HP: god of potions

Chapter 130

As they ran into Piltover, a steampunk-style city for the rich, Gray yelled, "Yes." The rain drowned out his voice, forcing Rachel to yell back, "So you've missed out on pretty much your childhood?" They passed by a woman with red hair and a faded cut, a strange cog tattoo on her neck, and a "Vi" tattoo on her face. She was looking up, seeming a bit sad, just overhearing Gray and Rachel's conversation.

"Well, it's fine anyway. I've learned to enjoy gathering materials, brewing potions, practicing spells, and even fighting for my life sometimes," Gray chuckled as he ran backward, his clothes sticking to his body. Rachel, equally drenched, also passed by the woman, briefly glancing at her before looking at Gray. "What do you want to do now?" she asked. "Piltover seems pretty boring. Let's visit Zaun for now," he replied with childlike innocence, which melted Rachel's heart—as well as the woman's, strangely.

Upon seeing Gray's smile, the woman sighed and yelled, "Don't go there! It's going to get dangerous soon," before turning away and pulling her hoodie over her head. Gray looked at her for a second before continuing to drag Rachel through the rain.

-scene change-

The next day, Gray and Rachel stood among many people gathered in front of the podium. Although people only gave Gray strange glances every now and then, he stood out like a sore thumb, while Rachel remained invisible to anyone else but Gray for some reason. Despite the somber atmosphere, people were highly alert to Gray as his white hair shone brightly in the cloudy day, as did his alabaster skin. The fact that he wore a thin but stylish robe despite the weather gave him the appearance of an immortal or a high noble in this world. Currently, he was staring at the front, where a guard gently guided Mel, saying, "Go ahead, ma'am. This way, ma'am."

As she approached the podium, another guard instructed, "Please keep moving, folks." Mel began her speech, reflecting, "One of the many privileges of serving as your councilor is having the occasion now and again to stand behind this podium to behold so many joined together not by birth or dictum but by all that we share. Our hope. Our curiosity. Our compulsion to leave behind us a world better than that before. These things we share are what make us one people." She took in the audience, where Piltover's elite stood in a line—Jayce, Caitlyn, and her father, Salos, a blond man in a wheelchair, and Shoola, a woman whose face was scarred and hidden behind a golden mask. The reason Gray was here was purely because Rachel wanted to listen, so he thought, why not, before they went to Zaun? That was why he stood among the nobles of Piltover, who didn't even find it all that strange, despite glancing at him from time to time.

However, Gray was used to being stared at. As he looked ahead, he locked eyes with Mel, who seemed confused, but she remained focused as she continued, "Today, we share an unthinkable loss. Councilor Irius Bolbok, Councilor Torman Hoskel, and Councilor Cassandra Kiramman were taken from us. But they shall not be forgotten. We commissioned this statue so we may remember them for their countless contributions… their lifetimes of service. Not for the craven act that stole them away." As she spoke, Gray noticed strange figures draped from head to toe in clothes that concealed their identities. However, he was here to listen, so he did, even overhearing a guard attempt to stop an intruder, saying, "Ma'am, you can't go in..." but his words became distorted as the woman he was trying to stop was Vi, who was looking at a strange figure dressed in enforcer clothes. Gray noticed but didn't bother to make a move.

Mel reassured the crowd, "Though we've suffered a terrible blow, I assure you, the rule of law prevails in Piltover." A voice interrupted, "No." Mel asserted, "We will find those responsible. And they will account for their crimes." A leader from the crowd remarked, "Awful, isn't it? Losing a loved one." Suddenly, chaos erupted as the crowd screamed, and the leader declared, "You aren't safe up here, toppers. None of you are safe." The situation escalated with roars, screams, and growls filling the air. Amidst the turmoil, someone commanded, "Get the councilors out of here." Another voice questioned, "What are you doing?" followed by suspenseful sounds and heavy footsteps. In the midst of the chaos, a figure laughed menacingly, leading to more screams. A determined woman wielding a chainsaw, strange tubes filled with green liquid running through them, exclaimed, "For my son," before a groan was heard as she attacked Jayce.

Meanwhile, Gray stood still, doing nothing as an airship appeared above him. He looked up with a blank stare as Caitlyn, who had just grabbed a rifle to help the unarmed Jayce, also glanced up. She saw the ship open its shark-like mouth as several figures jumped down. When they landed with a heavy thud, Gray saw them—each wearing a metallic, mech-like diving suit with the same glowing purple liquid inside. They wielded green blades, and all five of them landed directly in front of Gray. That was when Vi saw Gray standing in front of the clear Zaun attackers, seemingly rooted in place as if he were scared. She ran up to him, urging, "Come on, leave now," but Gray didn't even turn around as he stared at the five figures. Meanwhile, Vi saw Caitlyn get attacked and turned her attention toward her instead.

Is that Shimmer?" Gray asked the air—well, to other people at least—but that was when Rachel replied, "Yeah, it's Shimmer," making Gray sigh as he asked, "Is that why you asked me to show up here?" Rachel nodded just as one of the figures reached him. They were large, standing at seven feet tall, and they were big. Four of them immediately started to massacre the enforcers while the first one to land approached Gray, who looked at the person inside, who was smiling wickedly. Just as the Zaun attacker slashed down on Gray, he smiled as his body expanded.

Now standing six feet and seven inches tall, his hair grew even wilder like a lion's mane. His hands quickly became covered in ice, as did his feet. His robe burned away, leaving only his trousers, exposing his chest where molten lava seemed to flow. Two pairs of horns protruded from his forehead, made of darkness, and behind him, two pairs of silver wings of light appeared. Gray then caught the blade with a single move before grabbing the attacker by the big helmet and slamming him into the ground, creating so much smoke and dust that it attracted nearly everyone in the surrounding area—enforcers, Vi, Caitlyn, Jayce, and his attacker—as well as Mel, who was being escorted. They couldn't see anything as the dust clouded the area, but as it quickly settled, Gray stood over the body of the attacker, whose suit was drained of Shimmer.