Arcane: Begging for Help in a Parallel Universe!

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"Sorry, this path is closed!"

As the flying sword slashed through the air, bullets fired from the revolver.

The blade descended toward Pyke, and at the same time, Link fired a bullet infused with his own magical energy directly at Pyke's face.

Link had already developed a concrete plan for utilizing his magical energy.

Infusing bullets with his magic was one of them.

Facing Link's attack, Pyke's eyes remained calm and unreadable. He had initially planned to ignore the attack as he had done before, but a sudden wave of fear gripped him. It was the same fear he had felt long ago when his lifeline had been cut, leaving him gasping for air and plunged into darkness.

Splash!

Pyke's body dissolved into salt and water, transforming into mist and dodging Link's bullet. Seeing his attack miss, Link showed no sign of frustration.

With his right hand controlling the Hextech flying sword using a small orb, Link's left hand steadily fired the Hextech revolver, unleashing a barrage of bullets infused with his magic. At the same time, he pulled out a grenade.

After pulling the pin, Link tossed the grenade into the mist and used his body to block the cabin entrance. He turned to Twisted Fate and said, "Are you just going to stand there and watch?"

"My magic probably won't work on him," Twisted Fate replied, holding a red card in his hand as his eyes scanned the mist.

Link snorted. "It's still better than doing nothing!"

"I'm just curious. Why did he ignore Graves' attacks but immediately turned into mist to avoid yours?"

Link raised an eyebrow, thoughtfully looking at the Hextech revolver in his hand.

Before the grenade Link had thrown could hit the ground, it exploded. A ring of icy blue frost spread outward, freezing the water droplets in the mist into ice crystals.

The instant-freeze cryo grenade was one of the weapons Link had developed while working on his armor.

Thanks to Singed from another timeline, his formulas had been incredibly useful!

Before the icy blue mist could fully dissipate, Pyke reappeared, his body now covered in a layer of white frost from the seawater.

"Don't get in my way, sailor!"

Link's response was to throw an arc grenade.

After pulling the pin, the grenade arced through the air toward Pyke, who looked increasingly agitated.

Pyke's fishbone dagger flew out, intercepting the grenade mid-air and detonating it prematurely.

However, the arc grenade had an effective range of five to ten meters. Even though Pyke had triggered it early, the resulting burst of electricity engulfed him.

Twisted Fate watched the explosion of light in the distance, then looked down at his humble red card. He suddenly felt grateful that he hadn't tried to run or fight back earlier.

Even he wouldn't have been able to withstand such methods of temporarily suppressing the Bloodharbor Ripper!

Link had no time to worry about Twisted Fate's thoughts. Instead, he mentally reached out to Graves and Nekko.

"Graves, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, boss. Is that bastard still here?"

"If you want to live, listen carefully to what I say next."

"Got it, boss!"

Graves was now fully compliant with Link's orders. After all, the psychological trauma Link had inflicted on him was too great!

"Nekko!"

"Wow, Link, how are you in Nekko's head?"

"Don't panic. Just listen to me..."

Link multitasked, giving instructions to Nekko while continuing to fire at Pyke. Whether he hit or not didn't matter—Pyke was wary of his attacks, and that was enough to buy time to suppress him and plan an escape.

As for why Pyke feared his attacks, Link had some ideas.

The Hextech revolver was infused with his magic, and the bullets carried his magical properties.

In other words, aside from their destructive power, these magic bullets could also serve as a source of magical infection.

As long as the target survived the initial attack, Link's magic would invade their body, leaving a trace that Link could use to control them.

As for Pyke?

Link believed Pyke was more than just a vengeful water ghost. The idea that he had "died with a grudge, clawed at a magic-infused pouch before death, and was transformed into a water ghost by high-purity magic essence" was just the surface.

How had Pyke arrived here?

Through the Jaull-fish!

And inside the Jaull-fish was a cabin that belonged solely to Pyke.

Perhaps Pyke's resurrection was the will of the ocean, allowing him to escape death and return to the world of the living.

Over the years, Bilgewater's excessive hunting of sea creatures had severely damaged the marine ecosystem. The ocean's will had chosen Pyke as its agent of vengeance.

To kill everyone connected to the bloody business of the Slaughter Docks.

In his background story, there was a brief mention that the ocean had gifted him a pair of sinister eyes.

They weren't the result of his own mutation.

Moreover, Bilgewater's main industry was hunting sea creatures, and Pyke's targets were those who hunted and butchered them.

The implications were clear if you thought about it!

Pyke's consciousness had been consumed by the flames of vengeance, and Link's magic bullets could infect him, allowing Link to control him.

Pyke might not feel it, but the ocean did!

However, Graves was still on the boat, and Pyke couldn't abandon his target.

But facing Link's attacks, he felt fear, and the situation had reached a stalemate.

The terrifying infectious power of Link's magic and soul fragments was undeniable.

Even Nekko, who was highly sensitive to souls, hadn't noticed she had been infected. This showed just how terrifying Link's magic was.

Nekko's talent was unparalleled, making her the strongest Oovi-Kat in history.

If even she could be infected by Link's magic without realizing it, how could Pyke, a transformed water ghost, resist?

Link had always believed his magical potential was vast and largely untapped.

But in reality, he had underestimated his own magical abilities.

Even with the ocean's will backing him, Pyke was no match for Link.

After all, Runeterra was no stranger to god-slayers.

Hadn't the Ascended, known as God-Warriors, been overthrown?

Link was a natural counter to beings like Pyke!

As long as Link's magic was strong enough, even Azir could be turned into a bucket of fried chicken!

Blocked by Link alone, Pyke continuously shifted between his physical and mist forms. Link wasn't in a hurry, standing firmly in front of the cabin and steadily firing at Pyke.

Twisted Fate occasionally threw out a red or gold card to harass Pyke.

Before long, Nekko's voice echoed in Link's mind.

"Link, Nekko's ready!"

"Then let's begin the final step!"

Link's weapons disappeared from his hands, replaced by several cryo grenades.

After pulling all the pins, Link threw the grenades into the surrounding sea.

The grenades exploded on the water's surface, releasing rings of icy blue frost that quickly froze the sea, immobilizing the fishing boat.

The cabin's wooden planks were smashed open as Graves burst through, shouting, "Boss, cover me!"

Graves jumped onto the frozen sea and began running across the ice. Link occasionally tossed a cryo grenade to help him freeze the path ahead.

"You can't escape!"

Pyke instantly vanished, transforming into mist and skimming across the ice.

Whoosh!!

The fishbone dagger shot out from the mist, striking Graves in the back. Graves let out a scream, his eyes wide, before collapsing onto the ice, blood pooling beneath him.

Pyke emerged from the mist and slowly approached Graves. Seeing the lifeless look in Graves' eyes, Pyke let out a satisfied hum.

He unfolded the parchment and used the fishbone dagger to mark Graves' name with a cross, using his blood.

"Now, the debt is settled."

Pyke didn't spare another glance at Graves' body. He tucked away the parchment, transformed back into mist, and disappeared into the Jaull-fish's mouth. The Jaull-fish swayed and sank into the depths, vanishing completely.

Normally, Pyke wouldn't leave without killing everyone on the boat, but Link's countermeasures had forced him to retreat.

After all, the butcher had collected the debt he was owed, hadn't he?

"Is it over?" Twisted Fate asked, holding a gold card with chains glowing on its surface.

"It's over."

Link called Fizz over and handed him a rope. He instructed Fizz to tie one end to his shark and the other to the boat, letting the shark tow them away.

"But he called you boss. You should've protected him."

Twisted Fate tightened his grip on the gold card, looking at Graves' body on the ice. But the body was... gone!?

"Huh?"

Twisted Fate rubbed his eyes, confirming that Graves' body had indeed disappeared.

"What's going on?"

"Figure it out yourself. If you can, I'll be impressed."

Link placed a hand on Twisted Fate's shoulder, infusing him with his magic.

The idea of infusing bullets with magic had also made Link realize that he might not need to rely on blood to infect others.

Twisted Fate didn't notice a thing, not even the sour taste in his mouth.

"As for now, let's head back. I'll prepare your contract. If you try to run, you can ask Graves what happens."

Link patted Twisted Fate's shoulder and walked to the bow of the boat, watching as Bilgewater grew closer. He had made up his mind: after returning to Piltover, he would never set foot on a boat again.

He had managed to fool Pyke this time, but there was no guarantee it would work again.

This water ghost, empowered by the ocean's will for vengeance, wouldn't be so easily defeated.

Rather than confronting him head-on, it was better to use his brain and rely on Nekko's abilities to create a clone of Graves and deceive Pyke.

That's right—the "Graves" who had been killed was actually a clone created by Nekko. Her clones weren't as fragile as in the game and could perfectly simulate death, even remaining intact for a while afterward.

Link had used Nekko's passive and W abilities to successfully fool Pyke.

Sometimes, brute force only backfires. It's better to use your brain!

Fortunately, using his brain was one of Link's greatest strengths.

Standing at the bow of the boat, Link let the sea breeze ruffle his coat as he began to plan his next move.

"It's time to contact Irelia from the Project universe and get some supplies and blueprints to further enhance my strength."

Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 156 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 120 power stones I will publish the next chapter.