"Forget Bel'Veth, kill them first!"

The moment the words fell, Logan shot into the air, carrying Aatrox with him as he turned into a streak of pink-white light and charged straight at Pantheon high above. The Spirit Blossom seed bloomed fully, and Logan spent one Spirit Blossom point, instantly activating the unique power of the Spirit Blossom Guardian.

[Spend Spirit Blossom points to undergo Spirit Blossom transformation for 30 minutes, temporarily gaining the power of the Spirit Blossom core, which grants a massive increase in magic power based on the strength of the host's soul.]

His magic rose another tier.

Even though Logan had no godhood, with the power of Spirit Blossom law, along with magic that had already crossed its natural limit, and Aatrox's amplification through blood aura, Logan at that moment was not a demigod, but he was more than a match for one.

His black hair grew to his back, then turned pink-white. A soft pink-white radiance overflowed from his entire body. Even Aatrox, once blood-red, was affected and became a crimson-pink greatsword.

Aatrox had never admitted it out loud, but the moment he agreed to travel with Logan, he had already become Logan's sword. One day he might reclaim his body and become the mighty general Aatrox once more, but for now, he was Logan's sword.

And because of that, the Spirit Blossom transformation's enhancement extended to Aatrox as well. His blood aura diminished slightly, replaced by a faint trace of gold. That gold covered one of the blood-red veins running along the blade. It was subtle, but Aatrox noticed it immediately. He was thrilled, and his mind had never felt clearer.

"Damn right. I've been sick of these cowards hiding their faces for a long time!"

Jax rushed up as well. He stepped onto the ice coffin Lissandra had created and faced another Aspect head-on, the same one who had summoned the lightning strike against Lissandra earlier.

Massive lightning surged from the Aspect's fingertips and struck Jax's body, drawing a muffled grunt from him, but his leap still carried him over a hundred meters into the air, the last light of Icathia already aimed at the Aspect's head.

His grip tightened.

His teeth clenched.

The staff burned.

A charged strike.

A blue halo spread over the tip of the last light of Icathia, merging with the flames, and Jax smashed it down with all his might.

"Saijax, I know who you are. The remnant of Icathia. The human warrior who slew Ascended. A mortal who fought beside gods. If this world still held laws for you to comprehend, you would already possess the power of law and have attained godhood by now."

The lightning Aspect had a sharp, gaunt face. As time passed, the Aspects' power had already begun reshaping these Rakkor bodies. Just like now, the originally normal-looking Rakkor had grown unnaturally thin and stretched, with long pointed ears and sunken eye sockets.

He raised a hand, lightning gathering in his palm before expanding outward into a half-dome to block the last light of Icathia.

When the lightning Aspect saw his defensive spell hold back the weapon, the corner of his mouth curled up. He bared sharp fangs as he sneered.

"But the way you are now, you can't hurt me, "

Before he could finish, Jax roared. The tattered cloak hanging from his shoulders exploded apart in an instant, and his body swelled by an entire size.

The muscles in his arms bulged like hills. He forced both arms downward. The last light of Icathia bent under the immense strength, letting out a shrill cry of protest, but its tip had already pierced through the lightning barrier.

"To hell with law power. To hell with godhood. If this world doesn't have room for my path, then I'll smash one open with brute force!"

Panic flashed across the lightning Aspect's eyes.

At the same moment, another Aspect nearby made a move, thrusting both hands toward Jax. The space in midair shattered, and from the black void in that broken space, thick green vines burst into existence, writhing forward like tentacles to bind Jax in place.

But in the next second, the temperature dropped so sharply it felt as though even the air had frozen solid. The vines iced over instantly, then cracked apart all at once and rained down to the ground in shattered pieces.

Jaimon's eyes narrowed as he looked at the white-haired witch below, calm and hovering low in the air with her eyes closed and head slightly raised.

There was no question that the witch was monstrously strong.

To keep her in check, at least five Aspects needed to attack at once, and even that would only barely let them fight her to a standstill.

Jaimon's expression sank at once.

Pantheon had rushed in far too fast and hadn't bothered waiting for anyone else, which meant there still weren't enough Aspects on the field.

Logan was intercepting Pantheon, and from the look of it he could actually match him evenly. Saijax, meanwhile, had Maren pinned down.

Which left the other three Aspects...

But just as he thought that, three more lights flashed into being in the sky.

Cecilia had arrived.

She had been among the first to enter the star gate, but because she had spent extra time speaking with her host, she was only now catching up.

Wearing the body of a freckled-faced girl and bearing sword and shield, Cecilia swooped straight down toward the witch the moment she appeared.

Seeing that, Jaimon let out a breath of relief. Of all the Aspects present, the two with the most combat experience were Cecilia and Pantheon. And now that Cecilia was willing to set aside her hatred for Pantheon and help the Aspects, even those who hadn't trusted her before finally felt some tension leave their shoulders.

"Quick, all of us help Cecilia! She can't handle the witch alone!" Jaimon shouted, diving downward himself.

Cecilia heard that and wanted to curse Jaimon on the spot, but the instant her sword met the witch's outstretched pale hand, she chose to keep her mouth shut.

All right, fine.

She really wasn't the witch's opponent.

The moment they exchanged blows, Cecilia felt herself being completely suppressed.

It was ridiculous.

How had a tiny place like Runeterra, just one planet, produced a monster like this?

Ornn, Volibear, and Anivia aside, those three gods would rank among the strongest even out in the stars, especially Ornn and Volibear. Calling them pinnacle beings wouldn't be an exaggeration.

But what about Lissandra?

A human, who had spent ten thousand years and become stronger than her.

Wasn't that absurd?

Then again... compared with the witch calling down the Void, maybe it really wasn't that absurd after all.

Grinding her teeth, Cecilia charged forward with her shield raised. A golden light spread out a hundred meters around her, gathering into the form of a lion that made the cross-shaped shield in her hand gleam brilliantly. Lowering her body, she slammed herself at Lissandra.

Jaimon used magic to support her.

The witch could create a frozen world, but couldn't he create mountains, forests, and flowers in turn?

He had clearly overestimated himself.

This was not his true body descending into Runeterra. Through this mortal vessel, Jaimon could at most bring out eighty percent of his strength. So even though he managed to bring a touch of green to the frozen earth, before saplings or flowers could break through the ice, Lissandra merely lifted one foot and tapped the ground lightly.

In an instant, Jaimon's power vanished completely.

He let out a muffled grunt as the backlash of his interrupted magic sent sweetness flooding his throat.

Human bodies really were weak and useless. Damn it.

But as more and more Aspects surrounded Lissandra, she gradually began to fall to the disadvantaged side.

Even so, she remained completely calm.

"Hurry! In just a few more minutes, we withdraw!"

One of the Aspects saw that Bel'Veth had fully disappeared underground and shouted at once.

Their mission was not to kill Logan, Jax, or Lissandra.

Their mission was to let Bel'Veth escape.

The star gate could only stay open for a limited time. They had to return within that window, or else their souls would remain trapped in Runeterra until the next time the star gate opened and they could return to the celestial realm.

But the star gate was not something that could be opened casually.

Every use consumed an enormous amount of resources. Unless it was for something truly major, the Targonian Aspects would never open it.

And this time, they had only done so because Logan was growing far too quickly.

If Bel'Veth died, then in the future Logan would lead Runeterra's people in open resistance against the Targonians. With the forces currently on Mount Targon, there was no way they could stop him. That was why they had to keep Bel'Veth alive, so she could continue creating trouble for Logan.

Amid the chaos of battle, Bel'Veth dug frantically through the frozen earth. Carrying her lavender sea with her, she fled the battlefield, but before vanishing, all four of her eyes fixed coldly on Logan's back.

And when the last of Bel'Veth's enormous tail slipped beneath the ground, Jaimon was the first among the Aspects to react.

"Don't drag this out, the job is done!"

"Withdraw! Pantheon, did you hear me? Withdraw!"

Jaimon even shouted specifically at Pantheon.

Right now, his greatest fear was that Pantheon would get carried away and refuse to leave until Logan was dead.

Because now that Bel'Veth had taken her domain with her and withdrawn, the battle here had already spread across the world.

At this very moment, the Wind Goddess of Zaun had charged into the area, staff in hand, forcing her way onto the battlefield the instant the domain vanished.

Which meant Logan's side now had another demigod.

And never mind the demigods outside Shurima who would soon be rushing over, even Shurima itself held plenty of powerful beings who hated the Aspects.

Aatrox was not the only Darkin left alive. There were more surviving Darkin wandering Shurima than one hand could count. There were also hidden Ascended living in isolation, and that bizarre but powerful armordillo whose exact nature nobody really understood.

If they didn't leave now, then once they were surrounded and the star gate closed, they would truly be trapped here.

Pantheon whipped his spear and sent Logan flying, then stared at him coldly.

"I'll spare you this time. Next time, I'll cut you down and take your head as my glory."

"Forget next time, let's do it this time."

Logan split space open and appeared before Pantheon again, swinging Aatrox at his back to stop him from leaving.

But another Aspect intercepted Logan's strike, while Jax was forced back as well. He couldn't fly, and watching the Aspects take to the sky left him furious.

In an instant, every Aspect on the field flew high into the air and turned toward Mount Targon.

Seeing that, Logan looked at Lissandra, Jax, and Janna, who still had no clue what exactly had happened but remained ready to fight, and shouted without hesitation:

"After them!"

"We chase them all the way to Mount Targon, and no matter what, we kill at least one Aspect!"

"We have to hurt them badly enough that next time they won't dare come stirring up trouble again!"

What a joke.

They thought they could come when they pleased and leave when they pleased?

Logan had spent all these years maneuvering, traveling everywhere, binding every continent together, and for what?

Wasn't it precisely to resist the Void and the things beyond this world?

And now Bel'Veth had escaped, and if the Aspects escaped too, then what the hell had all of this even been for?

Compared to Bel'Veth, the ones Logan wanted dead right now were the Aspects.

Because they were disgusting.

Bel'Veth was dangerous, yes. No one knew how far she might go in the future. But Bel'Veth was direct. She acted openly. Even when she had spoken with Logan earlier, she had never hidden her intent to destroy Runeterra and consume the Void.

But the Aspects?

Hypocritical vermin.

They accepted humanity's worship, yet did nothing for humanity. When the Void came to devour everything, would they give a damn about the Rakkor on Mount Targon or the other tribes?

Like hell they would.

Logan took the lead and flew toward Mount Targon.

Under all of his enhancements, Logan's strength truly did not fall short of Pantheon's, but in terms of raw flight speed, the Aspects were simply too fast.

Of everyone present, only Janna and Lissandra could catch up to them.

But Janna had to carry Jax. Old Jax couldn't fly, and that was that.

So only Lissandra could go ahead and block the Aspects.

And she didn't hesitate.

Even knowing that going alone would be dangerous, Lissandra still tore open the space in front of her, vanished on the spot, and went by herself to intercept the fleeing Aspects.

Because the Aspects were Lissandra's mortal enemies too.

Her hatred for them was no less than her hatred for the Void. Nine thousand years ago, in the age of the Three Sisters, it was the second sister, Serylda, who had stood against the heavens.

As Logan flew, he released his divine sense to scan Runeterra's condition.

He found that someone was already responding to his power.

Karma was on her way.

Swain was not. Who knew what he was doing.

"Everyone, the star gate should still hold for another twenty minutes. If they really pursue us, then I think we can change the plan and ambush them instead."

Eight streaks of light flew toward Mount Targon, merging on the way with the other four Aspects who had arrived later.

Seeing that, Jaimon suddenly had an idea.

"Will they really chase us? That's our home ground. If they actually come after us, then at the place where the two worlds are thinnest, the rest of our people can force their way through the star gate. Five, no, three minutes would be enough for us to kill Logan outright!"

"But the gods of Runeterra are also on their way here."

"Hah, we have more people. If we weren't afraid that Runeterra couldn't withstand our power and would be destroyed, letting that one lose its restraints, then our hundreds of Aspects would have trampled this world long ago!"

"It could work..."

Listening to the plotting around her, Cecilia felt a touch of irritation.

She understood that Jaimon and the others were thinking about the future of Targon, but hearing them talk like this reminded her too much of the same tricks they had once used on Black Moon and on her.

It made her sick.

But before she could spit out her complaints, Cecilia's eyes narrowed, and a note of approval flashed through them.

"So you actually dared to come."

All twelve Aspects stopped at once and looked ahead.

A white-haired woman tore through space and emerged before them.

"You are indeed powerful, witch, but if you've come alone, may I take that as you offering yourself up to die?" Jaimon asked, his expression strange.

Coming together and coming alone were two entirely different matters.

Right now, no matter how strong the witch was, and no matter how much Runeterra weakened them, there were twelve demigod-level Aspects against one.

Could they possibly lose?

"Fool."

At Jaimon's side, Pantheon mocked her, already thrusting his spear forward as he charged out.

His war-spear drove toward Lissandra's face, and aside from Cecilia, all the other Aspects attacked at once as well.

Yet Lissandra remained calm.

Only when Pantheon's spear reached her face did she finally move to respond.

But just as she was about to raise her hand, her brow twitched, and confusion flashed across her face.

Pantheon's speed had suddenly slowed.

Slowed to an absurd degree.

Sluggish.

Dull.

Heavy.

The abrupt change caught even Pantheon off guard.

Then he instantly looked in one direction.

A sand dune had frozen into a small iceberg. A dark-skinned figure stepped onto its summit, holding a staff in his right hand while his left arm remained extended toward Pantheon in the sky.

"Wither."

Jackal-headed and man-bodied, with long fangs bared, he wore a set of ancient armor, and bandages wrapped around both arms, fluttering in the black waves of power surrounding him.

Lissandra recognized him.

So did the Aspects.

It was one of the greatest among the Ascended, the man of immense status in ancient Shurima, the Ascended hailed as its great scholar, Nasus.

Looking up at the Aspects from atop the iceberg, Nasus let out a long sigh.

His eyes were full of deathly weariness, but when he opened his mouth, his voice rang deep and heavy.

"This is Runeterra, Aspects. You have crossed the line."

"Nasus, this has nothing to do with you! And have you forgotten who helped end the Darkin War?!" Jaimon shouted furiously the moment he saw him.

Nasus was extremely powerful.

Though he had only Ascended late in life in ancient Shurima, his status had never been beneath Aatrox's. Together with his brother Renekton, he had been one of Setaka's two greatest pillars.

So if Nasus stepped into the battle, he would be a serious problem.

And when he heard Jaimon's words, emotion finally stirred within Nasus's deadened eyes.

It was bitterness.

Sorrow.

Self-reproach.

He planted his staff into the ice. Black sand spiraled around him, and his voice grew louder and louder.

As if finally making up his mind, Nasus spoke in a clear, ringing voice.

"They truly were wrong. But no matter what, they were still my brothers and sisters. More importantly, the affairs of Runeterra are not yours to meddle in. I know what you want."

"I have remained silent for far too long. I forgot my duty because of grief. But this time, I will not make the same mistake again."

"Making a wrong choice once is enough."

Nasus's body grew to over four meters tall. He lifted a hand toward the Aspects in the sky, black power surging from his palm.

Then he spoke quietly toward a nearby mountain range.

"This is your home too. Do you really intend to stand by and do nothing?"

"...Sigh."

The Aspects had no idea who Nasus was talking to, but all of them looked toward the place he faced.

And their expressions worsened immediately.

Of course.

In a land like Shurima, there were simply too many beings who hated them.

Back then, when Myisha descended and set about dealing with the Darkin, she had angered many powerful beings.

Nasus was one of them.

And this one... counted too.

A small creature only about half a human's height rolled out from the mountain range.

After tumbling a few times, it popped upright, scratched its head with one claw, and muttered bitterly:

"I couldn't help it. I only wanted to watch the show, but... Nasus, you're right. This is my home too."

"All right, I'm in. Looking at it now, we might not lose. I'm not here just to get beat up for nothing!"

Rammus said that with complete seriousness.

He didn't want to get hit.

But some hits had to be taken.

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