Chapter 24

Akali didn’t know about this matchup. Sure, she matched Ahri’s mobility, though Ahri had her Charm which could screw her over at any moment. That’s the key thing that she needed to watch out for. If she could dodge Ahri’s charm, then dodging the rest of her abilities should be easy. Though Akali wondered if she could persuade the Fox to not fight against her. She didn’t want to fight against her dear friend Ahri, and Ahri must’ve shared the same sentiments, though the Summoner forced her into doing so. This was why Akali needed to win; to save all the Champions. Not just herself and her friends, but everyone. Odd, she thought, how they managed to gather together under these perilous circumstances. She never would’ve dreamed she would’ve teamed up with Zed and Thresh of all people to take down the Summoners, though she was glad that the rest of the Kinkou ninja members were there to support her as well. She knew that they would have her back, no matter what.

Speaking of Shen…she wondered how he was doing in his battle. How the others were doing. Ahri threw her orb out at Akali, distracting her from her thoughts.

“Getting distracted on the battlefield is a sure way to get killed,” Ahri said. “As a predator, I can sense weakness.”

Akali shook her head, before saying, “You’re right, Ahri. I’m going to give this battle my all. As much as I’m pained to fight against a friend, I must do this. This is where my path leads.”

“I too, sister,” Ahri said, before she reluctantly stepped forward and faced Akali square in the face. “We’re on opposing sides, yet we share the same sentiments. We’re only doing this for the people that we care about.”

“Do you realize that the Summoners are planning to exterminate you all?” Akali asked before Ahri looked away.

“We have no other choice. Sometimes when there’s a bigger predator on the battlefield, you have no choice but to yield to it and try not to anger it. The Summoners are a great, ancient evil that we’ve served under all these years. But we survived together with them because they spared us Champions. What else are we supposed to do, when the hand that provides for us can also kill us?”

“We need to fight,” Akali insisted, as she picked up her kamas and stepped forward towards Ahri. “Even if it’s hopeless because then we’ve fought to promote change. If things stay as they are, then Thanatos will enslave this world.”

“Akali,” Ahri said. “I don’t think we can exchange any more words on the matter. I don’t think that there’s any way out of this situation, and fighting against the Summoner is a hopeless battle.”

“Then I’ll win,” Akali vowed. “I’ll win and convince you that it’s possible. If I die, then I died fighting, and I can die without regrets.”

“That’s just how you are,” Ahri said with a sad smile. “Then…shall we?”

Akali was the one who made the first move. She threw her kama towards Ahri to harass her, while Ahri whipped her orb into Akali’s face as an auto attack to chunk some damage from her. This was ranged versus melee matchup, o Akali had to play it carefully, especially since she didn’t have her true burst damage until just a little while longer. She needed to build up charges for her Shadow Dance, and with that, she would have a hope of taking down Ahri. Though Akali meant what she said. She would show Ahri that it was possible to fight against the odds. She didn’t know what made Ahri give up so easily, because that wasn’t the sister she had known, but she also knew that Thanatos was steadily gaining more power and the more she hesitated and thought about it, he will finally be able to achieve the perfect body that he wanted.

They danced and weaved and ducked and dodged blows like it was a sinuous dance. Both Akali and Ahri were mobile champions that could easily dodge attacks and advance on their hapless target. Akali knew that she needed to play smart and to avoid Ahri’s charm at all costs, or she could be finished. She dodged each charm that Ahri blew in her direction, though she was weaker than Ahri at the moment, mainly because she was melee and Ahri was ranged. Not to mention that Akali could do much without her Shadow Dances. It was a technique that she learned through Zed, drawing upon the shadows and using their fluidity and stretching and expanding states to cover far distances.

Akali then knew she had an opportunity to present itself. She needed to take Ahri down before the time limit was up before Thanatos could achieve his perfect body. She immediately dashed in and held her blades to Ahri’s throat, to which she yielded afterward. Unfortunately, the thing that Ahri said after was the last thing that she wanted to hear.

“You may have persuaded me,” Ahri said. But you’re too late.”