Deep into the northern part of the Navori province, as they moved further from the Placidium, the environment began to deteriorate rapidly.
This deterioration wasn't just in people's moods; with the war, intense emotions were pounding against the already thin veil between the two realms.
Under the continuous tremors, although the veil hadn't shattered and was constantly healing, a massive number of evil spirits took advantage of the gaps before they closed to enter the Material Realm.
Deep within the dense forest, a giant evil spirit—entwined with withered wood—swung a heavy fist toward Akali. The heavy strike whistled through the air before it even reached the girl.
But Akali showed no intention of dodging. Holding her kama, she closed in on the spirit at a startling speed.
Just before the spirit could hit her, Shen, not far away, held up a sword finger and shouted low: "Twilight Infusion, Mental Barrier!!"
With Shen's chant, spiritual energy surged from him, condensing around Akali into a semi-transparent blue shield that tanked the spirit's heavy blow head-on.
At that moment, Akali fiercely hurled her chain-kama. The flying blade had been spinning rapidly even before her dash. Now, as she threw it, even though her body seemed frail and she possessed no magical talent, it didn't mean she lacked magic.
In Runeterra, any person or living creature has magic. Even inanimate objects, as long as they are remembered and believed in—even if only as a legend or a concept—will generate a corresponding avatar in the Spirit Realm.
Like Janna, who represents change, storms, fair winds, and good weather.
In this state, while Akali lacked spellcasting abilities, her ability to reinforce her physical body with magic remained. And to compensate for her lack of spells, Akali's talent for magical reinforcement and its effectiveness far surpassed that of an ordinary ninja.
That seemingly casual toss, accelerated by the spinning "storm," caused the chain-kama to erupt in a sonic boom the moment it left her hand. It instantly sliced through one of the spirit's entire arms.
The intense pain made the spirit roar in agony, and in that split second, Usan's (Zed's) figure appeared like a ghost behind the entity. His short blade flashed like white light, and the spirit's head flew into the sky. It collapsed, turning into damp black earth at a startling speed, losing all sign of life.
"The evil spirits are appearing more and more frequently."
Though the spirit was dealt with, Shen's face held no joy. Over the past few days, the closer they got to northern Navori, the more spirits they encountered.
A spirit fully entering the Material Realm and attaching its essence to mud and wood to manifest life—this used to happen only about a dozen times a year. Such manifested spirits were no ordinary grunts.
In a place like Zaun, they would be on par with Dr. Mundo or a beast like Warwick—monsters that cause regional panic.
And now? On this road, in just a few days, this was already the third physical spirit they had encountered.
To see a spark is to know the fire. Although they hadn't reached the frontlines where the border war was most intense, through the chaos of the Spirit Realm, Shen and the others realized that this war was far more than it appeared.
Akali ran her finger through the ring at the end of her kunai, spinning it casually while saying coldly, "Hmph. If you ask me, it's the Noxians' fault. Since they're causing the ripples in the Spirit Realm, we should just kill them all!"
"Calm down, Akali!" Shen frowned. "Remember the teachings of the Kinkou. Fighting violence with violence is not what the disciples of the Order advocate!"
"What's wrong with what I said?" Akali was annoyed by Shen's lecture. She knew her perception of the Spirit Realm was far inferior to Shen's, but Akali wasn't a disciple of the Eye of Twilight branch.
"The duty of the Eye of Twilight is 'Stargazing,' but I am a ninja of the Fist of Shadow branch. My duty is 'Pruning'!" Akali said irritably.
"The war brought by Noxus has filled this land with countless spirits—it's just the beginning, and physical spirits are appearing at dozens of times the normal rate. These are just the ones we've hit; what about the ones we haven't? What about the combat zones closer to the coast? There must be even more! For the sake of Balance, we should drive every last one of those bastards out!"
Hearing Akali, Shen's expression softened slightly—at least she said "drive out" and not "kill them all."
He said seriously, "But what are the consequences of that? It would make the people even more hostile toward anyone from outside Ionia, or even outside their own province and village. Once such thoughts take root, Ionia's Spirit Realm will fall into a long-lasting imbalance. This concerns the future of all Ionia; we must solve it cautiously and properly."
Akali seemed to want to say more, but limited by her experience, she didn't know how to express her thoughts. At that moment, a leisurely voice drifted over.
"No need to be so tense. Change is one of the main themes of this era."
Looking toward the sound, Faen returned to their side, holding a massive bat's head in his hand. He tossed the head onto the ground with a calm expression.
"I heard your spirit blades can lay these spirits to rest when you kill them? I brought this one back; you handle the rest."
After a moment of hesitation, Shen nodded and drove his spirit blade into the bat's forehead. The bat began to dissipate at a staggering speed.
An evil spirit made of mud and wood is tricky enough, but a spirit with physical flesh and blood usually requires a large group of Kinkou elites to subdue.
And if Shen remembered correctly, Faen had only been gone for less than ten minutes...
To subdue such a spirit alone in that time—even a renowned Master couldn't have done it, right?