A Search Through Runeterra (Arcane)

"High concentration of subjects... wonderful."~ Vel'koz, The Eye of The Void

A little padded chapter but the next chapters will be better. I was travelling.

Lads... no chapter on the 28th. Double chapter on the 29th.

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Sylas swung his chains at Gregori and Gregori moved quickly to dodge them once again. Gregori used his shield to slam into Sylas and send the man flying back.

Sylas rolled on the ground and got back to his feet. Gregori did not wait as he sent his other axe flying into Sylas. He grabbed his chains and shook them. They moved upward and slammed into the axe, knocking it to the side.

Using the shift in attention to his advantage, Gregori slipped in and swung his axe. Sylas used the moment to wrap his chain around the incoming axe and pull it out.

One touch was all he needed.

Letting go of the axe as Sylas's chains curled around it, Gregori slammed his shield into him once more.

"Look here!" Sylas exclaimed.

Gregori ignored him. But that turned out to be a mistake.

SCHWINGGG

A bright burst of light sent Gregori back as his vision completely whited out. "What?" He said confusedly as he created more distance between the two.

"Magic is fascinating isn't it?" Sylas muttered.

Sylas lunged at Gregori. He whipped his hands forth, sending the chains flying into Gregori.

Gregori moved just as proactively as Sylas, running to intercept Sylas. He swung his shield, parrying the chains. 

As the chains went wide, Sylas's arms moved sideways as well due to the weight of the chains.

Gregori used that opening to slam his axe into Sylas.

The fight was over in an instant.

A blink and a death.

No one could have expected the result.

An attack.

A parry.

An attack.

That was all that was needed.

CLANG

Gregori's eyebrows furrowed.

His axe and hand that swung, shook from the impact. The axe made contact with Sylas but it did nothing as the point of contact, his neck, had turned gray and stone like.

Sylas grinned.

Hardening.

He had used the stone right before engaging and it paid off.

His hands moved and the chains swung the other way around. Sylas knew how good Gregori's magic was. If he was able to copy it the entire war turned in his favor.

Gregori spotted the chains going around him and flexed his magic. In a very unnatural manner, his body slid sideways completely avoiding the coiling chains.

"All that magic..." Sylas muttered as he pulled his hands back. "Your life must have been easy, Noxian."

Gregori chuckled, "I was born in Demacia."

"Then why would you.." Sylas was taken aback.

"I told you why." Gregori answered as his other axe flew back to him.

Sylas looked at him in understanding, "So you ran away from Demacia...."

Gregori shook his head. "No I was sent to Targon." Gregori raised his axe and shield, "The Crown of Stone."

"You must have committed a big crime then." Sylas stated as he gripped his chains, "How come I haven't heard of you?"

"The only crime I committed was being born to a noble family." Gregori answered, "They covered up my entire existence."

"A noble..." Sylas began to feel his anger toward his enemy begin to bubble past the previous limit. He was probably escorted out of the country to live a good life.

How was that fair?

The noble child got sent away while the commoners were sent to prison forever. And the unlucky few how were tortured into losing their magic and become husks of the people they once were.

He roared and charged Gregori straight on, his entire body turning gray as it hardened. His hands hung toward his side as his chains dragged behind him.

Noticing the gray skin, Gregori couldn't let him come close but he couldn't just keep dodging. He would run out of energy faster than Sylas. The sheer amount of magic the man possessed was scary.

There was no way he would win a long and drawn out battle.

He let out a breath and smiled as a crazy thought formed in his mind.

He decided to act on it.

Sylas charged.

Gregori choose to stand still.

Sylas charged.

Gregori pulled his shield hand back.

Sylas arrived close.

Gregori swung his shield hand, fully enhancing it with his magic, pulling it toward Sylas's head.

BANG

Sylas made contact with the shield and Gregori's hand at the same time. The hardened skin did a lot to mitigate the damage from the attack but it did nothing to lessen the force from the impact itself.

The forces kept on adding. His own movement toward Gregori. Gregori's swing. His magic pulling the shield to Sylas.

Even if he didn't get affected by the attack itself.. it did not mean that the attack failed.

His head stopped in place as his body stayed in motion, flipping him under the shield and down on the ground.

Gregori watched Sylas get clotheslined but that did not stop him from reaching out and touching Gregori before falling.

A simple touch.

Gregori felt himself weaken from both the touch and Sylas's chains coming in contact with him.

Sylas made contact with the ground, his head spinning and his neck hurting but deep inside, his magic thrummed with anticipation. He had made contact. A smile sprouted on his face as he felt the pull.

He pushed himself to his feet as the gray skin on his body receded.

Gregori knew that he needed to give up his magic in order to win this fight. Sylas was strong and if he had just tried to fight him with his hardening up..... his loss was guaranteed.

The most important thing he had realized was that Sylas could only have one kind of magic at a time.

That meant he would only be able to pull.

And that was fine.

The thing with Sylas was his ability to copy. But every kind of magic he used, he did not have intimate connection with. He would lose out on a matchup of pure skill.

That's all Gregori needed to do. Beat him in a match of skill.

Sylas sprouted a mad grin, he looked around at the battle going on around them, "Whatever you bring... I'll match it." He said as he felt the pull of Gregori's magic.

Gregori nodded and raised his weapons once again.

He raised his axe and slammed it into the shield.

BANG

BANG BANG

BANG

BANG BANG

This time, he made the first move. Keeping his shield close, he pulled close to Sylas and swung his axe.

The very next moment, his body lurched downward as a sudden pull of magic affected him.

But Gregori remained calm as his own magic pushed the axe that hovered behind him into a inattentive Sylas.

"HO!" Sylas exclaimed in surprise.

Gregori looked up as he spotted the axe hover right above Sylas's chest.

Sylas swung his chains as it closed around Gregori.

Gregori's magic flared as Sylas's arms dropped suddenly. 

"Ah..." Sylas smiled. "That is how you do it." He said as Gregori felt his own arms drop downward.

They dropped harder than Sylas's own, due to Sylas's pure amount of magic.

"How about you take this back?" He grinned.

Gregori looked up as he saw the hovering axe turn around and come spinning in his direction.

He pulled the axe in the opposite direction.

It slowed down but still flew toward him.

Gregori growled as he pulled further. The axe slowed down to a crawl.

Sylas could have swung his hands and attacked Gregori and ended the fight but he was having fun.

So much fun.

Watching Gregori struggle was doing something for him.

"You see this?" Sylas spoke gleefully. "This is fifteen years of imprisonment begging to be released."

Gregori yelled as he pulled him own arms up and brought the shield back up to him.

"Fifteen years of being persecuted for a crime that I couldn't have any decision in making." Sylas continued. "Thank you. Your magic will help me usher in a new Demacia. One where mages take their rightful position in society. Above all these scum" He waved his chains around gesturing to the Demacian soldiers.

"I would offer you to join me.." Sylas tapped his chin, "But I just do not like you. But it is fine. Breaking out of prison was easy..... watch me break a kingdom. Watch me break their ideals. Watch me."

TINK

The axe touched the shield.

"We aren't done yet." Sylas said as the axe kept pushing. "I find that.... the bluer the blood.... the sweeter it spills."

Gregori grunted. 

It pushed closer and closer. 

The shield creaked from the force. His magic couldn't compete with Sylas's.

It seemed impossible.

But it was all part of his plan.

He didn't think he had to fight this alone.

There was always one more.

His magic flowed as he pulled.

Caalyx responded.