Within the spacious hall of the manse, Lucian and the Lord of Frenzied Flame stood facing one another from afar.
Ever since the corpse had ignited with the Frenzied Flame, it had raised its greatsword toward the sky.
It made no other movement, seemingly unconscious as it continuously spread the power of the Frenzied Flame.
Lucian had no idea what this fellow was trying to do, but he had no intention of simply allowing him to continue.
Lucian gave Melina a look, signaling for her to evacuate Irina and Liliana.
Melina immediately understood. She turned around, grabbed Irina and Liliana, and rapidly retreated from the battlefield.
The Lord of Frenzied Flame was extraordinarily powerful, and merely watching the battle from nearby carried enormous risks.
Moreover, the despair Midra had accumulated over such a long period had now been completely ignited, causing the power of the Frenzied Flame to reach its absolute peak.
The Lord of Frenzied Flame before them was now completely different from Midra in his previous state.
Although he still remained within the same general realm as his predecessor, his strength had undergone a tremendous increase. Aside from the Tarnished who reached the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending, he could be called the strongest Lord of Frenzied Flame to have ever appeared.
Even if there was still some residual Frenzied Flame that needed to be dealt with, Lucian would take care of that after eliminating this opponent.
Only after everyone had retreated to a safe distance could Lucian finally unleash his power without restraint.
Lucian turned sideways and held the Sword of Night and Flame horizontally before him, its tip pointing directly at the Lord of Frenzied Flame as power continuously accumulated within him.
Maintaining his stance, tiny sparks began to burn across Lucian's body.
The lingering flames ignited, pushing Lucian's strength to yet another level.
Lucian took a deep breath and struck first.
With the Sword of Night and Flame in hand, he stepped forward and shattered the floor beneath his feet, charging straight toward the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
Accelerated by the storm, Lucian's entire body transformed into the deadliest arrow, shooting directly toward that withered body.
Without this physical vessel, no matter how powerful the Frenzied Flame was, it could not burn in thin air.
Faced with Lucian's overwhelming charge, the Lord of Frenzied Flame finally moved.
The Frenzied Flame sun above his head suddenly began burning violently, expanding several times over in an instant.
Dense strands of Frenzied Flame continuously surged out from within the sun, rushing toward Lucian in an overwhelming wave.
Lucian did not dodge.
Instead, he accelerated even further, charging straight toward the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
Naturally, there was a reason he dared to face the Frenzied Flame so recklessly.
Seeing the tremendous momentum of the Frenzied Flame, Asimi instantly manifested her body beside him and raised the Crystal Staff in one hand.
With her movement, a dense mass of pitch-black shadow gathered in the air above the hall.
Magic continuously poured into it, and a deep black space completely unfolded, devouring all light.
This was the lost sorcery of the Eternal City, Eternal Darkness.
The flames continuously erupting from the Frenzied Flame sun were drawn toward the dark void one after another, opening a safe passage for Lucian.
However, this safety was only temporary.
The power capable of burning through everything was simply too terrifying.
And when wielded by the Lord of Frenzied Flame, it became even more astonishing.
In the blink of an eye, the seemingly bottomless Eternal Darkness was completely surrounded by Frenzied Flame. Its ability to absorb the flames could no longer keep up with their rate of eruption.
Even the edges of the dark void soon began to twist as they were burned by the Frenzied Flame, already on the verge of collapse.
But with Asimi maintaining it, the time it bought was already more than enough.
At that very moment, Lucian had already reached the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
His sword thrust forward with tremendous force.
The Lord of Frenzied Flame was caught completely off guard by the unexpected cooperation between Lucian and Asimi.
The Frenzied Flame that should have obstructed Lucian's advance had failed to do so, instead leaving the Lord of Frenzied Flame with less room to respond.
He could only hurriedly swing the broken golden barbs in his left hand, using them as short blades to block the Sword of Night and Flame.
But how could such a hastily assembled defense withstand Lucian's deliberately prepared thrust?
And how could those tiny barb-like branches possibly contend with a god-slaying weapon?
The moment the golden barbs collided with the Sword of Night and Flame, they shattered one after another and flew apart.
Lucian's sword, meanwhile, was barely affected at all.
It pierced straight into the body of the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
Lucian lowered his waist and twisted his hips, unleashing his overwhelming strength without reservation and pouring it entirely into the Lord of Frenzied Flame's body.
The blade of the Sword of Night and Flame pierced through the Lord of Frenzied Flame's abdomen before violently cleaving upward with unstoppable force.
With absolute strength combined with a god-slaying blade, what in this world could possibly withstand Lucian when he wielded such a divine weapon?!
What the hell in this world could possibly stop him?!
With the Sword of Night and Flame possessing the power to distort space and time, as long as the blade reached the core of that Frenzied Flame sun, it could absolutely, effortlessly tear it apart!
The Lord of Frenzied Flame's withered body had no means of resisting.
It was as helpless as butter beneath a hot knife.
A flash of sword light passed.
His withered upper body was instantly split apart down the middle, the two halves falling away from one another.
However, just as Lucian's blade was about to continue upward and split apart the Frenzied Flame sun above his head, the Lord of Frenzied Flame finally launched his counterattack.
The Frenzied Flame sun above his head suddenly erupted with terrifying intensity.
Unlike ordinary Frenzied Flame, the power within its core spread outward through space like ripples.
The incomparably chaotic power of the core Frenzied Flame continued to erode and spread, burning everything in its path.
And Lucian, standing directly before him, was about to bear the full brunt of the impact.
The expanding wave of Frenzied Flame had not even reached him yet, but Lucian could already sense an overwhelming chaos within the firelight.
Mad visions and distorted noises continuously appeared before his eyes and in his ears.
Even someone as strong-willed as Lucian was subjected to an enormous influence.
Seeing this, Lucian immediately realized that something was wrong.
His madness meter had already risen this much before the attack even reached him.
If he were actually engulfed by this ultimate form of Frenzied Flame, he would probably suffer severe damage instantly.
Lucian had no choice but to immediately pull the Sword of Night and Flame free and retreat to a safe distance.
The Lord of Frenzied Flame's body slowly drew itself back together.
The Frenzied Flame burned violently along the wounds.
The wounds closed again, only to be instantly scorched by the Frenzied Flame and fused together like wax.
A terrifying burn scar remained across his body, with embers of Frenzied Flame continuously crawling within it.
Having realized Lucian's strength, the Lord of Frenzied Flame finally gathered his chaotic consciousness and began focusing entirely on the battle.
He raised the Greatsword of Damnation and instantly appeared before Lucian, thrusting it forward in retaliation for the attack he had just suffered.
Seeing that his opponent intended to contend with him through physical strength, Lucian could not help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.
At the same time, brilliant golden light had already appeared within Asimi's hands as one incantation after another was released.
Against an opponent wielding Frenzied Flame capable of burning souls, Asimi took on the role of support this time, coordinating with Lucian's attacks.
Golden Vow.
Blessing's Boon.
Dragonbolt of Florissax.
The effects of various incantations continuously took hold upon Lucian's body, flashing with different radiances as they strengthened him from every possible angle.
When the final incantation took effect, the two blades had already crossed the distance between them and collided with an ear-piercing metallic shriek.
But in the next instant, the Lord of Frenzied Flame's body was sent flying backward like a tattered piece of cloth.
Although they possessed power within the same general realm, trying to compete with Lucian physically in this state was simply not a wise decision.
Before he could even crash into the wall, Lucian's figure had already caught up.
His sword pierced straight through the Lord of Frenzied Flame, leaving the corpse hanging from the blade.
The blazing flames of the sun erupted from the sword's body, burning the Lord of Frenzied Flame's physical form from the inside out until it became charred black.
Even while impaled upon the sword, the Lord of Frenzied Flame still swung the Greatsword of Damnation toward Lucian's hands.
But Lucian gave him no opportunity to retaliate.
Before the greatsword could strike him, Lucian directly hurled the Lord of Frenzied Flame toward Asimi.
At that very moment, Asimi extended both hands.
Euporia floated in the air before her, continuously rotating.
A gigantic vortex had already formed as its power was unleashed, with the forces of abundance and Scarlet Rot continuously circulating within it.
And Lucian had deliberately thrown the Lord of Frenzied Flame directly into that vortex.
The forces of abundance and Scarlet Rot merged into a constantly shifting vortex, gradually devouring the figure of the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
This was their blood-pumping combination attack!
With their minds completely in sync, and their powers originating from the same mold, the two of them completely suppressed the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
At this point in the battle, facing the combined assault of Lucian and Asimi, the Lord of Frenzied Flame had not even managed to launch a single decent counterattack.
However, the two of them knew that the Lord of Frenzied Flame would not be so easy to eliminate, and neither relaxed their vigilance.
Sure enough, a withered arm suddenly extended the Greatsword of Damnation out from within the vortex and violently thrust it toward Euporia.
Under the repeated collisions with the Greatsword of Damnation, Euporia's rotation was inevitably disrupted.
At the same time, within the endlessly cycling vortex, the Frenzied Flame burned violently, gradually dissolving the vortex from the inside.
But what truly shattered the vortex was the countless fine golden barbs.
Phantom images of golden barbs suddenly appeared from nowhere, obstructing the two circulating forces and completely halting the vortex's flow.
The Lord of Frenzied Flame's body emerged from the dissipating vortex, standing motionless in the air.
At this point, the Lord of Frenzied Flame was in a considerably more miserable state.
Not only had his body been worn away by the continuous attacks, but more than forty percent of his physical form had already been lost.
Scarlet Rot clung to his flesh everywhere, while his vitality had been plundered by the power of abundance.
Even the Frenzied Flame sun that had seemed invincible moments ago had gradually dimmed.
Frenzied Flame spread outward, its chaotic and distorted fire repairing the Lord of Frenzied Flame's damaged body.
Yet despite suffering such severe injuries, the Lord of Frenzied Flame's aura had instead become even more condensed and formidable.
This abnormal phenomenon caused an ominous premonition to rise within Lucian and Asimi.
Unlike every other enemy they had ever faced, the Lord of Frenzied Flame possessed not the slightest trace of emotion.
Neither humiliation from having just been thoroughly beaten, nor surging battle intent...
There was nothing.
He was simply chaos and despair itself, burning silently.
The Lord of Frenzied Flame floated in midair.
The Frenzied Flame sun above his head suddenly expanded several times over once again.
Then, countless streaks of Frenzied Flame shot through the air one after another from within the sun, racing toward the two of them at an incredibly terrifying speed.
These dense waves of Frenzied Flame were not only astonishingly fast, their power was also far beyond anything ordinary defenses could withstand.
Yet such a vicious surprise attack still failed to achieve anything.
Before both Lucian and Asimi, a cyan-green field appeared.
The moment the streaks of Frenzied Flame touched Thops's Barrier, they were immediately deflected.
They shot off in all directions, twisting wildly as they pierced through the walls and punched countless holes into the already dilapidated mansion.
Lucian did not hesitate.
The moment the streaks of Frenzied Flame stopped, he once again charged toward the Lord of Frenzied Flame, unleashing one deadly attack after another.
Asimi stood somewhat farther away, alternating between storms, gravity, and sorcery as she relentlessly bombarded the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
Meanwhile, the Lord of Frenzied Flame remained silent, doing nothing but continuously swinging his sword.
From time to time, he would unleash the Frenzied Flame at close range, sending it directly toward Lucian's face.
——
Melina had brought Irina and Liliana to a safe location and had now returned to the battlefield as well.
Seeing that Lucian and Asimi had already inflicted such severe injuries upon the Lord of Frenzied Flame, surprise appeared on Melina's face.
But after thinking about it for a moment, Melina was no longer surprised.
As the first person to personally experience Lucian's strength after he had become a king, Melina naturally understood just how powerful he had become.
After stepping into the next realm of strength, Lucian's power and endurance had become astonishing.
And Asimi had almost perfectly replicated Lucian's strength.
This secret weapon had certainly been an unexpected surprise for the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
With such circumstances, achieving this kind of battle result was only natural.
Having understood this, Melina still did not dare relax simply because the two had gained the advantage.
She tightly gripped the Blade of Calling and began channeling the power of the Golden Order.
A phantom of a lush, flourishing Erdtree appeared behind the three of them, continuously scattering warm light over their bodies.
After completely comprehending the meaning of love, the Little Erdtree that had already been gradually growing stronger had finally matured completely.
Not only that, a golden sigil once again appeared beneath Melina's feet, spreading outward until it enveloped all three of them.
This was one of the incantations belonging to the Golden Order's faith, a high-tier incantation known as Erdtree's Blessing.
It could encompass nearby allies and increase their damage negation against everything except physical damage.
During the continuous battle against the Lord of Frenzied Flame, Lucian's body had gradually been struck several times.
But now, with his entire body covered in buffs, those injuries had become almost insignificant.
Feeling two additional effects being applied to his body, Lucian's fighting spirit rose even higher.
The Erdtree's restorative power was incredibly potent, far beyond what Asimi's earlier Blessing's Boon could compare with.
At this moment, the two continuous healing effects were even stacking with one another, becoming even more astonishing.
And after his Vigor had broken through its limits, Lucian himself possessed an inhuman rate of regeneration.
It could be said that Lucian's recovery ability was now completely excessive, almost approaching the effect of having unlimited health.
With such stable logistical support behind him, Lucian chose an even more aggressive style of attack.
A slash aimed at the Frenzied Flame sun was dodged, and the Greatsword of Damnation countered by stabbing straight into Lucian's body.
Inside his abdominal cavity, the Greatsword of Damnation suddenly spread apart again, its golden barbs piercing through Lucian's body and causing blood to gush out like a fountain.
Not only that, Frenzied Flame even ignited along the Greatsword of Damnation, burning Lucian's body.
Yet Lucian instead pushed himself forward.
The blade in his hand ignited with the blazing flames of the sun, and he once again slashed toward the Frenzied Flame sun.
Countless strands of Frenzied Flame shot out from within the sun.
Then, for the first time, it actually controlled the body and retreated.
Even chaotic Frenzied Flame understood how to seek advantage and avoid destruction when faced with the prospect of death.
By the time the Lord of Frenzied Flame pulled the Greatsword of Damnation free, Lucian's body had already been cleaved apart by the golden barbs.
But the power of life surged violently.
In barely any time at all, those horrifying wounds had completely healed.
And after the Frenzied Flame within his body was extinguished, the glintstone embedded in the Sword of Night and Flame immediately lit up, and the crest of the Carian Royal Family appeared.
Lucian's entire body was enveloped in blue light, and the madness gradually receded.
The Carian Royal Family's sorcery, Lucidity.
It could reduce madness, and Lucian had already used it countless times during the battle just now.
After realizing that his regeneration was even greater than he had imagined, Lucian chose to completely ignite himself.
The lingering flames burned more fiercely than ever before, even igniting into genuine fire.
Lucian's entire body was completely engulfed in flames.
Under this even more savage burning, even his terrifying regeneration speed seemed somewhat inadequate, barely managing to keep pace.
But the power gained by completely turning his own body into fuel was equally astonishing.
The Lord of Frenzied Flame was now thoroughly suppressed, almost completely deprived of any opportunity to retaliate.
Faced with sword flashes descending like raging waves, the Lord of Frenzied Flame retreated again and again, yet remained unable to escape.
Seeing that he had driven the Lord of Frenzied Flame into a desperate situation, Lucian became even less willing to relax.
From beginning to end, he had been relentlessly suppressing the Lord of Frenzied Flame without giving him even the slightest opening.
There was no way he would give him one now.
Against an ordinary enemy, Lucian might still have been interested in seeing what trump cards they possessed.
But against the bizarre Frenzied Flame, Lucian had absolutely no such desire.
The enjoyment of battle could be put aside for now.
This time, what he wanted was to make sure his opponent did not even have the opportunity to reveal a trump card!
The Lord of Frenzied Flame was not a living creature, but the will of the Frenzied Flame itself.
Therefore, it would not make mistakes under overwhelming pressure.
Yet even while dragging around a crippled body, even without revealing a single weakness, Lucian could still overpower it head-on.
Lucian found his opening.
Ignoring the injury to his left hand, he forcibly seized the Greatsword of Damnation.
At the same time, the Sword of Night and Flame in his right hand ignited with the scorching flames of the sun and thrust straight toward the Frenzied Flame sun.
But this fatal strike, the blow that should have decided the battle, failed.
Seeing Lucian's lethal attack coming, the Lord of Frenzied Flame did not move in the slightest.
Several Aging Untouchable suddenly crawled out from the ashes left behind by the Frenzied Flame, blocking the space between Lucian and the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
Terrifying core Frenzied Flame energy accumulated within their staffs.
Lucian's heart jolted.
His sword immediately changed from a thrust into a sweeping slash, cutting all of the Aging Untouchables down as easily as mowing grass.
But the moment that sword fell, Lucian was filled with regret.
Throughout his countless battles in the past, Lucian had made numerous optimal decisions without relying on the cheat tool, Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, saving himself many uses.
But under the current circumstances, that instinctive optimal decision had instead become the wrong one.
He had gone too long without using Wind Spirit Moon Shadow and had lost the habit.
For that brief instant, he simply failed to react.
Lucian had made a mistake, causing him to misjudge the situation.
He should have activated invincibility, endured the Frenzied Flame unleashed by the Aging Untouchable, and killed the Lord of Frenzied Flame outright.
But the Lord of Frenzied Flame, who should have died on the spot, had now broken free from his control and gained a moment of breathing room.
This was the trump card it had buried long ago.
Humans could make mistakes.
But the Lord of Frenzied Flame could not.
The Lord of Frenzied Flame was not a living creature.
It was the will of the Frenzied Flame itself.
Therefore, it would never make mistakes under overwhelming pressure!
The moment it escaped Lucian's suppression, the Lord of Frenzied Flame shot through the ruined roof and flew outside.
Asimi and Melina immediately launched their attacks, attempting to continue the suppression.
Unfortunately, the distance was already too great.
In the end, the Lord of Frenzied Flame endured their attacks and flew into the sky.
It floated among the enormous trees of the ravine, spreading its arms just as it had at the very beginning.
The sun of Frenzied Flame rose high into the sky.
At some unknown point, the burn scars left by the Frenzied Flame throughout the ravine had already reignited.
The people who had come outside the manse finally understood what its initial actions had meant.
Even back then, hidden within the aura permeating the physical world, the Frenzied Flame had already begun spreading.
The scattered power of the Frenzied Flame throughout the ravine was completely drawn back in, surging into the Frenzied Flame sun.
The Frenzied Flame sun that had been severely damaged and dimmed to almost nothing once again regained its former brilliance.
Then, an even more violent torrent of Frenzied Flame erupted from within it.
The entire ravine was dyed with madness.
The ravine was completely corrupted by the Frenzied Flame, transforming into a hellscape.
And the power obtained from burning away matter continuously strengthened the Lord of Frenzied Flame.
Amid the spreading Frenzied Flame, the Lord of Frenzied Flame, holding the Greatsword of Damnation, slowly turned its "head."
It looked down upon Lucian and the others.