Melina approached Nidhogg, still in her usual form—short chestnut hair, left eye closed, grey-green cloak, black boots, and a petite figure. Yet Nidhogg, for some reason, felt she had changed.
"Well done, just as at the beginning. Godrick has been defeated by your hands. His Remembrance weapon—the Great Rune—will also be at your disposal."
Melina stared for a moment at Godrick's severed head and torso, pressed her lips together, and looked at Nidhogg's chest.
"Did Ranni just wake up?"
"Yes. That round of Dark Moon was used with the blessing of her intelligence and focus."
"That's good."
Melina finished speaking simply. Suddenly, she reached into her hands, fumbled for a while, and produced an exquisite dagger.
"Huh?" Nidhogg asked with a puzzled smile. "What kind of dagger is this... Are you going to kill me?"
Melina rolled her eyes at Nidhogg, raised the dagger again, and asked him to look closer: "Look again. Don't you recognize it?"
Nidhogg looked at the dagger with a serious expression. An inspiration flashed through his mind. He remembered something and looked at it in surprise.
"This isn't your 'Missionary's Knife,' is it?"
「Weapon: Missionary's Knife」
"A knife given to those who set out on a journey with a mission. The weapon still retains the power of its former owner—the Kindling Maiden. Those who walk with fire will one day meet the death of fate."
「Skill: Golden Blade」
"Leap into the air, envelop the weapon in golden flame, and release the skill after the flames transform into blades, which can deal holy damage."
Nidhogg also confirmed through his Spectral Sight that it was indeed the Missionary's Knife.
At the beginning, fully remembering the mission given to her by her mother Marika, Melina had decided to carry it out, using herself as kindling to ignite the Erdtree and burn the seal upon it.
Yes, Melina is also, in a sense, of Marika's bloodline. And in their lineage, there is another person—Melina's brother, Messmer.
The fate of brother and sister is similar: each must become kindling, burn the seal of the Scadutree and the Erdtree, and open the path to the final boss for the Tarnished.
Whether Messmer and Melina are demigods is debatable. Their father is not directly mentioned, and their existence is special.
If you look at it from this perspective, perhaps it's worth revising the previous statement: Melina is the "weakest demigod."
Of course, if Godrick got to the point where he had to compare his combat power with Melina to shed his title of "weakest demigod," that wouldn't be great.
In short, having decided to carry out her mission, Melina had thrown the knife on the road. In the end, it was picked up by Nidhogg, who now shouldn't have had it in his hands.
Melina looked at the knife with nostalgia and remembered using it to fight side-by-side with Nidhogg and defeat Morgott, the Fell Omen.
At that time, to continue her mission, she didn't even want to look directly at Nidhogg. She only seriously supported Nidhogg and Morgott as comrades-in-arms.
Remembering the stubbornness and coldness of that time, and then the special situation that could only keep her within Nidhogg's body after appearing in this world, she couldn't help but smile at herself.
"What's going on?" Nidhogg asked curiously.
Melina waited for him to ask, so she calmly explained: "After you obtained 'Godrick's Great Rune,' I noticed the Missionary's Knife was back in my hands, and my power received a qualitative enhancement."
"I no longer need to remain in your body like before, nor do I need to use the 'Miniature Ranni' clone to move alone like Ranni. I can exist here for a long time."
Nidhogg was stunned by this, then understood what Melina meant, and sighed softly, "Pity. I still prefer you staying in my body all the time. This is good too."
Melina couldn't help but roll her eyes again, then explained, "Of course, I still can't be far from you for now. The will of the divine has brought us close. If I leave, I'll be pulled back."
"Oh, good," Nidhogg commented.
Melina said no more. Whether she didn't want to try to refute Nidhogg or because Nepheli, Slan, Azan, and the others had arrived.
Nepheli put away her twin axes and drank from her Flask of Crimson & Cerulean Tears to recover. At this moment, she looked at Godrick's huge body and sighed:
"Finally defeated this 'corrupt villain.' His filthy deeds will also end. The area around Stormveil City can be considered peaceful. I think my foster father will be pleased with this, right?"
She looked up again and looked at Nidhogg.
"Fortunately, this time you came to attack Godrick. If it had been someone else, perhaps the result wouldn't be like this. And I didn't play a big role in the battle."
"Nepheli, you don't need to be so modest. In this fierce battle, every participant contributed to defeating Godrick. If not for your diversion, the price for defeating Godrick would certainly have been considerable."
Nidhogg's words stunned Nepheli, Slan, and the others. Then everyone looked embarrassed.
Nepheli was fine. She played a role in diverting attention and even severed one of Godrick's hands holding the small axe. But Slan, Azan, and the others found it quite difficult to even dodge the royal axe's combat skills, let alone play a role.
"Let me introduce you." At this moment, Nidhogg pointed his finger at Melina. "She is my Finger Maiden and one of my most powerful companions and helpers."
Nepheli wasn't surprised that this chestnut-haired girl, who had suddenly appeared and vanished, existed. At the Junction, there were ten thousand paths. That wasn't so important.
Now that she learned Melina was Nidhogg's Finger Maiden, she naturally considered her Nidhogg's primary Finger Maiden.
Slan, Azan, and the others had seen Melina many times. They only remembered that this girl always appeared in battles alongside Nidhogg, coming and going in a hurry. But this time, she unexpectedly stayed.
Melina nodded to everyone. Everyone nodded back to her. Especially Azan, who adhered to knightly etiquette; his range of motion was the most extensive.
Nepheli didn't doubt Melina's existence. But that didn't mean she doubted nothing else. At this moment, she hesitated for a moment and asked:
"Actually, my foster father is 'Sir Gideon Ofnir, the All-Knowing.' He is familiar with all the complex knowledge of the Junction and also knows many secrets about the demigods. He told me some things."
"What you just used should be the magic of the Carian royal family—'Dark Moon,' right? The only person in the world who can still use this magic today should be the long-lost 'Moon Princess' Ranni. "
"Is there a relationship between you?"
Due to the distance and to avoid the blazing meteors, Nepheli hadn't noticed that Nidhogg had once had Miniature Ranni standing on his shoulder. So she couldn't clarify her thoughts.
If it truly was the 'Moon Princess,' remembering her foster father's assessment, Nepheli couldn't help but frown.
"Yes." Nidhogg wasn't as reserved as she was. He generously admitted, "She is also one of my most powerful companions and helpers. If the Storm King has wings, then she is one of my wings."
This time, Melina didn't even roll her eyes. She simply silently closed her right eye, looking as if she didn't see him.
Nepheli was momentarily stunned, thought it over, and finally smiled, as if giving up.
I believe the companions who can support Nidhogg must have good character. Perhaps my foster father misunderstood something. There's no need to tell him everything—it's better to pretend I don't know here.
Nepheli was about to say something and change the subject when she saw Nidhogg suddenly turn around and look towards the castle lord's residence in Stormveil City.
Everyone saw Nidhogg's serious expression, looked back, and immediately saw a figure with thinning hair and a thin body, secretly poking its head out from the castle gates.
Seeing that everyone present had noticed him, he looked terrified and walked out tremblingly, revealing the wooden board with a hole pattern hanging from his neck.
"Don't kill me, don't kill me! Godrick made me do it! Godrick made me do it!"
This man was none other than the "gatekeeper," Gostoc.
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