Aragorn wasn't one for words—he acted swiftly!
A brilliant white light flared above his head, rapidly forming into a magic circle. BOOM! The spatial tremors of a mass teleportation echoed around him, and in the next moment, Gandalf appeared in all his glory—riding a white horse, looking as flamboyant as ever.
"Seems you're in trouble, Aragorn!"
"Hahaha! Long time no see! Sorry to interrupt your... ahem... happy retirement!" Aragorn's tone was serious, but the smirk on his face was impossible to suppress. "My apologies!"
Hmph! Sure, it had been a while since they'd met in person, but they'd chatted plenty in the mental channels of the Heart of Origin! And so what if Gandalf had been occupied lately, studying the arcane with Medivh? What was there to tease about? At least he wasn't a thousand-year-old bachelor like Aragorn! Why not mention how Gimli was already expecting his second child?!
Gandalf's face reddened, though his thick beard hid it well. "Enough talk. Let's fight!"
Aragorn took one look at him and finally lost it, grinning like a madman.
"Just some Eredar lord-level demon. If it weren't for all his cannon fodder, I'd have crushed him already!"
Rakish, hearing this, flew into a rage. "I want that paladin's head! Flank them! Felguards! Doomguards! Attack!"
But Aragorn and Gandalf were both demi-gods in power, backed by elite troops. They held firm against the demonic onslaught.
As the battle lines pressed closer, Rakish was forced to halt his fel corruption of the naaru. "Enough! Let's end this farce!"**
A massive Fel Annihilator materialized at his command, and he swiftly boarded the mechanized monstrosity.
"FEL BARRAGE!"
The towering fel-mech unleashed a torrent of green artillery fire, raining destruction upon Aragorn's forces. The sheer density of the barrage meant catastrophic casualties if it landed.
Just as Gandalf shot Aragorn a questioning glance—Should we retreat?—a massive holy barrier, hundreds of meters wide, flared to life above them.
Aragorn sensed something and whirled around.
Prophet Velen stood at the entrance of the Seat of the Naaru, leaning on his violet crystal staff, flanked by Maraad and a host of draenei defenders. After casting the barrier, Velen didn't stop—he advanced, his forces purging the demons within the protected zone.
"We made it! Praise the merciful and glorious Light! We must save Vorlus first, then deal with Rakish!"
With Velen's supreme healing and the draenei defenders, they swiftly cleared most of the demons, pushing the frontline right up to Rakish's face. Velen even attempted to dispel the fel energies around Vorlus—but failed.
Velen shouted at Rakish: "You've lost, fallen one! Now, you shall pay for your atrocities!"
Rakish, piloting the Annihilator, raised its twin cannons and sneered:
"Ah, the destined savior arrives! Did your prophecies foretell your victory over me, Velen?"
"How pathetic—a seer who flees from fate!"
But then, his tone darkened. "Before I surrender to the Light's judgment... I have one last act."
BOOM!
The Annihilator's cannons blasted Vorlus directly, the fel energy tearing the naaru apart.
"NO!" Velen's cry was one of pure anguish.
"Charge! Bring that thing down!" Aragorn roared, leading the assault.
Rakish fought desperately. "In my master's sanctum, a thousand smoldering worlds lie in ruin. And now, I reserve a place for yours among them!"
"The Burning Legion has failed on Azeroth before!" Aragorn activated Avenging Wrath, his wings spanning nearly ten meters. "This is just your death throes!"
"Judgment!"
A colossal hammer of Light slammed down onto the Annihilator's head. Though the "head" wasn't the core, crushing it disrupted the machine's functions.
Inside the cockpit, Rakish's face twisted with madness.
"You think you've won? Taste defeat—even if it costs me my life!"
"Argus shall herald your doom! The Destroyer is primed—its power that of a collapsing star! This world beneath us will be reduced to ASH!"
Velen's expression changed abruptly.
"No... this isn't right. I... I've seen this before..."
A vision from 25,000 years ago resurfaced—a prophecy he had long forgotten. The moment his own son was born, a fleeting image had flashed in his mind.
And now, facing Rakish—whose name in Eredun meant "Butcher"—Velen remembered.
This demon was his son.
"This cannot be!" Velen's composure shattered. "Aragorn, my brother! Don't kill him! STOP! I beg you!"
Aragorn hesitated, his hammer pausing mid-swing.
But Rakish showed no mercy. Fel artillery exploded at Aragorn's feet, though the paladin's Divine Shield saved him.
Rakish laughed wildly. "In my final moments, I shall see your faces. Before I turn to dust, this pain will be my last memory. And I welcome it..."
Aragorn's gaze hardened. "Velen! I have no choice—if we don't destroy this machine, every living thing here dies!"
Velen's voice broke. "No, brother of the Light! If you won't stop, then I must—"
BOOM!
Before Velen could finish, Aragorn leaped onto the Annihilator's shoulder.
Fel and Holy Light collided in a cataclysmic explosion.