Among the gods of the Lands Between and other beings of similar rank, any one of them—if struck in their true body by a sufficiently powerful human while completely off-guard—can be injured. This is precisely why, in the original timeline, the Tarnished were able to slay demons and gods alike, eventually ascending to kingship.
From another perspective, perhaps the so-called godhood achieved by some in the Lands Between merely grants them a kind of permission authorized by the Greater Will—a divine authority—but in essence, they are still incomparable to true gods (such as the Greater Will itself).
To outsiders like Aoko and Touko, the divine beings of the Lands Between—including Marika—are at most general manager level. They don't even measure up to figures like the old crone-beast or the Two Fingers, who could be considered CEOs. As for the Chairman of the board—the Greater Will who is busy spreading its influence across the universe—it doesn't even spare the Lands Between a glance.
At that moment, under Miquella's stunned and confused gaze, Malenia gave her brother one final smile… and quietly passed away. The newly born god didn't even have time to grasp the departing soul of his sister.
By all rights, if Malenia had not changed bodies and still carried the innate Scarlet Rot laws within her, she undoubtedly would not have died from such an attack. She would have transformed at death's door, releasing the laws of rot and becoming the new Goddess of Rot.
Unfortunately, Miquella had spent years devising a way to free his sister from the control of the Rot. He succeeded, and Malenia's combat strength rose greatly—but he had not anticipated that so many would come to stop them. It was beyond even her limits.
Holding Malenia's lifeless body in his arms, Miquella slowly rose from the ground. The light of pure gold around him grew even more dazzling. But without question, the Tarnished's sword still pierced through both his and Malenia's chest.
With his spirit-form hand, Miquella slowly pulled the sword from their bodies and tossed it aside. His healing power closed the wounds on Malenia's body—burns from Aoko's magic cannon and the piercing from the Tarnished's blade. The red-haired Valkyrie now looked as peaceful as if she were merely asleep.
Yet Malenia was undeniably dead. Her soul flew toward the blue shores, toward the tomb where the Godslayer Queen slumbered, and eventually descended into eternal rest in the depths of the abyss.
Looking at Malenia's body in his arms, Miquella finally let go. This body—with tiny horn-like growths on its arms—was not her original body. Even as a keepsake of his beloved sister, it held no meaning. Under the immense power of pure gold, the reshaped body of Mohg disintegrated into ashes.
Miquella abandoned the body, his emotions, his other half, his love—and ultimately the sister he had sworn to protect. As a newly risen god, he stood before all beings… yet could no longer remember why he had done all this.
Although the wound caused by the Tarnished's sword had been healed, it undoubtedly weakened this new god and diminished his control.
Miquella's law, now unstable, radiated from his body as brilliant golden light. As it touched everyone present, Aoko immediately sensed something was wrong. A surge of inexplicable affection for Miquella rose in her heart, along with a strong urge to kneel and declare loyalty.
But she quickly regained her senses. Gritting her teeth and relying on her strong will, she teleported to her allies using a Gate Spell and began casting countermeasures.
"Protection from Good!" Aoko cast the spell rapidly, applying it to her strongest teammates who were still resisting with difficulty, shielding them from Miquella's charm effect. (Miquella's alignment had indeed become Good.)
But those farther away were beyond her reach—such as some of Messmer's soldiers, and Pureblood Knight Ansbach. For them, she could only use control spells like Sleep to temporarily disable them.
The Tarnished, who had previously launched a successful surprise attack, had sharp combat instincts. Sensing something wrong, he immediately fought off the voices in his head and charged toward Aoko. Melina, within him, was also doing her best to help him resist.
Finally, just as the Tarnished was on the brink of losing control, Aoko slapped him and applied the last Protection from Good spell, giving everyone a moment to breathe.
While Miquella, now out of control, scattered his overwhelming charm uncontrollably, Radahn remained eerily quiet. He stood motionless, like a puppet without orders.
Meanwhile, another intense battle had finally concluded. The severely wounded Messmer the Serpent bit through the long neck of the Elden Beast with fangs wreathed in black-red flames, setting its entire body ablaze.
Messmer had undoubtedly used his innate Serpent Flame to achieve this. Part of this chaotic power came from the queen.
Indeed, only powers completely unrelated to the Erdtree, the Elden Ring, or the Golden Order could harm the Elden Beast. These powers or laws typically originated from Outer Gods beyond the Lands Between.
Though ancient legends may not mention it, the Destined Death held by the Godslayer Queen was a prime example of a law outside the Golden Order. It was the only one capable of breaking Erdtree's concept of immortality. Even though the Queen herself had been killed and her power shattered, scattered, and sealed, its potency remained immense.
Now that Messmer had unleashed his true nature and was emotionally charged, even Miquella's charm law could not control him.
With the fall of the Elden Beast, the surrounding space reverted to the hollow structure within the tree. Messmer returned to his tall, slender human form—but the brutal wounds on his body could not be hidden.
The divine weapon formed from the Elden Beast's body fell near Miquella. Messmer, now kneeling, tried to approach it—but his weakening state made it hard to resist Miquella's charm.
Yet this large-scale charm had pushed Miquella to his limit. The Elden Ring's nature was to amplify the wielder's law—but the Great Rune in Miquella's possession was insufficient to support his post-ascension output.
Then, with the sound of something shattering, the pressure on everyone lifted. Those previously charmed seemed to suddenly awaken.
Miquella's Great Rune had shattered.
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