Facing the endless drizzle blowing toward him, Lucian saw that the braziers lining both sides of the bridge still burned fiercely.
The dense rain obscured the road ahead, but a massive silhouette could vaguely be seen waiting in the distance atop the causeway.
Lucian raised an arm.
At once, a violent gale swept forward, scattering the dark clouds and rain overhead.
Yes, the classic Soulsborne weather cancel technique. He canceled the rain.
Well… in reality, he had simply used the Divine Beast's ability to alter the climate, manipulating the weather around the Divine Tower.
As the rain clouds dispersed, the road ahead became perfectly clear, and the distant figure finally revealed itself.
A huge "fat man" stood in the center of the bridge, his drooping skin making him resemble a walking Michelin tire mascot.
The figure was enormous.
Not only was he absurdly tall, but his width was nearly equal to his height.
Yet the sagging, bloated flesh hanging from him wasn't actually his own.
The muscular arms exposed beneath his robes proved that he wasn't truly obese.
Those countless layers of skin all came from sacrifices flayed from other people.
He wore a robe stitched together from smooth human skin, and seven peeled-open faces decorated the apron hanging at his waist.
Without question, this was one of the Godskin Nobles who had once followed the Gloam-Eyed Queen.
Among the Godskins, Nobles were the oldest and held higher status than the Apostles.
Their strength was equally terrifying.
They had once followed the Gloam-Eyed Queen across the Lands Between, carrying out hunts against gods themselves.
Whatever those "gods" truly were, any being worthy of that title could not possibly have been weak.
At that moment, the Godskin Noble looked up in confusion after the rain obscuring his form suddenly vanished.
Liurnia's rain was usually endless. Why had the weather changed so abruptly today?
Then he spotted Lucian.
The moment he saw the outsider, the Godskin Noble immediately gripped his Godskin Stitcher and began walking forward without hesitation.
The bloated skin hanging from his body quivered with every step, while the thick serpent tail behind him swayed heavily from side to side.
—
Lucian looked at the approaching Godskin Noble and shook his head.
He had no intention of killing him either.
After the defeat of the Gloam-Eyed Queen, a large number of Godskins had entered into something akin to cooperative relationships with Ranni's faction.
A Godskin Noble guarded Ranni's Divine Tower, while a Godskin Apostle lurked beneath Radahn's tower.
The first two locations were at least somewhat discreet, hiding them away in isolated Divine Towers that few people visited.
But Rykard's side didn't even bother pretending anymore.
After all, Rykard openly opposed the Erdtree, so keeping a Godskin Noble inside Volcano Manor was hardly an issue.
And speaking of Destined Death…
Melina herself possessed the dusk-colored eye.
If she wished, she could absolutely reunite all the Godskin Apostles and Nobles beneath her banner.
No matter how one looked at it, the Godskins could practically be considered friendly units.
Lucian called out to the steadily approaching Godskin Noble.
"I'm not your enemy. Let me pass."
The Godskin Noble gave no response.
Instead, he quickened his pace.
The instant the two closed within striking distance, the Noble bent his arm and raised the Godskin Stitcher before him.
The elegant thrusting sword, with its pale celadon-green blade, stabbed forward in rapid succession.
The Noble's swordsmanship far surpassed ordinary warriors.
The chain of thrusts came so quickly that the naked eye could barely track them.
For a weapon of that size, the speed was terrifying.
Yet amidst the storm-like barrage, Lucian remained completely untouched.
He shifted back and forth continuously, every thrust piercing nothing but afterimages.
Looking at the imposing Godskin Noble before him, Lucian nodded.
As expected, the Land of Shadow's stat inflation really was ridiculous. This... this was the proper level of the Lands Between.
Seeing how fierce the Noble's swordplay was, Lucian grew a little interested.
He curled one finger and flicked toward the incoming Godskin Stitcher as though performing a forehead flick.
A burst of storm-force collided with the Noble's sweeping thrust, precisely knocking the blade upward into the air.
Realizing his weapon wasn't enough, the Godskin Noble suddenly thrust his belly forward.
As he moved, the hanging skin draped across his body inflated like an airbag.
Black flames burst outward with the impact.
The flayed skin still retained grease, leaving it soft and elastic enough to endure such movements without tearing.
Lucian stepped back, unwilling to let that slick human skin touch him.
As Lucian retreated, the Godskin Noble's body swelled again, lifting him into the air.
The next moment, the massively bloated Noble came crashing down toward Lucian like a falling mountain.
Lucian retreated again, avoiding the Noble's meteor-like body slam.
At that moment, the Noble's robe spread open before Lucian, wobbling like gelatin.
From up close, Lucian could even see the intricate textures across the flayed skin garments.
The skins used to create the robe were all incredibly smooth.
Had they still been attached to living people, such skin would have been considered beautiful.
But knowing they had been peeled from human bodies made their smoothness deeply revolting.
Honestly…
The longer he looked at it, the more disgusting it became.
Lucian suddenly lost interest in continuing this little game.
He reactivated the moonlight mark, causing the Dark Moon sigil to manifest before the Godskin Noble.
"If you don't want to die," Lucian said calmly, "then stop blocking my path."
The Godskin Noble visibly froze upon seeing the moon symbol.
But after only a brief hesitation, he attacked again.
With a sweep of his left hand, the Godslayer black flames of the Gloam-Eyed Queen spread across the ground, surrounding Lucian.
Lucian raised an eyebrow.
The Noble had clearly reacted to the moon mark, yet still refused to stand down?
Strange.
Had he stopped obeying Ranni? That didn't make sense. Then why was he still guarding the Divine Tower?
And he wasn't saying a word either.
Why did every one of these people insist on acting like silent experts, only willing to communicate after getting beaten first?
Still, this time it wasn't really the Godskin Noble's fault.
The order Ranni had once given him was simple:
Seal off the bridge leading to the Divine Tower.
"Absolutely, absolutely permit none save myself to enter the Divine Tower."
So even after Lucian displayed the moonlight mark, the Noble still wouldn't permit passage.
And Ranni herself…
Had naturally forgotten this tiny detail.
Though even if she remembered, she probably wouldn't bother notifying him.
After all, there was no way the Godskin Noble could actually stop Lucian.
Using the black flames to conceal his body once more, the Godskin Noble inflated the layers of human skin around himself again.
The Godskin Noble's body continued swelling rounder and rounder.
Then he suddenly turned sideways and began rolling toward Lucian like a gigantic wheel crushing across the bridge.
Watching the Noble burst through the black flames while performing his absurd rolling attack, Lucian couldn't help mocking it internally.
Just what kind of mindset did Miyazaki have to invent a move like this?
With a body shape and attack pattern like that, one day the Michelin tire mascot might really invade his bedroom as a red phantom over copyright infringement.
Lucian looked at the charging Godskin Noble and pulled out the Ruins Greatsword, a weapon he had not used in a long time.
Among Lucian's arsenal, the Ruins Greatsword honestly ranked fairly low.
Though it was a legendary weapon, that only meant its history was more famous than others.
In terms of actual power, whether physical damage or gravity manipulation, the +9 Starscourge Greatswords completely outclassed it.
As for other aspects…
It was ugly.
Not especially fun.
Couldn't even serve well as a toy.
Its only real strength was its sheer heaviness.
Heavy enough to practically count as a shield.
Watching the rapidly rolling Godskin Noble, Lucian gripped the massive sword with both hands.
Facing the Noble, he turned sideways and raised the blade into position.
The Godskin Noble continued spinning wildly, charging forward with terrifying momentum.
The sheer weight of his movement caused even the massive stone bridge to tremble faintly, pebbles and dust bouncing across the ground.
Lucian maintained his stance until the Noble reached him.
Then Lucian grinned.
Twisting his body, he swung the Ruins Greatsword that had long since finished charging its momentum.
"Home run!"
The Godskin Noble's swollen belly instantly caved inward beneath the impact of the colossal sword.
The overwhelming force carried by the Ruins Greatsword exploded through his body.
At that moment, the Noble suddenly realized how laughable the momentum he had been building truly was.
The next instant, his massive body flew backward at a speed many times faster than before.
Lucian casually rested the Ruins Greatsword over his shoulder and began walking toward the Godskin Noble he had just launched away.
That hit had sent the Noble flying outright.
Fortunately, he hadn't accidentally blasted him clean off the bridge, or the fight would've ended via ring-out.
Thinking about how much strength he had used just now, Lucian suddenly grew a little concerned.
…He hadn't accidentally killed the Godskin Noble in one hit, had he?
Actually…
That really seemed possible.
Soon enough, Lucian arrived at the Noble's crash site.
The Godskin Noble now looked utterly miserable.
His previously elegant noble demeanor had vanished completely.
The Godskin Noble Robe stitched from human skin had been torn to pieces from the impact.
Most of the faces decorating the apron had been ripped apart, every one of them twisted into horrifying expressions.
Even the purple ornamental gem on his chest had shattered into fragments.
Despite suffering such a devastating blow, the Godskin Noble had not died instantly.
But his condition could hardly be described as good.
His body sprawled limply across the ground like a boneless creature.
Lucian's "home run" strike had delivered such violent force that nearly every bone in the Noble's body had shattered.
At the critical moment, black flames had ignited across his body, reducing some of the physical damage.
The swollen robe had indeed acted like an airbag, dispersing much of the impact.
Combined with the flexible serpent-like body granted by Crucible traits, the Godskin Noble had barely managed to cling to life.
Looking at the half-dead Noble, Lucian scratched his head.
He really had forgotten to hold back just now…
Mainly because in that sort of batting stance, anyone would instinctively swing with full force at something flying toward them.
Well, whatever.
As long as the guy wasn't dead.
Seeing Lucian steadily approach, the Godskin Noble immediately tensed and desperately began healing his injuries.
The muscles throughout his body writhed violently, twisting broken bones back into place.
The life-force of the Crucible surged continuously, forcibly reconnecting his skeleton while restoring his injuries.
The Godskin Noble finally managed to stand again before Lucian reached him.
Watching the Noble, whose arms were still trembling from freshly repaired injuries raise his weapon once more, Lucian almost felt touched.
What dedication.
Even in this state, the guy still wanted to fight.
Godskin Noble, there is absolutely no need for you to keep challenging an enemy you cannot possibly defeat!
Faced with the Noble's determination to resist to the very end, Lucian originally planned to simply knock him unconscious and leave him here.
Then he suddenly remembered the Sleep Pots he had never gotten around to using.
Originally, Lucian had gathered Trina's Lilies specifically to craft Sleep Pots for dealing with Godskin Apostles and Nobles.
But afterward, he leveled too quickly.
Now he didn't need Sleep Pots at all to beat them.
And after obtaining St. Trina's Torch, Sleep Pots had become even more obsolete.
Unless he intended to use them later for some kind of "special-purpose hypnosis play," these pots would probably never get used.
In that case…
This was the perfect opportunity to test whether Godskins were still vulnerable to sleep.
Go on then.
You shall become the first victim of hypnosis!
Lucian pulled out a Sleep Pot and hurled it directly at the Godskin Noble.
If landing a hit could capture the target, and weakened enemies were easier to affect, wasn't this basically a Poké Ball?
The Godskin Noble thrust out his rapier, accurately shattering the Sleep Pot midair.
But a cloud of deep violet mist instantly spread across his face.
The Noble immediately held his breath.
Too bad it was already pointless.
The purple gas enveloped his entire body. This wasn't something breathing control alone could stop.
The Godskin Noble ignited black flames across himself, lightly burning his own flesh.
The pain briefly restored a trace of clarity.
But St. Trina's sleep was far more than ordinary drowsiness.
This power originated from a demigod's other half, a terrifying ability capable of forcibly dragging people into a muddy, irresistible slumber.
If St. Trina herself wielded the power directly, the victim would likely fall asleep forever, entering eternal sleep.
Gradually, the Godskin Noble stopped resisting and sat down heavily on the ground.
Lowering his head, he fell into deep slumber.
Seeing the Godskin Noble genuinely pass out, Lucian nodded.
Looks like Sleep Pots were still incredibly effective.
Even a powerful Godskin Noble collapsed instantly.
Leaving the sleeping Noble behind, Lucian continued toward the Divine Tower ahead.
The Godskin Noble wasn't some cute beautiful girl, so hypnosis play was unnecessary.
Simple abandonment play suited him better.
Of course, after being abandoned here, Lucian wasn't planning to come back anyway.
Pushing open the doors of the Divine Tower of Liurnia, Lucian rode the elevator all the way upward.
Finally, at the tower's summit, Lucian saw the charred corpse and the Cursemark of Death left behind by Ranni.