End of this chapter.
Chapter 35: Someday
"Fear the Void."
After regaining its footing, Kha'Zix once again slipped into the Void midway through its ambush, making its form impossible for ordinary eyes to catch. He had been marked by an invisible hunter.
But that ability did not end there. Since it lay in wait within the Void, the Void Predator drifted through the cracks between realms. Even if it was attacked, most of the force would disperse beyond the Void.
That was utterly overpowered. It meant that an ultimate assassin could gain defense no weaker than a tank's, engaging enemies head-on without restraint, even gambling its life against theirs. And in such an exchange, Kha'Zix held an absolute advantage, because much of the damage it suffered would be deftly redirected into the Void.
Lianye swung the hunting blade in his hand. The crimson glow emerging from its tip remained clearly visible even beneath the moonlit, star-sparse night, like a menacing iron weapon freshly drawn from a pool of blood, radiating a chilling aura.
"I see you, bug."
A head-on clash—who was afraid of whom?
With triple his base attack power, Ruthless under Brutal Reward stabbed forward viciously.
For the first time, Kha'Zix felt its blood spray out. Even with the resilient shell evolved by the Void Bug, even with the damage reduction of Entering the Void, the hunter's blade still brutally pierced through its jointed limb, passing straight through and splashing mutated blood everywhere. Accompanied by an enraged shriek, the Void Predator's raised claw also carved a long gash across Lianye's body.
—Hunting had always meant a certain degree of cruelty.
"The prey and the hunter are one." That did not mean the prey and hunter "lived" together; that was merely a joke. It meant that the identities of prey and hunter could transform into one another.
Before weak humans, Titans were the "hunters." Yet before an ultimate hunter, Titans became "prey" awaiting slaughter.
And when an ultimate hunter encountered ultimate prey—who was the prey, and who became the hunter, could only be decided through a battle to determine the victor.
Just as well-trained Survey Corps members could rely on ODM Gear to hunt Titans in teams or even alone, countless Survey Corps members had also died in Titans' jaws during expeditions beyond the walls.
When both sides were evenly matched, the roles of prey and hunter only constantly switched places.
But this was also the first time Lianye had suffered such severe injuries. Ordinary Titans might possess attack power even greater than the Void Predator's, but they only used simple attacks like slapping with their palms, stomping with their feet, and charging with their bodies. Their killing power was lower, and their sluggish movements were not difficult to evade.
Even if he was occasionally overwhelmed by the rampage of multiple Abnormal Giants and had no choice but to take one or two hits, the recovery ability enhanced by Hero Ability would soon have him lively and kicking again.
Among all the enemies Lianye had encountered so far, only Kha'Zix could put him in such a difficult position. Perhaps it would be the only one from beginning to end.
The Void Predator was not merely an enemy with combat awareness. It was also a creature more agile, more cunning, and more dangerous than Titans.
But the same was true for Kha'Zix. Their strength was simply too close. Such an evenly matched, fifty-fifty battle meant that neither could do anything to the other for the time being.
Difficulty made most people shrink back, but that did not mean it would make either of them retreat. For a true hunter and a monster from the Void, having no creature capable of proving challenging, no terrifying opponent to push their limits higher—that was what would leave them listless.
Therefore, Lianye and Kha'Zix should have been excited and delighted that they had both arrived in this Attack on Titan world, leaving neither of them alone. Their "fated battle" was not confined to Valoran, nor merely to Summoner's Rift. It continued even across the wilderness of another world.
No matter what, each was the "prey" the other would kill "someday." That goal was beyond doubt.
But exactly which day that "someday" would be remained open to discussion. This so-called "someday" might mean that day would be very difficult to truly reach, because their strength would always remain evenly matched.
On the other hand, if Lianye successfully killed Kha'Zix and added the Void Predator's fang to the Bone Tooth Necklace, or if Kha'Zix defeated its nemesis and achieved ultimate evolution, perhaps that outcome would be even harder for both sides to accept than having their rival continue to exist.
After all, it would mean that in their future hunts, when facing those low-level creatures that offered no challenge, they would no longer feel that intense, delightful thrill.
"Alright, we'll stop here."
After separating again in exhaustion, Lianye temporarily halted the fight and spoke casually, as though a training session had simply come to an end.
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