Clash

Gorribar, also known as Dark Redeemer, was a legendary weapon that had followed Sargeras for countless ages and possessed a soul of its own. After Sargeras chose to fall, the noble blade refused to submit to evil and chose to break itself. The Fallen Titan then reforged its tip into a new weapon: Gorribal, also known as Dark Boil.

As for Gorribar's hilt, Sargeras imprisoned it within his own space, intending to wait until the time was right to corrupt it completely. Yet just now, the broken hilt had shattered its own seal, come of its own accord into Aggramar's hands, and transformed into his blade.

At the same time, it gained a new name: Taeshalach, Flame Rend.

Seeing the blade tip blazing from the fracture, endless fury surged within Sargeras. He felt betrayed once again.

The last time, it had been his fellow Titans who failed to understand his ideas. They had betrayed him.

This time, it was the broken hilt of the weapon that had accompanied him for endless ages. It, too, had chosen betrayal!

Boundless rage poured from Sargeras's heart, and the Fel flames around him burned even more violently. The energy tides stirred by the surging Fel scattered the demon army behind him, while Aggramar, his opponent, planted his sword in the ground to withstand them.

"Good! Very good! Now, there is nothing left that can betray me, and I will never again feel the pain of betrayal!" Sargeras slowly drew Gorribal, and the Fel flames on his body spread down his arm onto Dark Boil.

"Very good, Aggramar, and your... Taeshalach. I have to say, you have angered me. And this will be the greatest mistake you have ever made!" Sargeras said coldly, sword in hand.

"It merely refuses to submit to the evil you have fallen into, Sargeras! And I will help it stop you—stop your world-destroying madness!" Aggramar roared, swinging his blade as he charged at Sargeras.

Clang!

The two weapons that had once shared the same origin finally clashed. The enormous crash and shockwave swiftly cleared the entire area.

Bang! Bang! Clang!

Aggramar swung his blade in rapid succession, launching fierce strikes at Sargeras. Sargeras gripped his sword with both hands and blocked without pause; Aggramar's sharp attacks could not breach his defenses.

"Aah!!!" Aggramar leaped back a step and let out a resounding battle cry. Raising his weapon high with both hands, he sprang into the air and brought it down at Sargeras. Even Sargeras found the energy gathering on the blade terrifying.

"Sargeras!" With that furious roar, Aggramar's leaping slash finally fell. The massive collision and the force rebounding through his hands left Aggramar unable to withstand it. He staggered back several steps before barely steadying himself. When he looked up at Sargeras, the sight before him shocked him.

Unlike before, Sargeras had not even raised his sword to block. He had merely extended his left hand, forming a thick green energy barrier before his palm. At that moment, a deep gash marked its surface.

With a wave of his hand, Sargeras dismissed the barrier and coldly replied, "A weak strike!" Then he took his sword in both hands at his waist and charged at Aggramar.

Aggramar raised his weapon to block, but an immense force surged through the blade. He felt himself being flung backward; the force of Sargeras's charge far surpassed their previous exchanges and sent him flying.

"How is that possible?!" After landing, Aggramar rolled away in a sorry state, narrowly evading Sargeras's follow-up attack. He was utterly shocked by the power Sargeras now possessed.

"Nothing is impossible. This is the power I have gained—the power you cannot stop!" Sargeras replied. Energy churned in his hand, clearly forming some powerful spell.

"Not a chance!" As an experienced warrior, Aggramar naturally knew he could not allow a spellcaster to cast freely. He stomped hard against the ground, leaving a crater behind as his body shot toward Sargeras.

"Destruction!" With that enraged shout, a green energy bolt brimming with an aura of destruction burst from Sargeras's hand and struck Aggramar head-on while he was still in midair.

"Urgh... ngh... pugh..." Though he had used Taeshalach's sturdy blade to block it, the tremendous impact and the Fel flames contained within blasted Aggramar away. The Fel power within the Destruction Bolt seared fiercely across his body, violently colliding with the Titan energy inside him.

"What the hell is this? Hiss... such evil power!" Aggramar said in shock as he felt the Fel energy on his body.

"This is the power I have gained." Sargeras swung his greatsword. "Power enough to cleanse everything!"

Aggramar resumed his fighting stance and said gravely, "I cannot sense any cleansing power within it. There is only evil."

"Oh? Is that so? When I cleanse you with this power, you will feel it."

Two towering Felguards stood watch outside an outpost. These chaotic creatures were clearly dissatisfied with such a task, but compared with their petty grievances, the lord within the camp was truly terrifying. They had no desire to draw the attention of that powerful Pit Lord. They did not need to think to know it would end badly.

"Ugh... damn it. Why do I have to stand guard here? What creature would dare break into a Burning Legion camp?" Perhaps out of boredom, one Felguard grumbled in displeasure.

His companion, another Felguard, chimed in, "Yeah, yeah. Instead of wasting time on this, we could go find those Succubi. You know, a batch of Succubi just arrived from the Twisting Nether. The way they look, truly... tsk, tsk, tsk..."

"Oh? Is that so? What are they like?"

A voice suddenly came from above the Felguard's head.

"Who goes there?! Who's that?!" Startled by the sudden voice, the Felguard hurriedly raised his weapon and looked around, shouting sharply.

"What is it? Someone there?" His companion wore a puzzled expression. Just as he was about to ask the Felguard, he suddenly saw ripples distort above the other's head, followed by a figure emerging from them.

"There! Above you!"

Squelch!

The warning had clearly come too late. A figure in white robes dropped from the air, holding an oddly shaped hand axe. The axe was already embedded in the Felguard's skull, and he was clearly dead beyond death.

As the attacker slowly pulled the axe from his companion's head and turned to look at him, the other Felguard screamed in terror:

"Enemy attack!!! Argh!!!"

Kicking away the head that had fallen near his feet, Vanidak looked at the demon camp, which was beginning to stir into chaos. No expression could be seen beneath his hood, only the faint curl of his lips as he said with apparent interest:

"Oh? Have I been discovered?"

"Ah... then this counts as a failed infiltration, I suppose. But... if I kill every demon here, it won't count as a failure... right?"

"Huff... huff... urgh... pugh..."

Aggramar was kneeling on one knee with his sword braced against the ground. His entire body was charred black by flames, and a massive wound stretched across his chest, clearly carved by a blade.

Looking at Sargeras across from him, who showed no sign of fatigue, Aggramar felt that things were going badly. He had attacked Sargeras with every ounce of his strength, but no matter how he struck, that strange energy around his opponent always neutralized part of the attack. What remained was little more than a scratch to Sargeras.

Yet Sargeras's various Fel spells and the Fel flames clinging to his blade inflicted tremendous damage whenever they struck him. Sargeras's savage assaults could always shatter Aggramar's defenses with ease, tormenting him beyond measure.

Aggramar felt a despair he had never experienced before.

"Are you giving up already, Aggramar? Even I can feel your despair. How... weak," Sargeras said coldly as he looked at Aggramar kneeling in place, flicking the remaining Titan blood from his blade.

"Sargeras, if you think you can make me... cough, cough... despair, it is far too early for that!" Aggramar slowly rose to his feet, raised Taeshalach, and looked at Sargeras across from him as he gradually drew upon the remaining energy within his body.

"A futile struggle. I will cut off your head and add it to my collection. And your soul will be under my control, becoming my... weapon." Holding his sword in one hand, Sargeras began gathering energy as well. He intended to end Aggramar with this blow and bring the battle to a close.

Hearing Sargeras's words, Aggramar's pupils contracted. He seemed to have thought of something ominous. Steadying his mind, Aggramar frantically drew out every last ounce of power in his body and gathered it upon the blade in his hand.

"Sargeras!"

"Your ambition!"

"Your madness!"

"Will be stopped!"

With Aggramar's roar, the two figures charged out at once and collided violently.

The Fel and Arcane power coating their weapons crashed together fiercely, and the clash of those two forces triggered a violent explosion. When the two opposing torrents of energy finally subsided, Sargeras discovered that the weapon in his hand had shattered.

"Hah, interesting. Aggramar, I never thought you would have a day when you ran away." Sargeras looked at Taeshalach, shattered on the ground before him. Aggramar, its wielder, had long since vanished. Clearly, Aggramar had been defeated and fled.

Aggramar had been gravely wounded by the explosion. Dragging his battered body away from the battlefield, he knew he could not die at Sargeras's hands yet. He needed to warn his companions in the Pantheon, to let them know that Sargeras, once the guardian of the Pantheon, had fallen into a tremendous threat who wielded Fel magic.

Ignoring the fleeing Aggramar, Sargeras gathered his Burning Legion and advanced toward the world that had originally been their target.

Looking at the world before him, Sargeras said in a low voice:

"Knossos. I remember this world. Ah... how wonderful. Then—"

"Destroy it!"