Chapter 116: Fiendfyre

With Bolg's desperate command, the Orc army hurriedly retreated into the tunnels excavated by the were-worms, disappearing like rats fleeing into their holes. So when Kael rode Smaug to the enemy position, he only managed to eliminate those Orcs who couldn't escape into the underground passages in time. But all the other Orcs, including their cowardly leader Bolg, had vanished into the tunnel system, giving Kael no opportunity to locate his primary target. Witnessing this frustrating development, Kael felt genuinely irritated by the tactical situation. This Bolg was proving even more cunning and difficult to eliminate than his father, Azog. The moment he recognized the battle turning against him, he immediately retreated into underground safety like the coward he was. Noticing Kael's obvious displeasure, Smaug eagerly volunteered with destructive enthusiasm. "Master, even if Bolg hides like a worm in those tunnels, it doesn't matter at all! I can breathe dragon fire directly into the passages and roast them all alive inside their hiding places!" Kael shook his head with tactical wisdom. "Have you forgotten they still have at least one were-worm remaining? As long as they possess that creature, they can burrow anywhere throughout the underground network. How far do you think your dragon fire can possibly reach through those endless tunnels?" As for the idea of pursuing them directly into the tunnel system, Kael never seriously considered such a foolish approach. Once inside those underground passages, it would become the were-worm's absolute domain. Perhaps Bolg was desperately hoping he would make exactly that mistake right now. However, not chasing into the tunnels didn't mean Kael lacked alternative methods for dealing with this problem. He leaped down from Smaug's broad back, approached the largest tunnel entrance, pointed his wand directly into the dark opening, concentrated all his malicious intent, and cast with deadly purpose. "Fiendfyre!" A small wisp of ghostly blue flame spurted from his wand tip with ominous energy. The supernatural fire was filled with a violent, evil aura, as though it had emerged directly from the deepest pits of hell itself. Upon touching the ground, it immediately began devouring all combustible materials around it with ravenous hunger, including potentially Kael himself, the caster. Kael's expression turned cold with concentration as he forcefully waved his wand, pulling the dangerous flame back under his control with considerable effort. The supernatural fire seemed to possess its own malevolent consciousness. Recognizing that Kael was not someone to be challenged lightly, it quickly spread toward the tunnel's interior instead, and all combustible materials within became helpless fuel for its growth. The flame expanded larger and larger, finally condensing into a massive fire serpent that filled the entire tunnel passage with writhing, destructive energy. Kael immediately used a powerful Blasting Curse to collapse the tunnel entrance and completely block the opening, finally allowing himself to breathe a sigh of relief. What he had just unleashed was the most dangerous Fiendfyre curse known to the magical world. As one of the most advanced dark magic spells in existence, Fiendfyre proved extraordinarily difficult to control safely. The magical fire summoned would continuously grow stronger by devouring fuel, capable of taking the form of various monstrous creatures while relentlessly pursuing all burnable objects without distinguishing between friend and foe, including the original caster. So wizards without sufficient magical ability often ended up destroying themselves when attempting Fiendfyre, either because they couldn't control its expansion or hadn't mastered the proper counter-curse techniques. Therefore, even the most vicious dark wizards rarely dared to cast this particular curse without extreme preparation. So far, the only known exception was the legendary dark magic master Grindelwald, who could control Fiendfyre with seemingly effortless precision. He could even manipulate the cursed fire to distinguish between allies and enemies with supernatural intelligence. Those loyal to him remained completely unharmed within the Fiendfyre's reach, while those disloyal to him were instantly reduced to ash. If not for great wizards like Nicolas Flamel joining forces with the Scamander brothers and other powerful allies to act together with their combined might, even the entire city of Paris might have been consumed by Grindelwald's devastating Fiendfyre. Kael readily admitted he didn't possess Grindelwald's extraordinary means to control such dangerous magic perfectly. So after releasing Fiendfyre into the tunnel system, he immediately blocked the fire's retreat route to prevent it from escaping and spreading across the surface. Since the tunnel contained only enemy Orcs, he didn't need to worry about harming innocent lives. Witnessing Kael cast the legendary Fiendfyre, Smaug's ancient pupils immediately contracted with recognition, and he retreated several cautious steps with obvious wariness and genuine fear. "Master, what exactly was that supernatural flame you just unleashed? Why does it make me feel such profound danger?" Smaug instinctively felt that mysterious fire was even more powerful than his own legendary dragon fire. If he was touched by even the smallest portion, probably even his hardest dragon scales couldn't withstand its supernatural burning! "That's Fiendfyre, also called Devil's Fire or Hellfire in some texts. It can grow stronger and stronger by devouring absolutely everything combustible. Without the proper counter-curse, it will continue burning until it becomes impossible to control." Kael explained with appropriate caution. Hearing this terrifying description, Smaug became even more fearful of the cursed Fiendfyre. He had always taken tremendous pride in his dragon fire. Even the hardest armor and weapons forged by master dwarven smiths could be easily melted by his flames. But this Fiendfyre truly lived up to its hellish reputation, appearing like supernatural flames from the deepest abyss, carrying power to destroy absolutely everything in its path. So he became even more awed by his master, who could cast such terrifying magic without apparent fear. If Kael had used this kind of devastating flame against him during their original confrontation, he would probably have been reduced to charcoal long ago! Considering this sobering possibility, Smaug couldn't help but feel genuinely fortunate about his current situation. Kael had no idea what thoughts were running through Smaug's ancient mind at the moment, or he could only say the dragon was vastly overthinking the situation. If Fiendfyre wasn't so incredibly difficult to control safely, did Smaug think Kael wouldn't have preferred to use it from the beginning? Having successfully blocked the tunnel entrance, Kael didn't linger at that dangerous location. He directed Smaug to continue attacking scattered Orc forces and their siege weapons while he mounted his flying broomstick and took to the air, waiting patiently for the inevitable. Sure enough, before very long, large numbers of Orcs came pouring out of a different tunnel opening below in absolute panic. They scrambled desperately over their fallen companions' bodies, drilling out of the underground passage as though some terrible supernatural predator was pursuing them relentlessly from the darkness within. The next second, accompanied by a massive roaring sound that shook the mountainside, Fiendfyre that had taken the terrifying form of a basilisk rushed explosively out of the tunnel, instantly burning the Orcs who couldn't escape in time to nothing but scattered ash. The basilisk Fiendfyre that had reached the surface let out an otherworldly hiss, like a demon finally breaking free from its prison, attempting to spread in all directions and devour everything within reach. Kael rode his broomstick and charged directly over the supernatural threat, forcefully waving his wand with absolute authority. "Get back in there!" An invisible magical barrier pressed down relentlessly on the Fiendfyre, attempting to force it back into the underground tunnel where it belonged. The cursed fire that had been burning in the tunnel system for a considerable time had grown significantly stronger than before. It frantically twisted its flaming serpentine body, unwilling to be controlled, hissing with rage and breathing supernatural fire at Kael while trying desperately to break through his magical barrier. Kael channeled his magic to its fullest extent to suppress the creature, forcing it back into the tunnel opening, then immediately collapsed the passage entrance, blocking this potential exit completely. Kael continued his patient vigil. Before long, yet another tunnel opening had Orcs frantically pouring out in terrorized desperation. This time Kael directly collapsed the tunnel exit in advance, trapping both the fleeing Orcs and the pursuing Fiendfyre inside the underground network. Next, Kael played a deadly game of magical whack-a-mole, systematically blocking tunnel openings where the Fiendfyre attempted to emerge, refusing to give the supernatural fire any opportunity to escape onto the surface. After what felt like hours of this careful work, several kilometers north of the Lonely Mountain, a tremendous explosion suddenly rang out across the landscape. Blue supernatural firelight shot dramatically into the sky as a colossal fire serpent kept hissing with triumph, as though announcing its successful escape from underground captivity. Kael's expression grew deadly serious. He hadn't expected the Fiendfyre to emerge from the distant end of the extensive tunnel network the Orcs had excavated. He immediately charged toward that location without the slightest hesitation. As long as Fiendfyre had access to even the tiniest bit of combustible material, even just a small wood chip, it would never extinguish naturally. If left completely alone, probably even he wouldn't be able to suppress it later. When Kael arrived at the scene, he witnessed the Fiendfyre had already condensed into a basilisk hundreds of meters long, frantically devouring and burning a massive were-worm alive. Bolg and some surviving Orcs were surprisingly lucky to still be breathing, desperately dodging the Fiendfyre's relentless pursuit across the rocky ground. But before Bolg could be consumed by the supernatural flames, Kael's spell arrived first with lethal precision. "Diffindo!" Bolg's terrified expression instantly froze as his body was sliced into countless pieces by the cutting curse. Eliminating Bolg was merely a casual matter requiring minimal effort. Kael didn't linger over the corpse and quickly flew toward the massive Fiendfyre basilisk, his wand shooting out brilliant counter-magic. "Finite Incantatem!" The general counter-curse could be considered the antidote for almost all magical spells. It could dispel most curses within the spell's effective range, including the dangerous dark magic of Fiendfyre. As Kael cast Finite Incantatem with full power, the spell formed a huge containment barrier, wrapping the supernatural fire within it and forcing it to continuously shrink against its will. The giant basilisk formed by Fiendfyre angrily attacked the magical prison, creating waves of destructive energy while trying desperately to break through the containment and burn everything within reach. Kael was experiencing considerable difficulty at this critical moment. Although Finite Incantatem served as the primary counter-curse for Fiendfyre, its effectiveness also depended entirely on the supernatural fire's accumulated strength. If it was freshly cast Fiendfyre, this counter-curse could easily extinguish it completely without serious effort. But the current Fiendfyre before him had formed into a hundred-meter basilisk after devouring the lives of tens of thousands of Orcs. It had become incredibly powerful through this feeding. Supernatural fire of this intensity would require at least four or five Auror-level elite wizards working together to cast Finite Incantatem with enough combined power to completely extinguish it. Now Kael was dealing with it alone, which seemed woefully insufficient for complete success. However, Kael hadn't planned to completely extinguish it using only his individual power. His tactical goal was to force it back into the tunnel system, then completely block this final exit permanently. Although Fiendfyre could burn most organic and metallic objects, even the hardest steel was no exception to its hunger. But it wasn't truly capable of consuming absolutely everything in existence. Materials like solid stone and packed earth could prevent Fiendfyre from spreading beyond contained areas. So once the tunnel was properly blocked, the supernatural fire could only burn within the underground network, and when there was nothing combustible left inside, the Fiendfyre would naturally extinguish itself. But obviously, Fiendfyre, with its own malevolent consciousness, wasn't something that would obediently cooperate with containment efforts. Seeing the basilisk form couldn't break through Kael's magical barrier, the supernatural fire actually transformed itself into a Balrog from Middle-earth mythology. The Balrog appeared like a demon from ancient nightmares, with curved horns projecting from its skull, massive bat wings spread from its back, and a long, whip-like tail trailing behind its imposing form. It wielded a flaming whip of pure fire, forcefully attacking and lashing at the containment barrier with devastating impacts. The magical barrier immediately shook violently, showing obvious signs it might not hold much longer. Kael's expression darkened with concern as he immediately channeled his magic with absolute full force. "Get back into that tunnel!" The containment barrier continuously shrank with relentless pressure, forcing the Fiendfyre Balrog to keep retreating toward the tunnel opening. The supernatural Balrog wasn't a genuine Balrog after all, nor did it possess significant intelligence beyond basic predatory instincts. Recognizing it was being systematically suppressed, it slowly retreated back into the underground passage. "Confringo!" Kael reacted with lightning reflexes, instantly striking the rocky area above the tunnel entrance. With a violent explosion that shook the mountainside, the tunnel collapsed completely, directly burying the opening under tons of stone and debris. Kael still wasn't entirely satisfied and cast several additional spells, completely sealing the tunnel entrance as thoroughly as possible before finally allowing himself to breathe a sigh of relief. Then he waved his wand to magically levitate Bolg's severed head as a trophy and rode his broomstick back toward the main battlefield. At this time on the primary battlefield, the allied forces of Elves, dwarves, and humans had already gained a decisive upper hand. Ever since Kael had forced the Orc leader Bolg to retreat into the tunnel system and unleashed devastating Fiendfyre, the Orcs remaining on the battlefield had lost all morale and military discipline. Later, the Great Eagles were summoned by Gandalf and arrived from the sky, bringing enormous additional pressure to the Orc forces and causing their army to collapse at first contact, retreating steadily across all fronts. If not for the Orcs still vastly outnumbering the combined Elves and dwarves, making them impossible to eliminate quickly, the enemy would have already suffered complete crushing defeat. When Kael flew back above the battlefield, he dramatically threw down Bolg's severed head for all to see. His voice, amplified by powerful magic, echoed across the entire battlefield with authority that could not be ignored. "Orcs! Your leader Bolg is dead! You have been utterly defeated!" Then Kael retrieved a black horn from his belongings. It was a war horn carved from some unknown creature's horn, inscribed with dark curse markings that seemed to writhe in the light. This was something Kael had discovered on Bolg's corpse after eliminating him. Kael wiped the horn's mouthpiece with obvious disgust, then blew it forcefully with all his breath. The horn produced a very piercing sound with tremendous penetrating power, quickly spreading in all directions across the mountainous terrain. The next second, the giant bat swarm that had been darkening the sky seemed to receive some mysterious command, becoming chaotic and disorderly, flying frantically in all directions without coordination. The artificially darkened sky quickly became bright again, with natural sunlight once more shining brilliantly on the earth below. The remaining Orc army frantically tried to find shadowy places to hide from the burning rays, but there was no time to seek shelter before being exposed to the purifying light. Instantly, the Orcs collapsed in obvious agony on the ground, completely losing their fighting ability. The trolls directly transformed into solid stone, their terrified expressions frozen permanently on their faces like grotesque statues scattered across the battlefield. [Chapter Complete] *** Want more? Check out my Patreon for: ✓ Advanced chapters of all my stories ✓ Exclusive novels & fanfics ✓ Early access content [email protected]/meowthtl ???? Community Goal: 500 Power Stones unlocks a bonus chapter! Thanks for reading and supporting the story! Want more? Check out my other stories!