"Stop him!" Raven roared from a distance. "Block the Praetor!"
At a loss, the others instinctively moved aside, leaving only Okina to stand in Rykard's path, settling into his Azure-Eyed stance.
Rykard stomped the ground. A pillar of magma erupted diagonally, carrying him into the air.
Okina shifted half a step back. In an instant, his stance transitioned to a high guard, and he brought his blade down in a vertical slash. Though there was no grand display of sword qi or light, his invisible killing intent sliced the pillar of magma cleanly down the middle.
Rykard kicked off again mid-air. The vent on the floor gushing magma suddenly doubled in size, and a surge of fresh molten rock filled the gap split by the blade. Without slowing down, Rykard soared over Okina's head and plunged straight toward the lethal flames. His silhouette was swallowed in a heartbeat.
From start to finish, he had not looked at a single person. His pupils reflected only the swirling russet inferno.
"Is he committing suicide?" Lansseax asked, unable to comprehend. "Or does he have a way to suppress the fire of death?"
"Impossible," Raven said, gritting his teeth. "Countless souls within the Great Serpent have been ignited. Even if the Gloam-Eyed Queen herself were reborn, she could do nothing now. Even if Rykard takes the damage on behalf of the serpent, he can only delay the inevitable for a few moments—"
"The serpent's head is lifting!" Lansseax shouted, pointing ahead.
"He actually did it." Raven took a deep breath. "Lansseax, prepare to transform. Rykard must have a trump card; the situation could change at any moment."
"And what are you going to do?" Lansseax called out after Raven's retreating back.
"I'm going to drag that bastard out of the serpent!"
The Great Serpent was now completely wreathed in russet flames. A few warriors who had attempted to strike it from close range immediately paid the price, retreating in a pathetic state.
"This fire devours life force! Do not get close!" a Death-mender screamed.
A wave of thunderous hissing boomed on a metaphysical level. Unlike the serpent's previous cries, this hiss contained a terrifying spiritual force. Every listener felt as though they had been struck by a heavy sledgehammer. A few who practiced unorthodox arts—making their spirits more fragile than average—were already lying on the ground, their faces contorted and eyes rolling back.
"Where is the Praetor?" someone shouted, clutching their head. "What is happening?"
"The Praetor has been swallowed by the serpent. I am taking command!" Raven shouted, trying to maintain order. "Everyone—"
Amidst a succession of explosions, the rock of the cavern ceiling warped violently before peeling back like a curtain.
Raven thrust the Sword of Night and Flame into the ground, barely steadying himself amidst the world-shaking tremors.
His ears rang incessantly. Raven saw the people around him opening and closing their mouths, but he couldn't hear a sound. It wasn't until he cast a Quick Recovery on himself that he could finally hear what they were screaming.
"The Minor Erdtree! The Erdtree has snapped!"
Shattered earth and boulders cascaded into the lava lake, threatening to fill it entirely. Amidst the waterfall of debris, massive, shimmering golden objects were mixed in. Through the rolling dust and smoke, Raven finally saw clearly: they were the remains of the Minor Erdtree's roots.
A sliver of daylight from the outside world pierced into the mountain's interior. The volcano's wall had been forcibly blown open.
A section of the golden trunk slanted through the breach. Most of its roots had been severed by the blast; only a few dozen remained anchored in the rock, straining to keep the Erdtree's main body from falling.
The Great Serpent suddenly lunged, biting into the Minor Erdtree and using its sheer weight to drag the trunk down. The remaining roots groaned and shrieked, bending under the gravity, though they did not snap immediately.
Another series of explosions erupted near the roots as scalding steam sliced through the rock layers like blades.
Raven finally understood what was happening. The Volcano Manor had dug tunnels along the roots, planting massive quantities of Volcanic Stones and Explosive Stones to be detonated all at once. Such a project could not have been completed in a year or two; there was no telling how many years Rykard had spent preparing for this moment.
Volcanic Stone A natural stone containing high-temperature gases. One of the materials used for crafting items. Can be found on Mt. Gelmir.
Explosive Stone A small stone with a flickering flame inside. Can be thrown at enemies to cause an explosion and fire damage. A tool used by stone-digging trolls to blast through rock. The method of its production has long been lost.
The final roots were blown apart. The Minor Erdtree could no longer support itself and was dragged into the mountain's heart by the serpent.
The Great Serpent opened its massive maw and began to ravenously devour the trunk, swallowing the countless souls returning to the tree. But there were simply too many souls within the tree; they surged out in a never-ending torrent, more than even the serpent could consume.
Raven conjured a magic shield, only to find it unnecessary. A tsunami of pale souls flowed past, bringing a bone-chilling cold, but they did not attack him. They merely drifted unconsciously, pushed by the current.
All the souls had lost their faces. Their heads were as smooth as white paper, with only a few faint lines sketching the shape of a mouth. They sang hymns to the Erdtree, their voices devoid of any emotion.
In an instant, the entire lava lake was covered in pale souls, resembling a thick, churning bowl of porridge that completely obscured the red glow of the magma beneath. They had no concept of escape; many drifted back toward the serpent, only to be sucked into its maw or ignited by the fire of death. Even in the moment before they were consumed, the sound of their hymns never faltered.
The guests stood dumbfounded, paralyzed by terror and confusion. The very foundation and symbol of the Golden Lineage, the Erdtree that was destined to stand eternal in the Lands Between, had been destroyed? Even if this was only a Minor Erdtree and not the Great Erdtree of Leyndell, it was still an act of staggering sacrilege.
"The Volcano Manor... they intend to commit blasphemy!" someone finally realized.
"Was this planned by the Praetor? Or is there a rebellion in the volcano region?"
"What about the treasure? The treasure the Praetor promised from the serpent? I didn't travel all this way to go home empty-handed!"
"What's wrong with these souls? Is this what happens after returning to the tree? This isn't what the Golden Order said. No, it must be because the Erdtree was destroyed!"
"Argue all you want. Destroying an Erdtree is a capital crime. I'm having no more part in this."
Once the explosions died down, a group of people bolted for the breach in the mountain wall, clearly intending to flee the volcano and distance themselves from the situation.
Those who remained were either planning to kill the serpent to atone for their presence or were still unwilling to give up on the treasure. However, they were soon interrupted by a crowd of people sprinting along the shore—it was the party that had left earlier to search for the treasure.
Behind them was a dense, black mass of the Man-Serpent legion, their numbers beyond counting. Countless supersonic spears fell like artillery shells, each one trailing roaring flames. A few people trailing at the back exhausted every defensive art they knew, yet were blown into bloody chunks in an instant.
Now, everyone began to run.
"Raven, we should leave too!" Lansseax shouted. "These Man-Serpents are all armed. They won't be easy to deal with!"
Raven reached out. The illusory shard of the Rune of Death flew out from within the Great Serpent and landed in his palm. Compared to the beginning, the shard's form had become much more solid.
Pressing the shard of the Rune of Death against his chest, Raven closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were filled with visions of an infinite sea of stars being born and extinguished.
"Bloom."
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Elden Ring: The Unborn One's Journey Through Elden Ring(161 Chapter - Ongoing)
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