CHAPTER 165 She's Not a Void Monster!

On the other side of the tunnel, Sivir wielded her crossblade cautiously, keeping a vigilant eye on the direction where Li Lin and the others were, occasionally glancing at the passages on both sides to prevent any surprise attacks from Void monsters.

However, after waiting for a while, all she heard from the front was a burst of gunfire and light, followed by silence.

"Could they have dealt with everything already?" Sivir muttered to herself, puzzled. "But if they have, why haven't they come to inform me?"

After a few more minutes, her mind began to wander.

Could it be that they were the ones who were taken care of by those Void monsters?

As soon as this thought crossed her mind, Sivir panicked.

Should I go back and check? No, no, no...

If it's really as I think, won't I be walking into my own death?

Maybe I should prepare to escape, but...

Sivir glanced at the storm machine hovering beside her. "How do I get rid of this thing?"

As she hesitated, she heard heavy footsteps coming from the far end of the passage behind her.

"Who's there?!"

Sivir's eyes narrowed, and she swiftly turned around, assuming a combat stance.

Her right hand reached halfway behind her, gripping Chalicar, ready to be quickly thrown.

Could it be that these Void monsters have also blocked the way back?

As the footsteps approached and sounded distinctly non-human, Sivir's heart sank to the bottom.

After about a minute, a holographic image about three meters tall appeared on the display in front of Sivir.

Sivir squinted, and when she saw the figure clearly, her expression became astonished. "Nasus?"

Nasus looked slightly different from when she last saw him in Vekaura. His golden battle armor was now full of cracks, and the precious stones on his long-handled battle axe were shattered.

His pace was quick, and he soon arrived in front of Sivir. "Sivir, you shouldn't be in this place."

"I have the freedom to decide where I want to be."

She didn't expect Nasus to say this just after they met, and all her previous surprise turned into displeasure.

Sivir raised her head and glanced at this demi-god with black-purple flames burning in his eyes, and snorted, "What about you? How did you find your way here?"

"I swore to protect you," Nasus' voice was hoarse and low, "but in the face of the Void, I can't even guarantee my own safety..."

He paused slightly, his attention returning to the emerald barrier pendant hanging around Sivir's neck. With a lift of his hand, a blue magical energy, sparkling like a starry sky, flowed into the pendant between his claws.

After two or three seconds, Sivir felt a light blue magical barrier surrounding her. "What's this?"

"It's just a magical barrier. If you accidentally enter the core area of the Void, it can prevent you from being corrupted by that power, but it can only last for a few minutes."

Sivir raised her eyebrows, "Only a few minutes?"

"The power of the Void is not as simple as you think. Even the celestial warriors cannot resist their corruption. My magic can keep you from being corrupted for a few minutes, which is already quite good."

Sivir had nothing to say.

Nasus noticed the storm machine floating beside her, but did not see the middle-aged man holding the celestial warrior sword or the young man.

"Where are your two friends?"

"Oh, I almost forgot if you didn't mention it!" Sivir pointed behind her hastily, "Earlier, Kassadin sensed that eight Void monsters were attacking. There was just a sound of fighting, but now it's quiet."

Her meaning was clear, asking Nasus to accompany her to see if Li Lin and Kassadin were still safe.

He opened his mouth, but the refusal stuck in his throat and was eventually unable to be uttered.

According to Nasus' "deliberate" character before going to Vekaura, it was impossible for him to agree to this request.

However, when Sivir asked him to protect the remaining people in Vekaura and join forces with Azir, to repel Xerath, his mindset changed.

Protecting the Shurima Empire and its people is the responsibility and obligation of every celestial warrior, as they vowed at the Ascension ceremony.

Over the past thousands of years, you have already abandoned too many lives, you cannot avoid your responsibility anymore...

Nasus sighed and said, "Okay... I might as well clean up the Void here."

...

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tunnel.

Kai'sa squatted on the ground, digging out a softly glowing purple core from the shell of a Voidling.

After the previous battles, the two cores she had devoured not long ago had consumed most of their energy, and she needed to replenish them.

Kassadin looked at the visibly shrinking Voidling core in his daughter's hand, feeling a bitterness in his heart that he couldn't express.

Kai'sa...

"No, now it's important to respect her wishes and call her Kaisa, she survived these three years with this thing, right?" He found it hard to imagine what he'd look like after three years without eating or drinking. Perhaps he would lose some of his humanity.

But Kaisa had pulled through, evolving from that weak little girl into the strong-willed young woman she was today...

Kassadin's thoughts were chaotic, and before he knew it, his eyes were moist again.

"Kaisa, do you need help?" He tried to suppress the sadness in his heart and asked in a nonchalant tone.

"Not for now, the liquid inside these monsters is highly corrosive, but my armor can withstand it," Kaisa replied without looking up, quickly absorbing the core in her hand until she felt her body saturated with energy.

Then she hurried to the next monster, skillfully extracting the core from its body, and then turned back to glance cautiously at Li Lin and Kassadin.

"I can only absorb limited energy at the moment, do you have any containers to hold these cores?" 

"Use this," Kassadin took off his shoulder bag and removed the wrapped food, water, and rope inside.

Kaisa sniffed and caught a faint scent she hadn't smelled in what felt like a past life. "Is this... jerky?"

Hearing his daughter's low exclamation, Kassadin realized his mistake and said apologetically, "Sorry, I forgot about this."

He placed the backpack on the ground and took out all the food he had with him.

Temporarily abandoning the core in her hand, Kaisa ran excitedly to Kassadin, her eyes filled with anticipation as she stared at the jerky and dried meat in his hands.

The corrosive slime from the Void creatures that had been on her hands was absorbed by her armor, so she didn't need to worry about it.

However, Kaisa never forgot the teachings her parents had given her.

Even though she hadn't tasted food for three years, she didn't rudely reach out to grab it from her father's hands.

Seeing his daughter's appearance, Kassadin couldn't help but sniff, and tears welled up in his eyes again. He quickly uncorked the water bag he had prepared in advance and gently tapped her back. "Don't choke, there's plenty more here."

When Kaisa swallowed all the food in her mouth and was about to eat more, she suddenly realized a problem: if she finished all the food in her father's bag, what would he eat later?

After a moment of thought, Kaisa forcibly suppressed her appetite. "I... I won't eat anymore."

Kassadin looked at her with a nervous and puzzled expression, unable to understand her thoughts, and asked anxiously, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Kaisa shook her head with pursed lips.

Li Lin noticed her inner struggle and guessed what she was worried about. He smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about running out of food."

"Huh?" Kaisa was momentarily confused and didn't understand his meaning.

As Li Lin spoke, Kassadin understood his daughter's concern, and the bitterness and sadness in his heart deepened.

"What a silly child," he gently stroked Kaisa's hair, "We have at least a month's worth of food stored at our camp outside, so you don't need to worry about that."

"But... won't carrying so much food cause it to spoil?" 

"I've invented a mechanical device that can store food at low temperatures, even better than a cellar," Li Lin explained with a smile.

"Really?! There's something so amazing?" 

"Of course, it can even fly."

Kaisa's eyes widened in amazement, "It has wings?"

"Not wings, but a kind of propulsion device, just like this robot here."

Li Lin controlled a storm robot to fly to his side.

In the urgency of the situation just now, Kaisa hadn't had a chance to observe it closely and had mistaken it for a Void creature.

Now, seeing it up close, she realized that it was entirely made of metal, emitting a blue light.

A curious expression appeared on Kaisa's face, "It's so amazing! Does it use magic?"

In her understanding, only the mysterious magic her father had told her stories about could achieve such a feat.

"Um, essentially... yes," Li Lin explained softly, "But it's technology controlling magic. It can achieve this level without needing magical talent."

"Can I touch it?"

"Of course."

With Li Lin's affirmative reply, Kaisa happily transferred the jerky to her right hand, then reached out to touch the storm robot, which was now in standby mode.

However, when her hand was only a few inches away from the storm robot, it suddenly stiffened, unable to move forward.

At the same time, a metallic sour taste rose in their mouths.

"What's this?!"

Kassadin was stunned to see Kaisa covered by black and purple magical flames, which was the culprit that prevented her from moving.

Li Lin quickly activated "Data Mind" to check Kaisa's current condition.

Withered? This isn't Nasus's spell, is it?

He's already found them?

Li Lin turned his head sharply in the direction they had come from. Sure enough, a tall figure and a small figure were walking side by side, with a storm robot by their side.

It was Nasus and Sivir...

Li Lin saw the lupine demi-god holding up his hand, and the same colored magical flames as on Kaisa's body dispersed at his fingertips.

Perhaps sensing the Void aura on Kaisa's body, Nasus decided to act...

Li Lin realized the problem and shouted at Nasus, "Don't do it! She's not a Void creature!"

(End of this chapter)