Lucian lowered his head, staring at the blood-soaked arm that had burst out from his chest. His pupils shrank sharply.
The hand reached upward and clamped tightly around his throat.
Something was trying to crawl out from inside his body.
Melina stood right beside him. The moment she saw this horrifying scene, she swung her dagger without hesitation, slashing at the grotesque arm.
But the wound that appeared on the arm manifested at the exact same time on Lucian's right arm.
Both of them were stunned.
Only then did they realize, the arm was identical to Lucian's own right arm.
The instant he understood, Lucian didn't hesitate. He grabbed the arm tightly and twisted downward, snapping it in half.
At the same time, his own right arm twisted unnaturally, breaking in the same manner.
Melina no longer held back, even if it meant injuring him. She struck again, severing the arm completely.
If it were allowed to keep emerging, it would not stop at just an arm.
When the limb was fully cut off, Lucian's own arm broke apart as well.
Even so, the severed arm protruding from his chest did not stop growing. It continued to push outward.
Lucian ignited flames, burning it away completely with the sun's searing heat.
Melina summoned the small Erdtree once more. Combined with Lucian's own radiant healing, flesh rapidly regenerated, restoring him to a state where he could fight again.
Meanwhile, Mohg remained where he stood, quietly sensing Lucian and Melina's movements.
"You bastard!"
Asimi charged forward, wielding two massive greatswords in both hands.
The twin blades swept toward Mohg in a spinning assault, yet he neither dodged nor blocked.
The swords passed through his body, drawing only a few drops of blood before losing all effect.
Mohg remained completely unmoved, as if the attack meant nothing.
At this point, he possessed a fragment of the Formless Mother's divine essence and had fully refined the blood law contained within his Great Rune.
He was now the incarnation of the Formless Mother within the Lands Between.
Killing Lucian with that earlier method would have sufficed, but it seemed Mother also wished to fight alongside him.
As her child, he would not disappoint her.
Mohg brought the fingers of his left hand together and dragged his nails across his own body, drawing forth a surge of blood.
The power of the Great Rune activated, resonating with the distant star-bound domain of the Formless Mother, strengthening the connection between them.
With both Mohg and the Formless Mother exerting their power, the channel opened through Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear expanded once more.
In an instant, an overwhelming tide of invisible flesh poured out from the void within the spear.
Seeing the faint, translucent outlines spreading across the area, Lucian's heart sank. He immediately conjured a miniature sun.
Under its light, the Formless Mother's body was forced into visibility, allowing everyone to clearly track Her movements.
Her presence had already spread across the entirety of what had once been the cursed blood lake.
Melina, with her dusk-tinted eye, could perceive the Formless Mother's movements. But Asimi relied heavily on the sun's illumination to do the same.
As Asimi looked at the writhing mass, fear was plainly written across her face.
She could sense it instinctively, if she were touched, something terrible would happen.
Having already experienced the Formless Mother's methods firsthand, Lucian did not dare be careless.
"Be careful. Don't let Her touch you."
—
In the distance, Leda and the others were at a complete loss.
First came the terrifying power of the sun. Then Mohg's aura surged to new heights. Now even an Outer God had intervened.
Their bodies screamed at them to flee, yet the duty in their hearts would not allow it.
Anxiety filled Leda's eyes. Could Lucian still defeat Mohg in his current state?
Then, suddenly, a voice echoed within her mind:
"You need not worry. I am watching."
"Following the guidance of grace to reach this point… Leda, you have done well."
Only she could hear it, and it filled her with overwhelming encouragement.
She lowered her head deeply, her heart brimming with joy, her face flushed red.
—
Lucian gathered his strength once more. Taking out his crystal staff, he unleashed a torrent of energy, the Comet Azur drawn from the power of the Sword of Night and Flame.
This time, Mohg finally reacted.
He vanished from his original position in an instant.
When Lucian located him again, he found Mohg standing atop the flat side of Asimi's greatsword.
Asimi's pupils shrank as realization struck her.
The drops of blood she had drawn earlier, he had used them as markers to move.
She immediately flipped her blade upward, trying to throw him off.
Mohg did not budge.
Before she could complete the motion, his sacred spear pierced straight through her body.
Faced with such overwhelming force, she had no chance to resist. Her life was snuffed out instantly.
"Agh—!"
Her consciousness returned to her core within Lucian, crying out in pain.
It was her first time experiencing death in the Lands Between, and the agony was beyond anything she had ever felt.
Even knowing she would not truly die, she could not escape the instinctive terror.
Only now did she truly understand the most primal instinct of living beings, the fear and rejection of death.
After that brief cry, she quickly transmitted the information she had personally experienced to Lucian:
"My lord! His physical body is far stronger than before!"
"Even your body can't compare to his now. You absolutely cannot fight him head-on!"
Lucian already knew.
Because as she spoke, he had already been struck and sent flying by Mohg's charge.
He was blasted backward, and even the massive greatsword in his hand shattered at the edge.
Melina dodged an incoming attack from the Formless Mother and stepped in front of Lucian, trying to block Mohg.
But Mohg instantly appeared behind her, launching another attack toward Lucian.
Now, Lucian faced Mohg rushing at him from the front, while behind him the Formless Mother had already laid a trap.
Gritting his teeth, Lucian cast gravity magic behind himself, using repulsive force to launch his body upward and escape.
In midair, he finally gained a brief moment to breathe.
The arm he had used to block Mohg's attack was still trembling uncontrollably. He could barely hold his sword.
Was this the power of an Outer God? Had it elevated Mohg to such monstrous physical strength?
From above, looking down at the overwhelming tide of flesh and Mohg whose speed and power had become utterly unnatural, Lucian had no room for hesitation.
He activated his trump card once more.
A sharp chime echoed.
[Infinite Focus]
[Remaining time: 900 seconds]
—
As the tide of flesh shifted its target and surged toward Melina below, another sun rose in Lucian's hand.
At this moment, an endless stream of magic surged within Lucian's body.
No matter how much he used, it would not run dry.
How much power he could unleash during this time depended solely on how fast he could output it.
Like drawing water from the same ocean, using a cup versus a pump produced entirely different results.
Fortunately, Lucian's output speed was among the very best.
Magic poured out of him without pause. The sheer force of it even began to tear apart his own magical circuits.
A sun rose, suspended within the eternal darkness of this underground realm.
Fed continuously by magic, it expanded without limit, swelling at a terrifying rate.
Then, warm sunlight descended, instantly healing all of Lucian's injuries and allowing him to release his power without restraint.
Did this sun have a limit? Of course it did.
But even with infinite magic, it was a limit Lucian could not reach.
The sun unleashed its destructive flames upon the Formless Mother. Wherever the fire touched, that writhing flesh melted away like snow, vanishing completely.
Sensing the overwhelming magic gathering in the sky, Mohg felt a flicker of unease.
Enduring the omnipresent flames, he thrust his spear forward, piercing straight through Lucian.
Yet Lucian burst into laughter, healing the wound instantly with sunlight right before Mohg's eyes.
From above, Lucian looked down at Mohg and the Formless Mother, letting out a quiet breath.
The power of the sun far exceeded his expectations. With infinite magic to sustain it, it was almost unstoppable.
If the Formless Mother managed to transfer this overwhelming damage into the stars again, then he would be forced to use his final, life-saving measure.
That was something he absolutely could not accept.
While Infinite Focus could not create the same qualitative leap as that earlier devastating strike, the sheer quantity it provided was more than enough to make up for it.
—
With the endless supply of magic, the battle progressed far more smoothly than Lucian had anticipated.
Even with over four hundred seconds of infinite focus remaining, both Mohg and the Formless Mother had already lost the ability to resist.
The Formless Mother's manifested body within the Lands Between had been completely vaporized.
Any new flesh that emerged through the sacred spear was instantly incinerated the moment it crossed over.
Mohg's body had been scorched beyond recognition by the flames, and the calm composure he once held was gone.
No matter how fast he moved, how could he escape light that was everywhere?
Gritting his teeth, his face filled with unwillingness, a single thought echoed within him:
Why?!
He had already avoided that ultimate attack. So why could Lucian still unleash something like this?!
Damn it… where was all this magic coming from?!
Through the fragment of divine essence left within him, the Formless Mother communicated directly with Mohg.
"Will you leave?"
"I can take you away."
"To the stars, far from all conflict."
That was Her offer.
Mohg reached out toward Lucian, trying to crush him, yet all he could grasp was a handful of shattered stone.
"I will stay…"
His unfinished ambitions, his unbuilt dynasty, the promises he had made to his followers, and Miquella of the Haligtree, all of it was here.
If he left the Lands Between now, what would he have left?
Nothing.
Only here was he a lord, a king among the shattered, the Lord of Blood, the child of his Mother.
Though his Mother offered him a safe refuge, Mohg could not bring himself to flee.
His followers had already given their lives for him. They had truly believed in the coming dynasty.
Mohg knew well that he was no good man. Those who followed him were hardly accepted by the world either.
But their loyalty had never been false.
Deep within him flowed pride, his own sense of dignity and honor.
No matter how safe that refuge might be, he would not escape into it.
Better to burn away in a blaze than wither in silence.
Mohg lunged toward Lucian, staking everything he had on this final strike, even if the power destroyed him in the process.
He had no hope left. So he would do this for his brother.
This blow would surely take Lucian's life.
As long as Lucian, this obstacle, was removed, his brother would surely become Elden Lord!
"This won't do."
A voice echoed within Mohg's mind.
The god he had longed for all this time finally answered him, but only to deliver his death.
A golden sigil ignited within his body, forcibly halting his actions.
In that instant, everything that had been twisted and altered by enchantment flooded back into his mind.
When he realized the truth, Mohg completely broke.
"Miquella!"
In his final cry of despair—
Lucian's blade fell, severing his head.
And just like that, a Dynasty has fallen.