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Madame Kiramman was a woman of clinical, decisive action. The first round of sponsorship funds reached Kael within hours, and the patent for the Rubik's Cube was fast-tracked through City Hall. While the Kiramman sales network prepared to flood the market with the "Orianna Cube," Kael was focused on a different kind of "cultural exchange."
He was currently smuggling Caitlyn into the heart of Zaun.
"I told you to dress low-key," Kael whispered, frowning at Caitlyn's "simple" outfit—which still screamed Piltovian silk and tailored elegance.
"This is the most low-key thing I own!" Caitlyn hissed back, her eyes wide with a mix of terror and exhilaration. She hadn't slept a wink, her mind racing with images of the Undercity.
Kael sighed and tossed her a tattered, oil-stained cloak from his backpack. "Drape this over yourself. And put this on." He handed her a homemade Gas Mask.
Zaun's atmosphere was a soup of toxic Alchemical Smog. While the locals' lungs had mutated to adapt to the pungent fumes, a Piltovian noble would likely pass out within ten minutes without filtration.
The Banger Pistol
They reached the massive iron elevator—the "Boundary" between the two worlds. A group of heavily tattooed guards blocked the entrance, their eyes scanning for easy marks.
"Show us your faces," one growled, resting a hand on a rusted cleaver.
Kael didn't flinch. He slightly lifted his cloak, revealing the grip of a sidearm. "Don't make trouble for yourselves."
The guard's eyes narrowed. He recognized the cold, professional posture of someone who wasn't bluffing. He stepped aside with a grunt. Once the elevator doors creaked shut, Caitlyn rounded on Kael.
"A gun? Kael, where did you get a firearm!"
"It's a toy I made," Kael said, drawing an orange-and-green painted pistol. It looked like an industrial art piece, its metallic texture gleaming under the dim yellow lights. He flicked the barrel down, and a Copper Coin ejected into his palm.
"A coin?" Caitlyn breathed, her eyes tracing the intricate gearwork. She had a natural affinity for ballistics and could feel the perfect weight of the piece.
"I call it the Banger Pistol," Kael explained. "The internal spring-tension and gear-ratio can launch this coin through a few centimeters of steel plate at ten meters. It's a toy... that bites."
The Black Market
The elevator delivered them into a world of wild disorder. Zaun was a vertical labyrinth of pipes, exhaust vents, and neon-colored glass. Unlike Piltover's sterile symmetry, Zaun possessed a raw, vibrant vitality.
They moved through the Black Market, where Subhumans—vastly different races fleeing the wars of Runeterra—sold things that would make a Councilor faint. Kael spotted stalls selling Shadow Wolf pelts, Crimson Razorbeaks, and even a juvenile Tree Monster.
Caitlyn stopped, mesmerized by a stall selling sizzling "Demon Swamp Frogs."
"Don't listen to him," Kael told Caitlyn, noticing the vendor's sleazy grin. "They're just regular Swamp Frogs bred for size. Real Demon Frogs would have melted the grill by now."
The vendor laughed, impressed by the boy's knowledge. "You've got a sharp eye, kid. Watch your backs—your friend looks like a delicious cream cake to the sharks in the corner."
The Uppercut
As they left the stall, their path was blocked by a bald, tattooed giant. Three more thugs closed in behind them.
"This isn't the Upper City, pretty thing," the giant sneered. "Hand over the goods."
Caitlyn tensed, shifting into a combat stance. "Can you hold one off?" she asked Kael, her voice remarkably steady.
"I brought a gun, didn't I?" Kael leveled the Banger Pistol at the giant's chest.
"Use a gun in the Black Market?" the giant laughed. "The gangs will tear you apart before the first shell hits the ground. Put it away, boy."
"Fair enough," Kael sighed, tucking the pistol back into his belt. "I'll just use my fists."
Before the giant could blink, Kael's fist connected with his jaw. It was a blur of motion. Teeth and half a tongue flew through the air as the two-meter-tall man was lifted off the ground by the sheer force of the uppercut. He hit the pavement, stone-cold unconscious.
The other three thugs didn't wait to see more; they turned and vanished into the smog.
"Kael... how?" Caitlyn blinked, staring at the fallen giant. "You're half his size!"
Kael rolled up his sleeve, revealing an intricate Clockwork Exoskeleton braced against his forearm and elbow. "It's a power-assist device. Fuses gear mechanics with spring-loaded torque. Triple the strength of an adult, half the effort."
Caitlyn's expression shifted from shock to a righteous, academic sternness. "You secretly made dangerous, unregulated military-grade equipment!"
"Want one?" Kael asked tentatively.
Caitlyn paused, looking at the fallen giant, then at the orange-and-green pistol. "No! ...Unless you add a Banger Pistol to the set."
"Deal."
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