Melina's treatment ended without any complications.
The shy little Wooden Doll was quite a sight—her body twitching bit by bit, that strained expression of forced endurance on her face—she stirred an almost irresistible urge to tease.
But since the treatment site was somewhat inappropriate, and because Wooden Doll had been making an effort lately to open her heart to him, Lloyd held back. No matter how amusing she looked, he did nothing to her. The whole time he focused on her emotions, careful not to agitate her, and the treatment finished smoothly.
Still, there was one part that surprised Lloyd.
He had already noticed before that although she looked plain on the surface, even her loose robes couldn't hide her curves. It hinted she might be better built than she let on.
Back during earlier treatments, though she faced away, just her silhouette had been enough for Lloyd to guess that Melina's "front armor" wasn't small.
But actually seeing it—even with both hands covering and tightly bound—her scale exceeded his expectations.
By comparison, a certain Little Red Flower's scale was...
"It's fine. Small can be cute too."
After finishing Millicent's treatment, Lloyd patted her shoulder to reassure her.
Whether it was due to poor nutrition growing up or the effects of Scarlet Rot, her budding figure was pitifully small. That was why during a past treatment, when he'd touched her chest, he hadn't realized at first—he thought he'd felt bone.
Having tasted the beauty of both Wooden Doll and Little Red Flower, Lloyd was ready to move on.
From what he had learned earlier, he fast traveled to the Site of Grace near the Royal Capital Avenue. Leaping down, he followed the avenue, passed through a gate, walked down several corridors, turned a few corners, and soon a great bridge stretched before him.
Crossing it, he came to a fork.
To the right lay Morgott's Divine Tower, originally meant for activating Morgott's Great Rune. But thanks to Alice's interference, Lloyd had no need to go there. As for the Dungeon, with the Erdtree in place, he didn't need to bother opening it either.
That left only one path: the classic Soulsborne elevator ahead.
After descending and walking forward a few steps, a snowy, windswept land spread out before him.
[Forbidden Lands]
After activating the Site of Grace, Lloyd pressed onward. But after barely two steps, he heard strange noises in the snow-shrouded distance—like a battle underway.
He raised the Spectral Steed Whistle, summoned Torrent, and rode toward the sound.
What he found was unexpected.
The Night's Cavalry, under Old Margit, who should have been guarding the elevator, were swinging their halberds at small, humanoid figures leaping about—creatures no taller than his horse's legs.
They were Vulgar Militia, half-man-sized mobs wielding polearms, agile and quick. Normally subordinates of the Night's Cavalry, they were supposed to guard this place together. Yet now, for some unknown reason, they had rebelled.
Watching from afar, Lloyd confirmed the Night's Cavalry were allies. He spurred Torrent forward, drew his staff, and with a few Darkmoon Shards, wiped the Vulgar Militia's health bars clean.
But when they fell, no Runes came. The Night's Cavalry didn't relax either—in fact, they looked even tenser.
Then, before Lloyd's eyes, the corpses of the Vulgar Militia began to stir, slowly rising again. Their bodies crooked, faces twisted in pain.
As the torment peaked, they all clutched their throats, as if trying to resist something.
But within moments, they failed.
With sickening splatters and sprays of blood mist, centipede-like creatures burst from their necks.
As thick as an arm, they ripped apart half their throats, leaving heads dangling to the side. Yet they did not die—their faces locked in unending agony.
Under the centipedes' control, the Vulgar Militia moved once more, turning their attacks on the Night's Cavalry and Lloyd.
This time, beyond their usual combat skills, the centipede-possessed militia could spew venom, their health massively boosted, their movements grotesque and erratic—far stronger than before.
Then...
Rat-a-tat-tat.
A volley of Darkmoon Shards felled them again. Their corpses swelled, then burst, releasing the centipedes.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
The insects died as well.
After saving the Night's Cavalry, Lloyd drew the Golden Branch and reported the situation to Morgott before pressing on.
Soon, more centipede-infested Vulgar Militia appeared in his path.
After clearing them out, Lloyd advanced—until a massive figure rose before him.
A gargoyle, its body fractured and crawling with insects. Just looking at it was enough to make one's stomach churn.
As Lloyd neared, it seemed to sense his presence. Slowly, it stood, unleashing a roar that shook the entire Forbidden Lands.
Then...
Nothing followed.
"You like doing opening animations, huh?"
Before the roar had even finished, Lloyd pulled out his staff and cast Comet Azur. The monster's name hadn't even appeared before its health bar was erased.
But after its health hit zero, the creature didn't dissolve completely. Instead, insects kept dropping off its body, one after another, crumbling into pale ash when they hit the ground. Only after the last insect fell did the broken gargoyle finally find release.
Though its form looked utterly wretched, its body cracked and falling apart, it wasn't truly dead.
[Acquired Ash of War: 'Corpse Wax Slash']
[Lost Combat Technique of Ancient Heroes]
[Raise the blade high to unleash the power of corpse wax]
[Channel that strength into a blade and release it forward]
In short, it was a forward-projecting sword energy skill with decent range and damage. Not bad, but since Lloyd already wielded the superior Blasphemous Blade, it had little practical use.
Collecting his reward, Lloyd moved ahead and soon came upon a massive lift platform, large enough to carry a giant.
[Lloyd's Grand Elevator]
After activating the nearby Site of Grace, Lloyd's expression grew faintly awkward.
Great. He was the elevator now.
As Lloyd grumbled after activating the Site of Grace, Morgott, who had received his earlier report, sent back a reply.
[Grace-Given: According to the Night's Cavalry reports, the Forbidden Lands came under attack.]
[Grace-Given: Strangely dressed figures, seemingly from the Land of Reeds, slew the Vulgar Militia and released insects.]
[Grace-Given: These insects appear to be the familiars of some Outer God. They possess a degree of immortality, and once parasitizing a host, they can control its body while granting it partial undeath.]
[Grace-Given: If you run into them again, you'd best be cautious…]
[Grace-Given: Forget it. More likely, they're the ones watching you.]
At that, Lloyd raised an eyebrow.
Watching him? As if he were some villain?
With that thought, he put away the Golden Branch. Instead of stepping onto the Grand Elevator, he turned back to look at the Forbidden Lands he had just cut through.
As always, after one burst of fire, the Vulgar Militia and insects he had slain had returned to their original forms, wandering in torment.
In the past, Lloyd would have only two options in this situation.
Either ignore them and leave them to their suffering, or break the Law entirely and kill them all, ending it.
But now, after everything he'd been through, Lloyd had more tools at his disposal—and new ways to resolve it.
The most straightforward would be to unlock the Crucible Fragment's mass reincarnation function. He could first release the Law's restraints, kill all the Vulgar Militia and insects together, and when the fragment was ready, bring them all back in one go.
But since the Crucible Fragment was still cooling down after being used to craft Ranni's body, that option wasn't available yet.
Besides, Lloyd now held other items as well—items that might let him put these insects to a different use.
[Alice's Covenant]
Just as Alice had told him before, this thing didn't provide him with any boosts. On the contrary, its clauses empowered his opponents while restricting his own strength.
But those enhancements and restrictions were only superficial. In truth, it worked by dispersing part of the corruption within him into manageable fragments, turning them into tangible entities he could face in battle. Through fighting them, he could sort and refine that corruption.
When the process was complete, the refined fragments would be reintegrated into The Law, becoming his new power.
And during this process, not only could he purge the corruption in his body, but he also had a chance to uncover fragments buried deep in his memory and soul—fragments that could serve as the foundation for reviving existences long thought lost in the ashes, giving them another chance to return to the world.
The insects before him were perfectly suited vessels for this task.
As for the reason...
"Immortality? Overtime nature!"
"Trust me, not being able to die is no blessing. Especially if you run into that bastard—he'll make you understand what it means when even death becomes a luxury..."
So said a certain nameless, scaleless Overtime King.
And indeed, he hadn't been wrong.
Because of their undead nature, these insects possessed extreme vitality. Even Lloyd had to deplete their health bars three times to kill them within the framework of The Law—trash among trash.
But precisely because of that undying, durable nature, they could shoulder more power—or rather, more corruption.
So, staring at the insect-infested Vulgar Militia, Lloyd didn't hesitate. He maxed out their health bars and began stacking modifiers.
Humanity's Pus. Crystal Possession. Abyssal Corruption…
Agonizing Torment. Soul's Wail. Undying Abomination...
By the time he was finished, the Forbidden Lands before him had truly become a "Forbidden Lands"—a place so extreme even Chaos would find it excessive.
The insects, though immensely empowered—able to swat their former selves to death with a single blow—also bore the suffering that came with that strength.
It wasn't even a ten-thousandth of what a certain White Dragon endured, but it was still enough to make them understand how agonizing immortality could be.
Then the slaughter began.
Lloyd drew the White Dragon Sword and the Queen's Crystal Staff, cutting down each insect-possessed Vulgar Militia one by one—each now strong enough to rival a boss.
To be honest, they weren't easy to deal with.
After all, this wasn't power from the Lands Between or some Outer God. It was his own projection.
Even a fragment of it was far more troublesome than any enemy he had ever faced before. Stats, speed, attack patterns...
Once burdened with his corruption, these insects became stronger than any soldier or elite Lloyd had ever fought—and by a wide margin.
Yet facing such dangerous enemies, Lloyd never thought of lowering the difficulty or switching to an easier method. On the contrary, after a short exchange, the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.
"Now this is it. This is what real combat feels like..."
"Hey, don't run away. You've grown this strong, don't you want to try killing me..."
But as the figure stepped closer, the insects began to tremble.
They had gained overwhelming power. They felt the enticing aura radiating from him. Their simple minds shouldn't have even been capable of fear.
Yet for some reason, as that figure closed in, they couldn't stop shaking.
And then the slaughter continued.
Again and again.
At first, when beams of magic pierced their bodies and their consciousness faded, the insects thought they had finally found release.
But it didn't last. As Lloyd sat down at the Site of Grace, their eyes snapped open once more. Before confusion could even settle in, the crushing corruption and mind-breaking agony poured back into their bodies, dragging desperate screams from their throats.
They tried to resist. With the strength they had just gained, they even came close to ambushing Lloyd at first.
But it wasn't long before they realized the truth.
After only two rounds, the terrifying being before them had already grasped their every move, never giving them another chance to kill him.
By the third, even landing a scratch on him became nearly impossible.
Despair began to spread.
Back in the Land of Reeds, these immortal insects had been regarded as omens of disaster and terror for their infection and undying nature.
But in front of Lloyd, these so-called harbingers of dread felt fear for the very first time.
After countless screams and failed attempts at resistance, these beings whose very essence was "undying" began to hate their own immortality. For the first time, they desperately sought death, trying again and again to end themselves.
"Hey now, don't do that. If you kill yourselves, I won't get any rewards."
"If that's not enough, I can give you more power—enough to give you a real chance to kill me..."
But hearing this only made the insects more frantic, throwing themselves into suicide with even greater determination.
Time dragged on.
After who knew how long of this unbearable torment, Lloyd decided they had no more rewards left to give. With a thought, he loosened the restrictions of The Law.
At last, the insects found their opportunity. One after another, they crawled out of the Vulgar Militia's bodies, jubilant as they shattered their own immortality, tearing their souls apart along with it, leaving only lifeless corpses behind.
The insects were freed. The Vulgar Militia were freed.
And just as they found release, Morgott—having just finished his duties and arriving to check on the situation—appeared. Staring at the field of insect corpses, he froze.
"What happened here?"
Weren't these things supposed to be impossible to kill? How were they all dead now?
Lloyd thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No idea."
"Maybe the younger generation of insects just can't handle the pressure anymore."
...
[Up to 20 chapters ahead for now]
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