"General Radahn... was there truly something between him and Miquella?"
Gawain muttered to himself. To be honest, in his memory, he couldn't recall a single instance where these two demigods had ever interacted. Even someone like Godwyn had moments where Miquella's expectations of him were clear, so why was it Radahn who shared this so-called "vow" with Miquella in the end?
"I am not entirely sure either," Melina replied.
She sifted through every relevant memory she possessed, but ultimately shook her head in frustration. Not even Ranni, his own sister, knew about this; it was unlikely any outsider would.
"However, there was a rumor once. After a certain point in time, General Radahn seemed to be deliberately avoiding any contact with Miquella. That is likely why it appeared as though there was almost no communication between the two demigods."
Gawain made a mental note of this. It seemed he would need to summon Ranni eventually to discuss the matter, as it directly involved Radahn.
At the end of the Radahn Festival, the General's soul had been drawn away by Miquella's sigil to parts unknown. Now, it seemed highly probable that he was hidden somewhere in this Land of Shadow alongside Miquella.
But before dealing with that, Gawain turned his gaze toward the distant city that bore a distinct Carian architectural style. He needed to reach that city first.
Furthermore, before the Divine Beast Dancing Lion had reawakened earlier, he had heard a raspy, elderly voice. It was almost certainly linked to the Hornsent Grandam he had encountered before.
Melina produced the Scadutree Fragments they had just collected and crushed them.
"Wait a moment. Let me convert these fragments into a part of your strength."
"Alright. Afterward, we'll head down to check on that Hornsent woman. She should have regained her senses by now."
Inside the dilapidated warehouse of Belurat, the Hornsent Grandam felt the presence of the Divine Beast vanish completely. Her heart turned to ash.
Has the newly awakened Divine Beast left us again? Have we failed once more?
The sound of footsteps echoed outside, and someone pushed open the warehouse door. Though the old woman was blind, it did not hinder her ability to sense the aura of those who approached.
The moment she felt the thick scent of the "strumpet" emanating from the figures before her, rage boiled within her. Everything in Belurat had been destroyed, and now that even their Divine Beast had met with misfortune, what did she have left to fear?
Before the newcomer could act, the Grandam spoke first.
"What are you... another of Messmer's lackeys? Are you not yet satiated?"
"Why have you come for this old woman? You burned our lands and shrouded our tower in shadow. You have stolen and destroyed everything we own—is your depravity still not satisfied?"
Gawain, who had just stepped inside, felt his cheek twitch. The old woman's tone was certainly... "vibrant." He glanced back at Melina and realized she probably shouldn't be here. The aura she carried was impossible to hide from someone like this.
Melina seemed to realize this as well, so she vanished from sight to wait on the bridge outside. She, too, found the verbal abuse a bit much to stomach.
After a fit of heavy coughing, the Grandam continued her tirade.
"You brood of the strumpet! Remember that the wrath of the Divine Beast will bring retribution sooner or later! Torture this old woman all you like; your calamity is coming!"
"Go on then! Strike! If you haven't the stomach for it, then tuck your tail and begone!"
"Hateful child of the strumpet! Get out! Since ancient times, this has been our land!"
Gawain's fist tightened. Her words reminded him of a certain group back on Earth that loved to play the victim after seizing others' homes. Fine, old woman. If you want a 'de-horning,' I can provide it.
He had walked in and done nothing, yet he was being pelted with abuse. If he hadn't been hoping to extract some useful information, he likely would have lost his patience long ago.
The Grandam was still going.
"Hmph! What does it matter! You could try a dozen times more and you still won't kill this old woman! You want me to beg? Not a chance!"
"Quickly! Do it! Keep going! Let the heavens see just how hideous you truly are!"
Gawain sighed and walked out of the warehouse, leaving the old woman to scream at the walls. Her ranting had at least confirmed a few things regarding the "crusade" that had occurred here.
"Has she not calmed down yet?" Melina asked.
"Sigh. Who knows how long she can keep that up. Do you have any ideas? If not, I'm not sticking around."
Melina could hear the faint shouting even from outside. She could only imagine the scene in the warehouse with a sense of helplessness.
She lowered her head in thought. As a light breeze ruffled her hair, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"That Hornsent woman is blind; she identifies people based on their aura. If you put on that Dancing Lion headpiece you found, you might be able to pass yourself off as a Sculpted Progenitor."
"If played correctly, you might even trick her. Her mental state seems fragile; her only obsession is the return of the 'brave' warriors she awaits."
"Alright, I'll give it a try. If it works, great. If not, whatever."
Gawain pulled out the Divine Beast head and donned it once more. He summoned a faint, ice-rimmed storm to swirl around him, doing his best to mimic the aura of the Divine Beast before stepping back inside.
"Be cursed... children of the strumpet... children of Marika... may you all suffer the most sinister of omens... Let the wrath of the Divine Beast descend!"
The Grandam finished venting her rage in one final burst, panting heavily. When she recovered her breath, she realized the "brood of the strumpet" who had been standing there was gone.
But then, she sensed an aura that filled her with pure ecstasy.
"Hmm!?"
This holy scent... this ceaseless fury... there was no mistaking it!
The old woman's expression relaxed instantly, and she began to laugh with joy.
"Oh... this fragrance... has a Sculpted Progenitor graced me with his presence?"
"Oh, oh! I could not sense the Divine Beast's aura just now, and I feared the worst. Ah, thank goodness it was but a foolish worry. What luck... truly, what luck. Our prayers have finally, finally reached the heavens."
Seeing that the old woman had genuinely mistaken him for a "brave" warrior, Gawain adjusted the lion head. It felt a bit surreal. He summoned more gentle gusts of wind around him to further "prove" his identity.
Sensing the pure power of the storm, the Grandam became even more certain.
"Yes, I have returned. The villains who plagued us have been eliminated," Gawain said, his voice echoing from within the mask.
Hearing this, the old woman was invigorated, as if she had received the ultimate encouragement.
"Ah... wonderful. Truly wonderful."
The Grandam was so overcome with emotion she repeated herself several times before finally coming back to her senses.
"O Brave One! Please, take our rage and perform a magnificent dance. Those children of Marika who betrayed us... Messmer... and his lackeys... I beg of you, bring retribution upon them!"
Gawain continued his role, using his storm to clear the stale, sweltering air of the warehouse. He replied in a dignified tone:
"Rest assured. Most of Marika's progeny will receive their retribution."
He didn't consider this a lie. There weren't many demigods left, and he had personally dealt with several of them. He had even dismantled a Furnace Golem upon entering, which was technically helping the Hornsent.
The Grandam's lips trembled as if she were making a momentous decision. Finally, she spoke.
"Brave One... Divine Beast... please, take my son with you."
Gawain was taken aback. He had no idea what she meant. Her son?
Moments later, a pale yellow, gaseous spirit-mass floated up from the old woman's side. Inside the mist, a skeletal head was visible. She manipulated the spirit, letting it drift slowly toward Gawain.
Gawain frowned as he looked at the spirit-cluster. Is this what she called her son? It was so fragmented and broken that even the rambling spirits outside seemed more substantial by comparison.
The Grandam seemed to sense his confusion and explained softly:
"Brave One, my son died long ago in the massacres. But at the final moment, his soul transformed into a Guardian Spirit. This is the honor of the Hornsent. I am proud of him. I hope he can remain by your side... to protect you."
To be honest, Gawain couldn't feel much of anything from the soul-cluster. To him, it seemed no different from the necromancy used to summon vengeful spirits. He let the spirit float above his head for the time being.
Then, the old woman seemed to remember something else.
"Brave One... do you have a weapon that suits you? Without a proper weapon to complement your movements, I fear it will be difficult to dance freely."
Gawain's interest was instantly piqued. Everything he had found in Belurat so far had been fairly lackluster; was there actually something good here? If she was offering it as a gift to a "Brave One," it couldn't be bad.
"Brave One, when Belurat was invaded and destroyed, the secret treasure of the tower was preserved. The shadow of the tree has sealed the upper levels of the settlement—the great Enir-Ilim. However, the treasure's true location is in the most hidden place, where they never ventured: deep within the poison pools. Go, Brave One! Take the treasure, dance with it, and take your revenge upon the children of the strumpet!"
"With that weapon, you will surely perform a dance of unparalleled splendor!"
Gawain felt a twinge of guilt. He had pretended to be a warrior and ended up taking everything the woman had—first her son, and now the location of a secret treasure. If his true identity were ever revealed, she would likely collapse on the spot.
He looked up at the fragmented soul floating above him and decided that if he had the chance, he would repair the spirit and have someone "educate" it so it wouldn't grow up to be as rude as the other Hornsent.
He nodded and spoke to the old woman.
"Then I shall go and retrieve the weapon. We shall meet again. Next time, I will bring you good news."
The Grandam stood silently as she sensed the "Brave One's" aura depart. A smile she couldn't suppress spread across her face. Finally, she saw the hope of revenge!
She had waited so long for this day. She was old, and after losing everything, only this obsession had kept her alive. Her moments of lucidity were becoming rare; sometimes she couldn't distinguish between reality and dreams, and she didn't know when she might become like her scorched kin outside.
"Oh, that's right. While I still have my strength, I should make some scorpion stew. The Brave One likely hasn't tasted it in a long time. It was the essential dish from the days when we all gathered together."
The old woman hopped down from her seat and began fumbling around the warehouse for ingredients. She decided that scorpion stew would be the perfect gift to welcome the return of the Brave One and the Divine Beast.
Gawain and Melina walked through Belurat. The return journey was much quieter than the trip in.
Perhaps it was due to the thick aura of the Divine Beast he carried, but even the mindless shadow-shades of the Hornsent acted with profound respect, no longer attempting to attack. It seemed the status of a "Brave One" in Belurat was even more significant than he had imagined.
Taking the lift back to the lower levels, he passed through a small wooden door he hadn't fully explored earlier. This time, he saw it clearly: a massive expanse of foul-smelling poison pools. When Asimi had reported this area earlier, Gawain knew Miyazaki must have hidden something in this "swamp of filth."
It made sense. When Messmer's army had plowed through the rest of the settlement, the treasure had remained untouched because it was hidden in a place they wouldn't bother searching.
Gawain sighed and summoned a storm to blow the stench away. He looked at Melina, who expertly hopped onto his back. After their time together, this had become second nature.
Gawain awkwardly levitated himself into the air and began moving toward the depths of the swamp. Now that he was becoming more familiar with Radahn's Great Rune, he could manage a slow hover, even if he couldn't manipulate gravity as freely as the General yet. At least he didn't have to roll through the filth.
Flying over the toxic marsh, he frowned at the creatures crawling below. The swamp was teeming with Man-Flies. God knew how many mutated kin the Hornsent had stuffed into this pit.
The Man-Flies were varied, but almost all were in a posture of kneeling prayer, as if pleading with the shadow-shrouded region above their heads. Gawain felt a chill at the sheer number of them; there were so many that they hadn't even been touched by the fires of the crusade.
Asimi had found fire grease imbued with Messmer's power in the sewers leading here, suggesting the crusaders couldn't even be bothered with these pathetic creatures.
Some Man-Flies were closer to the ceiling; upon seeing Gawain and Melina, they buzzed into the air to pursue them. However, a localized storm disrupted their wings, sending them crashing back into the muck in a spray of toxic liquid.
Soon, Gawain found a peculiar structure. A Horned Warrior stood guard outside, confirming he was in the right place.
Unlike the blind Grandam, the Horned Warrior wasn't fooled by an aura. Seeing the intruders approach, he readied his weapon to strike.
The outcome was predictable. After his initial encounters, Gawain had mapped out the weaknesses of these warriors. Combined with his recent Scadutree Fragment upgrade, he dispatched the guard with little effort. The only danger was ensuring he didn't "crash" into the poison pool during the fight.
With the guard dealt with, he and Melina entered the spiral tower. Opening a treasure chest at the very back, they found a unique twinblade.
Its name was Euporia.
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Elden Ring: In the Name of Ash (339 chapter - Ongoing)
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