Moments later—
Thud!
With a loud crack, the snack gift pack slammed straight into Left Bow's head. A cloud of stench and poison engulfed him, eating away the last sliver of his health bar and ending the battle.
Yes—just like that. Quick and clean. Aside from Left Bow, the other three hadn't even managed to threaten Lloyd in the slightest.
As for why...
"What age is this, and you're still playing like it's classic Souls 5?"
Lloyd looked down at the four corpses before him and shook his head.
Sure, moves like Ring Grab, Little Scythe, and the Infinite Half-Leaf Combo sounded impressive—but in reality, they were more of an inside joke. Strong, yes, but nowhere near as terrifying as the legends made them out to be.
And while the old Dark Souls had the advantage in sheer brutality, when it came to mechanics, the Tarnished far outclassed them. Just a single dual-wield jump attack was something the old Undead could only dream about. Not to mention all the absurd tech and power-crept mechanics—those made the old meta look like child's play.
As for that last guy, Left Bow—he was the only real problem. His seamless backsteps and fluid combos actually posed a threat.
But...
"Oh, so you think you're the only one who knows how to abuse tech, huh?"
After dodging the first volley, Lloyd calmly drew the Great Serpent Spear. Without even bothering to step back, he swung once—casually—and unleashed what should've been a cutscene-only level air slash. The massive blade of force struck Left Bow like a flyswatter, sending him crashing into the wall.
Then, after the impact, thanks to the stabilized Law he'd mentioned earlier, Lloyd synced his two selves at once. When the enemy staggered back to its feet, he didn't even bother dodging—just stood there and took a full volley of bolts.
The result?
A sliver of his HP bar shaved off.
Though his two bodies' resistances stacked multiplicatively rather than additively, even that baseline multiplication meant a minimum of sixty percent damage reduction without any buffs—no armor min-maxing, no talisman stacking. Just raw resistance.
He stood there, unbothered, while Left Bow couldn't even scratch him.
With the other three posing no danger, and Left Bow's attacks bouncing harmlessly off, and with three heavy-hitter allies backing him up, the outcome was obvious.
The fight was a stomp.
Yet despite the easy win, something during the battle caught Lloyd's attention.
And that was...
"Melina... did you just cancel?"
Lloyd gave the wooden-faced girl a long, curious look.
Since the battle was four-on-four, and he didn't want the others to feel useless, he hadn't soloed it. Each was assigned an opponent, while he handled Left Bow. And since he was running both versions of himself, there wasn't much pressure—he could afford to watch how the others were doing.
Chaos and Elizabeth were performing normally—one wielding Frenzied Flame incantations, the other summoning blood spears. Both were pushing their opponents hard.
Melina, meanwhile, was up against the Ring-Taking King. At first, everything went smoothly. She had released her Gloam-Eyes and, with the Godslayer's Greatsword in hand, had her enemy completely on the defensive.
But after a while, Lloyd noticed something strange.
When she triggered her Ash of War, her movement suddenly froze mid-action—and the skill cut off halfway, shifting into a normal attack. Melina blinked in surprise, then frowned slightly, as if thinking through what just happened.
Then, she tried it again. And again.
At first, her timing was awkward, and she even lost the advantage because of it. But as she continued to observe her opponent—the Ring-Taking King's crisp cancel motions—she began to understand.
Little by little, she mirrored its movements, experimenting, refining... until something clicked.
Then—
The Lands Between gained a new flaming greatsword.
Bigger than the Ringed Knight's blade. Stronger, heavier, burning brighter—its swings carving through the air with crushing force and inflicting both health drain and max HP reduction.
Long ago—back when she and Lloyd had first met—Melina's curiosity about Ring techniques had already been sparked. During his battle with Messmer, when Lloyd first used a Ring Grab, she'd watched closely, intrigued. Later, she'd even tried mimicking it herself.
Lloyd had thought it was just idle curiosity, nothing serious. He'd barely paid attention when she occasionally asked about "canceling" mechanics.
But now...
After Melina nodded silently and demonstrated a perfect Ring Cancel before him, her blade erupting in controlled flame—
Lloyd's expression twisted into something complicated.
"What is this... awakening of past-life memories?"
After that brief interlude, Lloyd began tallying the spoils of battle.
[Acquired Weapon: 'Ringed Knight Straight Sword']
[Acquired Weapon: 'Moist Small Scythe']
[Acquired Weapon: 'Splitleaf Greatsword']
[Acquired Talisman: 'Abyss Talisman']
The first three were weapons from Dark Souls, though these were versions reshaped by the Law of the Lands Between—adapted for use by his smaller vessel.
Still, with the number of "wheelchair" weapons Lloyd already possessed, these three had little reason to see combat. They were destined to sit in his collection.
The last item, however, was different. The Abyss Talisman was a dungeon-exclusive charm described as one that [resists the Abyss's corrosion of the soul].
It didn't do much for him personally, but its resistive effect extended to nearby allies—making it at least somewhat useful.
Previously, due to the dungeon's [Soul Corrosion] effect, Lloyd hadn't summoned anyone else until reaching the boss gate. After clearing the first golden fog door and a brief exchange, he had dismissed his teammates.
But now...
Since Melina and the others still had their own work to handle—and given that he had just summoned them recently—Lloyd decided against calling them again. Instead, he summoned three others.
Nephili. Roderika. Leda.
The first two needed no introduction. Having pledged their Covenants to him, their relationships with Lloyd had shifted considerably after their first venture through the Golden Dungeon.
In the time since, Lloyd had returned for additional expeditions, often bringing them along. And then...
"Um, Lord Lloyd... my stress gauge is kind of overflowing tonight..."
Roderika asked shyly, her cheeks flushed, before slipping into her tent with him.
[Proceed to Roderika's Covenant Event]
[Covenant Bond Deepened]
And it hadn't been just once or twice.
The other one, though rarely inviting him over during regular camps, had sought Lloyd out privately more than once after returning, asking to "relieve some stress" down in the dungeon.
[Proceed to Nephili's Covenant Event]
[Covenant Bond Deepened]
And those encounters, too, were far from few.
After several such events that strengthened their Covenants, both of them had since moved into Lloyd's castle. Whenever he returned, they would often come by to tease or bother him.
As for the last one—Leda—since she would be living with him from now on, he decided to bring her out to "see the world."
That "world," however, might have been a bit too stimulating for her.
After taking a moment to calm her, Lloyd turned his attention to the other two.
After countless hours exploring the Golden Dungeon and interacting with him, the two had changed greatly from before—a fact made clear by the names floating above their heads.
[Storm Incarnation • Nephili]
[Soul Mistress • Roderika]
But it wasn't their new titles that caught Lloyd's attention—after all, he'd personally bestowed them during their... "sessions." That had been expected.
What truly drew his attention was their appearance—or, more precisely, their attire.
"What are you two wearing...?"
Nephili stood before him clad in armor resembling Malenia's, though tinted gray and infused with storm energy. Beside her, Roderika wore a crimson cloak, a small basket hooked on her arm. Lloyd couldn't help but look puzzled.
Before they could answer, he remembered something.
"The... 'clothing shop,' right?"
He recalled the special structure Nadisha had mentioned earlier.
Nephili and Roderika nodded. Their outfits were indeed exchanged for points at that very shop—not only sturdier and more durable than their previous gear, but also imbued with special effects.
For example, Nephili's Storm Armor amplified her storm-based attacks, while Roderika's Red Hood set reduced the FP cost of spirit summoning.
"Hm. So they come with effects too?"
After hearing their explanation, Lloyd nodded, his curiosity toward the shop growing.
Despite having collected an arsenal of wheelchair-grade weapons and pages of talismans, armor had always been his weakest point. Having never found any particularly exceptional sets in the Lands Between, he usually relied on Ranni's knight armor, occasionally rotating through various other knight sets.
As for the look of the shop's products...
While the displayed outfits leaned toward the "cool and revealing" side, the system had designed them with some thought.
To put it simply, each piece of armor or clothing came with two modes: "External" and "Internal."
The External Mode was what Lloyd saw now—a proper, high-grade set of equipment offering both protection and bonuses.
The Internal Mode... was an entirely different story—with appearances and functions that differed drastically.
But since they were still inside a dungeon and had exploration to finish, Lloyd decided not to "inspect" that feature just yet.
After finishing his discussion with the two, Lloyd and his party resumed their advance.
After defeating the Four Kings of Souls 5, the unlock progress for [Abyssal Contamination · Caelid] jumped from one-quarter to one-half.
The soul corrosion had deepened, and the monsters within had grown even stronger.
If this were the old Nephili and Roderika, facing those grotesque, Abyss-tainted abominations, the former might still hold her own for a few rounds through sheer strength—but the latter, once merely a Spirit Tuner, would have been completely helpless. Against even minor enemies, she'd have been one-shot.
But now...
"Storm! Answer my call!"
A silver-gray figure charged into the horde. Against enemies that once terrified her even in isolation, she now swung her axe as if slicing through air, carving them apart with spiraling gales.
On the other side, behind Roderika, the massive Spirit Jellyfish floated serenely. After a brief charge, it unleashed a surge of soul energy—a beam of annihilating light that swept across the battlefield, vaporizing everything in its path.
But not everyone was mowing down their foes.
While Nephili and Roderika rapidly cleared theirs, Leda, at the opposite flank, was locked in a grueling duel—her knight's sword clashing with the Abyss-corrupted monsters in a battle that was evenly matched and brutal.
Was Leda weak? Hardly.
Given her past deeds, anyone weaker wouldn't have survived this long. In truth, not just within the Haligtree—across the entirety of the Lands Between—Leda easily counted among the strong.
And not just barely. She was, at minimum, upper mid-tier among warriors. Her condition was perfect—no injuries, her armor and sword freshly restored by Lloyd himself.
So why was she struggling this much?
The answer was simple: this was normal.
A battle like this was the expected level of difficulty for an ordinary warrior of the Lands Between.
Back during the first phase, even several demigods had struggled. True, that encounter had been exceptional—enhanced monsters, focused targeting, and additional forces in play—but the fact that even the "strongest demigod" had nearly been killed spoke for itself.
It wasn't that Leda had weakened. This region simply existed on a higher power scale.
If anything, the real outliers were Nephili and Roderika—their stats and abilities had been heavily boosted by Lloyd.
As for Lloyd himself...
He was in a league of his own.
...
Accompanied by the three, Lloyd advanced leisurely, half-fighting, half-slacking. Later, for the sake of training them, he adjusted his stat distribution and spell setup, deliberately taking the rear to serve as healer and support.
That decision was perfectly reasonable. Nephili and Roderika had no complaints.
But for Leda... whether from the Abyss's corrosion or Elizabeth's earlier words, something about returning to Lloyd's side after every battle made her feel—off.
Each time, as she stood close and watched him heal her wounds, she was overcome by an odd, inexplicable feeling.
She couldn't describe it. And with the fighting still ahead, she didn't dwell on it.
Just a little longer...
He was strange, yes, but harmless. In fact, he was constantly helping her stabilize her condition.
If things continued like this, it wouldn't be long before she could return to Lord Miquella's side—perhaps even meet him again.
That's what Leda told herself.
But somehow, each time Lloyd healed her, she found her body leaning just a little closer to him.
...
After pushing onward for an unknown amount of time, a golden fog gate appeared before the group.
This time, only one figure waited inside.
A humanoid NPC-type monster.
Still, Lloyd didn't let his guard down.
Given what had happened—the targeted traps of the first phase and the Abyssal Four Kings of the second—he had no doubt that whatever orchestrated this dungeon was far from benevolent.
Now, though only a single figure stood before him, Lloyd refused to believe it was that simple.
Then—
Thwack!
A throwing knife struck his shield.
He blocked perfectly. No damage.
But...
Even blocked, the Death Blight gauge beneath his health bar spiked up by a third.
Lloyd went silent.
"...Death Blight knives? Really?"
He dodged the next throw, then drew the Great Serpent Spear—ready to deal with this "Death Blight bastard" the same way he had with that left-handed archer.
Yet the instant he reached for his weapon—before he even switched gear—
The figure across from him turned and bolted.
Lloyd froze for a beat.
There was only one fog gate in this room—the one he'd entered through.
Beyond the fleeing Death Blight foe, the path was completely open, stretching into the next area.
Which meant...
"So... Death Blight daggers and marathon running? You've gotta be kidding me."
As he grumbled, Lloyd noticed the bastard pulling out two rings mid-sprint, equipping and unequipping them repeatedly.
The health bar above its head flickered in sync.
Then, as the creature vanished from view—casting an invisibility spell before slipping into a crowd of monsters—Lloyd fell silent.
For a long while.
Then, slowly, he pulled out the Spirit Calling Bell.
"You brought this on yourself."
He raised it and gave it a shake.
"Endless Spirit Ash..."
"Come forth."