Crusaders' Square

"That's one district secured." Sylvanas said, walking beside Clea and Anya as she began to gather a headcount. "I'm counting about ten injured and nobody killed." She said, looking back to the two rangers with her. "What about you?"

Although they were meant to be helping the General count how many rangers they had, both Anya and Clea were distracted by their own personal conversation. "Do you think I should get this checked out when we return home?" Anya asked, pulling her ranger leggings down a little and showing a rash on her thigh to Clea who crouched down to inspect it.

"I wouldn't ignore it, that's for sure." Clea muttered, poking it with her finger. "Does it hurt at all if I do that?"

"A little." Anya said, looking up at Sylvanas who looked to be disappointed in the two of them. "What do you think?" She asked the General who sighed at her in response.

"I think you should both focus on the task at hand." Sylvanas told them.

"I am!" Anya told her, looking down at the rash on her thigh. "My task at hand is to see if I should get this looked at by a healer."

Sylvanas pinched the bridge of her nose when she saw both Anya and Clea remain concentrated on the rash. "Fine.. Might as well get this over with." She said out loud, pushing Clea out the way. "Let me look at it." The moment she crouched down, she stopped herself from letting out another sigh and looking up at Anya who had hints of worry on her face. "You're fine. It will probably need a few minutes of healing, but I think it's just a friction burn because for some reason you're wearing these ranger leggings when I told you they're cheap crap. What happened to the pair I bought you?"

Anya pouted and looked away from the General who was waiting for an answer. "They don't match my cloak."

"They're both blue!" Sylvanas cried, looking over to Clea who shrugged her shoulders at the General. "And these are black!"

"But... I like these ones." Anya said, watching Clea hold onto Sylvanas' arms to keep her from attacking the ranger.

"I'm going to kill her." Sylvanas said whilst Clea struggled to hold her back. "I don't know what it is, but she knows how to push my buttons."

Anya, watching Clea continue to struggle, smiled at the both of them which made Sylvanas just slightly angrier. "I'll wear them when we return home."

"Anya, please go find Viraleth or anyone else for now." Clea begged, feeling her grip on Sylvanas' arms begin to fade away. "Preferably right now!"

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Anya rolled her eyes. "Fine."

Once she was out of sight, Sylvanas stopped struggling against Clea and instead turned her body around to look at her. "You need to train her better." The General said, making Clea smirk a little. "I'm serious. I don't know where she gets it from, but she always knows how to push my buttons."

"I think she enjoys the reaction you give." Clea told her honestly. "But I'll see what I can do." The ranger then said, making her way towards Anya whilst Sylvanas rubbed her temples to relieve some unwanted stress. By the time she caught up to Anya, Clea was holding back her laughter and hugging the ranger tightly from behind. "You are so evil, it's criminal." She told her. "It's been a long time since I've seen our General want to kill one of us."

"You don't think I pushed it?" Anya asked, feeling Clea shake her head against her back. "Yay!"

Clea chuckled and squeezed her a little tighter. "Good girl. Now, the next time she sees us, just pretend I've scolded you and told you to behave better, okay?"

"Easy, no problem!" Anya said, smiling brightly at her.

After ten more minutes of resting, Alexandros informed the Ranger-General and the other officers that it was time to move out, getting approval from Sylvanas when she thought it was time to move on to the next district too and sending Viraleth out to scout ahead. "Report back to us this time. I fear this split up ahead might cause us trouble if you don't come back and you're cut off from the main group."

Viraleth nodded her head and felt Sylvanas place a hand on her shoulder. "I'll return to the group with updates, don't worry." She said, smiling at the General which put her at ease a little. "I have a daughter to return to, remember? I won't do anything risky whilst we're out here. Not anymore."

"Now that I have my family back, neither will I." Sylvanas told her, both smiling and hugging before the Chief Scout pulled back and nodded at her.

"I'll make sure you return to him, General." Viraleth told her, leaving to gather her scouts and moving further into Stratholme.

"They should be well into the city by now." Athrodar said, sitting beside Kael'thas as the two of them were left alone in the Convocation Hall. Not out of respect, but because everyone else was busy with their own professions. "I hate that I'm stuck in the city whilst they're all out there fighting."

Kael'thas began to smile when he saw the annoyance on Athrodar's face, knowing he was blaming himself and rightly so, since he was the one who left the Farstrider Academy. "Welcome to the life of a Convocation member." The King said, laughing a little when he heard Athrodar sigh. "It's not fun, I know. But we both have our duties to the Kingdom now and that means sitting here, waiting for updates from the front lines so we know if we should send reinforcements or tell them to pull back."

Athrodar rest his head on the table, hearing his King laugh at him. "The academy isn't open today, at least not for teaching, so I have nothing to really do. My son is spending time with Thalina Dawnstrider and her brother, Sylvanas is in Stratholme with Liadrin and many other rangers." He turned his head a little to look at the King. "It's just us two left."

"Could sound a little more happy that you're here with me." Kael'thas told him, looking over to the entrance of the Convocation Hall and noticing a ranger poke their head inside. "I think we have some news from the front." He said, nudging Athrodar's arm so he would sit up.

Looking up at the ranger, Athrodar tilted his head a little when he recognised Alina, the ranger now in charge of his father's company, making her way towards the two of them. "Did you just return from Eastern Lordaeron?" He asked the ranger.

"I have." Alina said, looking over to the King. "I don't bring much in the way of good news either. The undead we were just watching have ignored the attack on Stratholme and are slowly marching here, towards Quel'Thalas."

Kael'thas took the report off Alina that detailed everything they had witnessed in the last forty-eight hours. "How certain are you of this?" He asked, reading through the report shortly after he asked.

"Ninety-five percent." She told them both, looking over to Athrodar who was reading through the reports too. "I recommend we get everyone able to fight towards Tranquillien, your majesty. All except recruits and civilians with no training that is."

"So former rangers, mages and priests that have retired." Athrodar said, looking over to Kael'thas who continued to read through the reports. "Over two-thirds of our rangers are in Stratholme at the moment, so mages will be a top priority and the main bulk of our defence here."

Kael'thas placed down the report and looked over to Athrodar. "And I'm more than ready to lead them." He said, placing a hand on Athrodar's arm. "With the help of a Lieutenant, that is."

"I am not allowed to be involved in any military endeavors unless it's training recruits." Athrodar said, tilting his head at a grinning Kael'thas. "Right?"

"I think the Ranger-General and the Convocation can look passed it if you're helping to defend the Kingdom." Kael'thas suggested, glancing over to Alina who smiled and bowed her head at the King. "After all, I am the King and as King I am requesting anyone who can fight should step forward and report in to the closest officer, be it ranger, mage or spellbreaker."

Athrodar tapped a finger on the table, nodding his head slowly and growing a wide grin on his face. "So... If we push back the undead, let's say with the help of a certain newly appointed Lieutenant sitting beside the King, would that newly appointed Lieutenant get to keep his title and rank?"

Kael'thas laughed and looked over to Alina, waving her away and knowing she would report in to Lord Sunblade and inform him of what she had found out. "I think I can arrange such a thing. It just depends on the state of your return."

"Oh I intend to return alive and with many kills etched on my bow." Athrodar told the King. "If not for the chance of being a Lieutenant again, it would be so I can be with my son and daughter."

"I fully understand." Kael'thas said, standing up and collecting the reports Alina handed him. "Return to the Farstrider Academy, if only to inform your students of the cancelled lessons until the undead are dealt with." He took several steps towards the twin doors of the Convocation Hall, stopping and spinning around to face Athrodar for one final time. "This will be my first fight in a long time beside my people." He said. "I hope I can live up to the expectations they will have for me."

"You will do just fine." Athrodar told him confidently, smiling at the King. "Listen to your advisors, don't do anything risky and you will find success in this fight to come."

Kael'thas smiled and nodded his head slowly, looking down at the reports in his hand. "I hope so." He said, looking back to Athrodar. "I'll see you in Tranquillien."

"I'll see you in Tranquillien." Athrodar said back to him, watching his King leave the Convocation Hall.

"Festival Lane and Market Row." Alexandros said, cleaning Ashbringer. "I remember coming here as a young Paladin. Watching families spend their day just around here, kids enjoying the festival and nothing but laughter could be heard as well as the usual commotion of a marketplace." He shook his head and said a quick prayer under his breath. "I hope to see the day this place is cleansed and brought back to its former glory."

"I'm sure it will be." Sylvanas said, counting the limited arrows left in her quiver. "And if you're not around to see that day, be it old age or a heroic final stand, I will talk my King and I am certain he will try to restore this city."

"This new King of yours seems to be very helpful towards us humans." Alexandros said, looking over to the Ranger-General. "Yet remains outside of the Alliance. Why is that?"

"I don't know." Sylvanas told him honestly. "I suppose we've never had the opportunity to rejoin the Alliance, so we rekindled a lost kinship to our Kaldorei cousins." She began to smile a little. "It's actually been working out a lot better than I first thought. More and more of them are visiting Silvermoon every month to the point that I am certain I have seen a couple members of their race courting with ours."

"Well if that's not progress, I don't know what is." Alexandros said, growing a smirk on his face. "I hear you are courting a former Lieutenant of yours, General." He said, watching Sylvanas' face turn red. "So it's true. Word does travel fast around here when your rangers have nothing to do, outside of fighting the undead."

"Who told you?" Sylvanas asked, looking around for her rangers and laying eyes on two nosy rangers in particular. "I think I know." She said, noticing Anya and Clea hiding behind two crates, watching her from afar.

The moment the two of them saw Sylvanas making her way towards them, Clea began to push Anya away from the crates. "Time to go. I've seen that look before and she is going to skin us alive the moment she takes hold of us."

"We've pushed it too far." Anya told her, taking hold of Clea's hand and trying to hide within the three companies worth of rangers.

Before Sylvanas could get to them, she was intercepted by Viraleth who placed a hand on her chest and looked her in the eyes. "We have bigger problems than dumb and dumber." She said, looking over to the next section of Stratholme. "I have found something that might be a problem in a few minutes."

Sylvanas frowned and looked down at her Chief Scout. "What do you mean?"

"There are human paladins and spell casters in the next section. Only they aren't wearing the same uniform as the humans we are here with." Viraleth told her. "They're in red and white armour with a red flame tabard."

"Are they friends or foes?" Sylvanas asked her, looking over to Alexandros and the rest of the humans with them. "And do you think they would stand in our way if they are foes?"

"I don't know." Viraleth told her. "To both questions."

"Well..." Sylvanas muttered, looking around at the ranger companies around her. "Let's just presume they're hostile and go from there."

Viraleth bowed her head to the General. "I'll gather the scouts and keep an eye on them."

Watching Viraleth leave, Lor'themar made his way over to the General and stood beside her, keeping his eyes on the Chief Scout as she gathered the rest of her scouts from the three ranger companies present in the city. "Problem?" He asked quietly, glancing at the General who was stroking the fletching on one of her arrows with her finger. "I take the silence as a yes."

"There are a group of humans in the next district. Only they're wearing red and white armour with a red flame tabard." Sylvanas glanced over to the Ranger Lord who frowned and looked over to Alexandros in the meantime. "I don't think they're with them. But I need you and Halduron to be ready should they attack along with Mograine."

"And the chances of that happening?" Lor'themar now asked the General.

"Hopefully very slim." Sylvanas told him. "But we have to be prepared, just in case."

Lor'themar nodded his head slowly. "Let's also hope that sword of his isn't as good against us as it is against the undead."

"I doubt it will be, but you can never know until it's used against us." Sylvanas said, watching Lor'themar bow his head to her and make his way towards Halduron shortly after. Knowing she had to find out before they entered the next district, Sylvanas began to make her way back to Alexandros who had finished cleaning his blade and was now talking to a few of his officers. "Highlord, a word?"

"Of course." Alexandros said when he saw the General waiting beside him, thanking and sending his officers away and turning to face Sylvanas fully. "What do we need to talk about, General?"

"There are humans in the next district." Sylvanas told him, watching the Highlord raise an eyebrow at her. "Wearing white and red armour."

"With a red flame tabard?" Alexandros asked, watching the General nod her head. "The Scarlet Crusade." He muttered, letting out a long sigh shortly after.

"You know them?" Sylvanas now asked him.

"I do." Alexandros said, though he didn't sound too happy that they were here. "They're a section of the Silver Hand who have radicalized our beliefs and taken fighting the undead to extreme levels that I am almost certain they have forgotten that the undead were once humans too."

"Will they be a problem?" Sylvanas now asked, watching the Highlord frown and think about his answer.

"They don't take too kindly to those who aren't human." Alexandros told the General. "The few that have tried to join them who weren't human were put through extremely tough and often deadly tests compared to their human counterparts."

"Great. So they will most likely be hostile towards my rangers and I." Sylvanas looked back to her company as well as Lor'themar's and Halduron's. "I best tell them to get prepared for that before we move out."

"Which will be in about five minutes." Mograine told her, getting a nod from the General. "Then we can set up a base of operations where the Scarlet Crusaders currently are if they decide to fight against us."

Returning to her officers, Sylvanas pulled Lor'themar and Halduron aside so they were away from any prying ears. "We're about to walk into something that might make our rangers uncomfortable." She said once they were alone.

"Is it the humans in that next district?" Lor'themar asked, getting a nod from the General.

"Apparently they don't take too kindly to elves. Or anyone who isn't a human to be fair." Sylvanas told him, looking over to Halduron. "I need you both to make sure your rangers hold back from retaliating unless they attack us. Got it? I don't need things to break down into a fight against the living when we have bigger problems further in the city."

"We'll keep our companies in line." Lor'themar told her, Halduron nodding in agreement to the Ranger Lord. "Let's just hope they can see past the racial differences between us and them and focus on the undead that are still lurking around the city."

"Wouldn't that be the dream..." Sylvanas muttered, leaving to find Clea, Anya and the rest of her company.

"I don't like the idea of you joining us down there." Athrodar said, looking through his office to try and find his ranger gear.

"I know you don't." Thalina said, standing by the door and watching him search high and low for his ranger equipment. "But the last I checked, most of our rangers are out of the forests and in foreign land, the undead are weak to fire and you're not the boss of me."

Athrodar looked over to Thalina who stood proudly at the entrance to his office, her hands on her hips and her head held high after standing her ground against him. "I hope you know I can't look out for you once the fighting starts, right? My focus will be on protecting the King at all costs."

"I don't know how you're going to do that when you have your own squad of guards around you..." Thalina muttered, noticing Athrodar's frown the second she looked up at him. "What? You didn't know that?"

"First I'm hearing of it." Athrodar told her, finding and picking up his bow, slinging it over his shoulder and picking up his quiver shortly after. "This may change things."

"You'll just have to be less aggressive and more restrictive with your movements." Thalina told him, looking to her left and noticing Athrodar's swords propped up beside the door. "Besides, you have more important things to worry about."

"Like what?" Athrodar asked, trying to find his swords and facing Thalina when she tapped him on the shoulder. "Oh."

"Like trying to keep your head on straight for your first fight in over two years." She told him, strapping his swords to his body and patting him on the chest. "And I'll be the one looking out for you."

Athrodar smiled and pat the top of Thalina's head. "Thank you." He said, laughing lightly when she pouted the moment he pat her on the head.

"Come on... Let's just go." She told him, pushing him away lightly before spinning on her heel and making her way out of his office.

Making his way out of his office too, Athrodar made it halfway out of the Farstrider Academy before he was interrupted by Victoria who looked to be in a panic. "Woah, what's wrong?" Athrodar asked when he crouched down in front of her, noticing a sheet of parchment in her hands. "What's this?"

"My parents are fighting the undead." Victoria told him, looking Athrodar in the eyes. "They're not even soldiers, why would they do this?"

Taking the parchment from her hands, Athrodar began to read through what was written and quickly realised what had happened. "The King announced a call to arms to all those who can or want to fight. There's nothing that can be done now that they've already left for Tranquillien."

Victoria shook her head and continued to look him in the eyes. "You have to stop them, please!"

Noticing she was growing more and more upset, Athrodar sighed and hugged the young recruit. "I can't promise I will stop them, but I will try my best to make sure they survive the attack, got it?" When he felt Victoria nod her head slowly, he smiled and pulled back from the hug. "Chances are they will be either be there to help tend to the wounded or they're going to be part of the militia ranger company." He noticed a couple of tears had fallen from Victoria's eyes and wiped them away with his thumb. "Unless the undead are a lot stronger than when we first faced them, they will be safe, okay?"

The second Athrodar stood up, Victoria launched herself at him again and hugged him tightly. "I want you to be safe too." She whispered, tightening the hug when she felt Athrodar place a hand on the back of her head and stroke her hair. "I need you to be safe too." She then said, pulling back and looking up at him. "I don't want to lose my dad either."

"You won't lose me either. I promise." Athrodar told her, kissing her on the forehead. "I will always be here, in your life and just a stones throw away should you ever need me."

"I think it's safer if you go first." Sylvanas said, standing beside Highlord Mograine who chuckled and nodded his head in agreement.

"Not a bad idea, General. Just stay close and try not to provoke them. Even if they start insulting you all." Alexandros held Ashbringer in his hands and looked back to the ranger companies behind him as well as Vandellor, Liadrin and their paladins. "They might get along with them a lot more than you will, seeing as they have the Light in common with them."

"Liadrin." Sylvanas called, watching the Paladin run through the rangers and paladins between her and the General, ending up beside Sylvanas and Alexandros.

"Yes?" She asked, looking over to Sylvanas and then to Alexandros, smiling shyly at him. "How can I help?" She asked, though she kept her eyes on the Highlord the entire time.

"Ahem." Sylvanas said, clearing her throat to get the Paladin's attention. "I need you to be who talks to humans in the next district." She looked over to Vandellor who made his way towards the three of them. "You too."

"I don't need him with me to talk to humans." Liadrin said, narrowing her eyes at the General who kept her focus on Vandellor. "I'm serious!"

"I'm sure you are." Sylvanas said. "But I need him there to be the level headed one out of the two of you as these humans aren't too kind to us elves."

"Oh..." Liadrin looked up to Vandellor who stood behind her. "Yeah... It's best you're there to keep the conversation civil. Otherwise I would tear their heads off their shoulders if they say one thing offensive to me."

"I know." Vandellor said, chuckling lightly. "Luckily I have thicker skin." He said, looking over to Alexandros whilst patting Liadrin on the head lightly. "When you're ready, Highlord."

Following Alexandros into the next district, every elf had a weapon in their hands and were looking at each and every Scarlet Crusader that came into view, readying themselves for an attack that may or may not come. "Halt!" One of the crusaders yelled, drawing their sword and shield and being joined by a handful of other crusaders. "What are you doing here?" They asked, not recognising Alexandros right away and instead focusing their attention on the elves of the group.

"We've come to purge the city of the undead." Alexandros said, looking around to find a leader amongst the humans. "The last I heard, Saidan Dathrohan was in charge, is that still the case?"

Noticing the blade in Alexandros' hands, many of the Scarlet Crusaders began to bow to him and make a path for him towards the barracks in the distance. "He is this way, Ashbringer." One of them said, leading Alexandros and his paladins towards the barracks, only to stop and signal for the other crusaders to stand in the way of the elves with him. "Only you and your paladins, Highlord."

"It's either all of us or none of us." Alexandros said, looking back to the Ranger-General. "They are living too and are here to help us purge the undead from Stratholme once and for all. So if you won't let them through, then I will wait here for Saidan and we can speak in the open."

Waiting for an agonizing several seconds, everyone was eventually told they could enter, making Lor'themar make his way towards Sylvanas as they walked into the barracks, making sure to keep his voice low as he walked in tandem with the Ranger-General. "So far so good." He muttered, looking around at the faces of the Scarlet Crusaders they walked past and noticing several surprised faces watching them. He wasn't sure if it was because they were inside their barracks as elves or if it's because they were genuinely surprised help had come. "I am expecting the worst to happen when we reach their leader."

"Oddly enough, so am I." Sylvanas agreed, noticing the surprised faces of the crusaders too. "It would be a shame if a fight broke out in here. Some of these humans look like they've seen too few winters to be in such a place as this."

"They're in a burning city fighting the undead." Lor'themar reminded her. "They know what they've signed up for, though I don't suppose fighting the living was written down in that contract."

"You will all have to wait here." One of the crusaders said, looking back to Alexandros. "Only the Highlord and the officers are allowed in here. The rest of you will have to wait outside, in the hallway."

"I'll wait with them." Halduron said, smiling at the General who nodded her head at him. "They'll need some sort of leadership if you're all in there."

"Hopefully we won't be long." Sylvanas said, patting him on the arm.

"Keep an eye out for them, brother." Lor'themar whispered the moment he gave him a hug. "I have a bad feeling about this place."

"I will." Halduron told him, pulling back from the hug. "Keep the General safe in there. Even if there's no fighting, we both know she hates talking."

Lor'themar chuckled when he heard Sylvanas let out an exasperated sigh. "I'll make sure she remains sane."

"Hurry up Theron." Sylvanas said, waiting by the entrance of the room and slapping the back of his head when he walked passed her. "That's for making up lies to your boyfriend."

Lor'themar chuckled some more and rubbed the back of his head. "You're just jealous he's closer to me than you are."

Sylvanas scoffed. "Right, because I want to be good friends with you two."

"You miss it, be honest." Lor'themar whispered to her as they stood beside one another and watched an important looking human walk into the room. "Having your brothers in arms beside you before you were a General, teasing our commanding officer on a daily basis."

Sylvanas began to smirk at the memories. "True. I don't really have that luxury anymore." She glanced over to the Ranger Lord beside her. "Though you two like to constantly tease me, so I suppose that's karma."

"Saidan, brother." Alexandros said, embracing his fellow Paladin. "It has been too long since we last saw each other."

"That it has, brother." Saidan replied, looking at the blade in Alexandros' hands. "Is it still as good as they say?"

Looking down at the blade, Alexandros began to smile. "It's even better. I feel like I can take on all the undead on my own, but I think we both know that's not practical, not at my age at least."

Whilst the two Paladins were talking to each other, Liadrin had noticed something was off with the blade Ashbringer. There was a slight glow to it that only happened when near the undead, but as far as she was concerned, they were in a safe district at the moment, surrounded by nothing but humans. Knowing she had to tell someone of her findings, she looked over to her father and made her way to him slowly to not draw attention to herself. "Something's wrong." She whispered when she stood beside him.

"How do you mean?" Vandellor asked, looking down at his adopted daughter.

"The Highlord's blade. It only glows like that when we're near undead. The thing is, I can't see any undead. Can you?" Liadrin asked, looking around the room with Vandellor now.

"That's a good point." He whispered back to her, looking over to Sylvanas and grabbing her attention, beckoning her over so he could inform her of Liadrin's concern.

"What is it?" She asked, trying to look and act natural so they didn't look like they were scheming. Something that was difficult since three out of four of the elves were now standing in close proximity to each other, whispering so nobody else could hear them.

"The Highlord's blade is reacting to something." Liadrin told the General, reaching for her own sword slowly. "I have a bad feeling about this place and that sword reacting like it is."

Noticing the glowing blade, Sylvanas began to pull on the bowstring sitting across her chest. "There are no undead here. Would it be reacting to something else?"

"Well, the undead were a product of the Legion..." Vandellor muttered, looking over to the General. "It could be that there are demons lurking in the shadows."

"Maybe..." Sylvanas muttered, moving one hand down to the hilt of one of her blades. "Distract Saidan, I'll talk to the Highlord."

"How many soldiers do you have?" Alexandros asked Saidan, looking over to Sylvanas who stood beside him.

"Enough to hold back the undead for close to a month now." Saidan told the Highlord, looking over to Sylvanas too who whispered something in Alexandros' ear. "Problem?"

"Nothing too serious." Vandellor said, standing on the other side of the General. "I have to ask, how is it you've survived here for as long as you have?"

"Hard work and discipline." Saidan told the High Priest.

Being pulled away from the conversation, Alexandros watched Liadrin, Sylvanas and Lor'themar encircle him and keep their eyes on his blade. "What did you need to talk about?"

"We believe there are demons here." Liadrin told the Highlord, pointing at his blade. "It reacts to the undead, but they are a product of a Legion. Seeing as there are no undead nearby until we move further into the city, we are under the assumption that there is a demon lurking in the shadows."

"Here? In the middle of an army of soldiers wielding the Light?" Alexandros asked, letting out a small laugh. "That's preposterous. They wouldn't survive in here for more than an hour at most." He told them.

"Then you tell us why your blade is reacting like that." Sylvanas said, watching the Highlord look down at Ashbringer.

"We're in a city full of the undead, I wouldn't be surprised if their numbers are making my blade react like this." Alexandros told them.

Liadrin shook her head at the Highlord. "No, your blade wasn't glowing when we entered the district, nor when we walked through the halls. It was only when we entered this room."

Looking down at his blade again, Alexandros narrowed his eyes at the glow, trying to understand what was going on as he also recalled his blade not glowing until they entered the current room they were in. "It can't be.." He muttered, looking over to Saidan who was talking to Vandellor. "Saidan."

"Highlord."

"I have a question." Alexandros then said, making his way over to Master of the Scarlet Crusade. "How long have demons been hiding in these halls?"

Letting out a small laugh, Saidan looked around at everyone in the room with him. "What are you on about? Demons? Here?"

"We both know my blade doesn't glow unless the undead are near, or the Legion for that matter. It stopped glowing the moment we entered this district, but the second we entered this room, it began to glow." Alexandros held onto the Ashbringer with both hands, readying an attack. "So tell me, when did you allow demons into this room?"

Looking around at everyone surrounding him, he noticed Lor'themar and Sylvanas aiming their bows at them with arrows pulled back, Liadrin with her blade along with Alexandros and Vandellor casting two holy spells in his hands. "Very well... Seeing as I have no other choice."

The five of them noticed a shadow growing around them, Saidan's eyes glowing a menacing green and what sounded like fighting coming from the hallway behind them. "Well, that answers that." Lor'themar said, watching the shadow grow around them and engulf the hall. "We found our demon."

Letting loose their arrows, Sylvanas and Lor'themar watched their projectiles hit Saidan in the chest but look to do no damage to him, despite being a clean him. "That's not good." Sylvanas said, looking over to Vandellor who let out two holy spells towards the Paladin and having them deflected by Saidan's own spells. Liadrin and Alexandros charged him shortly after, having their attacks parried at first but hitting the Paladin cleanly after a few more strikes, noticing their attacks were doing nothing to him.

"What the..." Liadrin said, being pushed back by a green magical pulse along with everyone else, watching several bats appear around Saidan until there was nothing but a blur of wings, disappearing shortly after and leaving a towering demon standing before them.

"Saidan..." Alexandros muttered.

"No, foolish human. My name is Balnazzar, Nathrezim and Agent of the Burning Legion." The demon, equipped with clawed hands and giant wings, looked at the five unfortunate souls trapped in this room with him and began to cackle. "Your precious Paladin was easy to dismiss and his little crusade were even easier to manipulate.

"Well then..." Sylvanas said, getting up onto her feet and drawing an arrow back on her bow. "Looks like we have a demon to take care of."