chsdbacks Chapter 167 The Abyss of Fall
Chapter 167 The Abyss of Fall
Chapter 167 The Abyss of Fall
The Killing Curse struck the Flame Demon instantly.
The Flame Demon was severely injured and let out a painful scream, its flames flickering on and off.
Dui, panting heavily and leaning on his staff, couldn't help but show a look of joy on his face.
But the next second, his expression froze and his pupils contracted.
The Balrog broke free from the basilisk's eye magic. Enraged, it lashed out with its flaming whip, sending the "Water Watcher" and the basilisk that had successfully launched a sneak attack flying, plummeting into the abyss.
Before Dui could even worry about the basilisk monster Helbo, the Balrog let out a low, eerie roar, and the surrounding flames were swallowed up like a whale and absorbed into the Balrog's body.
The previously dim flames on the Balrog's body surged again, emitting a scorching heat.
At the same time, it conjured a flaming scepter.
Balrog brandished his flaming scepter, and even hotter flames erupted from it, spraying towards Dui and Gandalf.
Dui's expression changed, and he slammed his staff down, unleashing all his magic power.
"Super-strong armor protects you! Completely protected! Impregnable!"
A powerful magical barrier was erected by Dui, instantly enveloping him and Gandalf.
But the flames released by the Balrog were too intense, and the surrounding rocks were rapidly melting into lava.
The magical barrier that Dui had erected was also gradually thinning in a melting manner!
Even worse, the fire retardant's effects began to wane, and he started to feel the intense heat.
Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly pulled out several bottles of fire retardant from his pocket and poured them all into his mouth.
He also handed Gandalf, who was standing beside him, a fire-retardant potion.
"Gandalf, drink the potion quickly, or we'll be burned to death even if we aren't killed by the Balrog!"
Gandalf immediately tilted his head back and poured the potion down his throat, then faced the Balrog's flames head-on.
He held Dui's flaming sword, and the fire ring on his finger was fully revealed for the first time, releasing a dazzling light.
"I am the servant of the Secret Fire, the wielder of the Arno Blaze! The fires of darkness cannot defeat the flames of light! No evil spirit can cross my path!"
The Ring of Fire, Naya, displayed its immense power for the first time, with countless fire elements converging and setting Gandalf's flaming sword ablaze.
Gandalf and Duy were engulfed in a storm of fire, the holy flames battling against the Balrog's dark fire.
The entire mine was instantly filled with flames, forming a sea of fire where orange and white flames intertwined.
Countless Orcs were unable to escape and were engulfed by the flames, turning directly into ashes.
The surrounding rock structures were destroyed and melted by the scorching flames.
Dui looked around at everything, his face full of relief.
Fortunately, he had prepared fire retardant; otherwise, even if he hadn't been burned to death, he would have been roasted to death by the high temperature!
Seeing Gandalf wield the power of the Ring of Fire and barely manage to fight against the Balrog.
Dui also took out the Light of Eyarendil and aimed his staff at the crystal bottle.
"Fluorescent lights!"
What was originally an ordinary glow spell produced an unexpected effect when combined with the light of Eyarendil in the crystal bottle.
The Light of Eyarendil burst forth with a dazzling light, carrying a purifying power that subdues all darkness. For a moment, it overshadowed the fire of the Balrog, causing the Balrog, who had fallen into darkness, to feel great discomfort.
Forced to retreat continuously, the Flame Demon had no choice but to use its enormous wings, formed from shadows, to block out the light.
Dui and Gandalf, working together, seemed to have the upper hand.
But both of them knew that this was only temporary.
Their strength is no match for the Flame Demon. Unless they can defeat the Flame Demon as soon as possible, they will only die if they continue to drag this out!
Just then, a deafening roar of a giant dragon came from the direction of the first hall on the east side.
Dui and Gandalf were immediately delighted.
Their helpers have finally arrived!
Sure enough, the next second, a huge dragon broke through the solid mountain wall, wearing sturdy armor, and flapping its huge wings as it descended from the sky.
"Master, I'm here! The great dragon Smaug is here to save you!"
Hearing Smaug's impatient words, Dui said impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense and get to the Balrog!"
"Okay, watch me!"
Smaug was very confident and directly spewed scorching dragonfire at the Balrog opposite him.
The scorching dragon flames sprayed directly onto the fire demon. The fire demon did not dodge, but stood there and accepted the baptism of the dragon flames.
It absorbed all the dragon flames into its body, making the flames around it even stronger and radiating an even more powerful aura.
"Uh, this..." Smaug was instantly dumbfounded.
Dui's face darkened, and he immediately suspected that the giant dragon was deliberately causing trouble.
"You stupid dragon, the Balrog is the embodiment of fire. Are you trying to make it stronger than it is by breathing fire on it?" Dui unleashed a torrent of fire. If flames could deal with the Balrog, he would have summoned Fiery War Aegis long ago. Why would he wait for this stupid dragon to breathe fire?
"Don't use flames to fight it, suppress it with your body!"
Hearing Dui's reprimand, Smaug felt a little guilty and immediately lunged at Balrog.
Smaug was over a hundred meters long, while Balrog was only six or seven meters tall. Even without the dragonfire, Smaug's massive size and hard scales and armor were enough to keep him occupied for a while.
More importantly, Smaug, being a fire-breathing dragon, has a certain resistance to the flames released by Balrog.
Of course, this does not mean that Smaug can fight against Balrog.
Despite having hard scales covering its body and an enormous size, Smaug was still essentially a mortal being.
The Balrog is a fallen Maiar, a subgod with a divine body, and its entire body is made of flames, making it difficult for Smaug's physical attacks to harm it.
However, Duy did not expect that Smaug would be able to defeat Balrog.
All we need to do is hold off the Balrog.
Faced with the attack of the dragon Smaug, Balrog lashed out with his flaming whip.
Smaug howled as it was whipped, its ferocity aroused. It continued to bite and attack with its claws and teeth and its tail, even trying to swallow Balrog whole.
The dragon Smaug did indeed cause some trouble for the Balrog, forcing him to divert some of his attention to him.
This also greatly reduced the pressure on Dui and Gandalf.
Just then, the system finally responded.
[Hogwarts Check-in System: Locate Moria, check-in required?]
Upon hearing the system notification, Du Yi's eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted in his mind, "Sign in! Sign in now!"
He just hoped that this sign-in would give him something to deal with his current situation.
[Sign-in successful! Congratulations on obtaining Grindelwald's improved version of Fiendfyre!]
Immediately, a memory of Grindelwald's improvements to Fiendfire flooded his mind.
Fiendfire possesses extremely powerful destructive properties, capable of burning almost anything, even Horcruxes. However, because it is extremely dangerous and uncontrollable, even the most evil dark wizards dare not cast Fiendfire spells lightly.
But there is only one exception, and that is Grindelwald.
Grindelwald not only mastered the Fiendfire spell, but also improved it, giving it the ability to distinguish friend from foe: to those loyal to him, even amidst the Fiendfire, it would not cause any harm. But to enemies, the Fiendfire revealed its destructive power.
Having obtained Grindelwald's improved Fiendish Curse memories, Dui was instantly overjoyed.
Without hesitation, he immediately cast the Fiendfire spell, and a dark blue flame erupted from his wand, spreading wildly in all directions with a violent and destructive heat.
The Fiery Flame relentlessly devoured everything flammable around it, including the Flame Demon's flames, eventually transforming into another Flame Demon burning with ghostly blue flames!
Gandalf was startled by the surrounding Fiendfire, but he quickly realized that these terrifying flames posed no threat to him, and didn't even have a burning temperature.
The Flame Demon was also drawn to the newly appeared fiery "Flame Demon".
The next second, under Dui's mental control, the fiery "Flame Demon" roared and charged directly at the Flame Demon.
The Flame Demon, feeling provoked by the fiery "Flame Demon," lashed out with its fire whip, attacking the creature that dared to impersonate it.
The two fire demons were locked in combat, their blue and orange flames intertwining and constantly erupting with scorching and terrifying power. Everything around them was burned and melted by the flames, as if they were in a sea of lava.
But the Balrog is ultimately a fallen Maiar, the master of fire.
The "Flame Demon" that Fiery Blaze transformed into was eventually torn apart by the Flame Demon and returned to flames.
Seeing that the Flame Demon was gaining the upper hand, even the Fiery Blaze couldn't defeat it.
Dui recalled that in the original course of fate, after Gandalf and the Balrog fell into the abyss together, the Balrog's flames were extinguished as it fell into the deep waters at the bottom of the abyss.
This was completely different from his previous experience of using water to fight the Flame Demon, only to be instantly evaporated.
He quickly asked Gandalf, "Gandalf, in what kind of water will the Balrog's flames be extinguished?"
Upon hearing Dui's words, Gandalf paused for a moment, then suddenly realized what he meant.
"Vera'oum is the ruler of the waters, and wherever there is flowing water is His domain. Moreover, He hates the evil deeds of Morgoth and his minions, such as the Balrogs, so they are greatly restricted in the waters."
"If we can lure the Balrog into the water, perhaps we can extinguish its flames and weaken its power!"
The question is, where should we direct the water?
The two of them instantly looked down into the bottomless abyss.
"I can sense moisture in the abyss; there must be water below!" Gandalf said with certainty.
Dui was naturally aware that there was water below.
But how do we lure the Balrog into the abyss?
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
On Smaug's side, the Balrog is, after all, a far more powerful being than a dragon.
Balrog unleashed scorching flames from his flaming staff, melting Smaug's dragon armor and turning his scales a deep red, as if he were about to be roasted.
Surrounded by flames, Smaug couldn't help but let out a painful dragon roar.
Although he has some resistance to fire, he cannot withstand being burned by the Balrog's dark flames.
"Evil spirit, your opponent is me!"
Gandalf stood in the center of the bridge to Durin, his flaming sword gleaming brightly, drawing the Balrog's attention.
Balrog raised his flaming whip, flames spewing from his nostrils, his yellow eyes filled with mockery, as if to say that Gandalf was overestimating himself.
It walked onto the bridge, brandishing a whip made of flames. The tip of the whip was like a nimble fire serpent, whistling through the air, and lashed out at Gandalf with lightning speed.
Wherever the whip passed, the air seemed to ignite, leaving behind twisted streaks.
Gandalf quickly dodged to the side, while simultaneously wielding his flaming sword in an attempt to deflect the Balrog's attack.
The flaming sword and the flaming whip collided, producing a loud sound and sparks flying everywhere. The immense impact spread outwards, causing cracks to appear on the surrounding stone bridge.
Gandalf staggered backward from the immense force, and the flames of his flaming sword dimmed.
The Balrog's mockery intensified as he continued forward, closing in on Gandalf.
"Avada Kedavra!" came Dui's attack.
The fire demon warily swung its fire whip, colliding with the incoming spell.
The fire whip shattered instantly, and the death curse was neutralized.
In the instant Balrog was distracted, Gandalf concentrated his power and slammed his staff down onto the stone bridge.
With a loud bang, the stone bridge collapsed rapidly under the powerful force, and stones fell into the abyss.
The bridge beneath the Balrog's feet also broke, and its massive body, losing its support, plummeted into the abyss with a terrifying roar.
But the next second, a fiery whip flew out of the abyss and swept directly toward Gandalf.
"Armor protection!" Dui was prepared and immediately set up protection for Gandalf.
The fire whip was blocked by the Iron Armor Spell and returned empty-handed.
But then, like a fiery serpent, it darted out again, coiling itself around a protruding rock face in the abyss below.
Using the fire whip, the Flame Demon's figure rapidly approached upwards from the abyss once again.
Upon seeing this, Dui drew his divine spear, Egolos, without hesitation, concentrated all his power, gathered his magic on the spear, and plunged it deep into the ground.
The ground cracked open instantly, and the remaining half of the stone bridge and the stone wall extending into the abyss broke off and fell into the abyss, smashing down the fire demon that was climbing up below.
(End of this chapter)