Mohg sized up the creature before him. It was a far cry from the terrifying scale and power of a fully realized Astel. In fact, it looked almost… fragile.
Fragility was indeed the first impression it gave him. At this juvenile stage, a Malformed Star had yet to accumulate enough stellar and gravitational energy. Its control over gravity was elementary at best, and it relied primarily on its mandibles and tail to strike.
In truth, the tail was rarely a weapon for a juvenile; it was an organ used to anchor its body and assist in absorbing nutrients. One could easily distinguish its growth stage by the color of its torso and wings: a transparent, colorless frame marked the juvenile stage. Only as it matured and took on deeper hues would its true power begin to manifest.
Evidently, the specimen before him was still in its vulnerable infancy.
Mohg slowly unfurled the wings on his back. He gripped the Death's Poker in one hand and made a grasping motion with the other. In an instant, blood swirled and solidified into a long, crimson spear.
Sensing the threat radiating from Mohg, the juvenile creature shivered, its many eyes fixed on him with predatory intensity. It had originally been slumbering peacefully above, but it had suddenly sensed an aura from below that was, to its instincts, a magnificent feast. Thus, it had awakened to hunt.
Finding something in the underground world that could serve as such potent nourishment was rare. As for whether the creature posed a threat... honestly, the thought hadn't crossed its mind. Its racial memories contained no record of anything truly capable of threatening its kind—especially not in this subterranean realm. Even as a juvenile, it was used to looking down upon all other life here.
Yet, to its shock, the being before it seemed to possess the power to actually kill it.
The bristles along the creature's body stood on end—a reflexive stress response to danger. Nearby, several large stones began to glow with a faint purple light.
Mohg glanced at the levitating rocks, pushing aside his confusion as to why he hadn't noticed this thing earlier. He lunged forward, his feet propelling him like a red blur toward the Malformed Star.
The moment Mohg moved, the gravity-imbued stones shot toward him like cannonballs. Each impact against the cavern floor let out a thunderous roar, shattering the rocks into fine dust. The raw force contained within them was staggering.
However, the "telegraphing" of the attack and its actual accuracy were pitiable. Not a single stone touched him.
Mohg closed the distance in a heartbeat, appearing directly in front of the creature. Startled by his speed, the Malformed Star shrieked, snapping its mandibles and pincers in a desperate attempt to bite him.
Clang! Creeeeak—
"You certainly have a lot of strength in you..."
Mohg had dropped his weapons, using his bare hands to seize the creature's massive pincers, locking it in a test of pure physical power. The Malformed Star seemed to lose its focus for a split second; this was a tactic it had never encountered before.
In the next heartbeat, Mohg let out a low roar and heaved the creature's head upward, then stepped in with an explosive lunge.
Aspects of the Crucible: Horns!
CRACK!
"SCREE—!!!"
Massive fragments of bone-like chitin rained down onto the floor. Struck by the heavy blow, the creature writhed in agony, its tail thrashing uncontrollably against the ground.
Mohg reached out again, and a massive Blood Greatsword manifested in his grip. He blurred forward, appearing before the flailing creature with the blade held in a two-handed grip.
Sensing the onset of death, the Malformed Star ceased its thrashing. Driven by a primal lust for life, it unleashed every trick in its arsenal. Its scorpion-like tail whipped down from above while its mouth lunged at him again. Even its underdeveloped arms clawed at the air. In the face of extinction, it even managed to spontaneously develop a new application of gravity.
As purple light enveloped its tail, the stinger transformed into a terrifying "battle-axe" of force, hacking down from the air with incredible speed.
Mohg was standing directly in its path.
Facing the impending strike, Mohg made no move to dodge. The wings on his back erupted with a golden radiance. In the next second, a blood-red arc of energy sliced through the air.
BOOM!
Bloodflame Slash!
"SCREE-EE-EE!!!"
A violent explosion rocked the juvenile creature's body. The crimson slash had severed its tail completely, while the force of the blast tore its gossamer wings to shreds. This was a catastrophic injury unlike any it had ever known; it was the closest it had ever been to the end.
Desperate, the Malformed Star opened its mouth wide and emitted wave after wave of high-pitched shrieks. Unlike the previous screams of pain, this was a rhythmic, urgent call for help.
Mohg didn't know what the creature was doing, but since the situation was clearly taking a turn for the strange, he decided to end it immediately.
His silhouette flickered. The Death's Poker plunged deep into the shattered remains of the creature's skull. The plea for help was cut short, replaced by a weak, dying whimper.
BOOM!
In the next instant, the Ghostflame of death erupted. The creature's head was entirely consumed by the black-and-white fire, leaving not even a trace of its soul behind. Its life force vanished.
The massive corpse collapsed. The ancient, unnamed temple—already damaged from the fight—suffered another round of destruction. It seemed that one more nudge would turn the entire structure into a pile of rubble.
Mohg walked toward the severed tail and broken wings. In his memory, these were the parts of a Malformed Star that could be forged into weapons. He reached into the void, manifesting a Blood Pool before him.
He pushed the tail and wings into the pool, even going as far as to snap off the mandibles from the creature's face and toss them in as well. What they would eventually be crafted into would be up to his subordinates.
Back at the base, Liana looked on in utter bewilderment as massive, alien objects slowly emerged from the Blood Pool in the center of the camp. She drifted into a deep silence.
This… this must be a gift from Lord Mohg! But… how on earth are we supposed to use this?
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Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (340 Chapters – Ongoing)
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