Boom!

The ground shook again, and the people above grew increasingly uneasy.

“I’m truly afraid the earth might suddenly collapse beneath us.”

Standing atop the city wall, Thorin gazed toward Erebor’s gate, feeling as though several more hairs had turned white.

“Don’t worry,” Bard comforted him. “The houses here were built with Garrett’s methods. Even if the ground really collapses, they’ll hold.”

“Perhaps so… but Erebor isn’t like that…” Thorin didn’t know what else to say.

Fortunately, the terrain here was still stable enough.

When the great rift collapsed, the first to break free from the rubble was the Balrog. It reignited the flames that had been smothered, casting light into the ruined underground cavern.

The moment it emerged, the Balrog looked around warily, only to find itself completely alone.

Just as it was about to roar in triumph and declare its victory, plop! a square hole appeared beside it.

That man had climbed back up.

“Almost suffocated me down there.”

As Garrett dug his way upward with blocks stacked beneath his feet, the Balrog stared as though it had seen a ghost.

No, that was wrong. Ghosts weren’t nearly this terrifying. Most wraiths would be burned to ashes long before they could even approach the Balrog.

This man was far more frightening than any specter.

What kind of person had come to seek its destruction?

An elven lord? No… not an Elf. Likely some human hero of renown.

Seeing Garrett charging forward again, the Balrog made a decision.

Escape, return to the surface.

There might be an ambush above, but with caution, perhaps it still had a chance to get away.

Anywhere was better than staying here and fighting this human. No matter what awaited above, remaining here meant certain death.

With a harsh roar, it spread its wings and scrambled upward toward the only opening.

“Get back here!” Garrett shouted as he chased closely behind.

The Balrog ran frantically, smashing through obstacles with its hardened body. Each sweep of its wings unleashed surges of fire, both propelling it forward and igniting everything nearby.

Whoosh!

The sound of pursuit streaked closer and closer. Just as it reached its back, the Balrog spun suddenly and clashed weapons with Garrett. The impact hurled them both apart.

At this moment, Garrett found himself missing his old knockback resistance.

The Dragonflame Steel Armor kept him from losing much health, even after taking several blows from the Balrog and enduring the cavern’s collapse. Yet it didn’t keep him as steady, or as anchored, as before.

Inside the vast cavern, man and Balrog fought again. Bridges collapsed, railings toppled one after another, lanterns shattered across the floor, their warm flames replaced by the Balrog’s blazing inferno.

Elevator cables burned away, metal parts melted into molten iron, minecarts were smashed beyond repair.

No one knew how long the chase lasted, but eventually the fire spread into Erebor itself, racing upward through the mines into the Dwarves’ halls.

Fortunately, everyone had already fled.

Amid the Lonely Mountain’s labyrinth of bridges and structures, the Balrog rampaged wildly, one moment in the forges, the next crashing through houses or toppling market stalls.

Finally, after wreaking havoc throughout the mountain’s interior, it found a massive gate.

“Raaahh!”

Snarling toward its pursuer, it quickened its pace.

It was almost there. As long as it reached that place…

Boom!

Erebor’s gate could not escape its fate of destruction.

At last, the Balrog saw the sun. Throwing back its head, it roared triumphantly, as if celebrating its rebirth and newfound freedom.

Its cry echoed across the entire valley. In Dale, people clutched their ears, reeling in dizziness from the deafening sound.

As it appeared, steam rose in sheets from the nearby river.

“It’s here…”

An aged Dwarf trembled as he stared at the black smoke billowing from the gate, and at the Balrog itself standing there. Despair filled his heart.

Again.

Against this calamity incarnate, the people were smothered beneath its oppressive presence, struggling even to stand.

“Where’s Garrett?”

Thorin forced himself upright, staring fixedly at the gate. Worry filled his eyes.

Could it be…?

No. Impossible.

Just as everyone’s hearts were in their throats, the Balrog suddenly staggered, as if something had yanked it back.

It grabbed the hook digging into its back, crushed it, and burned the line away.

“Don’t run!”

The shout made the Balrog shudder in terror. Garrett burst forth, sword in hand, leaping down to strike. His blow knocked the beast rolling across the ground.

Crack!

The Balrog scrambled upright and conjured a flaming whip, lashing it toward Garrett. But Garrett calmly stretched out his arm, letting the whip coil around it.

The runic shield resisted the whip’s searing malice.

The Balrog had succeeded in binding Garrett, but the reverse was also true. Garrett had caught the Balrog.

With one hand gripping the whip, and the other swinging his greatsword, he pressed forward into close combat.

Whenever the Balrog tried to retreat or flee, he hauled it back with sheer force.

The shield value kept dropping, while the Balrog’s health declined rapidly as it fell further and further into disadvantage.

At that moment, the Balrog suddenly seemed to realize something. It glanced behind itself.

A human city.

Was this man its lord?

A wicked grin spread across its massive head.

It was likely going to die here today, but if it must die, then it would take others down with it.

Releasing the whip, it lunged toward Dale.

“Trying to run?”

But before the Balrog could even take a few steps, Garrett leapt high and cut it down with a single sword strike.

They clashed once again.

On the city wall, watching the Balrog being forced closer and closer, Bard couldn’t help but break into a sweat.

Even though he seemed to have the upper hand, suppressing the Balrog to the point it struggled to fight back, the battle didn’t look like it would end anytime soon.

Since the Balrog was nearly upon the walls, most people had already retreated further back. Only a handful still stood watching.

“Hah…”

“I finally understand why the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm were destroyed. That’s not something mortals can stand against.”

Exhaling deeply, Bard lifted his head. While others remained paralyzed by fear, he was the first to break free from it, immediately taking action.

Like lifting a child, he yanked Bain upright, his son’s back bent under the Balrog’s oppressive aura, and forced him to stand straight. At the same time, Bard snatched one of the two great bows from Bain’s hands.

“Stand up, Bain!”

Looking at his son, just recovering from his daze, the old father shouted, “Raise your chest! Lift your head! The second round has begun.”

He divided the dragonbone arrows in half and handed some to Bain.

“Garrett said to use these at the right moment. I believe that moment is now.”

“Father…”

Bain’s throat tightened. He reached out and gripped the arrows firmly.

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but in that brief instant when their hands touched, Bain thought he felt his father Bard trembling ever so slightly.

And an archer is very sensitive to trembling.

Boom!

In the dried-up moat, man and Balrog were still locked in combat.

Weakened further, the Balrog suddenly spread its wings, preparing to vault over the city wall and dive into the town.

“Still scheming…”

Garrett pulled out his dragonbone bow.

Just as he was about to nock an arrow to bring the Balrog down, suddenly the creature’s left wing split open with a gaping hole. Its attempt to take flight failed, and it crashed to the ground.

Turning, Garrett saw a dragonbone arrow embedded in the earth.

The Balrog roared in fury, glaring toward the source of the attack.

“I scored one!”

From the watchtower, Bain shouted in excitement, teeth chattering as the Balrog’s burning eyes fixed upon him.

To be stared at so closely by such a towering nemesis, it was overwhelming.

So overwhelming that his hands trembled too much to even pick up a second arrow.

“Well done!”

Garrett gave him a thumbs-up, immediately switched back to his Dragonflame Steel Sword, and rushed forward. He hacked off the Balrog’s other wing, then slammed it down at the edge of the wall with a crushing downward strike.

Forced into a corner, the Balrog raised its hands and conjured a greatsword of flame.

That sword had shone like the sun deep underground, and here on the surface it blazed no less brightly, nearly blotting out the true sun’s light.

The valley dimmed. But when Garrett unleashed a heavy armor-breaking technique with full strength, the flaming greatsword was instantly shattered, and sunlight poured once more over the land.

The kill threshold was near.

The Balrog’s health was already below one-quarter. One more solid combination would be enough…

With that in mind, he gripped his sword in both hands and lunged, thrusting hard at the Balrog’s chest.

But this time, the Balrog was not unprepared. It crossed its arms before its chest, sacrificing them to survive a little longer.

Just as Garrett’s thrust lost momentum and the Balrog breathed a sigh of relief,

A sound came from another direction. A dragonbone arrow split the air, grazing Garrett’s waist and striking the very base of his sword’s hilt.

The immense force drove the blade forward again, piercing through the Balrog’s arms and plunging deep into its chest.

Thud!

The Balrog staggered back, its flames flickering.

Garrett wrenched the Dragonflame Steel Sword free, and the beast toppled with a resounding crash.

That strike had been precise. The Balrog was left with only a sliver of life.

If it could speak, perhaps it would have asked: “Can we make peace?”

But it was too late.

Standing atop its body, Garrett drove his blade down once more, delivering the final blow.

[Title Unlocked: Bane of Balrogs]

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