Gawain sheathed the Coiled Sword. As he walked, he began to peel away the large shards of armor that had melted and fused into his flesh. Now that his taut nerves had finally relaxed, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
In truth, he had spent almost the entire fight suppressing the Lord of Frenzied Flame; the majority of his wounds were actually self-inflicted burns from his own power.
However, this was the first time since arriving in the Land of Shadow that he had absorbed such a staggering amount of Frenzied Flame. It was even more than that time he had faced the outer god's true essence to save Irina. Though he could just barely contain it, the lingering impact on his psyche was undeniable.
Back then, he'd had the protection of the Sun. Here in the Land of Shadow, however, that light was beyond reach. Faith in the Sun had long since withered; likely, few in this place even knew the Sun existed, let alone how to draw upon its influence.
Just as he felt himself starting to calm down, a sudden surge of heat radiated from the sky. Veins popped across his forehead in an instant. He had even used the bone-like stone capable of erasing the essence of divinity—could the damn thing still resurrect after that?
But as his gaze caught the headless, charred corpse of Midra nearby, he let out a small sigh of relief. If it wasn't the Lord of Frenzied Flame rising from the dead, then this fiery power could only belong to one person.
The arrival was a familiar one. A spear plummeted from the sky, piercing the ground just ahead of him. Then, Messmer descended, kicking up a massive cloud of dust upon impact.
"Cough, cough... Could you maybe land a little softer next time? There's ash from the corpses of Frenzied Flame creatures everywhere. Breathing this in is disgusting."
Messmer scanned the surroundings, taking in the Abyssal Woods which had been thoroughly "sanitized" by the Frenzied Flame, and the headless corpse lying not far away. A hint of surprise flickered across his face, though it was barely perceptible. While he had expected the Lord of Frenzied Flame hidden here to be troublesome, the sheer scale of the destruction exceeded his expectations.
"Even from the Shadow Keep, I could feel the power of the Lord of Frenzied Flame after the seal was broken, and that sun of madness broadcasting despair. Did you truly resolve him under those conditions?"
Gawain gestured over his shoulder, a hint of pride in his expression.
"There. The one lying on the ground back there is the Lord of Frenzied Flame. In any case, I've pulled the Frenzied Flame's influence out of the Abyssal Woods by the roots. It's just a shame about the books in that manse; they've likely all been reduced to ash by now."
Messmer's gaze turned complex. His usually grim face softened with a subtle shift in emotion.
Though he was loath to admit it, he truly had this Tarnished to thank for peacefully handling an enemy that could have dealt a devastating blow to the Crusade at any moment.
However, as the praise reached his lips, he found himself unable to voice it. The two stood there, staring awkwardly at one another, until Melina's voice finally broke the tension.
"Brother, Gawain speaks the truth. The nascent Lord of Frenzied Flame is no longer a threat. You can rest easy."
Melina had appeared at Gawain's side at some point. She raised her hand, releasing a golden incantation to heal the burns on his body that had yet to mend. Perhaps because she had witnessed the destruction of the Frenzied Flame, she seemed a bit energized herself.
Seeing his sister like this, Messmer averted his gaze and sighed softly.
"If that is the case, my previous promise stands. From this point forward, I will no longer obstruct your movements in the Land of Shadow. I will give the word to the soldiers of the Crusade."
Glancing toward the collapsed manse, he continued, "If you are interested in those books, you might find most of the original copies preserved in the Specimen Storehouse of the Shadow Keep."
"Really?! That's a relief."
Gawain hadn't expected Messmer to have a place called a "Specimen Storehouse"—it sounded suspiciously like Aldia's Keep. If he wasn't mistaken, that place likely held many secrets of the Land of Shadow. And since it was called a Specimen Storehouse, would he get to see a giant Basilisk?
Remembering something, Messmer asked, "Some strangers have recently infiltrated Scadu Altus. They seem to be followers of Miquella. Are those people your companions?"
"Hmm... in a sense, yes. After all, without Leda leading the way, I wouldn't have been able to enter the Land of Shadow in the first place."
Gawain didn't deny it. Miquella's business was one of the primary reasons he had come here.
"They should be able to lead me to Miquella's trail. It beats me wandering around aimlessly. The Hornsent in Belurat seem to hope Miquella will ascend to godhood; it looks like that Empyrean has struck some kind of deal with them."
"Miquella... So his goal truly is the Gate of Divinity..."
Messmer recalled the books detailing ancient rituals that the Empyrean had sought out when he first arrived at the Shadow Keep.
Originally, for the sake of his mother, he was willing to turn a blind eye to whatever that Empyrean wanted to do. But now that it involved the Gate of Divinity—and collaboration with the Hornsent—he could no longer sit idly by.
However, given the current state of the Crusade, he had to remain at the Shadow Keep and could not be away for long.
After a brief moment of thought, he turned his gaze back to the Tarnished.
"Since you are also investigating Miquella, I will leave this matter to you. If he truly intends to cooperate with the Hornsent to achieve godhood, inform me of the specific timing and progress. I will deal with it then."
"Fair enough, I'll take care of it. But if that's the case, it's best not to restrict Miquella's followers too much. It'll make it easier for me to follow them and figure out Miquella's plan as soon as possible."
While Messmer felt uneasy about letting a foreign Tarnished run rampant, it was a minor price to pay if it meant uncovering the Empyrean's plan. At worst, he'd just stay in his dark chamber to keep the man out of his sight and out of his mind.
"By the way, about those Shamans... I'm planning to head back to the Lands Between shortly to see if I can find a practical treatment for them."
Hearing a statement that didn't sound like a lie, Messmer was momentarily stunned. Could this man actually have some confidence in curing the Shamans?
To be honest, over the long years, he had developed a habit of predicting the worst in everything. It was a self-defense mechanism born from watching hope shatter time and time again.
But then he remembered Melina's words and the strength the man had shown in defeating the Lord of Frenzied Flame. What if? What if there was actually substance to his words?
"As I said, where you go next is your own business; I will not interfere. However... any treatment regarding the Shamans must be reported to me... or to Rellana. Understood?"
Gawain found Messmer's conflicted, stubborn tone rather amusing.
He had essentially figured out the man's personality by now. Messmer was an emotionally stunted "tsundere"—he wouldn't have sacrificed so much for Marika otherwise.
He didn't completely annihilate the Black Knight rebels but allowed them to return; he didn't know how to respond to Rellana's feelings, yet unconditionally viewed her as an equal from the bottom of his heart.
Messmer seemed to read something in Gawain's expression. He snorted, turned around, and asked Melina:
"Melina, do you wish to return to the Shadow Keep? I can take you back now to see it. It is our former home, in that hidden land."
Melina lowered her head. After an internal struggle, she shook it.
"Brother, you need not worry about me. Though I miss our home, I have been away for so long that waiting a bit longer won't hurt. Before that... I still wish to stay at Castle Ensis to look after those Shamans. Is that alright?"
Messmer naturally wouldn't oppose his sister's decision. Besides, the Shamans he kept hidden in the depths of the Shadow Keep had some degree of self-sufficiency. In contrast, the survivors at Castle Ensis required better care.
"You want to stay and look after them? Very well. I'll head back to the Lands Between first and find a suitable treatment as quickly as possible. I can't be gone for too long anyway; there are likely new developments I need to handle. I'll try not to take too long."
"It is no matter. Now that the Lord of Frenzied Flame is dealt with, the despair permeating the Land of Shadow has lessened significantly. I don't think anything will go wrong in the meantime."
Melina gave Gawain a parting hug. As the moment of separation neared, she cherished their limited time together all the more. She then looked up and exhorted him:
"But don't make me wait too long. Those Shamans cannot stay like that forever. And... I want to take you to see my home. I promise you, it is even more beautiful than you can imagine."
"Your home? Then it's a promise."
Melina watched Gawain take the first step out of the Abyssal Woods. When she turned back, she found her brother staring at her with a complicated expression. For some reason, it made her feel awkward, as if her inner thoughts had been laid bare.
"Melina, you... Forget it. There is nothing left to stay for here. Let me escort you back to Castle Ensis."
Inside Stormveil Castle, Asimi—who was currently filling in on the throne—frowned at the report before her.
"What you're saying is... you went and asked, and making a new Warrior Jar in Jarburg costs a budget of 50,000 Runes?"
A noble below, dressed in rather gaudy clothes, nodded with a hint of guilt. He claimed this was the absolute minimum, and it didn't even include the costs of material transport and wear-and-tear.
"That is correct, Lord Storm King. Shall we approve the budget now?"
Asimi's mouth twitched. She stood up from the throne, about to say something, then suddenly froze for a moment. She felt a message—and a sensation—sent back by her duplicate in the Land of Shadow just before it vanished.
Suddenly, she lost all interest in bickering with these "pests" and torturing herself. She strode forward and delivered a heavy backhand slap that sent the noble spinning like a top until he hit the floor. Immediately, the two Crucible Knights standing guard outside the doors rushed in, grabbed the former minor noble by his feet, and hauled him out.
"Nonsense. Do not insult my intelligence to my face. Throw him out!"
As Asimi watched the noble—who was about to become a "close-range observer" for Glintstone sorcery—disappear from sight, she could only sigh. She hadn't been acting in this position for very long; why did she only encounter these eccentric problems?
She also felt a bit helpless. The duplicate had sent back thoughts influenced by the Frenzied Flame. While spirits were largely immune to status effects, that was the Lord of Frenzied Flame they were talking about; there were bound to be some side effects.
Wait, why was she starting to mimic Gawain's vocabulary? Though, she had to admit, it was quite effective in certain situations.
"Asimi? You seem a bit off today. Do you need a rest?"
Irina yawned as she walked out from the inner chamber. Over the past few days, she had frequently needed to remotely guide Asimi in issuing commands, so she had simply set up a small nest next to the Stormveil throne. At night, she could even enjoy the view of Liurnia of the Lakes.
During these days where she didn't have to personally deal with those infuriating "pests," her mental state had improved significantly. She could just order Asimi to blow them away.
"It's nothing. I just received news from my duplicate."
"Your duplicate! Is it intelligence from the Land of Shadow? Looking at you... did something happen?"
"Sigh, it wasn't a huge 'accident' per se, but I'd rather not experience that sensation again."
The memory still made Asimi shudder. In a sense, her duplicate had been vibrated into steam by her own host. After desperately casting two Eternal Darkness spells, her final consciousness had lingered on the moment Gawain successfully plunged that stone into the Lord of Frenzied Flame's chest.
She didn't intend to hide anything and told Irina the entire story about the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
"The Land of Shadow seems even more perilous than I imagined, for such an entity to exist there."
Irina naturally couldn't imagine what such a scene looked like. Under the shroud of that strange veil in the Land of Shadow, she couldn't even sense Gawain's general condition through their soul bond. Marika's authority as a god was truly unreasonable.
"However, according to the original plan, he should be returning to the Lands Between next."
"Hmm?! He's coming back? Then I need to prepare properly. And I should tell... Miss Sirris. She should still be breaking in her knightly order. I wonder how that new armor Master Iji was commissioned to forge is coming along."
Seeing Irina immediately prepare to leave, Asimi stepped forward to mention one more thing.
"We should find the castle's Perfumers first. We'll need to find a way to treat a group of... patients. While their condition is more than just physical trauma, I think we can finally support those exhausted Crusaders with materials or personnel."
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Elden Ring: In the Name of Ash
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