Nantrezim

Chapter 1. Bureaucrats and other worthy demons.

  Consciousness returned slowly. It was very hard to think about something, there was an impenetrable darkness around. Separate, incoherent thoughts flared up and immediately went out in the surrounding darkness, I really wanted to sleep. The cozy, warm darkness was not conducive to fuss at all, and drowsiness was creeping in more and more persistently. But suddenly something changed. Distant sounds made their way into the surrounding darkness, incomprehensible, merging into a homogeneous hum, but they seemed to be getting closer. I wanted to get closer to the source of the sound and silence it so that it would not interfere with such a sweet dream. The sound got closer and closer, and heat was added to it, the source of which was in the same place as the sound. At some point, the unintelligible hum turned into the roar of flames and the crackling of red-hot stone. I tried to stop, but it was too late. There was a red light ahead, and before I could get scared, I flew straight into it.

  There was no pain. I found myself in some kind of hall, or even a cave, the walls and floor of which consisted of granite slabs, my vision was blurry, but I could swear that I could see rivers of red-hot lava flowing in the distance. And right in front of me was a demon, one and a half times taller than me. Huge, curved horns, gleaming red metal armor covering the torso, shoulders and legs, huge hooves and muscular arms, the fingers of which end in claws that not every dagger can match. And, of course, the wings, the mighty leathery wings, also glowing red in the semi-darkness of the giant cave. Wisps of black smoke seemed to be escaping from the demon's eyes, but his skin was by no means red, quite a normal light shade, well, maybe a little gray.

  Is this Hell? Am I in Hell?! How is this possible?!

  But the demon wasn't paying attention to me, staring off to the side. I tried to turn around, but realized that I couldn't do it. My body wouldn't listen! However, after a second, it still began to turn, but not obeying my will! In the place where the demon was looking, a portal arch flashed, from which another demon came out, exactly the same as the one in front of me, only his armor and wings shone yellow and he was much shorter, the same height as me.

  Then a chill flooded my mind. My vision was already quite clear, and I could see myself out of the corner of my eye. I was the same demon too! At the moment of turning my head, I noticed the same metal shoulder pads on my shoulders, and two black, leathery wings were lying on my back. At the moment of turning my head, I noticed the same metal shoulder pads on my shoulders, and two black, leathery wings were lying on my back.

  I was brought out of my state of shock by the conversation that had begun, and the demon, who had just arrived, addressed the one I saw first in an unknown but somehow understandable language:

  "Well, Ticondrus? Is everything going as planned? Lord Archimonde demands an account."

  Ticondrus?! I've heard that name before. I definitely heard it. And Archimonde! But where?

  "The young knight has served us well. Too good, even... I wouldn't be surprised if Ner-Zul has special plans for him." Ticondrus replied in a deep and powerful voice. That's another familiar name, where could I have heard them?"

  "This little man is as short-lived as other mortals. And Ner'zhul will not dare to interfere in our affairs", Joined the conversation... I'll do it myself! The body acted on its own, or rather it was controlled by a demon that I had apparently possessed, but he hadn't noticed it yet. The Arctic fox! Full Polar Arctic Fox!

  "The whip must fulfill its purpose. If we lose control of the situation, Lord Archimonde will rip our heads off!" `Yellow' sounded again.

  `Anetheron is panicking again, serving as Archimonde's adjutant is clearly not good for him, how can you be so cowardly?' A thought that sounded clearly in my head made my mind freeze again. And with the arrival of the ice, the dam finally broke in my memory. Tikondrus, Archimonde, Ner-Zul, Legion, Scourge, Young Knight... I got into Warcraft. Into the body of one of the Dread Lords. My thoughts were calm. There was no panic, only the cold flooded my mind even more, giving me crystal clarity of thought. Meanwhile, the conversation of the Dreadlords continued:

  "Believe me, brother, neither the King of the Dead nor his minions will prevent the coming of the Legion."

  Yeah, of course! As far as I remember, most of the personalities mentioned in the conversation threw back their hooves to the "Frozen Throne", and in the truest sense of the word. And in FT itself, Silvana happily finished off the remaining ones.

  It is unknown how my thought affected the demon's consciousness, but the Lord of Terror himself reacted like this:

  "I don't trust the Whip either. Maybe..." then the demon realized that he was saying something unusual to him, and Ticondrus's gaze made me shrink into a ball, figuratively speaking, and the Lord of Terror himself, almost literally, "But for now, the situation is under control."

  "So make sure that this situation does not change. Lord Archimonde does not forgive mistakes." Anetheron turned around and opened the return portal to Draenor with a wave of his hand. The knowledge of what he did and how he did it came naturally and easily, as if they had always been mine, "Yes, and... Mephistorot, since you've already gotten into this conversation... Do you want to go to war too?"

  "Why else would you do dirty work?" Mephistoroth thought. But out loud, to his surprise, he said what I was thinking now:

  "It's better to hold them in a stronger fist now than to find out one day that it was us for them, and not them for us, who did all the dirty work."

  The Natrezim exchanged glances.

  "Well, as you wish," Anetheron said coldly, "Then stay here and help Tikondrus. And also... Watch it..."

  `Well, what is it... What am I doing here? Ticondrus would throw me into the thick of it, and I was Anetheron's chief assistant. What is it about this world that draws me there?'

  While the demon was internally complaining about the unexpected inner adviser, Anetheron stepped into the portal, and Ticondrus and I were left alone.

  "Do you want to take his place?" The "red" demon chuckled.

  "I don't want to die in this world when I'm in the ranks of an invincible army and walk into a trap set by an ally," he said... It's me.

  `It's a shame for Natrezim ` the demon agreed.

  "Are you doubting my abilities?" Tikondrus spoke absolutely calmly, but Mephistorotus and I wanted to sink into the ground.

  "No. I know Lord Kil'jaeden's abilities all too well," I managed to reply.

  "Explain," the demon's already creepy eyes lost all humanity just by squinting.

  "Ner'zhul is Lord Kil'jaeden's masterpiece. Who knows what he's really capable of?" I continued to give out information from the after-knowledge, "No one has ever created a King of the Dead before."

  "A sycophant," stated Ticondrus, "and a liar."

  "It's an honor to hear this from You," Mephistoroth has already entered the dialogue.

  "Good," my immediate superiors chuckled, "Except there's a war here. And you'll have to do the real thing, since you've decided to change your patron."

  "I serve the Legion!" "My" demon proudly declared.

  "So you will serve."

* * *

  "So, summarizing everything I said earlier, I want to say the following" I made a report in an improvised headquarters. The "headquarters" itself was a gathering of Natrezim gathered on a mountain scorched by hellfire. That's for sure — a gathering of evil spirits on Bald Mountain!

  "I don't trust Ner'zhul. I don't trust Arthas. And the local aborigines can cause us a lot of trouble."

  "Are you scared, Mephistoroth?" Balnazar looked surprised.

  "Do you really believe that?" I replied. I don't know when the line between my personality and Natrezim's disappeared, it passed my consciousness. But at one truly wonderful moment, Mephistoroth stopped snapping at the teasing of the "brothers", who were quite amused that I had exchanged a warm place in Draenor for the war in Azeroth.

  "I'm judging by your actions."

  "Okay," I sighed, "let's go over the above again."

  "Hooves?" Varimathas grinned.

  "Preferably with a clear mind," I continued, ignoring the teasing, "So, the plan to attract Arthas, conducted by Kel'Thuzedom, on Ner'zhul's orders, almost cost our brother Malganus his life. And it was worth his career — Ner'zhul managed to use him as some kind of pawn, and it is unknown where his spirit is now."

  "Farther. Arthas is a warrior of outstanding abilities, that's obvious. And why would such a talented general, who managed to defeat Malganus with extremely limited forces, attack directly, without any tactics or tricks, crushing the enemy with the number of troops and their survivability? The Scourge's losses are huge! Even a Legion wouldn't be able to support such an offensive as much. Arthas had previously turned an entire country into undead. So why is he wasting such huge reserves? Maybe he understands that this army will soon not be his personal one?"

  "Now about the company's plan. So, we're resurrecting Kel.'Tuzeda, he helps summon Lord Archimonde, and everyone is happy. Except for Ner'zhul, of course. And why did we decide that this frozen pile of bones wouldn't risk deceiving us a second time?"

  "We understand," Ticondrus interrupted my flow of words, "what are your suggestions?"

  "To appoint Natrezim to key positions of the Scourge commanders. If we are going to fight with this particular army, we must control it."

  "This... with these perversions of magic?" Balnazar replied contemptuously, "To manage it through trusted persons — wherever it goes. But personally... Lead these half-demons into battle... Are you really a dreamer, Mephistoroth?"

  My fusion with the demon didn't go unnoticed. His abilities, skills, knowledge, and even personal bravery merged with my consciousness, but now I was certainly not a Natrezim. And it wasn't just the afterglow. In my attitude to life, I was very different from the ruthless and treacherous Lords of Terror. On the other hand, even my admittedly very smart "brothers" could turn a blind eye to the facts that were obvious to me if they somehow went against their self-conceit. And for a gray cardinal, any sin is permissible (as for a statesman, of course, and not as for a clergyman) — except pride.

  The Natrezim wouldn't listen to me, even though I was telling them the exact future. At that moment, I understood why there was a military disaster under Mount Hijal.

  Having merged with the demon, I (now I couldn't distinguish myself from Mephistoroth) stopped being a Legion fanatic, but I still considered this side to be my own. And as a gamer in his previous life, he considered the undead to be his own. After all, the demonic hordes in the "Frozen Throne" were not given to the Natrezim hero to command.

  "Wait, Balnazar," Ticondrus interjected, curling his lips into a grin, "Our brother Mephistoroth has the right to his opinion. This means that he will fulfill his offer. You wanted to command the undead, Mephistoroth. I'll give you that opportunity. You're going to the border with Kel'Talas, build a Scourge outpost there, and at the same time keep an eye on Arthas. Congratulations, General."

  The last words sounded openly mocking. Well. I couldn't help the Legion. There is only one thing left — to help yourself.

Chapter 2. The border.

  * Crack! Crackle! Crackle!*