Betrayal
Read up to 30 chapters ahead on Patreon - patreon.com/Light_lord
-----
Boom!
The square was still crowded; the evacuation hadn't been completed when dozens of metal canisters were hurled from the ship.
The odd-shaped devices clattered onto the ground. Their lids snapped open and shut like a devil's jaws before exploding in bursts of fire and shrapnel.
Flames surged across the square.
The once-pristine white stone tiles of the square were torn apart by the blasts, chunks of rubble flying in every direction, striking panicked civilians.
Screams and chaos filled the air. The crowd's panic devolved into a stampede, trampling one another in a desperate bid to escape.
Enforcers scrambled to maintain order, but their efforts proved futile.
Amid the pandemonium, standing tall on the bow of the boat, Silco exuded an eerie calm.
Hearing the explosions ring out like a symphony, Jinx smiled faintly.
Bound tightly and unable to move, she could still recognize the chaos caused by her work.
The erratic pops and crackles of the lids opening and snapping shut were the signature sounds of her bombs—left for Silco.
"I heard someone here was planning to execute one of mine," Silco declared, his voice cutting through the bedlam like a cold blade.
"I can't agree to that."
His words were laced with feigned innocence, yet their menace was unmistakable. Every person in the square heard him.
Silco wasn't physically imposing, but his presence demanded respect—or fear. Enforcers surrounding the boat faltered, none daring to step forward.
"Silco!"
Vi's voice was a roar as her gauntleted fists collided with a sharp metallic clang.
Her rage burned brightly as she locked eyes on the man who had killed Vander, her father figure and mentor.
"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here!"
Vi growled, clenching her Hextech gautlets as she launched herself toward him in one powerful leap.
Silco didn't flinch. He gazed at her calmly, his voice almost mocking.
"Vi, still the same as ever—relying on nothing but those fists of yours."
The crowd held their breath, expecting to see Silco flattened by Vi's righteous fury.
But—
BAM!
A hooded figure stepped out from behind Silco, their iron fist firing forward with a mechanical hiss.
The punch struck Vi in mid-air, too fast for her to dodge.
With a grunt of pain, Vi was sent hurtling backward, crashing into the ground beside Jayce, her impact leaving a crater in the stone.
Vi groaned, her old injuries flaring up painfully. That single blow was enough to put her out of commission for now.
Behind Silco, five hooded henchmen descended from the boat.
Their mechanized fists shot out with precision, seizing nearby enforcers and delivering devastating blows.
One punch was enough to incapacitate, and a well-aimed strike proved fatal.
Jayce, witnessing the carnage, tightened his grip on the hammer in his hands.
The shimmering Hextech energy coursing through the weapon pulsed as he activated its power.
"Hear me, Silco!" Jayce roared.
The hammer whined as it charged, releasing a burst of light-blue energy straight toward Silco's position.
Silco stepped back effortlessly.
The energy blast was intercepted by a hulking robot stepping into its path.
The machine absorbed the impact with its armored frame.
The front panel darkened from the blast's heat, but it remained steadfast, acting as an immovable shield for Silco.
Across the square, Caitlyn watched the escalating chaos.
Torn between protecting civilians and taking action, she made her choice.
Raising her rifle, she took careful aim.
Her target wasn't Silco or his enforcers—it was Jinx, bound to the execution post.
Boom!
The rifle barked, the bullet slicing through the smoke-filled air with deadly precision.
Jinx was bound tightly by the ropes, unable to move, and could only watch as the bullet soared toward her.
Yet, there wasn't a trace of fear in her eyes.
She knew guns well—perhaps better than anyone.
This shot wasn't meant to take her life.
It wasn't aimed at her head, after all.
If everything went as she predicted, the bullet would sever the ropes binding her, freeing her from her restraints.
However, things rarely go as planned.
Clang!
The sharp sound of the bullet striking steel echoed through the square. A mechanical arm had intercepted the shot, shielding Jinx entirely.
The deflected bullet left a glaring white scratch in Caitlyn's line of fire.
Before anyone could react, the iron arm grabbed the execution post that held Jinx, ripping it from the ground and pulling it back toward Silco's side.
Jayce's face darkened further at the sight, gripping his Hextech hammer tightly as it began to hum with a growing charge.
Jinx, now back on Silco's side, worked quickly to free herself. She slipped out of the ropes and stretched her limbs, savoring her newfound freedom.
Her sharp eyes scanned the battlefield, and after a moment, she found what she was looking for—a gun lying next to the lifeless body of a fallen enforcer.
Without hesitation, she picked it up and inspected it briefly.
The gun felt right in her hands, and in one smooth motion, she raised it, pointing it at Silco's head.
The square fell silent, the chaos momentarily frozen.
All eyes were on her.
Vi, still lying on the ground, looked up in stunned disbelief.
Caitlyn's tense expression softened slightly, hope flickering in her eyes.
Even Jayce paused, his hammer's glow steadying as he watched the scene unfold.
The fleeing citizens stopped, turning back to witness this unexpected and dramatic confrontation.
Only Ryan and Ekko, standing on the outskirts of the chaos like spectators, remained calm as if they had anticipated this all along.
Silco, however, showed no fear.
Even with the barrel of a gun trained on his forehead, his expression remained unchanged.
He glanced briefly at Vi lying injured on the ground before his gaze returned to Jinx.
His lips curled into a faint, knowing smile. He seemed to understand exactly why Jinx was doing this.
Silco locked eyes with her, his expression filled with something unexpected—relief, perhaps even hope.
His lips parted slightly as if he were whispering a single word.
And then—
BOOM!
Fire erupted from the barrel of Jinx's gun, the shot slicing through the air with violent precision.
The deafening sound reverberated through the square, and the metallic tang of gunpowder filled the air.
"No!!"
A desperate scream rang out.
But it wasn't Silco who had been shot.
Jinx had twisted the gun at the last moment, and the bullet found a different target—a stern-faced, elegantly dressed woman.
The woman crumpled to the ground, blood pooling beneath her. She had been a former council member—Mrs. Kiramman.
The scream belonged to her daughter, Caitlyn.
"My name is Jinx!"
Jinx spun on her heel, her voice wild with exhilaration as she raised the gun again.
In Vi's horrified gaze, Jinx unleashed a barrage of bullets, each one finding its mark.
One by one, enforcers fell.
Each shot escalated the chaos, the square descending further into madness.
When her magazine finally clicked empty, Jinx discarded the weapon.
She darted behind the hulking form of the robot that had saved her earlier, its armored frame shielding her from the hail of bullets now fired by the enforcers.
"What's next? Got any more weapons? Let's make this fun!"
Jinx's laughter rang out, bright and manic, as if the chaos around her were a game.
She looked at Silco eagerly, awaiting his orders.
For all her wild energy, she remained his loyal accomplice.
In that critical moment, Jinx had made her choice.
Despite pointing the gun at him, she could never pull the trigger—not at Silco. He wasn't just a leader to her.
Over the years, he had become something more—a father, someone who loved her not as a tool but as a daughter.
As the adrenaline coursed through her, the realization struck her like lightning.
Vi had been important to her—she always would be.
Important enough to make Jinx question her path time and time again.
But no matter how much Vi meant to her, Jinx could never bring herself to betray Silco.
Not him.
Not the man who had given her a home, a purpose.