Void Beetle Evolution Guide

A staff, and a pearl! Nami was getting closer to the pool, but her excitement outweighed her fear.

If we can bring these back, we can report back to the elders and save the merfolk!

However, her hope was extinguished just a few steps away from the staff when a withered arm suddenly emerged from the pool and grabbed the staff before she could reach it.

Chapter 573 Another Kind of Hunger

A withered arm, resembling a demon from hell, suddenly emerged from the pool of regeneration and grabbed the Tidecaller's Staff before Nami could react, causing her to recoil in fright. But when she saw the other's appearance, the fear in her heart prevented her from uttering a complete sentence.

"Rasha? Is that you...?"

Webbed claws dragged his emaciated body out of the pool; his mermaid tail, unique to merfolk, was now withered and shriveled like a dried corpse. Yes, this was Rasha, the warrior who competed with Nami for the title of Tidecaller.

Even though his face had been corrupted by the void into a hideous form, and a terrifying single eye protruding from his forehead that was about to fall off, Nami could never forget this once most formidable rival.

"I never expected to see you here."

Upon hearing Nami's voice, the madness in Rasha's purple and chaotic eyes subsided slightly, and a chilling smile appeared on his withered lips that couldn't cover his teeth.

This is very strange. Merfolk never suffer from shriveled lips. How could they, who are adapted to life underwater, become dehydrated in the sea? Rasha's current appearance makes Nami feel alienated and terrified.

"Of course I'll stay here; someone has to bring the deep-sea pearl back—"

"Pearls are completely meaningless!"

Rasha interrupted Nami's righteous words with a hoarse voice, then met her gaze with a mesmerizing look, as if she were in a trance: "Did you see it? Did you see the other side? You can't imagine what a miracle I saw."

"..." Nami fell silent; all she could see in the pool were traps and death.

“You don’t know, but I do! I witnessed death and then came back unharmed.”

"All right...?"

“You don’t know my power. You don’t understand our power either.” Rasha spoke to himself, like a fanatical missionary tearing his throat, squeezing out broken, remnant sounds from his lungs.

“Hold my hand. We can bring this power to our people, and they will never have to fear again.”

Nami looked at Rasha's outstretched hand, then glanced hesitantly at Kaisa beside her. Though her expression was hidden behind the helmet, Nami could feel a surge of hatred emanating from her, gathering in her clenched fists.

Kasha's eyes widened. In Rasha, she saw the shadow of the person she hated most. His incessant chatter was exactly the same as Malzahar's when he was spouting nonsense.

These Adventists who willingly submit to the Void are even more despicable than pure Void Beasts!

In an instant, Nami had made her choice.

Her face was grave as she reached out to Lasha. Just as she was about to touch those withered arms, Nami's hand instead grasped the Tidecaller's Staff and stabbed it at Lasha. "You're busy, Merlin's not available... You're here, Merlin's not here..."

"Without fear, how can there be courage?"

The person she was facing was no longer the Rasha she knew, but a crazed monster who wanted to sacrifice his people to the horrors of the abyss.

The top of the Tidecaller's Staff is a rapidly spinning ring of waves that easily rips a large hole in the sunken chest, just like a chainsaw.

Lasha convulsed as the magical currents washed over him, then collapsed by the pool. Nami felt a wave of nausea; she had actually killed one of her own kind with her own hands, ignoring the fact that no blood was flowing from her wounds.

The matter did not end with Rasha's death. Nami saw that the previously calm surface of the pool suddenly began to ripple, and the ripples became more and more intense.

It seems something is about to break through the barrier...

The strange light that suddenly appeared in the pool shocked Nami. She witnessed a tangible void energy passing through the surface of the pool and quickly transforming into a giant, physical tentacle.

The tentacles were incredibly smooth, enveloped in liquid void energy, without any markings or suction cups, yet crackling purple arcs of electricity swirled around them.

Nami could no longer dodge, as the arc of electricity struck her, numbing her body before leaving scorch marks.

Kaisa grabbed Nami's shoulder from behind, pulling her backward as she watched in disbelief as several more tentacles emerged from the pool, dragging out a horrifying form.

It was a gigantic, one-eyed, absurd creature floating in the air, its entire body wreathed in purple lightning, with flames burning within its enormous eye. It was somewhat similar to the tentacle monster that had appeared earlier, but its form had reached a state of perfection.

The single eye, devoid of eyelids and encased in a hard shell, darted stealthily with the twitching of strong, scarlet muscles. Three slightly smaller eyeballs above it emitted a blinding purple light, like searchlights; the warm light shone on her face, and Nami felt an immediate burning pain on her skin. Three enormous tentacles twitched incessantly, producing cracking sounds like whips lashing out. The tentacles were dark purple, their color intensifying towards the tips.

Just a fleeting glance from its gaze sent a violent reaction through Nami, a sour taste rising in her mouth. Her reason, like a spool thrown into the darkness, was being frantically pulled apart, and she desperately tried to scream.

But she dared not scream; she suppressed a scream through her teeth, afraid that even the slightest movement would attract the monster's attention and make it focus its gaze.

“Vek’s…” The Wild Hunt, who had been silent until now, issued a stern warning, causing Kai’Sa to stand ready and shield Nami behind her: “Be careful, this individual is very intelligent, extremely intelligent, even as intelligent as Bervis.”

Anyone with even a slight understanding of the ancient Shurima lore will know the meaning of the name Vel'Koz.

Although the name cannot be accurately translated into modern language, it is roughly equivalent to "understanding through decomposition".

In other words, it means that "knowledge comes from decomposition".

It is a monster that existed long before the birth of civilization in Shurima. Its insatiable thirst for knowledge has guided Vel'Koz to roam the world, from the highest peaks to the darkest valleys, and it has silently wandered through the entire Runeterra.

For eight thousand years, the cunning and ruthless Vicz has quietly observed the rise, stagnation, and decline of countless civilizations. It has spent centuries searching for the secrets of the ocean depths and has even divined the movement of the stars in the heavens.

Vel'Koz is the eye of the Watchers to observe the material realm. Every so often, Vel'Koz returns to Icathia, every few hundred or even thousands of years, to give a periodic report—bringing back the knowledge it has gathered to the great rift in the material foundation of Runeterra so that the Watchers may know what it knows.

Thanks to the knowledge brought back by Vel'Koz, the Watchers learned the secrets of biological evolution, the composition of human civilization, and so on. The various forms of Void objects were not the result of natural selection. Their evolution into different forms was inextricably linked to Vel'Koz's contributions.

And now, this "researcher" is staring straight at them!

Chapter 574 Crisis Arrives

Purple arcs of electricity emanated from the monster's eyes and tentacles, crackling and scorching the nearby seawater before scrambling into its chitinous shell and disappearing.

Emerging from the regeneration pool, Vel'Koz focused his blinking eye on Kai'Sa, his strange gaze clearly revealing a thoughtful expression.

It was very curious about the humanoid individual that exuded the same aura, but the outer chitinous shell blocked the analysis process.

This problem was easily overcome. In an instant, Vel'Koz was already looming over her, casting a malevolent gaze upon Kai'Sa.

Nothing can outpace light; the radiation intensified, and Kai'Sa was bathed in a ghastly purple light. (The rest of the text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

She looked up at the bulging single eye, their pupils meeting, and felt a hunger beyond imagination.

This hunger was not a craving for flesh and blood, but something deeper. The soul teetered on such a profound edge, while its relentless hunger dragged her down.

If it weren't for the fact that her entire body was covered in armor, the moment our eyes met, she would have already become a soulless shell, her pupils filled with the color of the abyss.

Even so, she still heard it; something seemed to be pried open in her mind, and the Wild Hunt's warning had disappeared without a trace.

The monster stretched out its tentacles towards her, and an inexplicable urge compelled Kai'Sa to open her helmet, welcoming her inevitable annihilation.

Kasha is not a merman after all. At a depth of nearly 10,000 meters, once she opens her helmet, her head will be gently crushed like foam under the pressure of millions of tons of water.

Do not!

A gap opened in the skin on her chin, but then it closed tightly again. The sudden stinging pain jolted Kaisa awake, her face contorted in a grimace.

She slapped away the tentacle that was already reaching her eyes, secretly relieved that the Wild Hunt had once again pulled her faltering sanity back from the brink of despair.

The single eye's gaze could manipulate minds, more directly and powerfully than the allure of the World Runes, surpassing all the bewitching magic she knew.

"What an interesting sample."

Vicz admitted that he had misjudged the humanoid creature before him; it seemed to possess an above-average will and had refused his forced access, which only intensified his deadly curiosity.

Its probing did not cease; an insatiable thirst for knowledge drove it to unravel the mystery before it. It had already noticed Nami cowering behind Kaisa, and was extending its tentacles toward the merman by the pool.

The tentacle plunged straight into the large hole in Rasha's chest, extended from the front, turned a corner, and then buried itself in his left eye socket, before lifting Rasha up completely.

Rasha's body convulsed. He was not dead. His mangled body swayed violently in Vicz's tentacles like a puppet, and he coughed violently.

Then, he looked at the two of them with his only intact right eye, his trembling pupil filled with frenzied worship, and a chilling laugh squeezed out from his withered gums.

The tip of the tentacle, like a red-hot branding iron, pierced into the brain, leaving a perfectly round hole with smooth edges.

Now Rasha's wish has come true. Through Vel'Koz's tentacles, he connects to the endless void and sees an unknown and beautiful sight.

The previous Tidecaller felt no pain, something Vicz had mastered. It knew exactly what each part of the human brain did, and like a skilled butcher dissecting an ox, it immediately severed the pain receptors, which was beneficial to its work.

Of course, the analysis process can cause physical pain, if it so chooses, but that's not the point. It has already learned a great deal about pain, and how to use it.

A settlement, interconnected, an underwater village. A special operation that cannot afford to fail, a crucial transaction, stones that have lost their power... As Velkz continues his analysis, Rasha's memories are gradually disappearing, being completely consumed.

"Kasha! Quickly eliminate Rasha, Vel'Koz is analyzing his brain!"

The Wild Hunt issued another warning, unleashing a plasma cannon, and Kai'Sa blasted Vel'Koz's fleshy puppet into dust.

Velcz shook his undamaged tentacles, stirring up the blood mist.

It was too late. The cunning creature had already taken over Rasha from the very beginning. At that time, Wild Hunt and Kasha were still fighting off its covetousness and had no time to pay attention to Rasha's situation.

They belatedly realized that what they had destroyed was merely the mangled remains of a body that had been forcibly searched through its brain, a worthless vegetable.

“Your chance has come. Go and bring me more samples.” Vicz raised his bulging eyes, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of earth, rock, and seawater to see Mount Colossus towering above the sea of ​​clouds.

A cold voice echoed in the deep sea abyss, and countless stone eggs peeled off from those earthen walls, their pale, hollow tentacles expanding into tentacle monsters.

Undercurrents surged, their tentacles intertwining like a giant fishing net, pressing down on Kai'Sa with a dark, overwhelming force.

Kaisa felt a sharp, tingling sensation on her skin. She casually fired a plasma cannon, and although the light disappeared in an instant, it still illuminated the terrifying mass of beings in the darkness.

This was only a small part of it; many more abyssal creatures were already surging towards the entrance they had come from. The dark forces, which had been accumulating strength for thousands of years, had finally found the perfect opportunity to launch a counterattack.

"It's over."

Seeing this mad scene, despair crept onto Nami's face. She remembered Kai'Sa's warning: when dealing with Void creatures, you must aim directly at their core.

She had a chance, but failed to tear Rasha to pieces, resulting in the information being obtained by Vek'z. Now the entire tribe will suffer the consequences because of her negligence.

Kaisa glared at Nami with a fierce look, but when she turned her head, she saw a face with sunken eyes and bulging veins.

Exposed to Vel'Koz's gaze, Nami's skin was covered with black veins, indicating it had been severely eroded by the Void.

"Move if you don't want to die!"

Faced with such a regretful face, Kai'Sa had nothing more to say. She pushed Nami away, continuing to hold the rear and block Vel'Koz's view with her body.

The giant net, linked by tentacles, continued to shrink the encirclement. Nami wielded the Staff of the Tidecaller, a staff that truly lived up to its reputation as a treasure of the Merfolk. The knife-like waves tore a passage through the giant net.

Nami then summoned another surge of energy, propelling herself forward to break through the encirclement. But the monsters were countless, like stars in the sky; as soon as one died, another immediately took its place, maintaining the integrity of the giant net.

They filled the gaps again, and just as the two were about to collide, the hearts encased in those ugly forms pounded violently, and the mouths emitted screams that seemed to belong to another world. Layers of invisible fear spread out like ripples.

Pierced by the chaotic high-frequency sound waves, both of them felt a splitting headache and their bodies convulsed. Forced to react, Kai'Sa fired a barrage of intense missiles, blasting them to pieces.

The impact of the explosion was even greater on the seabed, where the expanding airflow first pushed the seawater away, and then was instantly compressed by the powerful water pressure of the deep sea.

Back and forth, torn apart by the powerful turbulent currents, Nami coughed up blood, and even Kaisa, who was covered in armor, was spinning and rolling around.

Damn!

Kaisa cursed inwardly. The deep-sea environment not only limited her speed, which she was so proud of, but also made her hesitant to attack. Suppressing firepower was out of the question.

Nami is also a burden. If it weren't for the concern about her life or death, Kai'Sa could have detonated the bio-battery to wipe them all out at once, or simply left the seabed through the void rift.

Kasha felt powerless. She knew what the enemy's weaknesses were, and those weaknesses were right there, ready to be attacked without her even trying to avoid them. But she just couldn't break through their attacks in time and could only watch them approach, regretting her inability to do anything about it.

Just when she was extremely anxious, Nami's next move changed her perspective.

Chapter 575 Nami's Resolve

On

The terrifying force swept over her relentlessly, leaving her nowhere to hide or escape. Countless limbs coiled around her, pulling and tugging with all their might, trying to tear Nami apart.

Adversity can unleash potential; she poured all her strength into planting her staff on the seabed. At that moment, she felt the vastness of the ocean!

The surging ocean current separated all the surrounding tentacle monsters, forming a constantly eroding protective shield that enveloped the two, blocking the strangling net.

Kasha looked up and saw that the monsters were swept away by the water as soon as they got close, so they should be able to hold out for a while.

The seawater inside the protective shield was drained, and Kaisa walked towards Nami as if on flat ground. The merman girl was almost at her limit and needed to lean on her staff to stand, with black blood constantly flowing from the corner of her mouth.

When Nami saw Kaisa approaching, she looked up. Her once chubby cheeks had become thin and withered, covered with black veins, and her skewed eyes swayed precariously in their deep-set sockets.

"Cough cough, am I going to die..." Nami asked, coughing.

Kai'Sa turned her face away; the Void's corruption was already terminal and beyond saving.

Ordinary life is so fragile; a single glance is enough to spell death.

"I see..." Kaisa's silence was deafening; Nami seemed to see her own end in the sky.

Faced with so many void creatures, even wielding a legendary staff, she saw no hope whatsoever. Even if she miraculously survived, her days were numbered.

But instead of going crazy or becoming despondent, she became even more determined and suddenly reached out and put her hand on Kasha's shoulder.

"Kasha, I don't want to be a burden anymore. So, please lend me your power."

"What?!" Kasha thought she had misheard.

"If there's no other way, then just leave me behind. I should be able to hold on a little longer, just please take the pearl back." (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentences.)

Nami let go again, not forcing the issue. She had never forgotten her mission; it was all or nothing.