บท 344: CHAPTER 344 - Only Those You Love Can Hurt Your Heart
As the Kog'Maw battlefield mechs unleashed a relentless barrage of plasma fire and the War Lord's matter disintegration projectiles continued their onslaught, the countdown for the megaton cannon reached its conclusion—it was ready.
The force field shield of the war machine had long entered cooldown, and for the next half minute, it relied on energy barriers to withstand the plasma fire, consuming a vast amount of energy.
Of course, this was partly due to the AI deliberately guiding the War Lord's disintegration projectiles away from Li Lin's position; without that, the energy barriers wouldn't hold.
[The megaton cannon is ready, Master. I strongly advise you to leave this forest or ascend to a higher altitude without the force field shield.]
"Yeah, I know."
The fully powered megaton cannon could easily cover the surrounding forest within a radius of 5 kilometers.
Despite being a kinetic artillery, the destructive power of the megaton cannon was sufficient to annihilate any known material.
This is the real world, not a game; there's no such thing as "friendly fire immunity." It is entirely possible for a weapon one creates to end up killing its maker.
Without the force field shield, Li Lin dared not linger, quickly issuing commands for the remaining Kog'Maw mechs, Skarner, to teleport to safety.
He maneuvered the war machine to blink away from the coverage of the plasma projectiles, then pushed the pulse thrusters to their maximum, soaring into the sky.
"Fire!"
Once he reached an altitude of seven or eight kilometers above the ground, he gave the AI the command.
[Understood, firing the megaton cannon!]
In an instant, a pure white beam surged forth, effortlessly overpowering the blue barrage of plasma and disintegration projectiles.
The overwhelming energy exceeded the energy detector's threshold of the war machine, rapidly covering the entire dark forest in less than the blink of an eye, expanding outward in a massive mushroom cloud towards the sky.
Even though the mech had the capability to filter out strong light, Li Lin instinctively shielded his face with his hand.
It took over ten seconds for the brilliant light to gradually fade.
As he looked down again, Li Lin noticed a nearly hundred-meter-deep chasm had opened at the center of the forest beneath him.
"—Hiss! The power of this…" Li Lin couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
This was his first time utilizing the megaton cannon, a weapon of such immense power.
Even though he had previously conducted data analysis with Heimerdinger, Jayce, and Viktor regarding the cannon's capabilities, the mere figures were vastly different from the sensory experience of witnessing its might firsthand.
Feeling a mix of awe and relief, Li Lin couldn't shake off a sense of fortune.
It was fortunate that such a powerful weapon was under his control.
If the megaton cannon could unleash such destruction, what would the celestial satellite and the Gaboga mech, equipped with a gigaton cannon, whose power exceeded the standard megaton cannon by more than ten times, be capable of?
Not to mention the nuclear fusion strategic missile technology he now commanded; by the time he reached level 75 and unlocked "Applied Quantum Mechanics," he would also gain access to the new-style missile, the "Quantum Bomb."
Li Lin even felt that he had significantly underestimated his own combat capabilities…
The energy index created by the megaton cannon skyrocketed, and its dispersal rate was not slow either.
After a minute had passed, Li Lin took a moment to collect himself. Once the energy index below stabilized, he quickly began to search for any anomalies in the energy readings.
He understood that this strike alone wouldn't deter Fiddlesticks, so his main objective was to locate Morgana, who might have been affected by the megaton cannon's shockwave.
[Master, the nearest energy anomaly is located at the Silent lake, 4.3 kilometers to the southeast.]
Receiving the AI's notification, Li Lin pinpointed the coordinates and activated the mech's "Hextech Teleport" function.
In just three or four seconds, his vision shifted, crossing several kilometers to arrive at the Silent lake beyond Demacia's borders.
The holographic display immediately captured the image of a woman kneeling by the lakeshore, her two pairs of differently sized wings bound by iron chains.
She faced away from Li Lin, her hands pressed to the ground, and her wings hung helplessly, her drooping head seemingly staring at her reflection in the crystal-clear lake.
However, Li Lin sensed a profound negativity emanating from Morgana.
He took a few cautious steps forward, daring not to approach too closely, softly calling her name, "Morgana?"
Morgana did not respond.
Logically, given the quiet surroundings, it would not betray its name of "Silent."
Li Lin's voice had been amplified by the mech's speaker, so she shouldn't have been unable to hear him.
After a moment's hesitation, he decided to use "Data Mind" to check Morgana's status.
[Name: Morgana]
[Race: Rakkor, Justice Star Spirit (Human Host).]
[Personal Status: Assault of Fear.]
[Assault of Fear: The fear power of the demon has deeply penetrated her heart. The victim will completely succumb to their inner fears and gradually be consumed by that terror, losing their soul and intellect, ultimately becoming sustenance for the fear demon.]
"This…"
Li Lin couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
So, it turned out that Morgana's earlier "Dark Shield" had shattered not due to being breached by Fiddlesticks, but because her master had fallen into an abnormal state.
[Master, I advise against approaching Lady Morgana in her current state.]
[According to my calculations, her desire to attack any living being nearby is at 84.33%!]
As soon as the AI's reminder faded, Morgana, over twenty meters away from Li Lin, seemed to sense his presence, her form shifting slightly.
Reacting quickly, Li Lin assumed a defensive stance, ready to activate his "Blink" ability to distance himself from this half-star-spirit host.
Although the nano-energy core had recharged, the Armor's frame had sustained over twenty percent damage, and the force field shield was still on cooldown. The mech was enchanted with a "self-repair" rune, but due to the advanced materials used in its construction, it would take at least an hour for the warrior to fully recover.
Engaging with the unusually agitated Morgana at this moment would clearly be unwise.
However, to Li Lin's surprise, Morgana did not attack him mercilessly, as he had anticipated, nor as the AI had predicted.
She simply rose to her feet, turning to reveal a half of her melancholic face, her features adorned with a smoky makeup that betrayed the remnants of tears, as though she had just finished a sorrowful weep.
"Do you... have someone you love?"
Li Lin was caught off guard by Morgana's question.
Could this be a "death sentence"?
Morgana noticed his hesitation and turned fully, momentarily stunned by the towering warrior mech before her, then shook her head with a bittersweet smile.
"You can't possibly think I'm under the influence of a fear demon, can you?"
Yet my system panel indicates that you are indeed affected by Fiddlesticks…
Seeing Li Lin remain silent, Morgana sighed heavily, her gaze dropping. "Well, it seems there's a little truth to that…"
Once more, crystalline tears flowed from the corner of her eyes, enhanced by her dark violet makeup, gathering at her chin.
"I'm sorry... I couldn't help you." After a brief pause to gather her thoughts, she continued, "The fear demon revealed to me the darkest aspects of my heart."
She recalled the relentless images in her mind: her father, Zhiram, brutally slain by intruders, her sister, fatally pierced by the shadowy sword that had once been her own, dying with a gaze filled with resentment…
These scenes were only a fraction of the horrors that plagued her thoughts.
There were other terrifying memories that haunted her: facing execution at the hands of Kayle's followers, her mother, Mikhira, returning as a vengeful spirit, questioning her for not protecting Zhiram, and even her mother's resentment towards the sisters for failing to wield the powers of the celestial beings, intent on reclaiming their legacy.
Morgana reminded herself time and again that these images were mere dark magic conjured by the fear demon, not reflections of reality.
But as she delved deeper into the demon-infested forest, the nightmares clawed at her mind, suffocating her resolve.
Ultimately, Morgana's emotions spiraled out of control.
She lost sight of her purpose, oblivious to her surroundings, fleeing in terror from the forest to this lake she cherished, engulfed in deep sorrow and fear.
Had it not been for Li Lin's arrival, which rekindled the memory of her mission, she might have succumbed to Fiddlesticks' influence for ages.
"Only those you love can truly hurt your heart…" Morgana sighed deeply, uttering this enigmatic statement.
Then, she raised her right hand, her slender, pale fingers curling slightly as she conjured a ball of cold, black flame.
In an instant, the flame enveloped her entire being, forming a purplish-black magical barrier around her.
Li Lin felt a surge of bitterness rise in his throat as he watched a dark aura envelop Morgana. Amidst the brilliance of the Brawler mech, her shadow twisted grotesquely on the ground.
In the next moment, chains ablaze with black fire erupted from Morgana's back, piercing through her but not into the ground; instead, they sank into the shadows beneath her.
"—Ugh!" she let out a muffled cry of pain, her face contorting in agony.
Li Lin watched, tense, as the scene unfolded.
With each passing second, a shrill scream, piercing as if to reach the depths of the soul, emanated from the area where Morgana's shadow lay.
Her soul chains struggled, as if bound by some heavy weight, pulling against an unseen force.
In an instant, a grotesquely twisted figure emerged from her shadow, ensnared by the chains, floating before her in mid-air.
"Thank you for adding a few more indelible images to my mind!" Morgana hissed through gritted teeth.
Then, with both hands ignited in chilling black flames, she swung her arms towards the twisted figure, driving the soul chains deep into its dark magical form, tearing it apart from within.
Amidst its eerie, high-pitched wail, the creature disintegrated under the celestial magic, dissolving into specks of darkness and dust before them.
Morgana lowered her chains, letting her arms drop, exhaling with an unnatural sigh of relief, a glint of apology in her gaze as she turned back to Li Lin.
"I'm glad you're okay."
Yes… I'm relieved as well.
Li Lin merely shook his head. "I destroyed the forest influenced by the fear demon."
Morgana's expression shifted in surprise. "That immense energy just now was released by you?!"
Before Li Lin could respond, realization dawned on her.
Since she could sense the power of the "Sun," what did this energy truly signify?
Unwittingly, Morgana found herself regarding Li Lin with even greater respect.
"Forget that; it's not important."
She took a deep breath and approached Li Lin, standing by his side as they faced the foreboding forest in the distance.
"Do you feel it?"
Li Lin stared intently at the data panel of his system, his expression grave. "The terrifying dark magic is gathering… we're in serious trouble."
"Yes," Morgana replied, her lips pressed together. "Now, we are about to witness the true power of the primordial demon."
(End of Chapter)
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