With the two dragonkin guards dead, Hugo's job was done.
General Drakkisath could come back now.
"Hugo, you can come back," Gabryell said.
No response.
"Hugo? Are you dead?"
Still no response.
"If you don't answer, I'm going to pretend you don't exist. You get no say in Drakkisath's loot."
The moment he said that, Hugo's raid frame turned into a ghost.
Then came the shout.
"Holy crap, I fell!"
Where had he fallen?
No need to ask.
He had definitely fallen into LBRS.
"Even the best horses trip sometimes," Hugo said, trying very hard to defend himself. "It was just a mistake. I wanted to kite Drakkisath all the way back toward Rend's room. I had just gone down the stairs, and before I even reached the door, he caught up to me."
Then he continued his tragic report with great indignation.
"Feign Death got resisted. I panicked, saw a gap ahead, and ran for it. Then... then I fell."
Gabryell already knew exactly where he had fallen.
It was that annoying drop near the old class-quest area.
"Carlos, get ready to pick up Drakkisath."
Hugo was dead, so Drakkisath was definitely walking back. Judging by the timing, he would arrive soon.
David immediately said, "The General's here. I'll take him. Heal me up."
After contributing absolutely nothing during The Beast, David wanted to redeem himself on the final boss.
Gabryell decided to give him the chance.
"Heal David."
Carlos and Susie both stepped back, giving him room to tank.
David drew his one-handed sword and shield, overflowing with heroic spirit.
"Behold! General David takes the field! Enemy commander, step forward and die!"
So dramatic.
For a second, Gabryell felt like he was watching a discount warlord walk onto a battlefield and announce his own legend.
The problem was that General Drakkisath was not some nameless soldier.
Drakkisath was the raid boss.
David watched Drakkisath get closer and used Taunt.
"Hey, ugly. Over here."
Drakkisath ignored him completely.
Taunt resisted.
The moment Taunt failed, David panicked and used Intercept, charging straight at the boss.
"Idiot, why are you charging in?" Gabryell snapped. "You just ran out of healer line of sight."
At that moment, Gabryell finally understood why DesertWanderer and the others loved calling David a water tank.
David was bad.
Fortunately, the healers were not.
Danielly immediately stepped forward and landed a heal on him.
"Pull him back," Gabryell ordered.
Drakkisath was still on the bridge. If David kept him there, ranged DPS could hit him, but melee could not safely get behind him.
David dragged Drakkisath all the way back into position.
The melee players immediately moved behind the boss and started stabbing away.
Drakkisath had several AoE abilities. Even behind him, the melee were still taking damage quickly.
"Luna, Innervate Snowy."
"SevenDays, keep Judgement of Wisdom up."
Drakkisath's high health and heavy damage were a serious test for the healers.
They had already spent half their mana killing the two guards. Now they had to keep the main tank alive while also healing the melee group through constant damage.
Their mana was dropping fast.
"If melee can't hold, back out and bandage," Gabryell said. "Take pressure off the healers."
Any reduced pressure mattered.
Losing one or two melee DPS was better than losing the tank.
"I'm on fire!"
The worst situation appeared.
Flames burst across DeathScum's body.
He had been hit by Drakkisath's most disgusting ability.
Conflagration.
Conflagration
Instant
30-yard range
Sets an enemy aflame, dealing heavy Fire damage over time and causing the target to panic. While burning, the target periodically damages nearby allies.
It was a vile ability.
Common sense said that anyone hit by this kind of effect should immediately run away from the group.
The problem was that Conflagration came with a panic effect. The player lost control of their character and started running around helplessly while burning everyone nearby.
DeathScum's health was falling fast.
The melee around him were burning too.
"David, pull the boss away," Gabryell shouted. "Everyone get away from DeathScum."
If he called it even a little later and Drakkisath used Thunderclap, the whole melee group might die.
"Snowy, shield DeathScum and put Renew on him. Don't let him drop."
Once David pulled Drakkisath away and everyone moved off DeathScum, Gabryell had Danielly keep the Rogue alive.
DeathScum was moved.
"Don't heal me. Heal David."
He was ready to sacrifice himself for the raid.
The healers did not have much mana left. Every heal mattered.
Since DeathScum had made such a noble request, Gabryell granted it immediately.
"Fine. Snowy, keep healing David."
DeathScum froze.
"Wait, I was being dramatic."
"No takebacks."
Smooch sounded genuinely regretful.
"Why couldn't Igor be the one who got Conflagration? He has Divine Shield. Finally, his existence would make sense."
As long as the main tank stayed alive, losing one DPS would not affect much.
They could still grind Drakkisath down.
"Twenty-five percent left," Carlos called. "Push!"
At twenty-five percent, the real final stretch began.
This was where fights were won or lost.
Drakkisath used Conflagration again.
This should have been the third cast. The second one had hit OldSeven, who removed it with Ice Block and then spent the next several seconds bragging.
"Powerful Mages really are amazing. Rogues are trash. A class that dies the moment one skill hits them has no reason to exist."
DeathScum had almost wanted to stab him.
"I got Conflagration!" SevenDays shouted.
Then he immediately followed up.
"No problem. I have Divine Shield."
SevenDays bubbled and removed it.
"Paladins are invincible. Trash classes, are you jealous?"
DeathScum was deeply depressed.
"I demand that Rogues get Ice Block and Divine Shield too."
Carlos said, "Get in line. I'm still waiting for Warriors to learn healing."
The third Conflagration was negated by Divine Shield.
Based on Drakkisath's cast rhythm, he probably would not get a fourth one off.
"Shield Wall up," David shouted. "For ten seconds, I am a real man. Heal me."
At the final twenty percent, David used his major cooldown to make sure he would not die.
When Shield Wall ended, he immediately activated another cooldown.
"Last Stand up. Don't let me sink. Patch the leak, quick."
Lunatori used Nature's Swiftness and instantly topped his health.
With Last Stand carrying him through the final stretch, the raid finally burned through Drakkisath's remaining health.
General Drakkisath fell.
David immediately became arrogant again.
"I'm still very strong as main tank," he said. "Next time we kill Nefarian, let me tank him too."
This guy got carried away faster than anyone.
One decent tanking moment, and he already thought he was some legendary warlord.
In reality, he was David, the discount version.
"I performed this well, so I deserve a reward," David continued. "I request permission to loot the boss. This time, I'll definitely pull something amazing for everyone."
He wanted to wash away his cursed loot reputation and get another chance.
"Get lost."
Before Gabryell could refuse, the whole raid rejected him in unison.
SevenDays was the most ruthless.
"David, see the bridge outside? Jump down and offer yourself as a blood sacrifice. If good loot drops, we'll count it as your contribution."
"Come on, then," David said, walking toward the bridge. "Let's all jump together."
DesertWanderer said calmly, "Summoning you back costs one hundred gold."
David immediately stopped.
If he died, he would still need Desert to summon him back, and he could not afford another fine.
"Mentor," Danielly said, "I'd like to try looting once."
This was the first time she had taken the initiative to ask to loot a boss.
The reaction was completely different from David's request.
The pack of wolves immediately agreed.
"Let Snowy loot."
"No matter what, she has to be better than David."
"Even if she closes her eyes, she can't be worse than him."
"Fine," Gabryell said. "Snowy, you loot."
Since everyone agreed, he had no objection.
They needed to find another lucky hand anyway. If Lunatori was not around in the future, Danielly could take over.
With Gabryell's approval, Danielly happily walked up to loot the corpse.
Who knew whether Blizzard had done it on purpose, but female players always seemed to have better luck than male players.
Draconian Deflector
Rare
Binds when picked up
Off Hand
Shield
2,153 Armor
40 Block
+7 Stamina
+10 Fire Resistance
Durability 100 / 100
Requires Level 58
Equip: Increased Defense +10.
Recipe: Flask of the Titans
Uncommon
Requires Alchemy 300
Use: Teaches you how to make Flask of the Titans.
There was also a Rogue T0 chestpiece.
Shadowcraft Tunic.
For a moment, the raid went silent.
Then everyone looked at David.
David said nothing.
He had no right to speak.