Liliana felt a hint of discomfort. The young man suddenly appeared oddly unfamiliar. He felt distant and cold. His new persona made her heart ache.

“And how are we supposed to – Eh?!” With little struggle, Amy found herself free from the ropes. It was the same for Liliana.

The girls took the chance to speedily retreat further into the room while the chief hopelessly watched on, gnashing his teeth in rage.

As the one responsible for their new found freedom, Max said nothing. It was easy for him to condense the air into tiny blades and cut through the ropes like a hot knife through butter. It would have been an impossible task had his affinity with the air continued to wane.

“Don’t worry about us. Even without wands, we aren’t helpless.”

Seething, the chief barked at his prized creations, “Stop waiting around! GO! Kill them!”

With bizarre yells, the three undead knights attacked, their timing synchronized. Three among the five summoned zombies closely followed suit, but slower and stiffer like mechanical robots.

Liliana and Amy were ready. Without their wands, they were limited to shortened chants and weaker spells. Flames bloomed as fireballs and arrows shot forth.

The undead knights ferociously swung their heavy weapons. Axe and hammers smashed into the spells, feeling no obstruction as they made their way to Max. Overjoyed, the chief laughed and haughtily awaited Max’s seemingly imminent death.

“Max! Get out of the way!” Liliana yelled. Unleashing more fire arrows, she watched in horror as Max stood still as the weapons came crashing down. “What are you -”

With his bare hands, Max calmly stopped the heavy weapons in their tracks. Expressionless, he quickly shifted his weight, his right leg a momentary blur as it opposed the dead woman’s momentum. The nimblest of the three undead knights met face first against Max’s boots and was instantly sent flying towards the summoned zombies.

Like bowling pins, the zombies were sent tumbling to the side while the original victim of the kick finally slammed into the casket from which she had emerged.

The unbelievable turn of events left the chief shell-shocked. Rooted to the spot, he stiffly reconfirmed the truth. Within the coffin, the female knight’s body convulsed as she attempted to stand back up. Her neck was twisted at an awkward angle and it was obvious that that wasn’t the only thing broken.

The male knights felt nothing at the loss of a comrade, instead focused on trying to pry their weapons from Max’s hands. Loosening his grip, he took a step forward and made quick work of the two ordinary zombies that had managed to crawl their way towards him.

The undead knights attempted to deliver another blow only to have their rigid movements exploited. Max had the two by their throats. Unwilling to give them a chance, he violently smashed their heads into the floor. Crack. The disgusting sound of bones being crushed echoed through the tiny warehouse, the sheer force of the impact leaving behind a crater beneath each knight’s face.

The chief’s confidence… it had finally begun to waver. Fear took root in the depths of his heart. His own inexperience in combat left him unable to cope with the rising emotion.

Kneeling down and suppressing the struggling knights, Max controlled the air to congregate and compress around his fists. “You’ll be the first to experience this on Asterisk. Consider it a sign of respect.” He mumbled, punching down without hesitation.

The ground quaked from the impact, the walls shaking as if faced with a storm.

The shockwaves were enough to scare everyone present, but the accompanied blood splatter served to amplify its effects. There was almost nothing left of the knights. Their upper torso gone, only two pairs of legs left behind. Blood oozed from their waists while their heads rolled sideways and stopped near the wooden crates. It was a scene to behold, revolting and nightmarish all at once.

Bathed in black blood, Max turned his gaze to the chief, his eyes glowing with an unnatural shade of red as he slowly stepped forward. This was a demon emerging from hell.

Feeling like his soul had been marked for death, the chief trembled and shrieked, “This – this can’t be happening! No! St – Stay back! STAY BACK!” For the first time in his life, the Dark Necromancer felt certain of his own demise. Shivering, he hurried for the door, casting simple spells to create regular zombies and skeletal warriors.

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The creatures did little to impede Max’s progress. With punches like a series of thunderbolts and legs moving like whips, he instantly blew the lifeless entities away. In seconds, the stopgaps had been reduced to a group flailing corpses and scattered bones.

The two girls had snapped out of their daze. They hastily conjured flames to reduce the pitiful existences to a pile of ashes.

“He – He’s not human… Monster! I’ve provoked a monster!” The chief absentmindedly muttered as he witnessed the scene and fumbled in his pockets for the keys. “No! I won’t let you kill me!” He squealed and used the last of his mental energy to cast his spell. As if summoned from the depths of the netherworld, thick black smog emerged from the earth and percolated in the little space left between them. With some hope of escape, the chief managed to steady his hands and unlock the door. He fearfully glanced at the gaseous barrier. “By the time that disperses, I’ll be long gone.”

Unperturbed, Max continued forward. Behind him, Amy noticed the melting crates and gasped. “Max! Stop! If you go in there, the smoke will kill you!”

“The two of you should stay where you are then.” Max ignored her cautioning and stepped forward. With a single thought, he kept the gray haze at bay and safely emerged on the other side only to find the chief with one foot through the door. “Where do you think you're going?” He growled as his figured blurred and appeared behind his target. Pulling the chief back, he slammed the door shut and pinned the man against its steel frame.

His grip tightening, Max held the chief by the throat, his fury rising as he lifted the man in the air.

“Mercy!” The chief croaked as the pressure on his throat mercilessly increased with each passing second.

The girls ran to Max’s side as soon as the effects of the spell dispersed. Liliana trembled at the sight of her familiar’s unfeeling expression. Pale, she timidly placed her hand on his shoulder and softly voiced her desire. “Stop. Don’t kill him.”

“Listen to her, Max. Don’t do it.” Amy added after some hesitation. “Let the authorities deal with him. I guarantee he will get what he deserves.”

Max felt his anger mitigate. The fear and uncertainty in Liliana’s voice silenced the thoughts of snapping the Necromancer’s neck. As his grip slackened, the chief hysterically said, “Th – That’s right! D – Don’t kill me. I’ll confess and tell you everything. The reason I wanted this girl was because the Minis – argh!” With an excruciating scream, he was left unable to complete his sentence.

In that precise moment, Max felt like he had been hit by a truck and was blown away. Thrown across the room, he rammed straight into the crates and spat a mouthful of blood.

“What the?! What happened?” Liliana blankly stared at Max’s sorry figure. She glanced at the chief only to see an obvious metallic glint from the sword piercing his chest.

Looking down with rage and helplessness, the chief slumped. He lied down and breathed his last in a pool of his own blood.

“Liliana! Amy! Get back now!” Max roared. He stood up unsteadily, flinching due to the pain from his broken ribs.

The door flew open as a hooded man nonchalantly walked in. His sword rested on his shoulders while he took a quick look around. Completely at ease, the man carelessly kicked the chief and sent his corpse flying towards the coffins. He spat in disgust. “If I knew you were a Dark Necromancer, I would have killed you the moment we met. You’re lucky you managed to survive this long.”

He glanced at Max with surprise, interest and curiosity flickering in his eyes. “So you managed to survive that one, huh?”

“Who are you?” Amy asked as she vigilantly stood beside Max and Liliana, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

Max knew that they were faced with an opponent out of their league. He had always been proud of the defensive capabilities of his armour of air, but even that conjured creation had collapsed under a single blow. Having survived the man’s power, Max understood that this was at least a bona fide Crusader and his toughest opponent yet.

Ignoring Amy’s question, the man chuckled when he noticed Max take a step forward. With a teasing smile, he applauded Max’s intent to protect the girls. He wanted to have some fun with this kid, but froze as soon as he stepped closer. Unprecedented levels of danger. That’s what his instincts felt as he apprehensively jerked his head and stared at the ceiling.

Puzzled, the two girls hesitated before following his gaze. Failing to notice anything of consequence, they quickly thought of it as a ruse to distract.

Max, on the other hand, didn’t dare look away. Instead, he relied on his inherent ability to investigate and sense the hidden presence. Unlike Max, however, the man could feel the enigmatic entity’s unwelcoming gaze. This was a warning, a warning to tread carefully. He ruefully smiled and quietly stowed his sword. Sighing, he glanced at the trio with resignation. “Looks like the odds are against me.” He bitterly murmured as he darted through the door and disappeared.

His departure came as a relief. The girls felt their tension ease while Max felt the mysterious existence concurrently vanish. Wincing, he slowly rested against the crates. “We need to leave.” He said.

“Are you alright?” Liliana and Amy asked in concern.

“I’ve been better.” Max candidly answered, hit by a sudden wave of exhaustion. “Alright, let’s get out of here.”

The two girls readily agreed before supporting him from either side. As they walked towards the door, a loud voice boomed from beyond the warehouse’s walls.

“We have this place surrounded. Come out peacefully. If you show resistance, we will use force!”

Max bitterly laughed, Liliana scowled while Amy wryly smiled at the announcement. Ironforge’s police force had finally arrived, albeit a step too late.