Capítulo 141: CHAPTER 141 - Do You Have Any Last Words for Katarina?
Cassiopeia glanced coldly at the breathless Sivir lying on the ground, wearing a disdainful expression.
"You have fulfilled your mission, Sivir. That is to bring this Crossblade here."
According to the inherited records, the Crossblade used by the first emperor of the Shuriman Empire, the Ascended Warrior Setaka, could open the gates of all tombs for emperors and ascended beings.
The reason Cassiopeia had collaborated with Sivir so many times, besides gaining her trust, was mainly for this divine warrior's weapon.
She picked up Chalicar from the ground and gave a meaningful look to her subordinates, signaling them to escort the three barely alive mercenaries.
In the silent hall, accompanied by three sharp metallic sounds cutting through flesh, the mercenaries emitted weak screams.
Cassiopeia's face was fanatical as she held Chalicar in the middle, walking briskly to the end of the hall.
The corners of her lips couldn't help but curve up. "Behind this tomb door lies the almost god-like power... Mother, my mission is about to be completed!"
Cassiopeia found the cross-shaped slot on the door, perfectly fitting the Crossblade into it.
Shortly after, as the mechanical gears screeched, Chalicar was engulfed by the massive door made of an unknown material.
But before the tomb door could open, a serpent sculpture on one side of the hall shimmered with purple and green magical light.
It had a snake-like tail made of stones and silently crawled along the wall, not attracting the attention of Cassiopeia and the Noxian guards, who were focused on the tomb door.
Cassiopeia, after waiting for a long time without the door opening, grew impatient. "What's going on?! Why hasn't the tomb door opened yet?"
"Don't be in such a hurry, miss. This tomb has been standing for thousands of years, and the mechanisms inside are old. It's normal for them to be a bit slow." Her closest guard, Ashborne, approached, comforting her in a soft voice.
"But what if something is damaged, and the door won't open..." Cassiopeia frowned, turning to her guard.
However, she saw shock and bewilderment on his face. "What's with that expression?" she asked.
Ashborne, stunned, raised his trembling finger and pointed behind Cassiopeia, "What, what is that monster?!"
"...Monster?"
She turned around in confusion, only to find that a giant serpent statue had descended from above the tomb door at some point. It exposed sharp stone fangs, and its forked tongue nearly licked her face.
At this moment, guards who noticed this scene from afar hurriedly warned, "Miss! Be careful!"
However, with shimmering purple and green magical light in its eyes, the serpent statue had already launched an attack.
"—Ugh! Aaah!"
With Cassiopeia's miserable scream, the huge teeth of the serpent statue pierced her flesh, injecting purple and green venom into her body.
This was a curse magic infused by a surviving snake-headed Ascended being from the Void War, aimed at preventing the tombs of emperors from being defiled by inferior beings.
The occult poison and the curse of stellar magic quickly spread throughout Cassiopeia's body, corroding her flesh and burning her soul.
Cassiopeia, in horror, realized that her flesh was peeling off, and her body was transforming in an unpredictable direction...
Seeing this, the guards hurriedly surrounded her, protecting her in the middle.
However, after injecting venom and curses into Cassiopeia, the serpent statue had lost its firepower. Its inverted body fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
"Miss!"
"Are you okay?!"
"Quick, Ashborne, take out that curse-removing magic potion you brought!"
"Damn it! Stop shouting, can't you see?!"
Panicking, Ashborne fumbled a glass bottle the size of his palm from his bag. It contained bubbling gray-brown liquid.
He had just pulled out the cork, and Cassiopeia, whose throat was almost hoarse from screaming, hastily snatched the curse-lifting potion from his hands and poured it into her mouth.
Unfortunately, her body was not entirely cursed; there was still occult poison inside.
Moreover, this bottle, which could only counteract ordinary curse magic, was powerless against the stellar magic from the Ascended being of the god-warrior.
"It's useless! Useless! Aaah—!!"
Cassiopeia could feel her fingers turning into a kind of yellow-green, hard chitinous shell.
Something seemed to be growing on her itching and intensely painful skin.
She dared not use her fingertips, now transformed into terrifying claws, to scratch her own skin. Yet, this group of foolish subordinates couldn't help her.
"Quick! Ugh, you idiots, hurry, take me back... back to Uzeris... Ah, aah!"
...
...
Midsection of the ancient tomb.
Li Lin and Kassadin cautiously navigated through the vast underground space, silent as a grave, doing their best to lighten their steps.
They had just encountered a Baccai guardian with two dog-like heads, nearly prompting them to employ "blink" and "void walking" for a hasty escape.
Fortunately, Li Lin reacted quickly, realizing that the Baccai was fixated on the depths of the tomb, seemingly entranced, and hadn't made a move against them.
Initially, Kassadin considered advising Li Lin against risking his life further, but he knew Li Lin would refuse, and judging by his determination, he intended to proceed deeper. Kassadin sighed but kept his counsel.
They carefully bypassed the Baccai and continued their journey towards the deepest part.
Under the guidance of the storm, they followed the traces left by the expedition, discovering two or three horribly mangled corpses along the way.
"They seem to have been gnawed by Kmiros beetles..." Kassadin lowered his voice, cautioning, "Although they pose no threat to us, it's still wise to be cautious."
Li Lin nodded, continuing through the pitch-dark corridor illuminated only by an inexplicable blue glow.
Time ticked away.
They covered another distance, and in the silent corridor, a faint, hoarse scream of a woman echoed.
Both of them halted.
Kassadin furrowed his brow, a spectral blade emerging from the back of his right wrist, ready for whatever lay ahead.
Li Lin summoned the storm that had been leading the way back to his side, putting the two floating robots into combat alert mode.
If he guessed correctly, this familiar scream should be from Cassiopeia, cursed when they opened the tomb door...
Li Lin and Kassadin didn't wait long; a cacophony of footsteps rapidly approached from the distance.
After about a minute, five Noxian guards rushed toward them, carrying a wailing girl whose legs had grotesquely elongated and twisted into an irregular shape.
Seeing Li Lin and Kassadin, the five guards immediately stopped, assuming combat stances with glowing swords.
"Why are you here?"
"Don't be like this; I have an agreement with Cassiopeia..."
While Li Lin spoke, he covertly connected with the storm above his head, locking onto the five soldiers in front of him.
Hearing Li Lin's words, the guards exchanged glances, skepticism evident on their faces.
Ashborne hastily asked the still conscious Cassiopeia, "Miss, is this guy named Li Lin tracking us... Did you arrange this?"
"Li Lin... Li Lin?!"
Upon hearing this name, Cassiopeia, suffering from intense pain, hurriedly had her guards put her down.
Her vertically slit pupils, which had changed from light brown to yellow-green, reflected two sets of powered armor emitting a blue light. A glimmer of hope appeared in her heart.
"Li, Li Lin! You... you're one of Lady Pale's people. Do you have an antidote to lift the curse?"
Her words were fragmented, and her speech was unclear.
However, through some crucial keywords, Li Lin deduced her problem.
The other soldiers from the Du Couteau family, trained by Cassiopeia's mother, did not show any change in expression upon hearing the name "Lady Pale."
"Sorry, this curse was inflicted by an Ascended warrior, fundamentally a celestial magic. Even an antidote can't heal your body."
Kassadin looked at Li Lin with a puzzled expression.
He had many questions in his mind, but it wasn't the time to ask now.
"What, what?!" Cassiopeia's expression was blank, a fearful look emerging on her face. "Impossible! There must be a way!"
"There is a way. It can stop the pain and mutation in your body."
Li Lin chuckled lightly, clearly seeing a glimmer of hope in Cassiopeia's eyes.
He gently raised his hand, and the two storm machines lifted their left arms.
As orange-yellow light illuminated the dim environment, five consecutive deafening gunshots echoed in the deep and silent corridor.
Five guards had bullet holes appearing in the center of their foreheads, falling instantly, losing their breath.
The recently supported Cassiopeia fell to the ground in a daze, with an expression of disbelief. "What... what did you do?!"
"Of course, I did what you wanted, right? As long as you die, all problems will be solved."
Li Lin slowly raised his right hand, the armor on his palm unfolded, and a blue-white energy glow gathered, emitting a "buzzing" charging sound.
"I, I believed in you so much!"
"Don't be foolish, Miss Du Couteau. We all know the truth."
Li Lin sneered, "You know I'm not Lady Pale's subordinate, and I know you never trusted me..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the energy sphere, reaching its limit, shot out from his palm, instantly covering the position where Cassiopeia had just been, now reduced to nothing.
"Oh... damn, forgot to ask you."
As the blue-white energy glow dissipated, Li Lin looked at the place where Cassiopeia had just been, shaking his head regretfully.
"Do you have any last words for your sister Katarina?"
(End of the Chapter)
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Capítulo 142: CHAPTER 142 - A Soul that has been silent for millennia
[You have defeated the Serpent's Embrace, Cassiopeia (Hero). You have leveled up by 1, gained 200 Blue Essences, 20 Orange Essences, and 2 skill points.]
[Congratulations! Your level has increased to 19, and you have gained 1 skill point.]
[Remaining skill points: 18]
[Wealth: 1400 Blue Essences, 170 Orange Essences]
...
Huh? How come the level-up and rewards for defeating Cassiopeia are so few this time? Li Lin, noticing the system prompt, felt perplexed.
Last time, killing Twitch got me a whopping 4 levels, 1000 Blue Essences, 100 Orange Essences, and 5 skill points.
Could it be because Cassiopeia hasn't reached the power level of the Ascended yet, so the rewards are reduced? Or perhaps, the rewards are based on the peak strength of the "heroes," regardless of their current power?
Quite likely.
But this needs further confirmation in the future...
Just as Li Lin pondered, Kassadin's soft call brought him back to reality: "Li Lin..."
His voice carried a hint of hesitation, as if he was debating whether to speak up.
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I believe there's nothing between us that needs to be concealed," Li Lin switched the storm mode, saying.
After some thought, Kassadin couldn't resist asking, "Earlier, you mentioned that the Noxian woman suffered a curse from an Ascended warrior..."
"Oh, you mean that? In the records of Shurima, during the Darkin War, there was a snake-headed God-warrior that wreaked havoc. Naganeka from the Zuretta, transformed into a serpent form, adept in using arcane poisons."
"That's her." Li Lin pointed to where Cassiopeia had been, "You should have seen she was poisoned; her legs were twisting into a long, tail-like shape."
Kassadin was stunned; he had been fully alert to the five Noxian soldiers and hadn't noticed Cassiopeia's transformation.
But Li Lin had no reason to deceive himself in this matter; he believed the words.
Then he raised a new question, "But what does the celestial magic refer to?"
"Magic actually has many types. For example, the 'sun' power injected into Ascended warriors by the sun disk is considered celestial magic..."
Li Lin briefly introduced the types of Runeterra magic he knew to Kassadin.
Of course, some of this information he learned from background knowledge, while more came from the books in Kiramman's collection.
As they continued towards the depths of the tomb, deliberately slowing their pace, Kassadin asked another question, "So, will that celestial magic awaken Azir's dormant soul?"
Li Lin wouldn't help save Sivir; that task would be left to Azir. He needed to place her in the Fountain of Life, capable of reviving only one person. This selfless act would reactivate Azir's ascension ritual, reshaping him into the form of an Ascended.
But all of this was conditional on opening the last enormous tomb door leading to the ancient tomb...
While Li Lin and Kassadin continued to stealthily navigate the narrowing passage, the entire tomb gradually shook.
Yellow sand poured down, and fragments of gravel hit the storm and their powered armor, producing crisp sounds.
"Damn it! What did those Noxians do?!" Kassadin's heart sank as he grabbed Li Lin, who was still trying to move forward, shouting, "The tomb is about to collapse. Let's escape quickly while we still can!"
"Don't panic..." Li Lin tried to remain calm, unaffected by Kassadin's urgency.
At this stage, the tomb door should be opening...
This thought had just crossed his mind when a distant and furious roar, obviously inhuman, echoed from the depths of the tomb.
Following that, a series of excited mad laughter, "Hahaha... Three thousand years, three thousand years! Renekton, Nasus, you can't contain me!"
Li Lin and Kassadin simultaneously felt a sour taste rising in their mouths, a normal physiological reaction when someone was casting magic.
Along with the last intense tremor and roar of the tomb, it seemed like huge rocks were falling in front of them.
The deep laughter gradually faded, and the inhuman roars also moved away.
Li Lin and Kassadin, still in shock, felt the sourness in their mouths dissipate, indicating that the two horrifying individuals escaping from the tomb had left.
Coming to his senses, Kassadin immediately guessed the owners of the two voices, "That was... the Ascended warrior Renekton and the traitor Xerath?! What you said was actually true..."
"Now that they've escaped, and the tomb is no longer shaking, the last door should be fully open," Li Lin glanced at Kassadin beside him, "There's probably no more danger ahead. Let's get going."
...
...
Endless flames, colossal celestial magic, instantly incinerated the physical body.
Pain, then complete silence.
Unable to sense space, not even the meaning of time existed.
But a mysterious, blood-connected disturbance awakened a man's soul, dormant for thousands of years, from the depths of the ancient tomb.
"What... happened?" his weak voice echoed in the endless darkness, "Am I... dead?"
He seemed bewildered by his current state.
Pain...
An attempt to recall what happened on the day of the ascension ceremony would make the man feel a tearing pain in his soul.
"I am... Azir... why... did the ascension ritual fail... this is impossible..."
As a semi-transparent figure gradually took shape, Azir began to restore his original form before death.
However, he was not complete now, just a visible soul connected by a tangible dust, sustained by his only remaining indomitable will.
Azir stumbled in his steps, aimlessly wandering in the ruins of the ancient tomb.
"My empire... Shurima... has collapsed..."
He could feel the deep sorrow in the depths of his soul, yet his eyes couldn't shed a single tear.
"No... there is still a chance..."
Suddenly, Azir's gaze turned to a direction, where the once Dawn Oasis was located.
He could sense that, after his revival, the collapsed sun disk responded to his will, once again releasing the last drop of the water of life.
Although meager, it was enough for him to reshape his body and return to the mortal world.
As long as he could fully resurrect, rebuilding the Shuriman Empire was not a difficult task!
A glimmer of hope flashed in Azir's eyes, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace towards the Dawn Oasis.
Under the flow of magical energy from the ancient tomb, the yellow sand on the ground gathered, as if re-crowning the fallen emperor, gradually forming the temporary structure of his body.
However, as Azir just stepped out of the tomb's main gate, a girl lying in a pool of blood not far away suddenly caught his attention.
A feeling of blood connection...
But quickly, his gaze turned to a narrow passage leading to the great hall.
Two individuals in strange, intricate metal armor ran out, followed by two peculiar floating objects.
Azir's brows, formed by flowing sand, slightly furrowed, and in a hoarse and low voice, he asked, "Who are you?"
(End of this chapter)
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