Though he felt uncomfortable, once Zul'ra had the Zandalari Greatsword in hand, he fought with all his ferocity. With his long reach, great strength, and nimble footwork, the sword felt like a stalk of straw in his hands. His strokes were measured and controlled. He often circled behind the male Naga and cleaved them in half at the waist, or knocked their weapons aside before running them through or slashing diagonally across their shoulders.
"Mephigra, the day you repay your debt has come." Zul'ra cut down a Naga guard. Seeing that he was now within a hundred paces of the female Naga, who was wreathed in shifting light, he let out a mighty roar. Unlike the male Naga, with their dragon heads and serpentine bodies, she retained more of a humanoid shape and had several extra arms.
"Rumble!" At Zul'ra's roar, Mephigra turned her gaze toward him. She pointed a webbed claw, and a bolt of lightning tore through the night sky. Zul'ra hurriedly twisted aside. Though the lightning only grazed him, wisps of electricity still arced into his body.
"She can use magic!" Zul'ra felt his body go numb, and every strand of his hair stood on end with static.
"Here, you and she are the same kind of being. You can use magic too. Don't hesitate—kill her," G'hnir reminded him.
"You should've told me that sooner." Zul'ra swung back and killed a Naga guard, then took a deep breath. The oxygen he sucked in mingled with his anger, making his heart pound faster and his blood surge through his veins.
"Ah!" Feeling the power coursing through his whole body, Zul'ra roared. With a casual swing, he cut three Naga guards swimming toward him in half, then pushed off with both feet and charged at Mephigra like a freight train.
"Use magic!" G'hnir urged him, his voice suddenly urgent. In the distance, Mephigra let out a shrill laugh. Her webbed hands waved twice, and several icicles shot toward Zul'ra.
"Taz'dingo!" Zul'ra raised the broad Zandalari blade and swung wildly, smashing or batting aside each icicle. Then he leaped high into the air.
The remaining dozen or so paces vanished in an instant, as Mephigra stared at him in terror. Zul'ra hooked the greatsword into her forehead, then landed on both knees, sprang sideways, and dragged the sword away with him.
"Was she stupid? She didn't even put up a magic shield." Zul'ra shot like a firecracker to a safe spot nearby. Looking at the female Naga in the distance, standing motionless with her forehead split open but not bleeding, he began to doubt his attack.
He'd come up with that move after studying Grommash Hellscream's strike against Mannoroth, and he'd practiced it many times. Remembering how Grommash had been blown up, he'd added a leap away after the strike. But what was wrong with this Naga? She hadn't even raised a shield.
"Boom..." As soon as Zul'ra finished speaking, Mephigra's body exploded. Flesh and blood flew everywhere as a powerful burst of energy erupted. The force of it sent the braid behind Zul'ra's head flying, and an odd look crossed his face.
"She was gathering energy to finish you in one strike, just as you were. But you were luckier. Didn't I tell you to use magic?" G'hnir said after a brief pause.
"..." Zul'ra stared at the exploded Mephigra, his mouth parting slightly. That meant if he'd been any slower, he would have died to her magic!
"Answer my question," G'hnir said, sounding displeased.
"Ah, my offensive spells are all mid- to short-range. My other spells are for support or flanking. I don't know if they'd have been any use." Zul'ra pulled his thoughts back from his near brush with death and explained to G'hnir. It wasn't that he hadn't used them; he simply didn't have any.
"..." G'hnir was left speechless by Zul'ra's answer.
"King of Beasts, shouldn't you get me out of here?" Zul'ra looked around. With Mephigra dead, the figures that had been fighting all around him vanished like the wind. He was the only one left in the darkness, and a wave of cold, lonely desolation washed over him.
"Take the mask off your head." As G'hnir's voice reached him, Zul'ra looked out into the endless darkness. The light before his eyes seemed to shift, as though he were leaving that illusory dark world and returning to the temple. The Voodoo Mask was still on his face.
"In any case, thank you, warrior. You freed the souls of my followers and taught me that the tiger roams the wilds, while a king must bravely bear the consequences of his mistakes."
Zul'ra instinctively removed the mask. G'hnir stood before him, speaking as he bent one forepaw and bowed his head to him.
"The tiger roams the wilds, while a king must bravely bear the consequences of his mistakes." As G'hnir spoke, the voices of Kurtaki, Kupaka, and the others rang out in unison behind him. Zul'ra abruptly turned around. The magical barrier blocking the doorway had disappeared, and Kurtaki, Kupaka, and the others were standing outside.
"N-no need to thank me, King of Beasts." Seeing the strange looks from Kurtaki and the other Trolls, as well as Kupaka and the other Tortollan, Zul'ra blushed and turned back to bow to the tiger.
"You deserve it, warrior. Kurtaki." G'hnir's tiger face grew solemn. Then he called toward the doorway, and the Zandalari Troll scholar cautiously stepped inside.
"From this day forward, tell the people that King of Beasts, Bane of Prey, God of Tigers G'nathus Elaka has returned." As G'hnir spoke to the cautious Zandalari scholar, a growl rumbled from within him, making it seem as if he might pounce at any moment.
"I will spread your words and teachings in every direction." Kurtaki's face brimmed with barely contained excitement. From that moment on, he was no longer merely a devout believer, but a prophet as well—just one step away from becoming a chosen one.
"Kupaka." G'hnir called, and the Tortollan outside hurried into the temple.
"I'm sorry I failed to come to your tribe's aid in time hundreds of years ago. My followers' souls were trapped in the curse for centuries, and I was separated from my people for just as long." G'hnir apologized.
"Merciful G'hnir, we Tortaka never... The Tortaka have gone without your protection for hundreds of years." Kupaka knelt and bowed, unwilling to hold it against him, yet unable to bring himself to say so outright.
"From this day forward, your Tortaka tribe may live here. You are the people of the King of Beasts, and you will have the protection of the God of Tigers. Whoever makes an enemy of me will be hunted down." G'hnir raised his head and let out a tiger's roar as he made his promise to the humble Tortollan.
"Thank you, merciful G'hnir. Your virtue will be known far and wide." Hearing the great tiger's promise, Kupaka was overjoyed. Darkwood Beach was still unsafe, with invaders appearing from time to time. If they could move here and live under the protection of a Loa, they would be safer than ever.
"You deserve it." G'hnir gave a slight nod, glanced at Zul'ra, turned around twice, and suddenly leaped out of the temple. He bounded on all fours into the mountains, his roar sending countless birds scattering into the distance.
"..." Zul'ra watched the Tiger God leave so casually and couldn't help grimacing. He just left? I did all that for you, and you couldn't even give me a reward?
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