[Xal'atath's Helpless Rage]

Tonatiuh had temporarily found a weapon to replace the fine steel greatsword he had completely parted ways with.

It was just a little unwieldy. In the hands of someone over three meters tall and seemingly still growing, it felt as ridiculous as holding a letter opener back when he had been an Earth human.

"Little Sa, can't you get a bit bigger? Are your claws really this tiny?"

"Shut up! You filthy troll! I swear by the Void Lords that the first thing I'll do once I recover is turn you into a slime!"

"Don't get so worked up. You're just cutting things. You won't break!"

"Shut up!"

Tonatiuh could feel the ancient god lady's boundless fury, but he did not care.

Just helpless rage.

Xal'atath was truly furious.

Being destroyed in the ancient god civil war, reduced to nothing but a tiny fragment of claw, then barely clinging to life with less than one ten-thousandth of her power in her normal state—that was bad enough.

Though she had become a dagger, she had at least survived. Over countless millennia, she had absorbed innumerable souls, and her power had gradually begun to recover.

But...

Every host who had held her in the past had been a prominent figure among their people. They revered her as a god. Even those with slightly poorer attitudes had still treated her as a treasure more precious than life itself.

Yet after falling into the hands of this strange troll, not only could her power not affect him, but Bewitching Whisper—the ancient gods' bread-and-butter skill—was useless against him as well.

His bizarre power could even injure her. That left Xal'atath slightly alarmed, but even more ecstatic.

If...

A wild ambition arose within Xal'atath.

If she could make this power, capable even of restraining ancient gods, her own, then when she faced those pitiful sealed fools again, would their lives and deaths not be entirely hers to command? She could avenge the hatred of being torn apart by them all those years ago.

For the sake of a greater scheme.

Xal'atath decided to lie low, waiting for an opportunity to break free of Tonatiuh's restraints, find a way to control this strange troll, and seize his bizarre power.

Or, if that truly proved impossible, she could at least find a way to escape Tonatiuh's clutches.

The dagger lady intended to endure humiliation and conceal her strength, all for the great cause of the Void Lords!

Xal'atath had planned it all quite well, but she had never expected...

This bastard would treat her like an ordinary little knife, using her to chop things, to chop iron!

The Titans might endure it, but ancient gods absolutely could not! Xal'atath was enraged. She unleashed boundless fury. Had she been at her peak, Un'Goro Crater would have become a land of decay beneath that rage.

If it had been before.

Even outside her peak state, the dagger-form lady could have affected all living creatures across a vast area in such a fury, controlling them and creating a corrupted wasteland.

Yet now...

Her furious power could not even leave the dagger, much less destroy this troll. Everything was locked motionless within the dagger, just as Tonatiuh had thought: helpless rage.

"All right, all right. I promise I won't casually treat you like an ordinary weapon anymore. Sorry."

Tonatiuh could sense the dagger's anger. He even felt that if she broke free from him now, the destruction she caused would surely be terrifying.

He could not let her leave him.

But he also had to soothe her anger. Tonatiuh spoke again. "I only wanted to witness the supreme might of a great ancient god. Don't be angry, all right? Great Lady Xal'atath?"

"Shut up!"

Though Xal'atath was furious.

Xal'atath was, after all, an ancient god. She could scheme against Titan Keepers and toy with those powerful figures through plots and intrigues. Beyond instinct and strength, her greatest reliance was a forbearance the other ancient gods lacked.

"Remember your promise, troll. Otherwise, you will certainly regret it!"

As the saying went.

An ancient god under a troll's roof had no choice but to bow her head!

"Sure, sure."

Tonatiuh agreed casually.

I won't use you casually, but if there's a need, of course I can only take you out and use you.

For example...

To chop up fire elementals or something!

Come to think of it, the elementals had once all been servants of the ancient gods. Even now, Ragnaros and Al'Akir remained wholeheartedly loyal to the ancient god faction. If N'Zoth called out in the future, those two would eagerly rush out to cause trouble.

Only the Stonemother and the water elementals were more obedient and had not listened to N'Zoth.

If he used Xal'atath against elementals, how would they react, considering Xal'atath was also an ancient god lady?

By the same logic.

What would the Twilight Cult and the bugs do when they encountered Xal'atath?

Tonatiuh wondered curiously.

Tonatiuh returned to the tent.

Before he could make out the scene inside, a dazzling blue light suddenly flashed through the tent. Terrifying arcane power echoed within, enough to destroy everything around the tent!

Before he could react.

The massive magical power suddenly dissipated on its own. It vanished even faster and more abruptly than it had appeared.

Tonatiuh: "???"

"Hehe... pitiful human. Just now, she wanted to cast a spell to blast you away. It seemed to be an area-of-effect arcane spell. The humans and elves call it Arcane Explosion."

Xal'atath's chilly voice sounded.

"But she did not consider how terrible her body's condition is. What she should be doing now is lying still obediently, not casting spells. That will only make her body even worse!"

Tonatiuh raised an eyebrow.

Inside the tent, the human lady lying on the bedroll had already awakened.

He could call her a lady.

After all, he was only fifteen years old by Azeroth's reckoning. No matter how young Modera was, she could not possibly be younger than him!

What?

How could he be so tall?

Trolls matured early!

And he had cheats!

The young mage lay on the ground, her full chest constantly rising and falling as she breathed rapidly. Pain covered her face, and the way she looked at Tonatiuh was filled with wariness and despair.

Tonatiuh put himself in her shoes.

If he were seriously wounded and utterly unable to fight back, then awoke in pain only to find himself lying beside a group of demon guards or ghouls, his eyes would probably be just as despairing and wary.

Before the Darkspear Trolls joined the Horde and brought even the slightest bit of goodwill toward trolls into the civilized world, every intelligent race in the world aside from trolls themselves viewed trolls exactly as this lady did.

Who could blame them when trolls ate people?

The more savage trolls even ate their own kind!

Holding Xal'atath, Tonatiuh shrugged helplessly and said to the despairing Modera on the ground:

"Mage, I don't know whether you can understand me. I can't speak your human language. I mean you no harm. If I did, you'd already be separated from your head. So stop thinking about hurting me. I won't hurt you either, all right?"

He saw her pupils dilate.

"You... were, were... you... the one who saved... me?"

From the young woman's mouth.

Came awkward, halting Troll speech.

Thanks to the three readers [wow521, number ending in 52745, I'm Not Immoral] for their tips!

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