Just when Luke thought he was about to be swallowed by this overwhelming fear, a wave of warmth and courage infused him, alleviating the despair in his heart. It was Gandalf, who had enveloped him in time with the power of the Ring of Fire, Narya.
Luke didn't hesitate. His instinct for survival eclipsed his fear of the darkness. He used his staff to cast the magical music taught to him by Tom Bombadil, and with the help of its power, he summoned his Patronus. Like lighting a faint candle in a murky swamp, the light of the Patronus slowly illuminated the space around him, dispelling the sticky darkness that clung to his skin and bringing a brief, fleeting ray of hope. The appearance of the magical music made the darkness behind them pause momentarily, but then the whispers suddenly became sharper and denser, like thousands of fine needles piercing into his consciousness.
The Basilisk Herpo struggled to swim with Luke and Gandalf on his back, following closely behind the Balrog, who was no longer the hunter but the hunted. At this moment, the Balrog had become their only hope. Its huge figure twisted and struggled in the dim light, carving out a narrow escape route for Luke and the others in the terrifying pursuit of pure darkness. But the invisible horror in the depths of the abyss, with its icy will, was like a frozen gaze, tightly locking onto these fleeing prey.
They didn't know how long it took; it felt like an eternity. But in the darkness at the end of the tunnel, a faint light finally appeared. The Balrog in front, the Basilisk behind, and Luke and Gandalf on its back, like arrows shot from a bow, surged towards the light with their last vestiges of strength.
They burst out of the dark tunnel and finally arrived at a dwarven secret passage, which bore clear traces of human excavation. The gaze of the nameless creature behind them still followed like a shadow, so they didn't dare to stop, continuing their climb up the secret passage. It wasn't until they reached the lowest dungeon of Khazad-dûm that the nameless creature's oppressive presence finally disappeared from their perception.
Escaping from the abyss, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, clearly showing the relief of surviving a disaster. Luke's clothes were soaked through, and it was impossible to tell if it was cold sweat or water from the abyss.
"What on earth was that thing?" Luke asked, still trembling with lingering fear.
"A creature that lives at the center of the earth and gnaws at the very foundations of the world," Gandalf replied, taking a deep breath and offering no further details. "Well, let's forget about it. They won't come to the surface until the end of time. Before that, we don't need to pay too much attention to them, because that will only cause trouble." Then, he turned his gaze back to the Balrog in front of them, his expression serious and cold. "The deep waters of Ulmo have temporarily extinguished the Balrog's flames. We must kill it completely before it reignites and regains its strength!"
The Balrog on the opposite side also turned around, its eyes, burning with eternal hatred, locking onto Luke and Gandalf once more. The panic it had felt in the abyss just now had been replaced by a deeper, simmering rage. Its eyes held a mixture of fury at having survived such a terrifying experience, and profound hatred for them, the instigators. It let out a deafening roar, and the entire underground space shook, as if it wished to vent all the fear it had endured in the abyss. Just when Luke and Gandalf thought the Balrog was about to attack them, it turned around and fled!
"Chase!" Gandalf and Luke didn't hesitate and followed closely. In the lowest dungeon of Khazad-dûm, an endless spiral staircase led all the way to the highest peak. The Balrog fled up these stairs. Luke and Gandalf rode on the Basilisk Herpo in pursuit. The flying broom that Luke originally possessed had been burned away in the Balrog's flames. Both Gandalf and Luke unleashed their strongest attacks.
On the seemingly endless stairs, both sides kept climbing, chasing, and fighting. Even though the Balrog's strength had been greatly reduced and it had lost its flames, it was still incredibly powerful. Its sharp claws had become its most deadly weapon, and its sticky, shadowy body was more dangerous than a venomous snake, capable of suffocating its foes.
"Avada Kedavra!" Luke found the right moment and once again gathered his malice to cast the Killing Curse. The Killing Curse instantly struck the sticky Balrog. The Balrog roared in pain, the fire in its eyes dimmed, and its breath grew weaker.
The Basilisk Herpo also seized this opportunity to quickly entangle the Balrog, staring directly at it. It then launched a wave of heavy blows and even bit the Balrog's neck hard, injecting venom. The Balrog cried out in pain and used its sharp steel claws to tear the Basilisk off its body and throw it away. But the next second, Gandalf's sword, burning with white flames, stabbed directly into the Balrog's waist. The flames of light dealt another huge blow to the Balrog.
The Balrog's strength was continuously weakened. Feeling its life threatened, it dared not fight with the two men and the snake any longer, and fled madly to the end of the endless stairs again. Luke and Gandalf were not faring much better.
Their robes were already tattered, their skin was covered in burns, and every breath was filled with pain and the smell of blood. Even with the power of the Ring of Fire, the exhaustion of their souls could not be dispelled. Especially Luke, after repeatedly releasing the Killing Curse with his staff, his body and mind were severely overloaded. If it were not for the support of Narya's power, he would have been unable to fight again. However, before getting rid of the Balrog, they dared not relax at all.
They climbed tirelessly in pursuit, perhaps climbing tens of thousands of steps. Finally, a huge, slanted crack appeared in the darkness ahead, as if the earth had been split open by a giant axe. The cold air rushed in violently, carrying the long-lost, chilling breath of the mountains. They burst out almost at the same time. Everything suddenly became clear!
The biting cold wind was like countless icy blades, blowing across Luke's face. There was snow all around, a vast expanse of white. This was the Silverlode Peak above the Misty Mountains! In front of them was a giant tower carved entirely from huge stones—the Tower of Durin. Silverlode Peak was surrounded by cliffs thousands of feet high on all sides, from which one could overlook the land shrouded in clouds and mist.
As the Balrog arrived, new flames began to emanate from its body, its aura surged, and a flaming whip reappeared in its hand. However, after its strength had been continuously weakened, the Balrog at this moment was completely different from when the battle began. The Balrog's flames burned with unnatural fury amidst the icy wind and snow, seemingly transforming all fear and anger into a force of destruction. A massive whip of flames tore through the cold wind, lashing towards them with a wave of heat powerful enough to melt steel.
"Confringo!" Luke used all his strength to activate his staff and released a powerful spell towards the flaming whip. The dazzling magic spell collided with the flaming whip, producing a huge impact, and the flaming whip directly exploded into countless flaming meteors. Gandalf swung his staff, releasing a dazzling wave of light, which smashed the Balrog against Durin's Tower. Cracks instantly appeared in Durin's Tower, and the rock-carved stone walls turned into lava and flowed down.
Luke and Gandalf continued their attacks, aided by the Basilisk Herpo, who glared at the Balrog, ready to strike it with his eyes. At this moment, clouds swirled beneath the thousand-foot cliff to the east. A giant dragon rushed out from the clouds at the foot of the mountain, flapping its wings and rushing towards Durin's Tower. Smaug charged at the Balrog, and like a battering ram, he smashed his tail into the Balrog, striking it against Durin's Tower once again. Durin's Tower could no longer bear the weight, and its massive stone walls shattered and collapsed, sending thousands of tons of boulders crashing down upon the Balrog.
The flames on the Balrog's body flickered as it was hit. Luke and Gandalf didn't miss the opportunity to strike a blow when the enemy was down, and together with Smaug, they besieged the Balrog. On the top of the Silverlode Peak, tongues of fire suddenly appeared, rays of light shone, and dragons roared into the sky. The huge movement caused the sky to change suddenly, and the wind and clouds surged.
Seeing the dark clouds gathering in the sky, Gandalf showed a joyous expression and raised his staff high into the sky. "I am the messenger of wind and cloud, the rider of thunder! Evil fire of Udûn, in the realm of the sky, you have no place to survive!" Gandalf's thunderous voice exploded on the top of the lonely peak. As if in response to his call, lightning flashed in the clouds, and suddenly a bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket fell directly towards him.
Gandalf caught the lightning with his staff and instantly struck the Balrog. The Balrog showed fear on its face, and it turned the flames into a fire shield to try to resist. But facing the power of thunder, the Balrog's resistance was fragile and powerless, and the flame shield collapsed and dissipated in an instant! The thunder penetrated its huge body without any hindrance.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment. The never-extinguished flames around the Balrog suddenly went out, like an extinguished candle, revealing its charred, ugly appearance. The Balrog was dying, and the boiling flames inside it became dim and cool. This time, it couldn't produce even a single flame, let alone reignite the fire. Gandalf, who summoned the thunder, looked like he had used up his last bit of strength, his face full of fatigue and weakness.
"Luke, quickly pierce its heart with the Divine Spear!"
Without hesitation, Luke rushed towards the Balrog. In the midst of its fear and despair, he grabbed the spear and used all his strength to thrust it into the burning heart in the Balrog's chest. The Balrog let out one last shrill, soul-shaking scream. The shriek pierced through the clouds and echoed for a long time among the cliffs of Silverlode Peak, filled with unwillingness, pain, and complete annihilation. The fire burning in its eyes was completely extinguished, leaving only a sticky black body that exuded sulfur and a foul stench.
Seeing that the Balrog was completely dead, Luke suddenly collapsed to the ground powerlessly, without even the strength to pull out his spear. He was panting heavily, physically and mentally exhausted, his magical power severely overdrawn, his skin was burned, and he felt tired and painful all over.
Gandalf on the opposite side was not much better off than Luke. His robe was torn and could no longer cover his body. His beard was burnt off, and there were marks of burns all over his body. Even his staff showed signs of damage, like a stick that had been burned by fire. But even so, both of them showed a relaxed smile that they had never had before. They had finally killed the Balrog!