremendous wave of heat that spread outward like sunlight.

Every enemy around her was immediately blasted backward. She raised her Zenith Blade high, then suddenly released a beam of light as dazzling as the sun itself. Her golden armor shone brilliantly, gleaming with blinding radiance.

The next second,

"BWOOOM!"

From high above the heavens, sunlight condensed into two dazzling beams and came crashing down. One struck Leona herself, while the other slammed directly into the barrier.

Ripples spread across the sturdy Void barrier as it endured the scorching might of the blazing sun, trembling on the verge of collapse.

The nearby Darkin had already pulled away, unwilling to approach recklessly.

Only the suicidal Voidborn still tried to stop Leona, throwing themselves at her with everything they had.

Before they could even reach her, they were struck by an unimaginably intense heat, as though they were approaching the sun itself. Even the air reeked of scorching heat.

The closer they came, the higher the temperature became. When their attacks finally landed on Leona, they accomplished absolutely nothing.

Instead, the instant they made contact, screams erupted one after another. Their hardened living Void carapaces collapsed on the spot, while their flesh evaporated beneath the sun's heat in less than a second.

They could not even escape. In an instant, they were burned away completely.

No living creature could defy the radiance of the sun!

At that moment, the barrier finally shattered with a loud crack under the violent impact of solar power.

Seeing this, Mihira immediately shook off the Voidborn surrounding her. Her wings burst into motion, propelling her forward at tremendous speed toward the planetary core.

Just as she was about to reach it, she suddenly sensed an overwhelming presence approaching from behind.

Without time to think, Mihira reacted purely on instinct and slashed backward with her sword.

"CLANG!"

But her strike was blocked.

Mihira narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at the Voidborn before her.

His appearance was already remarkably close to that of a human rather than an ugly monster. Long Void-purple hair flowed from his head. His living Void carapace remained, but it looked even darker and harder than those of the others.

His overall presence was clearly different from the ordinary Voidborn as well.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to go any farther, Aspect. Otherwise, the Prophet is definitely going to scold me again."

The purple-haired Voidborn spoke with a smile, looking completely at ease despite having blocked Mihira's strike.

Mihira ignored him and erupted with even greater speed, charging toward the planetary core.

But in the very next instant, the purple-haired Voidborn was already standing in her path again.

"Get out of my way!"

Mihira shouted coldly as she brought her sword down. A blazing sword trail appeared in midair, as though even the air itself had been sliced apart.

"Then try stepping over my corpse."

The purple-haired Voidborn raised his hooked-scythe weapon, blocked the strike, and immediately counterattacked.

As Mihira fought him, she silently considered ways to shake him off.

But no matter how much she thought about it, she could not find a way to escape this completely different Voidborn and reach the planetary core.

In that case, there was only one option.

Fight.

At that moment, the ground began trembling continuously.

It was not because of the battle.

The planetary core itself was already on the verge of collapse.

Pantheon immediately realized that they were running out of time. He thrust out his Comet Spear with tremendous force. Terrifying power erupted and blasted Aatrox backward on the spot.

Taking advantage of the opening, Pantheon kicked off the ground and rushed toward Mihira at full speed, intending to help her.

But just as he was about to reach her, another figure suddenly crashed down from above.

It was not Aatrox pursuing him.

It was a new Voidborn!

This one had an extremely muscular build, and his appearance was also remarkably close to that of a human. Every muscle on his body bulged with solid power, while his face looked as hard and angular as a block of steel.

Likewise, he carried a spear in one hand and a shield in the other.

Rather than an imitation of an Ascended, he looked more like a copy of Pantheon standing before him.

Even Aatrox chuckled when he saw it.

"Interesting."

Pantheon raised an eyebrow at the Voidborn before him and immediately thrust his spear forward. The spearhead roared with tremendous force and flashed like starlight. He held absolutely nothing back with this strike.

The copy raised his steel shield.

With a deafening crash, his body was forced back a single step, and only a puncture mark appeared on the shield.

He had actually taken the attack head-on.

With a low growl, he immediately thrust his own spear forward in retaliation, producing a piercing whistle as it tore through the air.

Pantheon's eyes remained cold. He raised his shield and stepped forward without yielding even an inch, knocking the incoming thrust aside on the spot.

Then he stabbed forward again.

But the steel-like Voidborn was extraordinarily skilled at defense. No matter how Pantheon attacked, every strike was blocked. He was as solid as an iron wall.

At this point, Kayle, Taric, and Leona were all tied up fighting the Darkin and the other Aspects, unable to break away.

More Voidborn were also rushing toward this area.

Then came a sudden hum.

A crimson ripple spread from deep within the pit. The ground shook violently, while shattered rocks came tumbling down.

Amid a deafening series of rumbles, the surrounding terrain began collapsing downward.

"Not good!"

Mihira's heart sank.

These signs clearly meant that the power of the planetary core had already vanished.

The surrounding ground began rapidly caving in, while several Void rifts appeared near the planetary core, looking as though space itself had been slashed open.

"Looks like we're finished here. I'll play with you again next time, Aspect."

Seeing this, the purple-haired Voidborn smiled.

"Steelshell, we're leaving."

The moment he finished speaking, his figure vanished from the spot as he rapidly approached one of the Void rifts.

Mihira pursued him for some distance, but after realizing she could not catch him, she stopped.

The purple-haired Voidborn paused at the entrance to the rift and waved at everyone as though bidding them farewell.

As for the Voidborn called Steelshell, he swung his shield with tremendous force. Astonishingly, the power behind the shield strike was even greater than that of his spear. It blasted Pantheon away while he was momentarily caught off guard, after which Steelshell turned and rapidly moved toward the rift.

At the same time, every remaining Voidborn abandoned everything else and rushed desperately toward the rifts.

They were not weak. They simply were not as powerful as the Darkin or the Aspects. If all they wanted to do now was escape, they were still more than capable of it.

One figure after another passed through the rifts.

Once the final Voidborn had entered, the Void rifts abruptly closed, and space returned to normal once again.

Only the earthquakes remained, continuously spreading farther outward. They would affect a considerable area.

"How boring. Nothing but a bunch of bugs that know how to run."

Aatrox watched the scene with contempt in his eyes. Then he raised his greatsword with little enthusiasm and casually grabbed one of the Voidborn nearby that had failed to escape.

"Our warm-up after reuniting is over too. Let's leave."

He craved battle, but he also knew that his commanders had only recently broken free from their seals. Their strength was nowhere near what it had once been, and they had yet to fully recover.

If they truly continued fighting, they would not be a match for those Aspects.

Continuing the battle now would accomplish nothing beyond causing more destruction.

It would be better to withdraw, recover their strength, and then prepare for their next move.

With Aatrox taking the lead, the surrounding Darkin quickly followed him. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared from the collapsing pit.

The Aspects did not pursue them.

They first had to stabilize the situation.

The Aspects gathered their power together, forming a dazzling sphere of energy before launching it into the place where the planetary core had originally been, seemingly intending to use it as a temporary substitute.

Only after the earthquakes had grown relatively stable did Mihira speak.

"This can only replace the planetary core for a short time. We have to recover it before then."

Leona frowned slightly.

"But those Void monsters have already escaped back into the Void. Are we supposed to chase them? And how would we even do that?"

The Void rifts had already closed, and they were not something the Aspects could simply reopen whenever they wished.

The Void had clearly prepared thoroughly before coming to seize the planetary core. They had even kept powerful combatants stationed near it specifically to prevent anyone from interfering.

Now that the planetary core had been taken, their only option would be to pursue the Voidborn into the Void and take it back.

But that was clearly unrealistic.

"Is there anything else that could replace the planetary core?"

"I'm afraid not."

The Aspects fell silent.

They also could not understand why the Void had taken the planetary core in the first place.

From what they knew of the Void, it was a realm of hunger and chaos, where devouring everything was the instinct of its creatures. The planetary core should have been completely useless to them.

Mihira said, "Whatever the case, we have to find some way to resolve this. Otherwise, there's no telling what kind of devastation Shurima will suffer as it dries up."

Kayle suddenly thought of something.

"Maybe we can call Zoe."

At this point, perhaps only the Aspect of Twilight had a way to deal with the situation.

Leona shook her head.

"We don't even know where she is right now. Besides, she's even more mischievous than Myisha was, and far more unpredictable. Think about all the times we've tried contacting her in the past. How often did she actually respond?"

Silence fell over the group again.

The mantle of the Aspect of Twilight had already passed to a new host, Zoe.

Just thinking about her gave them headaches.

She treated nearly everything with complete indifference. She would be the first to appear whenever something caught her interest, but anything else, no matter how important, depended entirely on whether she thought it sounded fun.

As for answering their attempts to contact her, that was entirely up to chance.

"We'll have to rely on ourselves for this. Let's leave this place first."

Mihira had no intention of placing her hopes on that little girl who cared only about having fun, so she was the first to leave.

Soon, the other Aspects departed one after another as well.

Several minutes earlier, just as the Void rifts had appeared...

"An earthquake this strong... They really are going at it over there."

Luke looked around at his surroundings and felt that an earthquake of this magnitude probably was not being caused solely by the battle.

Granted, the fighting moments ago had already been extremely intense.

But this was clearly something different. Even his location had been affected.

"What exactly is the Void trying to do?"

He thought for a moment, then decided that he could no longer remain so passive.

After sensing the presence of the newly opened Void rifts, he turned toward Kai'Sa.

"Go to Kahleek City and meet up with Morgana. Take this. You know how to use it by now, right?"

As he spoke, he took out a Secret Key and handed it to Kai'Sa.

Kai'Sa froze for a moment.

"What about you?"

"I'm going in after them to see what's happening. There's no way the Void came all the way to Shurima just to throw away lives for no reason."

Luke's eyes gleamed as he took out the Void teleportation crystal Bel'Veth had given him.

He had to follow them in and see what was happening. Otherwise, the situation would become far too passive for him.

Besides, he was wondering whether he might get the chance to steal the second key directly. If he could, that would save him a great deal of trouble.

In any case, he had to make this trip into the Void.

"I..."

Kai'Sa initially wanted to say that she would go with him, but she suddenly stopped herself. Tightening her grip around the Secret Key, she said, "Then I'll wait for you in Kahleek City."

She knew that if she followed him, she would only get in Luke's way.

The only thing she could do now was trust him.

"Don't worry. If things turn bad, I can pull out whenever I want."

When it came to making an escape, Luke was extremely confident.

"Okay."

Kai'Sa nodded again. After taking one long look at Luke, she turned around and quickly left.

Luke did not open a rift immediately. Instead, he left the area and shot into the air like a streak of light, rapidly flying away.

Only after traveling more than ten kilometers did he stop and open the portal.

The Voidborn might be able to sense spatial disturbances, but there were currently several Void rifts open at the same time. If he took advantage of that opportunity to open his own entrance, the chances of being detected would undoubtedly be much lower.

Even if they did sense it, Luke was far enough away that he could still escape.

Looking at the portal before him, he did not hesitate.

He immediately stepped inside.

Soon afterward, the remaining Void rifts closed as well.