"He's done so many terrible things. Killing him would be letting him off too easily. Naturally, we have to capture him first and think of every possible way to torture him for a while. Besides, he's still a fairly high-level demon, so now that he's fallen into our hands, isn't he excellent research material? Anyway, he doesn't want to die, so when the time comes, whether we cut off an arm or chop off a leg, there shouldn't be any problem."
As Luke said this, a friendly, approachable smile appeared on his face. He looked just like the warm guy next door.
One casual little gesture from him could warm your whole day.
But the content of his words left Nocturne feeling very unwell as a demon. He had thought the words just now were already cold enough.
He had not expected even colder ones to be waiting here for him.
"So that's how it is."
Lux nodded in sudden understanding. When she looked at Nocturne, a little sympathy appeared in her eyes. "Congratulations. You're about to suffer big time."
Nocturne: "..."
You sure know how to talk.
And from the looks of it, the others around them had no objections either.
He was panicking now.
Seeing the look in Nocturne's eyes, Luke smiled faintly and said, "What are you staring at? You hurt so many people. Isn't it only right for you to get a little payback now?"
As he spoke, a bit of coldness had already entered his gaze, as if there was no emotion in it at all.
Nocturne nodded again and again, then hurriedly barked once to show that it was only right.
But in his heart, he was already calculating. He had to think of a way to escape from this human's hands as soon as possible!
Otherwise, his days from now on were probably going to be miserable.
Talking about cutting off arms and legs at every turn, how terrifying.
Luke stopped paying attention to Nocturne and looked toward the others. "There are still two children we haven't found. Let's keep looking."
Just now, he and Lux had pretended to leave. Halfway through, they ran into Katarina, Yurna, Sona, Poppy, Vayne, Frey, and the others who had rushed over.
On the road, all of them had encountered demons summoned by Nocturne blocking their way. They had also noticed the dazzling flash that pierced through the sky at the same time, so they had rushed over at full speed.
During that process, they had found another missing child.
At present, there were still two who had not been found. It was unclear whether the soldiers searching in other directions had discovered them.
Everyone nodded.
Lux, who had recovered some of her strength, stepped forward and stopped in front of Fossian's grave. Then she bowed seriously. "I'm sorry for disturbing your rest. I hope you won't be angry. If you are angry, take it out on Garen. I'll come see you again when I have time."
Just now, to force Nocturne out of the grave, they had poured quite a bit of holy water inside.
But she thought her great-grandfather probably would not be angry over something like this.
After that, everyone left the cliff.
As for the little black dog possessed by Nocturne, after trying to sneak away and hide, he was kicked by Luke and immediately scurried after them, his four short little legs working hard as he dared not leave everyone's line of sight.
As he walked along the road, Luke's gaze narrowed slightly while he thought things over.
In truth, he had also considered simply killing Nocturne outright.
Nocturne had now been forcibly bound to the body of a young life, and his life was as weak as this body.
One sword strike would guarantee an instant kill.
But doing that would probably not solve the problem.
Luke did not know too much about demons, but he did know that many demons were born from the various emotions of humans.
Fear, desire, lust, pain, greed, evil.
And the nightmare was among the best of them.
Nocturne was not a demon born from human nightmares. Rather, he was a lifeform that had originally existed in another realm.
Or perhaps, at the very beginning, he had only been a concept.
He existed in the spirit realm. Originally, he was an existence beyond the restraints of physical laws, but because of the evil thoughts of a group of shadow mages, he had been given life and gradually gained a self.
At first, he had been like a machine that had been created only to operate. No one cared whether the machine felt pain while it ran.
Until Nocturne grew stronger and stronger, strong enough to resist those shadow mages. At last, he was able to act. He threw himself at the people who had once given him life, whipping them without regard for anything else, hoping to end his own pain that way.
But this had no effect.
Later, he tasted fear in human nightmares, and from then on, like someone who had tasted marrow and could never forget it, he spiraled further and further out of control.
In the end, this life born in another realm fully arrived in the physical realm.
In other words, killing Nocturne in the physical realm would not truly kill him.
Most likely, he would return to the spirit realm, and at some uncertain time in the future, because of all kinds of human malice and fear, he would revive once again. When that happened, what appeared would be a powerful demon with strength.
By contrast, right now, Nocturne had been sealed inside a weak physical body. In this state where a single slap could kill him, Luke could control him at any time.
Meanwhile, Nocturne, following beside him, was also secretly thinking.
It seemed these humans probably did not intend to kill him.
But his days from now on might not necessarily be easy.
Especially this human prince. He looked upright and proper on the outside, like a decent person. In reality, his heart was filthy, and one glance was enough to tell he was full of rotten schemes.
This gave Nocturne a constant bad feeling.
No, this could not continue!
He had to think of a way to slip away as soon as possible.
He secretly glanced at Luke's arm and sensed that part of his own power was right there. If he could reclaim it, perhaps he would have a chance.
But the problem was, how was he supposed to take it back?
Wait.
Nocturne's eyes flashed. He suddenly realized that the fact these humans were not killing him was actually a good opportunity.
He was now sealed in this body. On the surface, he would become a bootlicking dog, but in secret, he would begin accumulating strength.
Once the time was ripe, he would break through the seal in one move, launch a surprise attack, and wipe out these humans in one fell swoop!
In other words, for now, he only needed to play the role of a bootlicking dog well. Once enough time passed and these humans let down their guard around him, that would be the day he turned defeat into victory!
Thinking of this, Nocturne could not suppress the corners of his mouth from rising. Excited light flashed in his eyes, but before he could even enjoy himself for long, he was kicked and sent flying.
Luke glanced at the little black dog, who rolled across the ground several times and kicked up a puff of dust. "Can you put away that creepy smile? Whatever you're thinking is practically written all over your face."
After Nocturne was sent flying, he climbed back up. Not only was he not angry, he even showed a fawning smile, barked once, and happily scurried back over.
Lux fell silent for a moment, then could not help saying, "He really does look like a dog."
Luke had to admit it too. He had no choice but to reevaluate this guy. Someone who could endure this much was the type who could accomplish big things.
It seemed they would have to be more careful.
He turned to look at Frey and asked, "Is there any chance he can break through this seal?"
Hearing this, Frey thought seriously for a moment, then said, "The possibility is very low. A sealing array strengthened by a demon's true name is basically very difficult for the demon itself to break through using its own power, unless an outside force removes it. And this black magic is a secret spell I learned back when I was traveling through Runeterra. Its sealing effect is very strong. Finally, Sona also applied an additional layer of sealing, which means he is facing two layers of seals. The chance of breaking through is even lower."
Luke asked again, "Then when you say the possibility is very low, exactly how low is it?"
"I only said that out of caution. In reality, it is almost impossible to break through." Frey thought about it and said, "If I absolutely had to give a probability, then the chance of him breaking through the seal on his own would be about 0.01."
After listening, Luke nodded. "Mm. Very cautious."
Nocturne: "..."
Why did hearing that make him want to die so badly?
You might as well just say it's impossible.
0.01, how the hell is that any different from impossible?
The little flame of fantasy had not existed for long before it was brutally extinguished.
This made Nocturne even more certain that he had to escape from this place.
Whoosh.
Just then, a signal flare exploded in the sky.
Everyone raised their heads to look and immediately understood the meaning of the flare.
"Looks like another child has been found. Let's go."
Luke quickened his pace.
The dark clouds in the sky scattered gradually without letting a single drop of rain fall.
Pure white moonlight spilled over the land once again. Before they knew it, it was already late at night.
The battle in Fossbarrow had also ended half an hour ago.
Those frenzied black shadows that had seemed tireless had all suddenly vanished like smoke the instant that flash burst through the sky, leaving no movement behind.
The soldiers who had stubbornly held the line until now finally had time to rest. Almost none of them could remain standing. They all sat on the ground, gasping for breath.
Even Garen sat down where he was and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
But he did not rest for long before standing up again and beginning to help treat the wounded.
The townspeople who had been protected safely also poured out at this moment, each contributing what little they could.
Now, only the four missing children still worried everyone.
It was not until Luke and the others returned safely, and everyone saw that all four children were safe and sound, that everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Nocturne was the kind of demon who liked to taste fear in nightmares and taste nightmares in fear. Usually, he would not directly kill his prey, but would slowly drag them into an abyss of fear, making them die in agony.
Because of that, these children had managed to survive.
After Giselle saw them, she ran over as if flying, took her child into her arms, and finally could not hold herself together anymore, breaking down in loud sobs.
Over the years, she had worked tirelessly to handle all of Fossbarrow's affairs, both big and small. The impression she gave people had always been that of a strong, capable, powerful woman.
But no matter how strong a woman was, in front of her own child, her heart would always remain fragile.
After crying for a while, Giselle recovered. Looking at Luca sleeping in her arms, she revealed a mother's gentle smile.
Luke stepped forward, glanced at the battle marks all over the encampment, then looked toward Garen. "You held out for so long. You all worked hard."
"This is my duty and responsibility." Garen placed his right fist over his chest, his body seeming to shine with Demacia's most upright soul.
Of course he knew that Luke and the others outside had not necessarily been any safer than they were inside the town.
Facing the demon himself directly, they had likely been in even greater danger.
But Demacia had welcomed victory once again, no matter what enemy it faced!
"Everyone can rest properly tonight. You can all go back to your homes. The demon has already been dealt with by us, so there is no need to worry anymore."
Luke faced the townspeople and announced this news.
The next second, the townspeople cheered on the spot.
"Long live Demacia!"
"Long live Your Highness!"
"This is wonderful!!"
Passionate cheers echoed over the town.
It was clearly night, but the sky after the dark clouds scattered looked so bright and clear.
Amid the lively atmosphere, Luke went with Vayne and Frey to a quieter place.
"When I was alone earlier, I encountered Evelynn." As Luke spoke, he kicked Nocturne, who had followed them. "What's going on between you two? Explain it yourself."
Nocturne rolled once on the ground. After climbing back up, he began barking.
His clear barks rang out, one after another.
Luke listened with a deep frown, then kicked him again. "Are you getting addicted to playing dog? Can't you speak like a person?"
Nocturne: "???"
Weren't you the one who told me I could only bark?
He felt this kick was extremely unfair, and even his eyes turned resentful.
Only then did Luke remember that he really had been the one who told him to only bark just now. However, he did not feel the slightest bit guilty and said casually, "You need to learn to read the room on your own. From now on, bark when it's time to bark, and speak when it's time to speak. Got it?"
Nocturne silently swallowed the grievance and nodded. Then he said, "I was originally sleeping just fine, but then that woman showed up and suddenly woke me. She said something about how if two great demons worked together, we would definitely be able to create a mighty new era unlike anything before. When the time came, she would get tens of thousands of followers, build tens of thousands of altars for me, and we would grow bigger and stronger together, creating new glory."
Luke listened and nodded slightly. "You were obviously being sold a fantasy."
"I actually did notice, but I was still somewhat tempted, so in a moment of hotheadedness, I agreed to ally with her."
When Nocturne said this, there was still a bit of anger in his tone. "In the end, that damned female demon only wanted to use me to recover her power. The moment something went wrong, she ran faster than anyone. She had no sense of loyalty to the agreement at all!"
Luke snorted with laughter. "You two demons are seriously talking about loyalty to an agreement? If the situation had been reversed, you probably would have run even faster than her."
Nocturne did not refute this, because it was indeed true.
He was only very unhappy that the detestable succubus had escaped while he had been captured and left in this dangerous place.
At this moment, Luke looked toward Vayne, who had been listening for a while. "That's basically what happened. I'm afraid her original plan was to use Nocturne to draw attention while she secretly recovered her strength. Now that things didn't work out, she has probably already run far away."
Vayne's cold eyes flickered. After hearing this, she immediately made her decision. "I'll set out tonight and continue the pursuit. I absolutely cannot give her even the slightest chance!"
Even after so much time had passed, she had still never been able to let go of the hatred in her heart.
But hatred was no longer the only driving force that kept her from stopping.
Her obsessive pursuit was also because Vayne did not want to see tragedies similar to her own happen again.
So she had to stop Evelynn from continuing to bring disaster to the world.
Just as Garen had said.
This was also her responsibility and her duty.
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