"Strange, why are they coming back again?"
Duke took a sip of wine, the warmth rushing to his head. He loosened the top two buttons at his collar to breathe easier, then frowned as he spotted two figures flying toward him. Stroking his chin, his left eye flashed slightly, bringing the night's shadows into sharp focus.
One was the same raptor knight from earlier. The other wore light armor forged from Demacia's sunsteel, carried by a giant eagle with wings stretching over two meters, following close behind the raptor toward Duke's position.
"Quinn?"
"Why would she head this way?"
"And more importantly…"
The drone gave another warning. Duke turned his gaze to where it indicated, frosty air surged wildly through the forest, and ghostly blue flames twisted into a searing line of fire, stretching forward, leaving behind a trail of frozen scars. A warrior clad in Frostscale armor skated effortlessly across the ice, riding the momentum of his slide.
"No way… those barbarians can ice-skate?"
Duke drank again, then glanced at Quinn and the raptor knight preparing to land. By now, he had pieced the situation together in his mind.
"So, they went out to wipe out a Freljord infiltration squad, lost two of their own, and now they're coming here to beg for help?"
"I'm not even that close with her!"
Withdrawing his gaze, Duke watched the raptor knight descend. Blue Rock Falcon Valor clutched Quinn and slowly brought her down. At two meters above the ground, Valor released his grip, letting Quinn roll smoothly on landing to disperse the impact.
"Cecilia, you've lost your head. We should've gone straight to the nearest watchpost, lit the signal, and called for reinforcements!"
Quinn's voice was sharp as a blade. The raptor knight she called Cecilia quickly tore off her helmet after dismounting. The raptor itself collapsed heavily to the side.
The bloodied wound in its abdomen silenced Quinn at once.
The belly of the raptor Dawnlight had been pierced through by an ice spike. Blood around the wound had frozen into jagged shards, spreading outward, accompanied by the chilling crackle of ice spreading deeper inside.
The ice spike carried frost energy, relentlessly converting Dawnlight's lifeblood into more ice, gnawing away at its life.
If they tried to fly to the watchpost, Dawnlight would die mid-air, and Cecilia would fall with it.
She now faced a cruel choice: abandon her companion, or carry the burden and fail the mission.
"Traveler, please, help me!"
Removing her helmet, Cecilia revealed a soft, almost childlike face beneath messy golden hair. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she turned to Duke, pleading desperately.
"Even if you put it that way, what exactly do you expect me to do?"
Duke strolled closer with his wine bottle, eyeing the majestic raptor before him. He did know of a way to save it, but he and Cecilia were hardly close enough for such favors.
"The Lady of the Veil has given me a revelation. You can save her, can't you?"
"…The Lady of the Veil, huh."
Duke rubbed his chin. In Demacian belief, the Lady of the Veil actually referred to Morgana, though many often mistook her for the lamb spirit of Kindred.
"You mean the Lamb spirit?"
"Yes, her!" Cecilia nodded vigorously.
Duke gave her a long look. Her own life was stable enough, her agitation came entirely from her dying partner. Yet someone still living, claiming to have seen the Lamb?
Interesting.
The Lamb guided souls to painless release, not deliver revelations. Why her?
His confusion grew, but the ghostly blue flames in the distance advanced swiftly, nearly upon his camp.
"You ask me to help you, but we're complete strangers. Isn't this a little too sudden?"
Duke gave a helpless smile and shook his head. Cecilia pressed on anxiously, "By the honor of the Buveil family's eldest daughter, I swear: if you save my partner, I will give everything I have in return!"
"You're on your way to the Grand Capital for the Tournament of Glory, aren't you? My family can prepare everything you need, even arrange a meeting with Marshal of the Crown Guard."
"The Buveil family?"
Duke's brow arched. That was no small name in Demacia. And if this girl was the Buveil heir… no wonder she was close with Quinn.
The Buveil patriarch had once been rescued by Quinn and her late brother. In return, Lady Buveil had promised Quinn any favor she desired. But back then, broken and grieving, Quinn declined.
Only after meeting Valor and avenging her brother by slaying the beast that killed him, did Quinn, through Buveil's recommendation, rise to become a ranger-knight.
Her history even mentioned that Lady Buveil could introduce Quinn to her own kin, Tiana of the Crown Guard.
Tiana, who once held command as Sword-Captain of the Dauntless Vanguard, now sat on Demacia's High Council as Grand Marshal, married to the Commander of the Mage-Seeker Corps.
A woman of immense influence, and the Buveil family could bring even an unknown like Quinn before her. Their power was beyond question.
With their backing, Duke's own plans could unfold far more smoothly.
"Well, well. Who would've thought I'd stumble upon such a highborn lady in the wilds?"
He raised a brow, but his eyes shifted to the treeline. The Freljord raiders were almost here.
"But tell me, are you really prepared to pay any price?"
"Yes!" Cecilia nodded at once. "Whatever you desire, the Buveil family can provide!"
"Let's hope you don't regret that."
Duke's eyes gleamed meaningfully. Tossing her a vial of healing spray, he said, "Use this to keep it alive for now. I'll take care of your pursuers, then we'll talk business."
He slid on his trigger-rings and turned to face the approaching Freljord warriors. Their eyes fixed on the wounded raptor, then on Duke and Quinn.
"Kill them all. No one must know we were here!"
The mage slammed his staff into the earth. Their captain, wielding a True-Ice greatsword, stepped forward.
"Freljord savages."
Duke's figure blurred and vanished, ghostlike, as he closed the gap. Quinn's heart lurched, what kind of martial art was this? So swift, so strange!
In a blink, Duke stood before the captain. His Vibranium trigger-ring clenched tight as the True-Ice greatsword came swinging down.
Then,
BOOM!!
A wave of fire erupted with his fist, surging forward in an explosive torrent. The flaming strike slammed into the True-Ice blade, a thunderous impact blasting heat and air outward.
CRACK!!
The frozen blade shattered instantly. Duke's flaming fist punched straight through, smashing into the captain's chest.
Gunfist Technique, Carpet Bombing!
The captain was consumed by fire. Duke sidestepped the mage's eerie blue fireball, flames that seemed to freeze everything they touched, defying all natural law.
Chains between his trigger-rings rattled sharply. Duke unclenched his fist, steam hissing from his hand.
Leaning forward, he whipped out his arm, releasing a veil of searing vapor that blanketed the field.
Gunfist Technique, Smoke Bomb.
As vision faltered, Duke opened his inventory and unleashed Gluttony.
The beast materialized, shifting into its combat form, steam pouring from its body. Quinn and Cecilia lost sight of Duke completely.
"Eat them."
At his command, Gluttony lunged, swallowing a Freljord warrior whole. Then it spewed silk, ensnaring the rest.
"What, what is that?!"
The mage glimpsed the horror through the haze, his voice trembling.
Darkness swallowed their vision.
One by one, they were dragged screaming into Gluttony's cavernous maw. In moments, five, six of them were gone. Still unsatisfied, Gluttony glanced toward Quinn and Cecilia.
"Don't look at them. You can't eat those two."
"But father, this little snack isn't even enough to fill my teeth!"
"Stop whining. Be grateful you got a meal at all."
Duke patted the beast's side. "Now digest properly."
He returned Gluttony to his inventory and strolled out of the smoke.
"You… you finished them all?"
"All done."
Duke clapped Quinn's shoulder before she could question further. "Don't ask. It wasn't the kind of magic you hate most, anyway."
"Everyone has their secrets. Knowing too much will only hurt you."
"Now then."
He turned to Cecilia, who was pale and trembling, torn by fear for her dying companion.
"Let's talk about the terms of our deal."
End of chapter....
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