"Lilyan, is it? Fine. Now, can you explain what just happened? I was simply passing through and even have a token from Redmane Castle, yet you lot decided to strike first."
Lilyan looked quite embarrassed. Who could have known they would provoke such a powerhouse? Seeing someone creeping in during the dead of night, they had assumed it was another rot-creature. By the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late. She had no choice but to concoct a plausible excuse.
"It couldn't be helped. Lately, Kindred of Rot have been disguising themselves as humans to infiltrate the town. You likely saw the destroyed marionette soldiers at the gateway; those were the results of several ambushes."
Gawain looked at his own appearance. The battles yesterday had indeed been fierce. Even though he had cleaned off the physical Scarlet Rot clinging to him, a thick, lingering stench remained. Barging in during the middle of the night did seem a bit presumptuous in hindsight.
"Fine. It seems this was just a misunderstanding."
He surveyed the battered town of Sellia. The outskirts were heavily eroded by the Scarlet Rot from the great swamp, while the center had just been "swept" clean by his recent attack.
"It seems you haven't been faring well lately. However, since you have surrendered to me, I won't leave you to your fate. From now on, this place shall be under my protection."
Lilyan naturally didn't dare raise any objections. Seeking a peaceful resolution by becoming a vassal was her only choice in that situation; it was the only way to ensure Sellia wouldn't be wiped out then and there.
Furthermore, Sellia was practically paralyzed after the recent chaos and was in no state to handle outside threats. Even if they had somehow repelled this man, they would have been sitting ducks for the next wave of rot-creatures.
Choosing to submit at least gave them a fighting chance. However, she still didn't know what kind of person he truly was. If she had run into some kind of lunatic, the outcome wouldn't be much better.
Of course, looking back on this day in the future, Lilyan would be profoundly grateful that she had handed Sellia over to him.
"May I ask your name and status? The sorcery you used just now is something even the two masters of the Primeval Current would find difficult to cast. Yet, you do not resemble the professors of the Academy."
"My name is Gawain, the current Storm Lord of Stormveil. I was once a disciple of the Witch Karla and the sorcerer Orbeck. Now, I have a new mentor whom I'm sure you've heard of—her name is Sellen, a master of the Primeval Current."
"The Storm Lord? I see. That explains everything. I can speak for all the sorcerers of Sellia in swearing fealty to you."
Lilyan suddenly felt like laughing with relief. Submitting to a figure who was at least at the demigod level wasn't a disgrace. Now that General Radahn had lost his mind, they had long since lacked a demigod who could protect them.
Then, she noticed the other names he mentioned.
"Master Sellen? So she is currently residing in Stormveil."
Sellia preserved the equipment of Master Lusat. As one of the few high-ranking clerics with the status of a Night Maiden, Lilyan held a position even higher than the two Nox Swordstresses. Naturally, she knew of Sellen, who was also a key figure of the Primeval Current.
As for the other two names, she had never heard of them. Had the Academy ever produced such figures? She could only assume that his powerful magic—completely different from Glintstone Sorcery—was taught by them.
Seeing how easily he had acquired a group of relatively powerful sorcerers, Gawain felt a wave of relief. Stormveil's current military was severely lacking in long-range magical firepower. With the Academy in self-imposed isolation, Sellia was the largest gathering of mages he could reach.
Although he had asked Sellen to train more sorcerers as reserve combatants, relying on one person was too slow. In the future, these Sellians could serve as instructors at Stormveil. They could cooperate perfectly with a Primeval master like Sellen; here, the title of "Graven Witch" was a mark of prestige rather than infamy.
"What technologies inherited from the Nox dynasty do you still possess? Show them to me. In the future, I can relocate you to Stormveil. It's closer to Liurnia of the Lakes and offers much better conditions for research and advancement."
Now that Sellia was under his banner, he didn't need to run around solving puzzles. A single order was enough.
Lilyan didn't object. She indeed held much technology, but due to various practical reasons, it was sealed away and impossible to reproduce. If she could convince this man to provide more support, it wouldn't be a bad thing. But first, she would offer some treasures to show her sincerity.
After a few instructions, the two Nox Swordstresses left. Along with the other sorcerers, they gathered all the items Sellia had been safeguarding. This included "Imbued Sword Keys" and "Lusat's Glintstone Staff"—two significant prizes.
Gawain first picked up the Imbued Sword Key. Unlike ordinary Stonesword Keys, this one radiated a faint, starlike glimmer.
The Imbued Sword Keys were the tools used to activate the portals at the Four Belfries. Theoretically, they could transport a person to the Chapel of Anticipation, the Eternal City of Nokron, or the Crumbling Farum Azula.
However, those places were currently disconnected from the main continent for various reasons. The Chapel of Anticipation and Nokron had broken bridges, while Farum Azula was a fragment floating far away in the sky.
Gawain had already reconnected the bridge between the Chapel of Anticipation and Stormveil. As for Nokron, he had already pulled out Crucible Knight Siluria, who should currently be working with the ancestral followers to open the underground passage between the two regions.
As for Farum Azula, it was still too far off for him. He had plenty of trouble to deal with on the ground first. He needed to have a "clash" with the General first so he could gauge the true strength of Maliketh, the Black Blade—the one said to strike fear into all demigods.
Seeing that the decent treasures of the town had been handed over, Lilyan moved on to the main event.
"Please follow me. We have prepared the technical data you requested. It is hidden in the depths of the temple."
Gawain followed her into the core of the Chair Crypt. As the heart of the Nox civilization in every sense, all important items were stored here, protected by the strongest magical seals.
Inside the Chair Crypt, Gawain finally saw the true depth of the town's heritage. First were the various scrolls for Sellian assassination sorcery, detailing how to construct the corresponding magic circles.
The most heavyweight among them was Eternal Darkness, a spell capable of drawing in sorceries and incantations. It was said to be inspired by the despair that brought about the destruction of the Nox civilization, bearing a striking resemblance to the black holes created by Astel during teleportation.
What interested him most was that these people actually possessed the majority of the technology for creating Dragonkin Soldiers! Although they hadn't been able to bring all the technical data during their escape, and they lacked the conditions and materials of the Eternal City to reproduce them, those weren't problems for him. He could provide whatever they needed.
He had thought about "kidnapping" a few dragons from the Dragonbarrow, but that was too primitive. Even ignoring Agheel's feelings, the wyverns of the Lands Between—though they grew faster than Ancient Dragons—were still too slow to breed compared to mass production.
As for Lothric's artificial dragon technology? Setting aside the technical difficulty of reproducing it in the Lands Between, those man-made dragons were susceptible to the Pus of Man. Just thinking about what that implied was enough to make him hesitate.
Building an "Aldia's Funhouse" in the Lands Between was a bit too extreme even for him. In the world of Dark Souls, almost all technology revolved around the First Flame; ethics and morality were the least important factors.
However, the two weren't mutually exclusive. The Nox Dragonkin Soldiers weren't complete—they could barely even fly. He could provide some inspiration for improvement using Lothric's technology.
If he actually succeeded in producing a mature result, the thought was exhilarating. Leyndell claimed to be the ultimate defense, right? He'd love to see them experience the terror of aerial dominance again, just like during the ancient war with the dragons. He believed that even if Godwyn were resurrected, he wouldn't be able to stop it.
Of course, those things were still a long way off. In his eyes, the Nox technology was just like the Glintstone Sorceries Master Sellen taught him; he felt that if he put his mind to it, he could eventually learn it all.
But he didn't have that much time. Perhaps later, once he took over the Academy, he could have those scholars participate in the research. Sorcerers were like that; they just needed to stay in their labs all day studying magical theory and practice. As someone destined to become the Elden Lord, he had far more to consider.
"Is there anything else? Don't you have the tech for the lightning orbs or Frozen Lightning?"
"Most of the important records are kept here. As for the other technologies, we once had them, but many were lost during the outbreak of the disaster due to poor preservation."
Lilyan stole a glance at the leveled center of the town. She really wanted to say that a large portion of it had been vaporized by his Soul Stream just now—including the scrolls for the lightning orbs—but she decided it was best not to bring it up. They were relatively simple anyway; with the right conditions, they could be reproduced easily.
"I see. That can't be helped. Keep these items safe. Once I've made the arrangements, you can be sent to Stormveil."
Gawain planned to return to Stormveil soon. He would have Irina prepare a dedicated area for these sorcerers. After a thought, he pulled out a wax-white item and handed it to her.
"Here, take this."
"What is this?"
"I said I would protect this town. This is called a White Sign Soapstone. If you encounter an emergency, write a summoning sign on the ground, like this."
He personally drew a summoning sign on the ground to demonstrate. Theoretically, the soapstone shouldn't work in the Lands Between, but he had infused it with the power of the Embers. The sign drawn by this item acted like a temporary bonfire.
As long as he felt the summons, he could teleport there at any time using the power of the Lordvessel. This method was fast, convenient, and could be used anywhere without fear of interference.
After all, General Radahn's gravity magic could block malicious stars; it might also interfere with conventional teleportation. For now, Gawain's greatest trust remained in the power of the First Flame.
"If a true emergency arises, I will personally return to help."
Lilyan looked at the item in her hand, feeling a surge of burning power within. She guessed it was some special teleportation tool. Regardless, it was a guarantee of safety, so she tucked it away carefully.
"You mentioned you had a token from Redmane Castle. I assume you are here for the festival?"
"Correct. I already have one Great Rune. General Radahn's Great Rune is naturally my next target. In this festival, I will use my full strength to give him a dignified end."
"In that case, I am willing to accompany you to the festival as the representative of Sellia. It is the last bit of effort we can contribute to General Radahn, who protected Sellia for so long."
Gawain was a bit surprised, but he didn't object. The festival was "safe" in the sense that Patches could wander around and leave, but "dangerous" in that the strongest, maddened demigod was there. For a Sellian, whose natural style was to stay back and deal damage, being on the battlefield wouldn't be much of an issue. He expected the General's fire to be concentrated on him anyway.
Lilyan had her own motives. Although she knew the man before her was at least demigod-level, his upper limit remained to be seen.
The festival was the perfect platform for observation. She needed to see for herself to draw a conclusion. As a Night Maiden, she wanted to determine if he was truly worthy of inheriting the Nox legacy.
There were things hidden in her mind she hadn't revealed—such as the past hidden behind the spell Eternal Darkness.
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