65 CH60: Corpses

Third POV:

Nighttime has came to the Institute of War. Grey, Ahri, Brite, and Solas were in the dining hall, having dinner together. Nidalee isn't with them since Neeko wanted to show her something in her room.

Solas and Brite joined them somewhere around noon, and Grey told them where Tiara was. While Solas was concerned, Brite told him that he should be more concerned for whoever Tiara is fighting. Aki joined them afterward, looking pretty nervous but she just waved off their questions.

Nothing particular happened to the group of friends. That is until the gates of the Institute opened and Kayle walked in, but she was definitely not alone.

Behind Kayle were people that were recognized as Demacians. There was Jarvan, Garen, Lux - who was keeping her head down, looking depressed -, Shyvana, and a few Demacian vanguards.

In front of the Demacian vanguards was a middle-aged woman with sleeked back blond hair that showed signs of turning grey from age. She was wearing an armor similar to the vanguards and was walking in front of them beside Garen. She was also passing glares to Lux every few seconds.

They were apparently escorting someone. Behind Kayle, herself was a small cart that held a man inside it. The cart was being pushed by two Demacian vanguards who were doing their best to follow Kayle.

The man inside the cart looked to be in his early thirties. His face was unshaved, his hair was sleeked back and a little messy, he wore only a pair of dirty pants and boots. On his hands was a pair of gauntlets with large chains attached to them that looked more like cuffs.

The man was bound in a couple of circles made of golden light, most likely Kayle's powers. He was struggling his best to escape while also clutching the circles of light in his hands as if trying to do something.

"Stop that, Sylas," Kayle said, addressing the man. "These bindings are made from my power as an aspect. It's pure light. If you actually do absorb it, it will just burn your arms," she instructed.

"You can't keep this forever!" Sylas cried out, knowing that Kayle's power will get weaker sooner or later. "I escaped prison once, and I can do it again!"

"Oh, by all means," Kayle suddenly said as she turned to face Sylas on his cart. "This place is filled with Runeterra's strongest warriors. Some of whom don't even use magic for you to steal. If you wish to be killed by one of them attempting to escape, be my guest," she said motioning around her.

Sylas looked around him at the champions in the dining hall. Many of them returned his look with glares and challenging looks. He saw creatures that can probably just stomp him to death.

Deciding to play it safe for now, Sylas stopped his struggles and opted to simply wait for his chance to escape.

"Why are we keeping this criminal alive?" the woman beside Garen asked, glaring at Sylas.

"H-He needs a tria-" Lux tried to speak but a glare from the woman silenced her.

Garen stepped in front of his sister, stopping the woman's glare. "The Institute demanded that the leader of the rebellion is brought to them in order to hold their trial here. Since Demacia is part of the Institute, we gave them our word that we would follow their laws," he explained.

The woman was obviously not happy and simply huffed. The people continued walking through the dining hall while pushing Sylas' cart, moving him towards the High Summoners.

"Uhmm... What was that about?" Ahri asked as the people passed through the dining hall.

"Oh... Uhmm," everyone turned their sights to Aki as she started speaking. "T-That was Sylas... The leader of the rebellion in Demacia. From what I know, the Institute wanted to decide his fate on their own rules since Demacia was part of the Institute of War. Kayle went there to make sure he is captured alive."

"Wait, isn't he a Demacian criminal? Why would the Institute not just leave his fate to Demacia?" Grey asked, wondering why the Institute would interfere.

Aki shrugged. "I'm not completely sure. But, I did hear that it has something to do with why Sylas created his rebellion, which was because-"

She didn't get to finish as Sylas, just they got close to the gates of the High Summoners, released a blue-colored magical blast that destroyed his bindings and shocked those around him.

Before they recover, Sylas jumped off the cart and started speeding towards the nearest exit. Grey and Brite immediately stood up to try and stop him, but they didn't move when they saw who was standing in Sylas' path.

Jax had just entered the dining hall hoping to get something to eat. He wasn't expecting what is apparently a running fugitive to start heading in his direction hoping to escape.

The Grand Master sighed. "Here we go again," he mumbled as he held up his Lamppost.

Sylas snarled. He was hoping to get out of here without any distractions. But since this stranger was obviously getting ready for battle, he would have pushed his way through.

The Demacian criminal swung his chain at Jax, who raised his lamppost to guard, which in turn caused the chains to wrap around the pole.

When that happened, Jax swiftly pulled his lamppost and the chains, causing Sylas to stumble straight towards him. When he was close enough, Jax used the pole of his lamppost to knock his feet off the ground.

The Grand Master then, while Sylas was still mid-air, used his lamppost to strike the Demacian criminals in the head, causing him to smack hard on the ground, effectively knocking him out.

Kayle came in and looked at Sylas. "Thank you, Jax," she said in gratitude to her fellow champion.

"Don't mention it," Jax said shrugging his shoulders as he removed Sylas' chains from his Lamppost before walking away.

Kayle put back the restraints on Sylas while adding a couple of extra light circles to make sure that Sylas stays in check this time.

Two Demacian guards carried Sylas back to his cart before they continued pushing him and went to the High Summoners.

When they were gone, people in the dining hall went back to their business. "Was it just me, or did Lux look like she was in trouble too?" Ahri asked, noticing the way that her Demacia friend acted.

"It looked like that lady wanted to put Lux in chains with Sylas," Solas commented, also noticing how Lux seemed to be in a bad spot.

"Uhmm... I can get you to see the trial, if you want," Aki suggested, gaining their attention. "Normally, only champions from the same nation as the defendant can enter the trail. But, maybe, I can get you in because I'm a summoner."

"I would actually like that," Ahri replied, looking at where the Demacians went. "I'm pretty worried for Lux, so I want to make sure she's fine."

"I'm a little interested in this 'rebellion' and to find out why it was made," Solas commented with a hand on his chin. He couldn't help but wonder if it's anything like what happened between him and his father.

"Alright then, follow me," Aki instructed as she stood up from her seat with the others following her example. She just hoped that she can actually convince the other summoners to let them in.

(In Noxus.)

Tiara was standing in a back alley, looking over a splat of blood on the ground. "This is where the latest kill happened," Katarina, who was standing beside her, said.

Tiara knelt down and looked at the blood. "The body was obviously dragged somewhere," she commented as she saw looked at the trail of blood that was undoubtedly left by the corpse.

Katarina nodded. "Yeah, me and Talon figured as much. Problem is that the trail stops somewhere, so the killer either noticed or the body just rant out of blood."

"No, it was definitely the latter," Katarina raised an eyebrow as Tiara kept looking over the blood. "Whoever the killer is, they weren't trying to be professional or even hide their victim. They just killed them and started dragging their bodies somewhere."

"So, I guess that roles out Vladimir," the Sinister blade commented.

The Outrider Knight looked at her confused. "Who?"

"He's a champion. He uses blood magic and has a cult. Me and Talon originally suspected he might have something to do with this, but he would never be this sloppy in his work," Katarina explained before crossing her arms. "So, what do you think?"

Tiara stood up and shrugged. "So far, it could be literally any number of people or creatures considering how the body was handled. Is there any other suspects?" she asked.

Katarina brought a hand to her chin and started thinking. She personally couldn't think of anyone, but she does remember her brother mentioning someone he wanted to keep an eye on.

"Yeah, he's not a suspect, but he might give us an idea," the redheaded assassin replied before she turned around and began walking. "Come on, follow me," she instructed and Tiara just shrugged before following her.

Time Skip: (Brought to you by chibi Tiara taking a sip from a large cup of tea.)

Tiara and Katarina were now entering a building from a window on the roof. When they got inside, they found themselves in an old and dusty attic filled with old things.

"So, what's so special about this guy?" Tiara whispered, lightly moving around without her feet making a sound even on the old wood of the floor.

"He's been to the place of every incident before," Katarina replied, also moving without a sound as she looked for the door of the attic.

"Doesn't that mean he should have been the prime suspect?" Tiara asked with a raised eyebrow.

The sinister blade shook her head. "That's not what I meant," she said before kneeling down and finding the door. "You see, this Nobel has been moving around a lot. And, every time he does, a murder happens. He's been safe because he always moved before the murders happened by at least a couple of days. But, the fact the murders happened in his path is still suspicious," she explained, opening the door to the attic lightly and looking around to see if anyone was there. Tiara just shrugged, accepting the possibility of this person having at least some kind of information.

Katarina looked at her and nodded her head, giving her a sign that it was clear for them to move in. Opening the door until they can slip in, they both landed in an exquisite looking hallway.

Walking to the end and looking over the corner, they saw two guards watching over a door close by on the right side. The sound of music could be heard coming from the room.

Tiara looked over her shoulder and nodded to Katarina, giving her the signal to move in. Swiftly, Tiara moved in and grabbed one of the men around his neck.

Before the other one had time to react, he was struck in the head with a knife from Katarina, instantly killing him without a sound.

Katarina used shunpo to flash toward the dead guard and grab him before he hit the ground while Tiara snapped the neck of the one she grabbed, instantly killing him.

Slowly putting the guards down, they both slowly opened the door slightly and looked inside. Both assassins managed to find out why there was so much music.

Apparently, the noble - who was an obese bald man with a long beard - was sitting on a fancy chair having a party as a few girls were dancing in front of him.

There about four guards around him, all too busy watching the girls to even bother noticing the slightly opened door.

"Looks like someone is having fun," Tiara commented with a deadpan look.

"Well, do you have a plan to get to him besides going in guns and blazing?" Katarina asked, not seeing a way to kill all the guards at once.

Tiara snorted. "Please, Katarina. They're men," she said backing up from the door and snapping her intertwined fingers. "It's our job as women to play them for idiots so we can get what we want."

A few moments later, Tiara walked into the room wearing just her armor plates which covered only her chest, thighs, forearms and shins with a veil around her waist.

Seeing her clothes, the guards didn't react much, believing she was another Dancer. However, all eyes were on Tiara as she started dancing.

She started spinning around, moving her body and curves in ways that made even the other girls stare at her as she walked towards the noble on his chair.

The noble simply smiled as Tiara reached him and leaned forward. She stared into his eyes for a moment... Before she suddenly took out her blades from under her waist's viel.

Before any of the guards can even react, Tiara immediately spun back in the direction she came from, making sure to slit the throat of every guard with great accuracy.

The other girls screamed and started running out of the room as all the guards fell on the ground dead. The noble seemed to have the intention of following their example.

However, he didn't get the chance as Katarina suddenly appeared behind him and put a blade on his throat. "Don't even think about moving," she threatened, making sure her message was clear by bringing the blade closer to his throat.

"Pfft, whimps," Tiara scoffed at the running girls.

"D-Du Couteau!?" the noble seemed to have recognized Katarina. "W-Why are you here!? I didn't do anything against Trifarix?!"

"We'll be the judges of that," Tiara commented as she walked back to where the noble was.

"Now, I'm sure you've heard about the murders of random people lately, right?" Katarina asked and the noble's eyes widen.

"I-I don't know what-"

"Look, buddy, we don't really care," Tiara suddenly cut him off, also surprising Katarina about what she said. "We're just here for a hunch. If you're useful, we let you live. If not, Swain won't mind if we kill you because of 'suspicious activity'. So, if I were you, I'd start talking, now," she said, putting one of her blades at where the noble's heart was.

"Alright! Alright! I'll talk!" the noble immediately started screaming causing Tiara to smirk. She knew that most people feared death way more than torture. "I-I don't have anything to do with the murders, b-but I know how to avoid them! I managed to find a pattern!"

"How?" Katarina asked. She and Talon found absolutely no connection between the victims, or the place of the murders.

"The killer isn't targeting any specific people. They're just killing randomly around a specific area. That's why I've been able to avoid them. It's in the northeast side of the Reckoning. That's all, I swear!" the noble basically screamed.

"Good enough, I guess," Tiara said drawing back her sword and turning to walk away.

Katarina followed her example, making the noble sigh in relief. "Oh, by the way, Darius should come here to ask a few questions about why you didn't report what you found," the sinister Blade's last comment made the noble wish that Tiara had killed him instead of having to be on Darius' bad side.

"We finally got our lead," Tiara commented as she exited the room, not even glancing the corpses of the guards.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" Katarina asked, having seen the act Tiara put up.

"I used to be a Harem Dancer in Lothric castle," Tiara replied.

"You used to be a stripper?" Katarina asked.

The Outrider knight rolled her eyes. "Dancer, not Stripper. There's difference. There's also the fact that I was mainly there for political reasons from Sulyvahn and Oceiros. That mad king barely noticed I was even there. He was too busy eye-banging his precious Dragons."

"Uhmm... Ew?" Katarina commented, a little disgusted by that last part.

Back in the Institute:

Back in the Institute, Grey, Ahri, Aki, Brite, and Solas were watching the trial from seats on the side inside the High Summoners chamber.

Sylas was being held in front of the High Summoners. Kayle was standing beside him to make sure he doesn't attempt to escape again. The Demacians that brought him here were standing behind him.

"I nothing bad happens to Lux," Ahri commented quietly to which Grey and Brite nodded in agreement.

Solas had his eyes on Sylas this whole time, interested in what the 'rebellion' was about. Meanwhile, Aki had been trying to keep her hood down as much as possible as soon as they entered.

"Now, let us begin," the Ionian high summoner started speaking. "Sylas, you claim that you're Rebellion is for a just cause, do you have anything to say for that?"

"What possibly could be justice about this criminal!?" the woman who came with Garen and Lux questioned. "Keeping him alive alone is a sin-"

"Please remain silent until spoken to, Tianna Crownguard," the Noxian high summoner cut her off. "Demacia agreed to the rules of the Institute, as such you will follow our laws."

The woman - Tianna - was obviously going to say something else, but a harsh glare from Jarvan managed to keep her quiet.

"I have a feeling this will not be a peaceful talk," Grey sighed after what he and the others just saw.

Back in Noxus:

Tiara - who was now wearing her normal clothes - and Katarina were walking through the streets of Noxus in the area that the noble directed them to. "Do you think he was actually telling the truth?" the red-headed assassin asked.

"His life was on the line, so I doubt he was lying," Tiara replied as she looked around at what appeared to be a normal street for Noxus. "So, is there anything special in this place?"

"No, not really," Katarina shrugged her shoulders. "This place doesn't have anything particularly special," she said also looking around before she growled. "But they should really do something about the smell. I know Noxus' streets aren't clean, but we don't have to stink."

Tiara suddenly stopped causing Katarina to do the same and look at her curiously. To the latter's surprise, Tiara started sniffing the air.

"I know that smell," she mumbled as she looked around before she dashed towards an alleyway with Katarina following close by.

The Outrider stopped near a sewer hole and quickly took off the led. "Wait, what's going on?" Katarina asked.

"I think I found our culprit, come on," Tiara replied, motioning to the sewer hole.

"In the sewers?" Katarina looked disgusted but Tiara replied to her with a deadpan look. "Urghh... Fine. But, you're buying me new clothes," she groaned before jumping in after Tiara did. When they were in the dark sewers, Tiara started walking again. "Okay, so what so special about that smell?" Katarina questioned.

"I remember that smell from my training days with Grey in the Undead Settlement. That's the smell of rotten corpses, a lot of them," Tiara replied as she continued guiding the way.

The Sinister Blade covered her nose while looking around them. "You sure that's not just normal sewer smell?"

Tiara didn't answer and simply reached a large empty space. Katarina reached her... And her eyes widen at seeing what's inside the large space.

The corpses of all the victims were here. They were all stacked up in a big pile on top of each other. "What... What the hell?" Katarina asked. She had seen corpses before, obviously, but not ones stacked up like this.

Tiara walked around and found a few skulls gathered together behind the pile of corpses. "Great, I think I know who we're dealing with," she groaned with a hand on her face.

"Mind telling me?" Katarina requested.

"It's someone from my world, the Mound Makers convenient, to be exact," Tiara replied as she looked around. "We should probably wait for them. They're most likely bringing back another corpse."

"And just let him kill another random Noxian?" Katarina asked.

"Do you care?" Tiara retorted.

The red-headed assassin shrugged her shoulders, showing that she doesn't. "So, do you know why they killed those people?" Katarina asked, hoping to at least pass some time.

"Because the Mound Makers are mad idiots," the Outrider Knight replied and Katarina gave her a look that wanted a further explanation. "The Mound Makers are so desperately lonely, they even want the company of corpses. So, they pile up bodies like this, and start seeing them as 'family'."

"That is messed up," Katarina groaned out.

Tiara snickered. "You should see what Rosaria's Fingers do."

(A/N: Thank you for reading this.

First, Sylas is finally making an appearance, and the Institute is making a move.

Second, Tiara encounters a member of the Mound Makers, so that should be interesting.

And lastly, I'm sure you all noticed that Aki is acting stranger than usual. Stay tuned for that part.

Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)