133. Interrogation

Blood Magic originated from the ancient Dark Descendant. Under these circumstances, with ample preparation, Falis could clearly feel endless energy flowing into her body from the flesh-and-blood harp.

This surging power formed a twisted body within Falis, like a living suit of armor, but unlike Kai'Sa's armor. Forged from the body of Dark Descendant, this corrupted armor emanated a profound unease from within.

Like muscle fibers stripped of their skin and tangled haphazardly, accompanied by bulging blood vessels, the unique secret of the Ascended allowed Falis to clearly sense the terrifying power possessed by this ancient god.

At least Falis was certain that this power was far beyond the reach of ordinary people! Even masters are limited by their mortal bodies. In battles fought on a national scale, they can at most gain a regional advantage.

However, if one is careless or negligent, it is not impossible for them to be killed by a group of ordinary generals and soldiers of mediocre strength.

But now, feeling the power of the Ascended, Falis was certain that if she could master even a part of it—even just half—she could easily topple hills and fill rivers!

Perhaps because Blood Magic is connected to the Dark Descendant, Falis's body was soon encased in flesh and blood. Not only her body, but even her face was reduced to just one eye.

The rest of the body, formed beneath the continuously growing flesh, took on the form of a female gazelle.

They had no fur; their faces were composed of red, black, and pink. Although the colors sounded different, they were all filled with the corrupting glow unique to Dark Descendant.

Dark black stripes extended from his eyelids to his entire chin, and sharp teeth could be vaguely seen in his mouth. On the top of his head, the spiraling, upward-pointing fleshy horns were covered with dark red.

"My name Styraatu! I'm back! I'm back!!"

Hearing Styraatu's excited roar, Falis, her eyes filled with cruelty, shouted, "Kill him! Styraatu! Kill these bastards! Great Vladimir will grant you your freedom!!"

Upon hearing Falis's words, before Styraatu could say anything, Yuan Chen, standing to the side, rubbed his temples with a slight headache.

Although he couldn't be certain, Yuan Chen was somewhat certain of one thing... that the reason why Styraatu was resurrected in this form was definitely due to the involvement of his future self.

Seeing the fear in Yuan Chen's eyes, and the solemn expressions on the faces of the Ixialia masters who had even begun to retreat and form a battle formation, Falis's smugness grew even stronger.

"Dark Descendant weapons... Damn it, no wonder the Noxians dared to come here."

Looking at Falis, who was now covered in blood and gore, Tina said with a grave expression, "It seems we need to change our tactics..."

"Hmm." Master Odh, who was standing to the side, also nodded solemnly.

For any knowledgeable scholar, the history of the Dark Descendant era is an indispensable part of their knowledge. During the Darkin War, much of the knowledge, power, and wisdom that was only possessed by the nobles of the Shurima Empire was widely disseminated.

The Dark Descendant had no intention of keeping it, because in Dark Descendant eyes, no matter how much knowledge mortals possessed, it could not match the power of the sun possessed by the Ascended.

Just as their thoughts were racing, suddenly, a woman's voice came from the antelope's head:

"Master! You're right! You didn't lie to me! This is indeed the perfect fit for my body!!"

Upon hearing Styraatu's words, everyone froze in place. They exchanged glances, and after confirming that the master Styraatu was referring to was not themselves, they instinctively turned their gazes to Yuan Chen, who stood at the back with a complex expression.

The reason she looked at Yuan Chen because Styraatu's eyes were fixed on him.

After a moment's hesitation, Qiyana, who had been observing the battlefield from inside the carriage and whose hand was already on the Oretal Ring Blade, couldn't help but ask, "The master the Dark Descendant mentioned... is it you?"

"..." Upon hearing this, Yuan Chen remained silent for a moment before saying with some helplessness, "I'm not entirely sure either... I dug her out of the ditch a few days ago, and that's what she called me."

"Right now, there are two possibilities," Yuan Chen said, holding up two fingers.

"One possibility is that I am the reincarnation or descendant of a master from the Ancient Shuriman Empire. The second possibility is that that master was me from the future who traveled through time to the past through some means or by chance."

"..." Upon hearing Yuan Chen's words, Qiyana fell silent. Beside her, Master Tina adjusted her glasses, speaking hesitantly:

"So, you don't deny that you are the 'master' the Dark Descendant are talking about?"

"King Yuen probably already knew." Yuan Chen shook his head, glancing at Qiyana, who was deep in thought in the carriage, "I remember Qiyana, you've also read the so-called Prophet's Notes, haven't you?"

"...Hmm." Qiyana nodded.

"That's one of the Royal Family's ancient heirlooms... It's said to carry a certain mission for the ascendant Queen Setaka. However, the ancestral records on it are very brief, and the notes contain a lot of special coded language, so I don't know much about it either."

Having received official recognition from Qiyana, all the masters suddenly looked at Yuan Chen with a slightly different expression.

In contrast, Styraatu was filled with excitement. Ignoring the terrified Falis, Styraatu's flesh relentlessly devoured the body of this headmistress-like woman:

"Ha! Just as the master said, you have taken care of your body..."

Upon hearing Styraatu's words, Falis was terrified and almost without hesitation initiated her own Blood Exchange Ritual —through Blood Exchange Ritual Falis could forcibly transfer the parasitism and corruption of the Dark Descendant to another body.

Upon arriving in Piltover, Falis immediately began searching for a suitable ritual vessel. It was during this time that Falis encountered Stevan Ferros... a family leader who refused to submit to Noxus, a cowardly and incompetent man tormented by old age.

But just as Falis was about to activate the wedge already implanted in Stevan's body, Falis clearly felt that all her strength and even her will could not escape this body even slightly.

It's as if my body has been trapped in a cage, a cage that was prepared for me long ago.

"Vladimir ...I've heard that name before!"

Styraatu's voice reached Falis's ears. "I remember now, a prince from a small country, a slave tamed by the Dark Descendant. When he first unleashed Blood Magic, that coward Xolaani was utterly shocked."

As she spoke, accompanied by despair in her eyes, Falis's body was completely swallowed up by Styraatu.

After Styraatu completely engulfed Falis's body, the writhing flesh on the surface quickly burrowed into Falis's body. From the inside out, everything from bones and organs to flesh and hair was devoured.

Falis's consciousness may still have some residue, because in Yuan Chen's Scout Skill, the parasitic index has not yet reached 100% - but it has already reached 98%.

In this situation, it's only a matter of time before Falis is completely devoured.

Are these soldiers still of any use?

Styraatu turned her gaze to Yuan Chen and asked, "This body... is lacking blood."

Upon hearing Styraatu's question, Yuan Chen glanced at the Noxus soldiers.

If it were before, Yuan Chen might have thought of ending it here. But after a series of events... After a moment of silence, Yuan Chen nodded quietly.

One should be prepared to be killed before committing murder—this should be a very common sense principle.

Having received permission, Styraatu let out a joyful howl. Immediately afterward, tongues of fire erupted from her hair, engulfing the remaining Noxus soldiers and dragging them into her body without exception.

That body, which was not large, but rather rather slender, was like a bottomless black hole. In an instant, the remaining hundred or so soldiers were all swallowed up and disappeared.

"Wait a minute, let's forget about these."

Seeing the ends of the hair wrapped around his eyes reaching towards the Piltover Enforcers officers around him, Yuan Chen stopped him, saying, "I still have questions for them."

"Well... what a pity." Although she was stopped, Styraatu still couldn't help but stick out her tongue and lick her lips.

"These people seem to be of higher quality..."

Indeed. Ignoring race and simply comparing living environments and conditions, Piltover was better off than 90% of the people in Runeterra. Under the tyrannical rule of the Dark Descendant warlords, mortals were practically treated like livestock.

From this perspective, Piltover is definitely the best-tasting and highest-quality race... The Zaun are definitely inferior. Not only do they smell weird from constantly soaking in poison jars, but they might also have alchemical prosthetics that are hard to chew.

Having witnessed everything that was happening on the bridge, Caitlyn's face was now deathly pale.

She couldn't imagine that the masters from Ixialia, who had seemed so wise and gentle during previous cultural exchanges, could also possess such a cruel... no, to be precise, a ruthless and powerful side.

Thinking it over, Caitlyn took a deep breath, looked at Yuan Chen, and forced a smile, "I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault, after all, you were just following orders." Yuan Chen waved his hand dismissively, then said simply:

"Speak, who gave the order, and who was involved?"