Chapter 395 - 298: I Admit It Was All the Moon’s Fault

Hidden away in some unknown cave, Celes's fingers trembled incessantly. Feeling the Shadows he had sent out being mercilessly brutalized without the slightest ability to fight back, Celes's heart sank into utter darkness.

He knew that both Lucian and Ranni possessed a Fingerslayer Blade.

Those terrifying weapons had been created specifically to harm the Fingers, and now the two of them had one each!

Yet Lucian wasn't even using his Fingerslayer Blade. Instead, he was repeatedly destroying the Shadows through terrifying methods, wearing away at Celes's power.

No. Celes finally understood.

Lucian wasn't trying to wear down his power, because there was no need to.

He was simply demonstrating his strength, making Celes experience despair and helplessness firsthand.

Celes had to admit that he had succeeded.

He had been so close...

Just a little closer, and he would have destroyed that disobedient puppet.

But Lucian had arrived at precisely the wrong moment.

With his last hope crushed, Celes was left speechless.

It had happened last time, and now it was happening again.

Why could Ranni find such an overwhelmingly powerful ally?!

And why had someone this powerful suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the Lands Between?!

Marika had used the power of the Erdtree to harness Runes and blessings for the purpose of increasing strength, ultimately creating a terrifying warrior like Godfrey.

Even Godfrey, back when he was still the Elden Lord, had spent countless years fighting wars, building his strength upon the blood of his enemies and conquering the Lands Between step by step.

But when Celes tried to examine Lucian's growth, he simply couldn't imagine how the man had achieved such a thing.

For a Finger who had never known a mother's love, the sudden appearance of a powerful individual with the potential to become a king, someone willing to help him, was utterly beyond imagination.

Wasn't the world supposed to work by making painstaking calculations, scheming at every turn, and exhausting every possible means to obtain what one wanted?

So it turned out that one's starting choices really did matter more than one's efforts...

If Celes had to describe how he felt right now, it was as though the sky itself had collapsed.

By this point, Celes knew there was no chance of victory.

In this thousand-year struggle, a long and bitter conflict in which he and Ranni had cursed each other, he had finally lost.

If Lucian knew what Celes was thinking, he would only smile faintly.

No stats. Nothing but hard work and sweat.

Lucian was the one who had worked hard, so why was Celes the one sweating?

Oh, right. It wasn't even certain whether the Two Fingers had anything resembling a face.

In any case, the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow really was incredibly powerful.

However, even if Lucian knew all this, he wouldn't be joking around with Celes right now.

After all, Lucian was absolutely furious at this moment.

And so, as Celes silently observed the battlefield, he suddenly noticed Lucian turning his head to look directly at him.

When Celes realized that Lucian's gaze had found him, he froze.

He had no idea how he could sense a gaze coming from that miniature sun. Just as Lucian himself had no idea how the Two Fingers perceived the world around them.

Lucian wasn't even physically present. Celes was merely observing the battlefield through his power...

And yet, the killing intent and gaze directed squarely at him were utterly real. There was no possibility of mistaking them for anything else.

Lucian's gaze seemed to pierce through space and time alongside the sunlight, fixing itself firmly upon Celes as he spoke in a cold voice.

"Celes, I hope you're watching."

Celes panicked. He even wanted to withdraw his awareness immediately.

He was frightened. Terrified, in fact.

In his eyes, Lucian had become nothing less than a living nightmare.

Under the weight of his fear, Celes felt that Lucian might cross space itself and appear right beside him in the very next moment.

Yet, clinging to the last shred of his dignity, Celes remained where he was.

Lucian's gaze pierced through space and time, delivering a verdict that allowed no refusal.

"Celes, I hope you're ready."

"I'm coming to kill you."

In Lucian's left hand, wreathed in the Frenzied Flame, the head of the last Baleful Shadow was crushed.

Its body twitched faintly before going limp.

The reddish-black shadow peeled away from the corpse and dissipated into the air, returning to the Two Fingers.

Celes could no longer transmit his power to this place, and his will gradually withdrew.

Without replying or revealing himself, Celes silently withdrew his gaze.

The final image he saw was the sun that had pierced straight into his soul.

Lucian sensed Celes's departure as well and dropped the beast's corpse from his hand.

His power gradually receded, and his body returned to its normal form.

Ever since Lucian had appeared and begun slaughtering the Shadows, Celes had started drawing back his power, afraid of exhausting it all here.

The dead Shadows were no longer being revived, avoiding any further pointless waste of power.

As a result, Lucian didn't even need to draw Shadow of the Star. The Shadows simply perished one after another before him.

Lucian looked at the corpses covering the ground and shook his head.

That Finger, Celes, had truly been driven into a dead end. There probably wouldn't be any decent resistance from him going forward.

Among these corpses, only a handful belonged to the elite Shadows seen before.

The rest had been hastily gathered to make up the numbers. There were beastmen from Farum Azula, and even more pathetic specimens: ordinary beasts.

The corpses scattered across the mountainside had completely shattered Celes's forces.

Perhaps there were still some hidden Shadows lurking somewhere. Or perhaps there were Black Knife Assassins under his control, just as in the game.

But none of that mattered to Lucian.

Any enemy who stood in his way would be killed. One would be killed if one came, and two would be killed if two came.

Behind Lucian, the Dark Moon carrying Ranni slowly descended.

Ranni's curled-up body slipped free of the Dark Moon. She gradually straightened in midair before landing gently and gracefully on the ground.

Even in her current condition, Ranni refused to abandon her elegance.

In fact, it was precisely because she had so few ways left to preserve her dignity that she had to make up for it through her posture and bearing.

She didn't want Lucian to see her behaving in a completely undignified manner. That was the last shred of self-respect she had left.

Ranni wanted to say something to Lucian. Perhaps she could praise how much stronger he had become, or thank him for coming to her rescue.

Yet when she looked at the gentle, powerful man standing before her, she opened her mouth and found herself unable to say anything at all.

She had intended to say something, but at that moment, every word seemed utterly inadequate.

In the end, Ranni said nothing. She simply walked up to Lucian and threw her arms around him, holding him tightly.

All three of her arms wrapped around him like those of a sloth clinging desperately to a tree.

Looking at her battered body and torn clothing, Lucian felt his heart ache.

He gently patted Ranni on the head, then wrapped his arms around her as well, letting her know that he was right there beside her.

Even through the frost-covered hat, Ranni seemed able to feel the warmth of his palm.

Holding her close, Lucian asked softly,

"Where is Celes?"

"Let's go. We'll carve a wound of Destined Death into him that will never heal."

Hearing Lucian repeat words she herself had once spoken, Ranni smiled knowingly.

But when she tilted her face up and looked at him carefully, she suddenly had no idea what expression to make.

In a small voice that sounded as though she were about to cry, Ranni said,

"Honestly... repeating something I said before..."

"At least come up with your own words..."

Lucian had remembered what she had said so well...

Ranni understood just how deeply Lucian had moved her. She had experienced enough of life's warmth and coldness to recognize what he had given her.

Because she didn't want the person she loved standing before her to see her making such an expression, Ranni lowered her head even further and buried it against Lucian's chest.

Fortunately, a puppet's body couldn't shed tears. Otherwise, Ranni truly wouldn't have been able to keep herself composed.

Lucian smiled and gently stroked her back.

"Don't worry, my moonlight."

"I'm here now. Right here beside you."

Hearing him use that endearment, Ranni couldn't help letting out a little laugh.

"Honestly… such sweet words thou speakest…"

"And yet, they sound rather unlike thee."

"Thou must have heard them elsewhere, and thought to put them to use here… have I not guessed correctly?"

Lucian smiled faintly without denying it, because it was true.

Seeing his expression only made Ranni more certain.

She knew Lucian far too well.

Although her own understanding of love was limited to what she had imagined it might be like, Lucian was even more hopeless when it came to matters of the heart.

Yet even sweet words he had learned somewhere else were still enough to leave Ranni completely defenseless.

The fact that Lucian was willing to say such things to her filled her with a happiness she could no longer conceal.

Suddenly, Ranni released her hold and stepped out of Lucian's embrace.

She turned around and walked slowly toward the Dark Moon.

She casually clasped her hands behind her back, seemingly unconcerned, but one hand quietly reached out to beckon Lucian over.

"In ages past, I was ever alone."

"My mentor, my father, my mother… and the royal house, each departed from me in turn."

"Caria had become a kingdom in name alone. I was yet too young to alter its course. And in the realm of the Erdtree, I was naught but an outsider, one who could never truly belong."

"Though my two elder brothers watched over me, and Iji and Blaidd lent me their company… the solitude endured, unchanged."

"I… had yet to find a heart that might truly draw near to mine."

"For I am but a lonely moon, suspended high above the heavens… treading a path veiled in darkness."

"But now…"

After walking a few more steps, Ranni fell silent and gently shook her head.

She left her words unfinished, leaving just the right amount of space for what remained unsaid.

A confession of love could wait until everything was over.

Only after truly killing Celes and bringing this thousand-year-old grudge to an end would she be able to cast off every shackle binding her. Then, the moonlight would awaken her.

The moon that had been swallowed by shadows would once again radiate life, and the poor puppet would regain life once more.

Suddenly, Ranni looked back over her shoulder at Lucian, tilting her head to one side.

Bathed in the light of the Dark Moon, her battered puppet body wore a flawless smile.

"Come, let's go."

Looking at Ranni's gentle smile beneath the moonlight, Lucian was momentarily stunned.

Even her damaged puppet body couldn't conceal her charm.

Lucian had to admit that it was all the moon's fault.

The night was simply too beautiful, and you were simply too gentle.

Coming back to his senses, Lucian broke into a cheerful smile of his own.

This was what he wanted to see.

He didn't want everyone in the Lands Between to be weighed down by bitter grudges and endless suffering.

What Lucian longed for was a world where everyone could smile from the bottom of their hearts.

Perhaps the Lands Between, a place filled with slaughter and hatred, would never become such a world.

But that didn't matter. He would be the one to decide how the story ended.

Lucian hurried over to Ranni and took the hand she had extended toward him.

"Yeah. Let's go."

The two exchanged smiles. Their hearts finally drew truly close to one another, leaving no gap between them.

The Dark Moon enveloped their figures and drifted toward their destination, scattering frost and moonlight of equal brilliance along the way.

—

The Dark Moon hadn't been flying for long when it reached the pair's ultimate destination.

Looking at the unremarkable cave before him, Lucian walked inside at an unhurried pace.

He knew Celes was in there.

And this would be their final battle.

Lucian had barely stepped into the cave when several streaks of Destined Death shot out from the dark corners in every direction.

However, before they could travel far, crimson-red dragon lightning flashed through the cave, illuminating the figures of the Black Knife Assassins and dispersing the Destined Death.

Lucian looked around. More than a dozen Black Knife Assassins had already laid an ambush around him, waiting for him to enter before launching their surprise attack.

These Black Knife Assassins had originally belonged to Caria's faction. Celes had brought them all under his control.

This was one of the Two Fingers' mysterious abilities. Ordinary living beings had virtually no way to resist it.

Even Iji, who had no connection to the Two Fingers whatsoever, had to wear a mirror helm and remain constantly vigilant against their attempts to control him.

Facing the Black Knife Assassins, Lucian swept his arm outward.

Violent winds roared and surged through the cave.

He was the approaching storm itself.

Under the storm's suppression, the Black Knife Assassins' movements were severely hampered.

At the same time, purple gravity locked onto the assassins one after another. A deep, rumbling sound rose from beneath the ground as rocks began to shift.

One boulder after another surged upward from underground, enclosing the assassins' bodies so tightly that not even the slightest room for movement remained.

After launching a single wave of attacks, the Black Knife Assassins were unable to continue fighting and were captured.

Lucian had no intention of killing them.

These were all Ranni's retainers. Their forced subjugation wasn't their fault.

As long as the Two Fingers were killed, the control would be lifted, and the assassins would regain their senses.

Besides, there might still be a use for them in the future.

Lucian's gaze passed over the Black Knife Assassins and settled on the depths of the cave.

There, a Two Fingers stood in silence, its fingers trembling incessantly.

It was almost identical to the Two Fingers in Roundtable Hold, except that its body was several times larger.

Celes's form was also in much better condition. Its surface was undamaged, with a deep, dusky gray hue.

The Black Knife Assassins had been defeated in an instant, yet Celes merely watched calmly.

Ever since Lucian arrived, Celes had known that victory was impossible.

In its heart, it prayed ceaselessly to its mother, desperately hoping that its calls would be answered.

But that was simply impossible.

It couldn't find its mother, nor could it receive any response.

Celes's fingers twitched, summoning its final Shadow.

In the dim cave, an enormous mass of shadow writhed and slowly gathered into a shape.

It was hardly a normal Shadow. It couldn't even maintain a unified, fixed form. It resembled a grotesque amalgamation of countless beasts.

Reddish-black darkness dripped away like ink, while the silhouettes of countless beasts emerged within it, seemingly struggling to break free.

Celes no longer had the power to create Shadows as formidable as the ones it had produced in the past.

So it gathered all its remaining strength and fashioned this twisted monstrosity.

Looking at the beast-shaped Shadow, which seemed to have wandered straight out of Princess Mononoke, Lucian shook his head.

It looked intimidating, but in reality, it was merely a desperate last stand, pieced together from whatever scraps remained.

Celes had reached the end of the road. It had no means left to resist.

Lucian calmly faced the snarling, clawing Shadow and gathered power in his hand.

He showed Celes no mercy. A dazzling sun rose in his hand and drifted toward the enormous Shadow.

It was as though the blazing flames of the heavens had poured down in a torrent, spilling scorching fire from the sun onto the Shadow's body.

Amid its grotesque screams, the Shadow was completely vaporized by the sun's blazing flames, leaving nothing behind.

Ranni followed closely behind Lucian as they walked together toward Celes in the depths of the cave.

Now, nothing stood between her and the Two Fingers.

Stepping out from behind Lucian, Ranni held the Fingerslayer Blade and approached Celes.

She tilted her head back to look at the powerless Two Fingers, her expression utterly impassive.

The sworn enemy she had cursed for so long stood right before her. Victory was within arm's reach.

And yet, Ranni felt little joy.

She had paid too much, abandoned too much, and sacrificed too much to reach this day.

Could any of this truly be called victory?

Ranni took a deep breath. At last, she managed to find a trace of satisfaction in revenge amid the bitterness of her past.

All she had ever wanted was to take her fate into her own hands.

Everything she had done to defy that fate had been worth it.

Regardless of the path she had taken, she had won.

The fate that had once been set in stone was about to be rewritten, and she was on the verge of killing her sworn enemy with her own hands.

More importantly, along the way, she had also found true love.

Celes's fingers trembled. Perhaps it was trying to say something, but no one could understand it.

Ranni watched the Two Fingers in silence, paying it no attention whatsoever.

Only after Celes's movements finally ceased, as though it had accepted its fate, did Ranni raise the Fingerslayer Blade and speak to it.

"Celes… I, Ranni the Witch, shall carve upon thee a scar…"

"A scar of Destined Death, one that shall never know healing."

As her words fell, the blade in Ranni's hand pierced Celes's body, and blood began to gush forth.

The blood sprayed across Ranni's body, crowning the being known as the Witch.