' = Internal dialogue

¨= Normal speech

* = Sounds / Etc

-Chapter 73-

—

—Shandris Feathermoon PoV—

—

As fast as my legs could carry me, I made my way toward where my mother was having a meeting with the orcs, the tall man, and the female archmage.

'That tall man feels familiar...' I thought as for when I had been making my rounds around the area, I saw him being escorted by one of the mounted hippogryph commanders.

I opened the front entrance and kept rushing through the building until I came to a halt when I saw who was coming my way.

It was the tall man and the female walking at his side, and at that moment, I froze up entirely when I felt his gaze on me.

The both of them just walked past me after explaining something to the attendees of the meeting behind them before walking past me with a calm and steady pace.

I finally awoke from my stupor when the two orcs ran past me, and when I walked into the meeting room, I was met with an eery silence except for a few druids talking quietly in the back while mother was having a serious conversation with the guardian and Malfurion.

Fendral Staghelm and his faction were also moving out of the room with an unnatural air about them while Mother, Malfurion, and Cenarius were discussing something serious, considering how Mother looked at Malfurion.

As I got closer, I managed to hear what was being said, "The barrier should have had several hours of magic powering it up by now!

I never thought I'd agree with something an orc would say, but we must go on the offensive! Now!" Mother explained with evident frustration in her voice, which was soon answered why when Cenarius gazed into the ceiling as if studying something while Malfurion sighed.

"The world tree and the defense of the well is our top priority. The more of our people we can evacuate further away from the tree and onto the evacuation tunnels, the more we can focus on preventing any of these from falling into the Burning Legion's hand.

I do not like letting one with a supreme blessing rush into battle as much as you do, but do not let your emotions control you, dear." Malfurion explained.

"Not joining them on the offensive right now is like abandoning the allies that have come to our aid! Suppose we do nothing but flee and delay the inevitable.

In that case, there will never be an end to this madness until the Burning Legion destroys our home! Suppose you ask me to let our allies die for our cause while we cower!

In that case, we are no better than the Highbo-" Mother shouted in anger before she was interrupted. "Calm yourself, High Priestess." Cenarius interrupted as his entire being swelled with power.

"Your daughter is here for guidance. Meanwhile... I will prepare to do what is necessary in the defense of Nordrassil." Cenarius states with finality in his voice.

"Both you and Malfurion are forbidden to enter the battle until I say so and guard the Scythe and the Horn from unwanted hands, as these items will ultimately be our last resort if The Burning Legion succeeds in breaking through our defenses." Cenarius then sighed and explained in a tone that established clearly that this was an order.

"And no, Malfurion, the hour of indecisiveness has passed; even with your past with this artifact, we cannot afford to stay our hand if the worst circumstances come true," Cenarius explained with a sigh.

"You are to retreat further into the tree, as we need you both there when the people need guidance.

And for if or when you are required to use either Horn or the Scythe of Elune..." Cenarius continued as he started walking out of the hall, and for a brief moment, his eyes met mine, and I felt a shiver go through my body due to its intensity.

"Await my signal..." Cenarius said while he smiled weakly for a moment before resuming his walk toward the exit.

"Shandris!" Mother exclaimed loudly as she rushed toward me and embraced me. I returned the hug in kind; after a moment, she distanced herself slightly as she held my shoulders firmly with both hands and commanded, "Gather your Shadowleaves and move out to defend our people; we will withdraw further into Nordrassil; we have no time to lose." I nodded firmly and saluted, then rushed out of the building to gather my warriors.

{Shadowleaves = The name of Shandris's Sentinel squad.}

The screams of pain and sorrow in the distance were like arrows into my heart.

The invaders were gaining on the currently fleeing people unfortunate enough to be directly beside the now-broken barrier.

Most likely, they were sure that nothing could break through but were quickly proven wrong once the invaders managed to break through by some unknown means.

'There is no more time!' I thought as I saw Shindrell and Illiyana run toward the noise while Kalen and Lylandor were not far behind.

So I ran after them and whistled loudly to get their attention.

It worked, and they slowed down slightly, allowing me to catch up as they prepared their bows.

"What are we to do, captain!?" Shindrell said in a tone filled with anxiety.

"We are to defend our people as they retreat further into Nordrassil and onto the evacuation route! First, we find the backline and defend from there!" I shouted while they followed in tense silence.

Luciel and Selarin now approached from the side and reached for their bows as they followed, indicating that they had heard my command.

Within moments, we were about to rush through the smoke-filled area where the barrier was previously placed; several scorched corpses of demons and several people lay by the houses near the barrier as several children wailed while hugging the still-smoking corpses of their mothers and fathers.

I felt something shatter inside me as I was reminded of times long passed.

I felt my left eye start to tear up, and I wiped it instinctively with my armored sleeve the moment we got to the other side of the smoke-screened area.

The moment we entered, however, Shindrell let out a shuddering gasp at the sight, "B-by E-Elune!" What we saw was the tall, dark-cloaked male who walked beside the female human earlier, rip off a satyr's head, and then proceeded to shove it down the throat of a demon as he swung his arm in a backhand toward another tall armored demon who approached with its carved blade aiming to impale man through his back.

The demon had no idea what hit it before it exploded into a bloody mist.

The cloaked man's left hand whipped toward it and then aimed with something that shot a projectile too fast for the eye to follow as a clear line of demons was opened up by the silent impact, leaving a clear line of pure destruction and flames that crackled manacingly in a circular area around it.

The tall man fought as if possessed. I couldn't help but gape in awe while watching the man as he systematically annihilated the incoming waves of the enemy, while in the distance, a humongous demon stood and stared intensely as if waiting for the cloaked one in front of us to make his way to him.

With surprising speed, the man rushed toward an infernal creature of fire and stone standing between them.

Before realizing what the man did, I saw the creature break apart as its fires lost their intensity.

Then, it lost its fiery gaze as it dimmed, and whatever had held the creature together faded with its eyes losing their green luster.

The 5-story tall creature fell on its back, crushing dozens of imps and several other vile creatures in its wake.

"C-captain! We must get back and evacuate the surviving ones near the barrier!" Illiyana shouted as she, too, was gazing at the sight before us with apprehension and fear.

Her knuckles had turned white as she grasped her bow as hard as she could in an attempt to collect herself.

"Y-yes, let's-" I started to say, but then I saw a gigantic fiery projectile coming directly at our location. Then, before I could grasp what was going on, a wall of earth had risen up before us.

Resulting in the comet-like fireball crashing into it with a resounding *BOOOM* as the ground shook violently, which made my sentinels fall backward with sweat coming down their foreheads in the realization that whoever put the wall up in front of us had saved all our lives.

But I stood and gazed at the wall that stood tall before it crashed forward, revealing a scorched area between us and the man butchering the demons, with the man in question glancing back briefly and smirking as he gazed at me before he turned back to resume rushing at the demons.

This effectively halted their advances in our most vulnerable moment before our own forces could come and hold the demons back.

While all this happened, I was hyperfocused on the sight until Illiyana tugged at my hand as her own shook, "W-we need to move... now!" I shouted, and no one in my squad had any problem with that as we rushed back toward the smoke-filled area.

I couldn't help but glimpse back one last time.

The large back of the man with his dark cloak flickered violently as he attacked the forces of the Burning Legion, assaulting our home.

The magic around him made the entire area seem like an earthquake had struck it before it stopped.

It was then a bright white flame rushed down the mountain in a line, ripping through roughly a thousand demons in a fraction of a second, but that was not the end of it as every demon hit, were all ignited, and the white flame devoured them before they exploded into nothingness. 'Such... strength...' I thought to myself as I gazed toward the figure who effortlessly slaughtered himself through our enemies before I rushed through the smoke, amazed by the sights I had seen these few minutes of my very long life.

—

—[Medan PoV]—

—

I never thought I'd do this much damage with such minimal use of my abilities.

The titles and passives are now showing their actual value as I butchered myself through the forces of demons and undead with ease.

The latter seemed to start developing slight apprehension as they watched their forces be ripped to shreds.

Still, as if that was not enough, every ability I had was being enhanced to an insane degree by my arcane magic alone.

Even when I fought the Pit lord underneath the world tree, I failed to notice how easily they fell apart.

Even the previously grinning demon in the distance, who looked mighty sure of himself only moments ago, had a stern-looking grimace as I butchered my path toward him.

I could have sworn that I could hear some nostalgic music in the back of my head about a fellow slayer of demons doing what needed to be done. Oh yes, 'RIP AND TEAR' I thought with slight amusement at the reminder of something long passed as I tore off the head of a satyr with a wet squelch, the satyr in question who apparently lacked the mental capabilities to know that there was something in the world that claws couldn't stop.

As a wrathguard appeared behind the satyr, I rushed towards it with the satyr's head in my arm and elbowed the demon in the chest. Feeling the crunch of bones at the chest caving in, I shoved the satyr's head down its sharp maw, making it gurgle incoherently as it was trying to heave for breath that just wouldn't get to its lungs.

Suddenly, I felt a few eyes on me from where the barrier was, 'Do the elves seek death actively or what!?' I thought as I conjured my revolver and empowered it with 15% of my overall mana that would instantly recover due to the rich mana around me.

Further down the hill, I spotted several warlocks frantically trying to conjure portals to keep their forces from dwindling, so that is where I fired a literal line of death, evaporating every single demon in that particular direction.

The ones struck simply combusted due to the fire I put into the conjured bullet and then exploded violently outwards to wreak more death over the demonic forces.

Suddenly, I saw a giant fireball some Shivarra demon had been casting seemingly for several minutes as it flew through the air.

Instead of it going towards me, it was heading toward the squad of suicidal elves just standing there and observing the carnage.

'Ah, that's Shandris, isn't it? Barely recognized her with that armor... well, can't let the daughter of Tyrande die because I was lazy now can I...' I thought as I stomped my foot and ejected tons of magic through the ground in front of them, which shot up as a solidified wall of stone more compact than elven metal.

Another spear came through the air, aimed directly at my chest. I caught the spear and used the force to twist it around and send it back toward the Doomlord in the distance with twice the momentum.

And just as it was going to impale the previously cocky demon spawn through the head, it managed to twist it away slightly due to a barrier of sorts that appeared out of nowhere.

The barrier shattered like glass, but that was enough for the Doomlord to evade the spear-like missile. However, he lost his left horn and wing in the process.

As I felt the wall of earth behind me, which covered the elves shatter due to the lack of mana put into it after cutting the magic from the ground, I turned back only to see three utterly terrified elves while Shandris stood there with... fascination and awe?

'Man... these elves are some truly twisted creatures, aren't they...' I thought and gave the squad a brief smirk before I leaped toward the most significant cluster of demons besides the Doomlord, who was attempting to recover itself.

—

—Jaina PoV—

—

As Medan flew off with surprising speed directly toward where the impact broke down the barrier, I completed the conjuration of my enhanced water elementals.

Just as I was going to follow, I felt the magic in the air spike to insane levels before a cloud of greenish-black started to take shape far up in the distant sky.

'Well, it seems that I can't follow Medan for now...' I thought as I felt the familiar magic of my previously deceased mentor near said cloud.

This only made me more certain that whatever was going on in the sky had to be stopped, no matter the cost.

Pulling my mount from my inventory, I encased the entire item in a thick layer of mana.

Just in case my mentor would attempt to dispel the flying enchantments on it.

This so-called spell of mine was something different than the basic enchantment we had used this far.

This one was based on elemental air magic, which Medan uses for his flight.

His magic is the kind that works on instinct and intent; hence, the magic he uses for flight is drawn from the environment plus from within himself, effectively creating an enhanced spell for flight.

This inspired my new spell to avoid dispelling it by a simple counterspell or, light forbid, a spell steal.

After conjuring my staff, I similarly put the flight spell on my elementals.

They levitated alongside me as we started ascending to the sky.

As I approached the magical cloud of growing magics, I saw the tell-tale signs of a forced teleportation spell surrounding it.

Having dealt with precisely this during my tutilage under Archmage Antonidas, I systematically dispelled its weak points as I kept my ascent steady toward the cloud, which by now was clearly not the cloud displayed earlier.

Instead, it turned out to be something I did not foresee.

'It does explain why the barrier itself went down ahead of time,' I thought as I stared at a putrid green heart placed inside a container surrounded by runes glowing and green iron with growing apprehension.

The runes in question were old arcane runes, specifically the ones Antonidas had been researching for decades.

My hands shot into action as I weaved my runes to overwrite the process unfolding in front of me, as the runes in question... were the ones of untold destruction if left alone.

This was yet another thing that the legion had disrespected in the wake of my mentor's death, taken his dear work and turned it into what he would have done everything to prevent from seeing the light of day.

As the heart inside the container thumped furiously, I felt I was running out of time.

And I was correct in that assumption as something inside the runed container clicked, the world around me turned white as I drew the majority of my mana into shaping a glacial prison around the container after realizing that whatever I was doing to the runes would not prevent it from doing its purpose.

My two elementals threw themselves into the spell-like shell I was forming as I blinked backward to get some distance between me and the rune-infused bomb with some kind of demonic heart powering the enchantments.

'If this goes off at this altitude... I have a feeling that there will be no drastic consequences for the forces down below...' I thought, then felt, and heard a *THUMP* from the item inside the growing ice glacier in the air.

All sounds in the distance turned mute as I saw the green light emanate from the bomb inside the ice. I pushed even more mana into the glacier in response as sweat ran down my brow upon feeling the strain of pushing at least half of everything I had into it.

I could feel my ice being torn down from the inside, as this bomb's nature was not magical in nature... no, this was my mentor's iconic rune magic knowledge being pulled into the mix and then applied to fel-magic. I then panicked slightly when I noticed the putrid green color growing with increased intensity.

'I need to get this thing away from here!' I thought frantically as I felt the connection to one of the elementals that inserted themselves into my ice fade.

*SCREEEECH* Sounded out in the near distance, which I ignored as all my focus was on the task before me. I had forgotten that there were undead dragons in the sky outside the barrier.

'I got one shot... let's see what this spell creation thing is good for!' I thought as I mentally combined the flight spell of Medan and my self-made glacial barrier.

—

[Cryo-Aerokinesis- Spell Crafted.]

Description: By combining the advanced application of water, ice, and the primary elemental air, you have developed a spell that should, by all means, be a passive ability.

But due to the lack of [ERROR]you instead gain a the spell-variety of said passive.

-You can now create cold air/wind from existing sources and utilize this ability as you see fit. The variety of ways this spell can be used will depend on the user's imagination alone.

-The cost of the spell goes up depending on use after casting. : Only [1] application of this skill can be used simultaneously. [15 seconds cooldown after each use.]

—

I cast the spell the moment I combined the spell and glanced over the text that popped up in my vision. I felt able to control the air around me, which was strangely alien, but Then I forced that feeling aside as I froze a hundred meters around me instantly.

The bomb was now close to breaking down the remaining ice around it with increased fervor as the greenish light got brighter with each passing second.

I shouted as I grasped the entire airborne glacier with my magic and threw it with all my might directly toward where I heard the undead dragon from earlier.

At first, it refused to budge, but it gained momentum slowly, and the harder I pushed.

It kept gaining momentum to the point I heard a *BANG* as the bomb collided with the undead dragon as it joined the glacier in its increasing distance from myself.

I panted as I fell to my knees over the momentary feeling of weakness. As soon as I looked into the distance where I sent the object and the dragon that followed, I was blinded by green light, then an intense shockwave that almost sent me flying backward if it weren't for the fact that I froze my feet to the surface.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*Sounded out far into the distance, which made the wind around me flare up as I was struck by the force worse than tens of arcane explosions put together into one.

It had to be noted that I was outside where the barrier had faded, quite far away too, because I had to get momentum enough to throw the 50-meter tall and wide glacier containing the bomb.

I only hoped that our forces had avoided the blast radius as I felt myself rattled to the core and tasted the metallic taste of blood from my mouth.

'... I hope Medan is doing alright...' I thought as I sat down and took out a few health potions and homemade mana brew. Somehow, I never got around to removing the alcohol.

In this case, it was a bonus for me as I felt the elixir finally do its job, and I breathed out as the fuzzy feeling went through my body.

*SCREEEECH*

I sighed when the unholy wails of skeletal dragons sounded out in the distance, 'I guess I'll handle things in the air while Medan deals with whatever is on the ground...' I thought to myself as I cast my new spell all around me, turning the air into an arctic wind that turned even colder with the help of my other skills to the point of converging several hundred meters around me into a pure white as preparation before the horde of skeletal dragons could get closer.

—

—Medan PoV—

—

As I continued experimenting with my newfound strength against the unending forces of demons, I quickly gained a new understanding of the elements I had been using all this time.

I could utilize each and every element with just a thought. Unless said spell required a vast amount of mana to be cast, of course.

What I soon noticed was one alarming fact about said forces. However, there was barely any undead remaining after clearing the first few waves.

At first, I thought they might be further down the mountain. Still, after not seeing any sign of anything but skeletal dragons in the air, I truly started to question this.

As I was going to finish off a cluster of imps who had started casting their little firebolts, I looked up as my senses told me that something was off.

It was quickly proven right as a massive comet of ice with a green glow emanating from its core flew through the air as it collided with a skeletal dragon that shattered most of its form upon impact as it was trying to tear itself off the chunk of ice without success as it flailed about wildly.

Gazing at the projectile flying through the air at increasing speeds as it flew beyond a small cliffside, I felt it, the magic in the air... and the lack thereof in the distance where the thing landed before a green light lit up the entire mountain and a resounding *BOOOOOOOOM* followed.

Almost like a nuclear bomb, everything shook as the after-effects came soon after.

The imps I had previously prepared to butcher were thrown violently by said air currents into sharp stalactites I had previously prepared behind me to stop the demon advance as I continued to slaughter their forces.

'What the fuck was that?!' I thought with widened eyes as I could see the cliff that was previously standing tall just crumble to dust without even hearing any sort of impact when it came in contact with whatever crashed into it.

"ARGH! USELESS! EVEN IN DEATH INSECTS REMAIN INSECTS!" The previously injured Doomlord shouted in wrathful anger at whatever or whoever fucked up as its form swelled with newfound strength.

The Doomlord had now grown to double his previous size as he seemed to inhale small smog-like shapes that took shape all around him.

The feeling I got from those cloud-like shapes soon turned to apprehension as I could feel them radiate hate and rage. 'Souls...' I thought with a frown, but there was something not right about this. 'Is this why I felt something off earlier?

Are the demons using souls to power their rituals? Are the undead simply extra forces that are being used as fuel?' I pondered as I gazed at the Doomlord, whose magic lit up like a lightbulb in the abyss.

'No... those aren't souls...' I thought as I studied the shape for a moment.

They were reflections of the Doom lord, but it was hard to make out their exact shape as it was blurred.

I sighed. There was no reason to overthink this. Whatever they throw at me, I'll handle it like I always do... As it comes.

'Anyhow, time for experimenting is over.' I thought to myself as the Doomlord roared while the armada of demons roared with him with renewed vigor. However, I could still notice apprehension when certain species of demons gazed my way.

And if I were to take a bet on why, it was because those were the intelligent ones.

I sighed deeply as the magic around me stirred to life at my will. I directed my hands to each side as my revolver-like weapon returned to my inventory.

The entire mountain trembled briefly as I clapped both my hands together. There was no sound as small rocks, dust, and corpses shot outward, and for a moment, then the dumb ones started charging toward me, but their eyes widened a moment later as a brutal shockwave followed.

The nearest demons were flung backward like rocks skipping on top of water, leaving a trail of blood and gore in their way.

*CRACK*

Then the ground lifted itself up, revealing screeching crypt fiends and other half-crushed undead as the earth came to life under them.

They had no time to do anything else than screech and roar in fury as white flames drowned their bodies underneath the ground before being covered in earth and dirt once more.

I let my fire go wild for once, and what followed was an explosion of such a magnitude I was starting to doubt if the mountain would still be here when it was done.

*KABOOOOOOOOOM*

Several miles down the mountain, the earth was uplifted by fiery white explosions that seemed to have no indication of stopping as I followed the line of tunnels the undead had burrowed to become hundreds within moments.

Several cliffs and rock-like protrusions in the mountains going downward had also come loose and directly crushed thousands of demons upon collapsing.

"KILL HIM! NOW! The Doomlord yelled as he started running towards me from the distance.

As the demons closest to me started to rush at me with reckless abandon, their eyes became bloodshot, and thin vapor rose from their forms as they roared. 'Bloodlust?' I thought as I punched outwards, directly decapitating a satyr with only the force behind the blow alone.

And as I looked further down, I saw a significant increase in elite forces. All armored, wearing full plate and enchanted weapons.

'Stepping up their game, huh? I guess I'll do the same.' I thought as I stomped my left foot hard into the ground.

White vapor seemed to take shape in the air before it disappeared, and an icy cloud of death shot toward the nearby forces and turned them into sculptures in all but a brief moment.

It was safe to say that this was not the kind meant for healing as all signs of life of those within the ice faded almost as fast as they were encased in it.

Some survived by losing their lower half, but that was soon mended by their allies, who came rushing from further behind and killed them in a frenzy as they crushed them beneath their feet.

And before I knew it, the next wave of their forces was upon me, and their commander was not far behind.

The Doomlord was now only a few dozen meters away and swung his gigantic sword directly downward toward me. I sidestepped the swing and punched the blade at the exact moment I imbued myself with electricity.

A violent torrent of lightning coursed through me and into the blade that shimmered briefly as it was sent into the Doomlord, who were thoroughly electrified to the point smoke came off its scalp.

The blade itself broke off in the middle a moment later. Without missing a beat, I jumped toward the giant demon and kicked it in the side with enough force to hear the demon wheeze and bones break before he shot off into the rocky cliff to the side that had collapsed earlier.

*BOOOM*

The previously tall and mighty Doom Lord was now a groaning mess deeply embedded into solid stone, though the previous reflections that had disappeared once it was healed were now back.

Even the Doomlord's healing seemed to be lackluster compared to before.

The Doomlord kept spewing out gallons of blood while trying to get out of its rocky seat while I was still being rushed by the demonic forces.

Suddenly, I noticed something flying toward me from the side and realized I had no time to evade or warp away, so I conjured a wall of ice mixed with the earth as quickly as possible. Only to find it useless as I instinctively caught the incoming attack with both arms as it simply ignored the hastily put up barrier. *WOOOSH* The sound of air being split apart caught up to my ears as I felt myself fly off like a rag-doll by the sharp projectile that was centimeters away from impaling itself through my chest cavity while it burned with a sickly green.

*BOOOOOOOM*

The impact of flying into the rocky cliffs surrounding the world tree made me cough out blood as I strained myself to keep the weapon at bay.

I lay there stuck in the mountain while feeling the weapon continue to push me deeper into the rock surrounding me.

The weapon, which I now recognized as some sort of solidified spell, kept pushing as I held it at bay. The green fire kept trying to melt my fingers off.

The green flame found significant resistance as my own fought against it. Clearly, this was one level above my own fire, which I recognized when I felt my skin melt but quickly reform as I conjured several thin layers of ice around and inside my hands, which faded and went several times within a second. Something was powering the weapon in the distance, this much I knew as I saw a thin tendril of foul-green-looking mana lead toward a prominent entity in the distance.

I smiled with bloodied teeth as I recognized the one responsible for my brief injury.

'Archimonde.'

—

-Chapter 73 End-