Truly, the Crusader had become Wrath incarnate. Charging at the beast, he met its attack head on.
Wielding both Fire, one of the base elements of Creation, as well as Akarat's Holy Light he was more than an even match for the foul construct in front of him. As he charged the necromantic beast with hammer raised, bolts of holy lightning impacted all around him. During this so called Holy Blitz holy lightning converged upon his hammer as well, each time it was brought down on the beast. However - much to the Crusader' s surprise - the beast, by now nearly nothing but a writhing blob of flesh, jaws and tentacles, blocked each and every one of his attacks by making skillfull use of its many bladed tentacles. Not that the Crusader seemed to care - the last time he had felt this kind of thrill during combat was when he and a Demon Hunter had fought the Prime Evil atop the Silver Spire. As he dodged and blocked the monster's bladed appendages, he pondered a way to bypass the demon's defences and realized he would have to finish this quickly, for he was getting fatigued and was sustaining many wounds. Though slighty offset by the fact that he had assumed the form of the avatar of Wrath and thus was capable of some regeneration, it would not allow him to outlast the damage he was sustaining...
And then a idea hit him. A grin appeared on his face ( or would have, if the Crusader hadn't looked like a spectral giant wearing flaming black armour ) and he focussed, starting to recite a chant whilst blocking and dodging as many attacks as he could. "You are quite a disgusting, resilient thing aren't you? You did a good job making me work for it and I actually had fun, as much as I hate to admit it. Now... this might come as a shock, but this the end! " As he finished his sentence, he grabbed ahold of multiple tentacles and squished them in his fist as tightly and snugly as possible whilst shouting to the heavens. "Akarat, temper my will with your righteous fury! Imbue my rage with the winds and allow Sanctuay to soar once more! "
Not a moment later, a blue bolt of lightning struck both the warrior and the demon - just in time as well, for one of the demon's many fanged mouths had started to elongate and its sharply forked tongue had nearly managed to reach him. The avatar's armor had turned a blackened blue, now crackling with natural lightning and electricity - leaving the demon stunned in every sense of the word. The warrior let out a laugh and proceeded to taunt it, stepping on one of it's limp appendages and crushing it. "It's not often I have to switch the elemental affinities of my avatar form. Needless to say, it is often quite a shock to my enemies when they find out I am capable of utilizing the elements of Fire and Lightning in their base forms as well. " The beast, stunned out of a mid-air lunge, could do nothing as the warrior started hammering down on its tentacles, one by one, whilst they were still incapable of regenerating. Raising his hammer high to the skies and infusing it with lightning for one final, crushing blow the Crusader let out a raging roar and brought the hammer down...
... only to be stopped at the last second and promptly be transformed back to normal.
Falling on one knee and using his hammer to support himself, he realized he did not have enough wrathful energy left to maintain the form. Worse still - the fatigue was starting to kick in and the demon was still alive. Wounded and enraged, the hideous blob was starting to inch towards the wounded Crusader and the unconscious Necromancer. "Well... I guess at the very least, the next person to have to deal with your ugly, sewn-together carcass is going to have an easier time finishing you. It would appear Akarat decrees my service completed... I'd hoped for a death a bit more heroic though. " The Crusader gathered his last remaining strength, readied his weapon once again and steeled himself for one final attack whilst shouting "Come and get me, infernal spawn! You may kill me, but my apprentice shall carry on the Crusade in my stead! " The demon lunged at him - only to be utterly brutalized and beaten down by a massive golem made of bone and flesh. Craning his neck to the right, the Crusader started to grin. "Well well, friend. Finally awake from your little dirtnap? " "My apologies, Crusader. It would appear I was out cold for a bit. Tend to those wounds... I shall send this wretched spawn back into the void from whence it came and put an end to this walking imbalance! "
Such were the words of the Necromancer, who had finally recovered consciousness and was now chanting the most forbidden spells known to the priests of Rathma. "Decay and rot! Rathma is on my side, and you shall make a fine offering to add to the cycle! " Having shouted his declaration of war, undead started to flood the area. Tombstones started to appear around the monster whilst multiple varieties of skeletal monsters rose from the ground and bones were ripped from the monster itself to serve as armour for the priest of Rathma. "Let us see how good your necromantic assimilation truly is, balance breaker! Face the strength of one empowered by Rathma himself! " Knowing the being could only assimilate flesh and had just lost it's remaining bones to the Necromancer, he was confident in his victory. Skeletal archers and mages alike started to pelt the wailing blob as hordes of doomed souls rushed it and started tearing into it. Watching the spectacle, the Crusader whistled, though he was not quite sure how to feel about this disturbing scene. "I'm going to have to repeat what I said before - I do NOT agree with your methods, but I cannot deny their effectiveness. 'Tis a good thing we are on the same side, for I might have had trouble with your armies. On the plus side though, it would be pretty nice to fight enemies that don't feel the need to scream so much... my ears are still bleeding from all the screaming those demons and angels did... "
At the end of it, the demon's original body was regurgitated out of the blob of flesh as it exploded, expelling it with brutal force. Yet it appeared it still wasn't enough - though missing nearly all of it's legs and arms it slowy but steadily crawled its way over to them whilst absorbing whatever unlucky corpse was still in its way. Summoning a dark spectral scythe - his own weapon had been broken in the scuffle - as the horde of minions turned to dust and ectoplasm the Necromancer found himself nodding in agreement. "Untill today I would never had thought it possible but I agree with you, warrior of Zakarum. Both of us individually are strong and would likely end up killing each other at the same time if we were to ever face off, but together we are a perfect embodiment of the balance this world requires. Offense and Defense. Light and Dark. Might and Magic. Now, let us finish this! " Jumping forward in a ferocious lunge, he swung the scythe at the mutant demon's chest, slicing away a part of the protective carapace that kept its sunken head hidden. "Crusader! I shall imbue you with my remaining stamina - imbue your hammer with lightning and crush its face! " As the Necromancer finished speaking, he held his hand to his chest, ripping out a blood-red spectral orb. Visibly pained but unhindered he threw it at the Crusader, who absorbed it. "Very well. Remember though... the glory belongs to us both! Neither of us could have done this without the other and don't you dare say otherwise! " And once more, the Crusader hefted his hammer to the sky, imbueing it with natural, unaltered lightning. With a deafening crash the warrior teleported into the air, wearing his trademark snarky grin. "Don't mind me... just felt like dropping by! Give my regards to the other spawn I've sent back to hell. " The Crusader looked like he was having the time of his life whilst he was falling back down - a laugh that was replaced with a look of seething rage as he came crashing down onto the enemy, hammer first.
With one final inhuman scream as its weak point was caved in, the monster lay vanquished and smoldering for all to see.
"Well done friend. Could not have done this without you. " As the Crusader fell onto his back, panting and wheezing, he addressed the Necromancer who was similarly keeled over and gasping for air. "Likewise, Crusader. I cannot help but think we were supposed to meet, that fateful day in New Tristram. Perhaps Rathma... or even your prophet, has set this in motion. " Both Necromancer and Crusader looked deep in thought, unsure of what the next day would bring. The only thing that both men knew for sure was that something was afoot, and it would likely be up to them to set right the balance once more. And as the Crusader nodded in affirmation, both men stood up, dusted themselves off and limped back to the fort to get some well-deserved rest and healing.