Clank! Clank! Clank!
The sharp rattle of chains pierced Duke's ears just as a malevolent hook burst from the black mist, flying straight for his heart.
His instincts flared like sirens. In one fluid motion, Duke dived forward, slapped his palm against Wally's armored surface, recalled the mech into his inventory, and simultaneously drew his twin pistols, Ebony and Ivory.
"Nowhere to hide!"
More chains whipped out from the shroud, raining down like a fisherman's net. They came at Duke by the dozens.
Clicking his tongue, Duke cursed, "What is this, Doomsday Bots? This is overkill!"
But Ebony and Ivory roared with explosive fury. Each bullet found its mark, slamming into the incoming hooks with perfect precision. The enchanted rounds shuddered on impact, altering the trajectory of each chain midair.
One by one, the cursed hooks veered off course and buried themselves harmlessly in the ground, like Camille's grappling cables failing to anchor.
Buzz!
Tension shot through every chain as they snapped taut, only to dissolve into mist moments later. The black fog that had been coalescing toward the sinkhole slowly thinned, revealing a lone figure emerging from its depths, a shadowy form in tattered black robes, holding a spectral lantern.
"You belong to me now."
Horns curled from his head, and his entire form was cloaked in sickly green flames. From the mist floated the Chain Warden, Thresh, his glowing eyes brimming with greed as he swung his wicked hook.
"You sure about that?"
Duke rose to his feet. Behind him, the ocean had begun pouring into the crater, flooding the battlefield with crashing waves.
"Your mech's busted. Your weapons are gone. What else have you got?"
"Youth."
Thresh's voice echoed low and grim just before he flung his hook again, without warning.
"I've been watching your group for some time now. Right now, you're the weakest you've ever been."
"Ahh..." Thresh moaned with delight, his eyes locked onto Duke like a predator stalking prey.
"Such a succulent soul... it makes me shiver with anticipation!"
"Your soul will be my most precious plaything yet!"
Whoosh!
As the barbed hook sliced through the air, Duke dodged left. Ebony spat fire mid-dodge, and a single round blazed through the fog, slamming directly into Thresh's eye socket.
With his finger locked on Ivory's trigger, Duke unleashed a storm. Bullet after bullet crashed into Thresh's hook, throwing it off-course and sending it tumbling back to the warden's feet.
Thresh staggered. The bullet had shattered his skull, his flames now flickering faintly.
Without hesitation, Duke holstered his pistols and pulled out a Freeze Grenade. He bit the pin, lobbed it, and immediately followed with a Shock Grenade.
The moment the Freeze Grenade detonated, Thresh's lantern pulsed with a ghostly green glow, throwing up a protective shield. Frost crystallized across its surface, only to be shattered seconds later by wild arcs of electricity.
"I figured you'd let your guard down like the others before you," Thresh mused.
But Duke said nothing. His expression cold, calculating.
Thresh's eye socket, still leaking smoke, rapidly reformed in ghostly green flame. Inside those flames danced curiosity, and dangerous obsession.
He was intrigued. Duke wasn't cracking.
"You really are different from the rest," Thresh muttered.
"But in the end... it doesn't matter."
"Listen..."
Before Thresh could finish, thunderous hoofbeats echoed through the black mist, like an avalanche barreling across stone. Duke immediately knew who he meant.
"Hecarim's bloodlust is beyond control now," Thresh whispered.
"He is the Soul Eater's deadliest hunter, a living calamity. No one escapes his stampede!"
"Where do you think he'll go first?"
His voice grew sinister, weaving poisonous suggestions into Duke's ear.
"That red-haired girl... she's your lover, isn't she?"
"Such a beautiful girl... what a pity."
Thresh floated forward, only to be met with a barrage of gunfire. Bullets tore through his robes again and again, but he didn't even flinch.
Laughing madly, he cried,
"Soon, she'll be crushed beneath Hecarim's hooves!"
"Your friends, your family, everything you hold dear, they'll all be ground to dust in the mist of Soul Eater's Night!"
"Your desire to protect them? Pathetic! Like trying to stop a carriage with your bare hands!"
His manic laughter echoed deep into the fog, catching the attention of a lurking undead hunter.
"Enough with the theatrics, Thresh."
Duke's arms relaxed at his sides. He smiled faintly.
"Your cheap tricks don't work on me. You want to know what happened to the last guy who tried threatening me?"
He holstered Ebony and Ivory again, then reached into his inventory and pulled out a Hextech Cannon the size of a small child. Resting it on his shoulder, he aimed the sight right at Thresh.
"He and his ship are now sleeping at the bottom of the sea."
BOOM!
The cannon fired a searing beam of Hextech energy, slicing through the black mist like a beacon. Even as Duke fought the recoil, his boots shattered the ground beneath with every step forward.
"You think you can mess with my mind? Haunt my heart? Take my soul?"
"Let me tell you something, "
The cannon roared. Duke roared louder.
"DREAM ON!!"
Thresh's lantern flared again, its shield struggling under the relentless energy. He was being pushed backward, barely holding ground.
What is this kid made of?
Why isn't he flinching?
Why is his will so unshakable?
"This is..." Thresh laughed as he was consumed by the light.
"This is incredible!!"
"I'll rip your soul out and lock it in my lantern... forever!"
His hook tore through the energy beam, flying straight for Duke.
"I'll imprison you in the darkest corner of my lantern, bring your body, your friends, your family to the Shadow Isles... and make you suffer for a thousand years!"
"For all eternity!"
The cursed hook surged like a shark against the current, splitting the beam as it hurtled toward Duke. Calmly, Duke pressed a button on the cannon and flung it aside.
Thunk!
The weapon collided with Thresh's hook and was yanked away, landing near Thresh.
"What now? Your toy is gone. What else do you have?" Thresh mocked.
Duke reopened his inventory and pulled out a Gatling Gun, glowing blue and whirring with mechanical rage.
"Originally, this was meant as a gift," he said, cocking the gun.
"But lucky you, you get to see what a real inventor's arsenal looks like!"
He had stuffed every inch of his 10×10 inventory grid in preparation for Soul Eater's Night in Bilgewater. Not a single slot wasted.
In this world where magic reigned and science was just emerging, the only way to survive was overwhelming firepower.
BOOM!
The discarded cannon exploded behind Thresh, swallowing him in flames. He emerged from the smoke, robes tattered but laughing.
"Childish tricks!"
But then came the full fury of the Gatling gun, 3,600 rounds per minute.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRT,
Blue fire streaked through the void as hundreds of bullets ripped toward Thresh.
"You think this matters?" he roared, raising a shield to block the incoming rounds.
Suddenly, a radiant beam pierced the mist behind him.
A hooded figure emerged from the darkness, trench coat flaring, eyes locked with Thresh.
"THRESH!!!"
Fueled by rage and vengeance, the newcomer raised two arcane pistols, carved with ancient runes and forged from gleaming metal.
As he took aim, his unwavering will and burning purpose ignited the twin guns in pure holy light.
That brilliant glow lit up his face.
Lucian, the Purifier.
"Tch... He shows up now, of all times?" Duke rolled his eyes,
but his trigger finger never let up.
"Better not feed, man. I swear to god."
He hadn't seen Lucian since their farewell at the docks. Duke had searched, but the guy vanished completely.
Now, just when Duke was about to finish things, Lucian reconnects and tries to KS.
"Kill-stealing bastard..."
End of chapter...
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