Upon returning to the Debate Parlor, the first thing that met Gawain's eyes were those two massive Graven-School Masses. Dozens of stone masks, each bearing a different expression, clustered together and floated silently in the air. As far as decor went, it was more than a little macabre.
Ignoring his mentor Sellen's peculiar hobbies, Gawain's attention was truly captured by a running glintstone array positioned right in the center of the room. Encased in the heart of the formation was a device composed of high-purity glintstone that looked incredibly sophisticated. Several conduits flowing with magical energy branched out around it, seemingly acting as a central hub.
Several Storm Knights sent from Stormveil Castle stood guard around the apparatus, mixed with a few sorcerers from the Lazuli Classroom. They appeared to be maintaining this vital piece of equipment.
Seeing their Lord return, they knelt one after another to show their respect.
"What exactly is this thing?"
One of the busy sorcerers looked up impatiently, initially intending to tell the interloper not to disturb their work. However, the moment he saw who it was, his expression instantly shifted to one of profound reverence. Those who weren't respectful were already part of the density-deficient masses floating nearby.
Although rumors suggested the man before him wasn't tyrannical—but rather quite benevolent—who would want to gamble on that? Being a volunteer to fill the gaps in a Graven-School Mass wasn't on anyone's bucket list.
"My Lord, this is the seal core designed by Master Sellen. Its primary purpose is to replace the old sealing arrays that once protected the Academy. By utilizing knowledge derived from the Masters of the Primeval Current, she has created a much more powerful seal to safeguard Raya Lucaria. It was quite troublesome to set up initially, so we had to temporarily place it here... to take up some space."
"I see. In that case, where is Master Sellen now? I have matters to discuss with her."
"Master Sellen should still be in the Grand Library. It is the most secure location; the cores for both the new and old seals are kept there."
Gawain nodded, cast one last glance at the strangely shaped machinery, and left the Debate Parlor, heading toward the Grand Library.
Sellen closed the book in her hands. The final inspection was more or less complete. The defensive array originally designed by the Queen herself to repel the armies of the Golden Order had a foundation that was sturdier than she had imagined.
Consequently, Sellen hadn't dared to make too many reckless modifications to the base structure. Instead, she had integrated the Primeval Current knowledge inherited from her mentors to make corresponding improvements. Simply put, it was now more durable and significantly more aggressive.
Furthermore, taking into account the concerns her apprentice had voiced earlier, she was currently cross-referencing data. She planned to work with several promising and trustworthy sorcerers in the future to design a defense system capable of preventing Fallingstar Beasts from launching surprise attacks via spontaneous portals.
The principle was simple enough: one only needed to use gravity to warp the space at the moment the portal formed, thereby collapsing the subsequent process.
That said, it was a monumental undertaking. General Radahn could hold the stars in place single-handedly because of the Great Power of the Elden Ring and the weight of his own destiny. If she were to rely on external mechanisms as she envisioned, she might only be able to deploy them in key cities.
Of course, if she had the assistance of the Elden Ring itself, protecting the entirety of the Lands Between wouldn't be impossible. But the Elden Ring... what kind of existence was it truly? If only she could study it in person.
The sound of the heavy doors opening interrupted Sellen's daydream. She turned around and was pleasantly surprised to see her apprentice had returned. For a brief second, she hallucinated that a walking Elden Ring was approaching her.
"My apprentice, you're back so soon? Is the task you set out to do finished?"
"How should I put it... theoretically, the original goal is complete, but a new trouble has arisen."
Gawain took some time to explain what he intended to do next, leaving Sellen momentarily stunned.
Having processed all the information, she looked at her apprentice with a complicated gaze. For a moment, she felt as though her own vision couldn't keep pace with the times. Directly destroying the remains of an Outer God? That was something she hadn't dared to dream of back when she was shackled in that cellar.
"Fine. Since you have made your decision, you must have your reasons. I will not oppose you. In fact, this happens to be quite timely."
Sellen turned and walked to the center of the Grand Library, picking up the newly designed seal core that had yet to be put into operation.
"Since the Lake of Rot lies directly beneath the Academy, then according to my maximum projections, this should be able to cover the entire lake. As long as the offensive power of that god's remains doesn't exceed General Radahn in his prime, it should be able to buy us some time. I have already granted you authorization; you should know how to operate it."
Gawain thought for a moment. Based on what he had heard from Lahn, the attack power of the Outer God's remains wasn't overwhelmingly high. The main issues were its massive health pool and its inherent fragments of Order. Its natural polluting essence was the most disgusting part. In that case, his plan should work fine.
"What about the Academy's own protection? Liurnia hasn't been peaceful lately. Without the seal's protection, there might be danger."
Sellen smiled faintly and held out a second core.
"No matter. The array the Queen designed is more powerful than you imagine. Running two seals simultaneously isn't a major issue. The glintstones the Academy has stockpiled are enough to last for a while. As long as it isn't maintained indefinitely, nothing will go wrong. And..."
Her gaze suddenly became sharp, the presence of the most powerful living Primeval sorcerer manifesting in full force.
"On this lake, with the exception of yourself, there is no invader capable of defeating me."
As Sellen manipulated the seal, the entire Academy shuddered. The glintstone machinery in the Debate Parlor began to function as its hub. A blue seal began to permeate through the thick rock walls, spreading toward the Lake of Rot directly below.
Once it was done, she breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed nothing had gone wrong so far.
"With this, the new seal is active. It will take some time to fully cover the Lake of Rot. Hurry back and make your preparations; I will handle things here at the Academy."
"Understood. Thank you for your hard work."
Before Gawain left, he walked toward the Queen's position and stared at the Amber Egg in her arms for a moment. The rebirth ritual was, theoretically, nearing completion.
Unlike the previous blurriness, he could now see Melina sleeping within the rebirth egg. In a hazy shimmer, her soul had almost completely fused with the Silver Tear, and she was about to obtain a true physical body.
Unable to resist touching the Amber Egg, Gawain hardened his resolve.
"You should be happy once this threat is dealt with. Wait for my return."
In a place he didn't notice, Melina's tightly shut eyelids trembled for a fraction of a second. It seemed as though a single, crystal-clear tear escaped before she returned to stillness.
Gawain's figure vanished, returning to the shores of the Lake of Rot.
Above Liurnia, countless corpses of Cuckoo Knights were piled into a small mountain. Mohg looked with satisfaction at the amount of Cursed Blood swirling around him.
Previously, to prevent his phantom's aura from being too thick—lest he be hunted down by someone he couldn't defeat—the amount of Cursed Blood he carried was pitifully small.
But after confirming that the individual had temporarily left the Academy, he began his plan to restore his power. After today's ritual, the blood sacrificed to the Mother was ample. The power his current phantom possessed was sufficient, and there was even enough to share.
He glanced back at the two figures behind him and suddenly flew into a rage.
"Useless things! Have you already fallen into utter madness after receiving only this much Cursed Blood?"
The skin of the two Bell Bearing Hunters behind him had turned an unnatural, deep crimson. After being infused with an excessive "boon" from the Lord of Blood, they had long since lost their sanity to the curse, reduced to beasts that knew only slaughter.
Of course, as the Lord of Blood, he could still intimidate these two beasts and force them to do his bidding.
"Forget it. This works too."
Fixing his gaze on the Academy, a dangerous smile played across Mohg's lips. Unlike his brother who clung to the Erdtree, Mohg preferred to hide in the shadows and deal his enemies a lethal blow.
Whether it was a sneak attack or any other tactic, as long as it crushed the enemy with the least cost, he would strike without hesitation.
Just like the once-mighty alliance of sovereigns; with a single "Bloody Conspiracy," the alliance had fallen into internal strife and collapsed, and he had harvested his ideal consort, Miquella.
This time, there would be no accidents.
On the shore of the Lake of Rot, Lahn had already moved all the Dragonkin Soldiers under his command. One could say Gawain was the only living person charging in this time. Aside from him, the plan relied entirely on remotely controlling the Dragonkin to launch Frozen Lightning attacks, and the Silver Tear clones under Asimi's control to hold the line.
"You're back. Is the thing you mentioned ready?"
"Wait a moment... it should be... now!"
Gawain felt the vibration from above, his eyes widening in shock.
"This is..."
A blue phantom, massive enough to envelop the entire Lake of Rot, descended slowly through the stone ceiling. Upon contact with the ground, it solidified into a physical seal.
In appearance, the color was deeper than the seal currently used by the Academy, representing a far more formidable defense.
"Well, it seems you have an exceptionally powerful sorcerer as an ally at Raya Lucaria. This saves us a lot of trouble."
Lahn swallowed hard as he watched the spectacular deep-blue seal. Even having seen much in his time, he was awestruck by such a masterpiece.
Gawain stepped forward and touched the seal. Using the method Sellen had taught him, he temporarily opened a passage, providing a path for the Dragonkin Soldiers on the shore.
"Naturally. She is the sorcerer I respect most in the Lands Between. With this, I have no more lingering concerns. Now, please, undo the seal of this place."
Lahn nodded. Following his command, over twenty Dragonkin Soldiers stepped into the domain of Scarlet Rot, followed by a vast, swarming crowd of Silver Tears. These semi-spiritual, semi-material constructs were largely immune to the buildup of rot.
Four Dragonkin Soldiers reached the positions of the ancient ruins remaining in the lake. As powerful Frozen Lightning erupted from their maws, the sealing nodes left behind by the ancient alliance were gradually dismantled. The Lake of Rot, which had been relatively calm, began to boil. An entity was attempting to escape from its long imprisonment.
"Get ready. The attack is about to begin!"
Inside Redmane Castle, Jerren looked at the map before him and gave orders to the Redmane Knight beside him. According to the original plan, the scheduled time for the offensive was imminent.
Elsa frowned, repeatedly confirming that there were no errors in the troop distribution. As the critical moment approached, an inexplicable tension rose within her.
"Sellia, the Swamp Lookout Tower, Caelem Ruins, the Smoldering Wall, Fort Gael, the Cathedral of Dragon Communion, and our own Redmane Castle—all positions have been manned."
"Plus the blockade lines we prepared earlier, along the Caelid Highway and toward Sellia, the entire Swamp of Aeonia is under our surveillance. As long as the line doesn't break, those Kindred of Rot won't be able to escape."
Finally, she pointed to a canyon north of the Swamp of Aeonia.
"But there is still a canyon here that allows passage. To be honest, are you certain they will act according to your plan?"
"Rest assured. I have dealt with these Kindred of Rot for a long time, so I know their nature. Everything is for the sake of spreading and polluting."
"When these things encounter an obstacle they cannot temporarily break through, they will take the path of least resistance. This canyon is the path I have prepared for them to spread. When the time comes, we only need to ambush both ends with enough explosives to achieve great results."
"The key is withstanding the strongest wave of the counterattack. That is the most uncertain part. The defensive line we need to watch is still too long."
"That is also what I must do. Each key node is stationed with at least one Crucible Knight. And I will act as a mobile force to guard the entire line."
Elsa turned around, standing on the ramparts and gazing toward the Swamp of Aeonia. Storm Knights and the Redmane Army were mixed together; countless Marionette Soldiers and Flame Chariots were assembled and ready to go.
Whether it was Toxic Mushroom powder or vital supplies like Preserving Boluses, they had stockpiled as much as possible to ensure nothing went wrong.
Even the spectral soldiers of Stormveil had been awakened from their slumber by the Ancient King. Among them was Commander O'Neil; he had been somewhat resistant when first awakened, but upon hearing that the Scarlet Rot was to be dealt with once and for all, he had joined them.
Elsa gripped the Dancer's Enchanted Swords in her hands. A cold aura unconsciously radiated from her as she tried to calm herself. After a deep breath, she used the power of Grace to blink to the side of a tall steed.
Leaping onto the horse, she looked back at the cavalry following her. These were warriors she had personally selected, hailing from the mountaintops like herself—Kaiden sellswords and warriors of the badlands. Only by gathering such great power into the sharpest blade could they sever the offensive of the rot-spawn.
"For the Storm King! For the Lands Between! The attack begins!"
Meanwhile, inside the Lake of Rot, as the seal was further destroyed, the boiling surface of the lake suddenly fell silent. It seemed to have reached a critical threshold. Then, a whirlpool appeared in the center of the lake, frantically absorbing all the matter within it—even the lake itself shrunk significantly.
A brief moment of charging was followed by an explosion. Four massive, crimson limbs erupted from the lake bed amidst a violent blast. Then, surrounded by a swarm of Aeonian Butterflies, they formed a pair of wings far larger and more terrifying than anything seen in Malenia's second stage.
A gargantuan figure crawled out from the depths of the Lake of Rot. The lower body combined the features of a centipede and a scorpion, while the upper body, which could barely be called humanoid, displayed the characteristics of a human woman.
The Goddess of Rot, sealed long ago by the blind swordsman at the end of the Age of Rot, had once again seen the light of day.
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Elden Ring: In the Name of Ash (255 chapter - Ongoing)
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