Hell on Earth

Upon entering through the main gate, there was a Grace in the passageway. After touching it, Lucian paused for a moment before preparing to take the lift into Castle Morne.

"Wait a moment."

Melina called out to Lucian.

"That seed you just picked up is a seed of the Erdtree. I can process it into a Flask of Crimson Tears for you."

Lucian had nearly forgotten about that. He handed the Erdtree seed to Melina.

Having another Flask of Crimson Tears before entering the castle would make him safer as well.

Melina accepted the Golden Seed, somehow produced a small knife, and began working on it.

"Don't worry. It won't take long."

Lucian took the opportunity to sort through his equipment.

He brought along both the halberd equipped with Storm Stomp and the Lordsworn's Greatsword.

He was quite comfortable using both weapons. One was suited for facing large groups of enemies, while the other was for stronger individual opponents.

Lucian also intended to bring a shield. If he was surrounded and did not have time to dodge, he could only rely on a shield to take the blow head-on.

He first took out the Brass Shield, but it was rather heavy. Its effectiveness when used one-handed would probably be worse, and the shield itself was on the small side.

After some thought, Lucian pulled out the Flame Crest Wooden Shield he had found in Sick Village. It was fairly long, and although it was a medium shield, it could protect a large area.

And since it was a wooden shield, it was very light. Its defense was a little lacking, but it would be more than enough against relatively weak enemies like the Misbegotten.

It seemed there was nothing else he could bring.

Suddenly, Lucian found a metal piece with the image of a golden Ancient Dragon engraved upon it.

It was the Sacred Dragoncrest Talisman Hakan had picked up for him outside the Stranded Graveyard.

Lucian had never known how talismans were used. If he could simply wear them on his body, could he not cover himself in accessories that boosted his attributes?

"Melina, do you know how to make a talisman work?"

Without stopping what she was doing, Melina took a moment to answer:

"Talismans are objects imbued with power. To make them work, you must use special methods to merge them with yourself."

"For example, swallowing them."

Lucian was stunned. Swallow a chunk of metal that large?

Melina continued.

"Besides swallowing it, there are other ways to merge with one, such as embedding it into your body."

"The safest method is a Talisman Pouch sewn by a Finger Reader Crone of the Two Fingers. The pouch deceives the talisman into believing it is inside your body."

"As for talismans, I cannot help you right now. I'm sorry."

Lucian shook his head.

"There's no need to apologize for that."

"You're my Maiden. We are supposed to rely on each other. If I had to depend on you to solve every problem, then I would be far too useless."

Melina's hands stopped moving. Since she had been working with her head lowered, Lucian could not see her face.

"As your Maiden, of course I would feel sorry for being unable to help you in a place like this."

Melina raised her head. Though she spoke of apology, the corners of her lips were faintly curled upward.

She handed Lucian the newly completed Flask of Crimson Tears.

"Use it to hold the Tears you need."

"Then I wish you success against your enemies. Whatever you do, don't die."

Lucian accepted the Flask of Crimson Tears, feeling something indescribable in his heart. In the end, he merely gave Melina a solemn promise:

"Don't worry. No matter what, I won't die here. If I die, it will only be after I bring you back to the foot of the Erdtree."

Lucian stepped onto the lift leading into Castle Morne.

The old wooden lift creaked as it rose through the mountain, but it remained fairly steady.

However, after the lift had risen to a certain height, Lucian caught a scent.

It was a foul smell that made him sick.

It was mixed with the smell of burned things, the stench of Scarlet Rot, and an intensely pungent odor of blood.

Black blood that had flowed down and congealed there gradually appeared on the rock walls beside the lift.

The higher the lift rose, the more blood there was, and the fresher it became.

Dark red blood covered the black blood, and bright red blood covered the dark red blood.

It was still flowing without end...

At last, the lift arrived. Several residents' corpses had been carelessly thrown across the space before it.

The stairs ahead had once led to the gates of Castle Morne, but now they led to hell.

Blood flowed down the steps from within the castle. Looking through the gates, Lucian saw the distant walls hung full of the corpses of residents and soldiers.

Lucian's face darkened terribly, devoid of any expression.

He stepped onto the blood-covered stairs. The sticky sensation of blood beneath his feet felt as though it were trying to hold him back.

It cried out in pain, begging him not to enter the castle—not to add one more corpse.

Standing beneath the castle gates, the full scene that had been hidden from view by the elevation appeared before Lucian.

Corpses lay scattered throughout the broad courtyard, merging with the mud until there was nowhere left to step.

In the middle of the courtyard, countless bodies had been piled together into a small mountain. The Misbegotten had lit bonfires atop the corpses and formed a circle around them, cheering and celebrating their victory.

Lucian looked at the corpses scattered everywhere: children, elderly people, soldiers, servants.

They had been afraid. They had been desperate. Yet without exception, they had been hacked beyond recognition, cut into mangled pieces.

They had not been killed for the purpose of killing, but tortured for amusement.

Even death could not spare them. The Misbegotten continued to whip and slash at the corpses, as though spraying blood made them even happier.

Because of the Aspects of the Crucible, the Misbegotten had been born as slaves and subjected to abuse and humiliation.

In the game, Lucian had not felt much about this race born into injustice. He did not like them, but neither had he particularly hated them. They had merely been a group of standard low-level enemies.

He believed it was perfectly reasonable to resist after being oppressed.

What he cared about in the game were the various NPCs, powerful enemies, and legendary tales.

He had never cared about the massacre in Castle Morne. He had only cared about Irina and her father's questline.

But now, the city beneath his feet was wailing. The corpses were crying out, yet no one cared about them.

The great demigods did not care. The mighty heroes did not care.

Only Lucian cared now.

The hellish sight before him had changed Lucian's view of the Misbegotten as a race.

It was right that these creatures had been born as slaves. Look at what they became once they broke free of their shackles. Every one of them slaughtered without restraint, every one of them delighted in torment...

That view was unfair. Of course it was unfair, because Lucian was human! Human, not Misbegotten!

He did not need to consider whether their actions were reasonable from the Misbegotten's perspective. He only needed to avenge his fellow humans.

Lucian clenched his halberd so tightly that his fingers ached.

Watching the Misbegotten call to one another after noticing him and begin closing in, Lucian ground his teeth and growled:

"Since you're already like this, then it's fine if I go a little overboard too..."

Because I'm writing a novel, I turned invisible and carefully observed Castle Morne. That pile at the entrance really was entirely made of corpses. It only became clear when you got close; from afar, it looked like a dirt mound. Sigh, it was truly miserable. Since it was normal for the Misbegotten to rebel as slaves, then it was also normal for humans to avenge their own kind, right?