Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2105, Section 2077: A Surprise Attack of Light and Shadow
The Witcher gripped the hilt of his sword expressionlessly, the blade crackling and hissing.

The guardian spirit power on the [Ninety-Nine Weapons] and the crimson corrupting power on Marlenia's body erode and purify each other.

"Stuck!"

Lan En lifted the hilt of his sword and thrust the back of the blade into Marlenia's body, causing it to collide and rub against her ribs.

Marlenia's head snapped back, her body like a longbow bent backward.

Her mouth was wide open, her long, fiery red hair swaying wildly in pain, but she couldn't utter a sound.

Only her left hand, which wasn't equipped with a prosthetic knife, had bulging veins and was pressing down hard on the Witcher's hand.

The hands, marked by decay and erosion, and the hand burning with the light of battle aura, were pressed together, producing a 'crunching' sound like thick leather rubbing and squeezing.

Lan En looked up at Marlenia intently. The corrupting red mist emanating from her body constantly hissed and burned across her skin.

"Stop!" The witcher's longsword was still embedded in the other's body, the blade protruding from his back, but his tone was one of earnest admonition. "Marinia, stop!"

But the Valkyrie's corrupted face slowly trembled as she lowered her gaze to Lan En.

"No..." Her voice trembled as much as her body, "Absolutely not!"

"Pfft!"

Marlenia flapped her wings and forcefully pushed away Lann's hand.

Aaron Dett pulled it out of the slanted wound without any mercy, and a large amount of blood mixed with scarlet mist spurted out.

After rising a short distance, she immediately slashed down with her prosthetic sword!

Lan En first dodged to the side. Although he was currently protected by the power of his guardian spirit, in the [Ninety-Nine Weapons] state, being attacked from the outside would cause additional consumption of the guardian spirit's power, causing this state to end prematurely. Therefore, it was best to avoid a head-on confrontation if possible.

Confident in the precision of his skills and eyesight, Lan En did not stray too far from the mark.

The golden prosthetic blade fell beside him, its sharp blade cutting through the air and leaving marks that stretched high into the sky beyond the plaza, yet it did not actually harm him.

But then, the Witcher's deep black eyes flickered slightly, and he instantly vanished into thin air, disappearing a great distance away.

—[Spiritual Vision] saw the flow of crimson, corrupting power beneath the surface of this strike.

Sure enough, the instant after Lan En withdrew, there was a 'whoosh'!
Where the golden prosthetic blade landed, a ring of scarlet mist mixed with decaying butterflies resembling withered maple leaves rose from the ground like a small tornado!
If he were still in the same place, he would have already been swept away by the vortex of this corrupting force.

Compared to being directly attacked, this corrupting force clashing with the protective spirit power on Lan En's body might be more taxing on him.

Marlenia, however, left a mark on the ground as if skimming the surface, and then the wings made of countless decaying butterflies behind her lifted her body up again, making her float in mid-air.

This time, Malenia did not rush to attack.

Instead, she remained suspended in mid-air.

However, her body and wings are now surging with an even more crimson, corrupting power than ever before!

Just like how the power Lan En used to unleash from her body with [Reverse Wave] was all fake.

That may indeed be the case.

Lan En absorbed the essence of martial arts from the magical Japanese Sengoku period. This exquisite technique can indeed achieve precise control over the power within the body and can also extend it to the outside, depleting the enemy's power in repeated collisions.

However, these skills become ineffective when facing an enemy like Malenia.

Because, in any case, the Valkyrie who has unleashed the "Crimson Corruption" within herself is almost the closest individual in the world to the concept of a "Goddess of Corruption."

The Crimson Corruption is a law that, although it has not yet been seen in the Elden Ring, is indeed one aspect of the world's rules.

As long as life forms in this world undergo decay, decomposition, return to the world, and flourish again after they wither, it's hard to say that [Crimson Corruption] will ever disappear.

It is also difficult to say that the power contained in this law will ever run out.

Just like Malenia's current power, it seems to be inexhaustible.

The Valkyrie's wings don't even need to flap; her immense power can lift her into the air.

A vast and solid power was gathering, and the scarlet mist surged from Marlenia's body, eventually becoming almost like an orange-red band of light!

Just like the giant petals that formed when she unleashed her power before!
Marlenia held her prosthetic sword high, her posture imposing and unapproachable, just like the symbol of 'invincible' that circulated among the Knights of the Fallen!

Michaela remained behind her sister, her gentle golden light seemingly unaffected by the corrupting forces, still shining brightly.

Crimson and gold intertwined, just like the brother and sister themselves. The Witcher standing on the ground looked up at it all.

“Marinia,” Lann gave a final, serious warning, “stop.”

Michaela's thick golden hair enveloped the Valkyrie in mid-air.

Marlenia's lips were tightly pressed together, but she didn't utter a word.

The stance has been made clear; all that remains is bloodshed!

In mid-air, Marlenia's delicate prosthetic fingers made a soft 'click' as she gripped the prosthetic knife standing before her.

This was originally a ceremonial gesture similar to that before a fencing contest.

But at this moment, Lan En felt all the pores on his body suddenly shrink!
However, while the body's instinctive reactions to stimulation are instinctive reactions, truly elite warriors are capable of maintaining thought and logic even under the influence of bodily instincts.

From the admonition I gave to Malenia just now until this very moment.

Lann was constantly coordinating with Mentos.

He used the sensation he felt when he plunged the longsword into Marlenia's body to judge how much of the Valkyrie's organs, muscles, and bones he had damaged.

Mentos then imported this newly generated data to further refine and update the Marleneja motion model that it had built with Lann.

And, at this time, it has been effective!
"Whoosh~" *7
A golden and scarlet light shimmered on Marlenia, who floated and stood in mid-air, creating a dreamlike sound!

Seven times in a row!
Seven streaks of light, intertwined with crimson and gold, appeared in the space!
Ordinary people, even demigods like Messermo, would never be able to react to the [Light Speed ​​Slash] using only their nerve speed.

—But as long as you know the landing point and movement in advance, you can dodge even light!
Light and shadow separated from Malenia in mid-air, dragging out a path of light before finally returning to their original position.

It was a shimmering, radiant phantom of a Valkyrie, surrounded by fluttering, decaying butterflies.

Not only were butterflies fluttering around these phantoms, but even the trails of light they left behind were as graceful as butterflies.

Although they arrived around Lann at the speed of light, the Witcher couldn't actually tell who arrived first or last within such a short distance.

However, after the phantoms re-materialized from their light state, they still maintained a similar level of power as Marlenia when they made their move.

Although it is also a speed so fast it's almost despair-inducing, it's still far slower than the speed of light.

Therefore, it can also help people distinguish between order and sequence.

The first two phantoms split off from Marlenia in mid-air, each leaving a trail of swaying light that converged at the point where Lann was located.

The two light and shadow prosthetic blades, like scissors closing together, were about to cut Lan En in two in an instant!
However, the Witcher's solution is also quite simple.

With a "whoosh," Lan En vanished like a wisp of smoke, reappearing five meters away.

The two prosthetic blades of light and shadow, which crossed each other and tried to cut through his body, only managed to cut through the air.

It created a horizontal air shockwave that swept across the entire square and extended into the sky.

Compared to the previous [Light Speed ​​Slash] which was only powered by Michaela, this Light Speed ​​Slash, which was infused with the power of crimson corruption, is undoubtedly more versatile and flexible while still being incredibly fast.

Lan En's eyeballs darted rapidly within their sockets, gathering all the information he could from his surroundings.

By gathering more and more detailed information through our senses, Mentos' instantaneous computing power can be supported by more data.

The third beam of light no longer floated down horizontally; instead, it moved in the same way as Marlenia had before.

The vertical slash landed on Lann's previous spot, and after the Phantom Prosthetic Blade touched the ground, a crimson butterfly whirlwind of corrupting power rose up. The Phantom then naturally vanished.

The demon hunter, his entire body ablaze with light red battle aura, left his original spot a step ahead. With the power of [Power Unleashed - Ultimate], his footsteps left shattered footprints on the plaza of the Gate of God!

The fourth beam of light flew out from mid-air, already wielding a prosthetic knife, and used the momentum of its flight to launch a straight thrust!

It made a sharp whooshing sound, but still failed to touch the hem of Lan En's clothes.

But right after this phantom appeared, a fine layer of cold sweat suddenly appeared on the Witcher's forehead!

And Lan En himself felt his mind suddenly go completely blank!
On this ever-changing battlefield, sudden changes can be terrifying!

However, Lan En remained calm and instantly realized what was going on.

—Apart from the phantom that slashed down and then stirred up a crimson, corrupting wind, the other phantoms didn't dissipate at all!

Currently, besides Marlenia herself in mid-air, there are three phantoms of her on the battlefield!
(End of this chapter)