Elden Ring: Atai vows to have a perfect ending

It was still freezing cold in the early morning in Stoneville.

As usual, the door of the church near the city wall was gently pushed open by a skinny old man in a white robe, ready to pray to Marika, the "Eternal Queen" who brought blessings to the people.

But, he will soon find out that today will not be the same day as usual.

"Hey, good morning, Mr. Edson." Someone had sat down in the front row of the church early. He turned around and greeted him with a smile.

The old man named Edson was a little confused: "Huh? Have we met before? You are...you, you are the Fader!"

Suddenly, Edson was so scared that he stepped back and turned around to run out of the church.

Unfortunately, I had been hiding behind the door from the very beginning, and even smiled and considerately helped the other person close the door.

"You, what on earth do you want to do? Aren't you afraid that I will call you exile?" Edson had no choice but to retreat to the corner.

——By the way, is A-Tai really that scary? I should be smiling kindly.

"...Zero, please stop smiling like you are about to hit someone." Roger sighed and said to Edson with a smile, "Don't be afraid, old man. We won't do anything to you. We just want to talk to you."

"What to talk about?"

"Let's talk about how to save Stonewell."

Roger's words did indeed quiet the other party down. He widened his eyes, looked at us and stuttered, "...you, you guys?"

"That's right." Roger put his arm around my shoulder and introduced me with a smile, "My good friend, Zero, is here to challenge the arrogant 'demigod' Greg. Last night, he even single-handedly defeated the limb-jointed noble entrenched in the central dining hall."

And I followed Roger's words, raised my arms and showed off my strong biceps.

——This is our strategy:

Roger used his rhetoric to persuade and portray me as a glorious and heroic man, and I only needed to demonstrate my strength to convince him.

——After all, I might say something stupid and ruin the atmosphere.

"······Friend, don't you have a more intuitive way of expressing it?" Roger leaned close to my ear and grumbled in dissatisfaction.

——I’m not being direct. Look, the other party has been staring at me for a long time, with disbelief written all over his face, isn’t he?

"L...Zero?! Is your real name Zero?" The other party suddenly raised his voice, his words full of excitement.

This actually scared me a little: "No, that's right, my name is indeed Zero."

Edson still looked straight at me, and there was a little light flashing in his old eyes: "Queen, finally, are you willing to respond to my waiting?"

The other party's series of strange actions made Roger and I look at each other in confusion.

"What's going on?" I asked Roger.

He also asked back with doubt: "Shouldn't you ask yourself?"

——I’m so embarrassed. I’m so famous, how come I didn’t know about it?

Edson finally reacted and quickly bowed to me. "Yes, I am sorry, Lord Ling, for not introducing myself. My name is Edson Hyde, and I was once the butler of Lord Hyde, the Lord of Nimgefu."

Hyde?!

I immediately asked, "Do you know Kenneth Hyde?"

"The young master told me everything about the fortress in his letter. I am very grateful for Master Ling's care." Edson said to me while still bowing, "And, just as Master Kenneth expected, you will definitely come to Stonewell to challenge the foolish and cruel Greg, and you asked me to help you with all my strength."

······That’s great! This is such a pleasant surprise!

Unexpectedly, I would meet people from Hyde's faction in Stonewell City, and they were willing to help me.

Roger and I looked at each other.

Judging from Hyde's upright behavior and Roger's observations in recent days, Edson Hyde is completely trustworthy enough for us to trust.

"To be honest with you, Mr. Edson, we are short of manpower to deal with the exiles in the city. I would like to ask you..." Roger hadn't finished his words.

We all looked towards the church door at the same time, and we heard footsteps outside.

Quite heavy, at least for a heavily armored unit.

——Could it be the Lost Knight?

—Have we been discovered? When?

"Old butler, hide first." I protected Edson, drew out my straight sword, grasped the blade with my left hand, and prepared to perform combat skills.

Roger also used his magic wand to add pyroxene magic to the rapier to increase the power of the attack.

ga-

The door was pushed open.

Roger was about to strike first, but this time, I stopped him: "... Hertok."

The person who came was the Forge Knight, Hertok, who spared me last night.

When he saw me, a slightly relieved laugh came from his armor: "Oh, Zero, you really survived."

"Why are you here?" I watched the other person's every move.

But Hertok did not draw his sword, nor did he take off his shield from his back to prepare for battle. Instead, he continued to walk leisurely: "Don't be nervous. I said that before you complete the challenge to Greg, I will not fight with you, nor will I stop you from doing anything... But since you have come here with great difficulty, as a knight under King Gelfre, it would be too rude not to come and meet Queen Marica."

Hurtok walked straight past us, came to the statue of the queen, took off his helmet, raised his head, and looked at the other for a long time.

The atmosphere became extremely awkward for a while.

Although Hertok has made it clear that he will not be our enemy, it would be a bit too bold to continue discussing our plans in front of this guy.

However, I suddenly remembered someone who had nothing to do with our plan for the time being, so I asked Edson in a low voice: "Old housekeeper, have you always lived in Stoneville?"

Edson nodded: "It has been more than fifty years since I started serving the previous lord."

"Have you seen a man named Edgar in the city recently?"

"Are you talking about Edgar, Lord of Morn?"

"That's right! That's right!" I nodded. If we can find Edgar, he will surely be willing to help us.

However, Edson sighed regretfully: "I heard that Lord Edgar's beloved daughter is missing. Recently, he may have left the city to look for that lord. I haven't seen him."

"Oh, so that's it." I could only give up the idea helplessly.

"Old butler, can I also ask you about someone?" Unexpectedly, Hertok suddenly turned around and asked Edson.

He looked to be in his forties, his face a little haggard and weathered, but as resolute as steel.

Edson bowed slightly: "If I can help you, Knight."

"Have you ever heard of the name Parekh?"

"Parik? You mean, the Crucible Knight Parik?"

As soon as Edson finished speaking, Hertok strode forward with excitement and asked repeatedly: "You, do you know where he is?"

"I, I'm sorry, Knight Hertok. I haven't seen Knight Parik for a long time. I have only heard of his name, but..."

Hertok's eyes dimmed as Edson spoke. He shook his head and sighed, "It's okay. It's not your fault, old butler."

"Can I ask, Hurtok? Is Parekh your relative?" I speculated curiously.

"He is my younger brother." Hurtok sat down on the bench in the church weakly. "Once, when King Greg left the royal city, Parik followed him to this Storm City under the order to protect the Golden Clan... However, I haven't heard from Parik for a long time, so I couldn't help but come here... Greg seems to have concealed something from me, so I can only find out the truth by myself."

No wonder you are at the bottom of Stonewell. You can't stand the chaos in the city now, and you are thinking about finding your brother, so you continue to stay in an insignificant place to look for opportunities.

...However, speaking of the real Crucible Knight of Nimgerfu, I am reminded of the Sealed Prison in Storm Hill.

Could it be that the person was the Parekh that Hurtok mentioned?

Suddenly, another thought came to my mind: "If he is also a Crucible Knight like you, I have heard some rumors on the way to Stonewell."

"oh?!"

"However, I can only tell you more detailed information after we finish things here." I suggested with a smile, "So, are you willing to make a deal, Hertok?"

——The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If we can get the Crucible Knight to join us, our plan will be more secure!

“...You want me to help you deal with Greg?” Heltok picked up the helmet beside him and was about to put it on to show his refusal. “Don’t forget, I let you go because I think you’re not bad. But don’t challenge my bottom line, Zero.”

I held down Hurtok's hand. "Don't worry. I didn't ask you to deal with Greg. I just hope you can help protect Edson and the others while I take action. This shouldn't violate the Knights' code."

"..."

"After this is over, I will go with you to find your brothers. How about you do me a small favor?"

Hurtok looked at me for a moment, then looked at Edson, and finally agreed: "Okay, if that's all I ask, I'm willing to accept it."

——Great! With the help of the Crucible Knight, I believe we can stir up a more violent storm in Stonewell.

In this way, a spark is enough to burn away the darkness covering the sky!

Xiao Ge, I guarantee you'll suffer.