When Messmer, accompanied by his subordinates as well as Melina and the Tarnished who came with him, arrived at the top of the Divine Tower and saw that tall, upright yet seemingly young figure, everyone fell into a moment of stunned silence.
"Radahn...?" the Tarnished murmured. "Wasn't Radahn already dead...? I took part in that battle myself, even saw his corpse...?"
"That body wasn't Radahn's," Melina said. "Someone... transplanted Radahn's soul into another demigod's body and revived him in this form."
Messmer had always had a favorable impression of Radahn—not only because Radahn was Rellana's nephew, but also because, despite being a prince of Caria, Radahn had worked hard to maintain the rule of the Golden Order. As a devoted son, how could Messmer not appreciate that?
When he learned that Radahn had lost his sanity to the Scarlet Rot and his subordinates had to organize a festival of combat to give him an honorable end, Messmer had even considered personally ending Radahn's suffering. In the end, however, he was too preoccupied with the affairs of the capital. When he later heard that the Tarnished and some other warriors had killed Radahn in a fierce battle and granted him a glorious death, Messmer thought that was the end of the Starscourge General's story.
But now, the appearance of this Radahn shattered the final thread of Messmer's rationality. He already despised Miquella's so-called gentle and inclusive new world—especially since Miquella dared to embrace even the horned ones. And now, Miquella had stuffed Radahn, who had once fallen into eternal slumber, into the body of one of those horned people and was using enchantment laws to control him!
In a sudden burst of fury, Messmer hurled a blazing spear directly at the floating Radahn and Miquella on his back. Against most demigods, this attack might have dealt a devastating blow—but not to Miquella, who had already ascended to godhood, nor this super-enhanced version of Radahn.
Radahn's body glimmered with holy golden light and violet gravitational lightning. He appeared like countless overlapping mirages, striking the flaming spear with a single slash, dispersing the immense attack and reverting it to its primal fire essence.
"Brother Messmer..." Miquella spoke. "We do not wish to be your enemy. As someone who follows the old laws, surely you too yearn for a new era free of strife?"
"So I promise you this: you no longer need to carry out the cruel missions entrusted to you by Queen Marika. You no longer need to bear the hatred and resentment of others..."
But Messmer's only response was to hurl another spear. This time, however, Radahn and Miquella did not block it. They simply turned into a beam of golden light and vanished into the sky, leaving behind only Miquella's ambiguous, genderless sigh.
"There's no doubt about it—Miquella has become a god," Melina said as she crouched down and touched the ground of the plaza where the Gate of Divinity stood. Looking at the pale, dry, and fragmented corpses of the horned ones, she continued, "These are probably the shell-like remains of the offerings from the last time the gate was activated. Miquella has completely drained the remaining power. This gate can no longer be used again."
"So what do we do now...?" the Tarnished asked, somewhat lost. "Now that Miquella is a god... do we still try to track him down?"
No one answered, because no one knew where Miquella and Radahn, now divine beings, had gone. Even if they wanted to search, they had no leads.
Messmer left the plaza of the Divine Gate in silence. Although he had no clue where Miquella was, he had no intention of letting this usurper of his mother's legacy go. He would pierce Miquella's chest with his own hands, using the god-slaying power of the Serpent of the Abyss, and offer this kill as a sacrifice to his mother.
As Messmer returned to the town beneath the tower where Rellana was recovering, they ran into a hurriedly arriving Carian army.
Aoko was quite curious why Messmer returned with a sour expression. That didn't seem like the outcome of someone who had just fought a god—what exactly had happened?
"That Miquella has become a full-fledged god," the Tarnished replied helplessly to Aoko's questioning, shrugging. "Messmer attacked him, and then he and Radahn just vanished. We have no idea where they went."
Huh? If she were in a manga right now, Aoko's head would be full of question marks to show her confusion.
And she wasn't the only one—everyone who had come from Caria to the Lands of Shadow was equally baffled by the statement.
Seeing her confusion, Melina stepped forward and explained everything: how Miquella used Mohg's body to resurrect Radahn and made him his Promised King. The explanation left everyone dumbfounded—except for Pureblood Knight Ansbach, who remained relatively calm, though a bit demoralized.
The thought of the delicate and scheming Miquella playing a towering giant like Radahn like a puppet made her shiver involuntarily. Man, you people in the Lands Between know how to mess things up... Aoko stared blankly at the sky covered in ashen fire, deep in thought.
"I think... we should return to Leyndell," suggested Princess Ranni, the temporary leader of the Carian coalition, who had regained her red-haired form. "Even though Miquella has become a god with the help of Radahn's resurrection if he wants to impose his law across the Lands Between, he'll need to use the Elden Ring. That would put Queen Marika inside the Erdtree in grave danger."
Princess Ranni, having a clear understanding of the divine and her plans for ascension, could somewhat anticipate Miquella's next moves. Unlike her, Miquella was deeply rooted. If he wanted to reshape the Lands Between with his power, the Elden Ring was the only path forward. This much was certain. If they wanted to preserve their free will, they had to stop Miquella and Radahn from getting anywhere near the Elden Ring.