For the moment, Lucian draped himself in Elyssa's cloak. It was large, covering him completely. Clothes could wait—he had to inspect the room first.
Because Mohg had been deliberately protecting it, the cursed jar containing the Reduvia hadn't suffered any damage during the battle. That alone confirmed Lucian's suspicion; the daggers was the medium Mohg had used to lock onto his position and teleport here.
After all, Lucian only had a handful of belongings connected to the Mohgwyn Dynasty. The answer was obvious.
As for those incantations… he hesitated. The Bloodflame Blade was far too tempting, its requirements so low that he might even adapt it into his own version of Bloodflame Storm. These incantations had clearly been copied onto parchment scrolls—surely Mohg wouldn't have marked every single one, would he?
In the end, Lucian gathered them up as well, determined to dispose of everything together. There was no sense in keeping dangerous trinkets that could place him at risk. If he lacked Bloodflame Storm, he still had Frenzied Flame and Black Flame Storm. No need to cling to one tree when the whole forest stood before him.
Mohg could spawn endless avatars. Lucian, however, did not have infinite Wind Spirit Moon Shadow to waste. Even if he did, spending them all on Mohg would be unbearable.
After triple-checking that no trace of cursed blood remained, Lucian lifted the jar containing the daggers, mounted Torrent, and rode straight for the coast.
Once there, Elyssa froze a path of ice over the waves. Lucian strode along it, hurled both the jar and the needle into the sea. The cursed blood behaved oddly—rather than diffusing like ordinary blood, it clung together, surging upward as though trying to float back to the surface.
But the sea itself seemed to harbor a force of its own, tearing at the blood relentlessly. Moments later it burst apart in a crimson mist, severed from the daggers. The daggers and the three incantation scrolls sank slowly beneath the waves, vanishing into the depths.
Only when Lucian witnessed these relics of the Dynasty swallowed by the sea did he finally exhale in relief. This time, Mohg should have no way back.
When Lucian returned, servants had already replaced the furniture in his chamber—and added more besides. A wide bed. A set of table and chairs. A solid oak sofa draped with a fur blanket. A standing mirror. Even a rack with fresh clothes hung neatly upon it.
Many of these servants were refugees who had arrived with the last supply caravan. Serving under the lord of Castle Morne was considered a fine post; many competed for the chance. Labor was plentiful.
The castle now housed nearly a thousand souls, its productivity restored. It was nothing like the bleak days right after the rebellion, when they could barely scavenge enough furniture to fill a room.
Edgar was waiting for Lucian. He stepped forward the instant Lucian entered, worry etched into his face.
"Are you alright? Were there… many assassins?"
He had seen the battlefield himself—limbs strewn everywhere. He could only imagine how many foes there must have been. Of course, he didn't know those limbs had all belonged to Lucian himself. Otherwise, his mind might well have broken.
Lucian offered no explanation. He couldn't, really. Better to let the misunderstanding stand.
"I'm fine. The enemy's been dealt with. Don't worry."
Edgar nodded, relieved. "That's what matters. I've had your room cleaned, new furnishings put in place. Get some rest."
"Good. Thanks."
Edgar turned to leave, but Lucian called out. "Oh, one more thing—make an announcement. If anyone in the city sees strange blood, they're to report it immediately."
"Understood." Edgar nodded again. Clearly, this was tied to the night's events. For assassins to appear in the city so silently… it was something that needed watching.
After Edgar departed, Lucian turned to Elyssa. "This time, I owe you. Without you, the fight's outcome might've been… uncertain."
"Don't mention it. I still plan to hunt Demigods with you—you're not allowed to die before then."
She frowned slightly, recalling her brief clash with Mohg. "That one… he was a Demigod too, wasn't he?"
Lucian blinked in surprise. Mohg had never appeared in public. How had she guessed? "Correct. But that was only one of his avatars."
"No wonder. His appearance was unlike the others, yet… there was something familiar about him." Elyssa nodded, satisfied.
"Tell me, how did you even sense the fight? His blood was cutting off sound and aura alike. That should've sealed the room completely."
Lucian had wondered about that too. Mohg's cursed blood spread like a domain, especially once the chamber was fully shrouded.
"When you first broke through the door, there was a faint leak—a trace of sound, a wisp of breath. I caught it. I came to check, found something wrong, and began forcing my way in. Luckily, I wasn't too late."
Lucain nodded. That must've been when the blood was still webbing sparsely across the walls, not yet a solid curtain. Some sound had slipped through.
"I see. Sharp senses."
"A Zamoran without sharp senses would've long since perished in the snowfields."
—
Lucian collapsed onto the fresh bed. Phantom pain wracked his entire body.
During the battle he had been numb—no time to think, no choice but to grit his teeth through every agony. Even afterward, the need to clean up had kept his mind distracted.
But now that he lay still, the pain surged in full. When the Infinite Health had restored his body, it had also restored every nerve. Every instant of the fight, he had endured the complete weight of suffering.
He rolled back and forth on the bed, trying to distract himself, but nothing could drown it out.
Right… maybe check the achievements. If I'm lucky, killing Mohg's avatar will count toward the 'Mohg, the Omen' achievement.
In the game, that title was awarded for defeating Mohg's avatar deep in the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds. If they were both avatars, maybe this one counted as well?
He opened the panel, hopeful—and the pain eased as his attention shifted.
The achievement lit up: Defeat Mohg, the Omen's Child.
His Wind Spirit Moon Shadow charges had also refreshed by one. Three before, down to two after Mohg… and now back to three. No loss.
But what struck him most was the system's criteria. This wasn't the "right" avatar, yet it still triggered completion. Was it a special case for Mohg and Morgott, the twin Omen? So long as one of their avatars fell, the achievement was satisfied?
Strange. But in the end, not very useful. Aside from the twins, no other boss with two achievements had avatars wandering about. The rest were phantoms—and they never strayed from their arenas.