Zhao Si held Malenia's hands down, afraid she would pull out the Unalloyed Gold Needle buried in her chest. Surely no one had forgotten the flower of Scarlet Rot that had bloomed on Radahn's back during the Shattering-the Aeonia.
That ghastly crimson flower, blooming like a lotus yet embodying rot, was an extraordinarily dangerous biological weapon.
Burn her with Ghostflame? No. The situation is still uncertain. If I rashly apply an external stimulus, that fragile needle might not hold up. Malenia herself might not hold up either. If she blooms then, we're all finished.
Malenia was so strong that Zhao Si could barely restrain her. Of course she was-she could trade blows head-on with Radahn, whose physique rivaled a giant's, even if she had ultimately lost.
Zhao Si could smell the foul stench of rot on Malenia. He felt that if this struggle went on, even he would become infected.
Judging by its symptoms, Scarlet Rot was most likely a fungal infection. It was difficult to eradicate, but weak to fire. Items sanctified at the Haligtree could resist it. Weapons forged by the Troll smith Iji could combat it. At its simplest, even the fire sprayed by Radahn's Redmane soldiers worked.
Scarlet Rot was a real nuisance, but it was also genuinely pathetic. The Blind Swordsman's Flowing Sword was impressive, but the Scarlet Goddess herself might actually be a complete pushover.
As an aside, the Erdtree faction had at least taken first place in the Lands Between's battle royale. Its supremacy had been won with its fists. Back then, the husband-and-wife team of Godfrey and Marika must have been brimming with ambition, shaping the realm and realizing their grand plans.
Judging by the outcome, none of the other defeated contenders had been as powerful as the Erdtree at its peak.
While Zhao Si struggled to keep Malenia restrained, Ranni stood watching. Blaidd wanted to help, but Ranni stopped him.
"Don't get close. You'll be infected," Ranni said softly.
Blaidd nodded and stood beside Ranni with the Royal Greatsword resting on his shoulder.
The question was, how could Ranni help Malenia suppress the Scarlet Rot?
Even if Scarlet Rot was weak to fire, they couldn't simply burn Malenia. That was another reason Zhao Si didn't dare unleash Ghostflame carelessly-he couldn't attack the threat without harming her.
Watching the scarlet mist around Malenia grow thicker, Ranni first raised her hand and cast [Calm].
A blue orb flew from her fingertips and struck Malenia's forehead. The cool sensation calmed her a little, restoring some of her awareness.
Zhao Si shouted, "Senior sister, wake up! Don't let the Scarlet Rot consume you!"
Malenia's face twisted in agony as she did everything she could to suppress the Scarlet Goddess trying to possess her.
Unless she chose to bloom herself, Malenia would never submit.
Ranni rose into the air, curling and turning her body like a mermaid. Magic gathered within her as she recalled the sight of the black moon when she had first encountered it.
Cold, lonely, dark.
[Ranni's Dark Moon], a spell named after her to distinguish it from Rennala's [Full Moon], released a deep-blue, frozen moon.
That icy moon, magnificent enough to rival the bright moon in the starry sky, drifted slowly down toward Malenia.
Watching the Dark Moon draw closer, Zhao Si cried out, "Why are you casting that?"
"Get away if you don't want to die," Ranni said.
Zhao Si realized this girl didn't even need a staff to cast spells, defying everything he knew about magic. He obeyed, letting Malenia go and retreating far away.
Then he watched the Dark Moon explode against Malenia. Once the frost dispersed, Malenia was down on one knee, panting heavily. Scarlet mist no longer poured from her body.
"That actually worked?" Zhao Si hurried over to check on Malenia and found that she had regained full awareness, no longer under the influence of Scarlet Rot.
"Your spell can blast away Scarlet Rot too?" Zhao Si thought it was far too versatile.
Ranni snorted. "Hmph. Of course."
"How does that work?" Zhao Si pressed.
"She hadn't fully released the Scarlet Rot. She was only giving off its energy. All I had to do was disperse that energy," Ranni said. "You don't even understand something that simple?"
Malenia panted heavily. "Big sister Ranni, thank you."
"About what we were discussing..." Ranni paused. "How much of it was true?"
"Every word," Zhao Si said. "If you don't believe me, you can go to Leyndell and inspect the statue."
Malenia let out a stale breath. "Whew... I'm willing to believe him."
"Huh?" Zhao Si hadn't expected Malenia to believe him.
"Because I also thought there was something strange about Father and Mother." Malenia recalled her childhood. "Whether it was my brother's birthday, mine, or any other occasion, they never appeared together. Whenever we went to Leyndell, we could only see one of them. Once, I sneaked into Mother's room, but there was no one there. I had no idea where she'd gone."
Malenia stood and steadied her breathing. "I remember that day very clearly. It was the day my brother gave Father the new incantation he'd developed."
Miquella had developed [Rings of Light] and given it to Radagon as a commemorative gift. That day had been Radagon and Marika's wedding anniversary.
But now that she thought about them being the same person, Malenia felt that Miquella's thoughtful gesture had been wasted.
If asked whether her parents or her brother mattered more to her, she would say her parents, but in her heart, she would choose her brother.
The siblings lived far away at the Haligtree, removed from Leyndell's bustle. They had very few opportunities to see their parents, so their attachment to them was rather faint.
Ranni's feelings were strange too. Looking back on her childhood, Radagon's love for her had been genuine. He had even sewn clothes for her and her two brothers himself with a golden needle.
She had felt his fatherly love, which only made her hate him more.
Thinking about it now, was it actually motherly love? What did Radagon consider poor Rennala to be?
Ranni clenched her hands, released them, then clenched them again. Unable to hold it in, she said, "Disgusting."
"Huh?" Zhao Si looked at Malenia, whom he was supporting, then at Ranni, unsure what she meant.
"The thought of his blood flowing through me makes me sick!" Ranni said. "I don't mind telling you. I do want to steal the Rune of Death, but I intend to use it to kill myself."
"Kill yourself?" Malenia was horrified. "Why?"
"Because it disgusts me! I hate Radagon, I hate the Erdtree, and I hate everything here!" Ranni's voice rose considerably, as though she had been holding this in for a long time.
"I want to sever my ties with him and find my own way forward. Even if-even if my fate is sealed, I'll keep going, even if it means killing myself." Ranni looked at Malenia. "Do you really want that bastard to deceive you for the rest of your life and treat you as his plaything?"
What could kill a demigod
was only the Destined Death contained within the Rune of Death. Ranni wanted to kill her flesh with precision while allowing her soul to endure.
-Carve off your flesh to return it to your mother, strip away your bones to return them to your father. You're a modern-day little Nezha! What a rebel. When you get ruthless, you even kill yourself.
That was Zhao Si's private assessment.
"I..." Malenia didn't know what to say.
"If you want her to be free, we have to deal with the Scarlet Rot first," Zhao Si said, supporting Malenia.
Her congenital disabilities had come from her parents, while Scarlet Rot was a curse-or, perhaps, the Scarlet Goddess's blessing. Malenia had never resented anyone. Asking her to hate her parents was difficult when she couldn't summon that hatred, even if Marika had deceived her.
Ranni sighed. "Now that everything is out in the open, there's nothing left to hide. My mother does possess the power of rebirth. It stems from her obsession with those who never had the chance to be born. Unfortunately, no one has yet survived it in good health."
"Could something be missing?" Zhao Si asked.
"I don't know. I've never studied it." Ranni turned her face away. "But Mother certainly hasn't tried rebirthing a demigod."
"Sis, may I say something?" Blaidd asked quietly.
Ranni nodded. "Go ahead."
Blaidd cleared his throat. "According to the information I've gathered, you need an important item called a Larval Tear. I've heard it comes from a lost technology preserved only in the legendary Eternal City."
"But no one knows where the Eternal City is, and even if they did, they couldn't get in, right?" Zhao Si said.
Blaidd nodded. "Exactly."
Zhao Si turned to Ranni again. "Then how much do you know about what happened to Godwyn?"
Ranni shook her head. "Nothing at all. I have no reason to kill him. Besides... he's a good man."
Ranni was particularly ruthless toward herself, but not quite so ruthless toward others.
"Then who contacted you about this?" Zhao Si found it strange. "You couldn't steal the Rune of Death on your own, could you?"
"I met with all the contacts," Blaidd said. "I was afraid it might be dangerous, so I never let them approach the Princess. Those leading the effort were assassins lurking in the shadows. We don't know their backgrounds."
Both Ranni and Blaidd deliberately concealed the matter involving Rykard.
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