Malenia appeared at Redmane Castle as well. She was participating in the battle as a player, having received an invitation from Skyl.
For Malenia, her battle with Radahn had left memories that would never fade. Even so, she had no desire to participate in the Radahn Festival.
The Radahn of today was nothing more than a defeated opponent in her eyes. Defeating the maddened Starscourge would bring Malenia no honor whatsoever.
Yet she had come anyway.
"Leave this battle to me. I'm taking the first-clear reward."
There was something subtly different about Malenia's tone compared with a few days ago. The cold confidence and faint amusement of a hardcore gamer were beginning to show.
Skyl had checked her backend statistics. Since the new version went live, she had cleared a thousand instanced planes in a single day.
That kind of gaming intensity would make plenty of players faint just looking at the numbers.
Then again, it was understandable. Malenia had always been something of a homebody. She normally lived in seclusion at the Haligtree and had no need to concern herself with most day-to-day affairs, leaving her with enormous amounts of free time.
Now that Miquella had returned as well, Malenia had practically nothing left to do at the Haligtree.
If anyone deserved to be called a power user of the Silver Network, it was her.
In short, Malenia had made this trip for one simple reason: she wanted to earn some Candle Coins.
As for settling old grudges, she no longer carried any resentment in her heart, so there was nothing left to settle.
Ranni tilted her head back to look at the red-haired woman.
Placed side by side, the difference in their builds was immediately obvious. Malenia was tall enough to look an NBA center in the eye, while Ranni could jump and still barely reach her chest.
Ranni's doll face drooped slightly.
She was clearly not pleased.
"You. I didn't expect you to come as well."
"That voice is familiar, but I can't immediately remember who it belongs to."
Malenia turned her head. Behind the slits of her winged helm were a pair of flawless golden prosthetic eyes. The world they showed her was monochrome, but that was already more than sufficient.
"Hmm... you're Ranni of Caria."
Malenia finally dug the memory from somewhere deep within her mind.
"You abandoned your original body? Why?"
"If I had not abandoned my flesh, how could I have escaped the fate of becoming a vessel?" Ranni replied. "Either way, I would be a puppet. Compared with having my true body controlled by the Greater Will, I much prefer this doll."
Ranni and Malenia had known each other for a very long time. They had already become acquainted back when Godwyn the Golden was still alive.
They knew one another well enough that even subtle expressions and movements were sufficient to recognize each other.
"You came to see Radahn off?"
"That's right."
"Radahn, Rykard, and you. All of you betrayed Marika. You conspired with the Godskins, bought the aid of the Black Knives, murdered Godwyn, and unleashed the Shattering." Malenia's voice was cold. "There is nothing regrettable about how things ended."
Ranni's expression changed.
"The agreement between Marika and me is not for others to judge. That includes you."
Malenia shifted her gaze slightly toward Skyl.
It had only been a few days, and the man was exactly as she remembered him.
Skyl politely inclined his head in greeting.
"Mage Skyl."
Malenia lowered her head toward him, like a great eagle folding its wings.
The champions who had come to participate in the Radahn Festival could scarcely believe their eyes.
Some even wondered whether this Malenia was an impostor.
Otherwise, why would the undefeated Valkyrie ever lower her head to anyone?
"Could that man be Lord Miquella? Marika above, I've never seen him in person before! What kind of day is this? First I get to participate in General Radahn's festival, and now I get to see two mighty Empyreans with my own eyes. Alexander, my boy, remember this moment! Today is the day your name begins its journey into legend!"
Skyl heard someone muttering nearby and turned toward the voice.
The speaker wasn't human.
It was a strange creature shaped like a large yellow clay jar.
The jar had long, slender limbs made of stone, while its mouth was completely sealed beneath a layer of red sealing wax stamped with the emblem of the Erdtree.
Skyl had seen creatures like this at the Academy before.
They were a peculiar form of life known as Living Jars.
Inside their massive ceramic bodies was flesh.
Originally, these jars had been nothing more than ordinary vessels used to transport corpses back to the Erdtree.
But after the Elden Ring was shattered, the practice of returning the dead to the Erdtree ceased. Corpses remained sealed inside the jars for years on end. Over time, runes separated from the remains and slowly coalesced into new souls. With those newborn souls as their cores, the flesh gradually assembled itself until an entirely new life-form emerged.
In other words, a Living Jar was basically a sentient can of Spam.
Except the meat inside was human.
Living Jars came in all shapes and sizes. They were now essentially an entirely new race, possessing their own vitality, a unique means of reproduction, and the ability to continue growing.
The smallest jars were about the size of a kitchen stockpot.
The largest stood taller than a person and were so broad that three or four adults would be needed to encircle one with their arms.
Caelid was even home to an absolutely enormous Living Jar known as the Great-Jar, a creature nearly as tall as a city wall and as imposing as an entire house.
Every Living Jar Skyl had previously encountered was simple-minded, naturally optimistic, and surprisingly lovable.
The one before him, who had introduced himself as Alexander, was a Warrior Jar.
According to rumor, Warrior Jars filled themselves with the remains of warriors. The indomitable spirits of those fighters continued urging the jars toward battle even after death.
"Hello."
Skyl smiled and waved.
"I'm not Miquella, by the way. Don't get the wrong idea."
Alexander, Warrior Jar, immediately panicked. He turned toward the petite woman beside him and asked in his deep, muffled voice, "He's talking to me. What am I supposed to say?"
The petite woman had black hair tied into a thick, gentle braid that hung over her chest.
She said nothing, yet somehow left an immediate impression.
Her figure was slender, but the weapon she carried was anything but.
It was a colossal greatsword.
The massive weapon looked like an iron door ripped from its hinges, taller than the woman herself, yet she carried it casually across one shoulder.
It did not look like a weapon designed for fighting humans.
It looked like something built to hunt monsters.
It inevitably reminded Skyl of the Dragonslayer wielded by Guts in Berserk.
"A greatsword heroine."
Skyl nodded appreciatively.
"Could she be the Tarnished chosen by fate? The legendary hero destined to ascend the Elden Throne...?"
"That woman is dangerous," Millicent said. "She has the will of a warrior in her eyes."
"You can actually tell that just by looking?"
Curious, Skyl leaned closer.
"Do I have the will of a warrior in my eyes too?"
Millicent met his gaze, then hurriedly lowered her head.
"You do."
Skyl was delighted.
"Excellent. It seems I've inherited Gandalf's true teachings. From now on, I'm going to be a melee wizard too."
At that moment, a towering man with the head of a wolf approached Ranni, placed a hand over his chest, and knelt.
Beside him walked a witch puppet, who likewise approached Ranni and bowed deeply.
Ranni introduced them to Skyl.
"This is Blaidd, and this is Seluvis. They are both my vassals. I sent them here to participate in the festival."
The Half-Wolf Blaidd spoke in the voice of a young man.
"Lady Ranni, why are you here? The Two Fingers are still searching for you. Has Caria Manor fallen?"
"There is no longer any need to worry about the Two Fingers. I have found an ally powerful enough to deal with them. I came today to bid Radahn farewell."
"I'm ashamed that I haven't been able to ease your burden."
Ranni shook her head and said nothing more.
The crowd was still murmuring about these unexpected arrivals when the master of ceremonies stepped onto a high platform and shouted down at the warriors gathered across the plaza.
"Warriors, welcome! The stars have taken their places, and the hour of the festival is upon us! General Radahn, mightiest of the demigods in the Shattering, awaits you!"
His voice thundered across Redmane Castle.
"Warriors, fight! Face this mighty foe with honor, defeat him, and claim his Great Rune!"
"The Radahn Festival begins!"
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