Author's notes:

Hey, I'm posting the 4th part of the story. It's short, and to be frank, I did not have time to check it, so please if you spot an error, tell me.

Hope you'll enjoy it :) Expect the whole chapter will be posted at max at the end of the week.

As always, thanks for everything, and see you next time :D

Changelog:
2021-01-17: A preview posted.
2021-01-20: A whole chapter posted.

The sounds of carriage's wheels clattering on the rocky road started to irritate the masked ninja. Every couple of metres, the stone could be found buried partially in the dirt. The quality of the pathway was so bad that the cart was shaking all the time. From time to time, it seemed as if the vehicle was about to crumble. Who would have thought that in the empire like Nexus roads would not be made out of stone? Apparently, Akali was one of these people. The bulky man right in front of her was sitting silently, focusing on his very own thoughts. Darius did not even mention how long would the journey take. Their destination was all the raven-haired woman knew. Du Couteau's estate, in the assassin's mind, the name started to be considered a myth. After all, all the important people she already met were talking about it, but yet, she did not see it with her own eyes. Just like every single myth, she could think of, the place seemed to be covered in some sort of mystery.

"You're awfully quiet," the muscular Noxian started the conversation.

"Pff," the ninja scoffed quietly. "When was I the talkative type to begin with?" she opted to replied with a question of her own.

"You were taking much more before Talon's challenge, I'm pretty sure of that," the general responded with a slightly exhausted voice.

"It was nothing," Akali stated, tilting her head slightly to the right, toward the carriage's window.

"Your body language says something opposite, entirely," the Hand of Noxus made a comment.

"Believe in everything you want, I do not care about you believing me or not," the Ionian exclaimed nonchalantly, shrugging.

"How about telling me what happened there, heh?" the Noxian soldier asked. "After all, it's not a big deal for you, isn't it?" he started to mock the woman. "You've said it yourself, it was nothing to you," the man repeated the woman's words.

"Ehhh," the assassin sighed. "Fine, I will tell you everything," she added. "Still, I have one condition. Do not ask question till I finish, understood?"

"I can work with that condition," the dark-haired man nodded. "Shall we begin?"

"If that is what you really want… sure," Akali uttered slowly.

A couple of hours earlier:

The sound of clattering steel could be heard with every single move Akali made. Talon insisted on putting shackles on her. The man wanted the appointment with the 'rats' to look believable, at least at the very beginning. Akali felt the bonds wrapped around her wrists and neck tightening. Maybe it was just her head, but the young woman could swear that it was constantly happening. It did not take much time to start feeling as if she was being chocked, strangled. A hoarse cough escaped her throat.

"Comfortable?" Talon whispered into the woman's ear. "Just by looking at you, I can tell that you've never been chained before," he added, circling around Akali. "How does it feel to be on a leash, bonded like a feral animal?" the man asked, flashing a mischievous smirk.

"You are a sadistic freak, are you not?" Rogue replied, coughing. "You Noxians in most cases are the same," she added, visible struggling not only to speak but to take a breath.

"Oh?" the dark-haired man chuckled. "You really think that you're so different from me, from us?" he asked. "I'd disagree with you. After all, your hands aren't much cleaner than mine," he began laughing maniacally.

"Can we proceed with that farse?" Akali asked, trying to sound as nonchalantly as it was possible.

"Oh, right. I've almost forgotten about that nuisance. I'm enjoying what we have right now, way too much," Talon began mocking. "Watching you struggling to take a breath is… a sight to behold," he added with a full smirk. "Who would have thought that such a mighty champion could end like that? Don't worry, I'll unchain you before our duel. After all, there wouldn't be any pleasure in defeating you handycapped," the man whispered, emphasising every single word with venom.

"I hope you are enjoying this twisted game of yours," the raven-haired woman breathed out. "Cause, as soon as these shackles are dropped, I will make sure that you end up paying for that," she uttered, eyes fixed on the Noxian.

"Oh, my, my, my," Talon mocked. "Was it a threat that I heard?" he asked, smirking from ear to ear. "It seems that lioness still has her fangs," the man continued to mock.

"Fulfil your part of the deal," Rogue demanded. "As soon as you do your part, I will do mine," she added.

"Splendid! Follow me, pet!" the Noxian assassin ordered.

For a moment shorter than a fraction of a second, Akali wondered whether to end this farse right here, right now. That thought was discarded, after all, he was Du Couteaus' messenger. At least for now, the Ionian needed to play by Noxian rules. With a slightly muffed sigh, she followed the man.

"Ah, before I'll forget, put that on," the dark-haired man said, stopping in the middle of the step.

Maybe a moment later, Talon reached out toward the inner pocket of his coat. For a few seconds, the man was searching for something intensively. "Where have I put it?" he nagged when the search was extended. Finally, Akali was offered a plain white mask.

"Why bother using the mask?" the woman asked, surprised.

"You know, the intel is worth a lot, and for now, we don't want anyone to recognise you," Talon replied, shrugging. "For Ionina, you're dead, and it'd be best for both of us if that doesn't change."

"I see," Akali breathed out with difficulties, accepting an item, and putting it on instantly.

"Good girl," the dark-haired man mocked. "Maybe… I should give you some other orders, you know, just to make sure whether you're so obedient," he laughed.

"Cut that nonsense!" Rogue growled.

"As you wish," the Noxian uttered with a broad smirk playing on his lips. "But, who knows, maybe you'd end up liking what I had in mind," he giggled.

"I would certainly not," Akali assured the messenger.

Talon did flash one more mischievous smirk at the woman before turning around. He rose his right hand, ordering her to follow him. Akali tried to stay unphased, but inside, her blood was boiling, she wanted him to pay for all this nonsense. Still, her face did not give away any of her feelings, remaining emotionless. The tight steel wrapped around her neck was the problem she needed to be fixed as soon as possible. The cold metal began to mark her skin, bruising it, wounding it. The shackles must have been enhanced magically, about that, the Ionian was more than certain. Still, it did not matter currently.

Within the next 15 minutes, they reached the town hall where the audition was to be held. The masked woman would never consider the building to be impressive. It was far from it. The entirety of the construction was made out of uncut stone. The pieces were glued together with the help of a mortar, most likely a bad quality one. With just a couple of glances that she opted to spare, she noticed at least 10 spots where the mortar began to crumble. It was just a matter of time before all of these would collapse.

The members of the local militia guarded the entrance to the "rats'" lair. The woman must admit that the men were quite muscular, but their equipment's quality left a lot to be desired. They would not stand a chance against her. As it was to be expected, the guardsmen stopped them. Akali tried not to focus an ounce of her mind on the conversation between Du Couteaus' messenger and the soldiers. It did not really matter at all. After all, she needed to wait just for a couple of moments longer. For the 'rats' to gather inside this crumbling building, inside one room. The time of her wrath was fast approaching, all that was required from her currently was a bit more patience.

Patience, that was what she needed, sadly it was also something that she clearly lacked, at that moment apparently. From time to time, she allowed herself to hiss, growl. It was so uncharacteristic out of her, but she could not help it. With the corner of her eye, she could see the soldiers staring at her. In their eyes, the fear could be found. "They do not know who I am," she thought. It was evident that Talon lied to them, requesting the audition with the ruling council. Based on the guardsmen's facial expression, the male assassin might have introduced her as some kind of monster. Frankly, she did not care. For now, the Noxian was the one holding all the cards, but that situation was about to change really soon.

The soldiers let them through after a couple of prolonged moments of discussion with Talon. The dark oak doors were opened before them, inviting them to enter. The Noxian assassin did not waste a moment, heading straight toward the stairs visible at the end of the long corridor. Just to make her current identity a bit more realistic, she allowed herself to growl a couple of times, wriggling, trying to overcome the shackles. Based on the loud gasps that escaped the soldiers' throats, she succeeded in that act. Rogue allowed herself to smirk under the white mask. Even though the dark-haired messenger did not smile openly, a glimpse of admiration could be spotted in his amber eyes. The man put on the mask showing the utter boredom. Once it was on, he pulled the chain, forcing the Ionian to follow him. It was evident that he enjoyed the little show, but the time was of an essence. There was no point in wasting it. When the steel collar wrapped around her neck tightened, Rogue coughed, having difficulties to catch a breath. Without any other option available to her, Akali followed the dark-haired Noxian.

Before Akali could notice, they reached their destination. Reaching it did not take them as much time as she initially anticipated, which was wordlessly welcomed by the ninja. The quicker she could deal with the "rats", the quicker she would reach Du Couteaus' estate. The large room they entered was lighted by dozens if not more candles located all over the place. The pleasant smell of fruits was filling the air. At the very centre of the room, a round table with 5 chairs could be seen. The rulers of the city already were in, sitting on their rightful places, awaiting them. In front of Akali - 5 men not older than 30 years old, all wore long, elegant coats. The carafe with red wine was half empty. It seemed that 3 of the rulers opted to moisten their throats with the red liquid. Maybe… there were more details located inside the room, but Rogue's gaze was fixed at the aristocrats. Her rage could be barely controlled, tamed. "Just a couple of moments more," she whispered under her breath.

"What's the reason for your oh-so-sudden request, Du Couteaus' messenger?" the man seated right in the middle asked, not even trying to hide his disgust. Between the strands of his short, blond hairs, the diadem could be spotted. "Who's this freak that you're keeping on a leash?!"

"Armentis Khrell," Talon slowly started. "I believe that you have no right to give me orders of any sort," he finished with a broad smirk. "As long as my master wants something, you – rats – will do everything to please him, are we clear?" the dark-haired man asked, making threat openly.

"You're far from your master, dog!" the man with long reddish hair rose his voice. "You're in our city, you're under our protection, and you're required to obey our rules!" he added with a disgusting smile playing on his small lips. "I'd think twice before showing your bravery again. With just a flip of my fingers, the guards will be here in moments!" the red-haired man threatened.

"As if I was scared of your useless guards," the dark-haired assassin mocked, flashing a quick smirk. "My master has one last request for you," he added.

"Don't lie, little boy," the raven-haired man sitting at the very right of the table sounded. "Your master is not to be trusted, everyone knows that," he added, staring right into Akali with his stone-cold eyes. "Say what you have to say, and then, be gone!"

"What's the request of your oh-so-useless master?" the brown-haired man asked. "What does he need, money, women, people to die for him? He can find it outside of our city walls. A lot of dogs are there, waiting for someone to take a pity on them!" he chuckled, reaching out for his glass filled with the remnants of wine.

"One last request you said?" the man with platinum hair hummed. "What does Du Couteaus' house want?" he asked.

"Oh," Talon hummed, flashing a nasty smile. "He wishes to know whether his new invest was really worth all the effort put into it," he started.

"Is she the invest you've mentioned?" the blond-haired man asked, smirking. "By the look of things, I can say that if he wanted to find a girl to fuck in the heat of the night, he made a good decision. If he wanted her to be a soldier? Hmmm, how should I refer that? Your master made a terrible mistake," the man commented.

"You think so?" the raven-haired member of the council asked, raising his brow. "She's an assassin, under her thin skin, there're more muscles than either of you have," he commented toward the rest of the rulers.

"Vladimir Kross, you must have been joking," Krell uttered slowly. "She's a simple whore. A girl for one night, nothing more. By no means she's a soldier," he presented his opinion.

"Rats!" Du Couteaus' messenger called the council. "I'd really want to hear you arguing a little more, but, sadly, the time is of the essence for my master and me," he added with a nasty smile. "Killer, they're all yours," the dark-haired man whispered, breaking the bonds that chained the Ionian.

Vladimir did not seem to be surprised with the situation change. In a moment faster than a fraction of a second, he drew a short dagger, throwing it at Talon. Surprisingly, the assassin was not able to dodge the blade, at least not entirely. Just a moment later, the sound of steel piercing the flesh could be heard. The short blade reached the Noxian, burying deep inside his left shoulder. Before the shackles fell onto the ground, the low hiss sounded. Akali ignored the messenger. It was her time to shed some blood.

She ran toward the men. Within mere moments, the two identical blades were drawn. Even though Vladimir threw a couple of daggers more at her, she did not care. With little to none effort, the steel objects were dodged or reflected with her own swords. The red-haired man started to hit at the nearest heavy bell with all his might, he stank of fear. The raven-haired ruler was the only one who launched toward her while the rest tried to hide at the very end of the room.

Less than a few seconds later, the clattering of steel began. Vladimir stroke with his longsword, putting quite a lot of strength into the strike. Without hesitation, Akali pushed one of her blades forward, taking the strike's impact. At the same time, the second one was used to reach the ruler. The raven-haired man backed off swiftly, avoiding the slash, to some extent. The much shorter blade cut his coat, drawing a thin red line on his left arm. The hiss was muffled, but glimpses of hesitation began to appear inside the cold eyes of the man. Rogue did not let her opponent rest. As soon as the slash was dodged, she closed the distance between them, making Vladimir's long blade useless. The aristocrat tried to put some ground between them, but there was nothing to run soon enough. His broad back hit the wall, marking the end of his run. A fraction of a second that was bought by the sudden impact cost him his life. Without even an ounce of hesitation or mercy, the ninja priced the vest made out of fine leather, cutting the man's heart in half. Just a moment later, Vladimir started to choke on with his own blood, collapsing onto the ground soon later.

As from a distance, the sounds of heavy boots reached out Rogue's ears. The guardsmen were approaching rapidly. She needed to finish the job before she would be overwhelmed. The 4 still-alive council members were hugging the wall. They tried to act as if they could hide out of the Ionian's sight. With a quiet sigh, the raven-haired woman withdrew her blades out of Vladimir's corpse. Out of 5 of them, only Vladimir seemed to be a soldier or had some warfare experience. When the ninja turned around to face them, they began to whine, pleading for their lives. Sadly, for them, Akali had none mercy neither inside her mind or heart. The woman did not rush toward them, she opted to walk as slowly as she could. The remaining council's members were gone already. They feared her, it was evident. At least one of them dropped his weapon, trying to run past her, trying to escape. The try was an utter failure. Akali did not even spare a glance toward the red-haired man once she grabbed him. As quickly as she could, her blade descended onto the man, beheading him in an instant. The guards were getting closer, there was no more time for her to enjoy the bloodshed. As soon as the realisation hit her, she rushed toward the terrified men. Butchering them in a blink of the eye.

When the guardsmen finally entered the room, they found the ninja standing still beside the butchered corpses. She was covered in fresh blood, breathing steadily, fresh to fight. For a moment, she averted her gaze off of the dead bodies, to look straight at the soldiers gathering in the room. Even though she had the mask still on, no one would argue about what her glance meant. "Are you really want to fight me?" the silent question was asked. Rogue waited for the men to decide what they would be doing. Her muscles were tensed, flexed. Just a single excuse was all she waited for. If she had spotted it, she would have brought a carnage upon the guardsmen. She saw their hesitation, she understood it. Still, at the very end, one of them decided to try to punish the assassin.

Everything became a blur. Before the soldiers were given a chance to take a form, the raven-haired woman attacked. She did not care anymore. She wanted that day to be finally over. To achieve that, she needed to kill these men. If she received some wounds, it did not matter. She could feel her clothes, her skin to be cut. Akali could see gallons of red liquid splashing all over the room, all over her frame. Still, mostly it was not her own blood. Even though her mind seemed to be turned off, her body had a combat memory. It worked without a single thought running through Rogue's mind. It was just a killing machine, no, she was just a killing machine.

After some time, it was finally over. The raven-haired Ionian was bleeding from dozens of cuts located all over her body. None of them was deep, serious, needed to be taken care of. Beside her, the corpses of the local militia could be found. It was safe to say that the current scenery was not so different from the butchery. None of the bodies might have been still in one piece.

In most cases, the limbs were scattered all over the furniture, floor, or even ceiling. For someone not used to the bloodshed, the sight alone could cause a vomit. The sweet scent of death was filling the room, mixing with the smell of blood, faeces.

"I think, I've seen enough," Talon uttered very slowly.

"You did not think that I will fight all of them, did you not?" Rogue asked in a whisper-like manner.

"No, I've certainly not," the Noxian assassin admitted.

"You fear me, now?" the Ionian woman asked, fixing her exhausted eyes onto the dark-haired man.

"Yes," he replied. There was no point in denying the fact. He was scared of the woman. After all, she butchered at least 20 people with little to none effort. There was no point in lying, cause his eyes showed his feelings. The deep primal fear resided there.