Chapter 186: Allow him to gain power

Godrick’s sliver of hope to defeat Mia with the help of the Guard also vanished.

Finally, he saw the Dragon Corpse impaled on the iron pole.

‘Grafting—if only I graft the dragon’s limbs…’

That dragon would surely allow him to reach a higher realm.

Allow him to gain power.

Would Mia give him such an opportunity?

Never.

Propelled by magic, the young girl drew her golden sword and approached Godrick like a ghost.

Godrick was terrified; there was no time for him to swing his great axe.

He tried to push Mia away with his other hand.

But the girl dodged with ease; the surface of her long sword was wrapped in a faint light as it sliced through Godrick’s wrist, severing that twisted, trunk-like hand cleanly.

Her staff also underwent a change.

Magic converged like a vortex, and the staff transformed into a massive long-handled hammer.

“Ngh… Hah!”

Mia gripped the end of the staff tightly and exerted her full strength, letting out a cry through gritted teeth.

Boom—

The great hammer struck Godrick’s chest from below with immense force.

The hideous Grafted King was actually sent flying into the air by Mia’s full-strength strike.

Though it was only a few dozen centimeters.

Dizzy and disoriented, Godrick fell backward; the heavy blow made him feel as if his internal organs were about to be crushed.

Mia stepped onto Godrick’s lumpy body, and the staff in her right hand transformed once more; a Mana Spear immediately took shape, piercing through Godrick’s twisted grafted body and pinning him to the ground.

The golden sword reached toward Godrick’s throat, stopping steadily against his wrinkled skin.

The girl’s chest heaved as she used her nose to steady her heavy breathing after the battle.

“You lost.”

“Tarnished!!!” Godrick’s face was as hideous as a lich’s.

He roared in refusal, and the hand still clutching the axe tried to lift it.

Mia withdrew the sword from his throat and swung it fiercely.

With a boom, fire erupted, and with the sharpness of the blade, that flaming crescent severed Godrick’s only remaining arm.

“How dare you, how dare you—!”

Godrick shrieked.

He had lost, with almost no room to fight back, crushed by the girl before him.

Even after doing so much, his strength was still so weak.

Godrick’s shrieks eventually turned into panting.

He no longer had any means to turn the tide.

“Let’s end this.” He stared intently at Mia; besides calmly accepting despair, what else could he do?

He was of the Golden Royal Family; even if he were to die a violent death by the roadside, he had to maintain the dignity of royalty.

His dark gold eyes reflected the girl’s figure.

Godrick, pathetic Godrick.

He always believed that as long as he lived, there would always be a way.

As long as he could live, he had hope of becoming stronger.

Fleeing the Royal Capital, even suffering the ultimate humiliation, his only wish was to grow strong and then return to his homeland.

Even if the scenery of his home had already blurred in his memory, becoming a thing of the past.

But this was the only thing he cared about, his long-cherished wish, for which he would give everything.

For the sake of Grafting, just how many ‘strong’ people had he hunted?

But even so, it was still of no use.

No use!

Why was this world so unfair?

Why did having power mean having everything, while having none meant being nothing?

Godrick hated such a world.

Now, he was supposed to die.

Killed by a Tarnished.

Was he supposed to beg a Tarnished for mercy and kiss the toes of a Tarnished?

No, never.

Godrick’s vacant gaze looked toward the sky.

The light of the Erdtree illuminated the thick dark clouds.

Until now.

There was only one regret left.

‘O my soldiers, I can no longer lead you home.’

If the Tarnished wanted that great rune, then let her take it; it was originally the grace the Goddess gave to her children, yet it brought nothing but endless suffering to her descendants.

Mia sighed and then withdrew her sword.

Godrick’s eyes widened, and with a final burst of strength, he tried to struggle to his feet: “What are you doing? End it already!”

“I will not accept humiliation from a Tarnished!”

Mia shook her head. “Why would I humiliate you? Godrick, I am your kin.”

Godrick looked at her, doubting his own ears.

He felt as though he must have misheard; from the recent battle, blood almost completely covered his head.

“What nonsense are you talking about, Tarnished?”

“My name is Mia.”

The young girl stood atop Godrick and pulled out the staff that had pinned him to the ground.

Then, a golden light familiar to Godrick—one he had seen not long ago—rose from the ground once more.

And this time…

Godrick felt it—the warmth poured into him by the fluorescent light surrounding him.

It was like a mother’s embrace, or the gentle touch of an elder.

It left him stunned and dazed.