As Logan's words fell, Vander turned into a streak of light and shot forward.
With the Divine Soulstone reinforcing him, Vander could use his power without worrying about the beast inside him biting back.
Singed had actually been worried about that from the start. The night Vander returned, he brought it up at the dinner table—concerned that, once Vander started fighting, the feral side might overwhelm the human side, turning him into something that attacked indiscriminately and ended up hurting his own people.
Logan had almost laughed out loud when he heard that.
Singed, are you seriously giving yourself that much credit?
Sure, Logan would admit Singed was a once-in-a-generation genius, but putting yourself and Ahri on the same level? That's not confidence—that's arrogance.
The Divine Soulstone's description was basically: contains a sliver of a divine being's power. But even a sliver was still Ahri's power. If Singed thought a "transcendent creature" corpse from Runeterra—some unknown magical beast—could suppress and overpower Ahri's power and make it backfire…
Then what was Ahri even doing with her life?
Forget being some "savior spirit." She might as well go catch butterflies and sell them like an actual little fox.
So Vander was the first to crash into the formation. His massive body blocked off a whole section of the bridge—an ambulatory wolf-shaped shield. Spears couldn't pierce his monstrous frame; at most they tore a gash or sank a few centimeters in. Vander would flick them away with one casual motion, and the wounds would regenerate instantly.
When Logan and Vander fought before, Logan had ripped one of Vander's arms clean off.
Less than half a minute later, a new huge claw had already grown back.
As long as it wasn't instantly lethal damage, Vander could regenerate endlessly—this was one hundred percent Singed's work.
Logan followed in.
He didn't have Vander's sheer bulk or the same visual intimidation, but the destruction he brought was even worse.
Logan was faster.
Logan hit harder.
The Noxians truly had excellent discipline. Even facing monsters like this, they kept their formation, advancing and retreating in order, shielding Ambessa—but sometimes, unity and excellence still aren't enough to win.
In the face of absolute power, tactics and coordination become nothing but empty talk.
"Everyone—go!"
"It's our turn to beat up Pilties!"
Ekko snapped back to himself, shouted the order, and the Spirit Blossom Gang poured into the fight on hoverboards. Let Logan and Vander handle the Noxians—Ekko and the others would just bully the Piltovans.
Of course, Ekko remembered what Logan had said: Piltover wasn't a sworn enemy; whether they lived or died depended on luck. It sounded like Logan didn't care about Piltovans' lives, but Ekko understood what it really meant—
Hold back as much as possible. Don't actually slaughter them.
Because in the future, Zaun would still need Piltover to keep feeding it.
If you killed all the Piltovans, then who was going to work for Zaun later?
You?
Silco's people arrived too. Sevika led a group charging up onto the bridge. Seeing how completely one-sided it already was, the corner of her mouth twitched.
When she came, she'd been ready to die for this.
So what the hell was this?
Up ahead—that was the boss.
And farther ahead, buried in a mass of… Noxians?
And flashing through that crowd like a nightmare—Vander and Logan?
Shit. How is that brat doing this?!
Sevika sucked in a sharp breath, but the grin in her eyes wouldn't go away. She raised her hand—her chemtech arm glinting under the night—then ignited it with a faint burn and roared:
"Move!"
"Charge!"
The gangsters around her surged forward with their weapons.
Then Sevika started running too. Zaun's side of the bridge was nearly packed—
No. It was already packed.
Because another wave of people climbed up, drenched in sweat, faces flushed red—Zaun's community residents.
They looked at the scene on the Bridge of Progress and froze.
The area Piltover and Noxus had occupied had already been retaken. Up front, screams never stopped, blood spraying under claws. Off to the side, Noxians kept flying off the bridge, disappearing into the deep sea in the darkness.
Above, Spirit Blossom Gang members rode hoverboards, constantly tightening their formation. Under Ekko's command, they compressed the Enforcers' space, herding the Piltovans into a tight cluster.
"This is Zaun?"
"We're… this strong?"
The Zaunites who'd come here prepared to die were dumbstruck.
"But… it looks like they don't even need us anymore."
"Then what do we do?"
"Watch, I guess. What else?"
"Watch my ass! Go see if there's anyone we can still save—move! We have to help!" Aunt Marna barked.
With that, everyone immediately found something they could do:
Rescue the wounded.
Zaun's "medicine" was absurd. Missing a leg, missing an arm—fine. Missing an organ? Zaunites would tinker with you and still drag you back from death.
So aside from those who'd been impaled clean through and were truly gone, there were still plenty of Zaunites missing limbs, unconscious, waiting for someone to pull them back.
"How can this not be magic… when it's doing things even magic might not be able to do?" Terror showed in Ambessa's eyes. Beside her, a bearded soldier stared at the wolf and the man drawing closer, hands white-knuckling his war spear as he stepped in front of her.
Ambessa saw his movement and snapped back to reality.
"No—retreat! Sound the horn—retreat!"
"These aren't opponents we can beat!"
After years of conquering for Noxus, Ambessa had seen monsters before. That wolf-shaped creature still fit within her understanding.
But that black-haired young man—what was he?
How was he doing this?!
He looked so lean, yet more Noxian soldiers had already died to him than to the wolf-monster!
And these weren't disposable troops. They were Ambessa's own retainers—soldiers who had "betrayed their country" for her.
How could she stand by and watch them die?
"Retreat! Retreat!"
She screamed it out.
Beside her, a slick-haired man in fine clothes shrieked, "No, you can't retreat! If you retreat, what happens to me?!"
"You promised me! You said after we win, you'd make me the most powerful councilor—you said I'd control both cities! You can't go back on your word!"
"You idiot!" Ambessa grabbed Salo by the collar, fury twisting her face. "Open your damn eyes! Is this the time to talk about that?!"
She hurled him away. Salo collapsed on the ground, unable to understand why—
Why was Piltover losing to Zaun?
And even with Noxus added on top… they were still losing to Zaun?!
"Move!" Ambessa spun toward the platform where the horn-blower stood—
And saw the messenger frozen stiff, head lowered, body rigid, facing her.
Ambessa's pupils shrank.
Because right beside the messenger stood a black-haired man.
His hand rested on the messenger's shoulder, arm slung around him as if they were friends. He smiled at Ambessa, then raised his brows like: So you finally noticed me.
"Move?" Logan said. "Where do you think you're going, Ambessa Medarda?"
"Y—"
Ambessa didn't get to finish.
The bearded soldier lunged, spear thrusting at Logan's throat.
"Trash…"
Logan sprang lightly up, stepped on the spear shaft, pushed off with his toes, and reached out with his left hand—pressing the man's head down.
Then he slammed it into the ground.
"Get lost."
"Pfft—!"
Like a watermelon bursting.
A headless corpse collapsed onto the stone.
Ambessa's eyes turned instantly red.
Nearby, Salo's face got splattered with a white-and-red mess, and he let out a miserable, piercing scream.
Logan dusted his hands off, disgusted at what had gotten on them—but he didn't feel sick.
Back in the Spirit Blossom world, he'd died once. Anyone who'd died a lot knew this: watching your own headless corpse fall was a rare experience.
Logan's tolerance had long since hit the ceiling.
He turned to Salo's shrieking, taking in his fine clothes and his thin, monkey-like frame, and immediately broke into a grin.
"Ah—excuse me," Logan said brightly. "Are you Councilor Salo of Piltover?"
"N-no… don't come closer!" Salo scrambled backward, screaming.
"Don't run. I actually wanted to talk to a councilor." Logan walked up, grabbed Salo by the ankle, and yanked him up upside down.
"What were you thinking? I wasn't even attacking you, and you still came to attack us?"
Holding Salo up, Logan stared into his face and continued in a low voice, "Was this the council's decision?"
"No! No, it wasn't—she made me do it! It was her!" Salo pointed at Ambessa.
Ambessa attacked Logan at once, her massive blade sweeping in.
Logan leaned his head back and casually let the blade pass just over him. Then he nodded toward Ambessa with a grin.
"Relax. He's here."
Ambessa froze for a fraction of a second. A roaring gale ripped past, the light dimming as something huge blotted it out. She turned—
"ROAR!"
Vander was right in front of her. His towering body swallowed the light. He lifted a hand and slammed one claw down, batting Ambessa away like a rag doll.
Vander's eyes flicked to Salo.
"That guy… a councilor?"
"Yep. Councilor Salo. A councilor." Logan sounded delighted. "A rare specimen. Vander, this is my first time seeing a living councilor—come on, get a good look."
Logan swung Salo down and tossed him at Vander's feet.
Vander lowered his head. His monstrous face split into a terrifying grin.
"Zaun sends its regards, Councilor Salo."
Salo trembled as he stared up at Vander. He dug his fingers into the ground and crawled toward Logan.
Logan was terrifying… but this thing was worse.
Salo wasn't a genius, but he had enough survival instincts to understand one thing:
Logan hadn't killed him outright, which meant Logan needed him for something.
So he crawled to Logan's feet, looked up, and stammered, "I… I… I…"
"Spit it out properly." Logan frowned, bent down, and slapped Salo across the face.
"It—it was all Ambessa's plot!" Salo blurted out. "She pushed me into it! I didn't want to do this! Sh-she tied us up with benefits so we attacked Zaun!"
Logan didn't respond. He looked back across the battlefield.
With Vander and Logan—two inhuman monsters—ripping through the front, Noxus' will shattered the instant Ambessa screamed "retreat."
The toughest army in Valoran wasn't actually Noxus. Not even Noxus' elite Trifarix forces could claim that title. On this continent, the most elite were Demacia's Dauntless Vanguard.
But even they would still feel fear and helplessness sometimes.
People were still people.
So it wasn't strange that Ambessa's army collapsed.
And once they broke, Piltover's Enforcers didn't stand a chance.
"Fierce on the outside, weak on the inside" described them perfectly.
Zaun had fully suppressed both Noxus and Piltover. Ekko had the Enforcers surrounded and was beating them like dogs, clubs and batons raining down.
Still, some Enforcers fought back in panic.
Logan's brows knitted.
He bent down and looked at Salo.
"Want to live?"
"Yes!"
"Three things," Logan said with a gentle smile. If his face weren't covered in blood, Salo might've thought the smile looked nice.
But with Logan grinning at him through a mask of blood, Salo only felt terror.
Salo nodded so hard his neck seemed like it might snap. "Tell me!"
"First—make the Enforcers surrender."
"No problem!"
"Second—take me to Piltover's Council building."
Salo's face turned deathly pale. He stared at Logan in horror.
"You've already won… we lost…"
But the moment he truly understood what Logan meant, he panicked.
Piltover had lost. That wealthy city-state relied on only a few hundred Enforcers to protect it—and now the Enforcers were all on the bridge. Once they surrendered and were captured, Piltover would have no defense at all.
If Zaun marched in at that moment… and went straight to the Council building…
What would happen to a city overflowing with wealth but devoid of power?
No… no!
Salo didn't want to become a collaborator!
"Don't waste my time." Logan patted Salo's cheek. "You started this war, and you think losing means it's over?"
"When this war ends isn't up to you." Logan's eyes hardened. "It's up to me. Understand?"
Vander looked off to the side, eyes suddenly filled with dread.
What was he seeing?
Why was Powder holding a machine gun and mowing down Enforcers?!
How many had she already killed?!
No—was that really Powder?!
Watching Powder laugh wildly as she rattled the gun—Vi protecting her while the gun went rat-a-tat-tat—Vander's huge face went stiff with panic.
Then he turned away and lowered his head, pretending he hadn't seen any of it.
"That wasn't Powder. Right. I saw wrong."
"Vi's changed—she's rebellious. I can't control her. But Powder can't change…"
"How could my little sweetheart be like this?"
"Right. Yes…"
"Si… lco." Vander ground the name out between his teeth.
Salo swallowed hard under Logan's half-smile and forced himself to nod.
"Third—Councilor," Logan said softly, "I'm short on money. Very, very short. You understand what I mean, right?"
"…"
"I understand," Salo said, nodding.
"Excellent. Pleasure doing business." Logan's cheer returned instantly. "Come on, the ground's cold. Let me help you up."
Salo forced a stiff, shaking smile.
Piltover's central district, deep in the night.
Working with Noxus wasn't exactly something to brag about, so most Piltovans had no idea the Enforcers had attacked Zaun tonight. They were either asleep, or working late, reading, or tinkering away on designs and research.
Piltover was quiet—peaceful, warm.
Clean streets under bright lamplight. Tall buildings with windows glowing softly.
Until a single, deliberate cough shattered that calm.
A voice boomed from every speaker across the city, the volume cranked absurdly high—
"Hello?"
"Can you hear me?"
"Yep!" A slightly husky but pleasant female voice chimed in, making a "wa-woo, wa-woo" siren sound nearby.
And then, that warm, gentle male voice:
"Good evening, everyone in Piltover."
"This is…"
"Zaun—Logan!"
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