The Black Dragon Appears

"Marius!"

"Shut your mouth, you fool." Falstad appeared beside Rhonin at some point. The sight before him made the Dwarf tremble.

A colossal, dark figure, as large as Titans, appeared out of nowhere during the battle. The overcast sky helped conceal his presence, so no one noticed him approaching.

"What is this?" Falstad opened his mouth with difficulty.

Rhonin found himself trembling and unable to speak.

Black dragon wings, several times wider than those of the red dragon, filled their vision, gleaming with a metallic black light that nearly blinded the Dwarf and mage. A thunderous roar seemed to shake the very sky, and the Gryphon was so frightened that it hastily retreated.

The black dragon flapped its wings, a low, mocking laugh emanating from its jaws, startling Rhonin awake. He looked once more at the black dragon's metal armor—or rather, its scales. Dragon scales were already incredibly difficult to penetrate. And this creature was made entirely of a tough alloy!

"Deathwing ..." Rhonin whispered, repeating it again. "Deathwing ..."

A short name, yet it contains so much more: chaos, anger, and destruction.

Now, such a giant dragon was right in front of them, and Nathanos was in his grasp.

"It's indescribable!" Falstad muttered under his breath. "This is Deathwing? Your friend is probably dead."

"No!" Rhonin replied, it was hard to imagine that he could remain calm and think for the moment. "Deathwing wouldn't care about a mortal. As far as I know, he despises all life, but he just caught Nathanos."

The former Obsidian Warden paid no heed to the whispering Dwarf and mages, nor did he notice the tiny Gryphon. His eyes were fixed solely on the bewildered Red Dragon. The black dragon clenched its left forepaw, pulling it as close to its body as possible. Rhonin remembered that hand holding Nathanos. Before he could even process what had happened, Deathwing swung its tail at the enemy, sending the Red Dragon tumbling and staggering backward.

"No matter what, we have to seize the opportunity to leave as soon as possible. If Deathwing takes care of that Red Dragon, we'll definitely be his next target!"

"What? You're going to abandon Marius?" Rhonin demanded.

Falstad clenched his fist and replied rudely, "Fool, he's probably already dead, and even if he were alive, how are we supposed to get him out of the dragon's claws? Besides, the Gryphon is exhausted!"

Another savage roar drew their attention back. The battle had begun just as Falstad had anticipated. The Red Dragon attempted to bypass Deathwing, but the black dragon's massive body was a deadly obstacle. The Red Dragon's flames were mere sparks before Deathwing, utterly ineffective against it.

During the attack, the Red Dragon also revealed a weakness. Its wing closest to Deathwing was exposed to the black dragon, but the black dragon did not seize the opportunity. Instead, it tightened its left claw again and pulled it to its chest.

Why would it do that? Rhonin was puzzled. What I really wanted to find was that Deathwing never intended to kill the Red Dragon instantly; he was just playing with it, toying with it. But there was another possibility...

"I understand!" Rhonin shouted. "He's alive, Marius is alive! Deathwing's actions say it all..."

Falstad thought it was nonsense, but he did see that Deathwing's attacks were indeed very strange. Deathwing used its tail, wings, and all four limbs except its left claw to attack. Deathwing's agile movements indicated that it was not injured, but its left claw was always kept close to its body.

"Perhaps you're right. But we have to go; we need to tell the others about this."

Falstad ordered everyone to steer their Gryphon and turn away at top speed. Rhonin reluctantly looked back and saw Deathwing bite into the Red Dragon's chest. Then he felt a light, crimson rain fall, and the Red Dragon finally crashed into the sea.

The battle lasted less than ten minutes, perhaps even five. But in that short time, Deathwing had slaughtered his opponent.

Strangely, Deathwing fell upon the fleeing Gryphon, but he did not pursue them. He merely stared at his left talon. Finally, the black dragon turned and flew towards Kaz'Modan.

"Falstad! We have to get to Kaz'Modan!"

"If you say another word, I'll throw you down right now."

The Dwarf glared at him and said, "Mages are a bunch of lunatics! What difference does it make whether that human is alive or dead? Maybe Deathwing just wants to eat him."

Rhonin said nothing more; he understood Falstad's purpose. The Dwarf leader wouldn't risk everyone's safety for his own sake.

As he watched Deathwing's figure gradually shrink, Rhonin fell into deep thought again.

Why did Deathwing, who sought to annihilate all living beings, capture Nathanos?

Vareesa coughed, surprised by the extent of the devastation. Hask was in dire straits; the closer they got to the coast, the more horrific the scene became. Houses were reduced to ruins, and most of the farmland was burned. The stench was particularly intense to the Female Elf's keen sense of smell. So many people had died! What had happened here? Vareesa wondered.

She didn't come alone. Duncan Senturus and his Paladin were with her, but they had gone to help the Hask and, incidentally, to find out what was going on.

Vareesa searched the northern part of the port. The area was utterly devastated. The Female Elf was worried about Nathanos and Rhonin. Those two might have come here after their disappearance, but she hadn't found any clues. As she struggled to find answers, she saw women and children on the shore collecting floating debris, trying to find anything useful. Several humans noticed the Female Elf in her armor and gave her strange looks; some parents even stood in front of their children, as if the Female Elf were the perpetrator of this terrible disaster. Vareesa was momentarily at a loss; it seemed no one would offer her help.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Vareesa's mind—leave this place. Go back to Quel'Thalas, but that would also mean her mission had failed, she had lost the people she was supposed to protect, and she would probably be severely reprimanded by Alleria and Sylvanas. Not to mention others, even she herself was beginning to question her abilities.