In Search of Salvation (Really never found it)

by Endearth

Old story I wrote when I was young (ha) as an author. It's already posted, you can find it around page 4... Since a few liked it, I am posting the whole load here, too lazy to divide the chapters. Enjoy, but be warned, its dangerously cheesy in some parts

In Search of Salvation

By Gordon Sexton

This is a piece of fan fiction. The following characters belong to Blizzard Entertainment, and the author is in NO way (al though he wishes) associated with Blizzard Entertainment. All of the following text belongs to the author, you may not in anyway copy it and use it elsewhere. The assbuddy, ragemaster, and Jean Cretien will come after you if you do.

The night sky was a howling dark blue, and the moon filled the lush Kurast forests with comfort. It was a great night, and a group of fallen had just set camp near the Kurast docks, awaiting for further orders.

The fallen hunters had returned with their dinner, and the campfire was prepared. A lesser fallen had roasted a piece of chicken for the Leader Shaman, and handed it to him with a smile.

"Thank you Chu'Ka, you are most kind. I will remember to promote you," the leader accepted it with a satisfied grin. Just after he took the first bite, a silver knife had pierced through the wind and landed on his throat, catching the meat just before it went down. The panicking creatures turned their heads, and saw the moonlight that reflected of the shields.

"In the name of the light, we shall destroy you!" the leading paladin called out loudly with pride. More knives were volleyed and the band of zealous paladins unsheathed their swords and prepared for a night of slaughter.

With their weapons packed away, the fallen stood no chance. All they could do was watch each other die hopelessly.

"No, no, noooooo!!!" cried the lesser fallen, and a second later he was decapitated. And the rest of the night was filled with the pleading of hopeless fallen, and sounds of swords hammering into evil flesh.

Chapter 1- A New Adventure

Skovos looked up at the bright sun. He was lost in the deep jungles of Kurast, and hadn't seen his fellow paladins in a long time. He wasn't afraid, but was a little worried since he knew these jungles were filled with the minions of evil. It was dangerous to travel alone.

"The Light will guide me, I do not need to be worried," he re-assured himself. Then suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by sounds of a battle. He quickly rushed to the direction of the noises, and from beneath the long grasses, he saw that a few cannibals were fighting with a giant human and some skeletons, which was pretty strange of a sight.

The warrior then recognized the human to be a race from the north, known as the barbarians. He knew that they fight for the light, so he was relieved to see an ally.

The bold barbarian grabbed his huge wooden hammer as the last of the skeletons were shattered to the ground. With a great swing, the giant warrior sandwiched a cannibal's head against a thick tree trunk. And with another quick movement, he dug the long handle of his weapon straight down into the other cannibal's skull, creating a sickening crush.

The barbarian put his great hammer back into his backpack, and appeared to search for something in there. Whatever it was, he didn't find it. He sighed and pulled some darts off of his right arm. The paladin could see that he was in need of healing, so he stepped forward to lend a hand. He walked out of the shadows and introduced himself.

"I'm Skovos, paladin of Zakarum. Let me help you with that wound," he said. Then, he held out his sword and shot a blue bolt at the poisonous wound, which was magically healed.

"Thank you, holy paladin. I'm Bear's Crotch, barbarian of the Bear tribe, but you can call me BC. I thank you for the healing. I had been sent here by my tribe to rid the evil that plagues these lands. Oh, by the way, this is my companion," he announced confidently, and pointed towards the shadows. Out came a dark figure surrounded by an enchantment of bones, and the paladin quickly recognized him to be a necromancer. He was alert by instinct, and pointed his sword angrily at the dark mage.

"Worker of the dark, I have been sent here by my holy church to perish your kind! Die by the sword of light!" cried the brave knight. With that, he began hacking the hard bones that protected his opponent.

"Stop! He is my friend, and he fights for the goodness of the world!"

"Foolish warrior," the necromancer said, his voice strong and enigmatic, quite different from others of his kind. "Your church and its members had already been corrupted by hate long time ago. And even though that the Lord of Hatred had been perished from this realm, the remaining worshippers of Zakarum still carry the agony with which they had been infested. Don't listen to their orders anymore, because you will be doing evil's work."

"How dare you insult my church and my religion?!" he responded with rage. Finally, he destroyed the swirling bones and took a swing at the mage. It dug through the weak metal armor and into the pale flesh. Blood started to drip the ground.

"I didn't want a fight, but since you asked..." he replied with a hint of anger. The pool of blood that had formed on the grass began to groan. It grew to a bloody creature a little bigger than the paladin, who knew it to be his opponent's creation. So, he put his head down and charged the blood giant, who skillfully countered the attack by knocking away the knight's shield.

"The shield is the symbol of the paladin's faith," the necromancer quoted arrogantly. And the angry paladin tried to retrieve his faith, only to be chilled by the true powers of darkness.

The summoning had tumbled to the ground into a pool of blood. And the metal shield melted and formed a bold metal giant covered with thorns.

"But what does one do, when one's faith has turned against him?" the mage finished and eyed his newly created golem, who responded by knocking away the knight's weapon.

The barbarian lightly pushed the top of his hammer against the golem's chest. The golem didn't feel his master's hate towards this man, so it didn't attack him.

"Stop, there is no reason for death. He is a lone warrior that had probably got separated from the band of paladins that passed us earlier on. We will escort him to the town of Lut Golein, where the rest of the knights headed, and we won't have to see him again after that," he soothed gently with his deep voice, like the gentle winds of this forest, carrying his companion's wrath away.

"Of course you are right, BC. But Lut Golein is pretty damn far," he replied with sudden calmness. All of a sudden, he gestured his hand and turned the paladin's sword into a golem, and the previous one fell to the ground into a pile of metal scraps. The barbarian eyed him questioningly.

"Insurance in case of betrayal."

"Holy knights don't know betrayal."

"Holy knights don't know anything."

"How dare…"

"Quiet foolish mortal, or my master will kill you," a skeleton mage interrupted. The barbarian smirked, and led the way to the town of Lut Golein.

Chapter 2- Dusty Pearl, Lut Golein

"A jug of your finest wine and bring me some maggot pie!" the barbarian roared cheerfully to the woman known as Atma. "I can finally eat!"

"The wine we can do, but the pie... the sand maggots have mutated and their eggs have turned poisonous. We don't serve that here anymore, and haven't for a long time," the bar owner replied. "Must've been away for too long, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah, then get me some pork," the big warrior replied, still in his cheerful mood. He leaned over to his companions the paladin and the necromancer, and asked them what they wanted.

"Come on, dinner's on me! I just sold that weird red mace I found, and it earned me quite a lot!" he roared again. Almost everyone in the bar was looking at the three travelers, partly because the barbarian shook desks with his words, and partly because they found the strange sight of necromancer and paladin sitting side by side amusing.

"I'll have some baked fish, please" the knight called politely to the storeowner, who left silently.

"Enjoy your food BC, I am heading to the blacksmith to sell off my merchandise."

"Sure thing, Phil," the barbarian said. The dark mage left the bar, and many people signed in relief. The beefy warrior shuffled his seat next to the paladin's.

"You know, I don't really know why everyone's so afraid of Phil. I mean, he's a nice guy deep down inside, and his clothing isn't all that scary compared to the other necros I've seen. For crying out loud, he doesn't even carry a weapon with him!"

"Yeah, I have noticed that. Other necros I have slain usually carry a dagger, scythe or some sort of wand. I think it's his calm that scares me, unlike others you know, who flaunt their powers. By the way, his name is Phil? That's unusual for a mage," the paladin said, suddenly interested by the gossip. Then their food came, but they continued to talk while eating, something the knight had been taught against.

"His full name is Philiphos," he informed. Suddenly, he arched his head back and belched as if he was performing a warcry. The paladin couldn't help but laugh. In the process, he had snorted out a piece of his food out of his nose, which he nervously scrapped off to the ground.

"And you should take back that part about the calm," he said, poking his head closer in so nobody else could hear them. "He seems usually calm, but after traveling with him for almost two years, I have seen his wrath. And if you are ever so unfortunate to see it, it's both a horrible and fascinating sight. He blindly breaks into a frenzy and his rage is comparable to the Lord of Hatred's, if not greater."

"I agree," a ghastly voice said. They just noticed a skeleton mage sitting beside Skovos and listening over to their little gossip. BC signed, and knew the mage would tell his master about their talk behind his back.

"Skovos, please kindly give him a whack on the head. You know, Phil doesn't like people talking behind his back, and his mage is going to tell him about our talk."

"You mean, kill him? Won't the necromancer become angered?" he asked doubtfully.

"Just do it, I have done it many times before. He can just raise another one afterwards."

"Okay," the knight answered and gave the skeleton a backhand swing. It chipped off the cheekbone of the mage, and it finally realised what the two were trying to do. It quickly rushed out of the bar to tell his master. BC signed at the knight's pitiful attempt.

He quickly got out of his seat and realized he couldn't possibly catch him in time.

(Leap Attack!)

The barbarian leaped into the air and arched back. When he landed in front of the fleeing skeleton, he brought down both fists on the skull and shattered the undead mage into a pile of bones.

"Oh baby!" he cried in success, and winked at his paladin friend back at the bar.

"What's to oh baby about?" asked Philiphos distractedly, counting his gold. "And next time ask before using my minions as target practice."

"Sure thing," BC replied nervously. His oh baby had caught the attention of a tall amazon woman from a distance, who had quickly rushed towards the two warriors.

"It is really you, crotch boy!" she said, and gave him a hard friendly slap on the back. Seeing a beautiful lady greeting his friends, the curious paladin rushed out, and ended up paying for their meal after all.

"Skovos!" BC greeted cheerfully, totally forgetting about the meal he was going to pay for. He introduced his old friend to the curious knight, while the necromancer and her broke into a long hug. "This is Carrie, the most skilled amazon I had ever met! And also Phil's lady."

The amazon gave the mage a quick kiss. The paladin, along with some nearby fat housewives, couldn't believe what was happening. How could a dreaded, old mage with pale, loose skin be loved by anyone, particularly a young fine lady?

Chapter 3- Unexpected news (This story DOES go somewhere)

Speed dragged the caravan's exhausted wheels down the rocky road for almost eternity, and vibration shook the wooden transport violently. Sleep came to some people, such as the BC. Others, like the amazon, often stared at the wheels to make sure it wasn't going to pop off.

The caravan finally reached a full stop at the large Rogue Encampment. The camp had developed into a large stronghold since the fall of the Evil Andariel. The grand steel gates opened slowly to welcome the caravan.

"Welcome back Warriv, I trust that you have brought the arrows from Fara like I requested?" greeted the serious Rogue leader with a hint of excitement.

"Of course, I have also brought over some rare merchandise that you might be interested in," he replied with a matching serious tone. The passengers had stepped off the caravan one by one.

Many things have changed since their last visit- the population has increased immensely, the cheap dirt road had been replaced with neatly carved stones as a result, and the cloth tents had grown to sturdy wooden cabins. The town center was no longer a mere fire pit, but a giant steel statue of three rogues, posing heroically, while lively flames licked at their boots.

The three companions rested on the heavy log by the statue. Then, a nervous knight walked to join them.

"Why did you follow us, Skovos of the Zakuram?" asked the tired but annoyed dark mage.

"He couldn't find his paladin companions back in Lut Golein, and he was convinced that they headed here. So I told him to follow us," explained the barbarian. "He will not give you any more trouble now, once he re-units with his group."

"Okay, he's leaving us anyway," Phil said. "Carrie, after we are done trading our goods, let's go slay the remaining demons of this land."

"Sure, I haven't hunted in a long time!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" warned an old man nearby. "Since the great fall of Diablo, hell's minions have stirred with terror. They have been sent to the mortal realm to eliminate all human towns that were still intact, in search for the great hero. The remaining Great Evil Belial, had decended into these lands already. If the Prophecy of Lies is correct, Belial brings with him, the massive horned deaths that he used to banish the three great evils from hell. All that we can do now is to pray for the hero's return, for Belial will destroy everything in his path!"

"Now that sounds like one hell of a fight!" cried Phil excitedly.

"I can hardly wait!" the amazon and the barbarian cheered together, and the three had a hearty laugh.

"How can you be so calm, when the destruction of man is near?" the wise old man questioned. Skovos the paladin listened with great interest.

"How about we lure him here somehow, and fight him sooner!" Phil suggested, ignoring the old man.

"That would be good, but how?"

"I already have an insane, yet great idea!" cried Phil excitedly.

"As the last of the Horadrim, I will not allow you to bring forth the deaths of these people around us!" the old mage yelled bravely. Now almost everyone, including the famous Kashya and Akara, listened with curiosity, and fear.

"Say no more, Cain. Help us prepare for our trip, and wish us luck," the necro said calmly. He revealed his mysterious glowing necklace. Attached to the delicate leather string was a single feather, that didn't belong to no chicken either. It was transparent, and it emitted a faint blue light that beat a pulse. "Have you forgotten your source of fame already, old fart?"

The wise Deckard Cain had finally realised who he was really talking to. The scent of this man displayed righteousness, as he remembered. It also had that faint hint of pure hatred that only he could taste, and it seemed to choke and clog his lungs.

Surprised but relieved, he nodded and quickly disappeared into the tavern. Maybe there was hope after all.

Chapter 4- Another drink

Phil and BC went for a drink at the new bar, while Carrie went to the blacksmith to get her equipment repaired. They assumed that the paladin had met his group of holy knights and left.

The bar was loud with conversation. A man sat in the corner, drumming away on the guitar strings. The tune was familiar to the wanderers, and Phil stopped in his tracks to concentrate and listen to the sorrowful music.

The painful memories in his mind were given breath again. These were the faint but twisted images of a lonely orphan, being raised as a paladin in the strictest school of the Zakarum. Pictures of him being betrayed by his most trusted friends that he had called family, and memories of being almost killed by the most inspiring and respected person in his life, his great mentor.

Oh yes, the memories came back, like the howling wind, taking away a little of his sanely every time it came by. After fleeing his home and losing his friends to the forces of the dark, he had sworn never to channel the energies of the light ever again. After having his first taste of the bitterness of betrayal, his confusion evolved into rage and loneliness. He learned to harness his energies from all the darkness and horror that he had been taught to fight.

But one day, he met Carrie, and part of his rage was devoured by love. Through the decades they had spent together, they fought side by side, and always for the goodness of the world.

Now, any stranger would shiver at the sight of Phil. No-one, except for his two friends, knew the agony that hid beneath the dark cloak. Or the muscular might, fueled by forever rage that separated him from other weak and pale necromancers. Ironically, everyone would have respected the righteous paladin blood which runs through his being, if only they knew.

The price of honour for defeating Diablo and Mephisto was not cheap. The terror that had followed in every step of the pursue was not meant for an average warrior's mind, including the mind of the "failure", who had himself deep in Diablo's control. But for Philiphos, it was quite different.

He had total understanding of the meaning of life and death. Because of this, he wasn't afraid of death when it comes to take him away.

And what about the horror that had trailed him and had watched him behind his back during his great journey? He hadn't learned to ignore it, because that was only a temporarily solution. He had learned to...

embrace it.

Chapter 5- Taunt

"Are you sure that this ridiculous idea would actually work?" BC asked.

"Not 100% sure, but it's worth a try."

"It's so stupid, yet it's kind of funny," the amazon giggled.

"It wouldn't be so funny if it was you standing here," the barbarian talked back with a little embarrassment. "Man, I'm going to get one hell of a throat-ache after this."

Philiphos' plan to lure Belial was to channel his and Carrie's powers into BC and have him taunt (warcry) Belial from the safety of the town. By doing this, they would amplify the overall effectiveness of the barbarian's warcries, which were already as good as it could ever get.

BC was a master in the arts of the barbarian, or else Philiphos would have easily overlooked him. It took a lot to win the trust and friendship of the skilled necromancer, and BC enjoyed traveling with him more than anything else, because he could probably win the throne of the Barbarian Warlord of his tribe, and sit there and eat pork all day. But he preferred the forever-thrilling life of a traveling hero.

Everyone in town had heard of the Prophecy now and was afraid for their lives. They had learned about the plan, and have gathered around the three warriors that were going to save their lives.

But they weren't sure if they could depend their lives on a person who could come up with such a retarded plan. Akara and Kashya, afraid of the possible fall of the Sisters of the Sightless Eye, had ordered every available rogue to help these heroes in their up-coming battle. Phil had thanked them deeply, but had stressed on how much of a nuisance and waste of life this reinforcement would be. But the rogue leaders wouldn't have it, and Phil and his party were stuck with the responsibility of these inevitable deaths.

And there were off!

The travelers worked with insane speed that didn't seem humanly possible. Enigmatic, yet beautiful lights sparkled in all different kinds of colours and patterns. The crowd could hear the faint, but sweet voice of the amazon humming a magical tune that gave her special powers.

They worked like machines, and never stopping for a thought or a break until their task was completed. The previously embarrassed barbarian, now broke into a frenzy of taunts. His mind was blank, and his voice rung unbelievably loud in the ears of his audience. And that evening, all that ever happened were the citizens getting major head-aches, and of course:

(Lvl 80 Taunt!)

(Lvl 80 Taunt!)

(Lvl 80 Taunt!)

(Lvl 80 Taunt!)

(Lvl 80 Taunt!)

(Lvl 80 Taunt!)

***

That same night, almost everyone met in the bar for, what might be, their final drink. They cheered on their three warriors and wished them luck. Everyone was having a good time, while Cain gave more background information on the Prophecy.

"According to the book of Prophecy, the time when Belial would come across this town would be around four o'clock in the morning," the wise man briefed them. "Now, the horned death and cow demons that Belial brings with him could probably match the power of Diablo and Mephisto combined. This will not be a fair or easy fight, and you might not return with the same number of companions that accompanied you, I'm afraid."

"I know we will not fail to put the Lord of Lies to rest. By the way, I'm curious about the outcome the Prophecy," said Phil.

"I haven't read the last few chapters of the book yet," Cain informed, and took a big gulp of his fine wine.

"Okay, let's prepare our equipment and stock up on potions. We will have to fend off the demons on our way to the designated location also," Phil commanded. His mind was blurred with mixed emotions, and the lonely piano tune from the pianist didn't help either.

Chapter 6- A weird Skovos

"Open the gates!" ordered Kashya strictly, who was standing on a tall stone tower along with Akara, where they hoped to catch a glimpse of the coming battle. The metal gates clunked open slowly, and the well-trained rogues trailed behind the three warriors in a uniformed fashion. Everyone watched nervously.

"My rogue warriors, don't come back until you've been bathed in your enemies' blood, or have drowned in your own!"

 Both Phil's companions glanced at him with emotionless faces.

"Do your stuff, Phil," the barbarian said seriously.

"My companions and I will not allow ourselves to watch innocent lives get wasted. Please forgive me, and you would have understood if you knew the enemy," Phil shouted out clearly. He made the certain hand gestures and cage of bone rose out of the ground, trapping the rogue warriors. The confused archers tried to break free, but the enchantment was much too strong and powerful for them.

"Farewell all! I promise you that I will only return when truth is brought back to the world. Thank you, dear rogues, for your generous hospitality! I will not forget what you've done, in this life and the next!" Philiphos finished reading his rehearsed farewell speech from his mind. The confused rogues were struggling, and Kashya was complaining angrily. More intelligent folks like Akara and Cain understood, and they smiled bitterly.

The three companions ran quickly, and Carrie sang the Song of the Wind to make them travel even faster. They were out of sight in a spank.

***

The road to the designated battlefield was filled with an unusually large amount of demons. The warriors worked together very well, slaying monster after monster with little effort. Their minds were occupied by thoughts of the greater enemies ahead.

They went on, step by step, until Phil stopped in his tracks. There laid the battlefield, just as Cain had described it. The two towering hills stood there, and so did the grass, which was about to be painted with a new red.

Carrie gently hummed the Song of Energy to keep them awake and alert. The terrifying wind howled, and it seemed to tell them to head back before it was too late.

But suddenly, the sound of gallop surprised them. The tension heated the air and the three frightened warriors stood up to get a better view.

They saw a single knight riding in their direction. As he got closer, BC recognized him as Skovos the annoying paladin. But this time, he brought relief with him.

"Phew! Skovos, it's you! What in the world are you doing here?!" cried the barbarian as the riding knight approached them.

"Hiya! BC and Phil! I had never expected you to be here!" the paladin said in a low weird tone and with unusual enthusiasm and confidence. "Don't you know why this night is so special? Because tonight is the great fall of the hero who defeated Diablo..."

"And I'm sooo happy to be able to share this great moment with you!" he continued, his tone getting louder and more wicked by the word. His body twisted and danced in a way that made him look like a puppet. "Muhahahahaha, I must thank Philiphos for defeating Diablo for me! Now that I have the Three out of my way, I will be able to rule the hells all by myself!"

The knight rode back a few feet, and made a magical gesture. Using his steel-gloved hands, he carved out a deadly portal. The three frightened warriors now realised that an evil had been sleeping, eating, and talking and with them throughout their journey. They were scared, but anger swept over fear.

The lesser evil floated into the sky, and performed a bloody ritual. As he spoke the demonic words, he whole body began to shake and dance in an inhuman pattern. The knight's body that he controlled began to twist into a horrifying form.

First, his limps spun off and a waterfall of blood streamed down continuously. His inner organs then spilled out in flames, and his rib cage opened up to form an armor. A gas-like presence replaced his human self. The righteous Skovos screamed in agony, while Belial howled with pleasure.

What was left of his humanity had vanished, but his eyes were left intact, so he may remain and bear mute witness to the horror that will soon greet the world.

Taking this as a signal of the start of the battle, the brave warriors took their place on the opposite hill. The honourable barbarian put on his war helmet and readied his two wooden battle mauls. He let upon a terrifying howl, and the magical symbols on his giant weapons glowed in response.

The amazon clutched her blue necklace and mouthed a powerful song, and millions of spirits were summoned to lend their power to them. With throwing spears readied and her trusty bow at her side, she stood firmly in a battle stance. Her gold armor and crown shone beautifully in the moonlight, and Phil reminded himself to tell her how pretty she looked, if they ever get back alive together.

The dark portal had been pouring out the Evil's army. They stood in a uniform pattern, and waited for their master's next instruction.

"Do you know why Deckard Cain refused to tell you the ending paragraphs of the Prophecy?" questioned the ghastly Evil. "Because it tells of your failure! Of your deaths! Of the world's destruction! But I will feed your curiosity! I have the whole book in my head!"

"You lie with such fascinating skill, but that's why you're the Lord of Lies! Cain didn't read the final chapters of the Prophecy because it never existed. The outcome was never written, but we shall determine that tonight!"

The barbarian didn't know who to believe, but the amazon had faith in Philiphos, and reassured her fellow warrior.

"Oh no! Let me tell you the first paragraph!" the floating apparition replied with sudden panic. "So the great battle began. The necromancer led his companions into a losing battle. His powerless minions fell to the greater army of Belial."

"Stop hiding behind your Prophecy and decide the real outcome of his battle!" he replied. "But first, did your non-existent Prophecy tell you about this?!"

Lightning pulsed out of his fingertips as he gestured towards the ground, and a horse carved entirely out of bone grew from the earth and carried him into the air. He threw off his long dark cape, and revealed his astonishing true self.

Under the long dark cape was not an armor made of horrifying bones, but a sparkling silver plate with a holy cross in the middle. The knight in shining armor had a matching crown, giving off a silver glow, and it revealed much of his face. It was an unexpected blend of young, handsome and experienced, when it was supposed be an old and disgusting face.

"My moderate skills as a necromancer cannot be used in such an important battle. I must channel the powers of the Light once again!"

His strangely beautiful orange eyes lit the battlefield, and they taunted Belial just by glaring at him. The Prince of Lies gave his command and kept back as his army charged full speed at the three warriors. BC, Carrie and Philiphos plunged into battle, their minds empty and their hearts calm. The bloodfest was on.

Chapter 7- Rewriting the Prophecy

Belial was surprised at the rate his first army crumpled apart, but maintained his confidence anyhow.

"Let me finish the Prophecy! The battle was inhuman and bloody. As skilled as the heroes might be, they were still mortal, and were powerless against Belial's demonic army."

"No. Belial's demonic army was challenging, but it fell before the true power of goodness."

Charging full speed on his ride of bone, Philiphos unleashed his arsenal of bone spells and unsheathed his glowing short crystal blade.

(Bone Spear!)

He held out a clutching gesture and summoned a missile of bone. It traveled at lightning speed and tore through at least seven heads. He then slayed more demons with his enchanted short blade. He then volleyed a thousand magical teeth of the Dragon Lord Trag'Oul. A wave of them caught Belial by surprise, who cried with pain and annoyance.

Philiphos brought his hands up in a rising gesture. The thousands of fetishes, yeti, skeleton magi, oblivion knights, and many more now rose again to fight their own previous brethren. The most magnificent part, was the pack of sextons that stood back and healed their master and his allies. The slightly wounded barbarian smiled and gave the thumb-up to the healers as thanks, but even farting instead wouldn't have made a difference, since they didn't bring their feelings with them into this zombie form.

"This powerless army I have here is only to test if you are truly worthy! My real army are behind the portal, waiting for me in hell."

"Yep, I am starting to get warmed up! Let's see what you got!" Carrie cried excitedly.

"They are waiting for you in hell, alright! " Bear's Crotch looked up with a smile, after hammering the last oblivion knight away.

"My friends and I await the real challenge!" Philiphos declared, and regrouped with his friends on his phantom horse.

An army of Hell Bovines and Horned Deaths marched out in response. The small size of the army tensed the warriors. They had been warned: these were the very breed of beasts that had defeated the three brothers in one single battle.

The fight had not been what BC and Carrie had expected. But, Philiphos knew the true power of these demons.

The Hell Bovines charged and were taken down easily by the three skilled warriors.

(Lightning Fury!)

The amazon glowed gold and let loose a giant throwing spear in the form of a lightning bolt. It pierced the wind, and vapourized a large chunk of the enemy.

(Level 20 Grim Ward!)

The barbarian was now drowned in bloodlust. He quickly grabbed the nearest dead cow and rearranged its skeleton. He tore off some limbs here, and bit off some organs there, and the result was a truly insane. He gave his work of art a satisfying howl, and his friends eyed him questionably.

(Revive!) X 50

"And the previous army rose from the earth to fight Belial for the life of agony he has given them," continued Philiphos. Keeping low on his phantom horse and charging full speed at Belial's Horned Deaths with his minions, a skin of blue fire lit his shining armor.

He waved his deadly crystal dagger high in the sky, his wrath scorching the night, a wave of blue smoke appeared, trailing his blade like a comet.

Two cow demons galloped to each warrior with its head down, and they responded by mounting on their rides. Then they charged with the rest of the undead army.

Even thought the necro's undead army was huge, the sharp talons of the Horned Deaths cut through them like butter. Moments later, only the three veterans remained.

A group of the ghost-like Horned Deaths surrounded Carrie, who coordinated with her undead cow smoothly to dodge the attacks.

(Fist of the Heavens!)

The death knight Philiphos waved his shield in the air, and heaven responded the call. A plunge of holy lightning bathed the battlefield, banishing the dreaded Horned Death back to the nether.

Belial, knowing that it was his fight now, shed away his remaining human limps. He stepped forth calmly, and the three warriors galloped slowly towards the center of the battlefield in response.

"And the three mortals' hearts lept with joy as they destroyed Belial's pitiful army," the Prince of Lies said confidently "However, their weak minds were twisted and broken from the terrifying lies of Belial. With the mortal's only resistance crushed, horror swept over their world. The skies rained blood, corpses rose from their coffins, and the wind chanted horrifying words. The innocent were forever damned, and their world welcomed a new beginning..."

"The righteous walked over the wicked and their damnation. Truth soon returned to the world as the Lord of Lies was no more," Phil countered.

The Great Evil then launched himself into the air, and laughed so loudly that the habitants of the Rogue Fortress could hear him. The battlefield suddenly turned into a desert, and a gigantic worm rose out of the sand.

Carrie the amazon fired a flaming arrow at the enormous creature, but it appeared unhurt. It dove towards her and missed barely.

"How can Belial summon such a powerful creature, Phil?! Is what he claims true? Is he really that powerful?!" she panicked. "My most powerful spell didn't even damage him at all!"

"No! Don't let his mind games fool you, Carrie and BC!" Philiphos shouted over the worm's roar. "This creature is just another of his lies! Just focus your mind, then it will never be real!"

The amazon had faith in Philiphos' words, and mouthed the first few lines of the Song of Concentration. As a result, the sand beneath their boots transformed back into grass, and the worm creature disappeared. The three warriors gave a relieved exhale, and Belial cursed angrily at Philiphos for figuring out his plan.

The Great Evil tried again, and powered his spell with most of his energy.

They were suddenly in a large temple, and the room was filled with salamander demons, known as Claw Vipers. One charged at Carrie and knocked her off her cow, giving her no time to respond.

Philiphos was launching wave after wave of Bone Spirits at the apparition-like Belial in midair, who was weakening quickly, but managed to keep his spell intact.

A group of Claw Vipers swiped their tails at the mounted knight, but their tails just went through him and didn't harm him at all.

"It's not real," BC kept whispering to himself over and over again. A Claw Viper swung his sharp claws at the barbarian and severed two of his fingers. As one of his wooden mauls fell to the ground, he howled in pain and horror. "Damn you Phil! You said it wasn't real! But it's real! It's real!"

Chapter 8- Free your Mind

"Your mind makes it real, BC!" Philiphos stopped his attack and panicked at his friend's wound. "You mustn't let his lies break your mind! You must find the will to concentrate!"

Carrie lifted herself off the stone-tiled floor and shook her head.

"BC, you must listen to Phil! You saw what happened when I focused my thoughts!" Carrie tried to convince her friend. "You must do the same! Concentrate!"

"It's not real, it's not real..." BC murmured to himself repeatedly again and concentrated. The charging salamanders faded away, but his severed fingers still laid on the ground. BC pushed his pain aside screamed angrily.

(Leap Attack!)

The enraged barbarian leaped, with his cow, into the air and smashed Belial to the ground. The black smoke that surrounded the Evil swirled around him and he transformed into the demon that could only be Diablo. The red demon charged at them on all fours and howled their names.

BC's mind was too weak, and he panicked and opened a portal back to town. Carrie was also very frightened because Belial's spell was too strong to be broken with her mind. She also jumped into the glowing portal.

"No, no," Philiphos murmured under his breath. He stood calmly and was unaffected by the spell. Belial saw his chance and leaped into the portal, too. Phil, the only left on the battlefield, dropped his jaws. He followed them back to the Rogue Fortress, not believing what was happening.

***

"Town kill!!!" BC screamed at the top of his lungs. The people were daydreaming nervously, wondering who would win the battle, when suddenly the three heroes rush out of a portal, and a large demon followed them.

That was the limit, they were already all tense. The town quickly turned into a riot, and it was extremely hard to battle a demon in these conditions.

He roared, and brushed the people away angrily. He didn't want them to get in the way, or wanted to kill them either. After he was finished with these three, he would have all the time in the world for that.

Swinging his tail and batting the pitiful humans away, he created a small area between him and the three warriors. But, he suddenly came up with a devious plan.

"Hahaha..." he laughed in a low voice. He swirled around in the air and dived towards a human in the crowd. Belial could feel this man's bad side, his greediness and his lust to be better and richer than everyone else. The horrified man froze in place, and the Evil jumped into his mind through the eye sockets and mouth opening.

A disfigured and full of remorse groan, and the man known as Gheed walked towards the heroes. The rioting stopped, and all eyes were on Gheed.

"Please save me! Help me, heroes!" he talked in his normal voice. Then his face twisted and the sickening face of Belial appeared. His tone changed dramatically. "Kill me, and kill him! Hahaha, looks like you lose this time, Philiphos!"

The crowd, along with Carrie and BC, were confused, and began to show defeat. Philiphos, on the other hand, unsheathed his sword expertly and charged at the possessed soul.

(Vengeance!)

"Kill you, kill him?! I'm up for that!" he swung his blade and the surprised Evil leaped back just in time. But, he didn't save himself entirely, and the blade made a nasty cut on his unprotected ribs. The deep wound was frozen, tarred from righteous flames, and spasming from the holy bolts at the same time. The well-trained vengeance spell did its thing, and the pain Gheed felt at that time was beyond words.

Both souls screamed in unspeakable pain, and Belial exited the body from the wound just in time. If he had been a little slower, there would be nothing to anchor him to this realm, and he would have been defeated.

"Damn," Phil said under his breathe. The Evil now dived for BC, who panicked and froze in place. "BC, concentrate! Focus, and he cannot enter your mind!"

But Belial caught Phil by surprise by suddenly changing targets. With a smooth arc, the Prince of Lies glided through the air and entered Phil's unprepared mind.

Chapter 9- Noble Sacrifice (Blizzard's only possible ending)

All watched the poor knight in horror as he shook and danced, appearing to be fighting a battle with the demon within. He was still trembling when he turned towards the tensed amazon.

"I can manage to keep Belial from taking over me for a few more moments..." he said as his head shook uncontrollably. "Use your lightning to perish the Evil that I contain. Only you can do it, Carrie!"

The warrior was speechless. In her mind, he was asking for the impossible. How could she kill someone she loved so much? The crowd watched the motionless amazon nervously.

BC, able to gain his will back, grabbed his ancient hammer with his only functional hand and swung at his desperate friend. The mental battle stopped Phil's muscles from working properly, and the hammer batted the weak body down to the ground.

"What the hell was that for?!" he coughed hard as he rose from the ground. "Only Carrie's righteous lightning has the ability to cleanse the evil that dwells inside of me. All other attacks are useless!"

"Come on!" Philiphos then gazed hard into his lover's eyes, and Carrie nodded sadly and numbly. She rose her hands above her hand, and summoned a large orb of pure righteous lightning.

"Oh Belial, Lord of Lies, redemption I bring thine. I pray thine will find salvation from the Gods!" she prayed emotionlessly for the Evil's soul. "As for thee, my dear Sai Philiphos, ye sacrifice will be remembered until the end of time. Oh, how I love thee."

"And with this, I bring to you with love!" she said with a sudden smile, and the trembling knight smirked back. With that, the warrior let the orb rip through the air, and it caught Phil's body. Belial, this time, couldn't exit the unwounded body.

A blinding flash, and the knight shook more violently than ever. The lightning did indeed carry the Evil's soul to the sky. A sudden calm swept over the town. It was finally over.

"Our work here is done, we will now move on, master," a summoned skeleton said before crumbling to a pile of bones.

"Damn that ass Belial, I was actually having some fun," a skeleton mage said to his fellow summonings, as his master's enchantment wore off. Just before the hero closed his eyes and laid to eternal rest, a fire golem climbed out of the fireplace from the burning statue.

"My master wishes to die in the battlefield," the summoning growled to the remaining two heroes. "It is where he belongs."

The fire giant walked through the frightened crowd slowly, its flames avoiding everyone. It picked up its master's body, allowing its flames to seep into the corpse, and walked out of the town and into the Blood Moor. No one tried to stop it, only watching it speechlessly.

They never knew what happened to the golem, as it walked out of sight. But they knew it finished its job, since its master's corpse couldn't be found anywhere.

So that was the tail of Belial's defeat, and the sacrifice of the great hero Philiphos. A special dark crown was made by the skilled blacksmith Charsi to commemorate the half knight/mage. This beautiful piece of art acts strangely when midnight strikes, and is imbued by the legendary Horadric Malus. It hangs proudly in the town center, along with a short, honourable description telling travelers of his dedication.

As for the other two heroes, they could be found at the bar at times. They, however, remain quiet about the issue, mentioning about the great battle only when they were asked. It seemed they were trying to put it out of their minds.