Arthur reacted instinctively.

The Dark Moon Greatsword swept backward—

Using the flat of the blade.

The attacker was blasted away.

Arthur narrowed his eyes.

"…You."

"Blasphemer" Bernahl.

Bernahl steadied himself and lifted his strange, grotesque great hammer.

"I didn't expect you to remember me."

Arthur tilted his head slightly.

"Why ambush me?"

Bernahl's expression twisted with fury.

"Don't play dumb."

"You murdered my dearest friend."

Arthur paused.

Then lightly slapped his forehead.

"Oh. Right. You were Rykard's friend."

"So this is revenge?"

Bernahl's voice was steady.

"Yes."

"Not only for my friend…"

"But for vengeance against the Erdtree."

Arthur exhaled softly.

The Lands Between had never been about right or wrong.

Only positions.

Even former allies could become mortal enemies.

(Patches excluded. That man simply had no position at all.)

Arthur raised the Dark Moon Greatsword.

"Then show me the resolve behind your vengeance."

Bernahl charged.

The grotesque Devourer's Scepter roared through the air.

Arthur merely applied Adula's Moonblade to his sword.

The outcome was never in doubt.

Even if Bernahl was an experienced warrior—

Even if his combat instincts were razor sharp—

He was facing a being who had already ascended beyond mortal limits.

The blade pierced Bernahl's heart.

At the brink of death, Bernahl whispered:

"I hear nothing… see nothing… feel no doubt…

I walk only the path I have chosen…

Even if death awaits."

His body dissolved into white motes of light—

Returning to the Lands Between.

His armor and weapon remained.

Arthur clicked his tongue.

Shame.

The chest plate now had a clean hole through it.

He'd have to repair it.

The armor was called Beast Champion Armor.

System description:

"Beasts are drawn to heroes. Drawn to kings.

This armor was worn by one with kingly qualities—

Until his maiden threw herself into the fire."

Arthur understood.

Bernahl was a kingly figure.

Like Godfrey before him—

Beasts were drawn to him.

He had journeyed as a Tarnished with his maiden, seeking the Elden Ring.

He befriended Rykard.

Learned the truth of the Erdtree.

At the Mountaintops of the Giants—

He watched his maiden leap into the Forge of the Giants.

The Erdtree did not burn.

He broke.

After Rykard was devoured by the Great Serpent—

Bernahl inherited his will.

He took up the Devourer's Scepter.

He embraced blasphemy.

And when the Erdtree finally ignited—

He came to Farum Azula.

In his possession:

The Blasphemous Claw.

A fragment containing a shard of the Rune of Death. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

A tool capable of deflecting the power of the Black Blade.

His goal was obvious.

Release Destined Death.

Strike at the Erdtree.

But fate intervened.

And his revenge ended here.

Arthur collected:

Beast Champion Armor

Devourer's Scepter (legendary weapon)

Blasphemous Claw

The claw would prove useful against Maliketh.

After a brief rest—

Arthur stepped through the fog gate.

Inside the Crumbling Temple

A circular hall.

Four pillars.

The ceiling long gone.

At the far end—

A mural of the Elden Ring intertwined with the Erdtree remained untouched.

Beneath it stood a tall figure in gray-white robes.

Hooded.

Still.

Arthur spoke calmly:

"Beast Clergyman Gurranq."

He paused.

"Or should I call you… Black Blade Maliketh?"

They had met before.

After the Night of the Black Knives—

Maliketh assumed the identity of Gurranq in the Bestial Sanctum of Caelid.

He consumed Deathroot—

The source of Those Who Live in Death.

Even abandoned by the Greater Will—

He continued enforcing its order.

Arthur had traded Deathroot for incantations here before.

They were not strangers.

"Gurranq" once meant a terrifying beast in the Lands Between.

It also meant—

"Death of the Demigods."

Fitting.

Very fitting.

The robed figure slowly raised his head.

Beneath the hood—

Golden eyes burned.

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