Seeing that the horned crone had truly mistaken him for one of the "braves," Lucian found himself in a rather complicated mood.
He kept his expression tightly controlled, afraid that if he relaxed even a little, he might burst out laughing on the spot.
He had to admit, this was a rather surreal experience.
Lucian summoned a gentle current of wind to swirl around him, using it to reinforce his disguise.
The airflow moved slowly, yet within it lay an astonishing weight of power.
Sensing that pure storm energy, the horned crone became even more convinced of his identity.
Lucian gave a light cough before speaking:
"…Yes. I have returned."
"The intruders who defiled our land have already been dealt with."
Hearing his words, the crone grew visibly excited, as though she had received the greatest possible encouragement.
"Ahh… wonderful!"
"My song will I sing... in service to thee."
She began humming an unfamiliar tune, some ancient melody of the horned folk, her voice trembling with emotion.
After a while, she finally came back to herself.
Lucian simply watched her, not interrupting.
It seemed she had spent far too long alone, her mind drifting between clarity and madness.
Once her brief song ended, the crone stretched out her hand toward Lucian, her voice filled with fervor:
"I implore, vessel of the sacred beast...dance thy dance of beauteous choler."
"They who betrayed us, aye, they who burned us..."
"Take vengeance upon Messmer and his lot."
"Let them face in thy wrath their just deserts."
Lucian continued playing his role, reaching out to grasp her frail, withered hands as he spoke solemnly:
"Do not worry. I will drive them all out."
"Every last one of them will be cast out."
The crone's lips trembled, as though she had made some firm decision.
At last, she spoke:
"…O brave one… O Divine Beast…"
"Have my son accompany thee to war."
Lucian froze for a moment, utterly caught off guard.
'Her… son?'
Then, beside the crone, a faint yellow wisp of a spirit emerged—a small, skull-shaped cluster of soul-stuff.
Guided by her will, the spirit slowly drifted toward Lucian.
He blinked at it.
'This… was her son?'
But compared to the murmuring ghostly figures outside, this thing was even more hollow. There was no trace of thought within it.
What use was giving this to him?
Lucian silently called out within his mind:
'Asimi, if that spirit does anything strange, eliminate it immediately. Understood?'
The response came quickly.
'Understood, my lord. Don't worry, something like that is easy to deal with.'
Lucian nodded faintly.
Only then did he extend his hand, allowing the spirit to float toward him.
Asimi, as a special lifeform, was capable of battling souls even in the spirit realm. A fragment like this posed no threat.
The wisp drifted along Lucian's body before coming to rest above his head.
The crone explained:
"O brave one… mine own son did perish long ago, amidst the merciless slaughter…"
"Yet in his final stand, his spirit was uplifted, transfigured into a guardian most steadfast."
"Proud am I of him… and naught do I wish, save that he remain at thy side, to shield thee from all that would do thee harm."
Lucian could not sense any thoughts or emotions from the spirit. He wasn't even sure what a "guardian spirit" truly was.
After a moment's thought, he reached out with his own soul, probing it for more information.
The spirit did not respond at all.
But through that deeper inspection, Lucian finally understood its nature.
Though it was indeed a soul, it had no connection left to its former self.
What remained was essentially an automated construct, a turret that could lock onto enemies and summon vengeful spirits to assist in battle.
After considering it briefly, Lucian decided he would refine it using the power of a Great Rune once he left.
This thing was not part of his own soul. He couldn't afford to leave behind any hidden risks.
Even if it was harmless… it still felt unsettling.
That said, its abilities were exactly what he needed.
At the very least, he now had a method of attacking souls.
The next time he had to venture into the spirit realm and face soul-type enemies, he wouldn't be at a loss.
Letting the guardian spirit hover above him, Lucian turned his gaze back to the crone.
If she had nothing else to say, he was ready to leave.
Fortunately, she did not disappoint.
From within her robes, the crone took out a stone-carved talisman.
She wiped its surface with the edge of her sleeve before placing it into Lucian's hands.
"Pray thee, take this talisman along thy path as well…"
"This old woman doth believe it shall, beyond all doubt, bestow upon thee a measure of good fortune."
The talisman was carved in the likeness of a raging Divine Beast Dancing Lion, its jaws wide open as if roaring.
The moment Lucian took it, he could feel the power contained within.
It resonated with the same source as the Divine Beast head, enhancing the power of storms.
A surge of delight passed through him as he began considering which talisman slot he could free up.
If wearing only the Divine Beast head to boost storm power had left him slightly hesitant…
Then adding this talisman removed all doubt.
Any hesitation at this point would simply be disrespecting the numbers.
Appearance mattered, but stats mattered more.
With this in hand, even wearing a lion's head all day wasn't out of the question anymore.
Lucian accepted it without hesitation.
Unlike the vague and questionable guardian spirit, this talisman was genuinely useful to him.
At that moment, the horned crone suddenly seemed much more agreeable. Her earlier insults were no longer worth holding against her.
As if remembering something else, she spoke again:
"O brave one… dost thou yet bear a weapon well-suited to thy hand?"
"For without a partner with whom to dance, how might one perform as is meet, hm?"
Hearing this, Lucian's eyes lit up.
That line sounded exactly like an elder asking, "Do you have enough money?"
And usually, what came next… was money.
It seemed there was more good stuff coming, likely a weapon.
Although he didn't fully understand the nature of the braves or the Divine Beast, he had, after all, just torn one apart with his own hands.
From that battle, he had gained some insight.
The Divine Beast Dancing Lion, or rather, the braves who controlled it fought in a unique manner.
They worked in tandem, two people moving together to animate the Divine Beast.
Only by moving in perfect unison, so seamlessly that the two became as one, could the Divine Beast truly descend upon the lion dance.
But Lucian was alone.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no way for a single person to perform a complete lion dance.
So he answered the horned crone:
"That's correct. As it stands, the dance is incomplete. The Divine Beast's power cannot fully descend."
"And without that, fighting barehanded is difficult."
The crone raised a finger and gently pointed toward the guardian spirit floating above Lucian's head.
At once, the spirit began drifting in a particular direction.
After doing this, she spoke:
"O brave one… when the Tower Settlement was assailed and brought to ruin, yet was the tower's hidden treasure preserved still."
"By the shadow of the tree did they seal the upper reaches, even the great Enir-Ilim."
"Yet the true seat of that treasure lieth in a place concealed within the settlement… a corner upon which their foul feet ne'er did tread."
"O brave one! Go forth and lay claim to that treasure, wield it, and dance in requital of our vengeance!"
"With such a weapon in thy grasp, even in solitude… thou shalt yet perform a dance most magnificent."
At this point, Lucian was starting to feel a bit awkward.
First the guardian spirit, then the talisman, and now she was even guiding him to the hidden treasure.
This old crone, after recognizing him as a "brave," was practically handing over everything she had.
Lucian nodded.
"Then I will go and retrieve that weapon."
"Wait for my good news."
With that, he turned and left.
The crone stood silently, sensing his departure, unable to suppress the smile on her face.
At last… at long last, she had seen a glimmer of hope for revenge.
She had waited for this day for so long that she could no longer remember how long it had truly been.
Perhaps it was her age, she found herself staring blankly more often now.
Sometimes she couldn't even tell whether she was awake or dreaming.
Her mind was unsteady, and she would often slip into sleep without warning, who knew when she might never wake again?
"Ah… aye, so it is…"
"Whilst yet mine wits remain unclouded, I ought to set to the making of scorpion stew…"
"The brave one hath surely not savored it in many an age… that taste, born of days when kin did gather as one…"
The crone climbed down from the table and began feeling her way through the warehouse, searching for ingredients.
A pot of scorpion stew would be the perfect offering to welcome the return of the brave, and the Divine Beast.
—
Lucian walked through the Tower Settlement without incident.
With the Divine Beast Dancing Lion's head equipped, the shadowy horned figures along the way treated him with utmost respect. Not a single one made a move to attack.
It seemed the status of a "brave" was even more significant than he had imagined.
Lucian glanced up at the guardian spirit floating above him.
It tilted slightly as it moved, continuously pointing him toward the correct direction, like a living guide.
As he followed it, Lucian began thinking about the horned folk.
Originally, he had wanted to ask the crone about the war of the past.
But… it seemed these were things every horned person already knew.
As a "brave," if he didn't know such things, it would be far too suspicious.
If he asked outright, his disguise would likely fall apart.
Of course, even if he were exposed, it wouldn't really cost him anything.
But… the crone would probably break down completely.
Just imagining her reaction made Lucian feel a trace of regret for playing this role.
She had already suffered enough. If she learned that the "brave" she placed her hopes in was actually someone from the Erdtree's side in disguise… she might truly lose her mind.
Crushing someone's hope with his own hands, that was something Lucian didn't want to do.
Because of that, he chose not to ask anything that might expose him.
Still, it wasn't as if there were no other ways to gather information.
Ansbach had spent some time researching the Tower Settlement before, he likely knew something.
And now that the enemies within the settlement had been cleared out, it was no longer particularly dangerous.
Later on, Lucian could try asking him to investigate further.
Following the guardian spirit's guidance, Lucian continued onward, until his expression suddenly changed.
There was no path ahead anymore.
And yet, the spirit continued drifting forward.
A bad feeling rose within him as he looked ahead.
Sure enough, what lay before him was a vast swamp of poison.
It was the very same poisonous swamp he had previously discovered in the underground passages with Freyja.
Lucian's mouth twitched as he covered his face.
He should have known.
If something like this existed, then of course there had to be something hidden inside.
No wonder Messmer's forces had combed through the Tower Settlement and still failed to find the treasure.
It was hidden in a place like this… truly unexpected.
And yet… strangely fitting.
Lucian let out a sigh and lifted himself into the air.
At the same time, he summoned a storm, using the winds to disperse the foul, rotting stench around him.
Following the spirit's direction, he flew deeper into the poisonous swamp.
Only now did he realize, the swamp was filled with humanoid flies.
Those vague shapes he had glimpsed before were all of them.
Each one looked different, yet nearly all were kneeling in prayer.
Seeing their sheer numbers made Lucian's scalp prickle.
There were far too many, likely even more than the shadowy horned beings within the settlement.
Some of the flies were closer to the surface. Upon spotting Lucian, they began to buzz and chase after him.
But his speed was too great. After a brief pursuit, they gave up one after another.
Before long, Lucian reached the location indicated by the guardian spirit.
The place where the tower's secret treasure was hidden was a spiral tower rising from the swamp.
In front of it stood a horned warrior, guarding the entrance.
Unlike the blind crone, this warrior could not be fooled by Lucian's crude disguise.
He immediately raised his curved blade and charged forward.
Lucian simply lifted his arm and swung it through the air.
With that motion, a massive tornado formed instantly, roaring forth and engulfing the warrior.
By the time the storm dissipated, the warrior was gone, leaving behind only shattered fragments of his weapon.
Lucian took a moment to feel the storm's power, now enhanced twice over, and nodded in satisfaction.
The improvement was obvious. His storm abilities had risen to an entirely new level.
With the guard eliminated, Lucian entered the tower.
What appeared before him was a peculiar twin-bladed weapon.