After the match.
Duke left the arena through the players' passage, slipping off the trigger-rings from his fingers as he walked. They weren't just for protection, those rings amplified his strikes, unleashing explosive bursts of power.
Every Gunfist fighter who wore a trigger-ring could tear tanks apart with their bare hands.
Some, it was said, could even sink a battleship with a single punch.
The fact that Duke had only just shattered half the coliseum showed he was still at the stage of honing his technique.
A true master would leave no survivors with a single blow.
Pocketing the trigger-rings, Duke stepped out of the tunnel and immediately spotted Lux waving excitedly beside Vayne.
"Duke!"
Her face lit up with uncontained joy.
"How was it? Today's match was amazing, right?"
Duke quickened his pace, ruffled her hair with a rough palm, then remembered Lady Lestara's invitation.
"By the way, Lady Lestara of the Crownguard family mentioned there's a gathering of the Illuminators tomorrow. She asked if you'll attend."
"Teacher, will you come with me?"
Lux didn't answer for herself. She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.
"Alright, I'll go with you."
"Mm-hmm!" Lux nodded eagerly, beaming.
Duke turned to address Vayne, but a familiar voice rang out first.
"Lux!"
"Ah, Katerina!"
Lux's joy doubled when she saw Lady Lestara's daughter hurrying over, especially with Sona at her side. Her eyes shone brighter still.
"Sona, it's been so long! I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too."
The monotone of Sona's voice amplifier didn't dull her expression. Her face alone radiated heartfelt happiness.
"You must be the Shouna family's child!"
Lady Lestara, catching sight of Vayne, covered her mouth in shock. "After your parents were murdered, where did you go?"
"Lady Crownguard."
Vayne clearly knew her. Her expression didn't change as she replied, "Complicated things happened. But it's all in the past now."
"Then I'm relieved." Lady Lestara smiled, grasping her hand warmly. "When your parents were killed, I worried for you. Now that I see you alive and well, my heart is at ease."
Vayne forced a faint smile. After a few moments of polite exchange, Lady Lestara turned and handed Duke a folded slip of paper.
"Duke, here's the list of people you asked me to investigate."
"It was the Ein family who moved this time. But you mustn't act recklessly."
Duke accepted the note without opening it. He tucked it away and smiled.
"Don't worry, Lady Lestara. I won't lose control."
"That's good."
After chatting a bit longer, the Crownguards took their leave. Duke led Vayne and Lux out of the arena as well.
On the way back, the three strolled through the market. News spread swiftly among the city folk, by now, the story of Duke's overwhelming victory had reached every corner.
Unlike the scorn and whispers of before, the gazes that followed him now brimmed with envy and admiration.
"Looks like you've made your name today," Vayne teased as Duke picked out fresh crabs.
Without looking back, he replied, "As long as you have strength, nothing is a problem."
"If not for the Star Spirits watching over Demacia, I'd have torn this place apart already."
"Star Spirits?"
Vayne raised a brow.
Duke gestured for the shopkeeper to bag the crabs, then said, "The ones you Demacians call the Winged Guardians."
"You mean… they really exist?"
"Of course. They're still here, still watching Demacia."
"The Winged Guardians were sisters. But their ideals clashed, and they went their separate ways. The so-called 'Veiled One' is one of them."
Lux's eyes widened. "I've heard stories about the Veiled One! The legends say she redeems the guilty and vengeful, and avenges the innocent who suffer persecution. There's even a statue of her in the forest near the Illuminators' church!"
Duke raised a brow. "Then tomorrow I must see it for myself."
"I'll take you there, Duke!"
"Alright, alright."
He humored her with the tone of one coaxing a child. After finishing their shopping, the three returned to Vayne's estate.
Dinner that night?
Naturally, hotpot.
Simple, fast, and delicious.
Afterward, Lux retired to her room for evening study, while Duke sketched designs at the table and Vayne cleared the dishes.
"What are you going to do?"
Her sudden question made him look up.
"About what?"
"Those people who opposed you and slandered you today, they didn't crawl out of the dirt on their own. What will you do about the one pulling the strings?"
Wiping her hands dry, Vayne set the towel aside and sat on Duke's lap.
"Of course, I'll return the favor in kind."
Duke's smile was casual.
Vayne looped her arms around his neck, pressing her forehead to his.
"Want me to help?"
"No need. It's just a small matter."
His hand slipped around her waist. "How about some exercise instead?"
Vayne cupped his face, locking eyes with him.
"Then love me with everything you've got, my dear."
…
Late that night.
Once Vayne had fallen into deep sleep, Duke tucked the blankets around her, donned his white coat, and climbed to the rooftop with Edith in hand.
"Deploy all reconnaissance drones."
He released the drones from his storage. Edith seized control instantly.
"All drones deployed, boss!"
Her voice buzzed in his skull via bone conduction. Duke unfolded Lady Lestara's note.
"Surveil everyone at these addresses. Twenty-four hours, nonstop."
"Yes, boss!"
The swarm of drones dispersed into the night, wings flashing, vanishing toward their targets.
Duke yawned. With the drones on the hunt, he only needed patience. Old man Ein wouldn't escape his fate.
"Alright. Sleep."
He set Edith aside and headed back downstairs.
…
Black Rose Headquarters, the Dreadwing Prison.
The underground cells were silent, steeped in darkness. It was the dead of night. The Mageseekers on duty lounged half-asleep, waiting for shift change.
Sylas sat cross-legged in his cell, head bowed, seemingly asleep.
Tap, tap, tap…
Footsteps rang crisp in the stillness. Sylas's ears twitched, but he didn't lift his head. Probably just the next shift arriving.
In the guardroom, the weary Mageseeker frowned at the colleague entering late.
"You're only just getting here? Keys are on the desk."
He stretched, yawning, oblivious to the strange darkness flickering in his fellow's eyes.
"Remember to patrol. Don't doze off, or you'll regret it."
Grabbing his coat, the guard reached the door when a sudden rush of wind whooshed behind him.
"Huh, "
Crack!
A long staff smashed into his skull.
Thud!
He dropped dead instantly, eyes wide with confusion, as if unable to fathom why his comrade had turned on him.
The impostor picked up the keys and strolled to the end of the corridor, stopping before Sylas's cell.
"They say you're Demacia's most dangerous mage."
It was a woman's voice. Sylas opened his eyes.
"That depends on who I'm facing."
His gaze fell on the sickly aura of corrupted magic coiling around her, a presence as revolting as maggots burrowing into fruit.
"And you are?"
"Someone giving you freedom."
The woman's voice echoed as her host-body unlocked the cell. Shadow magic streamed from her fingers, slicing through the shackles that chained Sylas to the stone.
"You're free now."
The Mageseeker's lips curled into a grotesque smile as she tossed the keys onto the floor.
"No one's watching. Once you step outside, allies will be waiting."
Still speaking in his exact voice, she grasped her head in both hands and slowly twisted.
Snap!
Her neck broke with a sickening crack.
Sylas stared at the corpse at his feet, then bent to pick up the keys. He drew a deep breath and stepped out of the cell.
His stride quickened, chains dragging behind him, the forbidden stone cuffs clanking against the ground. Freedom beckoned.
Bursting from the prison, Sylas stood under the starlit sky and inhaled sharply.
"Heh… heh heh…" His suppressed laughter bubbled up into a manic cackle. His eyes burned with joy at his release.
"I'm finally free!!"
"Hahaha!!"
Hands pressed to his face, shoulders shaking, he peered through his fingers. In his eyes, fury and hatred burned like wildfire.
"Are you ready to taste the suffering we endured?"
"Demacian nobles!!"
End of chapter....
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