Void Beetle Evolution Guide

They found their familiar rhythm, and the crowd began to gather. Wagons had been pulled out of the barn, and horses were tethered to posts. Some began to sing along loudly, getting drunk faster than usual.

Sona gave Lux a mischievous smile in the audience, and Lux ​​shrugged in response, looking like she couldn't do anything about it.

The music was beautiful, but Sona hadn't yet infused her magic into the music. Lux continued to play, seemingly confirming her suspicions, as four figures slipped into the back row of the audience.

A hood obscured their faces, and they wore dark blue-black clothing. They weren't particularly suspicious in themselves, but... one of them looked up and stared directly at Sona on the stage, revealing the reflection of her bronze mask.

"They've come after all." Lux's heart sank, and at the same time, the melody on stage paused and trembled slightly.

Sona's response was to continue playing, while Lux didn't act rashly. Sona hasn't revealed her magic yet, and the magic hunters are just watching; they might leave in a while.

However, things didn't go as planned. The next piece in the suite was a solo, and the drummer and the lead singer quietly retreated backstage, leaving only Sona on stage.

Lux knew that the main event was about to begin, and everything before that was just a warm-up.

Soft murmurs and rustling came from the audience. The piece had no name, but everyone recognized it as Sona's own composition.

Lux knows more; Sona will incorporate her own magic into her upcoming solo, which will greatly increase the risk of exposure.

Sona relaxed and immersed herself in the music. Her fingers gently brushed across the strings, and the air fell silent. Then, with a leaping note, the performance began.

Chapter 652 Exposure

The solo began, and Lux ​​nervously covered her mouth, unable to appreciate the beautiful music.

The light deep within her mind and body acted like a elixir, gradually spreading throughout her entire being. Magic filled her senses, allowing her to see colors invisible to the naked eye.

Sona's fingertips danced like fireflies, the points of contact on the strings shimmering with light as she plucked them, the music flowing, coalescing, dissipating, and coalescing again beneath her delicate hands.

The guqin, Ai Hua, awoke. Long, winding phantoms rose from the strings, stretching and breaking, as if the surrounding air itself were humming along. The melody gained layers, as if another person were playing it simultaneously.

"Even the spirits have arrived." Wild Hunt clicked his tongue in amazement, and Lux ​​also saw the phantom behind Sona.

All she knew was that the zither had come to Demacia with Sona, and that its history seemed to be ten times longer than that of Demacia itself.

For a moment, Lux was also lost in the music. Only after Wild Hunt reminded her did she remember her mission.

Lux looked around and saw only smiles and rapture; the audience was completely absorbed. Only the four demon hunters remained unaffected, their magic shielded by the grey mark. They had noticed the anomaly, but couldn't yet see the exchange between Sona and the harp.

Ai Hua chose an elderly woman sitting in the back row who was missing her husband. He had fallen ill and passed away a month ago. Without him, the crops in the fields would certainly be difficult to harvest.

Then the guqin's tone began to warm up, and the low notes, like his voice, became the last song the old man hummed to his wife before his death.

The musical notes hung in the air. She grasped the phrase of the melody, and without any pause, she incorporated it into her own piece, then added details and embellishments around that melody.

Sona looked up and saw the woman raise her eyebrows. She recognized the song, and tears streamed down her face. Her weathered face was etched with wrinkles from the smile.

Sona brought music into the woman's heart, warming her, comforting her, and giving her courage to face the years to come.

As the music reached its crescendo, she and Ai Hua were engaged in intimate conversation. The phantom expanded, radiating light and dancing gracefully, enveloping the entire stage in its illusory glow.

"Mage!" A shout shattered the music. Sona abruptly stopped, frozen in place. But the illusion still floated in the air, revealing the secret between her and the zither.

The demon hunters in the back rows stood up and walked forward along the central aisle. The other audience members remained engrossed in listening, oblivious to their surroundings. They were absorbed in Sona's music and unaware of what was happening around them.

Sona took two steps back; the barn's back door was right behind her. The Demon Seeker told her to stop, but without thinking, she turned and rushed out, one hand holding her skirt. Ai Hua, trembling, flew up from the violin stand and floated in the air behind her.

There's no longer any need to hide it.

She rushed outside into the pitch-black night. The barn's back door faced a narrow alley; if she walked a little further down the alley, someone would be there to meet her. But just as she reached the end of the alley, two demon hunters blocked her way. She immediately stopped and turned around; the four men who had blocked her way back to the tavern were now blocking the entrance.

“If you cooperate…” one of them said, the Demacian steel in his hand gleaming coldly. Footsteps approached from behind her; they surrounded her.

Sona kept her fingers on the strings, and the demon hunters, wary of her, dared not rush forward immediately. She planned to move closer to the wall, using her positioning to force the demon hunters to gather in front of her, and then cast a spell to take them down in one fell swoop.

Contrary to her wishes, another demon hunter climbed over the wall behind her and pounced on her without a word. Left with no other choice, Sona plucked a string from her harp, and the radiance glowed faintly as she played a powerful, explosive melody.

The sonic wave struck the demon hunter, who lost control of his limbs and crashed to the ground. This was the signal to begin the battle; the others swarmed forward, and Sona used the same tactic again.

The air around them was filled with golden notes, dazzling and mesmerizing. They all tried to get away, but those who couldn't suddenly started dancing, groaning and screaming.

"Please, spare my life!"

"Ugh... my arm—it's out of control!"

Anyone who saw this scene would find it incredibly bizarre; the distorted figures were forced to gesticulate wildly, like the stiff performance of puppets. But Sona knew that it was time for her to pay the price.

"Dispel the spell! You devil!" Two demon hunters who had dodged the sound waves stepped forward and forcefully restrained her hands, preventing her from casting spells through Ai Hua.

They pierced Sona's armpits and back with sticks, forcing her arms behind her back, her shoulders aching as if they were about to dislocate. Sona desperately wanted to tell them to let her go in order to break the spell, but she was mute.

"Sona, close your eyes!" Just then, a shout came from the direction of the barn.

Sona recognized Lux's voice, and obediently closed her eyes, her head already lowered. Then a blinding light flashed, engulfing the entire alley. "Where are you, Yongmei? Where are you, Yongkong? Where is Lin Zai?"

"Oh no! My eyes—"

The screams of the demon hunters filled the air; their eyes had been blinded by the intense light. Lux arrived like a prince on a white horse, riding on a starfire, striking the demon hunters with her stick until they released their grip, then extending her hand to Sona.

"Quick! Get on the horse, I'll take you to a safe place!"

Sona stared wide-eyed at Lux through the gaps in her thick bangs, seemingly shocked by her identity as a mage, but quickly transformed it into a sense of recognition. She took Lux's hand and mounted her horse.

"Hold on tight, don't fall!" Ai Hua floated behind Sona, while Lux spurred her horse and galloped out of the alley before the demon hunters could recover.

Lux galloped away on her horse, while the Wild Hunt felt the surging waves crashing against the shore through her armor, and exclaimed in amazement, "This scale is truly something else."

He didn't try to hide his voice, deliberately speaking so Lux could hear. The girl hadn't thought about any of this before, but after hearing it, she felt terrible. This person really did have ill intentions towards Sona.

While Lux inwardly condemned the Wild Hunt's shamelessness, she had to admit that Sona's chest was indeed very broad, but wouldn't she fall over with those two round breasts sticking out like that?

Just then, she heard a faint female voice enter her mind, "I'm sorry to have troubled you. Growing up like this wasn't my intention, but I've gotten used to it."

"...!!!"

The most embarrassing thing in the world is being caught talking about someone behind their back. Lux is so embarrassed that she could dig a three-bedroom apartment out of her toes. Why did her true feelings suddenly get leaked?

Without a doubt, it must be the Wild Hunt! The Wild Hunt must have first used vulgar language to provoke her dark thoughts, and then conveyed her innermost feelings to the person in question, making her feel embarrassed!

“It’s alright, I don’t mind these things.” Just as Lux was brainstorming, Sona’s voice came again: “Excuse me, who is the Wild Hunt? You’ve been mentioning that name for a while now.”

Chapter 653 Colossus of Justice

Sona's questions were driving Lux crazy. On one hand, she had to be wary of having her thoughts overheard, and on the other hand, she had to find a way to explain things to her, creating a contradiction.

"Hiss... Sona, give me a moment. Wait, why are you able to accept this way of communicating so naturally?"

"You might find it a little unusual, but it's a huge help to me since I can't speak."

Sona was open-minded and there was nothing she couldn't accept; she believed that the sudden opening of the team voice chat was just a kind of magic.

“Alright, Sona, this is too complicated to explain. Don’t worry about who Wild Hunt is for now. I want you to come with me to a place. It’s safe there, and no Witchers will be looking for us.”

“I’m not afraid of the Demon Hunters. With Ai Hua around, I can shake them off and find another place to perform.” Just as Lady Lestara said, Sona has already planned to start a national tour.

Lux's mission was to bring Sona back, and she couldn't just let Sona go like that. She tried again, saying, "Maybe they can cure your muteness there... Are you really not coming with me?"

This condition is still very attractive to Sona. Although her family has protected her very well and even invented a set of sign language for her, Sona also wants to speak like a normal person.

“Come to my house. There’s a secret passage there that leads out of the city. The city gates are closed. The only way out of the city is through the secret passage,” Sona gestured subconsciously.

"It's not time yet, I have something else to do." Lux spurred her horse forward, ignoring Sona's advice.

They rushed out of the alley and saw the drummer and lead singer, who had left early, waiting ahead of them. "The road home has been cleared, it's safe."

However, Lux turned and ran off in another direction with Sona, shouting without looking back, "Go back and tell Lady Lestara that I've taken Sona away."

Lux then rushed straight down the path to the Battle Monument Road. The Witchers never expected them to go there, and they made no trouble along the way.

Lux quickly led Sona to the foot of the Colossus of Justice, and Sona asked her what she was doing there.

"You'll find out soon enough." Lux jumped off the horse, climbed back onto the pedestal, and placed her hands on the colossus's toes.

“You’re wasting your mana.” Sona made a few hand gestures. “Or do you want Galio to drain your mana so you can pass the check disguised as a normal person?”

“No, I just wanted to wake him up,” Lux replied. The cold, anti-magic stone frantically devoured her magic, while her light transformed into a warm current, flowing into the slumbering life.

The colossus awoke, lowered its head slightly to gaze at Lux, and spoke in a deep voice: "Little girl, is there anything you want me to smash for you?"

Sona, standing to the side, was terrified. Galio was known as the bane of mages. How dare they, with their mistakes, awaken the colossus? Weren't they afraid of being trampled to death like insects by the colossus?

“No, we don’t need to smash anything,” Lux said. She knew Galio always woke up on the battlefield, and each time he woke up, he would smash his enemies to pieces. “We want to get out of the city, but there will definitely be people blocking the gates. Can you take us out?”

“Okay, no problem, you cute little golden-headed man. Galio will go and smash the walls right now.” The colossus laughed happily, the noise enough to wake the entire city from its slumber.

"No! Absolutely not! Those are the walls of Demacia! You just need to get them to open the gates!" Lux was panicking; this was far too conspicuous. After tonight, the entire city would know she was under a spell, and the news would spread throughout the entire country.

Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast.

"But that's not the way home. Are you leaving again? Oh, please don't leave, or I'll go into hibernation again."

"Can we talk about this after we leave the city?" Lux said, as if coaxing a child. Galio didn't seem very bright.

“Alright, let’s go. Don’t stray too far from me, or I won’t be able to walk.” Galio’s legs stepped off the base with a rumbling sound. He bent down and reached out his hand, wanting the girl to step into his palm, but Lux covered her face with her hands as if she were afraid of heights.

“I have a friend with me, and my pony too. Galio, you go ahead, we'll follow you closely.”

The colossus tilted its head and looked at Sona: "Another little blue-headed girl. I remember you; your voice is very nice."

Sona shook her head in trepidation. What right did she have to make the colossus hear her voice? Besides, she had never performed here at the Battle Monument Road, so how could the colossus hear her? Was it just simple hearing?

In fact, during his hibernation, Galio was not completely oblivious to the outside world; he was constantly observing the city with his senses.

Galio had been watching Lux since she was very young. Every year, she would travel with her family and occasionally stop by, and Galio noticed that she was different from others.

In the distorted world, only Lux radiates a unique aura. With her by his side, time seems to stand still. A thin mist rises slowly, and a strange sensation stirs within his stone body.

At first, it was very mild; as a young child, Lux's strange warmth would gently tickle Galio's toes. As she grew to ten years old, the warmth became stronger; Galio could feel it from a mile away and would feel dizzy when he sensed her approach.

Now, Lux's power burns so fiercely, like a raging fire, like twinkling stars, filling his cold internal organs with heat and infusing his stone body with life. In the past, Galio needed to be bombarded day and night by enemy mage groups on the battlefield to awaken, but now Lux can do it all by herself.

After Lux's brilliance, Sona's lyre music also caught Galio's attention. However, Sona didn't cry and run to his feet begging him to absorb magic and turn her into an ordinary person, nor did she possess enough magic to awaken Galio.

"Follow me." Galio strode toward the city gate, glancing back every few steps to make sure the two were keeping up.

Frequent earthquakes roused the entire city, and people flocked to the streets to witness this miracle. They weren't particularly afraid of Galio; rather, they were in awe. Legend had it that Galio was the guardian of Demacia, and no Demacian feared he would harm them.

Soon, Galio led them to the city gate. As expected, the Demon Hunter legion had already occupied the only checkpoint leading out of the city, and the burning torches illuminated the night.

Chapter 654 The Perpetual Motion Gundam

The city of Mithril is destined to be restless tonight, for the legendary colossus has awakened.

The colossus charged toward the city gate, its footsteps like living thunder, each stomp resounding as if an earthquake were striking, shaking down all the accumulated dust from the eaves of nearby houses.

"This is...this is...Galio has stepped out of the legend!"

The demon hunters, who were on high alert in front of the city gate, trembled in the earthquake. They looked up at Galio striding straight towards them, utterly shocked.

The earthquake shook even more violently, and the enormous impact crushed the roadside barricades into pieces, producing a chilling cracking sound.

"You scoundrel in front, open the city gate now, or I'll open it myself!"

Galio stopped in front of the city gate, looking down at the demon hunter legion blocking his way with a deafening roar.

Only when they got closer did people realize that the towering anti-magic stone wall was not even as high as his knee, as if it would collapse with a single kick.

"Your Excellency, it is now martial law time. No one is allowed to leave Mithril City outside of designated hours." A demon hunter approached the living legend in a panic. They were all seeing Galio for the first time and had no idea what his temperament was like. (The last sentence appears to be unrelated and possibly a fragment from another text.)

“Even stones can come to life, can the rules not be so rigid?” Galio grinned, energetically raising his arms to show off his towering muscles.

“Alright. You can go, but those two girls must stay. They are evil mages, extremely dangerous, and we must take responsibility for the safety of the people.”

"Evil? Dangerous? Are you kidding me? Quite the opposite, they are good, they gave me life." The colossus shook its head disapprovingly, crossed its arms, and said, "I will crush the mages, but not them."

"This..." Galio's answer put the demon hunter in a difficult position. He hadn't expected that the colossus, which symbolized justice, would say such a hypocritical thing. He was determined to protect them.

He was having a terrible headache; why did he have to encounter this kind of bug?

Galio was a great contributor since the founding of the nation, and his status in the people's hearts was no less than that of the king. Such an authoritative figure naturally carried immense weight in his words. When the actions of this contributor conflicted with the decrees personally issued by the king, it was the lowly laborers like him who faced the difficult situation.

Under the public eye, dereliction of duty and blind loyalty will inevitably be condemned.

"Let them leave!" Someone shouted, and the onlookers joined in the excited chant.

Although the Demon Hunters wield considerable power, they are disliked by most ordinary citizens. Ultimately, they are not an organization that benefits the people, yet they consume a significant amount of judicial resources.

"Aren't you going to open the door? Do you want to fight?" Giant Bangbang pounded his chest twice. "If you want to fight, come at me!"

"Open the gate!" The demon hunter weighed the consequences of the two options. Losing an entire demon hunter legion was obviously far more serious than letting two mages go. Helpless, he could only order the guards to open the city gate and let them pass.

Galio remained standing still, watching Lux and her companions ride past the demon hunters. Under his watchful gaze, the demon hunters lining the road, who had been eyeing them menacingly, dared not make a move and could only watch them depart.

The two girls were overjoyed; being stared at by a group of demon hunters was incredibly oppressive. Once they had safely passed through the city gate, Galio strode over the city wall and followed them into the forest outside the city.

Dark clouds obscured the bright moonlight, and the giant trampled down a grove of red-barked trees, leaving a trail of devastation behind him. The terrifying commotion echoed through the forest, startling the birds and beasts of the night, leaving only the cry of the dragon bird reverberating in the high sky.

“They’ll catch up.” Lux stopped, realizing the dragon riders were following them. She couldn’t let Galio keep following them like this; they were too conspicuous, and there was no way to hide their tracks.