Greater Will

"Why keep him alive...?"

Lin Luo looked at Melina and spoke softly.

"If he curses you again next time, just kill him."

"I... wanted to wait until you came back. Maybe... he could still be useful..."

Melina's face was still flushed, and her soft, sweet voice made Lin Luo feel somewhat...

"That's true..."

Lin Luo looked at Gostoc. Indeed, he could not be allowed to die so easily...

Seeing the look in Lin Luo's eyes, Gostoc felt a chill run down his spine, yet he still cursed aloud.

"Lowly Tarnished, no matter how powerful you are! You are still nothing more than something abandoned by the Erdtree!"

Gostoc erupted and continued hurling insults at Lin Luo.

"Come on! Kill me, lowly Tarnished! One day, you and that stupid wom—"

"Bang!"

Another vicious kick from Lin Luo shattered half of Gostoc's teeth.

Lin Luo could not be bothered to look at Gostoc. He took several Lordsworn's Greatswords from his inventory pouch and infused his right hand with a small amount of Death Runes.

"Die? Don't worry. You will die."

Lin Luo grabbed Gostoc, flung him against the wall, then drove the sharp Lordsworn's Greatswords through his limbs, pinning him there.

"Ah! Ngh!"

Gostoc let out an enraged, agonized howl.

"Kill! Kill me, lowly Tarnished!"

"Are you done calling me a lowly Tarnished every other sentence?"

Lin Luo strode over and slapped Gostoc hard across the face.

Then he pulled several Warming Stones from his inventory pouch and tossed them beside Gostoc. The stones gave off a gentle glow that shone over everyone, and Gostoc's wounds actually began to heal...

"Y-you... what are you trying to do!?"

Fear finally appeared in Gostoc's eyes. He was not afraid of death. Even if he died, he would return to the Erdtree anyway. But that did not mean he was not afraid of pain!

"You thought dying would solve everything, didn't you...?"

Lin Luo spread his hands.

"After all... the Erdtree will reclaim wandering souls like yours, and then you'll be reborn..."

"What a pity..."

"I won't just make sure you die painfully. I'll make sure you die completely!"

Lin Luo released Melina from his embrace and took out the Spirit Calling Bell from his inventory pouch.

The bell chimed softly, crisp and pleasant...

But to Gostoc, it was the death knell calling for his soul...

A white Scarlet Rot Hound spirit ash slowly emerged. Not only were its teeth exceptionally sharp, but they also carried the aura of Scarlet Rot...

"No! You can't do this! I'm begging you, kill me! I was wrong! I shouldn't have gone to report you! I deserve to die, I deserve to die!"

Gostoc cried out in terror. If the hound before him was the final straw that broke him, then the Death Runes leaking from the swords impaling his limbs were the true source of his fear!

"It seems you still don't understand how serious this is..."

Lin Luo slowly released Melina and took out an Uplifting Aromatic from his inventory pouch. It was meant to increase attack power, but it could also keep someone energized enough to prevent them from passing out.

He stuffed it straight into Gostoc's mouth, then gagged him with a rag.

"Repent properly!"

Lin Luo turned away, wrapped an arm around Melina, and headed for the door.

With a wave of his hand, the Scarlet Rot Hound began to bite and tear...

Now, all Gostoc could pray for was for the Warming Stones' effects to end sooner...

Only after doing all that did Lin Luo turn his gaze back to Melina.

He had hurriedly brought Melina out because he did not want her to see what would happen to Gostoc next. But once they came outside...

The Corpse Mountain Blood Sea within the city...

Honestly, it would have been better to watch Gostoc die.

"..."

Lin Luo swallowed, but in the end, he still spoke...

"Melina, do you think I... am not suited to be a king?"

Lin Luo sighed and sat down where he was. His hand slipped from Melina's fragrant shoulder.

"Maybe, if I become king someday... will I become a tyrant like Godrick too...?"

Lin Luo rested his chin on both hands and stared at the sky, seemingly lost in thought...

"..."

Melina said nothing. She merely sat silently beside Lin Luo, as though the corpses surrounding them had nothing to do with her.

"I once asked you why I sometimes felt a little cowardly. Why I had started showing mercy to others. You told me that maybe it was a king's compassion..."

"But when I faced those soldiers just now... I couldn't feel anything at all. I don't actually dislike this version of myself, but I still want to change, to become a qualified king. After all, they weren't a hundred ants. They were living human lives..."

It was different from the loop. In the loop, they were all spirit bodies. They did not even have blood; what flowed from their wounds was not blood, but Runes.

It was not as though Lin Luo had never mowed through enemies before, but that feeling was different from personally taking real lives.

Lin Luo felt that life deserved reverence.

But that did not mean Lin Luo would become some pushover. He also had the right to take the lives of others...

"You're mistaken... Lin Luo..."

Melina spoke gently.

"Actually... kings shape the world, not the world kings."

"You do not need to change yourself just to become something. If you do that, then you will only become king for the sake of becoming king."

"Every king is different. Why do you have to become like the kings of the past?"

Melina slowly embraced Lin Luo. She could also sense the unrest within his heart...

Her words woke him like a blow.

Lin Luo understood at once. That was right. When had he become like this? Why did he keep comparing himself to the Elden Lords of the past?

Hadn't he once said that he would become his own Elden Lord?

Lin Luo's gaze gradually cleared...

His twilight-blue and pale-yellow eyes emerged. The Frenzied Flame within him began to boil, and the Death Runes trembled.

They sensed the aura of an outside provocation!

Melina also sensed the Frenzied Flame... yet she showed neither surprise nor anger.

She did not even intend to ask Lin Luo about it. Perhaps from the moment their Runes resonated, they had already become inseparable parts of one another...

"Alright..."

Lin Luo suddenly laughed. The colors faded from his pupils, and so did his confusion and doubt. His once-dim eyes now appeared exceptionally clear and resolute.

"Greater Will, Greater Will... I underestimated you..."

Lin Luo murmured. He had not expected the Greater Will's true strength to be so lacking, while its ability to manipulate human nature was so formidable. It had actually used his weakness to force its way past the Death Runes and the Frenzied Flame to tempt him.

"I won't give you another chance!"

He directly took the Crystal Tear Necklace from his inventory pouch. It was the same kind Melina wore, a necklace crafted from crystal mirrors.

He had originally disdained wearing it. He had not expected that he had truly underestimated it.

"Lin Luo?"

Melina looked at Lin Luo in confusion, then revealed a heartfelt smile.

"It seems Lin Luo has figured it out..."

"I've decided..."

Lin Luo looked gently at Melina. He had not expected that his weakness would be Melina, but the one who helped him break free of the Greater Will's control was also Melina.

"I will become my own Elden Lord, and at the same time... I will become your... Elden Lord!"

Lin Luo looked at Melina, bent down, and kissed her pale lips...

Damn, it feels like I wrote Lin Luo and Melina's relationship too deeply. How am I supposed to write Ranni's scenes later? This sucks. I really want to slap myself.

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