Chapter 108: It Is Perfectly Normal for Brothers to Drive Each Other's Heads Into the Ground

Just as Ethan was pondering how to treat the patient without killing him, Jackie finally came to, his arms propping his body up from the ground.

"You're awake! How do you feel?" Ethan asked with concern.

In Jackie's blurred vision, Ethan appeared as multiple overlapping images. He lifted his head, trying to recall what had happened. He had been memorizing the patterns on the tomb corridor walls while waiting for Ethan when suddenly, a roar erupted from behind him. Before he could even register what was shouted, a violent gust of wind struck him. He had been sent flying into the wall and knocked unconscious, never realizing what had summoned the gale.

"Did you find the person? If not, we need to leave immediately! We can't handle this!" Jackie said, regaining his senses. He was just a humble archaeologist who knew a little martial arts; why did he always run into things like this?

"It's good that you're okay." Ethan breathed a sigh of relief and gestured toward the passage behind them. "Don't worry too much. Someone is taking care of that problem."

Jackie turned to look. From the bottomless depths of the corridor came periodic whimpers, followed by sounds like a pile driver smashing iron. The entire passage vibrated with these two sounds, to a ridiculous and exaggerated degree.

After watching the spectacle from the corner for ten minutes, a figure slowly emerged from the passage. Under the light emanating from the orb at the top of the tomb, Ethan vaguely saw Nasus carrying something in his right hand.

"Ethan, I've brought him." Nasus tossed Renekton, who he had been holding, onto the ground in front of them, greeted Ethan, and nodded to Jackie. "Greetings, friend."

Jackie, being rather impolite, didn't reply. He stared with his mouth agape at Renekton, who was taller than him even while lying on the ground. Renekton looked miserable; he was covered in blood, some of his scales had been ripped away, and he lay there limply, unable to even stand.

"Don't worry. He has lost his sanity and possesses less than a tenth of his combat strength. With the weight of thousands of layers of Wither upon him, there is absolutely no danger," Nasus said, noticing Ethan’s hesitation and assuming he was intimidated by Renekton.

Ethan, recovered from his shock, didn't offer an explanation. He took two steps forward and slowly extended his right hand.

*Snap!* Renekton jerked his head, his sharp teeth clashing together in the air as he stared at Ethan with murderous intensity. Ethan pulled his hand back just in time, startled; if he had been bitten, his arm would surely have been gone.

"My apologies, I was negligent," Nasus apologized, raising his halberd and smashing it down hard onto Renekton's head.

*Boom!* Renekton's head sank into the dirt. His body twitched twice, then went still.

So ruthless!

Jackie shivered, looking at Ethan with worry. Although he didn't know what Ethan had been asked to do, if he failed, he wondered if Ethan's head was as hard as the ground...

Ethan took a deep breath and placed his right hand on Renekton's shoulder. He closed his eyes, clumsily channeling the Holy Fire within him. To Jackie's eyes, tattoo-like patterns appeared on Ethan’s body, and a light bloomed from the center of his forehead. The light flowed down his arm, and a ball of flame ignited in his palm with a sudden *whoosh*.

*Sizzle...* Under the burning of the Holy Fire, a foul odor filled the tomb. Blue lines emerged on the surface of Renekton’s body and scales, intertwining and binding him tightly. Nasus watched with bated breath. He had nearly beaten his brother to death before, and only then had Xerath’s dark influence shown itself. Now, there was a reaction the moment Ethan's Holy Fire touched him—it looked like there was real hope!

Time ticked by. The spot where Ethan’s palm touched Renekton’s scales turned pale, and Renekton’s struggles grew increasingly violent. However, his struggle was strange: his left hand tried to lift his head, while his right hand pressed his own body down, as if trying to sink deeper into the dirt.

*Bang!* Suddenly, a surge of power erupted from beneath Renekton's skin, using the momentum of the Holy Fire to tear a hole in the "cage" left by Xerath. Nasus swept his hand through the air, catching Ethan and setting him on the ground before rushing to Renekton's side, watching his brother with excitement.

"Nasus!" Renekton yanked his head out of the dirt, staring fixedly at the other.

Nasus’s expression soured. Could it be that it had failed after all?

"I told you, don't hit my head so hard!" Renekton stood up, growling viciously.

Nasus froze for a moment, then laughed and opened his arms to embrace his brother.

"Wait a second, there's still a small problem. Let me handle it." Renekton roared, blood-red fury saturating his entire body. *Dominus!*

Renekton’s rapidly expanding form smashed a piece of the ceiling down, his stature growing to be a head taller than Nasus. He then grabbed the tightly stretched blue arcane lines across his chest with both hands.

*ROAR!!!*

Renekton exerted his strength, pulling the threads apart until they snapped into blue particles.

"XERATH!!! I am free! You wait for me!"

The fully liberated Renekton bellowed, the sound making Ethan and Jackie’s eardrums ring. Almost simultaneously, Ethan remembered Moray, whom he had left behind. He turned and dove into the sand, projecting his senses until he located Moray resting in the distance, then moved quickly toward him.

Watching Renekton and Nasus acting like brothers again, Jackie couldn't help himself. There were people fighting above! Was this really the time for a touching family reunion?

"Um... there is still a Shuriman emperor and Cassius fighting outside. Aren't you going to help? And that guy named Xerath seems to have gotten free, too."

Jackie looked up and asked. From the fragments of conversation he had overheard, he had pieced it together: Renekton and Nasus were brothers and Ascended beings of Shurima, the first one to appear was the Shuriman emperor, and the person they had encountered in the middle was their common enemy, Xerath.

"Do not worry. The Emperor has been awakened; he needs to vent," Nasus explained. "As for Xerath..."

"Hmph, that pathetic wretch has probably already run off to who knows where," Renekton added, his breath nearly blowing Jackie away.

"Renekton, control yourself," Nasus scolded, then bowed his head toward Jackie. "I will send you out first. This is no place for a mortal."

Jackie nodded. In truth, he had no other choice.