Elden Ring: Atai vows to have a perfect ending

Markit's prison, which once imprisoned the curse of the "evil omen demon", once again pinned him firmly to the ground, causing him to suffer the humiliation of his childhood.

As long as I rush forward now and hit him between the eyebrows with a sword, I can completely subdue the evil teacher.

But I took a few deep breaths and adjusted my breathing, thus missing the precious time to kill him. This gave Markit enough time to break the curse of the prison and stand up again.

Seeing that I still didn't take the initiative to attack, Markit asked doubtfully: "...What are your intentions?"

I spread my hands and said, "Nothing, I just suddenly felt that it was unfair to win. Well, this is also the reward for you letting me go so many times before. We are even now."

"Is this your honor as a warrior? The Faded Ones...are quite foolish."

"Of course, I am so arrogant because I have a good chance of winning. According to my guess, Mr. Evil Omen, this phantom clone will soon be over, right?" I said truthfully, "If it is hit four more times? Five more times? I should still win in the end."

That's right, after several battles, I gradually realized that every time an attack caused real damage to the evil omen demon, golden fragments would float out of his body, and that was Rune.

After all, the real "evil omen demon" was not here, and Markit in front of them was just an illusion that blocked the faded from entering Storm City. Therefore, Diros and the others did not know about the existence of the other party.

Then, as long as the damage continues to be dealt, the rune will dissipate and Markit's power will become less and less.

Until now, I can basically block the opponent's attacks with relative ease, unlike at the beginning, when I started to feel pain in the palm of my hand after taking a few attacks.

“······”Markit was speechless for a moment, and I didn’t know whether he was surprised or agreed with what I said.

However, since Markit temporarily lost the desire to attack, I also tried to talk to him: "Well, I have a question, the last king of the Golden Dynasty!"

Markit's eyes suddenly narrowed, and a strong murderous aura rose from him again.

But I was not afraid. While I was ready to be attacked, I continued to ask, "What kind of scenery do you imagine the dynasty to be like? Is it like the present decline and chaos, with the Golden People living in misery, just like this Nimgfu?"

"You, what do you know!?"

"No, I know everything! I even know the current status of the tree." I looked at Markit firmly. From his eyes, I seemed to see the lonely figure sitting on the throne. "Are you trying to say that we have all been abandoned? By the golden tree? By the supreme consciousness? No, only the afterimages of the past have abandoned you!"

A trace of horror flashed across Market's vigilant eyes: "Who... are you?"

I didn't answer, but threw the prisoner to him directly: "Lord of Evil Omens, I understand that you want to protect this crumbling world, but no matter how hard you try to support the collapsed building, it will eventually collapse completely... No matter how powerful you are, you will eventually be buried by the collapsed building."

"..."

"But even if the building collapses, the land and people will still exist. As long as we re-establish order and build buildings on it, we will be able to achieve prosperity again one day."

"...But how do you know that the rebuilt building will be magnificent? Will it be beautiful? If it is just a pile of rubble, what is the difference between it and the current one?"

"So, I asked you, King of Evil Omens, what kind of dynasty do you envision?"

"I······"

"Could it be that a guy like Greg, who is cruel and inhumane, obsessed with the evil art of limb grafting, and even insane, could turn a blind eye to it, and even serve as a leader in the dynasty, causing bloodshed in the city?"

"What about you? Faded Ones, you just blindly pursue the power of runes and hunt those demigods. What kind of dynasty do you want to establish?!" Markit slammed his long stick to the ground in shame and anger, and asked me back, almost shouting.

"Me? ... Although I haven't thought about some specific things yet." I smiled slightly and continued, "But at least, I want to create a world where everyone can live with a smile."

Markete looked puzzled. "Laugh, live in a world with a smile?"

"Yes, I came all the way from Nimgefu and went to the Weeping Peninsula. Of course, I also heard about the big and small things that happened in Galid, Lienia, and Atan Plateau... There is really too much sadness in this land of the border." I sighed, "Look at the soldiers behind you. They came from Morn City. Have they ever smiled in Stonewell?"

Markit looked back and saw the Dyros Lantern Man who was looking at us worriedly in the passage. He had a sad face and his brows were relaxed only a few times.

"So, I want to create a world where everyone can at least live with a smile on their face, rather than living in fear every day, not knowing when a terrible dynasty will be exposed on the roadside. This, of course, includes you, Mr. Evil Omen." I paused and thought about it for a moment, "...Ah, as for Xiao Ge, a vicious and evil guy who has done so many bad things, he should be punished as he deserves."

"... So, is this the source of the fire of ambition in your heart?" Market raised her head and asked softly towards the sky, "Mother, have you ever thought about a world where you can live with a smile like that?"

The wind on Storm Hill was howling continuously, and I wondered if it could bring a response from Queen Marika.

I raised the sword again and pointed it at Markit: "I understand that the road to becoming a king is not easy. Of course, if I tell you how to break the impasse now, I'm sure you won't accept it easily for a while - so, Mr. Evil Omen, let's fight for each other's beliefs!"

“...The winner takes it all? There is indeed no better way to judge.” Markit crushed the prisoner in his hand and threw it off the cliff. He once again raised the silver-iron stick in his hand and locked onto the final target.

Almost at the same time, we rushed towards each other.

The wind stopped.

The world is quiet.

In my ears, I can only hear each other's footsteps, my own heartbeat and breathing.

In his eyes, the long stick that was raised high came down diagonally from top to bottom as if it had been practiced thousands of times.

And I lowered my body quietly and silently, dodged from the side of the long stick as if it were inevitable according to the law of cause and effect, and went around behind Markit.

——Spinning slash.

We chose similar moves without any prior agreement.

But I slowed down a step and continued to stay low.

The sweeping long stick created a gust of wind and passed over my head. After I dodged it, I directly used the reverse cassock slash, and combined with the combat skill - blood slash, I cut a huge crack in Markit's body.

Rune floated out from inside.

Like a compressed spring, I immediately jumped up and thrust my sword straight into the crack.

“...Nice strike, Fader.” Market was pinned to the ground by me. “I recognize your belief.”

"Thank you, Mr. Evil Omen." I drew back the straight sword. "I hope that next time we meet, we can sit down and imagine the future we hope for each other."

"The future? What a wonderful word... Fader, what's your name?"

"zero."

"Zero, huh? I'll remember you."

After saying that, Markit's figure disappeared in front of my eyes along with the whistling wind in the mountains.

【Great Enemy Felled】