The jagged mountain rocks grew stranger the closer they came to the sky.
That extremely unnatural shape could only have been created by the unique might of the beings above.
Along the way, they had encountered other climbers too.
The mortals on the ground suffered all kinds of hardship, while the gods of the celestial realm pretended not to see.
"Now, they'll have to face us."
Atreus's gaze was firm. Now, they were heading toward that gate, the one leading to the beings that truly held power over this world.
They ran into two or three groups of Solari believers on the road. Aphelios alone was enough to handle them, using Calibrum together with Gravitum to strip them of their ability to fight.
By the time Pantheon reached the summit, only five soldiers were there to greet him.
They were only five soldiers from the Solari, but as the personal guards of the holy maiden Leona, they held an overwhelming advantage against ordinary humans.
After all, their advantage lay in their numbers, as well as the teamwork brought by years of training.
Atreus stepped forward first and drove his spear heavily into the ground.
His body did not radiate the Aspect's brilliance like it had in the Black Mist.
Facing mortals, he chose to answer with mortal strength.
With a single blow, one soldier fell. Unlike Atreus, who had gone all the way to the gate, Caleb aimed from below.
He was someone who had seen the cinematic. He was not so clueless that he would fail to understand what was about to happen.
When a massive Paddle Star came crashing down later, Caleb had no intention of standing beside Atreus.
That thing was even more ridiculous than getting flicked in the forehead by a 25-stack Mejai's Soulstealer in the game. Forget blocking it, Caleb did not even want to stand nearby.
The visual impact of that thing was just too stunning.
By the time Pantheon knocked down everyone present, it had only taken five strikes.
"Are you stacking your passive over there?"
Caleb looked at the high-spirited Atreus, who still did not know what he was about to face next.
A figure flashed out from beyond the gate, carrying the light of the sun.
It was none other than Leona!
Zenith Blade clashed against Pantheon's Comet Spear. Both sides poured in all their strength and struggled without giving an inch.
However, when Atreus leaped high into the air, Leona, who carried the power descended from an Aspect, was forced to retreat step by step.
Their stalemate did not last long. Just as Caleb expected, a Paddle Star flew in from far beyond the gate.
Leona immediately twisted aside and dodged that Paddle Star, whose target was not her.
Atreus almost instinctively raised a shield wall, then was struck hard by that Paddle Star and sent flying off the mountaintop.
"So this is how most climbers end up?"
For the "vessels" the Aspects looked down on, their endings were only a few possibilities.
If they managed to climb the mountain, five perfectly coordinated warriors would be waiting for them.
If all five warriors were dealt with and they still failed to win an Aspect's recognition, then Leona would take their head.
If Leona's killing failed as well, then the Aspect behind the gate would finish the job.
It was a little crude, but under such overwhelming strength, mortals would probably reach Leona's stage at most.
Someone as powerful as Atreus, who could resist Leona's Aspect-bestowed power with a mortal body alone, would simply be dealt with by one of Zoe's Paddle Stars.
"What do we do next?"
Kai'Sa was a little uncertain. She had to admit that Caleb's decision this time had been wise.
The Paddle Stars were far from over. Several more, dragging long tails behind them, were still rushing downward.
"Attack!"
As soon as Caleb spoke, a comet almost no weaker than the one Zoe had just launched descended from the horizon.
Atreus? That guy was tough as hell. He had been possessed by the Aspect of War, Pantheon, and later died in battle against Aatrox, yet he still managed to crawl back up and cut down Aatrox's weapon.
At the border between Shurima and Mount Targon, Aatrox raised his head and looked at the Paddle Stars, his eyes full of hatred.
"If I were not tied down by other matters and unable to go."
A low whisper came from his throat as he stared at the six-winged woman before him. She held two swords in her hands.
"You must face judgment for your sins!"
Her voice was grand and majestic, as if she were the supreme god of this world.
If a Demacian were here, they would surely kneel and shout praises to the Aspect of Justice.
"Do I need to remind you that I've killed things like you before?"
Aatrox's voice turned cold as well, and his single greatsword met her twin blades.
"Now is the moment of judgment."
…
Just as Leona raised her shield, her whole body radiating a blinding brilliance like the sun, Kai'Sa's Void Seeker and Aphelios's Calibrum attacked at the same time.
Seemingly dissatisfied with the power of his Calibrum rifle, Alune's figure appeared behind Aphelios.
"Moonlight Vigil!"
The Solari and the Lunari had already become increasingly irreconcilable over the years because of the Solari's arrogance and tyranny.
So when facing Leona, who had received power from an Aspect, Aphelios showed no mercy at all.
However, when the dust cleared, that figure was still standing.
"What do we do now?"
Yuumi's face was full of nervousness. The moment the situation looked bad, she would open the Book of Thresholds and decisively retreat.
After all, the aura here was still powerful enough that even ordinary people could benefit from it.
"No rush. Wait a moment."
Wait for who?
Yuumi looked down toward the foot of the mountain in confusion. Could that man really come back?
Their climb had begun just as night fell and had continued until deep night, when the sky was filled with stars.
Even so, asking him to arrive at this moment was a little too much, wasn't it?
Leona raised her Zenith Blade high toward the sky, and a burst of intense light immediately surged toward them.
"Scatter!"
Caleb did not think twice. He grabbed Aphelios and slipped into the wall, then shifted right in front of Leona.
Kai'Sa, meanwhile, flew straight to Leona's side at high speed and unleashed a barrage of Icathian Rain at her.
"Where did you come from?"
Leona's battle instincts were extremely sharp. The end of her Zenith Blade immediately released a strong light, pointing straight at Aphelios.
The sunlight-like radiance on her Shield of Daybreak flashed. If that blow came down, Aphelios's physical body, which only used moonstone weapons, definitely would not be able to withstand it.
However, Caleb merely stood silently behind him, and Leona's target shifted to Caleb instead.
"How?"
Leona could not help being startled. Generally speaking, most people would choose to stand in front of the person they wanted to protect and take the strike for them.
The skill of Zenith Blade used that exact mindset, moving her body to the latter's side before following with a shield strike.
However, when Leona truly arrived at the position, a sharp blade struck her armor without mercy.
The speed of three slashes was almost the same as a single cut. Before Leona could even turn her shield around, the armor on her body had already shattered.
Under a violent gust of wind, Leona felt her mind blur slightly, and then she was continuously struck in midair.
During this entire process, Kai'Sa and Aphelios were still pouring attacks into her.
"What… exactly is this?"
A spear seemed to have returned before the gate. In the instant before Leona lost consciousness, what she saw was that face that had gone and returned.
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