Shin of course gave Malenia no chance to pull the golden needle that Miquella had placed in her shoulder to suppress her Scarlet Rot.
The moment she went glassy-eyed, Shin moved.
Using his flesh's ability to transform into any living form, he shed his skin as feathers, launching them outward, then commanded those same feathers to sprout as thorns where they landed around her — binding the arm she'd been reaching toward the needle in a single instant.
The hold lasted only briefly, but that was all he needed. With Radahn's gravitational magic as backup, it cost Shin very little effort to subdue Malenia.
Credit where it was due: demigods in the Lands Between were, under normal conditions, largely glass cannons — nearly all of their true power was tied to incantations and sorcery.
If he had actually let Malenia bloom, that would have been a different story. Shin figured his constitution could withstand the Scarlet Rot well enough — but needlessly bathing all of Caelid in it seemed like a lot of trouble for everyone.
After restraining Malenia, things proceeded smoothly. The only hiccup was Radahn calling him "Ranni" to test whether he'd respond — which Shin deftly ignored.
— To be fair, his current form was modeled after the red-haired Ranni from the reference portrait Marika had sent him, with some modifications. That being the Ranni who was currently up in her Divine Tower, charred and silent. Artistic liberties had been taken.
From there, the next steps were straightforward. With the help of Radahn's Redmane Knights, Shin broke directly into the Mohgwyn Dynasty beneath Caelid.
His plan was simple: get in, disrupt a certain boy's scheme, and drag him out of his cocoon to claim the nectar.
[Godrick — or rather: the Great Rune of the Golden Lineage.]
In the original Elden Ring, this Great Rune — whose very symbol suggests its supreme importance — amounted in gameplay to a flat +5 to all attributes once activated.
That was simply because Godrick's own power was diluted, his bloodline thinned. As the Great Rune of the Golden Lineage, however, its actual enhancement to raw strength was about as direct and uncomplicated as it got.
Especially layered atop the system's existing 6× strength multiplier — it was not an exaggeration to say that each of Shin's bare-handed strikes now hit with the force of a small mountain dropping from the sky.
Add to that his [Resistance Skin] and the absurd tanking capability inherent to an Ultimate Being, and what you had was a genuine unstoppable force — the kind of stat-wall that had no right existing in a Soulsborne game.
Numbers don't lie. Anyone who knew, knew.
BOOM —!
One punch landed and the ancient pillars of the Mohgwyn Dynasty's central temple cracked and collapsed.
Mohg — dodging on his wings, every drop of blood magic rolling off Shin like water off stone — was starting to question the very nature of reality.
Just what was this thing wearing Radahn's sister's face? If she was a demigod, was she Ranni's secret identical twin? One physical, one magical — what in the world did that mean? Something immune to the Formless Mother's true damage — even Mohg had never seen such a thing.
"Give up, Mohg. You're no match for me."
"You've been enchanted by Miquella. Ask yourself — is any of this truly what you wanted? Wake up!"
Fighting Mohg gave Shin a clearer picture of his current combat ceiling. With his current toolkit, even the Tarnished who soloed the world on a single life would probably burst into tears running into him.
What kind of enemy takes damage slower than he heals? You literally can't win without the Rune of Death — it's not even a fight.
Numbers make the King — ask Godfrey himself.
"I don't know what you're talking about…"
"I am going to become the King of the Lands Between. Miquella is my god… If I become King, I will remake the order of the Lands Between!"
Mohg's pupils were veiled in a thin fog. After this long in Miquella's company, he had been thoroughly marinated.
Though his own obsession drove him as much as anything else.
Take the Mohgwyn Dynasty itself — ostensibly grotesque on the surface, and yet it was a place where Silver Tears, Albinaurics, and many of the other persecuted sub-races had a seat at the table. A kind of warped equality.
— Much like his brother, who had turned around and chosen to guard the very royal capital that had banished him, Mohg's original heart was probably not rotten to the core either.
Veterans like the soldier Ansbach didn't give their loyalty to nothing. As a leader, Mohg had his own kind of genuine magnetism.
In truth, the whole story of the Lands Between resisted easy moral judgment. Viewed as an epic family drama, though, it all made a horrible kind of sense — blame the eldest prince for dying so suddenly, if you need someone to blame.
Watching Mohg dodge, Shin had an idea.
He changed his angle of attack and lunged straight for Miquella's cocoon at the center of the temple.
"You dare —!"
The sight of it made Mohg cry out. Enchanted as he was, his body moved without hesitation — hurling itself directly into the path between Shin and the cocoon.
Thud —
A single muffled impact, and Mohg's far larger frame went flying, crashing hard into a stone pillar nearby.
Shin had deliberately avoided the vitals. He was no world-ending Tarnished, and besides — Marika was watching the stream. He wasn't about to actually kill someone else's child in front of them.
[Moon Princess]: That fighting style, little one…
[Moon Princess]: I don't know why, but something tells me you and Great Witch's child would get along very well.
[Spreading Witch Factors: ?
[Spreading Witch Factors: This new member is in Lady Marika's world? Something about her feels familiar somehow…
The Great Witch's message made Shin's heart skip a beat.
[Moon Princess]: It's natural she looks familiar, Great Witch — haven't you noticed? [Aspiring]'s wearing the face of "Ranni" from the portrait Lady Marika sent around~
[Moon Princess]: That said, I have seen her real face, and she's quite a sweet-looking girl. Nothing wrong with her — a little on the plain side, looks-wise, but nothing you'd call a flaw.
Shin: …
Well, it's not like I was going to sculpt myself to be stunning — I wasn't trying to attract men.
And to be fair, when it came to looks — Shin recalled the one selfie Kaguya had posted in the chat.
All he could say was: the Beauty of the Far East was no exaggeration. Even St. Trina, who had an innately bewitching quality about her, paled in comparison.
Kaguya was underselling herself. When it came to sheer appearance, honestly, everyone in the world probably looked a little plain next to her.
[Spreading Witch Factors: I see. Yet I still feel like this familiarity isn't quite what you mean, Moon Princess.
[Spreading Witch Factors: Hold on — let me go check something.
Shin: !
His stomach lurched.
[Spreading Witch Factors: Alright, I'm back. I was probably overthinking it.
[Spreading Witch Factors: But you wouldn't believe it — my Shaya has finally figured things out~ Making that much noise in the middle of the afternoon… ahem~ I won't say more~
[Spreading Witch Factors: That said, I do still plan to find Shaya a few more partners. His sister can only have one child a year — that efficiency is a bit low.
A moment later the Great Witch sent another message, and Shin let out a slow breath of relief.
— Though on second thought, a pang of guilt shot through him for Meruru. She had to be exhausted. He'd make it up to her when he got back.
You had to give the Great Witch credit for at least maintaining some sense of propriety — if she had barged in person, he'd have had no fallback at all.
[Moon Princess]: ?
[Moon Princess]:Finally, a normal sibling relationship! Thank you — this is the only window the people of the moon have into the social customs of you Earth people.
[Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human Being]: What do you mean, "normal"? Where exactly is it normal?
The audacity. He and Meruru weren't even blood-related.
[Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human Being]: @Lord of Lands Between — Lady Marika, I'm about to do something a little rough to one of your children. You don't mind?
[Lord of Lands Between]: Not at all.
[Lord of Lands Between]: If things are as you say, and he really schemed to his own kin's ruin without a second thought, then discipline him on my behalf. No need to hold back — just leave him his life.
[Aspiring to Be the Perfect Human Being]: Understood.
With Marika's permission obtained, Shin — having put Mohg down — made his way toward Miquella's cocoon.
He had been on maximum alert from the moment he entered. Against Miquella's Charm, he had even preemptively shut down all five senses, navigating entirely through the visual sense-sharing he could generate from the living matter his body produced.
But at that moment, a shout rang out from behind him —
"Ranni — don't go near it!"
To be continued…
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