CHAPTER 10

Kel'Thuzad and Anub'Arak rushed forward, attempting to double-team Sylvanas and end this war once and for all. During their charge, a rain of fire bared down upon them, stopping the Undead in their tracks. Stones, marked with extremely sharp edges and covered in licking red flames, flew down from the sky. "Who dares-?" sputtered Kel'Thuzad as he and the Crypt Lord glanced upward. A figure with wings stood on a high perch by the moonlight, his shape unrecognizable from that distance. He leaped upward with amazing strength, and spun as he descended. Accelerating downward, he was momentarily a drill, coming down at a frightening speed. Kel'Thuzad yelled, "Watch out Anub'Arak!" and started retreating. Anub'Arak, being a juggernaut, was slower than the hovering lich, and could not escape the powerful impact entirely. The force of the crash sent out shockwaves, tossing the beetle far away. Anub'Arak got up shakily as the figure now pounced into the air once again and landed on him.

"Varimathras!" Sylvanas cried, surprised at the dreadlord's comeback.

The demon did not reply, merely increased the pressure of his foot on Anub'Arak. The crypt lord opened his wings, releasing his trusty black locusts. They swarmed angrily on Varimathras, who released his foot on Anub'Arak for a split second. That time was all he needed however; he summoned all his strength during that resistance and stood upward. The sudden position called back the locusts and tossed Varimathras backward, who balanced on his hands onto his feet. Both of them regrouped back to their partners.

"This is the Dreadlord the shade spoke of then, I assume?" Anub'Arak asked.

"Yes…it appears he is back. Why, I do not know." Kel'Thuzad replied wonderingly.

"We do not need to know; let's crush these fools once and for all!" Anub'Arak almost shouted. Kel'Thuzad unsheathed his twin blades, and both charged once more.

While they had that conversation, Sylvanas and Varimathras had been having one of their own.

"Why are you back here? Even though I banished you, you still come back to help me…why?!" Sylvanas kept asking him.

"The reasons are my own. However, I do ask you that, I wish to be reinsured in your ranks again." Varimathras simply stated.

"Very well; we'll talk after this fight," Sylvanas said before reacting to the charging Scourge heroes. Kel'Thuzad branched off toward the ranger; it seemed that he will be her opponent.

Kel'Thuzad struck with one of his swords vertically. Sylvanas parried the blow with her bow, only to quickly block another horizontal strike. The ice blades flashed in the moonlight, hovering so quickly as though spirits were nearby. The lich never gave off a moment of opportunity; he wanted to control the offense and end this quickly. However, after many blows were defended and his strength was being used up, he decided to rethink his strategy. This banshee is quick; mere strength will not defeat her. Still, how would she fare against magic and melee?

The full moon was now uncovered by the clouds, and the light shone on the battles beautifully. Kel'Thuzad whirled around, backing up from the locked combat. Holding both swords with one hand, he directed his other towards Sylvanas, shooting a powerful Nova Blast from his palm. This spell, conjured by some extra enchantment from his new knowledge, rivaled the power of a huge glacier itself. As the ice explosion came toward her, Sylvanas covered herself with her special Elven cloak, imbued with defensive magic. Still, the cloak alone could not block the full effects. The cloak shined blue as the magic was invoked, but the ranger still buckled down from the mini-storm. When the blast ended, she was nearly frozen from head to foot; her arm was numb enough to prevent her from shooting an arrow.

"Varimathras!" She cried, desperate for help. When she glanced toward the crypt lord and Dreadlord battling so focused, she knew her time has come. Kel'Thuzad merged his two ice blades together into one ice katana; the substance stacked together and fused with extra ice gathered from the cold air. "Ready to die?" he said viciously, and charged toward her. He struck vertically once again, and Sylvanas blocked, although weakly this time. Kel'Thuzad then did a roundhouse slash, which drained all the energy from the ranger. As she blocked his strike, Kel'Thuzad raised his palm toward her, and unleashed another Nova Blast. She was blown backward from the blizzard, landing on her back painfully. Her last sight was the full moon, and her last thought was, what a touching death…, before Kel'Thuzad impaled her through with his sword in the ground.

Anub'Arak meanwhile was squaring off against Varimathras, striking left and right with his sharp forelegs. The Natherizim used his powerful and equally sharp claws/hands to defend, while unleashing blows himself. Both behemoths pounded and struck themselves into a deadlock, which gave them a few seconds' rest after it was broken.

"You're not bad, for an Undead scum," Varimathras commented in between his gasps.

"You demons cannot defeat the might of the Scourge!" Anub'Arak coldly responded, and struck his claws into the ground for an Impale. The demon deftly leaped and dodged the attack, while waving his claws for a spell. Red dots formed in the sky, right above Anub'Arak. The dots grew larger and larger as it came, until he realized that it was a rain of fire. The beetle quickly drew out a dagger, activating it and blinking away to safety. The fiery stones exploded onto the ground, showering the area with bright light and burning embers. The Dreadlord landed and looked around for the Nerubian, who was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly his horned ears perked up, and quickly turned and blocked a blow. Anub'Arak backed up, his attack foiled.

"Trying to sneak up like a coward? I do not think so!" Varimathras said, and charged. Anub'Arak turned tail and ran as the demon raced after him, slowly gaining onto him. The beetle quickly opened his shiny black wings, shooting locusts behind him. Some bugs latched onto the demon, while the rest flew around and bit him. His struggle against the locusts did exactly what Anub'Arak wanted: a distraction. He ran toward him, and blinked once again. He arrived, still running, within a few meters to the demon. Then, he pulled out his claws and pointed them directly at the demon's chest. When Varimathras noticed the hero coming, he was too late. Both forelegs rammed and impaled through the Dreadlord cleanly through, leaving two full holes around the size of a tire. The demon was thrown backwards, and moved no more, killed like the Mountain King Magnus had been. The locusts retreated back into his wings, which closed when it received the bugs.

Anub'Arak took one look at the unmoving demon before heading toward Kel'Thuzad. The lich hovered beside the dead banshee, his sword impaled perpendicularly to the ground through Sylvanas' heart. She was definitely dead.

"So…it is over?" Anub'Arak asked him while staring at the corpse.

"Yes, I'm afraid s-" said Kel'Thuzad before Anub'Arak was suddenly thrown forward. Varimathras had rammed into him with his remaining strength toward the cliffs.

"Anub'Arak!" Kel'Thuzad shouted as the beetle disappeared under the cliffs. The lich rushed toward there, only to see the crypt lord and Dreadlord still battling it out in midair. Kel'Thuzad sent two beams of ice toward some location they were going to pass through. The two beams struck each other and began forming a platform of ice. To his horror, the two juggernauts had fallen too fast, and the platform of ice wasn't strong enough yet. Both of them crashed onto the ice, only to break it and continue falling, although they were separated now. They two heroes shot into the ocean, releasing a tall geyser from where they fell into. "Anub'Arak!" was the last thing the beetle heard before entering the depths of the black ocean.