When Sorcerer Rogier and the rear expeditionary force caught up and joined the ranks, the former lord of Stormveil Castle, young Godrick, had already been stripped of his excess limbs and hung from a flagpole for public display.
Supported by the powerful vitality of a demigod, the now dry and frail Godrick did not die but swayed in the wind atop the flagpole, letting out pitiful and wretched cries.
The reason he hadn't been skewered like a kebab by Messmer was that Godrick was the only offspring of the original, rightful heir of Leyndell, Golden Godwyn. Messmer felt somewhat reluctant to kill him, as he harbored a sense of pity for the younger brother he had never met, who had been murdered before they could ever cross paths.
However, Godrick was truly a disgrace. According to the exiled knights who had joined the expeditionary force, he had even kissed the foot of the demigod Malenia, who had easily defeated him, in a desperate bid to survive… So while he was spared from death, punishment was still inevitable.
Neither Aoko nor Touko even lifted a finger—, aside from Messmer himself, none of the expeditionary force members took action. They simply surrounded the area to prevent Godrick from escaping.
Godrick's crude and clumsy combat skills had allowed him to bully weaker Tarnished, relying solely on the relative brute strength granted by his grafted limbs. However, when faced with a true master, his pretenses were immediately stripped away.
Messmer, originally the top secret enforcer of the Golden Order next to Godfrey, was among the most skilled warriors of all demigods. Perhaps only Malenia, a master of swordsmanship, could rival him in pure technique.
With the eerie power of Messmer's flames augmenting his abilities, Godrick was riddled with holes within two exchanges, collapsing to his knees and begging for mercy. The so-called great Golden Monarch even managed to protect the arm he had originally planned to amputate and replace with a dragon's head.
Aoko was particularly intrigued by Messmer's flame. Both she and Touko sensed a trace of threat within its black-red glow. It was not merely a typical fire, nor was it a magical flame born of elemental power. Instead, it was a unique fire infused with the concepts of "serpent," "death," "decay," and "darkness."
The only other flame with a similar nature, as far as Aoko could recall, was the God-Slaying Black Flame bestowed by the Queen of the Night Eyes and wielded by the Godskin Apostles.
If that were the case, then perhaps Messmer's flame was indeed related to the God-Slaying Black Flame.
It was already known that Melina was likely Messmer's sister and that she possessed Destined Death and the Night Eyes. If that was true, then could Messmer, as her elder brother, have also inherited the power of the God-Slaying Flame in addition to his connection to the serpent?
It was an intriguing question, one worth pondering deeply—but now was not the time for such contemplation. Aoko decided to set it aside for later.
In many ways, Messmer bore a striking resemblance to Morgott: both were immensely powerful fighters, both were secret offspring of the Golden Lineage, and both were unwaveringly loyal to the Golden Order and Marika.
However, there was one key difference. Despite being the legitimate heir of the Golden Order, Morgott's status as an Omen child meant he could never openly rule over the masses. Instead, he had to operate under the alias of Margit, using that identity to command the royal city's forces indirectly.
Messmer, on the other hand, had once enjoyed Marika's utmost trust and had been granted command over the strongest military force in the entire Golden Order. Though he was eventually sealed away in the Shadow Realm, one could argue that this was a form of territorial reign—after all, the landmass of the Shadow Realm was larger than any single demigod's domain.
Setting aside all the political intricacies, the most pressing matter at hand was the Great Rune that had been stripped from Godrick following his defeat.
As Marika's first hidden child, Messmer had never been assigned a Great Rune. Or rather, he had originally been promised one—but that rune was the very same central anchor rune now held by King of Blessings Morgott.
Fate had been cruel. By the time Marika sealed off the Shadow Realm, Messmer had yet to receive a summons back to the capital. He remained oblivious to the events unfolding in the Lands Between—at least, until the Aozaki sisters arrived in the Shadow Realm, bringing new information.
In reality, had Ymir remained loyal to Rellana and Caria, Messmer might have known about these events much sooner. However, Ymir had his aspirations and did not particularly care about the Carian royal family. As a result, even though the answers were hidden within the Shadow Realm all along, Messmer never discovered them.
Now, with the undeserving Godrick defeated, his Great Rune naturally fell into Messmer's hands.
This rune, positioned at the very center of the Elden Ring, was also called an anchor rune. However, its function differed from that of Morgott's Great Rune.
Morgott's rune symbolized dominion and control, granting the authority to bestow the blessings of the Golden Order. In contrast, Godrick's Great Rune embodied balance and coordination. It granted the wielder an overall enhancement in all attributes while also allowing better regulation of the various conflicting forces within their body—this was why Godrick had been able to perform grafting with its power.
Godrick had a relative, Godefroy, who also practiced grafting, but that rebellious brute had long since been imprisoned in an evergaol. Furthermore, the principles behind Godefroy's grafting were entirely different from Godrick's. The Godrick swinging from the flagpole was truly pathetic.
As Messmer absorbed the Great Rune into his body, he closed his eyes, sensing the immense power that had once been part of the Elden Ring itself. The restless abyssal serpent within him suddenly calmed.
The many contradictory forces within Messmer's body began to harmonize. Even the numerous scars and wounds across his body started to heal at an astonishing rate—a natural ability of demigods blessed by the Greater Will.
The grotesque, winged serpent that had once grown chaotically from Messmer's back now took on a more refined form, resembling Godfrey's regal lion companion, Serosh. It manifested as a spectral entity coiling around Messmer's back. Even his previously uneven shoulders were visibly realigning.
The Firstborn of the Gods was beginning to reclaim the divine stature befitting a true heir of the Golden Order.
However, to fully unlock the powers of the Great Rune, Messmer would need to ascend the Divine Tower.
Melina silently observed the transformation unfolding in Messmer. She was neither saddened nor angered—she simply bore witness to it all. Then, taking the Tarnished by the hand, she turned to leave Stormveil Castle.
It was clear that the Tarnished was nowhere near strong enough to defeat Messmer, who was now at his peak, let alone face the army under his command. That meant that among the remaining Great Runes, the most attainable one was likely that of General Radahn, who had been left crippled and dying after his battle with Malenia in Caelid.
"Wait," Messmer's voice called out as he opened his eyes again.
He addressed Melina, who had been about to leave. "I have something to say to you. After you hear me out, you're free to do as you wish."
Melina, still holding the bewildered Tarnished's hand, stopped in her tracks. Her face remained expressionless, but there was no doubt—her supposed brother's words had, at least for the moment, persuaded her to stay.
PS: I don't know what's happening in this story. I never played Elden Ring before.