Marvel's master of cosmic magic

Chapter 535

"Perfect."

Rowan Mercer smiled faintly as he brushed against Vander’s thoughts, confirming everything he had hoped to see.

The hook was set.

From the moment he finished reading through the Undercity bookstore’s shelves, he had already judged the balance of power across Valoran. Piltover was the richest city on the continent, wealthier even than Noxus or Demacia. But in real strength, it ranked dead last. Strip away its rifles and clockwork toys, and there was nothing left to hold the world at bay.

In a world defined by magic, Piltover’s rejection of it was borderline suicidal.

Demacia at least lined its walls with anti-magic stone and armored its soldiers to blunt spellfire. Piltover had guns and arrogance.

Its only true wildcard was the wind spirit Janna, a being who could flatten cities when she felt like it. And she almost never felt like it.

If Vander wanted to keep the council from clawing their way back into power and turning New Zaun into the same old nightmare, then he needed Rowan. Desperately.

And after what Rowan had done, there was no universe where Vander would let him walk away.

By the next morning, every remaining pocket of resistance in Piltover had been wiped out.

Vander now controlled both the Upper and Lower Cities.

The six councilors weren’t executed. Their political authority was stripped, nothing more. They were returned to private life as ordinary merchants.

Vander wasn’t Silco. He didn’t rule through terror.

He wanted equality between Upper City and Undercity.

And he understood something else too.

Piltover’s wealth still depended on those same merchants and financiers.

He personally escorted Professor Heimerdinger back to the Academy that afternoon.

Piltover’s technology existed almost entirely because of that yordle and his school. More importantly, Heimerdinger had been the only councilor who ever showed genuine sympathy toward the Undercity. His academy had always admitted talented students from below without discrimination.

Rowan woke late.

He rubbed his temples and put on a perfect impression of a man suffering from a brutal hangover.

"Sorry... I didn’t cause too much trouble last night, did I?"

Vander nearly tripped over himself shaking his head.

"No. No trouble at all. None. Absolutely none."

Without Rowan, none of this would have happened.

"Good," Rowan muttered. "Guess I should stop drinking. I black out every time. That can’t be healthy."

Vander’s eyes lit up.

"Brother, what are you saying? A man can’t live without a little drink. Just don’t overdo it. Next time you want to drink, I’ll drink with you."

"Brother?"

Vi and Powder both blinked.

Rowan raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Vander... what brother?"

Vander slapped his thigh.

"You forgot? Last night you swore brotherhood with me over drinks. From today on, you’re my little brother."

He spread his arms grandly.

"You are now Prince Rowan of New Zaun. Second only to me."

The room went silent.

Vander turned to Vi and Powder.

"Come on. Call him uncle."

"...Uncle Rowan," Powder muttered.

"...Uncle Rowan," Vi echoed, painfully.

They both looked like they wanted to die.

Rowan pressed a hand to his forehead, then let out a helpless laugh.

"Well. If you’re calling me your brother, I suppose I can’t exactly refuse."

He snapped his fingers.

"Since I’m your uncle now, these are your welcome gifts."

Two decorative greatswords ripped free from the wall and hovered in midair.

Rowan exhaled twin streams of fire.

The blades melted into glowing pools of metal.

Runes flared into existence, folding into the molten mass.

The metal reshaped itself.

One piece formed into a pair of golden gauntlets.

The other condensed into a heavy machine gun etched with glowing sigils.

More symbols burned into them.

"Done."

The weapons floated down and settled in front of Vi and Powder.

Vi slipped on the gauntlets.

She threw a test punch.

A compressed shockwave detonated out of her fist and blew a crater through the reinforced wall.

Her eyes went wide.

Powder hefted the machine gun.

It felt weightless.

She aimed through the hole Vi had just made and pulled the trigger.

Streams of flaming rounds tore into the sky and exploded like fireworks.

"They can do a lot more than that," Rowan said casually.

"Prick your finger and touch them. They’ll bind to you. After that, you can store them inside your body. Explore the rest later."

Vander stood there, completely stunned.

This kid wasn’t just a monster.

He was a mage too.

...

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