' = Internal dialogue
¨= Normal speech
* = Sounds / Etc
-Chapter 72-
As I sat on top of a small flat branch on the world tree, I kept attuning myself to my magic and newly increased physical strength that had left me speechless when I had come to truly realize the difference, but before diving further into self-exploration, I instead decided to look at the recent kill notifications.
—
[Crypt Lord (Level 113) x149 Slain]
[Crypt Fiend (Level 71-93) x798 Slain]
[Crypt Stalker (Level 91-119) x1237 Slain]
[Arachnathid (Level 40-59) x1125 Slain]
—
—Level Up x16—
-Current Level: 188
—
—Status—
Level: 188
HP: 236,170
MP: 111,020
Strength: 788
Agility: 975
Stamina: 1,359
Intelligence: 985
Spirit: 601
—
My stats seemed to be getting along nicely, though I didn't check my attunement growth as I was distracted by something else when I brought my hands up in front of my eyes and could practically see the magic emanating from myself in waves.
Underneath my skin were veins of blueish-purple.
At first, I thought it was the arcane variety only, but when I tried to feel the change... I noticed that within were seven different kinds of threads woven into one another.
After feeling out each thread, I noticed that they all were similar to what I felt when I called upon fire, water, lighting, earth, and the arcane.
All this was something I concluded after my class ended up changing, now I felt much more attuned to the natural elements.
Turns out the arcane had a function of its own. It acted as an enhancer factor for me instead of a standalone attunement. The arcane was not to be mistaken as one of the natural elements but instead, as some sort of middle ground maintaining the balance between all.
Or at least that was my conclusion when I felt my newfound connection to all of these attunements, but that left two threads that I could barely even focus on for some reason. One felt... empty, as if aware and wanting me to avoid gazing at it too intimately.
The other thread was slightly brighter, as if comforting. Still, it refused to surface or show any indication of anything, confirming that the magic within was aware to a certain extent.
Whenever I tried to study these... two odd alien strands further, I felt my focus fade, and my mind reached a blank, unnatural state, resulting in me losing my concentration on what I was doing.
'Well, isn't that just fucking ominous...' I thought as I felt the hairs at the back of my neck stand up straight for a moment, though it soon faded when I realized there were more important things on the agenda than just feeling out my new, improved self.
Because, apparently, I had been spotted by several hippogryph riders who were currently drawing their bows while a figure below riding a fully armored variety shouted orders frantically with her eyes wide open in fear.
As I tilted my head slightly in surprise at the welcome I received, I heard an arrow come through the air. The slight movement was apparently enough to make one of the night elves fire her bow directly at my heart, which I, of course, caught with my hand with no effort as it came at a snail's pace in my perception.
"How did a demon get through the barrier!?" one of the hippogryph riders shouted as pandamonium ensued within their ranks, as now around 20 more riders shot out from below to assist their hippogryph riders.
"... Demon? Are you daft woman?!" I shouted, making the elf in question wince before pulling her arm up defensively in front of her face as if I were standing right in front of her when she was, in fact, around 100 meters below and gazing up at me.
What I did not know at that moment was that I projected a magical strength so far beyond what the incoming elves and hippogryphs ascending up toward me could handle, which made them buckle on their mounts.
The hippogryphs's eyes were wide open in primal fear of the predator before them, and some, if not all, had now stopped in the air, almost forgetting to flap their wings to stay airborne.
I groaned when I forgot about the gift Elune left behind.
Of course, I had to forget to toggle the damn thing on.
The change was immediate as the riders were still gazing at me wide-eyed, but that had changed from fear to reverence... and something else I would wish to avoid speaking about altogether.
"W-wh-who a-are you? " The leader among the squad of riders whispered carefully as she and her fellow riders approached while I casually backed away from the edge in a non-threatening manner to let them land on the makeshift platform of the flat area on the branch.
As most of the riders now were on the platform except for the ones their leader sent back down to inform whoever was in charge about the ongoing situation, I sighed then spoke, "I'm here on behalf of Sanctum." This made the elves look at each other questioningly before I facepalmed again.
Of course, the information about our newly named city has yet to reach the elves... I did, after all, decide on it just recently.
"... It's the new city in Azshara where Cenarius sent dryad seeds in order to prevent deforestation?" I told them in a questioning tone, but apparently, this made them look around at each other even more lost.
"... You all have no clue what I am speaking about, do you...?" I asked with a sigh, but as I was going to ask my next question, I was interrupted by one of the younger hippogryph riders who suddenly shouted, "Ah! The place where Lady Tyrande told us not to provoke needlessly!"
This made her fellow riders gaze at her all at once, making the elf look down toward the platform in slight shame at her outburst.
"Regardless... I'm not a demon, thank you very much. Can you, by any chance, lead me to a commanding officer or a leader of importance? We have wasted enough time on this... whatever this is."
The squad leader, armored with fancy silver armor that had the same color as her hippogryph, saluted and spoke, "Yes, Elune's chosen! Come with me right away!" The enthusiasm in her voice was unmistakable.
This situation was becoming weirder by the second.
After gazing at the elf with an odd look, which was promptly ignored, she and her squad mounted on their hippogryphs and expectantly waited for me to jump on.
I just shook my head and said, "Lead the way. I can follow without the help of a mount." The sheer disappointment radiating from the squad of females left me speechless as they lifted off.
I followed close behind as the air around me gently carried me along.
—
Turns out I had to deactivate the blessing's effects as I approached what I could only assume the base of operations was located; each night elf I passed after we landed on one of the hippogryph towers ended up freezing in their steps to gaze at me wide-eyed as we passed.
Apparently, the elves were quite sensitive toward a blessing given by Elune, which was only later explained to be due to the barrier encasing the tree, which was powered by her believers and priestesses of the moon.
Yet another thing that has changed since my arrival is the literal intervention of a deity, for good or bad... I did not like that a deity like Elune had eyes on me.
Regardless, I was now at least aware of this and would be more careful in the future.
"We have arrived, my Lord. This is as far as we can bring you." The silver-armored female captain explained as another night elf started to walk from the building toward us.
She seemed reluctant to leave as she kept glancing at me but soon sighed as she pulled down her helmet's front protector and left as the other elf came to stand before me.
"My Lord." The male night elf dressed in a blue and white robe said and bowed, "The Guardian of The Forrest has informed me of your arrival and wishes me to bring you toward where the council is currently taking place."
'Guardian of The Forrest huh... Cenarius? Must be...' I thought as I nodded and followed the man who walked with hurried steps toward the beautiful blue-ish giant tree which had been made into a base of sorts.
The escorting elf opened the large double doors and kept leading me further into the tree until we stood before another set of doors where several guards decked out in full plate armor and glaives at the ready guarded the entrance.
"Halt! The meeting is ongoing. There will be no inte-" The guard attempted to say before the man escorting me brought out a sigil of sorts and interrupted, "Bringing a VIP at the request of the Guardian, let us pass!"
The guards' weapons pointed toward the floor as they stood straight and opened the door without hesitation.
I was met by a large hall where a dozen night elf factions stood on the left side on a podium while Cenarius was in the middle and had a female night elf on his left and a male elf on his right.
The female wore a warrior priest uniform I had only seen once before; it strangely resembled what Elune wore. The female before me wore it in different colors, which were whiteish-silver,
She also had an intricately crafted bow stuck out from her back, green hair, intensely radiating blue eyes, and a white circlet adorning her forehead as she gazed at me in surprise.
That surprise soon made Cenarius and the male elf aware of the new arrivals, and they responded with varying responses.
Cenarius stared with an intensity I had yet to see from the Demi-god, and if I guessed correctly, he was aware that something had happened to me recently, which he would undoubtingly bring up when whatever this meeting would be over with.
The male elf, who looked to be a partly transfigured druid, just stared into my eyes as if looking at something I had yet to notice, which, of course, was the blessing of Elune even if I had turned it off.
The female night elf was frozen in surprise as she soon saw what the male one did. She was bewildered and curious but steeled herself to calm down momentarily.
Just as I was going to speak, I was encased in a steely embrace as Jaina blinked in front of me.
I returned the hug as I gazed toward Cenarius and the two elves beside him.
The meeting room had turned silent as most of the elven factions on the left side were stumped. Whatever was going on had come to a halt, leaving the entire hall in an awkward atmosphere.
Cenarius broke the silence, "... I am relieved to see you have finally arrived, City Lord of Azshara. We were in the middle of having a rather uncomfortable debate on our current situation. Mind joining us?" I nodded slowly in response as Jaina let the hug go.
She led us toward the chairs on the right, where Thrall and Grom Hellscream sat. The latter bored out of his mind but was suddenly gazing at me intently as if wanting to fight or something. 'Jepp, that's exactly what he wants...'
Thrall, however, stood up and smiled, reaching out with his hand.
I grasped it firmly, and we all sat down as the night elf side started bringing up the previous debate.
"The next time we have to power down the barrier, we simply cannot let these so-called orcs take charge! Last time, they could not even bring down the designated target!" A green-haired aged night elf druid said with evident disdain and frustration tinged in his voice.
"You say big words for an elf that has yet to enter battle! If you want to see orcish might then do you want a taste of my axe!?" Hellscream shouted indignantly, clearly not possessing the skill of keeping himself back.
Thrall had a hand on his shoulder the next moment to keep the aging orc back, as he was moments away from lunging at the elf while frothing at the mouth in barely contained fury.
Cenarius just glanced at the orc before looking toward the druid as he spoke, "The orcs have prevented significant loss of life within our own territory with their actions.
I do not condone the need to seek conflict as you are doing right now, Lord Staghelm."
This statement made the night elf in question back down. Then he looked at Cenarius, "The last time we allowed unknowns to lead, we ended up with less than satisfactory results for everyone included." Staghelm stated calmly as he sat down, but not before giving Jaina and me a glance before talking to some of the other elves at his side.
Now, the elf at Cenarius's right stood forward. After reigning in his previous astonishment at my entrance, he spoke, "The next wave is upon us shortly. Our resources to maintain the barrier are lessening as we speak."
The night elf female on Cenarius's left continued as he stepped back, "Lord Stormrage is right. This will be our last attempt at keeping the demons at bay. If anyone has a short-term solution, we will be in your debt."
The night elf called Staghelm took a step forward and snicked before saying, "Who would have thought we would resolve to beg these mortals for help when we already have the means to do so ourselves!?"
"ENOUGH." Cenarius interrupted as the entire hall shook, "We have already concluded that utilizing the Scythe is forbidden for a reason, Staghelm!" Malfurion Stormrage shouted as he bristled where he stood. Anger practically flooded him as he gazed at the non-yielding Staghelm.
"Yet here we are! Is it the regret that holds you back from saving your own people!? Or is it just your own damn self-pity Arch Druid Stormrage! We should not have the need to be cornered to utilize the lesser of evils if it can bring salvation in such dark times!" Staghelm shouted toward Malfurion in response to his previous statement.
"I. SAID. ENOUGH!" Cenarius shouted as the elven faction beside Staghelm fell to their knees due to the pressure in the hall.
"The use of the Scythe of Elune is forbidden due to its corruptive nature. The ones cursed by the weapon have never recovered from their blind rage.
How is it salvation for our people to convert themselves into beasts who can never recover from their bloodthirst?" Tyrande asked in reply for husband's stead.
There were clearly some undercurrents with the night elf faction that had no time and place for such a meeting.
Cenarius turned toward Jaina and me, who had just sat and listened to the so-called council.
It was clear on our faces that we were not impressed by the fact that the elves could not wait with the bickering that kept going after the mention of the Scythe of Elune. Still, thanks to their talk, I realized what the weapon in question actually was.
It was the weapon the balance druids got during the legion expansion in the game, basically a tooth of Goldrin on a stick, a wild god resembling a wolf.
"Lord Magna, Lady Proudmoore, I wish these were better circumstances. But as you have heard, any solution would be better than the ones brewing here since its beginning, so I ask both of you, do you have anything to add?" Cenarius said as he ignored the gasps of outrage from the night elf faction.
Malfurion and Tyrande gazed at us in newfound surprise at the Forest Lord's friendly tone.
Jaina looked at me, and I looked back before shrugging.
She then turned toward Cenarius and spoke, "We have reinforcements coming from Azshara within 12 hours. Both airborne forces, ground cavalry, but as it seems, they will arrive too late..."
Jaina was right; according to what the elves had said thus far, it was unlikely that they could no longer maintain the barrier after the next wave, or at least not without leaving the world tree behind, along with the majority of their forces to prevent the demons from giving chase.
After pondering the best solution to the elf's current problems, I gazed toward Cenarius, who noticed the look before I smiled and said, "What stops us from brute forcing it? Why cower behind this barrier when all it takes is someone like you, me, and Jaina to enter the fray?"
As I let Cenarius ponder those words for a moment, I continued, "I mean, seriously, I have probably killed around 2,000 undead demons within the last two hours alone. All they have are numbers.
I know for sure I took down one of their commanders and a considerable force underneath the world tree..." The last statement made the night elf faction go into an uproar before Cenarius stomped his leg on the floor and, for the third time within a short time, said, "SILENCE."
"Your words have merit. This way, we could prevent casualties among our own forces, but have you considered that this might be the enemy's plan all along? I have no doubt that they are also aware of the powerful figures inside the barrier, but that does not put their advances to a halt.
The reason I have yet to agree to such a straightforward plan is exactly that." Cenarius said after a moment of consideration.
"But what if this exact scenario that is going on right now is their hand? What if they carefully put such a plan together to prevent you or any powerful figures from entering the fray?
To just slowly thaw on the barrier until it no longer can hold their advance and then unleash whatever they have in wait?" I replied as Malfurion and Tyrande both wanted to respond to my questions. Cenarius tapped his chin for a moment.
"I have already considered this, Lord Magna. We simply cannot afford to do so due to a few factors that must be treated carefully, or this entire situation can end up a catastrophe beyond the scope of just losing Nordrassil," Cenarius replied.
"Bah! Too much talk! Open the fucking barrier and stop hiding like cornered vermin!" Hellscream roared in frustration at the discussion that was going on.
I nodded, turned my gaze back to Cenarius, and said, "For once, I agree with Hellscream, and-" *BOOM* distant sounds interrupted the rest of my sentence as I rose up from the chair with Jaina doing the same.
As the floor shook due to the shockwave that arrived, the decorations fell off the walls, I shook my head as Jaina and I made our way toward the exit with Hellscream close behind.
As we walked, I said, "Jaina and I will go on the offensive. I wish you all luck in the upcoming battle." I said simply as Cenarius, Tyrande, and Malfurion went into action as they picked up artifacts and prepared themselves for the upcoming conflict.
As we entered the hallway, Jaina whispered, "My... previous mentor is in the upcoming fight... he is wearing a purple kirin tor robe. If you end up facing off against him... can you leave him to me?
I should be the one to put him to rest... it is my duty as his former apprentice, after all..." Jaina explained as I felt her tense up briefly. I then just enveloped her with my arm in a one-armed hug. I replied, "Sure thing, I'll let you know."
As we walked through the exit of the building, the sky was lit up with green lights in the distance as they kept colliding with the blue barrier with increased intensity, which obviously resulted in panic and fear amongst the commoners and even some of the hippogryphs and their riders.
At the same time, however, they were being led further into Nordrassil to prevent casualties that would undoubtedly become reality when the barrier went down.
"Finally! Some action!" Hellscream said as he brandished his axe on full display and started running.
If it weren't for the fact that he charged in the opposite direction of where the barrier was weakening, I would have been impressed by his willingness to rush onto the battlefield.
'Oh well, at least he can cover the north section where there shouldn't be too many demons...' I thought with barely contained amusement when considering the sheer disappointment in waiting for the bloodthirsty orc.
A sigh was heard behind us as Thrall caught a glimpse of the veteran warrior charging ahead while also gathering his warriors, who quickly came to his side and ran after him.
"Good luck to the two of you. Don't die." Thrall said as he ran after his friend and mentor.
Suddenly, a gigantic green explosion flashed throughout the meadow as an audible *CRACK* resonated in the entire area.
And almost like a dome made of glass, cracks now filled the entire barrier as it started to break down like a house of cards. Soon, the barrier no longer covered the ground level as the cracks went upward to the sky, and the whole thing disappeared into thin air as flakes of blue faded out of existence.
*SCREEEECH* And with the barrier going down came the sounds of the undead dragons who dashed through the weakened barrier in the sky with a bloodcurdling noise as it tore a hippogryph and its rider to shreds as blood and intestines flew everywhere.
'So much for the barrier lasting for some more time, huh...' I thought as I gazed at the first casualty of the brutal night, which fell to the ground with a wet splat.
"Ana'duna thera!" Several elves who shot into the air with their mounts shouted with fervor as their mounts cried out as their home was being attacked.
I turned to Jaina, who looked at me knowingly as I did.
I smiled, and so did she, as I leaned down and kissed her, then said, "I'll be going ahead; I won't do anything I wouldn't do." I couldn't help but laugh at the response, which was a strained smile that turned into a smirk as her hands shot up into the air, as two water elementals appeared from the ground and slowly rose to triple Jaina's height.
While she did this, I shot off like a cannonball toward the broken barrier while hearing the fear and anguish already occurring in the area.
This time, I ignored the sounds as I gazed down the steep mountain path; thousands of demons of all kinds were spewing out of portals that seemed to be powered up by the help of sacrifices they had kept away beforehand.
How do I know that? Well, the fact that I could see hundreds of elves, satyrs, and several tribes of furlbog's being held up with their arms and hands bound into green poles made of pure fel iron while warlocks drained their bodies to the point of them turning into dust as they screamed and withered into husks of their previous selves gave me that impression.
Yet the forces below were as numerous as they were diverse: wraiths, skeletal dragons, abominations, imps, wrathguards, doomguards, felguards, shivarra's, and even a squad of geared elves with green glowing eyes and sharp weaponry.
Their mana felt corrupt and foul.
But my gut feeling... told me that this... was not nearly all their forces, and beneath the ground, I knew the crypt fiends lurked and would soon collide with the ground units of the elves unless something was done.
My face was stoic as I stood in the air and studied the incoming wrath of the Burning Legion, making their way up Mount Hyjal in order to reach Nordrassil to weaken the defenses of Azeroth and drain its power to open a portal for their forces.
Or so everyone thought, but it was, in fact, Archimonde who wanted to drain both the tree and the second well of eternity that Illidan had created in hopes of gaining power that rivaled Sargeras himself.
In the end, it was just one power-hungry bastard trying to become a god.
'So much death and destruction... for something so stupid.' I thought as I gazed down at the forces trying to convert Azeroth into a world engine so the Burning Legion could keep converting worlds to hellscapes of their desires.
Now I felt eyes on me as a spear came whirling through the air, aimed directly at my head. I responded by leaning slightly to the side, making it miss as it flew and crashed into a building in the distance.
As I turned to look at the one throwing the spear, I was met by the smirk of a Doomlord who unsheathed his sword and prepared himself by covering the blade in green fire as the Doomlord himself was enveloped by magic.
The magic around me turned heavy as I felt the area around me turn silent.
The enemies before me trembled as I pulled on my own magic.
My hand cannon-like revolver appeared in my left hand in a flash of blue light while my right arm was covered in white flames that burned the air around me to the point that I could see the nearest demons start having difficulty breathing while grasping for their throats.
'... Seems like someone is eager to die...'
-Chapter 72 End-