Heaven Descends: Justice

"Surprise, guys!"

Following Mimiron's announcement, a hooded figure in white armor jumped in after him. Amid the puzzled looks of the Keepers, he lowered his hood, revealing the face hidden beneath it.

"Oh! My!"

"It's that lord!"

Cries of surprise rose from the Keepers. High Keeper Ra was the first to react. He stepped forward and respectfully addressed Vanidak:

"Praise be to you, great Formless One, master of space, Lord Vanidak. Your arrival has made our strength even greater and filled us with greater confidence in this war!"

Vanidak nodded in satisfaction at Ra's words and replied with a smile:

"Mm, not bad. Your mouth is sweet as honey, Ra." He then walked over to the star map, studied the marked locations, and asked the Keepers around him, "I take it you're discussing where to launch the attack? Could you let me hear your thoughts?"

"With the greatest pleasure, honored Titan." Chief Administrator Odyn stepped forward and respectfully explained the battle plan they had decided upon to Vanidak.

Whether he truly understood it or not, Vanidak put on a show of nodding and swaying as he listened to Odyn's entire battle plan. Every now and then, he made an approving sound. When the explanation ended, he looked at the expectant eyes of the Keepers and felt a little embarrassed. It was like he was tricking a group of kind, ignorant newborns. That faint sense of guilt caused the Titan soul within him to stir ever so slightly. Oh, don't misunderstand—it was only the tiniest flicker, and it vanished quickly.

After calming himself and returning to his shameless ways, Vanidak pretended to ponder for a while before finally coming up with a reason he felt was convincing enough. He announced to the Keepers who had been waiting for so long:

"Your plan is indeed a good one. It deserves praise."

Seeing the delighted looks in the Keepers' eyes after receiving his approval, Vanidak continued:

"However, I think you may have overlooked one issue. Those who created you are perhaps the strongest beings in this universe, and they bestowed their own power upon you. Perhaps, as newborns, you still do not understand just how powerful that strength is. Next, I will show you. Watch carefully."

Vanidak released several silver beams of light in a relatively open area. After intertwining several times, they formed an enormous concave arc-shaped surface. Then, under the puzzled gazes of the Titan-Forged, an image suddenly appeared upon it.

On the displayed image, an entire continent seemed to lie right before them. At that moment, the Titan-Forged seemed to be overlooking it from the sky. With a wave of Vanidak's hand, the image appeared to enlarge, revealing the ground in greater detail. The Keepers could clearly see the temple cities of the Black Empire and the hideous Aqir swarming through them.

Amid the admiring gazes of the Keepers, Vanidak turned back toward them and proudly declared:

"This is only an insignificant display. I will serve as your overall commander and coordinate the entire battlefield from here. No enemy will be able to ambush you beneath my watch. I will show you the way and help you claim victory after victory. Do you have any more questions?"

"Your will, honored Formless One!" the Keepers answered in unison.

"Very good." Vanidak nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Therefore, I have decided that we do not need any weakening plan for these disgusting Old Gods. We will face them head-on in a true clash of strength. Their soft tentacles are no match for bodies forged of steel and stone. They will crumble before our mighty combat power. So, we will attack from the north of this continent, march south, and wipe out these disgusting things!"

"Your will! For the Titans! For the Pantheon!"

The Keepers' fighting spirit was fully ignited, and they responded eagerly to Vanidak's plan.

"Good, my dear creations. I will command you in real time from the battlefield. Go forth and fight without fear. The sacred F2A binds us together. This time, we're dropping wyverns right on their faces—how could we lose!"

"Roar!"

From afar, Norgannon watched the Keeper armies set out for the Astral Realm, preparing to march upon Azeroth. Having observed everything from the start, he said to Aman'Thul beside him:

"Well, to be honest, he really did accomplish it. He can monitor every inch of Azeroth at any time, which surprised me. But, King of Gods, is it really all right to let that fellow command a serious war? I admit that he is very strong in battle, but this is a war he cannot personally take part in, so..."

"Oh, I know what you're worried about, Norgannon." Aman'Thul smiled and interrupted Norgannon's question. He said slowly, "Indeed, letting Vanidak command a war seems insane, and I have my own concerns. But there is one thing that fellow said which I fully agree with..."

"And what would that be, King of Gods?"

"Those Old Gods cannot stop our army of steel. I am certain of it!"

"Vanguard, vanguard, respond if you receive this. Over."

"Received, received. Requesting instructions, Lord Formless One."

"Very good. You will undergo spatial deployment in one minute. Prepare yourselves. Prepare yourselves. Over."

"We are ready. We stand ready at any time, Lord Formless One."

"Hey, you'd better prepare yourselves mentally. Tyr... that's your name, right? This time, I'm not merely joking around. Over."

"Uh... now that you put it that way, I have a rather bad feeling. What exactly are we supposed to prepare for...?"

"Why, of course..." As he spoke, a large silver radiant magic circle appeared beneath the vanguard led by Tyr. Before they could react, the entire force fell into it the next instant. As he felt the powerful currents caused by their continuous descent, Tyr heard that familiar voice again.

"Of course, you need to prepare for impact!"

BOOM!!!

With a violent roar, something suddenly fell into a temple city at the northernmost edge of Yogg-Saron's territory—and it was not just one thing. Shadows fell from the sky in succession, crushing numerous buildings and smashing many N'raqi and Aqir to death on the spot.

When the dust settled, the dazed Tyr heard that demon-like voice:

"Oh, you survived! Impressive. I forgot to tell you that there was a tiny deviation during the first group teleportation. You weren't supposed to fall from quite so high, but there was a tiny little issue, and your descent altitude was slightly... a little higher. But it's no big deal..."

That felt like far more than a little, Tyr muttered inwardly as the next order reached his ears.

"All right, no time for idle chatter. Tyr, gather your troops, occupy that territory, eliminate the Old God's forces within it, and buy time for our main army behind you. We'll be there soon!"

"Your will, Lord Formless One! When you arrive, you will not see a single Old God servant still moving. I guarantee it!"

Upon hearing that, Vanidak, who was in the Astral Realm, nodded in satisfaction and signaled for Tyr to act freely. He turned toward the Keepers behind him, who had been left dumbfounded, and revealed a smile like that of a demon.

"So, who is the next lucky one? I'm very curious."

BOOM!!!

BOOM! BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Tyr led the vanguard, which had already completed its cleansing operation, in guarding the area. Watching the Titan-Forged fall freely from the sky in batches, along with the terrified, constipated expressions of the other Keepers as they made vertical crash landings, he felt no emotion whatsoever. He even felt like lighting incense for his comrades.

At last, Mimiron, the final one, was also sent to Azeroth through a portal under Vanidak's tyrannical pressure. After landing face-first, the Keeper renowned for his intelligence kept muttering that he absolutely had to invent something capable of flying—preferably something that could hover in midair. He never wanted to experience the feeling of free-falling from the sky again.

After calming everyone down, the Keepers quickly began reorganizing their armies. The Titan army consisted of two types of creations—the Aesir and the Vanir. The Aesir were forged of steel and could wield Storm Power; the Vanir were built of stone, and their strength came from the earth. These two powerful creations formed the Keeper legions.

Once the reorganization was complete, the Keepers gathered together. High Keeper Ra asked his superior:

"Lord Vanidak, we have successfully arrived on Azeroth. This area has been cleared. We request instructions for our next action!"

Not long afterward, Vanidak's voice reached their ears:

"Oh, Ra, I'm glad you arrived safely. But I must tell you, your grand entrance was indeed very cool—I can personally vouch for that. However, your cool entrance attracted the attention of the Old Gods' servants nearby. Uh... roughly... well, I can't count them anyway, but troops are closing in on you from the east, south, and west. The good news is that the north is the sea, so they cannot stab you in the back from there for the time being."

"So there's nothing to hesitate over. All troops, attack! Crush your enemies!"

"As you command, Lord Titan."

Having received the order, Ra looked toward his companions and army behind him and solemnly announced:

"Those filthy things are coming. Let them learn what we are capable of!"

"Roar!!!"

The resilience and courage of the Pantheon's army were plain for all to see. Led by the Keepers, the Titan-Forged landed in the northernmost territory of the Black Empire and launched a relentless assault southward. The army surged forward in triumph, and every enemy in their path collapsed under their offensive. They unleashed the divine wrath granted to them by the Titans upon their foes. The legions of N'raqi and Aqir were utterly routed before them. Temples crumbled, cities were destroyed, and everything seemed to be moving toward a favorable outcome.

At last, this suddenly appearing and powerful army caught the Old Gods' attention. They began to seriously consider this unstoppable threat. In the end, they decided to summon their strongest servants...

The Elemental Lords and their servants entered the war...