Because the gates of the Bestial Sanctum had already been destroyed, Lucian and D simply stepped over the scattered rubble and walked inside.
Two of the pillars carved with ferocious beasts had collapsed entirely. The remaining ones were battered and cracked, swaying precariously as if they might fall at any moment.
Lucian approached together with D, stopping before the figure wrapped in coarse priestly robes.
The Beast Clergyman sat with his head lowered, completely motionless.
D stepped forward first and spoke.
"Gurranq, what happened here?"
"This place doesn't look like it's in very good shape."
Hearing the voice, Gurranq slowly lifted his head.
His face was completely hidden beneath the hood of the priest's robe.
Lucian tried to look more closely, but all he could make out was a furry chin.
Everything above that was concealed by some special method, nothing but darkness could be seen.
As for the body beneath the robe, though it was tightly wrapped in rough cloth, the inhuman silhouette was unmistakable.
The robe itself clearly didn't fit properly. It looked far larger than his actual frame, as if it had been thrown over the body of some bear-like beast.
A deep, hoarse voice rumbled from Gurranq's throat.
"Feed me..."
But after a moment he seemed to recover slightly, as though regaining some clarity.
Recognizing D, Gurranq gave a small nod.
"Ah… it's you."
"This place was attacked. A bit troublesome."
Gurranq clearly had no interest in explaining further, and D did not press the matter.
As long as Gurranq himself was unharmed, that was enough.
Gurranq then turned his gaze toward Lucian, who had been silently observing beside D.
"And this one is…?"
D stepped slightly aside and introduced him.
"This is Lord Lucian, the one currently considered most likely to become the Elden Lord in the Lands Between."
"He has hunted Deathroot before."
"You've been collecting those, haven't you? So I thought it would be good for the two of you to meet."
"And also to deliver the rewards for removing Deathroot into Lord Lucian's hands."
At D's introduction, Gurranq let out a short, mocking chuckle.
He found it laughable that D described Lucian as the one most likely to become Elden Lord.
The expression beneath D's helmet darkened slightly, Gurranq had made no attempt to hide the ridicule.
D knew Gurranq was mysterious and undoubtedly powerful, but he still believed his description was completely accurate.
Lucian, however, felt no offense.
After all, he knew Gurranq's true identity.
The younger half-brother of Queen Marika, and her shadowbound beast—
Maliketh.
Even before he obtained Destined Death, Maliketh had defeated the Gloam-Eyed Queen along with her Godskin Apostles and Godskin Nobles.
Afterward, under Queen Marika's command, he sealed Destined Death within his own body.
This event was recorded in many descriptions related to Black Flame.
As the beast who held the Rune of Death sealed within himself, his name alone represented death to the demigods, striking fear into their hearts.
Whether in terms of strength or experience, Maliketh had every right to react as he pleased.
After all, he had seen the Elden Lord with his own eyes.
Two of them.
Yet at the same time, Maliketh began carefully observing Lucian as well.
Based on his understanding of D, he would not make such claims without reason.
After examining Lucian closely, Maliketh gradually felt a hint of surprise.
Lucian was indeed powerful.
He made no effort to conceal his aura, allowing Maliketh to gauge his strength easily.
Yes… such openness. That at least had the bearing of a king.
Though his strength still fell short of a true king or god, he had already surpassed the vast majority of demigods.
However, the thing that left the deepest impression on Maliketh was Lucian's youth.
Even if one's appearance never aged, the scent of the soul would change over long stretches of time.
Yet Lucian's soul truly carried the same youth as his outward appearance.
To reach such strength in such a short lifespan while still human, was worthy of praise.
In the Lands Between, life spans were already long.
After the sealing of Destined Death, they had become even more exaggerated.
Demigods inherited the blood and power of kings and gods. Because of this, they were naturally powerful from birth.
But even so, they still required time to grow—long ages before reaching their true potential.
Even among those blessed with such advantages, only a handful of demigods were worthy of Maliketh's attention.
Meanwhile, the foundation of the Tarnished was insignificant compared to that of demigods.
If this young man were given more time…
Then perhaps he truly could achieve it.
Maliketh unconsciously began regarding Lucian as someone worthy of special attention.
At that moment, Lucian was also observing Maliketh.
If the other party was going to stare so intently at him, then not staring back would feel like a loss.
However, Maliketh had used some special method to conceal himself, making it impossible to discern his true identity or strength.
Unlike Maliketh, Lucian could not see through the disguise at all.
This left Lucian somewhat helpless. He still had no reliable method of concealing his own strength, meaning Maliketh could freely observe him while he himself learned nothing in return.
Even if he rarely needed such a technique, Lucian felt that he at least ought to possess one.
Still, even if he could not directly gauge Maliketh's power, Lucian could estimate it based on the events of the story and his experience fighting other demigods.
Maliketh would undoubtedly be a far more troublesome opponent than any of them.
Not only was his own strength overwhelming, but if he ever released Destined Death and fought in his full form wielding the Black Blade, he would become truly terrifying.
Lucian had no desire whatsoever to be touched by something like Destined Death.
Maliketh did not dwell on D's earlier words.
Instead, he spoke again.
"...I smell it... Death... Feed it me..."
"Death. I shall grant thee... eye... and claw."
Maliketh extended a large, furry paw.
D turned and gave Lucian a nod.
Lucian took out the three Deathroots he had obtained earlier, from defeating the Tibia Mariner and discovering them within graveyards.
Each had been sealed using Golden Order incantations, preventing the aura of death from leaking out.
Lucian removed the seals and placed the Deathroots into Maliketh's outstretched paw.
D also produced a Deathroot of his own, similarly sealed.
They had discovered it while tracking clues during their journey.
Maliketh grasped the four Deathroots tightly in his claws, then pulled them beneath his cloak and began devouring them impatiently, loud chewing sounds echoing through the ruined sanctum.
After swallowing all four, Maliketh let out a pained grunt, breathing heavily.
"More... I am not sated... Feed me more... Death."
He continued to consume Deathroot.
Yet even so—
He was still hungry.
Terribly hungry.
'Marika… is this my sin?'
'Can I never return to what once was?'
That hunger would remain with him forever, because it was a sin he could never wash away…
Only by devouring the Deathroot, allowing the power of death within them to return to the Rune of Death, could the number of Those Who Live in Death appearing across the Lands Between be reduced.
Those Who Live in Death had spread throughout the Lands Between because the Rune of Death had been stolen long ago. Because of this, Maliketh believed it to be his responsibility.
To hunt down the culprit of that theft.
And to purge every last Deathroot.
This was his atonement.
Lucian watched Maliketh, whose condition was clearly abnormal, and recalled how in the game Maliketh would descend into madness if he consumed too many Deathroots.
It seemed that sealing Destined Death was far from easy for him.
Sealing a power that did not belong to him was, in itself, a form of torment.
Not to mention that the deaths outside had already changed in nature. Devouring them was probably no different from eating spoiled food.
Yet at present, only Maliketh—who held Destined Death sealed within himself, could truly deal with these Deathroots.
After resting for a moment, Maliketh realized they had no more Deathroots to offer.
Which meant it was time to grant them their reward.
Maliketh produced four items and handed them to Lucian.
Among them were a Clawmark Seal, a Beast Eye, and two pieces of parchment recording different incantations.
"I hope these will be of use to you."
Lucian nodded and accepted them.
The Clawmark Seal was a physical sacred seal.
In truth, sacred seals with a tangible form were the norm in the Lands Between. The two seals Lucian had previously possessed—the Dragon Communion Seal and the Gravel Stone Seal, were unusual precisely because they existed in a more intangible form.
The Clawmark Seal itself was simply a smooth, rounded stone.
But its defining feature was unmistakable: several deep claw marks carved across its surface.
Just by looking at them, one could sense the fury contained within those marks.
Because of that, this sacred seal strengthened the Bestial incantations taught by Maliketh.
As for the Beast Eye, it was a special auxiliary item.
It was a stone eyeball imbued with power. Whenever its holder approached a place where Deathroot existed, it would tremble, serving as a warning.
However, it was not particularly useful to Lucian.
After all, he had already memorized every location where Deathroot could be found.
The remaining two items were the incantations.
Both were fairly decent.
One was Bestial Sling, and the other was Bestial Vitality.
Bestial Sling allowed the user to rapidly release a barrage of sharp stone fragments from their hand. It could also be used immediately after other actions, making it incredibly quick to cast.
In the game, it could even cancel the recovery frames between attacks, allowing for all kinds of flashy combo techniques.
In reality, its power probably wouldn't be particularly impressive, but it would still be usable.
The other incantation, Bestial Vitality, was a different matter entirely. It was extremely practical.
This incantation infused the caster's body with the vitality of a beast, allowing them to continuously regenerate health for a period of time.
In the game, it was one of the most efficient ways to convert FP into sustained healing.
Lucian had high expectations for this incantation. He hoped its healing would be fairly potent.
If so, it would be useful whether he was igniting himself to enter his Ember state to boost his damage, relying on regeneration to offset the self-inflicted burn, or simply when it was inconvenient to drink a Flask.
Of course, the exact recovery speed remained unknown.
He would test it later.
As for D, Maliketh directly took out a large Golden Rune and handed it to him.
D accepted it without hesitation.
The two of them had already agreed upon the terms of their cooperation, payment in runes.
Lucian more or less understood the nature of their arrangement.
As a devout follower of the Golden Order, and a scholar of Golden Order Fundamentalism, D's sole objective was to purge every last Those Who Live in Death from the Lands Between.
He would never use incantations derived from other faiths.
In essence, he simply treated Maliketh as a recycling station for disposing of Deathroot.
Once the rewards had all been distributed, Maliketh issued a clear dismissal.
"That is all. You may leave."
"I look forward to you bringing me more death."
Lucian and D departed from the Bestial Sanctum, and soon decided to part ways there.
D still had many matters to attend to. Coming here this time had already been somewhat of an unexpected detour.
Thus, he planned to return to the Roundtable Hold as soon as possible, while Lucian intended to take the opportunity to explore the surrounding area.
In truth, Lucian hesitated for a moment.
Should he take this chance to kill Maliketh right now and seize the Rune of Death in advance?
But he soon shook his head.
Because just moments earlier, a thought had occurred to him.
Perhaps the Rune of Death could only be taken by killing Maliketh in Crumbling Farum Azula.
Even if he killed the Gurranq standing in the Bestial Sanctum now, it might accomplish nothing.
In the game, the deaths of those two figures were not linked in any way. Only a single unique line of dialogue confirmed that they were the same person.
Although the flow of time in Farum Azula was distorted, something like the Rune of Death should possess a unique existence.
It should not be affected by temporal anomalies.
Perhaps, to prevent Destined Death from ever being stolen again, Maliketh had hidden it within the chaotic time-space of Farum Azula.
If that were the case, then killing the version of him that existed in the present timeline would likely not allow anyone to seize Destined Death.
As long as Farum Azula remained undiscovered…
Destined Death would remain forever hidden.
Lucian sighed.
It was only a guess, but the possibility seemed quite high.
After thinking it over, Lucian began walking down the slope outside the Bestial Sanctum.
Nearby stood Lenne's Rise, a sorcerer's tower that could be accessed directly. He might as well fly up and take whatever was inside.
He descended the hillside, passing through rows of gravestones.
Here, he could also see the shattered corpses of Vulgar Militia soldiers lying on the ground.
No one willingly approached foul-smelling remnants of battlefields or forgotten forbidden lands.
The Vulgar Militia were the nameless guardians of such places, guards without honor.
In the Lands Between, those of smaller stature often suffered discrimination.
Thus, becoming the dishonorable Vulgar Militia was simply the way these dwarfish people survived.
Lucian shook his head and stepped past them.
If they had been within Stormveil, such discrimination would never exist.
There, even demi-humans and misbegotten could find a place.
The Vulgar Militia were merely short humans, nothing more.
"ROAR—!"
Lucian turned around.
Maliketh had come out beside the Bestial Sanctum and was now howling toward the sky.
No one could possibly know what emotions were hidden within that roar.