Void Beetle Evolution Guide

"Fine." After hearing Anaka's reply, Zolani just sighed slightly, seemingly annoyed at the effort she was about to expend.

"I only used the blood magic that every Darkin possesses. As for how I did it, you'll find out once I control you."

Chapter 387 Nemesis

The three Darkin were locked in battle in the blink of an eye. Tarush, controlled by Zoranny, directly suppressed Anaka, while she herself assisted with chains.

Anaca was already exerting all her strength just to defend against the halberd in front of her, and had no time to pay attention to the chains around her that slithered like venomous snakes, gradually falling into a disadvantageous position.

Taroosh's halberd, crackling with lightning, crashed down on Anaka. Anaka raised her spear and tried her best to block Shark Tooth, but was struck by the leaping lightning snakes, her limbs going numb and she half-kneeling on the ground.

Zolani's attacks from behind skillfully evaded her manta ray-shaped bone wings, tore open her scales, whipping out wounds, and then pierced her body with chains that went through her bones.

Tarouch roared silently, unable to control his body or transmit information to Anaka. He could only watch in agony as she repeated his mistakes.

First, he was injured, and then Zolani secretly injected magic into his wounds until every muscle in his body was under her control.

Just when he thought everything was over, a dark red ripple tore through the air, accompanied by a heart-pounding roar, and the giant sword embedded with the beating heart crashed to the ground.

A giant sword suddenly appeared and forcibly separated the two. A sword mark was cleaved through the clouds high in the sky. The owner of the giant sword spread his wings, and the blood-red light overflowing from the wing membranes dyed the clouds into a hellish landscape.

He looked down at the battlefield, his gaze toward Zolani filled with destructive madness and an almost tangible sense of oppression, as if he wanted to nail her soul to the cross of repentance.

“Aatrox…” Everyone said his name almost in unison.

Zolani's pupils dilated violently. Before she could even draw her sword, she instinctively took a half-step back, her features contorting uncontrollably into a ferocious expression, like a raging beast that had been provoked.

Enemies meeting are bound to be filled with intense hatred. The seeds of this bitter feud between these two arch-enemies were sown thousands of years ago.

It can be said that Aatrox was the culprit who caused Zolane to turn to the dark side.

In order to suppress the Void, many of Aatrox's comrades died in the Void Wars, which made Aatrox hate Icathia. Naturally, he also disliked Zolani, who came from Icathia.

Aatrox believed that Icathia should be completely incorporated into the empire, either completely taken over or completely destroyed, rather than being allowed to govern as a vassal state after the walls were torn down, leaving fertile ground for resentment to grow.

Those reactionary forces dared to kill a Celestial Warrior before releasing the Void. Even if they were not destroyed by the Void, they are all sinners.

Zolani, as a pacifist, believed that the lingering effects of that war caused the Icathians to become uneasy and, unable to gain the approval of Shurima, to take the risk of seeking an evil force capable of fighting against the Ascended Empire.

Zolani openly opposed the emperor at the time, saying that if there had been no war, and if the emperor had not ignored the demands of the people of Icathia, the subsequent disaster would not have occurred.

However, she was publicly humiliated and ridiculed by Aatrox, who said that she was so stupid as to promote childish anti-war ideas in a country built on constant conquest, and told her to go back to Icathia.

The two thus developed a grudge. Later, Zolani was chosen by the priest to participate in the ascension ceremony because of her meritorious service in saving lives on the front lines and in the rear, and became one of the ascended ones.

This news infuriated Aatrox, not only because of Zolane's sensitive identity, but also because he was indignant that she could be granted ascension so easily.

Who among those who ascended wasn't a hero of Shurima? He fought valiantly on the front lines, but what did Zorani do?

Why did the Icathians not have a single Ascension slot before the incident, but Zoranny immediately received one afterward? She even ascended before the war was over.

Many people don't understand or approve of Zoranny's ascension, but few are like Aatrox who directly flaunts his achievements based on his hard work.

No one wanted to stand against Aatrox, so Zoranny naturally became ostracized and isolated. And since Ascended beings have very long lifespans, after all her mortal friends died, she was completely alone.

After the fall of Emperor Azir, fierce fighting broke out within Shurima, and the Ascended were undoubtedly the strongest force in this war.

Many of the Ascended who experienced the Void Wars had their souls corrupted, their personalities altered, becoming more bloodthirsty and warlike. Zoranny had long appealed for a ceasefire, but was deliberately targeted by Aatrox in retaliation. (The last two lines appear to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

Licking her wounds, Zolani, who had harbored resentment for a long time, finally went to extremes. She gradually realized that the best way to regain peace was to control the other Darkin.

In terms of pure martial prowess, Zolani is almost among the weakest Ascended, let alone capable of defeating Aatrox, who stands at the pinnacle of combat strength. After the death of the Ascended Queen Setaka, he was practically the undisputed strongest.

So Zolani thought of changing the life magic originally used to heal the wounded into blood magic to manipulate flesh and blood, in order to enslave all the ascendants.

She studied blood magic earlier and more diligently than any other Darkin, which is why Zoranny's blood magic is so powerful.

However, at the beginning of the plan, Zolani encountered some problems—the bodies of the Ascended had been reshaped by the power of the Celestials, and their veins were filled with sand instead of blood, so blood magic had no effect.

Just when Zoranny was at her wit's end, a Twilight Protoss approached her. This Protoss also wanted to end the Darkin War, and the two hit it off immediately. Together, they researched a way to seal the Ascended and taught it to mortals.

This is why Ascended beings, after being reborn as Darkin, instinctively learn blood magic. Zoranny had laid the groundwork a thousand years ago to ensure that the Darkin could not resist her.

Having been informed in advance by the Twilight Protoss, Zoranny accepted Tayanari's invitation to attend the meeting later known as the Twilight of the Gods, which also marked the beginning of the end of the Darkin era.

What Zoranny didn't expect was that the Twilight Protoss used this incident to gain her trust, and after helping her seal away most of the Darkin, they immediately betrayed her.

She was sealed within a Darkin weapon by the Twilight Protoss, and ended up abandoned by everyone. Tragic. Lamentable.

Fortunately, fate smiled upon her; what couldn't kill her only made her stronger. A thousand years later, Zorani was reborn as a Darkborn, and she also benefited from this misfortune, her Blood Demon power becoming even purer and more powerful.

In contrast, her enemies, no longer possessing the light-forged bodies of the Ascended, had all become pure flesh and blood, making them the best targets for blood magic.

The goddess of healing transformed into a goddess of vengeance, and thus, a bloody revenge began.

Chapter 388 Beneath the Altar

Aatrox cleaved through the clouds, forcibly stopping the two sides who were locked in fierce combat with a single sword strike.

He landed with a thud, dragging his sword as he walked step by step toward Zolani, each step carrying a terrifying pressure.

When Zolanie was reborn, Aatrox, who was far away on the other side of the ocean, felt her return.

Similarly, Zoranny also received Aatrox's kill order, feeling his irresistible killing intent across most of Runeterra.

Without a doubt, this is the nemesis she must find a way to defeat.

Zolani straightened her back, no longer backing down, and stared at Aatrox across the distance, making no attempt to hide her murderous intent.

Kaisa, who was secretly observing, watched as the two drew closer and closer, locked in a fierce confrontation, their gazes sparking with tension.

There seemed to be some unspoken rule, and neither of them made a move, as if whoever made the first move would be admitting defeat.

Finally, Aatrox stopped just a step away from Zoranny.

At this distance, Zolani could even clearly hear the greatsword's furious heartbeat.

She had to be completely focused to make sure she could dodge Aatrox's sword in an instant.

Aatrox has also fallen into the chains woven by Zolani, and if he is not careful, he will be affected by blood magic.

However, he exuded a strong confidence, an unwavering confidence that he would never lose, as if he were invincible among the Darkborn.

“Icathian coward, what gives you the courage to appear before me?” Aatrox stepped forward with his right leg, leaning forward and staring down menacingly, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked, every movement exuding extreme aggression. His torn wings rose in response. “You must know, the battlefield is never a hiding place for cowards.”

“You’ve never been very obedient, Aatrox, but you will be now.” Zolani, though shorter, was not to be outdone and bumped Aatrox’s fist back with her own.

Aatrox narrowed his eyes and said fiercely, "It took me too long to smash your statue. This time, I'll give you a quick death."

"Die!" Zolani's shriek tore through the night sky. The chains that hovered around her emerged like venomous snakes, and scarlet runes flowed across them, instantly weaving a death net that devoured everything.

Aatrox spread his wings and delivered a powerful shoulder ram, breaking Zolani's control. He then swung his greatsword at Zolani as she flew backward.

A crimson sword aura pursued relentlessly, even cleaving the moonlight in two. Zolani sensed immense threat from the fierce gale, and with a thrust of her arms, she unleashed a pair of chain scythes wrapped around her arms, extinguishing the sword aura with a strangling motion. (The last two lines appear to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated text.)

Aatrox stomped his feet heavily on the ground, and before Zolani could even land, he had already shot towards her like an arrow and swung his greatsword.

The sword slashed downwards in a long arc, leaving the latter no time to counterattack and forcing them to defend passively, holding the chains in front of them.

The blade struck her squarely in the chest, the iron rings of the chain shattering from the impact, and Zolani was flung against the altar wall. The stone wall was smashed open, and dust from the underground tomb surged out through the cracks.

She spun around like a ghost before the boulder at the top rolled down, her chain blades transforming into a blood-red whirlwind aimed straight for Aatrox's throat, only to be blasted away by the latter's counter-attack with a sword aura.

A crimson sword aura burst forth from her body, and Zoranny crashed into the ruins once again. Before she could even get up, Aatrox had already flown low over the uneven ground and arrived in front of her, pressing the living greatsword against her neck.

"You've lost." The Darkin Blademaster coldly declared, his voice suppressing madness, as if he could only find a moment of peace and solace in battle.

“No, this is just the beginning!” Amidst the thunderous pounding of her heart, Zolani revealed a cruel, provocative smile.

The words had barely left his mouth when a thunderous battle halberd hurtled through the air. Lightning filled his entire field of vision, and Aatrox dodged to the side, his cheek still scorched by the sparks of electricity.

In the blink of an eye, Zolani had already created distance and was being pulled up onto the altar by chains. Like a puppeteer stepping onto a stage, she stretched out her hands and controlled the puppets through invisible threads of blood.

Having failed in his sneak attack, Taroosh retrieved his halberd and launched a series of fierce attacks on Aatrox.

"Tarrush? Do you know what you're doing?" Aatrox roared as he deflected Tarrush's furious onslaught.

Unlike Kai'Sa and Wild Hunt, he witnessed the entire event and couldn't understand why his own people would betray him at such a crucial moment.

Actually, he already felt something was wrong when he saw Tarush and Anaka fighting from the sky, but his murderous intent toward Zoranny overwhelmed everything else, including the unresolved questions.

"General! She tricked me! She controlled me with blood magic!" Tarouch desperately brandished his halberd. "I...I can't control myself...Kill me!"

Zoranny controlled Tarouch's body to attack, but this time she deliberately didn't seal his mouth, and the latter's struggles were immediately released through this only channel.

The voices of his former comrades disturbed Aatrox's mind. He hadn't expected that he would have to step over the corpses of his Darkin brethren before killing Zolani. But when he remembered that this was Zolani's underhanded trick to sow discord among them, he hardened his heart and decided to give Tarouch a good end.

Aatrox didn't dwell on it for long. After all, they wouldn't really die; it would just destroy a physical body, and they could find another host later.

"Don't worry, I will break the shackles of this physical body for you." Just as Aatrox was about to cut off Taroosh's head, Anaka suddenly appeared from the side and blocked his way.

"General, leave Tarouch to me. You focus on dealing with Zolani!" she said stubbornly, covered in wounds, seemingly ready to teach this arrogant and conceited woman who had almost killed her a lesson herself.

"No! Don't listen to her, she's being controlled by Zoranny too! You have to kill us all!" Tarouch screamed in panic, his voice trembling with pleading cries.

"Nonsense! I wasn't controlled!" Anaka retorted, thrusting out her spear and engaging in a fierce battle. The clanging of the two weapons produced a piercing screeching sound.

Aatrox was momentarily at a loss as to whose advice to take, but fortunately, Naafiri and Horaz arrived just in time. With them watching over the two, Aatrox could finally fight with peace of mind.

"Zorani, your death is near." Aatrox rose into the sky, his sword pointed at Zorani.

"Simply using numbers to bully the few is not a skill."

"I can take you down by myself; they just need to cover for me."

"Is that so? You'd better keep your word."

Zolani snorted coldly, and the altar beneath her feet trembled once more. The huge tentacle-like structure at its top burst open piece by piece in full view of everyone, followed by an unexpected dragon roar that came from the cracks.

Chapter 389 Blood Dragon Bu Lai

The altar trembled violently, and strange tentacle-like structures peeled off, from which a dragon's roar emanated.

"What's in there?" Kasha was puzzled by the sound. She had seen dragons before and dealt with the two dragon girls every day, so she knew very well what a dragon's roar should sound like.

The sounds she heard were similar, yet distinctly different. And how could a dragon's body possibly fit inside such long, thin tentacles? Something was definitely wrong.

Wild Hunt was equally focused. He saw a pair of blood-red claws emerge from the crack, like a creature breaking free of its cocoon and tearing its shell to emerge, revealing a creature made entirely of thick, foul-smelling blood.

It was also a dragon, but not a giant dragon with wings on its back; rather, it was the image of an Eastern dragon soaring through the clouds in his memory.

Its body is as long and slender as a python, with two horns on its head and flowing whiskers at the corners of its mouth. The surging waves form a mane behind its back, as if it were drawn with ink soaked in blood.

"Ionia... the dragon?" Wild Hunt said the name with some uncertainty. If Ahri were here, she might understand what he was saying.

The blood dragon emerged from the altar and circled in the sky for a few weeks before hovering around Zolani, enveloping and protecting her. Its bloodthirsty vertical pupils stared at the Darkin who wanted to oppose her, and it gradually bared its fangs.

Its appearance caused the Darkin to halt their actions. Horaz, who had just arrived at the battlefield, looked the blood dragon up and down thoughtfully, sensing the familiar aura emanating from it, and then uttered a name that was exactly what he expected.

“Brai? Didn’t you kill him?” Horaz took out the broken folding fan. Does the destruction of a Darkin weapon mean death?

She quickly glanced at Aatrox, who was hovering in the air, to see how he would react.

Aatrox has always been pursuing self-destruction, even at the cost of destroying everything in his path. He is an enemy of himself, an enemy of the world, and will ultimately become the enemy of the Darkin who refuse to die.

So even though he was a good general before, only a minority of Darkin were willing to follow him to the death, and Horaz did not firmly stand on Aatrox's side.

If there were a way to escape the shackles of weapons and survive, most Darkin would probably choose to spare Zoranny's life and turn a blind eye to her betrayal.

Aatrox's hand gripping the sword trembled almost imperceptibly, as if he were possessed. If destruction was meaningless, then what had his madness of the past years amounted to?

However, Zolani immediately confirmed Blai's death, saying, "Blai is indeed free, but the host he chose is quite interesting, so I kept his body to refine it."

The host chosen by Blai is the Ionian Spirit Dragon, a creature that exists only in the spiritual realm. Their appearance bears some resemblance to the legendary dragons, except for details such as the lack of four claws and scales; they can be considered miniature, simplified versions of the dragons.

They are composed of emerald green mountains and rivers, imbued with spiritual energy, and are beautiful creatures created by nature. Even Zolani, who is also sealed in Ionia, has never seen them.

The Misty Sword Tomb where she was sealed was filled with many spirits, but those spirits were full of malevolent energy, in order to keep people away from that ancient battlefield and away from her true form.

Zolani had tried using those spirits as hosts before, but she had never succeeded. Perhaps the spirit dragon was different from the evil spirits she had encountered, which was why she was so interested when she saw Blai's host.

So she separated the dragon from Blai's corpse and used his flesh and blood to create a new body for the dragon, adding four claws, a tail, and many details to make it more vivid and lifelike, turning it into the evil creature it is now.

"It's no use, no one can save you today." Aatrox swung his greatsword horizontally, making a whistling sound as he did so. His determination to kill Zolani would not change because of anything.

"Then let it play with you for a while." Zolani pointed at Aatrox, and the huge blood dragon immediately took to the air, opening its blood-red maw and slithering towards the latter.

Aatrox swung his greatsword, and the surging sword energy cleaved the blood dragon's head in two. Blood splattered everywhere, turning into a thick rain of blood, but it condensed again in the air the next second, instantly restoring the complete dragon head. It let out a deafening roar and swallowed the dragon whole into its tooth-filled belly.

The blood dragon circled in the air, and just as the others were about to rush to its aid, a dark red blood mist exploded inside its belly. Aatrox burst out of its body, covered in blood, flapped its wings, chased after it, and swung its greatsword repeatedly, but only stirred up a sky full of blood flowers, unable to destroy it.

The blood dragon created by Zoranny using blood magic was essentially no different from a water elemental; it lacked a true physical form. Aatrox's attacks were ineffective against it, like hitting cotton – all force was wasted.

But he couldn't ignore the Blood Dragon's attacks; those bites could be fatal if left unchecked. Knowing this, he didn't want to waste time pointlessly fighting the Blood Dragon, but it stood in his way, preventing him from getting close to Zolani.

"You're still that coward after all!"

Aatrox was so angry that he started cursing, but Zolani had heard it so many times that she was no longer bothered by it.