Live and Die By the Blade: Chapter 16- Dying Light

This is quite interesting… I was under the impression that he had finally gained full control over Sion…

Talon knew his predicament. He knew that the wagon cell they were in was impossible to escape from while inside. For that reason, Swain did not mind removing their weapons off their person, but did not take the time to remove the plethora of blades Talon had hidden in every crevice and fold of his garb. As Talon watched the battle commence and the desperate attempt to contain Sion with chains, he heard a stirring to his left. Katarina was coming to.

“Wh… what…? Argh, my head…”

“Get ready to take cover. If those cannons strike this wagon, we may not survive the ensuing blast.”

Katarina seemed amazingly calm. Was it a lack of motivation, or something else? Talon did not know, nor did he care. He had to look out for any potential dangers, even though they were already dead, as their execution would be swift.

“Talon… how did it end this way? I… trusted her.”

Talon understood this feeling. Betrayal. It was why he never trusted anybody. But trusting the daughter of Marcus Du Couteau… he couldn’t help it. His respect for the general was unparalleled, and to honor his memory he kept a watchful gaze over his daughters. He dropped his guard for one person, and they betrayed him in the end.

Never again. I will never let down my guard again.

It was something of a promise to himself. Or was it regret? Regardless, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t walking free today. Instead, he turned and answered,

“I should have suspected something. She went missing too often for me not to notice. Bah, I was played for a fool.”

Talon and Katarina waited in silence for a few minutes, and Talon could see in the dim light that Katarina wore an expression of grief, of… defeat. While it did not sadden him in the slightest, he couldn’t help but feel sympathetic in a way, as he had felt like this before… before…

“Get me some more men here! Tie him down!”

The shouts outside grew more intense, and Talon turned to look outside the wagon’s cell window. Between the iron bars, he saw several large men struggling to hold down something with chains, something out of his vision. He could only assume it was Sion.

Even he knows that Swain is not to be trusted.

“Talon, what is that?”

“It’s just Sion-“

At the mention of his name, the low ceiling broke open, and the whole wagon toppled to the side, making a loud wooden smash on the pavement. When Talon regained his senses, he saw that the hole Sion had made was too small for a person to fit through, but using the leverage he could possibly open it up. The opportunity of a lifetime.

“Help me contain him, DAMN IT!”

“No, no, stop, auuurgh!”

The screams of the men trying to contain the juggernaut gave away that their efforts were futile. Sion was much too powerful to be subdued by entire armies, much less a dozen men who were like children in comparison. As Talon unstrapped his largest blade from his belt and wedged it into the crack, he gestured Katarina to help him put enough pressure to break open the broken wood and bend the metal to the point where they could climb through.

“Don’t let him get near the general! Stop him!”

“HE’S TOO STRONG!”

All of a sudden, the wagon jolted forward, most likely from a kick of some sort from the raging behemoth that was Sion. Talon had managed to hold the blade in place, at the expense of the skin of his palms, which were now bleeding profusely.

With one last effort, Talon kicked open the crack and climbed through, and Katarina followed suit. Re-strapping the blade to his arm, the two ran behind the enemy lines, taking advantage of the fact that the back line was not aware that those two were prisoner. Their escape was going more smoothly than imagined, with the exception of some near-misses with the cannon fire and some deep wounds inflicted from the shrapnel.

Then they reached the empty street, and saw it. A large force of soldiers bearing the Noxian banner of war, and at their head was none other than Darius himself. Armored and ready for war, he marched forward, his eyes unwavering, and hopefully not spotting the two renegades. Talon, thinking quickly, jumped aside and pulled Katarina with him into the alley, taking her down a long, winding path that led goodness knows where.

Anger. Seething anger. Fire in his blood, a furnace in his heart. Sion was furious, he had broken free. Anger that had been molded to follow a purpose: to show the world how much of a coward Swain was.

“Colonel, report!”

“General, sir! We’re losing the offensive, the artillery is too powerful!”

Swain shook his head, and Sion swore he thought he saw him say something about a promise. The bird on Swain’s shoulder cocked its head at Sion, staring those deathly red eyes into the pits of fire that were Sion’s.

They understood one another.

“Alright. Call for a tactical withdrawal!”

“…sir?”

Swain pushed the confused man aside and shouted, “Fall back! To the streets!”

The men listened, knowing that fighting this battle would be suicide. Their arrows could not pierce the hulls of the battle ships, and they had brought no heavy artillery. Sion was their only plan that went well with their silent approach. But that plan had failed.

The front line warriors fell back, and the shield-bearer arranged into a phalanx to form a wall of metal. Seeing the army withdraw into the buildings, the battle ships stopped firing. It was their city they would be destroying after all.

I will kill that man… IF IT TAKES EVERY OUNCE OF MY LIFE!

Sion had given up on trying to struggle against the enchanted chains that bound him to the blood dial held by Swain. Sion knew the reason he did this: if anybody managed to get to Swain and subdue him, the general would simply release Sion to create havoc. Even if it meant sacrificing the lives of his army, Swain would do anything to survive.

Like the worm he is.

The undead juggernaut watched intently as a fresh regiment of troops approached Swain’s bloodied troupe.

“Attend to the wounded,” Swain barked, “We only have half an hour before we start going again.”

A larger man, almost a foot taller than Swain, walked up to him carrying a well-sharpened Noxian battle axe. A weapon for true men to wield.

“General Darius.”

“Grand General.”

The silence that ensued even sent feelings of uneasiness in Sion. What was this atmosphere between these two?

“I’m glad you could make it in time.”

“With all due respect, sir, I would have thought the men wouldn’t need our force under your leadership.”

Another short silence.

“There were… complications. Have you brought our acolytes?”

Darius stepped to the right to reveal a line of men wearing dark robes and black emblems of roses throughout the exquisite cloth. These men were decorated sorcerers.

“LeBlanc was kind enough to spare her best sorcerers for us, but she wouldn’t give us much else.”

“Hold that thought, Darius…” Swain looked skeptical. For a second he stared into a dark alley away from where the troops were gathered.

“Grand General. Would you like to take the burden of comm-?”

Swain interjected bitterly. “That won’t be necessary. The sorcerers had been briefed before, they know what to do.”

Darius looked a little nervous. He had never seen Swain this furious before. Cautiously, he asked, “And… what would that be, sir?”

Swain smiled, as if he had anticipated Darius’s question. “We’re burning down Bilgewater to flush out the rats.”

Coward. He wants to use fire to do his dirty work for him. He can’t even appreciate a proper battle!

The ugly creature perched on Swain’s shoulder stared directly at Sion. It… spoke to him?

Contain yourself. If you disobey Swain again, there are worse things than death waiting for you.

Sion was confused. What were these thoughts in his head?

I don’t fear pain, or carnage, or death itself. I AM DEATH INCARNATE.

Arrogant fool. You’ve been so absorbed in your path of destruction that you haven’t seen who is left to pick up the pieces.

I don’t care. I’ve lost everything. There is nothing you can do to intimidate me, you ugly creature.

The voice laughed. You are a bold one, I’ll give you that. But there were some things never meant to be seen by men.

I’ve seen it all. I’m plagued by the screaming of the dying, the burning. I AM THE EMBODIMENT OF HELL.

Hell? You naïve child. You haven’t seen anything. Let me give you a taste.

Sion’s eyes widened in fear. These images… he couldn’t…

Darius was a little ambivalent. He was a man of steeled nerves, never finding battle to be unnerving. But this side of Swain he had never seen before. The man had a mad look in his eyes. Name anything, and the crazy bastard would do it. It was almost… inhuman.

“Grand General, if you may… why couldn’t we bring any artillery? It’s unlike you to rely on one person, especially if it’s him.” Darius gestured to the titan of a man standing still, hunched over. His eyes were less dimmed, meaning that he was resting.

Swain smiled. Or, at least it looked like it from the mask’s distortion. “Do not worry yourself with such matters, General. Sion may be rebellious, but even he knows the stakes of disobedience.”

All of a sudden, Swain turned to Sion. The juggernaut stood upright, screaming and cradling his head. Darius knew that Sion was no stranger to pain, but this… these weren’t screams of pain. They were screams of… fear. Absolute terror. The juggernaut screamed out,

“FORGIIIIIVE MEEEEEEE! ST-STOOOOOOOOOOOOP! I CAN’T… GAAAAAAAAH! YES, NEVER AGAIN! PLEASE!”

Darius was shocked. This man of Noxus, reduced to a crying and pleading child. A weapon of war begging for forgiveness… it was unheard of.

“I’ll take you up on that promise, Sion.” Swain looked at Beatrice on his shoulder, and nodded. Sion relaxed, falling to his knees in absolute shock. The man was breathing heavily, and still cradling his head.

Swain… what did you DO…?

Swain walked past Darius, patting him on the shoulder. “Tell your men to get ready. I have business to attend to.”

Well… I guess this is where I’ll feel the most comfortable. The battlefield.

Darius snorted.

How ironic.