Above the mortal realm

Friendly warning: do not read this chapter while eating.

Shen Yu pushed off hard with his left leg, pitching his upper body forward as his right hand hurled the spear.

The instant it left his hand, an intense chill erupted from the spear. A bone-piercing current of cold cut through the air, freezing everything in its path.

It burst on impact, sending up a cloud of icy mist.

"This is the Dung Defender. He is..." Lasi was only halfway through the introduction when the attack caught their attention, leaving the rest unsaid.

Sorry, Fandango. Shen Yu sighed, then seized the moment while his opponent was frozen to unleash rapid fire with [Crimson Scar] in its rifle form.

I really should use a melee weapon out of respect for a knight of Malkuth, but you just smell too awful.

Fandango's body shuddered under the rifle fire. Once the ice shattered, he rolled backward out of the line of fire, swiftly formed a dung ball on the ground, and hurled it at Shen Yu.

Shen Yu immediately used Hornet's combat skills to weave between the projectiles, dodging every one while continuing to fire his rifle.

Getting more proficient with combat skills really does make a difference, Shen Yu marveled. Now they not only cost him less stamina, but also allowed him to position himself more precisely without losing his balance as he had before.

Seeing that his throws were missing, Fandango immediately burrowed into the sea of dung and approached his opponent from below.

Shen Yu chuckled. With a thought, Frost Shard appeared in his left hand again.

In Hollow Knight, when the Dung Defender burrows into the dung, the Little Knight can knock him out with a downward slam. An ice blast should work too, right?

Holding his gun in his right hand, Shen Yu hurled the spear with his left. An explosion followed, scattering dung everywhere, with some splattering directly onto the nearby spectator stands.

(Ah~ I can't get up.) Shielded by the dung, Fandango had not been completely frozen. He lay on his back, waving his limbs as he cried out.

After taking another burst of gunfire, he immediately curled into a ball and rolled away from Shen Yu, then pressed his hands together and began swimming butterfly through the sea of dung.

Seeing the dung flying with every rise and fall of his opponent's body, Shen Yu decisively used Silk Thread to anchor himself high on the wall and kept firing.

When his opponent threw dung balls, he landed with an Aerial Thrust, then dodged using Backstep and precisely targeted Dashes.

As for why he did not use the less strenuous option of rolling, everyone could probably figure that out.

Under [Crimson Scar]'s tremendous firepower, Fandango finally reached his limit. Once again, he lay on his back waving his limbs, while a heroic odor continuously poured out from beneath him.

Not good! Sensing something was wrong, Shen Yu immediately used Silk Thread to pull himself up to the arena's high wall, then changed [Frost Shard] into its umbrella form and opened it.

The Fools below knew nothing of this and cheered aloud for the skills Shen Yu had displayed.

But just then, the methane gathered beneath Fandango exploded, launching him high into the air. The "heroic" odor swept through the stands with the blast, triggering wave after wave of dry heaving.

Shen Yu landed steadily afterward, but strangely, the expected ding never came.

He looked up to see an enormous black shadow plunging from the golden clouds. Flames sprang from the red armor around its body, trailing crimson shock waves.

A line involuntarily surfaced in Shen Yu's mind:

"Have you ever seen a palm strike that descends from the heavens?"

There was no time to use Silk Thread. Shen Yu immediately used Backstep, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the landing point before opening the ice umbrella formed by [Frost Shard].

BOOOOM! The Super Dung Beetle slammed into the sea of dung at the center with an earth-shaking crash. Waves dozens of meters high instantly surged across its surface, gathering into filthy whirlpools in midair that roared outward in every direction.

The cheering Fools and the Godseeker above were instantly dumbstruck, staring blankly at the towering waves of dung before them.

One Fool took a companion's hand, gazed intently into their eyes, and slowly said:

(Carolas) "If we make it out alive...

"Remember to pay me back!"

The Fool King sighed, rose to his feet, and unleashed a resounding Battle Cry, tearing apart the wave before him to shield the Little Knight and the Godseeker.

But there was no such powerhouse anywhere else.

In an instant, filthy waves swallowed the stands, drenching the Fools and the Godseeker's tribe from head to toe. Thick dung coated the seats and the floor alike.

The entire arena was instantly covered in a thick layer of yellow sludge. Only then did the Fools truly appreciate how wonderful the masks the King had ordered them to wear were.

Violent retching then spread throughout the arena.

Shen Yu opened his ice umbrella and looked toward the "impact crater" at the center.

The "meteor" inside slowly rose. Its filthy red shell fell away, revealing pale, sacred armor. Lingering flames burned upon it, with none of its earlier filth remaining.

The Five Knights of Malkuth-the last, Ogrim.

Shen Yu swallowed, every muscle in his body tensing as he prepared to use his combat skills at any moment.

The knight rose to his feet, fixed his pale gaze on Shen Yu, and slowly opened his mouth:

(Ikubas, hahaha) "Hahaha, how entertaining! Traveler, where are you from? I've never seen such interesting weapons. I can actually hear them speaking..."

Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief, wiped his face, and pointed at the weapons in his hands.

"This is called E.G.O. As for me, I came from a place called Earth."

(Haha, yoroma) "Haha, what a strange name. Would you be interested in visiting Hallownest, traveler? It may have fallen into decline, but I still remember a few good spots. I could show you around.

"Are you a mercenary? Hegemol once told me mercenaries like wearing cloaks."

"Yes, more or less. But I still have to challenge the master, so I'm a little short on time." Shen Yu nodded with an apologetic smile.

(Woo woo ah, ihaha) "All right. Your weapons truly are unusual. I have a feeling we'll meet again. Here, take this. I hope it helps."

Fandango took an object from inside his armor and tossed it to Shen Yu.

When Shen Yu caught it, he realized it was a red Charm.

Defender's Crest: causes the bearer to emit a heroic odor.

Description: a unique crest bestowed by the King of Hallownest upon his most loyal knight. Despite a few scratches and stains, it remains well preserved.

When Shen Yu equipped it, his body suddenly released a thick yellow stench. He could not help marveling:

So I can use Charms too?

Dreams really are incredible. Fandango should have already given his original crest to the Little Knight, yet a new one was just materialized straight from his memories. I wonder if I can take it into reality.

Shen Yu then removed it and put it in the pouch at his waist.

Fandango spoke again:

(Dorimama, hahaha) "I don't know why, but something seems to be restricting me, making me resonate with two others. You should be careful too. Hahaha."

The moment Fandango finished speaking, another ding rang out.

Ogrim attunement: 30%

Obtained: [Shape of the Knight]

[Battle Cry]: "Ah~ Fandaa-!"

Combat skills:

[Dung Ball Throw], [Dung Ball Combo],

[Evade] (beginner): quickly curl up and somersault backward.

[Submerge] (beginner): burrow into the ground and move through it.

When the light faded, the scene changed again, and the yellow-white substance covering the bugs vanished along with it. Shen Yu restored [Frost Shard] to its original form and slung it onto his back.

Lasi then slowly began the next introduction:

"Next up is the Soul Warrior of the Soul Sanctum. He wields a finely honed blade and strengthens himself with the souls he harvests, which also allow him to teleport. He is an extremely formidable opponent."

Shen Yu: rat-a-tat-tat.

Ding!

"Next up is Mawlek the Temperamental. An extremely powerful beast whose claws can tear through steel."

Shen Yu: more rat-a-tat-tat.

Ding!

As the light faded, Shen Yu arrived in a small, enclosed space, with the Godseeker standing ahead of him.

"Whew." Shen Yu exhaled and asked her:

"Was this your doing? Why do I feel like they're weaker than they used to be?"

Ever since his first fight with Hornet, she had shown subtle differences. Coupled with the restrictions the Godseeker had mentioned, this suggested that the other Hollow Knight bosses' strength certainly went beyond what he had seen.

Yet the bosses in Godhome's first Pantheon moved in extremely rigid, predictable patterns. Only the False Knight and Fandango were somewhat better, showing a little variation.

(Karas) "It seems thou hast finally discovered the issue." At his words, the Godseeker raised her brows and looked upward in excitement.

"Indeed, it is our doing. We pondered: why not gather the strength of all beings within each Pantheon in one place, allowing each Pantheon's ruler to ascend to greater heights! Higher, higher still, and higher yet! To draw near to that which lies above the pinnacle!

"But this method requires knowledge of souls. Souls are profoundly mysterious, far beyond our reach. Yet when the God of Gods came to rule this place, we could at last borrow our lord's radiance to glimpse their secrets. Thus, we succeeded in gathering the strength of the beings in each Pantheon."

"So that's why they've become weaker?"

(Kasiri) "Precisely! We constrain their forms and gather their strength, using it as the foundation upon which the ruler of the Master Shrine may ascend to the highest heights.

"Yet the ruler is burdened by thy mortal frame. To preserve the Pantheon's balance, the ruler can only condescend to lower that power, barely displaying strength beyond that of a mortal."

"Go forth! Witness the mighty power above the mortal realm, and let the sound of perfect resonance burst forth!"