The Destructor

"Ten thousand years? Are you insane? I thought I was just going back in time, but I never imagined it would be ten thousand years ago!" Nathanos had heard enough horrifying news; Medivh's words no longer frightened him. He had almost experienced a life-or-death ordeal. No one could understand how much pain he had endured. Ultimately, Nathanos only wanted to know why Medivh had brought him to this era.

To understand the world's past? What does that mean?

Don't you want to know what happened ten thousand years ago?

What is the significance of the past?

The two fell silent. Nathanos suddenly realized that his question seemed full of contradictions; if the past was meaningless, he should find a place to bury himself right now.

"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"I have not asked anything of you, Nathanos. In fact, what you do next is entirely up to you. You have traveled back ten thousand years, which is before the Burning Legion's invasion."

Nathanos stood up and said, "You want me to help the Night Elf fight off the Burning Legion?"

The raven flapped its wings and landed in front of Nathanos. After a flash of light, Medivh reverted to his original form. "It's up to you. You can tell the Night Elf about the Burning Legion's impending invasion, or you can stand by and watch."

"They shouldn't know... I will keep this secret." Nathanos looked directly at the Guardian. "The fact that the world still exists ten thousand years from now proves that the Burning Legion was defeated in a bloody battle. Even without me..." He looked at his hands, "And my body can't withstand any more strain."

"Yes, but it seems there are others who went back 10,000 years."

Nathanos had clearly forgotten that Medivh seemed to have been keeping an eye on him the whole time.

"That Orcs? What's going on with him?"

"There are not only Orcs, but also a human and a dragon. They are among those who have sensed the anomaly in Nozdormu."

The Undead reached out of the cage and grabbed Medivh's shoulder. Despite his weakened state, the undead still caused Medivh considerable pain. "You should know better than I do! Medivh, you brought me to this era, and those people too. We didn't have to do anything, just stay here... and we might have already rewritten history! This era has no Orcs, no humans, and certainly no... Undead!"

"What you said... makes a lot of sense." Medivh nodded thoughtfully, but the corners of his eyes betrayed him; the Guardian had clearly rejected Nathanos's idea.

"I'll explain everything to you slowly, but we'd better leave here first." Medivh glanced at the storeroom door. "Azshara could come back at any time."

The commotion hadn't subsided when Azshara, accompanied by Vashj and guards, arrived at the palace's central square. Standing on the terrace, Azshara was almost stunned. The corridors and platforms on either side of her were filled with demonic guards wielding Greatsword, while below, a terrifying figure moved forward on its thick, powerful limbs, reminiscent of Dragons. A massive tail swept across the ground. It was engulfed in green flames from head to tail, and possessed broad wings. Although the wings were wide, they couldn't lift such a colossal body. The skin not covered by black armor was a dark gray-green. It was enormous, twice the size of Hakkar the Houndmaster. The fangs protruding from its upper jaw were dagger-shaped.

Mannoroth the Destructor let out a deep, maniacal laugh. Azshara finally understood why it was so noisy.

"I can see your frantic inner self..."

The surrounding Doomguard roared in fury!

"I can feel your endless roar. I can still hear the cries of thousands of conquered souls! Yes! We will sound the horns of war, let Sargeras' wrath burn in this wretched world." Mannoroth swung his massive twin blades, raising the atmosphere to its peak. "Let the flames of hell pierce the land, burning everything... Let the prelude to destruction begin. Let your leader, the Destroyer, lead you to eternal victory."

The prelude to destruction? Was he talking about himself? Azshara stared at Mannoroth, who was spouting nonsense. "What on earth is going on?"

Now, only Sargeras could offer her an explanation, and fortunately, the advisor had already arrived at her side. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty, here..."

"Forget the formalities, Sargeras. Now answer my question directly."

"Yes, Your Majesty. His name is Mannoroth. The chief god personally sent him to oversee the progress of the portal. He will assist..." Sargeras hadn't finished speaking when he saw Azshara walk over. "Your Majesty, wait."

'His name is Mannoroth? That's enough!'

Compared to Mannoroth, Azshara was utterly insignificant, but she wasn't worried at all. "Great monster, as far as I know, your name is Mannoroth! I am Azshara, the holy Queen Azshara. Now, kneel before me immediately!"

These words stunned Sargeras and Mannoroth, but the Destroyer was more furious.

"You little worm, watch your tongue! Or I'll end your pitiful life right now! I am Mannoroth, the great destroyer, Sargeras's Unyielding Fist!"

Azshara smiled, and said in a coquettish tone like a little girl, "I'm sure you didn't understand me, Mannoroth. The noise you made definitely distracted you."

'You fool, Mannoroth!' Another voice echoed in the Destroyer's mind, a voice that filled him with awe. 'Your power is no match for hers. Forget the Elf Queen and the other Elf. Hurry up and complete the task I've given you.'

Mannoroth snapped out of his daze and realized that Azshara was staring at him. "Haha... Your Majesty, I'm sorry! I didn't recognize you at first. Here, you all look the same to me."

"That's the attitude you should have." Azshara stopped the spell she was silently chanting, Mannoroth was spared. "I don't want my palace to be noisy, so you'd better keep quiet." The queen left a warning and returned to Sargeras's side. The advisor was already sweating profusely; the queen had almost struck him.

"Just pretend I didn't hear anything, and I won't do anything to him..." Azshara said to Sargeras. The queen almost never looked at her with a warning look, but this time was different. "But, Sargeras, tell that savage and uncouth fellow that I'm letting him live only for the sake of the chief god, nothing more!"