Transmigrated into Elden Ring, Revealing Radagon Was Marika from the Start

With a deafening clang, Blaidd drew his Royal Greatsword and slammed it into the ground. His entire body tensed, ready to attack. One word from Ranni, and he would take Zhao Si's head.

"What do the Two Fingers know?" Rather than give the order, Ranni questioned Zhao Si first.

Zhao Si let out a small breath of relief, moved Malenia's hand aside, and faced Ranni. "They know everything."

-They don't know jack. I'm bluffing.

Zhao Si couldn't help inwardly complaining about how utterly useless the Two Fingers were. People praised them to the skies, calling them all-knowing and eloquent, claiming they had left behind countless legends. What had they actually left behind? They couldn't even serve as a cheat to clear the fog of war.

Something this big was happening in Ranni's camp, and they didn't even know. What was there to brag about?

Still, that didn't stop Zhao Si from using the Two Fingers' name to bluff.

Ranni considered this for a moment, then waved her hand, sweeping up a swath of starry sky that engulfed her, Blaidd, Zhao Si, and Malenia.

Everything went dark, then bright again. Their surroundings became a beautiful night sky, with mirrorlike water beneath their feet. An extraordinarily large moon hung overhead, illuminating the night like a giant light bulb.

Ranni fought the Full Moon Queen's second phase on her behalf, so this space ought to have been Ranni's private domain.

Before Zhao Si could speak again, Blaidd lunged forward and unleashed his signature skill, Wolf's Assault. His frost-enchanted Royal Greatsword trailed blue light through the air, tracing a graceful arc as it crashed down toward Zhao Si.

Malenia darted out from behind Zhao Si and deflected the Royal Greatsword with her straight sword, throwing Blaidd off balance and diverting him to one side. The Royal Greatsword plunged into the water, triggering an icy explosion that inflicted frostbite on Zhao Si and Malenia.

Malenia was fine, but Zhao Si could barely stand the bone-deep cold. He kept hopping in place and rubbing his hands together, yet still seized his chance to speak. "K-killing me won't h-help. If the Two Fingers know, th-that means every T-Tarnished knows."

Seeing no response, Zhao Si hurried on. "The Two Fingers know y-you're planning to steal the Rune of Death!"

"What?"

Malenia and Ranni spoke in unison.

Malenia couldn't believe Ranni would dare do something so outrageous. She assumed this was another of Zhao Si's wild claims, meant to frighten Ranni.

Ranni, meanwhile, hadn't expected the Two Fingers to know about something so secret, much less tell a Tarnished.

"The fact that I'm here means there's still room to talk. If something happens to me, things will spiral out of control." Zhao Si invoked his status as a "special envoy." "Whatever else I am, I'm an emissary of the Two Fingers. Lay a hand on me, and you're declaring your intent to rebel."

He had finally warmed up enough to speak without his teeth chattering.

Seeing Ranni remain silent, Malenia grew worried. "Ranni, is what he's saying really true?"

Ranni asked in return, "You didn't know about this?"

Malenia shook her head. "He never mentioned it to me."

"That's my show of sincerity. I'm telling you, the person involved, directly, rather than spreading it around." Zhao Si exhaled a cold breath. "You both know the Rune of Death contains Destined Death, which poses a threat to Demigods, right? The Two Fingers also received word that someone has their sights on Godwyn. Someone intends to kill him with Destined Death."

The news detonated like a bomb in Malenia's and Ranni's hearts.

Malenia grew agitated. "How is that possible? Who could steal the Rune of Death from Maliketh, the Black Blade? And who would want to harm the Golden Prince?"

"The Two Fingers aren't sure about that either. Whoever's planning the assassination has hidden themselves too well." As Zhao Si said this, he looked at Ranni.

Ranni's expression remained unchanged. Though she now had a body of flesh and blood, she still showed as little expression or emotion as a doll. Apparently, that was simply her nature.

"Ranni, don't tell me it's you..." Malenia blurted out.

Ranni said calmly, "Why would I kill Godwyn?"

Right, why kill Godwyn? Murder required a motive. Even a crime of passion needed some reason. What had Godwyn done to Ranni that made her determined to take such an enormous risk to kill him?

Malenia asked, "Then why are you planning to steal the Rune of Death?"

"Have I stolen it? Just because he says I have, does that make it true?" Ranni was clearly arguing her way out of it. "There's no evidence."

"The Two Fingers are the evidence. They want lasting peace in the Lands Between, so whatever you do is fine as long as it doesn't threaten that stability." Zhao Si kept making things up about the Two Fingers. "They wouldn't make baseless claims."

"Of course, you don't have to believe me. I have another piece of news, about the father you two share." Zhao Si took a deep breath, deciding to reveal the greatest secret in the Lands Between.

If this part were made into a novel on its own, the title would probably have to be "Transmigrated into Elden Ring, Revealing Radagon Was Marika from the Start."

"Father?"

"What has that bastard done now?"

Zhao Si steadied himself and said, "Radagon is Marika." At last, he had managed to say it in full. When he had tried to tell Goldmask before, Alberich had interrupted him. He hadn't found another opportunity since, but now he could finally get it off his chest.

Keeping such an enormous secret felt awful. Saying it out loud was so much more satisfying.

"Huh?"

Both sisters were utterly baffled. It wasn't their fault. Most people wouldn't understand what that statement meant, any more than they would understand "Pudong is Shanghai."

Zhao Si cleared his throat. "Radagon is Marika. They're the same person. Radagon is Marika's other personality, an independent soul that split off from her. But they still share one body, so when their personalities switch, their body changes too, becoming male or female."

Malenia, Ranni, and the others stood rooted to the spot, struggling to accept this fact. No, they weren't even at the point of accepting it yet. Their minds were full of doubt: How did this guy come up with something so absurd?

Zhao Si scratched his head, trying to think of an explanation. "Radagon is the father of both of you. But he's also my senior sister's mother, and my senior sister's mother is also the father of you three siblings. Does that make sense?"

"Wait." Ranni interrupted him. "What evidence do you have for any of this?"

Malenia was equally confused. "My father and mother are the same person? Then how did they-no, how did she give birth to my brother and me?"

That was a question for the ages. If he absolutely had to explain it, then it was reproduction like that of hermaphroditic animals. Marika wasn't human in the conventional sense anyway. Well, in a fantasy world, it wasn't strange for certain humanoid species to be hermaphrodites. Even a futanari would be acceptable.

"Hermaphroditism and self-reproduction. As for evidence, the statue of Radagon in Leyndell is your evidence!" The moment Zhao Si said this, he crouched down with his hands over his head, terrified that Malenia and Ranni would beat

him.

Seeing how confidently Zhao Si spoke, Malenia and Ranni began to believe him a little.

"Senior sister, have you ever seen Radagon and Marika appear together?" Zhao Si asked.

Malenia stood stunned for a long while before replying, "No. I thought they were both too busy to come see us together. Besides, we were raised by nurses and teachers."

"See? Even my senior sister has confirmed it," Zhao Si told Ranni.

Ranni asked, "Then why did Radagon approach my mother?"

"Because the Full Moon Queen was too powerful back then. She brought the Carian Royal Family and the Academy together, creating a force that couldn't be underestimated. Godfrey was busy fighting elsewhere at the time, and then your mother suddenly rose to prominence," Zhao Si said. "Radagon appeared out of nowhere and led troops to the front, only to fall for the Full Moon Queen. Doesn't everyone know that story?"

Radagon had a tall, perfectly proportioned physique and flowing red hair, with his charm stat cranked up to ninety-nine. Even someone as worldly as Rennala went weak at the knees at the sight of him. The two of them promptly played out a romance straight out of Yang Zongbao and Mu Guiying's story.

"Then they had you three siblings, each more powerful than the last. The Starscourge sealed the starry sky, which more or less achieved the goal behind having those children. What they didn't expect was that you'd be the stars' representative, the Chosen of the Stars." Zhao Si sighed. "What a mess."

"Then, as luck would have it, Godfrey lost his Grace, stopped being king, and was exiled. With the throne vacant, Radagon ran back to succeed him, which meant Marika held both divine and royal authority in her hands." Zhao Si brought the story to a simple close.

Ranni didn't seem too affected, but Malenia was in a bad state.

The sheer amount of information put tremendous pressure on a mind long tormented by Scarlet Rot, plunging her consciousness into chaos. The Scarlet Rot within her seized the chance to surge back. Fortunately, the Unalloyed Gold Needle kept it suppressed, preventing an outbreak. But the Scarlet Goddess had never given up trying to take over her body.

Everyone else present had already noticed something was wrong with Malenia. Her face flushed red, strange threads drifted from her body, and a faint red mist seeped through her skin. Clutching her chest with both hands, she struggled to hold on.

Zhao Si hurried over and threw his arms around Malenia. "Senior sister, wake up! Whatever you do, don't pull out the needle!"

He looked toward Ranni, plainly pleading for help.

Yet Ranni's expression remained unchanged.