Gawain galloped across the vast expanse of the Wailing Dunes atop Torrent. The warriors who had joined him in the second wave had already been left far behind. He needed to reach the General at maximum speed to force a melee confrontation, buying precious time for the others.
Under Caelid's blood-red sky, the immense dunes seemed to stretch into infinity, punctuated only by scattered, broken armaments and tattered red banners—grim decorations of this desolate battlefield.
At the very heart of this sea of sand stood the mighty General Radahn. Whether it was his colossal stature or the peerless archery he had just displayed, the facts stood indisputable: the strongest of the demigods remained a titan.
After dispatching the first warriors to draw near, Radahn's face contorted as he let out another harrowing howl. Even the Scarlet Rot devouring his mind could not suppress his indomitable spirit. He reached back, tearing weapons lodged in his own flesh to use as makeshift arrows, and took aim at the steady stream of enemies daring to approach.
The closer Gawain drew, the more he felt the crushing weight of the General's gravity magic. It pressed down so heavily that even Torrent found it impossible to perform his spectral double-jump to close the distance.
Gawain could hardly contain his excitement; his blood was reaching a boiling point. His previous fight against Godrick had been a mere one-sided slaughter, far from satisfying. Only by reaching the level of demigods as powerful as Morgott or Radahn could one truly claim the strength to reshape the Lands Between. He would use this battle to prove his right to the throne.
Despite the intensifying gravity, Torrent's speed remained formidable. Radahn's first volley of arrows missed Gawain , who led the charge. The occasional stray shaft that whistled past his ear was deflected by the howling storm winds swirling around him. Instead, the arrows found their marks among the warriors behind him. One by one, broken bodies collapsed along the line of the charge. There was no retreat; only by winning this battle would any of them earn the right to live.
Through the haze of his fractured consciousness, Radahn noticed the warrior at the vanguard. The steed beneath the man felt strangely familiar, as did the sheer, approaching intensity of his battle spirit. It seemed he would have to eliminate this "strongest" threat first.
Even lost in madness and devoid of reason, his martial arts and combat instincts were etched into his very marrow, functioning as pure reflex. With the keen intuition of a wild beast, Radahn made a decisive judgment: ordinary gravity arrows would not work on this man.
The General reached back once more, pulling a blood-stained Cleanrot Knight spear from his body and notching it to his bowstring. This time, Radahn did not aim for the sky to rain down a volley. Instead, he leveled the spear-arrow directly at his target, channeling immense gravity magic into the tip. Combining maximum speed with devastating kinetic energy, this shot was designed to pierce the storm shielding his foe.
Quickly calculating the projectile's velocity, Gawain realized he couldn't dodge it. In a fluid motion, he rolled off his mount, vanishing Torrent in an instant. In his reverse grip, he manifested Havel's Greatshield, further reinforced by the Great Magic Shield sorcery.
The gravity arrows, laden with staggering momentum, were not solitary. Radahn fired in rapid succession, each shot striking Havel's Greatshield with unerring precision. Though the magical reinforcement ensured the shield suffered only minor scratches, the sheer force of the impact made Gawain's hands go numb.
"Impressive. Firing a Greatbow that fast? You some kind of specialist?"
Gawain glanced at the giant arrows embedded in the sand beside him—each longer than he was tall. Taking a direct hit from one of those was no joking matter.
Seeing the General nocking another arrow, Gawain knew this couldn't continue. He had to break the General's momentum. Estimating the distance, he judged that Radahn was finally within his own range.
Gawain slammed the greatshield into the sand to act as a temporary barricade. He quickly layered his buffs: Power Within and Golden Vow. As the effect of the Grafted Blade Greatsword surged through him, his right hand began to crackle with blinding electricity—a bolt far larger and longer than a standard Great Lightning Spear.
Radahn seemed to sense the danger. He accelerated his firing rate, his consecutive shots finally blasting Havel's Greatshield aside. But it was a fraction of a second too late.
Before the hum of the Sacred Chime serving as his catalyst could fade, a violent bolt of lightning erupted from Gawain's fingertips. The golden streak moved with such blistering speed that Radahn had no time to react.
The Sunlight Spear exploded against the General's shoulder. His armor shattered, leaving a horrific crater in his frame as scorched flesh and bone fragments scattered across the sand.
The ground shuddered as Radahn collapsed, writhing in agony. It was the legendary miracle used by Lord Gwyn to topple the Ancient Dragons, reborn now in the Lands Between.
The warriors racing toward the center of the dunes faltered for a moment. Such a devastating lightning strike... was it the power of the Ancient Dragons? Truly, they thought, the new Storm King lived up to his title. The Ancient Dragons had once been the iron wall protecting the Elden Lord; it felt only natural for Gawain to wield such power.
"I missed the mark? Well, I didn't expect it to be that easy anyway."
The strike, originally aimed at Radahn's chest, had detonated on his shoulder. One arm hung by a thread, and through the gaping wound, one could see the wriggling, budding sprouts of the Scarlet Rot. Yet, no blood geyser followed; the residual lightning continued to cauterize the blackened flesh.
Radahn dropped his bow and let out a sky-rending roar. His flesh began to knit back together at an unnatural speed. Within seconds, he had regained enough mobility to move.
Gawain frowned. Was this the power of the Great Rune Ranni had mentioned? It was absurd. It was no wonder General Radahn had survived for so long, even while burning his own Great Rune to suppress the rot; his physical resilience remained peak-tier.
Gawain knew that while the Sunlight Spear was effective and hit almost instantly once fired, its "wind-up" was too long. Radahn would be on guard now; that first hit had only succeeded because it was a surprise. However, the damage to the shoulder's muscles and bone, even if mostly closed, meant Radahn couldn't draw his bow for the time being. That brief window was all Gawain needed.
Sensing this, Radahn pushed his massive frame up from the sand. This opponent had successfully reignited his warrior's soul.
The General threw his arms wide, purple gravity magic swirling around his palms to create a massive vacuum. Two swords of impossible proportions answered their master's call, bursting forth from beneath the dunes and flying into Radahn's grip.
Reclaiming his signature weapons, the General let out a war cry. A violent sphere of purple light radiated from the blades. The greatest warrior and sorcerer was ready to charge once more.
The scrawny horse Radahn rode was ancient and ravaged by the Scarlet Rot. Though it had long been unable to carry the General in a traditional sense, the bond between them remained perfect. Gravity magic enveloped the horse's hooves. It wasn't so much the horse carrying the General, but the General using gravity to hold himself up so he could ride alongside his comrade. Feeling its master's will, the horse broke into a gallop, charging toward the enemy.
The purple light around Radahn expanded, pulling massive boulders from deep underground and shaping them into projectiles. These gravity stones hovered briefly before hurtling toward Gawain.
Gawain signaled Torrent to keep charging. He clenched his left hand, summoning a cluster of explosive fireballs behind him. These high-level pyromancies from the Great Swamp were potent enough to shatter solid rock.
Fire and gravity collided in a series of violent explosions. Torrent maneuvered with feline agility, weaving through the debris. He even used a falling rock as a stepping stone, leaping into the air to give his master a superior vantage point.
Gawain saw the remaining gravity stones halt mid-air, reversing direction to track him. He funneled his unspent pyromancies into his left hand. The unstable flames condensed into a long whip. With a sweeping strike, the Fire Whip struck the gravity stones, detonating them or melting them into slag. Having cleared the path, Gawainlashed the whip directly at Radahn.
However, Radahn used his gravity magic to lift himself and his horse into the air, evading the flaming lash. In mid-air, he tucked into a spin like a gargantuan top, transforming into a living drill. He hurtled toward Gawain, the Starscourge Greatswords poised to rend him asunder.
Had the blow landed, Gawain would have been sliced in half. He manipulated the storm winds to provide a sudden counter-thrust, propelling himself backward and causing Radahn's Gravity Bolt to miss. The General slammed into the desert, cratering the dunes. He seemed momentarily winded; neither side had gained a clear advantage in this opening exchange.
Gawain backed off for a moment to recover his stamina. That sequence had been taxing, but he had bought enough time. The other warriors had arrived.
"Well done. We'll take it from here."
Blaidd was the first to arrive. He was genuinely stunned that Gawain had managed to heavily wound the General and stall him for so long single-handedly. He, and every other warrior present, knew that if they wanted to win this festival, the battle had to revolve around Gawain.
Wild light flickered in Blaidd's eyes. With his Royal Greatsword strapped to his back, he moved on all fours like a true wolf, pouncing at the General before he could recover.
Once in range, Blaidd drew his blade and unleashed his signature skill, Wolf's Assault. Using the momentum of a spinning leap, he drove the giant sword into Radahn's wounded shoulder. A burst of frost exploded from the blade, momentarily freezing the limb and stripping the General of control over half his upper body.
Radahn roared, attempting to grab the Half-Wolf on his back with his free arm. Suddenly, the air grew thick with the scent of cursed blood. A flurry of slashes from the katana Rivers of Blood carved red trails across his reaching arm.
Okina's swordplay—a technique that had once fascinated the Lord of Blood—left deep, bone-chilling gashes. Cursed blood, mingled with the Scarlet Rot, spilled onto the sand.
Violently twisting his body to throw Blaidd off, the General looked up to find that he was no longer facing just two foes. He was surrounded.
"Forgive us, General. Against a lion as mighty as you, we have no choice but to fight as a pack."
Though Freyja spoke words of apology, her Savage Lion's Claw did not hesitate. Her full combo forced the General to stagger, though she was subsequently sent flying by a gravity-imbued punch.
"Gah! I've wanted to challenge the General for a long time, but I didn't expect him to be this strong even in this state."
She tumbled across the sand before coming to a stop, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Yet, an exhilarated smile remained on her face. This was the battle festival she had dreamed of.
"Wait for your opening. This isn't a fight you can just jump into," Leda said, dragging Freyja back to a safe zone. Leda was primarily here to observe—to see who could be recruited and who needed to be eliminated. She would only strike at the critical moment.
The power of the Great Rune flared. Driven by a primal survival instinct, Radahn's wounds began to close rapidly. He knew he couldn't allow himself to be pinned down.
A massive gravity wave pulsed outward, slowing the warriors' movements. Radahn hoisted his Starscourge Greatswords and slammed them into the earth. Starcaller Cry.
Everyone felt an irresistible gravitational pull. They were forced to jam their weapons into the sand to anchor themselves; to be pulled in meant facing a full-force overhead smash.
"Can't a guy get a moment's rest?"
Gawain, having just finished a sip from his Flask of Wondrous Physick, saw his allies trapped by the area-of-effect attack. He hurriedly aimed for the crossing point of the two Greatswords and hurled a pillar of lightning. He didn't expect a kill; he just needed to disrupt the skill's release.
The impact broke Radahn's concentration. Forced to release the move early, the General slammed the swords down with only half-power, sending jagged earth tremors and rock spikes erupting toward the surrounding warriors. Those who couldn't dodge in time were impaled by the razor-sharp stone.
The heavyweights—Great Horned Tragoth, Iron Fist Alexander, and Lionel the Lionhearted—stepped to the front, absorbing the brunt of the rock spikes. Even with their massive defenses, the impact clearly shook them.
Okina did not waste the opportunity. Having already succumbed to the madness of combat, he ignored the risks. Instead of resisting the gravity pull, he had leaped into the air, using the suction to accelerate his flight toward the General. Alongside him, a dozen Inaba disciples—samurai from the Land of Reeds—lunged from various angles with katanas drawn, aiming for a decapitating strike.
In the brief lull after his earthen attack, Radahn couldn't defend effectively. Okina moved like a streak of crimson light. Blood sprayed from the General's neck, though the strike also cut through several of Okina's own students who were in the way.
Skidding to a halt, Okina barely glanced at the students he had personally cut down. He glared at the General and cursed under his breath. A demigod's neck was far harder to sever than he'd imagined.
"Something's wrong! Scatter!"
Blaidd, who had grown up as Ranni's shadow, recognized the General's stance and shouted a warning.
The wound on Radahn's neck sealed instantly. He shook his head, exhaling a cloud of hot vapor. The Great Rune within him began to burn at full capacity. The silence wasn't exhaustion; it was the transition to his second phase.
Sensing its master's intent, the scrawny horse charged. The General hurled his Starscourge Greatswords, shattering a section of the encirclement. They didn't need a direct hit; the mere pressure of the blades passing by crushed ordinary warriors into paste. The swords looped through the battlefield like boomerangs and returned to his hands.
Seeing the gap, the horse carried Radahn through the breach, picking up speed as it began to circle the battlefield in a tight, thunderous gallop.
Then, Radahn unleashed his favorite battlefield maneuver. He became a whirlwind of blades, a localized cyclone of steel that tore through the densest part of the crowd. In an instant, the air was filled with a mist of pulverized flesh.
The impact was so fierce that even heroes like Blaidd didn't dare block it. Legend said this move had once shattered Malenia's prosthetic arm. They could only keep moving, desperate to avoid a direct collision.
Fueled by the nearly infinite stamina of his Great Rune, Radahn showed no signs of slowing down.
"Good thing I hid here since the first arrow," Patches muttered, hunkered down in a corner. Watching the General's rampage, he felt quite proud of his own wit. If the festival failed, he'd flee; if they won, he'd scavenge the gear of the unlucky bastards who'd been chopped to bits.
"Have you no shame? Everyone else is fighting, and you're just lurking here," Lillian said, looking at Patches with disgust. Truthfully, her voice trembled; the General's combat power was terrifying.
"Hah! Aren't you hiding in this 'safe spot' too, little girl? Stay low, or you'll regret it. At least you have invisibility spells; I've got nothing!"
"I'm not hiding. I'm providing cover so the General's real opponent can get close."
As she spoke, Lillian saw her opening. Her staff glowed as she conjured a black hole in Radahn's path. It was the masterpiece of the Sellians: Eternal Darkness, a sorcery born of the despair that followed the destruction of the Eternal City.
Radahn hadn't expected such an anomaly in his path. The gravity magic on his Greatswords was suddenly tugged toward the void, forcing his momentum to a grinding halt.
As the black hole dissipated, the General found his greatest threat standing before him. Gawain lunged with a greatsword, using the Giant Hunt skill to pierce toward Radahn's chest. Radahn flexed his strength, and with a single heave of his Starscourge blade, he shattered Gawain's fragile weapon.
Just as Radahn prepared to follow up, he sensed something. He felt a familiar aura emanating from his foe. He spurred his horse back a few steps, wary.
"I guess even a reinforced ordinary weapon can't take a single hit from you. You really are strong, General. In your prime, I doubt any demigod could match you in pure martial skill."
Gawain dropped the broken hilt. To be honest, he was reluctant to use that weapon. Using it brought immense pain. But now, he had no choice. He took a deep breath as a shimmering heat distortion appeared in the air before him.
"Coincidentally, I'm much like you. After clearing the final obstacles on my path, I realized... I had mastered all of their martial arts as well. Just like this."
He reached into the flickering flames, grasping a blackened hilt. Fire erupted from within, coating his entire body, causing his very armor to spiderweb with fine cracks.
The moment the weapon was drawn, space itself seemed to shudder. The coiled, spiral blade burned with a roar of eternal flame, driving back the surrounding darkness.
"Now... let me be your opponent. We shall duel with the Firelink Greatsword."
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Elden Ring: In the Name of Ash (162 chapter - Ongoing)
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