Chapter 133: The King Who Fell into the Abyss

As powerless as before, Duke found himself unable to act in this moment. He didn't know the nature of the curse that had befallen him, but he could sense that Nielas' once-cohesive and magically-charged soul began to dissipate.

Like sand blown away by the wind, Nielas' pale, spectral form disintegrated into soul particles before Duke's eyes. Such a loyal servant to the kingdom of Stormwind, such a great father, vanished with a mere whisper:

"I suppose this is my atonement for my child."

Duke's eyes unexpectedly brimmed with tears.

Indeed, he had persuaded Nielas' soul, using Medivh's possession as a reason. He never imagined that Nielas, as a father, would choose to obliterate himself completely for the sake of his child's atonement.

It was Nielas' sacrifice that brought Duke temporary relief from the curse.

At this moment, another person Duke could not have foreseen stepped in to save the day.

It was Lothar's hand.

Lothar, unbeknownst to Duke, had rushed forward, grabbing Medivh's hand. The evil power that should have poured into Duke was now partially diverted by Lothar.

Lothar's temples visibly whitened at a rapid pace.

"You wretches! Wither away together!"

Sargeras, enraged, struggled fiercely to free himself from the sword's impalement while intensifying the curse.

Suddenly, Sargeras realized that Medivh's right arm had returned to its human form.

It was a bizarre sight. Medivh's left hand remained gaunt, like a withered bone, radiating evil and corruption. In contrast, his right hand was a perfect human arm, albeit pale from lack of sunlight exposure.

Most importantly, this hand now held Medivh's staff, the legendary artifact Atiesh, the Guardian's legendary weapon.

From the moment the Council of Tirisfal began to use the power of the Convergence, they infused the Guardian with the magical power of each council member every year. This created the Guardian and the legendary artifact staff, shaped like a chicken leg. Whenever the Guardian could no longer withstand more power infusion, the council members would channel their excess power into the staff.

The culmination of countless generations of mages' efforts and eons of magical power had elevated Atiesh from an ordinary staff to an artifact of divine power.

Sargeras had never underestimated it.

To avoid Atiesh's backlash, Sargeras had even placed no fewer than ten demonic seals on it after fully controlling Medivh's body, attempting to corrupt and tarnish Atiesh's power for his own use.

However, with Medivh's soul now reawakening and beginning to wrest control of his body from Sargeras, and Duke's backstab intensifying Sargeras' sense of crisis, Sargeras inadvertently let Medivh regain partial control of his body.

This was the truly fatal blow!

"Face your judgment, Sargeras!" Unlike the voice of the wicked soul of Sargeras, this voice belonged to Lothar's old friend, the inherently kind and benevolent Medivh.

As he roared, every being within miles felt an inexplicable tremor in their hearts.

One after another, they looked up towards the pinnacle of Karazhan. There, they saw three figures entangled with one another.

The intense light radiating from these figures pierced through the solid walls, allowing every being to easily witness their struggle.

The chaotic battlefield suddenly fell silent, and both the sun and the moon dimmed.

The wind stopped.

The clamor of battle ceased.

It seemed as if the entire world had calmed down, all to make way for one being, whose name was Medivh!

Medivh first closed his eyes, and when they opened again, all traces of demonic presence had vanished from his pupils, leaving only clarity.

At this moment, Sargeras, who had been focusing on Duke and Lothar, finally noticed the anomaly. The air was filled with the scent of sanctity, both familiar and abhorrent to him.

It was as if he had traveled through time, back to the sacred halls of the Pantheon twenty-five thousand years ago, where he would face the Titans' questioning.

"No," Sargeras realized his soul was being forced out of Medivh's body.

The laws of the surrounding space were deviating, demonic power was being expelled, and a more potent and sharper force was descending.

With supreme authority, it dominated everything, purging all opposing forces, including the power of Sargeras himself!

"This is impossible!" Sargeras screamed.

At the same time, Duke determined through the system that Medivh was now in control, so he decisively halted his mental energy input, reducing the power of the Sword of Kings.

His astute move earned him a grateful glance from Medivh.

Even though his chest was still pierced by the longsword, and Medivh's life force was rapidly draining away with the gushing blood, the Medivh who had regained control of his body was still the revered Guardian Medivh.

Medivh's body was swiftly reverting to its human form, while Sargeras' vile soul was forcibly torn from him by the power of Atiesh.

"Fall into the abyss forever!" Medivh cried out with an ethereal voice, the intense light blooming on the legendary artifact, Atiesh, as dazzling as the sun itself.

In the next instant, the staff exploded.

Not only did Atiesh explode, but the vast pool of arcane power within the workshop, and the entire protective shield of Karazhan, all detonated together.

The immense arcane explosion created a terrifying shockwave that destroyed more than half of the Path of Adversity in an instant.

Massive dragons were hurled through the air, and creatures weighing over a ton, such as dragonkin and demons, were scattered like ants, blown away to unknown corners.

The residential buildings lining several blocks near Karazhan were reduced to dust in the blink of an eye, and the concentrated arcane energy swept outward with the wild winds caused by the shockwave, spreading even further.

The few trees in the Path of Adversity were instantly scorched black. The land nearest to Karazhan was compressed layer upon layer, like a layered cake, squeezed outward in all directions from the center of Karazhan.

The devastating explosion caused an earthquake that was not only felt in Duskwood but also in half of the Elwynn Forest, which had fallen under orc control. To be continued...