Mako's death

Sword and halberd clashed fiercely, scattering sparks. It was not just steel that collided, but the two men's resolve.

"Gray, wake up! Godrick has committed countless atrocities. He isn't worth your loyalty!"

"An oath never changes! Edgar, you taught me that!"

Gray raised his left arm as he spoke and slammed his shield into Edgar's face. Blood burst from the veteran's mouth and nose, but he seized the opening to twist his wrist and swing his halberd, lashing its butt into Gray's calf.

With a crack, Gray's lower leg buckled, armor and bone together, and he crashed to the ground. Edgar could no longer hold himself up either. He staggered back two steps and fell onto his back.

Neither spoke. They simply panted, both waiting for their strength to return.

A moment later, they rose together. One glance was enough to tell them that words were useless now.

"Edgar!"

"Gray!"

The men in identical armor slammed into each other!

Tarnished suddenly stopped running and glanced back.

"Don't worry," Blaidd reassured him. "The old man will be fine."

"That's right, Mr. Tarnished," Rogier added. "Mr. Edgar knows what he's fighting for. A man with conviction won't lose."

"Sorry for making everyone worry." Tarnished drew a deep breath. "The exit from the rampart tower is just ahead. Once we're out, we should be behind the inner castle's defenders. Let's keep..."

Before he could say "moving," Tarnished stopped. A monster had suddenly emerged from the shadows ahead.

The creature had dusky blue-green skin and a bloated body covered in twisted, malformed horns. In his hand was a rusty, bloodstained cleaver.

"An Omen Child. They are denied the Erdtree's blessing and regarded by ordinary people as ill omens. Such children are abandoned in the wilderness at birth and left to fend for themselves, but every survivor possesses a powerful physique and extraordinary gifts."

Blaidd identified the creature, provoking him into a furious, immediate attack.

Clang!

An enamel-colored greatsword caught the bloodstained cleaver.

Blaidd and the Omen Child locked weapons.

"He's certainly strong. Driving a fellow like this back will take some work," Blaidd said. "Tarnished, go on ahead. Leave this to me!"

Mako was about to be subjected to grafting. With time so desperately short, Tarnished did not argue.

"Brother Wolf, be careful! We'll be waiting up ahead!"

"Yeah, don't worry."

Tarnished and Rogier slipped past the Omen Child, one on either side.

Blaidd drew his gaze away from the departing pair and looked at the Omen Child before him.

"Finding my way underground left me dizzy. You'll do nicely for loosening up my muscles. Come on, let's see what you've got!"

The Omen Child roared in fury. Refusing to be outdone, Blaidd answered with a wolf's howl.

The battle between the two inhuman fighters began!

Meanwhile, Tarnished and Rogier emerged from the exit and found themselves behind the inner castle's defenders, just as expected.

With an army bearing down on them, the defenders were all watching the front. They never expected enemies to appear behind them. Tarnished attacked the soldiers while Rogier destroyed the defensive equipment with magic, catching the defenders completely off guard.

Seeing the enemy fall into disarray, the ragtag army waiting outside the inner castle immediately responded. Attacked from both sides, the once-impregnable defensive line collapsed. Its fall was only a matter of time.

But time was precisely what Tarnished lacked. Mako could be subjected to grafting at any moment. He had to reach her immediately.

"Roger, lead the troops and clear out the defenders here. I'll go on ahead."

Huh? Roger?

When did we become that close?

Wait, I'm commanding the troops?

We only just met. You trust me that much?

A string of questions flashed through Rogier's mind, but before he could voice any of them, Tarnished had already run deeper into the inner castle.

"So I've been entrusted with a heavy responsibility." Rogier smiled wryly. "I suppose I'll have to give it my all to live up to this inexplicable trust!"

Roger was a kindly soul who could never bring himself to refuse a responsibility entrusted to him. Tarnished had known that all along.

Beyond the inner castle lay the lord's residence. According to the information he had obtained, it had been converted into a site for grafting rituals. All the grafting materials were there.

Several exile soldiers guarded the only route forward. They attacked as soon as they saw Tarnished, but he raised his shield to defend while thrusting his sword straight ahead, easily dispatching them. Just as he was about to continue, a Stonedigger Troll appeared with a roar, blocking the entire road with his enormous body.

A fellow like this won't die from two or three thrusts.

Tarnished was about to finish him off quickly when a spirited woman's voice suddenly rang out. "Are you here to defeat Godrick too? Perfect. I can't stand his vile grafting either. Let me lend you a hand!"

As her words fell, a brown-skinned, athletic woman in rough fur armor raced forward. She swung her two battleaxes, sending a ring of lightning flashing outward and instantly knocking the Troll to the ground.

"Hey, stop staring. Let's go!" The dark-skinned beauty waved him over as though she had done something trivial. "Godrick's just ahead. Let's kill him together!"

"Ah, right." Tarnished followed her. Her sudden appearance did not surprise him, because she had been here last time too.

"What's your name?" the dark-skinned beauty asked.

"Tarnished."

"A simple name. I like it." She pointed at herself. "I'm Nepheli. Nepheli Loux!"

"Sister Loux."

"Haha, you've got a sweet tongue, boy. Don't worry. For calling me your sister, I'll watch your back from now on!" Nepheli was thoroughly forthright. Without waiting for Tarnished's reply, she kicked open the door to the little room farther inside and shouted, "Godrick, get out here and die!"

Tarnished: ...

Though it was called a little room farther inside, it was actually a broad open space. Faint traces suggested it had once been a garden, but now it was a hellscape piled with corpses and gravestones.

At its center stood a burly man with a grotesquely distorted body. His hair was white, and his limbs were wildly out of proportion. He had been stroking a dead dragon, but at Nepheli's shout, he slowly turned around.

"Oh? A mere Tarnished, yet so arrogant." The cloak slid from the man's back, revealing countless arms of varying sizes beneath it. Their fingers curled and stretched incessantly, as though venting their resentment and bitterness, radiating an almost tangible darkness and menace.

"So this is grafting?" Nepheli's face filled with disgust. "How revolting!"

"Revolting? This is power!" The man snorted. "You cannot even recognize that, yet you seek to claim the Elden Ring?"

"I have no interest in the Elden Ring," Nepheli said. "I've come to stop you and your vile grafting!"

"Stop me?" The man seemed baffled. "Why?"

Nepheli answered with righteous conviction, "For justice, of course!"

The man: "..."

Tarnished: "..."

It had to be said: Sister Loux really was rather naive.

But that innocence was exactly what made her admirable and endearing.

Unfortunately, the man could not appreciate that. He looked at Nepheli as though she were an idiot.

"Justice? With gods ruling from on high, what justice can there be?" His voice carried deep resentment and bitterness. Then he turned to Tarnished. "And you? Surely you came for the Elden Ring?"

But Tarnished shook his head too. "No. Your men captured a Demi-Human Queen. I've come to rescue her."

The man: "..."

Nepheli: "..."

Sister Loux was incredulous. She quietly asked Tarnished, "You brought all those people attacking Stormveil Castle, didn't you? You're attacking a Shardbearer's castle for a single demi-human? Are you an idiot?"

Tarnished rolled his eyes. "You're fighting for justice. You have no right to say that about me!"

"Why not? Justice comes first! What's wrong with fighting for justice?"

"Then there's nothing wrong with me fighting for a friend!"

"But your friend is just a demi-human!" Nepheli still could not understand. "What you're doing is like someone slaughtering everyone in sight over their pet dog. Do you really think anyone would do that?"

"Yes." Tarnished nodded. "Someone named Johnny Silverhand would."

"That name sounds so fucking stupid, you obviously made it up to fool me!"

"I agree with the first half of that statement, but reject the second."

"Enough!" The man, who had been reduced to background scenery, suddenly roared, cutting off their whispered conversation.

He reached out with his thick "real arm" and picked up a Golden Axe. "The world truly is filled with hypocrites! Those twisted relatives are no different from you lowly Tarnished. You came to seize the Elden Ring's supreme power, yet insist on inventing lofty excuses. How pathetic! How laughable! For justice? For a friend? Do you think I would believe such childish lies? Don't make me laugh! Those who dare not admit their own desires have no right to stand before the Elden Ring. Kneel! I am Godrick! I am the true Golden Lord!!!"

With a furious shout, he slammed the Golden Axe into the ground, triggering an explosion. Godrick's imposing presence reached its peak, while Tarnished and Nepheli immediately charged forward and attacked.

Godrick sneered and swung his greataxe. Its tremendous force stirred the wind into two visible storms.

Tarnished raised the Brass Shield and blocked the storms with two clangs. Nepheli stepped on his shoulder and leaped up, swinging both axes down hard at Godrick's head.

With a wet crunch, the axe blades bit into flesh, spraying blood.

"Do you feel it?" Nepheli shouted. "This is justice!"

"Then your justice is rather feeble!" Godrick sneered. Looking closer, Nepheli realized that his muscles had clamped around her axe blades, preventing them from cutting as deeply as they should have.

Not good. She immediately pulled her axes free and retreated, but Godrick's attack followed relentlessly. His Golden Axe came crashing down again. Tarnished immediately stepped in, blocking with the Brass Shield while thrusting his sword straight ahead, punching two holes into Godrick's body.

Enraged, Godrick shouted and swung his greataxe, conjuring a storm around himself. Nature's force was overwhelming, and Tarnished's shield was instantly flung aside. Just as Godrick raised his greataxe to cleave him apart, Nepheli rushed in again. Lightning burst from her two axes as they hacked into Godrick's chest with sharp crackles, forcing him to stagger and interrupting his attack.

Tarnished was saved, but Godrick had merely staggered, nothing more. Before Nepheli could finish her combination, he had recovered his footing and swung his axe at her. Tarnished stepped forward again and blocked the blow with his shield, giving Nepheli the chance to finish her combination and land several more axe strikes on Godrick.

"Nice shield work, Tarnished!" Nepheli praised him freely.

Tarnished said, "Sister Loux, finish him while he's reeling!"

"Right!"

Just as they were about to press their advantage, Godrick reached out with his empty left hand and wrenched a black greatsword from the corpses. It was none other than Castle Morne's Grafted Blade Greatsword.

Red light flashed as Oath of Vengeance strengthened Godrick. Nepheli brought her axes down again, but a sweep of his sword knocked both weapons straight out of her hands.

Staring at her torn, bleeding palms, Nepheli could not believe that she, a warrior, had been disarmed. While she was still stunned, Godrick's Golden Axe swept toward her.

"Sister Nepheli!"

Tarnished shouted and raised his shield to block the fatal blow. But strengthened by Oath of Vengeance, Godrick was no longer the same as before. He was even far stronger than last time. His golden greataxe carried unimaginable force, sending Tarnished, his shield, and Nepheli behind him flying together.

Both spat blood in midair. They were hurled all the way back to the little room's entrance, where they hit the ground and coughed up more blood. Nepheli had suffered severe internal injuries, but worst of all, both her hands were broken. Even after drinking a Flask of Crimson Tears, those injuries would not heal anytime soon. For the moment, she could no longer fight.

"So this is a Shardbearer?" Nepheli gasped. She had never imagined the gap between her and Godrick could be so vast.

"That Grafted Blade Greatsword strengthened him." Tarnished stood and drank a Flask of Crimson Tears to heal his injuries. "Normally, Godrick isn't this strong!"

"I see. That I can accept." Nepheli stood too and started forward.

Tarnished hurriedly grabbed her. "What are you doing?"

"Fighting Godrick to the death, of course!"

Tarnished was speechless. "The bones in both your hands are shattered. You can't even hold a weapon. How are you going to fight?"

"Even if I can't, I must. Our warrior clan knows death, not defeat!" Then Nepheli lowered her voice. "I'll hold him off. You run. We've only just met, but I rather like you, boy. It's a shame..."

Nepheli shook her head and was about to advance into battle when Tarnished stuck out his leg and tripped her, sending her crashing face-first to the ground.

"You bastard! What are you doing?!"

Furious, Nepheli lay on the ground and demanded an answer.

"If you can't even dodge my attack, how are you going to fight Godrick?" Tarnished scooped her up under her knees and set her down in a corner. Then he stood, tightened the Brass Shield's straps again, and said, "Since you didn't need me to save you last time, let me save you this time!"

Nepheli was utterly confused. "Last time? This time? What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying, rest. Leave Godrick to me!"

With that, Tarnished ignored Nepheli's calls and walked toward Godrick alone.

"Finished saying your last words?" Godrick taunted.

Tarnished answered with a question. "A Demi-Human Queen was sent to Stormveil Castle along with the Grafted Blade Greatsword. Where is she?"

"What Demi-Human Queen? I don't remember any." Godrick answered with complete indifference. "She's probably dead already, part of my body now!"

Before his words had fully faded, Tarnished leaped up and smashed his shield into Godrick's face.

Blood splattered as Godrick's nose was knocked crooked.

"Fuck you, Godrick! I'm going to kill you!" This time, Tarnished was truly furious.

Godrick was enraged too. No insect had ever dared treat him with such disrespect!

The Golden Axe swung again, striking Tarnished in midair and sending him flying like a cannonball.

"Tarnished!" Nepheli cried out.

She thought Tarnished had already lost. To her surprise, however, he abruptly rose from the rubble, drank a Flask of Crimson Tears, tightened the Brass Shield's straps, and walked toward Godrick once more.

"Come on, let's trade blows!" Tarnished's voice was vicious. "Let's see who's left standing!"