"ROAAARRR!!"
A piercing roar erupted from Rek'Sai's jaws as she burst from underground, her massive forelimbs swinging wide with strength enough to shatter stone. A terrifying surge of void energy gathered in her maw.
As the violet void energy built within her, Duke immediately raised the floating platform higher into the air.
Whoosh!
A sharp sound split the sky as Rek'Sai's claws raked at empty air. The next instant, the void energy in her mouth detonated, erupting upward like a volcanic blast of molten destruction.
"Evasive maneuvers!"
At Duke's command, the floating platform lurched, dodging the column of energy. Even so, the shockwave hit like a hammer, sending the entire platform tilting hard to one side.
Duke steadied himself and barked, "Edith, boost the platform's thrust output!"
『Edith』: "On it, boss!"
At once, the other side of the platform flared with energy, its anti-gravity field roaring to life until the platform steadied once more.
"Whew…"
Duke exhaled, glancing at the three beside him with a grin. "Well, that was close!"
"What is that thing?"
Sivir stood at the platform's edge, peering down as Rek'Sai fell back into the pit below. The beast didn't burrow away this time—its forelimbs braced against the ground, its massive jaws open as its long tongue flicked through the air, tasting for their scent.
Its leech-like tail quivered, and a low growl rumbled from deep in its throat.
"That's the Void," Kai'Sa said grimly, stepping beside Sivir. Her eyes narrowed. "I didn't expect her to burrow this deep."
"The Void?" Sivir frowned. She'd never heard the term before—mercenary work left little room for cosmic horrors.
Kai'Sa sighed. "Just know this—the Void is the enemy of the entire world. Everything that crawls out of it exists only to destroy."
Sivir turned toward Duke. "Is she telling the truth?"
Duke nodded. "She is. The one below us is called Rek'Sai—the Queen of the Xer'Sai, ruler of every Void creature in this region."
"Now that she's locked onto us, she won't stop until we're dead."
Taking a swig from his flask, Duke stepped to the edge and peered down, eyes glinting with intrigue.
"She'd make a hell of a display piece, don't you think?"
Sivir blinked. "A display piece? You serious? Something that big?"
Kai'Sa snorted. "She'd make you into a display piece first."
Duke chuckled. "I could pull it off. But tell me, Little Sparrow—how'd you end up pissing her off?"
Taliyah's expression stiffened, fear flickering in her eyes. "When I was teleported here, I fell straight into the canyon depths. I was going to leave right away, but then... I felt something in the stone."
Her voice trembled. "I heard echoes—ancient ones. You know I can weave stone, but I can also listen to it. I can hear what the earth has recorded for thousands of years."
"I saw it."
Taliyah shivered violently. "An endless, hungry presence—malice and destruction incarnate. It hates all life. All of creation."
"I panicked... and when I ran, I must've drawn that monster's attention!"
Duke clicked his tongue. Poor girl—first she'd glimpsed the tragedies buried beneath Shurima's ancient capital, and now she'd brushed against the whispers of the Void itself.
No wonder she looked shaken.
"It's alright," Duke said softly, resting a hand on her head. "You're safe now. As long as I'm here, nothing's going to hurt you."
"Mr. Duke…" Taliyah's voice quivered. "That thing—it's too dangerous. It threatens not just Shurima, but the entire world!"
"What do we do?"
"She's marked us," Taliyah said, trembling.
Duke raised an eyebrow. "If you're that scared, I can go fetch your teacher for you. Cheer you up a bit?"
Taliyah wiped her eyes, laughing weakly. "Don't tease me, Mr. Duke. Master Yasuo's half a world away—there's no way you could—"
"Oh, I could," Duke cut in with a smirk. "If you really wanted me to."
He patted her shoulder. "But enough of that. Leave the worrying to people like me. You just keep doing what you do best, Little Sparrow."
Kai'Sa joined him at the edge. "What's your plan?" she asked quietly.
Duke's grin returned. "Didn't I say already? I'm making that thing a display piece."
"Simple as that."
"Need me to help?" Kai'Sa offered.
Duke stroked his chin, thinking for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah. Just sit tight and enjoy the show."
He crouched at the platform's edge, pulled a concussion grenade from his belt, yanked the pin, and dropped it.
The small device fell silently, its light blinking faster and faster—then BOOM!
The explosion sent shockwaves rippling through the canyon.
Rek'Sai shrieked in agony as her sensory organs were overwhelmed. The creature hunted through vibrations in the ground; a blast like that was chaos to her senses.
But instead of retreating, she grew even more frenzied, too enraged to burrow again.
"So, what now?" Sivir asked, curious. "You said you could give me anything I wanted. I assume taking down that thing's no big deal?"
Duke grinned. "We'll toss her into the air... and then we'll catch her."
At his command, several floating cannons deployed from his inventory, descending toward the ground. At the same time, he released Gluttony—fortunately, he'd kept her stored away, ready for combat.
As she landed, Gluttony's form shifted instantly into her serpentine state.
『Gluttony』: "Father!"
『Duke』: "See that creature down there?"
『Gluttony』: "Yes, Father."
『Duke』: "Hold her down."
『Gluttony』: "Understood."
Her body dissolved into a swarm of particle modules, descending from the sky. Rek'Sai sensed the disruption in the air and unleashed a surge of violet void energy from her dorsal fins.
BOOM!
The blast tore through the ground, but the particles scattered, reforming beside the pit as Gluttony's massive serpent form reassembled.
"HSSSS!!"
Steam hissed from her scales as she grabbed Rek'Sai with both arms and slammed her into the canyon wall.
"HAAA!!"
Her eyes burned red, scales glowing as her arms morphed into twin particle cannons.
BOOM! BOOM!
The shots struck true, blasting Rek'Sai before she could dig. The Void Queen's carapace was thick, but even she reeled from the impact, purple energy flaring wildly as her tail quivered in fury.
With a guttural roar, Rek'Sai lunged again, claws tearing through stone as the two titans collided—claw, fang, and fury interlocked in chaos.
Duke smiled. "That's my girl."
He activated the floating cannons hovering above.
"Deploy anti-gravity anchors!"
Palm-sized anchors shot down one after another, sticking to Rek'Sai's body until she was covered in them.
Sivir squinted. "What are those?"
"Anti-gravity anchors," Duke explained, tapping his interface. "They reverse gravitational pull."
He'd made thousands of them, each one miniaturized with Pym particles and stored inside the cannons. On deployment, the cannons expanded and launched them like precision ordnance.
"That should do it."
『Duke』: "Gluttony, fall back. Your job's done."
『Gluttony』: "Yes, Father."
Her form dispersed again, separating from Rek'Sai as the anchors lit up like fireflies in the dark.
One by one, they linked together, forming a shimmering anti-gravity field that wrapped around the Void Queen.
"Up you go."
Rek'Sai let out a panicked hiss as her colossal body began to rise, thrashing uselessly against invisible force.
"Too easy."
Duke rubbed his hands together, watching the creature lift higher and higher. Her furious screeches echoed through the canyon, like she was calling for help.
"Struggle all you want," Duke said, grinning. "Scream all you like."
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a curious red-and-white sphere—a redesigned containment cell, an upgrade from the one he'd once used to imprison Jhin.
It looked, unmistakably, like a Poké Ball.
Pressing the button in the center, Duke hurled it toward Rek'Sai. The sphere expanded midair, its halves snapping open as it flew.
In moments, it had grown larger than Rek'Sai herself—enough to swallow her whole.
CLANG!
With a thunderous crash, the sphere sealed shut around the beast, then shrank rapidly and zipped back to Duke's hand.
He caught it effortlessly, a satisfied grin on his face.
"And just like that—she's a display piece."
A new specimen, neatly contained.
And more importantly—fresh research material, secured.
End of chapter....
IRONBOUND PATRON
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