Hundreds of years had passed since Ragnaros was summoned to this world by the Sorcerer-King Thaurissan, and while Blackrock Mountain had become a forbidden land for ordinary beings, many had actually forgotten the terrifying name of "Ragnaros."
After the dwarves who had experienced the Three Hammers War passed away, the descendants of Kaz Modan gradually forgot the terrifying influence of the Fire Lord, only remembering the Dark Iron Dwarves who constantly troubled them.
However, only those who had personally experienced that disaster truly understood what Ragnaros represented.
People today only understand that Ragnaros's power leveled half a mountain range, turning green fields into barren land, but they do not understand the pain of being burned to death by flames, or the sorrow of suffocating and dying in panic from lack of oxygen, with mouths and noses covered by volcanic ash.
No one knows, because the beings who experienced these things had already died in that disaster years ago.
However, Arthas summoned the souls that had not been completely annihilated by Ragnaros's flames. These angry Revenant did not need Arthas's guidance at all; they themselves vented their wrath upon Ragnaros.
Perhaps a Black Iron Dwarf, or an ordinary human, would appear small and powerless before Ragnaros's might.
But when the souls of those who had died at Ragnaros's hands over hundreds of years gathered together, even Ragnaros himself had to pay the price for his atrocities.
To others, it merely seemed that Ragnaros's appearance wiped out a region and ended a kingdom, but the souls of those who personally experienced it bore the indelible mark of what kind of suffering it was.
Innumerable souls surged against Ragnaros's body. For the first time since his arrival, Ragnaros felt the powerlessness of being bound hand and foot. His power still surged, but the Revenant seemed to fear neither flame nor incineration, clinging tightly to Ragnaros, tearing at his body.
Soul energy is an indispensable part of an Elemental Lord's growth. Perhaps it is because Azeroth's own existence is so prominent that many souls, after death, do not travel to the land of the dead, but instead have the opportunity to linger in this world.
Now, as these Revenant, who died directly or indirectly under Ragnaros's brutal rule, awaken from their slumber, Ragnaros's presence is like a torch, and they are moths drawn to the flame.
Since soul energy can strengthen elemental power, these Revenant have the ability to harm Ragnaros. They do not directly extinguish Ragnaros's flames on a physical level, but they constantly "gnaw" at Ragnaros's existence.
They themselves died from high temperatures or flames, or even more painful methods, so even when tearing at Ragnaros's body, they do not care if their own Revenant bodies are ignited.
Souls have memories, and their memories remain at the most painful moment before their death.
Ragnaros's flames could indeed destroy these weak souls again, but when batch after batch, almost infinite souls, surged onto his body, neutralizing his power and weakening his presence in the physical plane, Ragnaros found that he didn't even have the chance to grasp his warhammer.
Arthas sighed. Ragnaros was currently under control, but it was somewhat different from what he had imagined. He had originally wanted to confront Ragnaros directly, like Tyr, and suppress this avatar.
But Frostmourne, when faced with Ragnaros's attack, actively awakened the millions of Revenant dormant beneath the earth. Even Arthas didn't have time to stop it; this demonic sword unleashed its formidable power.
Moreover, this active soul energy also awakened the dormant essence of Thunderaan the Windseeker, though this Elemental Lord was still very weak.
Furthermore, he seemed to have an instinctive fear of Frostmourne. Arthas speculated that perhaps this Elemental Lord discovered that Frostmourne could completely erase his existence, preventing him from resurrecting, which for the newly revived and very weak Thunderaan, was undoubtedly a terrifying thing.
The icy domain created by Frostmourne almost carved out an ice rink in the high-temperature underground lava tubes, and the clouds and snowflakes in the air were also formed after the water elements here were frozen.
It seemed that the souls consumed earlier made Frostmourne somewhat "eager" to display its power. The appearance of light of dawn made the sword feel an instinctive sense of crisis.
Although Frostmourne was also exposed to Jaina and the others, this was not a critical matter. Since Arthas had obtained this power, he could not hide it forever. Sooner or later, the existence of Frostmourne and the Scourge would be revealed.
Rather than revealing it all at once to all Alliance members, it was better to let them gradually accept the tragic product that was the Scourge.
And the display of power by Frostmourne today also solved a lot of trouble.
"Jaina!"
Arthas shouted to Jaina. Ragnaros's state had been suppressed to the extreme by these surging Revenant. It was time for Jaina to send this Elemental Lord back to his own world.
At Arthas's call, Jaina also recovered from her dazed state. She pursed her lips. Although she had many questions, the most important thing now was to deal with Ragnaros.
The female mage closed her eyes and began to regulate her breathing. A moment later, her eyes snapped open, her pupils filled with blue radiance. She pushed her staff forward, and the long staff floated before her, its shaft emanating streams of aquamarine light.
First, a basic Arcane ring appeared on each of her wrists. Immediately after, the runes and structures on these two circles began to fill in little by little, becoming increasingly complex. Soon, both of her hands were enveloped by profound and intricate Arcane runes and structures.
Surging magic power instantly shot out from Jaina's hands, injecting into the staff's shaft.
After another focus and charge, the magic power accumulated in the staff's shaft, in a burst of aura, instantly struck the rock wall directly above Ragnaros's head.
Ragnaros felt a great threat from this magic. He wanted to move his body, and the surging flames actually broke through the restraints of the Revenant. He had even grasped the handle of the Sulfuras warhammer with one hand.
But before he could lift this hammer, known as the "Hand of Ragnaros," the magical patterns seemed to be imprinted on the top of the rock wall. The next second, the rock shattered, and tens of thousands of tons of seawater mixed with dirt and rocks descended like a divine punishment.
After completing all of this, Jaina's legs also went weak, and she swayed, leaning on her staff to keep herself from falling, and the staff's radiance gradually faded.
Just then, an irresistible suction pulled Jaina's body. She gasped, finding herself dragged by an unknown magical force in front of Arthas. The Prince scooped Jaina up, and light of dawn automatically reverted to the steel holy book, hanging at his waist.
Arthas did not look at Ragnaros, who was being impacted by the seawater, but Ragnaros's hands gradually lost their last bit of strength under the soul storm and the washing from the sea.
The massive warhammer also lost its heat under the washing of the cold seawater, generating a large amount of steam before completely dimming.
Arthas quickly returned to Magni and the others. The three of them looked at the tsunami approaching from behind Arthas. Before they could speak, the seawater had already surged to within a few meters of them.
At this moment, Frostmourne once again emitted an ice-blue halo. Thick and solid ice rose from the ground, and the seawater that touched this icy surface was instantly frozen.
A hemispherical ice shield firmly protected Arthas and the others. Listening to the roaring sound of the seawater outside, everyone temporarily fell silent.
Arthas confirmed Jaina's condition; she was actually just exhausted, but the Prince still used Holy Light to alleviate her fatigue before turning his attention to Magni.
The dwarf king looked quite disheveled. His stone skin was cracked from the high temperature, and even his armor was scorched black. Only his ancestral warhammer still emanated divine light.
Magni opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but couldn't make a sound, because for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Arthas placed his hand on Magni's body, beginning to guide the Holy Light to heal the dwarf king's injuries, and at the same time said, "I know you all have many questions. You can ask them now."
The few of them looked at each other. Seeing that no one spoke, Thoras, to ease the somewhat awkward situation, took off his helmet, revealing his graying hair, and asked, "Ragnaros… is he dead?"
"From our perspective, he is indeed dead. Even if he is the Fire Elemental Lord, he cannot withstand the continuous washing of seawater, especially with Neptulon's power in the water."
Neptulon the Tidehunter, although he did not appear to confront Ragnaros directly, seized this final opportunity. Even if Jaina had not opened the path for the seawater for him, this fellow would have actively delivered a fatal blow to Ragnaros.
After absorbing the essence from Neptulon's blessing, Arthas found that his perception of elements had become much sharper. At least before, he could not sense Neptulon's power from the seawater.
With the Water Elemental Lord acting, there was no fear of Ragnaros not dying, because no one hated Ragnaros more than Neptulon, as the two of them were inherently at odds.
Now, seizing the opportunity of Ragnaros's avatar, he would certainly mercilessly and completely destroy Ragnaros's form, making it impossible for him to continue existing in the physical plane.
However, this process still needed a little time, so before Ragnaros completely left, they still had to stay in this ice shield to avoid being swept away by the tsunami.
Thoras breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Arthas's reply. Regardless, the Alliance's ultimate goal had been achieved. The forces entrenched in Blackrock Mountain had been almost completely wiped out, leaving only some inconsequential Dark Iron Dwarves and Blackrock Orcs.
After a brief moment of joy, the four members of the Alliance all turned their gaze towards Frostmourne, which was maintaining the frost barrier.
This time, Magni was the first to speak. Under Arthas's healing, he was mostly recovered and could already dismiss his stone form.
"Arthas, what exactly is going on with that sword? This thing doesn't feel good to me… I've seen countless weapons in my life, and none has ever given me a similar feeling."
Magni pushed himself up, looking at Frostmourne somewhat seriously. He had never seen power similar to that on this runeblade, and the runes inscribed on the blade were also unfamiliar to him.
Sylvanas and Jaina's gazes towards the sword were much more complex than Magni's and Thoras's. Perhaps their innate magical affinity allowed them to see more information.
Arthas looked at Frostmourne and did not deliberately hide anything, "This is a weapon I captured from the Legion… Yes, that time I went to Northrend."
Just as Arthas was briefly explaining Frostmourne's origin to the others, Onyxia, located in the Upper Blackrock Spire, suddenly looked up.
Tulani, who was holding a Common Language for Dummies manual beside her, noticed the Black Dragon Princess's unusual behavior. She asked, "Is something happening?"
Thassarian, who was guarding the door, also cast his gaze. Although he didn't particularly like Onyxia, he had to admit that this Black Dragon's senses were far keener than a Death Knight's.
"Nothing… Just some fellow got out of our world."
After hearing this, Thassarian withdrew his gaze again, lowered his head, and stood at the door like a statue, no longer reacting.
Onyxia, who had replaced her brother as the new master of Blackrock Spire, naturally sensed Ragnaros's defeat, but she had not expected her master, Arthas, to achieve victory in Molten Core so quickly.
She had hoped that her master would need her to confront that annoying Ragnaros, and she could then exert more effort in front of Arthas, which would be better than being completely forgotten.
It would even be best to get a little injured by helping Arthas block an attack or two. Onyxia didn't believe Arthas's attitude towards her wouldn't improve somewhat.
But now, Ragnaros was dead, so her little plan had fallen through. She could only continue to stay in the Upper Blackrock Spire, managing the chaotic Black Dragonflight.
Thinking of this, she looked at Tulani with a slight pout, "It's all because of you that I couldn't leave Blackrock Spire to help my wise and mighty master. Sigh, you were a prisoner, yet you live a more comfortable life than I do."
Tulani got goosebumps from Onyxia's somewhat strange gaze. She turned her head away in disgust, deciding that if she couldn't beat the other person, she wouldn't look at them. The Archbishop had taught her not to trouble herself.
Onyxia didn't feel anything about it. Instead, she was very curious why Arthas told her to feed and house this Draenei well and not allow her to do any "experiments." What exactly was it for? Could it be for experimenting with that kind of thing?