With the path cleared, Madawc reached Bul-Kathos's side in a few leaps. Then, he stopped.
The tragic, harrowing aura radiating from Bul-Kathos reminded Madawc of the time he had stood alone against the combined might of Baal and Mephisto. Even with Baal lying on the ground now, seemingly on his last legs, Madawc felt a profound sense of danger. The source wasn't the dying Prime Evil, but the hideously contorted face of Bul-Kathos.
"Bul-Kathos."
Madawc glanced at the trembling Tyrael, then walked toward Bul-Kathos without hesitation. He knew Bul-Kathos wouldn't lose his mind. This man, aside from a few slivers of joy, only ever showed emotions that were suppressed to the point of breaking. Rage was the only emotion he could manifest without obstruction; everything else had been dampened when his soul was split.
Because of this, Bul-Kathos rarely spoke of his inner state. Thus, Madawc—the slightly talkative one—had become Bul-Kathos's closest friend.
"Bul-Kathos, look at me~"
Leah whispered, the Sky Hammer of Sin manifesting at her waist, radiating power bit by bit. She had eyes for no one else, her entire being focused on mentally eroding Bul-Kathos.
Bul-Kathos was caught in a vice, fighting his own soul's desire to be whole while simultaneously suppressing Andariel's will. This battle of wills was a constant tug-of-war. Anger clouded judgment, and Bul-Kathos was desperately trying to suppress the fury Leah's state ignited within him.
"Bul-Kathos! Open the Black Soulstone! I'm going in!"
Madawc stood before Bul-Kathos, staring into his twisted visage. His tone was dead serious. He might joke on occasion, but he knew when to put the humor away. Bul-Kathos's state was the only thing that mattered now.
"GET... OUT!"
The words were forced through Bul-Kathos's clenched teeth. A pillar of fury erupted from him, a physical manifestation of his will intended to drive Madawc away. Venting his anger helped steady his emotions, but using that anger only caused it to surge further.
No more sacrifice. At least, not until Bul-Kathos himself was gone. No one else would die. That was his conviction. He knew exactly what Madawc intended, and he would not allow it.
Madawc reached out, his hand passing through the scorching flames of Bul-Kathos's rage. In an instant, his arm was charred black. Ignoring the pain, his blackened palm gripped Bul-Kathos's throat and wrenched him out of the physical flames.
Madawc was truly furious now. Helping a friend required no reason. Rebuking a friend was a duty.
"Bul-Kathos! I said! I! AM! GOING! IN!"
Madawc roared. The two Barbarians slammed their foreheads together, the impact echoing with a dull thud. Madawc was demonstrating his absolute resolve.
Bul-Kathos grabbed Madawc by the hair and hurled him away.
"I SAID... GET OUT!!!"
The fury within Bul-Kathos suddenly bridged the gap between the mountain beneath them and the Cube above. Two layers of shimmering barriers instantly encased him and Leah in a void that even light and sound could not penetrate.
This was Bul-Kathos's fight. He would not have Madawc pay the price for it. This was Kanai's will, and the conviction Vorusk had inherited.
"ROAR!"
Madawc let out a harrowing scream, a mixture of rage and desperation that sounded like a tiger having its tail stepped on. His eyes bulged, and his legendary weapons glowed with a brownish-red hue, the color of dried blood. He braced his body to charge. Even if it meant attacking his friend, he would make Bul-Kathos understand that he didn't have to face everything alone.
"Madawc, respect Bul-Kathos's choice."
Tyrael finally stopped his helpless trembling, speaking with a note of resigned weariness. He glanced at Baal, who had been crippled by Kanai, and realized the gamble was essentially over unless something unforeseen happened.
However, his true body and power were still locked in the Burning Hells. To pay the debt of the wager, Bul-Kathos would have to enter Hell himself, or Tyrael would have to strike a deal with Baal to leave together. Both were impossibilities. Yet, the version of Tyrael's consciousness within the "Rift" didn't know that yet.
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