Without a word of surplus, Mohg hoisted his sacred spear and pierced the void. From that shattered rift came a heart-wrenching shriek—a raspy sound that mingled agonizing pain with a sense of profound fulfillment.
Following this, a deluge of Accursed Blood poured from the rift above the spear. In an instant, the entire pool began to boil, the blood surging in violent waves wreathed in scalding bloodflame.
The sight of this ferocious crimson tide reminded Gawain of his skirmish with Mohg in Caelid. Compared to the current scene, where the blood was choked with Scarlet Rot and boiling with divine fury, that previous encounter felt like a gentle brook compared to this raging ocean. This was Mohg's true domain of blood.
Countless pools erupted like boiling calderas, spewing towering flames at the command of the Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear. The viscous ichor and searing tongues of fire intertwined, dyeing the subterranean world and its false starry sky a deep, visceral crimson.
Mohg stood at the heart of the inferno. Every drop of blood that fell from the tip of his spear erupted into a new pillar of fire the moment it touched the ground.
"Lowly vermin... witness the power granted to me by the Mother!"
Mohg's raspy voice echoed amidst the burning pools. He slowly raised his spear, and the very foundations of the Dynasty began to tremble violently. Great waves rose simultaneously from every corner of the blood lake, the thick ichor congealing in mid-air into a forest of sharp, burning spikes.
As the sacred spear swung down, the sky-blotting waves transformed into roaring dragons of gore, lunging at the intruder.
Gawain had no intention of dodging; dodging droplets in the middle of an ocean was a fool's errand.
He slammed his foot down onto the blood pool. The bloodflame that had begun to lick at his armor was instantly snuffed out, replaced by a plume of white steam as the surrounding blood froze into solid ice. In a flash, a bone-chilling cold erupted.
A frost of dark blue spread across the ground beneath Gawain's feet, and a violent ice storm exploded outward with him at the center. The shrieking winds tore through the searing air as countless ice crystals spun with lethal speed, forming a crushing current of frost that met the tidal wave of blood head-on.
The collision of ice and fire sent up layers of white mist. The boiling blood froze instantly upon contact with the extreme cold, emitting a series of high-pitched hisses as it vaporized.
Though the radius of the ice storm was far smaller than the blood wave, the piercing cold carved a path through the sea of fire like a blade. Bloodflame was flash-frozen, and the scalding steam was transformed into a blizzard of ice mist.
In that fleeting second, the Dark Moon Greatsword in Gawain's hand erupted with a cold, spectral light. The power of the Dark Moon gathered along the blade like a rising tide, the air around the steel warping from the sheer intensity of the frost.
He swung the blade with a roar. Two crescent arcs of moonlight, wreathed in soul-chilling cold, sliced through the air. They froze everything in their path—even the splashing droplets of Accursed Blood congealed into crimson ice crystals in mid-air. The sword beams pierced through the blood wave like falling stars, lancing directly toward Mohg!
Mohg frowned. Before the attack could land, his body dissolved into a spray of blood and vanished. A dark silhouette began to swim through the blood pool with incredible speed.
In the blink of an eye, a figure materialized behind Gawain. Drenched in scalding blood, the figure melted through the ice storm and thrust a long spear forward.
Gawain spun, his hand snapping out to catch the spear aimed at his eyes. But this was merely another phantom; the spear in his grip dissolved back into ichor, wrapping itself tightly around his arm like a snare.
The Accursed Blood seeped through the fine gaps in his skin and into his body. A massive burst of blood erupted from his arm, but it was instantly restored by the combined power of the King's Soul and his Great Rune.
Mohg was momentarily stunned. According to his calculations, the bloodflame triggered by the Accursed Blood should have incinerated the man's arm. Instead, the wounds healed the moment they appeared, and the bloodflame vanished without a trace.
"Mmm... a troublesome constitution indeed."
Mohg utilized his home-field advantage to maintain the pressure. His true body kept its distance while countless phantoms rose from the pool, launching attacks from every blind spot. However, they were soon enveloped in a purple radiance and dissolved back into their primal liquid state.
"So the real body is hiding? It seems you truly learned your lesson after being decapitated last time, Mohg," Gawain said, looking up at the Lord of Blood perched on high.
He was growing frustrated. Since being beheaded by Elsa, Mohg had clearly mapped out the range of Gawain's silence field. Now, he was using these hit-and-run tactics to whittle Gawain down.
"Your little tricks succeeding once was your greatest stroke of luck," Mohg sneered. "As I said, you shall remain here forever to witness the birth of my Dynasty."
"And how do you plan to achieve that? With these harmless puppets?"
Gawain continued to provoke him while watching his every move. According to Master Sellen's intelligence, Mohg could not dissolve into blood to dodge attacks while he was actively manipulating the Accursed Blood. Since the silence field couldn't reach him, Gawain had to find a window to catch him in a post-cast animation.
Mohg knew his phantoms wouldn't do much in the long run. Now that Gawain possessed General Radahn's Great Rune, a battle of attrition favored the intruder, even with Mohg's home-field advantage. If he didn't end this quickly, the man might even find a way to escape after learning all of Mohg's tricks. He would not let this opportunity slip away.
"Since it is what you desire... I shall show you the true power of the Mother."
Mohg hoisted his sacred spear and pierced the void, creating even more wounds upon the body of the Formless Mother. A more fanatical shriek echoed from behind the rift. The foundational preparations for the ritual were complete. An ominous, bloody hue began to shroud the entire Dynasty.
Watching from a distance, Leda realized something was wrong. She quickly pulled Freyja and Melina back toward the stone grotto, which had not yet been reached by the crimson light.
"Leda? What is Mohg doing?!" Freyja shouted.
"This is the Lord of Blood's most powerful rite," Leda explained urgently. "There's no time to explain! He used a similar ritual at the Haligtree during the bloody conspiracy. Here, in his own domain, it will be vastly more powerful. Follow me, quickly!"
Melina looked back at Gawain with worry. Knowing she could do little against such a massive area-of-effect ability, she followed Leda and the others into the cave.
Once they reached a safe distance, Leda pulled a blood-red crystal tear from within her armor.
"What is this?" Melina asked.
"This is a crystal tear we found within an Erdtree Avatar at the Haligtree after the Lord of Blood's attack," Leda said. "Theoretically, it should temporarily block the Lord of Blood's curse."
"Then why didn't you bring it out earlier?" Melina's gaze turned cold.
Leda quickly explained, "This tear is not yet fully formed. It requires the Lord of Blood's own Accursed Blood to be completed. I am sorry, but I only had the chance to finalize it here within the Dynasty—and the Lord of Blood was not about to give us the leisure to do so."
"Give it to me," Melina demanded. "I will mix the flask and send it to him."
"It's too late. We can only hope Lord Gawain can survive the ritual."
Melina looked back at the Dynasty, now completely bathed in blood-red light. She took the tear from Leda and forced herself to focus entirely on brewing the concoction.
Gawain knew how powerful the Bloodboon Ritual was and had no intention of letting Mohg finish the incantation. He swung the Dark Moon Greatsword repeatedly, firing off rapid moon-arcs at the figure above.
Mohg didn't try to tank the hits. He leaped down from his perch. As long as the intruder was within the ritual's range, victory was assured. No one could survive what was coming.
Mid-air, Mohg hoisted the sacred spear in a prayer-like stance. He thrust it upward into the void and roared:
"Tres!"
As the ritual was unleashed, the Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear pierced the space above, its tip disappearing into the void, leaving behind ripples in the air.
Gawain felt a sudden, sickening jolt in his heart. A ring of Accursed Blood formed around his waist.
"No... I can't let him finish this."
He fired off a barrage of Farron Flashswords at the real Mohg. But on this home turf, the advantage did not lie with him. Even these spells, optimized for speed and practical combat, couldn't keep up with Mohg's teleportation.
As Mohg dissolved back into blood, he reappeared at the other side of the pool. His spear was still wreathed in scalding bloodflame. The ritual required time, but as long as the intervals weren't too long, the progress would not be interrupted.
"Duo!"
The spear pierced the void again. A bizarre moan echoed from the rift. The Formless Mother craved wounds; a deluge of blood flowed from the void, adding to the pool.
A second ring appeared around Gawain's waist. Seeing that he couldn't interrupt the cast, he tried to shatter the rings himself.
But how could a curse from an Outer God like the Formless Mother be so easily broken? The wounds Mohg had inflicted upon Her had pleased Her; Her authority constantly fueled the ritual, making it impossible to destroy in short order.
Whether it was storm techniques or the Dark Moon's frost, nothing could break the eerie rings. Every strike was met with a burst of Accursed Blood from within the rings to offset the damage.
Mohg reappeared in the center of the lake. As he prepared to pierce the void a third time, his eyes were filled with a pious, ecstatic longing. He could see Her—his Goddess, the Formless Mother. She hungered for more wounds, more blood.
As the ritual neared completion, a portion of the Mother's true power from among the stars descended upon the Lands Between. The entire Mohgwyn Dynasty seemed shrouded in an illusory, spectral silhouette.
"Unus!"
As the third crimson ring circled Gawain, the preparations were complete. Mohg manifested directly in front of him, while countless phantoms rose from the pool to form a barrier between them.
Gawain's eyes sharpened. He's using phantoms to shield himself. That means he can't move to dodge for a significant window of time. This is the opening I've been looking for. This ends now.
"Asimi! Now! Wipe out his phantoms!"
Following his roar, the faint blue starlight that had been obscured by the blood-red gloom suddenly converged.
Illusory portals snapped open in the air, and Silver Tears wreathed in lightning plummeted out. Without a second of delay, the Silver Tears acted like kamikaze drones, diving into Mohg's phantoms. A series of violent explosions cleared the path to Mohg. A few stragglers remained, but they were no longer a threat.
"My apologies... I can only deploy this many phantoms in such a short time," Asimi's voice echoed, tinged with regret, before the final portal vanished. "I've run out of Nokstella Moon-shards. I cannot continue."
Gawain looked at the clear line of sight to Mohg and whispered, "It's enough, Asimi. I'll take it from here!"
Mohg was momentarily stunned by the sudden intervention, but the ritual was done. If he fled now, Gawain could use the same trick to interrupt him. If he angered the Mother, all would be lost. He bet that he could finish the fight before Gawain's attack landed.
Gawain put away his weapons and donned his rings. His entire body erupted in flames as he stacked every buff he could, pouring everything into the coming strike. But his opponent was faster.
With Mohg's first final roar, the rings around Gawain's waist suddenly constricted. Amidst a heart-stopping shriek, a withered arm seemed to emerge from his abdomen and inject a massive amount of Accursed Blood, which compressed to its limit before detonating.
"NIHIL!"
An indescribable agony exploded within Gawain. It felt as if a thousand jagged blades were churning through his internal organs.
His pupils constricted, and the copper tang of blood rose in his throat. Before he could even cough it out, the violent power erupted from within.
Squelch!
Accompained by the sickening sound of tearing flesh, a massive spray of blood mist erupted from the gaps in his armor. Shattered organs and dark crimson ichor sprayed out like crushed fruit. His chestpiece buckled and deformed under the internal pressure, the metal surface scored by shards of flying bone.
Blood wound its way through the engravings of his armor, pooling at his feet in a horrific puddle.
Yet, to Gawain, who had experienced countless cruel deaths, this was within the realm of endurance. Under the influence of the King's Soul, as long as he wasn't killed instantly, even the most grievous wounds could be mended.
He gritted his teeth, using storm and gravity magic to hold himself upright. In his hand, he began to condense a Sunlight Spear that surpassed any he had thrown in Caelid. Simultaneously, a layer of crystal—different from glintstone magic, formed from the soul itself—wrapped around his torso.
"NIHIL!"
As the second wave of impact hit, Gawain felt scalding blood rushing through every vein. In a hallucination, he saw countless white arms emerging from the void, surrounding him.
CRACK.
The expected explosion of his body didn't happen. Instead, the crystal covering him shattered, along with a small cluster of crystal behind him.
Seath the Scaleless... your research into crystal magic truly is useful.
He offered a silent thanks to Seath's legacy. Even though he only possessed a "beggar's version of a beggar's version" of the Primordial Crystal's power—unable to fully negate the impact—it had bought him the precious time he needed.
A Sunlight Spear capable of illuminating the entire Dynasty flew from Gawain's hand, lancing straight for Mohg's head. The blinding miracle, wreathed in solar flame, was like a sun descending to earth.
Mohg looked at the blinding orb of light rushing toward him. A rapturous smile spread across his face. In the face of certain death, he felt the Mother's warm embrace. He needed more wounds. Let the blood continue to flow—whether it was his foe's or his own.
"NIHIL!"
As he let out his final roar, the Sunlight Spear, carrying the full weight of Gawain's power, struck his body. The majority of his abdomen was vaporized. The shockwave of the explosion sent him flying like a bullet, slamming into the stone wall behind him before his mangled body slumped lifelessly into the blood pool.
Gawain's raised hand slowly lowered. He sensed something and looked with difficulty toward the cliffside road. He saw a cloaked figure emerge into view—Melina, who had just rushed out of the cave. She stumbled to the ground, her face a mask of grief as she looked at him.
He wanted to say something, but it was too late. A single golden tear fell from the corner of his eye. Before the pale arms of the Mother could fully dissipate, they gripped his body and injected an unimaginable quantity of Accursed Blood. His body burst apart, vanishing into a mist of blood.
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Elden Ring: In the Name of Ash (272 chapter - Ongoing)
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