Elden Ring: With God Chapter 328: The Mastermind Behind It All... A Finger?

As Bai Shi eliminated the Baleful Shadows one by one, Selys's two fingers trembled ceaselessly.

No Finger Reader was needed; the uncharacteristically frantic waving was a clear sign of Its panic.

If this was rely Ranni's revenge, Selys would not have been surprised.

After all, given the chance, It would show no rcy to the Ranni who had refused her divine destiny.

The reverse was also true; a reckoning from Ranni was well within Its expectations.

It was simply that Ranni had found a crucial weapon to break the stalemate first, while the shadows had been a step too slow in finding her.

The Two Fingers possessed a unique form of life, serving as emissaries of the Greater Will.

Few beings in the Lands Between could compare to them in stature.

Naturally, such a unique existence could not be hard by ordinary weapons.

Conventional attacks were completely ineffective against the Two Fingers; they were, in a conceptual sense, absolutely invulnerable to harm.

In the Lands Between, only two types of weapons could injure Them.

A god-slaying weapon, reinforced to the point of being able to distort space-ti, or a blade designed specifically to hunt Them—the Fingerslayer Blade.

It was only after experiencing the power of the Fingerslayer Blade firsthand that the ‘Mother’ had summoned a star-beast to annihilate the treasonous Nox dynasty.

And now, the Fingerslayer Blade was in the hands of Its nesis—Ranni.

However, in Selys’s mind, the situation had not yet reached a point of desperation.

Ranni had long since cast aside her own body to escape the preordained fate of an Empyrean.

That body was the true demigod flesh that had inherited the power of Rennala and Radagon.

With only her puppet body remaining, Ranni’s strength was limited, even while wielding the Fingerslayer Blade.

She had to resort to luring the Baleful Shadows with her aura, a tactic akin to baiting a trap.

So what if Ranni held the Fingerslayer Blade?

She herself was weak and powerless, and her only capable subordinate, Blaidd, was a shadow that Selys Itself had personally gifted to her.

Unfortunately, Blaidd was now using so unknown thod to shield himself from Its control.

Otherwise, It would have forcibly seized control of Blaidd, making Ranni feel the depths of despair as punishnt for abandoning her destiny.

After two failed attempts to test her, Selys had realized just how weak Ranni truly was.

So It decided that the next ti, It would dispatch a number of shadows that Ranni absolutely could not handle.

Baiting a trap only works if you have enough power to spring it.

Ranni, in her doll form, possessed no such power to resist, not even with the Fingerslayer Blade!

Therefore, when Ranni dangled the bait once more, Selys decisively sent all the Baleful Shadows in the vicinity.

But now, Bai Shi's sudden appearance had completely shattered Its composure.

The Baleful Shadows, in which It had placed such high hopes, were being effortlessly slaughtered by Bai Shi one after another.

Selys suddenly realized that Its previous calm was nothing more than the deluded confidence of soone in mortal danger yet utterly oblivious to it.

It was a joke.

Selys had no idea where Ranni had found such a person.

He was so strong, so overwhelmingly powerful that It felt a sense of despair about the current situation.

Selys was in a complete panic, utterly at a loss.

Even if It sent all its Baleful Shadows and the Black Knife Assassins under Its control, they would be no match for Bai Shi.

Instinctively, Selys stretched its two fingers toward the sky, praying to a mother that had long been shattered.

Even though It knew it was futile.

‘Mother!’

‘What am I to do?!’

—

Before Bai Shi, the Baleful Shadows seed less like fearso beasts and more like helpless mutts waiting to be kicked.

In the blink of an eye, only a few remained, with just two struggling to hold on.

Fortunately for them, they had no emotions, or they would have long since been consud by despair.

They were supposed to be the near-indestructible Baleful Shadows, the strongest force under the command of the Two Fingers.

They were supposed to be relentless hunters who could rise again and again from any attack, fighting until their last breath.

But the man before them, Bai Shi, could extinguish them with a re lift of his hand and a swing of his sword.

With another casual slash, Bai Shi cleaved a Baleful Shadow in two. It fell without any chance to resist, its blood splattering across the ground.

Bai Shi advanced on the final Baleful Shadow, his steps deliberate.

This ti, however, he had no intention of killing it imdiately.

Bai Shi was curious to see what the power of the Fingers, the force behind these Baleful Shadows, truly looked like.

He severed the creature's arms and legs, rendering it powerless to fight back.

Bai Shi focused his will again, pushing his senses to their absolute limit to observe the source of its power.

However, what Bai Shi saw was not so manifestation of the Two Fingers' power—

The phantom image of a single, stone-like finger appeared before his eyes.

At its tip, in the very center of its fingerprint, was a small, wart-like eye.

That eye stared vacantly into the distance, its gaze fixed on sothing unknown.

As Bai Shi's probe continued, the eye on the finger noticed him.

As if issuing a warning, Bai Shi's entire body was instantly bound by a pinkish-purple power.

The mont he shifted his focus, Bai Shi broke free from the state, and the bizarre finger vanished from sight.

Noticing Bai Shi’s montary weakness, the Baleful Shadow clamped its weapon—glowing with Destined Death—in its mouth and whipped its head, launching an arc of light.

The black-and-red flas of Destined Death seized their one and only chance, surging toward the immobilized Bai Shi.

Even an incomplete fragnt of Destined Death's power was more than enough to cause Bai Shi considerable trouble.

Having experienced that power firsthand, Ranni’s expression changed, her eyes widening in alarm.

Though she didn't know why that power had suddenly appeared on Bai Shi, the situation was dire.

Ranni imdiately forced more magic from her true body, channeling the power of the Dark Moon.

A dark moon began to form in front of Bai Shi, and small cracks appeared on Small Ranni's body from the strain.

Ranni concentrated completely, trying to conjure the Dark Moon as quickly as possible.

But her body was only a doll, after all, and the efficiency of a magical transfer was simply too low.

It seed the Dark Moon would be too late; the arc of Destined Death was already before Bai Shi’s eyes.

Fortunately, Ranni’s intervention was not needed in the end.

The pinkish-purple bindings on Bai Shi’s body dissolved into darkness and disappeared.

Breaking free from his paralysis, Bai Shi sidestepped the slash imbued with the power of Destined Death.

In that critical mont, Bai Shi had once again released the power of the Starfall Shadow, forcefully breaking free from the control.

Its unique effectiveness against the Fingers had worked once more, instantly dispelling the binding effect and freeing him from its hold.

Bai Shi lunged forward, his blade piercing the head of the Baleful Shadow on the ground.

The bizarre phenonon just now had left Bai Shi with a sense of dread.

To be able to do sothing like that out of thin air... what in the world was that thing?!

That power definitely did not co directly from the Two Fingers. It had to be sothing far stronger, sothing more fundantal!

Bai Shi had seen the Two Fingers; They were not nearly that powerful, nor did they look anything like that.

The magic’s color was pinkish-purple, slightly different from gravity magic, but it certainly originated from the cosmos.

Of all the things Bai Shi had seen in the Lands Between, the power of only one creature bore a striking resemblance to the color of that magic.

The sorcery used by the Fingercreepers in Caria Manor.

And coincidentally, its effect was also paralysis. Could the false Greater Will hiding behind the Two Fingers, manipulating everything, also be a finger-like creature?

The mastermind behind the scenes... was a finger?

Regardless, it seed that having high insight really wasn't a good thing...

With that, the contingent of Baleful Shadows sent by the Two Fingers to hunt Ranni had been completely annihilated by Bai Shi.

Seeing Bai Shi break free and dodge the Destined Death attack, Small Ranni let out a sigh of relief.

The slowly forming Dark Moon gradually dissipated, dissolving back into pure magic.

It was a good thing Bai Shi freed himself. Otherwise, she wasn't certain this body could have manifested the Dark Moon in ti.

Though she didn't know why Bai Shi had been restrained, all that mattered was the good outco.

With the Baleful Shadows here utterly destroyed, Ranni was overjoyed.

She did not hold back her praise for Bai Shi:

“A truly magnificent battle.”

“In the face of absolute strength, the power those shadows prided themselves on was worth nothing at all.”

But Bai Shi was in no mood to receive Ranni's complints.

He looked up, his expression serious as he faced Small Ranni.

“Ranni, I think I just saw what’s behind the Fingers...”

“A mont ago, I saw It.”

“It was a creature shaped like a finger, similar to the Two Fingers, but completely different.”

Ranni’s face was a mask of astonishnt, startled by Bai Shi's words.

“What...?!”

“So you were suddenly trapped there because of Its power?”

“It just... appeared out of thin air and paralyzed even soone as strong as you?!”

Bai Shi frowned, nodding gravely.

“Yes. It paralyzed

from a distance just by projecting its consciousness.”

“Its power is terrifying.”

“An Outer God... no, ordinary Outer Gods would be no match for It...”

If Bai Shi had to make a comparison, perhaps only an existence like the sun was truly stronger than It.

As for the likes of the Rot and the Formless Mother...

Just look at the Lake of Rot over there, where an Outer God lies sealed. Enough said.

Bai Shi thought for a mont before speaking again.

“In any case, It is definitely the source of the Two Fingers' power.”

“Otherwise, Its presence wouldn't have appeared so inexplicably.”

Ranni lowered her head, thinking silently.

After a mont, she suddenly looked up, her expression one of shocked realization.

“A finger... and the source of the Two Fingers' power...”

“Perhaps... it’s what my brother Radahn called the false Greater Will!”

At this thought, both Bai Shi and Ranni were stunned.

If this was the being that impersonated the Greater Will, secretly manipulating the fates of everyone in the Lands Between, then its power and identity made perfect sense.

The Two Fingers are emissaries of the Greater Will.

Of the real Greater Will... and of the ‘Greater Will’.

And from Its actions, It seed to have always been active, never having left the Lands Between.

The thought of such a terrifying existence silently watching over the Lands Between made Bai Shi’s scalp tingle.

In the face of such horrifying power, even the combined might of a god and a king was nothing more than ants to be toyed with.

Bai Shi was genuinely shaken.

But as the saying goes, the best way to solve a problem is to face it head-on.

Once his strength grew further, there would be a way.

So Bai Shi secretly resolved that the next ti he faced It, he would make sure he had all five charges of his Fengling Yueying ready.

Bai Shi sighed. No matter what, life had to go on.

After so thought, he spoke again to the pensive Ranni.

“Let's not dwell on this for now. Just knowing of Its existence is the best possible outco.”

“Its true form and location are unknown...”

“The good news is that It didn't attack directly, so it seems It isn't entirely hostile. Then again, It might just not care enough to bother.”

“But things might not be so smooth from now on.”

“With It behind the Two Fingers, your revenge probably won't be that simple...”

Bai Shi paused in thought, then spoke to Ranni with a firm tone.

“From now on, when it's ti to take revenge on the Two Fingers, wait for

so we can do it together. Do not act on your own.”

“Against a creature like that, I'm the only one who might be able to handle it.”

“If I’m not by your side when you encounter that ‘Greater Will,’ I can’t guarantee your safety...”

“I'll try to find information about It along the way.”

Ranni nodded and sighed.

“At least we know such a being exists.”

“It's slightly better than being completely in the dark.”

This was unbelievable...

Before the matter of the Two Fingers was even resolved, the Land of Shadow and this ‘Greater Will’ had popped up one after another.

And none of them could be ignored.

Especially this false Greater Will behind the Fingers.

If It truly decided to act, any hope of revenge would be snuffed out instantly.

Small Ranni stood up, curtsied to Bai Shi, and then quietly withdrew her consciousness.

As he looked at the now-still doll, Bai Shi finally noticed the cracks on her body.

He gently touched the fine fractures and shook his head.

The situation just now hadn't been that dangerous. With his current strength, taking a hit from Destined Death wouldn't have been a major issue.

Besides, it wasn't the Destined Death from Maliketh's Black Blade, just a re remnant of its power.

The main issue was that he hadn't felt the need to be on guard against the Baleful Shadows. And really, who could have predicted that he would suddenly get a glimpse of the mastermind behind it all?

But it was true that he had made Ranni worry. It wouldn't happen again.

Looking at it from another angle, it showed that Ranni cared about him. Wasn't that a good thing?

Putting Small Ranni away, Bai Shi continued deeper into the waters of Nokstella.

The cavern opened up ahead, a long, narrow passage leading to an unknown destination.

Of course, Bai Shi knew exactly what lay ahead.

The Lake of Rot, where an Outer God of Rot was sealed. You could say it was a must-visit attraction in the Lands Between.

Since I'm already here, might as well go for a dip.

Besides, he had to take the Dragonkin Soldier waiting outside with him eventually. He might as well see if the one inside was willing to leave, too.