Swish—swish—swish
The golden leaves of the Anti-Magic Tree sliced through the air at blistering speed, driven by the surge of primordial Force behind them. A heartbeat later, the Pym-particle-converted rays followed closely after.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh
The instant the Pym-particle beams struck the leaves, their palm-sized forms expanded abruptly—ballooning into massive surfboard-sized blades.
Brand flinched at the sudden surge in size. He couldn't comprehend why these elegant-looking leaves had suddenly grown several times larger right before his eyes.
Even so, when faced with the Anti-Magic leaves, he didn't hesitate. He brought both arms together, fingers spread wide, releasing a roaring tide of flames.
The radial burst of fire hammered the leaves mercilessly—but they were born to absorb magic. And now, enlarged by Duke, each leaf acted like a cleaver slicing straight through Brand's fiery breath.
Even so, the flames still managed to shift their trajectory, knocking several leaves off course.
Clang—clang—clang
A handful of Anti-Magic leaves crashed down at Brand's sides, embedding into the scorched ground or skidding in front of him. Only one passed close enough to graze his body before plunging diagonally into the molten lava.
"AAAH!!"
A shrill scream tore from Brand's molten body. The leaves of the Anti-Magic Tree were already sharp as blades, but propelled by Duke's Force, they carried terrifying acceleration.
The leaf that grazed him felt like being slashed by a high-speed chainsaw.
A long, clean cut appeared along the right side of Brand's waist—one that spilled not blood, but roaring, ever-burning flame.
Brand looked down at the wound and let out a roar filled with pain—and humiliation.
"Lowly mortal… you dare wound me!?"
"Wound you?" Duke shrugged casually. While cooling the surrounding temperature with bursts of Cryo Grenades, he tossed out dozens more Anti-Magic leaves like a goddess scattering flowers.
"I'm planning to kill you."
The moment the leaves left his palm, Duke swept his right hand across the air—sending every last leaf scattering outward in a deadly fan.
"Edith, lock onto every Anti-Magic leaf!"
[ Command acknowledged. ]
The Pym-particle emitter mounted on Duke's shoulder whirred to life, firing shot after shot of gigantification rays.
Each leaf that was hit swelled to surfboard size, then crashed heavily into the ground, wedging deep into the magma-laced floor.
At the same time, the ambient magic saturating the labyrinth began pouring into the leaves like water draining into bottomless wells.
The Anti-Magic Tree absorbed magic by nature, and its leaves—especially when enlarged—had even larger contact surfaces. Their absorption rate and efficiency became nothing short of monstrous.
Back in the Anti-Magic Stone Forest, Duke had done more than chat with Fiora. The forest itself, formed by the unique magic-draining properties of the Anti-Magic Trees, created a natural Anti-Magic Field.
A place where magic could not exist—any magical energy appearing within it was instantly stripped away.
Only soul-type magic like Duke's could function, and even then with minimal interference.
That was why he'd dared to walk directly into the forest.
The Anti-Magic Field didn't just silence spellcasters. It drained magic like threads being pulled one by one—until the moment one touched the stones, at which point all magical energy vanished instantly.
Creatures with naturally vast magic reserves died or collapsed into weakness almost immediately.
Hence, the forest housed only Stonehorn Beasts—no other living creatures could survive there.
That was also why Ryze used the Anti-Magic vault beneath the forest to store the World Runes.
As a pure, unparalleled mage, Ryze alone had some unique method that allowed free passage—but even in the Durand Notes, Duke never found a clear explanation of how.
To Duke's knowledge, only two beings could walk freely in the Anti-Magic Stone Forest:
One was Ryze.
The other… was Duke.
But Brand, the Vengeful Pyroclast, was certainly not on that list. He was a mass of eternal, insatiable wildfire—pure, unbound magic.
Which was why Duke intended to artificially create a miniature Anti-Magic Forest to suppress him.
It wouldn't compare to the real thing, but for a being made purely of fire like Brand, it was more than enough.
Dozens of Anti-Magic leaves stabbed into the ground, draining magic rapidly. A faint pulling force rippled through the chamber—weak, but noticeable.
Duke immediately sensed it: the suffocating heat that had nearly burst the labyrinth earlier was quickly fading.
"What… is this?"
Brand had noticed it too. His wounds usually mended with fire—but the gash left by the leaves refused to close.
"My power… is being drained!"
He stepped forward, reaching toward a leaf—but recoiled in agony as needle-like pain shot through his molten flesh. The suppression was unmistakable.
The complete Anti-Magic Stone Forest could suppress even World Runes. Duke's artificially-created mini forest wasn't nearly as powerful—but against Brand, it worked.
And Duke had more than just leaves.
After planting every Anti-Magic leaf he had, he reached into his inventory and pulled out the leftover Anti-Magic Stones.
He enlarged them one by one and planted them around the chamber.
The suppression on Brand intensified.
"No one suppresses ME!"
Realizing what was happening, Brand erupted with flames ten times fiercer than before. The inferno instantly swallowed the labyrinth again.
Duke raised a chunk of Anti-Magic Stone before him. Enlarged, it became a massive wall shielding him from the blazing sea.
He stared at the snow-white stone turning black at a visible pace and clicked his tongue.
Just how much energy had Brand extracted from the Rune fragment?
"AAAAARGH!!"
Brand's roar thundered through the flames as he turned the labyrinth into a golden sea of fire, filling every corner.
Even steel would melt into liquid in seconds.
Duke held his ground with the combined protection of his Force Barrier and the energy field of the Swarm Armor, opening his inventory to search for anything usable.
But in such extreme heat…
Nothing survived long enough to matter.
Brand had pushed the temperature beyond 5,000 degrees, and rising. Duke's earlier cooling had only delayed the inevitable.
In this environment, any device he deployed would be instantly burned from the inside out—rendering it useless.
The large-scale weapons in his arsenal weren't an option either. Using them here would obliterate him along with Brand.
He could still stand here only because of the armor's shield and his Force.
Without the Anti-Magic Stones weakening Brand, the temperature would've surpassed ten thousand degrees already.
"Should I use this…?"
He glanced at the Kryptonian Experience Card.
Five seconds remained.
But after a moment of hesitation, he looked away.
Using that against Brand would be giving him too much credit.
Crackle
Sparks burst from his armor. The soaring heat had clearly begun to fry delicate components inside.
"Such a pain…"
Duke clicked his tongue.
"Edith—add 'extreme-temperature resistance research' to my memo. High heat, low heat, harsh environment endurance—everything."
[ Added to task log. ]
"Good."
As he spoke, the Anti-Magic Stone in front of him turned pitch black—having reached its absorption limit.
"Looks like I've only got one option left."
…
Duke tossed aside the blackened stone, then thrust out his hand.
Force burst forth like a tidal wave—crashing forward with the power of a speeding freight vehicle.
Brand, who was unleashing flames wildly, was struck head-on and flung backward like a ragdoll.
"…Huh. That actually worked pretty well."
Duke looked at his palm, eyebrows rising slightly.
Come to think of it, he'd never actually used the Force seriously in combat. He'd always treated it as an auxiliary ability.
Strengthen focus.
Sharpen cognition.
Remove fatigue.
Sense emotions.
Detect subtle changes.
He'd always used it as support—not as a weapon.
His brief use of it in Demacia didn't count—it was a one-sided stomp.
After all, his technology alone made most enemies insignificant.
But here—where his tech was unusable, Wrath was hunting Xerath, Gluttony was useless in this environment, and Pride was out roaming—
This was the first time he was fighting seriously with nothing but the Force.
"What… was that?"
Brand, recovering from the blow, sensed the unknown energy that struck him. It was utterly unfamiliar.
Runeterra's power systems were countless and chaotic.
Magic systems, Freljord's witchcraft, Piltover and Zaun's techcraft, Shurima and Targon's divine power, Ionia's qi and ninja arts, Demacia and Noxus's martial systems, Udyr and Nidalee's nature power, Void energies—an eclectic mix.
The Force belonged to none of them.
Brand had never encountered such a power.
"This?" Duke raised his hand. Red lightning crackled across his fingers, forming a serpentine arc of destructive energy.
"This is the Force."
The red lightning writhed like a living serpent, then shot forth—piercing straight toward Brand.
"And the Force… is with me."
End of chapter....
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