Chapter 285

"Yes, but I still need to defeat them—the Ashbringers, the Lords of Cinder, unlike the Undead. Yet they are still bound by their obsessions. To descend from the Mordor, I must defeat them all. Fortunately, if the Undead's obsessions are shattered, they will turn into undead. As for the Lords of Cinder... well, I'm not sure about that either. But I already have a plan in mind."

Miss Surtr let out a soft breath—she had thought it could end there. But her recent conjecture made her change her mind.

"Finish the story of the Undead Legion, Kal'tsit." She used a slightly assertive tone.

The results satisfied her.

"Yes, Overlord Vordt ultimately succumbed to the power of the Abyss. He stole numerous relics from the White Church, attempting to use light to suppress darkness and thus dominate the Abyss instead of becoming its puppet—he almost succeeded. While seizing the power of immortality, he transformed the entire capital of Carthus into a city of the dead, forever under his rule. And just as his power spread beyond the capital, seeking to turn the entire continent into his own kingdom of the dead, the Undead Legion, having deemed him to have crossed the line, launched a purge."

Kal'tsit made a meaningless gesture.

"Regardless of likes or dislikes, young or old, the Undead Legion slaughtered all inhumans and non-humans in the heart of Carthus. The pointed hats that symbolized heroes were transformed into crowns of terrifying monsters within days. And in the end, all the dead were sealed into underground ruins by the warriors of the Undead Legion, along with the severely wounded Vordt. Thus, the status of the Undead, after their rise, experienced its greatest decline in history."

"The living realized that if they stood in the way of these heroes, they would be met not with pity but with swords. The Undead Legion's power, capable of overthrowing a unified kingdom in a matter of days, kept all newly crowned kings awake at night—and so, under pressure from all sides, when the next season of linking the First Flame arrived after Elfriede was forced to become the Lord of Cinder, the Lothric royal family and the White Order's pilgrimage to link the First Flame 'unexpectedly' suffered several failures. And when the situation seemed to be beyond saving, all voices turned to this powerful hero who had united the people."

"And so, the heroes of the Undead Legion became kings, ascending the throne of the Lord of Cinder—they left behind a legendary reputation for posterity, for this was the glory that a willing Lord of Cinder was destined to enjoy. But beyond that, in the millennia that followed, every attempt to rebuild the Farron Undead Legion ended in failure... Some strange accident always prevented the continuation of the wolf bloodline. And as the status of the undead gradually declined, slowly no cursed knight was willing to set foot in Farron and raise the blood-red banner that belonged to the Undead Legion."

She nodded to Miss Surtr, making a summarizing gesture.

"This is the story I just compiled about the Undead Legion —the bond of wolf blood and Artorias's swordsmanship, which you once lost to, should be their weaknesses. Besides them, the sealed land of the dead, Vordt, the overlord who wields the Sacred Relics and the power of the Abyss, and Elfriede, who belongs to the Abyss and possesses the body of a Lord of Cinder, are all opponents you are likely to encounter— Surtr. Is the information I've summarized useful to you?"

Surtr fell silent for a moment.

— Much of this information is information I already know.

—But that doesn't mean it was useless, because she helped me eliminate the butterfly effect... and the origin of Carthus seems to differ somewhat from the game. And Fried... phew, I remember there are quite a few Soul Eater near Farron, and Soul Eater belong to the Abyss faction. If Friede really isn't a shut-in anymore, then in these small places, she'll probably leave some clues.

"It works," she said.

"That's good." Kal'tsit breathed a soft sigh of relief. "So, how do you plan to repay me?"

That's a good question.

—Can beating someone up be considered repayment?... Okay, I'm just kidding.

"What kind of reward do you want, Kal'tsit? I will do anything I can to help you."

—Anything too outrageous is out of the question. Even though you seem to have changed your ways, I won't let my guard down easily, you bastard!

She saw Kal'tsit twist her waist, and despite being only Spirit-like Entity, a series of soft cracking sounds came from her spine.

"Give me a shoulder massage, Surtr," Miss Lynx winked playfully. "I've been sitting all night and half the morning, and my back feels so stiff I can't move—could you do me this little favor?"

—Thankfully, it was just a shoulder massage...

—Wait, why do I feel 'okay'?

The Flame-haired Girl's heart fluttered slightly, but she still gently placed her fingers on Kal'tsit's shoulders. At the moment their fingertips touched, both her hands and Kal'tsit's shoulders trembled for a fleeting moment, but they quickly restrained themselves, revealing no sign of it.

"Of course." Only then did she answer Kal'tsit's request.

With her fingertips, she gently rubbed— Miss Surtr had a vague feeling that she was probably the first person to do this to Kal'tsit. Before her, neither Kal'tsit's apprentice, Yaye, nor the Princess Kal'tsit followed, had ever touched Kal'tsit's shoulder like this.

She heard the cat making a comfortable nasal sound.

"Aren't you used to it?" she asked softly.

"Hmm, it's definitely not something I'm used to." Miss Lynx squinted, her pointed cat ears twitching. "Because before this, my shoulders had crystals growing on them due to Originium infection. Non-infected people wouldn't touch them for safety reasons, while infected people wouldn't touch them for psychological reasons."

"You're the first, Surtr ... The crystal on my shoulder disappeared, was it Persephone who did it?"

"She did it," Surtr answered honestly, loosening her grip slightly. "She not only removed the Originium crystal from your skin, but also suppressed your Originium infection rate. Now, although you are still infected, there are no obvious crystals on your skin or inside your body. In fact, once a new generation of inhibitors is developed, an infection of your level can heal itself."

"Hmm." Kal'tsit gave a soft hum, it was hard to tell whether it was from pleasure or agreement. "She probably used the same method you used to treat Frostnova, right?"

"The principle is indeed the same."

"As expected." She wore an expression of matter-of-fact, then gently closed her narrowed eyes. A soft creaking sound came from her shoulder blades and spine.

She didn't speak. Apart from the touch of Miss Surtr's fingertips, the only sound in the room was the soft sound of her breathing.

After a long while, a soft murmur, as if in a dream, escaped her lips.

"Surtr ..."

"Hmm?" Miss Surtr raised an eyebrow slightly.

"... Do you hate me?"

"Why would I hate you?" The guy, who didn't yet need to be called a red-haired bastard, answered without hesitation, "I've always respected you, Kal'tsit."

—If you could speak to me as kindly as you do now, then perhaps there would be something else besides this respect.

She thought to herself, and waited for Kal'tsit's reply.

"..." — But Kal'tsit did not answer.

Kal'tsit?

"..." — Silence remained.

Miss Surtr stopped massaging her shoulders, leaned forward to look at Kal'tsit's face—and then she realized that Kal'tsit had long since fallen into a deep sleep.

Her breathing was even and her breaths were long. Although it was surprising that Spirit-like Entity could also have the physical characteristics of a normal human, she could tell that Kal'tsit had definitely not fallen asleep just now.

"Are you asleep?"

—So what I was just talking in my sleep really was just a dream.

—She stayed up all night, was she too tired?

—She's really gone through a lot of trouble for me... but lying like that in the chair isn't good. Although I don't think she'll catch a cold, this kind of terrible sleeping position doesn't have any positive effects on her health.

She took a deep breath and silently and quietly lifted the sleeping Miss Lynx into her arms—the touch was light, even lighter than she had expected. Her movements were very gentle and careful, moving from the desk to the bedside without causing any accident that would wake the sleeping Miss Lynx.

Just like in the hospital, when you were asleep, you seemed even more beautiful to me than usual.

She gently lifted Miss Lynx and placed the girl's soft body onto the equally soft plush bed. She saw the girl's chest rise and fall rhythmically, and then she moved her fingers to tidy up Kal'tsit's slightly disheveled hair and the hem of her skirt.

He pulled a thin blanket over himself and gently covered himself with it. The slight movement of the air carried the scent of a young girl's body against his nose—the same scent he had sensed when crossing the gate to the dream world. The smell of calcite... it wasn't quite a smell, but rather a strange, tactile sensation. And this unusual sensation perfectly complemented Kal'tsit's aura.

Miss Surtr felt that her senses were returning a little faster.

—Could it be that Kal'tsit's aura is actually helping to restore my intellect?

Why am I not surprised at all? Or is it that not only her, but everyone else is the same?

She sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at the girl's sleeping face. Outside the window, the pale sunlight pierced through the sea of clouds, casting dappled golden rays along the edges of Kal'tsit's hair.