With a thunderous roar, the Rot-corrupted Dragonkin Soldier was the first to attack Lucian.
The swarm of Rot Butterflies forming its grotesque wings beat furiously, hauling the creature's massive body out of the lake and into the air.
A gigantic crimson claw descended from above, crashing down toward Lucian.
The power of Scarlet Rot had swollen the Dragonkin Soldier's already enormous frame far beyond that of ordinary Dragonkin. The force behind this diving strike was truly overwhelming.
Yet a single straight sword wreathed in flame blocked the monstrous claw.
Lucian stood his ground, turning slightly as he raised the Sword of Night and Flame sideways.
The Dragonkin Soldier halted in midair.
No matter how desperately the Rot Butterflies flapped behind it, it could not advance even an inch further.
Viscous Rot dripped from the giant claw.
Before the droplets could touch the ground, they were vaporized by the blazing heat.
The raging flames coating the Sword of Night and Flame rapidly burned away the thick layers of fungal growth covering the creature.
And yet, unlike ordinary Scarlet Rot, this corruption showed little reaction to the fire.
As the Rot spread through its body, the Dragonkin Soldier's already rugged scales had become even thicker.
The fungal mass covering it had transformed into something nearly inorganic, serving as both scales and armor.
Its diminished biological activity had also stripped away the instinctive fear of flame.
Realizing it could not overpower the thin blade in Lucian's hand through brute force alone, the Dragonkin Soldier abandoned the attempt.
Its butterfly wings beat hard as it retreated through the air, creating distance.
At the same time, the monster opened its jaws impossibly wide.
A torrent of Scarlet Rot breath erupted from its throat and surged toward Lucian.
At that moment, the other Vessel of Rot finally made its move.
Its twisted, skeletal arm tightened around its crimson staff.
Pointing the staff toward Lucian, it brought it down heavily.
The ground beneath Lucian's feet split apart.
Crimson roots burst upward from below, attempting to bind him in place.
Even the shoreline had long since become Scarlet Rot territory.
Lucian leapt lightly into the air, effortlessly avoiding both the Rot breath and the encroaching roots.
After only a single exchange, the difference between the two enemies was obvious.
The Vessel of Rot was clearly far stronger than the Rot-corrupted Dragonkin Soldier.
Hovering in the air, Lucian fixed his gaze on the Dragonkin Soldier below.
He decided to eliminate it first.
Sliding his left hand across the blade, flames immediately spread along the sword.
The Sword of Night and Flame, already engulfed in fire, became unrecognizable beneath the blazing inferno.
It resembled a stream of molten sunlight.
At the same time, the lingering flame within him burned hotter still, until Lucian himself was completely engulfed in fire from the inside out.
Within the cavern, a subterranean sun slowly rose.
A grin spread across Lucian's face.
Then he shot downward.
The sun itself seemed to plummet toward the earth.
Brilliant flames erupted.
The entire Lake of Rot was illuminated.
The Dragonkin Soldier had no time to react.
The firelight had already filled its vision.
A single downward slash crashed through its shoulder.
The blow forced the giant to its knees.
The next instant, its body split cleanly down the middle.
Cut neatly into two halves.
Instant kill.
As Lucian cleaved the Dragonkin Soldier apart, the massive blade of fire continued into the lake itself.
The aftershock parted the waters.
The smell of burning flesh overwhelmed the lake's usual stench of corruption.
The lingering heat was so intense that the Rot hesitated to flow back into the wound carved through the lake.
A charred scar remained etched across its surface.
Feeling the runes flow into his body, Lucian casually flicked his sword behind him while facing away from the Dragonkin Soldier's burning remains.
The flames gradually died down.
The blade beneath was glowing red-hot.
As it cooled, the sword slowly returned to its normal appearance.
The Sword of Night and Flame was only +7.
It had served him well enough in the past, but times had changed.
Asking it to channel the power of a sun was still too much.
If he wasn't careful, the weapon might melt apart in the middle of battle.
Fortunately, he had gathered plenty of Smithing Stones recently.
Once he returned, upgrading it would be a priority.
The Vessel of Rot witnessed the terrifying strike without showing the slightest fear.
It charged forward regardless.
Slamming its staff against the ground, it unleashed a flood of pure Rot power.
Unlike the external appearance of Scarlet Rot, this energy manifested as a brilliant orange-red radiance.
Petals drifted through the air.
A terrifying sphere of energy quickly formed and shot toward Lucian.
Lucian sidestepped.
He had no intention of taking that attack head-on.
The color alone reminded him of the techniques used by Malenia's second phase in the game.
This was power originating directly from the God of Rot.
The sphere missed him and slammed into the ground, blasting out a massive crater.
After the explosion, the Rot energy dispersed into the air.
It transformed into fluttering Rot Butterflies.
Meanwhile, Rot erupted across the impact site, spreading and multiplying layer after layer.
As Lucian evaded the Vessel of Rot's relentless attacks, he carefully observed its movements.
He was still considering how best to deal with it when something behind him caught his attention.
Turning around, he was surprised by what he saw.
The charred corpse of the Dragonkin Soldier was moving again.
The body still remained in the kneeling posture from when it had been cut apart.
The two halves sat separated on either side.
Yet the blackened severed surfaces were steadily regenerating.
Focusing his gaze, Lucian saw fungal strands consuming the charred tissue left behind by his flames.
There was no flesh beneath the wound.
Only Rot sludge and hollow, bubble-like structures.
Threadlike Rot energy extended from both halves of the corpse, connecting them together.
The Dragonkin Soldier's body gradually fused back into one piece.
Once restored, it threw back its head and released a deafening roar.
The sound, however, was twisted and unnatural.
Nothing like the cry of a living creature.
Watching the Dragonkin Soldier rise from the dead, Lucian frowned.
Why?
He had already absorbed the runes.
Staring at the obvious seam where the body had been stitched together, he quickly reached a conclusion.
The creature before him was merely wearing the Dragonkin Soldier's shell.
The God of Rot had poured power into the corpse, forcibly holding it together.
In a sense, it had become an entirely different lifeform.
Lucian licked his lips.
A gleam appeared in his eyes.
He still didn't fully understand the mechanism.
But wasn't this basically an infinite rune farm?
Since he was effectively siphoning power directly from the God of Rot, why overthink it?
Kill it. Collect runes. Repeat.
While Lucian's attention was drawn to the Dragonkin Soldier's resurrection, the Vessel of Rot quietly gathered power in the background.
Rot petals drifted silently throughout the battlefield.
Surrounded by Rot everywhere, their presence was nearly impossible to detect.
Once the density of petals reached a certain threshold, the Vessel of Rot struck its staff against the ground.
Detonating all of them at once.
Lucian's entire body was engulfed by the power of Scarlet Rot.
Yet a figure wreathed in flame casually waved a hand.
The dense corruption was instantly blown away.
Pushing his lingering flame to its absolute limit, Lucian left no opening for the Rot to invade.
As for the physical damage from the explosion?
It probably wasn't even as severe as the injuries he sustained from continuously burning himself with the lingering flame.
Lucian raised a hand and looked at the raging fire enveloping it.
A smile appeared on his face.
The God of Rot's power truly was extraordinary.
Even while surrounded by roaring flames, he could still feel the corruption constantly attempting to invade him.
That pure Rot power was fundamentally different from the Scarlet Rot visible on the surface.
Yet when confronted with fire, it was just as powerless.
And this exchange had also given Lucian a rough estimate of the God of Rot's current strength.
Even while sealed, it could still unleash attacks befitting a being of its level.
Very powerful.
Unfortunately for it, Lucian happened to be its natural counter.
As for the Vessel of Rot itself, its power was only around the peak of the demigod level.
Anything beyond that was more than this vessel could endure.
If the God of Rot in its normal state was like firing sulfuric acid from a high-pressure water cannon—
Then the Vessel of Rot was more like spraying sulfuric acid from a toy squirt gun.
The main reason its attacks remained so dangerous was that the source of the power was of an incredibly high tier.
Naturally, the techniques it produced carried immense destructive force.
But as long as the Rot couldn't infect him, all of that became meaningless.
Thinking about it, even if Malenia entered her second phase in the future, she probably wouldn't cause Lucian much trouble.
After a moment's thought, Lucian summoned Asimi from within himself.
She was still digesting the power absorbed from the Mimic Tear Chalice and seemed half-asleep.
The Dragonkin Soldier had entered Scarlet Rot, but its moveset remained the same.
And frankly, it wasn't strong enough to interest Lucian.
The Vessel of Rot, on the other hand, was far more intriguing.
As for farming runes...
It was too tedious.
A proper auto-farming tool would be much better.
So Lucian decided to hand the Dragonkin Soldier over to Asimi and let her grind runes to her heart's content.
Asimi blinked groggily after being dragged out so suddenly.
She looked utterly confused.
Lucian pointed toward the Dragonkin Soldier and nodded.
"Go."
"Kill it until it stops getting back up."
"I don't care how many times it revives. Just keep killing it."
Then he pulled out the Shadow of the Stars katana, stuffed it into her hands, and threw her toward the battlefield.
Asimi was still processing the situation, tilting her head while floating through the air.
The Dragonkin Soldier opened its jaws wide and lunged to swallow her whole.
The next moment—
Asimi burst out through the back of its skull, covered in sticky Scarlet Rot.
Holding the Shadow of the Stars in hand, her eyes gradually sharpened.
She still didn't fully understand what was happening.
But she understood one thing.
It was time for slaughter.
Her lord was right.
Just kill.
Asimi quickly engaged the corrupted Dragonkin Soldier.
Although "engaged" was perhaps the wrong word.
It was really a one-sided massacre.
At this point, Asimi possessed over ninety percent of Lucian's power.
The Rot-corrupted Dragonkin Soldier, meanwhile, had only barely stepped into demigod territory.
In other words...
It was roughly on the level of Godrick.
Asimi couldn't even be bothered to use her sword.
One kick shattered the Dragonkin Soldier's waist into two pieces.
Like a stray dog kicked aside on the roadside.
Then she casually followed up with a slash from the Shadow of the Stars, cleanly severing its roaring, twisted head.
Another death.
Another influx of runes flowed into Lucian's body.
Meanwhile, Lucian was thoroughly enjoying his battle with the Vessel of Rot.
Although the Vessel's corruption was completely countered by the lingering flame, its physical capabilities were extremely formidable.
A true small-workshop product.
No concern for quality control, just keep stuffing more materials inside.
Lucian wasn't using any weapon now.
Instead, he activated his Great Rune and expanded his body to its maximum size.
Against the blazing sun-like flames, the Vessel's Rot was useless.
Without its special abilities, it was reduced to little more than raw stats.
And if that was all it had...
Then it posed no special threat.
Lucian welcomed the opportunity.
It had been a long time since he had been able to fight this freely.
As his body expanded under the Great Rune's influence, his attributes shifted dramatically.
The Perception stat that had surpassed its limit began to decrease.
The same happened to several of his other attributes.
At the same time, however—
Both Vigor and Strength surged to their maximum values.
Both broke past their limits.
Unlike Perception, which offered only indirect benefits in battle, Vigor and Strength existed purely for warriors seeking bloody combat.
The Vessel of Rot charged toward him at incredible speed.
The massive antlers atop its head gleamed ominously.
But waiting for it was Lucian, now large enough to confront it head-on.
Lucian seized both antlers with his hands.
The impact forced him backward, carving two deep trenches through the ground.
Yet he stopped the charge.
Stopped it dead.
Facing the Vessel of Rot, which still towered above him, Lucian locked eyes with the creature.
One hand continued restraining its head.
The other launched a brutal punch.
The Vessel twisted its broken ancestral spirit skull and snapped its jaws toward Lucian's flaming fist.
But Lucian's strike was faster.
Before the bite could connect, he adjusted the trajectory of his punch and slammed it directly into the creature's jaw.
The Vessel's head snapped backward.
Its entire body lifted off the ground.
The sound of shattering bones echoed through the air.
Yet the corruption quickly stitched everything back together.
With its head thrown back, the Vessel suddenly struck.
Its other claw shot upward from below, aiming directly at Lucian's chest and abdomen.
Within those hollow eye sockets, there seemed to be a trace of cunning.
Having an extra mouth capable of attacking was one of the advantages of a beast's body in close combat.
The claw pierced straight through Lucian's torso.
Yet he didn't care in the slightest.
Grabbing the arm, he yanked it out of his own body.
Then he twisted.
The limb folded like a rope being wrung dry.
Corrupt fluid splashed across him, only to be burned away by the lingering flame.
The wounds healed slowly under the constant burning of the flame.
But they weren't serious enough to affect the fight.
And that was all that mattered.
A satisfied smile spread across Lucian's face.
It had been a very long time since he'd enjoyed a battle this much.
Since his duel against General Radahn at Redmane Castle, most enemies he had encountered weren't even close to his level.
As for Mohg, his abilities were simply too troublesome.
The man spent more time running around than fighting head-on.
And after receiving empowerment from Formless Mother, Mohg's strength had become so absurd that Lucian had been forced to rely on his "cheat" abilities to finish the battle.
Enemies like the Vessel of Rot, essentially a pure-stat opponent from Lucian's perspective, were actually quite rare.
After suffering Lucian's counterattack, the Vessel silently retreated.
Its arm hung at an unnatural angle.
Soon enough, the corruption repaired it completely.
Once its body had recovered, the Vessel began leaping repeatedly through the air, searching for an opening.
Lucian lowered his stance slightly.
Then he exploded forward.
His entire body crashed directly into the Vessel's chest.
The creature's emaciated torso caved inward dramatically.
That tackle—
Was payback for the charge from earlier.