Under the guidance of the Black Knight Harold, Lucian headed toward the small camp beside the church.
The camp was deathly silent.
Only the crackling of burning firewood echoed through the air.
The soldiers sat around the campfires, numbly staring at the dancing flames before them.
The most lively things in the camp were the dogs wreathed in black-red fire.
They patrolled around continuously, occasionally digging through the dirt in search of food.
These soldiers had all rebelled alongside the Black Knights before, and most of them had already perished in the earlier fighting.
Even so, there were still around twenty to thirty soldiers remaining in the camp.
Every one of them sat in silence with lowered heads, like corpses that had lost their souls.
Even when Lucian and the others approached, none reacted at all.
Seeing them like this, Lucian shook his head.
The shattering of the Elden Ring had affected even the Land of Shadow.
And the Land of Shadow had been sealed away unimaginably long ago. These soldiers had persisted from the era of the War Against the Giants all the way until now.
After such an endless passage of time, their minds had decayed even more severely than the soldiers of the Lands Between.
They were already heavily hollowed.
And it was more than mere hollowing.
Many soldiers in the Lands Between had likewise hollowed badly, yet they could still continue fighting, driven onward by lingering obsession and battle spirit.
But the soldiers here in the Land of Shadow had first endured a war called a crusade that was, in truth, slaughter.
The psychological exhaustion from war had already become severe.
And these particular soldiers had then rebelled and suffered defeat afterward, worsening their mental state even further until all fighting spirit vanished entirely.
No wonder only three men had answered when Harold shouted for reinforcements earlier.
Harold turned toward Lucian and spoke:
"The soldiers have suffered greatly. Their souls are severely corrupted. I deeply apologize for their disgraceful conduct..."
"I fear it will also be difficult for them to shoulder any major responsibility going forward..."
Lucian waved a hand, signaling him to stop.
He had never expected much from these soldiers in the first place, so naturally he felt no disappointment at their condition.
After thinking for a moment, Lucian still extended a hand toward them.
The power of the Great Rune emerged once more, and streaks of golden light showered down upon the soldiers.
The men who had lost all awareness and spirit suddenly felt that distant golden radiance once more.
From the depths of their hearts, an indescribable feeling of upliftment began surging forth.
Despair.
Emptiness.
The pain that had long tormented their hollow hearts was once again filled by golden light.
The pain itself did not disappear.
The scars within their souls were not healed.
But beneath that golden radiance, everything was temporarily forgotten.
At this moment, the only thing remaining in their hearts was the gold that had once guided them.
The return of Grace allowed their bodies to move once more, following after that phantom-like light.
Lucian had to admit—
faith was a terrifying force.
One after another, the soldiers rose to their feet and looked toward Lucian, who had bestowed Grace upon them.
Then they silently knelt on one knee and pledged loyalty to him without a word.
Lucian nodded.
Though the soldiers were still completely hollowed, regaining Grace would at least lessen the despair lingering in their hearts.
At the very least, they could now be mobilized again.
Seeing the soldiers finally improve, Harold felt indescribably emotional.
Of course.
In circumstances like these, only someone capable of bestowing Grace could accomplish such a thing.
Harold himself had already received Grace once before, and now he had personally witnessed Lucian bestow it again.
After witnessing Grace descend twice, Harold's resolve to follow Lucian unto death became even firmer.
Once the blessings were complete, Lucian calmly lowered his hand.
Blessing ordinary soldiers had not cost much in runes.
Each one only required a few thousand.
That amount had little effect on their combat ability or strength.
The main purpose was essentially visual.
A special effect, so to speak.
Something to let them feel that the Erdtree had not abandoned them.
Lucian looked toward Harold and said:
"Next, I'll be taking you somewhere."
"There's another church there. My companion, Melina, is currently staying there."
"From now on, you'll follow her orders and help her handle matters over there."
Harold immediately nodded.
"Please rest assured!"
He was also quite curious about Melina, the child of Queen Marika known only by name.
Unlike the other demigods of the Golden Lineage, who had earned glorious reputations through war, very few people even knew Melina existed.
The Black Knights had been among the primary military forces under Messmer, holding significant status.
Yet even so, Harold only knew that such a person existed among Queen Marika's children.
Among ordinary soldiers, the overwhelming majority had never even heard of her.
That alone made her existence incredibly mysterious.
Harold glanced toward the soldiers and asked.
"When do we depart?"
Lucian looked at them too, smiled, and answered.
"Right now."
Harold nodded and immediately began calling for the soldiers to prepare for departure.
"My lord, we can finish organizing shortly."
Lucian patted him on the shoulder.
Clearly, Harold had misunderstood something.
"There's no need to go through all that trouble."
"We'll fly there."
Harold turned around in disbelief.
"?"
The next moment, Lucian used a storm to sweep all of them into the air.
Even the flaming dogs on the ground were not left behind.
Floating high above, Harold found it difficult to adapt for a moment.
While some Black Knights could use the Crucible Wings incantation, someone like him, who specialized in massive shields and warhammers, obviously could not.
The Land of Shadow suddenly felt slightly weightless...
——
Lucian brought the Black Knights and the remaining soldiers to the church where Melina and the Shamans were staying.
There was little point leaving the Black Knights behind where they had been.
At least under Melina, they could provide manpower for something useful.
Taking care of that many Shamans one by one was still extremely troublesome.
Hearing the commotion outside, Melina stepped out from the church as well.
Watching the soldiers fall from the sky like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, she blinked at Lucian.
"Lucian, this is...?"
Lucian landed smoothly before her and pointed a thumb toward the soldiers behind him.
"The helpers I found for you."
"Whether they're useful or not, just keep them here."
Harold had also regained his footing and hurried forward.
The moment he saw Melina, he immediately sensed the pure golden power surrounding her.
There was no mistake.
She truly was that hidden child of Queen Marika!
Harold dropped to one knee and lowered his head.
"We swear loyalty to Lord Lucian and to you, My Lady."
"We are all faithful believers of the Erdtree and worthy of trust!"
"From now on, please command us as you wish. No matter the hardship, we shall overcome it!"
Melina was a little confused about what Lucian had done this time, and why he had suddenly brought back even more people.
But since he had already said so, she simply reached out and helped Harold to his feet.
"Then please help me take care of the patients here."
Harold rose and followed Melina and Lucian into the church.
He felt somewhat uneasy.
Patients?
He had just boldly proclaimed his willingness to help, but soldiers like them had no experience caring for the sick.
But the moment he saw the patients, all such concerns vanished from his mind.
"Th-This is…"
Harold stared in shock at the grotesquely deformed Shamans gathered around the Minor Erdtree.
Melina lowered her gaze and spoke softly.
"These are the kin of my mother and me."
"The Hornsent turned them into this. Right now, I'm trying to heal them."
Harold clenched his fists tightly.
"So this is what the Hornsent have done…"
He lowered his head.
'Queen Marika… you could have simply told us the truth…'
—
After bidding farewell to Melina, Lucian directly used the guidance of grace to teleport out of the Land of Shadow.
His next destination was the Lands Between.
He intended to find Ranni.
Originally, Lucian had planned to head straight back to Stormveil.
But after hearing Harold mention Rellana, the "Twin Moon Knight" and Ranni's aunt, he decided to change his itinerary.
He would continue following Ranni's 'questline' and find her first.
When Lucian opened his eyes again, he had already arrived on the eastern shore of Liurnia.
This time, he chose the Artist's Shack as his Site of Grace.
Among all the Sites of Grace he had unlocked, this was the closest one to the Carian Study Hall.
Looking at the shack before him, now even more dilapidated than before, Lucian turned his head toward the towering study hall rising from the base of the cliff nearby.
The Carian Study Hall possessed an imposing grandeur.
Though slightly shorter than the Divine Tower behind it, it still deserved to be described as towering into the heavens.
Lucian attempted to contact the moonlight mark upon his body.
If he could directly reach Ranni, there would be no need to go through all the trouble of searching for her.
Unfortunately, no matter how he tried, the mark gave no response.
After some thought, Lucian instead attempted to contact Blaidd and old Iji.
This time, it worked immediately.
Blaidd's voice quickly sounded.
"Lord Lucian? What's the matter?"
Lucian stroked his chin and asked,
"Has Ranni contacted either of you recently?"
This time, it was old Iji who answered.
"Hm… Lady Ranni has not contacted us."
"I imagine she is still striving toward her goal at this very moment."
Hearing that neither Blaidd nor Iji had any news of Ranni, Lucian nodded.
"I see…"
Looks like Ranni turned on "Do Not Disturb".
She was probably somewhere trying to deal with the Two Fingers.
Which meant he would still need to find the miniature Ranni doll she had left behind.
If things followed the game's progression, and Ranni had truly left behind a tiny figurine version of herself, then he would definitely be able to contact her through it.
Lucian headed toward the Carian Study Hall ahead.
—
He made his way into the study hall without obstruction and immediately walked toward the enormous astrolabe positioned at the center of the building.
Though it was called an astrolabe, the centerpiece was actually an incredibly realistic moon model, complete with crater details carved across its surface.
There were still a few items worth obtaining while exploring the study hall properly, but Lucian no longer cared much about such things.
He retrieved the inverted Carian statue from his spatial disc.
Turning the statue upside down so that the apprentice's head pointed downward, he placed it upon the astrolabe's pedestal.
The moment the inverted statue was set in place, it fit perfectly into the base before the astrolabe.
At once, the entire Carian Study Hall began to tremble violently.
Even Lucian felt a slight dizziness while standing within it.
At that moment, the astrolabe before him also began to change.
The four rotating rings surrounding the moon all started turning simultaneously, while the moon itself continuously revolved.
When the shaking finally stopped, the astrolabe had become the complete inverse of its original state.
The moon's phases had reversed, and the orientation of the outer rings—left, right, up, and down had all flipped upside down.
The main hall where Lucian stood remained unaffected.
Everything there was still normal.
But Lucian knew that the tower-like internal structure of the study hall had now been completely inverted.
Without hesitation, he headed deeper inside.
The interior of the Carian Study Hall had fully flipped upside down.
Standing atop what had once been the ceiling, Lucian casually dealt with several Fingercreepers blocking his path before stepping into the inverted interior.
The instant he entered, a Glintstone Comet shot directly toward him.
Lucian tilted sideways and dodged, then looked toward the attacker standing atop a distant rooftop.
The figure wore an enormous hat and deep blue Carian robes, with their face tightly concealed beneath a mask.
This was Preceptor Miriam, the sorcery professor guarding the Carian Study Hall.
At this moment, she had already realized the intruder before her was no ordinary opponent, someone not easily dealt with by standard glintstone sorceries.
Thus, she raised her staff before her body.
Blue magical power rapidly gathered, gradually forming a gigantic magical bow.
An enormous arrow of shimmering magic condensed as she drew the string back.
Looking at the sorcery professor before him, a rather savage grin appeared on Lucian's face.
"So you're the one called Miriam?"
"So you're the one who likes sniping people and teleporting around?"
"Today I'm absolutely making you suffer."
"And I'm tearing that damn hood off your head!"
Long, long ago, back when Lucian had still been a complete beginner, Miriam had tormented him endlessly.
At the time, he hadn't even known what ranged options melee builds had.
Miriam had beaten him senseless again and again.
In the end, he had only managed to win by charging through a storm of magic from the side and forcing close combat.
But after getting her down to half health, she teleported away and resumed firing arrows from afar.
The moment she vanished while he was trapped amidst puppet soldiers, Lucian had genuinely felt the urge to smash his controller.
Now, seeing her charging another shot, preparing to cast Loretta's Greatbow once more, Lucian pulled out his repeating crossbow.
"Oh, you think you're the only one who can shoot!?"
"Twelve bolts versus one magic arrow. Advantage: me!"
Lucian poured magic power into the repeating crossbow, steadily increasing the bolts' destructive force.
In an instant, he activated the weapon's unique skill.
Bolts erupted from the magazine in rapid succession.
Soon, the flames coating the bolts linked together into a blazing stream as a storm of projectiles shot toward Miriam.
Seeing Lucian attempting to oppose sorcery with crossbow bolts, Professor Miriam let out a mocking laugh.
'Foolish.'
If crossbows could defeat sorcery, then mages would have gone extinct long ago.
No matter how many bolts he fired, it would make no difference.
Yet the power carried by those consecutive bolts far exceeded Miriam's expectations.
Her magical arrow was shattered instantly?!
The dense barrage of bolts arrived before her in the blink of an eye.
Miriam immediately cast her unique sorcery: Miriam's Vanishing.
Waving her staff, glintstone mist spread around her body.
Her figure dissolved into the blue haze, concealing her form as she instantly shifted to another location.
Meanwhile, the puppet soldiers left behind raised their shields in defense, only to be blown away one after another by the exploding bolts.
Miriam paid no attention to the puppets and reappeared nearby.
Just as she let out a sigh of relief, the corner of her eye suddenly noticed that the intruder had disappeared.
Her heart tightened.
She frantically searched along the beams that could possibly lead to this side, but no matter how she looked, she could not find Lucian anywhere.
"Looking for me?"
A hand landed on Miriam's shoulder.