Mohg peered down. Since he was destined to face a powerful entity regardless of which path he took, he felt there was no need to retreat. If anything, the open cavern gave him a distinct advantage: he could fly, whereas the Mushroom Man could not—unlike the Dragonkin Soldier, who possessed wings of its own.
With that thought, the wings on Mohg's back erupted with a brilliant, blood-red light.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, countless crimson feathers streaked toward the spot where the scout Basilisk had vanished. They plunged into the Lake of Rot, kicking up a massive spray of red water, but the lake quickly returned to its eerie stillness as if nothing had happened.
Mohg didn't rush. He hovered directly above the lift, beating his wings rhythmically while staring at the surface. Though the reaction had been subtle, he had caught a glimpse of movement that wasn't caused by his feathers hitting the water.
He estimated the Mushroom Man had taken quite a few hits and was finally preparing to act.
But having the enemy hide beneath the surface forever wouldn't do. So...
Swoosh!
Mohg dived toward the lift platform at high speed, his eyes locked onto the placid water, ready for any counterattack. Just as he closed the distance to a mere ten meters, a violent whistling sound tore through the air from behind him.
Boom!
Without hesitation, Mohg's wings flared with a golden radiance. Bolstered by the Aspects of the Crucible: Wings, he instantly banked and shot back into the air. He spun mid-flight, drawing the Death's Poker as he stared at a cluster of spiked, writhing tentacles reaching out from the rot—each one saturated with the toxic essence of the Scarlet Rot.
Seeing its ambush fail, the giant Mushroom Man slowly rose from the lake.
Now, Mohg could see the creature in its entirety. It wore a massive mushroom like a crown, and its upper face was shrouded by a hood-like fungal growth. Its exposed lower face revealed ashen skin and a mouth filled with needle-like teeth. It had no lips; those yellowed fangs were exposed directly to the air. Its entire body was encrusted with a staggering number of mushrooms.
Mohg could see some of the fungi pulsating, occasionally puffing out clouds of red, infectious mist. The sight was enough to make anyone's stomach churn. Mohg had zero desire to fight this thing; it was repulsive in every sense—not just its appearance, but its arsenal. Every inch of it carried the Scarlet Rot; one wrong move, and he'd be in a world of hurt.
"ROAR!!!"
The creature didn't share his reservations. With a deafening bellow, it exhaled a dense, high-speed cloud of rot-mist toward Mohg.
He banked hard to dodge the cloud, then reached out and made a grasping motion. Blood splashed into the void—the simple yet effective Bloodboon incantation!
Squelch!
Facing the incoming wave of bloodflame, the Mushroom Man reached into the lake and pulled up a massive shield made of interlocking fungi. The move actually made Mohg blink in surprise for a split second.
He used that moment of visual obstruction to dive toward the lift again.
Pshhh—
A sound like escaping gas hissed behind him, followed by a piercing sense of danger. Mohg trusted his instincts implicitly; he twisted his body in mid-air and thrust the Death's Poker forward.
The power of Ghostflame erupted. Simultaneously, his Crucible wings beat violently, creating a localized hurricane that whipped the air around him.
Sure enough, the giant Mushroom Man had unleashed a massive spray of rot-mist from its fungal crown. Looking at the sheer volume of the red toxin, Mohg felt a chill; had he tried to push through, he would have been instantly infected.
Swoosh—Bang!
Mohg twisted his torso just as a massive, mushroom-covered hand slammed into the stone wall beside him.
"ROAR!"
Frustrated by another miss, the creature's arm—which had elongated unnaturally—swung around like a massive pillar toward Mohg.
Mohg narrowed his eyes. He hadn't fought back yet, and this thing really thought he was helpless?
His Blood Whip lashed out, a streak of red cutting through the air with a literal sonic boom. The strike was so clean that it severed the Mushroom Man's arm at the elbow.
Suddenly losing its balance, the creature stumbled and collapsed back into the Lake of Rot.
"ROAR!!!"
This time, Mohg felt the raw emotion behind the bellow. It was pure, unadulterated... FURY!
Boom!
A massive explosion of activity erupted from the creature. Countless spiked tentacles burst from its torso like dancing shadows. At the same time, the mushrooms on its body fired orbs of green energy toward him.
But before the creature could launch its next assault, a streak of blood-red light pierced through its chest. The impact carried a terrifying force, dragging the entire creature backward through the water.
In the air, the Mohgwyn Dynasty crest in Mohg's hand slowly faded. He wasn't about to let an enemy "phase transition" on his watch!
Blood Spear: By condensing Accursed Blood into a physical lance and using compressed Bloodflame and his own physical strength as the propellant, Mohg had created a devastating projectile. Upon impact, the spear would detonate, unleashing the internal pressure of the Accursed Blood.
BOOM!!!!
Watching the massive explosion and the resulting tidal wave of rot, Mohg turned and flew toward the lift without a backward glance.
Just before entering the shaft, however, he cast one last look at the blast zone. He saw a bone-chilling sight: countless mushrooms and vines were surging toward the creature's mangled torso, acting as new flesh and bone to reconstruct its frame. In that moment of transparency, Mohg saw a single, pulsating white heart within its chest.
Though he hadn't "killed" it, Mohg doubted they'd cross paths again. He didn't bother flying back for a finishing blow; he simply vanished into the lift's interior.
As the "Mushroom King" gradually pieced itself back together, it let out one final, frustrated roar that sent ripples through the blood-red waters of the lake.
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Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (340 Chapters – Ongoing)
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