The sound of clashing metal was incessant, and high-temperature sparks splashed continuously.
Artoria was being beaten back step by step, doing nothing but defending and dodging.
Ember + Soul of the King + Elden Ring; any one of these alone could create a god.
Let alone all three appearing on one person; it wasn’t as simple as 1+1+1=3.
Since Gwyn had cast aside formalities, he naturally wouldn’t show any martial ethics in battle.
When he attacked head-on, the opponent raised her sword to defend.
In the next moment, only a pillar of golden light remained where he stood; his blade slashed down from behind her, carving out layers of phantoms in an instant.
The fingerprint knight straight sword was nearly smoking from the friction.
Then, without waiting for Artoria to turn and react, he teleported away in advance, casually tossing several Golden Light Spears while lightning orbs that automatically tracked the enemy constantly emerged around him.
Even if he accidentally slipped up and was countered by Artoria, he would immediately turn his back and pretend to disengage.
Then he would immediately drop two Roped Black Firebombs to block her, pull out an Estus Flask to heal, turn around, recover health at an incredible speed, and attack again.
That speed was as terrifying as if it were on fast-forward; even a god could only catch a glimpse of an afterimage.
This was ‘Estus Cancel,’ short for Estus Flask Animation Cancel.
Simply put, it involves canceling the recovery animation of healing to achieve ultra-high-speed health recovery, which plays an incomparable role in fast-paced battles.
Artoria was overwhelmed; she was soon wounded, and scorch marks appeared on her armor.
She was completely on the back foot; defeat was only a matter of time.
“Teacher, stop fighting! I’m on your side.”
Ultimately, she had to give up on the idea of beating Gwyn to his knees and then dragging him back to be her queen.
Teacher?
Where did I get so many disciples?
Gwyn didn’t listen at all, treating it as a stalling tactic.
He flipped his hands, switching his left-hand weapon to a longbow and his right-hand weapon to a Repeating Crossbow.
The Repeating Crossbow fired a burst of bolts, then he jumped back and swapped it for a Greatbow taller than a person.
Though it was a bow, it could rapidly fire hundreds or thousands of spear-like arrows at a speed comparable to a Gatling gun.
Every single arrow was simultaneously buffed by the power of the Ember, the Soul of the King, and the Elden Ring the moment it was fired.
Any single one was roughly equivalent to an A+ rank Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm release.
[Left Bow Machine Gun], a technique so malicious it was comparable to a cheat.
Techniques like Estus Cancel or Ring Cancel were mere children before it.
Generally, it wouldn’t be used unless absolutely necessary; using it meant the desire for victory had peaked, and one had completely fallen into the state of Soul Five.
Artoria’s vision went dark.
What on earth is this?
Helpless, she could only wave her hand to stir up a gale, blowing all the arrows back, but soon another volley of arrow rain arrived.
If Avalon hadn’t been damaged, she could have simply ignored them.
“Teacher, stop fighting! I really am on your side.”
Artoria raised her left hand, and a spear of magical energy encased in blue crystals shot out.
Then, she condensed a spear formed of red lightning and held it in her hand.
“Crystal Magic and Dragon Lightning?”
Gwyn recalled all the fired arrows into his inventory and halted his offensive.
Seeing her use these two moves, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.
When did I ever take a disciple?
I can’t remember…
was it burned away?
He couldn’t help but recall his experience of Linking the Fire again.
His soul seeped out bit by bit, turning to ash in the burning of the first flame, and his memories dissipated along with the loss of his soul.
The resurrection of the Undead comes at the cost of losing humanity—that is, the loss of the soul.
When humanity is lost to the limit, one becomes a Hollow, devoid of reason and memory, only instinctively craving souls.
During the process of Linking the Fire, he was essentially experiencing death repeatedly.
Every death resulted in the loss of a portion of humanity, turning it into fuel for the first flame.
Countless Unkindled have been burned into total amnesia, knowing only the instinctive desire for the flame.
Gwyn had burned for tens of thousands of years, so naturally, this happened to him too.
But rather than saying he forgot many things, it was more that he was incredibly resilient to the burning.
Being able to remember anything after burning for so long was a unique case among all Lords of Cinder.
“Amnesia? How troublesome.”
Gwyn muttered, putting away his weapons as the Ember, Soul of the King, and Elden Ring fell back into silence.
The massive Erdtree vanished as well; the eternal laws that distorted and eroded the world rapidly receded, and the surrounding world returned to normal.
He judged that Artoria wasn’t lying, recalling that she hadn’t intended to kill him during the fight.
Coupled with the Crystal Magic and Dragon Lightning spear in her hands…
He finally confirmed that she had indeed been his disciple.
It was just that he no longer remembered those memories.
“Let’s have a proper talk,” Gwyn said.
“Alright.” Artoria dispersed the lightning spear in her hand and followed obediently behind Gwyn, appearing quiet and gentle, like a refined young lady.
Gwyn didn’t know where to go, so he simply swapped his armor for a set of modern casual clothes.
“As a gift for our long-awaited reunion, it wouldn’t be too much for Teacher to treat us to a meal, right?” Artoria suggested. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“A meal?” Gwyn suddenly remembered Saber’s ‘King’s Stomach.’
And she said ‘us’; he wasn’t sure if that included the entire Round Table or just Morgan.
If it was the Round Table, wouldn’t there also be Mordred, who inherited the ‘King’s Stomach’?
Challenging two owners of the King’s Stomach?
Interesting.
But Gwyn nodded anyway and said, “Fine. I happened to find a very tasty restaurant while wandering around these past two days. I’ll take you there and guarantee you’ll be full.”
Anyway, it wasn’t his money; it was all provided by Tokiomi, so he didn’t care.
Artoria was stunned: “Feed us… full?”
She smiled; it had been a long time since she’d heard such words.
“Then let’s go, my dear Teacher.”
…
Meanwhile, at the Clock Tower in London.
The group of Mages gathered to observe the center of the Pacific Ocean breathed a long sigh of relief.
Although they didn’t know why such a commotion had suddenly occurred in the Pacific, for now, it was good that it had subsided.
However, it still required significant attention; people had to be sent to investigate.
Moreover, that giant golden tree was also very concerning.
Its aura didn’t seem like something from the modern era, but rather an existence from the Age of Gods, like the World Tree.
“Our primary task now is to suppress the influence of this incident. We cannot let the situation escalate and lead to the leakage of Mystery.”
“Only then will we investigate the matter itself. Understood?”
“Meeting adjourned.”
…
Fuyuki City.
Morgan stood atop a tall building, watching the activity in the Pacific from afar.
Noticing the storm had ceased, she realized the battle was over, and it was likely Gwyn who had won.
“Those storms were probably caused by that Red Dragon Rebel.”
“But that tree… that must have been Teacher’s doing, right?”
“Teacher, just how many things have you kept from me?”
“Why did you vanish into thin air for over a thousand years?”
“I’ve worked so hard searching for you…”
Morgan stood in the wind, let out a long sigh, and leaped from the tall building, moving toward the location of the Knights of the Round Table.
She was going to crash the meal.