-266- The hunt begins

Nashramae's black market, a place specialized in selling illicit goods.

Passing by a small altar with goat bones, uttering the password to the guards overseeing the black market, then, stepping over the dirty sand path, officially entering the black market.

"I hope this is the last time, Kassadin, please don't show up in front of me again, because I'm done listening to your nonsense."

"Shurima is on its last legs? It's about to collapse?"

Dirty feet stepped on a piece of cloth, various strange props displayed on top of the cloth. The owner of this foot is a thin middle-aged man, with a small piece missing from his nose, his face covered in black, and the area around his eyes smeared with something like charcoal ash, a practice of the desert people to protect their eyes from burning.

"Shurima is doing fine now, forget all your nonsense. You should let it go, Kassadin, you don't need to make yourself like this, look at your skin, do you think you're still human?"

Gutal smoked, puffing away, looking at the man in front of him with some melancholy.

He is his old friend, a friend who has been insane for many years.

He is not tall, but his body is sturdy, wearing a thick sunscreen coat. And at this moment, he took off his hood, revealing a head of unkempt black hair tangled together, greasy and messy, with sand clumped together on top of it.

He revealed his face, an ordinary face.

"Don't worry, this is the last time." Kassadin said, reaching out his hand, Gutal sighed, put down his cigarette, and picked up the wrapped cloth bag, handing it to Kassadin.

"I was just venting, just a moment of anger, you don't have to take it seriously."

Gutal looked at Kassadin, seeing him put the package into the backpack behind him, vaguely seeing his arm, on Kassadin's right hand, Gutal saw a strange gauntlet, the gauntlet was dark purple, tightly wrapped around Kassadin's wrist.

And inside his sunscreen pilgrim's coat, there were various peculiar devices.

The most conspicuous, of course, are the two pipes used to filter air, the mouths of the pipes connected to Kassadin's waist, and there, Gutal saw a helmet, he thought, these two pipes must be connected to this helmet.

This kind of device is Zaun's technology.

"I mean, Kassadin, next time we meet, I hope you come to drink with me, not to ask me for these things." Gutal withdrew his gaze, picked up the cigarette again, puffing away, Kassadin had various things on him, and Gutal naturally saw that the gauntlet was extraordinary, but Gutal didn't ask anything.

"I don't have time to drink with you." Kassadin shook his head, he said quietly, "Neither you nor Cago, Kie, you all don't believe me."

"Because you've been talking nonsense!" Gutal rolled his eyes impatiently, slapped the cloth beneath him hard, and said loudly, "How much longer do you want to stay this way? How much longer do you want to find her? Kassadin, your wife is dead, your daughter is dead."

"How much longer do you want to spout nonsense? You keep saying that Shurima is constantly being swallowed by the Void, what did the Void swallow? They are now sealed in Icathia!" Gutal raised his voice, but Kassadin remained indifferent, looking at him, those eyes were dead, making people uncomfortable.

Gutal has advised many times, but none of them have been effective.

Kassadin is a good person, and he used to be a sunny and cheerful man.

There was always a smile on his face, he was the best desert guide.

But now, he is bent on seeking death.

"They wouldn't want to see you like this, revenge? Who do you want to revenge against? You always mention revenge, but you don't even have a clear target for revenge." Gutal sighed heavily.

"Enough, Gutal."

Kassadin handed out his last few coins, placed them in front of Gutal, and said, "You don't understand me, you don't know what I'm fighting for."

"As for Kaisa. Even if the hope is slim, I must try, for the goal, I will spare no effort." Kassadin looked at Gutal calmly, "You won't understand, Gutal, family is more important to me than anything else."

Giving up? That's such a simple thing.

A bit of bitterness surged in Kassadin's heart, but it quickly disappeared.

Nowadays, he rarely shows emotional fluctuations, becoming cold-blooded and ruthless, and Kassadin also knows the reason.

Relying on that mysterious stone, Kassadin ventured deep into Icathia, but while the stone protected him from being corroded by the Void, it also slowly transformed his body.

Just as Gutal said, is Kassadin really still a human now?

Kassadin doesn't know.

But he doesn't care about this, because as long as he can have powerful strength, as long as he can seek revenge, even if he is no longer human, it doesn't matter.

Everything that made him "him" was destroyed on that day, waking up from a daze, he was now living for revenge.

"You are a madman," Gutal shook his head, once again unable to persuade him, showing a helpless smile. Gutal made a gesture towards Kassadin, dressed as a pilgrim, "May you find water and shade."

"My friend."

"Farewell," Kassadin nodded firmly.

Gutal watched Kassadin's figure quietly until he disappeared into the streets.

Then, Gutal picked up his cigarette, taking another deep drag.

"Gutal, that guy seemed pretty generous. By the way, what did he buy from you?" a nearby vendor approached Gutal curiously, noticing the several coins, a hefty sum.

"His life," Gutal exhaled smoke, responding.

Adjusting his hood to look like a devout follower, Kassadin left the Black Market of Nashramae.

Unlike other parts of Shurima, Nashramae along the coast was notably cooler, with more abundant resources.

Heading towards an empty alley, Kassadin opened his backpack, organizing its contents.

"This is a Zaunite air filtration device bought from a second-hand merchant," Kassadin observed the pipes in his hands plainly. Despite being outdated, the price for the Zaunite device he acquired was substantial.

He felt reluctant to go to Zaun for shopping. What used to be easily accessible now required temporary permits and signing of legal documents.

The thought irritated him. Zaun was not like this years ago. He used to frequent Zaun without such hassle.

As he assembled the devices, Kassadin tightened his helmet and removed the two rubber tubes he had previously crafted, discarding them by the roadside.

His makeshift filters were inefficient, causing various problems during his time in the Void.

Now, holding the Zaunite filtration tube, specially designed with strong resilience and multiple layers of waste-filtering mesh, Kassadin felt satisfied.

After assembly, Kassadin took a deep breath.

"Whoo."

Feeling a bit stuffy and detecting an unpleasant oily odor, he noted it was efficient. Despite the discomfort, he didn't feel parched as he would without the mask in the sandy expanse of Shurima.

His mind went to his right hand. He activated it, and his void-infused gauntlet emitted a dark purple glow, then expanded into a beam of energy.

Kassadin stared at his wrist, his helmet concealing his expression.

If Gutal saw him now, he might label him a monster and flee. He wouldn't recognize his old friend in this form.

Kassadin, with his completely opaque helmet and strange hoses leading to his backpack, looked like a war machine.

The dark purple light in his right hand stretched longer and longer until it turned into a long beam of energy, and the shape looked remarkably like a sword, a purple energy longsword.

"Nether Blade," Kassadin quietly watched his right hand. After going to Icathia and killing Void monsters, the power that the Nether Blade could emit became more and more abundant.

This weapon, after a thousand years, perhaps it also remembers its mission.

It is the weapon of an Ascended, the first weapon to strike a powerful blow against the Void, the weapon that declared the beginning of Shurima's resistance, the weapon of the great warrior Horok.

It is a weapon that knows best how to kill Void monsters.

At this moment, Kassadin, who has been to Icathia but has not been corrupted by the Void, but has been affected by that stone, has recently encountered many variables.

Kassadin came out this time not only to collect various new items but also to control his new body well.

Thinking of this, Kassadin reached out the Nether Blade and stabbed it into the air.

He didn't know the reason for this ability.

Is it because of the Nether Blade? Does the great hero Horok have such power? Or is it the various strange blessings he has received? Or is it... the Void? Or perhaps, is it caused by that mysterious stone?

Kassadin is not sure what kind of trouble this ability will bring him in the future.

Kassadin didn't care about the potential troubles this power might bring. He knew its strength would aid his vengeance.

And that was enough.

With a gentle push, the tip of his gauntlet pierced the air.

At that moment, the space in front of Kassadin distorted, his world tinged with a deep purple hue. His black eyes briefly flashed purple. The space ahead split open, his blade-like gauntlet transforming into peculiar spikes, diverging in two directions on his blade.

Kassadin slowly raised his hand and thrust it into the distorted space before him.

"Walk."

A simple command escaped his lips, and the next moment, Kassadin vanished from the alley.

Kai'Sa suddenly halted, horror flashing across her face as she turned towards the southeast direction of Nashramae.

Fear flickered in her eyes, and her skin writhed continuously.

"Boss?"

"Wait, where are you going, boss?"

"Don't follow me!" Kai'Sa snapped, turning back.

Void?! But why was there a Void presence here?

Damn it!

Did someone attract those creatures here?

No, it wasn't time to find her father.

She had to go. Those creatures... would consume everything!

Her living skin squirmed, covering her entire body. Black hair concealed by a face mask, her cloak transformed into charred remnants, revealing dark purple skin to the outside world.

With a powerful leap, Kai'Sa surged into the air, streaking through with arcs of dark purple electricity, disappearing in the skies above Nashramae.

"My god! Boss's gone!"

"Quick, quick, call Mr Linwin!"

"Idiots, keep it quiet! Stay calm!"

"What are you looking at? Get lost!"

Gasping for air, Kassadin appeared two kilometers away from Nashramae. The ground around him turned to scorched earth, the sand within ten meters was scorching hot, emitting dangerous smoke and darkened sandstones, proving the temperature.

He couldn't fully control this formidable power yet. After using it once, his chest would feel uncomfortable.

But compared to the first unintentional use in the Void, it was much better now.

At least his heart wouldn't feel as if it were being squeezed to death as it did back then.

Kassadin took a deep breath, lifting his Nether Blade once again, touching the space before him.

He needed to travel to Icathia in this way. He had to master this ability.

"Walk!"

"Damn it!"

The purple figure landed on the ground, her insect-like helmet gradually dissipating, revealing a beautiful face inside, filled with urgency and anger. Kai'Sa's nose twitched, sniffing the scent of the Void.

"It's there!"

The next moment, her skin squirmed on her cheeks, her wings vibrating, turning into a purple light flying towards the sky.

"Walk!"

"Walk!!"

"Walk!!!"

Gasping for breath, Kassadin's ability to traverse distances varied each time, dissipating with his stamina, allowing him to travel shorter and shorter distances.

From initially tens of kilometers, to a few kilometers, to now, he could only teleport a few hundred meters.

"Another step slower!"

But he had marked it.

He was getting closer to it.

But... faster!

Faster!

Taking a deep breath, Kassadin's Pilgrim's Mantle dissolved, revealing his darkened body. At this moment, anyone seeing him would scream "monster."

Black and purple skin, a strange helmet and hoses linking to his backpack, and a terrifying purple energy greatsword.

Kassadin touched the Nether Blade against the space once again, locking in the position, preparing to Rift Walk.

But at that moment, the Nether Blade in Kassadin's right hand suddenly expanded, dragging his wrist towards the horizon.

Purple energy surged like waves towards the sky.

"Boom!"

In Kassadin's line of sight, a strange plasma projectile struck the energy wave.

Blocking the falling plasma debris with the Nether Blade above his head, Kassadin looked up, his calm eyes filled with anger.

"Void!"

"It's definitely the Void!"

Kai'Sa looked at the humanoid Void monster on the ground, clenched her fists, and two dark purple strange crystal spikes appeared above Kai'Sa's fists, her arm's skin also morphing into armor, protruding menacingly outward with spikes, and two huge pods appeared behind her.

Her powerful thighs tensed, terrifying spikes appeared above Kai'Sa's knees, and purple blades emerged, protruding outward on both sides.

"The hunt begins."

Kai'Sa looked down below, indifferent.