Inside the temporary safe haven, Umnii and Lyham all but flop onto some nearby furniture, both absolutely exhausted. Their clothes were ripped and torn, and their pale blue skin was covered in scratches, bite marks, and burns.
The atmosphere is pretty depressing, most of the group was certain that they weren't going to live through this. Almost the entirety of the planet had been corrupted or destroyed by the demons already, and the Draenei doubted that even their auspicious leaders could do anything to fix it now.
"W-we're doomed. No one can save us now... O-our world is ruined..." Lyham despairingly says with his forehead resting on his palm. No one immediately rejects his words either as they too are in the depths of uncertainty concerning their survival...
"W-we must be strong, for our families... The ones we lost." Umnii starts but Lyham interjects.
"Why? Why should we continue when everyone else has left us? Maybe... Maybe it would be better to end ourselves now, to join their spirits in death."
Irarus scowls at the despairing man, "Seeking death in cowardice, you are a disgrace to everyone who has fallen. Have you forgotten that you have an obligation to your kin? To continue your lineage where they can not?... Of course not, you forgot and wish for the easy way out." he states, causing Lyham to shrink further into himself.
Michael just watches all of this with folded arms, finding it peculiar just how similar the Draenei were to all other humanoid races he'd met thus far. It might be because these universes were originally thought up by humans, but they all still held the base components of humanity, the positive and negative... Sure, the Altmer tended to be more arrogant, the orcs more barbaric, and the Nords more combative, but those were just slight differences all things considered.
These Draenei were completely alien in appearance, yet they squabbled and despaired like regular joe's. Despite the fact that they lived on an entirely different planet that their race dominated, like the humans in his original world... Well, dominated until now that is.
His thoughts drift to the magic the girl was using, wondering if he could, as they say, 'Get 'im summa that'. It was markedly different to the magic his Spirits and the College of Winterhold had been teaching him, so he was interested to see where its limits lie.
"What do we do them, 'oh great leader!?', we are surrounded on all sides, and even after exhausting ourselves fighting we are no closer to our goal!" Lyham exclaims, making sure to keep his voice low to prevent the demons from realising their location.
Irarus sneers and tightly clasps his large fists, "We fight, and keep fighting until we either reach our goal, or perish. That is the Eredar way." he gestures contemptibly at Lyham, "Not this, pathetic weakness. Even this stranger, 'Michae', has shown more courage than you, even with his weak and frail physique. An Eredar's heart!"
...
Michael tentatively coughs into his fist, "Er, just so you guys know. I'm not an 'Eredar'." he remarks, wondering why they were calling themselves 'Eredar' as opposed to 'Draenei'.
...
The room goes silent as they all look over at him, each gripping their respective weapons as if preparing for a fight.
Michael lets out a sigh, slowly reaching for the Dragon Priest Mask and pulling it off, "I'm not a demon either though, so get that right." he says as the Eredar people gape at him as if he was an alien... Huh, he was an alien to them though, wasn't he?
"W-what are you then? If you are not one of those invaders outside?" Irarus glowers, looking as if he wanted to crush his head with his war hammer.
Michael shrugs, "I'm a human, not from this planet... I'm here to hunt demons, believe it or not." he says, his words not technically false.
...
"Is that so...? Then, you would know more of these invaders than we." Umnii asks.
He nods, "I do... If I remember my lore right." he whispers the last part, "The Burning Legion, ruled by... Sargaras? Sargarick? Sargeras...? Yeah, that sounds correct. Anyway, from what I know he brings his armies from world to world in an attempt to wipe out all life from the universe. So yeah, your planet ain't the first, and certainly ain't gonna be the last." he pauses, allowing the group to absorb the information he'd dumped on them.
"But there's good news too! I have the ability to transport you away from this place, to safety. It'd take a while but I could do it." he says.
"And the cost?" Irarus asks, knowing that such a thing would come with a price. "What would you ask of us in return?"
Michael smiles, "Well, to start, how about we stop the demons from stealing your magical knowledge? Your libraries would be better in my hands than theirs, right?"
...
"The Great Library was overrun when this started. I barely escaped while the others were being slaughtered." Umnii solemnly says, her glowing blue eyes dimming with emotion. "There might be survivors in the higher restricted zones but, I doubt they will have lasted this long."
"This 'Great Library' must be nearby if you managed to reach it." Michael remarks, slipping his mask back onto his face due to how everything was analysing him as if he were an almost extinct animal.
Umnii nods, "It's a mile south of here, you must have seen it before you crashed into the building earlier... It's the largest structure in this part of Eredath."
"A-are we really going to listen to this foreigner though?" Lyham suddenly chimes in, "Are we to trust him over the Triumvirate?"
...
Michael shrugs, "Well, you can choose to go looking for your quiet and missing leaders in hopes of them actually doing something... Or you can bet on me, who promises to take you away from this burning world in exchange for your help."
Umnii stands and clutches her staff to her chest, "I'm going with him. We might even be able to save other survivors..." she says.
Irarus slowly nods at that, "I agree. We've not heard a word from our leaders, so it's safe to say they are either dead, indisposed, or have already abandoned us. We must seek our own fortunes." he decides, convincing the rest of the group to go along with Michael's plans.
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*CRAASH!*
A huge shard of ice punches through a stone fence, creating a path for Michael and the group of Draenei to run through. All while fighting off the screeching demons that run at them in response.
A group of flaming imps charge at him, but he flicks Derflinger out and removes one of their claws, afterwards drawing his ebony dagger and driving it into the creature's skull before turning towards the rest, his Gandalfr runes glowing with intensity as he does so.
They were now following a long path that'd lead to the Great Library, but as soon as the group reach an apex in the road, the Draenei stumbled to a halt in shock at the literal army of demons assaulting the building.
The huge library was circular in design and fortified with the hardest stones, almost every exterior surface was covered in glowing blue gems that project a barrier that stops any attacks from instantly destroying it. Unfortunately, such defences weren't able to stop the demons from simply entering through the front door...
Indeed, the demons closest to the library were far bigger in size than the ones they'd fought before. Only the winged demon that Michael was unable to beat was bigger. This proved a boon however, as the library's entrances were simply too small for the bigger demons to access, forcing them to wait outside while the smaller forces attempted to take control of the place.
"No... It's worse than I thought." Umnii mutters, almost dropping her staff as she looks down at the things that await them.
Michael shakes his head, retrieving the Book of Legends and taking out a box of potions before handing them out. The group drinks a healthy amount of Health, Stamina, and Mana potions to help them recover, each storing some away while Michael prepares something.
He focuses on the spell he'd stolen from the winged demon that'd summon a green flaming meteor which would become a golem and start wrecking shit. It was usually too mana intensive to spam, but that wasn't an issue now that he was preparing to chug mana potions like some kind of Skooma junky. "Here, let me show you what I stole from the demons earlier." he says before placing some potion mana vials in his mouth and raising his hands.
"Infernals!" he intones, his voice muffled by the vials. His hands suddenly burst with green fire that somehow doesn't harm him. He tips his head back, allowing the potions to flow down his throat as he finishes the spell.
With that, everyone's eyes are drawn towards the sky above the army of demons, many fiery green balls of stone rocket down from the air and heavily collided with the ground, crushing many demons in their wake.
Then, within the obscured impact sights, fiery green golems stand and begin thrashing around at any nearby demon, killing any they see.
Michael lowers his hands and spits out the potions, breathing heavily due to his lack of mana. "T-that should keep 'em busy for a bit. Let's get through while they're busy." he says, downing one more mana potion before making his way down the pathway.
The Draenei follow, Umnii matching his pace as she looks at him, "C-can they all do that? The demons?" she anxiously asks, she'd seen a similar sight when the invasion began, but she'd never thought that the meteors were so dangerous.
Michael shakes his head, "Only a few of them can, I think. A demon who punted me into the sky was able to cast it... I stole it from him... Now, less questions, more fighting." he says, readying Derflinger.
With that, he activates his Phase Boots and charges forwards, his blade decapitating a large demon who was glaring at one of Michael's summoned Infernals. The group is actually only noticed because Irarus thought it would be a good idea to give a battlecry, attracting any demons who weren't already fighting towards them.
A demon looks to channelling a black spell in preparing to cast it, but Michael stops it with a glare, his [Silent Terror] ability from Silencer preventing it from finishing the spell... Indeed, it seemed quite volatile as the misfired spell explodes in its hands, causing it and a few of its allies to shrivel up and turn into desiccated husks before dropping lifeless to the floor.
"Fade Bolt!" he casts causing green energy to shoot from his fingertip and jumping from enemy to enemy in a chain reaction, quickly covering almost the entirety of the demon army in green, weakening energy.
Derflinger shines brightly as [Glaives of Wisdom] and [Mana Break] work in concert. Allowing Michael to cleave a pathway through the army which the group of Draenei follow him through.
*Shudder!*
Michael pauses midstep as he spots a larger than average demon stomping towards them, the huge flaming sword in its hand looking ready to cut through him and the rest of his allies in one swipe.
It looked like a bipedal red-skinned winged bull that'd been mutated beyond all recognition. It was around 11ft tall and didn't give even the slightest care to the other demons it crushed as it charged over towards Michael and his group.
"SUFFER ANNIHILATION!" it roars in a distorted voice, bringing its blade down towards them.
Michael growls under his breath as he raises Derflinger to intercept it, knowing that if he moved now Irarus or Lyham would be cut in half.
"I will aid you!" Irarus shouts, bathing Michael in golden light as the Doomguard's attack finally connects.
"H-O-LY SHIIEEEEEEEET!" Derflinger screams as the sound of groaning metal rings out.
The Doomguard seeing his attack not instantly killing his opponent gives a snarl and rears back, trying for a horizontal attack this time...
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
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Faruk Ereng