Miss Vi, who had been leading the charge, was intercepted halfway there. A man dressed in dark leather armor emerged from the shadows and crossed a pair of serpentine, dark-red curved blades against Vi's attack. The blades were thin as cicada wings, yet they held their own against the powerful Atlas Gauntlets, though they clearly couldn't gain any advantage. The man suddenly kicked at Vi's side. A glint of cold light flashed brilliantly in the night sky, making it clear that his boots were no ordinary footwear. Vi noticed this too and quickly twisted aside, then swung another punch at him.
The evenly matched pair soon became locked in a stalemate, trading blows at close quarters. Zakel took the opportunity to escape amid the chaos. Ling Ying naturally saw all of this, but stayed where she was without joining the fight. She was on guard. She could feel some kind of shadowy power gathering around them.
"Careful!"
At the faint whistling of a sharp object cutting through the air, Ling Ying suddenly shifted to the right, placing herself in front of Caitlyn. The Doran's Blade, wreathed in Void Flames, swept through the air, and several dark energy arrows instantly evaporated. Before Caitlyn, the intended target, could react, Ling Ying had already dashed several meters away. She planted a foot against a cargo crate and vaulted high into the air, driving her sword down toward the spot below where she sensed the shadowy power gathering. But...
"No one?"
Ling Ying landed lightly on her toes, then quickly looked around. Apart from the stacks of cargo and the tools left behind by the dockworkers, there was nothing else nearby. The dim dock lights cast their shadows on the ground, where they swayed and drifted in the breeze from the canal.
"!"
Ling Ying suddenly realized something, but she was too late. The shadows all around her had already gathered into a mass beneath her feet. Several twisted Shadow Thorns solidified within it, quickly wrapping around her calves and spreading upward. Ling Ying almost instantly lost control of her legs and couldn't move. More Shadow Thorns were forming and striking toward her. Her situation had turned perilous in an instant.
But then, the situation suddenly changed. Before the thorns wrapped around Ling Ying's body could creep past her thighs, they began convulsing wildly as if shocked. The strange effect soon spread to all the Shadow Thorns. One by one, they twitched, then quickly withered and crumbled. Ling Ying seized her chance to break free, raised the Doran's Blade high as it erupted with surging flames, and brought it down in a powerful strike.
An explosion rang out, followed by flying chunks of stone and dirt and a billowing cloud of dust. The commotion was so great that even Vi and the Crimson Elite Soldier, who had been fighting, paused and looked over. Ling Ying strode through the smoke with her sword in hand. The shockwave lifted her skirt and sent her silver hair fluttering in the wind. Dark Purple Flames intertwined and burned at her sides, like two coiling fire dragons. They lit up the dim harbor and drove back the strange, twisted mass of shadows before her. Ling Ying stepped forward, and the shadows retreated with each step she took, until they had nowhere left to go. Suddenly, the mass stretched and changed shape, transforming into a tall, thin figure in a black robe, as slender as a bamboo pole.
"Hshwkwkhkalla..."
The Black Robe stopped retreating and stood its ground as Ling Ying advanced. A string of incomprehensible incantations came from beneath its face, which was made of pure, chaotic dark energy. Ling Ying couldn't understand it, of course, and she had no desire to. She turned her wrist and swept her sword through the air, sending a crossing pair of slashes toward the shadow. This time, it seemed in no hurry. A second before the blade struck, its entire body shrank into a cloud of black mist and scattered. It fluttered through the night sky before reforming elsewhere, appearing once more and continuing its unintelligible chant.
This game of hide-and-seek played out several times. When the last syllable left its mouth, the Black Robe stopped dodging Ling Ying's attacks. A great mass of shadow spread beneath its feet like a bog. Countless Shadow Thorns emerged from it, swaying densely in the night wind, making anyone who looked at them feel a chill run through their whole body.
"Roar!!"
The Black Robe let out a beastlike roar. The Shadow Thorns all stopped swaying in unison, then turned toward Ling Ying. Their tips suddenly swelled and split open. A moment later, a rain of Shadow Arrows shot forth. Seeing the danger, Ling Ying promptly rolled through the air and ducked between the cargo crates.
"Crackle..."
The cargo crates, made of sturdy wood and iron sheeting, were like paper before the Shadow Arrows. They couldn't withstand even a single volley and corroded into scraps scattered across the ground. Ling Ying ran constantly to dodge the endless stream of arrows, like a rabbit fleeing a hungry wolf. The situation looked grim.
"Heh heh heh..."
The Black Robe gave a horrible laugh, like sandpaper rubbing together. Perhaps watching an enemy flee in panic really was a source of great pleasure. But it soon noticed something was amiss. The purple flames on that woman's sword seemed to be growing brighter and brighter.
The Black Robe suddenly realized what was happening, but Ling Ying was a step ahead. She halted in an instant, then swung her sword in a horizontal arc. A surging Flame Storm rose up and roared forth, sweeping away everything in its path. Shadow Arrows, Shadow Thorns, and even the cargo on the dock all vanished in the flames. Ling Ying's first thought wasn't whether the Black Robe was dead, but...
"Caitlyn's not going to make me pay for this, is she..."
"Bastard!! You'll die!!!"
All right, from the sound of it, the thing hadn't died after all. Ling Ying looked toward the Black Robe. Almost its entire left arm was gone. That attack had clearly taken a toll, but it hadn't killed the creature. With the spirit of seeing a job through to the end, Ling Ying charged forward and leaped toward it, her keen blade aimed straight at its face.
"How dare you harm the flesh blessed by the Shadow!! You'll die!!!"
The Black Robe let out a shrill scream. Its long, thin right arm transformed into a scythe and swept across, covering a wide area in front of it. Ling Ying's expression tightened. She twisted in midair and dodged toward the blind spot of the scythe's swing. But before she could avoid the blade, a black flash suddenly appeared on her left, where there had been nothing a moment before. The next instant, before Ling Ying could react, a black warhammer smashed into her back. She lost her balance, and the sharp scythe was already upon her. With no time to spare, Ling Ying could only brace her sword in front of her and take the blow head-on. Metal clashed in a shower of sparks, and the powerful impact sent her flying several meters. She staggered several steps, unable to stay on her feet. Her Doran's Blade scraped a long furrow in the ground before she managed to steady herself on one knee instead of collapsing outright.
"Ptooey!"
Ling Ying spat out a mouthful of vivid purple blood. That scythe and hammer had clearly done serious damage. Compared with the Void Body, Ling Ying's human form was more agile in some ways, but the price was greater fragility. And... She looked at her sword hand. Purple, crack-like markings were spreading across her right hand. It seemed she'd pushed things too far just now. According to the Cloaked Figure, this was a sign that the Void Body had begun to devour her human form. If she continued using Void Power, the Instinct Consciousness that had once been suppressed might gain the upper hand again. Ling Ying reckoned she could still summon another Flame Storm, or perhaps an even more powerful Molten Flame Spear, if she went all out. But to be honest, she still wasn't sure she could kill the Black Robe for good that way.
The shadow slowly walked up to Ling Ying, growling as if possessed. It raised its scythe high.
"You defy the Shadow! You! Must die!!"
The Black Robe brought the scythe down without hesitation. But the scene it had expected—a decapitated Ling Ying—never came. At the last possible moment, an overwhelming surge of Void Power erupted beside her, catching the scythe in midair and stopping it cold.
"No!!"
The tall, thin shadow's astonishment was plain to see.
"If you want to kill someone, you should at least be prepared to die with them."
Ling Ying's voice was terrifyingly low. A colossal apparition gradually appeared behind her, solidified, and rose to its feet. It took the form of a grotesque, indescribable monster. This was Void Shadow, a skill that most intelligent Void Creatures could use: by using their own bodies as a medium, they connected to the Void and summoned a fraction of its power, temporarily strengthening their combat abilities. The Void Shadow let out a strange shriek, then opened its cavernous jaws and bit down on the scythe the Black Robe had swung. The dark scythe flashed violently several times before abruptly snapping in half. It shattered into specks of dark energy, which the Void Shadow greedily devoured.
"You're... devouring me?!"
At last, panic crept into the Black Robe's voice. It desperately tried to flee from Ling Ying, but found itself unable to move at all. The area around the Void Shadow was like the center of a massive vortex: nothing that entered could escape.
"No! How is this possible?! I'm a servant of the Shadow!! How can anything in this world devour the Shadow?!"
"Do you really think the so-called Shadow is invincible?"
Ling Ying sneered at the Black Robe. The purple cracks spreading along both sides of her face made her expression look as ferocious as a beast's.
"Tell me, have you ever faced the Void? Mortal!"
Ling Ying's voice struck like thunder, piercing straight into the heart. Even the Black Robe fell into a state of shock or bewilderment. After a long moment, it came to its senses and looked at its body, a third of which had already been devoured. Then it suddenly began to laugh maniacally.
"Hahaha! The Void!! I should have known! Only you! Only monsters from other worlds could do this. So you've already infiltrated human society so deeply? Unexpected... But you want to devour my body? I spit on you! I will never let my body be defiled by filth like you!"
After learning Ling Ying's true identity, the Black Robe suddenly took on the resolute air of a warrior ready to lay down her life for a cause. The hood that had covered her head slid backward, revealing a withered face covered in bizarre Shadow Runes. From its features, one could still just barely make out that it was a woman's face.
"Great Shadow Lord!"
The Black Robe shouted through a mouthful of blood, her words somewhat slurred.
"Your faithful servant, Vina Franken, offers this flesh and soul as a sacrifice! I beg you to bestow a little of your divine power, so your servant may defeat this demon from another world—the vile Void Creature!!"
"Boom!!"
The instant the Black Robe's words fell, lightning flashed across the night sky. At the same time, a stream of dark energy shot from her chest into the sky and merged with the lightning above. In an instant, it expanded into a massive Shadow Vortex. The next moment, everyone present heard a shout that rang out with the force of thunder.
"Iron Cavalry! Charge!!!"
Ling Ying looked up at the Shadow Vortex. A pair of enormous steel arms slowly emerged from within, followed by a pair of stout iron hooves. Along with them came a cavalry lance as large as the figure itself. Countless greenish souls seemed to dwell on its tip, howling and wandering.
Ling Ying's expression turned terribly grim, while the Black Robe woman laughed hoarsely. Even as the other half of her body disintegrated faster and faster, then was drawn into the Shadow Vortex in the sky, she kept laughing. Both she and Ling Ying knew that once the thing emerged from the vortex completely, the outcome of the battle would be beyond doubt. And yet neither of them could do anything to change it. The Black Robe had already sacrificed herself; all that remained was to wait as her body and soul vanished from this world and returned to the Shadow. As for Ling Ying, summoning and sustaining a Void Shadow of this caliber was already the limit of her power. Purple cracks now covered her entire body. She was like a porcelain doll, liable to shatter at any moment.
"Too weak..."
The thought suddenly flashed through Ling Ying's mind. She really was too weak. At the end of the day, she was still one of the lowliest Void Creatures, and even in this human world, countless beings could leave her helpless.
"Is there no other way..."
Ling Ying watched as the Centaur Cavalry in the Shadow Vortex grew more and more complete. Just as she was starting to consider retreating, the strange mark that had long lain dormant around her neck suddenly changed. The twisted tendrils surrounding it began writhing as if they were alive. The eye in their center opened and suddenly released a stream of dark energy much like the Black Robe's, pouring it into the Void Shadow, which was gradually losing ground. Black and purple energy intertwined and clashed, acting like a shot of adrenaline that once again strengthened the Void Shadow. It swung its swollen, enormous claw and forcibly snatched the Black Robe's body away—not only in the physical sense, but also the dark energy into which her body was turning as it flowed toward the vortex. That, too, was intercepted and diverted into the Void Shadow's mouth.
"How is this possible?!!!"
The Black Robe roared like a madwoman.
"That's a sacrifice to the Shadow Lord!! How dare you?! Shadow Affinity?!! How is that possible? How could it be you..."
The Black Robe never received an answer. Soon, the last fragment of her body vanished before Ling Ying and was devoured completely by the Void Shadow. Her black robe fluttered in the wind and slowly fell to the ground.
"No!!!"
An angry roar came from the sky. Without the Black Robe's dark energy to sustain it, the vortex began shrinking at a visible pace. The Centaur Knight's massive body, half of which had already entered the physical world, had become its fatal weakness. Whether it moved forward or back, the collapsing vortex couldn't possibly accommodate its body a second time. Caught between two choices, the Centaur Knight planted its lance and spoke like a thunderclap.
"Iron Legion!! Eternal and Unyielding!!"
"Bang!"
The Shadow Vortex finally collapsed, and the half-emerged body of the Centaur Knight shattered with a thunderous crash. Pure dark energy rained down from the sky and was devoured by the Void Shadow, which refused no offering.
The world fell silent once more. The noisy Black Robe was gone, as was the Centaur Knight, a one-man army. The clouds cleared from the night sky, and pure moonlight poured down upon Ling Ying as she knelt, seeming to breathe life back into her exhausted body. It also made her once-lustrous silver hair shine again...
Ling Ying managed a strained smile, then her body crumpled beyond her control. The moonlight remained with her, making her look like a sleeping beauty beneath the moon, pure and serene.
"Damn it..."
Covered in blood, Vi couldn't help swearing when she saw Caitlyn. Fair enough—fighting someone who was practically covered in hidden weapons couldn't have been easy. Her opponent's nimble movements and quick reflexes had left Vi, who preferred to charge headlong into battle, with plenty of extra cuts. Fortunately, most were only flesh wounds. Of course, what angered her most was...
"Here he is. Dead. He swallowed poison and killed himself. I was just thinking about how to keep him alive."
As she spoke, Vi lifted a man by the neck of his shirt as if he were a chicken, then tossed him down beside herself and Caitlyn. It was the man in leather armor who had just fought her. His face was now purple, and blood ran from every orifice. He was well and truly dead. Caitlyn glanced at the corpse, then said gently,
"Then it seems we only have one prisoner."
Caitlyn nodded toward Zakel, who was wrapped up in a net and still struggling with all his might.
"She had it about as bad as you did. Actually, worse—her enemy didn't even leave a body behind."
"She..."
Vi looked at Ling Ying, who was resting her head on Caitlyn's lap as if fast asleep. She was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"You saw all that just now? The whole thing?"
"Of course. It was hard to miss with all that commotion."
"Honestly, I can understand now why you were willing to take the risk and bring her in. If she hadn't been here, I don't think even bringing in every combat operative from the Enforcement Department would have been enough to resolve this."
Vi looked toward the destruction left behind by Ling Ying's battle in the distance. She suddenly sighed.
"But after this, that girl's threat level is going to shoot up by several grades. If the higher-ups at the Enforcement Department find out, they'll probably stop supporting your plan."
"So..."
Caitlyn replied, looking unconcerned.
"As long as those old fogies up top don't hear about this, it'll be fine. We were the only three who took part in the mission, after all."
Caitlyn's words made Vi draw a deep breath, but a moment later she burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, that's my partner. But this time you'll have to give me another reason. The last one doesn't count."
"Ah, well..."
Caitlyn lowered her head and gently brushed Ling Ying's hair with her hand. Then she smiled tenderly.
"Because look how harmless she is when she's asleep."
Far away in Noxus, thunder had rumbled over the Immortal Bastion many times. Heavy black clouds hung low over the towering Obsidian Tower, giving the impression that they could crush it at any moment. On a terrace of the main palace, a tall figure in a military cloak watched the stormy scene before him. He rested his right hand on a pitch-black cane, while his left was hidden beneath his coat, barely visible. Several ravens with dark-red eyes perched on the terrace railing beside him. From time to time, they lowered their heads to preen their black feathers or cawed noisily, deepening the oppressive atmosphere.
"Click."
The door opened softly. A figure dressed in a black-and-white maid's uniform slipped inside, but the person on the terrace didn't move. Only when the maid came up behind him did she lift the sides of her skirt and curtsey.
"Good day, Your Majesty Swain."
"I've told you before, Noxus no longer has a so-called emperor. Nor will it ever have one again."
Swain turned around and looked at the black-haired maid before him, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"You're still fond of such tasteless jokes, Miss LeBlanc."
"Hee hee hee..."
The "maid," having been found out, let out a string of bell-like laughter.
"True enough. Your position now far surpasses that of those fools in the Darkwill Family... Ah, forgive me. I forgot I shouldn't reopen old wounds. Brawn's rise to power was partly thanks to you, after all."
"If you were truly sorry, you wouldn't have brought it up."
Swain spoke coldly.
"Now then, tell me. What brings the head of the Black Rose all this way?"
"Ah, I'm sure you already know what I have to say. After all, it was an operation we carried out together. I'm just here to fill you in on a few details."
Now that they were discussing business, LeBlanc finally stopped joking. Still, she remained in character as the maid she was pretending to be, standing before Swain with her hands folded neatly, just like a proper servant.
"You mean the Black Storm Operation?"
"Exactly."
LeBlanc nodded slightly.
"Our plan was to use large quantities of Shadow Magic Potion to artificially induce the Black Tide, then guide the Black Tide Creatures along the currents toward the coast near Piltover and deal a devastating blow to the Piltover navy. But, as you already know, the Black Tide Creatures went out of control halfway there and then vanished without a trace."
"And the Black Rose's explanation is that the large-scale concentration and use of Shadow Potion caused instability in the magic energy?"
"Indeed. Even the Black Rose was trying something like this for the first time, so it's hardly surprising that some things went wrong. But... we found something interesting among the Piltoverians."
LeBlanc lightly flicked a finger. A Black Crystal floated toward Swain's desk, where a dark-red Demon Hand caught it in its palm.
The black crystal flickered for a while, then reflected a screen made of light and shadow before Swain. It displayed what seemed to be the contents of a newspaper.
"Shocking! A Brush with Death at Sea—An Interview with the Captain of the Silver Dawn."
Swain glanced at the headline's exaggerated Piltoverian style, then focused on the article beneath it.
"The Black Tide Creatures changed course halfway there and attacked a Piltover passenger ship. Then they vanished on their own after fighting a female swordswoman who stood up to them?"
Swain frowned in thought after reading the report. Accustomed to thinking through the causes and consequences of even the simplest events, his first thought was that the Piltoverians might have planted a smokescreen to confuse Noxus's assessment of the situation. But his human instincts also told him that the Piltoverians might not have noticed Noxus's true intentions at all. They might not even have realized the article contained information that needed to be kept secret.
"It seems reality is even more dramatic than we thought."
LeBlanc watched Swain brood with an unconcerned smile.
"By the way, before you make any decisions, there's one more thing I should tell you. We received word last night that one of your War Stone Masons, who had been lying low for six years, was exposed while smuggling goods out of the country. He and the Crimson Elite Soldier who had been escorting him were both lost, along with one of the Black Rose's Shadow Masters."
"I just learned about that before you arrived."
Swain looked at LeBlanc and spoke gravely.
"To be honest, I'm not surprised about the War Stone Mason or the Crimson Elite Soldier. They were ordinary people, after all. But your Shadow Master—I recall you saying the Piltoverians didn't have the means to keep one of them."
"That's why I said reality is dramatic."
LeBlanc wasn't angered by the jibe. Instead, she openly shrugged.
"It means something interesting has happened in Piltover, doesn't it?"
"Interesting? Perhaps. So what are you going to do?"
"Haha, I've decided to go there myself and see what's really going on. I'll also find out whether the girl mentioned in the newspaper actually exists."
"You're going to Piltover?"
A hint of surprise entered Swain's voice, and deep down, he was even somewhat pleased. He and LeBlanc had always been evenly matched rivals, endlessly at odds. Even now, while they were temporarily cooperating, they still schemed against each other behind the scenes. LeBlanc leaving Noxus at this critical moment was certainly good news for him. The Black Rose wouldn't be crippled without its leader, but dealing with the remaining seats would be much easier than dealing with the crafty old fox that was LeBlanc.
Of course, Swain's suspicious nature still compelled him to wonder what could make LeBlanc risk the Black Rose's fortunes and travel all the way to Piltover at this moment. But he soon set the thought aside. This time, he chose to believe the goodwill LeBlanc was offering. He nodded, his face unreadable, and said,
"In that case, very well. Once you're in position, I'll put Plan B into motion."
"Ah, the plan to bypass Piltover for the time being and stir up trouble in Zaun first? Then I wish you luck."
"And you as well."
"Hee hee hee, I will."
Her cheerful laughter abruptly stopped, and LeBlanc vanished from the room in an instant. It was all like an illusion, a flower reflected in a mirror or the moon on water. Only the crystal in Swain's hand, now devoid of its shine, proved that everything that had just happened was real.
"Patter, patter."
Rain began to fall, shrouding the entire Immortal Bastion in a misty curtain. Swain rang the magic bell at the corner of his desk. A middle-aged man who looked like a butler soon opened the door and entered, bowing respectfully.
"Grand General, what are your orders?"
"Have all the maids in the main palace quarter screened again. Then tell Darius to meet me in Blackrock Hall in an hour."
The butler promptly went to carry out his orders. Swain remained by the window, gazing through the heavy rain as he sank into thought.
Before you continue