After defeating Godfrey, there was no longer any obstacle before Duanmu Huai.
He passed through the royal court and entered the interior of the Erdtree. Yet, it was not over. At the tree's entrance, something like thorny vines had sealed the way. Duanmu Huai wasn't surprised—he had long heard from Ranni that after Marika's disappearance, the entrance to the Erdtree had been closed off. No one, not even the Elden Lord, could enter.
But now…
Duanmu Huai gripped his warhammer, and black flame erupted from it. He raised the weapon high and brought it down upon the wall of thorns.
"Boom!!"
The hammer smashed into the barrier, and black fire burst out, spreading along the golden trunk. The radiant Erdtree was soon engulfed in black flames that burned from within, from root to crown, devouring everything. Scarlet motes of light rose from the leaves like burning embers, scattering across every corner of the Lands Between.
Beneath that rain of embers, all those undying beings wandering the Lands Between began to fall. The Golden Order was dissolving along with the Erdtree itself. Death—the eternal, natural law—returned once more, and the twisted order born of the Golden Law began to fade from the world.
Crackle… crackle…
The wall of thorns that had sealed the entrance burned away completely. Duanmu Huai slung the warhammer across his shoulder and strode into the depths of the tree.
Inside, there was only darkness. The black flame devoured everything, and Duanmu Huai could almost hear the Erdtree's pained wails and pleas for mercy—but it was meaningless. What consumed the tree now was not fire, but the power of the Rune of Death, the shadow of the world once banished by the Golden Law.
To that power, the Erdtree had neither worth nor meaning.
And to Duanmu Huai, there was only one thing here that still held value…
"So that's the Eternal Queen?"
He raised his eyes toward the only thing still shining within the hollow trunk—a broken female form, her head hanging low as if lifeless. Her arms were bound by the golden arcs of the Runes, hung like a prisoner in midair.
So Ranni was right after all. Marika's defiance against the Greater Will had ended in failure, and now her body was strung up like a corpse for all to see… but this was where it ended.
Or so he thought.
Click—
The golden runes that bound Marika shattered. Her ruined body fell from above, hitting the ground. Then, a massive, grotesque hand emerged from below, seized her corpse, and pulled it into the roots of the Erdtree.
What the hell is that?
Duanmu Huai's face darkened. He thought the Fingers had finally shown up, but no—what rose from the depths looked like something alien, a translucent monstrosity filled with luminous golden branches running through its body. It had no face, no features at all. And as Duanmu Huai watched, those glowing roots within its body began to dim.
So this is the Elden Beast…
Ranni had told him the tale: when the Greater Will sent the seed of the Erdtree to this world, it also sent a beast to guard it, and the Fingers to speak its will.
So this thing was the gardener of the Erdtree.
And when a gardener saw the tree he tended being burned to ash, it was only natural he'd be furious.
"——————!!"
The Elden Beast threw back its head and roared. The world around them melted away, turning into a vast, starlit cosmos. Golden streams of light flared around its body, arcing toward Duanmu Huai in a storm of divine radiance.
But Duanmu Huai didn't move.
It wasn't fear that froze him—it was recognition.
He'd seen this thing before.
This so-called Elden Beast was the lesser servant of some immensely powerful cosmic being…
Wait—if it's guarding the Erdtree here, then that means the "Greater Will" behind it must be…
The realization hit him like ice water. Cold sweat ran down his spine.
No! I have to destroy the Erdtree—cut off this world's link to the Greater Will—or I'm finished!
He clenched his teeth and made his choice without hesitation. The warhammer flared with black flame as Duanmu Huai charged headlong at the beast.
"Boom boom boom boom!!"
Golden beams slammed into him, but he didn't dodge. If he'd been playing around before, now he was all business—he couldn't afford to hold back.
Damn it! If I don't finish this now, I'm screwed!
The thrusters on his back roared to life, tearing through the Elden Beast's barrage. Black flame cloaked his body as he charged, a blazing comet across the void. He swung the hammer with all his might, driving it straight into the glowing core within the creature's body.
The blow landed. The beast shrieked in agony as its body swelled like a balloon—then burst apart in an explosion of golden light.
Duanmu Huai crashed to the ground on the far side, tumbling several times before staggering upright. That strike had carried every ounce of his strength; the recoil alone nearly broke him.
Damn it…
He rubbed his lower back with a grimace.
That princess looked all innocent and sweet, but I didn't expect her to be that terrifying. Almost drained me dry!
Well, I guess part of it's my fault. Still inexperienced…
Experience really is everything.
Before he could dwell on that thought, the ground trembled again. The Elden Beast's form was collapsing, the luminous tendrils inside it fading to black. But Duanmu Huai knew better—this wasn't over.
Sure enough, as the beast fell, the ground split open. A massive hand emerged, seizing the dying creature. The beast disintegrated into golden light and vanished, while the hand turned toward Duanmu Huai, fingers spreading wide.
Beat the watchdog, now the master shows up, huh…
"Olgis! Lorena! Bambi! Together!"
At Duanmu Huai's shout, the girls who'd been waiting in ambush moved at once.
"Whooshhhh!!"
Countless black bats descended, swarming over the giant hand. But the next instant, golden fire flared, burning away most of Bambi's summoned swarm.
"Ahhh!!"
Bambi's body was revealed amid the dispersing bats, and she cried out, leaping backward. The massive hand lunged toward her, fingers closing like claws—
"Haaahhh!!"
Lorena dove from above, swinging her thick holy scripture like a brick and smashing the hand's index finger aside. At the same moment, Olgis appeared from another angle, her slender puppet strings shooting out and winding around the enormous fingers.
To that massive hand, her threads were as fragile as cobwebs—barely enough to slow it for an instant.
But that instant was all they needed.
From the shadows, Ranni's figure emerged silently. In her grasp was the Finger-Slayer Blade, which she brought down in a single flash across the base of the fingers.
"———!!!"
The hand reacted instantly. Golden flame burst forth, spiraling with the yellow madness-fire toward Ranni—but black flame fell from above.
Duanmu Huai landed in front of her like a meteor, black fire erupting from his body to form a wall of deathly flame that blocked the divine blaze. Seizing the opening, Ranni darted forward and drove her dagger between the index and middle finger.
For a being like that, the tiny blade shouldn't have done anything. But the instant it struck, the giant hand convulsed violently, flailing and thrashing. It swatted Ranni and Olgis away, forcing Duanmu Huai to grab them both and retreat under cover of Bambi's remaining bats.
Before their eyes, the massive hand spasmed, oozing dark-red ichor. Its color shifted to a sickly blue, its movements weakening until finally it went still—collapsing lifelessly onto the ground.
"Hah…"
Duanmu Huai exhaled deeply, whispering a silent prayer.
That went down fast… maybe this time—
But as if mocking him, a system notification echoed in his mind.
[Your actions have drawn the attention of a Great Being.]
[Attention +10]
"..."
Duanmu Huai was completely speechless.
(End of Chapter)