The members of the Black Rose gathered inside the ballroom of the sanctuary as the moon rose higher into the night sky. As Ahri and I took a stand in the center of the room besides Yasuo, Swain and Leblanc, I noticed an assortment of figures I had not seen earlier. Each of them had on similar dark colored masks to hide their identity, and long blacks cloaks with the symbol of the black rose embedded into it. A few held staffs, while some carried swords or were otherwise empty handed.
Draven stood besides Swain, his hands on his two battle axes with a menacing look on his face, as if preparing for the best slaughter that would come in the history of his fight pits.
In another corner of the room, stood the members of House Du Couteau. Marcus Du Couteau stood at attention, while Katarina and Talon were arguing about something in the back. It might have been major, though I doubted it was anything more than simple sibling banter. Behind the three, stood an entire gathering of black hooded figures, no doubt the superb assassins House Du Couteau had gathered over the years.
"Alright." Swain announced. "The time is nigh. You all know the drill. This will be a night remembered for the ages. For the Black Rose!"
"For the Black Rose!" The members of the Black Rose echoed throughout the chamber, and I attempted to join in the chant. Yet, I yelled out the words slightly too late, and hid embarrassingly behind Ahri while she giggled.
Swain and LeBlanc led the Black Rose down the many twisted corridors of the sanctuary, until eventually, we arrived at a stairway going upwards. At last, we arrived at a set of ladders, which lead upwards into an opened manhole at the top. I was about to put my hands on the railing to climb upwards, before I suddenly felt a hand on my back. I turned to see Swain lightly shake his head, before pointing at Talon and Katarina.
"A dozen guards, most kills win." Katarina smirked at her brother, before swiftly ascending the ladder.
"Get a head start! You'll need it." Talon muttered with an annoyed expression, before hurrying up the ladders himself.
"Alright. Follow them, but stay quiet." Swain said at last, and we started to ascend up the ladder one by one. I peeked my head upwards towards the night air, and found myself below the gates of the Immortal Bastion. The massive tower of steel loomed above me, and I crawled towards the side before scanning the area for Katarina and Talon.
Although Talon was nowhere to be seen, I noticed Katarina dashing between the blink of an eye towards different Noxian soldiers, spinning to slash in a circle before moving on towards her next target. She vaulted into the middle of a group of Noxian tower guards, and started to spin at an incredible speed, all the while throwing daggers in different directions. In the blink of an eye, the group of guards were no more. She brushed her red hair out of her eyes, as another Noxian guard lunged at her bravely with a spear. She dodged to the side, and was about to slash his throat when a shadow emerged seemingly from nowhere to reveal Talon, who rammed his knife into the Noxian's back.
"Hey dumbass! That was my kill!" Katarina told Talon angrily, while putting her daggers back into her belt. Talon laughed before blocking a slap Katarina had aimed towards his face.
"Shut up you two. Stop bickering." The old voice of Marcus Du Couteau sounded from behind me, and the old man stumbled out of the manhole towards his children to break up the fight.
Ahri, Yasuo and the rest of the Black Rose emerged from the manhole, and LeBlanc hastily directed her sorcerers to form a thin line around the Immortal Bastion. At last, she started to chant an incantation, and a purplish beam shot into the air, joined by similar beams from her followers that grew upwards to form the shape of a dome, creating a powerful illusion between the Immortal Bastion and the rest of Noxus.
"Black Rose!" Swain yelled, raising his voice at last once LeBlanc's spell was complete. The sorcerors struggled as they continued to channel magic, maintaining the Illusion. "To battle!"
With a yelp, Swain unleashed a torrent of crimson magic from his demonic hand, breaking through the metal gates at the entrance of the immortal bastion. The Black Rose swiftly stormed the entrance of the Immortal Bastion, and with the element of surprise at our hands, we easily disposed of the scattered Noxian guards. I had to admire the bravery of the Noxians for even though they were severely outnumbered, none of them surrendered and instead chose to perish in battle. We rushed down the middle hallway, until the corridor split into three separate sections.
"Alright." Swain cried, and raised his demonic hand. "House Du Couteau! Secure the right wing! Ionians, left wing! Draven! With me."
Our forces split up, quickly dividing themselves into four sections. Ahri, Yasuo and I were in one group, looking upwards towards the left corridor while Marcus led Katarina and Talon, followed by an assortment of hooded figures. Their cloaks swished in the wind from the open doorway. Swain and Draven, the latter of which had unhinged his axes from his shoulders and was spinning one of them repeatedly in his hands, led a squad of Black Rose swordsmen down the middle hallway. The rest of the Black Rose members prepared defenses around the main corridor, both to ensure that we had a pathway of retreat as well as to defend the mages outside to ensure they can continue their spell.
Yasuo raised his sword, and dashed down the corridor which was lightly defended by scattered groups of Noxian guards. Yet they appeared to be regular guards, not members of the Trifarian, and they fell easily at Yasuo's blade. A shower of arrows rained towards us, and Yasuo unleashed a wall of wind to shield us as Ahri spirit rushed towards the Noxians, unleashing a torrent of spirit fires that incapacitated them. A larger Noxian in heavy metal armor carrying a hefty axe stalked towards us, and blocked one of Yasuo's sword strikes, swatting the swordsman away before advancing towards me. Ahri sent a heart shaped projectile at the Noxian, which made him drop his weapon and glance towards her with an expression of longing before Ahri finished the Noxian off by throwing her orb of deception in his direction. The Noxian dropped to the ground as the orb passed through his chest.
I sheathed my sword as I realized I was getting completely carried by Ahri and Yasuo, who could take down Noxians faster than I could spot them. Instead, I dedicated my time to looking at the different technologies Noxians had stored inside the Immortal Bastion. Perhaps some would even prove to be of use in our endeavor here in Noxus. As Ahri gracefully jumped past a Noxian she had disposed of, his soul now removed from his limp body, I ran over to the table he had stood guard over to take a look at the gadgets laying on it.
A couple of hextech syringes filled with a greenish liquid substance lay on the table, and beside them stood a makeshift laboratory that held beakers filled with a similar substance as in the syringes.
"Ahri!" I called out, wanting to ask what they were.
"Give me a moment sweetie." Ahri replied, as she hastily dashed sideways to dodge a Noxian's spear thrust. "I'm a bit occupied right now."
Turning my attention back towards the table, I found boxes that were labeled with the cities of Piltover and Zaun, and I deduced these were smuggled goods from the two neighboring cities. Judging from the green chemical cooling in the laboratory, I assumed they must have been the potions Swain had mentioned that Boram had attempted to mix in his attempts to prolong his life. Though I doubted the current solution in the syringe was effective, a blend of both hextech and chemtech must have been quite powerful, so I threw one of the syringes into my backpack in case I might need it for later.
Next, I found another piece of blue and gold colored hextech equipment labeled with the words "Hextech Alternator". It was attached to some sort of vacuum device, with a large red button built into its bottom. A small, empty glass tube was attached to the device, and an opened notebook lay beside it.
"Portal Accumulator, Shuirma." I read. "Used to absorb void rifts, can store portals for later usage."
Shrugging, I stuffed the device into my bag along with an assortment of other smuggled goods which included a black powder pistol from Bilgewater, a hextech grenade, and a pale white dagger labeled with the name "Relic Knife". Although the blade of the knife was incredibly dual, it glowed a strange shade of white which I found to be quite interesting.
At last, I stood up from the table and ran after Yasuo and Ahri. The corridor had been scattered with the remains of Noxians here and there, and I heard the sound of combat in the distance. At last, I managed to catch up with Ahri and Yasuo, though I was forced to leave behind a few tables of interesting gadgets in the process.
Ahri waved cheerfully for me to join her as I drew near, and I ran over to her. She and Yasuo had finished off the last of the Noxian guards, and she was standing over some type of lever while Yasuo had sat down to take a drink from his waterskin on a nearby bench. A massive iron gate had blocked our advance, and I realized the lever probably opened the gate way.
"Alright Wentao." Ahri murmured. She ruffled my hair with one of her hands, before turning her attention back to the lever. Her face glowed with a cheerful brightness, which contrasted the eerie darkness of the exterior of the Immortal Bastion. "I sense a heavy disturbance in the Spirit Realm right behind this gate. I bet Sion's right through this corridor. Are you ready?"
"Of course." I nodded, a fiery spark burning in my mind as I prepared myself mentally for the battle to come. Through all of my days in Runeterra, Sion would be the first actual threat I would encounter. Yasuo had fought Sion himself, and even somebody as powerful as him had lost to the risen warchief. Deep inside, I wondered what the point of coming along was even for. So far, I had done absolutely nothing aside from perhaps fighting a Noxian back in Ionia as well as giving another Noxian a small cut on the wrist.
"Awww. Don't think like that." Ahri cooed, no doubt having read my thoughts. "It's thanks to you that we've come so far in the first place. If you hadn't wandered off and found Irelia, we would never have crossed paths with Sett and we might be stuck defending the last of Ionia right now. The Black Rose might not be able to defeat their current Grand General without us."
Ahri patted my head reassuringly, before grasping the lever and pulling it downwards. With a slow cling, the gate swung open to reveal a tunnel leading downwards into a circular chamber. Intense red light glowed from the entrance of the room, and we edged our way stealthily downwards. As we reached the room, my mouth dropped open in surprise.
Standing before me at the farthest corner of the room, was a massive figure the size of a vertically placed dump truck holding a ginormous war axe. A massive fiery furnace was in the center of his stomach, emitting waves and waves of heat. The figure, or Sion rather, had gray skin like the molten rocks of a volcano, and blood red fiery eyes. Buried inside the skull of his head, was a small ceremonial knife. In the center of the room, stood a red figure that I had nearly missed due to the overall glow of the surrounding area. Yet even with his back towards me, I recognized the figure of Yone.
"Brother!" Yasuo cried out, while drawing his own sword. Yone, who appeared to have just materialized within the chamber himself, turned to give Yasuo a wink before holding his two swords in his signature stance and charging towards Sion. Without hesitation, Yasuo leaped into the fray with a cry for battle.
"Watch out for yourself darling!" Ahri told me, giving me an urgent smile before summoning her orb of deception and dashing into battle. I drew my sword, and somewhat lamely followed her lead. Perhaps a younger me would have blown my 'ghost' to look slightly more heroic, but I had learnt by now to hold on to my resources until I truly needed it.
Yone swiped at Sion with his Azakana blade, gaining a small red barrier around himself as Sion's axe crashed into him. The barrier blocked the axe's impact, though Yone was still thrown to the side. Sion roared, chucking a nearby wooden table at Yone. Yone was unable to get up in time, and his body shook as he was trapped under a large piece of wood. As Sion prepared to crash his axe into Yone, Yone made a throwing motion and his soul left his body. A glowing red wall of spirit magic shielded his material body from Sion's axe as Yone dashed around Sion in spirit form, unleashing a fury of sword strikes. A single red tether connected Yone's spirit to his real body.
"Ha!" Yasuo cried, as he drove his sword into Sion's ribcage. The bruiser barely had time to react before Yasuo dashed behind him to unleash another strike. "Hasag!"
Wind swirled around Yasuo, as he charged up his tornado of steel. Ahri dashed behind Sion to unleash an entire combo of spiritual magic, burning through Sion's flesh. The giant roared, slumping forwards as Yone dashed with the force of a hurricane underneath Sion to knock him into the air before Yone's spirit hurled back towards his body. Now without the immediate threat of Sion, Yone was able to free himself from the wreckage.
"Hasagi!" Yasuo shouted, as he unleashed his tornado. A massive whirlwind drove though the room, lifting the already airborne Sion higher into the air. Yasuo's figure swiftly dashed behind Sion, slashing at the giant repeatedly with his sword while holding him afloat in mid air. Ahri dashed gracefully onto Sion's back, leaping onto his shoulders while she struggled to remove the knife from Sion's head. With nothing better to do, I repeatedly drove my sword into Sion's left leg.
But our efforts were futile. With a grunt, Sion unleashed a mighty wave of heat from the living furnace in his stomach, so intense that it formed a blood red barrier around him which exploded and knocked us back onto the ground. Ahri raised her orb, which had changed to a vibrant shade of green. Through it, she channeled spirit magic from the souls she had absorbed in the previous fight in the corridor into each of us, both to heal our wounds and to renew our energy.
We readied our weapons, and once again charged in the direction of the undead warchief. I activated "ghost" to dodge left just as Sion slammed his axe downwards towards my head, narrowingly avoiding the impact. Yet as I watched Ahri, Yasuo and Yone once again launch their attacks towards Sion with renewed vigor, I knew it was in vain. We weren't going to win like this. Yet as Sion knocked Yone out of thin air with a swing of his battle axe before charging up his soul furnace once more, an idea slowly formed in my head.
With "ghost" still active, I sheathed my blade before barging towards Sion as the others retreated at the sight of his shield.
"Wentao! What are you doing? Get back!" I heard Ahri yell to my left, and for a humorous moment I was reminded of getting spam pinged in League of Legends for doing something either really cool, or really stupid. Yet, with only one goal in mind, I ignored her.
Leaping at the massive giant, I raised my hand to perform "barrier", and was knocked upwards as the blood red shield around him exploded. My barrier shattered upon impact with the blast of heat, yet I was unharmed. While Sion was momentarily distracted from unleashing such a large torrent of energy, I flashed midair and landed on the undead's skull. With a final rush of adrenaline, I reached out my hand, grabbing tightly onto the knife as Sion howled in confusion. At last, with a burst of strength, I yanked the knife out of the monstrosity's skull.
The effect was instant. As the blade was removed from Sion's head, blood red runic essence seemed to drain from his skull, giving me barely more than a second to jump off of Sion's head, and racing towards the furthest corner of the room. I noticed the essence within Sion's stomach swirl with a volatile color and realized the berserker was about to explode. I glanced towards Yasuo as he unleashed a wind wall in an attempt to block the incoming implosion, and saw Yone desperately attempt to summon an azakana shield with his red sword. Ahri was spirit rushing towards me, attempting to bring me out of harm's way, yet I knew it was too late. I waved my hands, signaling for her to run, before I felt a burning sensation on the back of my neck. I was cast across the room, bumping my head into a wall, and I knew no more as the veil of darkness descended upon me once again.
Sion Heartsteel op plz nerf
