Durin, like a gentleman, extended his right hand, gently asking with concern, "Madam, it seems your ankle is quite badly sprained. Can you stand up on your own?"
"It seems a bit difficult, sir. I might have to trouble you to help me up~" The woman with long, straight black hair lowered her head to look at her injured ankle, a troubled expression appearing on her delicate face, and she said softly, "I'm truly very sorry for causing you trouble…"
"Not at all. Extending a helping hand to a beautiful lady in need is what every gentleman should do," Durin said with a smile.
"Then I'll trouble you, sir, but please don't mind if I'm a little heavy~" The black-haired woman's smile grew even more beautiful, her white teeth glistening with a cold light under the streetlights.
Zzzzz…
The streetlights on the side of the road began to flicker, and after two crackling sounds, they suddenly went out with a "bang."
The entire alley was completely shrouded in night, with only moonlight reflecting through the windows of the houses, spilling into the alley and illuminating the black-haired woman, as if only she and Durin existed in this world.
Durin, however, seemed oblivious to all of this; he merely extended his hand, bent at the waist, and lowered his neck, intending to help the woman up.
And the woman smiled, her cherry lips gradually widening…
[Foolish.]
A mature, magnetic female voice suddenly echoed in Durin's mind; although extremely faint, it possessed immense authority.
In an instant, his mind first went blank, followed by a strong desire for destruction rising within him; countless buzzing voices surrounded Durin's ears, and the heart in his chest beat faster as if hot oil had been poured onto a power valve.
Durin's vision in front of him shattered like a kaleidoscope, then reassembled, and his mind completely detached from the strange state.
Huh? What's going on?
Durin was startled to find himself standing in front of the black-haired woman at some unknown point, and one of her hands was already resting on his palm.
Following that fair arm, Durin could clearly see a firm and ample, fair bosom beneath the black dress.
"What's wrong, sir? Weren't you going to help me up?"
The black-haired woman's smile remained unchanged, her gentle voice filled with a peculiar magic.
But Durin was no longer swayed; in fact, looking at her face, he suddenly realized this was none other than the vagrant woman who had tried to scam him the first time he came to Piltover!
Although her attire and demeanor were vastly different, her appearance and voice were nearly identical.
After a month, a vagrant woman had actually transformed into a noblewoman?
While such a thing wasn't impossible, connecting it with the black-haired woman's strange behavior just now, Durin immediately realized he might have encountered something dangerous.
His gaze suddenly sharpened, his pupils contracting to pinpricks, and he instinctively wanted to leave the place.
Snap!
But just as he tried to pull his arm away, his wrist was firmly clutched by a soft, rosy-white hand; the immense force emanating from it was like a tiger's vice, no matter how Durin struggled, he simply couldn't break free.
Durin's eyes widened; he tried to draw his weapon with his other hand, but to his horror, he found himself instantly solidified by the surrounding air, completely unable to move.
He couldn't move his limbs, nor could he turn his head; it was as if the only things he could do were breathe, blink, frown, and other very minor actions, as if the connection between his body and brain had been severed.
The black-haired woman slowly dropped her smile, gazing at Durin's cheek: "Ah… you're so strange. You've ignored me time and time again. I really don't like it when someone can resist my Charm…"
Her voice carried a hint of confusion, but this confusion quickly transformed into an intense longing, and scarlet appeared in the depths of her emerald eyes: "But it's alright. I'll make you fall in love with me, after all, a gentleman should feel compassion for a delicate woman… So, please, stay still, don't move~ Soon… you'll be mine!"
She extended her left hand, caressing Durin's cheek, and a strange chill emanated from her cold fingernails.
Durin began to feel anxious; he didn't want to be in a situation where he was the fish on the chopping block, but he didn't know if he was controlled by magic or restrained by some special means by the other party.
And as time ticked by, Durin's eyes widened further and further; he saw an extreme longing in the other party's gaze.
But he wasn't sure what object this extreme longing of the other party was directed towards.
However, one thing Durin was very clear about was that he had to escape his current predicament; to simply sit by and wait would be to wait for death!
Thus, Durin's lips began to tremble slightly, an intense pain deep in his mind came from the back of his head, and kaleidoscopic, fragmented colors swirled in Durin's consciousness; occasionally, he could hear a few murmuring whispers from the darkness.
Countless malevolent gazes fell upon him, all drawn to the incantation Durin softly chanted from his lips.
"Oh! You're chanting Ochnun? How impressive!" The Demon noticed the change in her surroundings. She observed the anomalies in the environment with interest, casually brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, complementing the tear mole beneath her left eye.
This seemingly unintentional gesture carried a strange magical power that almost made Durin stop chanting.
Fortunately, as the last Ochnun word fell, a rift appeared out of thin air in the previously dark corner.
Something seemed to be stirring within the rift. Seconds later, a skeletal hand forcibly pulled open the edges of the rift, and countless malevolent auras seeped out from within.
Next, a bony hand, burning with blue-green flames, shot out from inside and firmly grabbed the Demon's ankle.
Then, a skull, burning with blue-green flames, emerged from the rift.
"Ew~ what a disgusting skeleton, but... it's my first time seeing an Ionian use necromancy!"
The black-haired Demon seemed to be witnessing this scene for the first time. She covered her delicate lips with her palm, then squatted down and gently caressed the skull with one hand.
Then her five fingers suddenly tightened, plunging deep into the skull, and a large number of bone fractures covered the entire surface of the skull.
Crack!
With a crisp shattering sound, the entire skull broke into irregularly shaped bone fragments, and the undead flame that should have been burning transformed into a puff of smoke, visibly inhaled by the Demon into her nostrils.
The black-haired Demon's face showed a look of obsession, like the blissful feeling of a drug addict after achieving immense satisfaction.
She let out a delightful chuckle, her emerald eyes filled with extreme longing. She couldn't help but turn to look at the five skeletons that had emerged one after another from the rift, muttering, "This undead flame, filled with negative emotions, is unbearable to smell; it's simply too delicious~ I can feel my whole body screaming with excitement!"
"How are you so amazing, Mr. Durin? You can summon so many skeletons at once! I'll have to keep you captive and slowly devour your soul." The black-haired Demon seemed to ignore the charging skeletons. She provocatively winked at Durin, then extended her incredibly delicate tongue, licking around her lips. She even deliberately put her finger into her mouth, gently sucking it, her eyes full of seductive Charm.
When she took her finger out of her mouth again, it was accompanied by clear, viscous saliva, which the Demon re-absorbed into her mouth with her tongue.
During this brief interval, Durin's heart beneath his left chest began to beat violently again. This unusually rapid beating caused Durin's blood to flow quickly through his veins, a burning sensation spreading from his chest to his left arm, and then throughout his entire body. His originally stiff body was like ice meeting a raging fire; his body slowly regained control.
Durin decisively retreated a few steps. He drew the enchanted scimitar hanging from his lower back with his right hand and took the enchanted metal round shield from behind him with his left hand, holding it in front of his chest.
Then he cast Arcane Wisdom on himself. Under the sustained arcane energy, his brain returned to a clear state.
What exactly is going on?
Durin was puzzled, but he didn't have much time to think. With his left hand, he sketched the runic model of the Fire Tongue spell. Soon, he cast the first-ring spell, Fire Tongue, transforming it into a tongue-shaped flame that spewed five to six meters, its extremely hot air current surging towards the Demon like a tide.
However, the next scene left him dumbfounded. Facing the fiercely burning Fire Tongue, the black-haired Demon stood her ground, seemingly oblivious, her eyes filled with indifference and disdain, as if this small flame was not worth mentioning at all.
The flames of Fire Tongue enveloped the black-haired Demon, yet they couldn't even scorch a single fold of her black lace fluffy long dress.
Durin had never encountered an enemy who ignored his spells, but he also speculated that perhaps the opponent wasn't immune to magic, but rather that the spells he currently commanded were like child's tricks to her.
A monster?
Durin's mind immediately recalled the rumors that had been circulating in Piltover recently: the perpetrator of the serial murders was a man-eating monster!
Could it be this strange Demon?
But judging from her appearance, Durin couldn't find any monstrous features.
Could it be that this fellow would undergo a second transformation, like bosses in various games?
Most importantly, how did she know his name!?
How did she manage that?
Wait a minute... she just mentioned wanting my soul?
Suddenly, Durin thought of a special creature that perfectly matched these descriptions: satisfying its hunger by consuming human negative emotions, incredibly greedy for souls, yet possessing immense power, and being a monster.
--That is one type of creature: a Demon!
Upon reaching this conclusion, Durin turned and ran without hesitation.
Because in Runeterra, any Demon is exceptionally powerful and almost impossible to contend with. Famous characters like Pain Embrace Evelynn and Fiddlesticks, the Ancient Fear, are extremely ferocious Demons.
If this black-haired Demon truly is a Demon, then running is the only hope for survival!
Moreover, to increase the chances of a successful escape, Durin ran with a purpose. He needed to attract the patrolling Enforcers of the Piltover Guard on the main street. He believed that the Demon wouldn't dare to go on a killing spree in Piltover.
At the same time, while running, he also needed to carefully recall how Darkin Magic was activated. Perhaps... the Darkin Magic that had been dormant within him for so long could also increase his chances of survival!
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