Non-cannon Void Invasion Story... part 5

Come What May

They were nearing the end of the tunnels. Now deep into Noxian territory and maybe a half day’s march ahead of the otherwordly horde that had just destroyed the only home Garen had ever known, the surviving Demacians had to decide how best to proceed in this delicate situation. To be sure Noxus wouldn’t greet them all with open arms. But what would they have to give up - even if temporarily - to get Noxus to spare them? Would he and the others be willing to pay that price? Surely as a once brilliant tactician, High Lord Swain would see the profit in Demacia presenting a unified front with Noxus if they were to withstand the incoming onslaught. Perhaps he’d demand they all become Noxian citizens or the Demacian soldiers stand on the front line to lessen the bloodshed of Noxian soldiers. Regardless, remaining Demacian leadership and Kat had agreed that even the might of Noxus couldn’t hold against the void army that had destroyed Demacia in half a day and the reinforcements they’d learned (from Demacian leaders) had portalled in to join said army the night they’d arrived in the capital.

“Promise me tough guy,” Kat spoke to him in semi-intimate moment as they lead the Demacian delegation towards the oncoming army of Noxus, “that I’ll see you after this - whatever happens. We can’t possibly hold forever against these forces here, so if the General - excuse me, High Lord Swain - doesn’t see sense and head for the Rift, don’t go getting yourself killed trying to hold the line by yourself during a retreat. Not after I finally have you for myself.”

“That’s not an easy promise for me to make given my nature,” Garen replied. “But I’ll do my best love.” Seeing her bristle slightly from lack of assurance, he added, “But I know surviving will allow me to do my duty of protecting you and the others better. Besides, I can’t imagine what torture you’d put me through if I got myself killed before seing you again,” he added playfully. That brought a smile to Kat’s lips.

High Lord Swain Damn, just his presence was enough to inspire a certain level of unease. Sure they’d fought with or against each other in the past and he’d proven a formidable tactician; however, now he had a demon living in him. THAT made him… unpredictable, given to mood swings on occasion. While he might be friendly on the surface or see a situation made the most tactical sense, you never knew if you would be talking to Swain or the demon the next time you spoke - nor which would reply. High Lord Swain began, “Sargeant Garen, esteemed Assassin Katerina, I know you’ve kept some of your soldiers and most of the civilians hidden in the tunnels despite what you’ve said.” “I applaud your bravery and admit you might have even done a convincing enough lie to fool me in my younger years; however, you cannot get anything past HIM,” he continued referring to the THING inside him that threatened to slowly overtake him. A cold sweat overtook them and Garen shivered a little without realization. He opened his mouth to reply although no concrete explanation or apology had yet formed in his mind - best not to keep the ruler of Noxus waiting when he was in such a state. Before he could begin speaking his reply, Swain cut him off. “I’m sure you expected me to demand the fealty of all your people as a way for Noxus to humiliate Demacia, or perhaps that all your soldiers act as sacrificial pawns on the front lines. Well I won’t stoop to such a low blow. Noxus will destroy Demacia fair and square… after you rebuild from this conflict. And if your soldiers and soldiers are so frightened of the army before me, I won’t soil the strong bloodlines of Noxus with the weak watered down blood of Demacia. You may tell your people they can pass through our forces unharmed and continue to flee if that is their desire. As payment of course, I’ve already conferred with my generals and made a list of the paltry few Demacians such as yourself fit to fight with and witness the power of Noxus. These shall stay with us.” As he spoke this last part, Swain handed a list of Demacian soldiers and leaders some of whom were dead or elsewhere. All said, about 70 Demacians would be conscripted into the ranks of Noxus for the coming battle with the reinforced void army. Not what he and Kat had hoped for, but better than he’d expected he thought as he headed back to tell Lux to lead the remaining Demacians not on the list what he’d learned. Kat headed elsewhere with her own orders… obviously it wasn’t safe to reveal their newfound relationship to High Lord Swain and the others with the way things had gone.

For Demaciaaaaa… er, I mean Noxus Noxus had always been more a collection of tribes unified under one banner. Some were halfways civilized, some more primitive, some warlike in every bone of their body, and others capable of diplomacy. Garen had met and battled vs many of them, still it always astounded him to see the variety of peoples united under the banner of Noxus and their unique or sometimes just bizarre customs. From body painting rituals which were supposed to grant the wearer protection to ferocious barbarians wearing animal hides that hid only their most personable parts to dark spiky metal-clad warriors that looked like they could work for a particular demonic yordle. Still, he’d never seen something quite like unit E beside him. There were plenty of Noxian strong men there, but they weren’t exactly part of the unit per say. Rather, they were there to keep the beasts and beings there under control should they become too agitated before the battle began.

“Mmmmh Demaciaaan,” a deep gravelly voice uttered as a ferocious undead zombie-esq. thing stared down at him from its towering height of 8 meters or so. The ashen gray gave away his identity as one no longer alive by natural means. He carried a giant axe that looked like it could cleave a small house in two. And his lower jaw was… Garen didn’t care to think about that part of Demacian history. The man(?) creature(?) next to him was just as strange- fitting E(xotic) unit’s name just perfectly. While slightly shorter, he rippled with muscles as his body expanded unnaturally as one started examining from the toes up to the top of his head - as though he were some 3d character with the upper body way closer to the viewer… only he was standing straight up. He carried a bandolier of cleavers the size of great swords on his torn clothing and wielded one giant one in his hand. Besides these two, the rest seemed to be beasts the most significant of which were a juvenile rust orange dragon and a giant poisonous river toad.

“Eyes up front soldier,” interrupted the general in charge of the formation Garen was a part of. “Today we make the world recognize our power. Today we show them why Noxus deserves to lead the world. Other countries have been overrun or cower in fear of the void army right over there. But not us. Today we meet our foe head on in battle. Today they learn what the greatest power in Runeterra can do. Now let me hear what country you serve.”

Garen had to pause for a second as he’d been about to shout out Demacia. That wouldn’t have gone so well. Well, to silence the glances a few of those around him threw his way as the third cheer went up without his participation, he feigned motioning a sore throat and threw up a quiet cheer and fist pump of, “Noxus.” It’s not like he were actually abandoning Demacia to join it’s longtime rival.

Reaching a crescendo that could make a rock concert sound tame, the last deafening Noxuuus preempted their charge. As you can imagine with such a diverse force where each tribe was allowed to lead its own people into battle, not every section of the line collided with the void force at the same time, although each did so with near equal fervor.

Volleys of bile arched over the lines to strike at Noxian mages. Crisscrossing in reply, the mages hurled fireballs, lightning, and barrages of ice pellets which fell with enough force to crack armored plates.

A painted warrior ate a full salvo of kog’mai “bullets” to his torso and appeared to continue forwards unscathed. But just as Garen began questioning if the paint ritual might actually have some merit to it, the warrior was cut down by a xer’sai as she leaped out of a burrow.

Taking an aerial view, one could scarce tell which side was which or who might limp - nobody was going to walk - away victorious. Plated warriors waded through foes hacking xer’sai to pieces here. While over there still more of them were mobbed by xer’sai and kha’zai until they collapsed under the weight of so many foes. At which point the skilled claws of the kha’zai found the seams in the armor and tore in to them to expose meaty flesh upon which they and their brethren could feast as they continued their progress through the Noxian ranks.

Finally, it seemed the tide had turned for the Noxians with the arrival of their reserve unit with High Lord Swain. Morphing into his demonic bird form he waded into the enemy ranks. Crows flew too many and too quick for the kha’zai to get them all. Giant talons pulled a vel’kai leader from behind his troops. While the vel’kai did manage to burn through most of Swain’s birds with his laser, he couldn’t ready another blast before more talons lashed out and then a giant cleaver swung down splitting his eye nearly in two.

“Mundo want play more,” said the giant purple being. “This toy broken and no light up anymore. Need new toy. NEED NEW TOOY.”

As another formation of void beings formed up to prepare to plug the gap, a loud challenge could be heard. “Fight me cowaaaards.” Garen had thought he would never again hear something as loud as that last Noxian warcry in life. But - it was the giant undead guy he glimpsed when he got a moment to catch his breath between slaying his own foes - that guy is something else. Sion plunged into the formation bowling up or trampling over at least five rows of enemies. When he finally stopped - more of his own volition than anything the void had done to slow his momentum - he summoned the souls of those he had slain as a crimson shield around himself. With a massive shield to eat up damage for the time being, he raised his axe for a great blow. With a decimating smash, he carved through nearby foes too stupid or unfortunate to be able to dodge his swing. Even the dak’ruis’ thick shells seemed as brittle frozen plastic dropped from a great height when faced with his axe. As massive as his axe was, the ground rippled up for about eight times that amount in an area around where it impacted - flinging still more enemies into the air. “Innnnseeects.”

Beleaguered Noxian units and those close to shattering took heart. They fought as though fresh to the battlefield. Garen felt his stomach clench and was close to puking at the sound of so many exoskeletons being snapped as though they were toothpicks. He prayed Kat were ok and did his best to block out the noises and stay alive as he’d promised Kat he would do.

After several more intense minutes of back and forth fighting which felt more like hours, the tide truly had seemed to turn in favor of Noxus. The enemy reserve force entered the fight but was split up immediately to plug the growing holes in their formations.

“Come out and die,” bellowed Sion as he swung his axe at more fleeing foes. Only this time, his swing was intercepted by a ginormous bronze anchor.

“The tide ebbs for you,” spoke an equally massive behemoth clad in a metal diving suit.

The newcomer and Sion traded blows. Back and forth with neither one seeming to get a decisive edge. Axe met anchor, geysers of high pressure water tore up from the ground and broke Sion’s shield, but their force was dissipated enough that it didn’t threaten to blast holes in his limbs. Sometime after both had seemingly exhausted all their moves, an opening presented itself. The titan of the depths swung a powerful blow that landed well short of Sion. Perhaps he were tiring faster than anticipated. This left him open to a blow from Sion’s axe which rattled his suit and left a large indentation on Nautilus’s armor, yet it still did not crack.

“You grow weak, allow me to give you a resting place,” taunted Sion as he prepared to continue beating Nautilus down until the latter grew too tired to resist.

“Peer into the darkness Sion,” Nautilus replied as a massive jet of water shot up from beneath the undead juggernaut and lifted him into the air. This would have just been another blow much like Sion’s that had so recently landed on Nautilus to merely dent his armor if not for what Nautilus did next. Swinging his anchor about by it’s chain, he hurled it into sion to yank him opposite the direction he’d been sent flying. With Sion still trying to recover from the surprise attack, he couldn’t raise his axe in time to block the blow. Anchor sunk into his chest and pulled him down. With a giant thud, Sion smashed into the ground - his bones broken. One more quick but precise blow and Sion was left inevitably dying and unable to move. “Do you hear them calling,” the titan taunted him - referring to all the souls of those he’d slain. The juggernaut finally knew fear, sensing the clamoring hands of all those souls coming back to haunt him. To do to him what he’d done to them. Ironic how souls that had once shielded him from suffering would soon be what tormented him most.

(Stay tuned for part 6 ... conclusion of the fight between Noxus and the Void. Leave a comment below if you think you can guess who is supreme general of all Void forces based on the newest addition to the Void's forces - Nautilus. Further parts I hope to include are a Renekton part, a Summoner's Rift, Kayle/Morg, and possibly a brief description of what's happened during this time with J4 and the others fighting the reawakened Iceborn in the Freljord although this isn't directly connected to the main story arc other than alliances and explaining why J4 wasn't present to help defend Demacia. Other arcs may be included as they fit within the story line. Thanks for stopping by.)