Malphegor
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Arcane: TTB: Ch. 68
🕑 Added 2025-03-12 19:27:59 +0000 UTCCamille was carried back to Piltover by Janna's wind.
Though she suffered no physical harm, she realized that something serious had intervened.
Just before that breeze arose, she had caught sight of a blue bird emerging from the flames in the corner of her eye. The creature had seemed to move against all natural laws, and its wings were untouched by the inferno that should have consumed everything.
A blue bird.
The wind.
That power.
With these two signs together, she couldn't ignore what they meant.
As the Principal Intelligencer of Clan Ferros, she was well aware of Janna's existence.
That guardian deity has never interfered in mortal conflicts for thousands of years. Narrowing her eyes, she turned on her scissor-like legs and headed back to the Ferros estate in Piltover's affluent district.
"My current power has its limitations when faced with the supernatural," she muttered to herself. "To engage without understanding would be... inefficient."
Until she figured out the situation, she had no plans to return to Zaun. A deity personally intervening, this was beyond her reach.
---
The Ferros estate stood like a monument to aristocratic normalcy, but she knew better than most the secrets hidden behind its walls. She passed through layers of security, all responding to her presence with silent acknowledgment.
Returning to the secret chamber, she used a special magical method to relay all recent intelligence to the covert organization she served.
Then, she took out a rose necklace and infused it with energy. The metal warmed under her touch, and a black rose bloomed on the ground, unfurling its petals slowly.
As it fully opened, the surroundings darkened abruptly.
She found herself in a field of blooming black roses. Their petals absorbed rather than reflected light, creating an impossible garden.
In the center sat a woman cloaked in darkness, one leg crossed leisurely over the other.
"It's rare for you to seek me out." The woman's tone carried amusement as she observed Camille. "Have your augmentations finally failed you?"
"If they had, I would consult an engineer, not you," Camille replied without emotion.
The woman's soft laughter filled the space between them. "Still as direct as your blades. How refreshing in a world of sycophants."
Although Camille had joined the Black Rose, she had never truly embraced it. She treated herself like a machine, carrying out tasks without personal involvement.
"Janna. Do you have any information on her?" She got straight to the point. The woman before her had lived for thousands of years, an ancient monster in the truest sense. There was little in this world that she didn't know.
"Janna? Have you provoked her?" Her voice tightened slightly. No deity was one to be trifled with.
"I can't be sure. I went to Zaun to maintain Piltover's order. A blue bird released a green wind and rescued someone from my grasp."
Camille recounted everything honestly. Lying to her was pointless, if anything, it would only offend her. She had countless ways of acquiring information.
"That was definitely her." Just from the description, the woman was certain of Janna's identity.
Such was the advantage of longevity. An extensive breadth of knowledge was one of its perks.
"I've seen her intervention perhaps three times in a thousand years," the woman said thoughtfully. "Each time, it marked a turning point in history."
"What did you do to make her interfere in mortal affairs?"
As an ancient and undying being, she had personally encountered Janna before, back when she still worked cautiously under a tyrant clad in iron, fearful that a single misstep would earn her a fatal blow to the skull.
"I don't know. I've gone to Zaun many times to maintain order for Piltover, but this is the first time she's intervened to save someone."
Camille shook her head. In her nearly hundred years of life, she had eliminated countless potential threats to Piltover from Zaun, and this was far from her first mission.
"Then that means the one you targeted this time was special." The woman didn't even need to think before responding.
Deities did not interfere lightly, especially not in mortal struggles. If Janna had made a move, there had to be a reason.
"I've already sent all relevant information to the Black Rose." The moment Camille finished speaking, the documents she had submitted earlier appeared in the other's hands.
"You really know how to cause me trouble." Flipping through the files, the woman's voice held clear displeasure. Yet, her focus wasn't on Janna, it was on Swain.
A god's status was too high for direct intervention in most cases. But Swain was different.
Camille had attempted to take one of Swain's subordinates hostage, only to push him into a desperate self-detonation.
The consequences of this were too severe to ignore. This would undoubtedly draw his attention.
"The flaws in your operation were too obvious. Swain will realize the Black Rose still exists. We went to great lengths to fake our deaths and disappear underground."
"You've really messed this up."
But despite the woman's reproach, Camille didn't so much as blink.
If the woman in front of her were truly angry, she would either abandon her or kill her on the spot, not waste time like this.
This wasn't anger. This was negotiation.
"It is unknown why, but Janna appears to not possess her full strength. If she's so weakened, then perhaps—" Camille began.
The woman cut her off. "Even a dying god can crush a mortal with a thought. Do not mistake decline for vulnerability."
"Do you know about Hextech?" Camille asked suddenly, changing tactics.
"That little invention you Piltover people came up with? The Hexgate is somewhat interesting. It is an innovative technology, but that's it," the woman replied indifferently, with a dismissive gesture.
"You underestimate its potential. What you've seen is merely the infancy of the technology."
"Oh?"
With a thousand years of experience, she had manipulated Noxus from the shadows, acquiring countless magical artifacts and knowledge, including some immensely powerful relics.
Hextech, with its method of controlling magic through technology, was intriguing at best in her eyes, somewhat valuable, but not particularly impressive.
The only thing worth noting so far was the development of the Hexgate.
"Before my augmentation, I was an exceptional scientist. Perhaps I understand the value of Hextech better than you do."
"With deeper research, stabilizing energy sources, and refining weapons, it could elevate Noxian military strength to another level, and generate immense wealth."
Born in Piltover, Camille understood technology far better than her. Hextech might seem unimpressive now, but its potential was enormous.
"But I've heard Hextech was developed by that young man, Jayce. He's publicly opposed to its use as a weapon. Are you certain about this?"
The woman was intrigued. She didn't particularly care for wealth, but maintaining an organization capable of controlling Noxus required vast resources.
And strengthening Noxian military power had its benefits for her as well. She enjoyed collecting magical artifacts, but they wouldn't simply present themselves to her. She had to seize them through war.
"I can. Jayce is an idealist surrounded by pragmatists. His principles will bend when properly leveraged."
"You sound quite confident."
"I've watched him for years. His weaknesses are well-documented, his partner Viktor, his mentor Heimerdinger, his... affection for Councilor Medarda. Multiple pressure points."
To her, Jayce was riddled with weaknesses. He was easy to manipulate.
"You're also aware of the last time Janna revealed herself. It was during the opening of your Sun Gate Canal. She displayed immense divine power back then, but it was far weaker than before."
"The only reason Piltover and Zaun survived the Rune Wars and the Great Darkin War was due to her protection."
The woman didn't mention one more thing.
The tyrant she once served had nearly wiped out an entire generation across Runeterra. At the time, Piltover and Zaun were one of the few sanctuaries left.
Janna's divine winds had held back a massive tsunami, calming the raging sea. It was so powerful that even the iron tyrant feared her.
But that was a part of her own past she had no intention of revealing.
"Her power has been declining all this time?" Camille asked.
"That's right. Compared to her peak, when she appeared at the Sun Gate Canal, her strength had dwindled by at least a hundredfold. And with your information, I can confirm that her strength had weakened further."
"But even so, a deity is not someone you should try to test, as I said before."
The woman spoke bluntly, not out of contempt for Camille, but because deities and mortals existed on entirely different planes.
"What should I do?" Camille got straight to the point. This was the real reason she had come to the woman.
"Do nothing. Deities rarely interfere in mortal affairs. Saving that person was already the limit of her involvement."
"You don't need to worry about Janna becoming your enemy. Compared to her, your real concern should be Swain."
"He won't be easy to deal with." A strange smile curled at the woman's lips.
