Chapter 75: Old Acquaintance

More and more demons approached him. Too many for Kelrian to kill them before they could attack him but he was not alone. He was not the only fighter on the battlefield. He didn't face the greatest demon army he had ever seen alone. Thousands of soldiers accompanied him and fought with him against Illidan's henchmen.

A large portion of the demons that made their way to him died before they reached him. Mages, rangers, warlocks and other creatures with ranged weapons or spells gave their best to protect him. Kelrian may be the Chosen One but he was not invincible. He could deal with three or four demons at the same time but not with dozens or hundreds. He was dependent on those who fought with him and they were dependent on him. His presence affected them in a positive way. They were encouraged because they believed they would win the battle with the Chosen on their side. They were ready to fight until the very end and give their lives for the greater good if necessary.

Kelrian had no idea how long the battle was already lasting but he assumed that several hours had passed. Several hours during which they didn't get very far. No matter how many demons they slew, new ones always took their places. For each demon they slew, two took its place. It appeared as if Illidan's forces were infinite. Kelrian knew that this wasn't true. He knew that his forces were limited and that it was only a matter of time until he wouldn't have any more demons he could send to battle.

Kelrian was wondering how many demons were still in the Black Temple. He knew that the more demons he and his army would lure out, the fewer demons Tyrande and her warriors would have to fight before reaching Illidan. His task was to lure as many demons out of the temple as possible, while the other group would deal with the traitor.

The battle was still raging, blood was flowing, limbs were separated. Creatures died. Numerous demons but also lots of Kelrian's men lost their lives. The forces of the Alliance may be superior in number but the demons were not known as deadly and dangerous creatures without reason. Even the small imps were deadly and shouldn't be underestimated. Many of those who underestimated the demons found a quick death.

Kelrian had stopped counting how many demons he had already slain in this battle but he knew it had been a lot. And more were coming. He had no idea how many more demons he would have to kill until he would reach Illidan eventually. The stream of demons that poured out of the entrance of the Black Temple didn't seem to end. Kelrian stood in the first rows of his army and killed as many demons as he could. Imps, wrathguards and felhounds were no problem to him but those were not the only demon races that served Illidan.

There were also overfiends, eredar, jailers, inquisitors, fel orcs, shivarra and many other twisted demonic creatures. One race was deadlier than the other. There was not a race that couldn't kill a careless creature within seconds. Fortunately, those who fought with Kelrian were anything but careless. They were aware of the threat these demons posed. They were aware of their deadliness and the power some of these races possessed.

Fel magic was by far the most destructive magic of the Burning Legion and the Illidari. Intelligent creatures like eredar, fel orcs, fel elves or inquisitors could utilise this form of magic. They could cause grievous damage due to fel magic, which meant that they had to be taken out as quickly as possible. That was not always easy because they often hid behind barriers or groups of demons.

Kelrian had already lost dozens of soldiers and he knew that more will die. He knew since the beginning of the battle that many will die in this battle. He had informed his soldiers of this matter but they were still determined to participate in this battle. They would do anything to protect Azeroth even if they had to give their lives for it. They would stop Illidan at any cost.

Kelrian cut a wrathguard in halves, squashing its head with his foot when its upper body landed on the wet ground. A moment later, he chopped off the arm of a female eredar whose painful cries echoed through the air. He thrust his sword into her chest, right through her heart. The eredar was dead a few moments later, meaning that her shrill voice was finally silenced.

Kelrian put his feet on her upper body and pushed, drawing out his blade on the first attempt. The next opponents he had to deal with was one of Illidan's students. A male sin'dorei whose green glowing eyes could be seen behind the blindfold he wore. The tattoos on his exposed upper body, the horns that came out of his head and the hoofs at the end of his legs let Kelrian know what he was up against. A demon hunter.

In his hands, the demon hunter carried two fel green curved blades which were splattered with blood.

Kelrian estimated him as a strong warrior and he was certain that he had killed many of his men so far. He had to kill that demon hunter to prevent him from taking more lives. He had no doubt that the demon hunter's attention rested on him. He looked in his direction and the expression on his face told Kelrian that he was anything but happy.

Kelrian lifted up his sword and held it in front of his upper body as he moved towards the demon hunter. The demon hunter did the same, his blades were ready to taste more blood. It was not Kelrian who did the first move once they had gotten close enough to each other. It was the demon hunter who leapt towards him and swung his blades.

Kelrian avoided his attack by jumping to the side, not hesitating to place a counter-attack. Unfortunately, the demon hunter was fast enough and stopped his sword with his blades before it could come too close to his body.

"Nice try," the demon hunter hissed as he pushed his blades against Kelrian's weapon with all force, meaning to push him back. Kelrian staggered but managed to catch his balance quickly. He noticed the next attempted attack, which came from the left, in time and blocked it. The demon hunter hissed in anger as he pulled his blades back, another hiss escaped his lips as he avoided Kelrian's sword at the last moment.

"You are getting on my nerves, False Chosen. It's time to end this quickly." The demon hunter straightened up, his eyes began to glow brighter. Kelrian had fought against and with demon hunters often enough to know what his opponent was about to do. He wanted to roast him with his deadly eye beam.

Kelrian jumped to the side right before fel green rays left the demon hunter's eyes. Because he had acted preventatively, he was able to avoid the eye beam. He wasn't hit by the deadly ability, but two creatures behind him, who hadn't seen it coming, were hit. One of them was a human rogue and the other was a satyr who served Illidan.

Nothing remained of them but blood and torn body parts. The eye beam had torn them apart much to the horror of the surrounding creatures that stood with Kelrian. The sight was not very pleasant but Kelrian resisted vomiting. He averted his gaze quickly and shifted his attention back to the demon hunter who was about to shoot another eye beam at him.

The Chosen managed to pick up a shield from the ground before the beam reached him. Due to the runes engraved in the material, it was able to withstand long enough against the deadly technique. Kelrian pushed against the beam, walking toward his foe. The shield was heavily damaged and even melted in some places but it was still in working order as Kelrian reached the felblood elf.

He bashed the melting piece of iron into the demon hunter's face, not only causing him a large amount of pain but also forcing him to stop channelling the eye beam. Kelrian hit him again and executed a swing with his sword, separating the demon hunter's left hand from his forearm. Loud cries and curses escaped the demon hunter's lips, the way his facial features distorted told Kelrian that he was in great pain. Nevertheless, he still managed to block Kelrian's next swing.

Green blood was landing on the ground. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH," the blind man roared out as he charged at Kelrian, who didn't just manage to block his attack but also countered it, disarming the attacker. Kelrian executed a swift kick that pulled the rug out from under his opponent.

The felblood elf landed on the ground, the pain that rushed through his head when it hit a small rock stunned him. He was unable to get up or defend himself, giving Kelrian the opportunity to finish him. He seized the opportunity and aimed a swift strike at the demon hunter's head but the blade of his sword never reached its destination.

Kelrian was knocked away by a powerful shock wave that not only hit him but also dozens of creatures around him. Friends and foes alike. He was thrown against a temple wall but he managed to get up quickly, ignoring the wave of pain that rushed through his body. He let his gaze wander to check his surroundings, wanting to know who did that.

He spotted an eredar mage not far away from the demon hunter. The eredar was male and wore leather armour, a green crystalline staff rested in his left hand. The eredar lifted his staff and began to mutter a few words but he lost his head before he was able to finish speaking out the required formula.

Kelrian realized quickly what had just happened. The one who had beheaded the mage was no other than Danara disguised as Velestra. She kicked the separated head away, turned around to block the incoming attack of a wrathguard. Kelrian was certain she could deal with that demon, so he turned back to the demon hunter who no longer looked the same.

He was much taller than before and his skin was dark purple instead of peach-coloured. His horns were longer and thicker, huge wings were coming out of his back. He looked much stronger and more fearsome. He looked as if he had been rebornbut his left hand was still missing. His transformation had not allowed the hand to grow back.

The demon hunter was much angrier than before as he sprinted towards Kelrian who remained on his spot and waited for the demon hunter to come closer. He noticed a familiar person out of the corner of his eyes. He noticed another one when he turned his head to the right a little. He gave them nods and received nods, focusing his power to create a light sphere which he let explode when the demon hunter was only a few feet away from him. The sphere wasn't able to stun the demon hunter but it shoved him backwards and injured him.

The demon hunter's feet were frozen to the ground a few moments later, a ray of light hit his torso, leaving a deep wound in his right hip. Kelrian sprinted towards the immobile demon elf and leapt in the air, thrusting his divine sword through the demon's unprotected chest.

The demon hunter spat a large amount of blood out, his eyes widened and his body began to shake. More blood was spat out when Kelrian thrust his sword deeper into his chest, piercing his heart. Kelrian pulled his sword out forcefully and violently and gave his foe a heavy kick after Raesh had removed the ice from his feet. The demon hunter fell backwards and was dead before his body hit the ground.

Kelrian made sure that he was really dead before he turned around and looked at his son, noticing the orc rogue that just appeared behind him. "Watch out," Kelrian cried out as he set himself in motion. Raesh reacted quickly and jumped to the side, avoiding the rogue's first dagger but not the second that grazed his right forearm. The sharp weapon cut through the leather of his gloves and left a long cut behind.

Raesh gritted his teeth, preventing a sharp painful scream to escape his lips. He pushed the orc away with an arcane spell and set her on fire, watching her burn. An orc warrior came from behind without Raesh noticing him and raised his axe above his head, intending to split the mage in two. But before he could execute the deadly blow, Kelrian rammed him and sent him to the ground, landing not far away from him.

The orc got to his knees faster than Kelrian but he couldn't do much because his head was squashed by Kaelor's hammer a millisecond later.

"Good blow," Kelrian complimented as he got up.

Kaelor just nodded at him and attacked the next foe that approached him. Kelrian grabbed his son by his uninjured arm and pulled him behind the frontline. "Let me take care of your wound," he said to his son.

The look on Raesh's face told Kelrian that he wanted to protest. "You need to be healed, otherwise, you will lose too much blood. You won't be able to help if you bleed to death."

Raesh sighed and nodded. He wanted to say something to his father but he was still not able to speak. He was able to produce noises like sighs, laughter, hisses, battle cries or screams but he was not able to produce any recognizable word.

He stretched his forearm out, allowing his father to close his wound. Raesh gave him a thankful nod, putting his staff in his left hand once he was done. He made a gesture that told Kelrian that he wanted to know if he was ready. "Ready if you are," the Chosen replied.

Raesh focused his stored power and sent a fireball into a group of imps, leaving nothing but ashes behind. Kelrian quickly returned to the battlefield, re-joining his forces. Over the next few hours, they managed to drive Illidan's army closer to the gate. They killed hundreds of demons but also lost dozens of soldiers. They were winning the upper hand although demons were still pouring out of the gate. The reinforcements were not as numerous and frequent as at the beginning of the battle but they were still consistent.

Kelrian was more than one hundred fifty feet away from the gate when it was suddenly fully opened. He had no idea what Illidan's servants were planning but he had a bad feeling about it.

The gate's double doors started to shake out of nowhere and so did the ground beneath Kelrian's feet. His first assumption was that a shaman was casting an earthquake. It was refuted when a gigantic creature stepped out of the temple. A creature he knew very well.

It was over two hundred feet tall, had four arms with massive claws and a long and thick tail. Its skin was crimson, there was a huge hole in its chest in the blackness of which a red sphere was glowing. Its eyes had a bilious green colour, its horns were thick, spiked and bent like the horns of a ram. Its thick black tongue was hanging out of its mouth, which was fitted with sharp black teeth. That creature was by far the most terrifying demon Kelrian and all of his soldiers had ever seen. They had never seen such a horrible creature like that one.

"What is that thing?" shouted Whitemane.

"This is Brutalus, a demon lord whose size and powers have been significantly increased by my father. It seems that Illidan subjugated him and made him even stronger and taller than before," Kelrian told. He let his gaze wander, noticing the fear in the eyes of some soldiers and the terrified looks on the faces of others. Most soldiers had grim looks on their faces but they didn't seem to be afraid of that monstrous creature.

"How do we beat that thing?" Danara asked.

"You are the demon expert. If anyone knows what to do then it's you."

Danara pressed her lips together, a thoughtful expression appeared on her face. "I have no idea to which race this Brutalus belongs. I have never seen such a demon before. Such a monstrosity."

"I think we should hit it with everything we have," commented Whitemane.

"Sounds like a plan," Kelrian responded and turned his head, looking over his shoulder. "Archers and mages fire everything you have at that thing. Aim for the head, especially its eyes," Kelrian shouted to the backline. The ranged fighters obeyed and shot a volley of arrows and spells at the gigantic creature but it didn't affect it at all.

The arrows were not able to penetrate Brutalus' thick skin, not even the enchanted ones. They broke and the remains fell to the ground. Not even the spells the mages had cast were effective. Brutalus had not suffered a single serious wound, only small cuts could be found on his face and upper body.

"This is not great," muttered Marcus.

"Indeed" Kelrian agreed. His gaze fell on Marcus and Whitemane. "Order your priests and paladins to bless the archer's bow and arrows, guns and any other ranged weapons. Let's hope that light-infused arrows, bolts and arrows can harm Brutalus. Otherwise, we have a big problem."

Marcus and Whitemane nodded and sprinted to the backline, speaking to the priests and paladins that stayed with the backline to support them and treat the wounded.

Kelrian's gaze fell back on Brutalus who was slowly making his way towards him. He was far away from him but Kelrian could still hear his voice loud and clear. "It has been a long time since we last met, Dreadfist. I have not expected our reunion to be like this but it seems that no one expected that." Brutalus voice was shrill and not very pleasant in anyone's ears.

Kelrian ignored the fact what Brutalus had called him by a name he wanted to forget and gave him a quick response. "I have never thought that we would stand on different sides in battle one day."

"Things often don't turn out the way we planned or expected. All we can do is to make the best of the circumstances."

"You are fighting for Illidan now. Why for him?"

"He can make me much stronger than anyone else. He feeds me more souls. Even powerful ones and not only weak ones like those your father gave me."

"So, it's all about power? Is that what is most important to you?" Kelrian asked critically.

"Yes. Power is all that matters. Some say that knowledge is power but I disagree. Power is power. Nothing else matters," Brutalus replied. He was still moving towards Kelrian but he had done nothing besides that. He had not harmed or killed anyone yet. Kelrian hoped that he could buy enough time for the priests and paladins by keeping Brutalus in a conversation.

"There are other ways to get more power. You don't have to follow Illidan and his questionable methods. He is not a good guy," Kelrian shouted.

Brutalus shrugged. "I don't care what Illidan does as long as he feeds more souls to me."

"You are destroying innocent lives that way and torment their souls. Do you not care what happens with those souls you consume? You wouldn't want to be in their place either." Kelrian knew it was pointless to convince the demon. He just kept speaking to him to buy time.

"As I said, I don't care about anything else."

"One of us will die, Brutalus. It doesn't have to end this way."

"It's obvious who of us will die. You. Your soul will be very delicious and bring me a lot of power. I'm looking forward to devouring it, Dreadfist."

"Don't call me like that."

Brutalus titled his head a little. "I call you as I want, Dreadfist. I don't care if you have any objections. But enough talk, let the killing begin."

Kelrian turned his head unobtrusively, regarding the backline. He looked back at the gigantic demon after he had received nods from Whitemane and Marcus. "This won't end well for you, Brutalus."

Shrill laughter escaped Brutalus' lips. "We'll see about that, Dreadfist."

Kelrian lifted his right hand, closing it into a fist. A few moments later, hundreds of arrows, bullets and other missiles flew through the air. This time, they weren't stopped by the demon's skin. Most of them penetrated the demon's skin and injured him. The cry that escaped the demon's lips was a cry of anger but not a painful cry as Kelrian had hoped for. The wounds he had suffered were not grievous and only a small amount of green blood was flowing down his body. The volley hadn't had the desired effect. The only effect it had achieved was that Brutalus had become annoyed and angry.

He roared out loudly, stamped his foot on the ground, squashing some of his allies and enemies. The ground shook much stronger than it had done before and small fissures were created. The fissures were not wide or deep at the beginning but they became wider and deeper when Brutalus stomped again.

A few demons and soldiers of the Alliance fell into the newly created fissures, sounds of breaking bones could be heard in some cases. Kelrian could only imagine that the impact was not painless for those who have survived the fall. He could hope that not all of those soldiers, who had been swallowed by the ground, were dead or heavily injured.

Another wave of spells and missiles hit the giant who didn't even flinch. "We need to make a new plan," Kelrian shouted to Danara, beheading a fel orc a few moments later.

"We need to stop him from moving. The mages should try to freeze his feet. Maybe we can even injure the backs of his knees," she shouted back.

"I have an idea. It's risky but I don't have anything better yet. We are running out of time."

"What do you have in mind?" Whitemane asked.

Kelrian put his sword back in its sheath and pulled two golden, heavily adorned daggers from his belts. "I'm going right for his weak points."

"We don't even know if the backs of his knees are vulnerable," argued Whitemane.

"The backs of the knees of most creatures are their weak points. We have to take that risk. I don't see another way to bring him down. The closer he gets to our troops, the more soldiers will die. I cannot allow that."

"You'll need someone who injures the back of the second knee," she reminded him.

"I'll do it," a voice said. A familiar one which Kelrian hadn't heard for a long time. He turned his head, his widened eyes reflected heavy surprise. He could not believe that he had just heard his son's voice. This was the most unlikely thing he would have ever expected in this situation. Raesh had not talked since Xertus had brought him back to life with the help of the fel crystal that stuck in his chest. He had wanted to talk to his father so often, but he hadn't been able to produce any recognizable word. No matter how hard he had tried.

"You are speaking," Kelrian replied astonished.

"We don't have time to figure out the reason for the return of my voice. We need to bring that thing down," Raesh responded determinedly.

"You are right. We better don't waste more time."

Raesh nodded. "I'm ready if you are."

"I am."

Whitemane cast golden barriers around them. "I will order the archers and mages to give you backing."

Kelrian glanced at her for a few moments and then looked back at his son who gave him a nod. Kelrian set himself in motion, spotting out of the corners of his eyes that Raesh was doing the same. They ran as fast as they could, the barrier did not only protect them from any incoming spells, missiles or weapon attacks but also pushed demons away that came too close to them.

Their gazes never left Brutalus who was squashing allies and enemies with his feet but also picking up groups of soldiers and demons with his four hands. He flung them into his wide-open maw, devouring them in one piece.

"MORE, MORE POWER!" he yelled as he grabbed a big infernal and a heavy pit lord and consumed them as well. He didn't care that these demons were on his side. He didn't care who he devoured as long as he got stronger that way. Kelrian had no doubt he would even devour Illidan if he could.

The giant bent down and slammed one of his fists onto the ground, knocking dozens of creatures away and leaving a huge hole behind.

"MORE! MORE! MORE! MORE SOULS! I NEED MORE SOULS" he screamed as he grabbed one of Illidan's demon hunters. He enclosed his hand around the female, who had been a night elf before her transformation, and squeezed tightly.

Kelrian heard the sound of breaking bones followed by loud painful screams. He had to admit that Brutalus was not dumb. It was clever to make stronger creatures defenceless before shoving them into his maw.

"Ah, I like it, when they scream but I hate it when they wriggle," Brutalus commented. He let his gaze wander but he was not searching for Kelrian and his son. He was not paying any attention to them. Instead, he was looking for his next snack. It seemed that he had dismissed his original plan to devour him and had decided to devour anyone who comes in his range instead. Kelrian couldn't explain that change to himself but he was glad that the demon giant was not focusing on them.

Kelrian and Raesh finally came near to the demon's feet which were still being lifted up and down in an irregular rhythm. The closer they got, the bigger the fissures were. They even had to jump over some of them but they managed to overcome every one of them.

Kelrian ran around Brutalus' left foot, reaching the heel. He jumped up and rammed his daggers into the demon's calf, hoping they would not only penetrate the skin but also stick there. Fortunately for him, his daggers pierced the flesh and remained in it. He braced his feet against the calf, finding hold due to the uneven, rough skin that was thicker in some places compared to others.

Brutalus hadn't produced any sound when Kelrian had rammed his daggers into his flesh, so he assumed that Brutalus didn't even notice his presence. Even if he had noticed, the chances were pretty high that he was ignoring the pain, if he would feel any, and keep focusing on devouring creatures from both sides.

Kelrian pulled his daggers out and jumped up, ramming them into higher places. He turned his head a little, searching for his son. He found him about a dozen feet away from the demon's other foot which was now resting on the ground while the other had been lifted up. The protective barrier was still around him as he was focusing his powers on a powerful spell.

Kelrian returned his gaze back to Brutalus' calf. He jumped again and finally reached his destination. He stuck his daggers right beneath the back of the knee, loosening his left hand from the hilt. He brought it to his waist, enclosed his hand around the handle of his sword and drew it out of the sheath.

He took a swing and rammed the sword through the skin that didn't appear to be as thick as the skin that covered the rest of Brutalus' body. He was able to pierce the flesh with ease, causing a loud painful cry to escape the demon's maw. Kelrian's assumption had turned out to be true. The back of the knees was indeed Brutalus' weak point.

Kelrian thrust the sword deeper inside the flesh, noticing the sharp and thick ice spike that stuck in the back of the other knee and came out of the kneecap. The demon was still able to hold his balance but he could no longer move. Kelrian was aware that he had to do more to cause him to fall, he was just not sure what to do.

"Catch!" a familiar voice shouted. Kelrian turned his head without hesitation and looked down, spotting Whitemane not far away from the immobilised demon. She threw something at him and he caught it securely. Kelrian regarded the object curiously, figuring out that it was a bomb. A bomb that was enhanced by light magic.

The perfect weapon to deal heavy damage to a demon. Even to powerhouses like Brutalus. Kelrian didn't waste any time activating the bomb, putting it in the wound he had just caused and hide it beneath the demon's skin. He put his sword back in its sheath and pulled the daggers out, making large leaps downwards to get off the demon as soon as possible. He needed two large leaps to reach the demon's foot, landing on it. He jumped to the ground and ran away as fast as possible, hearing the explosion that occurred half a minute later.

The loud roar that followed a few seconds later was music to Kelrian's elven ears. He turned his head and saw over his shoulder how Brutalus was toppling over to the right. He struggled to hold his balance, but that was no longer possible after his lower leg had been torn apart. He fell and landed on the ground, squashing lots of creatures beneath him.

Kelrian drew his sword again and sprinted over to the crippled demon, catching another light bomb Whitemane had thrown to him. He stopped not far away from Brutalus' upper body and was about to throw it into the black hole in Brutalus' chest as a familiar voice reached his ear.

Kelrian stopped in motion, his eyes widened and his mouth opened. Surprise was clearly reflected by his face as he turned his head and checked his surroundings, looking for the owner of that voice. But he didn't find who he was looking for. Instead, he caught sight of Raesh who was as surprised as him. It seemed that he had also heard the voice.

"Sindor? Is it... Is it really you?" Kelrian shouted, turning his head from left to right and then back to the left, doing that over and over again. But he didn't find his little brother in the mass of demons and soldiers of the Alliance.

"I am here," Sindor's voice shouted.

Kelrian turned his head to the direction where the voice was coming from, but he saw no one except for Brutalus who hadn't moved ever since.

"I am here right in front of you." That sentence made Kelrian finally realise that the voice was coming from Brutalus.

His eyes narrowed. "Nice try, demon," he hissed as drew the hand that held the bomb behind his back, intending to throw it at Brutalus.

"Don't kill me, brother." Sindor's voice sounded pleading. It caused old memories to return to Kelrian's mind. Memories of his younger siblings who had always stood by him no matter what their father had said about him. They had never let him down. He remembered many good moments he had with him. He realized how hard he was missing them. He hadn't seen them nor heard of them since the fall of Quel'Thalas. He hadn't heard their voices for more than sevenyears. He had missed the sounds of their voices so much.

Tears formed in the corners of Kelrian's eyes, one even ran down his cheek. No one noticed except for Raesh, who put a hand on his father's shoulders when he approached him. "This is a trick, father. Do not listen to the voice. It is not your brother. It's a dirty trick."

"His voice sounds exactly as I remember. How can this be possible?"

"I have no idea but we should finish that thing quickly before it kills any more of our men."

"I cannot kill my brother," Kelrian said more to himself than to his son. "I cannot..."

"THIS THING is not uncle Sindor. It is an imposter. He is using your emotions against you, he is manipulating you. You have to stop listening to him." Raesh tried to pull his father away from the gigantic demon but without success. Kelrian used his whole strength to remain on the spot.

"I don't have to do ANYTHING," Kelrian shouted and forcefully pushed Raesh away. The mage prevented himself from falling to the ground, worry appeared in his eyes when his gaze fell back on his father. The look on Kelrian's face suggested that he might be in some kind of trance induced by Sindor's voice.

"This is not good," Raesh whispered as he saw his father slowly walking towards the demon, keeping his weapon below his waist. He set himself in motion as he saw Brutalus lifting his left arm and stretching it out towards the Chosen of the Light. It was obvious that the demon's only intention was to devour Kelrian. Raesh had to prevent that by any means.

He drank a mana potion and focused the newly gotten power for a short-ranged teleportation spell that didn't require long channelling. He appeared a few feet away from his father, passing the remaining distance by jumping forward. He collided with his father, causing both of them to fall to the side and avoid Brutalus' grab attempt that way.

Kelrian hit his head hard on the ground but he didn't pass out. The pain was immense but it decreased eventually. Kelrian turned his head, spotting Whitemane who was crouching next to him. She was busy treating the wound on the back of his head, a worried expression could be seen on her face as she regarded him.

"What just happened?" Kelrian asked, trying to remember what had happened after Brutalus had fallen onto the ground.

"Brutalus managed to get into your mind by using your brother's voice. He manipulated you to walk towards it without paying attention to your surroundings. He would have grabbed you and devoured you if your son hadn't saved you at the last moment" Danara explained.

Kelrian looked at her and then at his son who was relieved that he was alright. "Thank you."

Raesh gave his father a small smile. "No need to thank me. I saved your life just like you saved mine earlier. I would never allow anything to happen to you."

"Why could Brutalus mimic Sindor's voice?" Kelrian asked Danara.

"I wish I could give you an answer but I have no idea how he did that," she responded.

"Doesn't matter anyway. He is as good as dead," Kelrian responded.

Raesh offered his father a hand, helping him to get back on his feet. "Let's kill that thing, shall we?"

Whitemane handed father and son each a light bomb. They didn't hesitate to throw the bombs into the hole in Brutalus' chest, then they sprinted away to get as much distance from him as possible.

"This will hurt a lot," were Brutalus' last words before his upper body was torn apart by a heavy explosion. Except for his lower body remained, nothing but torn innards and blood remained. He was clearly dead.

"We did it," announced Whitemane happily.

"It is not over yet," Kelrian replied as his gaze fell on the area in front of the entrance. Only a few dozens of Illidan's servants were still out there and tried to defend it by any means. Once they would be dead, no one would be able to hinder them from entering the Black Temple. "The real battle is about to begin."