"RAWWWR!!!"
A terrifying roar echoed through all of Bilgewater, drawing every gaze in the city skyward.
The colossal beast, nearly a hundred meters long, reared upright, its resurrection scream piercing the darkened sky like a death bell tolling across the harbor.
Those in the Upper City who witnessed the scene wore expressions of sheer horror.
"The greatest horror of Harrowing Night has arrived!"
"The Black Mist of Harrowing can sever the living from life itself, and resurrect corpses as undead. It's a catastrophe unlike any other!"
"Miss Fortune is delusional, thinking mere mortals could stand against the Harrowing!"
"Hah! Let's see how she dies."
"That thing's been revived by the Mist… normal humans don't stand a chance!"
"Wait… that sound… hoofbeats?!"
"Damn it, everyone, get to the cellars! The Shadow of War has come ashore!"
As soon as the Abyss Maw was resurrected by the Black Mist, chaos engulfed the Upper City. And when the sound of hoofbeats echoed from the fog… it chilled everyone to the bone.
CLANG!
A mantis-blade parried a descending war halberd. Duke, eyes narrowed, barked at Miss Fortune,
"Sarah! I told you to deal with that Abyss Maw Olaf brought here. What the hell did you do?!"
"I did handle it, after you told me, I rushed it," she snapped. "Chopped up the corpse and dumped it into the deep sea."
Duke's eyes burned.
"Didn't I tell you to burn it, completely?!"
He pointed toward the Abyss Maw, now rising from the waters near Bilgewater's coast. His tone held a trace of helpless fury, everything had been going well… until this beast reappeared and ruined his carefully laid plans.
Miss Fortune turned on her first mate.
"Rafen! What the hell were you doing?"
"I followed your orders, Captain!"
"Forget it. Arguing now won't help anyone," Duke growled, ending the pointless blame game. Even with all his preparation, the Abyss Maw had returned, just as the lore foretold.
"Someone's behind this..."
Duke cursed inwardly. Even if the body hadn't been completely burned, it should've remained buried in the sea. Someone must've tampered with it.
"Who did this? Hecarim? Or…"
A figure flashed through his mind, someone with little raw strength but a bottomless pit of cunning, malice, and manipulation.
Thresh. The Chain Warden.
Despised by his peers for his weak combat prowess, yet feared for his manipulative genius. Thresh's real weapon wasn't his lantern, but his words, able to pierce through flesh and straight into the soul.
"This is such a pain."
Duke's mechanical tentacles shot out, snatching a Dreadknight and his mount into the air. In one brutal toss, both were flung away, only to be consumed midair by a wave of dragonfire from Pride, reducing them to ash.
"Pride, take care of the rest. I'll handle the Abyss Maw!"
Behind him, the octo-mech arms fired a blazing laser that burned away the thick fog before him.
"ROAR!!"
Pride roared in response, bracing his massive legs and charging forward like a juggernaut. His body slammed into the advancing undead, holding the line at Thieves' Square.
Duke, seeing the pressure briefly relieved, summoned a swarm of Hive Drones, deploying them at the center of the square.
"Edith, activate the hive core. Give everyone here an extra layer of protection."
"Tahm!"
"Boss!"
A whirlpool spiraled beneath Duke. Out peeked Tahm Kench, sheepishly glancing around.
"If you wanna run, now's the time. I can have you back in Piltover in a blink."
"Cut the crap. Send me to the Abyss Maw. I'm taking it down."
"What?!"
Tahm grimaced. He didn't fear the Harrowing, but hated it with a passion, like a person recoiling at the sight of moldy food. It was instinctive.
The Mist severed emotion. For a demon who fed on emotion, it was like cutting off his food supply. Still, under Duke's orders, he'd appeared at this year's Harrowing.
"Quit whining. Let's go!"
With Duke leaping into his mouth, Tahm muttered,
"He reeks of blood… sheesh."
In a flash, the vortex reappeared at Bilgewater's outer docks.
The Abyss Maw, now fully risen from the deep, was drifting through the void on threads of black fog. As Tahm opened his mouth again, Duke leapt onto the dock, his eyes locking with the massive creature ahead.
Its bulk dwarfed everything. If it broke through here, the Lower City would be nothing but rubble.
"Tahm, go back to the square. If anyone gets injured, warp them straight to Blue Rose Estate."
"Got it, boss."
Tahm vanished, leaving Duke alone to face the reanimated terror.
"Just you and me now, beast."
"Let's end this."
Meanwhile, back at Thieves' Square, the air grew heavier. The Black Mist writhed as if alive, and new Dreadknights emerged once again.
Jayce noticed the change in the fog and gritted his teeth, bracing himself.
BOOM!
His Mercury Hammer smashed a frozen Dreadknight, hurling it from its saddle and shattering its armor.
But then… the fog grew tentacles, wrapping around the scattered fragments and reassembling them. A moment later, the knight reappeared, climbing atop a new steed and summoning a war axe into his hand.
"Are they… unkillable?!"
"Ha! Can the dead die twice?" Graves scoffed, pulling the trigger. A rain of bullets tore into the knight.
"As long as the Mist remains," said Rafen between heavy breaths, "they'll just keep coming back. Again and again."
Dark clouds swirled. Undeath surged.
"So this just… never ends?!"
"AHH!!"
A scream rang out. A sailor was impaled mid-charge, his body torn apart before he even hit the ground.
The pressure on the square exploded the moment Duke left.
"We fight to the end!"
Miss Fortune clenched her fists, forcing herself to stay composed. The Mist might be endless, but they still had Duke.
And more importantly, each resurrection takes longer. Each kill slows the next one.
Hive Drones deployed mini-drones to help reinforce the barricades.
Inside Camille's Hex Ultimatum, one Dreadknight was reduced to scrap, cut off from the Mist.
But remove the field, and the Mist would reclaim them…
"RAAAWR!"
Pride alone battled ten Dreadknights. Blades and axes shattered his crystal armor over and over, but each time, it regenerated instantly.
More knights turned toward him. He stood like a bastion.
"No one… takes a step forward!"
His metallic roar echoed across the battlefield.
Far from the square, the Abyss Maw finally made landfall. Its size was like a moving fortress, casting a shadow that swallowed the entire dock.
Duke's octo-arms flared. Magitek thrusters roared at full power, laser beams scorched a glowing line across the creature's body.
Yet even under full assault, it didn't stop. It came crashing toward him.
"Father! We must retreat!"
"Engage flight mode, up we go!"
As his daughter's voice rang in his comm, WALL-E launched skyward with Duke aboard, barely dodging the crushing weight of the beast.
The Abyss Maw landed hard, its bulk shaking the shoreline.
Then, without warning, fog-like tentacles burst from its front, unfurling like a spider's web, slamming forward, grabbing at everything in its path.
The creature dragged itself forward, its grotesque mouth yawning wide,
As if it intended to swallow the entire world.
End of chapter...
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