Number Three looked at Barrett in silence for a moment. He seemed surprised that Barrett did not care about his chance to survive and instead asked such a question.
But this did not matter to him. So he replied, "The Darkin are the master's direct followers. In terms of rank, they are far above us common descendants. If you can survive, you will become the sacrifice for the master's rebirth."
"At the very least... the master can use your body to come back to life."
"Is it really okay to say it so directly?" Barrett could not help but laugh.
"You have no choice." Number Three said softly. "From the moment you were chosen, your fate was sealed for today."
He spoke with great confidence. He was not bragging; he truly believed it.
It was as if the decision they had made could not be stopped by anyone in the world.
"I can't stand you guys." Barrett sighed. "Fine, so what do I do next?"
"Go touch that sword." Number Three said. "If you survive, you will become a Darkin and gain the powerful strength the master gives you. At the same time, that power will change your body and make you a better host."
"..." Barrett raised his head and looked at the magic sword on what could be called a high platform. The sword was actually very large, like a giant's weapon. It was at least much bigger than he was at eight years old.
Not just him now—even if he entered his demon form and his body grew, it would still not match the size of that magic sword.
Barrett walked up silently. With every step, his mind was filled with thoughts, choices, and a kind of preparation!
Back then, outside, he could have chosen to run away, but he did not. Instead, he returned to the entrance. Of course, he was not there to die.
The demon wanted to take over his body, so he would seize the demon's power for himself. Was not that what happened when he first ate that demon cell?
Yes, the gap in strength between them was like night and day. But the other side was trapped in hell, and right now, it had not reached the point of its final appearance. What he faced was just a bit of its will!
If he could endure that small bit of will, he would gain even greater power. Then he could grow step by step, eventually reaching a level that shocked everyone and no one could control him!
Instead of running from this power, it was better to accept it calmly.
Barrett reached the magic sword. Up close, the huge difference between him and the sword was even clearer. The giant sword stood before him like a wall. And the closer he got, the more he felt the ominous and dark aura coming from it.
But Barrett did not back away. Instead, he stepped forward with even more determination.
Thinking of Number Three's words, he reached out his hand and slowly touched the huge magic sword.
The moment he touched it, it felt a bit cold...
Suddenly, everything changed. In an instant, he seemed to fall into a sea of corpses and blood, back to the most intense battlefield—and one far more fierce than any he had experienced before!
What appeared before him was an endless horde of demons!
Purple demons kept crawling out from a massive crack. A sickening smell came from it. Just looking at it once made people feel sick both in mind and body. Barrett froze.
Where was this place?
The endless demons charged past him. Crushing Barrett would be as easy for them as crushing a bug. Who could even fight a war against them?
Barrett turned his head without thinking. Then he saw a scene that filled him with deep fear and shock. Monsters as big as mountains, holding all kinds of weapons, surged into the demon tide—like an iceberg moving against the ocean current.
Blood flew everywhere, bodies broke apart. This was a battlefield of blood and swords!
The blood rolled like waves. The deafening roars even scattered the clouds. Barrett's soul was deeply drawn to it. To others, this would be a terrifying sight, but in Barrett's fear, there was also a touch of longing.
"Let the blood! Wash us in our sacred rite!"
On this nearly hopeless battlefield, a loud roar pierced straight into the depths of Barrett's soul. It was as if the whole world was responding to those words, layer upon layer echoing in his ears. Barrett's eyes widened in an instant, and a red glow surged into his body.
"Aaahhhhh...!"
Barrett felt a sharp pain, like countless thin needles stabbing into his head. A will entered his body, carrying massive power that scattered everything that belonged to him!
Vaguely, he saw the huge shape of a demon. The demon was shouting something in rage. Barrett clutched his head with both hands. Without thinking, he activated his demon form and turned into the alien shape again.
But this time, his body underwent some change. He saw that in the center of the magic sword before him, a deep red like flowing lava appeared. From that deep red light, Barrett saw his true current form.
His body was now covered in black and red. Both the black and red slowly flowed. Demon horns grew on his head, and demon wings of flesh appeared on his back. In that sharp pain, his body kept being reshaped.
He had been transformed into...
A Darkin?
Of course, not a true Darkin. Only the real Aatrox could be called a true Darkin.
The so-called Darkin were fallen ascended ones. In the League of Legends world, the Shurima Empire used the power of the World Rune to create powerful ascended beings. They were unbeatable. But in the war with the Void, they were corrupted.
The corrupted ascended became a disaster worse than the original Void army, bringing a thousand years of suffering to Runeterra. And Aatrox was one of the top warriors among all ascended. He led other ascended god-warriors to resist the Void invasion.
But after being corrupted by the Void, he became the strongest catastrophe. Without any restraints, Aatrox was finally sealed into his own weapon by the spells taught to mortals by the Twilight Star Spirit during the battle against the army led by the War Star Spirit.
It was easy for a Darkin to pass some of its power to others. Many Darkin had their own chosen hosts. Aatrox was not skilled in this kind of magic, but that did not mean he could not do it.
However, his so-called lack of skill was only compared to his own martial prowess. In reality, that magic he was not good at still far exceeded any mortal's ability.
And to find a suitable host, he needed a much stronger body. That was why Genichi had him use magic to reshape Barrett's body.
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