Night fell, and a clear, bright moon hung in the sky.
Layers of clouds were dyed, and under the moonlight, distinct layers of dark clouds were drizzling.
A drop of cold rainwater hit Durin's forehead. The falling raindrops gradually extinguished the boiling blood in Durin's body, who lay on the ground, and the hot white steam slowly subsided.
Who was speaking?
Who saved him?
Durin's breath was weak; he could only barely lift his head and look in the direction from which the female voice came. He saw a woman standing on the rooftop of a building, illuminated by the clear moonlight.
She was about one meter seventy-something tall, wearing a deep blue combat bodysuit that accentuated her demonic figure. She held a large and exquisite silver-white Holy Silver Heavy Crossbow in both hands, and her deep blue metal high-heeled boots were firmly planted on the edge of the rooftop. Behind her was a dark red cape, and the drizzling rain flowed down along the cape.
Durin's eyes widened slightly. This attire reminded him of a very famous character from League of Legends. He quickly focused his mind and carefully observed the woman again.
This woman had thick, soft, purplish-black wavy long hair, neatly braided into a single waist-length plait. Although a small, dark red inverted triangular pair of sunglasses rested on her high nose bridge, obscuring her full face, just looking at her rosy lips and well-defined, oval face confirmed that she was a stern yet beautiful woman.
Shauna Vayne.
The Night Hunter from League of Legends.
A Demon Hunter on the continent of Valoran who was even more terrifying than Demons.
Durin was almost certain of this woman's identity.
But why was she here?!
Durin suddenly remembered hearing, while eating at a tavern, that the great families of Piltover had specifically hired a Demon Hunter Master from Demacia with a hefty sum to investigate the noble deaths.
So, this Demon Hunter Master was Vayne!
Durin sighed with relief. In the lore, Vayne is a ruthless Demacian Demon Hunter, wandering every corner of Runeterra with her Holy Silver Heavy Crossbow. Her Holy Silver Heavy Crossbow protects fragile young girls, like she once was, from demonic invasion.
Along the way, she encountered many vile Demons, and her Holy Silver Heavy Crossbow was stained with blood. Throughout her life, she searched for the Demon who murdered her entire family.
The Demon who murdered her family was Evelynn, the Pain Embrace. Comparing the two, Vayne might not be an opponent in a direct confrontation, but if the Night Hunter prepared in advance with various methods, then the outcome of the life-and-death struggle between Vayne and Evelynn would be uncertain.
Perhaps it's somewhat like Batman: don't challenge Vayne to a pre-arranged fight?
In any case, with a Demon Hunter Master present, Durin felt that he probably wouldn't be eaten by the Demon tonight, right?
As he was thinking, Vayne, standing on the rooftop, had already moved.
She held the massive Holy Silver Heavy Crossbow in both hands and leaped down. Her cape fluttered with the rain, like a bat spreading its wings. In a flash of light and shadow, after a close-to-the-ground roll, she disappeared without a trace, completely merging into the shadows.
Was this Vayne activating her ultimate ability?
Just as this thought surfaced in Durin's mind, he simultaneously felt a very strong murderous intent appear around him, like a haze enveloping the entire alleyway.
More specifically, it was as if a brand new Demon had revealed its true form. He could feel both the greed for life-reaping in this Demon's eyes and the aura of death.
This startled Durin, and he even felt that if the Demon's target had been him, he would have been instantly locked on and killed in one blow!
He was only affected by the aftershock and felt such pressure, so what about the Demon who was the primary target of this killing intent?
So, he looked at the Demon on the other side.
She had been shot through the temple by a holy silver bolt and was trembling as she tried to get up from the ground; this bolt seemed to have caused her immense damage.
Even just reaching out to touch the bolt, whose tail end was still slightly twitching, made her whole body tremble in pain.
Gurgle—
The Demon gritted her teeth, enduring the intense pain, and slowly pulled the bolt out of her skull, her face contorted in a grimace: "Ha... ha... Demacia Steel soaked in holy water?"
She panted heavily; clearly, the damage caused by the holy silver bolt was significant. The wound at her temple couldn't heal, and black energy continuously spread outwards.
The cracks on her delicate face, which had just begun to heal, reappeared, as if she might collapse at any moment and reveal her true form.
The ink-like black energy swirling around the Demon also seemed to thin under the rain, and her emerald eyes were filled with wariness and panic.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The next moment, three faint sounds of something cutting through the air.
Three holy silver bolts, gleaming with cold light, shot swiftly towards the Demon's head and vital points.
Mirador, enveloped in black energy, twitched her eyelids. She instinctively tried to dodge but found her body still and lifeless, not responding in the slightest, no matter how she willed it.
Though it only lasted for an instant, she could no longer feel anything.
Because she was impaled through the body by three holy silver bolts, and the immense force carried by them directly nailed her to the wall, making a sound like a giant hammer striking, instantly sending gravelflying and dust billowing.
Durin, lying on the ground watching the battle, was startled—he hadn't expected Vayne's bolts to be so powerful!
"Ah ah ah ah ah!!!!!"
Mirador was in unbearable pain, letting out a terrifying Rising Howl. As if feeling incredibly intense pain, as if her soul had been wounded, she tremblingly snapped off the tails of the bolts one by one.
Durin had thought she would unleash some ultimate move and was about to desperately scramble to hide, but after letting out a Rising Howl, she simply radiated dense black energy, and with a whoosh, her entire body transformed into a purple-black mist and shot up into the sky, madly fleeing into the distance, disappearing into the dark clouds on the horizon in no time.
Uh, did she run away?
Durin was greatly shocked; the terrifying Demon he had faced was so pathetic when confronted by the monster hunter Vayne.
However, the next moment—
"Durin! I remember you! I won't let you go!!"
The Demon's voice exploded in Durin's ears, and the intense malice made Durin's head spin for a moment.
When he came to his senses again, he didn't see the Demon returning. All he saw was the female monster hunter Vayne gradually emerging from the shadows.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Under the night sky, she walked towards Durin in her high heels.
In the rainy night, this female hunter slightly lowered her head, letting her dark red sunglasses slip a little from her high nose bridge, revealing a pair of phoenix eyes with wine-red eyeshadow.
This eye shape typically appeared long and narrow, a thin line, with the outer corner slightly tilted upwards, giving a cool, sophisticated, yet alluring impression.
She was scrutinizing Durin, as if wondering how a mortal could survive an attack from a Demon.
Her gaze constantly lingered on Durin's injuries, especially the burn-like marks on his chest.
This suddenly made Durin feel a surge of tension.
It seems Darkin... are also targets for monster hunters, right...?
But in the end, she did not point her heavy crossbow at Durin. Instead, with a slight smile on her red lips, she slowly spoke: "Good evening, sir. You are the first person to survive a Demon's attack. Congratulations, the rescue team should arrive very soon."
"Whew... ha... thank you..." Durin mumbled softly, feeling the rain hit his face. After losing the Darkin Armor on his body, pain had already spread throughout his entire body. Upon hearing the news that the rescue team was coming soon, Durin finally couldn't hold on any longer, and a strong sense of drowsiness swept over him.
His consciousness sank into the ocean, and he didn't even know when he fainted.
...
Black mist permeated, and Durin only felt a profound silence around him, his consciousness simply drifting within the black mist.
"Wake up!"
As a magnetic, mature female voice suddenly rang out, the surroundings were quickly enveloped in a blinding white light.
Durin reached out to block the dazzling light, only to find himself, at some unknown point, inside a palace. Around him stood towering stone pillars, supporting a vast dome.
The entire palace was magnificent, grand, and majestic, like the legendary royal hall of giants.
At the very top of the palace, a golden throne was placed, and behind it stood a grayish-white, sky-piercing circular disk. Just by looking at it, Durin could feel a strong sense of oppression.
Seated on the throne was a figure, a tall, mature woman in a fiery red evening gown. Although her appearance was shrouded in mist, her long, slender legs, encased in black stockings, were clad in black velvet, red-soled stiletto heels.
Those slender, red-soled high heels were like two sharp longswords, directly piercing one's chest.
Durin found himself not far from the mature woman on the throne, only three meters away.
"Who are you?" Durin asked.
"You use my power, yet you ask who I am?" The woman said with a hint of displeasure, "Such an idiot! I don't have much time to waste talking to you. You imbecile don't know how to use the Ascended's power! It's simply too crude!"
As her voice fell, the circular disk behind the throne immediately glowed golden, instantly turning entirely gold. The temperature of the entire palace rapidly rose, and everything began to become incredibly scorching.
"You are Styraatu?" Durin reacted instantly.
"At least you're not completely stupid! You lowly human used some strange method to forcibly merge me with you. It's simply damnable!"
The mature woman on the throne said indignantly. After a slight pause, she gritted her teeth and continued: "In any case, the Darkin power you currently wield is too crude. Flesh Armor Transformation is a profound Blood Magic technique. To fully awaken as quickly as possible, I will impart to you some knowledge about Blood Magic. You must master it quickly and learn to control the Darkin power within your body as you wish."
"You want to help me?" Durin cautiously asked back, "Why?"
"Because we are one now! Alright, shut up! I don't have that much time to explain to you! Anyway, you have two choices before you now: are you content to be an unknown nobody your whole life or to become famous throughout the world? Do you want to live a life of mediocrity, or do you want to become a truly terrifying Darkin, kill whoever you want to kill, and do everything you want to do?!"
"If it's the former, you're an idiot."
"If it's the latter, then go slaughter! Go fight! Go to Shurima and find Grand Scholar Nasus, let him tell you how to master the Ascended's power! Let me fully awaken!"
"Ha... The path is before you, how you choose is up to you."
The voice grew fainter, and the dream formed by the mist completely shattered.
------------------------
There are already 70+ chapters available on my Patreon!
The story will continue to update 1 chapter per day on Webnovel,
while early access chapters are posted on Patreon.
Maybe it's not worth it today but it could be later
[email protected]/Kazenova223
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"