"Oh, Luke, you look so miserable now!" Gandalf sat down on a rock, leaning on his staff, and playfully teased Luke. "If Arwen saw you like this, she'd probably abandon you!"
After finally relaxing, Luke, in turn, rare for him, teased Gandalf back.
"You're no better, Gandalf. You don't even have a beard or eyebrows now, and your gray robe's tattered. If someone sees you, they'll think you're a homeless old man!" Gandalf touched his chin after hearing Luke's words.
"Oh, my poor beard, it's the fruit of my hard work, and now it's all gone!" Then he patted himself down, withdrawing his hand with regret. "What a pity! I've run out of both my pipe and tobacco. Otherwise, I'd really like to have a smoke to calm down." Luke was helpless. His pipe and tobacco had been burned in the fight with the Balrog. He could conjure a pipe, but he couldn't create tobacco out of thin air.
After finally recovering a little, the two of them approached the Balrog's body together. The dead Balrog looked like the remains of cooled lava, hideous and ugly, yet still emitting a faint burning sensation. Luke forcefully pulled out the Divine Spear, Aeglos, which was stuck in the Balrog's chest. But seeing that there was no trace of flame on the Balrog, he asked with some concern: "Gandalf, the Balrog is dead now, and its flames are extinguished. Could the eternal fire I want also be extinguished?"
Gandalf smiled and shook his head. "Since it's said to be an eternal fire, there's naturally no possibility of it being extinguished. The eternal fire you're thinking of is in the heart of the Balrog." Upon hearing Gandalf's words, Luke hurriedly picked up the Flaming Sword and began to forcefully cut open the Balrog's chest.
He saw that the inside of the Balrog's body did not contain various organs and tissues like an animal, but was more like a furnace. The core of it was the Balrog's heart. When Luke cut open the Balrog's heart, what was exposed was a red crystal emitting a scorching temperature. The crystal was as big as a football and had a crack on it, the mark left by the Divine Spear Aeglos. And in the center of the red crystal, a small cluster of black flames appeared. Although it was wrapped in red crystals outside, blocking the internal temperature, it still felt incredibly dangerous. Even looking directly at it caused a stinging sensation, as if it could burn the spirit and soul.
"This is the Balrog's magic crystal, and also its core. As long as the magic crystal isn't destroyed, the Balrog isn't truly dead. If it were thrown into a volcano, the Balrog could still be reborn after thousands of years." Gandalf explained.
"Then I'll use it as the fire of Nirvana. It shouldn't have any impact, right?" Luke asked worriedly after hearing this.
Gandalf shook his head: "Don't worry, once the flame inside the magic crystal is purified, there will be no hidden dangers." Luke immediately felt relieved.
"Okay, we should head down. Balin and the others must be waiting anxiously," said Gandalf. Luke heartily agreed. It was too high and too cold here, and their injuries needed healing. So he asked Smaug to carry the Balrog's body, and then he and Gandalf sat on the dragon's back and flew down the mountain together. As for the Basilisk Herpo, he also hitched a ride, wrapped around Smaug's feet, acting like a flying snake in the air.
Smaug landed on the east side of the Misty Mountains, carrying two men, a snake, and the body of a Balrog. After passing through the thick clouds, they quickly arrived at the Dimrill Dale at the East Gate of Moria. While Gandalf and Luke were battling the Balrog in the abyss, Balin and a thousand Dwarf warriors had also been busy. Orcs lived at the East Gate of Moria and in the First Hall. Balin and the Dwarf warriors fought against the orcs there and successfully chased them into the Dimrill Dale beyond the East Gate. Meanwhile, the Elves of Lórien also stationed themselves outside the Dimrill Dale, forming a pincer attack with the Dwarves, continuously encircling and annihilating the orcs.
By the time Luke rode down on Smaug, the battle in the Dimrill Dale had long been over. The Dwarves and Elves were waiting to clean up the battlefield. When the dragon descended from the sky, the Elves below were the first to spot Smaug's massive figure.
"It's a dragon!"
"Don't panic, it's Gandalf, Luke, and the others!" Balin was excited when he saw the dragon appear. Ten full days had passed since they encountered the Balrog at Durin's Bridge, and Luke and Gandalf chose to break off their journey. Balin had been incredibly nervous during this period. He personally returned to Durin's Bridge, but found it severely damaged, with all the bridge structures crumbling and destroyed. Luke, Gandalf, the dragon, and the Balrog were all gone, presumably having fallen into the abyss.
It wasn't until two days ago, when the dragon Smaug flew out of the abyss, that Balin learned from Smaug about the battle in the abyss. But as long as he didn't see them return safely, Balin would feel uneasy. After all, the Balrog was many times more terrifying than the dragon Smaug he had faced in the Lonely Mountain. And today, Smaug seemed to sense something and suddenly flew towards Silverlode Peak.
Then a great commotion occurred on Silverlode Peak: rumbling thunder, dazzling lightning, and tongues of fire that kept swallowing and spitting on the mountain. Silverlode Peak was shrouded in clouds and mist, and they had no idea what was happening. But Balin had guessed that it was Gandalf and his companions fighting the Balrog. Now that the dragon had returned safely, Balin was extremely happy. He knew it must be Gandalf and Luke who had returned!
Sure enough, the next second, as the dragon descended into the Dimrill Dale, Luke and Gandalf appeared on the dragon's back. "Gandalf! Luke!" Balin ran over excitedly. "I nearly had a heart attack when I heard you fell into the abyss. I'm so happy you've returned safely!"
"Oh, Balin, it's so nice to see you again! It's only been a few days, but it feels like a lifetime!" Gandalf greeted happily, but Luke didn't have time to greet Balin just then. Looking at the Elf that appeared in front of him, Luke widened his eyes with surprise: "Arwen, why are you here?" Arwen was wearing Elven military uniform, holding a magic wand and a sword, looking like a beautiful Valkyrie. She walked up to Luke with tenderness in her eyes.
"The orcs escaped from the East Gate of Moria and threatened the safety of Lórien, so I've come to destroy them," she explained. "And I was worried about you!" Arwen didn't ask about the battle. Instead, she reached out her delicate hand, wanting to gently touch the scars on Luke's face and hands, but she didn't dare to touch them. She frowned slightly, a trace of heartache flashing in her eyes. "Why are your injuries so serious?"
Luke grinned, shook his head with a relaxed and nonchalant look, and comforted her, "Don't worry about me, it's just a superficial wound. It'll be healed when I drink some magic potion back home." Seeing that she was still worried, Luke pointed at the Balrog's body to divert her attention. "And we successfully killed the Balrog this time! Look at that black thing under Smaug's feet. It's the Balrog's true form. He looks mighty when he's on fire, but I didn't expect his true form to be so ugly."
Arwen glanced at the Balrog's body and then stopped paying attention to it, instead continuing to focus on him. She took out a bottle of Ent-draught from the spider silk space bag that Luke had given her and handed it to him. "Drink this quickly, it will heal your wound!"
Looking at the bottle of Ent-draught in his hand, Luke asked in surprise, "Isn't this the bottle I gave you before? Why didn't you drink it?" Arwen smiled warmly and shook her head. "Ent-draught doesn't have much effect on me, so I saved it for later use. Isn't it time to use it now?"
"Alright, drink up now. The fire of the Balrog is not so pleasant to bear." Luke was not polite with Arwen either. In the cold environment on Silverlode Peak, the burning pain on his body was bearable, but after coming to the warm environment at the foot of the mountain, the wounds continued to feel a burning and stinging pain, which was truly uncomfortable. However, he still waved his hand and transformed another bottle, poured half of the Ent-draught into it, and then gave it to Gandalf.
"Oh, thank you!" Gandalf didn't bother to be polite and drank half a bottle of Ent-draught immediately. As the two drank the draughts, their originally tired bodies and minds recovered instantly, the burns on their bodies healed quickly, and even their magical power recovered significantly. Gandalf's only regret was that his eyebrows and beard never grew back.
Then everyone's eyes focused on the body of the Balrog. "Is this the legendary Balrog?" The Elves and Dwarves all widened their eyes, looking at it with awe and curiosity. Even though the Balrog was dead, its lingering aura still filled everyone with fear. They couldn't imagine how terrifying it was when it was alive. Everyone looked at Gandalf and Luke, who had killed the Balrog, with admiration and respect.
This was the being that had destroyed the Kingdom of Khazad-dûm, occupied it for a thousand years, and made Moria a forbidden zone for humans, Dwarves, and Elves! In addition to his admiration for Gandalf and Luke, Balin was filled with excitement and joy. Now that the most dangerous existence, the Balrog, had been eliminated, as long as the remaining orcs were eliminated or driven away, they could retake Moria and take possession of the birthplace of the Durin Dwarves, which was rich in mithril mines.
Luke and Gandalf did not need to be involved in cleaning up the remaining orcs. Balin assured them that they could handle it themselves. Luke and Gandalf also believed in the fighting power of the Dwarf warriors. Although there were still thousands of orcs left in Moria, it would not be a problem for the Dwarves to deal with them. So Luke and Gandalf did not insist further. Moreover, after the battle with the Balrog, their souls were exhausted and needed some time to recover.
However, to prevent the orcs from escaping, Luke sent Smaug to guard the West Gate of Moria and help the Dwarves to annihilate the remaining orcs. As for him and Gandalf, they first went to nearby Lórien to visit Lady Galadriel and her companions. When leaving, Luke borrowed the Dwarves' space box and put the body of the Balrog, the "Watcher in the Water" brought back by Smaug from the abyss, and the Basilisk into it. Then he went to Lórien with Arwen and other Elves. As for Balin and the Dwarves, they began their mission to fully retake Moria.