After dealing with Elder Inquisitor Jori, Lucian did not leave immediately.
Once he had confirmed there were no surviving enemies nearby, he first picked up the large golden staff that had remained completely intact on the ground.
Its name was Barbed Staff-Spear.
After taking it into his hands, Lucian gave it an experimental swing.
When it had been wielded by the Hornsent elder, it had clearly functioned as a sacred seal, and even now he could distinctly feel the tremendous Faith scaling imbued within it.
But...
The sheer heft of the weapon made it feel unbelievably satisfying to swing.
And then there was the name.
Staff-Spear...
So this thing really was just a giant spear?
That was certainly unusual.
Who would have thought someone could cast the Tower's incantations using a massive spear?
After a moment's thought, however, Lucian no longer found it strange.
At the end of the day, it was simply a weapon that also served as a catalyst for incantations.
Those weren't exactly unheard of, they were just relatively uncommon.
The Sword of Night and Flame in his possession could cast sorceries.
Even Sir Gideon Ofnir's scepter could perform both sorceries and incantations.
Though, once it ended up in the player's hands, Gideon's staff became little more than a glorified club.
That was honestly kind of funny.
Lucian raised the Barbed Staff-Spear high overhead and poured magic into it, testing its weapon skill.
Throughout Jori's life, torture had pierced both his own existence and the lives of countless others.
That obsession had lingered within this instrument of punishment, becoming the weapon's Ash of War.
The next moment, every dense golden barb adorning the spear lit up in succession.
A relentless stream of golden crescents burst forth without pause.
The sheer rate of fire was practically an incantation machine gun.
After testing the weapon skill once, Lucian nodded in satisfaction.
Golden Arc might only be the most basic Tower incantation.
And his own Faith wasn't particularly high.
Yet with this weapon's enhancement, the attack's power was still astonishing.
Lucian nodded again before storing it away.
Another toy acquired.
No...
By this point, it was honestly one of the better Faith weapons in his arsenal.
The only problem was...
He had accumulated so many toys that he rarely found opportunities to actually use them.
After putting away Jori's final possession, Lucian looked behind him.
Embedded within the cliffside was a stone passageway constructed from stacked bricks.
Judging from its appearance, it seemed to be part of a cemetery.
Lucian guessed this was probably the normal route leading into the valley.
They had simply bypassed it by using teleportation.
Later, they could follow this cemetery passage back upward and see where the other exit led.
But for now...
Their priority remained the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
—
Lucian led the group deeper into the mist-shrouded valley.
Everywhere they looked, traces of destruction left behind by the Frenzied Flame scarred the landscape.
Unlike the unmistakable aura of the Lord of Frenzied Flame himself, the lesser Frenzied Flame creatures were much harder to detect in an environment like this.
To ensure none of them escaped, Lucian chose not to have Liliana teleport them forward.
Instead, they carefully searched the valley as they advanced.
The valley, however, was enormous.
The journey was long, and the atmosphere of madness that permeated the place gradually wore on everyone's nerves.
After walking for some time, Irina's breathing steadily grew heavier.
She still had strength left, but the first signs of exhaustion had begun to show.
Seeing this, Lucian quietly shook his head.
He blew the Spectral Steed Whistle, intending to summon Torrent so the spectral steed could carry Melina and Irina.
Yet today...
After the whistle sounded, Torrent failed to appear.
The Spectral Steed Whistle resting on Lucian's finger trembled twice before falling silent once more.
Seeing this, Melina stepped beside him and gently shook her head.
"Torrent is frightened by the Lord of Frenzied Flame's aura."
"It seems he's been thoroughly scared."
Lucian raised an eyebrow, finding the situation strangely amusing.
Torrent had always feared nothing.
No matter how dangerous the battlefield, the loyal steed had always carried him charging fearlessly into combat.
So why had he suddenly become timid today?
Ever since the two of them had crossed that final invisible line in their relationship, they had become even more attuned to one another's thoughts.
As though she had read his mind, Melina smiled faintly and explained,
"Don't blame him."
"The Frenzied Flame is terrifying."
"Torrent is a spirit, and spirits can be consumed by its flames."
"Ordinary attacks mean nothing to him. That's the confidence his spirit body gives him."
"But if he's burned away by the Frenzied Flame..."
"Then Torrent will simply cease to exist."
"He'll be erased from the Lands Between completely."
Lucian sighed softly and abandoned the idea.
Torrent had worked tirelessly for him all this time.
He deserved a day off.
Lucian suddenly recalled the Frenzied Flame ending.
The Spectral Steed Whistle that Melina picked up from the ashes...
By then, Torrent had likely already been burned away by the Lord of Frenzied Flame who had succumbed to madness.
Lucian snapped his fingers.
A gentle breeze wrapped itself around Irina.
She immediately floated into the air, carried forward effortlessly by the wind at the same pace as the rest of the group.
After a brief moment of surprise, she simply relaxed and obediently allowed the breeze to carry her along.
At the same time, Lucian turned to Liliana with concern.
"I've been meaning to ask."
"Are you sure bringing Irina here was a good idea?"
"I promised her father I'd keep her safe."
"And now you've brought her straight into a place this dangerous."
"If the Lord of Frenzied Flame breaks free..."
"I can't even guarantee she'll be safe."
Earlier, when they had set out, Liliana hadn't asked for anyone's opinion.
She had simply teleported all of them here in a hurry.
Originally, Lucian had intended to come alone.
At most, he would have brought Melina.
The two of them possessed more than enough strength and were fully confident they could handle the Frenzied Flame.
As for Lucian...
He had Mod.
There wasn't much else that needed saying.
And Melina?
He wasn't worried about her in the slightest.
After all...
She was the woman capable of hunting the Lord of Frenzied Flame alone across the ruined Lands Between.
Now that the Mimic Tear had restored her physical body, her strength was beyond question.
The Lord of Frenzied Flame before them was nothing compared to the one from the Frenzied Flame ending.
That version was the player character, the true Lord of Frenzied Flame.
A monster whose flames were powerful enough to transform the Erdtree into a blazing torch of madness, burning the entire Lands Between and returning everything to the primordial chaos.
If Melina dared pursue that being alone...
Then naturally she had confidence in her own abilities.
With the two of them fighting side by side...
And Asimi joining in to make it a three-on-one...
Even the Lord of Frenzied Flame would have to kneel.
Liliana coming along made sense.
Fairies possessed extraordinary powers, and she was needed to guide them.
But bringing Irina...
That was something Lucian had never anticipated.
After Irina inherited the fairy legacy, Lucian had imagined that one day they might fight together.
After all, the legendary Blue Dancer had already proven how powerful a fairy's successor could become.
Irina's future potential was unquestionably immense.
But...
That day was definitely not today.
The current Irina was still far too weak.
She had yet to fully inherit the fairy's power.
She had previously explained to Lucian some of the changes brought about by that inheritance.
Besides the obvious changes to her appearance, her physical abilities would continue to improve, gradually transforming into something beyond ordinary mortals.
But she was still nowhere near that stage.
Her transformation had only just begun.
Bringing her here to face the Lord of Frenzied Flame was far beyond what she should be capable of.
Even if saying so in front of Irina might hurt her feelings, this concerned her safety.
Lucian couldn't afford to worry about sparing her pride.
Liliana waved a hand dismissively.
"It's fine. Irina inherited the fairy's power from me..."
Lucian interrupted her.
"I know the fairy's inheritance is incredibly powerful."
"The Blue Dancer even sealed the God of Rot with the Flowing Sword."
"But Irina still can't fully utilize that power, and her transformation isn't complete. Facing the Frenzied Flame is still far too dangerous."
Irina lowered her head without saying a word.
Precisely because...
She wanted to be able to help Lucian.
But she also understood that there was no way he could allow her to confront the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
Liliana smiled.
"It's okay. Once we actually encounter the Frenzied Flame, you'll understand why I'm so confident."
"I can't guarantee she'll be safe from every kind of attack."
"But as long as I'm beside her, the Frenzied Flame can't harm Irina."
"And besides, she isn't here to fight the Lord of Frenzied Flame."
"She's only here to ensure the seal is restored."
"And that's something only she can do."
Irina timidly raised her head.
"She's right..."
"The fairy's power... is specifically meant to oppose the Frenzied Flame."
"It seems... I'm the only one who can seal the Lord of Frenzied Flame..."
"I want to be of help to you, Sir Lucian."
"So... please let me come."
Lucian sighed softly.
He still wasn't entirely convinced.
But if resealing the Lord of Frenzied Flame truly required Irina's power...
And Liliana was willing to guarantee that the Frenzied Flame itself couldn't harm her...
Then there wasn't much left for him to object to.
As long as she stayed out of the fighting and remained under Liliana's protection, things would probably be alright.
At worst, they could keep the two of them far away until the battle was over.
Then Irina could come over afterward and finish sealing the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
—
They continued forward for quite some time.
The aura of the Frenzied Flame grew increasingly oppressive.
Liliana suddenly warned them,
"There are definitely Frenzied Flame creatures ahead."
"I don't know what kind they are, so stay alert."
"Some of them are especially good at ambushes."
Lucian nodded, silently raising his guard.
Then, he noticed several faint gray markings glowing on the ground ahead.
He froze for a moment before immediately walking over to inspect them.
There were three messages left behind by previous travelers.
"Don't let it see you..."
"Once you are seen, there is no escape."
"It cannot even be touched."
The distorted handwriting conveyed nothing but terror.
A short distance farther ahead lay one final message.
"HIDE IN THE GRASS!!!"
The words twisted wildly across the ground, making it impossible to imagine what horrors their author had experienced.
These were messages left by Tarnished from the ancient days, before they had become truly Tarnished.
Someone had ventured into this valley even back then?
It seemed that after the Frenzied Flame first erupted, this place had gone unmanaged for quite some time, allowing explorers to wander inside.
Only after the influence of the Frenzied Flame spread out of the valley and reached the surface was the Lord of Frenzied Flame finally discovered and the Inquisitors dispatched to capture and seal him.
Turning his attention back to the messages, Lucian fell into thought.
It seemed the enemy couldn't be touched directly.
Or perhaps...
Those people simply hadn't possessed the means to deal with it.
"Once you are seen, there is no escape..."
That statement wasn't especially useful.
If something overwhelmingly stronger fixed its eyes on you, escaping was usually impossible anyway.
As for hiding in the grass...
Could it be that the creature had terrible eyesight?
Finding no additional clues, Lucian simply shook his head.
He turned toward the others.
"I'll take the lead."
"You all stay back."
"If anything unexpected happens, don't come over unless I tell you to."
Melina nodded first.
She trusted Lucian absolutely.
Whatever he chose to do, she would support him without hesitation.
Liliana and Irina looked surprised by his decision and couldn't help worrying.
But after remembering Lucian's strength, they eventually nodded in agreement.
Instead of following the message's advice and hiding in the grass, Lucian openly walked straight down the path.
The others followed far behind, remaining just at the edge of his vision.
It wasn't long before he finally encountered the "thing" mentioned in the messages.
Its head had been replaced by an enormous mass of brilliant yellow Frenzied Flame eyes.
The countless eyeballs bulged grotesquely like a massive tumor.
Supporting that gigantic head was only a gaunt, shadow-shrouded body, barely capable of bearing such an absurd weight.
Lucian's eyes widened.
No wonder those previous explorers had been terrified.
This thing didn't even look like it belonged in the Lands Between.
If anything...
It looked as though it had wandered in from the Lovecraftian nightmare of Bloodborne instead.
The instant Lucian spotted the creature...
Every single one of the countless eyes atop its head turned toward him simultaneously.
In the next instant, the Frenzied Flame creature vanished.
Without a moment's hesitation, Lucian lunged forward.
The monster's staff thrust harmlessly past the spot where he had just been standing.
As he evaded the attack, flames burst from his hand.
The blazing power of the sun erupted outward.
Yet as the fire engulfed the creature, Lucian frowned.
He could clearly feel it.
The flames passed straight through its body without causing the slightest damage.
'Can't hit it?'
'No... impossible.'
There couldn't possibly be an invincible creature like this in the Lands Between.
If ordinary Frenzied Flame creatures couldn't even be struck...
Then no one would ever have been capable of dealing with the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
There had to be something special about this particular type of enemy.
At that moment, as he stared into the countless yellow eyes, whispers of maddening insanity echoed beside his ears.
Faint hallucinations flickered before his vision.
So this was how Madness accumulated.
Lucian remained perfectly calm.
Instead, he quietly observed the enemy before him.
Soon enough...
He figured it out.
'This thing probably possesses some kind of phasing ability.'
His earlier solar flames hadn't struck during the instant it attacked.
By the time the flames reached it, the creature had already returned to its intangible state.
Realizing this, Lucian smiled.
"So what if you can phase?"
"You think hiding means I can't hit you?"
He drew the Sword of Night and Flame.
Without using any additional powers...
He simply delivered a plain, straightforward slash.
The Sword of Night and Flame gently distorted space itself.
There was nowhere left for the Frenzied Flame creature to hide.
Even while remaining intangible...
Its grotesque, eye-covered head was cleanly split in two.