There's a good saying in playwriting: if a gun appears in one act, it's definitely going to be fired in the next.
When Goki entered this tomb and saw the Sarcophagus sealed with layers of heavy golden chains, and the charred bodies on the ground, he had already anticipated the upcoming plot.
As an Old Hunter who had suffered through all sorts of conspiracies in Miyazaki's games and personally experienced Yharnam for countless years, Goki was all too familiar with such settings.
Not to mention being a Hunter, even when he was working in the Nexus slaying demons, he didn't know how many times he had been ambushed and killed by small monsters playing dead on the ground.
There were many locked coffins in the church town! Coffins that heavy, weren't they just for someone to crawl out of?
All those charred bodies, weren't they just waiting to suddenly wake up and scare people?!
And within him, the deep-sea blood craving power, and the activated flames constantly hitting the bottle walls, also proved this point.
On the walls, ancient murals, well-preserved and unoxidized, vividly recorded the identity of the sealed entity.
In the murals, a Flame Giant as vast as a mountain battled numerous strange monsters—pure Incarnations of Light, and Frost Goddesses forged from ice and snow.
Even the entity that stirred up waves and tsunamis, crawling from the deep southern sea onto the parched, hot land, resembling both a sea anemone and a squid, had a section of its body severed by the Giant's massive blade, which could almost incinerate the entire world, and fell into weakness.
However, in later murals, a Mortal raised a long whip in his hand, leading thousands of tiny beings behind him, charging towards the magnificent Flame Giant.
Ultimately, although the path of conquest was almost successful, the territory of Sargon was expanded, and the God with golden eyes was overjoyed by the warriors' sacrifice.
Thus, under the illumination of the golden eyes, heroes from various tribes gathered, and under the protection of flying yellow sand, launched the final decisive battle, also defeating the King of Flames and severing his sword-wielding arm.
In the last mural, the arm and greatsword of that entity were sealed separately in two locations within the Rainforest.
Of course, in the murals, this information wasn't very obvious.
But for Goki, a professional who had not only studied Gods but also slain them, the hidden story was almost cliché.
As long as something evil is sealed, someone is bound to accidentally release it.
So, when the researchers prepared to use hydraulic shears and laser cutters, powered by Originium energy, to cut the gleaming alloy chains, Goki knew it was time for a fight.
Big Zongzi (a type of powerful zombie) were about to emerge from the tomb!
"Ah—––"
In the spacious temple, the scream of a Sargon mercenary was the first to break everyone's enthusiasm for snatching treasures.
A Liberi, who had just taken a golden spear from the hand of a corpse, was suddenly pounced upon by another dried corpse facing the door.
"Roar!!!"
A hoarse roar erupted from its withered vocal cords, and the charred corpse, which had originally been preparing to rush out the door, suddenly came to life.
Red light flickered across its body as it opened its charred mouth, revealing broken and sharp white teeth, and with one bite, it directly pierced through the protective suit, tearing off a large chunk of bloody flesh.
"Ah ah ah ah!"
Poof—
The next second, a crossbow bolt shot through the air, barely managing to pierce the charred, emaciated dried corpse before stopping, but it at least interrupted the attack.
"What's going on, what the hell is this—ah, damn it!"
But before he could finish his sentence, he was pounced to the ground by another charred corpse and began to be torn apart.
In this spacious area of seven to eight hundred square meters, hundreds of charred corpses, which had been frozen in the river of time for nearly a millennium, suddenly came to life after a red glow appeared on their bodies.
Except for a few corpses facing the altar that had once worn gold, all the other dried corpses that had been climbing towards the main entrance stiffly rose like puppets.
They shook off the charred fragments from their bodies, twisted their withered and rigid limbs, and with movements that completely defied the laws of physics and speeds beyond ordinary people, they rushed towards the nearest living being.
"Shieldguards, form up!"
Unlike the panic of ordinary mercenaries, many, including Blacksteel mercenaries, immediately entered combat.
Heavy Shieldguards slammed down their shields, Vanguards drew their swords, and Sniper Operators raised their crossbows and firearms. Everyone attacked these tough corpses while quickly gathering towards the altar.
"Damn it, what the hell is this!"
"Who cares, crossbow bolts seem to penetrate them, and they die when killed—it's no big deal, Caster!"
"Got it! It's a bit hot in here, my Spell isn't that—suitable!"
Clenching her hands in the air, a Cattus mercenary sorceress with a pair of rabbit ears, her eyes flickering with the white spiritual light of Originium Arts activation, threw something forward.
Originium energy condensed into two ice arrows in the air. These were some of the most common ice Originium Arts, with power not inferior to crossbow bolts, and they could also freeze the enemy's blood, simple and practical.
Clang—
However, this bone-chilling frost, which usually made hostile mercenaries unable to hold their swords, melted rapidly like it had hit a branding iron when it struck the reanimated corpse in front of her.
The lava-like red patterns on the charred corpse froze for a moment upon impact with this Originium Arts, cooling down like lava doused with water.
"Roar!!!!"
But then, the charred corpse forcibly tore open its already fused mouth, revealing huge and sharp teeth, letting out an earth-shattering roar, and fierce flames ignited in its dark and hollow eyes.
The Originium Arts did not have much effect; instead, they ignited the Battle Intent of these monsters. Several charred corpses rose from the ground and rushed over nimbly and swiftly.
"Ah, quick, block them—hey!"
The Nona Cattus looked left and right, but was surprised to find that her original teammates had already formed a defensive line more than ten meters behind her, seemingly having abandoned her.
Mercenaries were all desperate individuals; except for a few kinsmen, no one would be willing to risk their lives to save these colleagues with whom they had been drinking and laughing just yesterday.
"You bunch of bastards—ah!"
Watching three charred corpses, climbing on all fours like a pack of dogs, rushing towards her with their dark mouths agape, the Nona Cattus was actually intimidated by their terrifying Aura and dared not move, even the Originium spiritual light in her hands dissipated, and she closed her eyes, awaiting the arrival of pain and death.
"Roar—––"
However, the imagined pain did not occur. The Caster opened her eyes and saw a somewhat familiar male, clad in a charred robe, standing in front of her.
Clang—crack!
Gripping an extended two-handed axe tightly, Goki, filled with strength, drew an arc in the air with the axe.
Axe King, I'll take your wife!
The Counter Helix dealt true damage, an attack that could completely drain Goki's stamina bar, and its effect was outstanding, directly cutting two charred corpses in half in mid-air.
"Ugh, so hot."
Beside him, Manticore also erupted with powerful physical prowess. Her huge scorpion tail pierced through the charred corpse in mid-air, and after the ethereal purple Spell spikes impaled it, she slammed it to the ground, shattering it to pieces.
Manticore's strength was even greater than Goki's; although she was an assassin, she was the kind who could go on a rampage.
But after defeating the enemy, she grimaced and flicked her tail.
The bodies of these monsters were like scorching hot coals, causing Manticore some pain.
"Don't make physical contact with them; these things are all fire-elemental... It's normal for fire to counter ice."
Standing in front of the Cattus mercenary, Goki looked at the black-haired rabbit sister behind him—although their appearances were very different, she still reminded him of a certain white rabbit still in Ursus.
Helping out wouldn't hurt.
"Since your colleague just said that you ladies should protect me, then you all better provide good cover for me—alright, go back."
"Oh, thank you, truly thank you—this will help you cool down."
Nodding gratefully, the female Caster flicked her hand before turning and running off. Immediately, a cool, frosty armor formed on Goki's clothes.
As for Manticore… of course, she didn't get any. In the eyes of the female Caster, the charred corpse merely leaped strangely into the air and crashed directly onto the ground.
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"Hmm…"
Manticore wagged her tail in disappointment, but Goki merely smiled, looking at the chaotic scene before him and silently pulling out a blood-stained yellow paper.
"Alright, go protect your mission target. I'll be fine on my own."
"Eh, are you sure?"
"Go. You have a job to do too."
"Okay, you two must be careful—they can see me too."
Seeing the charred corpses that had targeted her, Manticore stopped thinking, turned, and ran towards the altar to protect her client.
————
"Mr. Parvis, these reanimated corpses are assaulting our defenses. Please evacuate as soon as possible."
Wearing full protective gear and holding a shield and a small firearm, a tall Vouivre / Wyvern male approached the opened Sarcophagus and reported to the leader of the expedition.
"I understand. We will leave once we have what we need. Prepare for evacuation."
Adjusting his glasses, Parvis, the head of Rhine Lab's Structure Department, remained calm even with the sounds of battle raging in his ears.
Before him, the heavy Sarcophagus had been pushed open, revealing its contents.
A richly dressed mummified corpse, barely recognizable as female, lay quietly in the coffin, clutching a gold-inlaid riding crop.
"Look, this is the great pioneer, Pasha of the Southern Horizon, the Conqueror King. Who would have thought she wouldn't be buried in the sands of her Family, but instead slumber here in the southern Empire."
And in her arms was a pure gold casket, half a body length long. On the gold casket, the same golden eyes were faintly visible.
However, this heavy casket had already melted for the most part, revealing within it an arm, blazing like magma.
That arm was indeed a human arm, but it was thicker and larger, even several times thicker than a Sarkaz's arm.
With a hint of respect and eagerness on his calm face, Parvis pursed his lips at the researchers beside him.
Two of them immediately poured a tube of steaming liquid nitrogen, while two drones flying around began spraying more efficient coolant.
Soon, the blazing arm cooled back to black and was picked up with tongs by two researchers, who also wielded ice-type Originium Arts, and placed into a special cryogenic chamber.
After all this was done, an anxious voice suddenly came from the air next to Parvis.
"Mr. Parvis, Gao—those guides are still surrounded. Shouldn't we rescue them too?!"
As soon as these words were uttered, Elwin, who was hiding behind a Blacksteel Shieldguard on the other side, watching the hundred corpses marching at night in terror, immediately squeezed out a sharp sound from his throat.
"Guides? Rescue people? Are you crazy?! Those natives will only cause us trouble, and with three women, they'll only hold us back. How could we possibly go and rescue them?!"
Although terror was on his face, Elwin was secretly laughing in his heart.
"Let them fend for themselves, Manticore. Your mission is only to protect Mr. Parvis. Don't do anything extra, understand?!"
[Heh, I originally planned to make a move, but it seems Heaven is helping me take care of you, hahaha—too bad I won't see him torn limb from limb.]
Recalling the contemptuous look the man named Goki gave him, Elwin looked at the tide of corpses constantly assaulting the mercenary line, only to be pushed back by several Vouivre / Wyverns, and felt a surge of satisfaction.
Whoosh—bang!
"Roar!"
But then, from one direction of the line, several charred corpses suddenly flew into the sky.
"I'll go, I'll go—"
Then, to the mercenaries' astonishment, several charred corpses closest to the line were suddenly struck from behind by a slender, snow-white hand, directly shattering into several pieces of pitch-black charcoal.
The white-haired, red-eyed girl clapped the black ash from her hands, standing calmly before the generally dumbfounded mercenaries.
"I'll go—this youngster."
Watching the swift and tough living corpses easily smashed into fragments by this seemingly delicate girl, all the mercenaries who had just teased Goki and Skadi couldn't help but swallow.
Being too close to living people, Skadi dared not use her big spin attack, so she could only directly smash these abominations with her bare hands.
In her opinion, these monsters were no different from Seaborn.
"Ha, my childhood memories are truly shattered now—you, who's injured? Are there medics? Come for emergency treatment!"
"Stop talking about that, hurry up and tell everyone to come out and fight!"
Behind her, Gavial and Tomimi brandished their staffs. As a doctor and a Caster, they relied on brute force to knock away one priest after another.
As for Goki, he straightened his hat and, with a precise vertical cleave, easily sliced a living corpse into two.
blood echoes + 216
In the Yharnam dungeons, these charred-corpse-like monsters are abundant, though not as agile as these "Flame Giant's kin."
This is indeed a good place to farm blood echoes, but now, Goki has a more important goal.
He rubbed the fire paper on the axe blade, causing it to burn with raging flames, and looked towards the cryogenic chamber containing the ancient relic.
"Alright, everyone, you should need guides, right—do you want to retreat?"
He could feel that what he wanted was inside.
Although it had been cooled by liquid nitrogen, it was clearly poised to erupt.
Seeing Skadi's power, and Goki igniting raging flames in his axe with just a thin piece of paper, without any Originium Arts energy fluctuations, Parvis's gaze showed a hint of curiosity.
"You've released something extraordinary, Mr. Parvis. My advice is that it's best for humans not to possess such extremely dangerous things that exceed current theoretical knowledge."
Meeting Parvis's gaze, Goki asked a question for which he already knew the answer.
But as a Hunter, he still needed to ask.
"Human progress lies in this continuous exploration. For this, we can sacrifice everything, including myself… Lead the way, Mr. Goki."
Goki nodded.
"Alright, let's go."
Now, he would have less psychological burden when snatching things.
Moreover… [What are you pretending to be, my prey?]
Looking at the increasingly blazing flames on the Hunter's axe, a faint white light emanated from Goki's narrowed eyes.
——————
"Stop. Unauthorized personnel are forbidden."
"Wait, isn't that the one on the wanted poster—wait, don't come closer!"
On the ground, seeing a Sarkaz woman in a dress, the mercenaries guarding the temple entrance remembered something and all raised their crossbows, pointing them at her.
But the red-haired Sarkaz girl, without hesitation, directly brandished the magic sword in her hand.
"This is it. I must, Seal, no, Liberate—laevatein!"
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