Under a sky streaked with black and red, bolts of blue-white lightning rained down, lighting up the entire battlefield.
Spirits and champions clashed, lifting their swords and shields to defend their general—just like they had done long ago, back when Caelid had yet to become what it is now.
"Redmane Knights!"
The grizzled veteran waved the battle standard and roared, "For General Radahn! Claim victory!"
The standard, bearing the emblem of the Redmane Legion, was driven into the ground. The entire army of summoned spirits seemed to stir, their eyes flickering with a crimson glow.
"Ohhh, brave warriors—!"
A massive jar warrior dropped from the sky, slamming its fists into the ground. The resulting shockwave blasted away several nearby spirits. Then it looked up—or rather, tilted its jar upward.
"Your resolve is admirable. But I too have friends in need of aid."
"Then come—fight! Speak your will through battle! Prove your conviction through battle! Let us turn this joyous moment into a festival of combat!"
"This must be the true meaning of the Battle Festival!"
"Hahaha—!"
With that, Alexander charged straight into the spirit army before him. Though the cracks across his body were multiplying, his tone brimmed with joy, as if savoring the finest delicacy in the world.
At his side, Great Horned Tragoth stood clad in heavy armor.
This good-natured and slightly slow-witted man didn't fully understand what was going on—but watching the jar warrior's fearless charge stirred something in him. Gripping his Giant-Crusher, he smashed through the form of an elite knight spirit in front of him.
Elsewhere, it seemed that Waterfowl Dance had triggered some unpleasant memories in the spirit legion.
Soon after the battle began, Millicent became the primary target of the Redmanes spirits' coordinated assault. Sword and shield users held the front line, greatbows fired from the rear, and support troops flanked her—an impressively organized formation. To the uninitiated, it might've looked like Millicent was the boss.
And honestly, that wasn't far from the truth.
Although NPC modules were in use, the chaos of unfolding events made it hard to say the fight was still following game rules. Health bars were still visible, but things like hit stun and movement flow were aligning more and more with real combat.
Take Millicent's Waterfowl Dance, for example. In-game, it required a dramatic arm raise to charge up—an obvious and fixed animation with no hyper armor. But now, as the flowing sword technique was truly unleashed, Millicent moved like a rushing stream, weaving through the legion of spirits.
It wasn't a devastating ultimate attack—it was more like a natural spring flowing ceaselessly across the battlefield. No thunderous spectacle, but elusive and dangerous.
Supporting her from behind was Melina, strands of red swirling around her blade. At her side, a Finger Maiden with stubby legs who couldn't keep up and had little talent for battle kept repeating her healing spell.
Together, the three formed a tight-knit unit. Though encircled by the spirit army, they held their own—not easily, but evenly matched.
Blaidd swung his greatsword, cutting down enemies without pause. Patches toyed with his Splitleaf, while Okina slashed through spirit after spirit with his longsword.
The outer battlefield was ablaze with combat—but at its very center, there was no sign of any hero or spirit.
That area had become a place no one else dared to approach.
Whether spirits or champions, humans or jar warriors—upon seeing the storm raging and the Bloodflames entwined—they instinctively knew: this was not a fight they could join.
That space belonged to just two people.
One was the Ashen One, who had lost everything.
The other was a slave, also stripped of all.
In the time-twisted ruins of the Ringed City, the Ashen One, with reckless hands, had touched the Vagrant Egg held by the goddess—and arrived in a desolate future where everything had long since crumbled.
And in the ruins where nothing remained, he encountered the old man in the red cloak.
They had once fought side by side—comrades who had defeated the nun in the church who sought to prolong the world, and slain the demon prince in the fallen valley.
At last, the two met again at the end of the world.
The Slave Knight, driven mad by the devouring of dark souls, raised his broken sword toward the Ashen One.
There was nothing left around them in that battle. Civilization had crumbled, and life had ceased entirely. Everything they once cared about had turned to ash. Even from the highest vantage point, one could only catch glimpses of scattered ruins in a sea of gray.
That clash was less a battle and more the howling of two desperate souls.
It was a fight stripped of meaning. Everything had already been destroyed. There was nothing left to protect or take, and even their very existence had been worn away by time and ruin.
But...
That was the past.
Now, they had met again.
And unlike before, they both had reasons to fight.
Radahn—Gael, no, Gaedahn—had to maintain the seal on the stars, to suppress the Scarlet Rot festering within him. And now, he had a new reason: to protect the Blood of the Dark Soul, to keep it from escaping his body and unleashing devastation upon Caelid and the Lands Between.
As for Lloyd, he needed to fight—to gather strength for the golden bud blooming behind him, so its blossom could heal the long-standing corruption plaguing Caelid.
He, too, had his reasons concerning the Blood of the Dark Soul, and the fragment hanging around Radahn's neck.
"My old friend..."
He swung his sword, flames bursting from the blade.
Behind the flickering fire, Lloyd's eyes were solemn.
"I've returned the Blood of the Dark Soul to her on your behalf."
"And just as you once hoped, she used those souls as fuel—painting a new chapter atop the ashes of the canvas we burned."
"Your final wish has been fulfilled."
"All that's left... is to let you rest."
At his words, the massive figure froze.
Even the drifting dark souls and lightning in the sky seemed to pause, as if the world itself had momentarily stopped.
Then came a hoarse, muffled voice.
"...Thank... you..."
The speaker forced out the words with all his strength—then, once again, madness took hold.
The greatsword came crashing down.
Along with its own immense force and the Gravitas coiling around it, the blade now carried countless wailing souls. Even the red cloak behind him seemed to come alive, channeling frenzy and malice toward the enemy before him, guided by the path of the sword.
In a blur of motion, Lloyd weaved through the strikes, the souls, and the lightning raining from above.
With the fragment now awakened, Radahn—already formidable—had inherited the power of the Slave Knight who fought the Ashen One to the world's end, along with the dark soul's blood coursing through his body.
Yet even with all that, Lloyd didn't falter. In fact, compared to before he accepted the fragment, he seemed to have gained the upper hand.
Part of it was that with Radahn unsealed, Lloyd could now draw upon other powers as well.
But more importantly, he knew his old friend's strength and techniques all too well.
Whether it was the dark soul-laced blade, the curses erupting from his body, or the bolts crashing down from above—if not for the wildcard that was Radahn, Lloyd could dodge nearly all of it with his eyes shut, relying solely on sound.
Perhaps others saw Gaedahn as far stronger than Radahn.
But for him, the second phase marked a return to familiar ground. With Seriel's support, dodging and attacking both became easier than in the first phase. Even when he was occasionally grazed by an attack, Seriel's grace helped him recover.
Yet the battle did not end quickly.
At the center of the battlefield, under the watchful eyes of heroes and spirits, the bearer of abundance clashed with the general who had devoured the dark souls.
They fought, they clashed, they wounded each other.
Their blows became abundance, the blood they shed gradually purified. Even the twisted dark souls, once released, were absorbed by an unknown force without spreading in the slightest.
The slash of Bloodhound's Fang, the spinning twinblade, the magic stones formed at the tip of a staff, and the occasional flash of golden throwing daggers.
A giant frame wielding dual swords, storms of Gravitas magic in purple light, and dark souls dancing with the blades.
They stood at the battlefield's center, on a barren expanse of sand, thunder crashing around them, all under the gaze of spirits and heroes.
Amid a scene like the end of the world, it felt as if only the two of them remained, locked in endless combat.
How long did that struggle last?
No one knew.
All they could see was blood pouring from General Radahn, the bloom on Lloyd's back glowing brighter, and the dark crimson sky slowly fading.
Finally—
The scarlet blood ran dry. Radahn fell to one knee.
But he wasn't dead. On the contrary, the scarlet hue had returned to the red of living blood.
Though the wounds left by corruption still lingered, and he had lost a great deal of blood in the process—
But for a Demigod, unless they met their Destined Death, not even mortal wounds could kill them, much less serious ones.
Even so, madness still filled his eyes.
It was a corruption far more terrifying than Scarlet Rot.
But...
Pfft—
Two hands reached out and plunged straight into Radahn's flesh, tearing out the two black shards along with the tainted tissue.
The shards trembled—perhaps with excitement, perhaps with fear.
But it didn't matter. The hands holding them slowly pressed together, crushed the fragments, and absorbed them into their own body.
The lost souls—wailing in pain for reasons unknown—finally fell silent.
The scattered dark souls also faded away as the fragments disappeared.
Dawn broke.
With the darkness gone, the scarlet sky returned.
But this time, the person standing before Lloyd had clarity in his eyes once more.
"You..."
Lloyd raised his hand, stopping him mid-sentence, then turned toward the golden bloom behind him, reaching out to gently touch her cheek.
She was trembling.
Lloyd had dragged out the fight, never once thinking of going all out, just to buy more time.
It wasn't just to cure Radahn's Scarlet Rot—but also to let the bud behind him gather strength.
Yet clearly, after so long being incomplete and suppressed, the bud couldn't withstand the sudden rush of power. Even with the help of the golden needle, she was already at her limit, on the verge of losing control.
"I need to take her somewhere first."
As he spoke, Alice appeared at Lloyd's side and took his hand.
In the next instant, the two of them reappeared at the spot where they'd retrieved the golden needle—the very heart of Caelid.
He removed the flower bud from his back and gently laid her on the ground.
Her eyes were shut tight, her body trembling uncontrollably, with shimmering golden petals flickering open and closed around her. Her pain had reached its limit. It was time to end it all.
Just as they had agreed, Lloyd reached out and touched the golden needle at her neck.
But a small hand reached out and stopped him.
"Wait a little longer."
Alice spoke.
Lloyd didn't know why, but he trusted her—and withdrew his hand.
Moments later, the once-scarlet sky over Caelid suddenly dimmed.
The stars, hidden behind the crimson mist, finally revealed themselves.
Then, a raspy yet commanding voice echoed out.
"In the name of Radahn, the Starscourge."
Twin blades lifted skyward. The power that once sealed the stars returned to his hands again.
But this time, it wasn't the stars that power was aimed at—it was the gold before him.
"To let the Flower of Abundance bloom—I will shatter the Golden Order."
"Forgive me, Father..."
With the vow spoken, the twin blades came down.
The stars fell.
And in the moment they struck the gold, the entire Caelid trembled. The immutable Law shattered.
Then, the golden needle was drawn.
The bud that had once bloomed in Caelid opened once more.
But this time, it wasn't the Scarlet Flower of Rot—it was the Flower of Abundance, radiant with healing power.
And because the Golden Order had been broken, the bloom no longer needed to spread slowly as before. In an instant, it covered all of Caelid.
Golden petals bloomed across the land.
With abundance and grace, they replaced the rot and suffering.
At the heart of the great bloom, the girl who had served as vessel and nourishment opened her eyes. Her body was cracked like porcelain. With the last of her strength, she spoke.
"Kill... Malenia..."
"Kill... that puppet of rot and allure..."
"I don't want to go on like this... and neither would my brother..."
After a moment of silence, Lloyd nodded.
She closed her eyes.
And all that remained was the great Flower of Abundance—
Blooming quietly across the land of Caelid.
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
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