"The killer must have come from Ionia. That's our best lead—follow it."
Duke slammed the photo down on the desk, pulled out his flask, and took a swig before turning to Caitlyn. "Check the passenger records of all Ionian ships that docked in Piltover over the past few days. You'll find him that way."
"But be careful," he added, pointing at her. "Especially you, Caitlyn."
Caitlyn frowned, about to argue, but Duke raised a hand to silence her.
"Look closely at the photo," he said. "This kind of trap—an invisible mechanism completely undetectable to normal senses. Judging from the structure, the blades must bloom open like a flower the moment it's triggered—and fast, extremely fast."
"Otherwise, you wouldn't get a scene like this."
He spread the photos out across the table. "Whoever designed this is both brilliant and utterly deranged."
He looked up at her, voice sharp. "You're an ordinary human, Caitlyn. One small mistake, and you wouldn't even have time to scream."
"Hmph."
Caitlyn gathered up the photos, glaring at him. "Are you looking down on me, Duke?"
"Vi's been modified by me—she's no longer quite human. Even if she slips up against a lunatic like this, she'll survive."
He smirked. "You, on the other hand… maybe not."
Duke opened his task log. "How about I schedule you for a physical enhancement? I've been developing a new type of genetic serum. I could reserve one for you to test."
"Thanks, but I'm not interested in being your lab rat."
Caitlyn's glare deepened. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Duke rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. But the offer stands."
"Hmph."
She huffed and turned away. Duke only shrugged. At that moment, Edith's voice came through the holographic display.
"Boss, the armor maintenance is complete."
"You two really don't take care of your equipment, do you?"
Duke handed over their armor cases, glancing at Edith's projected report with exasperation. "Forget the external wear—the internal damage alone hits double digits. Can't you two be a little gentler?"
"Hey, if it breaks, you'll fix it anyway," Caitlyn shot back, strapping on her armor.
Vi gave Duke a sheepish grin.
"By the way," Duke said, tossing two small devices their way, "these are for you."
He lobbed over two Sonic Drivers and Web Launchers, followed by their manuals. "The Sonic Drivers will help you subdue criminals effortlessly, and the Web Launchers let you scale walls or swing between buildings."
"Well, would you look at that," Caitlyn said with a faint smile. "Maybe you do have a conscience after all."
"Only on weekdays," Duke quipped.
After seeing the two women off, Duke stood in the doorway watching them disappear into the bustling city. Then he turned back into his workshop and sat down before the control console.
"Edith, have you finished scanning those photos?"
"Scan complete. Beginning projection."
The flat images rose into a three-dimensional hologram—a steel lotus blooming from a mangled corpse, every petal a razor-edged blade.
Duke studied the projection intently. The metal was unmistakably Ionian, engraved with their distinctive runes—yet the internal mechanics were pure Piltover clockwork.
"Tch. Never thought Jhin would come to Piltover this soon. I wonder who he's after… Camille, like in the original timeline, or someone else entirely?"
The moment Duke saw that steel lotus, he had known who the culprit was—
Khada Jhin, the Virtuoso.
An Ionian killer obsessed with the concept of beauty.
Once a mere stagehand in a theater troupe, Jhin's warped pursuit of perfection drove him to become a serial murderer.
In the province of Zhyun—and beyond, even into Shon-Xan and Galrin—he left trails of bodies. Travelers vanished, villages were erased overnight, their corpses mutilated into grotesque displays.
The people called him the Golden Demon, believing him to be an actual fiend. Demon hunters were hired. Even the disciples of the Wuju Order patrolled the land.
None succeeded.
The entire Zhyun province lived under the shadow of fear until, at last, the Council of Zhyun begged for help from the Kinkou Order—led by Master Kusho, mentor to Shen and Zed.
For four years, the three of them hunted Jhin. They never caught him—until the eve of the Spirit Blossom Festival, when they finally captured Khada Jhin and uncovered his true identity.
But instead of execution, he was imprisoned.
Years later, during the Noxian invasion of Ionia, chaos struck. Jhin was released—armed with a new weapon forged by the Kushooni Arms Factory: a gun powered by pure magic.
Upon his return, he marked his rebirth with a new killing—his art of death evolving into performance. And now… he had come to Piltover.
The very scene Riot once teased in that old CG—Jhin versus Camille—was about to become reality.
"Didn't think you'd show up here, Jhin," Duke muttered, tapping the desk. "But since you have, finding out why won't be hard."
"All I need to do… is catch you."
He leaned back in his chair, eyes glinting.
"That gun of yours… fascinating tech. And you yourself—perhaps you'll be my ticket into Ionia."
"Boss, the paint job is complete," Edith reported.
"Good. Suit me up. Time for a field test."
"Understood."
Duke stood, moving to the armor platform he'd built one idle afternoon. The floor panels split open, and a sleek red-and-yellow suit rose up from below.
The Crimson Ant—a pure mechanical battle suit, its yellow stripes forming the motif of an armored insect. No magic cores this time; a clean nuclear reactor powered it, with streams of quantum blood pulsing through its conduits.
Miniaturization tech borrowed from the Pym particles allowed it to shrink or expand via tiny triggers embedded in the index fingers.
Unlike his sentient suits, this one was run by AI alone. Duke had learned his lesson—the last thing he needed was another self-aware armor developing its own attitude.
He already had three enough headaches—WALL-E, Pride, and Gluttony—and five more "Original Sin" prototypes in the works.
The Crimson Ant armor split apart, segments hovering and locking into place around him. In seconds, it had assembled perfectly around his frame. The faceplate sealed with a hiss as power surged through the circuits.
"Quantum blood flow stable. Systems online."
"Deploy the Fireflies," Duke ordered. "Full-city scan. Locate anyone matching these traits—Ionian male, brown eyes, limping gait, walks with a metal cane."
He paused, narrowing his eyes.
"And any man with uneven shoulders, dressed in white, wearing a porcelain mask—arrest on sight."
"Search all major theaters in Piltover and Zaun. He'll be watching from the audience."
"Acknowledged, boss."
The workshop's skylight opened, and a swarm of tiny drones—shimmering like fireflies—took flight.
Each Firefly drone was a micro-engineering marvel: capable of stealth, reconnaissance, and even assassination, all thanks to Pym particle miniaturization.
Duke watched them vanish into the city sky, then pressed his thumb against the small trigger on his finger joint.
Click.
His body shrank instantly—from man-sized to ant-sized.
Jets ignited on his back, ion thrusters flaring like translucent wings as he launched himself upward, landing on the back of a passing Firefly drone.
From there, Duke gazed down at Piltover from a new perspective—the city stretched endlessly, its streets transformed into canyons, pebbles into mountains, dust motes into drifting boulders.
The microscopic world was breathtaking.
And thanks to his condensed molecular structure, his density—and power—had multiplied severalfold. A single sprint at this scale could pierce steel.
"Now then," Duke murmured, his voice barely a whisper in the roaring winds. "Where are you hiding, Virtuoso?"
He began his hunt, scanning the vast cityscape from above.
Meanwhile, Caitlyn and Vi, who were dutifully combing through Ionia's ship manifests at his suggestion, had no idea that Duke had already launched his own investigation.
In truth, he never intended to let them get involved.
For someone like Jhin, it was best if the capture happened quietly—without anyone ever realizing he'd been caught.
End of chapter....
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