At that moment, Malone felt a renewed surge of resentment toward the "God of Video Games," who was somewhere out there, playing with the fate of an ordinary person just like him.
It had given him power that seemed mighty, yet it was no match for his greatest enemy;
When he had made up his mind to retreat from the world, it had sent him Tiffany, someone he couldn't bring himself to abandon;
When he had decided to leave the Orc camp with Tiffany, it had moved him with Teron Gorefiend's brotherly affection, making it impossible for him to decide.
Fate, why did you enjoy tormenting him so much?
Malone felt as if he had countless things he wanted to tell Teron Gorefiend.
Words of gratitude, apologies, warnings, comfort...
Yet not a single word would come out of Malone's mouth, no matter what he tried to say.
Because Malone couldn't say the words Teron Gorefiend wanted to hear.
Malone couldn't tell Teron Gorefiend, "All right, brother. I'll stay."
Just as Teron Gorefiend and Malone sat facing each other in silence, nearly on the verge of tears, the unexpected happened.
Outside the wooden shelter where the three of them were, a jumble of footsteps sounded, accompanied by roars and growls, as well as the clang of metal.
"What's going on?" Malone asked in alarm. Judging by the commotion, there weren't just one or two Orcs outside the shelter, but a whole group of them, fully armed.
"I don't know." Teron Gorefiend stood and put himself between Malone and the others.
"Mr. Malone, what's happening?" Tiffany sensed the unease in the air, too, and asked cautiously.
"Don't worry." Malone smiled as he lifted Tiffany's lower legs off his knees and gently set them on the pile of hay. Then he stood and took his place beside Teron Gorefiend.
"Mr. Malone!" Tiffany called urgently from behind him.
Malone turned around and saw the girl's panic-stricken face.
"If... if there's no hope, Mr. Malone, you should run first!"
Though Tiffany was terrified, she still insisted on saying it.
"But before you leave, please don't forget our promise!"
Tiffany clasped her hands before her chest, as if she were praying to the gods.
Malone knew what "promise" Tiffany meant.
Tiffany had said before that if Malone couldn't take her with him, she would rather die at his hands than be violated by the Orcs.
That poor, kind girl...
Malone thought to himself that even now, she was still worrying about something like that...
"I won't let those Orcs hurt you."
After saying that, Malone turned back around and waited warily for the Orcs outside to break in.
Even Malone himself didn't know how resolute his expression and gaze were.
But he did know this: how could a kind, innocent girl like her be handed over to those cruel, evil Orcs?
His fight with Kaldara had helped Malone grow and given him more confidence; more importantly...
Malone glanced sideways at Teron Gorefiend. At that moment, he didn't find the other man's shattered face ugly in the slightest.
With such a good brother fighting by his side, how could he possibly lose? Malone's heart filled with courage.
"Rrrip!"
As the sound of tearing canvas rang out, great swaths of the tarp hanging over the shelter were ripped away. When it fell to the ground, Malone saw what was outside.
More than twenty fully armed Orcs had gathered around the shelter, surrounding it so completely that not even water could get through.
A tall Orc stood at the front of the soldiers. His upper body was almost bare; he wore armor only on his lower half and held a massive battle axe in his hand.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Malone thought the Orc frowned when he saw either Teron Gorefiend or him.
"None of you move."
Malone heard the Orc order the other warriors. Then he slung the huge battle axe across his back and walked toward the shelter.
"I'd only heard that a few Death Knights were causing trouble. I didn't expect you to be leading them, Teron Gorefiend." The Orc stood at the shelter's entrance and spoke to Teron Gorefiend from a distance.
"I didn't expect you to be the one who came, either, Tabek," Teron Gorefiend replied coldly.
Tabek... Where had he heard that name before? Malone tried to remember.
"If it were really just a few Death Knights causing trouble, why would the Warchief send his adjutant here? Tabek, I may be dead, but I'm no fool," Teron Gorefiend continued.
That's right. This guy was Orgrim Doomhammer's adjutant—Malone finally remembered.
Maicomarlon's memories held no recollection of this "Tabek," since Tabek had been a nobody when Maicomarlon was killed.
But the official storyline had mentioned him, albeit only in passing.
"That's right. Ordinarily, Doomhammer wouldn't concern himself with a petty matter like this. He'd just have the troublemakers arrested and their heads chopped off."
Tabek shrugged and spoke as if he'd said nothing remarkable, though Malone found his words horrifyingly bloody.
"Chopping off heads is a weak human habit. We prefer to split people in half. And do you really think the men you brought are enough?"
Teron Gorefiend looked disdainfully at the Orc warriors behind Tabek.
Only twenty? Whether you chop off my head or split me in half, that's nowhere near enough. Go back and bring ten times as many, young man. By the time the name Teron'gor rang across Draenor, you didn't even know how to use a weapon!
Teron Gorefiend seemed to think nothing of the Orc warriors—not even their leader, Tabek. He brazenly called him a greenhorn.
"Sharp tongues are a human habit, too. We prefer to act," Tabek retorted without the slightest fear.
"Act?"
Teron Gorefiend sneered, then let out a piercing howl.
Even now, Malone didn't really understand how Teron Gorefiend, who was already dead, could speak.
The biology he'd learned on Earth made it impossible for Malone to imagine how a dead man's vocal cords could still work.
But Death Knights were impossible by the laws of science to begin with, so Malone could sort of understand.
But... damn Teron Gorefiend, couldn't he give them a warning before howling?
Malone clamped both hands over his ears and glanced back anxiously at Tiffany.
Fortunately, Teron Gorefiend's howl didn't last long, and Malone was lucky enough to keep his eardrums intact.
Tiffany didn't look too well. She had covered her ears right away, but the piercing sound had still left her dazed, her eyes unfocused as she swayed in a fog.
Tabek didn't look much better. He shook his head, trying to dispel the ringing that still echoed in his ears.
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