Land of Grafting

Ken Kaneki and Lu Mingfei cut down every enemy in their path. They even encountered sword-and-shield-wielding Exile Knights and Exile Soldiers. In the past, they would have been a huge problem for Lu Mingfei, but now that he had help, they were nothing but easy prey.

They soon arrived at an open-air walkway. The air was thick with the stench of blood and rot, as though countless pieces of flesh had decayed and fermented here.

Just as they were about to step onto the walkway, Ken Kaneki suddenly stretched out an arm and stopped Lu Mingfei.

"Lu."

Ken Kaneki asked,

"Your hometown is Earth too, right?"

"Yeah." Lu Mingfei scratched his head. "But it's not the same one as yours. We don't have Ghouls where I'm from, only Mixed-Bloods and dragons. Why?"

"The place you used to live was fairly peaceful, wasn't it?"

"It was incredibly peaceful!" Lu Mingfei slapped his thigh. "It was practically all songs and dances! Forget my hometown—just look at the school I attended. Aside from seeing blood while carrying out missions, it was classes, clubs, balls, sailing..."

"I understand."

Ken Kaneki said gently.

"The place ahead is shocking, even by the standards of my own life and the entire Lands Between. I'm somewhat unusual, but Emiya and the others said they basically threw up the first time they came here.

And if you want to reach the depths of Stormveil, this isn't even the only route."

Ken Kaneki had put it delicately, but his meaning was perfectly clear. Anyone who had lived in peaceful times would probably find it difficult to accept the sight ahead.

Was it really that scary?

Lu Mingfei thought.

"We're already here," Lu Mingfei said to Ken Kaneki. "Taking a detour would be a pain. If I die, I'll just have to run through it all again..."

"All right."

Ken Kaneki let out a faint sigh.

"Volcano Manor and the Blood Dynasty are more or less the same anyway. You'll get used to it sooner or later. Lu, you can look to the left now."

The two stepped onto the walkway, and Lu Mingfei turned his head.

On the left side of the walkway, a huge square pit suddenly came into view. Its edges were neat and even, clearly built by human hands.

At the bottom of the pit lay hundreds of swollen sacks. Dark red-black fluid seeped from every one of them, pooling below into thick, viscous puddles of blood.

From the split openings of the rotting bags protruded incomplete limbs: arms crudely chopped off, twisted legs and feet...

A bloated human head rolled across the ground. Its face looked as if it had been gnawed by beasts, its jaw completely gone, half a tongue still dangling between its exposed gums. Maggots crawled through its hollow eye sockets, while clumps of white writhed inside its nostrils.

"Urgh—"

Lu Mingfei abruptly covered his mouth and nose as his stomach churned.

The rotten stench of corpses was so dense it nearly seemed tangible, pouring into his nostrils like a thick liquid and making it hard to breathe.

Even more horrifying, two enormous wild dogs lay atop the pile of corpses, frantically tearing at the remains. Their fur was caked in blood, scraps of flesh hung between their fangs, and greedy swallowing noises rumbled in their throats.

After vomiting, Lu Mingfei wiped his mouth and fought back his nausea.

"Grafting... Is this how the Grafted Scions were made?"

"Yes."

Ken Kaneki's left eye glowed crimson in the dim light. His Kagune silently unfolded, scarlet tendrils trembling faintly in the shadows.

"These... are all people whose limbs Godrick cut off."

The wild dogs suddenly began barking madly.

They had noticed the newcomers. They jerked their heads up, cloudy eyes fixed tightly on the two of them.

Ken Kaneki's Kagune shot out like lightning, instantly piercing their skulls. Filthy blood and brain matter splattered across the corpse heap, adding another layer of scarlet to this graveyard of flesh.

"Let's go."

He withdrew his Kagune, his calm voice tinged with pity.

"This Godrick... really deserves to die."

Lu Mingfei said quietly.

No wonder the old knight had been so furious... Even someone unrelated to this place would feel anger at such a sight, simply as a normal human being, wouldn't they?

"This debt will be settled sooner or later."

Ken Kaneki sighed.

"There's... something even bloodier ahead."

Lu Mingfei followed Ken Kaneki onward. The darkness around them grew ever thicker, and the air remained heavy with the smell of rotten flesh.

He instinctively raised his torch. Its flickering light barely drove back a small patch of shadow, revealing the deep corridor ahead.

"Careful."

Ken Kaneki's voice abruptly dropped. He reached out to stop Lu Mingfei and pointed to the left.

That side was completely swallowed by darkness, as if something indescribable lurked within it.

"There's an Exile Soldier with a large axe hiding here."

Lu Mingfei's heart tightened. He immediately held his breath and slowly moved the torch to the left.

The dim yellow light drove away the darkness inch by inch. At last, a cold metallic glint stabbed into view—the outline of an axe blade flickered beneath the firelight, its sharp edge aimed exactly at where he had been standing moments ago.

If Ken Kaneki had not stopped him, that massive axe would have cut him in half the next second!

A chill ran through him.

He could die and revive, but this was no game world. If Kaneki had not stopped him just now, that enormous axe blade could have chopped him directly into two pieces!

But now that he had found it, dealing with it would be much easier.

He suddenly stepped forward, the sole of his boot stamping heavily onto the wooden boards with a distinct creak.

Sure enough, the Exile Soldier in the darkness was alerted. Heavy footsteps sounded, and the next instant, the whistling of the giant axe tearing through the air came straight at him!

The instant the axe came down, Lu Mingfei pushed off with his legs and sprang backward.

The giant axe crashed into the rotten wooden floor with a boom.

He spun around, his greatsword carving out a fierce arc as it slashed hard toward the soldier's head!

Crack!

A dull crunch of shattered bone rang out. The soldier's head rolled to the ground, tumbling several times before finally stopping at the edge of the torchlight. The headless body swayed twice, then collapsed with a crash.

"Lu, your swordsmanship is excellent," Ken Kaneki could not help praising. "At this point, I only knew how to swing a straight sword around wildly.

If I hadn't seen Mr. Joestar's golden sign outside Godrick's door, I probably would have been stuck in Stormveil for the rest of my life."

Lu Mingfei was rarely praised. Feeling a little embarrassed, he scratched his head and replied,

"I only met a good teacher. And Emiya helped me a lot early on. Now Ken is guiding me too, so there's nothing worth praising."

"You were able to fight your way to Godrick's chamber by yourself—that's the truly impressive part, isn't it? Since you can defeat Margit, the Fell Omen, defeating Godrick is only a matter of time."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Ken Kaneki's gentle face grew more solemn instead.

He shook his head.

"You're wrong, Lu. Demigods and other enemies... are entirely different concepts.

No matter how much we may belittle or despise Godrick, he still possesses a Great Rune called the 'Center of Gravity Elden Ring.' That is what supports his status as a demigod.

If his talent were any greater, if he could fully unleash the power of that Great Rune, then at his peak... he would be enough to rival a natural disaster."