Journey (4): Balrogs?

Arthas didn't know whether to feel good or bad as they did not leave him behind despite him saying so. He sighed and decided to get over it as he extended his hand and gripped the wrist of the beast and backflipped gracefully to dodge its blade.

The beast roared in anger, how dare these mortals... It let out a bellow and the caves shook. An arrow pierced its shoulder, the beast ignored it as if it did not even feel the arrow. Legolas frowned as he took out several arrows and began a barrage, shooting them with deadly accuracy.

Gimli arrived at the battle but he was confused about what to do, on one hand, Arthas continuously dodged the demon seemingly on the defensive, on the other, Legolas shot arrow after arrow only for the beast to ignore them.

Gimli thought, 'A Demon of the ancient world... What a monster!'. However, Gimli felt that no dwarf should be lower than an elf in any area, so he brandished his weapon and charged toward the demon.

Aragorn, Boromir, and Gandalf arrived behind him. The walls were damaged as the floor, the demon was on a rampage and Arthas seemed to be in a passive position with a frown.

Aragorn and Boromir dashed for the beast's foot. Legolas kept aiming for the eyes but the beast evaded most of his arrows. Gimli searched and found his target, the tip of its demonic foot?

Gandalf saw the spectacle, 'If its Arthas... He might be able to do it!'.

Gandalf took out his staff and chanted from the old language, Quenya; In his had, a flaming ball appeared that grew bigger and bigger...

It grew to be as big as a watermelon and he tossed it at the demon. The flame was seven-colored with a hint of red in all, maybe it was the flame of Anor? Only he knew; for he was in the possession of the ring of fire.

The ball of fiery fire hit the demon's shoulder and set it ablaze, The Balrog crouched in pain and let out a blare of anger. Arthas used the chance to summon his power; He took a stance and put down Frostmourne, he knew that the corrupt soul of the Balrog would be a great risk to his plan if absorbed by the sword.

A sphere of light appeared in his hand, he crushed the sphere in his palm as he clenched it into a fist. The nearby surroundings vibrated due to the pressure released by his power, His hair gently fluttered as he brought his fist back.

His entire arm was engulfed in radiance, he jumped and punched the Balrog right in the middle of its chest just as the demon recovered from Gandalf's attack. The balrog seemed to have realized it beforehand, it raised its blade high and brought it down to kill Arthas.

Arthas saw the blade but he ignored it, Aragorn and Boromir reached the legs of the beast and swung with all their might. They cut the demon's legs and broke its balance, at the same time, Gimli brought his axe down upon the Balrog's foot, it cracked the protective layer but did nothing much, the axe got stuck there... Legolas finally managed to land an arrow on the eyes of the beast, it blinded its left eye. The beast could not dodge or evade as it was focused on Arthas.

The right shoulder of the Balrog was scorched. Even though it was a creature of fire, it still burned under the spell of the wizard. Due to all the damage inflicted upon it, the beast, who had lost its balance, missed Arthas.

The latter reached the demon and punched with all his strength, The Balrog was blown away as dazzling light engulfed the cave. The rest turned their eyes away due to its intensity. A loud sound accompanied the Balrogas it hit the wall of the cave heavily, a giant hole rested in its chest.

Aragorn and Boromir who had retreated from the side of the beast immediately upon attacking sighed in relief as they saw it fall down to the ground with a heavy thud. They turned to look at Arthas in a new light. 'This power...'

Legolas smiled in wonder, he had heard of such creatures but had never seen one up close; Now they had slain one and it filled him with a sense of awe, he felt like the heroes of the elves from the old times who accomplished such heroic feats... He did not let his guard down, however; He suddenly felt uneasy...

Gimli looked at Arthas with conflicting emotions. The latter was a legend among the dwarfs, he had heard of his great feats and power. He saw he was skilled when Arthas fought with Boromir and Aragorn in a friendly spar but he did not believe that Arthas could face down armies by himself. Now, however...

Arthas himself looked at the surrounding walls with a frown, 'They might collapse if I go all out and bury us under the mountain... I hope this is the last fight here...'.

Gandalf ignored them as he looked at the Balrog. It was still alive! Barely holding on to life. Just as Gandalf took his sword to finish the demon, a loud growl was heard.

But it wasn't from one creature, it was from many!

5 other beasts slowly emerged... They were of similar size and carried flaming whips. Gandalf's eyes widened in horror, he shouted, "Run!". Arthas saw the 6 Balrogs and turned slightly pale, 'How?!'.

Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli did not linger, they followed Gandalf and ran toward the bridge; Arthas behind them.

In front of them, another one emerged. This one bigger and stronger than all the rest. The demons had cut off their path of escape... The stood back to back and stared at the demons as they surrounded them. Their expressions were grim and they remained silent and focused.

A deep demonic voice echoed in the caves coming from the leader of the Balrogs, "Mortals... You dare?!". Gandalf's hands trembled but he stood brave as he raised his staff. "close your eyes and then Run!"

A blinding flash of light appeared the moment they closed their eyes. The Balrogs were blinded for a moment and they used it to run toward the bridge.

The managed to use that brief moment to move between the legs of Balrogs and run away. They ran with all they had. Gandalf fell behind.

They reached the dizzying bridge and crossed the slender bridge of stone as fast as they could recklessly, the Balrogs chased with furious growls. The sound a chilling and frightening one.

Gandalf was the last one to cross the bridge, he turned around and slammed his staff on the ground midway, his eyes twinkled, staff in one hand and the sword in the other.

"You cannot pass!"

Arthas tried to reach for the old fool, "Gandalf!". He was held back by Aragorn and Legolas. Arthas struggled, "Let me go!". They ignored him and held him back...

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun."

One of the Balrogs threw its flaming sword like a spear from behind the leader toward the wizard. Gandalf blocked it with his sword and staggered back due to its force. A ringing clash was heard as the Balrog's sword shattered into molten fragments! The fragments rained like lava in the surroundings...

The leader Balrog put one foot on the bridge and drew up to Full Height, wings spread from wall-to-wall. Gandalf was a tiny figure, balanced precariously on the narrow bridge. The demon slashed at the old wizard...

Gandalf said in a booming voice, "You shall not pass!!". Boromir and Aragorn let go of Arthas and raced forward, swords drawn, Faces concentrated and no fear visible. Arthas's eyes began to slowly lit up as his face grew slightly terrifying. He was still held back by Legolas.

The held him back because he seemed emotional and prone to making mistakes. Gandalf was his friend for 60 years. He was extremely attached to the old wizard. Even kings have emotions and are not perfect.

GANDALF CRIED ALOUD as he summoned up his LAST RESERVES OF STRENGTH!

He thumped the bridge with his staff, a blinding sheet of white flame sprang up... the staff shattered... the bridge broke... right at the great Balrog's feet. The stone bridge dropped away into the gulf, from under the Balrog. For a moment, the great Beast remained poised in the air... then it plunged down. Its fellows behind him, letting out cries of shock and fury.

Gandalf turned around and looked at Arthas, the latter who seemed to know something said aloud, "Careful!".

As the Balrog fell, it lashed out with its whip of fire... The thongs of the whip lashed and curled around Gandalf's knees, dragging him over the brink! Gandalf just managed to hand on by his fingertips.

Arthas finally broke free forcefully and dashed toward Gandalf, alas, he was a step too late. "Fly, you fool!" Gandalf let go of his grip and fell away...

His finger barely brushed against the old wizard's. Arthas watched as The wizard was swallowed by the dark abyss along with the leader of the Balrogs.

Aragorn and Boromir let out surprised cries, "Gandalf!".

Arthas knew from memory that Gandalf would return but he also knew that his existence had changed everything in this world so he was not certain. He felt guilty for he thought that maybe it would be his fault if his friend died for good.

'He is a Maia so he won't die... He should return no He WILL! How can there be 7 Balrogs in here?!' He looked up and saw the 5 remaining demon glare at them. He felt rage...

He slowly stood up, a scorching golden halo slowly formed around him, its light illuminated the entire cave. He seemed like a small sun.

His hair fluttered even though there was no wind, his eyes shone like two stars. The entire mines of Moria began trembling, the mountain slowly shook as if an earthquake had hit it. Dust and stone fell from the walls of the cave as cracks slowly appeared and grew.

The air buzzed and vibrated with power, Arthas's glare upon the Balrogs was terrifying. The demons seemed rooted to their spot, they felt as if they were looking at their master, Morgoth!

Just as Arthas raised his hand to smite the demons out of existence, a hand tightly held onto his shoulder, "Arthas, you will kill us all if you continue!"; It was Aragorn who urgently said.

Indeed, the walls were cracking. The mines were already on the way to collapsing if Arthas were to attack, the mines would collapse...

Arthas's cleared his mind and calmed down, 'Gandalf will return... No use in grieving.'. He let go and everything returned to normal. The cracks were still on the walls, dust and ruble occasionally fell. The mines would not last long without Maintainance...

One of the Balrogs said in the black tongue, "Human, the one chosen by the great master will end your life and rekindle the kingdom of Angmar. The time of darkness has come... Even if we die, the Lord will resurrect us! Despair... He is invincible with the ring!".

Arthas replied indifferently in the black tongue as he turned around to leave, "So you serve Sauron now... I will deal with you in the great war... I will also deal with your invincible lord...". The demons seemed surprised he knew of the black tongue but he was gone already and they couldn't chase due to the bridge being gone.

They followed Arthas and left through an Archway. They exited the mine's Great eastern gate on to a grassy sunlit hillside. Aragorn pointed at a direction, "By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with Orcs! We must reach the woods of Lothlorien. Come, Arthas, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, we must move.".

Arthas nodded and they continued their journey in silence...

At dusk, the Dimrill dale hillside; Aragorn scoured ahead of the company, as they stumbled on in the fading light... in the distance, the shimmer of a large forest could be seen... Lothlorien!

Arthas looked at the familiar land... 'Gandalf will be fine, he will come back as the white one. I am sure of it. I must focus on Sauron, if he can unite the Balrogs then he can unite other things to serve him as well. I must fight Sauron myself so how can we take care of the other things in the great war that is to come...'