Chapter 58: Similarity
Raesh's gaze rested on his father's sword that was carried by Dreadfist. He couldn't believe that this half-demon wielded his father's sword. He knew that Drak'tar was a very powerful runeblade, so he didn't want to imagine what a servant of the Burning Legion could do with it. His mother had told him a few things about it but not even she was aware of what the blade could do.
His father had never spoken to him about Drak'tar. He had never told him how powerful it really was. All Raesh knew that it was a very powerful and deadly weapon. A lot of damage could be done with it if it would fall into the wrong hands. And Dreadfist's hands were definitely the wrong hands.
"This is my father's sword," Raesh pressed through gritted teeth as he regarded Dreadfist with narrowed eyes.
"It was your father's sword. Now it is mine," replied the half-demon.
"Not for long," responded Raesh.
Dreadfist tilted his head a little and regarded Raesh curiously. "Is that a threat?"
"Maybe."
Laughter escaped Dreadfist's lips. "You are a fool if you believe that you can beat me. I'm afraid I must tell you that you won't win this battle. I'm playing in another league. You won't have a chance against me."
Raesh's voice sounded strong and serious. "We will see about that."
Due to the mask, Raesh was not able to see the grin on Dreadfist's pale lips. The half-demon lifted his thicker hand and snapped, creating three green portals through which demons and felblood elves stepped through. More than a hundred appeared and didn't hesitate to attack the soldiers of the Alliance.
Dreadfist raised Drak'tar, his eyes rested on Raesh. "Come and get me, boy. I'm curious to find out what you are capable of. Fight me like a man."
Raesh didn't go for his bait and remained on his spot. He turned his head, looking at Vereesa, Liadrin and Kaelor. They nodded at him and signalized him that they were ready. Raesh looked back at the half-demon who hadn't moved an inch yet. He was still standing at the same spot and regarded him curiously. Between him and Raesh were several demons and felblood elves. The Alliance had to take care of them first. And they did that.
Raesh turned the body of a female felblood elf to ashes as Dreadfist began to move. It was obvious that he was coming for him. Raesh shot a frost blast at the half-demon but he blocked it with his runeblade. He even blocked the arrow shot by Vereesa. Raesh tried to freeze the demon's feet to the floor but Dreadfist noticed his plan and jumped away at the last moment. He lifted his thicker hand and created a small green glowing sphere, flinging it at Raesh.
Raesh avoided it at the last moment but the sphere didn't just disappear. It hit a male sin'dorei and made him explode. Blood and innards spread all over the floor. It was horrible to watch. Raesh had to fight with himself to avoid throwing up. That way, his opponent had managed to prevent him from casting spells. Raesh's stomach was still cramping, the meal he had eaten this morning threatened to leave his bodythrough the same way he had consumed it.
Raesh managed to keep his food in his stomach but he was not able to cast a spell to keep Dreadfist at distance and prevent him from reaching him. Dreadfist approached him and tried to grab him. His fingers came dangerously close to the collar of Raesh's robe but Kaelor pulled him away at the last time. An angry sound left Dreadfist's lips as he missed him for a few inches. Dreadfist tried to grab Raesh again but he was hit by an arcane blast, causing him to stagger away from Raesh.
Dreadfist roared loudly and turned to the man who had cast the spell. It was Grand Magister Rommath who had once been loyal to Kael'thas but had retracted his oath to serve the king for all eternity. He wanted to stop the mad king by any means, just like Raesh and everyone who was with him.
"Magister Rommath...Another traitor who will die by my blade. You will wish you never turned away from our king. I will make an example out of you. I will show everyone what will happen to traitors like you."
Rommath's green eyes rested on the masked half-demon. "You will have to reach me first to do that."
Dreadfist didn't need to be told twice. He leapt in the air and landed next to the grand magister, executing a swift swing but the magister was gone before the blade reached him. He appeared on the other side of the hall, casting a fireball. The fiery missile hit Dreadfist in the back, damaging his armour. It was not strong enough to break it but it created cracks in the purple material. Dreadfist turned to him but he was hit in the back again before he was able to lift his left hand and cast a spell.
Dreadfist turned to Raesh, the look in his eyes told the young mage that he was not amused. The half-demon sprinted over to Raesh with such an incredible speed that he was not able to avoid him. Dreadfist rammed Raesh and pushed him to the floor, causing him to hit his head on the floor.
The surroundings blurred out for Raesh but he didn't lose consciousness. He was still awake but he didn't notice anything that was happening around him. Dreadfist tried to grab him but Kaelor bashed his hand away with his hammer, causing a painful cry to escape the half-demon's lips.
"You worthless piece of shit," Dreadfist roared and swung his sword, barely missing Kaelor who had made a step to the side at the last moment. Dreadfist swung again and hit this time. The sword cut through armour and left a yawning wound in Kaelor's left hip. A painful hiss escaped the blood elf's lips as he stumbled backwards and nearly fell. He managed to catch himself at the last moment but he had not enough time to dodge Dreadfist's foot.
The kick hit him in the chest, causing him to stagger more and fall to the floor. Dreadfist picked him up and enclosed his hand around his throat, choking him while holding him in the air. Kaelor struggled hard, trying to loosen the half-demon's grip but he was too strong. Kaelor was not able to push Dreadfist's armoured fingers away. He noticed quickly that he was running out of air. He knew he had to free himself if he didn't want to die but he had no idea how.
Holy light was radiated by his left hand but Dreadfist's entire body was covered by armour. Kaelor could not directly hurt the half-demon with the help of the light. Things were looking bad for him. He knew he would run out of air soon. He knew that Dreadfist wouldn't need long to strangle him to death.
His surroundings blurred out and became black, the pain got worse with each passing second. But then it became weaker suddenly. His vision was still blurred and his throat hurt a lot but at least he was able to breathe. His breaths were fast and unsteady but he was able to inhale oxygen. Against his expectation and his greatest fear, he was not dead. He was still alive. He felt weak but he was alive.
His vision returned slowly and the first person he saw was his lover who was casting frost spells. Kaelor let his gaze wander, noticing that Dreadfist's sword was frozen along with his sword hand. Raesh was firing more spells, Vereesa was shooting more arrows and Liadrin managed to hit the half-demon with a few strikes.
His armour was damaged but not broken yet. His flesh was not exposed, meaning he still couldn't be injured yet. But it was only a matter of time until his armour would break. More spellcasters, archers and ranged and melee fighters were attacking the half-demon who was the only remaining servant of the Burning Legion in the hall.
Kaelor noticed that some of his comrades had fallen in the meantime but there were still enough soldiers left who were attacking the masked demon. Raesh stepped to him as soon as he noticed that he was back in the present. He helped him up and showed him where his hammer was. Kaelor rushed to the spot and picked it up, noticing the small cracks in the hammer's head. He ran his hand over the cracks, noticing that they were not deep. It had to be repaired but it was still useable.
He joined the battle and started to attack Dreadfist who didn't manage to block all of his hits. His armour got more and more damaged. The cracks became deeper, wider and longer but the armour was still intact. The soldiers of the Alliance didn't give him the opportunity to try to free his sword hand from the ice. His right hand was casting spells but all of them were protective spells that allowed him to avoid some hits and techniques.
He stepped to the side and avoided Liadrin's sword swing and Kaelor's hammer swing at the same time. He even avoided Vereesa's arrow but he was not able to avoid the lightning strike cast by a draenei shaman. The technique stunned Dreadfist long enough to prevent him from creating a barrier to block the next few techniques. Rommath, Raesh and a few other mages combined their strongest spells and managed to destroy Dreadfist's upper body armour.
The half-demon's skin was as white as bones and decorated by green glowing tattoos. A green glowing felstone stuck in the middle of his muscular chest. There were lots of smaller felstones which pointed tips stuck out of his shoulders.
"I have enough of this," hissed Dreadfist. He cast a shock wave that threw away everyone around him. Then he put his left hand on the block of ice that was wrapped around his sword and his right hand, causing it to crack. It took him only a few seconds to free his sword hand. He swung the runeblade, cutting the nearest soldier in two pieces. A female blood knight approached him but she died before she got the chance to hit him. Two more soldiers died before the first spells flew towards Dreadfist.
Dreadfist's exposed upper body got hit but only medium-deep wounds were left. But they were not open for too long, they healed without Dreadfist needing to do anything. They had healed on their own, telling the warriors of the Alliance that the half-demon had strong regeneration powers.
"That is not good," hissed Rommath.
"Aim at his head," shouted Vereesa and drew an arrow from her quiver. The arrow flew but Dreadfist destroyed it with his runeblade. The half-demon grabbed the nearest soldier, lifted them in the air and smashed him onto the floor with all of his strength. The sound of broken bones was loudly hearable, so was the soldier's painful cry. The cry died away when Dreadfist crushed the soldier's skull with his massive feet. "Annoying insect," the demon hissed as he averted his gaze from the night elf's corpse.
His gaze fell on Raesh who didn't stop casting spells even though he knew that he was running out of mana. He was aware that he would be only able to cast a few spells before his reserves would be used up. He still had his spellblade which he could use to fight the demon in close combat and he could also pick up bow and quiver from a deceased archer. He wouldn't be useless when he would spend the last portions of his mana.
"You mortal weaklings are getting on my nerves. It's time to end this," Dreadfist shouted. He rammed his sword into the floor and muttered a few words, causing a green shimmering barrier to appear around him. He removed his left glove, revealing his thick hand. It was a demonic hand which looked similar to the hand of Raesh's father. He noticed the similarities. It was thicker than his father's hand but had the same colour.
Golden runic symbols decorated the fel green skin just like tattoos. The runic symbols looked similar to the symbols on his father's hand. Raesh was not sure if they were just similar or even identical to the ones his father had. He had never taken a closer look at them so he couldn't tell whether his assumption was right or wrong. At this very moment, he wished he had done that.
Dreadfist held the hand on the same height than his head, all of its five fingers were stretched out. "HE IS CASTING A POWERFUL SPELL. MOVE AWAY FROM HIM QUICKLY!" cried Vereesa. She had seen what could be done with the runeblade when Kelrian had used it in Deatholme, so she expected that Dreadfist could do the same. He could cause similar destruction than Kelrian had caused back then.
Everyone who was around the demon was in danger. But not everyone managed to get away in time. The explosion claimed the lives of almost two dozen soldiers.
"I TOLD YOU THAT YOU HAVE NO CHANCE AGAINST ME. I GAVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET OUT ALIVE IF RAESH WINDRUNNER COMES WITH ME. BUT HE REFUSED, THAT WAS HIS MISTAKE. IT'S HIS FAULT THAT ALL OF YOU HAVE TO DIE NOW," roared Dreadfist and began to cast a spell. He threw a green energy sphere at the nearest group of soldiers. The explosion killed all six soldiers and left nothing of them behind. It almost seemed as if they had been erased from existence.
Evil laughter escaped Dreadfist's lips as he saw the shocked expressions on the faces of the other soldiers.
"Accept your demise, foolish weaklings," the half-demon cried as he created another green energy sphere which he didn't hesitate to throw.
Raesh noticed that it was flowing towards the group of archers that were standing behind Vereesa. All of them would die if he wouldn't do anything. He couldn't allow that. He couldn't allow his aunt to die. His mother would be devasted if she would lose her little sister after her husband had been captured by the Burning Legion. They already lost too many soldiers due to Dreadfist's destructive spells, so Raesh couldn't allow them to lose more. He had to find a way to stop the half-demon but first, he had to protect his aunt.
Raesh focused the last remains of his mana and created a barrier around the archers. He had no idea if it was strong enough to absorb the sphere. He was praying to the Sunwell that it would be strong enough. He noticed that Rommath and other mages used the last remains of their mana to strengthen the barrier.
What happened next really surprised Raesh and everyone else. He had hoped the barrier to neutralize the sphere but it did something else with the deadly missile. The sphere was not neutralized but thrown back.
Dreadfist was as surprised as Raesh as he leapt to the side and avoided his own technique at the last moment. The sphere flew through the door at the opposite side of the room. The following explosion made the walls and the ground shake. Nothing else happened for a few moments but then a loud siren sounded. The deafening sounds didn't allow anyone to concentrate.
Raesh looked at Dreadfist, noticing that his eyes were widened. He could not see his face but he still assumed that the half-demon knew what was going on.
A loud mechanical voice came from the speakers in the top corners of the room. "ALARM. THE REACTOR IS IN A CRITICAL CONDITION. THE CHANCES OF A EXPLOSION IS VERY HIGH. PLEASE STAY CALM AND LEAVE THE BUILDING AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. DO NOT PANIC."
"WE MUST GET OUT OF HERE," cried Liadrin and pointed at the exit. "RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN."
The soldiers didn't need to be told twice and rushed towards the exit. The mechanical voice resounded again, repeating the same sentences. It advised them to stay calm and not break out in panic but the soldiers did the entire opposite. They ran as fast as they could, some of them even stumbled and fell to the floor. Some of their comrades stopped to help them up while others ignored them and thought only of themselves.
Raesh went to Kaelor, who had fallen as well, and helped him up. They nodded at each other before they started to run towards the entrance. But before they could reach it, Dreadfist appeared in front of it. His eyes were narrowed and reflected anger. It was very likely that his facial expression reflected anything but amusement.
He swung his sword at Kaelor and tried to grab Raesh at the same time. Kaelor managed to block the swing but his hammer was destroyed in the process, leaving the paladin defenceless. Raesh jumped to the left side and pulled an item from his belt. It was a grenade. A very special grenade made for fighting demons.
He threw the grenade which exploded right before the demon's masked face. Raesh turned his head at the last moment so that he was not dazzled by the light which spread out in all directions.
"ARRGH! MY EYES" Dreadfist cried out as he staggered backwards. He was not able to see anything, so he struck out in all directions and hoped to hit his opponents. Raesh looked at Kaelor who nodded at him. Together, they managed to pass the demon without getting hit by his sword and demonic hand.
Raesh had noticed that one of the runes on Dreadfist's hand and one of the runes engraved in the blade had stopped glowing. The same had happened when his father had used the blade in Deatholme. His mother had told him everything she had witnessed in that battle. Raesh knew that the technique Dreadfist had used was the same his father had used in Deatholme. Raesh was wondering if that had to mean something. Raesh would love to analyse all the information he had gathered about Dreadfist but he had not the time for that yet.
They had to get away from the manaforge first before he could do that. He would have enough time to analyse everything when they were in safety. Together with Kaelor, he ran as fast as possible. He turned his head from time to time to check if the half-demon was following them but he was not. They didn't even see him leaving the manaforge. They had no idea where he was but they didn't care.
Even though they had brought much distance between themselves and the manaforge, the explosion still threw them away. They landed on the firm, infertile ground and laid there for a few moments. Their bodies hurt but the pain eased off quickly as priests began to treat them. They helped them up eventually, asking if they were okay. Raesh and his boyfriend answered the question in the affirmative.
They looked at each other for a few moments before they embraced each other tightly. They shared a quick kiss before they pulled away and looked at the ruins of the manaforge. "We did it," Kaelor said quietly. Despite their victory, he didn't sound delighted.
"We lost so many soldiers to achieve our goal...If I would have known that this mission would claim the lives of so many soldiers, I would have convinced my aunt and my grand cousin to not go there and travel to Tempest Keep instead," replied Raesh. Sadness was reflected in his voice and in his eyes.
"We killed many demons and traitors in return. Many enemies of the sin'dorei fell today. It still shocks me how drastically our former brethren changed. What the fel did to them... Most of them were not recognizable, they looked anything but humanoid. And this Dreadfist... He was an elf too, wasn't he? He had elven ears but it is hard to tell if he was a sin'dorei or kaldorei."
"I guess we will never find that out."
"Do you think he is dead?" Kaelor asked curiously.
Raesh shrugged. "I have no idea. I hope he is dead. I don't want to fight him again... He is stronger than anyone I have ever met."
"We have no proof that he is dead."
"There is something that doesn't want to leave my mind. I just realised it when we got out."
Kaelor raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" he asked curiously.
"For some reason, Dreadfist reminded me a little of my father. His voice was different but his hand with its runic symbols were so similar to my father's hand. The left hand of both of them looked anything but humanoid. He had my father's sword and used the same technique my father used in Deatholme. Not to mention that his posture, his moves and fighting style showed similarities to my father's."
"Are you implying that..." Kaelor didn't finish his sentence.
Raesh shrugged, a thoughtful look could be seen on his face. "I don't know what to think. There is no way that this creature is my father... I hope Dreadfist just an imitator who wants to confuse us."
Kaelor's facial expression was similar to that of Raesh. He was thinking about his boyfriend's words. "You could be right but..."
"I could also be wrong. We need more pieces of evidence. I can only hope for the sake of my mother that this creature is not my father. If it turns out that Dreadfist is my father... She will be devasted..."
Kaelor remained silent, not knowing what to say. He put a hand on Raesh's shoulder, patting it softly. Raesh looked at him but said nothing for a while.
"We should go to your aunt and grand cousin and discuss what to do next."
Raesh nodded and followed him silently.
---
The pain was stronger than he had expected. It had started in his left lung and quickly spread out through his entire body. His entire body was hurting and there was no way to make it stop. He didn't have any felstones left which stored power he could use to ease the pain. There was no one in his near who could help him.
He had searched through the ruins of Manaforge Duro but had found nothing. No healing potion, no creature whose lifeforce he could drain and no items that contained fel energy. He was too weak to regenerate. The grenade had stunned him much longer than expected and the explosion had badly injured him.
There was a huge yawning wound in his torso, his right forearm was missing and three of his six horns were broken. A large splinter of a wooden beam stuck in his left upper thigh. He was badly wounded and he had no idea where his runeblade was. The runeblade Exadius had given him was nowhere to be found. He could drain energy from it and sustain himself but he didn't have it. He searched the ruins for the third time but he didn't spot it.
"Are you looking for this?" asked a strange voice.
Dreadfist turned around, his two-coloured eyes fell on the sword held by a demon. It was not a common demon. It was a dreadlord but not an unknown. It was a famous dreadlord. Or infamous dreadlord from the perspective of the Horde and Alliance.
The wings of the nathrezim had a similar colour than his shoulder plates. Bilious green. The rest of the armour was black. Dreadfist knew who he was, although it was the first time he met him personally. He had seen this dreadlord often in visions and even in his nightmares. He had not spent any time with him but he still despised him. He knew what this particular nathrezim had done. He was aware of how many lives had been destroyed because of him.
Despite his aversion to the dreadlord, Dreadfist remained calm and gave him a polite answer to his question. "I do. Where did you find it?"
The dreadlord pointed at the remains of the reactor. "This is a very powerful sword. It didn't get damaged when an immense amount of arcane energy was set free as the reactor exploded. I'm impressed."
"This is no ordinary runeblade."
"I know a lot of runeblades. I recognize a very powerful sword when I see it. This one is much stronger than any other runeblade I have ever seen. Except for a certain runeblade. A cursed one," the dreadlord told.
"You mean the one which killed you."
The nathrezim's facial features derailed. Anger could be seen on his pale face but the anger faded quickly and his expression became neutral.
"Seems I struck a nerve," said Dreadfist.
The nathrezim was not amused. "You did. I will not condone the fact that Arthas killed me in Northrend. I will have my vengeance one day. I will not let him go unpunished."
"That makes two of us."
The nathrezim grinned. "Good that we are on the same side."
"We might be on the same side but I still don't like you. You are the last person I want to work with."
"Too bad. We could have made a great team."
"I do not work with the creature that is jointly responsible for the death of my wife and the deaths of nine hundred thousand innocents. If you wouldn't have corrupted Arthas..."
"It was Tichondrius who ordered Arthas to attack Quel'Thalas. Not me."
"You are also responsible. Do not try to talk your way out, Mal'Ganis."
Mal'Ganis tilted his head and raised a brow. "And what are you going to do now, Dreadfist? Do you intend to kill me? In your condition? Without the Sword of the Abyss?"
Dreadfist lifted his left hand. "I still have this gift."
Soft laughter escaped Mal'Ganis' lips. "That wouldn't be enough against me. Drak'tar is too powerful. You have no chance against me as long as I have it."
"You might be right about that. So, tell me what do you want, Mal'Ganis."
"Well, I need a powerful sword if I want to take my vengeance as soon as I get an opportunity." His green eyes fell on the runeblade. "I think I will keep it. You don't have anything against it, do you? Why am I even asking you? You are not in the condition to fight me and get it back."
Evil laughter escaped Mal'Ganis' lips. "Ask your partner if he makes you a new one. I doubt it will be as powerful as this one. Anyway, I guess we will see each other sooner or later. I have a business to take care of in Northrend."
"You son of a..." Mal'Ganis teleported away with the runeblade before the half-demon could finish his sentence.