36. Black Blade Maliketh
The silver moon hung high in the sky, its cool light shining upon the Elden Throne. The Silver Erdtree radiated a soft and pure silver-white glow. Its light wasn't blinding, yet it carried a strange power—it pierced the air, the dust, even the visitor's murderous intent and frenetic feelings, weighing like shackles, reaching deep into their souls, bringing a near-holy peace and purification.
"Pious and sincere pilgrims of the Golden Rule, coming from the other side of the Lands Between. Why are you in such a hurry? Why are you carrying such a murderous aura?"
Xiling sat upright on the throne, which felt more like a condensed light than cold metal. His gaze fell on the first "visitor" he had welcomed today. The visitor was no ragged wandering priest, but a terrifying incarnation capable of making anyone tremble upon any who knew his name.
Beneath his tattered cloak lay a massive body, gnarled like a mountain, covered in thick, dark brown fur. Heavy chains entwined it, and with each step, a dull metallic clatter rang out. The shadow cast by the lowered beast's head was thicker than the deepest night...
Black Sword Maliketh, the sealer of Destined Death, priest of the beast... and was also a crucial name on Xiling's waiting list.
Faced with Xiling's questioning, Maliketh did not immediately respond. A muffled, beastly growl, characteristic of a beast, rolled from the depths of his throat. It was filled with primal restlessness and unspeakable rage, as if ready to burst its cage of reason. However, the omnipresent silver-white light of the Erdtree, like an invisible tide, illuminated it. Anyone who beheld this tree felt a deep peace, a spiritual cleansing. As Black Sword Maliketh gazed upon the silver tree, strands of silver light seeped into the cracks of its soul, dispelling the long-lingering haze.
It was not a forced repression, but a strange dissolution and sublimation. It's shattered the chaotic consciousness, as if gently combed by an invisible hand, and began to clear its mind. Its gaze, once blinded by endless pain, regained its long-lost sharpness and focus. It even subconsciously grinned, revealing its razor-sharp fangs—no longer a symbol of frenzied threat, but proof of awakened instincts and focused power.
It gazed at Xiling, or more accurately, at the wheelchair-bound girl in the interior of the Silver Erdtree behind Xiling. It could sense the Elden Ring within her. But what of its former host?
Queen Marika the Eternal, the one who had ruled the Golden Age and served as the original and most perfect vessel for the Elden Ring? As the most central symbol of the Golden Rule, the being it once swore to protect, where was she now? Maliketh didn't know, but he knew one thing: the rule had changed, the Golden Rule had ended, and a new era had arrived.
Maliketh withdrew his gaze from Lemuen and looked at Xiling, who stood in front of him. Without words, without probing, he could tell from the man's posture that he was terrifyingly powerful.
A low, rock-grinding voice rasped from Maliketh's throat, shattering the tranquility beneath the silver light: "Are you the king?"
The silver throne vanished, and Xiling stood upright, his hands firmly resting on the hilt of the holy sword. Xiling stared directly at Maliketh, as if he could see through his tattered clothes. Xiling spoke, "Silver Rule, the First King Xiling."
A low, unintelligible humming sound came from beneath the tattered cloak. "...Silver Rule?" Its voice rolled like thunder.
"A very apt term. So... what does it represent?"
"If the Golden Rule represents eternity..."
"Then the Silver Rule represents progress."
"...Progress?" Maliketh's confusion almost became concrete. Xiling extended his hand and, like a teacher, began to explain to Maliketh.
"We no longer cling to the seemingly perfect but ultimately stagnant 'eternal'. The core of Silver Rule lies in the pursuit of 'going further.'"
"It's about never being satisfied with the status quo, embracing change, bravely embarking on unknown paths, and constantly innovating—breaking conventions to create unprecedented possibilities and forms."
"It's about continuous growth—whether individuals, groups, or even the entire Rule itself, all will transform and elevate through trials and exploration."
"The ultimate goal is transcendence, transcending our own limitations, transcending past glories and their shackles, transcending all established boundaries of cognition..."
"Through this constant 'progress,' we will ultimately bring a... brand new future to this land, to all living beings!"
After hearing Xiling's words, Maliketh shook his head. His massive skull moved slowly and heavily, with an almost mournful stubbornness. The grand vision Xiling spoke of—"transcend everything"—was too abstract, too distant for his mind, like gazing upon an incomprehensible starscape. But Maliketh didn't need to understand.
It only needed to know one thing.
"Hiss—" As if burning from within, a thick, black-red flame, as thick as clotted blood and imbued with the essence of death, erupted from Maliketh's massive body without warning! It was no ordinary flame, but the embodiment of "Destined Death," it roared of its true nature as a shadow beast. Its tattered, rotting clothing crumbled to ash the instant it came into contact with the terrifying flames, revealing a wiry, tough, pitch-black, beastly form, covered in old scars and twisted marks. Every muscle bulged and throbbed like red-hot obsidian, entwined in the flames.
With a deep roar that ripped space apart, Maliketh extended its claws, piercing the core of the seething flames. When it yanked its claws back, a hideously shaped, terrifyingly long black sword was firmly grasped in its grasp. The sword itself was like solidified pain and an end. A viscous dark red luster flowed through its blade, devouring the light cast by the surrounding silver trees and emitting a chilling cold that froze the soul.
At this moment, the brief peace soothed by silver light completely shed its form, revealing its true form as the Shadow Beast of the Eternal Queen, guardian of "Destined Death." An ancient, savage, and destructive power spread like a tangible shockwave; even the gentle glow of the giant silver trees seemed to be momentarily pushed aside.
It truly didn't understand Xiling's meaning. Perhaps few in the entire Lands Between could comprehend Xiling's meaning, but Maliketh didn't need to understand. It only recognized one iron law etched into its soul: it was an ancient beast, a believer in the Golden Rule, and the irreplaceable Shadow Beast and sworn brother of Queen Marika the Eternal!
And now, standing before it was Xiling, the original king of the Silver Age! A new king who declared the end of the old order and trampled "eternity" under his feet!
Behind Xiling, at the heart of the Silver Erdtree, sat the new deity bearing the newly born Elden Ring—Lemuen!
No matter the process, no matter how appealing the concept of "progress" might sound, in Maliketh's eyes, burning with hatred and protectiveness, they were usurpers! They had stolen Marika's supreme authority and tarnished everything it protected! It understood no epochal trends, only oaths of blood and fire.
A terrifying, murderous intent, mingled with the aura of death emanating from the blazing black and red flames, like countless icy chains, instantly locked onto Xiling before it. Without hesitation, Maliketh assumed an attacking stance, its massive body crouching slightly. It had made its choice: either wield its black sword to bring the usurper and his brand-new rules to an end, or meet its end as a shadow beast right here and now, met with utter death by the other!
Faced with this intense, murderous gaze and dreadful intent that would terrify even a demigod, Xiling chuckled softly, his right hand, which had been resting steadily on the holy sword's hilt, suddenly exerting force!
"Clang—hum—!"
The sound of the holy sword being unsheathed drowned out the crackling of the burning black flames.
The bleak night wind rustled their hair, and silver points of light scattered across the sky. Lemuen and Luo Tianyi seemed like witnesses to this battle, staring at the two opposing figures before them.
"Will we win?"
Luo Tianyi's voice trembled slightly, her small hands tightly clutching the corner of her clothes, her clear eyes filled with worry. Lemuen chuckled, her voice gentle yet filled with unquestionable resolve:
"We will win."
As if in response to her words, or as a final note to this destined duel, a faint speck of light, like the last leaf clinging to a branch in early winter, quietly peeled away from the silver glow of the giant tree. It drifted lightly and slowly through the tense, almost frozen air, its trajectory unpredictable, with an almost sacred leisure.
From nowhere, a gentle breeze blew by. This drop of light, carrying the will of the rule, was gently propelled forward, floating squarely in the void directly between Xiling and Maliketh, who were facing each other. There, it swayed slightly, as if examining, or perhaps confirming something.
Then, it lost all power to levitate and gently, silently, fell to the ground. The moment the silvery light touched the ground—
"BOOM!!!"
There was no roar of a signal gun, no shouting, but the very air itself seemed to be shattered by an invisible hammer! A surge of energy, compressed to the extreme and then exploding, sweeping across everything!
What struck was the trigger of fate!
"Swish!"
"Roar!"
The moment the light touched the ground, two figures, one silver-white, one pitch-black, shot towards each other like deadly arrows spurred from a bowstring, transforming into two space-tearing streams of light without reservation!
"Clang!!! Clang!!!"
The deafening sound of metal clashing resounded through the sky! In Maliketh's hand, the hideous blade, oozing with the sticky aura of death, clashed fiercely with Xiling's gleaming holy sword with the force of a landslide and tsunami! Every collision unleashed dazzling sparks and ripples of energy!
The blazing black-red flames erupting from the Black Blade Maliketh were like a living, destructive storm, surging furiously, its will to consume all life consuming it. In an instant, it completely engulfed and enveloped the shimmering silver light surrounding Xiling!
From Luo Tianyi's perspective, the center of the battlefield was left with only a terrifying, roiling black-red flame, its interior constantly flashing with dazzling light. Within, figures loomed, and the clanging sound of swords clashing was as dense as a torrential downpour!
Luo Tianyi, completely unable to see the clashing within, stamped her feet in anxiety.
Beside her, Lemuen's clear eyes captured every detail of the battlefield. This wasn't due to her "Eye of the Stars" ability. The moment she became the vessel of the Elden Ring, her very being underwent a profound transformation. She was the core of the new rule, coexisting with the Silver Rule! Every movement, energy flow, and clash of wills within this space was as clear and tangible as her own nerves. She was the embodiment of the new order in these Lands Between, a deity in the eyes of her followers!
Just as Luo Tianyi nervously opened her mouth, as if about to ask again or exclaim—
The battlefield suddenly shifted!
"Bang!"
A dull, heart-stopping roar echoed from the roiling black and red flames!
The next moment, a massive, oppressive, pitch-black figure, like being struck head-on by a battering ram, suddenly flew backward from the heart of the destructive flames in a disastrous manner!
It was Maliketh!
Its massive body traced an uncontrollable trajectory through the air, slamming heavily to the ground! The immense inertia prevented it from stopping immediately, and the black sword gripped in its right claw instinctively plunged into the ground!
"Clang clang clang clang!"
The hard ground, like fragile tofu, was plowed open by the black sword's plowing motion, a deep, long, terrifying, smoking gully carved across it! Debris flew high from both sides of the blade! Only after sliding for nearly dozens of meters did it, relying on this forced resistance, barely halt its uncontrolled retreat.
Black Blade Maliketh clutched his chest after being kicked. He looked at the completely dented armor on his chest, imagining the terrifying force he had just endured.
Black Blade Maliketh looked at the deathly aura he had unleashed. The next second, like an explosion, the black aura was instantly dispelled. Xiling, holding the holy sword in his right hand, slowly stepped forward, his left hand still flapping like slapping a mosquito.
Xiling's movements appeared effortless, but a small scratch etched itself on his face.
Yes, Xiling was injured. In the previous exchange, Xiling had been struck by Black Blade Maliketh, who had shattered his Starry Cloak and struck Xiling's true form.
This was Black Blade Maliketh! An ancient scourge capable of dragging immortal gods into eternal annihilation! An incarnation of death whose very name would make even the mighty demigods of the Erdtree's heyday tremble and retreat in fear at the mere mention of its name!
Feeling the icy, soul-piercing chill of "Destined Death" emanating from the tiny wound on his face, Xiling's mouth gradually cracked. More and more silver-white light swirled around him. This silver-white magic power was Xiling's will, and at this moment, Xiling's will was rising!
Even before, while he had been worried about Kevin, his blood had also been boiling with passion. A battle like that would have filled even him with a surge of excitement. Starscourge Radahn was truly worthy of his name!
And yet, now! The Black Blade Maliketh before him—a beast purged of all superfluous emotion, existing solely for the purest purpose of "end"—demonstrated strength, speed, pure killing skill, and mastery over death... surpassed even Radahn's mighty might! This was a completely different kind of ultimate destructive force, forsaking glory and fame, leaving only the cold and efficient power of destruction! It was like a cold dagger steeped in poison, precise and deadly!
On the other side, Maliketh remained unfazed by Xiling's seething fighting spirit. With a low roar, he had already assumed his most basic fighting stance, imbued with endless murderous intent. That startling dent in his chest armor? That physical injury and the dull pain that followed were nothing to a battle-hardened beast!
For Maliketh, fighting was a matter of breathing, an instinct, a single command seared deep within his soul. He felt no thrill of passion or joy of challenge. His logic was cold and absolute: lock onto the target, eliminate the target, and send the enemy to their death.
The holy sword pointed at Maliketh, and Xiling's voice pierced the roar of the battlefield,
"Malycus, you've sealed the 'Death Rune' long enough!"
"Now—hand it over!"
"If you want it—"
Maliketh's inhuman voice was icy and piercing, each syllable like a draught from the icy depths of the abyss. With his low roar, the deathly aura that had once entwined him, writhing like a living being, suddenly underwent a qualitative change!
"Chila—!"
A viscous, almost liquid darkness spilled from the cracks in Maliketh's jagged armor, and with each heavy breath, it gushed and expanded frantically! Its size seemed to expand instantly, transforming into the phantom of an abyssal beast composed of the pure rule of death, shrouding its own form! Wherever this darkness passed, even the light cast by the giant silver tree dimmed and flickered, as if it could be swallowed up at any moment by this absolute "death"!
"—then step over my death body!!!"