Outside the Tower Settlement of Belurat.
"Looks like the dust has settled. No need to stand guard here. Let's head to the Shadow Keep first," Ansbach instructed his companion. "It probably won't be long before Messmer's soldiers come to investigate."
This Horned Folk stronghold was finished, completely destroyed.
Excluding the sealed areas, Belurat was the only city that could be considered easily defensible and capable of housing a large number of survivors. Previously, thanks to their fortifications, the Divine Beast Dancing Lion, and the crusade army's own issues, they were able to hole up and eke out an existence, even cultivating new fighting forces.
Now, it has all become empty talk, washed down the drain. Whatever they had planned, it has crumbled before the magic of the Soul Cinder King.
Ansbach and Moore, hailing from the Lands Between, would never doubt the caliber of the strongest sorcerer. Even in the Land of Shadow, that title remained unshakable.
The Tower Settlement has fallen.
"That said, Moore feels the Shadow Keep is very far and dangerous. We probably won't get there in a short time."
"Right, we'll need to investigate carefully."
"I wonder how Thiollier and Dane are doing?"
"Don't worry, everyone has their own skills. Since they chose to follow Lord Miquella to this Land of Shadow, they must have the resolve and strength to face the dangers. Let's set off as soon as possible and not waste any time."
The two left side-by-side, their figures gradually vanishing over the horizon of the Gravesite Plain.
The Land of Shadow appeared to be shrouded by a veil, but it was actually vast enough to be measured on foot, comparable to a small continent. So they had a long way to go; the road ahead was still very long.
Meanwhile.
Messmer's soldiers, who were camped and patrolling throughout the Horned Folk territories, began to stir. After all, a commotion as large as the one at the Tower Settlement couldn't be ignored.
But they couldn't approach rashly either; it was hard to determine if this was a ploy by the Horned Folk. Were they planning a counterattack for revenge?
Therefore, they quickly gathered their forces while sending reports up the chain of command to redeploy their main strength. If the Horned Folk showed any signs of resurgence, or even charged out of the Tower Settlement to launch an offensive, Messmer, the commander of the holy war, would certainly not stand for it. He would be the first to object.
But Belurat seemed quiet. At least from a distance, it didn't look like any trouble was brewing.
The scouts muttered to themselves, completely baffled:
"Strange, why is the collapse so severe? They didn't even spare the city walls?"
"No matter what the Horned Folk are planning, they should at least ensure their fortifications are intact."
"Unless someone else destroyed the city."
They couldn't help but recall the gradually emerging rumors, including news from the Lands Between about events like the Night of the Black Knives, the Shattering of the Elden Ring, and the War of the Shattering. Each story was more explosive than the last, to the point of seeming false.
However, the remnants of golden smithing and the power of the Elden Ring within the city were unmistakable. Setting aside the more exaggerated parts of the stories, could there really be Shardbearers?
The crusade army's indecision created a window of time for the small team inside the city.
Above the stage.
After traversing a long flight of stairs, the group arrived before a heavy door, its surface covered in dense, ancient patterns. The mottled spots left by time were blocked by thorns, making it impassable.
Frieren knocked several times, producing only dull thuds. She then tried several types of flames, all with little effect, unless she were to call upon a higher tier of fire.
But controlling that would be difficult. Those were, without exception, abilities of great power and wide range. What if there was something important behind the door? Wouldn't the loss outweigh the gain? There was no need to take the risk.
"This can't be broken through right now. These thorns are very sturdy," Frieren declared. "To get through, we'll probably have to find a detour."
A statement born of experience, yet guaranteed to be useful. Perhaps after going somewhere and obtaining some treasure, it would naturally be undone. Judging by the map, the Tower Settlement was a starting area; the path to the spiral tower would have to be found elsewhere.
Leda nodded in agreement. "I suppose our exploration of Belurat ends here."
"What do you plan to do next? Go to the Shadow Keep?"
"Yes, but the journey is long and dangerous. Including investigations along the way, it should take a very long time. We'll probably have to proceed stealthily."
"Is the crusade army that strong?"
"Anyone below a Demigod who encounters them is in great danger. Even an average Demigod would be defeated if besieged by such an elite force. They are weary, not dead. If they so wished, the army that once swept across the Land of Shadow could reassemble."
Her words were filled with worry. Leda gazed north, where Castle Ensis and the Shadow Keep blocked the way. Operating here, it was impossible to avoid Messmer's army.
And unfortunately, he was indifferent to Miquella's plans, and the possibility of opposition couldn't be ruled out. He was someone to be wary of; in her eyes, he was basically considered a potential hostile force. Anyone without Lord Miquella's mark of enthrallment was completely untrustworthy.
"And Your Majesty?"
"Since things in the Tower Settlement are settled for now, we'll wander around. As for those two castles, we'll wait. The Land of Shadow is still..."
Frieren answered meaningfully.
The Witcher Village was crucial, and the rumors of the Frenzied Flame could not be ignored. One concerned Melina's past, the other the schemes of an Outer God targeting her. Neither could be disregarded.
She hoped to investigate and find some answers soon, otherwise facing the added pressure of Miquella's charm would be immense.
"That's fine. Exploring the Land of Shadow is not something that can be done overnight anyway."
"I thought you might invite me to go with you."
Leda shook her head. "Actually, we will also be returning to the Haligtree to rest and reorganize via Lord Miquella's grace. Besides, the Land of Shadow is so large, just traveling takes enough time."
Both of them were used to traveling far and wide, having measured the vastness of the Lands Between with their own feet. The distance between cities was not something one could traverse on a whim.
They would wait. After all, Lord Miquella needed time to prepare his ritual, a fact not meant for outsiders.
Hearing this, Frieren murmured in agreement. She could basically guess that the god of pure law did not operate on a chronological clock, but by a logic of sequential events.
So, whether they delayed or not wasn't the key; the development of the situation was what mattered. Therefore, the more interested the followers were in the Shadow Keep, the more she would demur, so as not to fall completely into their rhythm.
The two, each with their own thoughts, reached a common conclusion.
"Your Majesty, if I may ask, where is it that you are interested in?"
"It's no secret. For example, the Witcher Village. I hear one must cross the north... considering the Shadow Keep is in the way,"
The silver-haired girl said pensively.
"Your judgment is correct. In fact, Messmer probably also intends to protect his mother Marika's homeland. It is not a place easily reached. As for the forest burned to ash by the Frenzied Flame, I know a little. Honestly, I don't recommend investigating it. It's too risky, even for two Demigods."
With half hesitation and half anticipation, Frieren repeated this key piece of information, word by word. Beside her, Melina took a sharp breath.
Not mentioning it would have been one thing, but now that it was brought up, she would likely aim for the legendary Lord of Frenzied Flame first. After all, it sounded extraordinary and was not to be missed.
Not on the level of a Shardbearer, but an existence of royal caliber.
Frieren agreed, "As expected of a Soul Cinder King. Do you have a heart of fire? You will surely choose him as your opponent."
"Of course."
The only other time she had heard that same title was from the white phantom at Vyke's point of invasion. That person did not believe the Tarnished was the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
Could this one in the Land of Shadow be even more powerful than a Lord-Contender?
Recalling how troublesome and disgusting the Three Fingers of soul-fire were, even Frieren felt a bit more pressure. She guessed this was a Tarnished who had once been closest to becoming the Elden Lord, someone not to be taken lightly.
Now, she had become the second option. Rather than wait for the Frenzied Flame to come to her, she might as well take the initiative and test his strength.
The Three Fingers sealed in the sewers beneath Leyndell, Royal Capital, were too far away, while the one in the Land of Shadow was within reach.
"It seems you've chosen your target." Leda added, "It's said that the Lord of Gloamflame resides at the bottom of a dark forest valley, where the trees are as tall as mountains, blocking out the sun. The fierce flames have turned it to ash, burying the truth of how he came to be."
"The only thing that is certain is that it's related to the Horned Folk. It's highly likely they triggered the Frenzied Flame host's rampage."
"No one knows where the old path is..."
"It's fine. If worst comes to worst, I'll fly there. As long as I have a direction, it's enough."
Seeing the silver-haired girl's confident expression, Leda then remembered: this was the strongest user of Gravity Magic after Radahn. Turning into a meteor would be easy for her.
Truly terrifying.
The reason she had overlooked it for a moment was because her magic was endlessly varied, with no fixed school. For instance, Soul Magic was the Soul Cinder King's signature ability, but not one she used frequently. Or rather, there was no such thing as a frequently used option for her.
So, analyzing her abilities while traveling together was pointless, a waste of effort.
Parting ways for a while was also good; it would allow Leda to prepare more plans.
"One last reminder for Your Majesty. That place is a cursed abyss. Even the people of the Land of Shadow avoid it at all costs. Besides the Lord of Gloamflame himself, it's said his minions also exist there, being especially skilled at mental attacks that drive people mad. Be very careful."
"Thank you for the information."
"Freyja, let's hurry up and leave before Messmer's army comes searching. It'll be hard to get away then."
The two waved goodbye and left with great strides. They were not like the Lord-Contender sorcerer, who neither feared a direct confrontation with an army nor lacked countless methods of concealment, able to advance or retreat freely.
Of course, they paid no mind to the army's search.
"That's right, their presence disappeared into Miquella's grace. That's the magic of gold."
Melina, who had been observing, made her judgment. When it came to knowledge of the Erdtree, divinity, and incantations, even the erudite Frieren couldn't compare.
After all, she was more skilled in wildly imaginative research and didn't have a firm grasp of the rigid knowledge of the Lands Between itself.
It was certain that Miquella still wielded a considerable amount of power. Not only could he teleport his followers at will, a power equivalent to a minor Grace, but he could also maintain his enthralling effect, making him very troublesome.
"Let's go."
Frieren walked down the steps without looking back, suppressing her curiosity about the thorn-sealed door. For the same reason a door cannot be opened from one side, the seal could not be resolved with brute force at the moment.
She even suspected that the spiral tower held Miquella's secrets, that they were closely related...
"Wait a minute." Suddenly, the silver-haired girl turned back and muttered, "Melina, do you think souls can pass through the Scadutree's barrier?"
"I am no longer a spirit body, I can't confirm."
"There are plenty of souls."
Casually summoning a lingering spirit, Frieren flicked her finger, and a white spirit slowly flew towards the sky. Not just one, but dozens of Horned Folk souls ascended towards the dark tower together.
Buzz—with a ripple, they actually passed through. Although some failed, it proved the feasibility.
Realizing this, the silver-haired girl's expression turned grim, a wary glint in her eyes.
"I see. So Miquella acts in spirit form, and one of the reasons is to pass through the seal, right? We originally guessed it was related to some step in his ascension to godhood. Now it seems his actions are the answer itself, one link in a chain."
"When it comes to magic, you truly are terrifyingly perceptive."
"We need to assume Miquella has been preparing for a long time. In the worst-case scenario, we'll have to be enemies with the Haligtree army."
"A pity we still lack intelligence."
Melina thought the deduction was reasonable, but it involved too much wild imagination and lacked concrete evidence. More investigation was needed.
It had to be admitted that Frieren was often right, her intuition sharp. But this concerned the power struggle in the Lands Between, the very system of god-kings. Conclusions couldn't be drawn lightly; one could never be too cautious.
The silver-haired girl strode forward, returning the way she came, putting on the lion mask as she went.
What?
Not understanding this action, she chose to remain silent. Since she was doing it, there must be a profound reason.
The two returned to the room where the Horned Folk crone was.
"Because the true King of the First Flame slumbers there."
The old woman at the table suddenly looked up, saying with pleasant surprise, "Oh, this fragrance means a great warrior has arrived. I couldn't feel the Divine Beast's presence and was starting to worry. Thankfully, it was needless concern. What a relief, what a relief. To think you were victorious in a battle of that level?"
"Our prayers have finally reached the heavens. You have come to us, it's wonderful."
She was seen making a gesture of blessing once again.
At the same time, Frieren proactively suppressed her magic and released a soul reaction through the Divine Beast Dancing Lion as a medium, incidentally masking Melina's aura, successfully deceiving the other's perception.
"Please take this child with you, please empathize with my rage, and perform a splendid dance. Those sons of Marika who betrayed us, who set the fires—"
"Messmer and his minions. I beg of you, bring retribution upon them."
The silver-haired girl nodded.
"Of course, the deeply sinful should be punished. I was originally an outsider and have no right to interfere in your tangled hatred, but since I have been provoked, I must respond to the enemy's crimes."
"Well said, absolutely right. Please take this."
The Horned Folk crone handed over a Guardian Spirit incantation, an ability that could summon souls for protection. Unfortunately for her, Frieren already had superior abilities like Heroic Spirit Summoning and an Ash of War legion, making it completely useless; it was a downgrade from the start.
However, she also gave some fried scorpions, which could increase damage reduction and restore health. The stats were decent, but they were hard to swallow.
She had already tried the local specialty of Liurnia, boiled prawns and crabs.
"At least those are seafood, but what are scorpions? I really can't get used to eating insects."
She politely declined.
Frieren wanted to ask about the spiral tower, but on second thought, she couldn't appear completely clueless.
A difficult situation.
Should she ask about Miquella instead?
The thought had just risen when Frieren dismissed it. Since there was an example of a Horned Folk among his followers, he might have enthralled a portion of them.
"He might have even reached a cooperation. It's impossible for the high-ranking Divine Beast Dancing Lion not to know."
"Are all Lords of Frenzied Flame so devoted? I heard there's one in the Lands Between as well."
What?
"Also, I've heard that witchers have infiltrated the Land of Shadow, perhaps intending to disrupt our ritual to make the witchers better," she said, making the topic public.
"They're all locked up in the Belurat Gaol, staying beneath the Tower Settlement. No problem."
Hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Frieren's eyes. She then turned and left the room.
The road leading out of the Tower Settlement was a field of ruins, collapsed buildings forming a slope that stretched endlessly toward the Gravesite Plain.
Finally, she had some key information. She knew the name of the Lord of Gloamflame and the reason for his appearance, so she wouldn't be going into battle completely blind.
The other piece of information about the Belurat Gaol was even more important. It was likely a place where a large number of 'witchers' were imprisoned.
She had thought the Witcher Village was too distant and blocked by the Shadow Keep, making exploration hopeless, but now there was another way to advance things.
In fact, she and Melina had been restless ever since hearing about the plight of the 'witchers'.
Investigating Marika's past could wait. There were so many ways to find out, and the clues weren't going to grow legs and run away. But the victims couldn't hold on for much longer.
"You—"
The Horned Folk crone hesitated as she watched the two walk away, then suddenly heard footsteps stop.
Having been prompted, Frieren focused her psionic perception in a single direction, performing a penetrating scan downwards. Sure enough, she found something.
A truly hellish sight.
"It seems the underground structure is quite sturdy. I was planning to leave you for a while, but on second thought, never mind. Let's resolve this quickly."
The silver-haired girl looked around, her tone icy. "Goodbye forever."
She led Melina out of the castle under a heavy atmosphere. The latter, being sharp-witted, also guessed that the so-called Belurat Gaol was definitely not a good place.
Her partner had worn the same expression when facing Godrick's grafting atrocities. Therefore, what the Horned Folk were doing was even worse, deeply provoking Frieren's principles.
She wasn't one to fuss over good and evil; only children deliberate on black and white, the adult world is gray. But she possessed a fundamental sense of compassion and conscience, one that was higher than the average moral standard in the Lands Between. She showed no mercy to those who trampled upon it. In her eyes, it was the difference between humans and monsters.
The two walked out of the Tower Settlement in silence. Unfortunately, they came face to face with a squad of Messmer's soldiers.
They arrived on horseback, kicking up dust and stones. The sound of iron hooves echoed on the ground as the imposing warriors formed a line, assuming a defensive posture.
Who?
They didn't recognize them, but they could never mistake their auras. One was a being of light with a fragment of the Elden Ring, the other a child of gold with Marika's bloodline.
What a strange combination. Could they be responsible for what happened at the Tower Settlement? No wonder.
Two Demigods were more than enough to level Belurat. Wearing this disguise might seem deceptive, but it actually came with great limitations; information was not readily available to her.
However, none of them knew how to react. Start a fight? There was no need. Swear fealty, and by extension, endorse the cursed child, Messmer? That would be going too far.
The reason I acted was because I heard there was activity in the northeast.
"Are you referring to the ancient dragon on the jagged mountain, or the valley of the Frenzied Flame? Neither is a good place."
"It's uncertain at the moment."
"It's probably the Lord of Gloamflame. After all, his entire residence has been interrogated by us, and then by the Horned Folk—to have a seal placed upon him, he must harbor resentment."
After much thought, the crusade army squad could only dismount and offer a knight's salute.
"...If the rumors are correct, then you two are the Soul Cinder King Frieren and the maiden of the Erdtree, Melina?"
The two nodded. They hadn't expected the news to travel so fast, nor for the anticipated conflict to fail to materialize. It was peaceful. That was normal, after all...
No one would dare to ignore the Elden Ring and Marika's bloodline.
Especially since the crusade army's faith was incredibly steadfast; their will had not been eroded despite many trials. If they had wavered, they would have long become a group of living corpses, not still standing guard in the land beneath the Scadutree after several thousand years, watching the Horned Folk's every move even without new orders.
"In any case, we greet you."
The captain originally wanted to speak in Messmer's name, but being unsure of his commander's attitude, he could only express friendliness on a personal level for now.
It was truly awkward. Even with greetings exchanged, there wasn't much to say.
Moreover, one of them had a wooden demeanor that kept others at a distance, while the other was as cold as an iceberg and seemed to be angry about something, making the atmosphere very tense.
"Does Messmer have an official stance?"
"Lady Frieren, our commander is very hostile towards those without light, not to mention you have Demi-Human features..."
"Of course, more important is a certain token," the captain pointed to her finger and said, "the Spectral Steed Whistle. We all recognize it. The wise beast that chooses a king, a symbol of the great responsibility entrusted by the Eternal Goddess."
"Some of what I say may sound rude, but I invite you both to think about it carefully."
"A child with cursed features, who was hated, exiled, and isolated—what would he think upon seeing his beloved mother entrust the task of kingship to someone with the same 'despicable' features as himself?"
He'd be shattered.
Messmer would likely be furious. As the news trickles in, he'll be filled with rage.
Conflict is inevitable. It's not about interests, but emotions. Such a fight is indeed unavoidable; a battle is bound to happen.
Suddenly, a war-eagle flew to the front line.
The captain immediately took the letter, his expression turning cold, then looked at the two with a complicated face. In contrast, Melina and Frieren remained calm.
Whatever it says, you can say it or not, it won't affect our actions.
"Lord Messmer has issued a warrant. He wants you brought to him. If necessary, force may be used to subjugate you."
"My brother is certainly impatient. He probably sees this as an invasion."
"Hasn't this made things simpler?" Frieren pointed to the sky. "I won't make things difficult for you. Hurry back and report. Just say I'm sending Messmer a greeting—"
—Swoosh!
Above the clouds, a violet-white storm of magic swirled, blowing away the thick clouds and rosy dawn. The clear blue sky had to make way for a behemoth.
A meteor came roaring down, its surface friction creating fierce flames, melting it until it resembled a block of lava.
The ultra-hot wind pressure already enveloped everyone. Their lungs burned, and breathing became increasingly difficult.
A catastrophe was about to happen here.
____
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