"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Deity/Demon/Empowered Talking"

"Deity/Demon/Empowered Thinking"

¦Communication via portal, Shouting/Gadget¦

*Sound Effect*

*TimeSkip*

Scene change

(`Author's Music suggestion`)

(*+additional stars.) = Plot points, use Ctrl+F along with the number of *'s that are used in the brackets to quickly go to the bottom of the chapter for an explanation of the plot point. Not sure if this'll help but thought I'd put this here to help anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than the character Kylandras and other characters I make up within this story. I don't own Blizzard or World of Warcraft or any of the other franchises. To make that clear, I don't own anything but the OC's I create within this story, if a character pops up with one of the names I chose then, well...fuck...I am doing this right, right? There will be additional stuff from other stories/games or whatever included depending on whatever I feel particularly inspired by utilising within this story of mine.

Chapter 2 : Seizing the Sargerite Keystone Pt. 2

Elsewhere in Mardum

The various forces of the Inquisition were battling, working their way through the ranks of demons that they came across. This group of Illidari possessed strengths and skills that were quite out of the ordinary for normal Illidari, such as the weapons, techniques and skills they possessed. Coming across another patrol of demons, one of their group surged forwards, leaping into the air towards them, screaming as he came down upon them with a thunderous crash, shattering ground, flesh bone and carapace alike. Fel-tainted blood splattered across his form as he wielded a heavy plated shield the size of his body on one arm, and a flail in the other, both tools were brutally effective in their execution, blocking weapons sharp enough to cleave through most normal shields and armour. Whereas one arm stopped blows from sinking into his body, the other wielded a flail that could only be utilised effectively by a warrior who'd honed their body to swing around the heavy, fel-green stained ball of metal, even the chain of the flail was made to be just as dangerous, allowing him to cut a swath through the 'patrol' of enemies in front of him.

Said 'patrol' was more like reinforcements that were heading on their way towards the front flank of the Inquisitions foothold. A small army of its own that had now turned on the foe within their ranks, seeking to cut down the one whom they believed to be doing a suicidal attack upon them approaching the Night Elf who was already preparing his flail, daring them to come towards him and be shattered against shield and flail alike. That first line of demons were swiftly reminded that this wasn't an ordinary Illidari, but one who was apart of the Inquisition, a fact that was apparent as even more demons were cut down with a single slash of a weapon. The owner of said weapon appearing with a sigh on their lips.

"Oi, Haldorin! Stop charging ahead like that! It's so tiring to always keep rushing after you, ya damn battlenut!" A masculine voice, another male, another Blood Elf, it seemed. Immediately from the tone of voice, one could say this person was very laid-back, almost monotone in nature with only the slightest hints of emotion showing through it. This man's choice of weapon was menacing in look, and how effectively it sundered flesh and armour apart, a scythe, with a green, serrated blade along the inner curve of it. The shaft was a solid metal pole with a spiked pommel at the end, bladed and sharpened to the point where it easily sunk into the ground.

"Bah! Be quiet Varadin, you lazy ass! You always make a fight so quick! This is what we do! We fight and fight and slay all who stand in our path! We shall prove ourselves within each battle we face, in the glory of combat against the Burning Legion!" Haldorin roared out, declaring this to the world, as if to prove to it that here he stood, for them to face him, all while his flail swung backwards and forth, discarding arms, legs and various over body-parts and organs with each swing. Varadin setting into his own foes with a swiftness that betrayed his normal laziness. Ranks upon ranks were cut-apart with each deadly swing of his scythe, slain demons didn't even notice they were dead until torso's fell apart and others were split in twain.

It was at this time, where the two Illidari were fighting in the middle of the demons ranks, that the heavy hitters of the demonic ranks finally marched towards their sworn enemies. Felguards and Doomguards, immense demonic beings starting at twenty foot in height and terminating at around thirty to forty feet in height, only outshone by Pit Lords. These were army-killers in their own right when matched against normal armies, but Illidari weren't normal in any way shape or form, and neither were the Inquisition. Case and point when one of the huge demons were cut apart by a huge, dense axe, the force of it colliding into the ground scattering the smaller demons with ease. Said weapon seeming to shrink slowly until it was the size of a normal two-handed axe, albeit with a rather ridiculously large head. The blade of this particular weapon was jagged in places, with chips and pieces missing, only to be used in its design to better shred flesh and make wounds hard to heal.

All the damage within this axe was made to incorporate the damages upon it, age could be seen from it, as if someone hadn't wanted to part with it, and so they'd made the degradation's on it, flaws and weaknesses in its design, strengthened and sharpened. All this making a weapon that declared how it'd slain many foes and wouldn't stop until it was reduced to nothing by either something destroying it, or the passage of time finally reclaiming it.

"Yahoo~! And here I thought you boys were taking all the fun and leaving none for me, Valienkros!" Amused, mature and prideful, that was how one could describe this woman, a Night Elf who behaved more like a Blood Elf, Valienkros (Or Val, for short.) was a woman whom prided herself on her strength to cut down her foes with one swing of her axe. This being aided by the odd magic that she used, Bestow and Harness. Simply put, she could control the aspects of her weapon, from its what its original size was, to how heavy the axe-head was. The off-set to such a technique, was that it could only be reduced, or increased by half of its original aspects. Of course, it was a very difficult brand of magic to master, but when executed properly, one could change things from how heavy a weapon was, to how sharp it was with but a thought.

A mastery which was employed with brutal, gruesome efficiency to cut down the largest of demons, destroy armour and carapace with an Illidari's natural strength only making it even more terrifying to face her upon the battlefield. Even now, to see such large beings been slain or maimed with a single blow, it was a demoralising thing, paired with a naturally boasting attitude, it was easy to see why the smaller demons scattered like rodents, fleeing from an opponent too powerful to simply overwhelm with size and power alone.

"Thanks for dropping in, Val! Don't think I could take some of these big ones by myself anyway, I'll deal with the small fry with Varadin here! You and that crazed gun-mage deal with their big troops and mages. Just don't take too long, we've gotta get those machines dealt with soon!" It was Haldorin who spoke up, while busying himself chasing after small enemies that rallied and rushed him, only to either be cut down by Varadin, or smashed apart by his flail.

"Thank you~ Now then, shall we get on with the main attraction, Leiot?"

"But of course, my Lady. Excuse me, Ladies and Gentlemen of demon-kind, may I have your attention please?..." Another voice spoke up, startling the various mages as its source appeared, the shimmer of invisibility magic, dressed very differently from the rest of his fellow Illidari, a Blood Elf garbed in a butler's suit of all things. Something that immediately stood out from the norm, there were still the tell-tale signs showing his affiliation to Illidan's cause, but for all intents and purposes, this man looked like a simple butler. A fact that elicited the amused laughter of demons who thought he'd be an easy target, but little did they know...

"For tonight, in this sordid affair of battle against old foes, my Lady and I shall perform an exquisite show..." Two weapons were drawn from the inside pockets of Leiot's suit, guns, rather advanced, intricately designed pistols which didn't seem to have any chambers or magazine slots for ammunition. Lining the barrel length of them were two blades, allowing for close-quarter combat, which became evident as the butler spun on the spot and decapitated a magic-hunter that was mid-lunge towards him.

"A beautiful slaughtering of demonic filth, scattering blood upon this desecrated land!" And with that, both guns were brought to bare and runes glowed while just underneath the sleeves of that suit, the familiar blue glow of magic was seen, disappearing underneath white gloves. Where magic brimmed in both guns before said weapons fired, bullets flying everywhere with each pull of a trigger before they split apart into metallic shrapnel that tore into tough hide and flesh, killing any that stood in front of the man, dead bodies collapsing with faces in shock of such devastating weaponry tearing them apart. This lead to numerous more deaths as more were exposed until the effective range of the scatter shot was inefficient. From there the butler set into charging at the nearest enemy, utilising normal gun shots to kill many a demon with clinical efficiency. Whereas the other three preferred to kill their foes by tearing them apart and leaving nothing left, Leiot was of a different persuasion, specialising in being capable of getting in and out of a battlefield without being detected until it was too late, slaying important targets before either leaving or taking advantage of the chaos that comes with normal armies losing their commanders.

"Ah, as beautiful as ever to see you work, Leiot." Valien mused to herself, before stomping down on her axe-handle, dis-lodging it from the ground before slipping down and grabbing the weapon setting off towards more of the Felguards, either stopping for a moment to taunt her enemies into attacking, or leap up and swipe at one of the Doomguards flying above. Most of the time leading to one getting a wing-clipped and falling down to the earth, where it soon met its end either by Valien herself, or one of her fellow compatriots on the battlefield.

These were the four commanding powers that lead the rest of the Inquisition forces, only second to Kylandras herself. The Four Hunters of the Legion, leaders in their own right whom took orders from the Commander herself. Normally, such leadership roles meant that one was in the back-line of affairs, managing the battlefield from the safety of the base of operations. But these were Illidari, and there was always a constant need to slay demons and nothing was ever static, the Inquisition even more so as they were a relatively small battalion that worked to be highly mobile, capable of fighting through hordes of demons and completing their objectives with ease. In a normal operation, the four would work with their respective squads to destroy their enemies, but for this particular operation, where time was of the essence and there was an extremely important objective in sight, it was easy to see why they formed their team of old. A team which had spawned the creation of the Inquisition within due time as like-minded individuals gathered underneath them to be the ones who stepped first into battle, and left it last.

Legion-bane, a fitting name for such a potent team. If classified by the standards of a ranking, they were an S-rank threat of their own paired together. Hence why it wouldn't take long for them to cut through the reinforcements that they'd came across along the way towards the Demons' war machines which were hampering their progress.

*20 minutes later.*

Taking a moment to take a breather and admire their handiwork while planning their next move. While one could say that their team-work was something to inspired, even such a powerful team as this didn't have their own flaws. Such as when discussing strategies for example-

"Why shouldn't we just charge in and destroy the source of these damn machines and then destroy the ones that're active!? It's a great plan!"

"As I said, if you want to draw in every single guard protecting the forge-works, then it's a fine plan for a battle-crazed nutter like you. Killing demons is perfectly fine, but we still need to get the Sargerite Keystone and get back to the Commander!"

"Hmphf, I don't see why we shouldn't terrify these disgusting demons and slay as many of those big ones as possible."

"My Lady, I'm not sure that would be effective against larger scale armies..."

Even without describing who was saying what, it was easy to tell who was talking, Varadin and Haldorin were busy arguing over which method would work the best for dealing with the current situation of their forces. All four were currently approaching their objective now, around maybe three to four hundred feet away now, along the beaten path that the reinforcements they'd decimated had been marching on. They were moving at a steady pace, jogging to conserve energy until they either need to perform an action, be it avoiding a reinforcement group that wasn't difficult for their forces to fight off, aided by dimensional slipping magic that Leiot used. It allowed him to temporarily slip them into another plane of existence, maintaining it wasn't difficult, it was navigating and ensuring one was on the right path, as one false step could have one simple fade out of existence altogether.

Each one of these four Night and Blood Elves were unrivalled in their particular brand of skills, with some being taught to their squads while others explored new avenues, allowing them to become as versatile and unique as possible, aiding in being capable of tackling any task that was brought to the Inquisition. It was without a doubt that time was passing forwards as they went, it didn't simply stop for them, that was the territory of the bronze dragonflight. This fact that time was most certainly of the essence came about when Leiot stopped in his jogging in an instant, turning on the spot and looking back in the direction of the Illidari forces' foothold. Valien, Haldor and Varad(*) didn't even get a chance to ask what happened before they felt it. Power, raw, refined for a distinct purpose and wholly behooving any rowdy behaviour in a person. Hence why when they felt the ever so familiar wave of power wash over them, all four squad leaders' behaviour...shifted, and in that moment, they were no longer the friendly, personalities that were arguing, discussing and voicing opinions were gone.

And in their place was four of the five Leaders of the Illidari Inquisition.

"Oh dear...I believe that Commander has accessed the pocket dimension I gave her..." Contrary to what some may believe, dimensions, and pocket dimensions especially, were made, they weren't something that could be easily accessed so long as one had the power. One needed the affinity to access such a thing, one could train to do such a thing like imbuing properties into bags and clothing with proper training, but making one through your will and magic? Not so much. One could be given a pocket dimension, through a intricate rune imbuing process where a part of 'space' was given to a person. It was like someone making a apartment or a multi-roomed warehouse, and this process gave one a 'key' to one of those 'rooms' in particular.

If one was had practised with this form of magic for long enough, then their mastery of this magic would allow them to be able to detect when one of the 'rooms' that they've created had been used, along with the location and who it was, so long as the person using the 'key' had permitted that the 'owner' could do so. Seeing as this particular pocket dimension was only really utilised when the situation was critical or Kylandras was taking on a foe that required all of her strength, it was easy for Legion-bane to understand that the situation had changed, albeit slightly.

"I guess it was too much to hope that they wouldn't use the Swarm tactic here. Then taking into account that the demon watching over this place is called Brood Queen, I guess my predictions were correct." Varad said with a grim tone, his hands busy in a set of specific, precise motions that began to channel more Fel-power through his body.

"Heh, guess the Commander's really going to cut loose now, anyone wanna bet if she'll break the world a bit?" Haldor said, musing to himself even as he too began to channel more power through his body. Beginning to mutter demonic chant to himself while taking a knee, shield arm raised as its hand held his face, flail arm/hand planted on the ground, bracing himself as he focused.

"Please, that's a fools bet, of course she's going to tear this place apart! Ugh, I hate doing this, so inelegant." Valien replied, standing in a warriors salute with her hands holding the haft of her axe, slowly beginning to sing to gently, her song spoken in a language lost in the wake of the Burning Legion, its power lost to all but the one who practised it on a daily basis. The same method of mixing magic and fel-energy that Kylandras used revealing itself now as it not only imbued currently unknown effects to her compatriots.

"My Lady, I don't think you could ever be inelegant." It was a simple statement that Leiot made, a fact that he would fervently argue against any who tried to say otherwise. He too, began a ritualistic motion, holding his pistols in a strange manner, one pointed to the sky, while the other was pointed to the ground. The words he chanted were demonic in source as well, but his voice seemed different, as if multiple versions of his voice were speaking in many different languages now. Now the way this effected the group was much different than usual, an illusion of chains began to form upon each of the four Hunters(**), the rattling of their weight settling in, visibly making each of them sag in their positions for a brief moment, before something, deep within them stirred deep inside. If one were to replicate this practise, it simply wouldn't have any effect upon them, as this wasn't a group of rituals, chants and motions intending to imbue effects like Valien's singing did. Rather, this was something they'd all decided on, a way of instilling restraint and limits upon someone. It was a self-inflicted trance that made one believe that they were bound by the chains of normal specifically set limitations, limitations, that could be broken, permitting that one has also set within themselves a special way of releasing the limitations self-set upon them.

In Valien's case, her method was made so she could empower herself, along with all of her allies within range of her, with an additional verse that could be sung to release these limitations until one wished to self-impose their set limitations upon themselves once again. This is why one couldn't replicate what they were doing and expect any effects unless they were the person themselves. Even Kylandras herself had a release mechanism, but that didn't come with the visual effects of chains groaning under a hidden strain, like the four Hunters' chains did, as the illusion didn't need to influence all five senses as it did for Valien, Haldor, Varad and Leiot. Rather it accompanied the sound of those chains being shattered with a-

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▅▆▆▇▇███"

Roar that could be heard miles away, doing nothing to her allies in fact, it would do nothing but inspire them, bolstering them and rallying them together, but any whom dared make themselves her enemy, it inspired nothing short of complete and utter terror. (Un)fortunately for her foes, they were a Swarm, mostly rushed into production like machinery, cold, unfeeling, unfearing and unhesitant to charge forth, kill and consume whatever was in their path. The same sound of chains shattering as hidden strength was reclaimed once more like an old veterans sword, unused, but well-maintained and honed. If you were to look upon the four Hunters now, one would be looking upon the unchanged, fel-rune covered forms of three of the four one moment, and the next? Something else, something that wasn't remotely Night Elf or Blood Elf stood there now.

Metamorphosis. The abrupt, rapid, and in this case, instantaneous change body structure, all the way down to each individual cell.

This wasn't to say that some traits of these beings weren't present still, but this was a metamorphosis on a scale that could only be matched by those who'd spent millennia with demonic power coursing through their veins. Each one was different, changed on to become the demon-aspect of what they were, a reflection of what they'd look like as a demon. It was like looking in a mirror, only to see a copy of you if you were another race, from your mannerisms, to the way one spoke. Each of the four newly changed beings didn't speak for a moment, focusing on adjusting to the power they can wield when unrestrained by limits that'd been set.

The first was Varad, his body become around ten foot...eleven feet in height, clothes pulled taut under the size and musculature of a balanced athlete, a body made to maintain a high level of speed that could only be matched by the quickest of demons. A speed to outrun any demon belonging to the Burning Legion. His armour had changed to fit his form, providing adequate protection from anything that wasn't made to contest with demonic beings. His weapon had changed as well, changed by its wielders will imposed onto it into a weapon at best suited him, a scythe all the same, but it seemed to have a looming feeling, a sharpness that seemed to make the air whistle as it brushed by it. Foreboding sharpness that could split, whatever it was put in the path of, on the molecular level. Slothfulness that came from being unrivalled by anything but his greatest foes. Acedia.

"Nnnn...Man, it's always so uncomfortable doing the full-Metamorphosis all at once." The voice that spoke was smooth, with a level of strength that seemed to match the lax attitude Varad possessed.

Haldor's change was much like him, standing tall over Alliance and Horde races alike at fifteen feet in height, his body looked as if it sculpted in such a way that even the hardiest of Warriors and Paladins would be jealous. Strength to withstand the mightiest of blows and still keep marching forwards, ready to sunder swathes of demons with a single blow. The armour he wore had changed like Varad's own whereas he wore light plate-mail in order to better protect his body, was a thin, yet deceptively dense, chainmail-like shirt. Lower clothing consisted of a kilt of the same chainmail running down to his knees, movement wasn't necessary when one aimed to withstand the hardest blows a demon could belt out. Plated boots pushed earth away in a solid imprint wherever he moved. Overall, his armour was no longer the heavy(for a normal Illidari's kit) plate-mail that covered most of his form, skin freely on show now, after all, what armour could match scales that could break many a demon-forged weapon? His weaponry had changed as well, his shield was a solid bulwark upon which none but the strongest weapons, that were forged by the Titans themselves, could dent, demonic runes lined every bevel and line, it was like one had stacked numerous heater shields, from the largest to the smallest, atop of each other, fused them together, smoothed and melded them together in such a way that it was one solid shield, complete with the standard Illidari Inquisition motif to it. His flail, it'd become a weapon that would fill foes with dread, and impending doom for one who was unlucky enough to be struck by its spikes, the ball itself was now double its relative size to him, as using the chain to inflict damage would only be usable upon larger beings that required that calibre of weaponry. Avarice to protect all that he held dear. Avaritia.

"I ain't complainin'. Oh this is going to be fun." Haldor's voice possessed a deep, baritone tone to it, almost like rocks grinding against one another, but possessing a commanding quality to it, as it to rally his allies to stand behind him and let the enemy break their body upon his shield.

Valien's change fitted her to perfection, where there was a tall(average for her kind), six foot Night Elf previous. Now, there stood, at the height of thirteen feet, a demonic being whose body could only be described as elegant, a body that a succubus would be jealous of was what she possessed. Muscles just hidden behind a layer of skin, helping to provide a silken smooth finish to her appearance. But when she tensed, one could easily see muscles that could easily tear a tree apart when used correctly. A battle-dress was what Valien wore, made to allow the entire range of movements within her body while still protecting the immobile parts of her body that still, despite her even more enhance dexterity, couldn't move. It matched her to utter perfection: A dexterity capable of out-classing even the wiliest of demons, which could run circles around a normal Azerothian-borne being. Her weapon, it changed the least out of all four Hunters. In fact, the only thing that did change was the normal size of it and the properties that it possessed. All of the damages that'd managed to find purchase upon it looking like they were intentionally forged into it. Pride to be without equal in skill against her foes. Superbia.

"I don't see how either of you can find such power to be so refined, such an inelegant form." Smooth as silk, yet possessing a low, gentle treble that stirred baser emotions, Valien's voice possessed a tone of a sultry grace and maturity that seemed to attest to a fact that she was so much better, The Professional, and experienced Hunter that had served Illidan's cause.

Leiot's was much tamer to his fellow Illidari, only shifting in height four feet from his usual five foot eight inches, to ten feet height even. But that didn't mean he any weaker than his friends and compatriots. Rather, whereas his strength didn't come from his body, and more from the various runes and enchantments that were tattooed onto his body where they were needed. His change was more internalised, a magical core from which he could draw upon archaic, lost magics to use in combat against his enemies. There was a look in those eyes, behind those glasses of his, that seemed to analyse anything that they beheld, if it was a foe, it determined how best to eliminate his targets, regardless of number. His pistols hadn't changed at all, except for growing in size to better fit him along with his clothing, his suit perfectly fitting his form and giving him a demonic butler kind of look. Insatiability for all knowledge to better destroy the Burning Legion. Gula.

"My Lady, I don't think you could ever look inelegant, regardless of how strong our Metamorphosis forms are. But I concur, it is rather...unpleasant to do the Full-Awakening, as I think Commander coined it, in one go. But..." A voice that held a refined, informed tone to it, one of class and intellect unmatched by only those who had seen or knew as much as he did, trailed off.

All four Hunters inspected themselves, taking just half a minute to run through forms and motions to better accustom to their changed bodies. Leiot finishing what he said as he once-overed his magic pistols. Legion-bane looked up at the approaching reinforcing army that, fearful but still mindlessly determined, approach them along the path to their objective.

"As she is releasing her own limiters, I'd prefer we eliminate our targets and complete our objective with all due haste. One wouldn't want to see Commander accidentally harm her own in her Wrath of War state." The other three simultaneously winced, knowing how well each other embodied one of The Seven Deadly Sins.

"Ugh, well now I want to actually get this done now. Leiot, you got a battle-plan ready?" (Varadin)

"Naturally, although given more time I could find even better information to better complete our objectives." (Leiot)

"Well get to it then! These brainless demons think we're with'em right now, gonna need ta smash through all this...right?" (Haldorin)

"For once, I agree, as graceless as it is, cutting through them will give our forces more time to defend against the swarm." (Valienkros)

Seamlessly communicating, without any discord, a mentally voiced spell from Leiot transmitting the information of the Hunters' plan to his teammates and the leaders of the Ashtongue, Coilskar and Shivarra(Matron Mother Malevolence), who would then act accordingly to aide in the accomplishment of their objectives. With all the necessary preparations all complete, the four active Deadly Sins readied their weapons, and charged towards their targets, unwilling to let any demon in their path stand in the way. As to the army-sized reinforcements that'd been deployed, having unknowingly marched towards the four Hunters until they'd seen the motif each was adorned with upon their clothing? Well, let's just say that a slaughter was a kind way to describe how all of those demons, from Imps to Doomguards, were put down like the horrid, destructive creatures they were.

End of chapter 2: Seizing the Sargerite Keystone, Pt.2.

(*) Shortened Names for the sake of I can't really be bothered to write it all the damn time. Yes, I am lazy.
(**) Ditto for this one too.

Author's Note:

5000 words, whooo! What a doozy! Was feeling particularly inspired today, so I thought that I'd spend the entire day writing! Quite a fun way to channel out some energy, although my hands are getting tired now from the constant typing now. Anyway! I do so hope that you, my fellow reading enthusiasts have enjoyed this chapter. I don't think I'll churn out a chapter as quickly as within a day, but I will at least try to work on the next chapter each day, so it'll, hopefully, be muuuuch longer than this one when its released. Don't forget to drop a review if you like the story so far, I know I'll have gotten something wrong, I don't doubt that at all, but I shall strive to make sure the next one is even better if this one is lacking! This chapter was mainly fuelled by my listening to all of the OST's to Berserk (2016), so look it up and see what you think of reading it with those songs playing as well.

Additional Disclaimer, I don't own the franchises World of Warcraft or berserk or any kind of reference to a series or story that any of my writing came from. I stress this so I don't get hit with anything 'cause I can't really afford that kinda crap. Anyway, that's all for now, and I'll see you all in the next chapter of:

A Tale of an Odd Illidari, Ja ne!