After severing the head of Mohg, Lucian kept his gaze fixed on the now headless corpse.
Even in death, Mohg was the kind of opponent who was difficult to kill completely. Lucian had to remain vigilant, wary of any strange methods he might still employ.
He needed absolute confirmation of Mohg's death before he could relax.
Three seconds passed. Five. Ten…
At last, the runes left behind after Mohg's death began to gather into Lucian's body.
Feeling the presence of the Great Rune within himself, along with the Remembrance forming in his hand, Lucian finally confirmed it.
Mohg was truly dead.
Looking at the corpse, Lucian found it hard to believe.
He had thought Mohg was building up to some final, desperate explosion.
But instead, he had died just like that? Without any real resistance?
Lucian rubbed his chin, thinking back to Mohg's final cry—Miquella.
Something about it felt… off.
Mohg had always been obsessed with Miquella, yet that final shout had been filled with anger and despair.
Was his sudden lack of resistance related to Miquella?
No… even as an Empyrean, with the innate ability to inspire affection in all things, that would be far too extreme…
The idea that Miquella had been the one manipulating Mohg all along was simply too absurd.
…Still, something about it didn't sit right.
Then again, watching the entire Mohgwyn Dynasty collapse, achieving his long-awaited transformation only to realize his opponent was utterly overwhelming, it would drive anyone to despair.
A so-called "Dynasty" running into something like this… an opponent with absurd, almost cheating-level power, wielding the might of the sun… it wasn't something effort alone could overcome.
Lucian stopped dwelling on Mohg's corpse and shifted his attention to the Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear.
Even with Mohg dead, the passage connecting it to the Formless Mother still remained.
The Formless Mother continued to surge through it, only to be instantly incinerated by the sun's flames.
However, without Mohg acting as both anchor and power source, the passage was steadily shrinking. The Formless Mother alone could not sustain it.
The influence of the Erdtree still repelled Outer Gods, preventing them from truly setting foot in the Lands Between.
Unless they became a governing force of the world itself, they could not directly interfere.
Even if Lucian did nothing, the passage would soon collapse entirely, and the Formless Mother would lose the ability to project her power here.
Her strength was terrifying, but without being able to descend in person, she was limited to indirect means through Mohg.
If faced directly, her true form would undoubtedly be far more difficult to deal with.
Outer Gods were simply too powerful.
Seeing the passage about to close, the Formless Mother surged forward even more frantically.
With the influx of additional power, the passage was forcibly expanded once again.
Her flesh extended toward Mohg's corpse on the ground, attempting to reclaim it.
The headless body began to tremble once more. The fragment of divine essence left within Mohg started to take control, dragging the corpse slowly toward the spear.
Watching the corpse inch forward, Lucian prepared to bring down flames and destroy it completely.
There was no telling whether the Formless Mother could reuse Mohg's body in some way.
Though he disliked the idea of defiling a corpse, it was better to eliminate the threat entirely.
If one day she transformed this body into a vessel for her descent and returned for revenge, it would be far worse.
Unbeknownst to him, a single strand of golden, illusory hair descended silently from the void.
Because of Melina's presence, its owner dared not exert too much power, for fear of being exposed.
But now, there was no need for charm or domination.
A slight nudge to his thoughts would suffice.
—
Before Lucian could act, several glowing needles pierced into Mohg's body first.
As the power of unalloyed gold sealed away the influence of the Formless Mother, the headless corpse collapsed once more.
Lucian turned to look.
Leda and the others had arrived.
Leda spoke.
"My lord, it would be best not to destroy the corpse."
"There is still power from an Outer God within it. If the body is destroyed and that power leaks out, it could be dangerous."
"The power of unalloyed gold is specifically effective against Outer Gods. For now, there is no need to worry."
Lucian thought for a moment, then, almost inexplicably, found her reasoning sound.
"…Good. That saves me from having to do something disrespectful to a corpse."
Melina looked at him closely, studying his expression.
But by now, the faint golden strand had already withdrawn. Even she noticed nothing unusual.
Though she felt a trace of doubt, she would not oppose Lucian's decision.
With its control over the corpse severed, and the forcibly expanded passage shrinking once more, the Formless Mother lost any desire to continue.
Silently committing the appearances of Lucian and the others to memory, She retreated into the void.
Lucian summoned flames and scorched the sacred spear repeatedly.
Without the Formless Mother's power sustaining it, the Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear quickly melted under the intense heat, losing its form.
It had been a fine weapon, but Lucian had no intention of using it.
This was, after all, a ritual object that connected directly to the Formless Mother. No matter how powerful it was, it was far too dangerous.
If she used it as a conduit to send her power again, he would be forced to waste another use of his trump card.
Picking up the remnants left after the spear had melted, Lucian confirmed that no trace of blood-related power remained.
What was left behind was actually decent material, something that could be used for forging in the future.
After storing it away, Lucian looked toward the distant mountaintop, where the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum stood.
Now came the time to thoroughly loot the 'Blood' Dynasty.
He and Melina ignored Leda and the others, moving upward through the palace, collecting whatever they could find.
There weren't many items of value, but what they did find was of surprisingly high quality.
After discarding the useless pieces, they ended up with the following spoils:
Several Rune Arcs, a handful of Golden Seeds, a Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman +2, numerous Arteria Leafs, and a large quantity of Smithing Stones.
All of these were valuable, but none could be considered the most precious treasures of the dynasty.
What truly stood out were a single Great Ghost Glovewort and a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.
These were the greatest gains of this expedition.
Lucian had obtained a Great Ghost Glovewort before while helping Ranni acquire the Fingerslayer Blade, but one could never have too many of them.
The Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, however, was entirely different.
This was the first time Lucian had encountered one in the Lands Between.
It was said to be formed from the scales of an ancient dragon, imbued with the power of time itself.
With it, he could forge a weapon to [+10], a true god-slaying armament.
With a god-slaying weapon in hand, one would truly possess the ability to raise a blade against the divine.
—
After sweeping through and gathering their spoils, Lucian and Melina stood before the Mohgwyn Mausoleum.
This was the end of the Mohgwyn Dynasty.
Yet Lucian did not step inside immediately.
That thing within the cocoon… he still couldn't be sure whether it was truly Miquella of the Haligtree. Best to stay cautious, no point stumbling at the last moment.
At this point… it was time to level up.
The most direct and greatest gain from this battle was runes.
Never before had Lucian possessed so many.
He couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Truly worthy of being called a "Blood Bank."
This time, he had effectively wiped out nearly every enemy within the underground reaches of the 'Blood' Dynasty.
With such a massive number of enemies and a fivefold rune bonus, he had gained over six million runes.
On top of that, Mohg himself had yielded around two million.
Altogether, this expedition through Mohgwyn Palace had earned him roughly eight million runes, draining the "bank" completely dry.
And that wasn't all.
After defeating Starscourge Radahn, he had accumulated over four million runes without spending them.
For the first time, Lucian's total rune count had reached the ten-million mark.
More precisely.
He now held over thirteen million runes within his body.
Feeling that immense reservoir of power, Lucian couldn't help but feel pleased.
Even though each level now required more and more runes, this was still more than enough to raise his stats significantly.
No hesitation.
He would spend them now.
The journey had not been easy. But thanks to his efforts, he had finally reached this point.
"Melina… let's begin."
Lucian gestured to her.
She walked over, about to ask why they weren't entering the mausoleum, only for him to take her hand.
She froze for a moment, then immediately sensed the staggering amount of runes within him.
"…So many…!"
Lucian smiled. It had been a long time since he had seen that expression on her face.
Back when they had first traveled together, even a reward of three hundred thousand runes from the Two Fingers had felt immense.
Now, three hundred thousand was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
Lucian began planning his next upgrades.
Currently, his highest stat was Arcane, at 65.
But since it had already surpassed its threshold, he decided not to raise it further for now.
After fighting Mohg who had been transformed by the power of the Formless Mother, Lucian had a clearer understanding of what lay beyond.
Previously, he had no idea what it took to reach the next level of power.
Now, he could plan again.
During the battle, even without knowing exactly how Mohg had distributed his strength, it was obvious, his Strength and Dexterity had both surpassed their respective limits.
Those were the most visibly enhanced attributes. Lucian had felt that overwhelming power firsthand.
As for Arcane and Vitality, Lucian suspected Mohg had surpassed those thresholds long ago as well.
His conclusion was simple:
At least three attributes needed to break past their limits to truly transcend, to step into a realm beyond demigods and gain the power of a 'king'.
If Lucian wanted to reach that level quickly, he needed to push his strongest stats even further.
Aside from Arcane, his highest stat was Vitality at 55.
Next came Strength at 45.
This time, he planned to invest in Vitality, Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance.
When he enlarged his body using the power of the Great Rune, the bonuses that would normally go to Arcane would instead shift into these attributes, bringing him closer to that higher tier.
Even if that level of power could only be achieved in that transformed state, it would still be worth it.
Having decided, Lucian explained his plan to Melina, then activated the Great Rune, enlarging his body.
Melina nodded and began allocating points into Vitality, one level at a time.
After spending over three million runes, his Vitality reached 70.
A strange sensation spread through his body.
This was a transformation at the level of life itself.
Unlike Arcane, the breakthrough in a physical attribute was unmistakable.
Letting out a breath, Lucian didn't linger on the feeling and instead had Melina begin raising his Strength.
After adding ten points and pushing it past 65, the same transformative sensation occurred again.
Lucian opened his hand, feeling the surge of power within.
Now, the conditions for advancement were clear.
With two attributes breaking their limits in succession, his theory was confirmed.
At least three attributes were required to step into the next realm.
At present, he had achieved this with Strength and Vitality.
Arcane, due to the redistribution of the Great Rune's power, could not reach that threshold for now, but it remained the closest.
And its threshold was already known. With ten more points, it could break through again in this transformed state.
Alternatively, he could invest in Dexterity.
He still possessed the talisman left to him by Millicent—Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom.
If Dexterity's threshold matched Strength's, then only a few more points would be needed, and it would improve his combat effectiveness even further.
Feeling the remaining two million runes within him, Lucian shook his head.
Looks like he'd need to find Marika's Scarseal next.
Leveling costs were rising too quickly, and opportunities like this where enemies provided such massive amounts of runes would be rare going forward.
This wasn't a game. Later areas wouldn't conveniently yield more rewards.
As Melina converted the runes into Lucian's strength, she smiled brightly.
She didn't think too deeply about it. All she knew was that Lucian had become stronger.
Seeing him still deep in thought, she asked:
"What are you thinking about?"
"Aren't we going in to see what's left?"
Lucian nodded and used the Great Rune to return his body to normal size.
With that, his Strength and Vitality dropped back below their thresholds. The sudden loss of that heightened power felt especially stark.
He clicked his tongue. Not enough runes yet. For now, he had to specialize.
Together, Lucian and Melina stepped into the mausoleum.
It had already been heavily damaged earlier, when Lucian first entered the Mohgwyn Dynasty, a single sunlight spear had blown apart much of its structure.
With Mohg's death, the protective barrier around the cocoon had also vanished.
Lucian stood before the final steps of the mausoleum, gazing at the arm extending from the cocoon, studying it carefully.
The hand wore a golden ring. It was thin, withered, and stained with blood.
And yet, it didn't match what he knew of Miquella at all.
It was said that Miquella never aged, forever retaining a youthful form.
But the body within the cocoon, this was no child.
It was larger even than Mohg.
"Does this form trouble you?"
A voice spoke from behind him.
It was Leda.