Reunion

After finishing all that, Lucian could no longer hold on and sat down on the ground.

He was utterly exhausted. First, he had slaughtered over a hundred Misbegotten, then fought the Leonine Misbegotten enhanced by the Ruins Greatsword.

All Lucian wanted now was to hurry to a Grace, heal his wounds, and find somewhere to get some proper sleep.

But it was not time yet. He still had to leave the city and bring Irina over. He could restore himself at a Grace along the way.

"I am Edgar, lord of Castle Morne and Irina's father. Forgive me for only introducing myself now."

Edgar only came over to speak after Lucian had finished what he was doing.

"Lucian. An ordinary Tarnished."

Edgar firmly committed that name to memory.

"You are a true warrior. Thank you for everything you have done for Castle Morne."

"Once Castle Morne is fully brought back under control, I will certainly offer you a grand reward."

Lucian did not refuse. Though he had not come for that, he had earned it. Why should he turn it down?

"We can talk about the reward later."

"I'll rest for a while first. Then I'll go bring Irina back. We shouldn't leave her waiting outside too long."

Edgar expressed his gratitude to Lucian once more before leaving him to rest.

He had plenty to deal with as well: clearing out the remaining Misbegotten in the city, settling the residents, cleaning up the corpses...

Although he worried about Irina, now that she was safe, his duty as the lord of the city took greater priority.

Evan also sat down beside Lucian.

After fighting side by side, Edgar temporarily trusted Evan. He merely had him remain here for now and would decide his fate later.

As Evan scattered healing powder over the two of them, he said,

"You are the bravest warrior I have ever seen."

"If not for you, those Misbegotten would have continued ravaging the city..."

As Evan spoke, he fell silent.

"I caused this disaster, yet I could not even stop those Misbegotten."

"Thank you."

Lucian said nothing. He did not know what to say.

Evan and Singh had wanted to save the Misbegotten, yet they had brought about the massacre at Castle Morne. Even if they had been used, that was still a crime that could not be washed away.

They knew it themselves.

In the end, Lucian merely sighed.

Lucian rested for a while, then took the lift back down to the main gate below.

The light of Grace washed over Lucian's body. His wounds rapidly healed, and his spirits were refreshed.

Though he was still mentally weary, he had at least recovered.

Melina appeared beside him, still shaken. She had watched the battle the entire time and knew just how perilous Lucian's situation had been.

"What a brutal battle. It is a pity I have no physical form. Otherwise, I could have helped you in the fight."

Lucian shook his head.

"Leave the fighting to me. You already help me plenty in other ways."

"Oh, right. Is it okay for me to use the Flask of Crimson Tears I picked up from that Confessor?"

Melina took the Flask of Crimson Tears Lucian handed her and examined it. Only after confirming that no mark had been left on it did she return it to him.

"No mark was left on it, so it will be fine. Just wash it clean."

It had been drunk from by someone else, so Lucian was somewhat put off by it. But it was a Flask of Crimson Tears. He could not waste it.

"Lucian, I'm sorry."

Melina looked into Lucian's eyes and suddenly apologized solemnly.

"I have been observing whether you were truly guided by Grace, whether you would step forward to challenge hardship."

"As it turned out, I was worrying needlessly. Torrent trusted you from the very beginning. I was not sincere enough. I am sorry."

Lucian had not really thought much of it.

"It's all right. You must have a very important reason for wanting to reach the foot of the Erdtree."

"I understand your concerns. Finding a companion worthy of trust is necessary."

"So I've passed your test now?"

Melina's feelings were a little complicated. She had not needed to say any of this to Lucian.

Yet she still confessed and apologized, because she was that kind of earnest girl.

She had already expected Lucian to be angry. They had clearly set out together, yet she had not trusted her companion and had secretly been testing him. That was distrust.

But Lucian did not mind at all. Such magnanimity earned Melina's admiration.

"Yes. You passed perfectly."

"As compensation, once you have finished everything you need to do, I will take you somewhere—the Roundtable Hold, where heroes gather."

Lucian stood at the city gate and blew his whistle, waiting for Torrent to carry Irina over.

Lucian was very happy now, not because Melina was going to take him to the Roundtable Hold, nor because of the large amount of Runes he had just obtained.

It was because Wind Spirit Moon Shadow had recovered one use.

When he had rested at the Grace just now, he had also taken a look at Wind Spirit Moon Shadow's panel.

A new vertical panel had appeared beside the original one, and an icon of the Leonine Misbegotten had lit up.

The other icons were pitch-black, waiting for Lucian to light them up.

They were game achievements.

With the first achievement unlocked, this information had also become available to Lucian.

This achievement panel did not belong to Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, so it had not appeared at first. But it was directly connected to Wind Spirit Moon Shadow.

Every achievement completed restored one use of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow.

Now that Lucian knew how Wind Spirit Moon Shadow could be restored, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He had feared before that it might never be restored. Now that there was a way to recover its uses, there was nothing left to fear.

Torrent carried Irina over from the distance and stopped before Lucian.

Torrent affectionately rubbed its face against Lucian's.

"Mr. Lucian, are you all right?"

"My father... is he all right?"

Irina had been waiting anxiously outside the city. The situation within was probably even worse than when she had left.

"It's fine. I've killed nearly all the Misbegotten in the city. That handful of Misbegotten couldn't trouble me."

"I've already met your father and fought alongside him. He is safe too, so don't worry."

Irina finally let out a sigh of relief.

"That's wonderful. Thank you."

Lucian took Irina's hand and helped her onto the lift.

As the lift steadily rose, Irina caught the thick scent of blood in the air.

Her face turned pale. She could not imagine what the city looked like now for the smell of blood to be so overpowering.

The lift finally reached the top. Edgar, who was in the courtyard, noticed Lucian and Irina on the lift and immediately ran over.

The moment Edgar saw Irina, he could no longer suppress his excitement. Tears filled his eyes.

"Irina..."

"Father!"

Father and daughter were finally reunited safely, embracing each other.

Watching their moving reunion, Lucian smiled happily as well.

His countless battles along the way had not been in vain. He had saved this father and daughter and allowed them to reunite.

Next, he would give even more characters a perfect ending.

There were forty-two achievements in total. Even if he did not unlock every one of them, it would be more than enough to conquer the Lands Between. From now on, he would no longer have to be so stingy with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow's uses.