The rapidly rising temperature around them could only signify one thing: the Balrog was coming. Luke and Gandalf both understood the Balrog's immense power and were unwilling to expend too much energy fighting the orcs, risking exhaustion when facing their true foe.
"Don't get entangled with the orcs here! Cross Durin's Bridge and head to the First Hall!" Gandalf shouted to the Dwarves. "There's an older, more powerful evil behind these orcs, controlling them. That thing is about to emerge!"
Upon hearing Gandalf's urgent command, Balin didn't hesitate, immediately ordering the Dwarf warriors to break through to the east with all their might. The Dwarves took the lead, pushing forward, while Luke and Gandalf covered their rear. Everyone moved swiftly, not daring to stop for even a moment. The air around them grew stiflingly hot, as if summer had arrived in an instant, and the Dwarves were soon sweating in their armor. This meant the Balrog was drawing closer. All were on high alert, rushing towards Durin's Bridge.
The orcs never gave up their pursuit. Even after sensing the temperature change, they seemed to be energized, their fear strangely mixed with a heightened frenzy. The orcs in Moria had a subservient relationship with the Balrog, worshipping it as a god. They accepted its rule, acting as its enforcers, gathering intelligence, and guarding its territory. Azog, the Orc King Luke had slain, had been the former leader of the orcs of Moria and served the Balrog. So, in a way, Luke already had a history with this demon. Luke and Gandalf continued to fend off the pursuing orcs, swiftly following the Dwarves eastward.
Finally, everyone arrived at Durin's Bridge. Durin's Bridge spanned between the First and Second Halls, with a vast, bottomless abyss beneath it. The bridge was approximately fifty feet long, narrow, and lacked guardrails, allowing only single-file passage. It was a fortification built by the Dwarves in ancient times, intended to prevent enemies from entering from either the East or West Gate, serving as the last line of defense. However, the Dwarf craftsmen who built this bridge could never have imagined that the enemy would not attack from the east or west, but would emerge from the very abyss beneath the bridge.
By this time, the surrounding temperature was almost unbearable. Gandalf seemed to sense something profound and strode onto the bridge, gazing into the abyss. Seeing the flickering fire below, Gandalf's expression became grim, as if facing his ultimate enemy.
"Cross the bridge quickly!" he bellowed. It was no easy feat for over a thousand people to cross such a narrow bridge in a short period. Luke immediately cast a spell toward the bridge: "Engorgio!" The bridge deck suddenly widened, becoming broad enough for more than a dozen people to walk side-by-side. "Go!" The Dwarves, feeling as though they had narrowly escaped a desperate situation, surged onto the bridge and ran to the other side. Luke and Gandalf continued to cover the rear.
Watching the flames creeping ever closer from the abyss and the scorching heat intensifying around them, Luke immediately pulled out two potions and handed one to Gandalf. "This is the fireproof potion I made ahead of time. It can withstand even Fiendfyre for a while. Drink it!" Gandalf took the somewhat cool potion and drank the entire bottle in one gulp without hesitation. His eyes suddenly lit up. "Thank goodness you're here! This is working remarkably well!" Luke immediately drank his own bottle of the potion. A chilling sensation instantly washed over him, causing him to shudder involuntarily. The effect was immediate; the scorching heat no longer affected him.
They had little time to prepare. When the last Dwarf crossed the bridge, the raging fire below the abyss had already reached the bridgehead. A long whip of fire burst from the abyss, heading straight for Luke and Gandalf. "Protego Maxima!" Luke's wand had long been replaced with his staff. He unleashed a colossal magical barrier with all his strength, protecting himself, Gandalf, and the Dwarves behind him. The fire whip struck the magic barrier, causing ripples to instantly spread across its surface.
Seeing that Luke had successfully blocked the whip of fire, Gandalf quickly shouted to the Dwarves behind him: "Don't delay! Go to the First Hall and make for the East Gate!" Balin looked at the scorching whip of fire and the flames in the abyss, knowing they couldn't help by staying. He immediately led the Dwarves away without hesitation. Gandalf also positioned himself to assist Luke in confronting the powerful enemy.
The flaming whip, having no effect, was quickly retracted. The next second, a colossal, searing orange flame erupted from the abyss and landed instantly on the opposite side of the bridge. Some of the orcs nearby were incinerated by the flames before they could react. But the other orcs paid no heed, staying away from the intense heat, gazing at the flames with a mixture of fear and worship, as if they were facing a god. Gandalf and Luke were the closest, and thanks to their fireproof potion, the blazing heat had no effect on them. But both of them looked stern and ready to strike.
Amidst the searing flames, a giant figure loomed: its body draped in shifting shadows, its chest a blazing fire. It had burning yellow eyes, a mane of flaming hair and steam, a head like a bison with two massive horns, a pair of shadow-like wings on its back, and a long, flaming tail. It looked exactly like the image of a demon from ancient legends.
It was the Balrog, a fallen Maia. A powerful demon who had single-handedly destroyed the Kingdom of Khazad-dûm and occupied this land for thousands of years. The Balrog was like a huge furnace, igniting everything around it. It emitted incredibly hot heat from its entire body, melting the stone slabs around it and making the surrounding air unbearable.
Perhaps because it saw that Gandalf and Luke were unaffected by its high temperature, the Balrog became furious. The flames on its body suddenly intensified. It drew out a massive sword that was burning with black smoke and searing flames, and slashed towards them. The flaming sword instantly shattered Luke's magic barrier.
"Luke, lend me your Flaming Sword!" Gandalf shouted hurriedly.
Luke immediately drew the Flaming Sword and threw it to Gandalf.
"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielding the Flame of Anor! The Dark Fire will not aid you, you Flame of Udûn!" Gandalf's voice echoed over the abyss, like a declaration and a spell. The Flaming Sword in his hand ignited with a sacred, blazing white flame, emitting a holy light. Gandalf swung his Flaming Sword and clashed it against the Balrog's flaming sword. A powerful impact erupted instantly, forcing both Gandalf and the Balrog back a few steps.
"Avada Kedavra!" Luke raised the staff in his hand and pointed it at the Balrog. An extremely dazzling green light shot out from the gem on the staff. The breath of death that emanated was far more powerful than any magic it had unleashed previously. Feeling threatened, the Balrog reacted instantly, slashing at the incoming death curse with the giant flaming sword in its hand.
The Killing Curse and the flaming giant sword collided, and a violent explosion occurred instantly. A dazzling green light erupted, destroying everything around it. The Balrog was thrown backward, and the giant flaming sword in its hand shattered into countless pieces. The immense power of the explosion forced Luke and Gandalf to retreat, then gaze at the Balrog opposite them with renewed vigilance.
Luke was in a heavy mood. He hadn't expected that the Killing Curse, which he had been brewing for so long, would be so easily blocked by the Balrog, only damaging one of its swords. This was a huge deviation from his original plan to at least severely injure the Balrog. However, at this moment, he had no time for emotions. He could only concentrate all his energy to prepare for the Balrog's next attack.
Sure enough, the next second, the angry roar of the Balrog came from the other side of the broken bridge. Then came the raging, scorching flames, which engulfed them like a tidal wave.
"Aqua Eructo!" Luke activated his staff, summoning a surging spring of water, forming a wall of water to block the flames. It was said that water could extinguish fire, but the flames released by the Balrog were too hot and continued to evaporate the water wall. Luke could only continuously summon water to replenish the wall, struggling to resist the invasion of the flames.
Gandalf also attacked simultaneously, raising his staff and sword, which burned with holy white flames, and crossing them above his head, releasing a dazzling shield of light. "Return to the shadow, servant of Morgoth!" The light shield quickly expanded and grew larger, forcing out all the surrounding demonic fire. The Balrog waved a long whip of fire and lashed it at the light shield. Every time it lashed, the light shield shrank.
Gandalf groaned and once again extended his shield of light to resist the Balrog's flaming whip. But as a Maia, Gandalf's power, though restricted, was ultimately not as potent as the full might of the Balrog, a pure spirit of fire. Under the whip of fire, the light shield became smaller and smaller, and was finally shattered. Gandalf stumbled back instantly, using his staff to support himself, looking breathless.
"Balrog, watch out!" Seeing this, Luke quickly took something from his space bag and threw it towards the Balrog opposite. A suitcase flew towards the Balrog. The Balrog reacted swiftly, swinging its flaming whip and hitting the suitcase directly. The suitcase instantly collapsed, and the spatial enchantment within could no longer be maintained.
All its contents were spewed out as if vomiting. In an instant, a volume of water as large as a football field appeared out of thin air and fell directly on the Balrog. It was like pouring water on red-hot iron, the crackling sound endless. Ordinary water naturally couldn't extinguish the flames on the Balrog's body, but it would still make the Balrog uncomfortable.
At the same time, along with the flood, a huge statue of the Watcher in the Water also appeared. The Balrog naturally recognized its neighbor, the Watcher in the Water. It could even be said that they were in league with each other, both having crawled out from underground, one occupying Moria and the other the lake outside Moria.
The Balrog could tell that the stone statue in front of it was the Watcher in the Water itself. Its flaming eyes showed some confusion, as if wondering how it could have come to be like this. However, despite its surprise, the Balrog showed no mercy to the figure that appeared before it and blocked its way. It swung its whip, preparing to burn the statue to ashes. But suddenly, it came face to face with a snake head emerging from the mouth of the "Watcher in the Water" and met a pair of yellow snake eyes. It turned out that Basilisk Herpo was hiding in the slightly open mouth of the "Watcher in the Water" and successfully launched a sneak attack.
Basilisk Herpo glared fiercely, releasing its strongest deadly gaze. The Balrog suddenly felt something was wrong, but it was too late. It only felt that its spirit was attacked, and it became dazed in an instant, its conscious thought momentarily blank. The Basilisk's Eye naturally couldn't kill the Balrog, a fallen Maia, but it could still affect it. This gave Luke an opportunity to counter-attack.
Luke gripped the staff tightly with both hands, poured all his magical power into it, and released the Killing Curse once again. "Avada Kedavra!" The dazzling green light rose again, turning into a green lightning bolt as thick as a bucket, attacking the Balrog.